Chapter 034

The next day, Zhou Qingyu woke up with two panda eyes.

She slept very well in the past few days, and did not miss any facial masks, beauty instruments, or skin care products. If it weren't for Zijin Garden, she wouldn't have been like this.

Ye Luoyi, on the other hand, was in high spirits.

Although she was upset yesterday because Zhou Qingyu got the endorsement from M company, the heroine is the heroine. After being lost for a while, she immediately revived like a chicken with blood.

In the B&B living room, seeing Zhou Qingyu massaging her dark circles, Ye Luoyi asked in surprise, "Qingyu, did you not sleep well last night?"

[It's true. This is the first time I see Miss with dark circles under her eyes! ]

[Is it possible that the young lady secretly went out to have fun last night? ]

[Even so, the young lady with dark circles under her eyes is still as beautiful as ever~]

Zhou Qingyu curled her lips, ignored Ye Luoyi, and glared at Yan Xi.

Yan Xi:?

Yan Xi pointed at herself innocently and said, "You stayed up late to look at the Zijin Garden project, are you blaming me?"

Zhou Qingyu took the black coffee from Louis and took a big sip to eliminate the edema. "Of course it's your fault! You should have persuaded me more and told me not to look at that project! How could you give up after just one or two words of persuasion?"

Yan Xi: “…”

Last night, Yu Xiao sent the proposal to Zhou Hongsheng, and Zhou Hongsheng will decide whose proposal will participate in the bidding. That's what he said, but a company as big as Zhou's must have connections in the government. Although it is said that Zhou Hongsheng will decide, in fact, the proposal selected is more inclined to the one the government likes.

Yan Xi suddenly thought of something, "The results of Zijin Garden are out? Who won?"

"Ecological wetlands," Zhou Qingyu said in an unhappy tone, "Zhou Yanci actually came up with this idea. I never expected it!"

"However, the Lu family and the Pei family also participated in the bidding. Fortunately, we were the winner."

Thinking of this, Zhou Qingyu forced herself to be happy.

Yan Xi saw the opportunity and said, "So, it's not bad to just lie down and get dividends, right? At least you won't have dark circles under your eyes..."

Zhou Qingyu glared at Yan Xi angrily, "You rebel! Shut up!"

——

Today is the last day of our trip to Country F.

Compared to the previous few days when the guests planned their own itineraries, today all the guests had only one itinerary, which was to shoot the promotional video for "Let's Travel Together".

"Let's Go Travel" is not only live broadcast, but also recorded. Considering that it is just a variety show promotional video, it does not require much acting skills. As long as it can show the effect that Director Yu needs, Yan Xi and other amateurs can also do it.

Today's content will not be broadcast live. After breakfast, each group of guests will cooperate with Director Yu for filming, and then we will shoot an integrated version of the eight people in the end.

The whole trip was very relaxing. While photographing a certain group of guests, the other guests were free to move around and buy some souvenirs they wanted to bring back home.

Zhou Qingyu was feeling lazy. She didn't sleep well last night and didn't plan to go shopping today. When she wasn't filming, she would curl up on the seat cushion of the stretched Lincoln and fall into a deep sleep.

By around 2:00 p.m., the individual shots of the three groups of guests had been completed, with the exception of Jiang Tao and Xiao Yu.

The stagehand reported anxiously to Director Yu, "Director, we've looked everywhere, but we still can't find Director Jiang and Editor Xiao!"

Director Yu scratched his bald head in annoyance, "What happened to these two? They can go back to China after filming the promotional video! Why are they so slow now?"

Everyone was getting anxious. At this moment, Qin Li and Kang Boye, who had finished filming together first, appeared, followed by

Jiang Tao and Xiao Yu were stunned.

Director Yu rushed over and said, "Mr. Jiang! What time is it? You're still running around with Xiaoyu!"

Jiang Tao's face was full of desolation. His hair, which was not thick to begin with, was a mess on his head. He looked haggard and there were several wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

Yan Xi poked her head out curiously. She remembered that Jiang Tao was 35 years old this year, but now he looked like a little old man in his 50s.

"Something went wrong with the investment in Bottom Line." Zhou Qingyu slowly opened her eyes while taking a nap. "When I was watching the Zijin Garden project last night, I heard the news from Wu Liao. I heard that the boss who invested in Jiang Tao disappeared inexplicably."

Yan Xi couldn't understand, "How can a living person disappear for no reason... Wait, what about Director Jiang's investment?"

"It's over." Zhou Qingyu shrugged.

She rolled down the window of her Lincoln. Through the window, she could see the filming location, where Jiang Tao was hugging Director Yu and crying.

"Jiang Tao has been with the production team recently, and it is estimated that the contract has not been signed. But he has already paid for the location fees for the filming in Licheng. Now that the investment is gone, the money he paid has gone down the drain."

At the shooting scene, Jiang Tao burst into tears and the guests around him felt very sorry.

But after all, it was a hole of 20 million, and there was nothing they could do.

Director Yu couldn't bear it, so he asked the guests to finish shooting the remaining shots and no longer asked Jiang Tao to shoot.

Jiang Tao and Xiao Yu sat in a small flowerbed outside the filming site, and kept contacting domestic investors to try to get investment. But they knew in their hearts that they couldn't get investment when they had more time before, and now it's even harder.

At 5pm, Director Yu announced that all filming was complete, and the "Travel" F Station trip officially ended. Ye Luoyi booked a flight at 10pm, and everyone packed up and gathered at the airport in the evening, because the return part had no new ideas and would not be broadcast live.

Jiang Tao and Xiao Yu packed up without stopping, they had to return to China to deal with financial issues.

However, since they learned last night that the investor had disappeared, they have made countless phone calls but still have not been able to contact the other party. Even if they return to China, the hope of contacting the other party is very slim.

——

In the room, Jiang Tao was contacting domestic investors. Xiao Yu packed her luggage. After seeing Jiang Tao being rejected by investors again, she stepped forward and held Jiang Tao's hand tightly.

Jiang Tao choked up, "If we can't get investment this time, Xiaoyu, our apartment in Hengcheng..."

"Sell it," Xiao Yu patted Jiang Tao on the shoulder, "It's okay, you can still make money."

"But our children..."

Jiang Tao's eyes moved down to Xiao Yu's belly. Because she was less than two months pregnant, Xiao Yu was not obviously pregnant, but under her flat belly, a life was already being nurtured.

Jiang Tao originally thought that he could make a comeback with "Bottom Line" so that Xiao Yu and the child could have a better life, but in the end he lost everything.

“Boom boom boom…”

There was a knock on the door. Jiang Tao wiped the tears from his eyes and opened the door. Qin Li was standing at the door with a suitcase.

"Leaving?" Jiang Tao understood, "Sorry, I was busy contacting the investors and wasted too much time. We have packed up, so it's okay for you to leave now..."

Qin Li interrupted Jiang Tao, "Director Jiang, it's only eight o'clock now, and we still have some time to go to the airport. I want to talk to you about investment."

Jiang Tao raised his head suddenly. He thought he had heard wrongly, and his eyes were full of disbelief. "You...you want to invest in me?"

Xiao Yu's eyes were also filled with joy, "Don't chat at the door, Xiao Qin, come in quickly!"

"No need," Qin Li said calmly, "It won't be long, just talk here."

Qin Li stood up straight. He was a big man, over 1.8 meters tall. Looking at Jiang Tao, who was 1.7 meters tall, made Jiang Tao feel quite oppressed.

Jiang Tao's throat rolled over, suppressing his excitement, and looked at Qin Li expectantly.

Qin Li: "I have contacted Strawberry Network, and they said that if I am the male lead, they are willing to invest 20 million in "Bottom Line"."

The smile on Jiang Tao's face disappeared in an instant, "But, but I have already decided on the male lead..."

Qin Li smiled slightly, "It's okay, Director Jiang, this is just a suggestion. If you have other ideas, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"However..." Qin Li raised his hand and glanced at his phone, "Strawberry.com only gives you two days to consider it. They hope you can seize the opportunity."

——

At ten o'clock in the evening, the guests gathered at Licheng Airport.

Compared to the gloomy face Jiang Tao had during the day, he looked much better now. Although he still looked listless, he looked a little more human.

Yan Xi was a little curious, but was too embarrassed to ask Jiang Tao. Xiao Yu saw Yan Xi's curiosity and concern, and told her gently, "We have found investment."

"So fast!" Yan Xi exclaimed in amazement, "Congratulations!"

"It was Strawberry.com. Xiao Qin helped to arrange it. Strawberry.com agreed to invest 20 million. Although this number is a little different from our initial target of 30 million, it's okay if we save some money."

"Strawberry.com," Zhou Qingyu smiled softly, "I'm afraid it's not as simple as just reducing the budget. Strawberry.com is not a charity. They are very strict in selecting projects."

Zhou Qingyu is a shareholder of Xingyao and she is very familiar with the twists and turns of the platform.

Xiao Yu smiled bitterly, "They asked for Xiao Qin to be the male lead. After all, Xiao Qin is well-known, and the male lead we found before... was too unknown."

Zhou Qingyu nodded, "It's not a loss at all. With the script of "Bottom Line" and Qin Li as the male lead, it's about right to raise 20 million investment."

It was a happy ending for Strawberry Network, Qin Li, Jiang Tao and Xiao Yu.

The only person sacrificed in this incident was Shen Xinghe.

But who would care about an unknown little actor?

Everything, now that the trip to Country F has come to an end, has returned to the track of the novel.

——

After checking in, the guests went through security checks and boarded their flights back home, while Zhou Qingyu and Yan Xi still returned home on a private plane.

There were only Yan Xi and Zhou Qingyu on the private plane this time. The plane did not return to Haicheng in the end, but went to Hengcheng first. Zhou Qingyu had a guest appearance in a costume drama and was going to shoot for a day.

Yan Xi had nothing to do anyway, so she went to Hengcheng with her.

On the plane, Zhou Qingyu went to bed early to adjust to the jet lag in order to be in good condition. Yan Xi was not sleepy yet, so she went to the audio-visual room to watch a movie to kill time.

The moment the plane left the border of Country F, a reminder popped up in Yan Xi's mind: [Ding! Change Zhou Qingyu's fate as the control group on the variety show (Country F), Zhou Qingyu's luck value increased by 5 points, and the current luck value is 19.1 points]

The system had already told Yan Xi that the situation on the variety show was very different from the plot of the novel, and there would definitely be a luck value settlement after the show ended.

But Yan Xi didn't expect that she could be rewarded with so much luck points at one time.

Zhou Qingyu's fate has changed.

"Tongzi, Qin Li took away the male lead that originally belonged to Shen Xinghe. Does that also mean that he took away Shen Xinghe's luck?"

[Yes! ]

A small light ball jumped out: [There are only so many opportunities in life. Playing the male lead in "Bottom Line" will definitely make you a big hit. If Shen Xinghe loses this opportunity, then this opportunity will naturally fall to Qin Li~]

Just like Pei Yubai repeatedly gained money, resources, and fame from Zhou Qingyu, and all of these turned into his luck as the male protagonist.

[Besides, Qin Li is Ye Luoyi's loyal follower. As he becomes more outstanding and has more luck, he will be able to help Ye Luoyi! ]

[Host, you should understand this very well. Just like when you receive a gift from the young lady, the young lady can actually increase your luck! Connections are also a kind of luck! ]

Connections are also a kind of luck.

Yan Xi pondered over this sentence over and over again.

The novel is already halfway through its plot, and it is impossible for Yan Xi to help Zhou Qingyu get perfect luck by changing the novel's plot.

The gift Zhou Qingyu gave to Yan Xi, or Yan Xi helped Zhou Qingyu get an endorsement, were all ways to gain luck, but the progress was too slow.

She had to think of something else.

Shen Xinghe, maybe it’s an idea.

Yan Xi: "Is this Jiang Tao case set up by someone? If there hadn't been previous investment, Jiang Tao wouldn't have chosen Qin Li as the male lead."

【this……】

The system hesitated, [Host, I don't know, it's not written in the novel! ]

Yan Xi sneered, "Qin Li is a supporting actor, so the novel certainly won't discredit him, and it's likely that this part of the content has been downplayed. But they said they would invest in Jiang Tao, but then suddenly disappeared after Jiang Tao paid the venue fee. Aren't they trying to force Jiang Tao and make him have no choice but to choose Qin Li?"

Yan Xi felt that compared to Pei Yubai's PUA, Qin Li's scheming was extremely deep. No matter he had previously instigated Da Jiajun to discredit himself, or this time he had plotted against Jiang Tao, he always managed to do it flawlessly.

In the novel, Qin Li is the affectionate second male lead from beginning to end. He loves Ye Luoyi to the point of obsession and has never revealed his scheming and dark side.

But for some things, even if you can't see it on the surface, you can always find clues by thinking about who the ultimate beneficiary is.

In Jiang Tao's game, isn't Qin Li the beneficiary?

Yan Xi didn't believe in coincidences, and even less did she believe that Qin Li was just lucky.

If Strawberry.com wants to find a second-tier artist to endorse it, there are so many second-tier artists in the entertainment industry, but Qin Li's turn will never be the one.

——

It was six in the morning when the private plane arrived in Hengcheng.

Zhou Qingyu had a scene to shoot one day, so she rushed to the crew after getting off the plane.

Yan Xi had nothing to do, so she continued to catch up on her sleep on the plane and didn't get up until after eight o'clock.

Zhou Qingyu's role only lasts for one day and ends tonight. Yan Xi can go shopping in Hengcheng during the day.

It was her first time to visit Hengcheng, a place with many classical buildings. Being in Hengcheng was like traveling through time.

It was summer vacation, and the temperature in Hengcheng was extremely high during the day. Yan Xi, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, could already feel the heat on her face. Along the way, Yan Xi met many extras, who were wearing heavy ancient costumes and looked very hot.

Outside an old house, Yan Xi saw Qiao Yan.

Qiao Yan was about thirty years old, wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, with her work ID from the crew hanging on her chest. When she saw Yan Xi, she stretched out her hand to say hello.

Qiao Yan handed her work ID to Yan Xi, "Here, you are from the crew of "Los Angeles Tricks". You didn't go to visit the eldest lady, but went to this crew instead. Do you like Fang Sui?"

"Fang Sui?" Yan Xi was startled. "Who?"

"Hey, don't you know him? He's a very popular male star recently!"

Yan Xi shook her head. She had spent a long time looking up information last night but couldn't find out which crew Shen Xinghe was in. She had to ask the system to help her find it, and only then did she discover that Shen Xinghe had filmed "L.A. Battle", which was his most recent drama. Yan Xi wanted to try her luck.

"Okay, Xingyao invested in "Los Angeles Showdown", although it's not much, but it's no problem to get a work permit. You can take pictures after you go in, but don't leak them, got it?"

Qiao Yan thought Yan Xi knew these basic common sense about film sets, but she still couldn't help but say a few more words.

Arriving at the "Los Angeles Showdown" crew, Qiao Yan greeted the producer.

Xingyao is one of the investors, and the producer was very polite to Qiao Yan.

Today, "L.A. Finale" was filmed for a big scene. All the named characters were present, and a huge green screen was erected around the set to block out the fans and paparazzi outside.

Inside the green screen, the atmosphere was filled with enthusiasm, and there was a huge crowd of people, including many extras and supporting actors.

Yan Xi saw the male lead Fang Sui filming on the stage. Fang Sui's lines were mediocre and Yan Xi couldn't hear what he was saying, but Fang Sui was holding a knife, and it seemed that the male lead was leading his troops to attack the imperial city.

Yan Xi was standing not far away and could see Fang Sui wielding the weightless sword to kill his way out of the encirclement. An inconspicuous soldier stood in front of him, trying to stop Fang Sui, but was eventually killed by Fang Sui with a single blow.

Immediately, Fang Sui rushed to the emperor and stabbed him in the chest!

"Card!"

As the director called for stop, six or seven assistants came forward immediately. Some wiped Fang Sui's sweat, some handed him water, and some gave him a small fan.

The supporting characters were surrounded by several assistants, who took care of them attentively.

Only the young soldier who was killed by Fang Sui's sword staggered to his feet.

The scene had not yet ended, and he did not dare to wipe off the "blood stains" on his face, so he could only sit on the stone block next to him.

He reached into his sports backpack and took out a water cup. Seeing that there was no water in it, he felt lost for a moment, and without saying a word, he put the cup back into the backpack.

The "blood" after makeup flowed on his face thickly, making it itchy and sticky. Shen Xinghe felt very uncomfortable, but he held back.

"Would you like some water?"

Yan Xi handed Shen Xinghe a bottle of water.

Shen Xinghe was startled, and looked up at the girl in front of him. The girl had a pure face, no makeup, a little sweat, and her hair stuck to her forehead.

"Thank you……"

He was very thirsty, so he took the water from Yan Xi and drank it up in gulps.

Yan Xi pulled a small chair and sat down, observing Shen Xinghe.

The man drank half a bottle of water, his Adam's apple rolled, and beads of sweat slid down his neck into his collar, which made him look inexplicably sexy. He was wearing a helmet, and there was blood and dust on his face, so his original appearance was almost invisible.

——If it wasn’t for the system’s reminder, Yan Xi would never have thought that this person was Shen Xinghe.

She had seen Shen Xinghe without makeup in Jiang Tao's camera. Although the camera did not focus on his looks, Shen Xinghe's smile with the corners of his mouth raised in the picture, that ruffian and naughty smile, who knows how many girls would be attracted if it were shown to others.

But now he is too simple and just like an ordinary extra.

Someone once said that gold will shine.

Yan Xi felt that this was not right. For gold to shine, it must first have the opportunity to be seen by others. If it can never be seen by others, it is useless no matter how valuable it is.

Shen Xinghe drank the water and felt Yan Xi's eyes staring at him. His face turned red and his ears turned red enough to drip blood.

"you……"

He was about to speak when he saw Yan Xi take out a small fan with Fang Sui's photo printed on it and fan herself.

The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, and Shen Xinghe smiled bitterly in his heart.

With such a big star like Fang Sui around, how dare he imagine that the little girl is his fan?

Most likely she was a fan who wanted to follow Fang Sui, but unfortunately there were too many people around Fang Sui and she couldn't squeeze in.

"You can actually come later," Shen Xinghe suggested. "It's cooler when you're done working, and Fang Sui will be signing autographs for fans."

"Fang Sui?" Yan Xi looked puzzled, "I'm not a fan of Fang Sui!"

"and you……"

Shen Xinghe pointed at the fan in Yan Xi's hand.

"Ah, you're talking about this!" Yan Xi pointed at Fang Sui on the fan and said with a smile, "This was given to me by a fan of Fang Sui. It's very hot in Hengcheng. Do you want it? I have more in my bag!"

Yan Xi took out two and gave them to Shen Xinghe, fanning him beside her. "You know what, even though these are peripherals, they are still very useful!"

The warm wind brought the girl's faint scent of perfume, which seemed to be the scent of floral shower gel.

"By the way," Yan Xi returned to the topic, "I know you. Didn't you sign a contract for Director Jiang's play? You are the male lead anyway. There is no need for you to come here as an extra, right?"

Shen Xinghe looked at Yan Xi in surprise, "How did you know that I took on "The Bottom Line"?"

Although Shen Xinghe and Jiang Tao plan to cooperate, "Bottom Line" has not yet attracted investment, so the audience should not know about this yet.

Yan Xi rolled her eyes and pointed at her work badge, "I'm an internal staff member. I've seen your audition clip. You acted very well."

After receiving recognition from others, Shen Xinghe raised his lips slightly, and a simple smile appeared on his ruffian face. "Well, the audition was indeed successful, but Director Jiang has not yet attracted investment. After attracting investment, it should start filming."

[Host, it seems that Shen Xinghe doesn't know that the male lead of "Bottom Line" is going to be changed! ]

[That’s right, this was just decided last night, I guess Director Jiang hasn’t told him yet! ]

As soon as the system finished speaking, Shen Xinghe's phone rang.

Yan Xi glanced at the screen and the caller ID showed "Director Jiang".

Shen Xinghe and Yan Xi said sorry and went to the side to answer the phone.

Yan Xi looked at Shen Xinghe from afar. At first, he had an expectant smile on his face. She didn't know what Jiang Tao said on the other end of the phone, but the smile on Shen Xinghe's face gradually faded and finally disappeared.

In the end, the only expression on that handsome face was helplessness.

He didn't complain, but just returned to Yan Xi.

The staff of "Los Angeles Showdown" urged the leading actors to continue filming. Shen Xinghe lowered his eyelids, and Yan Xi noticed that his eyelashes were very long, and for a moment she couldn't see his eyes clearly.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I can't act in "Bottom Line" anymore."

Yan Xi encouraged, "Don't be discouraged, there may be other opportunities!"

Shen Xinghe shook his head, "It's confirmed. There should be no room for maneuver."

He raised his eyes to look at Yan Xi, his gaze softened again, "However, Director Jiang has a good eye, I believe his new male lead must be very good and will not let you down!"

The staff urged the extras to go back to their positions. Shen Xinghe still couldn't hide the disappointment on his face, but the moment he entered the set, he took a deep breath, and the disappointment on his face disappeared, and he turned back into the soldier who was stabbed to death and died with his eyes open.