Chapter 50 - I’ve got this Celebrity’s back (10)
Chapter 50: I’ve got this Celebrity’s back (10)
Lu Deng stopped.
He was very sensitive to being watched, especially when it was done maliciously. Even if he has long broken free of the past, he can still distinguish it clearly.
He had come to the preparation area to help move things to the set. He had just rushed back to make onigiri rice balls for Gu Xi. Fearing that they would fall apart, he had carried it all the way in his arms. If he manages to find a chance to move the luggage, he would be able to stuff it into Gu Xi’s backpack and he won’t necessarily have to go over there now.
He felt uncomfortable being followed around by those eyes. Lu Deng stood there for a while, picked up his things, turned around and decided to avoid it first.
“Come back!”
Seeing that he was going to leave, the assistant hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. He pointed to the pile of things Zhou Tong had placed to the side and raised his jaw. “Aren’t you here to help move things? Move those. Be careful. If you break them, you’re going to have to pay for them!”
With him firmly blocking his way, Lu Deng could no longer pretend not to have heard him. He pressed down the brim of his cap and walked towards the direction he pointed at.
It’s probably because he had been sprayed badly in the past two days, Zhou Tong had shed the persona assigned to him by the agency.
Zhou Tong was the teen idol that Fang Kun had spent so much resources on to boost up. Zhou Tong’s acting skills were mediocre and he had no special talent that could catch people’s eyes. Only his face was passable. At the beginning, he had attracted fans by relying on programs to sell his “old-timey” persona.
The set up for his persona was very comprehensive. He practices Tai Chi at home. When he goes to the set, he brings with him a complete tea set. Before performing, he would drink tea and after performing an R-18 scene, he would bathe and abstain from meat. This create was a strong contrast between his persona and his identity as a teen idol. He was packaged very well and had around him a strong production team. After a few photos of him pouring tea on set, he instantly managed to attract a large number of fans.
The tea set was Yixing ware. It was claimed to be a semi-cultural relic from the early ages of China. But, in actuality, it was only a cover. Who could actually bring out something that precious? What Zhou Tong had with him was just a mediocre imitation, worth a few thousand yuan at most. It was good enough to fool most laymen but it was too cheap to even be worth smashing to hear the sound in any decent tea-ware shop.
The assistant urged him again and again for fear that he wouldn’t fall into the trap. His tone became increasingly nasty.
Lu Deng wasn’t short of money and he didn’t even consider that such a cheap counterfeit could ever be used in a staged crash. He picked up the tea set and sent it to the set just as he was instructed. He made sure that nothing was broken and then turned back to continue busying himself with other tasks.
Gu Xi was being taken to the lounge by Li Renyi, when his heart suddenly sank.
“This is the big boss. He came to watch the sample copy of the film. He had seen your performances yesterday and insisted on seeing you.”
Seeing him suddenly stop, Li Renyi thought he was nervous. He quickly turned around and pulled him down, lowering his voice. “He’s a very elusive figure and no one really knows how much assets he has under him. It’s hasn’t been easy for him to come here. — I heard, he even has an entertainment company. Aren’t you looking to terminate your contract? Maybe he can pull some strings with your next company…”
Gu Xi frowned slightly and did not immediately take a step forward.
He couldn’t tell what was wrong but suddenly he suddenly felt extremely jittery. For some reason, he just couldn’t calm himself down.
He had never felt this way before, but he inexplicably knew that something was happening to Lu Qingzhou. It was naturally a good thing to be able to meet the investor, but if he delays for too long and is unable to excuse himself and something goes wrong with the little paparazzo, then no amount of resources would be worth it.
“Director Li, thank you for acting as a go-between…Let me make a call first.”
Gu Xi murmured his thanks and took out his phone. He walked a few steps to the side and dialed Lu Qingzhou’s phone number.
His call was immediately picked up. The little paparazzo seemed to be in a good mood. Tone relaxed, he said, “It’s me. Are you already hungry?”
“No. Don’t come and visit me. You yourself should eat something first.”
Hearing that there was nothing wrong with him, Gu Xi finally felt relieved. With a smile on his lips, “Are you feeling sleepy? Find a place to rest and catch up on sleep. I’ll go back later…”
He kept his voice quiet but you could still see that his expression was particularly soft. Holding his mobile phone and speaking patiently, his brows and eyes were full of warmth.
He has never heard the never-before-been-in-a-romantic-relationship Film Emperor Gu have any rumored partner. To one side, Li Renyi anxiously rubbed his hands, wanting to urge him along but not daring to. Fortunately, Gu Xi didn’t let him suffer for too long. After reminding Lu Qingzhou to rest, he put his phone away and walked towards him. “It’s fine now. Thank you.”
He had just finished the call and was still in a good mood. His inexplicable agitation has also been suppressed and his expression eased a lot.
Li Renyi breathed a sigh of relief and even revealed a smile. He didn’t even dare to speak as he quickly led him to the lounge.
This was the overall investor of the drama “The Fall”.
The legendary big boss was much younger than one’s usual image of a legendary boss. He appeared to be no older than forty and his name was Mu Jinchu. His name was elegant and he himself was gentle and easy-going. He always had on a gentle smile. You could not see even a shred of his manner that could have reduced Li Renyi to a trembling mess.
Gu Xi hadn’t regarded it as a major event at first. He felt an indescribably faint familiarity with the other’s imposing manner, considerably making him lower his guard. He answered questions willingly and they had a surprisingly pleasant conversation.
“Pre- President Mu.”
Li Renyi had accompanied him by his side. Seeing Gu Xi going around in circles, without mentioning changing agencies; he simply thought Gu Xi was thin-skinned. He decided to steel his resolve to repay Gu Xi’s favor. Taking advantage of the opportunity to pour tea for Mu Jinchu, he plucked up his courage and interrupted, “I heard that you also have an entertainment company– We also have a few artists who are about to terminate their contracts. I wonder if we can talk about the treatment over at your company…”
Gu Xi was a bit moved and looked up at him.
No matter which agency you’re under, there will always be conflicts between the company’s arrangements and one’s personal wishes. Compromise was always inevitable. He didn’t actually plan to transfer to a different company. His studio was also in the preparatory stage although he had not announced it.
Li Renyi naturally had no idea about this. Being able to summon his courage to help him ask about the company’s treatment at this time was already his sincere effort to help him out.
“I’m ashamed to say, that I’m actually not sure.”
He hadn’t gotten angry because of this somewhat rude and impetuous question. Mu Jinchu first thanked him and accepted the teacup. He rubbed his forehead and with a slightly helpless apology in his smile, said, “I do have entertainment companies but at the time, I had acquired them casually. My kids wanted to enter the entertainment industry and I thought doing it through my company would be more convenient. I don’t quite understand these matters…If Director Li is interested, I will call the general manager to discuss it.”
He also knew who Li Renyi was asking for. Although he said it to Director Li, his gentle eyes fell on Gu Xi.
“Thank you, President Mu. We won’t be troubling the general manager. When I plan to sign with a new company, I will definitely come knocking at President Gu’s company’s door.”
Gu Xi chuckled lightly and simply stopped talking in riddles. He immediately thanked him and then smiled at Li Renyi, who had gone pale from nervousness.
Li Renyi breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly changed the topic.
They talked until it was almost the scheduled time for shooting. Li Renyi could no longer accompany him. He found an opportune moment to get up and take his leave. Mu Jinchu also stopped talking and raised his head with a smile. “Is Mr. Gu going as well? Let’s go together, it just so happens that I’d like to have a look around.”
Gu Xi took it as him merely wanting to see the set. Gu Xi agreed. He got up and decided to go back as soon as possible to see if the snack the little paparazzo had given him had gone cold.
The three of them left the lounge. The secondary assistant who had been lying in wait around the corner, watching for their movement immediately sent a message to notify Zhou Tong’s assistant.
*
Except for Li Renyi and Gu Xi, no one knew that the investor had come. Mu Jinchu seemed easygoing at first and no one paid him much attention. The assistant judged it to be about the right time and got Zhou Tong’s nod. In the blink of an eye, he started to blow the matter up.
“What’s missing?”
There are so many people today that Lu Deng had just found the opportunity to give Gu Xi his snack. He then suddenly had his arm grabbed by someone and he couldn’t help but frown slightly.
The shooting site was wide and spacious. A little movement would instantly attract people’s attention and a lot of them turned towards the sound.
“I had you carry that tea set and it seems that even you can recognize that it’s a good thing. Were you planning to steal and hide it?”
The assistant sneered and reprimanded him with a cold voice, pulling him and refusing to let go. “You thief! Did you come here to steal from us? Tell me! Where did you hide it!”
That tea set was placed to the side. It was shockingly missing one cup.
The crew have all heard that it was a set that could nearly be considered as a treasure and that it cost hundreds of thousands as a set. Although many of the crew have silently criticized that bringing such a thing on set was being unreasonably ostentatious, they didn’t want to invite trouble. Everyone gave that tea set a wide berth, lest they knock it over and be extorted out of hundreds of thousands.
Zhou Tong’s reputation among the crew was not good. Seeing a little crew helper being grabbed by his assistant, most of the people were there to simply watch the excitement, but only half at most believed the allegations.
Suddenly surrounded by so many people, Lu Deng instinctively felt unwell. He frowned and wanted to withdraw his arm. “I didn’t take it.”
This kind of thing that wasn’t worth much, if it breaks, wasn’t even worth lamenting over. If they were really insisting on going through this ‘staged crash’ scam, compensating them for it was of no consequence.
But now the other party was saying that he had stolen something.
Memories from his childhood uncontrollably began to rise up. Lu Deng lowered his head slightly, covering the darkness in his eyes under the brim of his cap. The hand hanging on his side slowly clenched into a fist.
He didn’t take it.
Intellectually he knew that the other party was only looking to make things difficult for him because he had helped Gu Xi. A tea set of such inferior quality, as long as he manages to think of a way to cut it open, this matter would be of no problem. But he suddenly didn’t want to speak. He even had to use all his self-control to prevent himself from lashing out and hurting others in self-defense.
The system was furious. In his mind, it had completely blown its top. “Host, I’ll go click on his hot searches! I’ll view them 80,000 times a day! I’ll blacken him so much, he’ll never be washed clean!”
Listening to the mechanical voice in his mind, his numb chest warmed slightly. Lu Qingzhou pursed the corners of his lips. He soothed it warmly, “Don’t worry…”
He suddenly couldn’t finish what he was saying.
He had no way to deal with such a situation — strange crowds, too much attention and naked hostility. He knew where his problem lay which was why he hadn’t chosen the identity that was actually closest to Gu Xi in the beginning of this mission.
He clearly could have chosen to act with Gu Xi in front of the camera…It would have been a wonderful thing as well.
Lu Deng closed his eyes and returned his thoughts to the warmth that had enveloped his body last night. He waited until his heartbeat slowed down before opening his eyes again, saying, “I didn’t take it. You can find someone to conduct a search. But if it’s confirmed that you’re committing slander then I will hold you accountable according to law.”
He was able to handle it well.
Gu Yuan wasn’t here and he also wanted to be able to face these things directly. Once he’s really able to overcome this, maybe next time they encounter an entertainment industry world, he would be able to stand in the spotlight with the other and they can act in a film together, leaving behind their own images that they can watch at their leisure in the future.
This crew member in front of him was young but unexpectedly difficult to deal with. The assistant choked from what he said. He instinctively felt panicked but he instantly reacted and sneered disdainfully. “Who knows where you could be hiding it? Maybe you have it on you. You were the only one to have touched that tea set. If you didn’t take it, then did it grow legs and run off?”
When people have a guilty conscience, they instinctively reveal the secrets they least want to be discovered. Lu Deng’s eyes darkened slightly and he suddenly grabbed the assistant’s wrist and squeezed it upwards with force. The assistant’s scream rang out.
“Host!”
This was Lu Deng’s original body. Knowing that the host could easily break the opponent’s wrist, the system reminded him in a hurry. But Lu Deng did not continue to exert force and the chill in his eyes gradually faded once again.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone.
He can handle this well.
Lu Deng dropped his gaze. While holding his hand, he flipped it over and a tea cup suddenly fell from the cuff of the assistant’s sleeve, smashing to the ground and shattering.
It would be great if Gu Xi were here.
All eyes were fixed on the broken teacup but Lu Deng’s chest did not warm up at all. He pressed his lips into a tight line and released his hand, leaving the assistant pale and hurriedly backing away.
Things were fine now.
The assistant’s arm was almost numb from the pain. He retreated, rolling and crawling away, his heart still filled with lingering fear.
No one thought that this crew member would be so difficult to deal with.
The original plan was to take out the teacup while a search was being conducted. Once the matter of him stealing was revealed in front of everyone, this little crew member would have no choice but to leave the crew. But they hadn’t expected that the other party would not only dare to dispute but even dared to attack him in public.
Now that things had played out this way, the assistant’s plan to slander the other was thoroughly revealed, leaving him with no excuse to explain it away.
Zhou Tong’s face also sank.
He even said to wait until Gu Xi came to create even more of a commotion. Now, Gu Xi wasn’t even here yet and the matter was already all mucked up.
His assistant had been stirring up trouble right under his nose. Anyone with half a brain knew that it must have been his scheme. If he really had managed to trap the other person, it would have been regarded as giving the other person an initial show of strength. Now that it was turned out like this, he had completely lost all face.
The crowd of onlookers completely changed their ‘watching the excitement’ attitude and the sound of whispered discussions grew louder. Seeing Zhou Tong’s increasingly calm complexion, the assistant held his arms, trembling with fear. He was so scared that he could not stand steady. He quietly implored, “Brother Zhou…”
Zhou Tong didn’t look at him at all. He kicked the person away and changed his expression into a slightly relaxed one. He walked towards Lu Qingzhou and in an unusually kind tone, said, “It seems that my assistant has stolen what has been entrusted into his care. Since you didn’t take it, I will no longer be looking into this matter.”
Lu Qingzhou still had his head bowed, seeming as though not to have heard him.
Zhou Tong leaned over to pick up a piece of broken fragment. He stroked it in his hand, a stern expression of anger borne out of humiliation flashed through his eyes and he continued to speak unhurriedly.
“But—one yard is still one yard. You were still the one who broke this cup, after all. If you break a set, you should pay the 60% depreciation price. I know you don’t have much money, so I won’t make things difficult for you…”
Hearing how absolutely shameless he was being in front of everyone, many of the people revealed in their eyes hidden righteous indignation and contempt. But, when all was said and done, they were unwilling to invite trouble upon themselves for no reason. As before, they stood quietly to the side, watching things play out.
Zhou Tong narrowed his eyes slightly. He was still thinking about how he could scare this overly-hardened little crew member and at the same time, save face by appearing magnanimous, when a voice suddenly came out from behind everyone. “How much?”
Zhou Tong’s heart jumped and he looked up.
Everyone had already parted to make way for Gu Xi as he quickly walked over. Gu Xi pulled the little crew member into his arms.
This kind of action was already a little too intimate. Remembering that they were in front of all these people, Lu Qingzhou suddenly sobered up. He wanted to leave but was firmly guarded by Gu Xi in his arms. Gu Xi repeated in a deep voice, “How much?”
“I—it was 800,000 when I got it in an auction and I have been keeping it for three years…”
Gu Xi has always been kind to others and would always makes jokes at every turn. He has never seen such a sharp oppressive force. Gu Xi’s imposing manner left Zhou Ting feeling shaken. Zhou Tong instinctively took two steps back. He hemmed and hawed but he found that he couldn’t say anything.
“You paid 800,000 yuan for trash that’s barely worth a few thousand. And you even kept it for three years. I guess you must really cherish it.”
Gu Xi raised the corners of his lips, a sharp coldness in his eyes. With one hand, he casually took out a card and threw it at Zhou Tong’s feet. He leaned over and picked up a tea cup. He looked at it dismissively and stuffed it into Lu Qingzhou’s hand.
Lu Qingzhou was protected against his chest but his heart was racing faster than before. Holding his breath, he raised his head. Gu Xi had already lowered his gaze and said softly, “Smash it for fun.”
His tone was very gentle as though he had said something exceedingly common. But Lu Qingzhou suddenly shuddered in his arms, his breathing turned short and his eyes couldn’t stop from watering.
Gu Xi stroked the end of his hair strands. He picked up the largest clay pot and threw it, tea, water and all, at Zhou Tong’s feet. There was a loud crash and it sent a shock through everyone.
He had wondered before just why exactly Lu Qingzhou hadn’t entered the entertainment circle.
Lu Qingzhou’s qualifications were excellent, his aura was brilliant. He had a natural understanding of what looked good through a lens. Even if had no acting skills, with a little proper packaging, just his face was enough to propel him into the ranks of the popular ‘traffic’ stars.
Even if he didn’t have any connection in the entertainment industry, given how closely he operated with this circle, he can’t possibly believe that a scout hasn’t unearthed him yet.
Although he had already clearly discovered that his little paparazzo was afraid of strangers, but because he was afraid that someone would target him, he hadn’t protected him closely.
This was his fault.
Feeling the body in his arms trembling, Gu Xi’s heart clenched. Holding the other’s hand, he pulled the other even tighter into his embrace.
Lu Qingzhou’s cold hand moved in Gu Xi’s palm, loosening its hold on the tea cup, letting it smash on the ground, breaking into tiny pieces.
Gu Xi smiled and stroked his back encouragingly. He separated the crowd with one hand and walked out of the crew with his little paparazzo.
“Teacher Gu!”
Even though there was such a big mess, there were scenes that still needed to be filmed. Seeing that he was about to leave, the deputy director hurried to catch up, but Gu Xi just waved his hand. “I’ll take half the day off. Let’s talk about the rest this afternoon. Please make the necessary arrangements.”
The deputy director still wanted to speak but an unfamiliar voice came from outside the crowd: “Let’s take a day off and shoot again tomorrow. The directing team, come over and adjust the cast list.”
“Okay, let’s take a day off because of the high temperatures. Let everyone know and have every group pack things up!”
Without waiting for the deputy director to speak, Li Renyi spoke first.
When Gu Xi heard that voice, he remembered how just before he rushed in and smashed things, he had also clearly felt how, beside him, the gentle and kind President Mu’s imposing manner come out swiftly and fiercely. If Gu Xi had been just a step slower, maybe Mu Jinchu would have already charged in.
Li Renyi clearly didn’t recognize that little crew member and he had no idea when he had managed to sneak in, but he didn’t dare speak at all at this time. He could only apologize to the actors who were waiting in the wings and quickly followed after Mu Jinchu who had turned and was about to leave. “President Mu, come and see how we adjust…”
Hearing how the director clearly addressed the man, Zhou Tong’s face instantly paled. His figure swayed and a strong ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart.