He strives towards his goals, and even when he's tired, he doesn't complain, because he knows he's about to reap the sweetest fruit, and all his efforts are worthwhile.
The assistants had already driven the car to them and were waiting in a row.
Qin Shuang hesitated for a moment, then opened the car door, took out a gift bag, and handed it to Xiao Shulang.
Xiao Shulang blinked, his gaze shifting from the bag to Qin Shuang's face.
"A souvenir I brought when I went on a business trip to another city."
The gift bag was a plain white paper bag with no logo, so you couldn't tell what was inside. Xiao Shulang reached out and took it: "Local specialty? Thank you."
Qin Shuang neither said yes nor no, only saying, "You're welcome."
His car was in front, so he opened the door first. Xiao Shulang waited for him to get in first. Qin Shuang's lips moved, as if she swallowed something back, and she said softly to him, "Take care of yourself."
Xiao Shulang nodded in agreement.
After Qin Shuang's car started and drove away, Xiao Shulang got into his own car. He leaned back in his seat and chuckled to himself, thinking that he had hidden his fatigue quite well, but Qin Shuang could still tell that he had lost weight from exhaustion.
Xiao Shulang himself didn't feel much change, but Teacher Qin had such sharp eyes.
The car drove up from the underground parking garage. Xiao Shulang sat in the back seat, opening the paper bag to see what local specialties Qin Shuang had brought. If it was some kind of snack, he could take it back to the office for Xiao Jiang and the lawyer to try.
There was another bag inside the paper bag, and this bag had a brand logo printed on it.
Xiao Shulang remained silent.
Inside was a jewelry box. As the car drove out of the underground parking garage, Xiao Shulang opened the box, and the light from the ground suddenly shone down, making the necklace inside reflect a bright luster.
The necklace’s series name, Dawn Glow, is outlined in silver on the velvet lid inside the box.
No wonder Qin Shuang didn't say anything earlier. Who would give this as a local specialty?
Calling it a souvenir does easily conjure up images of simple local specialties, but Qin Shuang added, seemingly trying to cover up her misunderstanding, that she was afraid he wouldn't accept it.
However, if he had directly revealed the logo inside, Xiao Shulang might not have accepted it.
It wasn't just because it was valuable, but also because... in what capacity did he receive this gift?
If it were a gift for a business partner, Qin Shuang could have simply said so, but he didn't.
Xiao Shulang held the necklace, overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
Xiao Jiang drove to their current company address. When he got out of the car, he exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, Brother Xiao, you changed your necklace? I remember you weren't wearing this when you came out at noon."
"Hmm." Xiao Shulang lifted the necklace a little with his finger. "We had a great collaboration, so let's get a new piece of jewelry to commemorate it. Does it look nice?"
When Xiao Shulang unwrapped the gift, Xiao Jiang was focused on driving and didn't know the necklace was a gift from Qin Shuang. He simply gave his most immediate opinion: "It's beautiful!"
Xiao Shulang smiled and ran his fingers over his lips: "Yeah, I think so too."
After signing the papers at noon, the company and personal accounts received the transfers in the afternoon. With the cooperation of investors and sufficient funds, the company could finally get started.
Xiao Shulang also transferred 30 million from his personal account to Xiao Mingfeng, which prompted Xiao Mingfeng to call him immediately.
"Sparse, I don't mean—"
"Hey, stop, brother, don't worry. I'm taking good care of myself. We're supposed to be brothers and face difficulties together, so I can't possibly neglect my family."
Xiao Mingfeng is most helpless when it comes to his own younger brother. The words or tricks he uses on others will not be used on Xiao Shulang, which also means that he can't argue with Xiao Shulang.
After a long pause, he could only sigh softly, "Thank you for your hard work."
Xiao Shulang triumphed: "It wasn't hard work at all."
They say it's not hard work, but they still have to work overtime at night.
With the funds in place, the company needed to add more assistants and staff, and recruited two new artists. They couldn't afford the expensive ones, as they were both unknown in the industry, but Wang Hao had helped vet them and found that they had certain business skills and could continue to learn while taking on jobs.
With the new company starting, Xiao Shulang had to personally review all of these things. Once everything was finalized, three more days passed in the blink of an eye.
He barely slept for the past three days. When he got home and went straight to bed, he slept soundly until the afternoon. When he woke up, he was still groggy and was startled for a moment, thinking that he was going to miss his work.
After he sprang out of bed and woke up a little, he remembered that most of the important matters had been settled and he could take a two-day break.
Xiao Shulang, feeling both amused and exasperated, collapsed back onto the bed. However, he had already had a good sleep. After lying down for a while, he got up and, for the first time in a long time, ordered fresh food delivery to slowly cook himself a meal at home.
After a satisfying meal, Xiao Shulang brewed himself a cup of tea, intending to take a leisurely look at the script he hadn't had time to open due to his busy schedule.
Qin Shuang gave him the complete script, which was quite thick.
"No Clothes" is an ancient fictional story with two male protagonists. The plot revolves around the two of them working together to protect their country and bring peace and prosperity to the land. The romance is between the two male protagonists, and it seems to be a marriage of convenience that blossoms into love.
These are not problems.
The problem is that after the main character's name, one actor is labeled Qin Shuang, while the other is labeled Xiao Shulang.
Xiao Shulang's hand trembled, and the tea almost spilled.
They cast him as the lead right from the start!?
Want to read a script in peace and quiet? Forget about it.
Chapter 46, though just a few simple words, is very reassuring.
Xiao Shulang, who had been leaning back on the sofa, suddenly sat up straight, put down his tea, and gripped the script with both hands.
"No clothes, yet you say you have no clothes" is an ancient war song. It describes the fighting path of the two protagonists and also symbolizes their relationship. They are not only partners, but also comrades-in-arms and brothers-in-arms who can be relied upon most.
Qin Shuang plays Chu Beiyao, an unfavored third prince, while Xiao Shulang will play Hua Che, an even less favored illegitimate son of a noble family, who is betrothed to the third prince at the beginning of the story.
Even if the Third Prince is not favored, he is still a prince. A concubine can be his secondary wife, but he cannot be the principal wife in terms of status.
In the future, the Third Prince will ascend to the Golden Palace step by step, and he will only marry Hua Che in this life. So what if he is born out of wedlock? The two are very much in love.
But that's a story for later. The two main characters at the beginning are both prickly, and their emotions and growth change throughout the story, creating a clear sense of depth. Overall, they are not easy to act.
Xiao Shulang was completely distraught when he saw the character profile.
Hua Che was bullied by the first wife and her son in the Hua family, which caused him to suffer from illness since childhood. As an adult, he appears gentle and refined, but in reality, he is ruthless and decisive. He is ruthless to others and even more ruthless to himself. His health is not good, so after putting on a brave face, he often appears weak and faint.
After reading it, Xiao Shulang felt that the entire biography could be summed up in two big words: difficult to act!
Is this something a novice could do well? Isn't Qin Shuang afraid of ruining such an important role as Hua Che?
Oh right, he also had the most scenes with Qin Shuang, the youngest Best Actor winner to date.
He thought he would start with a supporting role, but Qin Shuang waved her hand and said: Come on, let's fight the final boss first.
Beneath his sparse and indifferent expression lay a blank expression.
He closed the script, calmly took a sip of tea, and then calmly opened the title page again. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the actor playing Hua Che was still his own name. Deceiving himself was useless.
Xiao Shulang took a deep breath, grabbed his phone from the sofa, and wanted to ask Qin Shuang what she was thinking.
The screen was lit up, the interface had popped up, and Xiao Shulang was just one tap away from making the final move when he stopped.
He received 50 million in his personal account.
Fifty million? If he only plays two minor supporting roles with limited screen time, no matter how well he performs, it wouldn't be worth the price.
If you want the audience to buy tickets for a show because of you, you naturally have to play a lot of roles, either the second lead or the main character, and you have to act very well so that everyone can identify with the character you play.
Thinking of this, Xiao Shulang did not press down.
He put down his phone, picked up the script again, quietly canceled his vacation, and began to read it seriously.
He is by no means the type to back down when faced with difficulties.
Xiao Shulang first skimmed through the story to understand its overall plot, then read it carefully to analyze Hua Che's character. He began to slowly recite the lines and immerse himself in the role. After three days of preparation, he contacted Qingyu Entertainment, hoping to find a teacher to learn systematically.
Qingyu was very efficient and arranged a teacher for him that same day, enabling Xiao Shulang to contact the other side. Qin Shuang also sent him a message after she found out.
"Feel free to ask me if you have any questions."
Before Xiao Shulang could reply, Qin Shuang typed another line: "You can also ask me to act with you."
Xiao Shulang then deleted the message he had just typed and retyped a line: "Then you'll have to wait for me. I think with my current skill level, I'm afraid I won't be able to act well with you."
Xiao Shulang does have some talent, but Qin Shuang neither comforted him nor overly praised him. She simply replied, "Okay, I'll wait for you."
These few simple words bring a sense of reassurance.
Xiao Shulang stared at Qin Shuang's reply for a long time, then turned off his phone, picked up the script with many notes and annotations, and continued to study it.
The teacher in charge of teaching acting has his own office. Xiao Shulang arranged to meet him the next afternoon. He looked at the address and found that it was very close to the pottery shop where the dating reality show was filmed.
The text message announcing that coloring could begin had been sent a while ago, but Xiao Shulang had been too busy to go. He decided to go earlier tomorrow and stop by the pottery shop on his way to class.
Xiao Shulang went alone, without bringing anyone else.
Although a new assistant has been hired, he has been helping the company organize affairs for the past two days. Xiao Shulang has also named his company "Weifeng". Regardless of whether the Xiao family's Weifeng Group can be revived in the future, he wants to keep this name.
He can drive himself to class, so he doesn't need to increase his assistant's workload.
Xiao Shulang first parked his car near the pottery shop. He remembered to prepare his gear before going out, wearing a hat and a mask. There weren't many people in the shop yet. Xiao Shulang walked up to the shop owner and read out the numbers of the pottery pieces he had previously made.
Upon hearing the number, the shop owner looked up and glanced at Xiao Shulang with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
Xiao Shulang: ?
The shop was full of things, and Xiao Shulang thought it would take the shopkeeper a while to find his things. But the shopkeeper turned around and took his ceramic rabbit.
"Go to room number three on the second floor," the shopkeeper pointed upstairs to him, "It'll be more convenient."
It seemed the shop owner still remembered him. Xiao Shulang thanked him and took the rabbit upstairs.
Unbeknownst to him, after he went upstairs, the shop owner exclaimed in surprise, "I thought they were just playing around, but they actually came to pick up their things! Wow!"
Xiao Shulang thought that since the shop owner had said so, there must be no one in room number three. However, when he pressed the doorknob down, he found that the door was actually locked from the inside.
Is anyone there?
The shop owner recognized him and knew that someone was in room number three, but still let him in. Could it be...? Xiao Shulang's mind raced. He found it somewhat unbelievable, but with a glimmer of hope, he knocked on the door.
A voice came from inside the door: "Who is it?"
Xiao Shulang smiled and said, "Me."
The sound of a stool scraping against the floor and hurried footsteps came from inside the room. The door suddenly opened, and a familiar figure appeared before Xiao Shulang's eyes—it was Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang's eyes also showed surprise; she hadn't expected to run into Xiao Shulang at this time.
Qin Shuang made no attempt to disguise herself in the room. Xiao Shulang caught a glimpse of a passerby walking in their direction out of the corner of his eye, and quickly pushed Qin Shuang into the room, closing the door behind him.