Chapter 80 What do you mean by "you're alright"... Chao Chao...

Snow suddenly fell in the southern city, creating a hazy, beautiful scene. Since "The Knot" is a modern drama, there weren't many requirements for costumes and styling. Director Zheng then moved a snow scene to be filmed today.

Zhu Qingzhi was taken to the dressing room to change clothes and get her makeup and hair done. Shen Rou also rushed over from Group B, arriving almost at the same time as her.

Shen Rou didn't bother with her as soon as she entered, even choosing a seat furthest away from her. Zhu Qingzhi didn't bother to greet her either, and sure enough, the next second, Liu Xiaoning appeared in the dressing room.

"Didn't you say you'd be here in two days? Why are you here before the New Year is even over?" Shen Rou clenched her fists, seemingly to warm them, and smiled broadly at Liu Xiaoning in the mirror.

"I was bored at home, so I came over to bring you some warmth." Liu Xiaoning took out a bag of roasted chestnuts from her bag and put it on the table. "I bought them when I saw them on the way here, and they just happen to be what you like."

In the past, Shen Rou would have been moved to tears, but now she felt extremely disgusted, yet she couldn't afford to break off relations.

She clenched her fist tightly, then hesitated, before finally smiling and saying, "I knew you were the best to me! Love you~"

Zhu Qingzhi: "..."

She said it herself: an actor's potential is limitless!

She lowered her head and didn't look at Shen Rou's side anymore. She took out her phone and sent a message to Wen Qi.

It was nearly midnight, and two hours had passed since she sent the last message, but Wen Qi still hadn't replied.

This is not like his style at all.

Beitang Town is remote and built against the mountain. Today's weather is torrential rain. Surely nothing unexpected has happened?

Zhu Qingzhi was startled by this thought and immediately called Wen Qi. A mechanical female voice said, "The number you dialed is not in service. Please try again later."

She decisively hung up and immediately found Yang Qing's number and dialed it.

Yang Qing replied quickly: "Madam."

"Has Wen Qi contacted you?" Zhu Qingzhi didn't bother to hide the name at all and asked it openly in public.

Fortunately, the dressing room was noisy, and few people heard her words.

Because the project needed to be launched after the New Year and time was tight, Yang Qing was meeting with the legal department in the conference room to revise the contract terms one by one when she heard this and was stunned.

Doesn't Mr. Wen's wife know more about his private schedule than he does?

He hesitated for a moment, then reassured Zhu Qingzhi, "Please wait a moment, Madam."

Then, covering the phone's receiver, he asked into the landline, which was on speakerphone, "Mr. Wen, is there anything we should be aware of regarding your wife? She seems unable to reach you?"

Due to the torrential rain, Wen Qi was not only forced to stay at the original author's house, but also had his cell phone signal cut off in Beitang Town, so he could only use a landline to contact the outside world.

He called Zhu Qingzhi several times by landline, but no one answered. He also called Director Zheng twice, but the result was the same.

When these two are working, their phones are just for show, and he's gotten used to it.

Yang Qing had been to Beitang Town with him several times and knew the area very well, so she was able to contact him immediately, and the contact lasted for two hours.

Zhu Qingzhi grew impatient as there was still no word from Yang Qing: "He went to Beitang Town, the signal is down, I can't reach him, and the weather there is bad, I..."

"I'm fine."

She was anxious, her ears were ringing, and she didn't recognize Wen Qi's voice at all.

Upon hearing this inexplicable "I'm fine," Zhu Qingzhi closed her eyes briefly, feeling that Yang Qing wasn't very reliable either, and her heart pounded even harder: "What?! I meant..."

"Chao Chao." A hint of helplessness mixed with amusement. "It's me."

She instinctively exclaimed, "Huh?"

In the brief silence on the other end of the phone, there was a faint static and the indistinct sound of wind and rain.

Zhu Qingzhi gripped her phone, her fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. The words "It's me" were like a switch, clicking and pulling her back to reality from her anxious, unsettled state.

Before she could even process her worries and anxieties, she was struck by this sudden sense of relief, leaving her speechless and only able to utter a short syllable.

“…Wen Qi?” She confirmed again, her voice lowering, hoarse as if she had just survived a disaster.

"Hmm." Wen Qi's response came through the weak signal, but his voice remained as steady as ever. "There's a problem with the signal tower here in Beitang Town, so cell phones aren't working. I've tried calling you and Director Zheng a few times using a landline, but no one answered."

Zhu Qingzhi then remembered that before filming, she had put her phone on silent and put it in her bag, and hadn't taken it out.

She had just seen a few missed calls, but she was too lazy to call them back, so she ignored them.

She subconsciously touched her nose, and the resentment she felt for not being able to contact them vanished instantly, replaced by a guilty conscience for her own negligence.

"I...I was filming, and my phone was on silent."

"I guessed it." Wen Qi's voice contained a very faint smile, so quick it was almost impossible to catch. "Yang Qing is reporting to me, so I haven't had a chance to call you again yet."

At that moment, Liu Xiaoning's suddenly raised, coquettish laughter came from the other end of the dressing room. Zhu Qingzhi subconsciously frowned, turned to the side, and covered the phone's microphone with her hand.

It was as if this would shut out the uncomfortable pretense from the other side and allow Wen Qi's voice to be more clearly incorporated into her own little world.

"Is it raining heavily where you are? Are you alright?" she asked, her voice filled with undisguised concern.

"Heavy rain has temporarily closed the mountain roads, but I'm fine and safe at the old man's house." Wen Qi explained the situation succinctly, then paused, lowering his voice slightly. Through the microphone, his voice carried a unique magnetism, "It's snowing in the south of the city?"

Zhu Qingzhi looked up and saw through the makeup mirror that snowflakes were falling softly outside the window, adorning the hazy southern city.

Even though he was trapped in the deep mountains amidst a torrential downpour, he knew that snow had fallen where she was. A slight stirring stirred in her heart, and an indescribable warmth quietly spread through her.

"Yes, it suddenly started snowing heavily, and Director Zheng even moved up the snow scene shooting time. We'll be filming it in a bit," she replied softly.

"Be careful not to catch a cold," he cautioned.

"Okay, be careful too." She nodded and added a word of advice.

Knowing they were still working, Zhu Qingzhi stopped chatting after confirming Wen Qi's safety and hung up the phone after a few words.

The weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted, and she even started to find the two "actors" in the dressing room a bit more agreeable.

"Qingzhi, you...are you in a relationship?" The makeup artist, who was closest to the makeup artist, naturally heard everything. For a moment, she held the brush, unsure whether to continue or wait.

“Teacher He, to be more precise…” Zhu Qingzhi showed no fear of being exposed, but instead corrected him more meticulously, “It’s that I’m married.”

The makeup artist nearly dropped her brush, her eyes widening in shock. She gasped in a low voice, "Married?! When...ah! With whom?...Wen Qi? Is it the Wen Qi I'm thinking of? So you are?! Hmm?"

Makeup artist He Fei is one of the top in the industry and has seen countless big scenes, but she was really frightened today.

A top-tier actress, at the peak of her career, secretly got married, which was enough to ruin her career.

But her identity as the daughter of the Lu family is completely different.

How could the daughter of a large conglomerate possibly collapse in her career? She herself is the capital itself.

Furthermore, she was destined to have no say in her marriage. When this was revealed, fans could only feel sorry for her. But now it seems that this was not only a business marriage, but also a blatant display of mutual affection.

Double buff, um...

Seeing her so shocked she was almost speechless, Zhu Qingzhi couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth, put her index finger to her lips, and make a "shh" gesture, her eyes filled with a sly look.

He Fei took a deep breath and steadied herself slightly. She quickly glanced around, her gaze lingering on Shen Rou for a moment.

"I heard Shen Rou mention the Wen family before. She said that her good friend is the eldest daughter of the Liu family and she and Mr. Wen are childhood friends. Could the person next to her now be..." He Fei was using a brush to change her makeup, but he couldn't help but gossip.

"Yes, she's the Liu family's daughter." Zhu Qingzhi closed her eyes, letting her do as she pleased, her tone indifferent, as if she didn't care much.

He Fei seemed even more anxious than her: "From what Shen Rou was saying, it seems like the two of them... Could it be that she came here today for some other purpose?"

Zhu Qingzhi seemed not to understand her meaning, and didn't glance at Chen Rou once throughout. He Fei didn't want to say anything too harsh, and just then her assistant knocked on the door to urge her on the progress, so she stopped talking.

The snowflakes were fine and dense, quickly covering everything in silvery white. The wind was gentle, and the snowflakes floated lightly in the air, swaying and slowly falling to the ground. The river was frozen, looking from afar like a crystal-clear glass mirror.

The film set was all set up, and the lights created a dreamlike halo in the swirling snowflakes. Zhang Siyue was already in place, holding an umbrella and standing in the snow, looking lonely and proud, clearly having made ample preparations.

Director Zheng was communicating with the photographer when he saw her come out. He waved to her, and Zhu Qingzhi quickly walked over: "Sorry for taking up a little time."

Director Zheng nodded, then pointed to the key points marked on the script and carefully instructed the two of them: "Keep your emotions under control in this scene. It's mainly about the atmosphere. Eye acting is very important."

"Understood, Director." Zhu Qingzhi and Zhang Siyue nodded in unison, then walked to the designated location to prepare for filming.

As the stage manager clapped his clapperboard: "[Yunshuiyao] Scene 7, First Scene, Action!"

Snowflakes fell silently as Zhu Qingzhi, holding a transparent umbrella, slowly walked along the snow-covered path.

The camera zooms in, capturing the moment she looks up. Her eyes are cool and aloof, yet they seem to hold a myriad of emotions, blending wonderfully with the icy and snowy landscape.

Suddenly, a joyful "Xiaoyue" drew her attention. In the picture, Zhang Siyue was running over from the other side, her bright eyes filled with undisguised joy.

Zhu Qingzhi tiptoed and sheltered him with her umbrella, then gently brushed the snowflakes from his forehead.

The boy's nose was red from the cold, and his earlobes were also tinged with red; it was hard to tell whether it was from the cold or from embarrassment.

He suddenly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, his chin gently stroking the top of her head, overflowing with love.

Zhu Qingzhi's face was pressed against his shoulder, her eyes blinked nervously several times, her heart pounding like a deer's, not for any other reason than...

Is this scene in the script?

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Author's note: Kiyoshi [resting her chin on her hand]: Who got set up?

Wen Qi [cracked open]: [Question mark][Question mark][Question mark]

Ah Mei [covering face and laughing and crying]: My time difference is so hard. I slept for 21 hours yesterday and I'm still so sleepy. Help!