Chapter 70 Extra 9.

Inside the studio, the lights shone brightly, focusing on the actors in their gorgeous costumes.

Ling Wei sat behind the monitor, scrutinizing every frame of light and shadow on the screen.

The film she is currently directing, "The Palace Chess Game," is the opening piece of the "Phoenix Trilogy," and boldly attempts to incorporate a humorous touch into a historical drama.

The film focuses on Empress Xiao Yue's time as a princess, telling a wonderful story between her, her seemingly gentle but actually cunning consort, and her cousin who was brought into the mansion and seemed timid but was actually forced to hide her talents due to her parents' favoritism. It begins with a disguise and ends with an alliance.

The story begins with a seemingly cliché domestic dispute, where the prince consort insists on bringing his cousin into the princess's residence.

However, beneath the surface, the three harbor their own secrets: the princess pretends to be gentle and virtuous, the prince consort acts as a free spirit, and the seemingly timid and easily bullied cousin is actually a "white-clad black" who has been deliberately hiding her true nature for many years in order to protect herself in her biased family.

The princess's residence became a miniature battlefield, with back-and-forth probing and scheming leading to countless hilarious misunderstandings.

As the plot unfolds, all pretenses are stripped away in a thrilling and dramatic revelation of disguises.

The intelligent princess not only tamed the arrogant prince consort with her extraordinary political wisdom and personal charm, but also saw through the helplessness and intelligence behind her cousin Su Jingyu's hidden talents, freeing her from the shadow of her family. The three of them eventually formed an unbreakable alliance and faced the turbulent court situation together.

Ling Wei skillfully directs the camera, maintaining the historical weight and character depth while cleverly interweaving plot twists and humor, striving to inject a vibrant and witty touch into this story about growth and redemption within the framework of a serious drama.

Ling Wei is full of confidence in this film. She knows that the upcoming TV series "The Legend of Xiao Yue" will be a huge hit, and her film can take advantage of this momentum.

Of course, this also means risk. If the film's quality is inferior to the TV series, it will inevitably be compared and subjected to criticism.

But Ling Wei is never afraid of challenges.

The main scenes of the film are set in the princess's palace. To prepare for this, Ling Wei and her team stayed at the meticulously constructed set in the film studio for several months, dedicating themselves to the creation process.

During this period, the "Global Culture Investment Fund" under the Lu Group took the initiative to contact them, hoping to make a strategic investment.

Ling Wei had already thawed her relationship with Lu Yan by then. Although she had subtly indicated that her studio had ample funds and was closely tied to the Li family, Lu Yan personally flew to the film set to discuss matters with Ling Wei as a representative of the investors.

He frankly stated that he saw the potential of the film and, as a co-producer, invested in the specific project "The Palace Chess Game".

Ling Wei eventually accepted the investment. After all, no one would complain about having too much money, especially when it's money that's offered to them without any demands.

During filming, Lu Zhao did indeed, as he said, occasionally sneakily impersonate Lu Yan. Since Ling Wei had lost her virginity, she occasionally had some needs amidst the high-pressure work.

Once she agrees, Lu Zhao will eagerly fly in and deliver himself to her door, providing attentive and dedicated service.

The two brothers have completely different temperaments, but through deliberate study and dressing up, he imitated them more and more closely, to the point that even Ling Wei would be momentarily dazed when he wasn't speaking.

Time flies, and filming has entered its later stages. It's already midsummer, and the Qixi Festival is just around the corner.

Ling Wei finally had a temporary break from her heavy workload and gained a little respite.

Someone had been clamoring on WeChat for a long time, saying that since they couldn't go out to celebrate the holiday, they would celebrate at home, and mysteriously told her to look forward to it, saying that he would make a good arrangement.

Ling Wei couldn't bear to look at the explicit and suggestive WeChat messages on her phone.

The system accidentally peeked out and immediately let out a scream: "My eyes!"

Then he quickly logged off and left, saying he would never come back tonight, which made people feel sorry for him.

Ling Wei strolled home leisurely.

She smiled when she opened the door and saw the scene inside.

Pale gold sunflower petals are scattered in the entryway, like a path paved with stardust, winding its way to the living room. The main lights are off, and the warm candlelight and soft ambient lighting intertwine to create a hazy glow, enveloping the entire space in a tranquil and cozy atmosphere.

The dining table was covered with an elegant beige tablecloth, and in the center of the table was a white porcelain vase filled with her favorite sunflowers. The entire set of bone china tableware had smooth lines and looked particularly warm and gentle in the light and shadow.

Wow, it's completely different from the "enough to set you on fire" setup that someone confidently described on WeChat.

However, this just-right warmth and comfort completely relaxed her tense nerves.

In the corner of the entryway, there was a beautifully packaged gift box, which Ling Wei opened with curiosity.

"Bang!" She glanced at it, then blushed and slammed the lid shut.

Damn it, their methods of pleasing people are getting more and more sophisticated.

A warm hand covered her eyes from behind, followed by a series of delicate and burning kisses on the back of her neck and the hollows of her shoulders.

Ling Wei turned her head to respond to the kiss, her breath a little unsteady, but she still tugged at his sleeve: "Let's eat first."

She moved her hand away, and Ling Wei met a pair of tender and focused eyes.

In the candlelight, his handsome face appeared even more composed, and his hair had grown a bit longer. The way he gazed at her with a smile without saying a word made Ling Wei momentarily lose her composure; he really looked just like Lu Yan.

However, he broke character as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Baby," Lu Zhao lowered his voice, "Should we eat first, take a shower first, or... eat first?"

Ling Wei was speechless and tapped him on the head: "Eat first!"

The other person seemed a little disappointed, but still did as asked, picking her up horizontally and placing her steadily on the chair in front of the dining table.

Ling Wei paused for a moment as she put the food in her mouth.

This smell… She looked up, asking with a questioning look, “Where’s your brother?”

Lu Zhao's eyes visibly darted away, and he stammered, "He...he's working overtime at the company."

Ling Wei said "Oh," and didn't ask any further questions, continuing to eat.

Over the past six months, Lu Yan has indeed occasionally visited the production team as an investor to check on the progress. Although Ling Wei felt that a small project shouldn't warrant his lavish visit, a big investor is always welcome.

Moreover, ever since he discovered that the food on set was mediocre, he generously took over all the meals for the entire crew, while her portion was always packed separately in an exquisite insulated food container.

She initially thought it was an extra meal prepared by the director, but later learned from Assistant Xia that it was actually Lu Yan who had made it on the side.

She had subtly mentioned that she didn't need any special care, but he explained that it was because he had a sensitive stomach and couldn't get used to eating out, so he would cook for himself whenever he had time. However, he accidentally cooked too much, and not only her, but also Assistant Xia's food was cooked.

At that moment, Assistant Xia nodded expressionlessly: "Yes, Director Ling, President Lu... always brings his own lunchbox."

Yes, yes, yes, I only eat company meals 300 days out of 365 days a year; the rest I bring my own.

.

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Mini-Theater 1:

Assistant Xia (placing an order with a blank expression): One induction cooker, one pot, some seasonings, some vegetables... Does Mr. Lu want to have a picnic?

Then I saw Lu Yan delivering the food.

Assistant Xia: ...6

Mini-Theater 2:

Lu Zhao: Brother, I'm going to pretend to be you and go find Weiwei. Where did you buy your glasses?

Lu Yan gave away one pair of glasses.

Lu Zhao: Bro, where did you get your hair done?

Lu Yan sent over a barber*1.

Lu Zhao: Your clothes...

Lu Yan gifted N wardrobes, along with styling tips for each outfit.

Lu Zhao: ? ? ?

wrong.

Something's not right.

Mini-Theater 3 (On a film set)

Lu Zhao: Weiwei, open the door! It's my brother!

Ling Wei: Isn't that a bit off?

Lu Zhao (feeling wronged) (in a low voice) (imitating Lu Yan): Weiwei, open the door, it's my brother.

Ling Wei: ……

I imitated my brother to find my sweetheart.

Nesting dolls are prohibited.