Chapter 27 Chapter 27
In the minute that Lu Ye canceled the car, put the luggage back in, and opened the tourmaline gray car door, An Jiuyue made up countless excuses.
I sent a friend to the airport, and the production team made thoughtful arrangements, even allowing us to go for a drive in the middle of the night when we were bored.
But he didn't even ask. He sat down, fastened his seat belt, and the first sentence he said was a very ordinary and plain topic.
“Nice car.”
It was so natural that it successfully led her astray. An Jiyue nonsensically pulled out a glass lunch box from the back seat and asked, "Are you hungry? I just bought a midnight snack."
The midnight snack was given to her by the owner of the late-night restaurant as a token of gratitude. It included not only roasted bird but also some vegetables.
Lu Ye thought for a few seconds, nodded, and reached out to take the cat lunch box that was obviously for her own use.
The person behind the wheel seemed to be the same girl who'd secretly watched variety shows during class and lost track of time. He always tried to start small talk with the least offensive topic, but her intimacy always broke through.
He took off the headphones that had been hanging for a long time and briefly escaped from the endless stream of messages.
The windows, lowered a third of the way, let in the cheerful night breeze, mingled with the faint fragrance of her hair. Lu Ye couldn't even bear to open the lunch box and spoil the smell and atmosphere. His brows relaxed unconsciously, and even the urgent task that had suddenly struck him no longer felt so heavy.
An Jiyue glanced over and saw him looking at her fearlessly. Suddenly, she realized that her palms were sweating from nervousness.
"Why aren't you eating? Do you need something to drink? I have some in my car..."
Before she finished her words, Lu Ye had already waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary. He took out a mini bottle of dark chocolate cocoa milk from his bag and unscrewed the cap.
This was the drink she'd recommended back then, An Jiyue muttered to herself, faintly smelling the sweet aroma of cocoa. She'd left in such a hurry, her bottle of cocoa milk was still in the kitchen of the late-night cafeteria; it must have gone completely cold.
"Yes."
A freshly opened bottle of cocoa was placed beneath her eyelids, rubbing against her soft lips. The fingertips of that mismatched hand gripped the small bottle, looking out of place, as if it were being held for someone else.
She couldn't free her hands to push it away, nor could she take it herself, so she had to take the first sip, leaving a light pink lip mark on the bottle.
Lu Ye calmly withdrew his hand, looked straight ahead, and continued drinking from the same bottle.
An Jiyue's face flushed belatedly, and her throat felt slightly uncomfortable due to the sweetness of the cocoa milk.
"Why did you drink the rest of her drink?" She didn't dare to ask. Lu Ye looked relaxed, as if he didn't notice the ambiguous and tangled mood on the other side.
If she really questioned it, An Jiyue could fully imagine him glancing at her with a puzzled expression, raising an eyebrow and asking indifferently, "Is there something wrong? It's always been like this before."
Only by driving faster and sending him safely to the hotel could he escape from this strange yet natural atmosphere of intimacy.
Lu Ye turned his head away and looked at the night scene passing by outside the car window, a comfortable smile spreading across his lips.
It was as if after a week of hard work, the God of Fate finally felt that he deserved a reward and sent him on this fast-paced night train.
The woman standing just feet away had a rosy complexion, her eyes like stars gleaming in the night. Her snowy swan neck was gracefully straight, hinting at an inherent pride and tenacity. Her wrists deftly twisted the leather steering wheel, decisively overtaking the car ahead once again.
Lu Ye looked at her softly. He never got tired of seeing An Jiyue's focused look.
He suddenly felt somewhat thankful that he had controlled his drinking at the dinner a few hours ago and had washed his face in the first-class bathroom before getting off the plane.
A low-key BMW was parked in front of the hotel, and An Jiuyue dutifully reminded Lu Ye to take his luggage with him.
The man stepped out of the car, his straight and tight trousers outlining his slender lines. Then he turned around again, supported the car frame with one hand, held the car door with the other, and leaned towards her.
"Thank you for picking me up."
He was genuinely happy, and then he teased her deliberately.
"See you tomorrow, Director An. Good night."
An Jiyue, who was left alone in the car, stared at the man's cold and upright back for a few seconds, and finally came back to reality from her distracted mind.
Lu Ye seemed to be unaware that he was suspended, let alone that it was because of him.
And he actually ran to the airport in the middle of the night to pick up the person who caused him to be suspended?
An Jiyue was enlightened by the night breeze and began to wonder if she had taken the wrong medicine. Liang Sinan called again, urging her to go home. She hurriedly pressed the reject button, not caring about the new tank of gas she had filled, and hurriedly increased the speed.
-
The first day of this weekend's filming of "The Last Days" is the studio shooting session.
Director Wu is on vacation this week, so Director Zhang took charge of the individual interviews with the male and female guests and the recording of the observers' reactions, showing his extraordinary willpower early in the morning.
Director Zhang, experienced and cautious, personally oversaw every aspect of the process and script. After ensuring every aspect was flawless before filming began, his voice was hoarse from exhaustion. He even had to use hand gestures to yell "Aciton" for the first time.
Less than a minute into filming, things took a turn for the worse.
The male guest Zhan Nianqing, who was punctual and prepared first, was the first to be interviewed. The first question he was asked was "Which female guest did you have the most contact with this week and why?"
Zhan Nianqing, who had been traveling for a week for the Any brand, arrived in P City this morning. He was always frank:
"I have the most contact with Haifu. We send hundreds of messages almost every day. To be honest, my company has a brand image crisis. I am really grateful to Haifu and Director An for their hard work for my company. However, I don't seem to see Director An today. Is she still on leave?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole scene became a mess.
Director An had indeed not appeared for the entire week. Her male guest staff had been constantly communicating with Xu Mu, and they had assumed she was out on location again. Now that they understood the reason, they could no longer help but whisper to each other.
Zhan Nianqing, who asked the question, couldn't help but notice the movements around him. He sat there in confusion, waiting for the next question.
In the chaos, Director Zhang, whose voice was hoarse, had no time to speak before an angry voice shouted "Cut".
Song Yi from the investment promotion team had a dark face. She always had a strong sense of boundaries, but now she seemed to be trying hard to control her emotions, and her chest was heaving.
She didn't really care about the guest revealing the news of An Jiuyue's suspension, but she really wanted to point at the other person's nose and teach him how to speak.
But all the guests on this show are wealthy sponsors, and she can't afford to offend them.
Song Yiyi forced herself to swallow her anger and said in a calm tone, "Mr. Zhan, our brand reputation has just improved. It would be better to avoid using words like 'crisis' and 'public relations' in the program. What do you think?"
Zhan Nianqing sat upright on the stage, feeling a little overwhelmed by the "cut" just now.
He was the most cooperative guest and had never been stopped so angrily and ruthlessly. He had not yet realized whether he had said a few truths that he "should not have said".
He listened to the investment promotion team's suggestions hesitantly, secretly thinking about how to reorganize his words, and his eyes accidentally glanced at the girl in a pink dress not far away from the stage.
Guan Haifu was looking at him eagerly and encouragingly, and nodded affirmatively.
A warm feeling suddenly surged in his heart, and Zhan Nianqing regained his composure, recalling every carefully written promotional copy for "Sea Salt Soufflé" and the encouraging messages he received every day.
Filming resumed. Zhan Nianqing spoke eloquently and with ease.
Xu Mu was particularly quiet today. He sat in a corner of the back row, away from the crowd, occasionally typing on his mobile phone screen.
He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice the man approaching him. Only when a cold shadow fell before him did he dare to raise his head.
Lu Ye, fresh out of the dressing room, was wearing a complete set of obsidian black sportswear. The comfortable, fitted lines showcased his disciplined physique. The shallow stand-up collar of his zippered sweatshirt brushed his Adam's apple, hinting at an indescribable sexiness.
Although he clearly has an energetic and healthy style, he now exudes a suffocating low pressure, his expression is cold and his face is like a haze.
"Is your Director An still suspended?"
The voice was calm, but Xu Mu could sense a sense of pressure from the audience. He had been waiting outside the conference room that day, one of the few people who knew the reason for An Jiyue's suspension. This made him feel even more guilty about Lu Ye's question.
"Well, Director An hasn't returned to work yet. She was very tired recently and might want to rest for a few more days."
They had just met a few hours ago, when he was still able to drive around in the middle of the night to buy a late-night snack. He didn't look tired at all. Lu Ye turned around and dialed the phone. As usual, no one answered. He didn't get annoyed. He made a decision before hanging up.
Lu Ye stood up and walked out, turning back to instruct Xu Mu: "Well, you guys continue first, I'll go pick up Director An."
“No, no, no!”
Xu Mu was so anxious that he grabbed his arm and used his weight to drag him along. He knew the script by heart. Lu Ye had several important plans for the day, and his departure would completely disrupt everything.
"Teacher Lu, the next part is your individual interview session, you can't leave!"
Xu Mu's voice for retaining him grew louder, and his colleagues around him all cast strange glances at him. Lu Ye's heart sank, and he glanced sharply at the crowd before speaking loudly, "Whether it's suspension or some other reason, I won't cooperate with the recording unless I see Director An."
Zhan Nianqing, who had just finished an interview and was walking backstage, hurried forward upon hearing this, asking in surprise, "Is she really still suspended? Director An was instrumental in handling Any's situation, and now that the negative impact has been almost eliminated, why hasn't she been allowed to return?"
Zhu Ling remained silent. She probably realized that Xu Mu, who was being questioned repeatedly, was just an innocent scapegoat. So she softened her tone and joined in gently:
"We won't make it difficult for you, but please consider giving some feedback to the leaders. After all, the male guests are all led by Director An himself, so they must be more familiar with her."
Xu Mu, who was surrounded and in tears, seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw. He pushed through the crowd regardless of anything and ran to Director Zhang who was sitting in the director's chair for help.
-
More than ten minutes later, An Jiyue, who was sleeping soundly in bed, stretched out a hand, fumbled for the vibrating cell phone and put it to her ear.
"Hello?"
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