Chapter 21
Lunch consisted of a few home-style dishes, portioned perfectly, leaving no leftovers. After eating, everyone started discussing expenses. They had already used nearly two-thirds of their budget, with a day and a half remaining, and it seemed unlikely to be enough.
The social butterfly was once again dispatched to negotiate with the production team.
Xia Linxia: "Director, come here for a moment. I have something to discuss with you."
The director took a step back, remaining silent.
[Director in danger]
[Hahaha, is your step back serious?]
[Director: Here she comes, here she comes, bringing negotiations with her]
[Hahaha, finally, my favorite segment is back!]
Xia Linxia called out again, "Director, come over here."
The director asked through the megaphone, "What is it?"
"I just need some money. We don't have enough to eat."
Her righteous tone made the director laugh. He said, "There's no more money. Either you earn more, or you spend less."
"How do we earn more?"
The director pointed to the flowers and grass in the yard and said, "If you clear out these weeds, you can earn 30 yuan."
Xia Linxia frowned. "Thirty? Do you believe I'll clear you out instead?"
[Hahahaha]
[The trembling director is truly pitiful hahaha]
[Hahaha, original earring warning!]
Song Wanyi, standing behind them, couldn't help but laugh and chimed in, "Director, give us a bit more, just to appease us."
Xia Linxia then asked, "Do you know how much I earn per minute at my concerts?"
Song Wanyi replied, "No."
"This much," Xia Linxia gestured a number, then looked at the production crew and suddenly started singing, "In that distant place~"
Director: "?"
After two lines of lyrics, Xia Linxia spread her hands. "The performance time is 15 seconds in total. I'll give you a discount, only 998. You can scan to pay, dear."
Song Wanyi: "Awesome! Director, pay up!"
Director: "..."
[Hahaha, is this forced selling?]
[It's here! Director's shocked face x2, let's see how many shocked faces the director shows this season!]
[Being a celebrity is a waste of talent. Xia Linxia, come and do sales with me, or you can lead me too!]
After half an hour of negotiation, Xia Linxia finally managed to get a hundred yuan in cash from the director for free. She got up and carried the stools back into the house with Song Wanyi. "Work is done! Sister Qiu, we got more money. Do you want to order two cups of milk tea this afternoon?"
Fang Qiushuang made a shushing gesture at her and said in a low voice, "If you want to drink, just order it. Xiao Ji went for a nap. Keep your voices down when you're playing."
"She's sleeping so early?" Xia Linxia put down the stool, went back to her room, and opened the door. She saw Ji Fengxue already lying there peacefully.
She casually picked up the flower from the vase on the table and carefully placed it in Ji Fengxue's hand. Unfortunately, the vibrant red flower didn't complement her paleness at all. Then she got up and walked around the room, feeling bored. She made a few funny faces at the camera, making the audience laugh heartily.
Outside, she heard people clamoring to sing. She walked around the villa and found a guitar. She tested the tuning; it was good. After tuning the strings, she took the guitar to the pavilion in the small courtyard.
The others were chatting and singing. Seeing her arrive, Song Wanyi led the applause. "Linxia, come sing a few songs for us. We're almost tortured to death by Xue Hui's terrible singing."
"No problem."
A gentle and soothing melody swirled in her mind. Ji Fengxue couldn't tell if it was reality or a dream. As she descended, a string seemed to touch her nerves, as if lifting her towards the sky, soaring over beautiful scenery.
A round of applause erupted. She slowly opened her eyes, noticed the rose in her hand, and was stunned for a moment. Holding it, she got up groggily and pulled aside a corner of the curtain.
From this angle, she could see them chatting and laughing contentedly in the pavilion under the bright sun. Xia Linxia held a guitar, casually strumming the strings, humming a song intermittently, and occasionally chatting with them.
Song Wanyi, sitting beside her, saw her and patted Xia Linxia. The group looked over, smiling together. She instinctively turned her body to avoid their gaze.
Then, amidst the others' encouragement, Xia Linxia walked over with the guitar and knocked on the window. "You're awake? They're calling you out to play."
Ji Fengxue turned sideways, looked at the guitar, and asked, "Were you the one playing just now?"
"Yes," Xia Linxia replied, then added, "I was just playing casually. This isn't my true skill. If I were serious, I'd be amazing."
Ji Fengxue slowly curved her lips. She raised her hand, and a delicate, bright red rose passed through the window. The scorching sunlight hit it, exuding a passionate atmosphere, and landed in Xia Linxia's hand.
"You played well. This is your reward," Ji Fengxue said with a smile.
Xia Linxia stood frozen, holding the rose, somewhat at a loss. She couldn't figure out her intention, always feeling that this scene was a bit incongruous.
"Don't hold it too tightly, be careful of the thorns," Ji Fengxue reminded her.
She suddenly came to her senses, looked at the thorns on the stem, and immediately understood. This woman was trying to harm her with thorns!
So malicious!
"Hmph," Xia Linxia elegantly and coolly held the flower and turned to leave. She walked to the water tank and placed the flower next to it, accompanying Xia Wudi.
[The scene of standing by the window and handing over the flower was beautiful]
[Learned √, I'll try this way of flirting today]
[Teacher Ji is really good at this, I have a whole new impression of her!]
[This little turtle is so cute hahaha, I wonder what it thinks looking at the rose]
Ji Fengxue walked into the pavilion and sat down, greeting Song Wanyi and the others. Xia Linxia returned, touched the guitar, and suddenly didn't feel like playing anymore.
Just then, her phone rang. It was her agent. She put down the instrument and answered. Xiang Huaimeng seemed caught off guard. "Why are you answering so quickly today?"
"Don't talk about it. What's up?" Xia Linxia walked into the restroom to take a private call.
"Check your WeChat. I've sent you the details."
After hanging up, she opened her messages and found that she was being slandered online again.
The incident started when a film crew announced their cast, with Fu Xiaoxuan as the female lead, and the director was the same perverted director she had encountered before. Then, someone leaked that Xia Linxia had also auditioned for the role but had a physical altercation with the director, even fighting, which caused the resource to fall through.
Various comments were rampant, with some people taking advantage of the chaos to steer the narrative, primarily portraying Xia Linxia as arrogant and someone who dared to hit even a director.
The company arranged for public relations to deny the incident, but the director remained evasive and did not respond.
At this moment, a trending topic was pushed on Weibo—Ji Fengxue liked Chenxing Entertainment's official Weibo, showing support for Xia Linxia!
Xia Linxia clicked to check. She didn't know if it was Ji Fengxue's personal action or her agent's. But that wasn't the most important thing. She directly edited a Weibo post and tagged the director.
Xia Linxia V: Coward, dare you say what happened that day directly? If you don't dare to say it, I have the video here, and I'll say it for you. @Director Zhao Dayu
The private club had excellent privacy, which was why the director dared to act inappropriately. However, he hadn't investigated beforehand and didn't realize that this club was a venue frequented by Xia Yangxuan's friends.
Within a few minutes, the director responded.
Director Zhao Dayu V: I've been busy with the film crew's matters and only now have the time to see the message. I want to state here that all the online comments are baseless rumors. Xia Linxia only declined my invitation due to scheduling conflicts.
"Pfft." Xia Linxia was about to retort when the restroom door was suddenly opened, and Ji Fengxue walked in. She said in a low voice, "Zhao Dayu is not a person of good character. Did... did he bully you?"
Xia Linxia paused, looked at her for a while, and with a shift in her thoughts, said, "Yes, he bullied me. What would you do?"
Ji Fengxue replied as if discussing business, "Then we would definitely have to punish him."
Post a Comment