During her time on set, Tong Zhao would video chat with Shan Song every night before falling asleep.
If Shan Song is still asleep when he wakes up in the morning, he will hang up before going to work and leave a message or two; if they are both awake, they will say good morning and exchange a few words before going about their own business.
It was rare for Tong Zhao to wake up before Shan Song woke up. However, there were a few times when Tong Zhao woke up in the middle of the night and saw Shan Song's sleeping face. It was quite different from when Shan Song was at home. The Alpha's arms were loosely folded, his brows were slightly furrowed, and he looked unhappy. Tong Zhao touched the screen and felt uncomfortable.
Later, he came up with a solution: he recorded a song for Shan Song and sent it to him. Tong Zhao wasn't a contestant in this category, and his singing was very amateurish, but Shan Song gave him high praise, making Tong Zhao sound like a music superstar or a living king of singers.
Later, Shan Song would listen to it almost every night to fall asleep. If Tong Zhao hadn't secretly gotten up a few times in the middle of the night to see that it was indeed effective, he would have thought that Shan Song was just pretending to comfort him.
It's a strange feeling to be able to do something for Shan Song, even if it's just to help him get a good night's sleep.
Tong Zhao can now see many different emotions on Shan Song's face. Before, whenever he stared at Shan Song for a while at home, it would be interpreted as a signal that he wanted a kiss, which made it impossible for him to observe him properly. This time, he finally had the chance through the screen, and he could observe Shan Song's face more closely through the screen.
Every night when the video call connected, Tong Zhao could tell whether Shan Song's day at the company went well by observing his overall demeanor and subtle expressions that only he could see.
Shan Song seemed to have noticed this as well, and since then he would deliberately restrain his emotions, always letting him guess first. If he guessed correctly, there would be a reward; if he guessed incorrectly, he would have to give Shan Song a reward. Of course, he guessed correctly more often, which made Tong Zhao feel a great sense of accomplishment and felt that the two of them seemed to be closer.
Shan Song wasn't too shy about discussing company matters, but unfortunately Tong Zhao didn't understand investment or business issues. However, he was eager to hear about them, so Shan Song would always translate them into simple and humorous expressions to help him understand.
For example, Tong Zhao now knows that after going through countless lessons, Shan Song has finally been able to guide Zhou Xinlin to purchase materials on his own. At the same time, under the subtle influence of an unknown director, he has secretly made many problematic investments behind Zhou Muyuan's back, not only losing all the money he had earned before, but now he has started to embezzle public funds.
Shan Song also said that embezzling public funds requires a technical threshold. It's already difficult enough to make someone realize what public funds are. Zhou Xinlin is so stupid that even if someone taught him step by step how to embezzle the money approved by the company for purchasing new materials, he would still ask why the money couldn't be automatically deposited into his account. It would be faster for him to think of it himself than to burn incense and pray for the Zhou family to go bankrupt.
The disdain on his face had never been so obvious. Tong Zhao knew how long he had taught her repeatedly to achieve this result. She held back for a moment but couldn't help but burst out laughing. Whenever Shan Song had emotional ups and downs, he would act like a child tattled. This contrast was both funny and particularly endearing.
Knowing that everything was going smoothly for Shan Song, Tong Zhao could finally breathe a sigh of relief and focus on her own work on the set.
Filming has been progressing smoothly these past few days. Apart from a phone call from the Qin family questioning them, which Tong Zhao brushed off, there haven't been any further developments. It's been much easier than Tong Zhao expected. There's also been less pressure about having children lately, presumably because they're busy discussing the details of the marriage alliance with the Geng family...
Another thing is that I didn't expect the male lead to be absent for so many days. The director wanted to get angry several times, but in the end he held his temper and asked the coordinator to adjust the schedule.
Tong Zhao's scenes mostly involve acting opposite the male lead, which has slowed down his progress, leaving him so bored these past few days that he's been sitting in the hotel like a mushroom about to mold.
Today, the script supervisor finally brought up the male lead's scenes in the group chat. Tong Zhao perked up, tidied herself up, and planned to go to the set to meet this big-name male lead.
Upon arriving at the set, there was a series of preparations, including makeup and hair. By the time I finally met him, it was already afternoon. Several actors who had acted with him were gossiping, apparently saying that something had happened to the previous male lead, and that the investors had sent in a new male lead today.
Tong Zhao frowned upon hearing the news; he had a bad feeling.
The premonition came true when I met Qin Chong.
But when he saw Qin Chong treat him with an exceptionally friendly attitude, it reached an unprecedented level.
Tong Zhao didn't believe that this person had no ulterior motives, and Wen Wen and Uncle Tie were also on high alert, but by the end of the day's filming, this person hadn't caused any trouble.
Tong Zhao felt the problem was a bit tricky. Could Qin Chong have come at the behest of the Qin family? If so, what was his purpose?
He sent a message to Shan Song in the afternoon about the situation. During the video call that evening, Shan Song must have found out something. He looked very upset, and it was easy to tell that he was not in a good mood without much observation: "The previous actor's tax issues were investigated, and Geng Keli has now become the biggest investor in the production team. Qin Chong's trip this time may be related to him."
"Why are they coming to me instead of properly discussing the marriage alliance?" Tong Zhao wondered.
"The details of the cooperation between the two companies have been almost finalized, and the official announcement is expected by the end of the month. The Qin family may also know about your request, but we are unsure of their true motives."
Remembering the obsession with Geng Keli that he had discovered earlier, Shan Song dared not relax for a moment and solemnly instructed Tong Zhao: "Be careful on set. After filming, don't have too much contact with Qin Chong. If you really can't avoid it, remember to stay with Uncle Tie and the others."
Okay, I will—
Before Tong Zhao could finish speaking, two knocking sounds came from outside the door.
Uncle Tie instinctively stepped aside to block Tong Zhao, and Xiao Wen reacted quickly by rushing to the door and reminding him, "It's Qin Chong, alone."
The two looked at each other across the screen, and Shan Song frowned slightly.
After thinking for a moment, Tong Zhao said, "I'll just deal with it. He came so openly and honestly, he definitely won't do anything that would give people something to talk about. I can also take this opportunity to find out his purpose."
Shan Song looked at Tong Zhao for a while, then nodded in agreement: "Be careful." He then gave the order from the other end: "Have the bodyguards put on guard duty."
Qin Chong had knocked on the door a second time, and his pace sounded a bit hurried, clearly indicating that he was not very patient.
At Tong Zhao's signal, Xiao Wen opened the door, feigning surprise: "Teacher Qin? It's you!"
Qin Chong didn't answer, ignoring Xiao Wen at the door and walking straight in. He looked around the room before finally fixing his gaze on Tong Zhao: "Why did it take you so long to open the door?"
"I wasn't feeling well while changing clothes. Is there something you need?"
Qin Chong's gaze swept over the other two people in the room, then looked at Tong Zhao. For some reason, a flash of disgust crossed his face. He raised his hand and gestured towards the door: "You two, get out."
“They are my assistants, you can just say so,” Tong Zhao said in a low voice.
Qin Chong's expression was not good, but he still suppressed his temper and repeated, "It is not convenient for outsiders to hear about the Qin family's affairs."
Tong Zhao hesitated for a moment, then turned to meet Xiao Wen's gaze, her fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the ring: "...Then you guys go out first." After saying that, she looked at Qin Chong and added with some concern, "Come back in ten minutes later."
Qin Chong rolled his eyes dismissively, and only after hearing the door close did he refocus his gaze on Tong Zhao.
"The Geng family has already proposed a marriage alliance to the Qin family. I have heard about the past between Geng Keli and you. The Qin family needs you to maintain a good relationship with Geng Keli to help them gain greater benefits in the cooperation."
Tong Zhao paused for a moment: "How do I build a good relationship?"
Qin Chong raised an eyebrow, revealing a playful expression as if he knew the answer to Tong Zhaoming's question: "Shouldn't you be quite skilled at it?"
Tong Zhao's expression turned somber: "I disagree."
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