Lulu sighed, “Originally, today was for his makeup test. He insisted on having freshly squeezed peach juice, or else he wouldn’t do the shoot. His attitude was so irritating.”
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow, feeling that this person could stay in the crew, probably because he was backed by the Best Actor’s reputation. After all, they had some connections with Bai Jinyan’s mother. Otherwise, given this person’s reputation, he probably wouldn’t have made it into the crew from the beginning.
Qiao Huaiyao asked, “What are you doing here then?”
Lulu pointed to a door and said, “I’m afraid Brother Bai will hit him, so I have to block the way a bit.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded, understanding Lulu’s concern about not letting Bai Jinyan hurt the person. Lulu added, “I’ll stand at the door. If Brother Bai hits him and someone tries to take a video, they can’t go around me.”
He hesitated for a moment before firmly stating, “Even saving someone won’t be allowed!”
Qiao Huaiyao questioned, “What…?”
This assistant was really something.
Just then, they heard a loud sound from inside, followed by Bai Jinyan’s stern scolding, “Take your things and get out!”
The door was an old one, not as rickety as the one in the dorm, but it still made a creaking sound when opened slowly. Qiao Huaiyao and the others were standing in front of the door, and they could faintly hear Zuo Wenzhuo grumbling discontentedly inside.
Qiao Huaiyao wanted to knock on the door, but Lulu quickly stopped him. “Are you crazy? Brother Bai is still angry. If you go in now, be careful not to be scolded together.”
After that, Lulu paused for a moment, realizing that he spoke too fast. He silently let go of Qiao Huaiyao’s hand.
Lulu took a step back in silence. “Just go in.”
Qiao Huaiyao knocked on the door and opened it slightly. The classroom inside had all the original desks moved, and it seemed to be used as a temporary studio for the set.
Bai Jinyan frowned and looked towards the door. When he saw Qiao Huaiyao, he paused for a moment.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and waved at him slightly, “Brother.”
“Why…?” Bai Jinyan’s lips twitched, “Why did training end so early today?”
“Uh-huh,” Qiao Huaiyao walked in, “The instructor has a meeting in the evening.”
Zuo Wenzhuo was sitting at a table with a clearly unhappy expression.
Qiao Huaiyao said nonchalantly, “Zuo, get out. I need to talk to my brother.”
Zuo Wenzhuo looked up, realizing Qiao Huaiyao was talking to him, and immediately tried to stand up. However, he didn’t manage to get up, just straightened his back. He glanced at Bai Jinyan and seeing him not saying anything, he walked out without hesitation.
Qiao Huaiyao walked behind Bai Jinyan and gave him a shoulder rub, “You worked hard, brother.”
“After we finish today, I’ll treat you to a movie,” Qiao Huaiyao said. When he knew he didn’t need to return to the dorm in the evening, he had already booked the movie tickets. Bai Jinyan had a new drama airing, so he wanted to support him.
Bai Jinyan lightly tapped the table with his fingertip, “What time?”
“A little after eight.” Qiao Huaiyao brought up the ticket booking page on his phone to confirm the time.
“Go tell them to wrap up,” Bai Jinyan stood up, “I’ll go remove my makeup and hair.”
“Okay.”
Today’s makeup shoot was obviously not going well. Continuing to force it wouldn’t yield good results. Bai Jinyan went to the dressing room, and Qiao Huaiyao was about to find Lulu to pass on the message to wrap up when he ran into Zuo Wenzhuo by the stairs. He was leaning against the handrail, looking like he had been waiting for a while.
Seeing him come downstairs, Zuo Wenzhuo said, “Just now, you helped me out and showed goodwill? What’s your name? I’ll have my dad arrange a role for you.”
Qiao Huaiyao raised half an eyebrow, looking thoughtful.
Without realizing Qiao Huaiyao’s intention, Zuo Wenzhuo continued, “This crew, none of them have any vision. Only you are smart and know how to deal with things properly. Those people just care about making a big fuss out of nothing. If anyone tries to mess with me, I don’t care what they think; I won’t let them get away with it.”
“Am I your fan? Or do you think… that Bai Jinyan—”
“Shut up!” Qiao Huaiyao frowned, getting annoyed with his voice, and directly scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense. How dare you badmouth my brother behind his back?”
Zuo Wenzhuo was stunned, looking at Qiao Huaiyao in disbelief, not expecting him to speak with such an attitude.
“Do you know who I am?!” He yelled, but Qiao Huaiyao didn’t pay him any attention.
“I just care about my brother’s well-being and don’t want him to get too angry. I have no connection to you, so stop making trouble.”
Qiao Huaiyao continued, “My brother told you to get lost, and it would be best if you had some self-awareness and never appear in front of him again.”
After saying that, regardless of whether Zuo Wenzhuo understood, Qiao Huaiyao went around him and headed downstairs.
For the movie screening, they started lining up ten minutes early. At this time, all the screenings had a full house, and Qiao Huaiyao’s ticket was grabbed through the member’s presale. Bai Jinyan wore a hat and a mask, only taking off the mask when the lights in the theater dimmed.
Eating popcorn, Qiao Huaiyao whispered, “This screening has so many people.”
Sometimes, there would be latecomers or people who bought tickets but didn’t show up, leaving empty seats. But this time, no one came late, and the theater was full before the lights went out.
Bai Jinyan still hadn’t spoken, and a person sitting behind them in the back row said in a low voice, “Of course, it’s Bai Jinyan’s movie. Many people will come to watch.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s voice paused as he subconsciously looked back.
The girl in the back row saw Qiao Huaiyao’s profile and widened her eyes, “Qiao—”
Qiao Huaiyao placed a finger on his lips, signaling her not to say anything.
The girl forcibly held back the words that were about to come out, her face filled with disbelief.
As a fan, she wouldn’t miss any of Bai Jinyan’s movies or TV shows. His first variety show debut was even more important. She recognized Qiao Huaiyao at a glance.
So… the person next to him is—?
The girl blinked her eyes, looking back and forth between Qiao Huaiyao and Bai Jinyan.
After a while, she suddenly realized and quickly opened her phone, trembling as she posted on Weibo: “Sisters! Guess who I bumped into while watching a movie?!!”
Qiao Huaiyao saw that she didn’t directly mention Bai Jinyan’s identity and felt relieved. He hadn’t expected that someone would recognize him. It seemed that next time when he went out with Bai Jinyan, he should take some precautions.
Bai Jinyan handed him a lemon tea, “Don’t you like it?”
Noting that Qiao Huaiyao’s attention wasn’t on the movie, he thought Qiao Huaiyao didn’t enjoy it.
“It’s good,” Qiao Huaiyao took a sip of the lemon tea and smiled softly, “How can a movie you shoot not be good?”
Though not entirely complimentary, Bai Jinyan didn’t take offense. With such a tight schedule, he reviewed the script after the company and his manager, then signed the contract.