Chapter 130 This advertisement is interesting.
He waved again and said to Xiaolin, "You can go now. It's alright. We'll just wait for their commercial to be taken down."
Xiao Lin glanced at Manager He, hesitated for a moment, then turned and left the office. Manager He remained with his eyes closed, lost in his own fantasies, unaware that at Tengyue Media, a creative and heartwarming advertisement shoot was in full swing, and this advertisement would bring unexpected impact to Gaoguang Group.
In a private room on the second floor of Longwu Hot Pot Restaurant, the air conditioner vents hummed. Su Yingxue adjusted the proposal in her hand for the third time, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
The young man sitting opposite her was lounging lazily in the booth, one leg casually crossed over the other. His ripped jeans revealed half of his fair ankle at the knee, and the sleeves of his floral shirt were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined forearms. The stray hairs under his beret swayed gently as he twirled his pen.
This is Hu Xiaoguang, the "savior" recommended by Director Ye. He reportedly shot quite a few advertising short films during his university years. Although he seems carefree and irresponsible, Director Ye confidently assured him: "Shooting an ad, right? That's passable. Xiaoguang, why don't you give it a try?"
At this moment, Su Yingxue looked at the young man in front of her, whose entire being exuded "unreliability," and her throat tightened. She recalled Wang Datou's hesitant expression that morning, the budget sheet that the finance department had repeatedly checked, and Long Meng's urging that it "would be online as early as next week."
“Teacher Xiao Guang,” Su Yingxue tried to make her voice sound professional and calm, “this is our proposal. The core is to highlight the ‘human touch’ theme of Longwu Hotpot, which needs to showcase…”
“Yes, yes, I’ve received your requests.” Xiao Guang suddenly interrupted her, tapping his finger on the script. “Director Ye is my senior from university, you know. He said it’ll take a few days to film. Okay, let’s get started now! First, let’s talk about the specific requirements?”
Su Yingxue took a deep breath and laid out the filming plan she had prepared: to complete the filming during the break before 11 a.m. at the hot pot restaurant without disturbing normal business operations.
In terms of actors, apart from a few main characters who needed specific emotions, most of the shop assistants and customers played themselves; props were mainly items already in the store, with some older props brought in from home by team members...
"Where are the actors? Where are the props? Where is the location?" Xiao Guang suddenly looked up as he listened, the script in his hand half-flipped and stopped in mid-air. He frowned, his gaze lingering on Su Yingxue's face for a few seconds, then he glanced down at the script again, his lips twitching involuntarily.
"Wait, you mean... filming right here in a hot pot restaurant? No professional studio? No set construction?"
Su Yingxue nodded and pointed to the bustling street scene outside the window: "Since Longwu Hot Pot restaurant is doing very well, we can't disrupt normal operations. We'll schedule the time before 11 a.m. when customer traffic is relatively low."
“Alright…” Xiao Guang drawled, his fingers unconsciously twirling his beret, his gaze fixed on Su Yingxue’s back. Su Yingxue followed his gaze and turned around, seeing the “actor” she had specially arranged standing at the door of the private room:
An elderly man with gray hair and a slightly shaky gait, a shy young man in a food delivery uniform with his head down rubbing his fingers, and a young couple in matching outfits standing very close together.
"...Are these professional actors?" Xiao Guang's gaze swept back and forth between them, growing increasingly suspicious, finally settling on the old man. "And who is this?"
“This is Grandpa Chen, who lives nearby. He's a regular customer, so we asked him to play himself,” Su Yingxue quickly explained, then pointed to the delivery guy, “This is Xiao Zhou. He's usually quiet but very earnest, so we asked him to play…”
"Wait, wait, wait!" Xiao Guang suddenly raised his hand to interrupt. He took off his beret, rubbed his buzz cut, and frowned deeply. "You just said there aren't any professional actors? These..." He pointed to the three people at the door, then to the colleagues in Tengyue uniforms standing behind Su Yingxue, "And you guys?"
Su Yingxue nodded, forcing a smile: "Yes, they're all playing themselves. Grandpa Chen comes here often for hot pot, the delivery guy is a real rider we found, and the couple are college students we hired to temporarily play the roles... It should be very professional."
"What do you mean 'should be'?!" Xiao Guang suddenly raised his voice, attracting the attention of the waiter outside the private room. He jumped up, his beret almost falling to the ground. "Where are the extras? Where are the props? I mean, where are the most basic extras and props?"
“Our advertising agency and the hot pot restaurant staff can work as extras,” Su Yingxue quickly added. “We’ve also coordinated with the staff of the neighboring restaurants; they can come over if needed.” She paused, her voice softening unconsciously, “Teacher Xiao Guang, we really tried our best to coordinate. Director Ye said you…”
“I suspect,” Xiao Guang suddenly interrupted her, pulling his beret back up low to hide his furrowed brow. “I suspect my senior tricked me.”
He lowered his head and picked up the script again, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the cover. "Shooting an advertisement, right? That's alright..." His voice trailed off, the last few words almost muffled in his mouth.
Su Yingxue felt a tightness in her chest as she looked at Xiao Guang. She glanced at the rising sun outside the window, then at the group of "unreliable" "actors" and "props" in the private room, and silently clenched her fists. But just then, Xiao Guang suddenly raised his head, a sly glint flashing in his eyes under his hat brim.
“Alright,” he stood up, brushing the dust off his pants, “We can’t refuse Director Ye’s request. President Su, I’ll go check out the venue now. You can let those ‘actors’ familiarize themselves with the environment first.” With that, he turned and strode out of the private room, his floral shirt flashing a bright color in the sunlight.
As Su Yingxue watched his retreating figure, she suddenly realized that this seemingly unreliable young man might actually bring some surprises.
Under the boiling lens
As Xiao Guang pushed open the door of the hot pot restaurant just in time, the 10 a.m. sunlight slanted into the hall. His nose twitched, and he was the first to catch the rich aroma of the beef tallow broth—a blend of the spiciness of Sichuan peppercorns, the pungent heat of chili peppers, and the sweetness of radishes and bone broth. This smell reminded him of the nights he spent in college, squatting at the alley entrance eating at roadside stalls, the rumbling of his stomach still ringing in his ears.
"Teacher Xiao Guang!" Su Yingxue jogged up to greet him, her hair still damp with the light sweat of the morning. The "actors" following behind her stood awkwardly: Grandpa Chen clutched his thermos, his knuckles white; deliveryman Xiao Zhou looked down at the stains on the toes of his shoes; the college students in matching outfits tugged at each other's clothes, looking just like students on stage for the first time.
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