FIMA Ch35: Night Raid

Xie Jinzhao tilted his head slightly and said the last sentence on the phone: “Mr. Qi, you are indeed very wise. Breaking up is a good idea! The way I treated Qi Ran was truly unforgivable. I fear I will continue to commit heinous acts. Goodbye!”

Qi Ran, a man in his twenties and over a hundred pounds, kept calling out “Brother Siyuan, Brother Siyuan”?

Who is his brother?

After hanging up the phone confidently, Xie Jinzhao looked up and found Gu Siyuan staring at him.

Xie Jinzhao was speechless: “Wha… What?”

Gu Siyuan’s gaze was cold: “If I heard correctly, who were you just breaking up with?”

“Why… does it matter?”

Xie Jinzhao hugged a pillow and slowly retreated to the corner of the sofa. Although he was nearly 1.8 meters tall, he shrank himself like a little kitten, exuding an air of extreme humility.

Gu Siyuan crossed his hands on his thighs, staring at him with a stern expression: “You were in a relationship before, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Being in a relationship so young shows a lack of ambition. If I had known…”

“Ah… no!” Xie Jinzhao quickly raised his hands in apology.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong. I don’t even know what happened with Qi Run. I suspect my brain wasn’t functioning at the time. We haven’t had any contact for a long time. We only met a few times in six months, and every time his brother was present. We haven’t even held hands. Really, I’m still a clean and good man…”

As he continued to speak, Xie Jinzhao found it strange. Was this the promise of an artist to his agent?

Why did it feel like he was caught cheating?

Heh…

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes.

Listening to this, Xie Jinzhao’s feelings for Qi Run were not as deep as the system had conveyed.

His eyes were cold: “This is the only time. Don’t let it happen again.”

“Okay, I promise.” Xie Jinzhao assured repeatedly.

However, after a few seconds, he raised his watery eyes and secretly glanced at Gu Siyuan: “So, really… I can’t date anyone at all? Not with anyone?”

As he spoke, he slightly closed his left eye and winked at Gu Siyuan.

If Gu Siyuan were experienced, he would know this action was a wink.

But now, he just coldly and ruthlessly scolded: “What’s wrong with your eye? How old are you? You’re a celebrity. Can’t you live without dating? At least wait until you’re over thirty.”

Xie Jinzhao felt deflated.

For a long time afterward, when they were in bed, he would recklessly tease someone, saying he was already thirty and making them call him brother, only to be punished until he cried for mercy.

“By the way, how’s the script I mentioned?” Gu Siyuan quickly returned to business.

Xie Jinzhao nodded: “I’ve finished reading it.”

The script was actually for a suspenseful costume drama called “Jinyi Yujin,” which Gu Siyuan had introduced to Xie Jinzhao during a private lesson at his home more than a month ago.

Recently, Gu Siyuan had somehow obtained the scripts for the next ten episodes and wanted him to consider participating in the drama.

To be honest, the script for “Jinyi Yujin” was quite solid in terms of case interpretation, with a tight and tense plot. The adapted dialogues were more profound, which was not easy for a fictional suspense idol drama.

Judging by the script alone, it seemed more reliable than the S+ major TV dramas he had previously acted in, and he really wanted to take the role.

However, if actors could only follow their own whims, it would be ideal.

The production team and investment for this drama were too lacking. The director’s previous works barely passed ratings, and the screenwriter had always been the director’s regular collaborator. Most importantly, they had no experience filming costume idol dramas.

He had always acted in S+ major productions, so suddenly participating in such a drama might anger his fans, make the audience think he was desperate, and cause his business team to think his status had dropped.

“You’re an actor; you only need to care about the script and acting.” Gu Siyuan grabbed his chin, straightened his face, and stared into his eyes: “Communicating with the crew and dealing with subsequent public opinion is my job as your agent.”

Xie Jinzhao was stunned.

In the past, agents always advised him not to be willful, not to choose scripts based on his own preferences, saying low investments would make people laugh at him, and if his appearance wasn’t handsome or beautiful, his fans would be unhappy…

He slowly reached out, grabbed Gu Siyuan’s strong hand, and looked at him with stars in his eyes: “Okay, then I’ll take the role.”

Gu Siyuan nodded, his eyes seemingly containing the universe: “Don’t worry, this drama won’t disappoint you.”

“Okay.” Xie Jinzhao nodded vigorously.

Gu Siyuan pinched his cheek: “I’ll contact the director now and hope to start filming soon. You’ve had too much downtime.”

Xie Jinzhao squinted his eyes with a smile: “Okay, go ahead. Thank you, my great manager.”

Gu Siyuan looked at him quietly, then looked at him again.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Jinzhao smiled sweetly.

Gu Siyuan’s gaze fell on the fair and slender hand holding his, and he said coldly: “When do you plan to let go?”

“…” Xie Jinzhao.

What a stingy man… What’s wrong with touching a bit?

On the other side, Director Wang stared blankly at the phone that had just been hung up, rubbing his face vigorously.

He still found it hard to believe. In the end, he steeled himself, pulled a few of the remaining hairs on his head, and found that he actually pulled out three strands, which made him extremely sad again.

His expression changed rapidly, like performing a face-changing act.

Director Wang’s wife and usual screenwriter, Ms. Hu, walked out with a plate of fruit. Seeing him like this, she hurriedly patted him: “Old Wang, what’s wrong? Even if the crew is going to disband, don’t go crazy. We can always make money back!”

“Old Wang, don’t scare me…”

Director Wang came back to his senses, picked up a strawberry from the fruit plate, and stuffed it into his mouth: “It’s really sweet.”

Ms. Hu blinked: “You’ve really gone crazy. You used to hate strawberries the most.”

Director Wang laughed heartily and winked at his wife: “Now I can eat a whole basket of strawberries. Haha, haha, my crew can start filming smoothly.”

“Get lost, strawberries are so expensive now. I can’t afford to buy you a basket.” Ms. Hu punched him lightly.

Then she was stunned, staring at him: “What did you say? We can start filming?”

“Yes.” Director Wang nodded proudly.

Director Wang’s company was a small workshop that had been producing low-budget spy dramas and rural melodramas for years. He was the director and producer, while Ms. Hu was the screenwriter and accountant. The actors they hired were mostly familiar but unknown faces.

Over the past decade or so, though they couldn’t compare to big-name companies, selling their dramas to major TV stations allowed them to break even.

Unfortunately, in recent years, as people’s entertainment options became more diverse and TV viewership decreased, TV stations were no longer profitable and kept lowering the prices they were willing to pay for dramas.

Director Wang’s company was hit hard first.

The dramas his company produced were mainly for middle-aged and elderly audiences and were only popular on TV stations. Young people on video websites didn’t watch them.

So, major online platforms didn’t buy his dramas.

In the past, when TV stations were doing well, they competed to buy exclusive rights to attract viewers. But now, with consecutive years of losses, they couldn’t afford the full production costs without sharing the burden with online platforms.

To keep the company afloat and support its dozens of employees, Director Wang started researching what young people liked on video websites from last year.

Recently, on Ms. Hu’s suggestion, he bought a web novel called “Jinyi Yujin,” which, though not very popular, had some fans and was suitable for adaptation. He also negotiated follow-up investment and broadcasting schedules with Green Fruit Video.

The actors were quickly finalized, all second-tier in the entertainment industry. The male lead, Yi Chi, was a newcomer recently promoted by Green Fruit Video, and the female lead, Lu Ruowen, was an actress Director Wang had worked with before. She had once been very popular but had since fallen in rank.

Unfortunately, just a month ago, on the eve of starting “TJinyi Yujin,” Yi Chi’s manager used connections to secure him a role as the second male lead in a big production called “Zhao Xue Record.”

The leads of “Zhao Xue Record” were currently the most popular: the male lead, Qi Run, was a dual success in film and television with countless fans, and the female lead, Xia Yu, had starred in two consecutive hit dramas in three years. Even the ranking of the cast members gave the producers a headache.

Coincidentally, the themes of both dramas were similar: both were costume suspense dramas likely to air in the first half of next year.

In Yi Chi’s eyes, their “Jinyi Yujin” was nothing more than cannon fodder, so he quit without hesitation before filming started.

Getting to play the second male lead in a big production like “Zhao Xue Record,” even if criticized, would still bring more attention than filming “Jinyi Yujin,” a small, three-no web drama.

Scheduling actors usually takes months or even half a year in advance. Finding a similarly ranked actor with good relations with the video platform at this point was almost impossible.

It seemed the drama wouldn’t start.

With no other choice, Director Wang sent invitations to almost every male actor in the entertainment industry.

Unexpectedly, there was a response, turning things around.

Ms. Hu pushed her husband aside and sat on the sofa herself: “What happened? Did Yi Chi come back?”

Director Wang pouted: “No, we found a new actor.”

Ms. Hu nodded but hesitated: “Will the platform accept it?”

“They better. Do they think they’re some billion-dollar investment?” Director Wang pouted, feeling a bit like a triumphant underdog.

He looked at his wife, smiling: “The call was from Xie Jinzhao’s manager, saying he wants to play the male lead.”

“Xie Jinzhao? The super popular traffic star? The one with ads everywhere?” Ms. Hu couldn’t believe it.

Director Wang nodded, feeling smug: “That’s him.”

Ms. Hu pinched her husband’s chubby face: “If Xie Jinzhao plays the role, the project will definitely start, but with your investment, after paying his fee, the crew might have to shut down halfway… And with his status, shouldn’t the female lead be changed too? Can this really work?”

Director Wang shook his head. “His agent said that the same price and treatment given to the previously scheduled male lead will apply to him as well. There’s no need to change the female lead either.”

“Really? Old Wang, how did you manage to have such a windfall fall from the sky?” Mrs. Hu couldn’t contain her happiness.

At this point, Director Wang gave his wife a big hug. “It’s all thanks to you. His agent said that it’s because he read your script and thought it was very good, so he wanted to take the role. He specifically requested that there should be no arbitrary changes to the script during filming.”

Mrs. Hu couldn’t help but cross her legs and waved her hand. “Of course. When has our company ever done such a thing? The scripts are all written well in advance.”

Director Wang added, “His agent sounds very young, but his vision is really top-notch. He even praised me, saying that after watching my work, he found the filming and editing to be excellent. It’s just a pity that the subject matter I previously worked on was limited and didn’t get noticed.”

Mrs. Hu nodded. “Yes, this Xie Jinzhao team is indeed good. Speaking of which, I watched the drama he was in two months ago. Although the drama was heavily criticized, his acting was actually pretty good.”

Director Wang frowned. “Really? Are you saying that just because he saved us?”

Mrs. Hu smacked him and rolled her eyes. “I’m not lying to you. His acting was really good. He was the only normal person in that drama.”

Director Wang also frowned. “Then why was he criticized the most?”

Mrs. Hu snorted. “You don’t know the ways of some people in our industry. When they were young, they were criticized harshly. Now that they’re older, they’re considered veteran actors, always criticizing others. Plus, those young fans and anti-fans love to stir things up.”

Director Wang nodded somewhat understandingly. “That’s even better. I need to finalize things quickly to start filming, or else our company will be in trouble.”

…

Director Wang was eager to start filming, and Gu Siyuan was even more efficient.

Soon, all the issues were discussed, and it was agreed that they would meet at the film city in three days.

Director Wang seemed extremely satisfied with Gu Siyuan’s work, even generously sending over the entire script of “The Splendid Clothes of the Capital” two days prior, and eagerly asked Gu Siyuan if there were any unsatisfactory parts that needed changing.

After quickly reading through it, Gu Siyuan did suggest a few minor modifications.

Director Wang and screenwriter Hu, upon receiving these suggestions, were not only unoffended but even more impressed with him, feeling that he had impeccable taste and vision, thinking he was overqualified to be an agent. They almost poached Xie Jinzhao.

However, Xie Jinzhao, who was always closely monitoring Gu Siyuan, couldn’t manage to keep up this time, as he suddenly developed a stress reaction to joining the film crew.

That night, after Gu Siyuan finished browsing the financial market news, he turned off the lights and went to bed.

Since Xie Jinzhao moved to a new house, the room was spacious enough and close to the film academy. Gu Siyuan would stay there if necessary.

Not long after lying down, he noticed the door being pushed open, and a shadow drifted in.

He squinted his eyes but didn’t make a sound.

The shadow came in with a clear purpose, heading straight to his bed, then sat down by the bedside.

After an unknown amount of time, the shadow suddenly sighed deeply.

Gu Siyuan decided not to tolerate it any longer. He reached out and switched on the bedside lamp with a snap.

“Ah…”

Xie Jinzhao was startled by the sudden light and sound.

He jumped up like a firecracker and found Gu Siyuan on the bed, staring at him with deep, piercing eyes that seemed like the calm before a storm.

Gu Siyuan propped himself up on the bed with one hand and sat up smoothly, his voice cold. “What’s going on? Why are you in my room at this time?”

Facing that gaze, Xie Jinzhao initially felt guilty and avoided it.

But then, his attitude shifted, and he playfully blinked. “I just broke up a few days ago and was feeling lonely. I noticed my agent is actually a gem, so I thought of a midnight raid. Didn’t expect to get caught before I could do anything.”

Flirting with him?

Gu Siyuan sneered.

Hearing this, Xie Jinzhao thought Gu Siyuan was going to mock him harshly and then throw him out.

In the next moment, Gu Siyuan’s icy gaze swept over his delicate face and slender neck, gradually moving down to his collarbone.

Without a doubt, Xie Jinzhao was stunningly beautiful, especially in his loose pajamas, which made his allure even more vague and captivating.

Xie Jinzhao felt like the person in front of him was stripping him with his eyes.

He swallowed hard and instinctively reached out to tighten the collar of his pajamas.

In the next moment, the world turned upside down.

A warm, strong hand exerted a little force on his waist, flipping him directly onto the bed.