"It's nothing." Liang Shi glanced at the person and guessed, "This should be the performer responsible for the water sleeve dance."
Qi Tang nodded: "She should be. Judging from her figure, she can dance."
She paused, then added, "But it seems like Director Gu doesn't like her very much."
"It's alright," Liang Shi said. "Doesn't Director Gu always have the same expression?"
Just then, Gu Yixue came over, and Qi Tang immediately stopped talking, like a primary school student caught talking badly by the homeroom teacher.
Gu Yixue didn't talk to that person much, and didn't even make any arrangements for her. She directly called Liang Shi and Qi Tang to perform the next scene.
All crew members returned to their posts and filming continued.
It wasn't until after filming the morning's scenes and during the lunch break that Gu Yixue went to talk to that person.
However, his expression was still not good. He only said a few words before leaving to go for a smoke.
Liang Shi took an extra box of food to Gu Yixue and handed it to her.
Gu Yixue glanced at her: "What?"
"You can't live on cigarettes." Liang Shi pushed the boxed lunch forward. "You won't live long like that."
Gu Yixue: "..."
She stubbed out her cigarette and waved to disperse the smoke. "If I had only heard the first half of what you said, I would have thought you liked me."
Liang Shi was taken aback: "?"
Gu Yixue took the lunchbox. "Just kidding."
Liang Shi breathed a sigh of relief, "You scared me."
"You and your wife have such a good relationship." Gu Yixue chuckled, "I wouldn't stoop to breaking you up."
Liang Shi: "..."
Liang Shi felt embarrassed when Xu Qingzhu was occasionally mentioned.
But I felt quite happy inside.
The two casually found a place to sit and started eating their boxed lunches with chopsticks.
Gu Yixue rummaged through the rice and vegetables in the lunchbox several times, but only managed to feed herself a few bites.
Liang Shi frowned as he watched from the side, "Was this how you were from the very beginning of your acting career?"
Gu Yixue nodded: "Yeah, I'm too tired, I don't really want to eat."
Liang Shi: "..."
“You’ve lost a lot of weight since we started filming,” Liang Shi said. “Really, you can’t lose any more weight.”
Gu Yixue chuckled upon hearing this, "What? Is losing weight drastically illegal?"
"No, not at all," Liang Shi said. "Both being too thin and too fat can make you more susceptible to illness."
"With this body of mine, I'd rather die sooner rather than later." Gu Yixue didn't seem offended at all. She casually talked about life and death, which reminded Liang Shi of Chen Mian. He suddenly asked, "Are all genius artists like you..."
Liang Shi paused, racking his brains for an adjective, and the only one he could think of in the end was: "Crazy?"
Gu Yixue: "Hmm?"
"Don't compare me to Qin Lishuang." Gu Yixue thought she was talking about Qin Lishuang and immediately distanced herself: "We're not the same kind of people."
Liang Shi shook his head: "It's not Qin Lishuang, it's... Chen Mian, you know? She's also a painter, a very talented artist, and she looks a little like you."
Gu Yixue paused slightly, "I've seen her paintings."
"But you know her?" Gu Yixue smiled. "I was just wondering how to contact her. Are you two close?"
Liang Shi: "..."
"It's alright?" Liang Shi said, "At least we have her contact information."
“I want to commission her to paint a picture for the opening and closing scenes of the movie, and also as a backdrop in the film,” Gu Yixue said. “Could you ask her if she’s willing to paint it for me? The price is negotiable.”
Liang Shi: "..."
Gu Yixue didn't make things difficult for her, but said, "If it's going to be difficult for you, I'll find someone myself. I have some friends in this industry, but I've heard that she doesn't like to show off and only paints for her own enjoyment."
Liang Shi: "It's alright, let me ask her."
Mentioning Chen Mian, Gu Yixue suddenly said, "Why do you still say that artists shouldn't be too rich? Chen Mian's famous work sold for 20 million, and she's been willful ever since. She doesn't care how much money people are willing to pay for her paintings; she just goes by first impressions."
“Yes,” Liang Shi said, “She is quite willful, but also easy to talk to.”
At least that's how it is for Liang Shi.
Liang Shi sent Chen Mian a message with the specific requirements, but did not mention that the filming was being done at Gu Yixue's place. She only mentioned "our director," so Chen Mian asked her who the director was.
Liang Shi replied: [Gu Yixue.]
So Chen Mian sent her a video call.
Liang Shi was surprised and immediately answered the call.
Gu Yixue peeked out and waved familiarly, "Hello."
Chen Mian glanced at the camera lens and went straight to the point: "What do you want to draw?"
Gu Yixue tentatively asked, "Shall we meet to talk? I'll treat you to a drink."
Chen Mian thought for a moment, "Okay, tonight?"
Gu Yixue: "Okay."
In less than a minute, a major agreement was reached.
Then, with Chen Mian's consent, Liang Shi gave Chen Mian's contact information to Gu Yixue.
Liang Shi was dumbfounded by their work efficiency.
Gu Yixue was amused by her expression. "What? Haven't you ever seen such a quick collaboration before?"
Liang Shi nodded: "So... do you geniuses communicate using brainwaves?"
Gu Yixue: "..."
"Little sister, how can you be so cute?" Gu Yixue smiled genuinely, her eyes and brows filled with ease. Liang Shi hadn't seen her like this in many days, and he was also infected by her ease.
Liang Shi said very sincerely, "I thought you would at least find out about each other's salary and style, but I didn't expect you to be able to go out for drinks directly."
“You can tell at a glance whether some people are suitable for cooperation.” Gu Yixue also answered her sincerely: “I have seen her paintings, and she has seen my movies, so we hit it off immediately.”
“It seems you can succeed without me,” Liang Shi said. “I am just a thread.”
“No, you’re important too,” Gu Yixue said. “You’ve saved us a lot of trouble. We’ll give you 1% of the profits.”
"How much can you pay Chen Mian?"
Gu Yixue paused: "It depends on her needs. She might just ask me to treat her to a drink."
Liang Shi: "..."
Feelings are all lies.
The two were eating and chatting casually when a cold and domineering voice came from behind them: "Where's Gu Yixue? You're just letting her eat this kind of stuff? Where is she?"
No sooner had the words been spoken than Gu Yixue's phone rang.
Gu Yixue glanced at the food she had only eaten a few bites of; she hadn't even finished the very tip of the dish.
Liang Shi quickly shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice, then stood up and casually asked, "Who is it?"
“Trash attracts more trash.” Gu Yixue said, turning off her phone so the ringing stopped, and then walked over there.
The man had a baby face and wasn't very tall. Standing next to the woman in the cheongsam who had come that morning, he said with a pained expression, "This isn't human food. Why would you eat this? Gu Yixue must have done it on purpose."
He was filled with righteous indignation whenever Gu Yixue was mentioned.
"Do I need to?" Gu Yixue asked coldly before she even got close to her.
"Gu Yixue." The baby-faced man glared at Gu Yixue fiercely. "I told you to take good care of Wenwen, and this is how you treat her? If you have a problem with me, just say so openly. Don't try to trip me up in secret. I despise your behavior the most."
“Everyone eats the same food,” Gu Yixue said. “If she wants to film my movie, then she has to follow my rules. There are so many people here, and I eat the same food. How is it that it’s not human food? Everyone else can eat it, but you, Wenwen, can’t? Then take her away. What are you doing?”
"Don't try to play the victim." Gu Yixue scoffed, her eyes icy cold. "You're going to cause trouble in my group..."
"What are you doing?" Before she could finish speaking, the baby-faced man interrupted her, mockingly saying, "Gu Yixue, have you gotten too bold? Don't think that just because you've grown up you're no longer surnamed Gu."
"So?" Gu Yixue asked calmly.
This stumped the baby-faced man.
Everyone present fell silent, not daring to breathe.
It seems everyone is waiting for the show to begin.
Gu Yixue concluded: "If she can act, then she can act; if she can't, then take her back as soon as possible. Anyway, you've raised her for so long, so you don't mind a few more years."
Before she could finish speaking, the baby-faced man swung his fist at her, but Gu Yixue gripped it tightly, rendering him unable to move.
Gu Yixue glanced at the other person casually and said coldly, "Gu Chunmian, do you still think of me as the Gu Yixue from twenty years ago?"
Although Gu Yixue was thin, she was very strong.
Upon hearing this name, Sun Chengcheng, who was standing to the side, immediately recalled the information about Gu Yixue from back then.
The person I hate the most is Gu Chunmian.
But the current situation didn't allow her to do anything; she could only stay quietly.
Gu Chunmian and Gu Yixue faced off, his face contorted with rage, but he couldn't break free from Gu Yixue's grasp. He was both annoyed and angry, and threatened, "Gu Yixue, if you keep doing this, I'll have someone throw you out."
"How old are you to still play these tricks?" Gu Yixue sneered, pressing her fingers on Gu Chunmian's hand bones. "Gu Chunmian, do I need to remind you? I moved out of the Gu family many years ago."
"And your family tree," Gu Chunmian said, "and your mother's. Wasn't your mother's last wish to be included in my Gu family's family tree? Do you want to let her wish go unfulfilled?"
When Gu Yixue's weakness was mentioned, she suddenly loosened her grip.
Enraged, Gu Chunmian raised her hand and slapped Gu Yixue across the face.
My hand was stopped just a hair's breadth away from being stopped.
Liang Shi stood in front of Gu Yixue and finally couldn't help but take action. She grabbed Gu Chunmian's wrist and said, "Madam, this is a film crew. Please have some self-respect."
"Who are you?" Gu Chunmian said. "What right do you have to interfere in our family affairs?"