Chapter 130: I’m Just Dropping Off a Bottle of Wine
The same day Huo Qingyan and Shen Xiumo left the set, the new male lead arrived.
His name was Qin Shi, and he was a few years older than both Jiang Su and Bai Mu.
He had been in the industry for over a decade and had acted in many dramas, but always in supporting roles. None of the shows had made much of a splash, but his individual performance clips had gone viral.
He had good acting skills but terrible resources.
There were many people like him in the entertainment industry.
Perhaps because of this experience, Qin Shi seemed very calm and down-to-earth, not at all impetuous, and was very diligent.
The filming schedule finally caught up to its target.
About halfway through the shoot, the director announced that he wanted to revise the script.
A few days later, the screenwriter came out with a new version.
When the director handed out the scripts, he said, “The main plot and character settings remain the same, but we’ve made some adjustments to the roles. Everyone, please take a look and let me know if you have any questions.”
Jiang Su flipped through his script and found that his part had been expanded significantly.
In the original script, his character’s scenes were concentrated after he went undercover, with his life before that mentioned only in passing.
The new script added scenes from before he became an undercover agent.
Seeing Jiang Su’s puzzled expression, the director walked over to him. “Do you have any questions, Teacher Jiang?”
Jiang Su leafed through the thick stack of pages. “Why did you add so many scenes for me?”
The director explained earnestly, “It’s mainly for the completeness of your character. We need to show more dimensions, don’t you think?”
Jiang Su was good-looking and a great actor. His face was exceptionally photogenic from every angle. The more the director filmed, the more he felt it was a shame not to give him more screen time.
With Jiang Su’s popularity and a powerful figure like Huo Qingyan investing in his drama, Jiang Su could pick any role he wanted.
The director feared he wouldn’t get another chance to work with Jiang Su after this, so he had to seize the opportunity to add more scenes for him.
“Director, I think you have a point, but this is still too much,” Jiang Su said, looking at the script again. “Isn’t this even more than Teacher Qin’s part?”
Qin Shi was the male lead; his screen time shouldn’t be less than the main character’s.
“I think you have a point there, too,” the director said. “I’ll have Jiang Ning adjust your scenes again.”
After another revision, Jiang Su’s part was cut back to what was appropriate for a supporting male role.
Just like that, Jiang Su, who was supposed to wrap up and leave in early June, ended up staying on set until the end of the month, finishing with the entire crew.
He hadn’t left since he first joined the production.
A full three months.
Knowing that Jiang Su was finishing his shoot and returning to Qingyang City, Jiang Licuan, Jiang Ying, and the others booked a private room at the Qingyang Grand Hotel to celebrate his return.
Jiang Licuan drove to the airport to pick him up.
The drive from the airport to the hotel was quite long, so Jiang Su opened WeChat out of boredom.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the pinned group chat name:
[Assemble! Prepare to Feast!]
He cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Licuan, who was humming a little tune as he drove. “Can’t you pick a more serious group name?”
This was a private group for the seven siblings.
Jiang Licuan was always changing the group name.
“Isn’t feasting a serious matter?” Jiang Licuan retorted.
Jiang Su: “…”
Just then, a message popped up in the group.
Fourth Sister: “What are you guys eating today? I wanna see.”
No one replied to Jiang Xu, probably because they were all busy.
Jiang Su sent a message: “Going to the Qingyang Grand Hotel.”
Fourth Sister: “Little Seven!! You’re finally back! I haven’t seen you in so long, I thought you’d been tricked by a pyramid scheme!”
Jiang Su: “It’s always like this when you’re on set for a shoot. It’s busy.”
After sending the message, Jiang Su belatedly realized that his fourth sister’s tone didn’t sound like she was worried at all.
It sounded more like… disappointment.
Disappointed that he hadn’t actually been tricked by a pyramid scheme, so she couldn’t spend money to bail him out.
Jiang Su sighed. “Fourth Sister, when are you coming back to Qingyang?”
Fourth Sister: “My darling Mo has some business in Qingyang soon. My project is wrapping up around the same time, so I’ll come back with him.”
Fifth Sister: “The stench of love.jpg.”
Third Brother: “Xuxu, can’t you tone it down a bit? You and Chu Mo have been together for years. You’re an old married couple, still so clingy…”
Fourth Sister: “You single dogs are just jealous of me!”
The entire group was hit.
Everyone went silent.
Among the seven siblings, only Jiang Xu’s love life had been smooth sailing, from high school sweethearts to marriage. Her biggest problem was probably having too much money and not knowing how to spend it.
Just then, Third Brother sent a message: “I’m not a single dog!”
Eldest Brother: ? Second Sister: ? Fourth Sister: ? Fifth Sister: ? Jiang Su: ?
Third Brother Jiang Zhishen’s comment blew everyone out of the woodwork.
Only Jiang Licuan was missing, because he was driving.
However, he had his WeChat notifications set to vibrate.
Feeling his phone buzzing non-stop, Jiang Licuan couldn’t help but ask Jiang Su, “What are you guys talking about in the group?”
Jiang Su said, looking perplexed, “Third Brother says he’s not a single dog.”
Hearing this, Jiang Licuan looked incredulous. “How dare he!”
Jiang Su: “?”
Jiang Licuan was extremely indignant. “Am I not more handsome than Third Brother? Am I not richer than him? How could he get a girlfriend before me?”
Jiang Su: “…” Did he really have to compete over something like this?
…
When Jiang Su and Jiang Licuan arrived at the Qingyang Grand Hotel, Jiang Ying was still grilling Jiang Zhishen in the group chat about when he’d gotten a girlfriend.
Jiang Zhishen was tight-lipped, only repeating one thing over and over: “You’ll know when I get there.”
As soon as Jiang Su arrived, Jiang Ying pulled him aside. “Did Third Brother tell you anything?”
Jiang Su shook his head. “I’ve been busy filming on set lately. I haven’t been in touch with him.”
The door to the private room was pushed open again. This time, it was Jiang Zhaoyu.
The first thing he said was, “Where’s Third Brother?”
“He’s not here yet,” Jiang Su replied.
Jiang Zhaoyu looked disappointed, but his curiosity quickly took over. “When did Third Brother get a girlfriend? Wasn’t he still chasing that TV host?”
Hearing that, Jiang Su remembered that his third brother had a thing with Fu Jin.
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
“That must be Third Brother. Little Seven, go get the door,” Jiang Licuan said, patting Jiang Su’s shoulder.
With a smile on his face, Jiang Su turned to open the door. “Third—”
The word had barely left his lips when he saw that the person standing outside was not Jiang Zhishen.
Neither of them had expected to see the other here.
After a moment of staring, Huo Qingyan asked softly, “You’re back?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Su replied.
Huo Qingyan was dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, holding a bottle of red wine. He looked thin and tall.
Noticing Jiang Su’s gaze on the wine, Huo Qingyan lifted it slightly and explained, “I heard your older brother and the others were here. I just came to drop off a bottle of wine. I’ll be leaving now.”
Recommended Reads
