TLSOTMTKOGAYWHTDI Chapter 71
by VolareChapter 69: The CP I ship is real!
Chapter 69: The CP I ship is real!
In the preparation meeting room for “Early Spring,” the whiteboard was densely covered with storyboard sketches.
Zhuo Huaimo stood in front of the projector, with obvious dark circles under his eyes. The laser pointer in his hand drew a red line on the screen.
“The lighting for the third scene must be two stops darker,”
His voice was hoarse but firm, “I want the texture of dawn just before sunrise, not this bright white light.”
The art director wiped his sweat, “Director Zhuo, but this way the actors’ facial details…”
“Use rim light to compensate,”
Zhuo Huaimo interrupted him, his finger heavily emphasizing a point on the storyboard,
“The audience doesn’t need to see his expression clearly, they just need to feel the oppression.”
The meeting room door was gently pushed open, and stagehand Xiao Zhang poked his head in,
“Director Zhuo, it’s already three in the afternoon, and everyone hasn’t had lunch yet…”
“Order takeout.”
Zhuo Huaimo didn’t even look up, “Adjust the color palette of the costume department to be one shade darker, it’s too bright.”
His phone vibrated incessantly on the table, the screen lighting up and then going dark—
The twenty-third missed call, all from “Qi Yanwang.”
The ice in the coffee cup had long melted, and water droplets had seeped a ring into the solid wood table.
Zhuo Huaimo rubbed his temples, and the design drawings in front of him began to blur and overlap.
He had been working for thirty-six consecutive hours, relying entirely on iced Americanos to keep him going.
“Director Zhuo!” The assistant director suddenly exclaimed.
Zhuo Huaimo’s vision went black, and his knee hit heavily against the edge of the conference table.
He subconsciously grabbed the edge of the table, but felt a handful of cold coffee stains.
“It’s nothing,” he waved his hand, his voice weaker than he thought,
“Let’s continue discussing the transitions…”
This was Zhuo Huaimo’s first film, and he took it very seriously, so he was practically camped out with the crew.
Of course, this directly infuriated Qi Yanwang, who couldn’t see him.
Day after day, he didn’t come home, he couldn’t say more than a few words on the phone, and he didn’t even send a single message!
Qi Yanwang could no longer endure it and went directly to the set!
The meeting room door was suddenly pushed open, and a commotion came from the hallway.
“President Qi?!”
“Oh my god, it’s really President Qi!”
Zhuo Huaimo looked up sharply, meeting Qi Yanwang’s gloomy face.
The man was dressed in a casual suit, but he was carrying two large bags of coffee, followed by the curious gazes of the entire crew.
“I brought coffee for everyone.”
Qi Yanwang’s face was already full of smiles the moment he entered!
The meeting room was silent. Everyone’s eyes darted back and forth between the two parties involved, and some people had already begun to stifle their laughter.
Zhuo Huaimo tapped the table,
“President Qi, we’re in a meeting.”
“I know!”
Qi Yanwang strode to the conference table, looking completely at ease, “I came to check on the progress of the project!”
Zhuo Huaimo looked at him calmly, without saying anything—
Lie, keep lying!
Qi Yanwang was a little embarrassed!
He cleared his throat, “I ordered afternoon tea for everyone! Representing the boss of Xingyue Media, to express my regards to the staff, is that not allowed?”
Zhuo Huaimo also knew that this high-intensity work had already caused some staff members to complain.
“Everyone, go and have some afternoon tea, take an hour off!”
The meeting room instantly erupted in cheers, and they discreetly slipped out of the room.
The lighting engineer Old Zhang leaned close to Qi Yanwang’s ear,
“Director Zhuo has only slept eight hours in three days, please persuade him.”
A makeup crew member shoved a throat lozenge into his hand,
“President Qi, I only have one question, is the CP I ship real?!”
Qi Yanwang winked at him, gave a “thumbs up” gesture, and whispered,
“Guaranteed!”
When the last person closed the door, Qi Yanwang immediately got up and locked it.
As the blinds rustled down, Zhuo Huaimo was tidying up the scattered actor profiles when he was suddenly hugged from behind.
He took out a thermos from his bag, “Aunt Zhang specially made soup, do you want to drink it now or wait for me to feed you?”
“…I’ll do it myself.”
The moment he took the soup spoon, Qi Yanwang suddenly leaned in and licked the soup stain from the corner of his mouth,
“Add another three million to the compensation, in exchange for me becoming a special consultant for ‘Early Spring’?”
“No way!”
“Two million?”
“This isn’t a matter of money!”
Qi Yanwang suddenly smiled, his fingertip pointing at his heart,
“Then what is the problem? Are you afraid that I’ll interfere with your work?”
He lowered his voice, “Or are you afraid… that seeing me every day will make you unable to control yourself?”
“Early Spring’ is my first film,” he tilted his head to avoid that hand, “I have to… give it my all!”
“You’ve already done very well, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, okay?”
Zhuo Huaimo put down the spoon, and the porcelain bowl collided with the table, making a crisp sound.
“I’ll be very busy lately,”
He lowered his eyelashes, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the thermos,
“You don’t need to come every day.”
Qi Yanwang propped his chin up and looked at him, the sunlight casting dappled shadows on his face through the blinds.
“What do I have to be busy with?”
He suddenly leaned closer, his nose almost touching Zhuo Huaimo’s earlobe, “The busiest thing right now is—”
“Missing you.”
Zhuo Huaimo glanced at him, “You should go back soon, you’re just affecting my work!”
Qi Yanwang grabbed his wrist, his thumb stroking the raised veins on his wrist bone,
“Go back where? A place without you can’t be called home.”
Zhuo Huaimo chuckled, “If you really can’t, go and take on the role of a domineering CEO, I’m hindering your performance here!”
“Sure, you direct and I’ll act!”
He suddenly leaned closer, “My most important project right now is you. Director Zhuo, would you like to consider engaging in a little unspoken rule with the investor? Guaranteed to be at your beck and call.”
Zhuo Huaimo was almost amused by him, and forced himself to maintain a straight face,
“President Qi, please be professional.”
“I am very professional.”
Qi Yanwang suddenly became serious and took out a stack of documents from his suit pocket,
“The overseas distribution plan for ‘Early Spring,’ I stayed up for three nights to make it.”
Zhuo Huaimo opened the document, and the dense annotations and red circles made his heart tremble.
Interspersed among those familiar handwriting were professional suggestions such as “a long shot can be added here” and “the soundtrack here should use a cello.”
“You…”
“You thought I was really idle these past few days?”
Qi Yanwang raised his eyebrows triumphantly, “Some people become oblivious to everyone and everything when they work, so I can only take a roundabout approach.”
Zhuo Huaimo reluctantly nodded in satisfaction.
“Not bad, worthy of praise!”
“How should I be praised?”
Qi Yanwang held the back of his head, his tone ambiguous, “Verbal praise is also acceptable!”
As he spoke, his lips were about to touch his!
“Ding—”
The ringtone of his phone abruptly interrupted him.
The three words “Liu Jinchen” jumped on the screen.
Damn it!
Qi Yanwang was so angry that he wanted to throw his phone, his three nights of effort were about to be wasted!
Zhuo Huaimo couldn’t help but laugh, “Someone’s looking for you.”
Qi Yanwang didn’t even look at it and pressed reject,
“Not important.”
The ringtone sounded again, this time it was a video call.
Qi Yanwang sighed and swiped to answer, Liu Jinchen’s loud voice immediately exploded,
“Old Qi! Emergency! Xiao Zhu, he—”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
Qi Yanwang hung up in a hurry, only to find that Zhuo Huaimo had already opened the door of the meeting room.
Sunlight poured in, coating his silhouette with a golden edge.
“You should go.”
Zhuo Huaimo had his back to him, his voice so calm that he couldn’t tell his emotions, “Don’t delay important matters.”
Qi Yanwang rushed forward in two steps and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind in front of everyone.
“Then I’ll pick you up tonight?”
He rested his chin on Zhuo Huaimo’s shoulder, completely ignoring the gasps around him.
Everyone on the crew widened their eyes—President Qi, who was always cold and self-possessed in business magazines, was now clinging to Director Zhuo like a large dog.
“No need…” Zhuo Huaimo tried to break free, but was held even tighter.
“Either I stay as a consultant, or I’ll pick you up tonight.”
Qi Yanwang chuckled in his ear, “Choose one?”
Zhuo Huaimo took a deep breath and compromised,
“…Eight o’clock.”
“Seven thirty.”
“Eight o’clock.”
“Deal.”
Qi Yanwang finally let go, but quickly kissed his hair when he turned around.
This action brought a burst of good-natured booing, and Zhuo Huaimo’s ears were almost dripping with blood.
A makeup crew member excitedly pinched the arm of the script supervisor,
“I knew it was real!”
Qi Yanwang winked at the crowd and raised his index finger to his lips,
“Keep it a secret.”
He deliberately put on a stern face, “Listen to your Director Zhuo, otherwise…”
“Deduct your salary!”
The lighting engineer Old Zhang finished the sentence, causing a burst of laughter.
Zhuo Huaimo soon returned to his working state, but the name Liu Jinchen had unintentionally mentioned on the phone couldn’t help but surface in his mind—
“Xiao Zhu.”
Zhuo Huaimo didn’t seem to have ever heard him mention it.
When Qi Yanwang arrived at the club, Liu Jinchen was pacing back and forth in the VIP room.
“You finally came, you bastard!”
Liu Jinchen grabbed him, “Xiao Zhu is gone!”
Qi Yanwang frowned and shook off his hand,
“If he’s gone, call the police, what are you looking for me for?”
“You bastard—”
Liu Jinchen kicked over the coffee table in anger, “If you hadn’t saved him in the first place, would that kid be so devoted to you?”
Qi Yanwang sneered, “If your underlings hadn’t drugged him, would I need to deal with this shit? Besides, I told you back then, don’t say that I saved him!”
Liu Jinchen sighed heavily, “It’s all a karmic debt! Let’s find someone first!”
The riverside in the rainstorm was empty. Qi Yanwang searched along the embankment with a flashlight, and finally found Xiao Zhu huddled in a corner at the third observation deck.
The teenager was soaked, and his wrist was wrapped with a blood-stained bandage.
“You bastard—”
Just as Qi Yanwang opened his mouth, he suddenly caught sight of three tattooed men swaying out of the shadows.
The flowery arm man at the head grinned, “Yo, it’s the big star Qi?”
Xiao Zhu shrank back in horror, but the flowery arm man grabbed his hair,
“The money you owe our boss…”
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Yanwang’s fist had already slammed into the other’s nose.
In the melee, he took two blows from steel pipes, finally knocking everyone down.
As the siren approached, he leaned weakly against the railing, blood gurgling from the wound on his right arm.
“Brother Qi…”
Xiao Zhu tremblingly handed over a handkerchief, “I’m sorry…”
Qi Yanwang shook off his hand, “If you really feel sorry, then don’t degrade yourself again. I’ll help you sort this out this time, there won’t be a next time.”
“Brother, Brother Qi…” Xiao Zhu choked, wanting to touch his wound.
Qi Yanwang turned his head away, “The ambulance will be here soon.”
He looked at Liu Jinchen, who had arrived, “I’m leaving him to you.”
As he turned to leave, Xiao Zhu suddenly grabbed the corner of his clothes, “I’m sorry… I didn’t know they would…”
The night was deep, and Qi Yanwang sat in the ambulance, letting the nurse bandage him.
His phone vibrated, Zhuo Huaimo sent a message,
“Are you okay?”
Qi Yanwang looked at the time, it was already nine o’clock in the evening!
He had missed the time to pick him up, and he suddenly felt an immense terror and panic—
He had failed to do what he promised!
Was he angry?
Would he lose him again?
Qi Yanwang’s hand trembled, and he quickly replied,
“Something came up, I’ll be there soon!”
Then, he grabbed his coat and rushed to the set!
He quickly received a reply, “I went home, just come back directly!”
He thought about it, and still couldn’t help but worry, and added,
“Drive slowly, I’m not angry!”