"...So you went to see that boss surnamed Xu?"

“Of course!” Meng Ziqiu slammed his cup down. “That Xu guy changed his name. Now he’s called Cheng Xiu. I had to search for him for ages, but I finally found him. Cheng Xiu, whose real name is Xu Jiayu, immigrated to Difen three years ago and is now an investor who operates three resort hotels. He’s currently developing the Durante Volcano in Difen under the guise of an investor, with plans to build a unique themed hotel on the volcano’s waist.”

"...A hotel built inside a volcano?" Xu Qian was increasingly baffled by these businessmen's actions. Would anyone actually go back to a hotel built in the crater of a volcano?

“Who knows,” Meng Ziqiu continued to explain. “The official statement is that Mount Durant is an extinct volcano, but we ordinary folks don’t really know for sure.”

After a pause, Meng Ziqiu continued, "And about the Baleranti Sea you mentioned, I also looked into it. Nothing unusual happened. It seems like only two dolphins died, and there's been no further news."

"Never mind if there isn't one." Xu Qian said casually. Anyway, he had already put Agatha Christie's bounty on his head, and she had been in the capital recently. He would know immediately if there was any movement.

Meng Ziqiu sighed again, "There's still a problem: we can't find Cheng Xiu. He's in Difen. I asked my friends there, and it's very difficult to get through to him. People like him are very careful with their lives and generally won't expose their whereabouts. However, his Volcano Hotel is already completed and won't be long before it officially opens. As an investor, he will definitely attend the opening ceremony. We can wait until then."

Xu Qian stood up. "Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

"I'll let you know as soon as I have any further news," Meng Ziqiu said, looking at him.

Xu Qian nodded, then asked about Meng Ziqiu himself, "What's with all that dust on you?"

"Oh, well," Meng Ziqiu subconsciously tried to pat his clothes, but when he saw his big T-shirt, he laughed again, "I just went to help out with Sangzi's work. They got a big order. I don't know if you remember the client, but it's Boss Shen, whom we met when we went to the desert."

Xu Qian raised an eyebrow. Of course he remembered. That was his seven million! Although it all fell through, the impression was still very deep.

"What kind of order?" Xu Qian asked casually.

"What a coincidence, do you remember why we went into the desert?"

"Was it the uncle or grandfather who saved Boss Shen?"

"Try to guess what happened next," Meng Ziqiu said, feigning mystery.

Xu Qian simply shook his head and remained silent; he couldn't guess.

"His uncle didn't die! He walked out of the desert alive!" Meng Ziqiu was so excited, as if his own uncle had come out.

Xu Qian was now completely intrigued. "Do you know how you got out?"

Meng Ziqiu changed his posture. "I asked about that too. Sangzi gave a brief account. He said that when this group of people were trapped in the underground palace, one of them wanted to use gunpowder to blast a passage, but he accidentally triggered some mechanism, which caused the entire front hall to collapse. Maybe that's why we encountered quicksand back then."

"And then what happened?" Xu Qian pressed.

"Later, out of the dozen or so people, only three survived. The rest found a hidden passage in the collapsed mezzanine and left the palace through it."

"I see..." No wonder he didn't go into the desert for the remaining seven million; he'd probably already been rescued.

"Then, after a while, they got used to each other. Boss Shen found Sangzi and the others again. His uncle wanted to go into Feishan to look for some ancient sites, so he asked Sangzi and the others to protect his uncle."

"So what did you go to do then?"

"I went to deliver something! Fifth Master called me!" Meng Ziqiu answered with absolute confidence.

Xu Qian shook his head at him, "Alright, alright, it's almost time. Wash the dishes and go to sleep."

"Why!"

Xu Qian watched Meng Ziqiu run to the kitchen, and for some reason, he felt less bored. That's how it is when you're alone for too long; it's always more lively with more people around.

The next day, Yan Lang arrived at work on time early in the morning and also grabbed a free breakfast.

What was supposed to be a 'sweet' time for two turned out to be unexpectedly revealed when Meng Ziqiu appeared in the living room.

"Brother Meng? You're back from your business trip?"

"Xiao Yan's here! Have you been busy lately?"

"Not bad, same as always. How about you? You seem to be in a good mood," Yan Lang said.

"It's alright, it's alright. I'm home now, I'm so happy!"

Xu Qian brought the braised noodles he had prepared to the table. Except for Yan Lang's bowl which had no chili, his and Meng Ziqiu's bowls had some chili added.

While eating, Xu Qian remembered something else. "By the way, Lao Meng, if you're free this afternoon, could you deliver some things to Xiao Liang and the other guy? I made a lot of coffee jelly yesterday."

"Okay." Meng Ziqiu agreed without thinking too much.

"And bring a small first-aid kit," Xu Qian added.

"What happened to him? Is he hurt?" Meng Ziqiu finally looked up.

"No, it's just a minor scratch. I already applied medicine yesterday. I was thinking of having him keep some in his dorm room. I'll write down the effects of the medicines later, that way it will be more convenient."

"Okay, I'll take it to school after I finish eating."

“No rush, go at noon. Right now…” Xu Qian switched the perspective, pretending to check his watch, “they’re probably standing at attention.”

...

To be precise, they started standing at attention as soon as they arrived at the parade ground. Those who arrived first ran two laps, and then returned to their positions from the day before to stand at attention.

However, there were obviously more onlookers on the playground today, mostly girls, especially in front of Qin You's class, where there were at least thirty people in the stands. I wonder if it was because of the military song effect on the forum yesterday.

Qin You's military posture was quite standard, completely replicating the instructor's example from yesterday: broad shoulders, straight back, and a slight forward lean.

After standing there for about half an hour, the heat from the ground slowly rose up onto my body, making me feel extremely hot.

Qin You also felt the heat. After all, this body was a puppet, unlike his own bodysuit which had its own constant temperature. It could only be said that it was more tolerant than an ordinary person.

The main perspective returns to the kaleidoscope of identities.

Xu Qian sat in the passenger seat, the powerful air conditioning blowing directly on him, scrolling through various videos on his phone on i-site. Wasn't this life wonderful? Why suffer?

Today is Monday, another day to go to the film set. Xiaomai has already completed half of his two cameo roles. The rest is a modern drama, a very lighthearted one, so he won't have to wear period costumes anymore. He really likes filming modern dramas!

As Yan Lang was driving, he suddenly remembered something. "Brother Xu, didn't you agree to film 'Intern Dad' on Wednesday? Doesn't that clash with Feng Tang's show?"

“Feng Tang is in the morning, we can go to the program in the afternoon,” Xu Qian explained. He admitted that it was a bit rushed, but he only had the proposal to send over, which meant he could only do it on Wednesday. Thursday was for recording the program, and Friday and the rest of the time he was filming his scenes with Director Zhang would be finished. He couldn’t take leave during the day.

“Okay, I’ll come pick you up early.” Yan Lang nodded in agreement. By now, Xu Qian’s schedule was getting fuller and fuller, and he was no longer the kind of person who only worked sporadically.

In less than half an hour, the two arrived at the film studio. Because it was a modern drama, they parked their car on the other side of the film studio for the first time.

"Young Detective Jiang Feng" is a detective web series set in modern times (roughly similar to the Republic of China in the 21st century). The first season consists of 12 episodes and is a self-produced series by Yimi Yangguang. It will be broadcast on the Sanjiang online platform at the end of this month. It is a series that is filmed and broadcast simultaneously, which is a common practice for web series in the past two years.

The fourth episode has been filmed so far.

This filming method has its advantages and disadvantages. For the actors who participate in the early stages, the audience's opinions affect their final screen time, and they may be cut out. Of course, they may also have more screen time added.

The lead actors are two young heartthrobs promoted by Sanjiang TV. They came from a talent show last year and have been honing their skills for nearly a year before they specially invited Yimi Yangguang to take charge of the production.

Although it's a web series, it's produced by the established studio "One Meter Sunshine," so the script is likely to be good. As for the two leads... Xu Qian hasn't met them in person, so he won't comment for now.

Xu Qian went to shoot his character's costume fitting photos last week. For a low-budget self-produced drama, the pace is relatively fast in all aspects. Apart from the two pre-selected main actors, the supporting roles are basically all from Yimi Sunshine's own team. Yimi Sunshine is used to shooting the most difficult parts first, and then taking care of the easier parts later.

Xu Qian is the part of "A Meter of Sunshine" that seems easier to film. Of course, from another perspective, it's also because we trust his acting skills; otherwise, he would be considered one of the more difficult characters to film.

Upon arrival, Xu Qian went straight into the dressing room. Although it was a modern drama, he actually had quite a few clothes on him, including a fairly complete suit and a top hat in his hand.

In the drama, Xu Qian plays a Ludan, an Asian, and a villain.

Oh, another villain. What a cute and charming villain.

He performed a perfectly standard aristocratic etiquette in front of the mirror, and every gesture exuded the aura of a 'refined scoundrel' (in a positive sense!).

Perhaps this is what a true gentleman is!

This made the makeup artist's assistant, who had been watching for a long time, excited. She whispered to her friend, "I now know what it means for a villain's facial features to determine the audience's values. I'm totally into that!"

"You can be a sister or a younger sister!" her friend replied.

Xu Qian glanced down at his watch, but the time was inaccurate, as it was the time specified in the script. He had no choice but to ask Yan Lang, "What time is it?"

Yan Lang replied, "It's nine o'clock in the morning."

"That's about enough, go out." Just as he finished speaking, the door to the dressing room was pushed open, and it was producer Jiang from One Meter Sunshine.

"Has Xiao Xu changed yet?"

Xu Qian nodded to her, picked up the thermos in front of the mirror, and left the dressing room.

Today's busy day begins.