However, speaking of Meng Ziqiu's girlfriend, strictly speaking, they haven't officially gotten together yet, but their flirtatious interactions are definitely there. If you think about it carefully, it's understandable. After all, Meng Ziqiu is a man with a house (in his hometown), a car, and an income. As for his appearance, he's decent-looking and 184cm tall, which is above average!
Given that the Meng family only has these two children, Xu Qian generously granted Meng Ziqiu a long vacation, encouraging him: "Go and date, kid!"
Meng Ziqiu sighed and then settled down to focus on her little romance.
Seeing his overjoyed expression, Xu Qian couldn't help but chuckle. The allure of a beautiful woman is always the hardest to overcome; he hoped everything would go smoothly.
Meng Ziqiu then thought of something and said, "By the way, brother, let me find you someone. You need someone to help you too."
Xu Qian had also thought about this. He couldn't get a driver's license right now, and he couldn't possibly take a taxi or bus to and from get off work every day. During rush hour, he would have to wait forever.
Seeing that he nodded in agreement, Meng Ziqiu immediately called his friend and found the person in just one call.
"Brother, it's settled, he can start work tomorrow. Do you want me to have him add you on WeChat first?"
Xu Qian, remembering that he had already promised Sheng Huai for tomorrow, said, "How about the day after tomorrow? Never mind, have him add me, and I'll tell him, 'Hey... he's a guy, right?'" It wasn't that Xu Qian disliked girls; it was just that he wasn't very good at dealing with girls and always felt that girls were too delicate and hard to manage.
Meng Ziqiu knew his brother well enough, so the natural choice was a cute boy.
The next day, Xu Qian went to class during the day and went to the restaurant where he had arranged to meet Sheng Huai in the afternoon.
Sheng Huai, who is known as the "King of Lateness," arrived early for the first time. Xu Qian asked him curiously when he arrived and why he was taking the unusual route today.
"I've already ordered. I remember your preferences. Extra chili." Sheng Huai smiled. As they got to know each other better, he found Xu Qian to be a very interesting person. This was not only because they had common topics, but also because of Xu Qian's personality. He actually had many 'friends,' but he had never met anyone as unambitious as Xu Qian.
Xu Qian saw the beer on the table and, without thinking too much, opened two bottles, handing one to Sheng Huai, "Can you drink it?"
Sheng Huai smiled and took the beer. "Why can't I drink this?"
Xu Qian glanced at him; there were dark circles under his eyes, indicating he must have stayed up all night filming yesterday. Thinking of this, Xu Qian didn't say anything more.
Previously, some people in the crew had gossiped that Sheng Huai, besides filming "Two Dreams," had also taken on another project, shuttling between the two sets, which led to the nickname "King of Lateness." As the main character among the main characters, Sheng Huai's behavior certainly displeased the director, at least Director Wen was very unhappy, and Sheng Huai naturally noticed it too. It's just unclear why he knowingly did something wrong.
“Um…” Sheng Huai took a sip of beer and paused, “That documentary we were working on before might not be filmed for the time being.”
"...Not filming anymore?" Xu Qian ate a piece of chicken leg that had just been served. It was not only tender and juicy, but the chili sauce sprinkled on top was also very satisfying.
Sheng Huai paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "...Okay, let's stop filming for now."
Seeing that his expression was somewhat heavy, Xu Qian thought there must be a reason, but Xu Qian felt that he was not yet in a position to comfort him, so he didn't say anything.
"...I want to retire from the entertainment industry."
Suddenly, Sheng Huai dropped a deep-sea torpedo, and Xu Qian's hand holding the chopsticks trembled.
"This industry is really tiring." Sheng Huai sighed again, his face full of exhaustion.
“…Hmm,” Xu Qian thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I’m a pretty good listener.”
Sheng Huai raised his eyelids, a small smile curving his lips. He had already realized that the other person was a very good listener.
Xu Qian made a listening gesture.
“Just last week, my mother passed away. The documentary I made was actually intended to be made for her. My family… how should I put it, was a scholarly family? Oh, I should add a prefix, a declining scholarly family. When my grandfather was still alive, he always hoped that I would inherit the family business and carry it forward, but… I really had limited talent, and until he passed away, I was unable to achieve anything for him to see.”
Xu Qian listened quietly to him. This kind of pattern was actually quite familiar to Xu Qian. Although he had always lived on Wuqi Mountain and rarely came into contact with these aristocratic families and immortal sects except for his fellow disciples, he had still heard quite a bit about them. The most direct example was the Miss Chu he knew. Her sect, Yanyue Sect, was somewhat similar, also a family-style succession. They attached great importance to the successor, that is, the next sect leader. For the elders in the sect, family succession was even more important than life itself.
However, nothing lasts forever. Even the most prosperous families will gradually lose their luster over time. It's not that they did anything wrong; it's just that the times are like that. In an era that pursues harmony, those who are different will slowly decline and eventually disappear.
“I initially entered the industry because I loved being an actress, but later her health deteriorated, and I… needed to earn a lot of money.” This explains why Sheng Huai risked his reputation in the industry by taking on roles privately. He desperately needed money; the cost of chemotherapy alone was a huge sum every month. Even though Sheng Huai seemed to be living a glamorous life, after layers of exploitation by the company, he actually didn’t have much money left.
Xu Qian roughly understood Sheng Huai's current state of mind. It was like a string that had been taut for a long time suddenly snapping, leaving him at a loss and even thinking about escaping.
While escaping is shameful, it can actually be effective.
Xu Qian thought about it carefully and said to him, "If you're tired, take a break for a while, but I think you should reconsider retiring from the entertainment industry." After saying that, Xu Qian took out a sachet from his backpack. This was a sachet he always carried with him, which could improve sleep quality. He felt that this was very suitable for Sheng Huai now, at least it could help Sheng Huai get a good night's sleep.
"What is this?" Sheng Huai was stunned.
"This is for you. Put it by your bed tonight so you can get a good night's sleep. After you've had your sleep, think about it again."
Sheng Huai was stunned again, but his hand involuntarily took it. Among the various barbecue spices, he smelled a faint medicinal fragrance. He didn't know if it was coming from the sachet or from the person sitting opposite him, anyway...
"Thank you," he said with a smile.
Another day passed, and Xu Qian's new assistant arrived, the "cute" boy Meng Ziqiu had mentioned.
This is it...
If the other person weren't 185cm tall, Xu Qian would have doubted whether he was even an adult. His face... was too young, even younger than his second young master. Can you imagine that?
"Hello! Brother Xu! I'm Yan Lang, you can just call me Xiao Yan!" The young man, who could barely be called a youth, showed off a row of bright white teeth that shone brightly. His smile was also very cheerful, and he seemed to be a good-natured young man.
Xu Qian nodded 'reservedly', then asked him, "I heard you haven't graduated yet, this line of work is quite tough..."
Yan Lang stood ramrod straight, his expression utterly serious. "Don't worry! I've made all the preparations! I can endure hardship!"
“…Okay.” Xu Qian was used to being a 'lazy bum', so seeing such an enthusiastic newcomer was quite refreshing.
"Oh right! Brother Meng said you needed someone who could drive. I got my driver's license in my freshman year of college. Although I haven't driven much in the last two years, I can still drive, so you can rest assured!"
“…Ah.” Hearing him say that only made Xu Qian more worried, but… let’s see first.
"Shall we set off now?" Yan Lang blinked his starry eyes, looking very expectant.
Xu Qian continued to nod, understanding the need to give young people confidence.
"drive."
After getting into the car, Xu Qian carefully checked the seatbelt and nodded to Xiao Yan only after confirming that everything was in order.
"Alright!" Yan Lang immediately started the car and took off steadily. It looked pretty good at the beginning.
Five minutes later, Xu Qian regretted it. This guy was driving way too...recklessly!
“Thirty yards, I’m serious,” Xu Qian said through gritted teeth to the young man.
Yan Lang blinked and replied with an "okay," and the car finally slowed down completely.
Xu Qian could foresee that his new life in the future might be filled with more troubles.
There's a saying that goes, "The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment," but when you reverse that, surprises await.
Although Yan Lang's driving skills aren't great, he's definitely not a novice when it comes to the ins and outs of the entertainment industry. Xu Qian thought about it carefully and realized that Yan Lang was a diligent student who had already started looking for internships in his freshman year of college, so he probably knew as much as Xu Qian did.
In terms of interpersonal skills, he is much better than Xu Qian and Meng Ziqiu. Meng Ziqiu is better, but it's purely because his 'profession' is not relevant to his job. Xu Qian, on the other hand, is a complete 'homebody'. He can tolerate simple superficial relationships, but once you delve deeper, he ends up empty-handed and has nothing.
Yan Lang's appearance perfectly fills the gap in Xu Qian's work, and can even act as a social teacher to teach him how to handle things. For example, right now, Xu Qian can play games with other male actors. Playing games is the best and fastest way to build relationships.
Xu Qian paused for a moment after hearing this, then said, "...Okay, I'll go then."
Yan Lang watched him leave with great satisfaction. Before entering university, Yan Lang had a great dream—he wanted to become the top agent in China!
And now, he finally has his first artist! His very first one! Someone who's like his 'first love'!
Xu Qian felt an invisible, burning gaze that made him extremely uncomfortable, even affecting his performance in the game. How could he not get any headshots?! This is illogical!
The male actors, who were being carried around in various ways, were all smiles, enjoying the feeling of winning without lifting a finger... Ah!
Author's Note: I... seem to have miscalculated the timing. Sigh, no 10,000 words a day on Saturday. Tomorrow might be a double update, but only a possibility! I'll see if I can get 10,000 words a day this weekend.
P.S., no romantic pairing.
***
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