TL: Hua
At the Film and Television City, the last scene was finished at five o’clock in the afternoon of the next day.
Li Kun stepped forward to assist Qi Xiaoyu in removing the wires.
Wang Mingge, who walked past the two with a megaphone, patted Qi Xiaoyu on the shoulder and said, “Don’t remove your makeup yet. Let’s take a group photo first.”
There was a lot of noise everywhere around them; some were busy collecting equipment, some were dismantling props, some were taking off their headgear, some were clapping their hands in celebration, and some were just lying down to rest…
There were hundreds of people on the crew of “The Evil.” In the past two months, all of them followed the director to various places, from the wilderness to the film and television city, taking turns to work overtime and stay up late. Now that they can finally go home to rest, naturally, everyone is joyful, all showing a sigh of relief.
Qi Xiaoyu’s mood… is a bit complicated.
Since last night, a variety of emotions have been tugging at his heart.
Today, after the movie was finished, the thread that had been pulling on his nerves was broken, so it was inevitable that he indulged himself a little bit.
Jiang Sicheng quickly took off the black bear clothes on his body and threw them aside. As a result, Wang Mingge saw it and severely criticized him: “I told you not to take off your custom and take pictures first. What’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Sicheng made a face at him and immediately hid behind Qi Xiaoyu, “I finally finished filming, and you still want to make me wear these ugly clothes!”
He rested one hand on Qi Xiaoyu’s shoulder, swaying one leg, and then caught a glimpse of Qi Xiaoyu’s expression. “What’s wrong with you? The filming is over; why do you still look bitter and resentful? Let me tell you, don’t get too emotionally attached to the role you played; be careful of getting depressed.”
Li Kun originally felt that Qi Xiaoyu was not in a good state these two days. After hearing what Jiang Sicheng said, his face changed, but he was afraid that showing too much worry would affect Qi Xiaoyu’s mood even more, so he could only pretend to be angry. “Young Master Jiang, don’t talk nonsense.”
He joked, “You played black bear spirit for two months and were not even depressed. Xiaoyu gets to wear beautiful clothes every day; why would he be depressed?”
Jiang Sicheng’s mouth deflated. ”What’s wrong with you, Li Kun? Can you please stop talking about this? I still haven’t posted a single post in the past two months. Next time, I will never be fooled by this old man Wang Mingge again.”
“That’s right. The movie hasn’t been released or promoted yet. You have to wait for at least a few more months.”
“Shut up!”
The two of them were laughing and joking, and Qi Xiaoyu’s mood also improved a little.
Then, when the venue was almost cleaned up, everyone gathered together under Wang Mingge’s command and took a big group photo.
At this point, the whole movie has officially finished filming.
In the evening, Wang Mingge hosted and invited the entire crew to a hot pot restaurant next to the film and television city for dinner, and then they went to karaoke.
There’s no flight out of the city that night anyway, so everyone booked daytime flights home the next day, ready to eat, drink, and have a good time all night tonight.
Qi Xiaoyu’s makeup was difficult to remove. He spent a long time cleaning the glitter under his eyes and carefully took off his clothes. When he arrived at the hot pot restaurant, the other main creative staff had basically arrived.
Seeing him coming in from a distance, Cui Jing waved to him, “Xiaoyu, this way.”
Kang Qitao, who was sitting next to Cui Jing, also said to Qi Xiaoyu, “Go get the dipping sauce first and then come over. The hot pot here will be ready soon.”
This hot pot restaurant is not very big, and it was kind of crowded, so the boss added a few more tables, one next to the other. The person sitting at the farthest end had to stand up every time someone wanted to enter and exit, which was really inconvenient.
Qi Xiaoyu went to get the sauce first.
He likes sesame paste, but he was a little absent-minded today, so he accidentally scooped too much.
Fortunately, the bowl was clean, and he pushed a little back.
Across the spice cabinet, intermittent voices of people chatting came in.
“Brother Yue, are you really not going home to rest tomorrow and continue to stay in the film and television city?”
“What can I do? I have to pay off my mortgage and car loan. Recently, the stock price has fallen again. It just so happens that the crew next door is short of people. I can go there to help out and make some money.”
“Hey, aren’t you holding shares of Wanhai Real Estate? Such a big company and backed by Xun’s to boot, how can it go down?”
“Hey, you really don’t follow gossip news.”
“The crew is so busy, and I didn’t even get enough sleep. Where do I have time to read gossip? What is it about?”
“I haven’t heard of it… Brother Yue, tell us what’s going on. The stock price hasn’t fallen too much, right?”
“Well, what can happen? I heard that it’s internal fighting at the top, and the people below are suffering. I should have bought Mao’s stocks earlier. Their stock price is rising.”
“…”
Qi Xiaoyu originally wanted to put a little sesame paste back, but for some reason, he poured out all the sesame paste in the bowl.
At the back, Cui Jing was already urging him, “Xiaoyu, the meat is ready; come quickly.”
Qi Xiaoyu hurriedly scooped a spoonful and added some fermented bean curd sauce and sesame seeds.
On the table, the hotpot base was already set up. It was a double-flavored pot. One side was spicy red oil, and the other side was clear soup with mushrooms, and the red oil side was bubbling.
The shelf next to it was filled with various dishes, including plates of tender pork, beef tenderloin, and pork belly, as well as platters of assorted mushrooms and fresh bean sprouts.
Cui Jing left a seat for him between herself and Jiang Sicheng.
Next to Jiang Sicheng sat Wang Mingge, and next to him sat the male lead and the assistant director. The people at this table were all the core members of the crew.
As soon as Qi Xiaoyu sat down, Wang Mingge picked up a piece of freshly cooked beef tenderloin for him. “Here, Xiaoyu, eat more since you don’t need to wear costumes or do stunts anymore.”
Jiang Sicheng, who was eating meat, stopped the chopsticks in mid-air when he heard this: “Biased.”
Wang Mingge looked at Qi Xiaoyu and seemed to ignore Jiang Sicheng’s words, “Xiaoyu, if you came late, this plate of meat will be eaten up.”
Jiang Sicheng snorted when he heard this, opened his mouth, and swallowed the meat in a big mouthful.
Everyone at the table laughed.
Except for Qi Xiaoyu.
He dipped the beef tenderloin in the sauce casually and put it in his mouth, but he couldn’t tell whether the meat came from the red pot or the white pot.
Kang Qitao glanced in his direction.
Others started chatting while eating hot pot. The waiter also brought another box of wine and placed it at their feet.
The people at this table didn’t gossip like at other tables; they mainly talked about work.
For example, how to arrange the post-production publicity and what work arrangements each of them had next.
A few questions were thrown at Qi Xiaoyu, but he really wasn’t in the mood today, so he barely managed to deal with them.
Fortunately, the others were drinking and eating meat tonight, so they didn’t pay much attention.
It wasn’t until Cui Jing lowered her voice and said to Wang Mingge, “I heard that Tang Yuning is coming back to make a movie. Is this true?”
Qi Xiaoyu’s ears pricked up. In the original book, Tang Yuning’s first investment was “The Turmoil in Mangchuan,” and his first movie was “The Departed.”
Kang Qitao’s eyes also became sharp.
Wang Mingge smiled, “I just heard that he seems to be coming back.”
“He is doing so well in country A; why would he suddenly want to come back? Which movie did he take a fancy to? Director Shen’s “The Departed”?”
Wang Mingge laughed and said, “This is not something I can just say casually.”
Cui Jing also smiled. “Speaking of which, he and I are in the same company, but we have never worked together before, and we haven’t even added friends… As for our boss, Director Wang, you also know that we don’t see anyone all year round, and we can’t even start team building in the company. I don’t know as much about my colleagues as you do.”
Wang Mingge smiled. “What does that have to do with anything? Your Feichi Media is developing very well.”
“…”
The meal lasted more than two hours. Many plates of meat and bottles of beer were served intermittently. In the end, everyone couldn’t eat or drink anymore and gave up.
Next, they went to the KTV while rubbing their stomachs.
Kang Qitao walked around Cui Jing and toward Qi Xiaoyu. “Xiaoyu, want to come and have a smoke with me?”
Kang Qitao usually doesn’t smoke with non-smokers. Since he said that, he probably has something to say to him. Qi Xiaoyu nodded and followed Kang Qitao to an empty alley at the back door of the hotel.
Kang Qitao lit the cigarette, first asked about Qi Xiaoyu’s workload, and then slowly turned to the things he wanted to say.
“After this drama is finished, what are your plans, Xiaoyu?”
Qi Xiaoyu leaned against the wall, raised his head, and looked at the sky without any purpose. “This movie is very well done. I feel like I’ve just started, and now it’s already finished. I want to shoot a few more movies later.”
Kang Qitao smiled. “That’s not what I meant. I want to ask… Do you want to stay at Star Entertainment? Star Entertainment can’t give you many resources in the future.”
Qi Xiaoyu lowered his eyes and didn’t answer.
Kang Qitao turned his head and spit out a mouthful of smoke in the opposite direction. “Or do you have other considerations?”
After a pause, he continued, “Xiaoyu… I can barely be considered your senior, and I don’t want you to take more detours, so I’ll say one more thing… You are now fully capable of developing yourself. You don’t need to rely on anyone.”
Both of them are smart people, and they understand everything without having to explain too much.
Kang Qitao was one of the few people who knew the inside story of his relationship with Xun Qian. Qi Xiaoyu said calmly, “Thank you, Teacher Kang, for your concern.”
Kang Qitao looked at Qi Xiaoyu and felt that the other party didn’t take his words to heart. He couldn’t help but speak a little more seriously, “Although that person is really capable, he is not an easy person to get along with. If you can get out of this situation now… it’s better to get out as soon as possible.”
Qi Xiaoyu maintained a calm expression on his face and said, “I’ll remember what Teacher Kang said.”
Kang Qitao said everything he wanted to say and didn’t force it. He patted Qi Xiaoyu on the shoulder and said, “Okay, you are a smart kid; just know what you are doing. Let’s go sing, and don’t keep them waiting.”
Qi Xiaoyu followed behind him. He respected Kang Qitao very much, from his talent to his character, but even Kang Qitao looked at Xun Qian like that, let alone others.
No one had ever dared to talk about Xun Qian, but they all thought so in their hearts.
He had no expression on his face, but his heart suddenly sank, as if it were being pulled by something.
Xun Qian’s room had been lit for two consecutive nights.
He sat at the desk with more than a dozen document windows open on the computer screen in front of him.
He knew how his uncle, Xu Zhihui, and his two sons had embezzled public funds and filled their private pockets over the years, but he has always turned a blind eye.
He used to think it didn’t matter because he had no future to plan for and didn’t care how much he left behind.
But now it’s not possible; he has to plan for another person.
So, he couldn’t let go of Xu Xiucheng and the Mao family’s secret mischief as he had before. He also had to spend some time dealing with the Tang family and his mother.
Although the little black dog’s eyes were closed, it obviously hadn’t slept for the whole night, just lying obediently on the ground, unlike the usual sleeping posture with all four paws in the air.
Xun Qian propped his right hand on the chair, rubbed his temple, and looked up at the calendar. Qi Xiaoyu should be back tomorrow, and he wanted to deal with more things before he came back.
The KTV reserved by the crew was full of people coming and going, and the coffee table was filled with opened bottles of wine.
As soon as Qi Xiaoyu and Kang Qitao came in, someone came forward to greet them and say, “Xiaoyu, come and start the show.”
Qi Xiaoyu was not as good-tempered as usual and politely refused, “You guys sing first.”
Then he searched around and found Li Kun, who was a bit drunk, on the sofa.
Qi Xiaoyu bent over and woke him up. “I have something to do. I have to go back first.”
“Go back?” Li Kun drank a little too much. The people at this table today drank a lot, and he felt embarrassed to be the only person who didn’t drink. Besides, they were supposed to go back tomorrow, and Wang Mingge also allowed everyone to drink tonight.
Now, he rubbed his eyes when he heard Qi Xiaoyu’s words. He didn’t quite understand what he meant, thinking that the other party was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel first. “I’ll accompany you.”
“No, I’m going home. You can help me pack my stuff at the hotel tomorrow.”
“Go home? But there are no flights today…”
“I know. I’m going to the airport in the neighboring city.”
“This… It’s too late today. Hiya, if I had known, I wouldn’t drink. I wouldn’t be able to drive now.”
“It’s okay, I’ll call a taxi myself.”
“It’s not easy to call a taxi in the middle of the night… Or wait until I sober up.”
“I’ll call first.”
Qi Xiaoyu twisted his wrist two days ago, and it’s not convenient for him to drive.
Li Kun also probably can’t drive in this state.
And most of the people here have also drunk alcohol.
He took out his mobile phone to book a taxi while holding his coat in his hand. He walked to the door to see if he could try his luck and hail a taxi that was willing to go to the neighboring city.
The street outside was very quiet, and the taxi booking page also showed that there were no available vehicles nearby.
At this moment, a Cadillac pulled up next to him. The window rolled down, showing Ma Weiye, with one hand outside the window, “Are you going to the airport?”