Chapter 56: Old Beijing Chicken Roll p1
The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Zijing regretted using his unfamiliarity with the script as an excuse. Director Pan was a renowned director whom many crews couldn’t even get. Even Ji Junxin, the biggest star in the crew, would have to humbly apologize and correct her mistakes if scolded by him. And although Director Pan had a temper, he wasn’t the type to deliberately find fault. If he pointed out a problem, it was a real problem… Zhang Zijing’s impulsive retort was immediately followed by deep regret.
His outburst wasn’t entirely due to Director Pan’s scolding. He had been tormented the previous day and was still fuming. He had thought he could get some rest today, but… he was stuck filming with Jiang Duo again.
After Ji Junxin and the others left the previous day, they had filmed Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s scenes. Although they were scenes together, most of the lines and actions were Zhang Zijing’s. He was carrying the scenes. As Director Pan had scolded Jiang Duo yesterday, he couldn’t understand why some takes were NGed. In those scenes, Jiang Duo only needed to sit, occasionally smile at the emperor. Even with such simple requirements, she still managed to forget to react, causing NGs. Since Jiang Duo mostly just had to sit, stand, or smile, the NGs didn’t affect her much. But Zhang Zijing was the one who suffered, repeating his lines over and over, exhausting him. And there was a scene where Jiang Duo fed him wine. Although the cup was small, and it was just water, the repeated NGs meant he had to drink, and drink, and drink. Director Pan didn’t allow him to use an empty cup. In the November weather, he drank so much cold water that his stomach felt like ice, and he had diarrhea all night.
Considering they were from the same company and had a good relationship before, and Jiang Duo, who caused the repeated NGs, had already been scolded by Director Pan, Zhang Zijing wasn’t going to hold it against her. But what was that just now? As Zhang Zijing was thinking about how to smooth things over, Jiang Duo spoke up. Heh, he had just offended Director Pan, and she rushed over to grab his sleeve, even glaring at him. Was she trying to show Director Pan that he would have confronted him if it weren’t for her intervention? And her sincere and quick apology, along with her promise to do better, contrasted sharply with his earlier outburst, making it easy for her to gain Director Pan’s favor.
Although Zhang Zijing had been tormented the previous day, the NGs were mostly Jiang Duo’s fault. If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have been NGing so much today due to his physical discomfort. Heh, now she was acting like the good guy, ignoring the fact that it was her fault!
One thought after another raced through Zhang Zijing’s mind, his frustration growing. He wasn’t going to cooperate with Jiang Duo’s attempt to “rescue” him. If she took all the credit, what was left for him? Zhang Zijing pulled his sleeve away from Jiang Duo’s hand with a look of disdain.
Jiang Duo, oblivious to Zhang Zijing’s anger, which was directed not only at Director Pan but also at her, had her rare act of kindness backfire. If she knew the reason for his attitude, she probably wouldn’t even bother being kind in the future.
“Alright, take a break. We’ll try again later.” Since someone had intervened, Director Pan dropped his sarcastic tone. The braised pig’s feet would arrive in a few hours, hmph, he would welcome them happily, not bothering with them anymore.
Although Director Pan had a temper, if someone apologized sincerely, he wouldn’t keep berating them. This was much better than many more famous and ill-tempered directors. Jiang Duo knew this clearly, which was how she had survived yesterday’s NG-fest. It was all thanks to her timely apologies and good attitude.
Now that they were dismissed, Zhang Zijing wanted to say something to appease Director Pan and apologize, but seeing Jiang Duo standing next to him, her expression practically screaming “See, I saved you,” he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Some people were really full of themselves… Zhang Zijing, his face dark, suppressing his anger, suddenly felt a cramp in his stomach and, without saying a word or even glancing at Jiang Duo, quickly walked away. Damn it, why didn’t all that medicine last night work?
Ungrateful! Jiang Duo, unaware of Zhang Zijing’s suffering, flung her hand and left too.
Zhang Zijing went to the bathroom several times, then politely declined his assistant’s suggestion of asking for time off to see a doctor, and stubbornly made his way back to the set, clutching the wall for support.
It was truly self-inflicted. After confronting Director Pan, asking for time off now would be a direct slap in the face. Even Zhang Zijing wasn’t that stupid. He could imagine that offending Director Pan wouldn’t end well for him. So, it was all Jiang Duo’s fault! Zhang Zijing, his face dark, gritting his teeth, returned to the set and continued filming the… love scene with Jiang Duo.
Mi Hongdou, sound asleep in the chauffeured car, had no idea that in her absence, a scene she had longed to see in her previous life was unfolding: the infighting of the scumbags.
Even with all his efforts, Zhang Zijing couldn’t overcome his physical discomfort. He tried his best, but only slightly reduced the number of NGs. Director Pan remained displeased.
More than an hour later, the almost collapsing Zhang Zijing saw Jiang Lingling and her assistant appear on set. Jiang Lingling was usually arrogant and overbearing on set, and Zhang Zijing disliked girls with such flamboyant personalities. But at this moment, he was overjoyed to see her! He almost wanted to cry! Finally, there were replacements! Zhang Zijing was so excited that he forgot he was filming. Unsurprisingly, he NGed again…
To his surprise, this time, besides the “cut,” Director Pan didn’t scold him at all. He didn’t even look at him.
Director Pan’s attention was on Jiang Lingling, his gaze scanning her up and down, then shifting to her assistant, giving her the same thorough scrutiny. Then, his frown deepened.
Where were the pig’s feet!
Jiang Lingling, oblivious to Director Pan’s inner thoughts, happily walked over to him, shook her wristwatch, and said with a smile, “11:47, I’m back before twelve!”
“Okay.” Director Pan, still hopeful, clasped his hands behind his back and casually circled Jiang Lingling, scrutinizing her. After confirming that there was nowhere on her or her assistant that could be hiding pig’s feet, his heart sank. What had kept him going after two days of NGs? The heartbroken Director Pan slowly shuffled back to his director’s chair.
Director Pan actually had a rather imposing appearance, especially when he was silent. So, when his face fell in disappointment, the contrast was quite stark, even… a little pitiful?
Why… what did she say… Wasn’t returning before twelve his order yesterday? Facing the silent, seemingly deflated Director Pan, Jiang Lingling felt startled and looked at her assistant for help.
The assistant, who had been driving close to the speed limit for five hours, looked a little pale, but she quickly understood Director Pan’s thoughts. “Pig’s feet…” She mouthed the words to Jiang Lingling.
Jiang Lingling suddenly realized and hurried over to Director Pan. “Ahem, Director Pan, about the pig’s feet…”
Director Pan, who had been listlessly picking at the back of his chair, heard the key words and abruptly looked up, his gaze sharp as an eagle’s. Jiang Lingling was startled, but she was also someone who had seen the world. She paused briefly, then continued, “The pig’s feet, I ordered them yesterday. But the master chef’s secret recipe braised pig’s feet is always made at a specific time. For special orders like mine, they have to be made fresh. They said they only start preparing after receiving the order, and it takes three days. I’ve arranged for someone to deliver them as soon as they’re ready. They’ll be here the day after tomorrow.”
Director Pan listened intently to every word, then his expression returned to normal, and he waved his hand dismissively. “It’s okay, no rush.”
Really? … Heh… Jiang Lingling only dared to laugh inwardly. The assistant, who understood Director Pan’s feelings even better, was now blushing after her earlier paleness.
“Three days, shouldn’t they arrive tomorrow then?” Director Pan picked at his chair, his gaze distant, as if just making casual conversation.
“The day of the order doesn’t count towards the three days…” Jiang Lingling swore she didn’t see the flicker of disappointment in Director Pan’s eyes again.
Well, the pig’s feet would arrive eventually, and his wife would get to eat them. Director Pan mentally prepared himself, looked at Jiang Lingling, and pointed to the resting area. “Go take a break. We’ll start filming your scenes when Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou arrive, continuing from where you left off yesterday.”
“They’re not here yet?” Jiang Lingling, who thought she was the last to arrive, checked her watch. It was past noon.
“Oh, Qiao Rubai said we could continue filming other scenes this morning, and Ji Junxin would be back in the afternoon.” Director Pan looked at the stunned Jiang Lingling and delivered the final blow, “I thought you were all coming back in the afternoon. You’re quite early.” Without the pig’s feet, he didn’t know why she came so early, just to disappoint him earlier? …
There were many sad things in the world that Jiang Lingling, by chance, had never experienced. For example, in kindergarten, or elementary, middle, or high school, during breaks, girls would go to the bathroom in pairs, and there would always be one poor, lonely soul who had to go alone. Or, in a dorm with seven people, everyone would pair up for meals and classes, and there would be one poor soul who had no one to save a seat for them during meals, no one to remind them about classes, who could only stand and eat alone, or miss classes unintentionally. Jiang Lingling hadn’t gone to school, so she had successfully avoided these situations. However, some people were destined to be hurt…
No… no… no… silence, please, just stare into space, as something expands rapidly, like a balloon being inflated.
Oh… that was probably the legendary… psychological shadow area of a single dog.
When Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin arrived at the set, it was past 3 PM.
Director Pan finally released Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo, who had been tormented for two days.
Zhang Zijing wanted to wait for Ji Junxin to be alone so he could chat with her and perhaps find out why the three of them had suddenly left together. The three of them, one from Qiong Yu, one from Mengguan, and one a freelancer, suddenly leaving in the middle of filming, something important must have happened. Zhang Zijing was curious and had even asked his assistant to investigate, but there was no news from Qiong Yu or Mengguan recently, well, at least not on the surface. Zhang Zijing wanted to wait, but… his stomach couldn’t wait. Almost as soon as Director Pan dismissed him and Jiang Duo, telling them to come back tomorrow morning, Zhang Zijing heard his stomach rumbling again. So, he had to leave quickly, without even saying goodbye, let alone chatting.
“Quite the temper.” Director Pan, who had been NGed for two days and still hadn’t received his pig’s feet, was increasingly displeased with the impolite Zhang Zijing.
Zhang Zijing’s pale face suggested that something must have happened on set these past two days. Seeing the scumbags unhappy, Mi Hongdou was happy. Her gossip senses tingled, but glancing at Jiang Duo, who was saying goodbye to Director Pan and seemed to be looking in their direction, Mi Hongdou decisively pulled Ji Junxin towards the backstage area.
Sigh, Qiao Rubai was really unreliable, taking so long to deal with just a few people. Thinking about having to film with Jiang Duo for so long, Mi Hongdou worried about Ji Junxin’s state of mind.
But… perhaps… since they hadn’t become friends yet in this life, Jiang Duo and the Jiang family’s scheming wouldn’t hurt Ji Junxin as much as Lu Gaoshi’s betrayal. Mi Hongdou secretly glanced at Ji Junxin, who was obediently following her. Besides a brief stiffening of her expression when she saw Jiang Duo, she seemed fine now. Mi Hongdou felt a little more reassured.
At this moment, Qiao Rubai, who was at the Jiangcheng Children’s Amusement Park, suddenly felt an itch in her nose and sneezed several times.
“You’ve caught a cold. It’s so cold, and you insisted on eating ice cream earlier.” Yang Lianyi handed the little girl she was holding to Qiao Rubai. “Here, hold her, you’ll warm up.”
Qiao Rubai, her face full of black lines, held the round, heavy little girl dressed in a light yellow cat costume. “So you’re actually giving her to me because she’s too heavy?”
Yang Lianyi twirled her skirt and walked away.
And she criticized her for eating ice cream? Who was the one wearing such a thin dress in this freezing weather at the amusement park! Qiao Rubai took a deep breath and followed.
One step, two steps, three steps… The little girl in her arms was so heavy that after a few steps, Qiao Rubai felt slightly breathless.
“Miemie, can you walk for a bit?” Qiao Rubai asked the little girl.
Yang Miemie, in her cat costume, tugged at her paw gloves and looked up at Qiao Rubai with her big, round eyes. Just as Qiao Rubai was hopefully anticipating some consideration, Yang Miemie closed her eyes, kicked her legs, tilted her head, and went completely limp in Qiao Rubai’s arms.
Are you playing dead? And you even kicked! Who was the one who threw a tantrum and insisted on having ice cream when Yang Lianyi went to the bathroom, saying she would only have one bite! And who was the one who suddenly stuffed the ice cream into her mouth when Yang Lianyi came back! And who was the one who had to lie and say she wanted it, and then eat that freezing ice cream, which wasn’t even her favorite taro flavor!
Qiao Rubai took a deep breath and poked the little girl in her arms. “Taro flavored ice cream, want some?”
The limp little girl in her arms immediately opened her eyes and looked around, not seeing any ice cream, but Qiao Rubai’s mischievous smile.
She closed her eyes, kicked her legs, and tilted her head… Yang Miemie flawlessly executed the standard “playing dead” routine.
Qiao Rubai, unable to rub her chest, which had just been kicked by the little girl, felt a pang of regret for her own actions.
So good at playing dead at just three years old, Qiao Rubai thought, not noticing Yang Lianyi returning.
“Let me hold her.” Yang Lianyi effortlessly scooped up the little girl and glanced at Qiao Rubai. “Hmph, you can’t even hold her and didn’t even ask for my help.”
“Why would I ask for your help? If I did, you would just ask me to join Mengguan again.” Qiao Rubai smiled. “Why don’t you merge Mengguan with Qiong Yu? It’s the same thing.”
“I don’t want to. I’m not interested in Qiong Yu. I’m interested in you~” Yang Lianyi gave Qiao Rubai a charming smile.
Qiao Rubai didn’t speak, her face feeling warm. She hoped it wouldn’t turn red.
Yang Lianyi smiled triumphantly. She was even cuter when she was shy. Not being able to have her in Mengguan was a huge loss. Although Qiao Rubai’s shy and restrained demeanor was adorable, Yang Lianyi knew her limits and didn’t continue teasing her. She even considerately walked a little faster, giving Qiao Rubai some space to cool down. The boss of Qiong Yu was shy, how exciting~ The little girl, nestled in Yang Lianyi’s arms, knowing that her aunt wouldn’t let her walk, happily rolled around and perched on Yang Lianyi’s shoulder, facing Qiao Rubai, who was walking behind them. She smiled, revealing a few baby teeth.
What a clever little girl, was she also reborn?
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