Chapter 83 Chapter 83 You can be a little...

Shao Chengzhang tightened his arms and said in a low voice, "Then you must promise me that you will never leave me."

"Well, I promise you."

Chen Zhuo raised her eyes and saw a shooting star flash by. She immediately closed her eyes and made a wish for only her and Shao Chengzhang.

Shao Chengzhang released her, bent his waist, picked her up horizontally, and sat her down on the camping chair. Chen Zhuo struggled to get down, but she was afraid the camping chair couldn't support the weight of two people.

"If it collapses, I'll be your cushion on the ground, don't worry."

Chen Zhuo said, "Who knows? What if you throw me out?"

"No," Shao Chengzhang said, hugging her. "I will never let go of your hand and abandon you."

"That would be great." Chen Zhuo raised his head and began to look at the stars again.

Shao Chengzhang smiled and said, "Wife."

"Um?"

"Do you...want to have a child?"

Shen Zhuo didn't expect Shao Chengzhang to ask her this. She was stunned for a moment, then thought about it seriously and shook her head: "No."

"Today I saw that you seemed to like that little kid very much."

Ah, so that's why...

Shen Zhuo smiled: "Two or three years old is the time when children are having fun, but before having children..." She paused and looked at him with a smile.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to raise you first," Chen Zhuo cupped his face and whispered softly, "Shao Chengzhang, you can be a child with me. I don't need you to always be strong and omnipotent in front of me. You said you're the one who supports me, but I can also catch you. Do you understand?"

I will make up for the love you lacked in your childhood.

Shao Chengzhang's nose felt sore. He lowered his head and rubbed Chen Zhuo's palm with his face.

He suddenly remembered a movie he had watched a long time ago. The hero in the movie had a very unfortunate childhood. His father abandoned him and his mother, and his mother always beat and scolded him. He always thought that his birth was a mistake, but the heroine told him: If you don’t get enough love in your childhood, then everything is still waiting for you to discover.

Shao Chengzhang is now extremely grateful that he and Ms. Chi got Chen Zhuo's phone number eight months ago.

"Why aren't you talking?" Chen Zhuo lifted his face. "Let me see. Are you moved to tears?"

Shao Chengzhang smiled, his chin lifted by her. He blinked and asked, "Can I make a request like a baby?"

"Hmm." Shen Zhuo nodded.

"Then..." Shao Chengzhang paused for a moment, "Mommy, I want to eat noodle."

"You——" With just one sentence, the warm atmosphere turned directly into a pornographic channel.

Chen Zhuo never thought that this was what he wanted to say, and her face couldn't help but blush. Fortunately, the bonfire was burning brightly, and the flames reflected on her face, covering up the redness. She raised her hand and punched him in the chest, scolding him: "Can you be more serious!"

"Why am I not serious?"

Shen Zhuo pushed himself off him and sat back in his chair. "Shut up, I want to look at the stars."

Shao Chengzhang didn't say anything else, but when he raised his head to look up at the starry sky, the corners of his mouth curled up.

The night was getting deeper and the temperature was getting lower. Chen Zhuo didn't hold on for long before returning to the RV. The air conditioner was on in the car and it was very warm.

After the two of them washed up simply, Chen Zhuo got into the quilt first. The bed was cold and the quilt was cold too. She couldn't help but gasp for air.

Shao Chengzhang then got on the bed and lay down in Shen Zhuo's place, letting her lie on top of him. Shen Zhuo's cold soles pressed against his calves.

Winter pajamas were too thick and uncomfortable under her body. Shen Zhuo would twist and pull every once in a while. After two times, Shao Chengzhang held her waist and didn't let her move. Shen Zhuo's period was almost over but not completely gone, so she still couldn't do anything. Knowing what he meant, she started to play tricks on him and unbuttoned his pajamas.

"Mrs. Shao, what do you want to do?" Shao Chengzhang looked at her with his eyes lowered.

"Bite you."

One button was already open, and she unbuttoned another one, revealing her collarbone and a piece of skin. Chen Zhuo lowered his head and bit his collarbone, like grinding his teeth, moving his upper and lower teeth back and forth, then changed place and bit a piece of flesh, but it didn't hurt.

Shao Chengzhang's hands were not idle either. He reached into her clothes and moved them back and forth behind her waist.

"It was the puppy that bit people." Shao Chengzhang said with a smile.

Shen Zhuo loosened his teeth and looked up at him: "You are the puppy."

"Hmm... Woof!" Shao Chengzhang imitated a dog's bark, making Shen Zhuo laugh.

Maybe it was because they'd chatted about dogs before bed, but Chen Zhuo dreamed of a Czech wolfdog. Handsome and powerful, yet incredibly clingy. Whenever it saw its owner, it would pounce, its tongue lashing out, licking its owner's neck and face until they were covered in saliva. It even needed to be held in her arms while it slept, its big, furry head nudging against her.

Shen Zhuo slowly woke up and realized that it was just a dream.

But I felt something was wrong... In front of me...

Chen Zhuo shuddered and opened her eyes suddenly. She lowered her eyes and saw a furry head lying on her chest...

There is no Czech Wolfdog at all, it’s clearly Shao Chengzhang!

Shen Zhuo was so angry that he pushed him away.

Shao Chengzhang said good morning to her with a smile and asked if she liked his wake-up service. Shen Zhuo rolled her eyes and tried to button up her pajamas when Shao Chengzhang stopped her. He stretched out his long legs and got out of bed, then took a wet wipe and opened it for Shen Zhuo.

It's all his saliva, you have to wipe it clean.

He said he wanted to help her, but Shen Zhuo punched him angrily again.

After a quick wash and breakfast, the two drove back. After arriving home, Shao Chengzhang changed and hurried to the company.

*

When he saw Nadia again, she didn't look very well. She didn't look lifeless or tired, but rather lost and frustrated. Chen Zhuo asked if she was okay. Nadia forced a smile and said it was nothing, just a breakup.

Shen Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Why? Isn't it because of a job change?"

Nadia nodded. "The place we used to live in was close to his company and Jingxi, but now it's far away. I said we could find a place in between, but he didn't want to. We had a fight and then we broke up."

"Oh my God, did I break up a marriage? Aren't you two planning to get married soon?" Shen Zhuo was surprised.

"It's a good thing we're not married. If he really loves me, he wouldn't argue with me about this. If we're not married, it's like this. If we don't compromise after marriage, divorce is inevitable. It's better to break up now that we've discovered the problem."

"Then why don't you go home and rest for a while? Have you found a house? My house is in Zhonghu, and no one lives there right now. If you don't mind, you can stay at my place for the time being."

This made Nadia laugh. "Other bosses would love to have their employees live in the company and work around the clock, but you're even offering a breakup holiday? I found a house yesterday, but I still have to pack up and move in the next two days. What a hassle."

Chen Zhuo also smiled: "I said I'm not an unscrupulous capitalist, and employees need to be in a good state to be more dedicated to their work."

Nadia raised her index finger and waved it twice. "Don't question my work ethic, okay?"

Nadia finished her onboarding paperwork that morning and immediately created promotional plans for Guan Siyu and Jiang Rui. Before arriving, she'd already thoroughly researched Jiang Rui's social media platforms and reviewed her work. Based on Jiang Rui's work and style, she positioned her more towards "low-key talent" and "artistic actress."

Nadia's ability is unquestionable. After the two of them reviewed the PPT, Chen Zhuo believed that there was absolutely no problem with this publicity plan.

In the past at Jingxi, one agent had several artists under his management. Due to different traffic, the agent would not treat all the artists equally. Therefore, Shen Zhuo now wants to adopt a small and efficient team model. She doesn’t need to sign many artists, but she wants each artist to have a professional team.

This was supported by Nadia. They could be responsible for the overall framework and direction, but the execution would be handed over to the artist team, so that the people responsible for each direction in the team could grow rapidly.

After removing Guan Siyu and Jiang Rui, Chen Zhuo and Nadia discussed other artists or newcomers they could consider, ensuring they wouldn't overlap with each other. Finally, Chen Zhuo gave her an important task: recruit four artists for promotion.

Nadia hated interviews the most. She smiled bitterly and said, "Is it too late for me to go home and rest now?"

Shen Zhuo smiled and said, "Working from home is allowed."

She had bought a backup work computer with recruitment software installed, and had already received fifty or sixty resumes. She handed the phone to Nadia and bowed, "Thank you for your hard work, Director Nadia."

Nadia was incredibly efficient, clarifying Shen Zhuo's expectations. Starting the next day, people from the studio came to interview and pitch every day. Although Shen Zhuo's studio was still small, it was crucial to maintain professionalism. Nadia even arranged a written test. The interviews continued for over a week, and four candidates were initially shortlisted.

After three days of running-in, understanding the script, and making material plans for Guan Siyu and Jiang Rui's filming period, Nadia went directly to visit the crew with four publicity personnel.

After solving the big issue of publicity, Chen Zhuo felt a lot more relaxed. Just when she thought she could take a break, a trending search came out of nowhere and she was stunned.

#Female director cheats on the male lead of the crew#

As soon as the entry appeared, it immediately became the number one hot search.

A popular marketing account posted a short, watermarked video showing Guan Siyu entering Mai Xu's room at 10 p.m. and exiting at around 1 a.m. The video ended with a photo of Mai Xu embracing a foreign man. The comments section was filled with hostility and misleading comments.

Chen Zhuo had worked with this big V in the marketing account before. She found him on WeChat and played the voice message directly.

Chen Zhuo was still very polite and asked him why he hadn't communicated with her in advance about Si Yu's news. The implication was that if she could afford it, she could also afford it.

Big V: "Chen Zhuo, you understand, we are paid to do this."

Chen Zhuo: "Brother, who is the other party? Is he someone in the circle?"

Big V: “I have no comment on this.”

No matter what Chen Zhuo tried to inquire about later, the other party refused to say anything. It seemed that the money had really been paid, and there was no room for communication with the artist.

But who could it be?

Guan Siyu is practically unrivaled in the industry. His male counterparts are all involved in both film and television, while he specializes solely in film and doesn't compete for roles. Mai Xu is even more of an unknown figure, having spent a significant amount of time abroad. This is her first feature film, and she's practically unknown before now.

But it seems that this hot search is directed at Mai Xu. The other party was able to find a photo of her hugging another man. It is obvious that they came prepared.

Could it be Qiao Xinyue?

Did he hate Mai Xu for stealing his director position? But that wasn't right. Mai Xu was the director that Li Yaqi had been looking for for nearly a month after Qiao Xinyue's accident. This couldn't be blamed on Mai Xu.

Chen Zhuo was a bit confused. She refreshed the comments. The comments at the top didn't blame Guan Siyu. Instead, they were all accusing the female director of infidelity. Further down, Guan Siyu's fans came to his defense, saying that the only time an actor would go into the director's room was to discuss the script, and that they believed in their brother.

Because of this number one ranking, entries related to "Fog Lights" also started to become hot searches and sparked discussion.

Of course, Chen Zhuo didn't believe that anything would happen between Guan Siyu and Mai Xu. She had no control over whether Mai Xu really cheated on her, but Guan Siyu couldn't be slandered.

She called Li Yaqi, but she didn't answer for a while. When Shen Zhuo mentioned this, she had no idea about it. They were filming right now, and all the relevant parties were on set, so no one was watching the trending searches.

Li Yaqi walked out of the shooting site, listened to Chen Zhuo's call, and checked the hot searches to understand the situation.

Chen Zhuo: "Sister Yaqi, wait until this scene is finished, and talk to the director and Si Yu privately to ask about the specific circumstances at the time. Is there anyone else in the room who can testify? Then, ask the hotel to retrieve the surveillance footage to see if anyone else entered before or after."

Shen Zhuo explained it very clearly, and Li Yaqi responded with a "I understand".

Half an hour later, Guan Siyu sent a message to Chen Zhuo, and Chen Zhuo knew at a glance that nothing was going on between the two of them.

Guan Siyu: “Speechless.”

Yeah, isn't it speechless...

What Chen Zhuo hadn't anticipated, however, was that Jiang Rui had spoken out first. She posted a Weibo post featuring a screenshot of a group chat between the director and the four main actors. Mai Xu often invited actors to her room at night to review replays or revise scripts, but she wouldn't chat with them privately, always tagging them in the group chat. Guan Siyu and Jiang Rui usually went together, though she'd also tag individual actors individually.

Jiang Rui posted the picture, which was a screenshot of Mai Xu's previous call to them and the recent message to Guan Siyu. She only sent a questioning expression.

Guan Siyu forwarded it directly.

"Who does something bad and still announces it in the group?"

"I understand. The director and the four leading actors take turns. If one isn't enough, two or three will be used together [side-eye smile][side-eye smile]"

"The one upstairs understands yin and yang."

Chen Zhuo looked at the comment section and gradually relaxed. After all, there would be no problem with Guan Siyu for now.

Mai Xu doesn’t have a Weibo account, so she can’t be found, but the comments are gradually changing.

"What's wrong with female directors cheating? We just make the same mistakes as men."

"This crew is toxic. How come the director is cheating..."

Chen Zhuo paused when he saw this comment. Could it be that this person behind the scenes was targeting the crew? Was Qiao Xinyue's last revelation really just because his girlfriend discovered his infidelity and happened to expose him at this time?

If that's the case, she really needs to find out who it is, just in case someone spreads rumors again... She still has to call Li Yaqi.

The phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar local number.

Chen Zhuo picked up the phone: "Hello, I'm Chen Zhuo."

"Hello Chen Zhuo, I believe you have seen Guan Siyu's hot search, right?" There was a woman opposite.

Shen Zhuo frowned, "What's the matter?"

The woman sneered: "Do you really think nothing happened between Guan Siyu and Mai Xu?"

Shen Zhuo's eyes suddenly widened, "What do you mean?"

The other party chuckled and said, "If you want to know, let's meet."