Chapter 40: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – Drools
The sudden ringing of a phone made Dong Ling subconsciously look at her own phone, then realized it wasn’t hers.
The screen of the phone placed on the sofa lit up. Dong Ling hadn’t intended to answer for Song Mingzhi, but seeing that the caller ID was Zuo Zhen, she answered it anyway.
“Hello?”
A common greeting when answering the phone in China. Dong Ling’s voice was lazy, her eyes fixed on her own phone screen, reading the gossip Chen Shang Shang sent, while waiting to hear what Zuo Zhen had to say.
Zuo Zhen on the other end of the phone asked uncertainly: “CEO Dong?”
“Yes, it’s me, Mingzhi is a little busy right now, if it’s urgent, you can call her later.”
Although they were both her subordinates, Dong Ling didn’t mind listening to secrets, she just relayed the message.
Zuo Zhen chuckled dryly. CEO Dong was truly treating her like one of her own, not minding relaying such things in front of her, but then again, this company was established to promote Song Mingzhi, it was quite normal.
“CEO Dong, please don’t hang up yet, this matter is actually related to you.”
Dong Ling’s attention shifted, she turned on the speakerphone and asked curiously: “Oh? What is it?”
“Vica contacted us, saying their editor-in-chief was impressed by Mingzhi’s expressiveness and would like to invite her to shoot a magazine cover, but her inspiration actually came from your scene with Mingzhi in the movie, so…”
Zuo Zhen felt this was tricky. Vica was a relatively well-known magazine in China, with Song Mingzhi’s current resources, they weren’t quite at that level yet, so Zuo Zhen was very happy to be able to get such an opportunity. But the other party’s condition was that they wanted her boss to participate as well…
Please, if it was another artist from the company, Zuo Zhen would have happily packed them up and sent them over, but this was her boss.
The editor-in-chief said, either you persuade her, or I’ll go persuade her, and if I can’t, then so be it, we won’t shoot without both of you, it doesn’t feel right.
Zuo Zhen thought she should ask for Song Mingzhi’s thoughts and opinions first. If Song Mingzhi didn’t want to do it, then the collaboration opportunity could be dropped.
Dong Ling understood, thought for a moment, and said: “Let me think about it, I’ll give you an answer tomorrow, I’ll relay this to her.”
Zuo Zhen: “Thank you, CEO Dong, goodbye.”
Dong Ling wanted to give all the good resources to Song Mingzhi, but she didn’t want to become famous herself, and… there were already enough CP fans of her and Song Mingzhi, she didn’t want to add to that.
That wouldn’t be good. What if Wen Han woke up later, accepted the tasks, and then found the internet full of CP fans and R18 fan fiction about his wife and his childhood friend? That wouldn’t do.
Dong Ling shuddered at the thought, pulled herself out of her thoughts, put her phone aside, and seeing that Song Mingzhi hadn’t come out yet, continued scrolling through her phone. While she was on the phone and lost in thought, Chen Shang Shang had already sent her several messages.
[Chen Shang Shang]: I have exclusive news, it’s so explosive, I’m not telling anyone but you and that other woman.
[Chen Shang Shang]: I saw Chen Fei with her arm around a man, shopping. While I was grabbing a bite to eat, I saw that same man shopping with Chen Fei’s mother.
[Chen Shang Shang]: I immediately messaged Chen Fei, she’s experienced in catching cheaters, but this time, she wasn’t surprised, she even said she knew.
[Chen Shang Shang]: Let me quote her exact words: “I’m tired too, so let him be with my mom.”
[Chen Shang Shang]: Are you confused? I thought Chen Fei dumped him, but she said they even slept together last night.
[Chen Shang Shang]: I ???
This period encompassed all of Dong Ling’s feelings at this moment.
Dong Ling: What kind of stomach does that guy have, eating two people’s soft rice? (Soft rice refers to a man living off a woman, often implying a parasitic relationship.)
[Chen Shang Shang]: Exactly, and this time, Chen Fei didn’t even fight with her mom, I feel like she’s becoming as twisted as her mother.
Dong Ling frowned, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say, so she sent a “Respect” emoji.
The bathroom door opened, and Dong Ling put away her phone, looking at Song Mingzhi.
Song Mingzhi was wearing a white shirt, water dripping from the ends of her hair, making parts of the fabric semi-transparent. Her face, free of makeup, looked a little cold.
Dong Ling remembered there was a small mole on her cheek, but it was too far away to see clearly now, but her gaze still subconsciously searched for it. When she met Song Mingzhi’s eyes, she felt it was a bit impolite and smiled at Song Mingzhi.
Then she smiled even wider, because…
[Task complete, main storyline progress +5%, current progress 40%.]
Dong Ling had never found the task system’s mechanical voice so pleasant before, it was like music to her ears.
But she asked, a little puzzled: [Dude, is it malfunctioning? Why did it suddenly give me 5%?]
021 explained happily: [It’s from the previous task, the one about investing in and producing a movie for the female lead. The reward is given after the movie is released, there might be a delay, it was just calculated today, but we’ve finally reached 40%, we’re almost halfway there!]
Dong Ling had indeed forgotten about this, after all, the task system wasn’t like a game interface, constantly displayed and reminding her of pending tasks.
It felt like suddenly finding money in an old coat pocket, a considerable amount, making one happy, even though it was her own money, it felt like finding free money.
Song Mingzhi blushed slightly from Dong Ling’s smile, for no other reason than that Dong Ling’s smile was too joyful and sweet, making the suspicious Song Mingzhi subconsciously think that perhaps Dong Ling hadn’t forgotten about last night’s drunken incident and was smiling because of it.
Song Mingzhi even thought, her mind wandering, that perhaps Dong Ling was a skilled hunter, teasing her with a strategic retreat.
She couldn’t figure it out.
“Have something to eat, I just answered a call for you, it was from Zuo Zhen.”
Dong Ling pushed the pastries in front of Song Mingzhi and told her what had just happened.
Song Mingzhi snapped back to reality from her thoughts. Hearing what Dong Ling said, she replied: “Turn it down, I’m not in a hurry to pursue fashion resources, there’s no need.”
If Song Mingzhi herself had answered Zuo Zhen’s call, she would probably have refused in a much colder tone.
She wasn’t very happy with those frivolous netizens calling Dong Ling “wife,” and how dare a mere magazine make such a request, asking Dong Ling to participate?
Dong Ling nodded without objection and enjoyed the pastries with Song Mingzhi.
…………
With the movie’s success, Song Mingzhi’s popularity soared, and film offers poured in like snowflakes.
Because the company’s plan was to have Song Mingzhi focus on movies, Zuo Zhen rejected many offers.
Movie production cycles were relatively long, and sometimes, due to uncontrollable factors, the release date could even be delayed. To secure better roles, Zuo Zhen was still making inquiries and networking.
While choosing scripts, to maintain Song Mingzhi’s popularity and increase her exposure, Zuo Zhen arranged for Song Mingzhi to be a guest on a currently popular variety show.
Each episode of the variety show was filmed in a different location, the general content was games, entertainment, eating, and so on. These alone weren’t enough to make it a hit, so the reason for its popularity was because it also incorporated a live streaming format.
Each guest had their own live stream room, and fans and viewers could choose based on their preferences. Because live streams couldn’t be edited, it added excitement and unpredictability.
For example, in the last two episodes, a seemingly fairy-like actress and a rich second-generation male idol, during their live streams, one couldn’t help but curse at the staff, and the other couldn’t pronounce the name of a luxury brand correctly, both becoming the target of ridicule.
There were also variety show regulars who gained even more fans and actors who experienced a resurgence in popularity because of their excellent live stream performance. The audience never knew what surprises they would see, so the anticipation was high.
When they learned that Song Mingzhi was going to be on this variety show, her new fans were very excited.
@SongJiejie’sSweetheart: Wonderful! I was worried that since Sister is focusing on movies, she wouldn’t have many commercial activities. I’m relieved now, Canghai Entertainment yyds! (yyds – forever god)
@AnZhiTingLan: After all, Sister is Canghai Entertainment’s main artist. I’ve never been so reassured following a celebrity, because Sister is a treasure, Canghai Entertainment and CEO Dong are forever gods!
@XiaoLanZhi: Everyone, remember to subtly promote Sister’s movie, “A Mysterious Person’s Funeral” is worth watching multiple times!
The “Song Zhong” CP fans were also very happy, because the other half of their CP wasn’t in the entertainment industry and kept a very low profile, they couldn’t find her at all, so seeing either one of them was enough.
@PleaseSendMeOff: Yay, more content! Although we can’t see them together, I’m super happy to see either one of them. CEO Dong is so mysterious, that video was even hidden by the official account, fortunately I saved it so I can watch it from time to time, CEO Dong is so beautiful, drools!
Song Mingzhi, a little puzzled, took a screenshot of this comment and sent it to Ji Yiling.
Song Mingzhi: What does “drools” mean?
[Ji Yiling]: An onomatopoeia expressing emotion, I guess?
Song Mingzhi: I know, what kind of emotion?
[Ji Yiling]: …Let me look it up for you.
[Ji Yiling]: Oh, oh, oh, I found it, it means… craving? Lusting?
[Ji Yiling]: I searched for similar sentences, for example, “Sister, you’re so hot, I want to be close to you, drools”
[Ji Yiling]: And “Sister, your legs are so long, drools”
Song Mingzhi rubbed her temples, she understood, frivolous netizens.
Song Mingzhi hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should remind Dong Ling not to appear in her live stream, but then she felt it would be too abrupt. Dong Ling wouldn’t appear on a variety show anyway, saying that would only cause misunderstanding.
Song Mingzhi dismissed the thought and started preparing for the variety show, watching past episodes to familiarize herself with the format.
She didn’t think she had much of a comedic personality, but she would do her best for work assignments.
The new episode of the variety show aired as scheduled, this time the location was a children’s amusement park.
The guests had to find NPCs hidden in the amusement park, get task cards from them, and begin their day’s mission.
Song Mingzhi looked at the keyword for her NPC: “Cat.”
The camera focused on Song Mingzhi, the viewers already guessing the location or key item.
On the other side, Dong Ling looked at the cat face mask in her hand and smiled mischievously.
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