004
Jiang Huali sat at the dining table eating breakfast, stirring the milk in her glass.
"I'm officially starting work tomorrow, so I'm telling 021 today that I might not have time to attend classes for a while afterward."
Two weeks had passed since her audition, and she had passed the audition successfully and signed a contract with the production team.
The filming schedule for "Above the Clouds" was tight, and she received the notice to join the crew a few days ago.
When her agent, Li Huan, learned that Jiang Huali had been chosen by Chen Mansheng, she was somewhat surprised, but she remained reserved. However, she privately and repeatedly reminded Jiang Huali to be careful after joining the crew and not to offend anyone again.
The system, lying on the table, says, "Okay."
Jiang Huali finished her milk and got up to find her phone on the sofa.
Jiang Huali opened her phone, found the Samoyed avatar, tapped it, and sent a message.
A pear: [Mr. Meng, I'm sorry to bother you. When can I return the umbrella to you?]
If it's inconvenient for you to send someone to pick it up, you can give me a location and I'll deliver the umbrella there.
Jiang Huali will be joining the film crew a few days after taking her costume photos. She expects to be very busy then. Remembering that Mr. Meng's umbrella is still with her, she wants to return it first.
Jiang Huali was about to put down her phone to wash the dishes after sending the message when a crisp message notification sounded on her phone.
M: [Is tomorrow your crew taking costume photos?]
A message pops up.
Jiang Huali was a little surprised that Meng Zhiling replied to the message so quickly, but after thinking about it for a moment, she felt it was normal. After all, it was eight o'clock in the morning, and as a qualified president, he couldn't possibly sleep until noon every day before getting up to work.
A pear: [Yes.]
Jiang Huali wasn't too surprised that Meng Zhiling would know she had passed the audition, after all, he was an investor in the production team.
But how could a busy CEO remember the film crew's work arrangements so clearly?
It seems he's very invested in this drama.
M: [I'll be at the audition tomorrow, you can return it to me in person.]
A pear: [Then I'll return the umbrella to you later.]
M: [Hmm.]
The system, still in its small blue sphere form, hovered in mid-air and suddenly said: "[This Meng Zhiling seems to possess very strong luck.]"
"Hmm?" Jiang Huali asked in surprise.
The system explained: "In these smaller worlds derived from novels, the chosen one is usually the protagonist. Of course, a very few supporting characters also possess good fortune, but there will still be some differences between them and the protagonist."
I noticed Meng Zhiling earlier in the car; his aura was incredibly strong, almost on par with the protagonist's.
Although this situation is rare, almost every time it occurs, something goes wrong in the small world.
The Time and Space Bureau is mainly divided into two departments: one is the department where Jiang Huali collects wish power, and the other is the department that investigates errors in the small worlds.
Small worlds, especially those derived from novels, are often quite unstable; even the slightest change can trigger an immeasurable butterfly effect.
The existence of the error-correction department is precisely to solve this problem.
Jiang Huali and the system stared at each other, "So?"
The system considered for a moment, then said seriously: "Therefore, you need to get close to Meng Zhiling so I can observe him for any problems."
Jiang Huali's lips twitched.
"I?"
"Yes, that's right, it's you," the system confirmed.
“Okay.” Jiang Huali nodded, thought for a moment, and typed a few words on the screen.
A pear: [Mr. Meng, do you usually enjoy playing chess?]
The other party sent a message: 【Occasionally.】
A pear: [We can play another game sometime.]
A pear: [Sneaky cat.jpg]
M: [Okay.]
The other side responded quickly.
The system, noticing Jiang Huali's darting eyes, suddenly sensed something was amiss and tentatively asked, "Host, what kind of chess do you usually play?"
"Uh, Gomoku?" Jiang Huali said.
system:【? 】
Jiang Huali: "What kind of look is that? Gomoku is a game of chess, isn't it? I've never had a match for Gomoku."
The system didn't know how to answer; it felt like something was wrong.
Its gaze returned to Jiang Huali's still-lit phone screen, where an emoji had been sent from the other end.
M: [Samoyed smiling.jpg]
Jiang Huali looked at the cute smile of the puppy in the emoji, then at the other person's Samoyed profile picture, and asked: "Mr. Meng, do you have a dog?"
M: [Yes, it's a Samoyed. My profile picture is of it. Its name is Sprite.]
A pear: [So cute!]
Yes, it's always a good idea to compliment someone's dog on how cute it is.
M: [I can bring her to see you sometime. Sprite is very well-behaved.]
The two chatted for a few more minutes, and by the time Jiang Huali put down her phone, the system had already slipped onto the sofa and gone to sleep.
Seeing this, Jiang Huali shrugged and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Meanwhile, in the spacious and bright office, Meng Zhiling looked at the "bye-bye" message sent by the other party, lowered her eyelashes, switched to WeChat, and answered a phone call.
"What's up?"
“Cousin,” Meng Chu’s voice came from the other end of the phone, “which actor did you tell me was going to play Jue Li in ‘Above the Clouds’?”
"Jiang Huali. What's wrong?" Meng Zhiling asked calmly as he flipped through the documents.
"Didn't she have a scandal before?" Meng Chu asked, puzzled. "Jue Li is one of my favorite characters. Didn't you say you'd take some time to watch her and check her out?"
Meng Chu is a fan of the original novel "Above the Clouds". When she learned that it was going to be adapted into a film and television series, she was a little worried that her favorite character would be ruined. Her cousin had also invested in the production team. She begged him for several days before he finally agreed to let her go to the audition.
“This actor is perfect for the role. Don’t listen to the rumors online all the time. Your uncle even came to see me when you failed your math exam last month, telling you to pay more attention to your studies,” Meng Zhiling said in a deep voice.
Meng Chu felt a little relieved; her cousin was quite reliable, and she figured the actor wouldn't have any major problems. But when she heard the second half of his sentence, her heart jumped again, and she quickly replied perfunctorily, "Okay, okay!"
He hung up the phone in a flash after saying that.
The next day, when Jiang Huali went to the studio booked by the production team to take her costume photos, the makeup artist did her makeup. It was a very bright and lively look. In the early stages, Jue Li was an innocent and spoiled girl, and this makeup was very fitting for the character.
After finishing her makeup, Jiang Huali went to the dressing room to change into her costume. As she entered the dressing room, she happened to run into an old acquaintance.
Su Yueke's makeup was light yet exquisite. She had clearly seen Jiang Huali and smiled at her, saying:
“I never thought we would end up in the same production team. I originally wanted to compete for the role of Jue Li, but the director thought I was more suitable for the role of Yue Xun. Now that I think about it, if I hadn’t agreed to switch roles, I might never have met Ms. Jiang.”
Yue Xun is the third female lead, and her character is a pure, kind, and innocent girl, which does fit Su Yueke quite well.
"Hmm? Is that so? Not necessarily," Jiang Huali glanced at her and said slowly, "Director Chen said this morning that I best fit his expectations. Even if you didn't change roles, you wouldn't get the role of Jue Li, would you?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yueke's face visibly darkened, but she still forced a smile: "Miss Jiang hasn't acted in a year, has she? You shouldn't be so arrogant. You should hone your acting skills."
After saying that, she went into another dressing room.
The system retorted, "What?! Our acting is superb!"
Jiang Huali also went into the dressing room. After changing her clothes, the makeup artist looked at her outfit and exclaimed in surprise, "This outfit really suits you. It will definitely look great in the photos!"
The outfit is predominantly light green, with delicate patterns of snowflakes embroidered on the hem and skirt. A thin belt also featuring these patterns cinches the waist, creating a look that is both fresh and playful.
Jiang Huali smiled and said, "Your makeup is also very good, which makes this dress look very suitable on me."
The makeup artist, a young woman in her early twenties, blushed slightly upon hearing this. "Really? Thank you for the compliment."
The makeup artist had previously seen Jiang Huali online, where there were a lot of trolls saying that she was arrogant and involved in unspoken rules. There were rumors but no real evidence. But after seeing her today, it turns out she's not as bad as people online say. She's just a very young girl with a beautiful smile and no "big shot" attitude at all.
The costume photos were taken first for the male and female leads. Coincidentally, the male and female leads of the drama "Above the Clouds" are Yun Xin and Gu Huayu, the chosen ones of this world. This period was exactly the ambiguous stage between the male and female leads. It was also in this drama that they fell in love and confirmed their relationship.
By the time Jiang Huali finished taking her costume photos, it was already late afternoon. When she came down from the shooting stage, she saw Meng Zhiling talking with the director.
So she turned around to change her clothes and then return the umbrella to Meng Zhiling, but accidentally met his gaze.
Jiang Huali smiled at Meng Zhiling, pointed to the changing room, and indicated that she would go change her clothes first.
Meng Zhiling watched the girl's figure disappear behind the dressing room door, the scene of her smiling at him just now replaying in his mind—a bright smile, and the dress she was wearing was also very beautiful and suited her perfectly.
His heart skipped a beat.
After Jiang Huali changed her clothes, she came out and heard Chen Mansheng beckoning her over.
She walked over and greeted him, "Director Chen."
Chen Mansheng looked her over and chuckled, "Looks like I wasn't wrong about you. Your appearance is perfect for this role. Study the script carefully and don't disappoint the audience."
After saying that, he looked at Meng Zhiling and asked, "Do you know Mr. Meng?"
Jiang Huali glanced at Meng Zhiling. He was wearing a lead-gray suit today, with a tie that was tied very well. Combined with his good physique, he looked smart and stylish in it.
She nodded. "Mr. Meng helped me a bit before."
Chen Mansheng nodded thoughtfully and smiled, "That really is fate."
"Mr. Meng said he has an appointment with Ms. Jiang later, so I won't disturb him."
Jiang Huali hadn't quite reacted when she got back into Meng Zhiling's car. She handed the umbrella back to Meng Zhiling, saying, "Thank you for the umbrella, Mr. Meng. But when did we have an appointment?"
Meng Zhiling took the umbrella and put it aside. Hearing this, she looked at her and said seriously, "Didn't you say yesterday that we could play chess together sometime?"
After saying that, he seemed to realize it wasn't quite right, and added, "I happen to be free today, I was wondering if Miss Jiang is free?"
Jiang Huali's expression froze for a moment, and she said slowly and deliberately, "Is that so? I wonder if Mr. Meng likes Gomoku?"
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