Chapter 555: Chapter 295 Wish Fulfilled by the Seaside_3
Upon hearing this, Lin Wanzhou was the one who was stunned.
Lin Zhi was her childhood nickname, and she’d actually gone by that name. But after her father’s death, Guan Jin changed her name, and from her first day in Qinghe, she was called Lin Wanzhou.
Whether there was any significance to it, she didn’t know nor care.
It was just that her grandmother had gotten used to calling her by her childhood nickname, Zhi Zhi, which was supposed to be Squeaky. Her grandmother said she had been frail at birth, so they chose a humble name that would be easy to raise her by, but a little mouse didn’t sound very nice.
So, at her father’s suggestion, her nickname became Squeaky. When it came time to register the household, it was translated as “Zhi,” and hence her formal name was Lin Zhi.
But with time passing and things and people changing, it had been years since she’d heard that name, let alone expected to hear it from Xu Qingyan’s lips.
...
“What’s wrong?” he asked, then glanced out the window, “The rain seems to have lightened up quite a bit, let’s head to the other side later. We can go down from the south end of the village.”
“Let’s grab some food over there, then visit the seaside town in the afternoon.”
Lin Wanzhou acted as if she hadn’t heard, looking up to ask.
“You know my childhood nickname?”
“Ah, doesn’t your grandmother call you that often?” Xu Qingyan said, “Not that often, just occasionally when she slips up. At first, I thought you had a beautiful older sister.”
Lin Wanzhou: “… Are you very disappointed?”
“Not really, I figured it out. I used to call you that too.” Xu Qingyan scratched his face, feeling like their memories didn’t align, “Don’t you remember?”
“When was that?”
“Right, when you were taking a nap as a child, I tested it out.”
For a moment, Lin Wanzhou didn’t know what to say. She felt like he was doing it on purpose, acting mischievously, but in front of her, he still seemed like the same Xu Qingyan.
Some things are hard to erase, like the memory of a boy riding his bike by the reservoir under the night sky. That sense of security was something Lin Wanzhou had never felt before.
Just like she had said before, even after half a lifetime, he remained youthful like the wind.
If he was going to be mischievous, so be it.
After all…
The day passed quickly; in the afternoon, Xu Qingyan tried out beach soccer. Lin Wanzhou was reserved at first, but eventually, she joined in and started running around too.
Aside from the sun not being fully out and the sand being a bit wet, the experience of playing was quite enjoyable.
Night fell, and the waves disappeared into the darkness.
Xu Qingyan received a call from Wei Wufeng, finding out that last night’s premiere ratings of “The Legend of Martial Arts” were 2.3%. This number, well…
The top-rated drama of the same period, “Golden Branches and Jade Leaves,” had a solid audience foundation and had already aired over twenty episodes, benefitting from extensive promotion.
But “The Legend of Martial Arts” had exploded on its first day, breaking 2!
No one had expected this; even Wei Wufeng’s voice trembled as he spoke. His previous drama hadn’t even broken the 1% mark.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Qingyan appeared unfazed.
Curious, Lin Wanzhou asked, “Who was that on the phone?”
“Wei Wufeng, the new drama’s director. He was just telling me about last night’s ratings,” Xu Qingyan casually said, naturally taking Lin Wanzhou’s small hand.
The smooth touch of her skin and the tender feel of her flesh were indeed very comfortable to hold.
“I watched it last night too but fell asleep on the bed halfway through.” Lin Wanzhou didn’t have any reservations admitting it, she indeed hadn’t been in the best spirits the day before.
“It’s fine, the results are pretty good. Breaking 2 is already quite impressive,” he said.
“Oh, that’s good then.”
“Not exactly good, the investment for the next production might exceed sixty million, and there’s a large shortfall.” Xu Qingyan furrowed his brows, “It’s going to be tough for the three of us to cover that gap. We’ll have to see if ‘The Legend of Martial Arts’ can sell the game rights.”
“Don’t worry, I have money,” Lin Wanzhou held onto his hand and turned to him with a smile, “Plenty of it. I can contribute… twenty million?”
“Are you crazy? Wouldn’t that clean you out completely?” Xu Qingyan patted her head, continuing their stroll on the beach, “No rush, let’s wait a bit.”
“Oh, if you’re short on money, you need to tell me,” she reminded him.
“I know, I can’t come up with that much alone either,” Xu Qingyan said, “But we have to find the most beneficial approach. If the funds aren’t complete, we can wait.”
“Life is flexible, there’s always a way. If it comes down to it, we can just shoot a low-budget drama as a stopgap.”
Hearing him say this, Lin Wanzhou was slightly confused. She didn’t understand these things; she just knew that he was a bit short on money and therefore she should make money for him. That seemed to be the idea.
Xu Qingyan had no clue about the girl’s deep thoughts; he was busy leading her by the hand, playing in the waves in the dark. They were so immersed that they nearly forgot the time to head home.
“Damn, we need to get going,” he hurriedly pulled Lin Wanzhou toward the car, and after a while, they braved the night and got on the highway.
They got back to Lin Wanzhou’s place late at night, Xu Qingyan made some late-night snacks for them to eat. After eating, he had to wait for the girl to finish her bath, change into her pajamas, and lie down in bed.
Only then could he spare the time to head out, because Lin Wanzhou rarely stayed alone, and since Qi Ting wasn’t back, he had to be more attentive, especially in the middle of the night.
As for other thoughts, he was too exhausted to entertain them. Even if there were any intentions, it was time to feel sleepy, and moreover, Lin Wanzhou had a flight to catch the next day.
At three in the morning, Xu Qingyan got home and lay down on the couch, not wanting to move at all.
He replied to a few messages from Pei Muchan and then fell asleep outright.
The next day.
After sending Lin Wanzhou off to the airport by noon,
Xu Qingyan wiped off the leftover lipstick from his mouth in front of the selfie camera and drove away from the airport. With this, he finally fulfilled a promise he made over a month ago.
Feeling like a weight had been lifted off him, he let out a sigh of relief while driving. At the same time, he thought, maybe he should come up with another sitcom to make some money?
When he shared the idea with Pei Muchan, she thought about it carefully.
“‘Underground Traffic War’? Will it pass the censorship?”
“If we get Wei Wufeng to direct it, we probably can. His works don’t usually have any problems,” Xu Qingyan answered honestly, “There’s another option, too.”
“What is it?”
“‘The Silent Truth’.”
COMMENT
0 comment
Vote
3 left
SEND GIFT