Chapter 35 Once Again
Ling Wei put the empty plate in the recycling bin and turned to leave, but Zhou Han called her back from behind.
"Come to my office later."
"Lunch break!! You skinflint!!" Ling Wei couldn't help but blurt out the name she was thinking.
Zhou Han's lips twitched noticeably, and a vein on his forehead seemed to throb.
He took a deep breath, as if he was trying his best to suppress something, and squeezed out the words through clenched teeth: "...It won't take up much of your time."
Upon entering the office, Zhou Han did not speak immediately.
Ling Wei didn't rush him. She slowly peeled the oranges she had brought from the cafeteria.
Her nails were neatly trimmed, and she gently pinched the orange peel with her fingertips, slowly peeling it off completely. The oil from the orange peel released a fresh fragrance in the air, and her focused profile looked particularly soft in the afternoon sunlight.
Zhou Han's gaze inadvertently swept over her hand, then quickly looked away as if he had been burned, his ears burning slightly.
He cleared his throat awkwardly: "What exactly do you mean by 'breaking the rules'? Tell me."
Although his tone was still harsh, it had softened considerably compared to last time.
Ling Wei broke off a segment of orange and put it in her mouth: "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Zhou Han almost laughed in anger. "Then why did you challenge me like that last time?"
"All I know is that we present things to the audience, not instill things in them."
Ling Wei looked up at him, her eyes clear and bright. "Encouraging Teacher Shen to break the rules is just a test, to see how well the audience accepts this change."
She spoke frankly: "Director Zhou, I don't have such noble virtues, indulging in my own art and yearning for someone to understand me. I'm just an ordinary person, making the films I want to make, and then racking my brains to make the audience fall in love with what I want to make. After all, no matter how profound the message, what's the point if the audience all leaves?"
Zhou Han remained silent for a moment.
Ling Wei pressed her advantage: "You asked me how exactly to break the rules, I don't have a complete plan yet. But there is someone I think can do it, and is very good at it."
Zhou Han frowned: "Who?"
Then he saw the girl raise her hand, her slender index finger pointing straight at him.
"you."
Zhou Han was completely stunned.
Ling Wei looked at him, her tone more serious than ever before: "You're clearly super good at this. I watched all your early shows, including the first season of 'City Code,' where the clues you designed were intricately linked, testing not physical strength, but observation and logical thinking."
Your greatest strength has never been designing the framework of rules, but creating a 'field' that inspires people's infinite possibilities.
The office was filled with the sweet scent of oranges.
Ling Wei looked at the still turbulent emotions in Zhou Han's eyes, leaned forward slightly, and spoke in a low voice, each word striking his heart clearly:
"So, Director Zhou, take off the shackles you've put on yourself."
Let's create another miracle together.
......
That evening, Zhou Han stayed alone in the office.
As night deepened, he instinctively reached for his cigarette pack, but his fingertips stopped just as they touched it.
He irritably pulled his hand away and turned on the computer instead.
Working until 3 a.m., when fatigue and ingrained thought patterns surged up again like a tide, he couldn't resist bending down to take out a cigarette case from the bottom of the drawer and lit one.
Amidst the swirling bluish-white smoke, he gazed through the glass curtain wall at his familiar workstation.
In the corner, several well-worn film theory books were neatly stacked, a row of brightly colored cat sticky notes were pasted around the edge of the monitor, and half a bag of unfinished cookies was casually placed next to the keyboard, exuding a life atmosphere completely different from her sharp demeanor at work.
He had a cigarette in his mouth, and suddenly chuckled softly, "Little girl..."
The next morning, colleagues arrived at their posts one after another, but Zhou Han was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Director Zhou?" Zhang Tao asked several people, but they all shook their heads and said they hadn't seen him.
Ling Wei was engrossed in organizing the pre-planned points and filming priorities for the next episode's Shen Yicheng personal storyline when suddenly, a thick stack of documents was gently patted on the top of her head, and a faint, bitter citrus and woody scent quietly enveloped her from behind.
“A new proposal,” that familiar voice rang out from above, “the electronic version has been sent to the group.”
"Meet in the conference room in half an hour."
Ling Wei didn't turn around. She reached over her head and took down the stack of documents that were still warm from her body. When her fingertips touched the cover, she paused slightly, surprised by its thickness...
She eagerly flipped through the pages, which rustled as they opened.
As she read on, her eyes grew brighter and brighter, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. She was completely immersed in the ingenious design and overwhelming creativity of the new plan.
"This traffic flow arrangement... is fantastic!" She turned around excitedly, wanting to share her thoughts with those around her, but unexpectedly met a pair of deep eyes.
The man in front of me had shaved his beard, revealing his well-defined face. A black headband held his stray hairs back, highlighting his full forehead and handsome features.
The top two buttons of the black shirt were casually undone, revealing just the right amount of Adam's apple and collarbone.
The fine fabric outlined his broad shoulders, and the morning light fell on him, clearly illuminating the contours of his muscles beneath the fabric. The metal strap of his wristwatch was loosely fastened to his wrist, and his previous dejection had been transformed into a calm sharpness, like a renowned blade finally unsheathed.
Ling Wei's breath hitched, and she remained stunned for several seconds before uncertainly asking, "Director Zhou??"
"Hmm." The man had one hand in his pocket and the other hand rested naturally on the back of her chair, forming a subtle encircling gesture.
His gaze fell on her cheeks, slightly flushed with excitement, and a smile curved his lips: "Is there a problem?"
...
This is a big problem.
In the conference room.
Zhou Han glanced around at everyone, his brows furrowing habitually, and tapped his knuckles on the table: "I need ideas, not silence. Are you all mute?"
Seeing that no one spoke up, he glanced around and began calling people out in order of seating.
Yingzi, the Follow PD in charge of Feng Nuo next to Ling Wei, took the opportunity to lean over and exclaimed in a whisper, "My God, I've been with the company for so many years and I've never seen Director Zhou like this... I didn't know he was this good-looking."
Hearing this, Zhang Tao, sitting to Ling Wei's left, snorted and lowered his voice, "Is this all the fuss about? When Director Zhou first came to the station, he was a real... well, you know."
Tsk. The station director even said that if there's a sudden shortage of guests, he could fill in himself.
His voice carried a hint of nostalgia: "Back then, many of the guests, regardless of gender, were secretly flirting with our chief director."
Ling Wei's lips twitched: "Ah... isn't 'no gender restriction' a bit... a bit...?"
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