Being inexplicably summoned by a stranger to run an errand left Shao Yichen utterly bewildered.
She had merely arrived thirty minutes early to scout the premiere venue before leading her crew down the red carpet, wanting to prevent her team from going astray—given how many single-minded people were in her crew, it seemed entirely possible they could all be led off course. But the moment she entered the backstage rest area behind the screening hall, she discovered the place was already crowded with people.
This was essentially due to scheduling conflicts and insufficient venue budget—two film crews had booked overlapping times, and while the cinema had two relatively large screening halls, there was only one backstage rest area, as the venue wasn't professionally equipped for large events.
But having already arrived and paid, there was no reason to surrender the rest area just because she was outnumbered. With a mindset of making the best of the situation, Shao Yichen wandered around the rest area, waiting for the rest of her crew to arrive.
Unexpectedly, before she could even cross from one side of the room to the other, someone had drafted her for work.
What's more, this was clearly someone she didn't recognize.
He probably mistook her for an assistant, Shao Yichen thought, responding calmly: "You've got the wrong person."
To her surprise, upon hearing this, the unfamiliar man exploded like a balloon that had been gently pricked by Shao Yichen.
"You're a crew member, aren't you? You're with the crew and don't know who I am?!" the man aggressively demanded.
"I am with a crew—" but not your crew, and I really don't know who you are. Shao Yichen couldn't even finish her sentence before being cut off. The moment she admitted to being with a crew, the man raised his head even higher, as if granted some royal pardon.
He seemed utterly unable to believe that any crew member wouldn't recognize him, arrogantly declaring: "Since you're with the crew, haven't you seen the male lead? Such lack of awareness, not knowing to buy water for the male lead? My asking you to buy water is doing you a favor!"
Shao Yichen: ...
Doing me a favor? What favor? The favor of buying you water afterward too?
I already told you that you've got the wrong person, can't you understand?
Don't blame me for ignoring you then, after all, people with low IQ and EQ deserve to live a rougher life than others.
Shao Yichen simply ignored this peculiar-minded man, looked around, found an empty spot, and sat down in a chair.
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Fu Lianghui initially thought she had finally yielded when he saw her turn away, but to his surprise, she simply turned around and sat down in a chair.
—How could there be such an insensitive crew employee?
Fu Lianghui never considered the possibility that "she might not be a crew assistant or worker," because he had no idea another film crew was holding a premiere at the cinema that day. In his understanding, everyone in the rest area naturally belonged to the "Warmth for You" production team. Moreover, he recognized the more prominent directors and actors in the crew, and he had no recollection of this person. Considering how young she looked, she was probably just a small assistant or set worker, or at most, an insignificant cameo actor.
Regardless, she definitely didn't have any backing, making her the perfect target for venting his frustration.
Fu Lianghui's bottled-up anger finally found an outlet. He slammed his phone onto the table and, pointing at Shao Yichen, raised his voice in a tirade.
"I told you to buy water, what are you sitting there for?! Don't you have a brain? Can't you understand human language?!"
The young woman before him remained seated, fiddling with her phone while staring at him, and calmly replied: "I think you're the one without a brain."
Fu Lianghui: ???
Hearing this, Fu Lianghui immediately stood up and turned to address everyone in the rest area: "Whose assistant is this? The water got spilled and she won't even buy a new bottle? Or is she a crew staff member? Just fire her already!"
He deliberately obfuscated the question of who had spilled the water, turning the tables to put Shao Yichen at a disadvantage from a logical standpoint.
Fu Lianghui's outburst naturally attracted the attention of others in the crew. Indeed, many who disliked Fu Lianghui's temperament secretly supported Shao Yichen for daring to talk back to him, but considering that Fu Lianghui was still a popular celebrity fully backed by his company as their sole star, opposing him would certainly not end well—so they could only remain silent.
Yet as everyone exchanged glances, not a single person spoke up to claim this assistant or indicate "I know this person."
The rest area thus fell into an eerie silence.
Fu Lianghui surveyed the room, seeming to grasp something, and jumped up, pointing at Shao Yichen's nose while shouting: "You're not part of the crew! I thought your behavior was strange—you're an anti-fan who snuck in here!"
"Where's the cinema manager? How are they managing this place? Get this person out of here immediately! Don't let her cause trouble!"
Fu Lianghui shouted loudly toward the exit, and soon, cinema staff rushed over. But when they saw the "troublemaker" Fu Lianghui was pointing at, they were immediately dumbfounded.
They recognized this person—she was the one who had contacted them and paid when the crew for "The Web" booked the venue! She was the production manager, so how had she become someone causing trouble for another crew?
What was going on? Had the two crews gotten into an argument?
And it was just her alone—she had seemed quite pleasant when they dealt with her previously. How could she be causing trouble for an entire crew by herself? It must be a misunderstanding, right?
The cinema staff exchanged glances, unsure what to say. Just as the manager was about to speak, hoping to appease this inexplicably furious male celebrity and ease tensions between the two crews, voices of two people came from the corridor leading to the rest area.
Fu Lianghui looked up to see the assistant director of "Warmth for You" approaching with a forced smile, accompanied by someone who appeared to be a male actor.
This assistant director, named Li Qiaoqiao, was a young woman who had entered the film industry four years ago after graduating from university. She had worked on various small projects intermittently but had never independently directed a film. Although she held only a nominal position in this crew, coming primarily to learn, she seemed to have connections with the investors, so everyone in the crew was careful around her and treated her with considerable respect.
Fu Lianghui's eyes lit up—an assistant director had some status, and if he could get her to come over and judge this situation for him, dealing with this troublemaking anti-fan would be effortless!
Just as he was about to approach the assistant director about this troublemaker, he took a closer look at the male actor beside her and nearly exploded with rage.
—Wasn't this Li Xingyu, the male lead from "The Last Wish," the film that had blocked his own movie's success?!
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Li Xingyu looked straight ahead, taking large strides down the corridor.
Beside him, Li Qiaoqiao struggled to maintain her smile while keeping pace with him, following along.
"...Uncle actually misses you quite a bit." Li Xingyu's strides were very long, requiring Li Qiaoqiao to exert considerable effort to keep up, essentially jogging alongside him. But she didn't dare stop, continuing in this comical posture, walking two steps then running two steps beside Li Xingyu. "He says as long as you return to the company, he would still treat you as the next heir, and your previous position remains reserved for you..."
"Tell him that unless he apologizes to my mother and transfers all his assets to her—which she rightfully deserves—I will absolutely not return," Li Xingyu replied without glancing sideways.
This statement essentially meant "I will not return."
Li Qiaoqiao sighed. She changed the subject: "I heard you and Xiao Yao co-founded a private equity firm and recently made a fortune exploiting Country X's financial crisis, multiplying your funds more than tenfold? A hundredfold? You two are really bold investors. I heard you're both heavily shorting Country Y's stock index—are you that certain their recent economic negotiations will fail? Leveraged positions can collapse in an instant, and even a hundred million yuan can easily be lost completely. It would be best to be more cautious."
After saying this, without waiting for Li Xingyu's response, she continued: "But I'm surprised that despite being so closely monitored, you two managed to secure startup capital. Come to think of it, with your investment instincts, if you returned to the company, you could earn many times more than what you're making now. Maybe you should reconsider..."
She was about to continue when Li Xingyu finally looked directly at her.
This was the first time since they had met at the entrance.
He spoke softly: "After knowing what my father did to my mother, you still plead his case—even though you're a woman yourself?"
"Do you not have even a shred of empathy for my mother?"
Li Qiaoqiao froze.
Li Xingyu left her behind, withdrawing the gaze he had finally turned toward her, and continued forward.
Li Qiaoqiao stood stunned for a second, then realized Li Xingyu had already walked some distance ahead, and hurriedly caught up again.
Regardless of Li Xingyu's attitude toward her, and regardless of who might ultimately win in his conflict with his father, she couldn't afford to offend either of them.
In this manner, the two reached the entrance to the rest area, sensing from a distance that the atmosphere inside was unusual, even tense.
What was happening?
Since the vast majority of people in the rest area belonged to the "Warmth for You" crew, it should have been Li Qiaoqiao's responsibility to inquire about the situation. But before she could speak, Fu Lianghui had already started shouting.
"Director Li!" He deliberately omitted the "assistant" part to please this young woman in his eyes. "Come over and look—there's an anti-fan causing trouble in the crew, sitting here and refusing to leave!"
Since Fu Lianghui was fairly good-looking, Li Qiaoqiao did have some favorable feelings toward him. But as she followed the direction of his pointing finger, her pupils contracted and her heart skipped a beat.
Shao Yichen? What was she doing here?!
After four years, so much time had passed—if she wanted to settle old scores, it was far too late!
But before she could calm herself, she witnessed an even more shocking scene.
—Li Xingyu walked directly to where Shao Yichen was sitting, turned around, and positioned himself in opposition to the two of them.
He even first bent down to quietly ask something, and only straightened up after apparently receiving a satisfactory answer.
"She is my director," Li Xingyu stated slowly, enunciating each word. "What just happened here?"
Author's Note: Shao Yichen: My director?
Author: My director?
Li Xingyu: ? Is there a problem?
Author: ...No, I'm overthinking it.
Congratulations to the second of only two antagonists, Li Qiaoqiao, who has now appeared!
(Fu Lianghui: What happened to being the only one?)
At this rate, there might even be a third... well, we'll see when we get there.
Somehow the argument took up an entire chapter, which surprised the author too.
Tomorrow! The film will definitely premiere tomorrow!
By the way, the author knows nothing about finance, so please just consider it parallel investing in a parallel world.
Thank you to the little angels who cast sovereign votes or watered with nutrient solution during the period from 2020-09-01 10:00:40 to 2020-09-01 20:31:43~
Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Zhen Zhen Zhen Zhen Zhen Zhen 50 bottles; Chang Yue, Liao Liao, Seven Sugar 5 bottles; Bai Hao Yi Ru Chen 2 bottles; Swear Words Are Cleaner Than Lies i, Fan Chen, Waiting for Double Updates Every Day 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!