Chapter 1571: Flattered
He had changed into his pajamas, towel hanging over his head as he dried his hair with it.
His dripping hair was fixed with a few vigorous rubs.
Han Zhuoling then threw his towel aside in impatience when his hair was partially dried.
He lifted his head to meet Han Zhuofeng, who was looking at him strangely.
"What's with your expression?" Han Zhuoling was confused.
"Nothing, nothing." Han Zhuofeng might be saying that, but his face said otherwise.
Han Zhuoling looked at him curiously. Right then, Lin Liye came out with her phone.
She saw Han Zhuoling and, instead of snarking at him for being single as usual, she said especially lovingly and gladly, "Done bathing? Then go rest early. Do you have anything going on tomorrow? Is your work busy? Tomorrow's a Saturday. Rest as much as you can."
Han Zhuoling was even more puzzled. "I still have to go to the office tomorrow. I attended the gala tonight. There's still some unfinished work."
"Oh." Lin Liye nodded and didn't say things like "Why not go for a date this Saturday?" Rather, she said, "Then don't continue working later. Go sleep."
He grunted in agreement. That was his plan too.
Lin Liye then continued, "Blow dry your hair before you sleep or you'll get a headache tomorrow."
Han Zhuoling was totally "flattered"; Lin Liye was rarely so kindly.
"Mom, are you alright?" Han Zhuoling asked.
Lin Liye: "..."
This rascal. Can he really get the girl?
"Rascal. I'm caring for you and you're asking me that?" Lin Liye then smiled at him. "Alright now, go rest."
Han Zhuoling: "..."
It's not his hallucination. Lin Liye was smiling at him a lot today!
***
Over at the other side, Old Mrs. Han watched a few of Shi Xiaoya's videos delightedly and showed them to Old Mr. Han too.
"This girl is fair and neat and really pretty. Especially when she smiles, her eyes become crescents." Old Mrs. Han was pleased. "I wonder if she's as lively when she's offline. It'd be great if she is. That Zhuoling is too composed and dull, it'll be good for him to have someone with an opposite character complementing his."
Ever since the issue regarding Xia Yixin, Old Mr. Han hadn't dared to draw his conclusions too early. "How can you judge anything concrete based on a video? You still have to know her personally. It's the same with celebrities. Their personality in private can be different from the one in the spotlight."
"That's true." Old Mrs. Han agreed with Old Mr. Han's words on this rare occasion. "But Zhuoli and Lu Man have seen the girl before, and they have a good impression of her. Plus, Zhuoling likes her. The eldest never liked anyone, and he finally fell for someone. I trust his judgment too, unlike his father's."
"Don't mention that unfilial son." Talking about him only made Old Mr. Han feel wretched. "Aren't you insulting Zhuoling when you compare him to his father?"
Old Mrs. Han: "..."
Gosh, this old guy has quite a sharp tongue.
"Since both Zhuoli and Lu Man know her, let's ask them when they come tomorrow," Old Mr. Han said.
Getting such unexpected good news made Old Mrs. Han too excitable to sleep.
***
Meanwhile, Han Zhuoling returned to his bedroom, planning to work a bit more. However, after switching on his computer, he found that he was unable to do a thing.
Chapter 1572: I'm Not Suspecting You
The screen showed the blank white background of the word document with a simple black font, looking plain and boring.
But Shi Xiaoya's face appeared on this boring page out of nowhere.
She looked just how she did in her videos, all smiles.
Han Zhuoling shook his head furiously, and his screen appeared normal once more.
He inhaled deeply, then closed the screen.
Recalling something, he picked up his phone and opened his Weibo.
Notifications about his fans were typically plenty, since he would garner many new followers every day. But he never bothered about those.
He clicked on his own "Following" tab and saw Shi Xiaoya's name heading the section.
Now, the sign beside her name showed that they were both following each other.
The corner of Han Zhuoling's mouth lifted; he was feeling good.
Returning to his main page, he noticed that his last Weibo post was a repost of Survivor's first wave of publicity.
The comments beneath were from people surprised that Han Zhuoling would help Survivor publicize.
People in the know revealed that the Han Corporation had invested in Survivor.
These were the early comments.
The newest ones were left by those curious as to why he followed Shi Xiaoya.
Why?
Han Zhuoling thought, because he wanted to. Why did there have to be so many reasons?
And then he saw a comment stating, "Young Master Ling, look at the ones you're following. They're all your brothers or friends from the eight great families, and they're all excellent gentlemen. Shi Xiaoya is the first lady you've followed."
"The only rose among the grass!"
"The list is impressive. Only Shi Xiaoya is a lady among all the guys. Especially eye-catching."
Han Zhuoling didn't realize that, and after looking at the netizens' comments, he went to look at his "Following" list again.
He didn't feel anything before this, but now, he felt that there was something ambiguous.
Shi Xiaoya's name laid there quietly, especially strange.
Just then, his WeChat notification rang.
Switching over to WeChat, he saw the notification was from Han Zhuoli.
No matter what he said or didn't say, his attitude had more than answered Lin Liye's question.
Hence, Han Zhuoli felt it was better to inform Han Zhuoling.
Otherwise, his brother would still be in the dark by the time Lin Liye and Old Mrs. Han had gone to see Shi Xiaoya.
After seeing Han Zhuoli's message, Han Zhuoling naturally knew why Lin Liye was so kind to him just now.
But he didn't explain it to Lin Liye.
Thinking about it, he asked Han Zhuoli, "Do you have Shi Xiaoya's number?"
Not long after, Han Zhuoli replied, "Apart from the ones in our family, I don't have any other females' contact number."
Han Zhuoling: "..."
Why was he explaining this?!
Han Zhuoling: "Lu Man's beside you, right?"
Han Zhuoli: "My answer is the same even if she's not!"
Han Zhuoli then forced his phone into Lu Man's hands. "You can check if you don't believe me."
"..." Lu Man was speechless. "I'm not even suspecting you. Why should I check?"
She then asked in surprise, "That aside, Big Brother has known Shi Xiaoya for quite some time yet he doesn't even have her contact number?"
Her words reminded Han Zhuoli of the fact, and he parroted her words at Han Zhuoling.
Han Zhuoling: "..."
"Why would I want a girl's phone number? For what purpose?" Han Zhuoling said defiantly.
Chapter 1573: Really Think He Was Stupid?
Lu Man: "Hehe."
"Tsk tsk." Han Zhuoli turned to look at Lu Man, his finger tapping on his screen. "Look at him, how's he gonna get the girl? Saying he doesn't need a girl's contact number? For what? He doesn't know for what purpose?"
"That's right. Unlike you, who used the excuse of lending me money to exchange phone numbers and WeChat, even lying about not having Alipay." Lu Man looked at him with a raised brow.
And then, when they were dating, she realized that he was so adept at using Alipay.
Han Zhuoli: "..."
"If it hadn't done it like that, how would I have gotten together with you?" Han Zhuoli wrapped his arms Lu Man's shoulders. "I'm so glad now that I was so thick-skinned then."
"Me too." Glad that he was brazen and persistent enough back then.
Or else, with her attitude in the past, being so afraid of relationships, she might have missed him.
After a while, Han Zhuoli noticed that Lu Man was searching for something on her phone.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
She opened her call history. "Shi Xiaoya's number! Her WeChat could be found with her number."
Lu Man found it and sent it to Han Zhuoli.
"Send the number to Big Brother, and tell him to add Shi Xiaoya on WeChat using her number," Lu Man explained. "I'm afraid he won't even think of that if you don't tell him."
Han Zhuoli: "..."
Seems about right.
Hence, Han Zhuoli did as Lu Man instructed and sent Shi Xiaoya's number to Han Zhuoling.
"This is Shi Xiaoya's number. Man Man just gave it to me. You can add her on WeChat through her number," Han Zhuoli instructed. "Don't forget!"
Han Zhuoling: "..."
These two kids, did they really think he was stupid?
"Got it," Han Zhuoling replied.
And he saved Shi Xiaoya's phone number.
Indeed, after saving it, he could search for Shi Xiaoya on his WeChat.
Han Zhuoling hovered at this page before choosing to add her as a good friend.
Thus, Shi Xiaoya received Han Zhuoling's friend request before she went to sleep.
Shi Xiaoya stared at her phone, disbelieving. Rubbing her eyes, she finally confirmed she wasn't imagining Han Zhuoling's request.
She pressed on her chest, for her heart had started beating fast.
Shi Xiaoya pressed on "Agree" nervously, and her finger slipped and almost clicked "Reject."
She sighed in relief, seeing that she didn't make a mistake.
She got scared thinking about what would have happened if she had rejected him by accident.
With the great Young Master Ling adding her as a good friend of his own volition, Lord knows how angry he would be if she rejected him.
Shi Xiaoya exhaled, no longer in the mood to do any stretching exercises.
But she just had supper and didn't dare to sleep so early, so she stood on tiptoes against the wall.
And opened a conversation with Han Zhuoling.
Strangely, when she's not in front of him, she had no idea what to say.
Because it's a cold, impersonal screen, and words couldn't directly express how a person felt, it was easy to create misunderstandings.
Shi Xiaoya struggled to think of what to say. Han Zhuoling had added her as a good friend, and she felt rude and arrogant if she said nothing.
Finally, Shi Xiaoya thought of the tie Han Zhuoling had left behind.
She quickly keyed in, "Young Master Ling, you left your tie at my house."
Chapter 1574: Boyfriend
She then sent the message.
Afterward, Shi Xiaoya scrutinized it. She didn't feel anything was wrong when she typed it just now.
But looking at it again, she felt the words were somewhat ambiguous.
Like Han Zhuoling had spent the night in her home.
And like when he woke, he'd left his tie in her house.
Someone who didn't know the truth would probably assume this if they saw the text.
Shi Xiaoya's fingertips trembled, and Han Zhuoling replied not long after.
"Sorry. I took it off and forgot about it."
Shi Xiaoya never expected Han Zhuoling to reply this quickly, just as she never expected him to add her as a friend.
Shi Xiaoya instantly answered, "It's fine. I'll deliver it to your office on Monday, alright? Or I can send it by post, that's fine too."
Shi Xiaoya quickly added the last, worried that Han Zhuoling might be inconvenienced by her appearance at the Han Corporation.
Who could say what others would think when she, a woman, delivered Han Zhuoling his tie?
Shi Xiaoya wasn't in a hurry to return it to him, feeling that Han Zhuoling didn't lack this one tie.
Otherwise, meeting him on a Saturday or Sunday would be weird.
Han Zhuoling saw Shi Xiaoya's answer and considered for a moment before typing, "Do you have work tomorrow?"
Shi Xiaoya was in the midst of typing when a notification for a video call popped out.
The caller was Han Zhuoling.
He was video calling with WeChat.
Shocked, Shi Xiaoya's palpitating heart rose to her throat.
Though she had met him and spoke to him often...
It felt different now.
Video-calling him was strange and she was nervous.
As Shi Xiaoya was about to sleep, she had taken off her makeup and was bare-faced.
She dashed to the mirror and found herself acceptable.
Then she immediately became annoyed. Wasn't it just Han Zhuoling video-calling?
Did she have to be this worried?
Worried that Han Zhuoling would think she looked ugly?
What was there to be nervous about?
Han Zhuoling's not even her boyfriend.
Han Zhuoling probably couldn't tell the difference no matter what she looked like.
So what if she's ugly?
But thinking of the word "boyfriend" made her blush.
Her phone was still ringing at the side, and Shi Xiaoya finally came back to her senses.
Afraid that the call would end if she didn't pick up after a long time, or that Han Zhuoling would hang up thinking she was reluctant to pick up...
Shi Xiaoya quickly answered, "Young Master Ling?"
In the video, Han Zhuoling wore deep blue pajamas.
His hair was dried, and his fringe covered his forehead, hanging just above his brows.
It was completely different from how he usually fixed his hair.
The him now was more relaxed, looking younger than before.
But his good looks ensured that he could hold any hairstyles without looking unsightly.
He now appeared younger and more approachable.
But Shi Xiaoya didn't expect that he would be in his sleepwear and so relaxed.
Catching sight of this other, private sight of him made Shi Xiaoya slightly dazed, and she blushed unconsciously.
"What took you so long?" Han Zhuoling frowned.
They were texting previously, meaning that her phone was in her hand.
He almost hung up when she hadn't answered after a long time, assuming that she didn't wish to talk.
Chapter 1575: Han Zhuoling Smiled Upon Seeing That
Meanwhile, Shi Xiaoya also dressed comfortably at home. It was almost winter, but not yet time to turn on the heater.
Her home was air-conditioned, though not as warm as a heater.
She was dressed fluffily, her clothes looking soft, light, and comfortably furry.
Her hair was tied into a bun near the top of her head.
Shi Xiaoya had a nicely-shaped head, round all over, and not flat at the back.
So when she tied into a bun, the hairstyle looked really good on her.
She had a hair clip pinned, with blue sides and white in the middle. The blue words on the white area spelled "aloof."
Exactly like the meme that trended on the Net before.
Han Zhuoling smiled upon seeing that.
She was obviously so cute and soft, yet she wore a pin declaring herself "aloof."
He thought she was better suited to the label "adorkable."
There were no beauty filters in video calls, so he could see Shi Xiaoya's real self in the camera.
Even without the filters and makeup, her skin was still fair and clear, totally unblemished.
Perhaps it was because of the lighting, but her face was pinkish and looked especially healthy.
Unlike many others whose eyebrows disappear and who had smaller eyes after removing their makeup...
Shi Xiaoya didn't appear much different. Han Zhuoling even wondered whether she drew her brows usually.
For how else could she still look the same?
He decided to observe closely next time.
Han Zhuoling couldn't help but scrutinize her features. No matter where it was, it looked nice even without makeup.
Her natural lips looked like they had lip balm on, slightly shiny and moisturized while revealing their natural pinkish color.
He recalled the time when they filmed in Nanhai City.
He was already curious when Shi Xiaoya did makeup for him in the morning—what did her natural lips look like, without the lipstick hiding them?
Who'd have guessed he would get his answer tonight?
"I never expected you to call, so I got a shock. I was in a daze," Shi Xiaoya replied honestly.
Han Zhuoling imagined her nervous state just now and smiled at the imagery.
"Where are you now? Why is your background all white?" Han Zhuoling questioned.
Shi Xiaoya paused before saying, embarrassed, "Because I had supper, I'm standing against a wall to aid digestion. But it should be done now."
Shi Xiaoya didn't want to chat with Han Zhuoling with her arms raised, so she'd settled on her bed.
So Han Zhuoling saw Shi Xiaoya's background change to her headboard.
He could spot the plushies on her headboard from the corner of the screen.
Shi Xiaoya took one randomly and hugged it, talking to Han Zhuoling with bent knees.
When she recovered, she then realized, why was she talking about nothing with Han Zhuoling so naturally?
Ever since she picked up, they'd been conversing about random stuff.
Stuff that was especially domestic.
"What are you hugging?" Han Zhuoling suddenly asked.
His random questions made Shi Xiaoya forget Han Zhuoling's original intentions in video-calling.
Chapter 1576: Got Shudders All Over His Body
She simply and honestly answered Han Zhuoling's question, "This is a Pikachu."
Shi Xiaoya brought up the soft toy in her hands so Han Zhuoling could see it clearly.
Han Zhuoling stared at the yellow rat in her arms and raised his eyebrow as he asked, "This rat even has a name?"
"Of course!" Shi Xiaoya defended the Pikachu. What a cute little buddy, yet he called it a rat.
"It's a character in a cartoon. Its name is Pikachu, and it's really cute," Shi Xiaoya said. "It doesn't know how to say anything else, it just keeps saying 'Pika, Pikachu.'"
As a fan of Pikachu, Shi Xiaoya subconsciously imitated Pikachu's voice.
Han Zhuoling was totally unprepared for this and suddenly got shudders all over his body.
The electric feeling that rose from his gut charged right through his heart and up to the tips of his ears.
At the same time, two clusters at the center of his abdomen coursed downwards, charging through both of his legs.
How... How is she so cute?!
Shi Xiaoya could not see Han Zhuoling's physical reaction through the video call. She could only see that he seemed to have been stunned on the other end.
Shi Xiaoya instantly felt embarrassed.
What on earth did she just say?!
Of all the things she could say properly, she had to imitate Pikachu!
"I'm not like this usually!"
"Say it again for me to hear."
Both of them spoke at the same time.
"Ah?" Shi Xiaoya was stunned. "What did you say?"
Han Zhuoling coughed uneasily. He got shudders all over his body from Shi Xiaoya's voice.
Even his words did not go through his brain. He'd just said them out loud, actually voicing out the little thought he was hiding in his mind.
Han Zhuoling felt it was strange too. He had never made such a mistake before.
No matter when it was, he would be able to conceal his inner thoughts well and not reveal them to others.
Or else, how would he be able to deal with those old foxes in the business field?
But he actually directly said his thoughts just now.
This was something that had really never happened before.
Shi Xiaoya had asked him that clearly because she was worried that she had misunderstood his words.
But since Han Zhuoling had already said it, and indeed wanted to hear her say it again, he decided not to hide it.
He was just like that, and that was similar to his approach to work.
If he could conceal his thoughts, he would keep hiding them, but if the other party had guessed them, then he would just graciously admit it and seek another ending.
But no matter which result it was, it would definitely be advantageous to him.
"That Pikachu just now," Han Zhuoling said very seriously, "can you say it again?"
Shi Xiaoya: "..."
The great First Young Master Han had on a stern face, asking her to imitate Pikachu in all seriousness. Why does this scene look so weird?
Both of them were just casually chatting at first, but it was still quite normal. How did it turn to this?
"That..." Shi Xiaoya's face reddened as she said, "I didn't do that on purpose. I'm an adult already. It's quite embarrassing for me to imitate this."
To her surprise, Han Zhuoling actually said very seriously, "No, it sounds very nice."
Right after saying that, Han Zhuoling immediately added, "Very interesting."
Shi Xiaoya laughed, embarrassed. She did not expect that Han Zhuoling would hold on to that topic and say, "Say it again for me to hear."
Shi Xiaoya felt that things were heading in an extremely weird direction.
But if she did not do the imitation, Han Zhuoling would not speak, and he did not look like he was going to start on another topic.
Shi Xiaoya could only brace herself and mimic the voice again. "Pikachu..."
She lowered her head, feeling too embarrassed to look at Han Zhuoling.
On the screen, Han Zhuoling could only see a hair whorl on the top of her head.
Chapter 1577: Come to My House Tomorrow?
She looked so pitiful, and even her voice sounded especially pitiful, which was just too cute.
Han Zhuoling felt the urge to pat her head, but it was a pity he could not.
When Shi Xiaoya raised her head again, her face had already reddened.
Han Zhuoling's heart shuddered when he saw how she looked, and he secretly clutched his heart.
Shi Xiaoya's face was burning red. She tried her best to think of something to say to relieve her of her awkwardness.
Finally, she remembered something. "Young Master Ling, you called me because—?"
"Oh," Han Zhuoling replied plainly, "I just wanted to ask you, do you need to work tomorrow?"
"Mm." Shi Xiaoya nodded. "I need to go to my workplace tomorrow to finish up my work quickly. I will be going to the Survivor's production team on Sunday, you see, to prepare for the filming of the next episode."
"Sunday?" Han Zhuoling asked.
"Yeah. I'll go over one day in advance to prepare, and the filming officially starts on Monday," Shi Xiaoya explained. "I won't be able to finish the work at my workplace during the course of the filming in the next few days, so I need to go to my workplace to rush it out before packing my things to bring over to the production unit."
Shi Xiaoya did not know why Han Zhuoling asked her that, but she felt that out of courtesy, she should probably ask Han Zhuoling as well, or else the conversation would end abruptly.
"What about you, Young Master Ling? Do you need to work tomorrow?" Shi Xiaoya asked.
Han Zhuoling just replied, "Mm. I'm going to the company tomorrow."
After saying that, Han Zhuoling had a feeling that he seemed to be reporting his schedule to Shi Xiaoya.
However, he was not averse to this feeling.
"Then the tie..." Shi Xiaoya remembered that Han Zhuoling did not reply to her earlier about what to do with the tie.
"I'll go and take it from your place tomorrow," Han Zhuoling said.
"You're coming to my place tomorrow?" Shi Xiaoya asked, startled.
"Is it not convenient for you?" Han Zhuoling asked.
"Nope, nope." Shi Xiaoya quickly shook her head. "It's not inconvenient."
She then asked, "Around what time will you be coming tomorrow? I'll probably stay at work for much of the day tomorrow and should be able to end earlier in the afternoon."
Shi Xiaoya thought in her heart that she had already hinted she would stay in her workplace for quite a long while, so the most convenient way would be for Han Zhuoling to go directly to her workplace.
Hence, Shi Xiaoya tested the waters and suggested, "Why don't I bring the tie to my workplace?"
Han Zhuoling did not reply to what she just said. "Tomorrow night it is. I'll go to your house after I'm done with work."
Shi Xiaoya: "..."
She just felt that there was something strange somehow.
Shi Xiaoya had yet to wrap her head around it when Han Zhuoling said, "The noodles you made tonight were pretty good."
Shi Xiaoya was still thinking that he had already praised her once when he was eating the noodles tonight.
Afterward, Han Zhuoling's voice sounded again. "Since there's time tomorrow, prepare a few main dishes."
Shi Xiaoya: "..."
What... What's going on?
How did the topic change to meals?
And when did she say she was going to cook?
"You can list out a menu. If you lack any ingredients at home, I can drop by the supermarket on my way to your house tomorrow to bring it over," Han Zhuoling continued.
Shi Xiaoya: "..."
She never said she was going to cook for him!
Wasn't he just going to take his tie back?
Seeing that Shi Xiaoya did not reply, Han Zhuoling spoke again. "If you don't want to make a menu, I will just buy what I like."
Shi Xiaoya had already given up struggling. She really had to give it to this man for talking as if he was talking to himself and sealing the deal at the end.
"Alright, then. You can see what you want to eat and buy it. I'll cook it for you when you bring it back," Shi Xiaoya said in defeat.
Chapter 1578: As If He Did Not See
His words really sounded as if he was treating her as his wife.
Shi Xiaoya realized that when she was talking to Han Zhuoling, her imagination would really become more and more off.
She had a tendency to link things to other things.
Closely after that, she heard Han Zhuoling say, "How about you let me know when you end work tomorrow? I'll go fetch you and we can go to the supermarket to shop together. You can see what you'd like to eat and buy some of it as well. I will be troubling you to cook already, I can't possibly just buy what I'd like to eat."
"I'll have to trouble you to come to my workplace. That would really be too much of a trouble," Shi Xiaoya said.
"It's fine. Anyway, I'm only going back to do extra work tomorrow and settle some work matters, so I won't end work as late as I do usually," Han Zhuoling said. "Then that's settled. I won't disturb your rest. Good night."
"Good night," Shi Xiaoya said in a daze.
She watched him come and go just like that. He called just when he said he would and ended it right after saying he would too. What a good rhythm he had.
Even after she'd put down her phone, Shi Xiaoya had not regained her senses.
After yet a long while, Shi Xiaoya finally recalled something.
That was not right!
Since he was already going to her workplace to look for her, she could just bring the tie to her workplace and return it to him and that would be the end, right?
Why did he still have to come to her house to eat?
Shi Xiaoya thought about it and felt that Han Zhuoling's logic was a bit off, so she sent him a text through WeChat.
"Young Master Ling, since you are going to my workplace tomorrow, why don't I just bring the tie over there?"
Han Zhuoling received the text immediately. When he saw those words, he narrowed his eyes and deleted the message.
As if he did not see it.
He then used his phone to search for Pikachu.
Just from listening to Shi Xiaoya say it, Han Zhuoling did not know how to write the characters for "Pikachu."
But for such a famous cartoon character like Pikachu, the searches would be recorded in the online search engine cloud, so it came out on the top of the suggested list.
Han Zhuoling chose the first suggestion and browsed through the Internet for it. Indeed, that big yellow rat in Shi Xiaoya's arms appeared.
There were also many videos of Pikachu online. Han Zhuoling randomly chose one to watch and saw a small yellow rat that was pretty cute, saying "Pika Pika" non-stop.
"Doesn't sound as nice as when Shi Xiaoya's saying it." Han Zhuoling came to that conclusion and suddenly realized how ambiguous his words could be, which could very easily lead others to think of it from a romantic point of view.
Thankfully, there was no one else around right now.
Han Zhuoling satisfied his curiosity and went to sleep feeling very contented.
While Shi Xiaoya waited here and there but still did not receive a reply from Han Zhuoling. She did not know whether or not he'd gone to sleep already and did not see her message.
But he slept a little too quickly, didn't he?
Feeling helpless, Shi Xiaoya could only go to sleep for now.
The next morning, the first thing Shi Xiaoya did when she woke up was to check WeChat. Yet Han Zhuoling still did not reply. Shi Xiaoya closed it in despondence and decided not to look at it again.
***
Although today was a Saturday, Lu Man also came to school.
Aside from the exchange students heading to New York, the National Film Academy had picked 10 outstanding students, including Lu Man, to form the competition team that will compete against the exchange team from New York.
Today was the day when all 10 students would come to school to have a meeting.
The three students chosen from her class, including herself, were Lu Man, Zheng Yuan, and Yu Jingxian.
Aside from them, Wang Nianru, Fu Kaiqi, Xu Ziyi, originally Year 1s and were now Year 2s; Li Zeyu, Dong Jingxi, Fu Xuebin, He Changze, originally Year 3s and now Year 4s, were also selected to form this 10-member team.
Chapter 1579: An Opportunity to Collaborate
Among this lineup, aside from Zheng Yuan and Yu Jingxian, the rest had all competed in the Chinese Arts Championships before.
As for the new freshmen batch, although there were students who were already famous before they got in, they still lacked a solid foundation, so the school did not add Year 1 students into the team.
Li Zeyu and the other Year 4 students did not go to New York as exchange students last year either. It was another group of three that went.
That was why they had the time to participate in the Chinese Arts Championships.
It was just that after those three went to New York, two of them stayed there to further their studies and did not return.
The other person came back and solely focused on developing her career, not caring about school matters at all.
Dean He from the Performing Arts school contacted that student before, but that student mentioned that she was filming a show outside and not able to return as the reason for her rejection of the offer.
Dean He even sighed before because of this. The school groomed them and gave them the chance to further their studies, yet now when the school was in need, none of them were willing to come back to help.
It was Li Zeyu and the other four who still came back when they received Dean He's call, even though they were no longer in school as Year 4 students.
Lu Man and the other nine people gathered in a small meeting room in the school.
Principal Liu, Dean He, Teacher Yao, and Teacher Hong were all present.
"The format of the competition has been announced," Principal Liu said. "Each school will compete in one team competition, unlike the Chinese Arts Championships, which had used many different modes of competition. The individual competition segment is removed to shorten the process and duration of the competition. As it is called a friendly competition, the competition process cannot be too formal."
Actually, the other teachers were unhappy as well. Since they were going to call it a friendly competition and they're not going to hold a formal competition, then there should not be a need to have a win-lose bet.
Who knew just which brainless person came up with that idea?
"This time, the format of the competition allows a team of 10 to decide what they want to perform. We are scheduled to compete with the exchange team in the last round," Dean He said. "What we need to do now is to first confirm the piece you want to perform. Thereafter, decide which character each person is going to play. As for the director, we also need to make a list of names to select from."
Principal Liu then said, "The competition this time is very important, so we are very particular about choosing a director as well. We won't just randomly choose a teacher from the Directing major. The teachers from the Directing major will cooperate with us this time, but we hope even more to be able to invite a renowned director to come and guide you all."
The usual way of learning was very important, but a good director would know even better how to guide actors and develop their acting potential.
They'd know what they want in this performance segment and what kind of effect they want the actors to evoke in this performance.
Aside from Lu Man, everyone else was very excited. No matter the result of the competition this time around, at least they would have a chance to work with a renowned director and receive direct guidance from them.
Students who were still in school could not act in films. Even if they could, as newcomers, they would not have a very impressive background either. It would already be pretty good if they got a role to act in, be it a lead role or a supporting role. How would they even dream of working with a renowned director?
Even Li Zeyu and the other students who were now in Year 4 and could go out to act did not have a chance to act in a film, let alone work with a renowned director.
Among the four of them, Li Zeyu and Dong Jingxi had the best development in their careers.
But both of them mainly acted in television dramas and belonged to the category of newly popular young actors. They were not at the level of a B-list, yet they were still slightly better than a C-list, so they were in an awkward position.
Hence, when they heard Principal Liu say that, all of them could not help but be excited.
Chapter 1580: Sow Discord
Dean He chuckled. "Don't be so happy just yet. This is just the school's preference. When the Principal first received the official notice yesterday, he immediately gathered all the schools' leaders and teachers for a meeting and came to this decision, as well as a name list. He started contacting every director from the top of the name list, but he had yet to receive any acceptance from any director. Most of them rejected it with reasons like differences in schedules and having no time."
What differences in schedules? Mentioning this made Dean He filled with rage again.
One of the directors they contacted yesterday could not be compared to Sun Yiwu in terms of box office sales, but in terms of experience and reputation, as well as the various awards he had received in the past, he was way more superior than Sun Yiwu.
When they contacted him, his assistant said that he was not free and had work arrangements for these next few days.
Yet this morning, news of him quarreling with someone in a restaurant in B City last night exploded online.
This was the classic example of having nothing better to do.
He just did not want to come.
"So, the school is still trying hard right now. Every teacher in our school is also trying to use their connections to contact one director. We have a week's time to prepare, including agreeing on the piece that we would be performing, each person's role, the director, as well as on the rehearsals."
A week's time seemed a little rushed, but in actual fact, even if they did manage to contact a renowned director, the person would only be able to fork out one or two day's time to come and guide them.
The person would not really spend their whole week here.
"Right now, you guys can go with Teacher Yao, Teacher Hong, and Teacher Wan from the Directing major to decide on the work that you all are going to perform first, and then decide on your individual roles. These three teachers will lead you all in the rehearsals for now. When the director is confirmed, we will invite the director over to guide you or make improvements," Dean He said.
Dong Jingxi glanced at Lu Man and suddenly said, "Isn't Lu Man very close to Director Sun and Director Ji? Anyway, she's also..."
Dong Jingxi laughed then said, "Mrs. Han. You have such a huge backer in Young Master Han and the whole Han Corporation, and half of the renowned directors in the country are under the Han Corporation. If Lu Man asks Young Master Han about it, won't it be just a matter of asking which director to come? Why would the school need to be put in such a difficult position? Principal Liu even has to contact them personally one by one and end up being rejected?"
Dong Jingxi was implying that Lu Man could clearly help with this, yet she just stood by the side to watch Principal Liu getting rejected by those directors and the school be put in a difficult position.
She was blatantly speaking ill of Lu Man like this.
Lu Man eyed Dong Jingxi coldly. She was quite curious—from where did Dong Jingxi get such a huge animosity towards her?
Just because she did not perform as well as she did during the Chinese Arts Championships?
But that's because Dong Jingxi's skills were not as good as hers. What did that have to do with Lu Man?
Without waiting for Lu Man to say anything, Principal Liu said in an unhappy and somber tone, "This is the school's matter to begin with. You guys are a group as well and share honor and disgrace with the school, and there's no cause to push all the responsibility to one person. Lu Man does have connections with the Han Corporation, but what has the Han Corporation got to do with our school? If the school has an issue, the school will solve it by itself. Don't tell me we have to rely on the Han Corporation for everything? The Han Corporation isn't the school's granary. There's no such obligation in this world."
Dong Jingxi did not expect her "kind intentions" to be slapped back in her face by Principal Liu.
Her expression was not good and she said stiffly, "Principal, you said it as well, we are a group. Now that the group is facing a problem, it becomes our problem as well. For the sake of our entire group, is it also wrong to ask Lu Man to go and ask the Han Corporation for help?"