Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 498 Why are these two girls sitting together?

New Year’s Eve, CCTV Building.

With only one or two hours left before the 2021 Spring Festival Gala, the entire CCTV backstage was in chaos. The hosts were busy rehearsing their lines, and the singers and dancers were rehearsing as they made final preparations for the show in a few hours.

In the public dressing room, a group of artists sat in front of the dressing mirror, allowing the makeup artist to apply makeup on their faces. There was a chaotic sound of footsteps and laughter around them.

The space backstage at CCTV is limited, and the number of guests involved in the Spring Festival Gala is extremely large, so there is no such thing as an independent lounge.

Older artists might be able to rest in a small room shared by several people, but young people like them all have to gather in a public dressing room.

But it's not bad, it's more lively when everyone is together. And most of the artists invited to participate in the Spring Festival Gala are second- and third-tier celebrities who can be called by name. They know each other or have met each other, so there is no awkwardness.

It would be especially convenient if there are friends around.

"Qinqin!"

"Sister Nini!"

In the dressing room, Li Qin, who was sitting and watching the makeup artist putting makeup on her, looked through the mirror in front of her at Ni Ni standing behind her with a sweet smile on her face.

Just like last year, Li Qin received an invitation to the CCTV Spring Festival Gala this year. After all, the drama "The Golden Years" starring her is still on the air on CCTV 8 and will be finale soon.

Another female lead, Ni Ni, was also invited, but unfortunately they were not in the same show. Li Qin sang with several other artists, while Ni Ni performed a skit with Jia Bing.

I don’t know how the Spring Festival Gala director team arranged it, but the two girls’ “CP fans” will probably be disappointed now - if they watch the Spring Festival Gala.

Looking at her friend's outfit in the mirror, Li Qin said with some envy, "This white coat looks great on you!"

Ni Ni's role in the sketch is a flight attendant, who is an ex-lover of the high-speed rail conductor played by Jia Bing.

The relationship between the two characters is basically the whole plot of the skit. The two broke up due to busy work, and then met again on the high-speed train. After a series of misunderstandings and the "assistance" of intruding passengers, they finally reconciled and made dumplings together on the high-speed train.

Like most of the Spring Festival Gala sketches in recent years, it is a formulaic work of an assembly line nature, and its main purpose is to highlight the hard work of high-speed rail staff, etc.

This kind of show is like canned food, not very good but edible. The only bright spot is the "stewardess" ex-girlfriend played by Ni Ni.

She is wearing a long white coat with a red stewardess lining underneath, revealing two long white legs. Her temperament is bright and gentle, and anyone who sees her will be attracted to her.

Anyway, Li Qin now feels that her friend's outfit today is particularly stunning.

Ni Ni, who was praised, smiled indulgently when she heard the words, bent down and whispered in Li Qin's ear, looking at the beautiful face in the mirror that was even more beautiful than her own: "You are talking about me, don't you too? This little red dress looks sweet. If Teacher Meng was here, I wonder if her eyes would still stay in her eye sockets."

Li Qin was wearing a little red dress today and had her hair tied in a ponytail, making her look pure and sweet.

"Tsk, who cares about him watching." Li Qin snorted proudly, and then said: "Hey, how did you know he came here today?"

"what?"

Ni Ni was surprised and quickly stood up and looked around: "Meng... Teacher Meng is here today too? Is he also participating in the Spring Festival Gala?"

"He's not going on stage. He said he came here because he was invited by a leader. He just sent a WeChat message saying he's here, but he needs to go say hello to someone first." Li Qin smiled and said, "He doesn't really like to participate in this kind of event. This time, the person who invited him should be more important."

Ni Ni was relieved to hear that Meng Bai was not there. Although the communication between the two was quite private, she still felt a little uncomfortable in front of her good friend.

Thinking of this, she felt that she should not stay here anymore.

"Qinqin, you take a rest first. I'm going back." Ni Ni smiled and patted Li Qin's shoulder.

"Are you leaving now?"

"I just came to see you. I still have to go over my lines and performance with Teacher Jia Bing and the others."

"Well, okay, let's make an appointment someday when we have time after the Spring Festival Gala."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you anytime."

After seeing the other person off, Li Qin turned around and looked at her makeup in the mirror. Thinking of what her friend had just said, she couldn't help but smile sweetly.

After thinking about it, she took out her cell phone, took a photo of herself in the mirror and sent it to Meng Bai.

After waiting for a while, she saw that the man hadn't replied to her message, so she guessed that he hadn't finished his work yet. Li Qin didn't bother him any more, because he would definitely come over when he was done.

After chatting with her friend, her nervous mood was relieved. She sat back in front of the dressing mirror in a good mood, and asked the makeup artist to continue, humming the song she was going to sing.

While humming the melody and reviewing the lyrics in her mind, Li Qin suddenly heard the door of the dressing room behind her being pushed open, followed by a voice of greeting, probably a new person had arrived.

Li Qin felt that the other person's voice sounded familiar. Before she could react, the newcomer had already come to the dressing table next to her.

She turned her head to take a look, then the expression on her face suddenly froze and her brows involuntarily frowned.

The other party naturally saw her as well, and his expression was also a little strange, as if he had the same feeling as her.

If Meng Bai were here, he would definitely recognize at a glance that the newcomer is Boss Li’s good friend, Jin Daxi.

"Coming."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm a little late because of something."

"It's okay. I'm not late anyway. I just got here not long ago. There are still people behind you."

"Haha, really? That's good."

The two girls exchanged a few words indifferently. Although they both had smiles on their faces, their tone was full of politeness and alienation. If others saw them, they would probably think that there was some deep conflict between the two.

Of course, in fact, it is almost the same.

Li Qin knew that Jin Chen was a very good friend of Li Yitong, and Jin Chen also knew that the person in front of him was his best friend's love rival.

To go deeper, she had actually slept with the same man. With such a complicated relationship, how could the two of them become close?

It just so happened that the directors of this year's Spring Festival Gala arranged the two of them in the same program.

The two had met several times during rehearsals, and in front of outsiders and the camera, they still cooperated very professionally. But after leaving the camera, the two had no other words except for the polite words just now.

Therefore, for the next period of time, except for the makeup artist who occasionally chatted with them, the two of them kept silent. Fortunately, there were people coming and going in the public dressing room, and it was noisy everywhere, so no one paid attention to this place.

Li Qin pursed her lips and muttered to herself: I haven't told that bastard about the other people on the show before. When he comes over, I have to take a good look at his expression.
-
CCTV building, director's office.

"...Haha, if Mr. Meng has the chance in the future, please cooperate more with CCTV."

In the office, an older, gentle man stood up with a smile and spoke in a warm tone.

"Minister Shen, you are too polite. Arclight and CCTV have always had a lot of cooperation. If you need anything, just contact me." Meng Bai also stood up and shook hands with the other party with a smile. "Okay, then I will have to bother you more in the future."

"No, we really hope to have more opportunities to ask you for advice, Minister Shen." Meng Bai said, "You should be busy today, so I won't bother you any more. I will come and listen to your guidance when you have time after the New Year."

"Haha, Mr. Meng is always welcome to come." Minister Shen made an inviting gesture, "I'm going to the recording site, Mr. Meng, would you like to come with me?"

"Sorry, I have to go backstage to see a friend first."

"Oh... I see." Minister Shen smiled, "Then I won't keep you any longer. We can talk again when we have time."

Meng Bai came out of the office with a smile on his face and walked to the stairs. Seeing that there was no one around, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fuck! Dealing with these old guys is more tiring than staying up all night shooting a movie on the set for two consecutive days."

The reason why he came to CCTV to watch the Spring Festival Gala today was because of the invitation from "Minister Shen" just now.

The other party is the deputy minister of the Central Propaganda Department and the current director of CCTV. More importantly, this person is likely to replace Director Nie next year.

It is precisely for this reason that Meng Bai gave so much face. After all, as a film and television worker, he must have a good relationship with the boss of the film and television industry.

Similarly, Minister Shen also attaches great importance to him. After all, Arclight is now associated with too many capitals and industries, and is no longer just a film and television production company.

Even though he was in charge of radio, television, and had the power of life and death over the film and television industry, he could only interfere with Arc Light at most, and he could not control it as he pleased.

In this case, why not be polite to each other? It just so happens that he is still the director of CCTV. In the past two years, he has cooperated with Huguang a lot in the film and television field, and they have a friendly relationship.

Of course, as a leader, you have to show goodwill. You can't just call someone over for no reason and directly say to him, "I think you're a good guy." This is too embarrassing.

It happened to be the Spring Festival, so he sent an invitation to Huguang to perform at the Spring Festival Gala.

When Meng Bai received the invitation and considering Director Nie's previous suggestion, he naturally understood what the next "leader" meant, so he gladly accepted it.

We just met, and although we didn't talk about anything specific, we both understood each other, so it was a very successful meeting.

The only problem is that dealing with such official people is too taxing, as you have to think about every sentence to see if there is any deeper meaning.

In comparison, even the business competition among peers seems much more lovely.

Shaking his head to relax himself, Meng Bai waited for the elevator while looking at the WeChat message that had just been sent, and naturally saw Li Qin's photo.

Not to mention, although this girl usually looks cold, she is quite sweet when she smiles.

But if we really want to talk about the most beautiful smile, it has to be Boss Li. Especially those crescent eyes, every time they bend, it makes people's hearts melt a little.

Alas, when can we put these two girls together?

Although he knew it was somewhat unrealistic, Mr. Meng had always been longing for this wish.

Coming down from the CCTV building and walking into Studio No. 1 on the west side, Meng Bai felt a wave of noisy sound rushing towards him as soon as he entered.

For ordinary audiences, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala is mysterious and grand, but those who have been there know that it is just the impression given to the public by the camera. The actual Spring Festival Gala is far less grand than what we see on TV.

More than one guest has complained before that because the backstage space is too small, most people can only rest and prepare in the circular corridor.

Especially those guests with greater fame have to try hard to find some seats in corners, otherwise they will have to prepare for the next performance while being disturbed from time to time by small artists who come to them for autographs and photos.

Meng Bai has been walking and stopping since he entered the door. This is mainly because most of the people gathered here are artists and actors, so the probability of him being recognized is very high.

If someone comes over to say hello, he can't pretend not to see it. He always has to nod to acknowledge them, and sometimes he even has to stop to chat for a few words.

Such as now.

"Hey, Meng Bai!"

"Senior Sister Tong, good evening." Meng Bai raised his hand to Tong Liya, who was wearing a fiery red dress opposite her.

"good evening."

Tong Liya came over with a smile on her face and asked curiously, "Why are you here? Are you going to go on stage too?"

"Recently I feel like I can develop into an idol career, so I asked the director team for a solo performance."

"real?!"

"Kidding."

"..."

Tong Liya reminded herself that this was backstage at the Spring Festival Gala and there were cameras everywhere, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Unlike Meng Bai's joke, she really had a show, and it was an opening song and dance.

After a few pleasantries, Meng Bai suddenly remembered the phone call from Chen Sicheng when he was in Tokyo. Although he didn't listen to the whole call, judging from the tone and content, it should be Tong Liya on the other end of the line, and the two were arguing about something.

However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before it was suppressed. As an outsider, there was no need for him to ask too much about such a personal matter, not to mention that this was not the right occasion.

In that case, he did not bother the other party too much while he was preparing. He chatted with him briefly for a few minutes before saying goodbye and leaving.

I guess there are few people in the entire backstage who are so leisurely except myself.

After walking for a while, Meng Bai finally saw his assistant Jia Jia waiting not far away. It was probably Li Qin who asked her to wait for him here.

"Brother Meng, you are finally here!"

"You sound like you've been waiting for me here for a long time." Meng Bai laughed, "Is your sister Qinqin in there?"

"Yes, but..."

Jia Jia frowned: "There is a delicate situation now, you'd better be careful."

"Be careful?" Meng Bai was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Jia Jia scratched her head, as if trying to organize her words: "Well... I can't say for sure, anyway, you'll know when you see it later."

Meng Bai followed the other person into the dressing room with suspicion. With just one glance, he recognized Li Qin's familiar back.

After walking a few steps forward and just about to go over, he suddenly caught a glimpse of another figure sitting next to the girl, and his steps suddenly paused.

What's going on? Why are these two girls sitting together?
(End of this chapter)