Chapter 29: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – Venting for Ling Ling
Tong Ao didn’t get an answer, but she quickly stopped asking because she also saw Song Mingzhi standing behind her.
“I suddenly remembered I have a draft that needs revising, I’ll be going now, bye.”
Tong Ao waved and quickly slipped away.
She didn’t know if Song Mingzhi had heard, she only knew that her career might be in crisis, so it was better to escape.
Dong Ling’s heart sank even further. She didn’t know if Song Mingzhi had heard, so she would just assume she hadn’t. She couldn’t possibly be the one to break this silence.
Dong Ling couldn’t think too much about it, the more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was on the verge of death.
She greeted Song Mingzhi as if nothing had happened and continued applying lipstick in the mirror.
Seeing that Song Mingzhi didn’t seem to want to say anything, Dong Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
Song Mingzhi looked at her slightly stiff, then relaxed movements, and gently raised her lips, sitting down in front of another mirror to touch up her makeup.
She was actually quite surprised, but her long-standing environment had made her accustomed to not showing her emotions, so even if there were stormy waves in her heart, the person in front of her wouldn’t know.
Her suspicions were further confirmed, or rather, it couldn’t even be called suspicion anymore, after all, all the evidence was right in front of her, but Song Mingzhi didn’t say anything.
She thoughtfully considered the other person’s feelings and believed that the kiss was probably just a coincidence, after all, the other person’s physical reaction couldn’t lie.
The girl’s affection was truly cautious. Even when painstakingly adding a kissing scene, she emphasized using camera angles, to avoid making her feel uncomfortable.
Such affection was truly hard to dislike or resist. The girl even specifically got a manicure to reassure her, how could Song Mingzhi bear to expose her feelings and embarrass her?
And she was worried about scaring the girl away, after all, she looked very nervous just now.
After confirming that Song Mingzhi hadn’t heard her conversation with Tong Ao and didn’t seem embarrassed or mortified, Dong Ling followed her out of the makeup room when she was ready, seemingly relieved and even a little happy.
At the same time, she sternly warned 021 in her mind: [Can you please remind me next time Song Mingzhi is here?!]
Please, this was something any normal system could do, okay?
021 said rather sheepishly: [I can enable this function, but it will require… girl, you know.]
Dong Ling didn’t want to know. Deducting main storyline progress was no different from robbing her, it was like cutting her flesh.
But she really didn’t want to experience this kind of dangerous situation again. If there was a next time, she truly wouldn’t be able to clear her name.
Dong Ling asked hesitantly: [How much will it cost?]
021 quickly calculated: [0.1% per day, 75% off for ten days, and a monthly subscription is even more cost-effective!]
Dong Ling: [???]
Dong Ling: [Did you just come back from some shopping mall training?]
What was this thing, the most useless system in the world, right?
021 tried to explain: [Girl, I’m doing this for your own good. Turning it on and off also consumes energy, just like electrical appliances, repeatedly switching them on and off consumes more power than leaving them on. The longer the main storyline energy consumption period, the slower the consumption rate.]
Dong Ling gritted her teeth: [Then give me a month.]
Dong Ling felt a little numb, she never thought she would experience the bitterness of being exploited by a system, she wasn’t even this conflicted when buying something worth a million or two.
Seeing that they were about to reach the set, Dong Ling composed herself.
Cheng Ge didn’t have many requirements for her, just stand there and be a mysterious beauty.
After filming her cameo, Dong Ling listened to the producers discussing the music.
A good movie atmosphere couldn’t do without good background music, visuals and sound combined to give the audience the ultimate experience.
Dong Ling hadn’t planned to contribute, but Cheng Ge, who was listening, suddenly had inspiration.
This particular scene needed background music. The protagonist, Yan Ting, in a locked-room situation, witnessed several deaths in a row, discovered some clues, but was then accused of being the murderer. After a confrontation, she discovered the truth and turned the tables.
The scene was extremely tense, with a creepy and eerie atmosphere, oppression and shadows intertwined in people’s hearts, like a taut string, suddenly easing at the moment of near collapse, like a gentle spring rain.
Dong Ling immediately had someone bring her violin from home and started composing and arranging the music as soon as she returned that night.
“I hope I won’t disturb you later.”
Dong Ling had just finished showering when her violin arrived. Her hair was still wet, but she couldn’t wait to pick up her beloved instrument, and informed Song Mingzhi in the next room.
Song Mingzhi was wearing headphones, listening to Ji Yiling talk about work matters. Hearing this, she nodded and typed a message to Ji Yiling, asking her to wait.
This was the first time Song Mingzhi saw Dong Ling play the violin, her eyes filled with unconcealed admiration and appreciation.
The music wasn’t exactly pleasant, even tense and oppressive, as if gripping the listener’s heart, making them involuntarily hold their breath and then relax with the fluctuating notes.
The feelings conveyed by music were subjective. Song Mingzhi couldn’t say whether this BGM was suitable for that scene.
But what amazed Song Mingzhi even more than the music was Dong Ling’s posture.
A kind of indescribable beauty, and that charm didn’t come from her appearance, she could feel the confidence and joy emanating from her as she played, as if she was one with the instrument.
She could clearly sense her seriousness and was moved by that feeling. She wasn’t playing for anyone, but for the surging emotions and passion in her heart, for the music and soul that moved her.
Song Mingzhi was at a loss for words, for the first time regretting her lack of eloquence to express her feelings. She watched quietly, like looking at a muse with a free spirit.
Dong Ling initially needed to look at the score, but gradually became more and more immersed, her mind filled with the scene, filled with Song Mingzhi, from her eyes to the curve of her lips, her body language, until finally, she was no longer following the score, but her own new feelings.
Even after finishing playing, Dong Ling didn’t open her eyes, only relaxing when Song Mingzhi’s face gradually faded from her mind.
“Absolutely perfect, I believe Director Cheng will appreciate it very much.”
“Indeed, I also feel it’s very good. If he has any objections, then too bad, I’m the investor.”
After speaking, Dong Ling looked at Song Mingzhi, and they exchanged a knowing smile.
“I was so engrossed I’m even sweating, I’ll revise the score and then take a shower.”
Dong Ling put away her violin and bow, wiped the sweat from her forehead, pursed her lips at Song Mingzhi, and excitedly returned to her room.
While revising the score, Dong Ling was extremely focused, an infinite joy of passion and love.
After finishing the revisions, Dong Ling listened to it several times with self-admiration. The shower she had promised herself was put aside, she excitedly discussed it with her classmate first.
Dong Ling had been learning musical instruments since she was young. As a child, she was interested in everything, whether it was piano, violin, cello, flute, pipa, or guzheng, she wanted to learn them all. She was also occasionally interested in ballet and street dance, which made her parents worry, thinking she was fickle.
Dong Ling’s true love for the violin began around the age of thirteen, during a trip with her parents, passing through an alley in Jinzhou.
Dong Ling still remembered that beautiful Western-style building, its walls covered in wisteria, a girl practicing the violin in the attic.
Dong Ling had never heard anyone saw wood so terribly, it was truly devoid of musicality. Although every beginner inevitably “sawed wood” at the beginning, Dong Ling was truly tortured.
The girl in the attic was probably eighteen or nineteen years old, she only saw her back.
If circumstances allowed, Dong Ling would have wanted to climb up and teach her how to play.
After that day, Dong Ling decided to practice the violin, to let more people hear the beautiful sounds of this elegant instrument.
After so many years, she wondered how the girl in the attic was doing, hoping she had already given up the violin, which was a lethal weapon in her hands.
Putting aside the memories, Dong Ling looked at the areas her classmate suggested revising and discussed them with her.
Outside, Song Mingzhi gestured for Ji Yiling to continue the previous topic.
Ji Yiling deliberately didn’t get to the point, sighing with admiration: “Your little boss is quite something, not only rich, but also talented, the complete opposite of you.”
She continued to tease: “It’s good that you gave up music back then, who would have thought that my elegant CEO Song is a musical idiot?”
“I really thought you were deliberately making a fool of yourself with those instruments so you wouldn’t have to perform on stage. Who knew that was already your best effort.”
Ji Yiling almost died laughing thinking about this, it was definitely one of Song Mingzhi’s few embarrassing moments.
They were at a university reunion. There were freshman performances at the time, and Song Mingzhi had been a prominent figure since she started school, so everyone hoped she would perform something.
Because Song Mingzhi looked like she could play the piano, but she directly demonstrated what it meant to have zero musicality. Some, refusing to believe it, asked her to play the violin, and ended up leaving with a look of despair.
Ji Yiling thought Song Mingzhi was quite dedicated at the time, willing to ruin her image to avoid performing on stage, but after having the misfortune of hearing Song Mingzhi practice at home a few times, she pleaded with her to stop.
“Get to the point.”
Song Mingzhi coughed lightly, stopping Ji Yiling from further exposing her shortcomings.
Song Mingzhi was actually quite a competitive person. When she encountered something she couldn’t do, she would try her best to overcome it, but she later discovered that the world of art wasn’t like the world of mathematics, effort wasn’t always enough.
At the time, her adoptive mother loved listening to violin music. Song Mingzhi wanted to learn a piece to make her happy on her birthday, so she specifically chose a deserted attic to practice. During the freshman orientation, to test herself, she didn’t refuse her classmates’ request, but their reaction told her she had wasted two months of practice.
She never got to play that piece for her mother, her adoptive parents died before her birthday.
Song Mingzhi specifically used the violin to torture her relatives in the middle of the night, and then never touched it again.
Ji Yiling got to the point, and Song Mingzhi dealt with the matters one by one.
“By the way, should I continue with what you asked me to do last time? That cosmetics company has secured funding and has recovered, they’re investigating who’s causing trouble. I’ve been very discreet, they won’t trace it back to me.”
Thinking of Xuan Du, Song Mingzhi tapped the keyboard lightly and said: “Continue, be careful with the extent of your actions, and lend a hand when necessary.”
“What do you mean?”
Ji Yiling didn’t quite understand, if she wanted to destroy the company directly, why bother being so roundabout?
Song Mingzhi’s eyes were cold, and she chuckled: “Like a roller coaster ride?”
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