Chapter 83

Chapter 83

By the time Ji Ning realized that she had taken the wrong car, the car had already started slowly.

"Why are you starting the car?" She clung to the back of the passenger seat and saw Shen Yang's expressionless profile. "Let me down."

"We're classmates, where are you going? I'll take you there."

"Thank you, I have—"

As she spoke, a message from the driver popped up on Ji Ning's phone: [Boss, sorry, the car broke down and we're waiting for a tow truck.]

Ji Ning: "..."

Shen Yang glanced at her through the rearview mirror: "What's going on?"

Between "standing upright on the roadside in the cold wind to hail a taxi" and "bending over and going with the flow for a little air conditioning", Ji Ning chose the latter without hesitation.

She smiled politely: "Thank you a little."

Shen Yang snorted and laughed: "So, where are we going?"

Ji Ning: "Yayuan."

Shen Yang didn't ask any more questions and skillfully turned the car into Central Avenue.

But Ji Ning still found it strange. As a grown-up young master, it would be fine for him to drive himself, but why was he so kind-hearted as to send an old classmate home whom he hadn't seen for 18 years?

Thinking of the gossip about him in recent years, Ji Ning frowned.

After enduring for a long time, when the car was about to reach the destination, she finally couldn't help but ask: "Chen Yang, rounding up, we are old classmates, can I ask a straightforward question?"

Chen Yang: "Just ask."

"You're not trying to pick me up, are you?"

Shen Yang stared ahead and answered bluntly, "No."

"Then why did you offer to send me off? Don't tell me it's because you're kind. I won't believe it."

"Have you ever heard of a playboy experiencing life by driving a Ferrari and running a Didi?"

"..." Ji Ning's mouth twitched, "What?"

We have arrived at our destination.

Shen Yang parked the car at the entrance of the community, took out his phone from his pocket, turned around and said, "For the sake of our friendship, I'll give you the starting price, 15. Cash or scan the code?"

Ji Ning was shocked for more than ten seconds before she reacted.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and gritted her teeth: "Scan, the code."

Because she had chatted with Shuiquliu at the dinner party, Ji Ning’s WeChat was still logged into her secondary account.

She was too lazy to switch and just scanned the QR code he showed her to pay.

Shen Yang's eyes fell on the Doraemon on the other end of the phone chain: "Your Doraemon is very cute, where did you buy it?"

Ji Ning answered absentmindedly: "A friend gave it to me."

After saying that, she got out of the car without looking back, and the sound of her high heels gradually faded away.

Shen Yang looked down at the WeChat profile picture in the account information, which was exactly the same as Ning's.

It turned out to be her.

In fact, ever since everyone knew that he would give away his wood carvings, he has seen all kinds of reasons for asking for them.

What friend wants to see Ultraman one last time before he dies.

What about the mother who is celebrating her 70th birthday and only loves Chibi Maruko-chan?

Shen Yang usually ignored people who had ill intentions at first glance, but for those he could chat with, he didn't care much about their reasons.

Take Ning for example.

Although it was just a game, he had already classified her as someone he could get along with, so even though he knew that her claim of having a child was fake, he didn't feel offended, and even played role-playing games with her. But he never thought that Ning might be someone he knew.

Tonight in the box, when Director Liu brought her towards him, he saw the Doraemon on Ji Ning's phone chain at a glance.

He never repeats his work.

So he was sure that this was the one he gave to Ning.

But he was not sure that Ning was Ji Ning.

Because it is also possible that Ning gave Doraemon to someone else after receiving it.

Until now.

A divorced single mother raising her daughter alone?

Oh.

It seemed like it was indeed a reason she could come up with.

In the next few days, Ji Ning and Shui Quliu still played games together for half an hour every day, but most of the time, she was preparing to join the crew of "Level 1 Secret".

The night before joining the crew, Ji Ning remembered that there would inevitably be reporters taking pictures of her face during the opening ceremony, so she quickly picked up a facial mask and did some skin care.

She lay comfortably on the bed and scrolled through her Moments out of boredom.

Scrolling down, I found that Shuiquliu posted a message half an hour ago. The text was simple, with only three words: [New Work].

It's Pinocchio with a long nose.

In order to get close to him, Ji Ning would like every post he made on WeChat Moments.

This one is no exception.

But just as his thumb was about to touch the phone screen, it stopped.

Pinocchio...

Thinking of her image in front of him, Ji Ning felt a little guilty for some reason.

Just then, a new message popped up on WeChat. It was a new version of the script revised by the screenwriter and sent to her by her agent, Sister Fen.

Ji Ning's attention was instantly diverted.

She sat up, leaned against the head of the bed, and looked at it carefully for a while, but the more she looked, the angrier she became.

The revised script was very different from the one she had originally come into contact with.

The biggest difference is that the highlight plot originally set for the heroine has now basically moved to the hero.

For example, the heroine relied on her own connections to find the key information that the villain used to steal secrets, but in the new script, the heroine was at a loss, so she asked the hero for help. The hero then started a killing spree and punished the villain.

This is not just a matter of partial plot changes, but after the changes, the heroine's character collapsed, the previous and subsequent plots were inconsistent, and the whole story started well but ended badly.

Ji Ning ripped off the mask on her face and her fingers clattered rapidly on the keyboard: [Why did you suddenly change the script?]

Sister Fen: [It can't be helped. When we were cast, Li Yankai wasn't as popular as you. But who could have predicted that his drama would become such a hit last month? Fans are making a fuss, saying the male lead is just a background character and they're refusing to watch the show unless the script is changed. Investors want to make money, so of course they'll take this into consideration.]

Is this Shen Yang's decision?

Could it be that she really offended him at the dinner that day?

But this movie has several investors, so Ji Ning asked again: [Which investor?]

Sister Fen: [Juzi Video, you also know that Mr. Xu and Li Yankai have a special relationship.]

Ji Ning's eyes turned cold.

Ji Ning: [Then I won’t act anymore.]

Sister Fen: [If you don't want to act, then don't do it. You've already signed the contract. Do you know how much the penalty is? You're just starting out. Do you earn enough to pay for it? Or do you want to go back to your parents for help?]

Parents have always been Ji Ning's obsession.

Her father didn't agree with her becoming an actress, so she tried hard to carve out a path for herself and let her father know that she had made the right choice.

How could she possibly go back for help at a time like this?

Perhaps sensing her compromise from her silence, Sister Fen sent a final message: [Get some rest. You'll be joining the crew tomorrow. Don't overthink it. Whatever you shoot, it's fine. Just make the money.]

The mask liquid on my face has dried up, and my whole face is dry, making it difficult to smile.

Ji Ning got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face. Although she was more sober intellectually, emotionally, she still couldn't accept such a change in the script.

If she was willing to make such bad movies, she wouldn't have debuted for three years and yet have only a few film and television works that can be counted on one hand.

Although she was feeling depressed, Ji Ning never treated herself badly, so she wiped her face carefully, applied lotion and essence, and did sufficient skin care before returning to bed listlessly.

The phone was on, she glanced at it and saw that it was a message from Shuiquliu.

Just one picture, a new wooden sculpture of Doraemon, with Doraemon's hands raised high and his mouth wide open, as if he is shouting "Come on!"

Ji Ning smiled softly, and when she saw him, she asked, "Do you like this, little girl?"

Ji Ning was stunned for a moment before she realized that the "little girl" he was referring to was her daughter who was nowhere to be found.

She turned over, lay on the pillow, and typed gloomily: [I think I like it.]

Manchurian Ash: [What's wrong? Are you unhappy?]

Ji Ning didn't know how he noticed it, but she was a little surprised by the strong ability of this brother who was connected to her through the Internet to perceive her emotions.

Ji Ning hesitated for a moment and answered him: [My daughter was bullied at school.]

Manchurian Ash: [Didn’t you go to school to seek justice?]

Ning: [The other party's family is very wealthy and powerful, and I can't compete with them alone. They all told me to give up.]

Manchurian ash uses a declarative sentence: [But you are not ready to give up.]

Ji Ning's fingertips paused, and she answered with certainty: [Yes.]

There are two paths before Ji Ning.

One is to convince other investors, and the other is to convince Mr. Xu.

Ji Ning chose the latter.

She and Xu Qian had actually had several interactions. In her opinion, Xu Qian was not a person who could not distinguish right from wrong. She just came from a wealthy family and went straight to work as a senior executive in her family's company after graduation. She had never suffered any hardship, so she was too naive and a little love-sick.

Taking advantage of her free time in the morning, she went to Xu Qian's office and patiently chatted with her for more than two hours, with the main points ranging from "a good story is the key to the success of a movie" to "being in love has no future."

The moment she saw hesitation in Xu Qian's eyes, Ji Ning knew that she had at least a 50% chance of winning.

But at the moment she was not sure whether she had really convinced Xu Qian. It was not until the filming started in the afternoon that she got the news from Sister Fen - the crew decided to shoot according to the old version of the script.

In the lounge, Ji Ning was touching up her makeup in front of the mirror. Sister Fen leaned close to her ear and asked mysteriously, "Do you know who turned the situation around?"

Ji Ning bit the straw and drank a sip of milk tea, looking leisurely and carefree: "Of course it's me sitting in front of you."

"Pah." The agent rolled his eyes at her, thinking she was joking, and said with certainty, "It's Mr. Shen from Domain Media."

"Chen Yang?"

"Yes, I heard that the script was also delivered to him last night. After reading it, he only gave an eight-word evaluation."

Ji Ning released the straw, and her usually cold eyes were filled with confusion: "What?"

"That's bullshit. I almost went blind."

Ji Ning burst out laughing.

It seemed like something Shen Yang could say.

Sister Fen leaned against the dressing table, her arms folded across her chest. "We had an emergency meeting at noon, but the screenwriter told me that after Mr. Shen hadn't said a few words, Mr. Xu gave in. She was quite surprised. She had thought that given Mr. Xu's strong personality, the two would have a heated argument."

Ji Ning opened her mouth, but ultimately did not mention anything about her visit to Xu Qian.

First, the goal has been achieved, so the process is no longer important.

Secondly, if her agent knew she was doing this, she would probably be scolded again and accused of not considering the consequences.

It is better to have less trouble than more.

She happily picked up her phone and sent a message to Shuiquliu: [Justice Succeeded!]

Shuiquliu replied almost instantly: [Congratulations, Doraemon sent it to you too.]

Ji Ning's eyes lit up, and the joy of having gained another Doraemon came to her mind belatedly.

He sent another video.

Ji Ning clicked on it, and the picture froze on Doraemon on the table. She thought it was a static picture until Doraemon's voice came from the phone -

"Since Ning said that, how could I doubt it?"

He changed "Nobita" to "Ning".

Ji Ning listened to it again and was able to imitate it quite well. At first glance, it sounded like the original.

Ji Ning couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the remaining depression in her heart disappeared at this moment.

Sister Fen stared at her doubtfully, a sinister suspicion welling up in her mind: "Ningning, are you... in love?"

"Ah?" Ji Ning came back to her senses, "No, who would I fall in love with?"

Sister Fen patted her chest, feeling relieved. "That's good, that's good. I was so scared. You're in a good mood right now, but it's not the right time for you to fall in love."

Ji Ning didn't take it to heart, thanked Shuiquliu, and clicked on the circle of friends, and found that he had posted another message five minutes ago.

Ji Ning didn't even read the content before giving a thumbs-up as a courtesy.

Click to enlarge the image.

The content he posted on WeChat Moments before were all pictures of his works without exception, but today's post was a little different. It was a third-person perspective photo of him while he was creating.

But only the hands were photographed.

His skin was very white, his fingers were long and slender, and his nails were neatly trimmed. Because of the force applied, the veins on the back of his hands were slightly raised, and the smooth muscle lines were just right, like a work of art.

Ji Ning stared at the picture for a while before closing it.

My heart seemed to be hit by something and jumped suddenly.

Before she knew what this brother looked like, she seemed to have a slight desire for his hand.

For the first time, Ji Ning searched the name "Manchurian ash" on the Internet.

But there is very little information.

Not to mention photos, she didn’t even write her age and place of origin. It seems that the information on the Internet doesn’t know as much as she does.

As for whether he is single or not, no one knows.

Ji Ning began to ponder his circle of friends. It was all works, nothing related to his personal life. The profile picture was also a dog, which didn't look like a couple's profile picture.

But this is just speculation after all.

So when they were playing games at night, she pretended to be casual and asked, "Does your girlfriend mind playing games with me?"

The other end seemed to laugh: "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh." Ji Ning said nothing more, her fingertips operating the buttons on the screen.

The other end asked again: "Does your daughter have any objection to you playing games so late?"

Ji Ning: "..."

She stumbled a little: "She, she fell asleep."

If they delved too deeply into this topic, there was a risk of being exposed, so Ji Ning quickly changed the subject: "By the way, I've always been a little curious, why are you interested in wood carving? I watched documentaries before, and it seemed that most people working in this industry are a bit older."

Shuiquliu was silent for a moment, then said, "There's no particular reason. I'm just not feeling well, and when I'm idle at home, I've been thinking about finding something to do to pass the time. There happened to be some leftover wood from renovations piled up in the yard, so I suddenly had the idea to try it out."

Ji Ning stopped in surprise: "So you taught yourself?"

“Yeah, I also asked some teachers online.”

Ji Ning was about to ask why he didn't just go to study offline, but then she remembered that he had just said that he was in poor health and was always idle at home.

"So how are you feeling now?"

"Let's just leave it at that. One day at a time."

Ji Ning lowered her eyes. Shuiquliu's words reminded her of someone.

"Your situation is quite similar to that of a classmate of mine."

"classmate?"

"Yeah." The battle ended, but the voice chatter continued. Ji Ning sighed silently, "He too, only studied in high school for one semester, then went home to recuperate. He seems to have been idle at home for the past few years."

"But I saw him a few days ago, and he was full of energy. I heard that he had countless girlfriends over the years. He was so rotten..." Ji Ning paused, changed her words, and said with confidence with the intention of encouragement, "A rotten body can be restored to health. You will definitely live a long life."

"That's really a good omen from you."

He chose the mature uncle voice mode today, but for some reason, even so, Ji Ning still vaguely heard a bit of gnashing of teeth.

What's wrong?

She said it very well.

Chen Yang: You are really good at talking. Don’t say that next time.

"Since it was Nobita who said it, why would I doubt it?" From Doraemon