Chapter 17
After removing her makeup, Ye Yuze got out of the nanny car, sat on a stool, took the thermos cup handed to her by Lingling, and drank water while looking at the shooting location.
He Tong is still filming. Today is their last day on location. They will leave the crew and fly back to Yancheng in the afternoon. The day after tomorrow, they will go to Hucheng and will not rejoin the crew to continue filming until early March.
It's been almost a month since the news of "The Painter" being shortlisted for the Lake City Film Festival was released. During this time, the crew has become much more welcoming towards Ye Yuze and He Tong. Some people used to be so arrogant that they would call them by their first names, but now they've changed their tone and started calling them "Little Ye, Little He." Some even call them "Teacher Ye" and "Teacher He."
Of course, Ye Yuze and He Tong don’t care about this. Everything is the same now as before.
Having gotten up very early today to shoot the sunrise scene, Ye Yuze is feeling a little sleepy now.
Just when he wanted to get into the car to take a nap, someone walked over here.
It was Feng Yingjun, who played the second female lead. She had another scene to perform, so she was still dressed as her character, only wearing a large down jacket over her costume.
"...Hello, Brother Ye..."
Feng Yingjun walked up to Ye Yuze timidly and spoke timidly.
She is half a year younger than He Tong and is the youngest person in the crew except for the child actors.
Ye Yuze looked up at her and nodded.
Lingling beside them quietly stepped back, while the two bodyguards behind them stepped forward and stood on both sides of Ye Yuze.
"...Um..." Feng Yingjun carefully handed over the autograph board in her arms, "My...my sister...is your fan...can you...sign an autograph for her..."
Ye Yuze looked her up and down and asked, "Did you bring your pen?"
"I brought it." Feng Yingjun breathed a sigh of relief. While handing over the signature board, she reached into her pocket and took out a signature pen.
Ye Yuze did not take it directly. Instead, the bodyguard took it and passed it to him. He quickly signed his name and passed it back through the bodyguard.
"Thanks……"
Feng Yingjun slowly took the board and pen, then bit her lower lip, suddenly tripped and fell towards Ye Yuze.
The two bodyguards around Ye Yuze reacted extremely quickly. One of them protected him and hid to the side, while the other stepped forward and caught Feng Yingjun steadily.
Lingling, who was at the back, was trying so hard to hold back her laughter that she hurt herself internally, but she still stepped forward conscientiously to help Feng Yingjun up.
"Ms. Feng, are you okay? Did you fall anywhere? Did you twist your ankle?"
"No, it's okay... Thank you..."
Feng Yingjun's face flushed red, and she didn't dare to look up at anyone. She lowered her head, turned around and ran away without even picking up the pen she dropped.
A hand reached out to pick up the pen she dropped, and spun it in a few beautiful circles.
"What a shame! Even at such a young age, she's being forced by her agent to stir up trouble and create scandals."
Fang Chen shook his head, then raised his eyebrows and looked at Ye Yuze.
"The defense is very tight."
Lingling smiled and said, "The young boss has already made arrangements. And her methods are still quite naive. I don't know how many people have come to her in the past half month. It's really like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their own unique abilities."
Fang Chen pinched his brows in a headache. He had previously gone back to help formulate the PR plan for "The Painter" at the film festival, and had traveled to several places to establish preliminary contacts with several major domestic theater chains, so he had neglected this aspect.
"He Xiaotong's concerns are correct. This kind of popular drama crew is always full of unexpected problems. It seems that in the future, when accepting a drama, we must not only consider the script, but also the crew environment carefully."
Ye Yuze, however, curled his lips and smiled: "It's okay. The various aspects of human life are quite interesting."
Fang Chen observed his expression and felt relieved when he saw that he seemed quite interested. He then gestured for the person to get into the nanny car and close the door.
Fang Chen: "From the previous video, we've basically figured out the situation on the crew side. The person who filmed the video was Huang Ye, and Yang Hedong was also involved. His assistant helped Huang Ye create opportunities and cover up several times. However, the manipulation of the online troll army is not something Huang Ye can do alone. There must be someone else working with him. We need to investigate further."
Ye Yuze looked up at him: "I remember Huang Ye is from Xingchen."
"Jealousy makes people lose their minds." Fang Chen spread his hands. "Judging from his performance in this drama, with his current professional ability, he is not suitable for a career in the film and television industry for the time being. After the filming of this movie is completed, the company will adjust his development direction. Let him study hard for a while and enrich himself."
Ye Yuze nodded, picked up the tablet beside him, clicked on the search, and typed in "Yang Hedong".
Fang Chen looked at the encyclopedia screen that appeared on the tablet and continued, "Don't be fooled by Yang Hedong's baby-faced appearance. He's actually 29. His previous attempts at transformation failed, so he's had to continue playing idol movies. This time, he probably feels threatened by you."
"He should feel threatened. I saw news that his first starring role in a film is scheduled to be released in late March. It's an urban romance drama with a sadistic love story."
"Yes, the original work was quite popular."
"Please ask for the exact date."
"Um, you mean..."
“Try to schedule ‘The Painter’ on the same day, but if it’s not possible, schedule it on the same day or nearby.”
Fang Chen's eyes widened slightly: "You want to challenge him to a duel?"
"His acting is passable in the special effects-driven martial arts scenes, but he's still far from capable of expressing multi-layered and nuanced emotions. Moreover..."
Ye Yuze tapped the tablet with his slender fingers. Fang Chen looked over and saw that the display was
Screenwriter: Qian Pingxin.
"...Qianying is really wasting good things." Fang Chen sighed.
◆◇◆
After getting off the plane in the evening, Ye Yuze and his party met Uncle Zou and two drivers who were waiting for them at the exit.
Uncle Zou first took a good look at Ye Yuze, He Tong, and Fang Chen. Seeing that they all looked fine, he nodded with satisfaction: "Good, you haven't lost any weight."
He Tong smiled and asked, "Uncle Zou, why did you come here in person? Wouldn't it be fine if you had a driver?"
"You'll only be back for a day. Ah Zhi asked you to go over and try on some clothes and stay there. I packed your luggage for going abroad, and since I had to send it there anyway, I might as well come over and pick you up."
Fang Chen was surprised: "My mother made clothes for them?"
Uncle Zou replied cheerfully, "This is Xiaoze and Xiaotong's first time appearing at an international film festival, so of course Ah Zhi personally prepared clothes for them. She has several sets, even gowns for the awards ceremony."
He Tong laughed out loud: "It seems that if we don't win an award this time, we will be sorry for my aunt's hard work."
Ye Yuze next to him also slightly raised the corners of his lips.
The group arrived at the parking lot. Ye Yuze, He Tong and Fang Chen got into Uncle Zou's car. The four bodyguards got into an SUV driven by the Fang family's driver. There was also a car sent by Xingchen to take the two assistants and two makeup artists home.
When the two cars drove to the gate of the Fang family villa, Fang Chen's mother Qin Zhi opened the door to greet them.
The three of them got out of the car and hugged her one by one.
"Aunt, we found some rare and good bird's nests over there and brought you a lot." Ye Yuze said softly.
"Ms. Qin, I haven't seen you for more than half a month. You look younger than last time. I felt that calling you aunt would make you sound old." He Tong praised Qin Zhi as they walked in.
Qin Zhi was amused by them and laughed: "Xiao Ze and Xiao Tong are still thinking about me, unlike the two brats in my family who never say a single nice word to appease a mother like me."
Fang Chen, who was following behind, made a face, while Uncle Zou was busy discussing the arrangement of bodyguards with the Fang family's housekeeper.
Ye Yuze and He Tong had a good night's rest, and their main task the next day was to try on clothes.
Qin Zhi prepared four sets of clothes for each of them: two casual sets, one formal dress for the opening ceremony, and one for the awards ceremony. The two formal dresses were the main ones they needed to try on.
He Tong put on his own suit and turned in front of the mirror, comparing it to Ye Yuze's. His was black, with silver-grey accents on the collar, cuffs, and pockets. Ye Yuze's was the opposite, with a silver-grey main color and black accents. Although the overall designs of the two suits were different, they felt strangely complementary when they stood together.
"My aunt's designs are still so great. Are mine and Brother Ye's matching?"
"Yes. I asked Chenchen to give me the script to read, and I got inspiration from it." Qin Zhi said as she picked up another top. "The one for the awards ceremony is similar in style, but the collar and cuffs are wider, and the fabric has more reflective black and silver threads woven into it, so it looks more gorgeous under the lights."
"Aunt, you are so thoughtful. With you around, we won't have to worry about clothes anymore." He Tong praised sincerely.
"That's right, aunt has taken care of everything for you."
Qin Zhi walked around the two of them several times, carefully inspected them, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Speaking of which, why don't you become the spokesperson for Zhiruo's menswear? This will save me from spending a lot of money every year hiring outsiders."
He Tong and Ye Yuze were both stunned.
Qin Zhi asked casually, "Will you be too busy?"
"How could that be?" He Tong said quickly, "No matter how busy we are, we have to find time to do things that save money for our family."
Qin Zhi smiled and said, "Then it's a deal. After you two finish filming the drama you're working on, come and shoot next year's catalog for me. Okay, this set is fine. Come on, change to the next one and take a look."
He Tong and Ye Yuze changed their clothes more and more obediently.
Qin Zhi looks like a housewife now, but in fact the Fang family's wealth comes from her.
When Ye Yuze's uncle Fang Jingmin courted her, she was still a fledgling fashion designer. Later, when her designs were stolen, she felt depressed. Fang Jingmin decided to open his own clothing factory, allowing her to focus on designing without worrying about anything else. Thus, Fang Jingmin's small factory grew into the current Qiming Group. During this period, Qin Zhi's brands, one after another, became household names.
Today, Qin Zhi continues to run a small studio, releasing products each year based on her mood. She might produce a large run, or perhaps a limited-edition, high-end custom-made collection. This has become more of a hobby than a job. The studio's brand, Zhiruo, is one of the top brands in the domestic fashion industry, attracting numerous models and celebrities annually.
Now, this endorsement will probably belong to Ye Yuze and He Tong forever.
After trying on clothes, Uncle Zou brought tea and snacks, and the few of them enjoyed a leisurely afternoon tea.
"By the way," Qin Zhi said casually, "Have you heard of Reiss Lauer?"
Ye Yuze shook his head.
He Tong thought for a moment and said, "I have some impression of him. He seems to be a master in the fashion industry?"
"He's my friend, a jewelry maker, who now lives in Lake City. If you have time after you get there, you can go visit him. He's a huge fan of China and has lived here for almost ten years."
Qin Zhi paused before continuing, "When Jinglei was filming the drama 'Secret Fragrance,' I made all her costumes, and Reiss made all her jewelry. If you could go see him, I think he would be very happy."
Hearing his mother's name, Ye Yuze couldn't help but look up at Qin Zhi.
Qin Zhi's smile was still gentle: "Go ahead, he will definitely welcome you."
He Tong secretly held Ye Yuze's hand with some worry.
Ye Yuze turned to look at him, then smiled gently at Qin Zhi.
"Okay, aunt, we'll go when we have time."
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