Chapter 175: Professional Wedding Planning - We're Just a Simple Path...
Looking into his focused gaze and listening to his seemingly genuine yet insincere tone, Li Sishi lowered her eyes, realizing she could only blame herself for being too "relaxed" tonight.
So much so that the person in front of him seized an opportunity, taking advantage of the moonlight and the influence of alcohol, to test him.
With a fleeting glance, Li Sishi took the tea and snack box out of the plastic bag in front of her, then pushed the bag forward, and said slowly and leisurely in a tone that was equally insincere, "Here, what's the big deal? The 'plastic bag' you wanted—"
Unexpectedly, Li Sishi used a homophone to turn the tables and pass the buck back to Shang Hanyou. Shang Hanyou looked at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, his smile turning into a shake of his head and a wry smile: "You..."
He was actually a little nervous when he asked that question.
But the moonlight tonight was so enchanting, mixed with the lingering effects of the wine, that the two of them, after washing up, sat on the balcony chatting and laughing. The atmosphere was as peaceful and harmonious as that of a newlywed couple, which made him unable to resist taking advantage of the mood to "remind" them.
Yes, just a reminder.
Even in the old days when marriages were arranged by parents and matchmakers, pursuing a girl was not an easy task that could be accomplished with just one or two confessions. On the contrary, it required repeated explicit and implicit hints, along with a persistent and unwavering determination, to overcome all obstacles and ultimately win the heart of the beauty.
Otherwise, proverbs like "even a virtuous woman fears a persistent suitor" wouldn't have been passed down.
So when he asked that seemingly true yet false question, it was actually just an experiment, a way of teasing and hinting at something.
Just like his mother taught him today, as long as he really likes the other person and the other person doesn't dislike him, then he should seize every opportunity to try. Maybe if he tries, he will succeed one time?
"Your dad was like that when he was pursuing me. When he confessed to me for the first time, even though I secretly wanted to say yes right away, a girl like me still needs to maintain a certain level of reserve on the surface..."
"So, I had to get your father to confess his feelings to me at least five or six times before I finally gave him a reluctant response and nodded in agreement to be with him..."
Recalling his mother's teachings, and seizing such a good opportunity, Shang Hanyou naturally followed the practice of seizing every opportunity to show his presence, "reminding" Li Sishi of his thoughts.
Although I don't have high hopes for success on the first try, there are always exceptions. When the atmosphere is just right and emotions are running high, who knows what might happen?
And even if Li Sishi is unwilling to respond so quickly
Such a teasing tone makes it easier for everyone to back down.
The only thing Shang Hanyou hadn't expected was that although Li Sishi didn't give him the "explanation" he wanted, she still outwardly gave him a "plastic bag"...
Well, the lack of a clear refusal means there will be next time, the time after that, and many more opportunities in the future.
Now that everyone is filming in the same group, he has the advantage of being close to the project. If he tries his best to make more of a presence, even if filming doesn't bring about a substantial change in their relationship, it will definitely be a big plus.
On the competitive track of "pursuers," he doesn't need to fantasize about running to the finish line in one go; he just needs everyone else on the track to be faster.
So he exaggerated his expression and even dramatically struck a pose of heartbroken despair, clutching his heart like Xi Shi: "Oh well, we're all good friends, so I don't mind you being so perfunctory with me..."
"Wow, you look a bit overwhelming right now..." Li Sishi was amused by his appearance and immediately made a disgusted wave of her hand in response.
The two chatted and laughed in hushed tones for a while before Shang Hanyou glanced at his watch and said, "It's getting late. We have an early shoot tomorrow, so you should get some rest."
As he spoke, he casually folded the plastic bag that was on the coffee table and put it in his trouser pocket with great seriousness, as if it were something very important.
"Hey, you don't have to be like this, do you?" This time, it was Li Sishi's turn to be both amused and exasperated by his series of actions.
“Sigh, I didn’t want this either—but even if I don’t get an orange, you have to let me get a tangerine. I’ll keep this ‘plastic bag’ safe. Maybe one day I’ll be able to find its twin brother with the same name and voice…” Shang Hanyou said with a regretful expression.
Li Sishi rolled her eyes at him, both annoyed and amused, and was too lazy to argue with him about this kind of issue.
He stood up and started walking towards his room.
Laughter, deliberately suppressed, came from behind. Perhaps they were mindful of the late hour, so the two of them were intentionally keeping their voices down tonight. When they were laughing together, it didn't seem like much, but when they heard it from behind, it was as if the voices were imbued with the hazy atmosphere of the night, rich and smooth like a glass of freshly awakened red wine, bathed in moonlight and a gentle breeze, making one unconsciously and easily moved for a moment.
Li Sishi quickened her pace back to the room, glanced in the mirror, and grabbed the lotion from the dressing table, slapping it on her face: "Calm down, calm down. If you can't resist the temptation, this guy will start pressuring you to get married..."
Compared to the early morning
Shang Hanyou, a young man who currently only knows how to find opportunities to confess his feelings and subtly hint at wanting to be in a relationship, is in a stage where he is "good boy" on one hand, but is about to become a mature man on the other.
Furthermore, now that his career is gradually stabilizing, if he's not careful and gets caught in a trap, even a slight response from him might lead not only to himself but also to his fans urging him to get married...
She's still young and wants to become a movie queen and a singer. She can't let herself be tied down so early. At the very least, she should wait a few more years before considering it!
Anyway, most people in this circle are into late marriage and late childbirth for various reasons. If they can wait, then they can wait. If they can't wait, they don't necessarily want to fall into the quagmire of marriage. They can be happy single and enjoy life with their good friends like Pei Yansang and You Jiating. Isn't that wonderful?
Using a skincare routine to "wake up," Li Sishi smiled at herself in the mirror, then quickly tidied up the script and notes on her desk before falling into a deep sleep.
The subsequent filming went smoothly. While keeping up with the schedule, Li Sishi also made time to visit her little cousin. Watching him dash across the court, the satisfaction and joy she felt were indescribable.
The only thing that didn't quite please her was that Shang Hanyou, this guy who could charm everyone, young and old, really had a knack for it. After only a few visits with her, he had her cousin Zhou Huiguang completely under her thumb. Look at how affectionate they were! If Li Sishi hadn't been watching from the sidelines...
He might even be able to coax Zhou Huiguang into calling him "brother-in-law"...
Even though Zhou Huiguang first met Ling Chen, it's likely that Ling Chen's good looks were both his strength and his weakness. His excessive attraction to the opposite sex meant that he was destined to be difficult to please the same sex. His appearance was too much in line with the refined and artistic aesthetic that women prefer, so he was naturally easily resisted by another group of cool and handsome men who dislike pretty boys.
After filming the village scenes for more than two weeks, the crew took the opportunity of the scene where the male lead was teaching the female lead to sing at the karaoke bar at the village entrance to rent an open-air venue and have a small party to celebrate that they could leave the village and return to the city.
For a karaoke party where people sing and eat at the same time, Shang Hanyou, a karaoke enthusiast, naturally gave it his all. As soon as the director said "CUT," he immediately took the lead and occupied a good position for song selection, firmly holding onto a microphone. He looked like he could sing all night long without any problem...
After all, the scene they just filmed involved him teaching the female lead to sing, so he didn't get many opportunities to sing himself. Now he doesn't need to worry about filming anymore.
With his karaoke prowess, he's bound to sing his fill.
"I told him a long time ago not to let him get the microphone, otherwise no one else will be able to sing!" Li Sishi complained to Feng Beirun, who was focused on grilling chicken wings.
"There's nothing we can do, who can compete with him? The four of us can't even beat him..." Feng Beirun plays the handsome but scumbag overseas returnee that Li Sishi wanted to invite Wu Wenzu to play in this movie. Although he doesn't have many scenes, he is cheerful and outgoing, so he quickly became friends with the crew.
Feng Beirun's mother was a Zhao-style film actress in the 1960s. She has a family background in acting talent and studied computer science in the United States before returning to China. She has already worked with veteran actresses such as Xiao Fenfen and Brother Long Sheng. Compared to her future good friend Wu Wenzu, she is more suitable for this supporting role.
Most importantly, Feng Beirun is not only handsome enough to rival Wu Wenzu in the movie "Beautiful Boys Love Song", but he is also a singer who plays in a band with Li Zhongde. He can perform his own singing competition scenes in the movie without needing dubbing – which is the fundamental reason why he was able to get the role from Director Liu.
Apart from Yu Jiating, who makes a cameo appearance and doesn't need to sing in the film, both main characters and one supporting actor can sing, making the film's soundtrack quite promising.
Li Sishi picked up the two chicken wings that Feng Beirun had just grilled and sat down next to Shang Hanyou, who was singing loudly, saying, "Give me some."
Shang Hanyou waved to her, a rare occurrence, his mouth pressed against the microphone, looking like a hermit who believed that "once you have a microphone, you don't need to eat anything else."
Seeing that he was too engrossed in it, Li Sishi was too lazy to pay attention to him: Anyway, the kind of karaoke hog that sings badly is unbearable, but if they sing well, they not only don't get any food, but they also get their own background music and get to listen to the live version of a powerful singer for free. Isn't that a huge advantage for them?
So Li Sishi went back to hang out with the rest of the crew, enjoying drinks and barbecue—they had finally finished filming the scenes in the walled village, and could relax a bit and eat some "unhealthy food."
If it's just an occasional meal or two, assistant Zuo Lili won't offer any advice. She can simply add more calories to her daily exercise routine to burn them off. Being too concerned about calories in such a setting would be a real downer.
"Ah May, come here, there's a choir singing over here, and we need a female voice!"
Just as she was enjoying her meal, Shang Hanyou waved to her again.
This guy can sing any song, but his favorite is still his own. It just so happens that his songs are especially popular in this village, so a long list of them is scribbled down in the songbook.
Come on, aside from a few minor songs that require a duet, he can sing all the other songs by himself.
Moreover, there was no difference between his live performance and the recorded version. If the store hadn't informed them beforehand that these "original singers" were filming there, someone might have come over and asked if the equipment was broken, which is why they've been playing the original versions all night...
Li Sishi put down the food in her hand, took the microphone, and was about to start singing "Eternal Love," a love song originally sung by Shang Hanyou and Kuang Meixing that was very popular in the 1980s, when suddenly everything went black.
"What's going on? The power suddenly went out?!" Shang Hanyou was very dissatisfied when the accompaniment suddenly stopped while he was singing enthusiastically.
When the karaoke owner came over to apologize to everyone for the sudden power outage that they could no longer sing, and offered a 30% discount on everything for the night, everyone except Shang Hanyou, whose enthusiasm had been interrupted, was quite happy. They were even very satisfied with the owner's apology and ordered some more food.
Shang Hanyou could only sit down at the barbecue area with a sense of grievance, abandoning his singing career and temporarily taking on the role of a barbecue chef.
The group played until after 2 a.m. before finally parting ways. The next day at noon, as they packed up and drove away from the village, Shang Hanyou seemed to be in a slightly better mood, no longer pouting like a dog that hadn't gotten a bone...
His eyes lit up when he heard about an open-air wedding banquet at a house on the road and saw through the car window that the loudspeaker behind the small stage was announcing that the next song would be "Eternal Affection".
Especially when Shang Hanyou heard the groom's wailing voice—which sounded like he was trying very hard, but he still couldn't hit the high notes or the low notes—he felt an even stronger urge to go up and "pull the microphone to help"...
He glanced at his watch, and his bright eyes immediately fell on Li Sishi.
Understanding his meaning instantly, Li Sishi waved her hands repeatedly: "I don't want to!"
"Come on, come on..." He grabbed Li Sishi's hand and started to coax her, "The power went out before we even got to this song last night, and you promised to sing it for me..."
"I can't stand you!" Li Sishi said with a laugh, then got up and followed him out of the car.
Director Liu and the other crew members in the car behind found it amusing, so they called the camera crew to get out of the car with their cameras—the film that Shang Hanyou had given to the crew when he was "not in good condition" was still unused, so they could take some "behind-the-scenes" footage of him.
So, after a quiet discussion with the groom's parents who were greeting the guests, Shang Hanyou and Li Sishi swaggered onto the small stage, followed by a team of people who looked just like a professional wedding planning team...
"Is this the real 'surprise' you wanted to give me?!" The bride, who had just endured the groom's ear-piercing love song on the small stage with a mixture of helplessness and emotion, turned her smile into one of boundless surprise and deep emotion when she turned around and saw this "professional team."
The approach of experiencing hardship first and then enjoying the reward is indeed the most effective way to maximize emotional impact!
"Ah, this, no..." The groom probably didn't expect that he could summon the original singer while singing. At this moment, he even felt a little guilty: He sang the song of the idol they both liked in such a terrible way. Was Shang Hanyou bringing people to beat him up?
"We were just passing by and wanted to share in the joy... Congratulations!" Shang Hanyou explained seriously, then decisively took the microphone from the groom's hand.
Years later, recalling the origins of the "tradition" of inviting her and Shang Hanyou to sing and perform at every wedding in the entertainment industry, Li Sishi felt immense regret: Why didn't she think more carefully before accepting the microphone from Shang Hanyou, the professional wedding and birthday performance guest!
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