“Who says there’s no way to avoid it?” Bai Bing smiled mysteriously. “What do you think I brought Cheng Yi to our company for?”
"Isn't it because he's so outstanding? Don't you want to miss out on such an excellent actor?" Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Bai Bing expectantly. To be honest, she couldn't think of any other possibility besides this one.
"..." Bai Bing pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's true on one hand, but the reason I invited Cheng Yi to our company was entirely for you."
Lin Xiaoxiao tilted her head, her face full of confusion. She couldn't understand why Cheng Yi would be placed next to Tang Xue just for her sake.
Bai Bing reached out and pinched Lin Xiaoxiao's cheek, saying with a hint of amusement, "Do you know how incredibly silly you look right now?"
Lin Xiaoxiao slapped Bai Bing's hand away and glared at her speechlessly. What did she mean by calling her stupid? Wasn't it Bai Bing's behavior that was too confusing?
"Think about it yourself. As long as the two of them work in the same company, they can stagger their schedules, right? Then you can hand Cheng Yi over to me to take care of."
At that point, they won't even have a chance to meet, let alone work together on a film.
Bai Bing considered that some actors are prone to developing feelings for each other during filming, so when Cheng Yi mentioned that he wanted to change agencies...
That's why she invited Cheng Yi. At that time, both Cheng Yi and Tang Xue were her artists, so it would be very easy for her to avoid scheduling conflicts with them.
“That’s right.” Lin Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up. “How come I didn’t think of that?”
If Cheng Yi were in another agency, he would often be working on the same script and variety show as Tang Xue. But if they were in the same company, their schedules would be much easier to arrange, and they could completely miss each other.
"Isn't it because you're stupid?" Bai Bing looked at Lin Xiaoxiao with a smile, thinking that this incident could be kept as a black mark on Lin Xiaoxiao, so that she could tease her from time to time in the future.
"..." Lin Xiaoxiao was speechless for a moment, but quickly cheered up again. "Whatever you say goes." Lin Xiaoxiao was happy now and felt that she could accept any blow from Bai Bing.
Bai Bing raised an eyebrow, "Were you still blaming me just now?"
"Cough!" Lin Xiaoxiao touched her nose, refusing to look at Bai Bing. "Sister Bingbing, I'm going over now. It's not very polite to leave someone behind."
It's impolite to think about it now, Bai Bing was speechless. Why didn't she remember that when she pulled her aside to whisper to her earlier?
Shaking her head somewhat helplessly, Bai Bing quickened her pace and caught up with Lin Xiaoxiao.
"President Lin, Sister Bai." Cheng Yi showed no resentment at being left behind and greeted the two of them with good temper as soon as he saw them coming over.
"I'm sorry," Lin Xiaoxiao said apologetically. "I just discussed it with Sister Bingbing, and I would be very happy to welcome Teacher Cheng Yi to our Lin Group."
We don't know how long Mr. Cheng Yi's contract will last. If Mr. Cheng Yi is willing, our company can pay him the penalty for breach of contract and sign him ahead of schedule.
Now that she knew that signing Cheng Yi to the Lin Group would reduce his contact with Tang Xue, Lin Xiaoxiao was naturally very eager to sign him immediately.
Cheng Yi paused for a moment before belatedly shaking his head. "There's no need for all that trouble. My contract only has a few months left. We can just go through the formalities when the time comes. There's no need for President Lin to waste money."
As Cheng Yi spoke, he glanced at Bai Bing, seemingly curious about what they had just said that had caused such a stark contrast in Lin Xiaoxiao's behavior.
He seemed reluctant before, but now he can't wait to sign himself to the Lin Group!
Bai Bing simply smiled at Cheng Yi, but had no intention of answering his questions. As for the impatient Lin Xiaoxiao, Bai Bing had no desire to say anything more.
Bai Bing took out her phone and looked at Cheng Yi, "Teacher Cheng Yi, let's exchange contact information so we can stay in touch later."
"OK."
Lin Xiaoxiao saw that the two had exchanged contact information. She had originally wanted to try to help Cheng Yi terminate his contract as soon as possible, but after seeing Bai Bing's warning look, Lin Xiaoxiao chickened out.
Of course, Lin Xiaoxiao gave up so quickly for two reasons: one was Bai Bing's warning, and the other was that she was afraid that if she insisted on terminating Cheng Yi's contract early.
It would make Cheng Yi think she had other intentions, and if he became worried and unwilling to sign with the Lin Group again, then she would be in trouble.
Knowing that Cheng Yi would soon join the Lin Group, Lin Xiaoxiao's attitude towards Cheng Yi changed compared to before.
At least in Tang Xue's opinion, the atmosphere between Cheng Yi and Lin Xiaoxiao was becoming more and more harmonious, and the two of them together were quite pleasing to the eye.
As for Bai Bing standing next to them, Tang Xue had automatically blocked her out; all she could see was the two of them chatting and laughing.
Tang Xue pursed her lips, her expression somewhat unpleasant. If it weren't for her professionalism and self-control, she probably would have rushed over like a whirlwind the moment she saw the two chatting and laughing.
"What are you looking at?" Li Zhen followed Tang Xue's gaze and smiled when he saw the scene. "President Lin is here."
"You and President Lin have a really good relationship. I've seen her come to visit the set every day."
Speaking of Lin Xiaoxiao, Li Zhen also had some feelings. At first, Li Zhen thought Lin Xiaoxiao was a difficult person to get along with.
After all, Lin Xiaoxiao was able to own such a large enterprise as the Lin Group, so her methods were naturally beyond question, not to mention when he first learned about Lin Xiaoxiao from Li Xi.
He knew the other person was a very assertive person, and such people are usually very difficult to get along with, but what surprised Li Zhen was that...
Lin Xiaoxiao was completely different from what he had imagined. She didn't seem like someone who owned such a large group and had been in the business world for many years.
Sometimes, Li Zhen even felt that Lin Xiaoxiao was just like her niece Li Xi—pure and kind. Although this description was a bit strange, Li Zhen really thought so.
"Hmm." Tang Xue responded, but her gaze remained fixed on that direction. Her eyes darkened, and her tightly pursed lips accentuated the stiff lines of her face.
If Lin Xiaoxiao had always come to visit her on set before, Tang Xue naturally wouldn't have any doubts about it.
But now the situation is different. Because of Cheng Yi's existence, Tang Xue felt a sense of crisis, especially after seeing the two of them chatting and laughing.
Tang Xue couldn't help but wonder if Lin Xiaoxiao's visit to the film set was really just for her? Could Cheng Yi also be partly behind it?
After figuring out the misunderstanding from last time, Tang Xue's hostility was naturally directed at Cheng Yi.
"President Lin and Cheng Yi seem to have a pretty good relationship. They must be around the same age to have gotten along so quickly."
Perhaps because he was an elder, or perhaps because Li Zhen saw a resemblance to Li Xi in Lin Xiaoxiao, he naturally viewed the situation from the perspective of an elder after seeing Lin Xiaoxiao with Cheng Yi.
Tang Xue glanced at Li Zhen with a dark look in her eyes. Her previously gentle attitude turned somewhat cold at this moment.
Perhaps sensing the change in temperature around him, Li Zhen subconsciously glanced at Tang Xue beside him and realized that Tang Xue was completely different from usual today.
Although Tang Xue has a somewhat aloof personality, she is generally quite gentle in her attitude towards people. This sudden, icy gaze from Tang Xue stung me.
Li Zhen subconsciously touched the back of his hand, a series of question marks rising in his mind, somewhat confused about Tang Xue's current situation.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're unhappy because I wouldn't let you meet with President Lin." Since they were used to each other, Li Zhen didn't realize he had said something he shouldn't have.
Seeing Tang Xue's reaction, he subconsciously started joking.
"Director Li is joking. I was just getting into character." Tang Xue lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions in them.
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Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:21:56 on February 20, 2022 and 16:49:18 on February 21, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Soaring High, Surrounded by Mountains (1);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 56
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Tang Xue had thought that the filming might not go smoothly due to her emotional issues, but she never expected that she would perform exceptionally well because of her emotions.
Thinking about why she was able to perfectly portray that previous scene, Tang Xue's feelings were truly indescribable.
"Okay, your emotions were spot on just now. I was a little worried before, but I didn't expect you to give me such a big surprise."
After watching the replay, Li Zhen was very satisfied. The scene they were going to film was where Shen Xinyu overheard others saying that her senior brother, Shen Wei, was getting very close to other female disciples.
They even saw the two chatting and laughing, getting along well, because at this time, Shen Xinyu was not quite sure what kind of feelings she had for Shen Wei.
All she knew was that she relied heavily on her senior brother, so when she heard these words, her reaction was one of resentment and sadness.
She also harbored hostility towards the female disciple she had never even met.
Because in Shen Xinyu's mind, this was the first person who had been so kind to her since her family left her.
Therefore, Shen Xinyu believed that Shen Wei was her closest person, and now, when she heard others say how good her closest person's relationship was with others...
He naturally didn't have a good impression of the female disciple he had never met.
The difficulty in this part lies in Li Zhen's concern that Tang Xue's emotions might not be right. That suppressed and restrained feeling, that subtle hostility that even she herself is unaware of, is very difficult to grasp.
However, to Li Zhen's surprise, Tang Xue's performance was remarkably precise, especially in conveying suppressed and restrained emotions, which even moved Li Zhen.
After all, if that strong possessiveness is overacted, it will lose its meaning. Li Zhen couldn't help but sigh once again that Tang Xue was truly the kind of person who was blessed with natural talent.
"Thank you, Director Li." Tang Xue forced a smile.
She really didn't want to recall that scene anymore, nor did she want to think about why she had received such high praise from Li Zhen.
"Alright, Mr. Lin has been waiting for you for a long time. Go on over." Tang Xue's scenes were temporarily finished, and she could take a short rest. Li Zhen ignored her and went to do his own thing after saying that.
Tang Xue nodded, and looked over at the group of people chatting and laughing again.
The scene remained unchanged. Tang Xue loosened her grip on her clothes and let out a soft breath.
He rubbed his face, put on the expression he used most often when facing Lin Xiaoxiao, and then walked over there.
"Xiaoxue." Although Lin Xiaoxiao was also listening to Cheng Yi and Bai Bing's conversation, she would occasionally chime in with a word or two.
However, her main focus was on Tang Xue, who was filming over there, so when Tang Xue finished filming and came over, Lin Xiaoxiao noticed her immediately.
She waved to Tang Xue, her smile seeming to brighten even more.
Seeing the smile on that person's face, Tang Xue's heart, which had been feeling like it was being crushed by a huge rock, had a brief moment of respite.
"Xiaoxiao, Sister Bai, Teacher Chengyi." Tang Xue greeted the group politely, but her gaze lingered on Chengyi for a moment longer.
It was a very brief moment, but Lin Xiaoxiao, who had been focusing her attention on her, noticed it. Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes darkened, and the smile on her face dimmed a little, but she quickly returned to normal.
He looked at Tang Xue nonchalantly, as if he hadn't noticed anything at all.
"What are you talking about?" Tang Xue had just casually started a topic, but she didn't expect to receive such a surprising answer.
"Teacher Cheng Yi said that his contract with his agency is about to expire, so he wants to find another agency. We have just reached an agreement, and Teacher Cheng Yi will sign a new contract with us after his contract expires."
She thought that if Cheng Yi signed with their company, she could then openly separate the two of them and prevent them from having any opportunity to work together.
So when talking about this, Lin Xiaoxiao seemed very happy, without considering at all that her behavior might be misunderstood.
"Teacher Cheng Yi is going to sign with the Lin Group?" Tang Xue's pupils contracted, and her tone became more urgent, especially when she saw Lin Xiaoxiao talking about it.
That cheerful tone and radiant smile felt like a sharp, jagged rock had struck Tang Xue's heart, making her feel for a moment as if she were about to suffocate.
Lin Xiaoxiao's smile was so bright it was almost blinding, and Tang Xue simply couldn't ignore what she was seeing.
“Yes.” Lin Xiaoxiao didn’t realize anything was wrong and was still immersed in her excitement. “Sister Bingbing said that an actor as talented as Teacher Chengyi should naturally be accepted.”
Tang Xue pursed her lips and clenched her hands tightly behind her back. If she hadn't always kept her nails long, her palms would probably have bled from the force of her grip.