Chapter 35 The Cold Weather Leads to a Detective Investigation: I'm So Tired of This Crappy Variety Show

Shen Linzhou ran on, completely bewildered.

More than once he wanted to ask why Song Ying and Qin Shu had stopped, but no one could answer his questions. In addition, the cameras kept following him, and fearing that his image would be ruined, the athletic "hero" actor could only grit his teeth and persevere.

After finishing the last lap, he collapsed to the ground, looking like a lump of mud.

"I can't take it anymore, I'm going to die."

Shen Linzhou lay on the lawn, his throat parched, his chest heaving violently.

Jiang Yueyao, ever the considerate one, stepped forward, knelt down, and handed Shen Linzhou water, saying, "Linzhou, you're amazing!"

"..."

Shen Linzhou didn't even have the strength to lift the bottle.

Looking at Jiang Yueyao's smiling face, a sentence came to mind:

Don't mess with a vengeful woman; you'll become unhappy.

The 10,000-meter run nearly drained Shen Linzhou; even when everyone was grilling meat over a fire that evening, his hands were still shaking.

As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, twinkling lights illuminated the surrounding area.

The charcoal fire glowed faintly, a gentle night breeze stirred, and amidst the music, a rare moment of tranquility finally arrived.

Perhaps because the unusual arrangements during the day caused quite a bit of controversy, the production team didn't pull any more tricks at night. Instead, they arranged two telescopes to make it easier for everyone to stargaze.

Time passed quickly, and everyone ate and drank leisurely and harmoniously.

Song Ying had been thinking about asking for leave, so she seized the opportunity to leave the lawn and go to find Director Bai Yang.

"A request for leave?" Director Bai stroked his chin, putting on airs. "Teacher Song, I'm afraid it's inconvenient. You're only participating in the program for seven days. If you come and go, two days will be gone. Wouldn't that be a delay?"

"I can take one day off."

Ningcheng Airport is just over an hour's drive from the filming location, and it only takes two hours to fly to Beijing. The audition is at 1 p.m. "I'll leave in the morning, and if I'm quick, I can be back before dinner to minimize the impact on the filming schedule. In addition, you can deduct three times the daily appearance fee for any time lost due to taking leave."

Song Ying is still relatively unknown. The couple participated in a seven-day shoot together, and the appearance fee totaled 70,000 yuan.

It's a lot compared to the average person, but it's practically dirt cheap within the industry.

Moreover, according to the usual practice, taking leave usually only deducts the appearance fee for that day, so Song Ying's offer of three times that amount is already quite generous.

However.

“Teacher Song, it’s not that I’m being unreasonable, it’s just that our filming schedule can’t be delayed. Those who know me know that I’m a person who follows the rules the most. Even if you don’t ask for a penny and appear for free, let alone deduct three times the amount, I still can’t let you go.”

"But Qiao Hui from the first season and Feng Anran from the second season both had to take a day or two off due to other commitments. Even Xu Wanru, the guest star last week, took two days off. What do you mean by that?"

"Well, that's because the contracts you signed are different."

Director Bai's eyes darted away. "It was true that I could take leave before, but I made an exception and the broadcast didn't go well, so from this time on, I can't take leave anymore. This was agreed upon when we signed the contract."

"The contract?" Song Ying took out her phone and opened the full text of the contract that Sister Hong had photographed. "Since you put it that way, let's compare them and see which clause made this provision."

Director Bai hadn't expected that Song Ying had come prepared.

Of course, this provision was not included in the contract.

When force didn't work, he had to resort to a softer approach, appealing to emotions.

"Teacher Song, you're not a newcomer anymore. Why can't you understand some things? Look at the show's popularity right now. It dominates at least half of the trending topics every day. If you just focus on recording, are you afraid you won't become famous? Why leave when it's at its peak and compete with others for roles? Besides, whether you'll even get a role in Huatian's dramas is another matter. You should focus on becoming famous first, and then you can film whatever you want, right?"

Director Bai appeared to be giving earnest advice, but Song Ying caught the subtle details in his words.

She opened her mouth, about to say something, when Director Bai's phone rang.

Upon seeing the screen, Director Bai immediately put on a smiling face, telling Song Ying to go back and think it over carefully, while he took his phone to a secluded spot to answer the call.

The night breeze carried faint whispers and murmurs.

"...Oh, don't worry, as long as I don't let her go, she can't leave."

"Of course, helping you is also helping myself."

"...That's wonderful! To have the opportunity to work with you is a dream come true..."

As night fell, Song Ying squinted her sparrow-like eyes, glanced at the overjoyed Director Bai for a moment, and then did not linger any longer.

He turned around and walked towards the campsite.

When she returned, Sweet Bean immediately handed her some grilled meat as soon as she saw her.

"Sister Ying, try this. Da Meng and I just grilled it!"

"Thank you," Song Ying said, taking a bite and praising with a smile, "It's delicious, it doesn't taste like it's your first time cooking."

"I knew it! I do have a talent for cooking!"

"Here, Chef Sweet Bean, please have this too." Song Ying handed over a skewer of grilled shrimp as a return gift.

After chatting for a couple more minutes, she came over to Qin Shu's side and started grilling meat together.

"You're back. What did Director Bai say?" Qin Shu flipped the meat on the grill and asked.

When they went for a run together in the evening, Song Ying mentioned the audition and asking for leave to Qin Shu.

Qin Shu knew that she had just gone to see Director Bai.

But to my surprise, it was the same result.

"They won't let you in. But I think I know why."

"Tell me more?"

"I guess it might be related to Qingcheng Entertainment."

Then, Song Ying briefly recounted their previous conversation and the snippets she had overheard from Director Bai, and then provided further analysis.

“Sister Hong had instructed me beforehand not to make a fuss about the casting, so when I went to Director Bai, I gave a very tactful reason, only mentioning that there was a very important role opportunity without revealing any other details. But Director Bai mentioned Hua Tian, ​​which shows that he knew I was going to audition for Hua Tian's role. So, most likely, someone didn't want me to participate in the casting, which is why he asked me to stop them.”

"The only people competing for this role right now are me, Su Nan from Shengshi, and Sun Ruoxuan from Qingcheng. I've met Su Nan twice at the company. She has a laid-back personality and isn't the kind of person who would use underhanded methods. Besides, we're both at Shengshi. If it really is her, Sister Hong wouldn't have missed the news."

"As for Qingcheng's Sun Ruoxuan, she has a reputation for bullying others and has some unclear relationships with the higher-ups. In recent years, she has often bullied others and taken opportunities from them."

With this comparison, the answer is almost obvious.

"You really like that character?" Qin Shu asked.

"I like it very much."

Song Ying nodded without hesitation, flipping through the slips of paper in her hand, and explained to Qin Shu in detail, "It's adapted from the comic I read this afternoon. I really like the comic's author, and the story is great. Sister Hong helped me get a role as the second female lead. At first glance, she seems very vicious, but she's actually very charming. She's the type of character I've always wanted to try, and I don't want to miss this opportunity."

Surrounded by twinkling lights, Song Ying's clear, bright eyes became even more lively as she talked about her favorite characters, as if a starry sky was reflected in them.

The night breeze ruffled her hair, swirling around her fair cheeks, making her even more radiant and beautiful.

It is an open and blatant fervor.

It is also an undisguised and sincere ambition.

That's exactly what makes the girl he likes so charming.

Qin Shu nodded. "I understand."

"What do you understand?" Song Ying looked up and warned, "We agreed before that you wouldn't get any funny ideas. Even if I really like the role, I'll get it through my own abilities. Don't you dare try to throw money around like a nouveau riche. Who knows what my aunt and the others will say then? Besides, I don't want to become the kind of person I hate."

Qin Shu smiled slightly and raised his chin. "If you don't flip them now, they'll burn."

Song Ying quickly rummaged through the mushrooms in her hand.

Immediately afterward, Qin Shu's distinctive youthful voice came from above, "Don't worry, I won't interfere with the casting. But I'm getting a little tired of this lousy variety show. Ever heard of 'The Coldest Detective'?"

"What the hell?"

Song Ying looked up, her small head filled with a huge question mark, "Don't be so childish, bro! Have you been reading too many novels?"

"Grandpa invested ten million in the show."

"What?!"

Song Ying was startled and almost dropped the skewers in her hand.