Chapter 42
In the private room of the Old Kitchen Restaurant, Huan Xu and Yan Ze sat opposite each other.
After ordering the dishes, the private room fell into silence for a moment.
Actually, apart from chance encounters and a few brief business conversations, the two were not familiar with each other, not even friends, but at most acquaintances.
Of course, the above is Huan Xu's evaluation of the relationship between the two.
As for Yan Ze... we had dinner together, if that's not considered friends then what are friends?
Huan Xu was just about to find a topic to break the silence and then take the opportunity to thank him in person.
Yan Ze didn't have much discomfort with the quiet environment, but he did have one question that he wanted to confirm.
As luck would have it, they both spoke at the same time.
Huan Xu: "Ms. Xiaoyan has a dog at home. I heard it barking yesterday."
Yan Ze: "Director Huan must have been very busy every day before, right?"
Both of them were politely waiting for the other to speak first, but the synchronized politeness made the air quiet again.
A moment later.
Yan Ze: "Its name is Dahei, and it's not very smart." It's not smart, but it's very well-behaved and sensible.
Huan Xu: "Yes, I'm quite busy."
He seemed to be on vacation some time ago, but as a parent accompanying his child to take the exam, he still had to pay attention to the child's emotions at all times. Although little Gu did not need him and Professor Gu to worry about him, his mental state was even more stable than that of ordinary adults.
But, it is also very busy.
Because of the synchronization again, the two couldn't help but be stunned. They looked at each other, and Huan Xu smiled and raised his hand to make a gesture of invitation.
Yan Ze raised his lip for once: "Their tea is pretty good."
After the invitation was sent, Yan Ze naturally picked up the tea and took a sip, with a look of relaxation on his brows. He knew that Huan Xu had not contacted him before because he was too busy. Now that everything was settled, the two of them met smoothly.
Huan Xu also tried it and said, "It's good."
After both of them put down their teacups and the atmosphere seemed to relax amidst the mist of the tea, Huan Xu mentioned his gratitude:
"Thank you, Mr. Yan, for your help with the crown matter. If you need anything in the future, as long as it is something I can do, please feel free to ask."
Although Mr. Yan helped out for Grandpa Dou's sake, he and Xinghuo were the ones who benefited, so he had to thank them in person.
Yan Ze nodded calmly and said, "It's not a big deal, Director Huan, don't worry about it. Just consider it as an apology for hiding my identity from me before."
That gift is a bit too big.
But if you think about it carefully, the CEO of Fenghuo has everything he wants. Even if Huan Xu said he would repay the favor, he probably wouldn't have much chance in the future.
So, in addition to verbal thanks, Huan Xu also brought a small thank-you gift.
Huan Xu pushed the gift box on the table forward and said with a smile, "This is our first official meeting, and I brought a gift for President Yan. I hope President Yan doesn't mind."
Yan Ze opened his narrow eyes slightly. He didn't expect Huan Xu to have prepared a gift for him.
Seeing Yan Ze's expression, Huan Xu quickly said, "It's not expensive, more like a souvenir."
Originally, Huan Xu wanted to prepare a luxury item, but he always felt that the luxury items in the display cabinets lacked some thoughtfulness besides their high prices. Unfortunately, for Yan Ze, money was just a number.
Before leaving, Huan Xu thought of what he had learned from Grandpa Dou, that President Yan also liked the culture of the mother planet, so he changed his mind and changed the gift.
Maybe the other person would like it? Huan Xu himself wasn't sure.
After a moment of silence and a deep look at Huan Xu, Yan Ze said softly, "Thank you."
Huan Xu suggested, "Why don't we open it and see if you like it before serving?"
Yan Ze looked at Huan Xu again and said, "Okay." Without saying anything more, Yan Ze lowered his eyes and began to open the box with his bony fingers.
Looking from the side, Huan Xu didn't know if it was his illusion, but Yan Ze looked extremely serious at the moment, which made Huan Xu nervous as well.
Actually, it doesn’t have to be so formal, it’s really just a small gift.
He had taken a short vacation before, and the audience was clamoring for more on Xingbo. Although Huan Xu was hard-hearted and continued to enjoy his vacation, he also held an interactive lottery event at the request of his fans.
There must be gifts for the lottery.
Huan Xu had chosen several gift options, all of which he had designed himself. However, he was unsure of the results and needed to see the finished product before deciding on the final raffle item.
The gift box contained a sample that Huan Xu had just received this morning. Huan Xu liked it at first sight and had originally planned to keep it for himself.
I don't know why I acted on impulse, but when I left the house, the small gift was already packed in the box.
Although it was a bit impolite, Huan Xu said that if Yan Ze didn't like it, he could change it.
Yan Ze had already opened the box, and a miniature building model came into his sight.
The Forbidden City in spring, with golden tiles and vermilion walls.
Carved beams and painted buildings, high eaves.
One brick, one object, one beauty, two dynasties, three generations, six hundred years.
The model was restored by Huan Xu after several modifications in the virtual space based on his own memory and the surviving documents.
In the Blue Star era, every time there was an exhibition at the Palace Museum, every time Huan Xu felt restless, he would go to the Forbidden City, feel the smallness of the sand and the vastness of history in the lower reaches of the long river, and then he would settle down again.
The model cannot restore every detail of every temple 100%, but some important locations have been restored.
In the interstellar age, everything about the blue planet has become history, let alone those famous places of interest that were once familiar to people.
The first moment Huan Xu got the model, he felt as if time and space were dislocated. He held the small Forbidden City in his hands, and like every time he had been there before, he felt inexplicably at peace.
At this moment, opposite Huan Xu, the small model was reflected in Yan Ze's eyes. Under the indoor lighting, Yan Ze saw the faint light reflected by the golden glazed tiles; he saw the solemn and sacred golden dragon throne; he saw the small bridge and flowing water decisively defeating the willows in the mist.
I also saw the alternation of the sun and the moon, the movement of the stars, and the horizontal and vertical strokes, the left and right strokes, above the palace, standing alone in a small space, holding together the heaven and earth.
"The carved beams and painted buildings should still be there, but the red face has changed."
Yan Ze closed the box even more carefully than when he opened it, fearing that any movement would accidentally damage this complex of buildings that seemed to have traveled through time and space and amazed the world.
"Thank you. I like it very much."
It can be seen that Yan Ze is serious. Although Huan Xu is a little reluctant, he feels lucky that the gift he gave is taken seriously by the other party.
Huan Xu curled his lips and said with a smile, "As long as President Yan likes it."
Soon, there was a knock on the box door, and the rich aroma of oriental cuisine wafted in the air, stirring the worms in the two men's stomachs.
"Eat and talk at the same time?" Huan Xu looked at Yan Ze.
Yan Ze responded with action. He unbuttoned his cuffs, rolled up his sleeves, picked up the soup spoon, and poured a porcelain bowl of chicken soup for each of them.
While eating, the two of them did not have the habit of not talking while eating or sleeping. They chatted for a while while enjoying the food.
After the meal, Huan Xu's impression of Yan Ze improved again. Although Yan Ze didn't talk much, he responded to every topic he talked about. During the conversation, they found that the two of them had similar views on some things.
In summary, we have the same values, get along well with each other, and have pleasant communication.
When Yan Ze went to the bathroom, Huan Xu thought that the two of them could probably be considered ordinary friends.
Although not considered a member of Xinghuo, Yan Ze is still his true friend of the same age since he came to the StarCraft.
Most of the other people he had contact with were elders. Perhaps he had a good relationship with elders.
What a pity. If Yan Ze wasn't a big CEO, it would be rare to meet a friend who can talk to him. It seems that it would be nice to have a meal with people of the same age occasionally.
On the other side, in the bathroom, Yan Ze stood in front of the sink, looking at himself in the mirror.
His thin lips were pursed and his brows were slightly furrowed. From his expression to some small movements, it was clear that he was thinking about something very important.
The bathroom door was opened again. A diner was halfway in when he suddenly realized something. He looked up and met Yan Ze's "cold and fierce" sharp gaze in the mirror.
Diner: "...Sorry to bother you, please continue."
The diner shrank back, closed the door again, and ran to the bathroom on the floor below, holding his stomach.
It's kind of scary, and seems like someone who's not to be messed with.
Yan Ze:?
I don’t understand how the person just now came in and went out, but it doesn’t matter. Yan Ze continued to frown and think.
After a while, the man in the mirror relaxed his brows again.
On the way back to the private room, Yan Ze opened the interface of the computer to pay, but found that Huan Xu had already taken the lead.
His fingers paused, and the corners of his lips twitched imperceptibly.
When we returned to the private room, the meal was over and today's meeting was almost over.
For Huan Xu, it went unexpectedly smoothly. He successfully expressed his gratitude in person and gave a gift.
It was also a happy day for Yan Ze.
Standing at the door of the old kitchen, Yan Ze called Huan Xu before saying goodbye.
Huan Xu looked back and saw Yan Ze took out a wallet. The wallet looked familiar. Since all interstellar affairs and money can be handled through optical computers, wallets and other items have become outdated.
Even before Huan Xu traveled through time, many young people had already banned wallets.
Therefore, Huan Xu was quite impressed by Yan Ze's wallet, having only caught a glimpse of it at the award ceremony.
By the way, Yan Ze gave him a business card at that time, which he took out from his wallet.
Not knowing what Yan Ze wanted to do, Huan Xu simply waited patiently.
Yan Ze opened his wallet one by one, turned over the most secret compartment, and took out a string of copper coins with two fingers - round outside and square inside, with a red line passing through the copper coins.
Five Emperors' Coins!
Huan Xu recognized it at first sight.
Because Huan Xu also had a string of Five Emperors' coins.
Or rather, he once owned one.
That happened when he was very young, and Huan Xu still can't tell whether it was a dream or reality.
When he first started school, little Huanxu didn't have a strong mind.
I also don’t understand why others have parents but he doesn’t.
After school, little Huanxu did not return to the orphanage immediately. Instead, he sat alone on the swing in the park, watching other children being picked up by their parents one by one.
It was autumn, with leaves falling everywhere. Xiao Huanxu tightened his clothes, but the thin fabric could not provide the child with much warmth.
Maybe it's the coldness of the body, or maybe it's the emptiness in the heart.
Little Huanxu raised his chubby face and counted the stars in the sky, one by one, two by two, but not one belonged to him.
It feels cold, but also warm and dizzy.
Little Huanxu didn't know that his cheeks were now flushed, his body temperature was rising, and he had a high fever.
"Why don't mom and dad want me? Is it because Xiaoxu isn't well behaved? Xiaoxu is a bad kid, right?"
My later memories became blurred due to the high fever. I remember that there seemed to be a white fog and I seemed to have met two powerful and handsome immortal brothers who came to the mortal world to roam.
One of the immortal brothers picked him up, and another immortal brother seemed to say in his ear: He is not a bad boy, and when he grows up, he will become an outstanding and powerful adult.
In order to reward the beautiful and well-behaved child and as a gift, they also gave him an amulet, which he should always carry with him in the future. The amulet would protect him and help him grow up safely.
Later, he lost consciousness in the arms of his immortal brother.
When he woke up later, the director's grandmother told him that a kind-hearted person took him to the hospital and sent him back to the hospital after his fever subsided.
Little Huanxu found a string of copper coins strung with a red thread in a secret pocket sewn on the inside of his clothes, close to his chest, where he kept important things.
From then on, the Five Emperors' Coins never left his body, and witnessed the growth of little Huanxu from an ignorant boy to an outstanding director renowned both at home and abroad.
Following the plane crash, Huan Xu traveled through time and space, and the Five Emperors' Coins were lost.
In addition to the habit of always carrying a thermos cup, Huan Xu also has the habit of carrying money strings.
After traveling through time, thermoses can be easily purchased, but real Five Emperors’ Coins are hard to find.
Unexpectedly, Yan Ze gave him a string today.
Huanxu did not know much about other antiques, but he had done a lot of research on the Five Emperors' coins and had a certain degree of resolution.
Yan Ze's words also confirmed that this was the real Five Emperors' Coins, not a postmodern imitation:
"This old item, passed down from the time of our home planet, is said to ward off evil and bring peace and prosperity, eliminating disasters and eliminating evil. Regardless of whether it's true or not, it's always a good omen."
Yan Ze looked at Huan Xu and whispered, "A gift."
Although the Five Emperors' Coins were a much-needed item for Huan Xu as a spiritual sustenance, Huan Xu had no intention of accepting them.
What he gave Yan Ze was just a model.
Even if the culture of the mother planet has declined in the interstellar era, the value of the Five Emperors' Coins, which originated from the mother planet and were already precious antiques in Huan Xu's time, is self-evident.
Especially for those who understand the culture of the mother planet, any treasure of the mother planet is priceless and cannot be measured by the number of interstellar coins.
It's too expensive.
"Boss Yan..."
Unexpectedly, before Huan Xu could finish his words, Yan Ze moved.
When Huan Xu was caught off guard, Yan Ze pulled up Huan Xu's right hand through his sleeve with one hand, and put the Five Emperors' Coins into Huan Xu's hand with the other hand without saying a word.
There is no chance to refuse at all.
"Just call me Yan Ze. Yan is what outsiders call me."
Huan Xu: ...Isn't he an outsider? Then what is he?
Fortunately, Huan Xu quickly realized that Mr. Yan, Yan Ze probably meant that they were already friends. After all, they had dinner together, had a pleasant chat, and even gave each other gifts.
It always feels strange to call Yan a friend again.
"Yan, Yan Ze, I..." Huan Xu was about to refuse, but he noticed something special. The Five Emperors' Coins in his hand looked even "newer" than his own. His own Coins must have been polished by the "Immortal Brother" for many years, and when they came into his hands, they already had a thick patina.
Although this string of beads is now well preserved, it is probably only in the wallet and has not been properly played with by Yan Ze.
Back to the topic, although it is different from the one I own, I found a familiar feeling when I got Huan Xu.
The size and curvature of the coin are just right.
During the Blue Star era, Huan Xu had seen other Five Emperors' coins and had handled them, but it seemed that because of the filter problem, he felt that the ones outside were not as good as his own.
Now, perhaps it is the physical inertia plus the psychological emotional shift that has made me finally come across a string of things in the future. I lowered my standards and unconsciously reviewed them, and I felt it was very easy to use.
This is very embarrassing.
Huan Xu's reason told him that a gentleman does not take away what others like.
Huan Xu's sensibility seemed to tell him that Yan Ze had already agreed to give it to you. How convenient and what a good string of money. You need such a string, and it also needs you. Instead of it remaining in the wallet and being neglected, it is better for you to keep it with you who can appreciate it better.
Huan Xu's reason and emotion were caught in a tug of war. Suddenly, he heard a soft laugh. Looking up, he saw Yan Ze's cold eyes with a subtle arc and a reserved smile: "As long as you like it."
Huan Xu: “…” Is it so obvious?
Huan Xu finally tried to struggle: "How about you, Mr. Yan, name a price?"
Yan Ze just looked at Huan Xu quietly without saying a word, and the faint smile in his eyes seemed to have disappeared.
Huan Xu, as a director, is good at capturing the subtle changes in emotions in any shot. He feels that Yan Ze is not happy now.
What did he say? Let the other party name a price.
Even brothers have to settle accounts clearly. Yan Ze had helped him before, but now he used a model to exchange for a string of Five Emperors' Coins. He always felt that Yan Ze had suffered a huge loss.
But obviously, a boss who is rumored to be shrewd, wise and tough does not think this is a bad deal.
Under Yan Ze's gaze, Huan Xu sighed inwardly, compromised with himself, and also compromised with the willful and generous friend in front of him.
"Thank you for the gift. I like it very much."
Okay, Director Huan noticed that after he expressed his acceptance of the gift, Yan Ze's expression changed in an instant, and the corners of his lips that had been pressed down returned to their original arc.
Although to outsiders, Yan Ze's facial features should not have changed at all from beginning to end.
A while later, a hovercraft had already stopped in front of the two of them. Yan Ze checked the time and said goodbye to Huan Xu, "I have a meeting this afternoon. I have to go back and prepare in advance."
Huan Xu nodded: "My car will be here soon, you can go first, bye."
"Goodbye." Yan Ze also said goodbye in Huan Xu's tone. However, after saying goodbye, Yan Ze did not get on the hovercraft immediately.
Huan Xu:?
After a moment, Huan Xu asked, "What's wrong?" Did you forget something if you haven't left yet?
Seeing Huan Xu didn't realize it, Yan Ze reminded him, "I'm going on a business trip tomorrow and won't be back until next week. I guess it will be busy for a week, but then I can rest on the weekend."
Facing Yan Ze's gaze, Huan Xu blinked, and tried to show concern from a friend's perspective: "That's because you are very busy. You should make sure to rest. Work is important, and your health is also important. It's better to combine work and rest. If you have time, it will be better to exercise."
Having experienced life and death, Huan Xu cherishes the opportunity to start over again. When he was busy in the past, he worked around the clock, turning day and night upside down, and his body sometimes felt weak.
Since his rebirth, the original owner didn't like to exercise, often drank alcohol, and his physical condition was not very good. Huan Xu insisted on exercising, and now he has seen initial results.
"I do exercise regularly and take breaks."
Yan Ze appreciated Huan Xu's concern, but before getting to the point, he reminded him, "After the break, things might get busy again."
After another pause, Huan Xufu came up with an idea: "How about we have dinner together on your weekend when you have some free time?"
It was as if he was waiting for Huan Xu to say this.
Yan Ze didn't hesitate and nodded immediately: "Okay."
Watching Yan Ze leave in the car, Huan Xu played with the Five Emperors' Coins in his hand. Thinking of the conversation just now, he couldn't help but smile again.
Therefore, President Yan occasionally wants to have a meal with friends of the same age and chat about topics that are not related to work or even have no nutritional value.
Thinking about how Yan Ze clearly wanted to invite him for dinner, but hinted that he should make the invitation first, Huan Xu shook his head and secretly labeled him as a "tsundere".
It's not derogatory.
Thinking of Xiaoyan's appearance just now, Huan Xu smiled again. The new friend was quite interesting.
I still owe you a favor from last time, and this time I owe you a bigger one.
It's like having too many lice doesn't make you itch, and having too many debts doesn't make you worry.
Huan Xu was thinking, seeing that President Xiaoyan seemed very satisfied with the Forbidden City model, should he prepare some similar small ornaments for the next time they meet?
Huan Xu once again expressed his admiration for the convenience brought by interstellar technology. Whatever he thought of could be materialized, saving him a lot of trouble.
The hovercraft stopped and Huan Xu started the automatic driving mode. He sat in the back seat, playing with the Five Emperors' Coins in his hands and taking a short rest with his eyes closed.
Not only will Yan Ze be very busy next week, he also has to start working to prepare for the upcoming merger of the Nine Stars.
According to the information we got from Grandpa Dou, the first planet merged with Cangtian Star was Haotian Star.
The barriers have been broken down, and in terms of film and television, audiences on both planets can communicate with each other.
In order to welcome new audiences, some directors who received the news in advance should release their films as soon as possible if conditions permit, to welcome new audiences and seize new markets.
Therefore, during this period, the types of works that should be preferred should be those that suit the tastes of new audiences.
The merged planet on the opposite side is also facing this situation, so the audience on Cang Tianxing don’t have to worry about having no food to eat.
This wave involves the two sides exchanging directors from different planets.
Of course, truly talented directors will choose to face challenges head-on and produce works that appeal to both new and old audiences.
Huan Xu naturally would not favor one over the other.
As for the film he wants to shoot, Huan Xu already has some ideas.
I would also like to thank Yan Ze and his dog for giving Huan Xu the idea to make a film about small animals.
Dogs heal humans and suit the tastes of new audiences.
All things have spirits, and the bond between humans and small animals can also be delicate and touching, not inferior to the feelings between people, satisfying the preferences of the audience of "Cang Tian Xing".
It just so happened that some viewers online wanted him to break through by changing his genre, so Huan Xu decided to bring something "new" to the audience.
——A heartwarming film about the bond between a master and a pet, set in the modern context of Blue Planet.
A film cannot be without a leading actor, and an animal film cannot be without a special little animal leading actor who takes the center position.
Huan Xu has already chosen the human lead actor, and once again, he has chosen someone from Xinghuo's family. However, this time, Huan Xu should not need to worry about the acting skills of the lead actor.
On the contrary, Huan Xu was looking forward to working with the other party, and even more so to the visual feast that the old man would bring him.
Yes, when the photocopying studio was poaching people, Xinghuo was the only first-line artist who did not leave. He was a veteran actor who contributed many wonderful supporting roles on the screen.
This time, Huan Xu will hire this senior who is a professional supporting actor to play the leading role in his play.
As for the dog who will play the other half of the leading role, Huan Xu decided to open a recruitment.
Therefore, the artists who have been following Xinghuo Entertainment and Huan Xu, hoping to get a role in the drama directed by "Midnight Digger" Huan, received a special audition invitation at the same time this afternoon.
Spark Entertainment: Sincerely invites special starring actors to audition for Director Huan's new drama:
Gender: Male.
Requirements: enthusiastic, cheerful and sunny, brave, smart, loyal, handsome and cute.
Some of the male actors mentioned above think they meet the requirements. Male actors in the entertainment industry are more confident in their looks. As for their personalities, as long as the director requires them, they can be sweet, salty, a good kid or a badass.
However, the last one stops 100% of male actors.
There is no other reason. What Huan Xuzhao summoned was not a real person, but a real dog.
No cursing.
The last requirement clearly states the race: dog (woof woof)!
The news that Huan Xu was going to film a new drama spread like wildfire, and fans who had been waiting for so long that the flowers had wilted rushed to tell each other. One of the leading actors in Huan Xu's new drama was a dog, and the news that Xinghuo was recruiting outstanding dog leading actors was also reprinted in some entertainment reports.
What's wrong with the dog? The dog is so cute. Xiaoyu is still a little fox. The transformation of monsters is the romantic fantasy of our ancestors!
It should be that in this film, the prototype of the male protagonist is a dog. Why is it a male protagonist? Because the gender of the dog protagonist is male.
At this time, fans had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem and thought that Huan Xu would continue with his previous style and bring them a wonderful adventure about supernatural powers in the Middle Ages of their home planet.
In the interstellar age, the director's shooting system can not only import the human spirit, but according to the directors' requirements, black technology can also inject the consciousness of some small animals.
Some dramas also feature scenes of small animals, which serve as pets of the male and female protagonists, playing important roles in driving the development of the plot, and sometimes also occupying an important supporting role.
Where there is demand, there is a market.
Related industries came into being, and some agents signed contracts specifically for dog actors, cat actors, and even small actors such as rabbits, parrots, and hamsters.
For these agents and animal owners, the roles they usually receive are mostly fleeting, and this is the first time that animals are the protagonists.
There is no way. In a film and television environment where combat special effects are the main theme, it is impossible to design small animals to drive Gundams and follow their owners to kill the Zerg army.
Seeing Huan Xu's recruitment for the leading role, the agents of these "puppy" actors with "limited acting range" and wandering on the fringes of the entertainment industry saw hope and quickly contacted the owners of their contracted actors... and prepared to take their little babies to audition!
That's the protagonist! Even if it's the "prototype" of the male protagonist who doesn't appear much, he's still the protagonist!
If I get selected, I will be the dog that plays the leading role when I go out in the future.
The owners of other actors such as cats, rabbits, and parrots touched their little cuties and felt regretful, wondering why the prototypes were dogs and not the same species as their little cuties.
Apparently, the agents and owners of these actors could not have imagined that Huan Xu was going to shoot a new type of film.
In any case, as soon as the casting started, many young actors lined the aisle and sent in their resumes.
Just like human actors, below are their respective acting experiences. In the upper right corner are ID photos of each dog actor, which are either handsome or cute.
Because Huan Xu did not set a threshold for experience, it meant that amateur actors could also participate in the audition.
Resumes quickly filled up the mailbox, and the competition was no less intense than that of human actors.
This is the first time I have seen a dog starring in a film. Many dog owners, either for fun or with the hope that their dogs will become successful, bribed their dogs with big meals, took ID photos for their dogs, and uploaded their resumes.
It doesn't matter if you give it a try and fail. What if your eldest dog is naturally beautiful? Then he will stand out from the crowd of dogs.
In the old house of the Yan family, Yan An mysteriously led Dahei to his bedroom.
Dahei squatted obediently, with her head slightly tilted as she watched Yan'an making various movements in front of her. Her tail was shaking slightly behind her, and her big eyes seemed full of confusion.
Yan An turned on the camera on the computer and directed Dahei: "Heihei, look at me."
Dahei: "Woof."
Yan An was lying on the ground, adjusting the camera angle: "Tuck your tongue in a little, it will look more intelligent. Very good, don't move, it's this look. Our Hei Hei is awesome, he will definitely be chosen by Director Huan."
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