Chapter 475 Career Line
The next afternoon, at the urging of Director Fang, Zhou Xiao took a plane to Zhejiang Film and Television City with the local specialties he bought from Beijing.
After choosing a hotel that was close to the film and television city and Director Fang's residence, Zhou Xiao put his luggage in the room, then took a taxi with the specialties he had bought and drove towards the villa area.
The city is bustling with the arrival of film crews. Outside the film and television city, famous landmarks from around the world can be seen every few hundred meters. Alongside these, directors wearing yellow hats and holding banners lead large groups of middle-aged and elderly tourists, experiencing the city's unique charm.
Bags of food rang the doorbell of the villa. When Zhou Xiao stopped at the gate of the villa and was looking at the rare quiet area he had encountered along the way, there was a "click" sound and the door was opened from the inside.
A wealthy middle-aged woman with burgundy hair poked her head out slightly. Her eyes lit up immediately when she saw the outer packaging of the bags Zhou Xiao was holding, and she quickly called for her to come in quickly.
"Oh my! We have Erbajiang and Bobo from Old Beijing!" A delighted voice echoed as the door was flung open by a woman. A hand, nails painted maple red, reached out, enthusiastically taking Zhou Xiao's arm and leading him inside.
With a crisp "click," the door closed, and the woman's voice, now unusually friendly, followed. "As soon as I saw the things you brought, I knew you were Xiaoxiao or Zhou Xiao, right?"
"My name is Deng Zian, you can just call me Sister An. I'm responsible for the planning of the group. The things you brought from Beijing solved our urgent needs. I'm afraid our screenwriter teacher will finally get some inspiration!" Deng Zian patted Zhou Xiao's hand and led her through the small garden into the room.
Pushing open the aluminum alloy door, the scene inside transported Zhou Xiao, who had followed along, back to her school days. She felt like a transfer student, ushered in by her homeroom teacher during morning reading, watching a group of "classmates" below, their heads bent over books and discussing. Although these "classmates" were quite a bit older,
Bright sunlight streamed into the hall through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows. An oversized Monstera plant by the window leisurely absorbed the scattered light, adding a touch of lush greenery to the interior. A group of people sat on the carpet in the hall, gathered around a long table made of two irregular coffee tables, intently reading their scripts.
Of the group, Zhou Xiao only had a vague impression of an elderly, unshaven man. After quickly combing through his memories, he confirmed that this person was Mai Zhongcheng, the music producer he had met on the set of "Flowering Journey," during his first visit to the film and television city.
"I heard what you guys were saying inside." Fang Xi, who was leaning on the sofa reading a script, raised her head, smiled and waved at Zhou Xiao, saying to her, "Thank you for bringing these things over for me, Xiao Zhou. I'll let you have more fun on the set next time."
Deng Zian had nothing to be embarrassed about. When Fang Xi said this, she couldn't help laughing. "Sister Xi, you're still stuck on this script. You're not promising a girl empty promises now. You have to come up with something concrete when the time comes!"
Zhou Xiao could sense the intimacy between the two and waved his hand in response, "It's not far away. It's just a matter of convenience."
"How could it be so easy?" Deng Zian, who was already half-crouching not far away, raised her head and "retorted" with a smile. After knocking on the table in front of her to confirm the reply, she stood up, raised her hands and clapped vigorously a few times.
"Comrades, please pause for a moment. Let me introduce you to you. This is Zhou Xiao, Director B of our 'Dancing Fish' crew! Director B just finished directing a stage for CCTV and is here to bring us some Beijing specialty supplies! Everyone, give him a round of applause!"
Director B was the director in charge of Group B's filming. Everyone else in the hall had known about this long ago. They even understood that the other party was Fang Xi's first partner besides Mao Ning.
The two script supervisors, whose minds had long since left their books, immediately looked up and cheered everyone on to applaud and thank Zhou Xiao. One of the shorter girls in particular had her eyes sparkling with excitement as she looked at Zhou Xiao.
"Alright, alright, please stop the applause for a moment," Deng Zian said after introducing Zhou Xiao to everyone. He then turned around and introduced each staff member in the hall to Zhou Xiao, "Then I'll introduce them to you from left to right—"
"This is our screenwriter Mao Ning, nicknamed Sister Cat and a Beijing native. The local specialties the director asked you to bring are for this sister." Deng Zi'an's mouth curled up and changed the subject, "These are the two script supervisors, responsible for recording every shot on set. The one in yellow is Chen Dian, in charge of Group A of 'Dancing Fish'. The one next to him is Li Zimin, in charge of Group B..."
Unlike Shen Dian's indifferent greeting, Li Zimin, standing by, clearly knew that Zhou Xiao was the person she would be following during the shoot. Not only did she stand up and shake Zhou Xiao's hand, she even pulled out a new script and pen from under her own script and handed them to her, which made Deng Zian nod inwardly.
Zhou Xiao accepted it with some surprise, thanked him earnestly, and continued to listen to Li Zimin's introductions one by one. When the last person finished introducing himself, and their eyes fell on Fang Xi, the three of them couldn't help but smile.
"I don't need to introduce this person, do I?" Deng Zian said mischievously, "Just kidding, but I still need to tell you something. Fang Xi is the chief director and producer of 'Dancing Fish.' He's in charge of filming Group A. If you two have any questions about the filming, please discuss them among yourselves."
Zhou Xiao nodded and extended his hand to Fang Xi, saying, "Hello, Director Fang. I look forward to your guidance from now on!"
…
When the morning sunlight came into the room again, Zhou Xiao looked at the newly updated script on the table and felt that his feeling on the first day was really correct.
Over ten people in the hall had spent the past few days acting as NPCs, offering suggestions and questions for the script's refinement. Zhou Xiao finally understood why netizens were so certain of a good script the moment they heard Mao Ning was the screenwriter. It was simply because Sister Mao was such a skilled writer!
Every night's discussion of the plot would bring this sister new ideas for script revisions. Director Fang fully supported this, and it seemed as if the paper in the printer was free, printing out stacks of revised scripts.
After staying in the hotel for two days, Zhou Xiao also moved into Director Fang's house and became temporary roommates with Deng Zian, Mao Ning, Li Zimin and Director Fang, so as not to waste his time on the journey.
Even though filming still had about two months to go, the more immersed he became, the more time felt urgent. Besides daily script readings, Zhou Xiao also set aside an hour each day to practice in the training room, further strengthening his abilities.
The hall is always quiet during the day. Except for Zhou Xiao, all other staff members present have worked with Fang Xi before and have adapted to this "study room"-like atmosphere.
Moreover, many of them only have time to settle down in the past two weeks. After the actors officially join the crew and start the reading at the beginning of next month, everyone will rely on the accumulation of this period to go to the filming studio to set up the shooting scene.
"Buzz—"
The phone vibrated on the table, quickly breaking the silence. Zhou Xiao quickly hung up the phone and then tiptoed out of the hall toward the small garden outside.
Put your phone on vibrate mode; everyone in the room does the same. As for whether or not to quietly say "sorry" before leaving, that's simply a waste of your time and everyone else's. We're all studying together, so there's no need to worry about such a small matter.
After closing the door, Zhou Xiao looked at the missed call from Zhu Jian on the screen. After a moment of confusion, he remembered something and clicked on the chat page between the two of them.
As if to confirm Zhou Xiao's suspicions, Zhu Jian had indeed sent her several messages a little earlier. Zhou Xiao read the reason why Zhu Jian had come to see her almost instantly, and then she called him back.
The phone beeped for just a moment before Zhu Jian, on the other end, picked up the call. A familiar voice echoed joyfully in Zhou Xiao's ears, "Xiaoxiao! Xiao Shao's new variety show, 'Simulated Business,' is being recorded in Yunnan Province in partnership with the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Culture and Tourism! Sister Digital asked Xincheng, and they said they can allocate dozens of tickets for the variety show investment conference. Do you want to go?"
Zhou Xiao smiled but didn't rush to speak, because based on her understanding of the other party, she knew that Zhu Jian would definitely have a series of words to say next, but he hasn't said them yet.
Sure enough, Zhu Jian on the other end of the phone didn't wait for Zhou Xiao's reply and started talking about planning to book a local B&B with Li Mo and a few friends from the fan club. If Zhou Xiao wanted to go, they could book together.
After the other end finished talking about all the trivial things, Zhou Xiao finally said in a somewhat sinister tone, "No, I have something to do here and can't leave."
On the morning of the second day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhou Xiao had already learned from Chen Shenju that Ji Shao was going to Yun Province to film a variety show. She also learned about the investment promotion conference that Zhu Jian mentioned on the phone, because Chen Shenju had already invited her.
On the other hand, in Zhu Jian's view, the "something" Zhou Xiao mentioned must be something serious. Just like his heart-pounding first absence during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which ended up being the perfect stage for NINE STAR by the CCTV director.
To this day, many people on Weibo, forums, Xiaohongshu, and various short video platforms still talk about Zhou Xiaozhang's two performances that night with great relish. Even though Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, a good performance will always leave a mark in everyone's heart.
Zhu Jian felt that Zhou Xiao was being wicked. Her words immediately piqued his curiosity. But at the same time, Zhu Jian also understood that this kind of "spoiler" was absolutely unacceptable! If he could say it, Xiaoxiao wouldn't have given him such an answer.
"Oh, if you have something to do, we definitely won't disturb you at work," Zhu Jian said with a hint of regret. "It's just a pity. I heard that Xiao Shao will be joining the crew right after the variety show is finished."
Zhou Xiao on this end was also a little helpless. Could she say that the reason she couldn't go to Yun Province to attend the investment promotion conference was because she was now in the group that Ji Shao was going to join next?
Given the conflict of confidentiality agreements and the hidden dangers of no secrets in fan circles, Zhou Xiao naturally couldn't tell her friends about the incident. Even when Chen Shenju asked her if she wanted to attend the investment conference, he had mentioned keeping it a secret for the time being.
"There will be opportunities in the future!" Zhou Xiao said confidently.
"Yeah," Zhu Jian nodded on the other end of the phone. When Zhou Xiao was about to hang up, he whispered, "Keep working hard, Xiaoxiao! Don't feel embarrassed for us. Confidentiality is a must! Wei Ba, Xiaoyu, and Sisi don't mind!"
Smart people naturally react to a brief silence. Zhu Jian felt that Zhou Xiao really didn't need to be embarrassed. Although they knew each other through idol worship, they were more than just friends!
"Okay." Looking at Director Fang who also answered the phone and quietly walked out of the room, Zhou Xiao smiled at each other and then responded softly to Zhu Jian on the other end of the phone.
There are many opportunities to meet, and maybe she will become everyone's connection in the crew. Of course, this must not affect the filming.
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