Chapter 50 We're in the same boat, so when are you planning to come and take care of me...?

Mo Ning's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode. The semi-enclosed car was stuffy and hot, and he felt like he was being burned alive.

But his last shred of reason pulled him to tilt his head slightly, placing his arm on Qin Weijin's shoulder to create some distance: "Brother Jin, although I personally like you quite a bit, as your assistant, I have to remind you to be careful outside for the sake of trending topics."

Qin Weijin looked straight at him, his beautiful eyes seemingly veiled in mist: "I'm not an idol artist. I got to where I am today through my work. I don't need to sacrifice my personal feelings for a career, understand?"

After saying that, he thought for a moment and added, "Besides, I don't really want to keep you hidden away."

Like those photos that make people envious at first glance, Mo Ningzhi openly showed her feelings for him to others, even confessing her feelings to him on her first day at work. In comparison, Qin Weijin's expression of affection seemed much weaker.

Mo Ningzhi stepped back slightly, tilting her head to look at him: "Are you serious?"

Qin Weijin breathed softly on his cheek: "Of course."

“But that won’t work. I’m your assistant. My job is to make sure you don’t end up trending on social media because of scandals. That’s what’s written in the contract,” Mo Ningzhi said.

Qin Weijin pursed his lips, as if pondering for a moment, before making a decision: "Then resign." It's fine as long as you're not an assistant.

"..." Mo Ningzhi stared at him for a long time, then tilted her head and smiled: "You want to fire me?"

"Um."

"You dare!" Mo Ningzhi pounced on him and bit him.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of car doors closing, amplified several times by the quiet underground parking garage, that Mo Ningzhi snapped out of her daze in the scorching atmosphere.

He took two deep breaths, turned his head to look out the other window, but the light was too dim in that corner and he couldn't see anything.

But this place is no longer safe. Mo Ningzhi wiped her mouth, jumped out of the car, and said, "Are we going to the film set? Let's go back first."

Qin Weijin glanced at the spot not far behind Mo Ningzhi, then quickly looked away. "Okay."

They hadn't taken two steps when they heard a sound behind them.

"Ning Zhi?"

"What a coincidence, we meet again." Zhou Yaozheng strode over, followed by two assistants. He was about to say something when his gaze lingered on Mo Ningzhi's lips, and his expression suddenly became somewhat blank: "What...what were you doing just now?"

Ignoring Zhou Yaozheng's meddlesome madness, Mo Ningzhi grabbed Qin Weijin's hand and quickly entered the elevator. As the floor number slowly rose, Mo Ningzhi let go of his hand, her expression somewhat serious: "If you ever run into Zhou Yaozheng again, stay far away from him. Don't believe anything he says."

Qin Weijin looked at him for a while, then said, "Don't believe it either."

“Of course not.” Mo Ningzhi gave him a strange look. “Do I look like a fool?”

Qin Weijin patted the back of his head reassuringly. Mo Ningzhi remembered something and grabbed his hand: "I haven't told you before, but Zhou Yaozheng is actually half my brother. We are a blended family. He is the child of the woman my father married, but we don't get along."

Qin Weijin lowered his eyes and watched Mo Ningzhi unconsciously opening and closing his fingers. "The Aunt Zhou who gave you the camera that day, is that Zhou Yaozheng's mother?"

“Hmm.” Mo Ningzhi paused for a moment. “She’s very good to me.”

Qin Weijin enjoyed Mo Ningzhi's unconscious intimacy, letting his fingers be kneaded in his palm for a while before closing his fingers and holding Mo Ningzhi's hand. "I know, I'll be more careful next time we meet."

Mo Ningzhi didn't struggle and gave a soft "hmm".

His phone rang twice. He took it out and saw that it was Qin Shenyue.

"The studio can even choose its own holiday gifts?" Mo Ningzhi asked in surprise.

Qin Weijin leaned over and glanced at the message. He understood that the Mid-Autumn Festival was next month, and Qin Shenyue was usually in charge of gift-giving. She would usually prepare them in advance: "With so many employees, it's difficult to cater to everyone's preferences. Let them choose for themselves."

Mo Ningzhi swiped the screen to look at the list, and when he reached the end, he clicked his tongue: "You can even choose cash?"

Qin said to Jin, "Yes. What do you want to choose?"

Mo Ningzhi quickly glanced at the screen, and after a moment said, "Nothing particularly interesting."

“That’s true.” Qin Weijin said without any surprise, “After all, he’s someone who can donate a row of zeros, so he probably doesn’t lack this kind of thing.”

Mo Ningzhi paused for a moment before realizing what he was talking about: "How did you know?"

"Didn't you receive a feedback text message? I saw it that day." Qin Weijin lowered his eyes to take him in. "My assistant is so rich, so when are you planning to start supporting me?"

Mo Ningzhi: "..."

This matter can't be let go, right?

The two chatted as they met up with Xiao Guo and Zhang Yuyu, and together they headed to the film set. The city had a small film studio, where the crew would be spending the next few days.

It's not far from the hotel, just a half-hour drive away. Hou Qing has been glued to the film set ever since she arrived in the Northwest, her cheeks are already sunburned red, but her eyes are surprisingly bright. "We're here. This place is nice, isn't it? Now all we need is the CNC equipment. It's still early today, we should be able to shoot one more take. Let's go get our makeup done first."

"Director Hou, what about me?" Xu Mingtiao asked with a smile.

"You? You're one to talk! What were you doing posting that nine-grid image on Weibo? Your fans all came out in force, and the official account of the production team was practically flooded with comments!" Hou Qing shouted.

"Isn't this great? Free publicity!" Xu Mingtiao chuckled.

Hou Qing said, "That's right, so this afternoon you'll release two videos to support the drama's promotion. There are two costumes that haven't arrived yet, and your scenes will be filmed tomorrow."

"Alright." Xu Mingtiao stretched and said, "I'll go back and catch up on my beauty sleep after I finish recording the video. I got up too early this morning."

Hou Qing waved his hand: "Get out, get out, get out..."

It was too hot in the Northwest, so Zhang Yuyu prepared sunscreen spray, sun hats, and small fans for everyone. Mo Ningzhi and Xiao Guo equipped themselves with them immediately, but Qin Weijin couldn't use them. He was wearing makeup and a hair crown, so he couldn't touch them. Mo Ningzhi held an umbrella over his head and also bought a cooling fan to blow on Qin Weijin.

The crime-solving scenes were filmed until 10:30 p.m., just as it was getting dark and the city lights were beginning to illuminate the night.

Qin Weijin came out of the tent after removing his makeup, and Mo Ningzhi was waiting for him.

It was too hot, and the wig was very uncomfortable to wear. His forehead felt hot and stuffy. He raised his hand and rubbed his temples. "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Mo Ningzhi stood outside the tent, carrying his backpack. When he saw Qin Weijin rubbing his reddened skin with his fingers, he quickly took his hand away, took out a few cold compresses from his bag, and stood on tiptoe to apply them.

"Are you still feeling unwell?"

Qin Weijin felt it for a moment and said, "Much more comfortable. What is this?"

"Cold compress." Mo Ningzhi glanced at her phone. "Don't leave it on for too long. Drink some ice water to cool down."

Although night had fallen, the wind blowing through the desert was still warm, and Qin Weijin just wanted to get back to his car and enjoy the air conditioning as soon as possible.

Xiao Liu parked his car at the entrance of the film set, where he could see Qin Weijin at a glance. Just as Qin Weijin was about to get in the car, he heard a voice from behind: "Brother Weijin."

Mo Ningzhi paused for a moment.

In a sense, Yang Lian and Zhou Yaozheng belong to the same family and genus—both like to appear behind others, and each time they do so, they harbor selfish thoughts that will make people unhappy for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Qin Weijin asked expressionlessly, staring at the cold compress covering his forehead.

Perhaps because his appearance was so different from his usual dignified demeanor, Yang Lian took a few steps forward and said with a smile, "Brother Jin, can I ride with you? My driver suddenly had something come up and can't come to pick me up."

Qin Weijin replied without hesitation: "You can take a taxi."

“But I’m not wearing a mask…” Yang Lian bit her lower lip, looking somewhat pleading: “If I go out like this, my fans will recognize me.”

Qin Weijin pondered for a few seconds, took out his phone and made a call. Two minutes later, he said to Yang Lian, "I've spoken to Director Hou, he'll send a car to take you."

After saying that, he opened the car door and gestured for Mo Ningzhi to get in.

Just as Mo Ningzhi disliked his contact with Zhou Yaozheng, Qin Weijin also disliked any contact between Mo Ningzhi and Yang Lian.

Mo Ningzhi didn't want to get involved and turned to leave. Yang Lian suddenly spoke up: "Wait... Assistant Mo, I actually have something to discuss with you too."

Qin frowned at Jin.

Mo Ningzhi asked, "What is it?"

“I heard that you took the Vespera haute couture photos for Brother Jin, and the photos that Sister Mingtiao updated today were also taken by you,” Yang Lian said. “So, I also want to ask you to do a photoshoot, but my time is very tight, and it will probably take up two or three days of your time. Of course, you can ask for any price, and I can agree to it.”

Mo Ningzhi glanced at Qin Weijin with a complicated expression.

It wasn't so obvious before, but now it seems that Yang Lian is a rare breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry—she has extremely low emotional intelligence and is inflexible and clueless when it comes to interpersonal communication.

Mo Ningzhi might have refused if it were anyone else, but after looking at Yang Lian for a few seconds, he said softly, "Okay, but photography is just a side job. I don't have continuous, long-term time to do it part-time. However, if you have the time, I can take photos before and after filming every day."

Mo Ningzhi had seen Yang Lian's schedule. Her scenes were concentrated over the past week, with filming starting late in the morning and ending early in the afternoon. If all went smoothly, she could film several sets without any problem.

"Won't this be very tiring?" Yang Lian said, "I need to get my beauty sleep in the morning."

Mo Ningzhi raised an eyebrow.

"Can I pay more?" Yang Lian asked.

Qin Weijin finally couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled Mo Ningzhi behind him, frowned, and said, "He's no good. If you want to take the photos, have Zhan Linzhou arrange another photographer for you."

"But I just like the photos he takes," Yang Lian whispered.

Looking at her pitiful and aggrieved appearance, Mo Ningzhi leaned forward to say something, but Qin Weijin raised his hand and pressed her back down. "He is my assistant. He is already very tired from work. Do you think it is appropriate for him to work overtime for you?"

"But you have many assistants, can't he take a few days off? Besides, it's not like I'm not paying him."

Mo Ningzhi peeked out from behind Qin Weijin's shoulder, his eyes darting around. He saw Qin Weijin's jaw tighten for a moment and couldn't help but laugh.

It turns out that even Qin Weijin couldn't figure out Yang Lian's thought process.

However, Yang Lian may seem to be socially awkward, slow-witted, and lacking in social skills, but in the end, she is selfish.

Therefore, she could exploit her brother's kindness to obtain resources and benefits from Qin Weijin without any resentment, and could act arrogantly in front of Qin Weijin without any burden, without considering her brother's situation at all.

But it was quite easy to get rid of her. Qin Weijin turned cold and said a few merciless words. Yang Lian felt as if she had been scumbagd eight hundred times over, and turned away with a wronged look on her face.

After the person had walked away, Mo Ningzhi couldn't help but laugh. Qin Weijin glanced at him unhappily, "Stop laughing, get in the car."

After closing the car door, before the others had even gotten in, Mo Ningzhi boldly asked, "Why won't you let me take pictures of her?"

Qin Weijin understood his thoughts perfectly well and said calmly, "I'm the one who owes a favor; you don't need to get involved."

“But you’re my boyfriend,” Mo Ningzhi said. “I’ve been involved for a long time.”

Hearing him say that, Qin Weijin was both happy and soft-hearted. "I don't want you to be unhappy."

Mo Ningzhi leaned on Qin Weijin's arm and looked up at him: "If I'm unhappy, I'll run away. Where did you see me as a doormat?"

Qin Weijin looked down at him. "Everywhere."

Mo Ningzhi knew that if she hadn't been soft-hearted, she wouldn't have been constantly manipulated by Zhou Yaozheng. But often, being soft-hearted doesn't bring good luck; it only makes one appear as an easy target to be bullied.

And they still say they're not pushovers.

Mo Ningzhi scoffed twice, then retorted defiantly, "I think you just want to fight."

Qin Weijin raised his hand and grasped his thin fist, calming him down with a few words: "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and I have two days off. What are your plans then?"

Mo Ningzhi thought for a moment and said, "Not for now."

Qin Weijin said, "Then remember to make time for it."

"What are you doing?"

Qin Weijin raised an eyebrow, and seeing Mo Ningzhi's carefree expression, he sighed: "Keep it a secret."

Mo Ningzhi asked twice with a smile but couldn't get an answer. Qin Weijin was very tight-lipped, so he stopped asking after that.

However, plans never keep up with changes. The filming of the scenes in the Northwest desert took a month, during which they encountered a sandstorm, which further delayed the progress. It wasn't until just before the Mid-Autumn Festival that they finally boarded a plane for their return journey.

As soon as Mo Ningzhi landed, she received a call from Zhou Suiyin informing her that Mo Tingzhou was sick and hospitalized.

So he rushed to the hospital without even going home.