Before Gu Zhong became famous for acting, finding someone in a vast sea of people was like finding a needle in a haystack. That top-notch director was also known for his closed-door filming, and he could not be found anywhere.
By the time Lingyan heard news of her, "Peach Blossom" had become a huge hit. Ge Tan had already fallen in love with Gu Zhong because of the drama and used all sorts of romantic tricks to finally win over the naive Gu Zhong. The two should be having a secret relationship now. She was ultimately a step too late.
"It's not allowed in the contract."
Suppressing her anger, Ling Yan turned to the page with the contract terms and pointed at it with her pale, red-nailed fingers.
"Oh," Gu Zhong responded sullenly, his gaze fixed on her hands. "Sister Yan's hands are so beautiful."
Ling Yan quickly withdrew her hand, hiding it under the table, her ears involuntarily burning. Faced with Gu Zhong's innocent, puzzled gaze, she secretly cursed herself for being an indecent old man.
"Ahem... So if you're dating, you should tell me as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it gets exposed by accident and the company doesn't handle it properly, it could have a negative impact."
Lingyan steered the conversation back on track; she was determined not to let the little brat escape this topic today.
"All right…"
Gu Zhong frowned, seemingly torn between what to say and what not to say.
"Good children are not allowed to lie!"
Lingyan felt that she was just like a kindergarten homeroom teacher at this moment.
"But I promised I wouldn't tell..."
Gu Zhong is teetering on the edge of keeping his promises.
Is it Ge Tan?
Ling Yan directly revealed the scumbag's name, and Gu Zhong stared at her with wide eyes, looking shocked, as if to say, "How did you know?"
"Your recent CP pairing has gone too far... Gu Zhong, developing feelings for someone while filming is the most unreliable thing."
Lingyan said, half warning and half worried.
"Hmm... but he's very good to me..."
Gu Zhong tilted his head and puffed out his cheeks in displeasure.
"..." Ling Yan was speechless, knowing that this matter could not be rushed. How could a scumbag's nature be hidden? Sooner or later, he would reveal his true colors.
But before that—
"Fine, I won't be the villain who breaks up a couple. But you have to make a deal with me..." Lingyan tried to subtly stop their relationship.
"Sister Yan, please speak!"
Seeing that she had agreed, Gu Zhong nodded repeatedly.
“First, you must report to me when you go out with Ge Tan.” Ling Yan raised her first finger.
"No problem!" Gu Zhong readily agreed.
"Second, you are not allowed to be alone with him; I need to be by his side."
“…Sister Yan, do you look like that…” Gu Zhong pointed to the ceiling.
Lingyan looked up and saw, wow, what a bright light bulb!
"...I won't get too close to you and disturb your date. It's just to prevent paparazzi from taking pictures, otherwise it could cause a lot of trouble."
In reality, Lingyan felt incredibly jealous and wished she could bother him a hundred or eighty times.
"Okay... fine..." Gu Zhongmian reluctantly agreed.
"Most importantly, you are not allowed to go out with him at night, so that you don't get taken advantage of."
Lingyan raised her third finger, staring intently at her.
"Okay." Gu Zhong agreed to the condition without hesitation.
However, Lingyan had a deep doubt: if she wasn't careful, wouldn't this little guy really try something sneaky?
"You really... agreed?"
"Oh dear... Sister Yan, why are you even more nagging than my mom?"
Gu Zhong lunged forward across the table, grabbed Ling Yan's three raised fingers, and looked as if he wanted to press them down.
Ling Yan silently stared at her hand, which was held by Gu Zhong, her mind involuntarily racing.
After silently reciting the Diamond Sutra once, Lingyan calmly withdrew her hand.
He cursed in his heart the Emperor Gu Zhong, who had always indulged in lust and pleasure in the previous world.
"Then you'd better remember this..."
"I'll remember! I definitely will!"
Author's Note:
Working overtime today...I'm so upset I could cry!
Chapter 30 Agent and Movie Queen (Part Two)
============================
The excellent script and exquisite visual design made the movie "Peach Blossom" a great success, and Gu Zhong and Ge Tan became famous overnight. The images of the peach blossom fairy and the mountain god were engraved on them.
With her popularity and high profile, Gu Zhong received numerous invitations to various variety shows. In order to cooperate with the production team in promoting her on-screen couple with Ge Qin, she accepted many gigs. Although she herself had little interest in these kinds of things, she had to bite the bullet and go along with them because of the contracts she had signed.
As a compass for entertainment trends, Hunan TV's "Happy Match" enjoys a high reputation in the industry. Every production team that receives an invitation to host the show is a hugely successful production of that year, and "Peach Blossom" certainly qualifies for it.
Ling Yan met Ge Tan for the first time today. He moved around the film crew with a bright and sunny smile, like a walking sun. To put it nicely, he was a central air conditioner; to put it bluntly, he was a playboy.
Lingyan had a prejudiced view of this person from the very beginning. After all, it would be difficult for a star idol to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry in such a short time without high emotional intelligence.
At this moment, he was truly sincere towards Gu Zhong, which was obvious to everyone. No matter who he was taking care of, Gu Zhong was the most special one.
"Ah Chong! Your favorite juice! Shh, I secretly brought it in behind Sister Lin's back."
While backstage preparing for his performance, Ge Tan squatted down next to Gu Zhong like a big golden retriever and magically produced a bottle of lemonade from behind him.
"Qinqin! Wow! You're so kind!"
Gu Zhong happily took the bottle from his hand, unscrewed the cap, and was about to put it in his mouth.
Lingyan felt a surge of bitterness welling up inside her, as if the entire bottle of lemon juice had been poured into her mouth.
"etc!"
She reached out and blocked the bottle, stopping Gu Zhong's actions, earning her a accusing look from him.
“Use a straw…” Ling Yan calmly took a straw from her bag and inserted it into the bottle opening. “Otherwise, the lipstick will be gone in a bit.”
"Thank you, Sister Yan!"
Gu Zhong gave a sweet smile, then looked at Ge Tan, and the two laughed at each other.
The air pressure around Lingyan kept dropping, almost as if the words "Keep Out" were written all over her face.
When it came time to record the actual show, Lingyan couldn't stand the game segment on stage designed to increase intimacy between the male and female leads, which was actually a publicity stunt for the main couple. She turned around and left the backstage area.
Turning on the faucet above the bathroom sink, clear water gushed out and flowed over the back of her hand. Lingyan looked at the person in the mirror in front of her.
Even with the best maintenance, the sharp eyebrows and eyes still look somewhat weathered from years of hard work, and the reddened corners of the eyes look like they've just been crying.
With a creak, the bathroom door was pushed open. Ling Yan turned to look at the doorway and saw a woman with high cheekbones wearing a white business suit walk in with her head held high. She recognized her as Ge Tan's agent, Lin Lin.
This person has a lot of idol boys under his wing, but few of them are truly outstanding, which shows that their abilities are only average.
However, Ge Tan's big fire fell into her hands, and in an instant, she raised the airs of a top agent, with a temper that was much worse than many second-tier stars. She was truly a person who was all talk and no action.
"Hey~ Isn't this Manager Ling?"
Lin Lin's tone was extremely sarcastic from the very first word she spoke.
"Sister Lin, have you been sleeping poorly lately? I see you have quite a few dark circles and bags under your eyes, and you've even noticed fine lines around your eyes."
Coincidentally, Lingyan also disliked her intensely, and greeted her with a smile that concealed a sharp edge.
Lin Lin's expression twisted for a moment; almost no woman is indifferent to her age and her face.
"Don't bother with that! Use that time to properly manage your own artist. Stop bothering my Ge Tan all the time, regardless of the occasion, and affecting his future development."
"I'll return this to you. Gu Zhong is still young and naive. Please keep an eye on Ge Tan and stop him from constantly getting close to my little one. Although creating a CP (couple pairing) is to cooperate with the production team's publicity, it's better to cut ties as soon as possible to avoid affecting their careers."
Lingyan turned off the tap, shook her hands on the ground, and then pulled out two tissues from the cardboard box by the wall to wipe her hands.
"That's exactly what I was thinking! You'd better keep your word!"
As Lin Lin spoke, she walked inside, raising her head even higher.
"You too." Ling Yan turned and walked towards the door. The two brushed past each other, signaling the end of this heated argument between elementary school students.
"Hey! Lingyan! I'm not done with you yet!"
After walking a few steps, a cry of pain came from inside. Lingyan shrugged and her steps became more cheerful.
—Who told Lin Lin to wear such high heels? She didn't even know to be careful when the ground was wet and slippery.
After calming herself down, Ling Yan returned to the area near the stage and quietly watched Gu Zhong chatting and laughing on stage.
Aside from looking a bit more childish, her appearance is clearly unchanged from before.
But perhaps lacking the cold, aloof air of someone who commands armies and commands the world, Gu Zhong now appears gentle and harmless, just a soft and gentle little beauty.
Once she smiles, her slightly upturned eyebrows seem to be filled with starlight, making it impossible to look away and making one want to be captivated by her.
The moment she frowns, a hint of discomfort appears on her fair face, making onlookers feel inexplicably guilty and resentful of themselves for causing her such injustice.
Just like protecting a fragile, priceless treasure, I only want to hold it carefully in my hands.
"Have the director pause filming for a moment."
As Ling Yan watched, she suddenly spoke to her assistant beside her.
"Huh? But Sister Ling, the script doesn't say there's an intermission."
The new intern assistant was taken aback, flipped through the script, and looked at her with some confusion.
"Gu Zhong is injured... Never mind, I'll go myself."