Chapter 111 Unfamiliar [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Discussing this topic too intimately with someone I don't know well...

It's very cold in the northern part of the city this year.

Mu Zhi, who was recovering from a cold, had the idea of ​​going on vacation for the Chinese New Year even before the movie was finished.

Art originates from life. Actors cannot be like high-pressure work machines constantly running at high speed. She needs to let "actress Muzhi" return to daily life, go out for a walk, and clear her mind.

The day before Lunar New Year's Eve.

Mu Zhi flew alone to Lucheng, a seaside tourist city in the south, for a vacation.

Before boarding the plane, I was shivering in the cold wind in the north of the city, wrapped in a long down jacket, and kept shrinking my neck; after getting off the plane, I took off the down jacket and held it in my hand, and even wearing a sweater, I felt a little warm.

The outdoor temperature in Lucheng today is 22 degrees Celsius, a very comfortable and pleasant temperature.

The hotel we stayed at was right next to the beach.

Mu Zhi pushed her luggage into the room, and as soon as she opened the curtains of the French windows, she could see the blue sea not far away.

She took a picture of the view outside the window and sent the hotel address to the "Beautiful Girls of the Botanical Garden" group.

Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai will also fly over.

And Xia Xinyan.

The fact that the four of them traveled to Lucheng together for the Chinese New Year was somewhat related to the promotion of a variety show.

A little over a month ago, Mu Zhi received an invitation from the Owl platform for a variety show called "Their Stars and Seas". The invited guests were: Mu Zhi, Lin Xuan, a former member of the girl group Five Flowers and Xinghe Culture, and two idols who debuted early in the center position of a talent show and then transitioned to acting, for a total of 9 people.

The program's format involves the women traveling together and filming for 15 days.

The show's director euphemistically calls it an observation program for talent show contestants, allowing viewers to see whether they debut as part of a group or not, and whether they choose to become idols or transition into acting, exploring their different life situations and discussing their future development...

Mu Zhi refused outright.

First, she has little interest in appearing on variety shows.

Secondly, appearing on this variety show will not benefit her career at all; she will only be exploited by the show. She will not take on acting roles for high pay, nor will she take on variety shows for pay.

Thirdly, she was only close to Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai in private, and not at all to anyone else. She was not on the same level as Lin Xuan, Lü E, and Zhang Mengyu. The production team had obviously done background checks on the guests; ultimately, it was run for KPI purposes, and they were hoping the guests would start fighting.

Despite repeated invitations from the show's director, Mu Zhi's agent firmly declined, citing scheduling conflicts.

In an effort to pressure Mu Zhi into accepting the program, a batch of press releases about the program "Their Stars and the Sea" appeared some time ago.

On one hand, people expressed their anticipation for Mu Zhi's appearance on the show, believing that she is the best example of a female artist who has transitioned from idol to actress in recent years, and an indispensable representative figure.

On the other hand, it was revealed that the production team was trying to woo Mu Zhi, but she refused. After all, she came from a talent show on the Owl platform, and now that she's doing well, she's become arrogant. This was a subtle attempt to manipulate public opinion and make Mu Zhi waver in her decision.

Mu Zhi: No answer, no answer, no answer.

Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai have already agreed to take it.

However, they support Mu Zhi's decision, and if they were in Mu Zhi's current position, they would most likely make the same decision.

Moreover, Mu Zhi is serious, sincere, and dedicated to her work, but not slick or worldly. She expresses herself authentically in front of the camera, being herself. Now that she's so popular, she's too easily targeted and attacked; every word and expression can be maliciously interpreted.

They consider Mu Zhi a true friend; "Their Stars and Seas" is just a TV program.

The program began recording in early March.

Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai intended to go on a trip together before the show's recording to prepare in advance, because to be honest, the two hadn't seen each other much in the past year and hadn't gone on a trip together.

When asked about Mu Zhi's plans for the Chinese New Year, and hearing that Mu Zhi had plans to take a vacation, they made plans to go together.

As for Xia Xinyan, during the year or so from Five Flowers' formation to their disbandment, everyone had a lot of contact through work, and the relationship between Zhou Jingzhu, Liu Cai, and Xia Xinyan was pretty good. Xia Xinyan also intended to get to know them better before appearing on the show.

Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai asked Mu Zhi for her opinion, and Mu Zhi said she didn't mind Xia Xinyan joining.

So, the trip for four people was decided.

Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai in the group received Mu Zhi's photos and wished they could fly over that very day.

[Zhou Jingzhu] It snowed again in Beicheng this afternoon. I hope the weather forecast for tomorrow is accurate and that it will be good weather so that Cai Ge and I can fly to Lucheng!

[Liu Cai] Xin Yan is flying from her hometown to Lucheng. She will arrive tomorrow morning, earlier than us.

Mu Zhi and Xia Xinyan are managed by the same agent. They added each other on WeChat a long time ago, but they have never chatted.

The four of them were planning to spend a week together in Lucheng.

Mu Zhigang found Xia Xinyan's WeChat account and was the first to receive a message from Xia Xinyan.

[Xia Xinyan] I'll arrive in Lucheng tomorrow morning, around noon, and have lunch together?

Mu Zhi replied: Okay, I'll contact you then.

I sent my mobile phone number.

The following day at noon.

As soon as Xia Xinyan got off the plane, she took a taxi straight to the hotel, checked in at the front desk, and went upstairs.

5 minutes later.

She changed her clothes and quickly came out of the room.

She and Mu Zhi had arranged to have lunch around noon, but due to a flight delay, it was already past one o'clock.

Take the elevator down to the hotel restaurant.

I glanced around the lobby; it was past lunchtime, and there weren't many people there.

Led by the waiter, we entered the private room that Muzhi had booked.

Mu Zhi was sitting alone at the round table in the private room, quietly scrolling through her phone. When she heard someone push the door open and enter, she immediately turned around.

Although they were wearing masks, their eyes radiated kindness.

The waiter behind them left, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.

Xia Xinyan took off her mask and walked towards Mu Zhi.

He said apologetically, "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for more than an hour."

Mu Zhi also took off her mask: "It's okay, I just came down not long ago."

He poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Xia Xinyan.

"Thank you." Xia Xinyan was indeed thirsty. She picked up the tea and took a sip. It was lukewarm. Usually, the tea served is freshly brewed and very hot. She guessed that Mu Zhi must have been waiting for her for a while.

The two had bumped into each other several times at the company, exchanging only brief greetings.

Not familiar with it.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward as we sat in a private room.

Xia Xinyan couldn't help but glance at Mu Zhi out of the corner of her eye after she cut her hair short. She had a pair of black glasses on her hair, which was not styled and had naturally curled ends. One side of her hair was tucked behind her ear, revealing her superior profile.

Mu Zhi wore a stylish white shirt tied at the waist, paired with black trousers and flat shoes adorned with pearls.

This outfit, which leans towards a professional style, was worn by Mu Zhi in a fashionable and elegant way, making her look like a socialite.

The Mu Zhi of the early days of the talent show has changed a lot compared to the Mu Zhi of today.

It's not the makeup and styling that enhance her appearance, but rather her overall demeanor and aura that have become very different.

Is it really true that good fortune brings health? Mu Zhi is indeed in high spirits and unparalleled in her popularity.

"You can order by scanning the QR code on the table. You texted me saying you arrived at the hotel, so I ordered two dishes and a vegetable salad. Is there anything else you'd like to eat? Let's take a look."

Mu Zhi pushed her phone, which displayed the ordering interface, towards her.

Xia Xinyan snapped out of her daze and shook her head slightly: "No need, I'm on a diet recently, so I'm eating less."

Mu Zhi nodded knowingly: "Okay, then we won't order any." To avoid wasting food.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the waiter knocked on the door, and the three dishes he had ordered were brought in together.

Except when she's too busy with work to eat, Mu Zhi usually eats three meals a day on time.

After the dishes were served, Xia Xinyan was seen holding her chopsticks without moving, as if she was preparing to speak.

Mu Zhi said, "You haven't had lunch either, you must be hungry. Let's eat first."

Xia Xinyan realized that her thoughts had been seen through, and nodded somewhat embarrassedly as she picked up some food to eat.

Mu Zhi had a hunch that Xia Xinyan's invitation to dinner wasn't just for a meal; she probably wanted to talk to her privately, so she booked a private room for their conversation.

Xia Xinyan ate most of the vegetable salad, but only a few bites of the other two dishes.

It was mainly Mu Zhi who finished it.

I'll start working out after the New Year to prepare for filming my new drama. I'll eat a little more during my vacation; it shouldn't be a problem.

After putting down her chopsticks, Mu Zhi took a tissue and wiped her mouth.

Xia Xinyan, who was standing to the side, had already prepared herself. Although she had talked about this topic too deeply with Mu Zhi, apart from her manager, there was no one else around to talk to or to give her any effective advice.

Perhaps it was from the few words Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai had previously revealed that Mu Zhi had given them some effective advice, and they felt that Mu Zhi was trustworthy and could perhaps give them answers.

Xia Xinyan looked at Mu Zhi and said, "Zhizhi, apart from you, all the guests that were invited to the program 'Their Stars and Seas' have agreed to participate, including myself."

He gave a wry smile, a hint of bewilderment in his eyes:

"Actually, before this year, I was very determined to follow my idol path and work hard to transform into a professional singer. But... music is really not that easy to make. I have released several singles, but only one can be called a hit song that has broken out of the mainstream, rather than a song exclusively for fans."

She's already on the decline.

Even though I was mentally prepared, it wasn't so easy to accept it calmly when it actually happened.

She tried to struggle and thrash about, but was at a loss as to where to exert her strength.

Looking at the now successful Mu Zhi and comparing herself to her, Xia Xinyan realized that the two of them were truly a contrasting group of idols who chose to become idols or actresses after their debut.

She, Xia Xinyan, debuted as the center of the group with a landslide victory. From the moment she debuted, she had the support of a large number of fans, and various resources from the company and platform poured in. Her first and second years after her debut were the peak of her career.

She rose to become a top female idol overnight, enjoying immense popularity.

She's appeared on all the popular variety shows, collaborated with top-notch music production teams in China, released multiple singles, and even held her own concert...

Now, without consistently producing good music/stage works to solidify their image, their popularity is waning, and they are no longer the darlings of various variety shows.

Mu Zhi didn't make it into a group and wasn't valued by her company. Her attempt to transition directly from idol to actress was met with ridicule and skepticism. Later, she signed with a new company and, through a series of projects, rose from obscurity to become a top-tier actress.

With leading roles in films by renowned directors in hand, Mu Zhi's career is on the rise. Actors have long careers, and Mu Zhi may remain a popular and active actress in the industry for the next 10 years.

Mu Zhi was somewhat surprised by Xia Xinyan's words.

She and Xia Xinyan weren't close, at least not to the point where they could discuss such an important topic of development together.

She can control her own career development and take responsibility for every choice she makes, but she is not quick to make judgments about the career development of others and cannot guarantee that the advice she gives will be wise.

"Xinyan, you should have a good talk with Director Ji."

Xia Xinyan: "I talked with Director Ji. Director Ji gave me a lot of analysis, but she made me think clearly about what I want in order to move forward."

Hearing this, Mu Zhi understood.

When asked, "Have you considered trying acting? But are you hesitant about taking that step?" Xia Xinyan was asked, "Have you considered trying acting? But are you still unsure whether to take that step?"

Xia Xinyan nodded honestly: "I... actually saw that Brother Cai also tried acting, and the next two or three years are the best opportunity for me to try and fail. Director Ji said that if I decide to try acting..."

You can keep an eye on the script for me, but..."

Mu Zhi knew about Liu Cai's acting career.

A few months ago, I heard Liu Cai mention in a group chat that Yima Media had given her the fourth female lead role in a comedy film. She would be making a cameo appearance as a serious yet hilarious talent show host, whose talents included dancing, singing, and wielding knives, guns, and sticks—essentially a role that suited her.

She doesn't have many scenes, but she's a very likable character.

Of the five members of Five Flowers, only Zhou Jingzhu and Xia Xinyan are currently acting or trying their hand at acting.

Mu Zhi could understand Xia Xinyan's inner turmoil and anxiety: "Since you've already decided to try acting, why not give it a try? What are your concerns?"

Xia Xinyan bit her lip: "I'm afraid of becoming the second Lin Xuan."

[Author's Note]

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:29:50 on August 5, 2022 and 23:22:18 on August 6, 2022!

Thank you to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: 76 bottles without an anonymity;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!