Chapter 12
Feeling a little uncomfortable under their gazes, Luo Mingxiu explained, "I can help you move things."
Cheng Qingqing: "Okay, let your younger brother accompany you. I'll only feel at ease if someone goes with you. Fang Wei's current attitude might mean he'll try to pester you, just in case."
Shen Li: "Alright then."
The setting sun painted the horizon a pale pink. The four of them had dinner together in three cars so they could go straight home afterward. Only Luo Mingxiu didn't have a car and waited for them at the underground parking garage exit.
Two cars, one white and one red, arrived first. Luo Mingxiu's gaze lingered on the white Bentley in front of him.
Then someone honked their horn, and the driver of the black car behind leaned out and joked, "Aren't you coming over? Do you still want to ride in the two bosses' car?"
As Luo Mingzheng was about to walk over, the car window in front of him rolled down, and Shen Li asked him, "Can you drive?"
“He will,” Liang Jin answered loudly for him, “He’s the one who takes me home when I’m drunk.”
“Okay,” Shen Li immediately tossed him the keys and moved to the passenger seat. “You drive. If you drive steadily, you can drive it when we get back.”
Luo Mingxiu got into the car and suddenly realized something as he placed his hand on the steering wheel.
He turned his head and asked, "Go back? I'll stay at your place tonight?"
Shen Li: "Yeah, you need to help out tomorrow, can I let you stay at a hotel?"
Luo Mingxiu: "How did you know I was staying at a hotel?"
Shen Li: "Nonsense, I've been there, I know you're at this stage without even guessing. If you're staying on set for a long time, rent a place near the filming location. If you're flying around for a short time, staying in a hotel is much safer than renting a place."
Seeing that Luo Mingxiu was holding the steering wheel without moving, Chen Li tapped it forward with her hand: "Are you sure you can handle this?"
The car started and drove smoothly on the road. Shen Li had never ridden in a car driven by Luo Mingxiu before, and she didn't know when she had learned to drive. She kept staring at him, feeling a little nervous.
Luo Mingxiu noticed the gaze and coughed awkwardly, saying, "Stop looking. My driving skills are really not bad. Don't always treat me like a child."
"Yes, I've grown up. Time really flies." Shen Li stretched, stared at him for a while, and then turned away from him.
During the meal, Shen Li didn't say anything and ate her fill of the hot pot she had been craving. She only stopped to rest when she was adding more dishes. Actually, it didn't matter whether she ate this meal or not. It was just that she had been craving the boxed lunches and nutritional meals from the film crew for a long time, so she made the suggestion.
Fresh vegetables and meat were cooking in the pot. Since we weren't drinking, we opted for orange juice instead. Liang Jin invited everyone to clink glasses, and then we started saying thank you and chatting.
"Ah, finally, we're about to make it big. I told you this kid would be good, I was right about him, I really wasn't wrong about him. I even tried to stop him during the audition, oh my god, I should have done it. Luckily, he got the role in the end..."
"Are you dizzy from carbon monoxide or from drinking too much orange juice?" Luo Mingxiu patted his shoulder, interrupting him.
Shen Li, however, became interested: "Finally on stage? What does that mean?"
Then, from Liang's words, we learned that Luo Mingxiu had submitted his resume to the director during the initial casting stage. He originally intended to play the male lead, but the competition for the male lead was fierce, and he didn't even get an interview.
He wanted to audition for the second male lead again, but someone else had already taken the role. Then the second male lead got into trouble, which gave him another chance to contact the director and finally get into the cast.
"Are you stupid?" Shen Li said after listening, "Of course, the production team wouldn't let a newcomer like this..."
“You’re overestimating yourself,” Luo Mingxiu continued, “I know, but I really want to play the male lead in my sister’s story. I’ll give it a try no matter what.”
His gaze was firm, and Shen Li was slightly taken aback.
"It's a good thing for young people to be confident, but take it slow," Cheng Qingqing said, trying to smooth things over.
Only Liang Jin looked at Luo Mingxiu in astonishment after hearing what he said, and his chopsticks fell to the ground.
"What did you just call her? Sister? Aunt? Your own sister?"
"You haven't told him yet?" Shen Li looked at Luo Mingxiu.
Luo Mingxiu shook his head and uttered only four words: "Not by blood."
Cheng Qingqing rubbed her forehead and explained to Liang Jin, who was still in shock.
"You little brat, keeping such a big secret from me is no different from a son who has lived a life of poverty suddenly being told that he is a rich kid."
Liang Jin beamed, while everyone at the table stared at him speechlessly.
Liang Jin: "Haha, let me give you an example, haha, our little Luo will work hard."
Inside the restaurant, passersby had already spotted their table and were secretly talking and taking pictures.
That night, the four of them having dinner together became a trending topic, with netizens offering various speculations.
They hadn't planned to hide the dinner party in the first place, and after seeing it trending on social media, Cheng Qingqing notified her employees to take advantage of the buzz and officially announce the new addition to the team.
Qingli Pictures' official Weibo account posted a message to @LuoMingxiu, announcing the start of a new future.
The top comment: Shen Li is really determined to promote newcomers in her new drama.
The back row is filled with congratulatory comments from fans. They calmly controlled the comments on Weibo, but went on a wild celebration on Douban.
[Let's start a screaming thread to celebrate my brother finally having a company!!!]
There was a bunch of "ahhhhh" comments below.
[I've always dreamed of my brother having a proper company, and reality is even better than my dreams—he signed with Qingli! Our Xiao Luo is so awesome!]
[This is Qingli's second signed artist, right? Is a film and television company capable of managing its artists?]
[Don't try to demoralize the team. Look at Sun Qi, have you ever heard of her before? She signed with Qingli, and her resources are comparable to the three golden flowers of the post-2000 generation.]
[Thank you, Teacher Shen, for recognizing my talent. Our little Luo will certainly live up to your expectations.]
The majority of Luo Mingxiu's fans in the Screaming Building are like those who are happily marrying into a wealthy family along with their idol.
Meanwhile, the onlookers outside the building were discussing the four pictures of the dinner party.
Am I the only one who thinks Shen Li and Luo Mingxiu have a special relationship?
[+1, I think so too. Looking at the last picture, Luo Mingxiu is probably serving food to Shen Li. They've only been on set for less than two months, how did they become so close?]
[+10086, Yes, considering the photos that were leaked last time, Luo Mingxiu and Director Meng always kept a certain distance from each other. This time it's very strange.]
[So, is it too impolite to serve food to a married woman if you're not very familiar with her?]
[Recently, many marketing accounts have been spreading rumors about Shen Li's divorce. Could it be that she has a new love interest?]
Someone downstairs retorted:
[In the picture, Luo Mingxiu is sitting on the other side. Could it be that Teacher Shen asked him to help? It's just something as simple as picking up food, yet people are making so many guesses.]
[Can some people please stop fabricating rumors about female celebrities without any evidence? Is that all you ever think about is sex?]
[What bad luck! Let's shut this up. Gossiping on such a joyous occasion.]
As they walked out of the restaurant, Shen Li sneezed three times in a row, and Luo Mingxiu handed her a tissue.
Shen Li took the money, pulled out a bill, and wiped her nose: "It's nothing, I just suddenly feel a little itchy."
She opened her phone and sent another message to Fang Wei: Mingxiu and I will come over tomorrow to move our things, discuss everything that needs to be discussed, and sign the agreement. See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau on Monday.
After sending the message, I waited for a while but still received no reply.
Unable to figure out his attitude, Shen Li felt inexplicably flustered. She sent another message: "Don't pretend you can't see me. I really look down on you for acting like this."
They finally replied this time, saying "okay" and then adding an OK hand emoji.
Shen Li stared blankly at the OK sign after the character "好" (good). As she was going down the steps, she missed a step and almost fell. Luckily, Luo Mingxiu was right behind her and reached out to support her.
I asked her, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Shen Li shook her head.
She just found it a little strange that Fang Wei had never added an emoji to the end of his chats before, and he rarely used that emoji either.
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