Li Chu received a barrage of calls from Tang Congnan at 7 a.m., scolded to the point of speechlessness.
Traveling a thousand miles to see your girlfriend is exhilarating, but facing a mother-hen manager is a trial by fire.
Li Chu had already called Qian Duoduo yesterday while on the road, asking her to tell Tang Congnan about this matter the next morning.
As for why Li Chu didn’t do it herself, it was, of course, because she didn’t dare. Her emotions hadn’t settled yesterday, and she was afraid Tang Congnan would notice something.
Her diligent and dutiful assistant, Qian Duoduo, woke up this morning and nervously informed Tang Congnan.
Tang Congnan happened to wake up early. Seeing the message first thing in the morning, he was instantly enraged. Thus, the scene at the beginning where Li Chu was scolded.
“Where are you right now?”
“Brother Nan, I have some personal matters that I must attend to. I’ll be back in two days. I’ll contact you then. Please help me push back my schedule for these two days.”
Li Chu’s voice carried a sleepy hoarseness, but even after facing the outburst, her expression and voice remained calm.
“What unavoidable matters could there be that you couldn’t even give me a heads-up? Do you know how much effort I put into getting you the Yan Meng new product endorsement? They told me last night that they could give you an interview opportunity tomorrow. I was planning to tell you today so you could prepare, and you pull this on me?”
Yan Meng is a well-known domestic light luxury brand with a wide audience. Their main product this quarter had just been developed, and they were looking for a suitable spokesperson. If Li Chu could successfully secure the Yan Meng endorsement, her resources in fashion endorsements would definitely reach a new level.
“I’m sorry.”
Li Chu apologized sincerely. She didn’t know about this. Tang Congnan had only told her that he was negotiating a good endorsement for her and that it would be a surprise if it worked out.
But she didn’t expect the timing to be so unfortunate, right when Ning Manqing was injured, Tang Congnan had secured this opportunity for her.
“There’s no need for apologies between us. I know you must have very important personal matters, which is why you did this. But, darling, this opportunity is very important. It’s still today; there’s still time. Come back and rest, get your skin in better condition.”
Li Chu’s apology sounded sincere, and Tang Congnan’s anger immediately dissipated, his voice softening as he persuaded her.
Ning Manqing was already awake when the phone rang, leaning against Li Chu, playing with her fingers and hair. Her hearing was good, and coupled with the close proximity, she could clearly hear the conversation.
She squeezed Li Chu’s palm and nodded when Li Chu looked over.
Although she was still under observation, she knew she wasn’t seriously injured and just needed to wait for the swelling on the back of her head to subside.
Li Chu squeezed Ning Manqing’s hand back and smiled at her.
Ning Manqing thought this was Li Chu agreeing to leave, and although she felt reluctant, she also believed that Li Chu’s work should take priority.
Although she could also get Li Chu this kind of fashion endorsement, it was, after all, something Li Chu’s agent had worked hard to secure.
“Brother Nan, I’m sorry, I really can’t leave here, at least for three days. I’m very sorry to the brand. Brother Nan, can you help me find an excuse to decline? Like, I have a facial allergy and can’t go to the interview. Anything like that. But actually, I feel most sorry for you, for making all this effort for me in vain.”
Li Chu was truly apologetic, but she had just come to see Ning Manqing, and the swelling on the back of her head hadn’t subsided yet. There was still a risk of further complications.
Although she knew that Ning Manqing was the female lead of this story and most likely wouldn’t have any serious problems, Li Chu no longer saw Ning Manqing as the female lead, but as her girlfriend.
There was a long silence on the other end before the reply came: “Why are you apologizing to me? This is just my job. Besides, it’s not a sure thing even if you go. Once your drama airs, you’ll have plenty of fashion resources, especially since you’re so beautiful.”
“You take care of your business. It’s fine to focus on your work wholeheartedly after you’ve sorted out your own affairs. It’s no use if you’re physically present but mentally absent, messing things up. So, we’ve agreed on three days?”
Li Chu’s brows relaxed, and she responded with a resounding, “Yes! Just three days! After that, I’ll definitely work hard and strive to improve!”
Oh yeah! Mother-hen manager is the best!
“I don’t believe you for a second. Bye, bye!”
Tang Congnan let out a haughty snort and hung up the phone, feigning impatience.
Li Chu put down her phone and saw Ning Manqing sitting quietly beside her with a smile on her face. She squeezed her hand.
“What’s wrong? Are you surprised?”
“I’m very happy.”
Ning Manqing was overjoyed. Although she had said that Li Chu’s work should come first, she still hoped Li Chu would stay with her.
She was even happier that Li Chu made this decision without hesitation, indicating that she held a significant place in Li Chu’s heart.
“Do you think I’m being lovesick? I’m not, okay? I just made a choice that’s more important to me.”
Li Chu wasn’t deliberately trying to be romantic; she was just frankly sharing her feelings. Although saying this so directly to Ning Manqing might seem a bit unromantic.
It was just an endorsement that wasn’t even guaranteed. In her heart, it wasn’t as important as Ning Manqing. She felt apologetic, not for missing the opportunity, but for letting down Tang Congnan’s efforts.
“It’s just a job opportunity. You’ll have many more, even better ones, in the future.”
How could Ning Manqing think her girlfriend was being lovesick? If the corners of one’s mouth could stretch to the sun, she would have achieved it at this moment.
Ning Manqing wanted to physically express her excitement but was ruthlessly rejected by her sweet girlfriend.
It wasn’t appropriate so early in the morning. Yesterday’s Li Chu hadn’t recovered yet.
Compared to Tang Congnan’s fury at waking up to find his artist missing, Ran Yanru was simply shocked to find an extra person in Ning Manqing’s hospital room.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait…”
Ran Yanru pressed her temples, watching Ning Manqing feed someone an apple, like a broken record.
“Is there something? If not, please leave.”
Ning Manqing spoke to her friend. A woman in love who didn’t want to be disturbed was as ruthless as autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.
Ran Yanru looked at the girl sitting by the bed, who gave her a shy smile, and floated out of the room.
This person looked familiar. If she remembered correctly, wasn’t this the female lead who had a romantic relationship with Ning Manqing in her last drama?
Could this be a case of love blossoming on set?
Looking at the two of them, she couldn’t even convince herself that it was just normal interaction between friends.
Ran Yanru stood at the door in a daze for a while, then took out her phone and excitedly contacted Bai Wu.
“Guess what? Lao Ning has a situation!”
“Is it that well-behaved girl who acted with her?”
Bai Wu, lying comfortably in bed on the other side of the world, wasn’t surprised at all. After all, even when Ning Manqing was a workaholic over there, she still found time to check up on that girl’s news.
“Yes! You knew and didn’t tell me? You kept it from me!”
Ran Yanru felt that she, as a good friend and manager, was too negligent. She should have been the first to know, but she ended up being the last. Even Bai Wu knew first!
“How could I keep it from you? Lao Ning said you knew.”
“How would I know… Wait a minute… I think I might actually know.”
Ran Yanru’s initial response was instinctive, but then she suddenly recalled a certain day last year.
Ning Manqing had been carried into the hospital by her and had a fever for three days. When she entered the room that day, she smelled an omega’s scent. Could it be that at that time…
If she remembered correctly, they had met after that, and even collaborated.
They actually managed to act like nothing was happening in front of her?
Ran Yanru hadn’t smelled Li Chu’s pheromones, so she couldn’t be sure if Li Chu was the source of the pheromones that morning.
If it really was Li Chu, Ning Manqing was a beast in human clothing!
If not, Ning Manqing was worse than a beast!
In the ward, Ning Manqing suddenly sneezed twice.
“Is it okay for your manager to know this?”
Although Li Chu knew that Ran Yanru was Ning Manqing’s good friend and wouldn’t pry into such matters, she still had to ask on the surface.
“It’s fine. We’ve been classmates and good friends for many years. I’ll send you her contact information later. If you can’t reach me, I might be busy on set. You can ask her about my whereabouts.”
Li Chu nodded, realizing once again that a sense of security in love wasn’t something one had to strive for, but something the other person could easily provide.
Li Chu stayed for three days, leaving only after ensuring Ning Manqing was out of danger.
If she stayed any longer, not only would her peach juice be sucked dry, but her peach pit would probably be hollowed out too.
During her break from choosing scripts, Li Chu participated in a variety show.
It was a slow-paced travel variety show called “Slow Time.” A few regular cast members would travel together, eat, drink, and experience local customs in scenic spots across the country, while also promoting traditional crafts.
Li Chu participated as a regular MC. The show recorded two episodes first, then filmed and aired simultaneously, allowing for adjustments.
After the pilot episode, the first episode was set on an island. The opening scene was shot at night, the camera transitioning from the sea to a figure.
The horizon held a faint blue light, seemingly merging with the seawater. Li Chu appeared in a white dress, the hem rendered translucent by the waves.
Sea breeze, black hair, white dress, thin gauze—she looked like a mermaid emerging from the vast ocean.
She tucked her long hair behind her ear and smiled brightly at the camera.
This scene was so beautiful that even the director included it at the beginning, adding subtitles, as the opening of this travel variety show.
The barrage became a graveyard of “A-Wei’s” (screams of excitement), and Li Chu successfully gained another wave of fans through her beauty.
New fans excitedly roared on Weibo: “I originally got into it because of her looks, but after watching the whole episode, I found that she’s really a gentle person. She kept bending down when talking to the grandpa to take care of him. She noticed the grandma put down her half-finished shoes because of her poor eyesight and helped her finish them. What kind of fairy descended from heaven is this?!”
On set, Ning Manqing was looking at her phone during a break. The actor who was supposed to act with her saw her seriously tapping on the screen and didn’t want to disturb her.
However…
@TaoTao’sOfficialGirlfriend: My wife is the best, of course!
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