How could Xiao Luo not handle such a small matter? Zhou Ziheng was so angry that he sat up from the sofa. Just as he was about to send a text message to question Xiao Luo, Jiang Yin came back.
"What are you doing in my office? Is there something wrong?" Jiang Yin put down the documents in her hand.
"No." Zhou Ziheng stood up. He thought that he might as well go back. He should have done what he promised to others. Going back on his word like this would be completely dishonest. "Sister Yin, lend me your car. I'm going back home."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yin pulled the chair opposite the desk away from him and said, "Hey, don't go. I have something to tell you."
"Ah?" Zhou Ziheng held the phone with a reluctant look on his face.
"What? Is there something urgent?"
"Not really..."
"Then sit down. This is a big deal." Jiang Yin sat down on her own, took out a few folders from the thick pile and pushed them in front of Zhou Ziheng. Zhou Ziheng had no choice but to give up the idea of going back to find Xia Xiqing, sent a message to Xiao Luo, asking him to bring Xia Xiqing out, and then sat in front of Jiang Yin.
"These are the scripts that were sent to me recently. There are so many of them. We just screened them during the meeting. You can take a look at the rest." Jiang Yin poured herself a glass of water while stepping on her high heels. "The effect of this reality show is really unexpected. Many people have contacted me since the trailer was released. Now the ratings for the first episode are so good. I didn't expect it."
"You thought of it, so you forced me to go." Zhou Ziheng, who was flipping through the script, exposed Jiang Yin bluntly.
Jiang Yin put down the cup with a smile, "I forced you? I see you are quite happy now."
"Who's happy about that?" Zhou Ziheng curled his lips, not wanting to pay attention to her teasing, and lowered his head to read the script. The scripts in his hand were very different, from the core of the story to the form of expression.
"I took a rough look and all these directors are good. Director Li Longli is aiming for the Lunar New Year season with two veteran movie stars, Yu Feng and Shao Shihua. It's a comedy that audiences love, so I think you can consider it. Although you're not the lead actor, you've never been exposed to this theme before, so you can give it a try. Director Zhang Bowen's script is similar to his previous xx-award-winning film, Murder in Autumn. They're both realistic suspense films with two male protagonists. I heard they're in contact with Cheng Songming for the other male protagonist."
Cheng Songming was an acquaintance of Zhou Ziheng. They had worked together in a movie when they were young. Zhou Ziheng played his younger brother. He suddenly remembered, "Did Brother Ming win an award for his last film, Lost?"
"The script won an award, and was nominated for Best Actor but didn't win," Jiang Yin sighed, "I guess this time it's going for Best Actor, so even though the cast and script are good, I still don't want you to take it. Cheng Songming obviously wants to win an award this time, and his role is a blind murderer, which gives him a lot of room for performance. Your role is a policeman, and I don't think the setting of this role itself is very groundbreaking, and it's basically just a favor to others."
Zhou Ziheng nodded, "But my fans are looking forward to my role as a policeman every day."
Jiang Yin laughed, "That's because they have a fetish for uniforms and think you look good in them."
"There are also doctors, pilots, soldiers..." Zhou Ziheng showed a helpless yet doting smile, "They post photoshopped pictures of themselves wearing various uniforms on my Weibo every day."
"Look at you. If you weren't too tired of your current fan-loving persona, I really should get you one." Speaking of this, Jiang Yin began to joke, "What's so difficult about uniforms? Next time you go home, ask your dad to borrow one and wear it. I'll photoshop out the epaulettes for you."
Zhou Ziheng's expression immediately became serious, and he frowned slightly, "How can you wear it casually?"
Jiang Yin chuckled, "Water meter warning, okay, let's get back to business." She took out the one at the bottom, "And this one, this one is definitely not as experienced as the other two. Kun Cheng is a new director who used to shoot niche independent films. He's very talented and young. If nothing else, I think you'll like this script."
Zhou Ziheng took a look at the script and saw two words written on the title - "Tracking".
The protagonist Gao Kun was born in the mountainous area of southwest China. When he was 16 years old, he was cheated of money when he went out to work. When he was desperate, he sold blood to survive, but accidentally contracted AIDS. Desperate, he was full of revenge against this society and just wanted to kill people to vent his hatred. He didn't want to die alone, so one day he followed a girl and wanted to kill her, but because of the action of the heroine Lin Siya, he gave up the idea of killing.
Lin Siya is a disabled person with autism and severe hearing loss. The two of them became each other's only friends as they got along.
In general, it is a story of mutual redemption, mixing a series of realistic elements such as AIDS, migrant workers, the disabled, autism, original families, and domestic violence.
"Has the leading actress been decided?"
When Jiang Yin heard Zhou Ziheng ask this, she knew that she was right. He was really interested. "No, the leading actress is a big problem. First, age. If someone is too young, they won't be able to play the role. If someone is good, their age won't be suitable to play opposite you. Besides, those with big names don't want to play the role."
"They are now looking for a talented newcomer at the film academy. But I heard that the screenwriter is still revising the script, and has already revised it three times. The role of the heroine has changed a lot. Anyway, you should prepare your own role first. I will take you to audition in a few days."
Zhou Ziheng nodded, "Do their schedules clash?"
"Cheng Songming's and this one collide. If you ask me, it's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. If Tracking can live up to the effect of the script, it will definitely be a double harvest of word-of-mouth and box office." Jiang Yin came over and patted his shoulder, "Maybe you will be nominated at the same time at next year's awards ceremony."
Jiang Yin's consideration was not wrong. Although he was still young, it was never too early to win an award. He looked at the script again, and for some reason, he felt that the writing style and dialogue style were a little familiar.
“Who is the screenwriter?”
Jiang Yin's cell phone rang. She took a look and answered it immediately, with a professional smile on her face. "Hey, I'm here. Ziheng is on his way..." After exchanging some polite words and hanging up the phone, she immediately urged Zhou Ziheng, "I almost forgot about the magazine. Come downstairs quickly. I'll ask an assistant to drive you there directly."
Speaking of magazines, Zhou Ziheng suddenly remembered that he had not replied to Xia Xiqing until now.
Forget it, just pretend to be dead.
On the way, Zhou Ziheng sent a message to Xiao Luo, asking him whether Xia Xiqing had arrived, but Xiao Luo did not reply. He could not help but feel nervous, but he thought that if Xia Xiqing did not go, someone should have notified Jiang Yin.
After being stuck in traffic for half an hour, they finally arrived at their destination. As soon as Zhou Ziheng stepped out of the elevator, he saw Xiao Luo and other staff members.
"Ziheng, you are finally here."
Zhou Ziheng walked towards the shed with big strides and asked him, "Why didn't you reply to my message?"
"Ah?" Xiao Luo was confused for a moment, "Oh oh oh, I gave my phone to Xi Qing, and he said his phone was out of battery, and he was bored with putting on makeup and wanted to play games."
After hearing this, Zhou Ziheng almost fell down, "You gave it to him? Who told you to give it to him?"
Xiao Luo was also shocked. It was rare for him to see Zhou Ziheng so excited. He wondered if the relationship between these two people was really as bad as people said online. It shouldn't be like this. Xia Xiqing was gentle and polite. Everyone liked her...
"I'm asking you a question."
"Ah, yes, Xi Qing waited for a long time and was bored so I gave it to him."
Even his own assistant kept calling him Xi Qing. Zhou Ziheng was really impressed. It was over. He must have seen all the messages he had just sent to Xiao Luo. This time he couldn't even pretend to be dead.
"Ziheng, this way." The staff of the styling team led him into the dressing room. Shane, a very beautiful female makeup artist, happened to come out. She had a lip stud on her lower lip, which was sparkling. It was not the first time that Shane did styling for Zhou Ziheng. The two were quite familiar with each other, so they didn't have to say a lot of polite words. "Hey, Ziheng is here. It's just right. Let me tell you the concept of this photo shoot first."
Zhou Ziheng nodded and followed her. As soon as he approached the room, he saw Xia Xiqing sitting in front of the mirror. He was asked to wear a black satin silk shirt, which made his pale skin look even whiter. A makeup artist was adjusting his makeup in front, while a hairstylist was styling his hair with curling irons in the back.
Different from his previous casual hairstyles, Xia Xiqing's neck-length black hair was curled into a very slight arc, lazily half-covering his deep and delicate profile. His entire aura was affected by his makeup and hair, from romantic and free and easy to noble and lazy.
As he was watching, Xia Xiqing, who was sitting on the chair, suddenly turned his head, blinked his eyes slowly, and smiled at him with a crooked corner of his mouth.
For a moment, my heart felt numb.
Zhou Ziheng's brain slowed down for a few seconds before trying to resume functioning. He didn't know what expression to use to respond to Xia Xiqing's smile. After all, they were not even friends. The relationship between them was simply too strange, beyond Zhou Ziheng's twenty years of understanding of interpersonal communication.
Shane showed Zhou Ziheng some concept designs. "These are what Lin Mo gave me. This time the style will be closer to... Have you seen Hannibal?"
Zhou Ziheng nodded, "Are you going to go for the horror special?"
"No." Shane laughed, "It's just a similar concept. You're a bloodthirsty killer or something like that. We might make your look more abstinent. Hahaha, you've always been this way anyway."
"The murderer and the victim..."
The reality is completely reversed, which is extremely ironic.
"Almost." The styling assistant pushed over a mobile hanger with a row of clothes hanging on it. Shane walked over and took out a white turtleneck sweater from it. He then walked to the accessories area and found a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a pair of gloves that surgeons would wear during surgery.
Zhou Ziheng had just sat down after changing his clothes when he heard the makeup artist next to him asking Xia Xiqing for spoilers about "A Way Out".
"Hey Xi Qing, just tell me, I won't tell anyone else."
Xia Xiqing smiled lightly, raised her eyes and looked at the makeup artist, "What should I do? After I tell you, you won't watch the next episode."
"I will definitely watch it! I will bring my whole family to watch it together."
Looking at the gentle smile on Xia Xiqing's face, Zhou Ziheng felt unhappy. He tugged at the collar of his sweater and stared at himself in the mirror.
"Hey, Xi Qing, what happened to your lips? I just noticed." The makeup artist was about to put lipstick on him when she found a deep wound on his lips. "It's all bloody and scabby."
The perpetrator couldn't help but secretly glanced in the mirror, only to see Xia Xiqing still smiling, as if it was nothing serious, "I was bitten by a dog."
You are the dog, but I was kissed by a dog. Zhou Ziheng retorted in his heart.
"Really? Hahahaha you must be lying to me."
"I was kidding." Xia Xiqing lowered his eyes, "I bit it accidentally."
The makeup artist didn't delve into the cause, but just felt it was a bit difficult to deal with. "Shane, his wound is scabbed over, and the color can't be applied. What should we do? Post-production?"
Shane, who was discussing a hairstyle problem with Zhou Ziheng's hairstylist, walked over to check it out and found it was quite serious. "I'll go call Lin Mo over. He has obsessive-compulsive disorder and is very troublesome." After saying that, Shane left the dressing room.
The boss had spoken, and no one in the styling team changed their minds and acted rashly. Xia Xiqing, who was free, turned his face to the side. In order to prevent his hair from rubbing against his makeup, he pinned two small silver clips on his head, which made him look particularly cute.
This face, which everyone unanimously regarded as that of an angel, looked in the direction of Zhou Ziheng in the mirror. After confirming that his gaze met hers while he was blow-drying his hair, Xia Xiqing slightly opened her mouth, raised her upper teeth slightly, and slowly bit her lower lip.
Once again, Zhou Ziheng felt the illusion of a heart attack, and he turned his eyes away and looked in the opposite direction.
Such actions are like a code word, known only to the perpetrator and the victim.
To be precise, it is the perpetrator who is filled with guilt, and the victim who uses the other party's excessive moral values as a bargaining chip to blackmail him.
Not long after, Shane came in again, followed by the famous photographer Lin Mo. To be honest, this was not the first time Xia Xiqing had met Lin Mo. He had met him at a party when he was studying abroad, and he seemed to have said a few words to him, but it had been so long that his memory was a little fuzzy. He only knew that he, like himself, was a person with a bad reputation.
The image was a little different from what he had in mind. Lin Mo, who was wearing a leather jacket and had a buzz cut, had tattoos all over his neck with unclear patterns. As soon as he walked in, he saw Xia Xiqing and a smile appeared on his face.
Xia Xiqing didn't have any feelings for him, but his usual disguise made him smile back out of habit.
"I heard that your mouth was injured?" Lin Mo walked to Xia Xiqing's side, "Let me see how serious it is." As he said that, his hand was about to pinch Xia Xiqing's chin, but Xia Xiqing dodged calmly and stretched out his hand to pull his lower lip.
"It's really serious."
Shane on the side suggested, "Actually, you can't tell if you photoshop it."
"What?" Lin Mo smiled, "Haven't you ever heard that a beauty's wound is also a work of art?"
Zhou Ziheng, who was sitting aside with his eyes closed and blowing his hair, opened his eyes and frowned slightly when he heard this.
"Let's change the concept. Your team has a special effects makeup artist now. Call him over now and draw a wound on Xia Xiqing's face." Lin Mo tilted his head and looked at Xia Xiqing's face carefully. "Draw it on the right side, below the cheekbone." Shane responded and led the makeup artist, who was no longer useful, away. Lin Mo walked to the knife cabinet and found a pair of scissors. Lin Mo held the scissors and circled Xia Xiqing twice.
Xia Xiqing probably guessed what he was going to do.
The sound of the hair dryer stopped. The hairstylist didn't find the spray she wanted on the dressing table, so she had to ask Zhou Ziheng to wait while she went to the car to get the tool box. Zhou Ziheng nodded, and after watching the hairstylist leave, he turned his head and stared at Xia Xiqing and the person next to him, his back teeth unconsciously clenched and clenched.
Lin Mo reached out and grabbed Xia Xiqing's black silk shirt, cut a hole in the part below the ribs, pulled it with his hands, and then cut another hole at the shoulder. He placed his fingers on the cut and tore it open. The sound of the fabric tearing was particularly harsh in the quiet dressing room.
"I didn't expect that after all these twists and turns, we would meet again in China."
The word "reunion" was used in a very subtle way. Xia Xiqing sneered in his heart, as if they had had an affair before.
"It's really fate." Lin Mo placed his hand on Xia Xiqing's shoulder, his eyes looking at the mirror, his fingers gently rubbing the exposed skin where the shirt was torn.
Xia Xiqing frowned quickly. This disgusting guy actually dared to flirt with him
His patience had long since run out.
Just as Xia Xiqing was about to explode, to his surprise, a hand grabbed Lin Mo's wrist before him and lifted up the hand that was on Xia Xiqing's shoulder.
Zhou Ziheng's height and aura are naturally oppressive. Even if he doesn't say a word, just a look is full of intimidation.
Lin Mo was stunned. He really didn't expect Zhou Ziheng to interfere. He couldn't help but laugh, "Ziheng, what are you doing..."
"We are all in the same circle, and many things are not surprising to you and me. But..." Zhou Ziheng raised his chin slightly, looking down at Lin Mo with extremely cold eyes, but the corners of his mouth were raised. His voice was low and slow, and meaningful.
"My fans are young and inexperienced, so I feel the need to protect them."
The author has something to say: Xia·Inexperienced in the world·Xi Qing
Zhou · My wife's shoulders cannot be touched by anyone · Ziheng