1077 Perplexed and Smitten 137
“A little more than two weeks. Fang Erlan has long been confirmed to play the female lead and she’s already read through the script. I heard that you had starred alongside Fang Erlan in a television series before. Did you enjoy working with her?”
“It wasn’t too bad.”
“We must decide on an actor for the male lead as soon as possible. Frankly speaking, tip-top scripts are hard to come by. I believe you understand that too, Yan Ge. I won’t beat around the bush. If you’re willing to take on the role, we’ll be willing to offer you 600 thousand dollars per episode. For now, there are a total of fifty episodes to be filmed.”
“Leave the script behind and let me consider it. I’ll give you a call if I’m interested.”
“We’re running out of time. Can you give me an answer tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”
The female director nodded while smiling and said, “Alright.”
When she stood up, Yan Ge asked, “How much is Fang Erlan offered per episode?”
“Fang Erlan has starred in only one television series that has yet to be aired. If it weren’t because of the fact that she had played the female lead in that series, which her studio had invested in, we wouldn’t have offered her the role of the female lead. Neither would we have cast her in the series. I don’t know how much her studio would be giving her. After all, her employer was the main investor. Hence, she might be given a greater portion of the earnings. However, the highest we can offer her is 200 thousand dollars per episode on account of her employer. Otherwise, how could she command such a high price? If that television series that both you and her starred in becomes a blockbuster, she’s definitely going to earn more in the future. We can’t offer her that much yet. A-list actresses are offered about the same amount as you.”
Yan Ge nodded. He obviously understood that Fang Erlan would not be able to command such a high price; 200 thousand dollars per episode would not be much for her after the amount that goes to the entertainment studio was deducted.
After the director left, Yan Ge took a look at the script. He leaned against the couch and recalled the awkward silences they would share whenever they bumped into each other lately.
Since she’s already admitted that she carries a torch for me, and I can feel it too, why isn’t she willing…
Could it be that she really has a reason she can’t divulge?
Yan Ge took out his mobile phone and opened Fang Erlan’s Weibo page. Although they had already worked with each other in a drama series, he was still not following her on Weibo.
He recalled the question that she had once asked him: “Senior, shall we follow each other on Weibo?”
He had answered: “Not going to follow you.”
He recalled the distraught look on her face when she replied, “That’s up to you.”
He followed only a few accounts on Weibo, unlike other celebrities who followed fellow celebrities who were merely acquaintances, for fear that they would offend anyone.
He might not follow them even if he had worked with them before.
Hence, he had tens of millions of followers but followed less than a hundred accounts.
The last time Fang Erlan had updated her Weibo feed was two days ago.
It was a photo of her at the gym, which was captioned: “Currently working out.”
He opened the three hundred comments left below her post.
The minute number was a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of comments that he would receive on each of his Weibo posts.
Apart from the very few Weibo users who sang praises about her figure and beauty, the rest had all left harsh comments of criticism on her post.
“Did you post this photo just to prove that you’re a female? Well, that’s understandable. After all, if you didn’t, we would have all mistaken you for a transvestite.”
“Absolute trash. How did you even become an actress with those hideous looks of yours? You look grotesque, stop disgracing yourself!”
“Indeed, the public is not blind. I can rest assured now that everyone is berating you.”
Although Yan Ge was a veteran of the entertainment industry who had long gotten used to seeing malicious remarks, he could not help but feel disgusted by those mean-spirited netizens. He found them absolutely repulsive, even though he wasn’t the target of their castigations.
They’ve utterly disgraced themselves and stooped to a low level by making those harsh comments.
She merely posted a photo of the gym and yet they had so much to say. What a bunch of lunatics.
He was well aware that there would be even more haters once the television series was to begin airing.
There were bound to be haters, regardless of how excellent the production may be.
That was always the case.
How would she react if she finds out that I’m planning to take on the role of the male lead in this series and star alongside her?
Yan Ge looked up as his eyes glistened. He put his mobile phone aside and picked up the script again.
—
Shi Shaochuan handed a small bottle to Bu Xianxian and said, “Pee into this.”
“What for?” Bu Xianxian asked in puzzlement.
“Just do it. Hurry, I need it.”
Bu Xianxian took it from him and headed to the bathroom. Coincidentally, she felt the urge to answer nature’s call as well. One minute later, she exited, covering the opening of the bottle with her hand. She handed it to him and sneered, “Are you going to drink it?”
“You drink it yourself!” Shi Shaochuan retorted with a sullen expression on his face.
“Why do you want a sample of my urine, then?”
“I’m putting it to a test.”
“What test?”
Seeing how ignorant she was, he whipped out a pregnancy test kit and said, “This.”
“Why do you have to test that?” said Bu Xianxian, who had never used a pregnancy test kit before. Neither was she aware of its purpose.
Shi Shaochuan ignored her and dipped the pregnancy test kit into her urine. Soon, red lines began to darken on the indicator. He was full of eagerness and hope that she would be pregnant.
After all, he had tried for so long…
Bu Xianxian craned her neck to take a look before saying with a smile, “There are two lines on the indicator.”
“That’s right, there are two lines,” said Shi Shaochuan, who felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.
He threw the urine cup away and hugged Bu Xianxian. “From now on, stay home and nurse your pregnancy. I’ll be giving you more money.”
Bu Xianxian froze in shock and asked, “What do you mean… nurse my pregnancy?”
“That you’re pregnant?”
Bu Xianxian’s smile vanished and she said, “I… I’m pregnant?”
Pointing at the pregnancy test kit in the dustbin, he answered, “Yes. This is meant to test for pregnancies. A single line means that you’re not pregnant while two lines mean that you are. We’ll go to the hospital later for a checkup to verify that it’s not an ectopic pregnancy.”
Bu Xianxian retreated in astonishment and exclaimed, “How could I be pregnant? We take precautions every single time. There’s no way I would be pregnant!”
Shi Shaochuan obviously wouldn’t tell her that he had gotten up to some tricks in order to get her pregnant.
He had poked holes in the condom and removed the condom while she was not noticing when he entered her from behind. Well, she could not see it and was preoccupied with enjoying the sex anyway.
He would definitely hit the jackpot sooner or later.
It was not difficult to get her pregnant.
Did she really think that I chose to have her as my kept woman just for the thrill of it? I obviously can’t let my money go to waste.
“There’s still a chance of getting pregnant even with contraceptive measures. What are you panicking about? Since you’re pregnant, we’ll just keep the baby.”
“I don’t want it!” Bu Xianxian protested.
He questioned with a frown, “Why? Are you refusing to give birth to my child even when you’re already pregnant?”
“I don’t have plans to have children just yet.” Bu Xianxian was flustered and perturbed. How could I possibly give birth to his child? I refuse!
“An abortion would be detrimental to your health. Give birth to it and I’ll give you more money. If that’s not enough, I can marry you too,” said Shi Shaochuan. So long as she was carrying a baby boy, he did not mind marrying her, though he did not want to make her his wife at all.