Chapter 48 Is being late a bad habit? Does that mean leaving early is the solution? ...
The filming of "Yunshuiyao" is scheduled to start at 9:00 AM tomorrow. Originally, a start-up banquet was planned for the same day, but due to scheduling conflicts with several major investors, it was moved to tonight.
This news was also given to us by the production team at the last minute that afternoon.
【The Knot】With director Zheng Yimou in charge, the number and amount of investment and sponsorship reached an unprecedented level. However, the list of investors has never been announced, which is a bit unusual.
Generally speaking, no matter how much respect a director has, capital will still try to include a few people in the production, whether actors or staff, to maximize profits. However, in the "Yunshuiyao" production team, Director Zheng is the most powerful figure.
Moreover, the entire casting process was open and transparent. Director Zheng personally interviewed and selected all the actors, so there was no question of capital influencing the casting. The photography, lighting, and props teams were all familiar faces that Director Zheng had worked with before, and even the producer was one of his long-time collaborators.
Clearly, the investors had no intention of interfering with the production process, so everyone was quite curious about this investor with the down-to-earth "coal boss" vibe.
Zhu Qingzhi stayed in the living room of the room, feeling uneasy until five o'clock, but she didn't see Wen Qi. Then she learned that Director Zheng had taken all the investors to a meeting.
Director Zheng's assistant also sent a notice in the WeChat group: [Investors' meeting ends at 6 PM. All personnel should meet at the restaurant at 6:30 PM.]
Zhu Qingzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and had the mind to tidy herself up. Half an hour later, just as she was about to glance at the script again, she received a WeChat message from Wen Qi: [Director Zheng talks so much?]
The so-called investor negotiation meeting had been going on for a full hour by then.
Zhu Qingzhi gave her a sympathetic look: "Just wait and see. A half-hour meeting will be considered good if it ends in an hour."
Wen Qi, sitting in a corner with her phone in hand and using Yang Qing's body as cover, brazenly sent a message to Zhu Qingzhi: "[Could you give him some feedback? Driving like this is wasting a lot of time.]"
Zhu Qingzhi couldn't help but laugh at the thought of a large group of people listening to Director Zheng's passionate speech: "[You're the big spender, so your words carry more weight.] [And also, watch out, or I'll report you for slacking off!]"
Wen Qi looked at the tilde she sent, and a few pixels of his lips curled up in a smile: 【Okay.】【I'm waiting for you to report me with the chat history.】
Meanwhile, Zhu Qingzhi kept deleting and rewriting, and in the end, only a "raising a knife" emoji popped up.
His smile deepened, and then he glanced at his wrist; it was already six o'clock. When he looked up again, his eyes met Director Zheng's.
Director Zheng's eyes were so cold they could kill; it seemed he had seen through his little scheme long ago and was expressing his dissatisfaction.
Wen Qi thought about how he had begged Director Zheng to take on this script for almost three years, and before he could even exhale, he swallowed his anger back down. Oh well, he was the one asking for favors, so listening to a little of his nonsense wouldn't hurt.
In the southern part of the city, it gets dark earlier in winter, but with the New Year approaching, the streets are decorated with bright red lights, making it very lively.
When Zhu Qingzhi and her group arrived at the restaurant, Wen Qi and the others had not yet arrived. It was already 6:45, which showed that Director Zheng was indeed very talkative.
Dani was busy dealing with Katrina's endorsement announcement next week, so Zhu Qingzhi was left alone.
The film crew booked the entire second-floor lobby of the hotel and also set aside a private room, but since not all the investors had arrived yet, everyone gathered in the lobby.
The actors and crew spent quite a while taking photos and signing autographs, when Wen Qi's message came in: "[My suggestion was ineffective; Director Zheng has gone overtime.]"
[A director who doesn't go overtime isn't a good director.] Zhu Qingzhi was so hungry her stomach was practically sticking to her back. One second she was joking, the next she was on the phone, [Where are we?! I'm starving!]
Before Wen Qi's message arrived, someone suddenly sat down in the empty seat next to her, and Zhu Qingzhi immediately turned off her phone.
It was Shen Rou. Her outfit today was quite different. Her low ponytail accentuated her elegance, and her white lace fitted dress highlighted her beautiful figure. She was indeed very pretty.
Her sweet, coquettish voice reached my ears: "I heard you have some connection with the Zhu family of Haicheng?"
That's a very good question.
Shen Rou directly revealed her secrets to her. It seemed that Shen Rou did not know who she was, but just knowing that she was related to the Zhu family, Zhu Qingzhi knew who the informant was.
In fact, she had already realized that her identity would be revealed sooner or later, so there was no need to hide it anymore. Besides, she always followed Dani's teachings, so she greeted her with a smile: "Yes."
Shen Rou smiled knowingly, and lowered her voice slightly, as if she were considering her feelings: "But I remember the Zhu family has no children. Who are you?" She raised an eyebrow, the deeper meaning in her words was self-evident.
An illegitimate daughter? Shen Rou thinks she's the Zhu family's illegitimate daughter?
That's hilarious.
Shen Rou debuted five years ago and was originally signed with Shangya. Three years ago, her contract was transferred to Mingyuan. The reason was not because of any difference in their ideas, but because she was the illegitimate daughter of the Shen family in Haicheng.
Shen Rou's mother was very much liked by Chairman Shen, and Shen Rou was also very favored as a result. Therefore, she was arrogant from a young age, and after adulthood, she became even more unrestrained, always looking for an opportunity to step on the children of the first wife.
After several attempts, Mr. Shen couldn't take it anymore and made the tough decision to cut off the mother and daughter's financial support for six months, which finally calmed things down.
However, Shen Rou was, after all, an illegitimate daughter who could not be brought into the open. If she kept hanging around in front of the original wife, she would inevitably cause more trouble sooner or later. So, Chairman Shen had the idea of sending her away from Haicheng.
Mr. Shen and Mr. Zhao Jianming were old friends, so taking advantage of Shen Rou's status as a debut artist, they naturally signed her to Mingyuan.
Zhu Qingzhi already knew this story, but she never said anything because Shen Rou had never acted out in front of her.
But on what grounds did Shen Rou slander her uncle?
Zhu Qingzhi had already torn her to shreds in her heart, but a more professional smile appeared on her face: "Miss Chen, could you please be a little more frank? After all, there are some identities that only Miss Chen is familiar with, and others are not aware of them."
"So what? It's not me who's embarrassed, it's my dad." Little did she know that Shen Rou had long since become immune to the words "illegitimate daughter." She leaned closer, a malicious smile playing on her lips, "The investors are coming today, are any of you among them...?"
Zhu Qingzhi never expected that she would lose in a sarcastic remark one day, and her composure was almost abnormal: "Guess."
"I heard that Chaoxing only sent Director Yang. Perhaps they're trying to avoid suspicion?"
Shen Rou didn't notice Zhu Qingzhi's change in expression and found it extremely boring. When she looked up and saw Zhang Siyue walking out, she immediately gave up the idea of arguing with her and got up to chase after her.
Zhu Qingzhi had just smeared the poison on her lips when she saw Shen Rou run away without looking back. Very well, she was already furious.
A little while later, the assistant director said that the investors were coming this way and that the lead actors should go to the private room for dinner in fifteen minutes.
After chatting with the others for a while, everyone got up and left when they saw that it was almost time. Instead of waiting for the elevator, she went around to the corner of the stairwell to go up.
The moment she pushed open the stairwell door, a ray of light shone in from downstairs, and she subconsciously glanced down.
It is Wenqi.
Their eyes met, and in a flash, he rushed up to her, standing a step below her. He was dressed in his usual professional attire, his bangs styled with hair wax and combed back, his refined features showing no sign of weariness.
He smelled nice with shower gel, and there were water stains on his collar. Only then did Zhu Qingzhi realize that his hair wasn't styled with hair wax, but simply wasn't dry.
Does this person really not care about their own body?
Zhu Qingzhi immediately frowned and, without thinking, wrapped the scarf around Wen Qi's neck: "You'll get a headache if your hair isn't dry."
Wen Qi bent down slightly to match her movement. The scarf, carrying her body heat and scent, was imprinted on his skin. An inexplicable palpitation made him tighten his fingers: "Being late is not a good habit."
"Does leaving early mean you can just quit?" Zhu Qingzhi retorted immediately.
As soon as the meeting ended, Director Zheng and the others came over. Where would Wen Qi find the time to take a shower?
They must have made up an excuse to leave early.
Zhu Qingzhi reached out and touched his hair, and sure enough, her hand was covered in water.
She didn't ask Wen Qi why she insisted on going back to take a shower, because she knew the answer: she didn't like the smell of smoke, so Wen Qi always made sure to notice this every time they met.
Like his brother, he cared about her feelings, but while his brother's feelings were based on familial affection, his were not.
Wen Qi held her wrist, wiped the water off her palm, and then took her hand, looking surprisingly obedient: "You've learned your lesson. I'll definitely pay attention next time."
Zhu Qingzhi glared at him with displeasure, then pulled her hand away and roughly wiped his hair with her scarf. Strands of messy hair fell down, highlighting his watery eyes.
Realizing he was laughing, Zhu Qingzhi rubbed even harder until Wen Qi reached out and grabbed her wrist again: "Okay, okay, if you keep rubbing, your hair will catch fire."
His palms were burning hot, forming a fine spiderweb that clung to her skin. Her blood and breath seemed to freeze for a moment, like a river branch flowing into a vast ocean, with boundless undercurrents hidden beneath the calm surface.
Zhu Qingzhi's eyelashes trembled slightly; she couldn't bear to pull away.
The scent of Wen Qi in the air was gradually eroding her own presence.
He suddenly took another half step closer, standing on the same step as her. His damp body heat enveloped her, and every breath she took was filled with an ambiguous heartbeat.
Her body temperature suddenly rose, and her eyes unconsciously searched for a place to rest. This was a sense of realism that she had never experienced in her countless idol dramas.
Good heavens, how did she manage to be so brazen as to verbally flirt with someone last night? Well, she's really messed up now.
Zhu Qingzhi felt a surge of emotions, like a mountain collapsing and a tiger roaring, but she refused to admit defeat and asked him casually, "Has the Haicheng matter been resolved?"
Her voice unconsciously lowered, and her ears were already red. Wen Qi saw through her little actions but didn't expose her.
He already had a plan to deal with the situation in Haicheng, but since Zhu Liangli had offered his help, he felt obligated to pay her a visit, which was why he hadn't flown to Nancheng on the same plane as Zhu Qingzhi.
However, such a question-and-answer session was really meaningless, especially since his wife loved to dodge the question. In that instant, he had other thoughts.
Wen Qi's eyes darkened, and he leaned closer to her eyes to make sure she couldn't avoid his gaze anymore before slowly saying, "Yes, thanks to the backer my wife found for me."
As expected, Zhu Qingzhi was so taken aback by his use of the word "wife" that her ears burned. Her composure failed predictably, and she immediately pulled her hand back and ran upstairs.
Wen Qi took a long stride and gently pulled her wrist again.
Zhu Qingzhi lost her balance and fell into his arms. His strength against her lower back felt like a powerful painkiller, making her numb and stiff, too afraid to get closer.
Wen Qi, unusually assertive, pressed down on her lower back, deliberately pulling her towards him: "Why are you running?"
This was the first time he had lost his composure, not giving her time to breathe. He had waited long enough, long enough that she had taken the initiative more than he had. This was not right.
His eyes held a triumphant gleam, and the crisp taste of mint lingered on his lips, while Zhu Qingzhi could only hear the pounding of her own heart.
This is unbearable!!! Is there anyone who can do something about him?!
No, no, no! This isn't the right place for anyone to be in charge! No one can be allowed to do it!
The thought of her career immediately brought Zhu Qingzhi to her senses. She tried to break free but failed, so she simply looked up at him and glared: "Who ran away? I was just worried that Director Zheng and the others would be getting impatient."
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Author's note: Kiyoshi [poor thing]: Save me.
Wen Qi [spreads hands]: Hug.
Ah Mei: Mei mei mei!
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