Can Guan Yue and Yin Xu come along?”
Dong Xuan’s request wasn’t excessive, and Wu Chen readily agreed.
The other party also suggested that Wu Chen bring along the three lively roommates from his dorm.
He stepped into the dorm, and the winter slanted sunlight pierced through the window crack, scattering onto the mottled wooden table, like the yellowish halo of an old film.
Wu Chen put down his flip phone, a smirk spreading across his lips as he looked at Pu Songri and the other two with a mischievous grin:
“Today, I’m giving you guys a chance to treat this lord to a meal!”
“Why should we?” As soon as Wu Chen finished speaking, the three of them chorused in unison, their eyes wide like copper bells.
“Chen Ge, don’t use that embarrassing incident from noon to threaten us brothers; we’re not falling for that, and besides, the other party is also from Central Academy of Drama…” Xiang Zhuo puffed out his chest and held his head high, acting very tough and arrogant.
“Oh?” Wu Chen chuckled, picked up a broken plastic comb from the table, and feigned combing his hair in front of the mirror.
“Is that so? Alright then. It’s rare that I’ve invited Senior Sister Dong Xuan’s dorm to eat together, so if you guys aren’t interested, I guess I’ll just go alone, sigh…”
“What do you mean, ‘why should we’? Can you guys even talk? It’s because he’s our Chen Ge.” Xiang Zhuo’s expression changed in an instant, and he pointed at Chu Tianshu and Pu Songri’s noses, scolding them, “Don’t you know the rules?”
Before the two could react, he had already ingratiatingly sidled up to Wu Chen, nodding and bowing: “Chen Ge, am I right? Do you have anything else to add?”
“Ahem, no!” Wu Chen stifled a laugh and nodded, “Not bad, you have a desire for improvement, which greatly pleases me.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I’ll pay for this meal. It’s for no other reason than that I haven’t treated you to a meal in too long, so today, no matter what, I have to splurge a bit…”
“Damn it, Xiang Zhuo, are you even human?” Chu Tianshu and Pu Songri reacted, enraged, each grabbing one of his arms and shouting in unison: “Chen Ge, we’ll pay and put in the effort!”
“Traitors, you two traitors, what are you trying to do…” Xiang Zhuo flailed his limbs, like a duck being picked up, “Chen Ge, please don’t believe their nonsense!”
Wu Chen couldn’t be bothered with Xiang Zhuo and asked with a curious expression, “I can understand paying, but what does ‘putting in the effort’ mean?”
“Hehe, it means this!” Chu Tianshu and Pu Songri exchanged a look, a mischievous grin flashing across their faces, and directly threw Xiang Zhuo onto the bed, then pounced on him.
Xiang Zhuo was pinned to the bed, letting out a pig-like shriek.
Wu Chen covered his face, unable to bear watching.
...
Winter nights came early; at half past five, the sky was already dim.
At the Beijing Film Academy’s school gate, the cold wind swirled dead leaves, and the dim yellow light of the streetlights enveloped the rusty iron gate, like the soft focus of an old film.
Wu Chen, wrapped in a woolen overcoat, led the three lively companions, stomping his feet from the cold.
Xiang Zhuo’s snot was almost dripping, but he still stubbornly said: “I’m telling you two, it’s not that I lost; it’s mainly because I’m giving Chen Ge face!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Chu Tianshu and Pu Songri nodded with smiles.
No sooner had he spoken than footsteps were heard from the school gate, and Dong Xuan and the other two gracefully approached.
Dong Xuan wore an off-white overcoat, her black hair slightly curled, with a few soft strands scattered over her shoulders, perfectly accentuating the clear brightness of her almond-shaped eyes.
Guan Yue and Yin Xu followed beside her, one wrapped in a floral padded jacket, the other in a pink down jacket, both with faint smiles on their lips.
“Oh, good morning, Senior Sisters!” Wu Chen stepped forward generously to greet them.
“No, Junior Brother, is it popular to talk nonsense with your eyes open now?” Guan Yue looked up at the sky. Although the stars weren't visible, it was definitely not morning.
Everyone burst into laughter, and Dong Xuan lightly patted Guan Yue: “Don’t undermine me!”
“You’re already defending him before it even started?” Guan Yue’s eyes widened, incredulous.
“Yueyue!” Dong Xuan’s face flushed slightly, her coquettish tone tinged with annoyance.
“Alright, alright, no more jokes.” Guan Yue knew that if she kept talking, Dong Xuan would get angry, so she quickly stopped.
This series of actions made Pu Songri and Xiang Zhuo look on with envy.
“By the way, Senior Sister Guan Yue, I didn’t explain clearly at noon because things were urgent, you don’t mind, do you?” Wu Chen deliberately brought it up.
If it were left to Dong Xuan and the others to mention, who knows how long they would beat around the bush.
“It’s fine!” Guan Yue waved her hand. Seeing Wu Chen bring it up himself, she didn’t stand on ceremony anymore, moving two steps closer and asking curiously, “Junior Brother, what’s the matter that you invited a few of Central Academy of Drama’s ‘golden flowers’ today? And there’s something they can’t handle, requiring my Xuan’er to step in?”
As soon as she said this, Dong Xuan and Yin Xu’s beautiful eyes shot over in unison.
“Sigh, it’s all my fault. I didn’t think of Senior Sister Dong Xuan as the most suitable person right away.” Wu Chen shook his head and sighed.
“Damn it, is Chen Ge an Oscar winner?” Pu Songri and the other two muttered to themselves, not daring to blink, afraid of affecting Wu Chen’s performance.
“Junior Brother, don’t blame yourself, just tell us what it is!” Guan Yue said without stopping, her curiosity completely exploding, “We’re classmates, so it’s not a big problem. Xuan’er will definitely help you!”
Senior Sister Guan Yue, you’re truly a great helper.
Wu Chen wished he could give Guan Yue a thumbs-up, but on his lips, he slowly explained, “It’s like this: I have a film project, and I begged the teachers and used all my strength to invite Sister Zeng Li and the others from Central Academy of Drama.
But unfortunately, my small crew can’t afford Sister Yuan Quan, and Sister Zeng Li just doesn’t match the female lead…”
“Then there’s still Hu Jing, isn’t there?” Guan Yue blurted out.
“Yes, Sister Hu Jing is willing to lower her price to help me out!” Wu Chen seized this opportunity to pronounce the words “lower her price” extra clearly, “However, I’m still missing a female lead.”
“Ha, dual female leads.” Guan Yue was stunned for a moment and looked at Dong Xuan.
It was clear that Wu Chen intended to invite Dong Xuan.
“Junior Brother, aren’t you only a freshman? How did this project come about?” Yin Xu interjected, looking puzzled.
“The school thought the script was pretty good, and perhaps they thought I was a promising talent, so they invested!”
Wu Chen spoke lightly, but it immediately silenced Dong Xuan and the other two.
“Xuan’er, why don’t you give it a try? Wu Chen is quite pitiful…” Guan Yue whispered into Dong Xuan’s ear.
Yin Xu and Dong Xuan heard it very clearly, and the two looked at Guan Yue as if she were mentally challenged.
“Where is Wu Chen pitiful? He’s already making a movie.” Yin Xu complained weakly, mentally deducting 10 points from Guan Yue’s IQ.
Dong Xuan’s eyes showed a strong interest. Even Zeng Li isn’t suitable?
“Director Wu, did you bring the script?”
That address of “Director Wu” made Wu Chen pause, but seeing the teasing in Dong Xuan’s eyes, he wasn’t fazed: “I did. Shall we look at it during dinner?”
In the private room of the Movie Story Restaurant and Bar, the soft lighting illuminated Dong Xuan’s fair face like jade, her eyelashes trembling slightly like gently fluttering butterfly wings.
Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting for Dong Xuan to finish reading the script.
“Phew, what a great role!” Dong Xuan exhaled softly, her eyes gleaming.
She wanted to challenge this role; whether it was character portrayal or depth, it was far superior to the film contracts she currently had.
Moreover, this was a movie, and the only risk factor was that the director was a freshman junior brother.
“Junior Brother…” Dong Xuan had just opened her mouth when she suddenly recalled Wu Chen mentioning Hu Jing lowering her price to help with the acting.
No matter what, she was from the same school as Wu Chen, and their relationship was much closer than with Hu Jing and the others.
“Junior Brother, fifty thousand, and I’ll act.” Dong Xuan gritted her teeth. She couldn’t lose face or momentum; at least, she couldn’t be worse than those from Central Academy of Drama.
This price was very sincere. After “snow goddess dragon,” Dong Xuan’s acting fee had seen a leap-like increase.
However, the crew only had a budget of 400,000. Every penny had to be spent wisely, and there also had to be room for error. They couldn’t calculate every single penny precisely, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to handle unexpected events.
This was also why some film projects went wildly over budget.
Wu Chen’s highest budget for Dong Xuan was originally around 50,000. Now that Dong Xuan herself had brought it up, the price naturally had room for negotiation, so he feigned a rather embarrassed expression.
Seeing this, Dong Xuan asked curiously, “Junior Brother, what was Hu Jing’s asking price?”
“Thirty thousand!”
As soon as Wu Chen finished speaking, Dong Xuan, Yin Xu, and Guan Yue all stared wide-eyed, cursing in their hearts:
“Seriously, is this Hu Jing crazy…?”