Liangji Villa, near Yinling.

This was originally a hot spring resort villa designed to imitate the Suzhou gardens, with pavilions, towers, rockery and fish ponds. Villas on the hillside are dotted among the woods. It is also equipped with a club for business meetings and a banquet hall for large-scale banquets. It is also a good place for company team building or private travel.

However, Yinling is just a small city with a permanent population of less than 400,000. It has a small flow of people and is not a popular tourist destination. Therefore, it was only popular for a few months when it first opened, and then it has been deserted.

That would be fine, but Yinling is located at a relatively high latitude and is in a low temperature environment for most of the year. The garden and green landscape, which was originally designed after the Jiangnan water town, is difficult to maintain and the heating cost is extremely high. As a result, the villa has been operating poorly in the past two years, and it is almost unable to make ends meet.

Zhuang Yanguan had a keen eye. When he was selecting the filming location, he personally came here to inspect it and found that not only was the scenery here quite beautiful, but it also had a lot of potential for layout and modification.

The main garden can be used to shoot exterior scenes such as a "park", the interior of the business club can be simply decorated to look like a "hospital" or "company", and the interior of the villa can be decorated to look like a "residential house", which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Not only that, it is located in the suburbs and its business conditions are worrying. It has the advantages of confidentiality and budget reduction, and even the crew's food and accommodation problems can be solved at the same time.

Therefore, Zhuang Yan decisively rented the entire villa at a relatively low price as the filming base for the "Searching for the Light" crew in Yinling, and promised the boss that if the cooperation this time was successful, he would recommend this place to other crews in the future. In the future, the villa would also be able to use "Searching for the Light" filming location as a gimmick to attract customers, which can be regarded as a win-win cooperation.

At this time, the sun is setting.

Vehicles of all sizes are parked in the parking lot in front of the villa, and staff who have just been transferred here from the mountainous area are busy moving equipment.

Next to the parking lot is the reception hall of the villa. The stage staff are at the front desk verifying the identities of the new actors, assigning them accommodation, and distributing notices.

This time, except for Song Yecheng and another veteran actor with more roles, the rest of the actors in "Searching for the Light" were basically selected through public auditions.

Zhuang Yan doesn't look at background or qualifications when selecting people, he simply looks at their acting skills and how well they match the role. Some of the actors selected have already signed contracts with companies, and some are still students in theaters and theatres. Although they are definitely potential stocks, most of them are not familiar faces, just like Jiang Bei.

It is not easy for newcomers to catch Zhuang Yan's ride at the beginning of their debut, so many of them have actively joined the group several days in advance, and the rest will be here tonight unless there are special circumstances.

As the sun completely set behind the horizon, the sky outside had darkened, but the brightly lit reception hall was bustling with activity.

Many actors, assistants, and agents, having clearly already completed their paperwork, were still lingering in the lobby. Even those who had joined the crew a few days earlier found excuses to come to the lounge area and sit or stand. Their whispers and constant glances suddenly made the lobby feel like plainclothes police officers squatting on the scene.

"Has Teacher Song arrived?"

"Didn't he say he was with Director Zhuang? Director Zhuang was here just now, why hasn't he come yet?"

"Will he just move in directly to the back mountain? He shouldn't need to go through the paperwork, right?"

"Even if he's not needed, he'll show up. I heard from my senior sister that he always greets everyone before joining the group and never acts like a big shot."

"Oh, I remember now! Didn't someone just post on Weibo that he was spotted downtown? Could he have been stuck in traffic?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the small circle of people who heard them couldn't help but look at each other in surprise.

The reason they gathered here was because they had been "instructed" by their agents or seniors that although they were in the same crew, if they did not have direct scenes with the protagonist, they would not have many opportunities to interact with him. So whenever they had the opportunity to show their faces in front of Song Yecheng, they should not miss it, as they might get to know him by accident.

As a result, you thought the same way and I thought the same way, and we accidentally thought the same thing, which led to this grand situation that seems like a palace beauty pageant.

The front desk procedures have basically been completed. The idle stage staff looked at the people crowding the hall and refusing to leave, and they were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. However, they were veterans who had followed Zhuang Yan for many years after all, and they were no longer surprised by the current situation - they understood that the newbie wanted to worship the gods.

At this moment, a burst of noise suddenly came from the front desk intercom, followed by the clear voice of the gatekeeper: "Teacher Song has arrived. The car has just entered the gate. Please make arrangements at the reception desk."

"receive."

The front desk clerk picked up the intercom and replied. In an instant, everyone in the hall turned their heads and looked out the French windows.

The streetlights on the sloping tree-lined avenue in the distance were dim. A moment later, two cars drove out from the bend at the end, turned onto the main road, and drove to the parking lot following the streetlights. The front and rear doors of the leading car opened at the same time, and the people who got out of the car were Song Yecheng and his assistant Douzi, who had been waiting for a long time.

The people who were originally sitting on the sofa in the hall stood up one after another, while those who were originally standing took two steps closer to the revolving door without making a sound, but they all tacitly did not go out to greet the guests.

——After all, they are insiders, not fans. We can welcome them, but it would be inappropriate to make the same noise as fans do when they welcome them at the airport, with everyone rushing over and cheering and screaming.

Everyone watched through the glass as Song Yecheng got out of the car and walked towards the hall. They were excited, but suddenly they saw him stop, look back, then turn around and walk back to the second car and knock on the back window.

The car window slowly lowered, but the face of the person inside the car was hidden in the shadow cast by the street lamp and could not be seen clearly.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Que asked in the car.

"I thought you were asleep," Song Yecheng said, "Why don't you come down?"

Jiang Que glanced at the brightly lit and bustling reception hall in the distance and answered irrelevantly, "Director Zhuang has already sent me the address. I'll go there directly later."

Song Yecheng followed his line of sight and glanced over there. He instantly guessed what he was thinking, but he still asked knowingly, "Then why don't you get off the car now?"

Jiang Que had no choice but to meet his gaze and say bluntly, "Because I'm waiting for you to go over and divert the fire so as to avoid attracting everyone's attention."

"Oh? You really know how to enjoy a peaceful life?" Song Yecheng smiled and patted the window frame. "Okay, then you can just pick up Baimao later. I'll have someone send the other things over later."

After saying that, he didn't wait for Jiang Que to reply. He turned around and called Douzi, and walked towards the reception hall together.

Everyone in the hall had been waiting quietly for a long time. When they saw him finally coming, they all smiled and crowded forward to gather at the door.

The revolving door slowly turned, and as soon as Song Yecheng stepped into the hall, countless warm greetings of "Teacher Song", "Brother Song", and "Brother Cheng" came from all directions, mixed in with a few "Senior Brother" with a hint of familiarity, obviously from his fellow students from his alma mater who had graduated long ago.

Song Yecheng was already very adept at dealing with this kind of situation. He smiled, nodded, and exchanged pleasantries while slowly walking towards the front desk surrounded by the crowd. He was neither indifferent nor overly enthusiastic, and basically treated everyone equally.

Parking lot in the distance.

Jiang Que sat in the shadow inside the car window, watching Song Yecheng walk through the dimly lit parking lot, push open the revolving door that seemed to separate the two worlds, and enter the brightly lit hall. He watched him being surrounded by the crowd in an instant, just like watching a bright moon rise from the bottom of a silent lake back to the sky, back to the center of the crowd that should have belonged to him.

The sounds in the hall could not be heard through the doors and windows, but the hustle and bustle inside could be clearly seen with the naked eye.

Jiang Que stared at it quietly for a moment, then finally looked away, opened the door and got out of the car, took out the luggage from the trunk, and walked towards the villa diagram next to the parking lot with the cat in his arms.

The schematic diagram clearly marked the locations of the various buildings in the villa, and Jiang Que quickly found the "back mountain villa area" mentioned by Zhuang Yan in the text message.

That was the accommodation arranged by the crew for the actors. Although it seemed a bit luxurious, it actually accommodated two or three people in a room, and the cost was not much different from arranging a hotel in the city.

The back mountain is separated from the parking lot by a small garden. There used to be a main road for motor vehicles on the periphery, but because the venue for the opening ceremony is being set up there tonight, the road is temporarily closed to traffic, so to get to the back mountain you can only cross the garden.

In the middle of the garden is a lake with a winding corridor bridge over the lake. On the eaves of the corridor are hung hollow lanterns of uniform shape. After crossing the bridge, there are lush vegetation with winding paths. Every few steps on both sides of the stone road, there are two retro carved landscape lights, and behind the lights are stone moon gates.

Jiang Que's pace was not fast to begin with, and the scenery here was quiet and peaceful, so he just walked leisurely as if he was taking a stroll. He crossed the covered bridge, went around the path, passed several pavilions and towers, and it took him quite a while to finally reach the back mountain where the villa area was located.

There are dozens of viewing villas scattered on the back mountain. Zhuang Yan gave him the building number 29 and specifically noted that it was one of the highest ones. Therefore, Jiang Que did not bother to look for it and went directly to the top along the winding slope.

Thanks to Song Yecheng being surrounded at the reception desk, he didn't meet anyone along the way. The villa area also seemed unusually deserted at this moment, as if everyone had already rushed to the reception hall.

The surroundings were silent except for the regular movement of the wheels of Jiang Que's suitcase. The white-haired cat in his arms curled up obediently, only looking up from time to time to glance forward.

There were three villas in the row at the highest point. When Jiang Que walked up the side slope, he saw from a distance that there seemed to be several people standing in the shadows in front of the door of the nearest villa.

Is there anyone else who hasn’t joined in the fun?

Jiang Que was a little surprised, but he did not stop. After walking a little further, he could vaguely hear the conversation between the people.

"Didn't you say there were three of us? If we add anyone else, how can we squeeze in?"

"I did say that... but they said it was because we were overcrowded, and if there's no room, we can go to the hotel up ahead..."

Both people who were speaking were girls. The former was confident and righteous, while the latter was timid and seemed a little aggrieved.

The hotel she mentioned refers to the hotel rooms on the third to twelfth floors above the reception hall. Except for the actors and accompanying assistants, most of the other crew members live there.

"Alright, alright, let's go in first. What's it like to block the door?" A third female voice sounded, more mature than the previous two.

However, the one who spoke first was not convinced: "Why go in? There are only three rooms in total. When someone comes back later, do we have to sleep in one room?"

This conversation sounded like some dissatisfaction with the housing allocation, but Jiang Que listened but did not interfere. When he got closer, he just glanced at the house number and found that this was number 28, then walked past the lawn without looking around.

Unexpectedly, before he took two steps, he heard a voice from behind: "Hey!"

The voice was obviously directed at him. Jiang Que stopped and turned around, and saw the three people walking towards him from the shadow in front of the door.

When the three of them walked under the street light, Jiang Que finally saw their appearance clearly - the one in the middle was very exquisite in both appearance and dress, the girl on the left was dressed ordinary and wore a pair of glasses, and the older one on the right was dressed like an elite and looked a little familiar.

Jiang Que recalled for a moment and soon remembered who she was.

This is Tong Qian, Tang Yao’s agent.

After recognizing this person, he immediately understood the identity of the girl in the middle - Xu Yi, a new artist who had just been signed by Shengjing Entertainment, where Tang Yao worked. She was valued by the company because she got the role in "Searching for the Light" through the audition and was handed over to the experienced Tong Qian. She will play Fang Zhi's wife Qiao Min in the movie, and the girl with glasses next to her should be her assistant.

Jiang Que recognized them, but they did not recognize Jiang Que. When they came closer and took a closer look, they were surprised to find that this person was actually very outstanding in appearance. Even under the dim light of the street lamp, he gave people a stunning feeling. It was no exaggeration to say that he could easily kill all the traffic in the circle.

They were all in the industry, and had seen all sorts of good looks over the years, but even so, they were still taken aback by Jiang Que's face. After a long pause, Xu Yi asked uncertainly, "Who are you... who are you playing?"

Jiang Que didn't quite understand why she called him, and said calmly, "I'm not an actor."

Hearing this answer, Xu Yi was inexplicably relieved and asked again: "Staff?"

Jiang Que thought for a moment and said, "I guess so."

Xu Yi glanced behind him and asked, "Where do you live? No. 29?"

Jiang Que nodded.

"Who do you live with?" Xu Yi seemed to have turned on some strange interrogation mode, asking questions one after another.

Jiang Que felt helpless: "Live alone."

When Zhuang Yan sent him a message, he told him that he and Song Yecheng were both arranged to live in single-family houses. Song Yecheng would live with Douzi, while he would live alone.

"You live alone in a building?!"

Xu Yi's voice suddenly rose eighteen degrees, as if he was in disbelief and indignant.

Perhaps realizing her unfriendly tone, Tong Qian beside her couldn't help but frown. Just as she was about to speak, Xu Yi suddenly seemed to have thought of something. His expression changed like magic, and he blinked tenderly and suggested, "Hey, how about this? Can you switch with us?"

She raised her chin towards No. 28 behind her and said, "There's already one person living here, and there's no room for the three of us. You're alone anyway, so why don't you stay over here and we'll stay in No. 29?"

Jiang Que didn't mind sharing a room with someone, since each villa had more than one room anyway. But after thinking about it, he knew that the crew's rooms couldn't have been randomly assigned, so he asked, "The one moving in is also a girl, right?"

His words hit the nail on the head, and Xu Yi's smile froze for a moment. But after all, she had passed the audition based on her acting skills, so she quickly adjusted her expression and said with a light smile, "What does it matter? We're not living in the same room anyway, so she can live on the second floor and you can live on the third, right? Besides, what era is this? There's no need to be so pedantic, right?"

If this happened in any other situation, her statement would not be an exaggeration, but the entertainment industry is a place where small things can easily become big and big things can easily become unmanageable. If someone with ulterior motives took note of this and made a scandal out of it in the future, it might not matter to Jiang Que, but for the girls involved, it would become an inexplicable mess.

"How about I ask her when she comes back?" Xu Yi thought Jiang Que didn't agree, so he suggested, "If she doesn't have any objections, you, a boy, wouldn't be so pretentious, right?"

Jiang Que didn't know who the other girl was, but since she joined the group alone without even an assistant, she was most likely a newcomer or a student, and would probably be forced to compromise under pressure if faced with such a situation.

"You should contact the crew to coordinate," Jiang Que did not give in, nor did he let her pass the blame to the girl, "It's not appropriate to change it privately."

He nodded and turned to leave, but Xu Yi suddenly came around and stopped him. "Hey, it's such a small matter, there's no need to ask the crew for help, right? It's just a room change, right? You, a grown man, have to monopolize such a big house? What's the point of being so arrogant?"

This was not a pleasant thing to say, and Tong Qian couldn't help but remind him, "Xu Yi, don't talk nonsense."

However, Xu Yi did not intend to give up: "What did I say? Originally-"

“Hahahahahaha…”

Suddenly, a loud laughter came from the end of the road behind. Xu Yi paused and looked up. Tong Qian and the assistant also turned their heads to look behind them. Soon they saw a group of people coming out from the bend of the slope, talking and laughing and walking towards them.

Jiang Que didn't look back, but he knew from the noise that there were more than one or two people coming. Just as he was wondering who these people were, he heard Song Yecheng's familiar voice coming from far behind him -

"Teacher Bai?"