DP Chapter 47
by VolareGu Ying’s posthumous work “Manasarovar” is based on the women around her. Her maternal grandmother is from a minority ethnic group. The film involves many buildings and costumes with folk characteristics, and has high requirements for the colors of sets, costumes, and props.
The director is also taking on such a subject for the first time. The team he has worked with in the past is not very suitable, so the art direction has been a problem.
After returning to China, Ken recommended a foreign art master to Xiang Yiye. He directly forwarded it to Gu Wenyu for reference. Later, he heard that the master and the director hit it off, and the art department was quickly set up.
The cast has also been finalized. The male lead is a newcomer and also from a minority ethnic group. The director and others also had several Han actors try on makeup, but they always felt something was missing.
In the end, Xiang Yiye played another Han Chinese character with very few scenes. It was considered a cameo, and he didn’t ask for a salary.
But even this small role was fiercely contested by hundreds of actors, each using their hard power, soft power, and financial power. Fortunately, the director and producer have their own persistence.
“Manasarovar” started filming. Xiang Yiye’s scenes were not yet due, so he hadn’t joined the crew yet. First, he flew to City M to attend a celebration banquet for another TV series.
Last year, he starred in a martial arts drama, which was broadcast online in the first half of the year, and soon after, it was broadcast on Minghua TV, with both viewership and ratings rising.
There were many fans picking him up at the airport. He pushed his luggage, talking to the fans around him from time to time, when he suddenly heard a earth-shattering shout from the crowd: “Mom loves you!”
He turned his head and saw a girl who looked very young, and suddenly asked, “Don’t you have school today?”
Perhaps his tone was a bit serious, and the girl was caught off guard. After reacting for a long time, she said, “That, I, I, I’m already working!”
Xiang Yiye: “Sorry, you look too young.”
The girl reacted much faster this time: “Daughters take after their fathers! Daughters take after their fathers!”
Xiang Yiye couldn’t tell whether the other party was a “Mommy fan” or a “daughter fan,” so he smiled and said, “Be careful, and have a good day at work.”
Most of his fans are very cute. They grew to a large scale a few years ago. At first, there were more “face fans,” but later, all kinds of fans emerged, including “CP fans,” “career fans,” “Mommy fans,” and “daughter fans.”
There are also “life fans” whose slogan is to hope that his life will always be smooth and happy in the future. Xiang Yiye felt particularly heart-warming when he first learned about this.
At the celebration banquet, several executives from Minghua TV also showed up. After taking photos and cutting the cake, Xiang Yiye felt like someone was watching him when he stepped off the stage. He looked around, but couldn’t find anyone.
After scanning the room, he saw someone very familiar at the last table, talking to the person next to him.
He returned to his seat and sent a message to Tao Muya.
Xiang Yiye: “Are you at the celebration banquet? I just saw someone who looks a lot like you.”
He wasn’t sure. Today is a workday, and it would be a little strange for Tao Muya, a legal professional, to attend a TV series celebration banquet. Also, if she were to come to the premiere of the show he starred in, she would have told him, otherwise it would seem rude.
Half an hour passed, and Tao Muya didn’t reply. Xiang Yiye took his glass and walked to the table, catching her red-handed.
When Tao Muya saw that he had discovered her, she got up from the table to talk, humming and hawing, saying that she was here on a business trip.
Sitting next to her was a department manager from Minghua TV, a little bald, with lecherous eyes.
Based on his experience, Xiang Yiye felt that this Manager Wang was not a good person, and quietly told Tao Muya to be careful not to drink too much.
“Don’t worry, I can hold my liquor,” Tao Muya said.
Manager Wang had already had a few drinks and pulled Tao Muya to drink the last glass.
“This is the last glass,” Tao Muya said. “I have to drink for this job.”
Xiang Yiye glanced at her, walked back to the table, took the glass from the manager’s hand, and blocked her, showing the bottom of the glass: “Manager Wang keeps his word, the last glass, I’ll drink it for her.”
When the manager saw him drink it, he immediately sobered up and tried to get close to him.
Xiang Yiye made a few perfunctory remarks and said to Tao Muya: “Do you have any colleagues who came with you? Stay with them. If not, I’ll have my assistant come over…”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Tao Muya said. “Okay, you go back to work. I’ll send you a message when I get back.”
After returning to his seat, Xiang Yiye quickly realized that something was wrong with his body, as if he had just drunk three cups of strong Americano. His heart rate was soaring, and his hands were shaking.
There was something in that wine.
Xiang Yiye immediately made an excuse to leave, called his assistant, and asked him to call Tao Muya away from the table.
The celebration banquet was held in a five-star hotel. Xiang Yiye returned to his room and immediately diluted what he had drunk. After drinking the bottled water in the room, he asked the front desk to send up a few more bottles.
A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door outside: “Hello, sir, room service.”
Xiang Yiye took the water and was about to close the door when the male waiter said with a worried face, “Sir, your face is very red. Do you have a fever?”
“I’m fine,” Xiang Yiye said in a dry voice.
The male waiter put his hand against the door and stepped in: “Let me help you to the bed to rest?”
Xiang Yiye felt that the other party’s actions were very inappropriate and told him to leave sternly, but his head was heavy and his consciousness was gradually blurring. He could only use his willpower to control his limbs.
The male waiter supported him and was about to walk into the room when the half-closed door was kicked open with a bang. A burly man with a face full of flesh appeared, grabbed the male waiter by the back of his collar, and pinned him to the ground.
“Who are you? Let go of me…” The male waiter struggled like a live fish.
The burly man put his knee on the male waiter’s back, freed a hand to make a call: “President Xu, the person is currently safe, but judging from his appearance… it looks like he has been drugged.”
Xu Chuo quickly went upstairs. He had lunch with the director of Minghua TV at noon and was originally going to leave in the afternoon, but when he heard that there was a celebration banquet at the hotel that night, he stayed a few more hours because he wanted to see Xiang Yiye.
The meeting at the film festival had taken root in his heart, and just looking at photos or videos could no longer dispel the growing longing.
He arrived at the door of the room and didn’t see Xiang Yiye. The bodyguard said he was in the bathroom.
Xu Chuo told the bodyguard to keep an eye on the waiter and not let him run away. After saying that, he closed the door and went into the bathroom.
He saw Xiang Yiye leaning against the showerhead, letting the water run over him. His voice was anxious: “What’s wrong with you?”
Xiang Yiye turned his back to him, not looking at who it was, and only said, “Go away,” like a wild beast that had strayed into a dead end, refusing anyone to approach.
“Let me see you.” Xu Chuo stepped into the cold water and found that Xiang Yiye was as hot as a piece of charcoal, and used his hand to touch his face to cool him down.
Xiang Yiye moved to the side in resistance.
“There’s no one else here, it’s me, Xu Chuo.”
“Xu Chuo won’t do either,” Xiang Yiye said. He didn’t want anyone.
His specialness to him had long been lost. Xu Chuo’s throat tightened slightly, and he said, “Xiao Yiye, just treat me as a tool. I don’t want you to hurt yourself…”
“No.”
After showering in cold water, Xiang Yiye became a little more sober and tried to induce vomiting.
Xu Chuo looked anxious, patting his back and getting him water to rinse his mouth.
He did everything he could, but the remaining medicine in his body took effect. Xiang Yiye’s head was still dizzy, and his control over his language and actions weakened. He didn’t remember when or where he fell asleep.
Xu Chuo asked the secretary to call a few more people up, intending to send Xiang Yiye to the emergency room.
While waiting for people to come, he asked the male waiter at the door with a sullen face: “What did you give him to drink?” He asked so that the doctor could diagnose it later.
The male waiter saw that he had some status, but still stubbornly said: “I didn’t, I just came to deliver water, this big brother suddenly rushed in…”
The bodyguard twisted his arm into an incredible angle. The waiter screamed and quickly said: “No, really no! He hasn’t drunk what I put in it, and I don’t know why he is like this.”
Xu Chuo couldn’t bear it anymore and kicked him.
When Xiang Yiye woke up, he found himself in a hospital room. His manager and assistant, Tao Muya, and several angels in white were all in the room, watching him… sleep soundly.
He moved his numb arms and legs and asked, “How long have I been asleep?”
“About ten hours,” said his manager, Song An. He was not in City M and came overnight after receiving the news.
Xiang Yiye quickly got up: “Isn’t there an interview today…”
“Rest well first, work isn’t urgent,” Song An said.
“Why am I in the hospital?” Xiang Yiye said. It wasn’t poison he drank, there was no need to be hospitalized.
Song An: “You said it yourself, you were drugged and should go to the hospital. This isn’t an idol drama, so there’s no ‘cooking rice before it’s cooked’ or ‘unexpected fate.'”
Xiang Yiye: “I said that yesterday?”
Song An: “Yes. I’ve never seen you so talkative. When we carried you in, you were chatting with the doctor like you were under general anesthesia.”
Xiang Yiye: “…” This was too embarrassing, his image was completely gone.
“Rest well, it’s okay to rest for a few more days,” Song An said. “The doctor said that you slept so long because of the medicine, but it’s not a big deal. It may be because you don’t get enough sleep and are a little overworked.”
Speaking of medicine, Xiang Yiye immediately looked at Tao Muya, who had also been guarding him all night, and lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
Xiang Yiye: “Everyone should rest too. I’m fine. I can probably resume my previous work tomorrow.”
Song An: “I’ll stay and handle your discharge.”
As the others were about to leave, Xiang Yiye said again, “Xiao Ya, come and find me when you’ve rested. I have something to say to you.”
Tao Muya: “I have work and have to go back to City S immediately…”
Xiang Yiye: “Take a day off.”
Tao Muya: “Okay, Brother… Brother Song, you go and rest, I’m not sleepy. I’ll handle my brother’s discharge.”
Perhaps knowing that she was wrong, Tao Muya ran around very diligently all morning.
Xiang Yiye originally wanted to give her some ideological education immediately, but there were still some routine checkups in the morning. He could only be discharged after the results came out without any problems, so he temporarily postponed the preaching work.
At noon, Tao Muya brought lunch in from outside and said, “Those few outside haven’t left yet. They’ve been there for more than ten hours since last night.”
Xiang Yiye: “What, which ones?”
“You really have amnesia. You don’t even remember who sent you here,” Tao Muya said.
Xiang Yiye walked out of the room and saw a large group of people outside, like a wall. This one was a bodyguard, this one was also a bodyguard, that one should be a secretary, and the last one was… Xu Chuo.
He thought the medicine from last night had caused him to hallucinate, but it seemed not. Xiang Yiye was too lazy to investigate why Xu Chuo was at the hotel yesterday and directly said, “Thank you, President Xu, for sending me here.”
Xu Chuo: “I want to see that you’re okay before I leave.”
Xiang Yiye: “Now you’ve seen it, President Xu can leave with peace of mind.”
After he finished speaking, he returned to the room. Xu Chuo said behind him, “The person who drugged you yesterday…”
Xiang Yiye: “I know who it is. I’ll take care of it myself.”
Xu Chuo: “Besides the person you know, there may be others.”
Xiang Yiye paused, recalling the strange behavior of the male waiter. He was about to speak when he saw Xu Chuo standing properly outside the door and said, “Why don’t you come in and say it?”
Xu Chuo smiled wryly: “You won’t let me in.”
Xiang Yiye looked at Tao Muya, who quietly said, “You scolded him all night yesterday, saying that if he’s in this room, you’re not, and if you’re here, he’s not.”