quarrel
In a hotel in Qingdao, when Xia Zhitang was rubbing medicinal wine on his bruised wrist, Cheng Shubai's video invitation popped up.
Xia Zhitang used his clean ring finger and pinky finger to pick up the phone, placed it on the desk lamp, and answered the video call.
"What's wrong with Old Lin?" The camera magnified the bruise on Cheng Shubai's left eye. "He stormed into my office this morning and threw punches!" He ripped open his tie, revealing scratches on his neck. "The CFO thought we were in an action movie!"
Xia Zhitang said as he wiped the medicinal wine, "You should be thankful that he didn't steal the vase on your desk."
Cheng Shubai pressed his phone against the bruise. "Look at this! How am I going to meet investors tomorrow with this look? Is this the latest smoky makeup?"
"Gu Zian's matter..."
"Wait!" Cheng Shubai took out sunglasses from the drawer and put them on, "Let me look a bit like a domineering boss."
In the video, the black lenses slid to the tip of his nose, and Cheng Shubai's peach blossom eyes peeked out from behind the sunglasses: "Are you really asleep?"
Xia Zhitang kicked over the trash can, and the box of medicine from last night rolled out. She scooped it up and thrust it in front of the camera: "The dual effects of alcohol and adrenaline."
"What a loss! We should have let Gu invest another 30 million!" Cheng Shubai said regretfully, "I should have stuffed two bottles of Moutai in your room..."
Xia Zhitang didn't bother to pay attention to him. He adjusted his phone and continued to wipe the bruise.
"I'll take care of Lao Lin." Cheng Shu rolled his eyes and suddenly became serious. "He just sent Su Wen to Europe for shopping. And you, you ran off after sleeping with the investor?"
"What else?"
Cheng Shubai suddenly leaned closer to the camera: "Did he do this to you? Young people are really brave!"
"No!" Xia Zhitang grabbed a pillow and threw it at the camera. Cheng Shubai staggered in the picture. "Be gentle! I'm your boss after all!"
Xia Zhitang said coldly, "The medical expenses will be charged to Lin Jingming's account."
"I already remembered that!" Cheng Shubai waved the medical report. "You even extorted me for the latest filming equipment." He suddenly lowered his voice. "Seriously, are you going to give me annual leave?"
"We're filming an explosion scene next week. No time for grumbling."
Cheng Shubai held up the torn suit jacket and asked, "Is this considered a crew loss?"
"Deduct it from the equipment payment you extorted."
Before the video call ended, Cheng Shubai became serious again: "Gu Zian is asking about your flight number."
"Give it to him."
After hanging up the video, Xia Zhitang stood up and opened the window.
The night view here is beautiful, full of colorful prosperity.
However, all the ordinary happiness had left her three years ago. Xia Zhitang unconsciously stroked the red rope on her wrist, thinking about the next step.
When she raised her eyes, they had regained their composure, and she happened to see Gu Zian's soda advertisement playing on the huge advertising screen of the building opposite.
The boy's fangs flashed in the night, and the spilled drink condensed into heart-shaped water droplets in slow motion.
The young man who was like a little sun really made her very envious at this moment.
When Xia Zhitang was checking the blasting budget in the airport coffee shop, the tip of Gu Zian's AJ shoes suddenly caught his sight.
He took off his sunglasses, his forehead still caked with glitter from the variety show: "Sister, I squeezed out an hour!"
"The variety show makeup isn't removed cleanly." Xia Zhitang smiled, took out a wet tissue, and raised his hand to wipe the sequins on his temples.
Gu Zian grabbed Xia Zhitang's wrist and said, "Don't wipe it. This is specially for my sister to see."
Xia Zhitang nodded and wanted to pull his hand back, but the boy refused.
During the stalemate, the boarding pass fell out of Gu Zian's pocket. They both squatted down to pick it up. When their fingertips touched, Xia Zhitang suddenly saw four or five transfer stamps.
Xia Zhitang looked at the young man in front of him with a complicated expression, and silently helped him put the boarding pass back into his pocket.
Gu Zian took the opportunity to grab Xia Zhitang's hand: "Why are you so nice to me?"
He stared at Xia Zhitang intently, his fingertips gently rubbing her palm: "Teach me how to adjust the focus, change the storyboard, and reply to messages at one in the morning..."
Xia Zhitang lowered his eyes and pulled his hand away: "As long as you want to learn, I will teach you..."
"Truthfully?" Gu Zian's long legs blocked Xia Zhitang's way. His handsome face enlarged in front of her eyes. His focused eyes stubbornly scanned her, trying to see something from her face.
Xia Zhitang turned his head away and looked into the distance, his body moved back uncomfortably, his fingertips subconsciously stirring the American coffee on the table.
After a two-minute stalemate, Gu Zian pulled out his crumpled notebook in frustration. "Finally, three questions!" He traced the densely packed fluorescent handwriting with his fingertips. "Safe distance for wirework..."
Xia Zhitang took the notebook and closed it: "You have learned all this long ago. It's time to board the plane."
At this moment, the electronic screen began to scroll his flight information. Gu Zian smiled and said, "Then... can I ask a personal question?"
He bit his lip and said, "The note my sister left me on her phone..."
"Assistant Gu." Xia Zhitang packed up his things and picked up his backpack. "Boss Cheng asked for it."
Gu Zian looked at the half-empty cup of American coffee Xia Zhitang had placed on the table and suddenly said, "Sister, I'm thirsty."
Without waiting for Xia Zhitang to react, he picked up her American coffee and took a big sip.
Xia Zhitang was stunned and turned his face away, pretending not to see it.
"Wrap-up hug version 2.0!" Gu Zian suddenly smiled and hugged her.
The scent of mint candy instantly enveloped Xia Zhitang, and Gu Zian's voice came from the top of her head: "Sister, your heart is beating so fast."
"Turn me over. If I'm caught, I'll have to deal with PR again." Xia Zhitang poked the itchy spot on his waist. "Big star, don't miss the plane."
Gu Zian slowly let go of Xia Zhitang, took out a paper bag from his bag and stuffed it into her arms.
"Wait until I get on the plane before taking it off!" He ran backwards towards the boarding gate.
Xia Zhitang didn't look away until Gu Zian disappeared in the crowd.
In the taxi, Xia Zhitang opened a pink bag tied with a bow, and inside was a 30-centimeter-tall custom-made doll whose clothes and hairstyle were very similar to Xia Zhitang's.
She sighed and stuffed the doll back into the paper bag. She leaned back on the slightly hard seat of the taxi, watched the plane take off from the airport, and whispered, "Goodbye."
Although Gu Zian left the crew, the consequences of this incident were far more serious than Xia Zhitang had imagined.
Ever since the quarrel with Lin Jingming, his temper has become increasingly out of control, and Xia Zhitang's work has been infinitely hindered.
Even though Xia Zhitang is now the executive director designated by the investors, it is not easy to withstand the targeting of a powerful and profitable director.
When Xia Zhitang pushed the blasting plan across the conference table, Lin Jingming glanced at it and hit back: "The decimal point in the wire's load-bearing coefficient is wrong."
"The decimal point is correct. I've recalculated it based on the specifications you revised last month." Xia Zhitang pointed to the signature line at the end of the form. "Director Lin, do you need to review the original data?"
Lin Jingming suddenly threw his pen onto the whiteboard, and the ink exploded into radial black spots on the explosion diagram. "Stationmaster! Lower the sunshade of Unit 2 by two levels!"
The field manager wiped his sweat and glanced at Xia Zhitang. Only after seeing her nod did he trot out.
Lin Jingming loosened his tie and sneered, "Now even the field management needs your approval?"
"You said last week that I'd be in charge of on-site dispatch." Xia Zhitang pulled back the ink-stained blasting plan. "Do I need written authorization from Mr. Cheng?"
The two parted ways once again on bad terms. Xia Zhitang knew Lin Jingming was waiting for her to bow her head and apologize. She stroked the red string on her hand, her mind trying to convince her to coax him, but she couldn't swallow the anger in her heart.
For the next three days, Lin Jingming began to convey instructions through the script manager, and the notice sheet handed over by Xia Zhitang was always found at the bottom of the coffee cup.
"Director Lin said the rain scene will be shot in close-up." The girl at the stage management handed over a wet note, "You're asking me to move the track car to..."
"I can't move." Xia Zhitang pointed at the heavy rain outside the window, "The water level in the real scene has exceeded the warning line."
She took out her intercom to contact Lin Jingming, and suddenly Su Wen's laughter came from the channel: "Old Lin, your dog is not listening to you anymore?"
Xia Zhitang stared closely at the faded red rope in his hand and slowly put down the walkie-talkie.
When Cheng Shubai squeezed into the monitoring room with popcorn in his arms, Xia Zhitang was filling the dryer with the soaked notices.
"What happened to our ancestors?" He bit into his popcorn, making a crackling sound. "Old Lin asked me to pass on a list of twenty extra shows."
"Let him send the email." Xia Zhitang turned the dryer to the highest setting. "Paper documents get soaked easily."
Cheng Shubai turned off the humming machine: "What's the harm in giving in? He's deliberately leaving you out in the cold."
"After I coax Su Wen, I'll bring the Women's Federation to dismantle the crew."
"Gu family kid just asked me for your new number."
"Give it to him." Xia Zhitang flattened the dried notice.
"Su Wen is bringing a group of ladies to visit the set tomorrow." Cheng Shubai suddenly lowered his voice, "Do you need me to arrange for you to go to Qingdao to monitor the location shooting?"
"No need. She should be very happy that Lin Jingming is making things difficult for me."
"Is it worth it?" Cheng Shubai became serious.
"If your spine is broken, there will be another time." Xia Zhitang looked at the faded red rope in his hand. "The more aggressive the horse, the more satisfying it is to tame it. Let's see who gives up first."
"Okay, a wild horse has its own way of playing." Cheng Shubai looked at Xia Zhitang who was competing with Lin Jingming with his head down, and felt inexplicably expectant.
In the middle of the night, distress messages from the field group flooded the screen, and Xia Zhitang was still transferred to Qingdao for support.
Early in the morning, she boarded the high-speed train alone in the rain, carrying her luggage, and headed for Qingdao.
After working non-stop all day, when she was debugging the machine in the mud on the Qingdao location, Lin Jingming's seventh call shook the remote control off.
She wiped the rain that had stuck to her eyelashes and answered the phone: "Camera position number three is flooded, and they're repairing it..."
"Fix your ass!" Lin Jingming's roar mixed with Su Wen's laughter. "The site manager said you haven't checked the blasting point in three days!"
"You just asked me to hand over the management of Group B last week." Xia Zhitang's tone was a little tired. Lin Jingming's anger seemed to be getting more and more intense, making her feel very tired.
On the other end of the phone, Cheng Shubai suddenly interrupted: "Lao Lin! Gu's has transferred the balance!"
The call was abruptly hung up, and five minutes later a series of voice messages bombarded her WeChat.
Xia Zhitang clicked on the speaker and said, "Come back tomorrow to supervise the editing! Don't think you can just hide in Qingdao..."
"Director Lin." Xia Zhitang interrupted, "If you want to change people, do it sooner rather than later."
The monitor screen suddenly went black, and the stage manager shouted from the electrical box, "Director Xia! The main switch has tripped!"
Xia Zhitang sent a message in the group in the dark, and Lin Jingming's video invitation popped up.
"Come back now to edit episode seven, and don't force me to send Cheng Shubai to hold you captive..."
Xia Zhitang suddenly turned the camera to the railcar soaked in muddy water: "If you can find someone who is more familiar with this pile of scrap metal than me..."
Lin Jingming threw the coffee cup: "Do you think I dare not change?"
Xia Zhitang turned his head to look at the cloudy sky outside, and the face in the camera flickered in the flickering light of the mobile phone.
"Tomorrow is the last three scenes. I'll give you the handover list after we finish filming."
Lin Jingming suddenly turned off the video and a dialog box popped up indicating that the video was being withdrawn.
Cheng Shubai sent a screenshot - Lin Jingming had just sent a group notice to the crew asking them to work all night, and the accompanying picture was a Q-version portrait she had hand-painted three years ago.
The head of the stage management team handed over a half-dried notice: "Director Lin wants to shoot an additional explosion scene..."
"Film it according to the specifications of his award-winning film last year." Xia Zhitang threw the soaked notebook into the nearest recycling bin. "If it gets damaged, it's my responsibility."
While repairing the car late at night, Xia Zhitang received an email from Lin Jingming. Attached was a blank termination letter with the simple sentence "Come back and sign."
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