Chapter 15: Who exactly is their friend? ...

She subtly inquired with Fu Xiaodan, who replied that he was probably busy.

In previous years, Wen Shili's concerts were usually just a token event, with a few shows to satisfy everyone's demands. This year, however, things have changed. In just a few months, nearly twenty shows have already been officially announced.

He was busy, and Cao Jun naturally followed suit.

They had just been talking about it in the afternoon, and that evening, Sheng Yi saw the news on her WeChat Moments that Cao Jun had returned to S City.

-

"After the first half of the year's tour ended, everyone started urging us to update the new album schedule."

Inside the elevator, Cao Jun looked at Wen Shili with a bitter expression and a hopeless glance.

He had only been resting at home for two days when he was recruited to work at the company. While muttering to himself, he didn't forget to convey the wishes of his fans.

Since his debut, Wen Shili has maintained a frequency of releasing one album per year. This year, his schedule has been much busier than usual, and there has been no news of a new album yet. After half a year, everyone is finally starting to get impatient.

In the past few albums, Wen Shili wrote both the lyrics and music. Fans would proudly boast about how long it took, how meticulously it was crafted, and how carefully it was polished.

Nobody knew that those much-hyped, award-winning hits were nothing more than impromptu creations born from bursts of inspiration. Sometimes he could produce two or three songs a day.

If he's willing, he can play for a few more months.

Although he thought this way, Cao Jun dared not say it to his fans. He could only advise them to pay more attention during their breaks.

"The capable should do more work, so just write a little every day and you'll finish quickly."

Wen Shili, hands in his pockets, looked up at the constantly changing red numbers on the elevator panel and said lazily, "Nothing in mind."

How could we not have any ideas? Cao Jun said anxiously, "Didn't we have a lot of new songs that we haven't released yet? If we just pick a few, we can probably put together a few albums."

The elevator ascended silently, and Wen Shili remained silent.

Cao Jun knew this was the answer he had given. But he didn't understand why it couldn't be used. In his opinion, those discarded songs were far superior to the popular pop songs on the market.

However, he also knew that Wen Shili was not one to be instructed by others when it came to doing things, especially in matters of expertise. He only needed to follow orders.

Wen Shili really had no idea.

He didn't even have time to think.

He travels between different cities every month, but he prefers to find a quiet place to be alone for a while rather than live such a fast-paced life.

Too much noise makes it hard to hear the voice in your heart.

Mass-produced, assembly-line tracks, packaged and marketed, are forcibly crammed into listeners' ears.

Is it okay? Of course. But he can't start it.

Everyone is swept along by the tide of online trends, and who doesn't bow their proud head in the face of reality? But there are always some people who should hold on to something.

Suddenly, a pair of stubborn eyes flashed through my mind.

Through the elevator mirror, it felt as if we were looking at each other from afar.

Despite her unwavering spirit and long-standing persistence, didn't she eventually yield to an unreasonable customer? Even though it wasn't her fault, she could only cautiously apologize and promise to be more careful in the future.

But he knew he had no right to make demands of her. He carefully concealed the slight disappointment in his heart, and no one would know.

Those eyes, however, were more suited to a bright, shining light. So he didn't mind becoming a stepping stone for her upward progress. As long as it was in moderation.

-

In the office, Cao Jun stared at the unpacked boxes of fruit, racking his brains for a long time, unable to recall which business partner had sent them.

Cherries don't keep for long, and one person couldn't eat that many, so he casually asked his office colleagues to take some and share them.

I charged the spare phone in the drawer, and then WeChat, which is usually quiet, started ringing several times in a row.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a message from Sheng Yi.

The last sentence was: "Where are you?"

Cao Jun immediately stood up, grabbed his phone, and handed it to Wen Shili, saying, "She needs to talk to you."

The only friend on this alternate account, registered with the studio's information, is Sheng Yi.

Wen Shili raised his eyelids and glanced at his phone.

As Cao Jun backed away, he considerately closed the door behind him.

He's kidding, he doesn't want to get involved. If this makes headlines again, whose fault is it? He definitely doesn't want to take the blame again.

Sheng Yi's message was sent half a month ago. It was just a few simple sentences, telling Cao Jun that she had joined the crew and that he could let her know if he needed her cooperation.

That sounds like a familiar sales pitch. Wen Shili scoffed lightly, picked up his phone, and replied, "I was on a business trip recently and just got back."

On set, Sheng Yi was sitting on a small stool waiting for the next scene when she saw Cao Jun's message. She replied almost instantly, "Oh, I saw your WeChat Moments. You guys are working so hard."

Before the other person could answer, she immediately added, "Has the delivery arrived? Remember to put it in the refrigerator if you can't finish it."

Which courier service?

When Wen Shili came over, Cao Jun was playing games in his seat.

There wasn't much work to do today, so he wiped the table and then openly started slacking off until he could leave work.

The two sides were locked in fierce combat when a male voice suddenly rang out from behind.

Cao Jun's back stiffened, and he immediately pressed the power button. Luckily, he was wearing headphones.

I don't think it revealed his image as a diligent employee, right?

He chuckled dryly, repeated Wen Shili's question, and then quickly locked onto his target.

"You mean cherries? They were all picked this morning."

"All divided up?" Wen Shili asked casually.

Ah, what else? Cao Jun scratched the back of his head, unsure how to express "You don't like to eat it, so I didn't ask you" in a more tactful way.

Wen Shili has never been a big fan of such troublesome food, and most of the food that his partners sent him before ended up in their stomachs.

The person opposite him appeared calm, but alarm bells were ringing in Cao Jun's mind.

The fact that the person who sent it is someone of considerable influence. Could it be someone other than an ordinary business partner?

He had already made a retreating motion, but suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled back, unconsciously using polite language as he said, "Please wait a moment, I just remembered there seems to be an extra box in the refrigerator, I'll go get it right away."

Wen Shili nodded. "Mm."

They actually agreed!

Cao Jun's legs moved very quickly. Luckily, there was a girl next door who had similar tastes to the boss, otherwise where would he have gone to find her?

A few minutes later, Sheng Yi received a photo from Cao Jun: "It's arrived, it's quite sweet."

She exclaimed happily, "Really? I knew it!"

"If you need more, I can send you some more. They're freshly picked and shipped, and guaranteed to be sweet."

Why are you talking so much? Are you so free now that you're filming?

Wen Shili pursed his lips and typed a reply, "Thank you, that's enough."

-

The next scene is about to begin filming.

Sheng Yi put away his phone and, with a humble expression, helped his wife sit up from the bed.

The actress playing the female lead, dressed in pajamas, leaned against her, looking haggard. "Is there any news from my father?"

In the drama, the female lead's husband spends every night in his concubine's room, and the female lead can barely make ends meet because of her family's support. However, her father makes a mistake and faces the risk of being dismissed from his post, and half of the sky above the female lead's head collapses instantly.

The following plot involves the female lead's personal maid advising her that the most important thing is to establish herself.

This is the key point in the female lead's personality change; the maid's persuasion consists of three whole paragraphs of dialogue.

Sheng Yi has memorized everything perfectly since joining the crew.

To everyone's surprise, when filming was about to begin, the screenwriter was extremely dissatisfied with the script he had typed out. After countless revisions, by the time it was returned, almost all of the lines he had memorized had been changed.

Sheng Yi was dumbfounded.

There was no other way but to memorize it at the last minute. She seized the opportunity during the scene change to cram in some last-minute notes.

"Yiyi, you memorize your lines so fast." After a scene was over and she changed her clothes, Wu Simin took Sheng Yi's hand and said with a look of admiration.

"You have no idea how nervous I was; I almost forgot my lines." Sheng Yi was a little embarrassed by her praise.

"You're kidding me. I just saw you chatting with someone." Wu Simin wasn't so easily fooled. She sat right next to her, watching her play on her phone for ages.

Oh right. Sheng Yi remembered this and quickly took out her phone to check again.

While she was filming, Cao Jun sent her another message.

When will you finish filming?

Looking at the time, forty minutes had already passed.

-

The phone is quiet.

There was still no response from the other end.

That's ridiculous. Do they think he's got nothing better to do?

Wen Shili rubbed his temples, wondering why he was wasting his time playing these childish games with them.

He tossed the phone back and instructed Cao Jun, "You can reply to any messages you want from now on, no need to report to me anymore."

The wall clock slowly turned halfway around when Cao Jun rushed in like his pants were on fire, yelling, "Here we go again!"

"You stutter?" Wen Shili frowned deeply.

Seeing this, Cao Jun shook his head vigorously, then opened his mouth and spat out a string of "No, no, no".

He stiffened his neck and explained to Wen Shili, "It just beeped once, and I was about to go check it when it beeped again, and then it beeped again..."

The person in front of him didn't look particularly friendly, and Cao Jun spoke softer and softer under his gaze.

In other words, with so many comments coming at once, he was afraid he might not be able to control the scale properly.

Wen Shili reminded him, "She added you."

That seems to be true. Cao Jun thought for a moment and suggested, "How about I read it to you and you see how I reply, then I'll knock again?" That way, we'd have a clear path forward.

It seems he genuinely feels he has too much free time.

Wen Shili stared at Cao Jun with an unfriendly expression for a while, and Cao Jun, holding his phone, quietly handed it forward.

The two stared at each other for a long time before Cao Jun finally resigned himself to the fact that he was in trouble.

He slowly withdrew his hand, pouting and complaining in a low voice, "It was clearly you two who were talking."

A sharp gaze swept over him from above. Cao Jun shut his mouth and withdrew his hand in a flash.

She looks like a timid young wife; you'd think she'd been bullied.

Wen Shili helplessly reached out, and the phone landed squarely in his palm the next second.

Cao Jun nimbly slipped out of the room.

Yay! I knew this trick would work!

I swiped my phone, and a few messages lay quietly in my WeChat. Sheng Yi said that filming would wrap up in about a week, and their scenes would be filmed intensively in the coming days.

It seems this is a fairly significant role.

Wen Shili gave a lukewarm reply.

The conversation ended, and twenty minutes had passed.

For some unknown reason, Wen Shili's expression turned cold again. He composed himself and was about to call Cao Jun to take the phone away when his finger swiped and followed the profile picture to her Moments.

Taking advantage of having a secondary account, Sheng Yi practically treated her WeChat Moments like a memo app.

Every blade of grass, every tree, every bite and morsel eaten by the crew was captured and frozen in time by the camera. They really know how to enjoy themselves.

Today I saw a stray cat by the bushes, tomorrow I'll hear sparrows chirping in the branches, I'll take a picture of a pretty leaf, and I'll try to guess how much time has passed by following the shape of the moon.

She also posted pictures of the cherries she had eaten, exaggerating that she could show off a whole plateful in five minutes.

She was completely unguarded in this space.

That's exactly the same image he had when he was very talkative in front of Cao Jun.