Chapter 10: Assistant and Manager

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Right after Zhong Xiyuan said this sentence, he also seemed to realize something was off. He paused, pinched Shi Qiu’s face, but didn’t say anything.

Shi Qiu was even more surprised that he didn’t argue back: Wait, aren’t you the one who said you never mess around after midnight? Aren’t you the one pretending to be a good guy while stepping on Jiang Fengmian?

What is this about then?

Zhong Xiyuan seemed to want to explain, but for some reason didn’t. Behind those lenses, his fox-like eyes rarely showed a thoughtful look. But before he could think it through, a phone call came, and someone called him away.

After Zhong Xiyuan left, Shi Qiu let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly asked 09 in his mind what exactly Zhong Xiyuan’s parents’ background was.

“Zhong Xiyuan’s father is exactly the veteran director you’re thinking of, and his mother is a well-known actress. Zhong Xiyuan is their youngest son,” 09 explained.

A real, living, breathing connection-born aristocrat.

Shi Qiu touched his own face, thought for a few seconds, then asked 09 in his head: “Then if Chairman Zhong forces me to go through his backdoor… would that count as breaking my character setting?”

After all, according to his setting of loving Jiang Fengmian to death and back, it was fine if Jiang Fengmian fooled around outside. But if he himself fooled around with someone else, there was a good chance his persona would collapse.

“If the host is forced into it with no choice, it’s reasonable and doesn’t count as breaking character,” 09 answered seriously.

“Alright then.” Shi Qiu leaned against the sofa, his brows and eyes lowered in an extremely well-behaved look.

After leaving the office, Zhong Xiyuan walked to a window in the corridor where no one was around and called back.

“Hello?”

“Dad, you were looking for me?” Zhong Xiyuan asked, looking outside the window.

“Mm. I’ve spoken with your Uncle Li. Qingxiang Entertainment is preparing a project over there. Didn’t your exam week just end? After the New Year, go there and intern as an assistant producer,” Father Zhong’s voice was a little hoarse. “This week come home first. I’ll invite your Uncle Li over for dinner this weekend. Your older brothers will also be there, so you can meet them.”

“Okay,” Zhong Xiyuan agreed.

“How were the exams? I remember that foundation award set up by X Drama School is also evaluated after the New Year, and it carries some weight,” Father Zhong continued.

Zhong Xiyuan lowered his head, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and said, “That award is more useful for students who want to be actors. It’s not much use for my major.”

“What do you mean not much use,” Father Zhong frowned, “It’s still an industry-recognized award. It looks good on a resume. Saves people from saying you only get into projects because of your parents.”

Zhong Xiyuan looked at the students passing outside, then thought of Shi Qiu sitting in the office. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “I get it. That’s all for now, Dad. I’m hanging up.”

“Mm.”

Shi Qiu was alone in the office, scrolling through information about the production team of The Long Winter on his phone.

The director, Chang Tianhe, was in his forties, had a fair number of past works, and could be considered a decent veteran director. But the last TV series of his that had explosive data was five years ago, and his skill seemed unstable, sometimes brilliant, sometimes disastrous. His reputation, though, was good. He was known in the industry as an old nice guy.

The screenwriter and original author was quite famous, with several adapted works that had made more than one top star. But the data for The Long Winter was obviously weaker than their other novels.

After all, it was a BE (bad ending) story. Even Shi Qiu, with his “ten-year veteran actor and gold award best actor” persona, couldn’t guarantee the script would do well.

Clearly, the whole project was configured conservatively to avoid big losses. Even the male lead’s budget had been cut to only eight thousand yuan per episode. The cinematographer’s pay was higher than the male lead’s.

But there was an upside: if it flopped, no one would blame Jiang Fengmian—they’d just think the subject matter was weak. If it did well, Jiang Fengmian, as the male lead, would benefit the most.

A week passed quickly.

This week, Zhong Xiyuan had been busy with something and hadn’t bothered him. Shi Qiu didn’t bother with him either. Jiang Fengmian took him to get the stitches removed from his wrist, bought him another wrist guard, and then took him to an audition.

“I’m now officially your full-time little assistant!” Shi Qiu sat in the passenger seat, fiddling with his new wrist guard.

While driving, Jiang Fengmian was thinking about what dishes to buy for his little assistant for dinner.

He glanced at Shi Qiu, voice carrying a smile: “Assistant? Assistant isn’t enough. You’ll also have to double as my manager.”

“Being a manager is tiring. Too many things to do,” Shi Qiu blinked and said seriously, “Assistant work still lets me slack off.”

Jiang Fengmian was only joking, but seeing Shi Qiu seriously declare his desire to slack off made his smile even brighter.

“But before you sign with the company, you can still act as my manager,” Shi Qiu added solemnly.

“Alright.” Jiang Fengmian gripped the steering wheel and asked with a laugh, “So, Manager Shi, what do you want to eat tonight?”

Shi Qiu was about to say “braised pork,” but thinking that Jiang Fengmian had another audition tomorrow, making such a big dish tonight would be too tiring, so he said, “I want stir-fried pork with chili.”

“Okay,” Jiang Fengmian nodded.

Since Shi Qiu agreed to be the temporary manager, he immediately started taking over contacts from Jiang Fengmian’s phone in the car.

Seeing him so focused, Jiang Fengmian didn’t disturb him. This role had been secured thanks to Shi Qiu in the first place. This little brother was far more reliable and steady than he looked, just someone who needed more care in daily life.

Jiang Fengmian’s phone password was Shi Qiu’s birthday, showing zero defenses against him. In the most recently added contacts, Shi Qiu found the screenwriter and casting director’s numbers.

He also glanced at the call logs and saw that most of Jiang Fengmian’s communication was with the screenwriter.

It looked like this screenwriter was really satisfied with him. Barring any surprises, tomorrow’s audition was basically in the bag.

After all, where would the production find another X Drama School top student willing to do a medium-to-low-budget BE campus drama male lead for only eight thousand an episode, especially one the screenwriter was so pleased with?

The next morning, Shi Qiu yawned in the passenger seat, buckling his seatbelt.

“Why so sleepy? Stayed up late again?” Jiang Fengmian was dressed in a youthful white shirt under a khaki coat; handsome, fresh, and gentle. Clearly, he’d dressed to fit the role.

“Talked with the screenwriter last night,” Shi Qiu yawned. “At first I just wanted to say hi, but I couldn’t resist complaining about the book. Then we ended up having a passionate discussion until after midnight.”

“What a crappy book. It tortured me to death,” Shi Qiu muttered.

Once again, Jiang Fengmian was impressed by his social skills. He smiled, rubbed Shi Qiu’s hair, and said softly, “But I actually like it. Especially the male lead’s characterization.”

“Otherwise you wouldn’t take an eight-thousand-an-episode job, right?” Shi Qiu snuggled into his down jacket, eyes half-shut, muttering, “Do you know how much the female lead’s pay is? Just a second-tier actress with average fan numbers with three hundred thousand per episode. One episode equals your entire series.”

The female lead alone was getting nine million. The screenwriter had originally wanted another actor for the male lead, but the budget couldn’t cover him. So the screenwriter and casting director were screening for cheaper newcomers.

Jiang Fengmian didn’t mind: “She’s still second-tier. This drama’s baseline data will depend on her fans. It’s not free money.”

Shi Qiu made a noise of discontent but figured low pay also had one advantage, directors wouldn’t dare scold too harshly for fear the actor might quit and they couldn’t find another.

When they arrived at the audition site, Shi Qiu pulled out his phone in the car: “Hello, Teacher Yuan? My brother and I are here.”

Yuan Lingzhu’s voice was already quite familiar: “Alright, come straight up. Both of you.”

“Got it.”

After hanging up, Yuan Lingzhu turned to the director next to her: “Wait for it. The Jiang Fengmian I found is about to arrive. His looks and temperament are way better than those weird ones we just saw.”

Director Chang Tianhe sighed: “True. I’ve seen his profile. His conditions are excellent. If he really fits, we’ve hit the jackpot.”

He’d already been worn down by low budget and the BE double blade.

Shi Qiu led Jiang Fengmian straight to the room, passing some other fresh-faced young actors in the hall. Passing them, Shi Qiu felt Jiang Fengmian was like a dimensionality reduction attack.

Two minutes later, Chang Tianhe and Yuan Lingzhu saw Jiang Fengmian push the door open and enter.

The simply dressed young man brought the corridor’s cool air into the room. The atmosphere seemed instantly fresher. That quiet yet unignorable gentle temperament, and the truly youthful face of a twenty-year-old. He was the male lead of The Long Winter in the flesh.

The whole room froze for a barely noticeable second.

Yuan Lingzhu’s eyes lit up instantly. Chang Tianhe waved his hand decisively: “Alright, no need to audition. This is it. Old Yang, bring the contract and sign him. Quickly, quickly! Once the male lead is set, we start shooting in three days!”

“Yes!” Yuan Lingzhu tossed the script from her lap onto the table in relief.

Jiang Fengmian’s smile froze mid-bow.

No need to audition? Then what was my whole week of preparation for?

The big white ball in a mask had already stepped past him, speaking brightly: “Give me the contract. I’m Jiang Fengmian’s manager.” The room filled with cheerful energy.

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Translator note: 📌

Thank you for reading 💖 see you again in the next chapter, my lovely cherries 😘

📍Note: I’m pretty free lately, so I will be posting 3  to 4 chapters a day. Enjoy 🤭