Chapter 194: Ah Mian, I Miss You So Much
After the end of the selection, Yun Xiangxiang delegated the task of sending the gifts to Coco. She did not expect to breathe a wave of popularity into the wristropes of the same model.
After Song Meng told her about it, she went out of her way to take a look at the shop selling the wristropes.
If someone took advantage of her fame to make a profit, she would not sit down and take it. Those were her fans.
She put all her time into filming and catching up with her studies, as well as revising the content for her theory exam. The scenes done in Chongqing would be finished on the last day of the month. Their next stop was Shenshi. Shenshi’s scenes would take up most of the film’s time.
Filming is typically not done in the order of the script. They would be filmed according to the needs of the scene, which would then be edited. This allowed them to save on human resources and logistics that way.
Yun Xiangxiang was planning to follow the crew into Shenshi for two days before rushing back to Beijing.
She would sit for her theory exam on the fourth of April. The graduates’ film festival was on the fifth of April. He Wei called her before she left for Shenshi, asking her to take a few more days of leave to return to the company.
Du Changrong approved of her leave happily. After its modification, the script added some scenes where Yun Xiangxiang would not be in. They could film these first during Yun Xiangxiang’s absence.
“Brother Wei, why did you call me back?” After rushing back to Beijing, Yun Xiangxiang immediately went to see He Wei.
He Wei didn’t say anything during their call. She was worried it might be related to He Xingzhou.
“I need you to be the judge for me,” He Wei handed a lanyard to her, which had “Judge He Wei” printed on them. They had Huan Yu’s logo too.
“The judge for what?” It’s even related to the company.
“Finals for the rookie selection,” He Wei answered.
It was only then that Yun Xiangxiang recalled the rookie selection Huan Yu would hold after the end of the each annual selection exam.
The preliminaries, semi-finals, and the finals would only be open to the company. They would only be played on video websites collaborating with Huan Yu.
The grand finals would be open to the public. There would be various media outlets invited then. He Wei made this rookie selection based on Hong Kong’s beauty pageants.
The selection was no more than a joke for the industry for the first decade. Even so, He Wei gritted his teeth and pressed on. Now, Hong Kong’s beauty pageant was facing a decline. On the other hand, Huan Yu’s rookie selection was rising to prominence.
Every year, there would possibly be more than fifty contestants. But only five would be chosen in the end. The elimination rate was high.
The ones who were eliminated would be rejected by big companies like The Era of Stars. However, they had better fundamentals than the average person. There still would be numerous companies willing to sign them.
Not only did the competition offer exposure, it was also an avenue for the contestants to gain fans quickly. He Wei was willing to spend resources on this.
The champion of the selection would either be the main female protagonist in a minor production, or a second female lead in a major production.
It was not hard to be a big hit. Everything relied on the newbies’ luck and acting skills.
The judges of the grand finals would be the agents from Huan Yu. After all, these actors would be given to them to take care of.
“Brother Wei. You…,” Yun Xiangxiang was at a loss for words.
It was definitely impossible for He Wei to not have time to take part. Even if he didn’t, nobody would say a word about his absence. It was not as if this was the first time he was absent.
However, he let Yun Xiangxiang replace him this time. The first reason was to build up Yun Xiangxiang’s authority. The second reason was to give Yun Xiangxiang a chance to have major exposure. The third reason was to widen Yun Xiangxiang’s connections.
Not only would staff from other companies and the numerous media outlets attend the event, if the newbie was voted by Yun Xiangxiang, they would be grateful to her if they had a great career. It was just like the relationship between exam candidates and the invigilators in the ancient era.
“Go. Understand more about the company,” He Wei urged. “The grand finals will be on the third. You can rest for a day tomorrow.”
But there was no time for rest. Since Yun Xiangxiang would be a judge, she needed to understand the contestants to an extent. She had never seen the videos before this.
It wouldn’t matter if she was not a judge. However, since she was one, she needed to be responsible, regardless of it her vote was important or not.
She was worn out after spending half a month in filming. Yun Xiangxiang did not go to class the next day. She lazily lay around Song Mian’s house while watching the previous videos of the latest rookie selection.
Only twelve were left. Seven girls and five boys. Nine of them were fresh graduates from various art schools around the nation.
The rest of them were extras who had prior acting experience. It was not easy for them to get this far.
Just jotting down notes and highlights according to their performance in the rounds already took up half a day of Yun Xiangxiang’s time.
She wasn’t sure if her laziness was stemming from the afternoon sunlight or her exhaustion.
Yun Xiangxiang fell asleep unknowingly. While she was sleeping, someone gently scooped her up.
It was nothing but the scent of safety that was wafting through the air around her. Yun Xiangxiang didn’t open her eyes and continued sleeping.
As he looked at his young girlfriend in his embrace who slept with her guard down even after she had woken up, he was consoled, yet concerned at the same time.
He was consoled as he made her feel absolutely safe; but he was concerned about her exhaustion that made her want to sleep so much.
It was a titillating aroma that woke Yun Xiangxiang up. When she noticed she was in a bed, she knew she was not dreaming earlier.
She quickly jumped out of bed and trotted to the kitchen. Surely enough, she saw Song Mian stir-frying some dishes. Dashing forward, she hugged him from behind.
She rubbed her head on his back. Her voice still had that languidness of someone who had just woken up, “Ah Mian, I miss you so much.”
Song Mian scooped out the finished dish from the wok. He held her hand and turned around to embrace her. He kissed her on her head gently, “Me too.”
“Did you finish your business in Bhutan?” Yun Xiangxiang raised her head. Her pair of clear, mystifying eyes were looking at him silently.
“I asked someone to finish the business there already,” Song Mian touched her forehead with his. “But I have to take a trip to South Africa.”
“To visit a patient?” Yun Xiangxiang asked.
Song Mian shook his head, “There’s an outbreak of a novel virus there. I need to look into it myself.”
Yun Xiangxiang’s tightened her grip on Song Mian’s hand, “Will it be dangerous?”
“Don’t worry. This is just a normal occurrence for me,” Song Mian assuaged Yun Xiangxiang.
A novel virus could end up causing a new disease. It might be in a faraway place like South Africa now, but everything about it must be made clear. Including but not limited to: how it came to be, and the conditions behind it.
Or else, if the outbreak happens in their own country, they wouldn’t be able to handle it. Early prevention was the best way to handle sudden change.
“I won’t stop you from going anywhere. But I want you to know that I am always worried about you, so you must keep yourself safe,” Yun Xiangxiang reminded him gently.
This was Song Mian’s career, his responsibility. It was the field where he could use his skills to their full effect. Yun Xiangxiang would not stop him.
“Okay. I don’t belong to myself now. I belong to you. Without your permission, I don’t have the right to bring harm to myself,” a smile spread from underneath Song Mian’s eyes.
“Smooth talker,” Yun Xiangxiang harrumphed.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Song Mian suddenly asked.
“Of course I am!” I slept for the whole afternoon. How can I not be hungry?
“Go wash yourself up,” Song Mian gently pushed Yun Xiangxiang out of the kitchen.