Chapter 42.1 - F**** and your mom are flying together
The shooting for the Spirit Road spokesperson advertis.e.m.e.nt was booked in for the week after.
And the film was trying to rush before the Golden Flower awards were on, so Tang Xiao and Mu Cheng were rushing with their schedules.
They rushed with no concept of day or night and adding on to the Qiao Yijing’s occasional poison tongue, Tang Xiao felt like she was like a dead dog.
After a super busy afternoon of filming, the a.s.sistant director rushed around trying to find Tang Xiao.
“Ah? Mu Cheng, have you seen Tang Xiao?” The a.s.sistant director held onto his phone in one hand and was jogging to keep up.
“She’s probably changing her costume for the next scene, what is it?” Mu Cheng asked.
“Director Ji just contacted me and said that there was a film that he wanted to collaborate with Tang Xiao on so he wanted to see if they could meet up at a coffee shop.”
Mu Cheng’s brows furrowed, “Director Ji? Which director Ji?”
“Ji Mingxiu, ah. Apparently he’d been trying to contact Tang Xiao’s agent but he kept getting refused. I’d worked with him before so when he heard Tang Xiao was filming here, I thought that I’d act as a middleman and help them communicate.”
Mu Cheng thought for a bit, Ji Mingxiu.
A few years ago, he’d worked with him on two films, it wasn’t bad.
But his personal matters were a different story.
“I heard that director Ji’s been busy trying to get famous overseas. If Tang Xiao can work with him here, maybe she could reach a new peak. I’ll go find her first.” The a.s.sistant director’s eyes were filled with excitement.
“Wait a moment.” Mu Cheng called out after him.
“Don’t tell her about this first. What coffee shop did director Ji tell her to meet him at?”
“En? Just the one about a street away.”
“You should take a rest. I’ll go.” Mu Cheng didn’t even take the time to take off his suit before putting his hand on his shoulder.
The a.s.sistant director was a bit stunned.
Didn’t he hear that Tang Xiao and Chief Ning had a little something going on?
Why would Mu Cheng step in the middle?
He clicked his tongue.
There were a lot of films nearby so Mu Cheng just put on a face mask and left.
The server recognised him but wasn’t too shocked, she just quietly asked for a signature and Mu Cheng --- amicably agreed.
Director Ji had obviously been waiting for a while so when he saw the person that had come was Mu Cheng, was visibly shocked.
“Tang Xiao suddenly had to do another scene so she couldn’t come, she let me come instead.” Mu Cheng sat opposite to him.
Director Ji looked Mu Cheng up and down, unable to guess his motives, “You and Tang Xiao are …”
“Chief Ning’s a bit busier than usual so he asked me to take care of her for him. Last time, because I worked with you, I got a popular male artist award so I wanted to thank you for that as well.” Mu Cheng didn’t answer his question properly.
Director Ji couldn’t confirm what he wanted so he started beating around the bus.
Seeing that Mu Cheng was just thanking him and probably only doing Tang Xiao’s request on the side, maybe he was just here because he’d been asked by Chief Ning?
Director Ji was a bit interested in Tang Xiao and seeing that Mu Cheng wasn’t in a rush to leave, casually spoke with him a bit before getting to the main topic.
“I heard you’ve been filming with Tang Xiao recently?”
Mu Cheng’s eyes narrowed, looking at him questioningly. “Right, it’s for director Qiao’s new film. Tang Xiao is the second female lead.”
“Fantastic. I’ve seen a few of her films recently and even though her acting is really average, she’s quite unforgettable. You know how the actresses in the circle tend to come and go, but the only other one who’s really reached that peak in these few years, is Su Bai. But I feel like Tang Xiao’s different. She’s even more cleaner than Su Bai so I’ve always wanted to get in touch with her.” Director Ji licked his lips.
Mu Cheng patiently waited for the second part.
Director Ji looked at him and continued, “I won’t hide it from you but recently, I’ve got a very popular IP on my hands and I’m ready to film something. There are a lot of people auditioning and even Su Bai asked about it, but I think the female lead should definitely be Tang Xiao. But I just can’t get in touch with her, do you think you could help me out? In this circle, it doesn’t seem like anyone’s been able to get in touch with her.”
Director Ji spoke so bluntly that Mu Cheng was able to quickly understand his meaning.
He drank a mouthful of coffee before looking up.
His eyes coldened, his gaze freezing. “How could you not be able to get in touch with her? Tang Xiao was really free before so you could go through her agent’s company or even her agent. She’s still taking filming offers.”
Director Ji’s head hurt. “Of course I know about that and I’ve tried to get in touch with her agent but who knew that it was Chief Ning who’s been taking her under his wing. But Chief Ning’s too busy and probably doesn’t care too much about Tang Xiao so after I tried contacting her a few times, I got cut off. Previously, Su Bai was filming with me and Chief Ning even came on set to take a look. Even though Tang Xiao’s not as famous as Su Bai, but isn’t Chief Ning’s att.i.tude to careless towards her? So do you think you could do me a favour and get me in touch with Tang Xiao, I really want to see her face to face.”
Mu Cheng lightly laughed, his face was still a bit cold.
Even though Mu Cheng had collaborated with him for a brief period, the current Mu Cheng did make director Ji feel a bit respectful of him.
“If Chief Ning is able to personally take on Tang Xiao amidst his hundred busy things, then he definitely won’t be careless with her. She’d only be able to take a filming offer through the company so even if Tang Xiao agreed, Chief Ning might not agree and that would be useless.”
Director Ji’s brows furrowed, thinking it through. “I understand Wanyu Media’s rules and I’m pretty confused about why Chief Ning would personally take Tang Xiao under his wing. Even if afterwards she can’t take my offer, it’d be fine if we just got to know each other. You know, just knowing an extra person would be good for her development. Mu Cheng, you and Tang Xiao have been working together so an you …. Of course, if you just introduce her to me, that’s fine, I can do the rest. I definitely won’t pull you in.” Director Ji spoke very confidently.
Mu Cheng rubbed his forehead, the hand gripping his cup grew tighter. “I don’t fully understand director Ji’s words.”
Director Ji smiled a bit ambiguous. “In this circle before, your big sister helped paved the road for you, so of course you won’t understand this side of the circle. Right now, in the entertainment circle, there are actresses for miles. If Tang Xiao doesn’t take the opportunity in these few years, once she gets older, it’d be harder for her to stand out. Some things, you just have to understand, you don’t have to be so clear about it.”
Mu Cheng coldly laughed, holding in his anger.
When he looked up again, it was his normally gentle and warm expression, but his eyes were icy cold. “Before director Ji had this thought, did you investigate anything else?”
Director Ji had never seen him like this before.
Mu Cheng was famous for his good temper so he was gracious even in front of the paparazzi.
But right now, those eyes were full of fury, and it frightened him.
In a moment, he couldn’t process it.
Mu Cheng stood up and grabbed the coffee in front of director Ji.
He stirred it a bit before knocking the spoon against the cup and throwing it on the table.
Then he took the coffee and splashed it on his face.
*
TL note:
Director Ji is sleeeeeazy. We’re moving more deeply into the entertainment side of the novel.
This chapter was nearly 4k words so I split it in 3.
Leave a comment and for more about TX’s role xx
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