Chapter 56 Chapter 56 I’ll turn you over to sleep with me tonight, wash up...
Antoine and his team arrived in City A at the end of the month. His new film had not yet been released, and casting was mainly done through multinational film and television companies. Direct contact with the artist team was very rare.
Chen Zhuo naturally hoped to establish a more direct communication channel with the other party. However, she knew that foreigners were not susceptible to social conventions, and excessive enthusiasm could easily backfire. So she sent an email, ostensibly as a host, inviting Antoine to taste local specialties and also offering to introduce him to the local culture. Foreigners are always very interested in Chinese history and culture.
But she didn't hold out much hope, after all, there was still a suspicion of trying to curry favor.
Unexpectedly, the other party replied to the email and agreed to the appointment.
Chen Zhuo chose an old restaurant whose signature dish was zhajiangmian (fried noodles with soybean paste). At five in the evening, she asked Lin Yi if she had any plans for the evening and asked her to go out for dinner.
Lin Yi was an assistant hired right after she was promoted to director. She didn't have a relevant degree, having studied English and speaking French as a second language. Because her work was mundane and unrelated to her major, she impressed Chen Zhuo during the interview, and was hired anyway. During her three-month probationary period, she appeared to have no major issues. She was down-to-earth and meticulous, and didn't feign knowledge. This impressed her enough to make her a permanent employee, a position she holds until now.
"Sister Chen Zhuo, who are we having dinner with tonight?" Lin Yi's eyes lit up when he heard that he was going on a business trip.
Especially dinner parties, where you can enjoy delicious food and listen to gossip and broaden your horizons. And Chen Zhuo handles these situations with ease. Every time she thinks she'll get stuck if asked about some tough topics, not knowing what to say, but Chen Zhuo always manages to smooth things over with a gentle touch.
Lin Yi listened carefully to everything she said and took notes seriously, but when she went out, those memories were left on the dining table like leftovers. She wished she could take a recorder to write them down every time.
"Antoine, you know this director, right?" Shen Zhuo asked her.
"Of course I know!" Lin Yi opened his eyes wide and listed several representative works in rapid succession.
Chen Zhuo nodded and smiled: "Not bad."
Lin Yi said with a bit of pride: "I watched the movie he won an award for when I was in school. Later, I heard that Brother Si Yu was going to audition, so I watched all his movies."
"That's perfect," Chen Zhuo looked at her, "You're good at both English and French, maybe we can chat."
"Huh?" Lin Yi's surprise instantly turned into horror. She thought Shen Zhuo wanted her to help negotiate the project. "I... I can't do it!"
"We're just chatting, not talking about work. Let's go." Chen Zhuo smiled and patted her shoulder, telling her to pack her things.
They set off for Haichaoju. The nearest store was in Dongcheng. There was a traffic jam on the way when Chen Zhuo set out. When they arrived at the store, it was only half past five and it was almost full. He guessed that most of them were tourists.
Antoine was a tall man in his fifties with a thin build. He stood out as soon as he entered the door. Shen Zhuo stood up and greeted him.
Chen Zhuo introduced Lin Yi in English as her assistant, and then signaled with his eyes for Lin Yi to introduce herself.
Lin Yina had never spoken to such an internationally renowned director before. Her eyes flickered, her words stuttered, and she even mispronounced several words. But Antoine was patient and gently confirmed her meaning. After a few words, she gradually relaxed. Finally, she said in French, "Welcome to China, I hope he likes this country."
Antoine was quite surprised and replied in French: "Thank you, I like it very much. Do you know French?"
Lin Yi nodded: "I learned it in college, but I didn't speak it well."
Antoine laughed. "That's pretty standard."
Chen Zhuo added at the right moment: "She has seen all your movies."
Antoine became interested and asked Lin Yi, "Which one do you like best?"
Lin Yi was stunned, his eyes unconsciously drifted towards Chen Zhuo, and he hesitated for a moment.
Chen Zhuo gave her an encouraging look and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid."
Lin Yi began to speak haltingly about his feelings again, and sometimes a Chinese word would pop out subconsciously while he was speaking in English. Chen Zhuo, who was listening at the side, felt that the little assistant was very cute.
She ordered two bowls of noodles with soybean paste, one for Antoine and one to share with Lin Yi, as well as some local specialties such as fried tripe, spicy tofu, Kung Pao chicken, and pea yellow, filling the entire table.
Throughout the meal, Chen Zhuo didn't mention anything about the audition or the project. She kept the atmosphere lively and cheerful, listening to Antoine talk about his several visits to China and recommending several famous attractions in City A.
The dinner ended at nearly eight o'clock. Chen Zhuo took the initiative to call a taxi for Antoine and told the driver to confirm the address before leaving.
"Lin Yi, where is your home? I'll take you home." She took out the key and unlocked the car door.
"Hey, no need, Sister Shen Zhuo, just drop me off at a nearby subway station and I'll take the subway."
The two of them got in the car, one on the left and one on the right, and fastened their seatbelts. Chen Zhuo glanced at the navigation and said, "Tell me the address so I can see if it's on the way."
Lin Yi registered the name of the neighborhood and saw that it would take a 20-minute detour. Chen Zhuo pointed to the waypoint and said, "It's not far. I'll take you there."
The car drove into the night, the city lights slowly passing by the front window, and Chen Zhuo suddenly asked: "Lin Yi, have you thought about what you will do in the future?"
Lin Yi was stunned and inexplicably nervous: "Ah? Sister Chen Zhuo, what's wrong..." She didn't quite understand what Chen Zhuo meant.
"No, I mean, do you just want to be an assistant?"
Lin Yixin was shocked. Oh my God, is this asking her to resign?
"Sister Chen Zhuo, is there something I did wrong..." Lin Yi looked at her with a flustered look.
"Of course not," Shen Zhuo smiled, not seeing the child was frightened, "I mean, this assistant job doesn't really require much technical skills. You could actually go to a bigger platform or company."
Being her assistant doesn't really require much expertise. This position doesn't require direct contact with artists like an agent, understanding the industry ecosystem, nor does it require direct project development to hone work skills.
Lin Yi almost just helped record meeting minutes, reminded her of her schedule and some miscellaneous chores. The thing she was probably most skilled at was posting invoices for reimbursement.
Furthermore, Yang Ruize was a stingy boss, and the assistant's salary wasn't high. Lin Yi's salary before tax was only 6,000, and after deducting the five social insurances and one housing fund, the remaining amount wasn't much. Even so, it was only after Chen Zhuo helped her get a raise every year that she was able to reach this amount.
"I heard your conversation with Antoine tonight was very good. It's really a waste of your talent to be my assistant. A friend of mine works at Yihua. She told me a few days ago that they are recruiting overseas copyright buyers. Do you want to give it a try? I can help you with an internal recommendation." Chen Zhuo said.
Lin Yi was so flattered that he almost forgot to reply. After a long while, he managed to utter, "But I... I have no experience..."
"You certainly had no experience when you first arrived, but if I ask you to analyze a movie or script now, you already know the key points to consider, and you can communicate with the director very well, and your English is no problem either."
Shen Zhuo smiled and said, "It's okay. I just think this is an opportunity to try. If you want to try it, just tell me."
Lin Yi nodded.
*
Antoine stayed in City A for five days, and Guan Siyu's audition was scheduled for the fourth day. That day, Chen Zhuo took him to the studio at the appointed time. There was no news about the project at the moment; confidentiality was maintained.
Guan Siyu was waiting for the interview, while Chen Zhuo and Xiaoyun were waiting for him in the cafe outside the studio.
Chen Zhuo felt Guan Siyu had a good chance of landing the role. Antoine's primary criteria were acting skills, and secondary was good spoken English. Guan Siyu had no problem communicating in English, but she only knew the lead character was Asian; whether they were East Asian or South Asian made a difference.
It also depends on what the director has in mind as "that character".
After the audition, Guan Siyu came out and said neither good nor bad, just wait for news.
Chen Zhuo smiled and said, "Just keep a normal mind." If it really succeeds, it will be a pleasant surprise; if it fails, there will be no loss. At least I have established a connection with a well-known foreign director, and maybe we can work together in the future.
*
August arrived, and the driving school course that Chen Zhuo had arranged for Guan Siyu officially began. She asked Xiaoyun to accompany him to practice driving and take some photos and videos for material.
The days of traveling back and forth came to a temporary end. Instead, Shao Chengzhang had set a date for the opening of his North American pop-up store, and he wanted to attend the opening ceremony.
After taking a shower, she found Shao Chengzhang's suitcase still lying flat on the ground, empty and not packed at all.
"Why haven't you cleaned up yet?" Shen Zhuo walked over and asked.
"I don't want to go on a business trip." Shao Chengzhang sat on the bed, looked up at her, and said reluctantly, "It's so hard for you to stop being busy. Don't wait for me to come back before you start being busy again."
Shen Zhuo said "Pah, pah, pah" three times in a row, "Come on, stop talking nonsense." Shen Zhuo urged, "Don't stay around any longer, pack up quickly, go to bed early, you still have to fly for more than ten hours tomorrow." Shao Chengzhang's flight was in the evening, which meant he had to work a day and then take a nearly 13-hour flight.
Shao Chengzhang said slowly, "We can sleep on the plane tomorrow, so why don't we do something else first?"
Shen Zhuo rolled his eyes at him.
"I said I'd help you dry your hair first..." Shao Chengzhang stood up, took the hair dryer, and asked Chen Zhuo to sit on the edge of the bed.
He really likes Shen Zhuo's black hair.
Her hair had never been dyed or bleached, and it was smooth and shiny, like satin. Shao Chengzhang loved running his fingers through her hair, especially when they were kissing and making love.
The touch of his fingertips always made his heart flutter. He held the back of her head and let her accept and wrap herself around him with all her strength.
The hair dryer was turned on and made a buzzing sound. Shao Chengzhang held the hair dryer in one hand and reached into her soft hair with the other hand. His fingers touched the roots of her hair and slowly moved it outwards.
When her hair was almost dry, he squeezed two pumps of hair oil and applied it to the ends of her hair. The familiar scent of camellia lingered in her nose.
After drying his hair thoroughly, Chen Zhuo raised his eyebrows, tilted his head and smiled at him: "What else do you want to do after drying your hair?"
"You." Shao Chengzhang leaned over, held her chin with his big hand, and kissed her. Now he said it more simply and directly.
Shen Zhuo smiled silently. She pushed him away and stood up: "Pack your luggage first."
She picked up her phone and checked the weather in New York, which was not much cooler than City A. Shao Chengzhang would be gone for five days this time, and after Shen Zhuo asked about his itinerary in detail, he stood in front of the wardrobe and began to put clothes together for him.
He stretched out his arms from behind and wrapped them around her waist. He leaned lazily against her, his cheek against the top of her head, and held her and rocked her.
Shao Chengzhang's clothes are easy to match, mostly black, white and gray. Chen Zhuo picked out two polo shirts, two shirts, two base T-shirts, three pairs of trousers, a linen suit, and a more formal suit for him from the wardrobe, which can be matched with anything.
"Are you sure you want to bring such a big suitcase?" Summer clothes are not that heavy, and these won't even be half full if they are packed in.
Shao Chengzhang nodded.
Chen Zhuo thought for a moment and seemed to have guessed what had happened, so he warned him, "You can bring gifts for your mothers or friends, but you don't need to buy them for me."
Shao Chengzhang sighed, thinking that having a smart wife was not a good thing.
"Why don't you want it?"
"I don't have any desires. If I want to buy something, I just buy it." She hadn't even unpacked the luxury items Shao Chengzhang had given her last time; they were all in her closet. She felt bad thinking about spending so much money; she might as well just give them cash.
She is just a tacky person.
Furthermore, Shen Zhuo didn't like people blindly giving her gifts, not as surprises. If she didn't like it, she couldn't tell her, which would be disappointing, but she wouldn't be very happy about it, and she still had to remember to repay the favor. Even on Jiang Jun's birthday, she would ask in advance what she wanted. Giving gifts isn't about giving money; of course, you have to give the other person what they truly want.
Shao Chengzhang didn't want to argue with her about this, so he just agreed to it first.
He asked Chen Zhuo to rest first while he finished packing the luggage.
Chen Zhuo pinched his earlobe and said with a smile: "Since Concubine Shao is so considerate, I will let you sleep with me tonight. After you wash up, the Fengluan Chunen carriage will come to pick you up."
"Okay." Shao Chengzhang smiled, "Tonight I will let the emperor know what it means to be infatuated with a woman and forget about the world."
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