Chapter 41 Fragrance
"yawn--"
Tan Xi yawned deeply, blinked, stuffed the cold sandwich into her mouth, and then resentfully pressed the power button on her computer.
I didn't get back to my rented room until almost midnight last night, and even after a good night's sleep, I still felt completely exhausted.
She habitually cursed the evil capitalists in her mind before feeling a sense of spiritual victory and fiercely starting her work for the day.
However, before he could type more than a few words, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged man in a suit rushed in anxiously, his eyes scanning the empty workstation area.
"Where are the others?"
He spoke so fast it was almost frantic: "At this hour, why is there no one in your office?"
?
Tan Xi quickly swallowed the food in her mouth, stood up and replied, "Everyone else has gone to a meeting."
Upon hearing Tan Xi's reply, the other party glanced down at his watch, his face instantly darkening: "It's already this late."
He immediately took out his phone and made a call. After a brief conversation, what the other person said made him frown even more: "The studio is ready and waiting for the script to be confirmed before filming can begin. We can't wait until your meeting is over!"
"...What kind of people are you talking about?"
The man's gaze swept over Tan Xi, and Tan Xi, who had initially thought it was none of her business, suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
Almost simultaneously, the other party's phone was put on speakerphone, and a clear and serious voice from the leader came through: "Xiao Tan, just follow Manager Zhou's instructions. Send the script over first to stabilize the situation. I'll head over as soon as the meeting ends."
Tan Xi: "But..."
"Okay, then let's do this for now. I'll have her send the things over first."
Before she could speak, Manager Zhou took over the conversation. He hung up the phone decisively, pulled a notebook from the workstation next to him, and handed it to her: "You, take the final confirmed shooting script from your department and deliver it to the No. 3 set building immediately. The actors are already waiting in the reception room."
Tan Xi's heart skipped a beat, and her scalp almost tingled: "But..."
"We can still go there in time. We can explain it later if we take them there first."
Without giving her time to hesitate, the other person glanced at their phone and strode out of the office, turning back to look at her before leaving: "Hurry up!"
Before her mind could fully process reality, Tan Xi grabbed her notebook and started running.
Her footsteps echoed down the corridor, and a colleague from the next office looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
But at this point, Tan Xi had no time to worry about anything else.
What the hell? What's she been having a run of bad luck with lately?
She had heard that today's shoot was for an advertisement for a perfume brand, and the entire department had been working on it until late last night; she had compiled more than a dozen pages of meeting minutes alone.
If it's such an important matter, why didn't anyone in the entire company take the initiative to deliver it, instead leaving it to an intern?!
Tan Xi cursed under his breath as he quickened his pace.
When she was only five meters away from the set building, she gradually slowed down and calmed her breathing and heartbeat, which were still unsteady from the sprint.
As she passed through the main entrance, through the glass door, Tan Xi quickly glanced at her attire.
Since it's a perfume commercial, the actors or celebrities should be recognizable, right?
This morning she quickly got ready, hoping not to run into any difficult or diva-like celebrities, and even more importantly, hoping not to encounter her crush when she was completely unprepared...
Lost in thought, Tan Xi turned the corner of the corridor and looked up to see another intern from her school staring blankly behind the monitor.
After scanning the entire photography studio and confirming that no one was coming, she breathed a sigh of relief and carefully moved over.
"classmate?"
When the other person came to their senses, Tan Xi subtly lowered her voice and inquired, "The spokesperson who came today... is she difficult to deal with?"
"……Um?"
The other person seemed startled, quickly regaining their senses, their eyes still somewhat unfocused: "Ah, no... um..."
Seeing the other person's dazed look, Tan Xi felt even more uncertain: "Do you know who's coming today?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a series of crisp high-heeled footsteps echoed from afar, reverberating through the empty corridor.
When the door was pushed open, Tan Xi's head went blank when she saw the face opposite her.
Tan Xi had seen this face hundreds, if not thousands, of times, even through the screen.
Although she hated it with all her might every time, it has to be said that her face is truly a gift from God.
Especially when you actually see it in reality—
This beauty is striking and powerful; the moment you catch a glimpse of her, you can't help but draw your gaze to her face. Yet, her eyes evoke images of towering snow-capped mountains, or perhaps the first snow lotus blooming amidst a vast snowscape.
Clear, calm, with a subtle warmth.
Mu Jiu.
Even in the simplest blue denim jacket and white turtleneck sweater, she still looks excessively beautiful.
Although she had heard that MG was interested in choosing Mu Jiu as the latest brand ambassador, Tan Xi never expected that this big opportunity would actually fall into Mu Jiu's lap, let alone that the company where she was interning would actually take on the task of shooting an advertisement.
On the other hand, it would be a lie to say that she never secretly hoped that her favorite celebrities would come to her workplace to shoot commercials.
But who would have thought that before his own brother, it would be their rivals who arrived first! Wait, no…
Just before Tan Xi tried to search the dictionary to find a suitable adjective.
When she looked up again, she saw that her real rival had arrived.
Ling Zhao.
After entering the studio, he walked straight toward Mu Jiu without looking to either side, and leaned down slightly at a very close distance.
His silver-gray hair hung down slightly, obscuring his eyes.
A few strands of hair fell beside her sharply defined cheeks, the ends of which were dyed an almost transparent moon white.
The star-shaped pendant on his collarbone chain swayed gently with his movements.
The two of them said something, but from a distance, they certainly looked like a perfect match...
No, no, no, she wouldn't ship Chao Mu! Meng Xiangcheng is a million times better to ship than Chao Mu!!
Tan Xi shook her head sharply, forcing herself to seriously consider the content of the advertising script. However, as her gaze swept past the two people, her thoughts couldn't help but wander off course.
Although their outfits were almost identical, compared to Mu Jiu's clean and refreshing look, she personally felt that the man's outfit was too flashy.
Perhaps it's because this rival is also a musician.
People involved in music all like to open their own hardware stores on their bodies.
Whether it's the wide meteorite ring on the thumb, the waist chain with its own metal gears, or the gleaming silver chain adorning the somewhat sloppy Martin boots, even without moving, one can almost hear a series of clinking and jingling sounds...
While inwardly clamoring, Tan Xi also alertly pricked up her ears when other colleagues brought over perfume.
"Today we're shooting the 'White Dew Between Pine Trees' product. I can spray some on your wrists so you can get a feel for it..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the colleague's gaze turned to Tan Xi, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "Perfect timing, our colleague in charge of the script is here too, I'll ask her to give the two teachers a brief introduction to our upcoming arrangements."
Tan Xi, who was eavesdropping: !
No, wait! How did it become her responsibility?
A million thoughts raced through her mind, and as she instinctively tried to deny it, she saw three pairs of eyes staring straight at her, and Tan Xi took a deep breath...
Then he stepped forward and handed the notebook over.
This is absolutely not bowing down to the rivals!
At most, it was just her last act of defiance as a beast of burden, forced to bow to life's hardships!
Although Tan Xi followed the scriptwriting and discussion process throughout and had just quickly reviewed the script in her mind, her palms were still slightly sweaty as she faced the artist alone for the first time.
Especially these two people.
She still remembers the anger she felt as a fan when the "Dawn Dew" advertisement was revealed online to have chosen Mu Jiu and Ling Zhao as the subjects of the advertisement. She heard that the brand initially contacted Fang Yucheng, but the advertisement ended up going to someone else. She was so angry that she couldn't sleep all night.
But when this scene actually unfolded before her eyes, her feelings became complicated.
"Hello, teachers. This advertisement is a 50-second short film that will unfold in three scenarios."
Tan Xi forced herself to focus on her work: "The first scene is on the rooftop at dawn, which tells the story of the first encounter between the male and female protagonists."
As she explained, Mu Jiu gently turned the pages, her fingertip pausing at a mark: "Is this where you start picking up the perfume?"
After glancing at the script, Tan Xi nodded: "Yes, here you need to coordinate with the visuals to present the top notes of the perfume—that is, the first impression, the feeling of cedar wood before sunrise."
After Tan Xi explained each key point in detail, she unknowingly found that her back was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
After finishing her explanation, she subtly tried to glance at the two people in front of her out of the corner of her eye, only to see Mu Jiu slightly curl the corners of his mouth.
"Thank you, you explained it very clearly."
She lowered her eyes and smiled faintly.
It carries a perfect warmth, like the first melting of snow.
"..."
After entering the studio, Tan Xi observed the two of them from a distance.
Even just now, she was only seemingly explaining to the two of them, but her attention was focused on recalling the meeting's content, and her thoughts had wandered off somewhere else.
The sudden, unprepared exposure to such beauty left Tan Xi's mind blank once again.
Even after everyone had disappeared, a faint, lingering fragrance remained in the air.
It's like stepping into a fir forest covered in dew at dawn;
After a restrained chill, it carries the clarity of a dispelling mist. Finally, as if ice and snow are melting, it brings a subtle, almost imperceptible sweetness.
Tan Xi suddenly remembered a line she had read somewhere—before her sister's slap came, there was fragrance…
But no matter what, there's something wrong with her having such thoughts about her rival's ex-girlfriend, right?!
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