Chapter 23 Touching——This is a new story that was born because of me...
In Xia Cangshu's original script, the two protagonists had the same name and similar birth dates. They took each other's suitcases by mistake at the airport, and in the process of contacting and communicating with each other, they glimpsed another possibility in life.
Xia Cangshu asked Qiao Zhizheng to act out the inability of one of the protagonists to confide in the face of difficulties. Qiao Zheng, as the other protagonist acting with her, sat on a chair and listened quietly to her pain and unwillingness.
Qiao Zhizheng paced back and forth in the room anxiously, biting her nails nervously from time to time.
"I look forward to different stories happening every day, hoping someone will come to break my boring life and make my life less silent and stagnant."
"Why is life still so boring after all these years? Am I unworthy?"
"If life is a movie, then I don't even have the right to appear on screen. I can only be a background board, drowned in the sea of people, no audience will notice my presence, and no audience will care if I disappear."
The character played by Qiao Zhizheng is frustrated in life, which has a certain overlap with Qiao Zhizheng's life trajectory. Qiao Zhizheng becomes more and more involved in the performance, and the cheerful mask she shows to outsiders is taken off and put aside. The sadness hidden deep in her heart takes the opportunity to run out and envelop her.
Qiao Zhizheng even felt that while she was performing, she was unknowingly revealing her true self to others - her life, which seemed calm, had actually long been as muddy as mud.
Qiao Zheng saw through it. As a background figure, she had originally assumed she should have sat there indifferently. But now, she gave Qiao Zhizheng a deep look, her lips tearing a slit through her sorrowful exterior. "If life is a movie, and all the audiences have left, then you must be your own last loyal audience member."
Qiao Zheng paused for a moment, perhaps addressing the character played by Qiao Zhizheng, or perhaps speaking directly to Qiao Zhizheng, "...If even you give up on yourself, who else can you expect to hold you tightly?"
The deep meaning in Qiao Zheng's eyes brought Qiao Zhizheng back to her senses from her sad mood. At this time, she only felt that this sentence that was not in the script was Qiao Zheng's emotional expression. Until a long time later, when she knew Qiao Zheng's story and recalled this day, a deep sadness rose in her heart. What Qiao Zheng had experienced was more bitter and painful than what she had experienced.
At this moment, Qiao Zhizheng blinked, and his eyes gradually calmed down. He said to Qiao Zheng, "Thank you."
Qiao Zheng nodded without saying anything.
Xia Cangshu looked at Qiao Zhizheng in surprise, "Your acting is better than I thought." At the same time, he praised Qiao Zheng, "You were in great shape just now. Have you ever acted before?"
Qiao Zheng didn't say yes or no, she just asked, "Does she meet your ideal heroine?"
"Qiao Zhizheng met the requirements of my original script, but with you and her appearing at the same time, I had a better story in my mind."
Qiao Zhizheng was not unhappy when she heard this. She tactfully stood by the window to look at the scenery, staying away from the two people who were talking, trying not to disturb them.
Qiao Zhizheng respected Qiao Zheng's ideas. If she didn't want to act, she wouldn't have to.
But when she thought about it, if she could appear in the same movie with Qiao Zheng, and it was directed by a great director like Xia Cangshu who always produced excellent movies, she would not only become famous, but also appear on the big screen with Qiao Zheng and be seen by many people. By then, everyone would probably think that the relationship between these two people must be very good!
Qiao Zhizheng has always been obsessed with the fact that he and Qiao Zheng are "the best in the world".
I just don't know if Xia Cangshu has the ability to persuade Qiao Zheng.
Xia Cangshu spoke earnestly for a long time, and finally when he talked about Xia Cangshu's idea for the new script, he saw that Qiao Zheng seemed a little interested.
Qiao Zheng looked at Xia Cangshu and asked her, "Why must it be us?"
In Qiao Zheng's original timeline, she successfully passed the audition and starred in Xia Cangshu's original script with another new actor Li Tianyi. After it hit the big screen, the response was very good, the film won many awards, the two leading actors successfully rose in status, and film offers poured in.
Qiao Zheng continues to rise and fall in the entertainment industry, and Li Tianyi seems to have... passed the civil service exam?
Everyone pursues different things. Qiao Zheng and Li Tianyi later reunited, and Li Tianyi said to Qiao Zheng, who hadn't changed her name at the time, "All roads lead to Rome, and everyone has a different Rome in their hearts. Acting is just a part of my life. Qiao (Zhi) Zheng, I'm not like you, treating acting as a lifelong career. Because right now, you only have this one choice, so you have no other choice. I have many choices, so I choose freely."
Li Tianyi sincerely said to Qiao Zheng, "Qiao (Zhi) Zheng, I wish you a better life in the future, a bright future, more choices in the future, and the freedom to plan every moment of your life."
Li Tianyi's words touched Qiao Zheng deeply. Later, one of them was in politics and the other in the entertainment industry, and their contact decreased, but Li Tianyi's words always remained in Qiao Zheng's heart.
Now Qiao Zheng can make her own choices, and she doesn't want her choices to affect Li Tianyi's original life.
Xia Cangshu looked at Qiao Zheng. She could see that Qiao Zheng had a reason to refuse. Although she didn't know what it was, it didn't stop Xia Cangshu from expressing her thoughts. Xia Cangshu's fingers unconsciously kept folding the papers of the script in her hand, venting her anxiety in this way.
"Life is actually very strange. When I thought I had the best idea in the world and it couldn't be better, I met you."
Xia Cangshu pointed at Qiao Zheng and then at Qiao Zhizheng.
"New inspiration bursts out in my heart and drowns out the old stories in my heart. Do you understand? When there is a better choice, looking at other options seems boring."
Xia Cangshu concluded with a line from Yuan Zhen’s poem: “Once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; once you have seen Mount Wu, all other clouds are but mounds.”
Qiao Zheng twitched her lips. "It sounds like you're someone who gets bored easily."
Xia Cangshu shrugged, "Maybe." Xia Cangshu paused and continued, "I won't look back on what I've decided."
Qiao Zheng looked at Xia Cangshu. Indeed, Xia Cangshu was such a person. There was only one person who could be an accident in Xia Cangshu's life. Apart from that, there were no other exceptions.
"Qiao Zheng, this is the first and last time I'm telling you this. If you don't act, this script will be shelved indefinitely. There won't be anyone more suitable for this story than you."
"Can't Qiao Zhizheng play both roles? I believe she can convey the feeling you want."
Xia Cangshu shook his head firmly, "You are you, and she is her. We can't do without either of you or her. I have the confidence to let her play the role, and as for you, I will wait until the day you want to play the role."
Qiao Zheng didn't want her choice to affect Li Tianyi's life, but things had developed to this point and could no longer go back to the original track.
Seeing that Qiao Zheng's attitude seemed to be softening, Xia Cangshu took advantage of the situation and said, "If you have any concerns, please feel free to ask. I will do my best to satisfy you."
Qiao Zheng nodded, "Let me think about it first."
If it was still the original script, Qiao Zheng would have rejected it without hesitation, but she hesitated about Xia Cangshu's new idea. She also wanted to see the second possibility that could be developed based on the same starting point of "Another Me in the World".
——This is a new story that was born because of me.
There is not a single actor who was not moved by this reason.
Not only was Xia Cangshu amazed by Qiao Zheng, but Qiao Zheng was also amazed by Xia Cangshu's new ideas.
Xia Cangshu looked at Qiao Zheng, who was lost in thought. "Go back and think about it slowly. I'll go back tonight and finish the new script and send it to you. Believe me, there's no one more suitable to perform this story than you two."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhizheng and Qiao Zheng looked at Xia Cangshu at the same time.
One has clear and pure eyes, the other has a cold and tasteless look.
Xia Cangshu thought to himself—yes! That’s exactly the feeling!
Xia Cangshu left, leaving the two of them - mainly Qiao Zheng - with space to think.
Xu Xunzhen had already signed the contract and was waiting for Qiao Zheng in the property management office. Qiao Zheng silently took Qiao Zhizheng to meet Xu Xunzhen. Qiao Zhizheng didn't say anything, not wanting to make any noise that would disturb Qiao Zheng's thoughts.
The elevator went down, and there were only Qiao Zheng and Qiao Zhizheng in the elevator.
In the silence that stretched from the conference room to the elevator, Qiao Zheng suddenly asked Qiao Zhizheng, "If you feel indebted to someone, how do you make amends?"
Qiao Zhizheng answered without hesitation, "See what she wants most and compensate her."
A word of advice can wake people up from their dreams. Yes, Li Tianyi once said that perhaps what she wanted was never a movie role. She only regarded acting as a life experience, and the glorious end of her career was the "Rome" in her heart.
It’s because Qiao Zheng has long felt that acting is very important, and judging by herself, she subconsciously feels that it is also very important to Li Tianyi.
Now because of the appearance of Qiao Zheng, Xia Cangshu's movies have changed, and Li Tianyi can no longer be the protagonist of Xia Cangshu's movies. Regardless of whether Li Tianyi will find a movie to act in the entertainment industry, her future life will always embark on a political career.
Qiao Zheng had a message in her mind that could help Li Tianyi's career and a lot of people, but it was still early and it would take another one or two years for it to appear.
Qiao Zheng thought, then let's consider this as compensation to Li Tianyi.
Anyway, in Qiao Zheng's timeline, this matter was also handled by Li Tianyi. Qiao Zheng did this just to nip the signs in the bud before anything happened.
Qiao Zheng felt relieved and gave Qiao Zhizheng a gentle smile, praising her, "You are very smart."
It was the first time Qiao Zhizheng heard Qiao Zheng praise her, and in such a gentle tone. A huge joy burst out in her heart. "No, it's nothing. I just expressed my thoughts." Qiao Zhizheng secretly glanced at the happy Qiao Zheng, her tone full of joy that was infected by this. "If you encounter any problems that you can't figure out in the future, you can always come and ask me. We look at things from different perspectives, and my answer may give you a little inspiration."
The corners of Qiao Zheng's eyes curved slightly, and the smile in her eyes was as bright as the moonlight, which made Qiao Zhizheng stunned. It always feels different when a face that rarely smiles in front of you smiles at you.
Qiao Zhizheng was a little flattered, "Qiao...Qiao Zheng, you look so beautiful when you smile."
Qiao Zheng raised an eyebrow and tapped her eyebrows with her index finger. "Look at you, you're so silly."
Qiao Zheng's actions were so intimate that she herself was not aware of it.
The elevator arrived at the first floor. Qiao Zheng walked in front and didn't notice Qiao Zhizheng following behind her, biting her lip tightly, trying hard not to laugh out loud.
It's so nice, this is the first time Qiao Zheng has taken the initiative to touch me~
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The author has something to say: ①Five poems of separation, No. 4
Yuan Zhen of the Tang Dynasty
Once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; once you have seen Mount Wu, all other mountains are but mounds.
I am too lazy to look back at the flowers, half because of my cultivation and half because of you.
“Once you have seen the vast ocean, all other waters will be hardly attractive to you; except for the magnificent clouds of Mount Wu, all other clouds will pale in comparison.”
Qiao Mei: [heart eyes][heart eyes][heart eyes]
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