Chapter 22: Brother Qi—Too Hard to Keep That Corner of the Mouth Down

“Yang, well done.”
“You truly are our dear little brother.”

Tang Yan and Qi Wei stepped forward together, their smiles carrying a hint of danger.

Hu Ge decisively began to beg for mercy, frequently shooting glances at Zhang Yang.

“Sister Tang Tang, Brother Qi, we still have our company’s junior brothers and sisters here.”
“Why not show some respect for our company’s top star?”
“Otherwise, it’ll be hard to manage the team later.”

Zhang Yang skillfully smoothed things over.

Tang Yan and Qi Wei, of course, wouldn’t really do anything outrageous; given an out, the latter smiled and said, “Apologies should be sincere, right?”

“I’ll treat you to dinner, I’ll definitely treat you to dinner.” Hu Ge was quick to take the hint.

“All right, then I’ll let you off this time.” Qi Wei nodded slightly, then turned to Zhang Yang and said, “Yang, come with us. Last time when we invited you to shoot the MV, it was so rushed we didn’t even get to eat together. I want to toast you.”

“It’s not easy to trick Old Hu into a meal. I won’t miss this for sure.” Zhang Yang agreed immediately.

Hu Ge glanced at him, instinctively saying, “That Western lunch the day before yesterday—I was just feeding the dog?”

Zhang Yang’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, Old Hu, you actually dared to insult Sister Shi Shi.”

Hu Ge fell silent.

He certainly didn’t want to offend Liu Shishi.

“Ahem.” Hu Ge cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject, “Why don’t you introduce the juniors to Brother Qi and Sister Tang?”

Zhang Yang stopped joking with Hu Ge and let the two behind him speak up. “This is Jiang Jinfu, and this is Gulnazar Baihetiyar.”

Jiang Jinfu and Naza immediately greeted them proactively. Naza withdrew the gaze she had placed on Zhang Yang and said, “My name is quite long; you can just call me Naza.”

For Jiang Jinfu, the two women merely nodded politely. With Hu Ge and Zhang Yang shining examples, they thought this newcomer signed by Tang Ren was just average.

But Naza caught their eyes several times. They found her excessively beautiful, her face full of collagen and her skin glowing with a luminous whiteness that made them envious. She would likely have a bright future.

Qi Wei enthusiastically grabbed Naza’s shoulder and smiled, “Naza, right? Stick close to us older sisters, we’ll take care of you.”

Tang Yan’s lips twitched slightly.

Qi Wei’s obsession with beauty was no secret inside or outside the circle.

Whether it was a handsome guy or a beautiful girl, she would be unable to resist the urge to make friends.

Of course, the friendships were just friendships. Good friends needed compatible personalities and no conflicting interests.

Naza clearly wasn’t on the same path as them, so there was no hostility.

“Brother Qi, step aside. If you’re taking Naza, I’ll take her.” Tang Yan pushed Qi Wei aside and said, “Shi Shi specifically told me to look after this little sister. When ‘Xuanyuan Sword’ starts filming, I’m the female lead, Shi Shi is second female lead, and Naza is third female lead. Naza and I are close sisters.”

Zhang Yang’s eyes flickered at that.

If he guessed right, Cai Yinong had already made arrangements for Naza to learn alongside Hu Ge.

“But can it really go as you wish?” Zhang Yang glanced subtly at Jiang Jinfu, full of anticipation.

After everyone had been introduced, Hu Ge glanced at the time and said, “Yang, Jinfu, Naza, come with me to meet the producer and director.”

The three had no objections. Led by Hu Ge, they went to greet the more influential figures in the crew, including Dong Xuan and Qiu Ze, who had just returned from the restroom.

After greetings, the director announced the next round of filming, involving scenes with Hu Ge and Dong Xuan.

Filming continued until noon, when the director raised a megaphone and announced a one-hour break for lunch.

“Time’s tight, so I won’t arrange for you to go to a restaurant. Boxed lunches are fine, right?” Hu Ge said to Zhang Yang and the others.

“We’re here to learn, not to cause trouble for the crew. Even if you arranged a restaurant, we wouldn’t go.” Zhang Yang spoke elegantly and, with Jiang Jinfu, actively helped the crew distribute the boxed lunches.

Since they said they’d teach Jiang Jinfu, they certainly wouldn’t be half-hearted.

It’s said that it’s easier to meet the king of hell than to deal with little devils. Getting along well with most people in the crew was essential.

Of course, if your star status is high enough, you can invite the crew to meals instead of doing odd jobs, or else you’ll be looked down upon.

After lunch, Zhang Yang patiently explained details to Jiang Jinfu and Naza.

He covered roles such as producer, director, assistant director, lighting, photography, crew, and the nuances of interacting with different people.

When afternoon filming began, Zhang Yang again guided Naza and Jiang Jinfu on positioning and key points.

At three o’clock, the director announced the day’s work was done, leaving an assistant director, a scriptwriter, and a crew team to handle the scenes where Zhang Yang made a cameo.

Hu Ge had already arranged this, so those left behind had no objections.

They arrived near an artificial lake by a building, where the assistant director began setting up camera positions.

While waiting, Qiu Ze approached Tang Yan, who was getting her makeup done, and said, “I booked a table at XX restaurant. Shall we have dinner together tonight?”

“Ah?” Tang Yan lifted her eyes in confusion. “Old Hu is treating tonight. I already agreed. Didn’t you agree too?”

“That kind of thing, just find an excuse to decline.” Qiu Ze said, “It’s not some important gathering. I rarely take girls out for dinner. Don’t you want to spend some one-on-one time with me?”

Tang Yan: ?

She wanted to ask what made him think she wanted to spend one-on-one time with him.

He was pursuing her, and she hadn’t even agreed yet.

Suddenly, she found Qiu Ze a bit narcissistic—he wasn’t even as good-looking as Zhang Yang, yet spoke so arrogantly.

This kind of narcissism made her feel… repelled?

She hadn’t even agreed, and he was already this way…

What if she did agree?

Tang Yan pondered how to brush him off.

Qiu Ze thought she was hesitating, coolly putting on sunglasses, “You decide. I don’t care either way.”

Tang Yan: “...”

If I refuse directly, wouldn’t that be too embarrassing?

Zhang Yang watched the scene from afar and said to Hu Ge, “Old Hu, the juniors are watching. Don’t mess around later.”

Hu Ge thought Zhang Yang was warning him not to mess up and nodded, “No problem. But Yang, you haven’t joined the crew for a while; don’t hold us back.”

“Just watch.” Zhang Yang’s eyes flickered as he called out to Tang Yan, “Tang Tang, come over quickly. Let’s go over the lines early, so we can nail it the first time and finish early.”

This gave Tang Yan a graceful exit. She immediately had the makeup artist stop and hurried over to Zhang Yang and Hu Ge, “Let’s go over the lines quickly. I didn’t eat enough at lunch, and I want to eat dinner early.”

Left standing in the wind, Qiu Ze was utterly flustered.

Qi Wei, who had watched the whole scene, turned her back and shrugged her shoulders.

Help, help, it’s so hard to control this smile at the corner of my mouth.