Chapter 36: Ai Dou

Too close.

Qi Xingchen could even clearly feel Bai Ye's snort on his ear drum.

He leans back, the window behind him, and Bai Ye, fearing he'll hit it, reaches behind his head--

"Dang!"

Qi Xingchen hit the back of his head on Bai Ye's hand with a muffled thud.

Bai Ye frowns, "Does it hurt?"

"Shampoo!" Qi Xingchen came inexplicably.

When he finished, he realized that he was slurring his words and patched them up with, "The shampoo I use smells good!"

"Well," Bai Ye smiled, drawing back his hand, "I know."

Qi Xingchen saw that the matter was over, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

At this point the driver, who had been watching a good show, finally spoke up, "Boss, where do I go?"

Qi Xingchen immediately called out the name of the restaurant, then turned to Bai Ye: "My treat this time haha, don't push it."

Bai Ye froze, "Okay, whatever you say."

When the boss gave the word, the driver drove to the restaurant as he was told. Qi Xingchen, realizing that there were many people in the car and that he should politely invite them, said tentatively, "Let's all go eat together later."

Xiao Man gives a "I'm a good judge of character" look, "No, thank you, I'm going home to get my beauty sleep."

"I'm going back to feed the cat." A Lun said.

The other staff members also said they had something to do, and Qi Xingchen prided herself on not wanting to say, "That's too bad, I'll invite you next time."

Xiao Man & A Lun & others: "......"

Why don't you try to persuade me a little more? This is too fake!

Bai Ye couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips.

Qi Xingchen called the owner of the restaurant and asked him to open the back door. With Bai Ye's current fame, going in through the front door might cause a big riot at the restaurant.

The owner said, "You can just come in from where I told you yesterday, there are other inconvenient guests today too, and the back door was open this morning."

Is there another big star coming? Qi Xingchen quickly thanked him.

Following Qi Xingchen's command, the nanny van stopped. Qi Xingchen put back the mask, "Brother Night, don't move, I'll go down first."

Bai Ye was set up plainly by his little fan and nodded his head really not moving.

Two minutes later, Qi Xingchen said that there was no danger, and Bai Ye followed him out of the car. Walking to the door, the owner of the restaurant waiting to greet the VIPs saw them and stared at them with wide eyes, "So you're together?!"

Qi Xingchen : "...... What does it mean?"

The restaurant owner and Bai Ye were sort of acquainted with each other, and he looked at Bai Ye, not knowing whether to say anything or not.

Bai Ye tensed his mouth and answered for him, "Actually, I ordered this restaurant yesterday."

Qi Xingchen: "Huh?"

Seeing Qi Xingchen's black question mark face, the boss reacted, "Oh, so the two of you booked the restaurant separately, but both booked it to me! You guys are quite, quite ...... How do you say that idiom?"

"Yeah, heart to heart, you guys are pretty heart to heart!"

...... A heart of gold?

How can you use such an adjective? Qi Xingchen's face turned red for the fourth time today!

Unsure of what reaction Bai Ye heard, he couldn't help but hook his eyes to his side from under the brim of his hat.

Then he realized Bai Ye also lowered his eyes to look at him, raising an eyebrow as he did so, "Maybe ...... rice follows Ai Dou bar."

.

This marvelous meal was good.

Bai Ye asked some questions about the Du Lanxin incident, Qi Xingchen was a bit hesitant, so he stopped asking, and just talked about the interesting story of "Poor Traveler" and what he was going to do next.

At the checkout, Qi Xingchen grabbed the bill. Unfortunately, the owner handed the bill directly to Bai Ye, who signed the check and said, "I'll take it this time, but next time it's your turn."

Hearing "next time", Qi Xingchen withdrew his hand from grabbing the order.

Qi Xingchen spent the next few days scrambling to read. Although he had fallen out with Du Lanxin, the contract for "Heart of the Ocean" was there, and not wanting to make any more blackmail about striking or breaking the contract, he dutifully entered the set with his suitcase in the late afternoon of the day before the opening ceremony.

The director's name is Shang Yuliang, just over fifty this year, and he is sitting in the audience of the Moby Dick Pavilion discussing the subplot with his assistant director.

Watching him walk past, Shang Yuliang said, "Why didn't our male number three go to the hotel first?"

Qi Xingchen screwed up the other day and indirectly publicized Heart of the Sea, so the director was okay with him.

"I've bought afternoon tea, so I'll bring it to you all before going to the hotel." Qi Xingchen took An Ran and Qin with him to distribute the tea to everyone in the venue.

This kind of thing should have been done by the agent, for the current Qi Xingchen's situation, the crew up to the director, down to the field work know, did not poke him in the heart, together with a smile and shouted, "Thank you Mr. Qi."

"Don't call me teacher," Qi Xingchen quickly waved his hand, "I'm the youngest in this arena, so it's more like calling you teacher. If you guys keep calling me that, I'm going to be a liar."

The assistant director teased him, "How do you play it?"

Qi Xingchen : "I'm tweeting your recordings!"

The crowd heard that he was making a fool of himself and burst into laughter.

The assistant director also laughed and muttered to Shang Yuliang, "This kid is pretty funny."

"I hope I'm that resourceful when I'm filming," Shang Yuliang said noncommittally, "I like actors whose hearts are in their performances."

After successfully swiping her face, Qi Xingchen greeted the commercial guide and went back to the hotel.

"Tomorrow there's a script reading at 6:00 a.m. and a kickoff ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Remember not to be late." Shang Yuliang reminds.

"Thank you, Director Shang, I know." Qi Xingchen silently took note.

To facilitate filming, the crew has booked a hotel outside of the Baisha Harbor Marine World, which is about a five-minute drive away.

Qi Xingchen had just gotten out of his Buick, when he saw that a nanny car, Mercedes Benz license plate, had also stopped next to him. The door of the car opened, first jumped down two bodyguards dressed as men, one opened the sun umbrella, the other hands crossed on the abdomen, very disciplined.

"Which big star is making such a big show," An Ran leaned in close to Qi Xingchen, "Feng Qingyuan?"

Feng Qingyuan has a good reputation in the industry, practicing for more than ten years without a single scandal, no hype, no demon, is a rare academy of actors. Qi Xingchen shook his head, "Unlike, let's wait for him and go up together."

We'll be working together for a month soon, and it seems rude not to say hello when we run into each other.

An Ran stood obediently behind Qi Xingchen and after a minute, finally saw the big star.

The big star was dressed in a casual suit with an ankle peeking out and a pair of Valentino leather shoes, polished and oiled.

Hair is the more popular Korean two-eighth Liu Hai, high nose and sharp chin, sunglasses cover most of the face.

An Ran whispered, "So that's him."

Qi Xingchen: "Who?"

"Xu Sheng, twenty-six this year, is the child of a coal owner's family. Relying on the fact that his father has a mine, he got his father to invest money to make a few web series, and is now hanging around in the second or third tier," An Ran paused, "Xingchen, don't get too close to him in the future."

Qi Xingchen: "Why?"

"In the past, when he was filming a web series, he was so arrogant that he didn't look down on wage earners - he said "wage earners", in his opinion, newcomers with no background are wage earners, just like the stagehands who move the props. Now that he's in a star-studded drama, he's going to skyrocket."

An Ran mimicked the voice of a monkey, and Qi Xingchen couldn't help but snort with laughter at her amusement.

At that moment Xu Sheng saw them, and Qi Xingchen, knowing he was a newcomer, stepped forward and extended his hand, "Brother Sheng, what a coincidence."

Xu Sheng, however, didn't shake his hand or take off his sunglasses, but looked at him, "Do I know you?"

As a matter of fact, Qi Xingchen's company has been making a lot of noise, and everyone in the crew knows him, so how could Xu Sheng not recognize him?

By saying so, I am only categorizing him as a wage earner.

Qi Xingchen didn't move and withdrew his hand, "Looks like Brother Sheng didn't do his homework before entering the group, I'm Lin Xiao's character, Qi Xingchen."

"...... Ah, " Xu Sheng face instantly pulls down, fearing that there are paparazzi around, and reluctantly says, "I read it a few days ago and forgot about it."

After saying that, he lifted his leg and walked towards the hotel. Qi Xingchen realized what kind of person he was and did not want to communicate with him more, following behind him into the hotel.

After checking in, they enter the elevator together and the bodyguard presses the thirty-fourth floor for Xu Sheng.

The higher the floor, the more expensive the room rate. Shang Yuliang has rooms on the second, 32nd, 34th and top floors.

The second floor is for the cast and crew, the thirty-second floor is for the supporting cast, the thirty-fourth floor is for the male and female leads, and the top floor has three pool rooms with ocean views, where the business director himself and the chief producer live.

Xu Sheng was able to go up to the thirty-fourth floor, and it was out of his own pocket. He originally wanted to pack the remaining sea view room on the top floor, but the front desk said that it was reserved for the shareholders of the hotel, not for booking, so he was almost angry with the front desk fight.

Remembering that he had just been sarcastically criticized for not doing his homework, Xu Sheng was furious and reprimanded the bodyguard who was in front of him: "Why are you so rude? Why don't you press the floor for Xiao Qi when he comes in?"

The bodyguard sniffed and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Qi, how many floors are you going up?"

As an actor in Heart of the Sea, Xu Sheng must have known that the supporting cast would have to live on the thirty-second floor, but instead of saying so outright, he purposely asked the security guard to ask Qi Xingchen.

When Qi Xingchen said "32" and compared it with his "34", the gap between the rich and the poor appeared immediately, and he could take revenge for what he had just done.

Xu Sheng kept shaking his legs in triumph, waiting for Qi Xingchen to "make a fool of himself". But the next moment, Qi Xingchen said, "No, I'm done, thank you."

Finished? Thirty-four floors?

Hotels near attractions are much more expensive unlike other places. This one in particular was an international five-star resort hotel. The thirty-fourth floor suite was quoted at four thousand five hundred a day, and thirteen thousand five hundred dollars would be gone in a month.

The top floor sea view rooms are even more expensive, 7,000 a day, which is more than 200,000 dollars a month.

Seeing that this person is dressed in ordinary clothes, and does not look like he can pay for his own suite, Xu Sheng's eyeballs turned, "...... The first thing you need to do is to look for Tao Tao.

"Well, seeing each other again so soon, I'll look for her to catch up." Qi Xingchen really intended to do so.

Xu Sheng did not say anything, thinking that this time the face did not hit, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

"Ding~" the elevator stops on the thirty-fourth floor, and Qi Xingchen, with few things and only one suitcase, gestures to go out first.

Stepping out of the elevator, Tao Tao was talking and laughing with a middle-aged man, walking this way together. Qi Xingchen beckoned, "Tao Tao!"

"Aiya, Xingchen," Tao Tao's eyes curved with a smile, "You're here early. Come, let me introduce you."

Qi Xingchen walked over, Tao Tao pointed to the middle-aged man, "This is Mr. Feng Qingyuan, the male lead, my partner."

Qi Xingchen politely said, "Hello, Mr. Feng."

"This is Qi Xingchen."

"It's Lin Xiao," Feng Qingyuan said as he shook hands with Qi Xingchen, "He's a good-looking young man, he fits the role in the script."

"You are too kind, Mr. Feng." Qi Xingchen bowed and returned the handshake.

Xu Sheng, who got off the elevator behind Qi Xingchen, saw that this side was starting to socialize and, unwilling to be left behind, rushed in to say hello.

Feng Qingyuan exchanged pleasantries with Xu Sheng and continued with the previous topic, "Xiao Qi, what I said is true. As the saying goes, beauty is in the bones but not in the skin, your bones are very good, just like Tao Tao, you are a natural beauty."

In the original text, the main purpose of this sentence is to show that the heroine is quite beautiful, and all men appreciate her. Qi Xingchen, who was flattered, did not take it to heart and thanked her implicitly.

Xu Sheng, seeing Feng Qingyuan praising Qi Xingchen and not praising him, wrinkled his eyebrows in displeasure and took off his sunglasses.

Unfortunately, this topic has passed, and Feng Qingyuan never mentioned it again.

The four of them stood and chatted for a few more minutes before Tao Tao looked at the time, "Xingchen, Xiao Sheng, Brother Yuan and I won't talk to you anymore, Director Shang wants to see us for something."

Qi Xingchen: "Okay, be safe. See you in the morning."

"By the way, Xingchen," Tao Tao said, "which room do you live in, I can come to play with you sometime."

"I live--"

"Xiao Qi should be the same as me!" Not waiting for Qi Xingchen to finish, Xu Sheng snaps, "We were both staying on the thirty-second floor, but I've chartered a suite on this floor again. Which one are you staying in, Xingchen? I'd like to come and play with you too."

After finishing his gibberish in one breath, Xu Sheng squinted at Qi Xingchen, the smugness on his face obvious.

Qi Xingchen lazily ignored him and waved his door card, "I live on the top floor, number one, you guys can come find me anytime, I'm in a small scene, I'll have lots of time to play with you guys."

Top One ......

The original room reserved for shareholders is for Qi Xingchen .....

"Ka-ching-"

Xu Sheng's plastic door card in his hand pinches out a crack from the tremendous force of his hand.