Chapter 62 Chapter 62
After recording two 1v1 scenes in a row, Zhong Xinwu was considerately arranged to take a lunch break first. He was a little surprised but very cooperative.
"Alright, let's take a break. I also want to leave my best condition for Zhu Ling."
Xu Mu smiled awkwardly and signaled his liaison to his colleagues to settle the financial sponsor. Zhong Xinwu's status was significant, and given the recent unpleasantness between "The Last Days Lovers" and the Lijiang Financial Group, Zhong Xinwu was now a top priority for the entire production team.
Xu Mu glanced at the audience below, and saw Director An still talking on the phone with a frown on his face.
On the other side, Zhong Xinwu had a relaxed expression on his face, and was chatting and laughing with others calmly and gently.
Zhu Ling is already the most popular female guest, and now she is favored by a new sponsor... Thinking of the torture of staying up late to shoot and repeatedly revising the script, Xu Mu began to pray devoutly that Zhu Ling would show up before the recording.
How come such a good program like ours has such a rough fate and so many twists and turns...
Fortunately, when the entire production crew was at a loss and even An Jiyue was anxious and preparing to adjust the filming process, Zhu Ling appeared.
Her figure was still slender and graceful, and she walked towards us step by step, like a divine soldier descending from the sky.
But a closer look revealed something amiss. Zhu Ling, always dressed in brightly colored clothes, was clad today in a long black shawl with tassels that reached her ankles. Her lips were pale, her signature retro red gone.
Zhu Ling reached out and lowered her sunglasses. The bags under her eyes drooped slightly. Although her overall complexion looked acceptable, she looked obviously haggard.
An Jiyue immediately became suspicious. Is Zhu Ling...sick?
She took a few steps forward, walked past the colleague who was leading the way, and held Zhu Ling's hand.
An Jiyue whispered, "If you're not feeling well, today's recording can be postponed."
Zhu Ling's eyes flickered as she squeezed An Jiuyue's fingers and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
She smiled palely and tiredly, and asked softly, "I'm sorry to bother you today. Please take me to the dressing room."
Zhu Ling had always arrived wearing her own meticulously pre-applied makeup, with the makeup artist only needing to make minor adjustments based on the location and lighting. Her makeup had always been the vibrant, glamorous style of a retro Hong Kong star, creating a radiant and natural contrast with the others around her. Now, with her bare face and relaxed brows, she exuded a sense of approachability, a clean-cut, unadulterated presence.
The liaison colleague seemed to feel that something was not right with Zhu Ling, so he asked Director An for his opinion. Seeing An Jiuyue nodded, he continued to gesture to lead the way.
"Need not."
A hoarse voice suddenly joined in. Zhong Xinwu stood behind the crowd, staring at Zhu Ling's unmade-up face.
Including Zhu Ling, everyone present was startled for a moment by the slightly trembling yet decisive ending to his voice.
"If you don't mind—you're beautiful like this."
Zhong Xinwu's clear eyes seemed to have an automatic following lens turned on, fixed on Zhu Ling motionlessly.
Zhu Ling had never appeared on camera without makeup. She deliberately looked herself over and said tactfully, "I need to change my clothes and put on some makeup, right? Otherwise, it'll scare the audience."
Zhong Xinwu insisted: "But don't wear heavy makeup—you will be more charming without the decorations."
Zhu Ling gracefully entered the dressing room, leaving Zhong Xinwu sitting in a chair, intoxicated, waiting for her. Meanwhile, the team leaders of "The Last Days Lovers" quickly gathered for a brief meeting.
Editor Tang defied the crowd, stating, "Zhu Ling's character is that of a gorgeous, charming older sister. While this image attracts fans, it's also prone to criticism as 'unreal,' 'always pretentious,' and 'distant.' This time, she used simple makeup, which both sets the stage and allows the audience to glimpse her straightforward side. Most importantly, her willingness to wear minimal makeup is, to some extent, a unique factor that helps her connect with the new guest."
The screenwriters all nodded in agreement. The scene where the flower from Gaoling descends from the altar and takes off the mask for one person is really touching.
Song Yiyi was firm in her attitude. "No. Zhu Ling's influence is huge. Not only her outfits, but even her lipstick shades are a hot topic. The brands the investment team is contacting are interested in her. If she suddenly appears without makeup, not only will the contrast be huge, but her commercial capabilities will also be affected."
After a few chattering for a while, they finally focused their attention on An Jiyue, who seemed lost in thought. With Director Zhang and Director Wu away, she still needed to make the decision.
An Jiyue thought for a moment and said, "Let's listen to Zhu Ling's own thoughts."
She hates forcing others. When she was working on that music variety show, An Jiyue was extremely respectful of each musician and band's desire to express themselves. That's why the final result was so explosive, with each contestant and theme clearly defined, and the show naturally became a hit of the season.
An Jiyue has always insisted that reality shows should give the right of expression to the guests. What the production team needs to do is to present the guests' personal charm as completely as possible on stage.
Zhu Ling looked haggard today and seemed to be in a hurry. When An Jiyue approached her, she even smelled an unusual whiff of smoke.
If she is forced to wear heavy makeup, the camera will probably only be able to depict the skin but not the bones.
In a one-on-one session with Zhu Ling, Zhong Xinwu catered to her preference by choosing tea. Zhu Ling, lightly made up, sat down on the other side of the tea table, carefully examining the intricately gilded porcelain cup in her hands.
Zhong Xinwu noticed her movements and asked, "Do you like this cup?"
Zhu Ling pursed her lips slightly, noncommittal: "This pattern is a little different from the usual ones."
Ordinary tea sets are either simple and delicate purple clay bowls or white porcelain cups with a few freehand strokes. The intricate palace style often uses images such as ancient mythical birds. But this set is not only brightly colored, but even the patterns used have a Western aristocratic style.
Zhong Xinwu nodded. "I bought it back from England. It's said that a certain duchess designed it herself, and asked a trader to find a connection to have it custom-made from the imperial kiln. If you like it, consider it a gift from me."
Zhu Ling was stunned, smiled and waved her hand to refuse, only praising softly and lowering her head to sip the tea.
Zhong Xinwu looked at her steadily: "Zhu Ling, can I tell you how I feel about you?"
The woman with a leisurely demeanor raised her willow-shaped eyebrows and looked up, waiting for him to continue.
"You are like a rose." Zhong Xinwu said sincerely.
"Oh?" Zhu Ling smiled calmly, unfazed by praise or criticism, and said half-jokingly, "How's the saying? The first person to use the word 'rose' to describe a woman is a genius, and the second one—"
"Stupid, I know. But I can't help it, that's how I feel about you."
Zhong Xinwu's clear, shallow eyes seemed to be simply praising: "If it's not unique enough, I can be more specific. You are like an Ecuadorian deadwood rose growing freely in the black soil.
His gaze was tinged with fascination. "Even during its long period of withering, the deadwood rose retains its elegance. The edges of its petals are scorched by the intense sunlight, dried by the wild winds, and the veins are permeated with a bronze-red hue."
Zhu Ling didn't avoid his blunt gaze. Her eyes moved as she deliberately asked, "Are you saying that I look elegant when I age?"
Zhong Xinwu's thoughts paused for half a second, and after he realized what was happening, he quickly shook his head.
"Of course not. How are you old? I just thought that every stage of your life should be like this rose, always elegant and charming..."
Zhu Ling blinked her beautiful eyes, interrupting his explanation and smilingly accepted it: "Thank you for the compliment."
She lowered her eyelashes and saw that the brown-red tea soup was getting darker in color. A crimson lip print was imprinted on the luxurious and beautiful rim of the cup.
Always elegant, always charming. Zhu Ling closed her eyes, thinking mockingly, how is that possible?
Who is born with alluring charm and a thousand beauties? Who is naturally shrewd and knows everything about the world?
Even a girl as blessed as An Jiyue had her family fall into poverty and nearly be doomed.
Zhu Ling also had moments of weakness. Those were memories she wanted to forget, a fate she wanted to shrug off.
She took a sip of tea, and it tasted heavy and bitter.
The man opposite her fell silent, watching her every move as she sipped the tea seriously, with undisguised fascination in his eyes.
The main camera zoomed in. The atmosphere was peaceful and the picture was beautiful.
Everyone held their breath. It was hard to imagine that this guest, whose style was so different from Lu Ye's, could be such a perfect match for Zhu Ling.
Not quite right.
In the intoxicated atmosphere, only An Jiyue frowned, holding her breath, not daring to be careless for a moment.
Zhu Ling's condition is completely wrong.
What seemed like a proper way to smooth things over was actually a form of alienation and rejection. Even with a male guest who had nothing to do with her, Zhu Ling wouldn't deliberately keep her distance like this.
What on earth had happened? An Jiyue stared closely at the two people interacting with each other.
Zhong Xinwu's intuition as an artist is unerring. Today, she is like a withered rose, as if scorched by the sun, dried out by the wind, her usual effortless charm drained away.
Wearing a Tencel shirt and simple trousers, Zhong Xinwu looked relaxed and casual, but in fact he was trying his best as if he was presenting treasures to the queen. From teacups to roses, he searched for the best from the bottom of his heart to present to Zhu Ling.
As for Zhong Xinwu, Zhu Ling was not only absent-minded, but even had a clear sense of boundaries between them.
The two of them were silent for a long time. Zhu Ling's thoughts were clearly wandering, while Zhong Xinwu just stared at her, unconcerned. An Jiyue raised her hand, hesitant, and slowly called out, "Click!"
"Zhu Ling's filming task for today has been completed. Prepare for an interview with Zhong Xinwu, and then ask him to invite her on a date." An Jiuyue instructed Xu Mu.
Xu Mu gave her a helpless look: Is it necessary? Even a fool could guess that he would invite Zhu Ling.
An Jiyue shook her head: "Who knows if Zhu Ling is willing to accept it? Besides, there's still Rongrong."
Thinking of Rongrong, she felt a headache again. She always felt that the brain circuits of these writers were not normal. Why did they love to create plot twists when they couldn't just let the story develop smoothly?
An Jiyue glanced at Tang Bian who was talking nonsense - he had already been discussing the CP name of Zhong Xinwu and Zhu Ling with the screenwriter team.
The people on the scene finished work one after another, but the light in Zhong Xinwu's clear eyes did not dim because the recording was over.
Zhong Xinwu leaned forward, his gentle, hoarse voice almost easily creeping into people's hearts: "I can see that you must be very tired today. Fortunately, the recording went smoothly, you can go back and rest early."
Zhu Ling, who always had a calm attitude, took a deep breath, thought again and again, and suddenly called out to him as he stood up.
She shook the exquisite and luxurious teacup, raised her lips, and smiled rarely: "I should give you a gift too."
"This tea is too strong. Perhaps you would like to try the flower tea I planted myself?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
