Chapter 49

Speaking of the rumors about Song Zhiyi, not everyone knows about them. Only a few people know about them, and even fewer of them believe them.

Most people just thought it was a joke and let it go. No one took it seriously except for those who had something to hide. Otherwise, Song Zhiyi wouldn't have been able to follow Song Zhiyu around and stay in the crew for so many days.

Meng Yunlan's team belonged to the part that was skeptical but acted openly. As for the actors, big and small, in the crew, except for the extras, they had basically been screened by Song Zhiyi. No matter whether they had heard it or not or whether they believed it or not, they had a clear conscience.

As for Shang Qiulin, it was different. First, his friend, the leading actress of the show, had accidentally heard a few of Song Zhiyi's thoughts and told him about them as if they were news; second, he felt guilty.

His relationship with Zhao Ya was still a secret after all, and he enjoyed the current feeling, so he naturally didn't want to announce it to the public. Especially not in the true sense of the word.

Shang Qiulin's heart suddenly rose. He nervously approached Meng Yunlan, nervously found an excuse to leave in a hurry, and nervously searched for three days for entries related to himself. On the third day, the related entries were still peaceful, and his heart finally settled down.

Zhao Ya came in carrying a suit and saw Shang Qiulin still looking at his phone. She blinked her eyes and asked curiously, "Why are you still looking at it? Have you no marketing plan these days?"

"Nothing, just looking around." Shang Qiulin put away his phone, stood up, took Zhao Ya in his arms and kissed her on the cheek, "Have you made an appointment with Director Meng?"

"It's an appointment. Your dad can't make it, so you have to work hard," Zhao Ya patted the hands that were playing tricks on her body and said, "Director Meng said that he might bring an actor with him..."

The plump red lips opened and closed in front of his eyes, making him dizzy. Shang Qiulin held her and sat down on the edge of the bed, playing with Zhao Ya's fingers absentmindedly.

"Dinner..." A hand reached under her clothes and rubbed her itchy flesh. Zhao Ya stopped talking and twisted her body to avoid it, "Stop making trouble, let's talk about business."

"Yeah, you talk, I'm listening." Shang Qiulin pinched Zhao Ya's waist with his right hand, tightening his arms until the two of them were very close. Then he took off Zhao Ya's glasses and kissed her without saying anything. "Come on, come closer and talk."

"What else are you saying..." Zhao Ya's vague voice escaped from her lips, gradually turning into more fragmented words.

The thin white blanket was lifted up to cover the bodies of the two people.

——

After not finding any negative news about himself for several days, Shang Qiulin was completely relieved and dragged Zhao Ya to do something ridiculous a few times. When he saw Shang's father again, he felt a sense of revenge.

"Dad," Shang Qiulin did not go to the airport to meet him for fear of being secretly photographed, but waited in the car, "Didn't you say that I would come to talk this time? Why did you rush over?"

"This time it's really serious." Shang Lanpeng opened the car door and stood there tall and long-legged. If you don't look at his face, no one would have thought that he was a fifty-year-old man.

Zhao Ya moved into the car, holding a long men's windbreaker in her arms. Shang Lanpeng followed her in after she sat down and explained, "President Miao replied to my email. I must go to negotiate the dinner in person this time."

"Mr. Miao from Zhiman?" Shang Qiulin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Who else could it be if not her? I never thought I could really ask this great Buddha to come to my rescue. Even if the web series doesn't work out this time, it's worth it as long as I can have some connection with Zhiman." Shang Lanpeng smiled and glanced to the side inadvertently, with a hint of concern in his eyes, "Aya, why is your face so red? Is it too hot holding my clothes? Give them to me."

"No..." Zhao Ya's face flushed, and she straightened her windbreaker to cover her lower body completely. "Maybe I was exposed to the sun when I came here. The clothes... I'll take them. The air conditioning in the car is quite low, and it's a bit cold to wear a short skirt."

Zhao Ya leaned to the side and leaned on Shang Lanpeng's shoulder: "I'm a little tired, let me rest for a while, I'll be fine after a rest."

"Yes," Shang Qiulin's expression remained normal. He used his right hand to move around recklessly under the cover of his windbreaker. "Let Auntie have a good rest. She was... exhausted yesterday."

"Really?" Shang Lanpeng was skeptical. His eyes darkened as he looked at his wife leaning on his shoulder. "You don't have any important work in Hong City, so why is she so tired? A-Lin, I'd better find you a few more assistants, so that A-Ya can have an easier time."

"Let's talk about it later," Shang Qiulin was unwilling to talk more. "By the way, does Mr. Miao have any taboos? Dad, tell me about it."

"Well, Mr. Miao is not much older than you, so is there anything to be wary of? I don't think so..."

Shang Qiulin lowered his head slightly, seemingly listening attentively, but in fact his mind was filled with the only thought of the soft touch in his palm.

...It's really bad.

When will his father find out that he is being cuckolded by his own son? But he can't be blamed for this. He clearly said that he liked Teacher Zhao, but his dear father still insisted on doing it.

Now that I am old and ugly, it is only natural that I should be replaced.

The car gradually became quiet. Shang Qiulin closed his eyes and dozed off with a faint smile on his face.

The person leaning on his shoulder trembled slightly. Shang Lanpeng's eyes were deep. He lifted her face and kissed her on the lips.

Zhao Ya couldn't help but tremble again, and heard him say in a low voice as if praising:

“You did a great job.”

“…”

The last ray of sunlight faded away, and colorful neon lights lit up the street. Shang Qiulin and the other two got out of the car and walked into the private room they had booked in advance, led by the waiter.

Shang Qiulin left first on the pretext of going to the bathroom. After waiting for two minutes, he saw Zhao Ya who had hurried over.

"Stop messing around," Zhao Ya said unhappily as her wrist was pulled, "We need to talk about serious matters today, no messing around."

"I'm not kidding. We still have half an hour left before the appointment. That's plenty of time." Shang Qiulin didn't care what she was saying. He pulled her into the barrier-free bathroom, held her in his arms, bit her slightly cold earlobe, and whispered, "Teacher Zhao, how does it feel to have an affair with a student in front of your husband?"

“…”

"I know the answer even if you don't tell me," Shang Qiulin held her hand and moved it to her lower abdomen. "The student is feeling very uncomfortable right now. Teacher Zhao cares so much about the students, so he will definitely not ignore me, right?"

——

"You're back?" Shang Lanpeng seemed to be unable to see the wrinkles on Zhao Ya's skirt and said with a smile, "Why did it take you so long to put on your makeup?"

"You don't understand as soon as I see Dad," Shang Qiulin picked up the cup and took a sip of water, his eyes and eyebrows full of spring, "Auntie, this is to show your respect, so I specially put on new makeup, right, Auntie?"

"Okay, stop teasing me," Zhao Ya smoothed her hair and asked, "Have President Miao and Director Meng not arrived yet?"

"It should be soon." Shang Lanpeng glanced at the time on his watch.

"Boss Shang, Qiulin," the door of the private room opened and Meng Yunlan appeared at the door, "Long time no see."

"Director Meng, it's been a long time since we last met," Shang Lanpeng stood up and shook hands with her. He turned his eyes back and instantly became more enthusiastic. "Boss Miao, seeing is believing. You are really a promising young man."

"Thank you for the award." Miao Henliu shook his hand lightly with a cold expression on his face.

Seeing that Miao Henliu was not interested in making small talk, Shang Lanpeng stopped while he was ahead. Seeing that there were two strange women, one tall and one short, in the back, he asked with a smile, "These two must be the actors brought by Director Meng, right?"

"No, no, this is our actor, Yu Yuan, who is still a student, but she has great professional skills." Meng Yunlan came over and introduced, "This is the investor of our crew, Song Zhiyi, President Song."

Who? The relaxed look on Shang Qiulin's face disappeared instantly. He looked up in disbelief and met the eyes of the woman with a faint smile outside the door.

Why is she still haunting us?

*

If Song Zhiyi knew what Shang Qiulin was thinking, she would probably cry out that she was wronged.

When it comes to drinking parties, she always tries to push them away if she can. If she can't, she will throw them to Miao Henliu or someone else. She will only show up herself when she has to.

This time was the same. Song Zhiyi had no desire to invest in the fantasy drama that Shang Lanpeng wanted to shoot. After all, as soon as the fantasy drama was broadcast, the exaggerated costumes and props, as well as the thundering plot, made netizens exclaim that they had traveled back to ten years ago.

However, Miao Henliu listened to the analysis very seriously. After listening to it, she still insisted on making an appointment with Shang Lanpeng for a meeting. Not only that, she also repeatedly asked Song Zhiyi to attend, otherwise she would quit.

The reason why Miao Henliu did this was very simple: it was entirely out of a worker's desire for revenge against his boss.

Song Zhiyi has been arguing for a few months, and Miao Henliu has been working hard for a few months. If he doesn't find a reason to vent, he will explode in silence.

There was no other way. After learning that Shang Lanpeng wanted to invite Meng Yunlan to join the production team, Song Zhiyi could only pretend that she was very interested in this fantasy drama and followed Meng Yunlan here. She also had to pretend that she didn't know Miao Henliu, and that there was a huge gap between them, Meng Yunlan.

Fortunately, Miao Henliu just wanted to see her suffer this time, so as soon as she sat down, she naturally took on the socializing and business talks. Shang Lanpeng had never heard of Song Zhiyi before, so he couldn't help but look down on her. Apart from greeting her before entering the door, he didn't take the initiative to talk to her.

Song Zhiyi was happy and relaxed, thinking that he was just here to eat for free. He even had the mood to show some concern for the newbie in the workplace.

"Don't be nervous," Song Zhiyi noticed that Yu Yuan was a little reserved, so she picked up a piece of abalone for her with a serving chopstick and whispered, "Let them talk about what they want to say, just think of it as a meal."

"Okay, thank you Mr. Song." Yu Yuan whispered thank you, her body still tense.

Before Director Meng came, he only said that he would meet the boss and if the role was suitable, he would fight for it for her, but how could she fight for it...

Yu Yuan bit her lip, looking worried.

"Yes, I read the script and it's okay. There is a character that I think fits Yu Yuan's image quite well."

Upon hearing her own name, Yu Yuan quickly smiled and pretended to be calm.

"The actors recommended by Director Meng are definitely good. Whether this drama can be filmed well depends on your team." Shang Lanpeng complimented and winked at Zhao Ya, "We have also contacted some actors. Would you like to see the list?"

Zhao Ya took out two documents from the bag she was carrying and gave them to Song Zhiyi with an apologetic smile: "I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare enough."

"It's okay," Song Zhiyi said nonchalantly, "Director Meng and I will just look at one copy."

"As for the actors' matters, these two are more experienced, so I won't take a look." Miao Henliu just glanced at it twice, closed the document, and handed it to Song Zhiyi.

“……”Well, I didn’t dodge it.

Song Zhiyi opened the document, which stated that the actors currently being contacted were all popular young actors and actresses, and among the confirmed actors, there were few familiar names except for veteran actors, so it was estimated that the previous ones were all gimmicks.

But this document is not without reference significance to her, at least it allows her to know which stars have guaranteed traffic.

After thinking about it, Song Zhiyi took out a notebook and wrote down the names one by one. If she didn't think of checking the personality card when writing the names, then the notebook could still be used normally.

After writing down all the names, Song Zhiyi stopped writing and planned to pack up the list and give it to Liu Liu, so that he could contact them according to the list. It was time for her studio to make a movie or something to increase its popularity.

——

On the other side, Shang Qiulin tried hard to minimize his presence, and his eyes couldn't stop looking in the direction of Song Zhiyi.

After three rounds of drinks, most of the things that needed to be discussed were finished. Meng Yunlan and monk Lan Peng were practicing Tai Chi, and Song Zhiyi was holding a notebook and writing something on it. Everything seemed calm on the surface.

Shang Qiulin's tense mood relaxed a little, he picked up the chopsticks and took a bite of the food without tasting it.

If he could do it again, he would definitely look carefully at what he was eating before putting it into his mouth.

Because that voice in my heart somehow rang out.

[How come Shang Qiulin caught sea cucumbers, oysters, and venison tonight? He even took the antlers for decoration. Did he think they were antlers? Are you stupid? You can't chew antlers. ]

"..." Feeling several gazes suddenly falling on him, Shang Qiulin silently placed the deer antlers on the bone dish and silently picked up the bowl and scooped up a spoonful of soup.

【Duck soup with worms and summer grass, tsk tsk tsk…young people, please be moderate.】

Huh? What do you mean?

Yu Yuan blinked in confusion. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Meng Yunlan desperately winking at her from the distance.

"!" In an instant, a blessing came to my mind.

It turned out that this was the strange sound that Director Meng had warned her not to reveal before she came.

Yu Yuan glanced at Song Zhiyi's profile, then quickly turned her head back and stared at the bowl of soup in front of her. Speaking of which, what happened to the Cordyceps sinensis duck soup? It was quite delicious, and there were oysters and sea cucumbers...

Suddenly, Yu Yuan's cheeks turned red, not knowing what she was thinking of.

[Shang Qiulin didn't wear any makeup today. Does she still have dark circles under her eyes? ]

This person was quite rude, why did he talk about his son in person? Shang Lanpeng frowned, a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes: "Yes, there are some, A-Lin has been busy with work recently."

“……”Shang Lanpeng can hear it too?

Meng Yunlan hesitated for less than a second before smoothly joining the conversation: "Young people, it's normal to be busy with work, but you also have to take care of your health."

[Indeed, there is no need to be so anxious. Look at me, I am so tired that I need to strengthen my virility. ]

"..." Let him go. Shang Qiulin put on a stiff smile and stood up, "Suddenly I remembered me..."

[Anyway, Shang Lanpeng knows that you and Zhao Ya are having an affair, so why are you trying to seize the opportunity? ]

Shang Qiulin sat back down.

Meng Yunlan's mouth opened as wide as if it could hold a goose egg; Shang Lanpeng's face turned visibly green; Yu Yuan was so frightened that she wanted to bury her head in the tablecloth; and Zhao Ya's cheeks turned pale in an instant.

Only Miao Henliu, who could not hear the voice of his heart, took a sip of wine leisurely.

Was it her illusion? These people looked like they were under a petrification spell.

Or was there something going on that she wasn't aware of?