Zhou Mingqian doesn't usually like milk tea that much. If Yu An makes him a cup, he'll drink it reluctantly. If Yu An doesn't make it, he never misses it.
I don't know what's wrong with me today.
I just crave that one bite.
Xi Jia held her milk tea, taking sips every now and then, and occasionally glancing back at Mo Yushen with a smile in her eyes, "Mr. Mo, would you like to sit down and rest for a bit?"
Mo Yushen had wanted to sit down for a while. They brought out a long bench today, and Zhou Mingqian and Xi Jia had been sitting together, so he felt awkward about cutting in line.
Xi Jia stood up and gave way.
As Mo Yushen walked around, Xi Jia blocked him with her body, gave Mo Yushen the milk tea in her hand, and then took his cup.
Milk tea swapped.
Xi Jia bit the straw, the one Mo Yushen had already used.
Mo Yushen was already used to her flirting skills, so he sat down. Zhou Mingqian glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the milk tea in Mo Yushen's hand had turned taro flavored.
Mo Yushen moved closer to the center, gesturing to Xi Jia, "You can sit down too."
The three of them squeezed onto a long bench. Zhou Mingqian was pushed to the side. He really wanted to yell: "Come on, come on, come on, you two can have all the seats, you can be the directors!"
Chapter Forty-Three
All of today's scenes will be finished by 11:00 PM.
Everyone finished work and returned to the studio.
Xi Jia's feet were numb from the cold, and she stood there for a while before they warmed up.
Mo Yushen walked very slowly, waiting for her.
Xi Jia caught up, keeping a one-meter distance from Mo Yushen.
Mo Yushen walked in front, shielding Xi Jia from the wind.
Xi Jia would step on the footprints he left in the snow again, sometimes even twice.
They walked a short path, yet they evoked the emotions depicted in a slow-motion film.
The studio was bustling with activity when Boss Fu arrived. Instead of spending New Year's Eve with everyone, he came to deliver some nuts and snacks, and also gave each member of the crew a red envelope.
This money is from Mo Yushen's private account, arranged by the major shareholder to be given to President Fu as a benefit.
Mo Yushen arrived at the film set today and only stayed for a morning, but he already felt it wasn't easy.
President Fu was in a hurry to get home, so he didn't linger. Just as he reached the door, Zhou Mingqian came in.
Zhou Mingqian offered a cigarette to President Fu. Since there were many women in the studio, they went outside to smoke.
President Fu lit a cigarette. "How's the collaboration with Mo Yushen going?"
Aside from the squeezing of seats and fighting over milk tea, which are annoying, there's nothing else to complain about.
Zhou Mingqian slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Not bad."
Perhaps because of the cold weather and not having had milk tea, Zhou Mingqian's mind went blank, and he asked gossipily, "I heard Mo Yushen got married. Which family is his wife from?"
President Fu had only heard the major shareholder mention it once. He frowned and thought for a moment, "It seems to be the Ji family?" Then he confirmed, "Yes, yes, the Mo family and the Ji family are getting married."
Fearing Zhou Mingqian might not know, President Fu mentioned someone, "Ji Qingshi, you know him, right?"
Zhou Mingqian nodded. He was the one who was frequently trending on social media recently, the one rumored to be dating Chu Shan. He not only knew Ji Qingshi, but had also met Ji Qingshi's parents.
Ji Zhenghe had business dealings with his father, and a few years ago, Ji Zhenghe and his wife also attended their father and mother's 30th wedding anniversary party.
The Ji family has three children, two boys and one girl.
He had only met Ji Qingshi.
Mr. Fu flicked his cigarette ash and continued, "The woman who married Mo Yushen is Ji Qingshi's younger sister. She's the third princess of the Ji family. I heard she's a beauty, a science whiz, and a graduate of an Ivy League university."
Zhou Mingqian took a drag of his cigarette. So, what was Mo Yushen after when he approached Xi Jia? Was it because she was good at humanities and could write screenplays?
After finishing his cigarette, Mr. Fu went home.
Zhou Mingqian stubbed out his cigarette and threw it into the trash can.
The snow is still falling, everywhere.
The film crew welcomed its first group of visitors.
Qin Sulan and her driver carried large and small bags into the photography studio.
Mo Yushen went to greet her, and in front of everyone, he gave Qin Sulan plenty of face, taking the things and saying gently, "Mom, why did you bring so much?"
Qin Sulan was momentarily dazed; she hadn't heard Mo Yushen call her "Mom" like that in a long time. "There are many people in your crew, so everyone shares the food," she said, her voice hoarse and tinged with excitement.
For many years, nothing had caused her to experience such emotional turmoil. Even when she encountered Chairman Mo and Mo Lian's mother at the Mo Corporation building that night, she hadn't lost her composure like this.
Mo Yushen introduced the main members of the production team to Qin Sulan one by one.
Xi Jia was mischievous; when shaking hands, she hooked her little finger around Qin Sulan's palm.
Qin Sulan smiled and said, "Your aunt is still your fan. She always votes for you on the charts."
Zhou Mingqian glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. If Qin Sulan knew that Xi Jia had interfered in her son's marriage, she would probably immediately unfollow her and turn into a hater.
Qin Sulan had been there for several minutes, and some of the female crew members were still dumbfounded. They were busy making dumplings and bread, so engrossed in watching that they forgot to do their work.
This national mother-in-law is so young, yet her temperament is miles ahead of theirs.
Qin Sulan took off her coat and put on an apron.
An ordinary apron was made to look like a luxury item.
"Auntie will make dumplings with you."
Several girls were so excited that they offered their seats to each other in unison, saying, "Auntie, please sit down."
Xi Jia also wanted to go over and play with the dough, making a few dumplings to cook for Mo Yushen. But she needed to take notes, otherwise she would forget them in the afternoon.
She looked away and buried herself in writing.
Mo Yushen shared the snacks his mother had brought with them.
Zhou Mingqian was casually flipping through the script, turning a page every few seconds. Mo Yushen walked up to Zhou Mingqian and tossed a small bag of snacks onto the table.
Zhou Mingqian: "..."
Enough to fill a tooth gap?
Mo Yushen completely ignored Zhou Mingqian's dissatisfied look. He only shared the snacks with Zhou Mingqian, and then handed the snack bag to the others, saying, "Share it."
He took a bag of potato chips and went to find Xi Jia.
"Take a break."
Xi Jia looked up and said, "President Mo." Her tone when she called him "President Mo" was just like when she called him "husband," with a hint of coquetry.
Mo Yushen sat down next to her and gave her potato chips.
Xi Jia shook her head. She was taking medication, so potato chips and the like held no appeal for her and she couldn't eat them.
Mo Yushen noticed that her gaze kept drifting towards the dumpling table. "Don't bother writing it down, go help make dumplings."
Xi Jia shook her head.
Mo Yushen lowered his voice: "I'll write it for you when we get back tonight. Today is New Year's Eve, so this is my New Year's gift to you: writing your notes for you once."
Xi Jia looked at Mo Yushen. If there weren't so many people around, she would have kissed him long ago. Today is New Year's Eve, so she decided to indulge herself this once in a while.
I put away my notebook and went to play with dough.
Mo Yushen's phone vibrated; a call was coming in. He walked out of the photography studio.
Secretary Ding called to report on his work; he was at work as usual today.
The Mo Group had already given everyone a holiday yesterday. Mo Yushen asked, "What time is it? Why are you still at the company?"
Secretary Ding said, "I have nothing to do at home, and my mom keeps nagging me." He mentioned the stock market, which will be closed for a week starting tomorrow.
This also gave them time to prepare.
Mo Yushen: "Buy on the first day of trading. As for the source of funds, have Mo Lian put in some effort to prevent him from easily finding out. Delay it as long as possible."
Secretary Ding: "Yes, I understand."
Now they're targeting Mo Lian's private company, diverting his attention and preventing him from getting involved in the R&D center's affairs.
After February, the board of directors will be re-elected in March, leaving Mo Lian with even less time.
Mo Yushen couldn't help but ask again, "What did the R&D center say?"
After a moment of silence, Secretary Ding said, "We're doing our best."
Mo Yushen hummed in agreement.
Secretary Ding had another important message to report during this phone call: he had learned that there was a team in Beijing developing a new type of neurological drug.
The outcome remains unknown and is currently under wraps.
Mo Yushen: "Who is the person in charge?"
Secretary Ding: "Professor Xiang is a renowned expert in neurosurgery. He's hard to get an appointment with, and he never socializes; he stays focused on his work in the lab."
Mo Yushen doesn't acknowledge Professor Xiang, so today is New Year's Eve and he can only wait until after the New Year to make an appointment with someone.
Four or five months passed, and he could only watch helplessly as Xi Jia's health deteriorated, unable to do anything about it.
Mo Yushen said into his phone, "Go home early and spend time with your aunt and uncle."
Secretary Ding: "I'll be back in a bit." He wanted to say a few words of comfort to President Mo, but then he felt it was too sentimental for two grown men.
Mo Yushen put his phone in his pocket. He couldn't stand having his hand outside after only a short call, while Xi Jia kept writing.
After standing outside for a moment, he went inside to find Xi Jia.
Xi Jia sat next to Qin Sulan, earnestly learning how to make dumplings.
"Mom..." she quickly corrected herself, "Auntie, I want to make different kinds of dumplings, the kind that you can recognize at a glance."
Qin Sulan made one and showed it to her as an example, "Pinch it into a lace shape. When Yu Shen was little, he liked to pick out dumplings with lace edges to eat."