Chapter 33
As soon as the door opened, Xiao Ziyu saw Luo Li standing in the corridor.
Instead of going to the waiting room to sit and rest, he waited at the door with a bottle of mineral water and bread, like a new father picking up his child from school for the first time.
"You must be thirsty," Rowley unscrewed the water and handed it to him. "I didn't expect you would try for so long, so I bought you some bread."
"Thank you," Xiao Ziyu took the water and took a sip.
Luo Li couldn't tell whether he was happy or sad, so he asked anxiously, "Brother Xiao...how do you feel?"
Xiao Ziyu was not sure what style Director Yang liked, so he just said, "I've tried my best. Let's wait for the news."
"I think it's okay," Luo Li patted his chest and reminded him as if he remembered something, "Brother Xiao, your phone was turned off just now. I sent you a message but you didn't reply."
"Yeah," Xiao Ziyu nodded and took out his phone to check. He was busy adding WeChat messages and didn't pay attention to the messages. Only then did he see the message Luo Li sent him, asking what time he could finish, whether he was tired, and what he wanted to eat...
And under Luo Li’s avatar, there were actually message notifications from Yuan Heng. Yuan Heng called him several times when his phone was turned off.
"Hey, isn't this Teacher Yuan?" Luo Li saw with his sharp eyes, "Why did Teacher Yuan call you?"
Now Xiao Ziyu had no choice but to reply. He called back and heard a beeping sound from the other end, but no one answered.
"Buzz..." The cell phone vibrated on the bluestone table. It was particularly loud in the quiet environment, startling the birds perched on the trees.
The young monk who was sweeping the floor stopped and looked toward the backyard. The distinguished guest was talking to the abbot inside, and he didn't know whether to step forward and remind them.
This is Qingyun Temple, located in a mountain forest on the outskirts of Yunjing. Because it is not a tourist area, most of the people who come here to pray are nearby residents, and the incense offerings are barely enough to cover the temple's operating expenses.
The young disciples in the temple all knew that the abbot had a distinguished guest in the capital who would come to visit every once in a while. His identity was mysterious and he would not be easily seen by them.
In early June, the mountains are filled with the chirping of insects and birds. Yuan Heng was dressed in black and stood in the midst of thick green. The monk in a cassock beside him was none other than Master Dugui, the abbot of Qingyun Temple.
Du Gui was nearly 70 years old, but he had a youthful face with white hair. He held a string of rosary beads in his hand and rolled them gently, and he seemed respectful when he was beside Yuan Heng.
The two stood side by side, and Yuan Heng suddenly said, "He's really here."
Dugui was not surprised, and he smiled as he rolled up the beads: "I have already calculated it, it is within these few days, there is no mistake."
Yuan Heng asked: "Are you the fortune teller Xue Jinling is looking for?"
"Donor Xue and I have a connection in Qingyun Temple," Du Gui said slowly, "She came to ask for a male wife for Your Highness, so I took advantage of the situation and asked her to find someone of the same age and birth month as Your Highness to marry."
“If the Yuan family can’t find me, it can only be said that you and Wang Jun are not destined to be together.”
"Stop being so mysterious," Yuan Heng didn't believe in fate, but he couldn't explain the strangeness of reincarnation, so he just made fun of him, "You weren't so superstitious when you were young."
"In my previous life, I was only thirty-six when I followed Your Highness, but now I am already in my seventies," Du Gui said, "This is the mystery of destiny. Who comes first and who comes later is all arranged."
Yuan Heng didn't like being "arranged" by others, so he kept a calm face and said nothing.
Du Gui continued, "Your Highness, has your headache recurred recently?"
Yuan Heng was startled: "Being with him seems to help alleviate some of the pain."
Du Gui gave him a meaningful look and was about to say something, but Yuan Heng saw through his thoughts and interrupted him, "It's not the right time yet."
There were footsteps behind him, and a young disciple ran in quickly, "Abbot, Mr. Yuan's phone has been ringing."
Yuan Heng's expression eased a little, and he followed the little monk back to the front yard. Sure enough, he heard the cell phone that he had thrown on the stone table buzzing.
He answered the phone, but was in no hurry to speak. A clear voice came out of the phone: "Yuan Heng, you are looking for me."
Dugui smiled and shook his head not far away. In his previous life, he grew up in a temple and was deprived of all emotions. However, in this life, by chance, he got married and had children. After his beloved wife passed away, he went to the temple to become a monk and tasted the worldly life that he had never tasted before.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also experiencing his own earthly life.
Yuan Heng tapped the table unconsciously with his left hand and picked up a leaf. He didn't even notice the curve of his mouth: "How was the audition?"
"It's OK," Xiao Ziyu said, "Everyone is excellent."
"Ziyu, do you want to have dinner together?"
Suddenly a stranger's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Who?" Yuan Heng asked.
"My fellow auditioners," Xiao Ziyu said, "want to go have lunch."
So popular? Making friends just by auditioning?
Yuan Heng revealed his true intention: "Today is the 15th anniversary celebration of Chaoyang Culture. Du Qian wants to invite you to attend. What do you think?"
"Du Qian..." Xiao Ziyu remembered that Chaoyang Culture was an industry founded by Huang Wei and his ex-wife Du Qian. After Huang Wei was taken away for investigation, Du Qian returned to the company and took the position of the top leader again.
Holding the fifteenth anniversary at this time should be more than just a celebration. I guess Du Qian wants to make a statement in the industry that Chaoyang Culture's management team is going to have a major reshuffle.
As expected, Yuan Heng said, "For this anniversary celebration, Chaoyang Culture has hired a media to broadcast it live. Many people in the industry will participate. This is a great opportunity to make connections."
Xiao Ziyu hesitated for a moment, but gave up the dinner party: "Okay, I'll join."
"Where are you?" Yuan Heng said, "I'll pick you up."
Xiao Ziyu gave a name, and Yuan Heng said, "There is a cafe next to the office building. Go there and wait for me. It will take about 30 minutes."
He hung up the phone, waved to Dugui in a good mood and said, "Let's go, monk."
Yuan Heng drove down the mountain and entered the inner ring road directly from the elevated road. It took exactly thirty minutes to arrive. At lunch time, workers in office buildings come out to look for food, leaving the coffee shops empty.
Yuan Heng got off the car and immediately saw Xiao Ziyu sitting by the window.
There was a milkshake in front of him, with almost all of it left in the cup. He was playing with the ends of his hair out of boredom.
The girl making coffee had been observing him for a long time and was just about to pull a beautiful cream flower over to chat with him when she saw a tall and handsome man walk in from outside.
She could only retract her thoughts: "Sir, what would you like to drink?"
Yuan Heng: "A glass of iced Americano."
When he was about to pay, Xiao Ziyu saw him and looked a little embarrassed: "Can you help me pay, I don't have any money."
The girl saw that they knew each other and explained, "There's a problem with the payment code in our store. We can only accept credit cards or cash."
It turned out that he had bought a glass of milk on credit. No wonder he looked so well behaved.
Yuan Heng paid the money and took the person away, then got into the car with the coffee.
Xiao Ziyu was now very comfortable riding in a car. He fastened his seat belt skillfully, only to find that Yuan Heng was looking at him.
Xiao Ziyu:?
Yuan Heng: "Others drink the wedding wine, but you wear the seat belt."
Xiao Ziyu was startled, then he realized that he had inserted the iron sheet into Yuan Heng's side. He quickly changed it back and pinched the tip of his nose guiltily: "Sorry."
Yuan Heng fastened his seat belt and said, "Did you meet the male lead during the audition today?"
Xiao Ziyu: "Well, the male lead is Zhou Qilin, he's here to help us act."
Yuan Heng pondered. Zhou Qilin debuted a few years earlier than him, and the two had even competed for the Best Actor award at a film festival.
At that time, Yuan Heng, as a newcomer, showed his brilliance, and Zhou Qilin, as a veteran, was not inferior to the newcomers. The competition entered a white-hot stage. The gap between the two and other nominated actors became larger and larger. In the end, Yuan Heng won by a few votes.
Apart from that film festival, he and Zhou Qilin had no private dealings. Later, when he retired from the entertainment industry, there was no reason for them to contact each other. But just because of the competition for Best Actor, the media is still spreading rumors that he and Zhou Qilin are not getting along.
"Teacher Zhou is very patient," Xiao Ziyu continued, "and he can adjust his performance state very quickly. I should be able to learn a lot if I can act with him."
Yuan Heng picked up the iced American coffee and took a sip, swallowing it with his Adam's apple rolling. He felt that the coffee beans were over-roasted and a bit sour.
The celebration banquet was held in a hotel in the city center.
This hotel was booked by Chaoyang Culture a long time ago as a place for the company's trainees to stay and rehearse. However, Huang Wei has not been good at management in recent years. The quality of the newly signed trainees is not high, and the company cannot provide good resources. It can only wait for people to stay and earn termination fees.
The first thing Du Qian did after returning to the company was to open a channel for artists to terminate their contracts. Trainees could terminate their contracts with the company without paying any penalty. At one time, 60 to 70 percent of Chaoyang Culture's artists left.
As the two came out of the elevator, a live camera followed them all the way. The doors of the practice rooms lined up on both sides of the corridor were open, and the equipment inside had been completely renewed. This celebration banquet was also a statement made by Chaoyang Culture to the public, a change from its previous simple and decadent atmosphere.
Xiao Ziyu couldn't suppress his curiosity, so he slowed down his pace and visited each room one by one. The classical instrument performance room contained the qin, zheng, xiao, and na instruments that he was familiar with, and even a set of chime models. He glanced slightly to the side, his temperament was calm and indifferent, which complemented the atmosphere around him.
He glanced behind him and saw that Yuan Heng had been surrounded by people without him knowing. A tall female guest in a red dress was talking to him, and even the photographers came over.
It seemed that no one cared about this corner. Xiao Ziyu couldn't resist the urge to play the guqin, which made a clear sound under his hands.
Previously, he had been imprisoned in the Eastern Palace and his health was in poor condition. All the skills he had learned throughout his life had disappeared, his singing voice became hoarse and unpleasant, and he had no place to vent his distress, so he asked someone to find him a guqin.
The young eunuch was taken care of by him on daily basis. He asked someone to secretly make a zither for him outside the palace. The strings were brittle and the wood surface was rough, so it could only be used barely, but Xiao Ziyu cherished it very much.
Whenever the prince played the zither, birds would sing and bees and butterflies would flutter. The sound of the zither would be ethereal and long, and the eunuchs and palace maids outside the high walls would stop to listen and take a rest in between their work.
Xiao Ziyu sat on the ground, placed the zither on his knees, stroked the frets with his right hand and pressed the strings with his left hand, feeling as if he were in another world.
People were coming and going in the corridor, but he was in a state of his own, his slender fingertips rubbing the strings of the zither from time to time. The dark brown surface of the zither was shining with black light, like a dead tree with a body of white jade, and it was so beautiful that it was edible.
His fingers plucked the strings faster and faster, his right hand changed the frets, and the sound of the zither was clear and mermaid, like birds paying homage to the phoenix, pearls falling on a jade plate, and countless stars falling into the water. The splashing water had not yet fallen away, and the speed of plucking the strings suddenly slowed down. For a moment, the tide was high and the two banks were wide. The moon rose from the sea level, and the mermaid jumped out of the water in just a moment.
At some point, people were attracted by the sound of the piano: guests attending the banquet, gossiping reporters, trainees seeking opportunities, and investors with ulterior motives. Everyone gathered from all directions, but tacitly did not come close, and stood quietly outside the piano room.
Xiao Ziyu closed his eyes and played the guqin when he suddenly heard the sound of erhu coming in. The guqin was empty and the erhu was long. Kunpeng soared with the wind and mayflies died every day. The plum blossoms bloomed alone in the cold, laughing at the infatuated people in this world whose infatuation was too crazy.
Three Variations on Plum Blossoms, nothing more than that.
Xiao Ziyu opened his eyes and suppressed all the emotions in his heart. He had been playing the piano out of depression before, but now he felt relieved and happy. Only the onlookers were still immersed in the lingering aftertaste.
I don't know who took the lead in shouting "good!", and applause broke out. Xiao Ziyu looked up, only to see Yuan Heng standing on the outskirts of the crowd, his eyes dazed, as if he were in another world.
The reporter next to him was still asking, "Mr. Yuan, has Yuantai considered further cooperation with Chaoyang Culture?"
Yuan Heng nodded, his chest filled with the sound of the piano, and whispered, "Mine."
Yuan Heng: Wife, mine.
ps: My dears, take a rest tomorrow and update the day after tomorrow!
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