Abstract Art Award Winner

This year was a year of vigorous development for the domestic film and television industry, with blockbuster movies such as "The Wandering Earth", "Ne Zha" and "The Captain" being released one after another.

Not only did it break various box office records this year, but it is also a regular at major film festivals.

Television dramas are equally impressive, with one phenomenal show after another. The first half of the year saw critical and commercial successes for "The Longest Day in Chang'an," "The Thunder," and "All Is Well."

In the latter half of the year, "The Untamed" took the lead in sparking discussion. Although it was a self-congratulatory phenomenon within the industry and ridiculed by outsiders, it is undeniable that it did generate a lot of buzz.

Next up was "Story of Yanxi Palace," starring Tian Xiwei and produced by Yu Zheng. This drama was highly anticipated even before it aired.

After its release, it received widespread praise. Although many so-called experts came out to criticize it, it is essentially a female-centric novel that is enjoyable for those who like it. In terms of popularity and discussion, it can be called a phenomenon.

Tian Xiwei successfully rose to the ranks of first-tier actresses thanks to this TV series, and her cute appearance attracted many male and female fans.

This drama not only has an exciting plot, but also benefits from Yu Zheng's marketing efforts and the fact that Zhou Le is the copyright owner of the film, as well as substantial investment, which has led to its rapid rise in popularity.

So after Zhou Le won the championship, Yu Zheng also reposted the Weibo post.

"Brother Le is truly a succubus in the entertainment industry; so many people have come to support him."

"So you're saying that if you win the championship this time, you'll have to spend a lot of money? Treat everyone to a good meal."

Fans were delighted to see Zhou Le trending on social media, and of course, the hashtag about a celebrity racer winning a championship also appeared on the trending list this time.

"Hahaha, this is hilarious! It's been so many years, but this joke is still going strong."

"Zhou Le's name will never appear on the trending search list, just like Wang Feng's trending search will never be number one."

"I have every reason to suspect that these two people are people who traveled back from the future and have been loaded with a system. As long as they get the number one spot on the trending searches or get their names on the trending searches, they can save the future world."

"Brother, hurry up and publish your book, I will definitely read it."

One call after another was answered, and the last one to call was from Meng Ziyi. During this period, Meng Ziyi had been busy with work and had not contacted Zhou Le much, nor had she contacted many other people.

Occasionally popping up in the group chat, Yu Shuxin curiously asked Meng Ziyi if she was planning to switch jobs.

Meng Ziyi simply said that she had too many things to do lately and could only find time to play on her phone at night.

"Brother Le, congratulations on winning the championship! I knew I hadn't misjudged you. You really are the best."

"Of course! How have you been lately?"

"I feel like an old ox lately. Every day, as soon as I open my eyes, I start working. Sister Su has arranged a lot of work for me. I'm either on variety shows or on my way to one."

"That's good."

"Yeah, it's good, but it's just too tiring, Brother Le. To be honest, I miss your massage."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Le laughed and said, "You'd better be talking about 'massage,' not some other weird stuff."

"I was talking about a massage parlor, of course. How about this, I can take a break in a few days, how about I come visit you? Consider it a visit to the set."

"Okay, but after you come, I probably won't have much time to spend with you, mainly because I have a lot of filming commitments here."

"It's okay, I'll just learn from you on set. Anyway, Sister Su is busy right now, so I'll be your assistant for a few days."

"Okay, but there's no assistant's salary."

"Brother Le, look at what you're saying. Do you think I'm short of money? It's settled then. I'll buy the tickets now and bring you a gift, so it won't be like I'm getting your cooking for free."

"Hey, you're here anyway, why bring a gift? Do we have to be so formal? But what kind of gift is it? Never mind, you can tell me later, otherwise there won't be any surprise."

The next day, Zhou Le was filming on set when a crew member brought Meng Ziyi in.

Upon seeing Meng Ziyi, director Kong Sheng immediately instructed the staff to arrange for her to rest for a while, as Zhou Le was currently filming and couldn't spare the time.

Meng Ziyi didn't wander around; she just sat in a chair and watched Zhou Le perform not far away.

"Brother Lok is still Brother Lok. He seems a bit different this time compared to the first movie."

Because everyone is busy with their own projects, Meng Ziyi now spends her free time practicing her acting skills. Even when she's in the car, she makes time to watch a classic movie and then watch some adult films.

Otherwise, as the first person to know Zhou Le and the first female artist to become famous among the group in the studio, it wouldn't be good if she were to be outshone by her junior colleagues.

After a while, Zhou Le came over here in his costume after finishing his performance.

"Brother Le's acting is superb. I learned a lot from watching for just a short while."

"What's going on?"

I'm still not quite used to it, after all, Meng Ziyi doesn't seem like that kind of person, she just comes up here and starts bragging.

"Hehe, I'm just flattering him. After all, I need his help, so I have to say something nice."

"You're quite honest, saying whatever comes to mind."

"Absolutely, my greatest strength is that I'm honest."

As she spoke, Meng Ziyi took out her water cup and handed it to Zhou Le: "Brother Le, have some water first. You must be tired from filming."

Meng Ziyi was quite generous. After all, in her opinion, Zhou Le was her boss, so there was no need to hide it from outsiders. It wasn't like she was taking off her clothes in public; it was just drinking water.

As Zhou Le took the water glass to drink, Meng Ziyi went around behind Zhou Le and started massaging his shoulders.

"You're on the job so quickly? That's fast."

"necessary."

The two chatted for a while, and then Kong Sheng, after tidying up the script, came over. From a distance, he saw Meng Ziyi carefully massaging Zhou Le's shoulders. "Is this your new assistant?"

Kong Sheng said with a smile as he walked over.

"Yes, Director Kong, I'm Brother Le's new assistant. I'll be working with him for a while. Feel free to contact me if you need anything. I don't have much experience as an assistant, so please bear with me if I have any shortcomings."

Kong Sheng didn't find anything wrong with what he said. He just thought to himself that Zhou Le had indeed trained him to be so open and generous, without any awkwardness.

"Le'er, I just adjusted the script for the later parts. Take a look and familiarize yourself with it. After we finish filming this scene, you should rest first. After all, we can't let your little assistant wait here all the time." Kong Sheng said, looking at Meng Ziyi behind Zhou Le.

"Director Kong, no need, no need. Just arrange things as you see fit. Xiao Meng can learn a lot by watching the teachers act here." Zhou Le thought to himself that he usually took leave because of work, and it would be too ungrateful of him to slack off because of his own people visiting the set.

“Yes, Director Kong, I finally get to watch the big shots filming on set, please don’t deprive me of my chance to learn from them,” Meng Ziyi quickly chimed in.

"Haha, it's turned out to be my fault. Alright, I'll take back what I just said. Let's film normally. If Xiao Meng gets tired later, go back to the hotel first. I've had them arrange accommodation for you."

"Thank you for your help, Director Kong," Zhou Le said gratefully.

As a top director in the industry, Kong Sheng's conduct is beyond question. His politeness towards Meng Ziyi is a great honor, and Meng Ziyi should naturally accept his kindness.

After chatting for a bit, Kong Sheng went to arrange the next filming. Zhou Le and Meng Ziyi sat there for a while longer before being called over to film their next scenes. Meng Ziyi sat in the chair Zhou Le had just sat in, watching Zhou Le working in the distance. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Zhou Le is truly a gift from God. He's a born actor. No matter what role he plays, he makes it all incredibly moving. Of course, what's most moving about him is his amazing massage skills."

……

Zhou Le finally finished work at 10 p.m. He looked at Meng Ziyi, who was sleeping on the recliner, shook his head, and walked over to gently nudge her arm.

"Wake up, the sun's shining on your butt!"

Meng Ziyi rubbed her eyes groggily, muttering, "What time is it?"

Seeing Meng Ziyi's usually carefree and outgoing expression now looking like a bewildered little girl, Zhou Le found it rather cute. "It's morning, time for breakfast!"

Hearing this, Meng Ziyi became a bit more awake: "Ah, how come I slept for so long? Didn't you guys rest last night? You've been filming for so long."

"Haha, you're so cute. Wake up, I'll take you for a late-night snack." Zhou Le looked at her silly appearance and didn't intend to tease her any further. He pulled Meng Ziyi up and said.

Meng Ziyi, now fully awake, stood up, took out her phone, glanced at the time (22:10) and the pitch-black surroundings, and instantly realized that Zhou Le had been playing a trick on her.

She clenched her fist and punched Zhou Le's hard chest muscles, then stretched and said resentfully, "Without a big massage, this matter won't be over today."

As Zhou Le packed his things, he said indulgently, "Okay, okay, whatever you say. Let's go eat first, and we'll talk about the rest after we finish eating."

Zhou Le took Meng Ziyi to a small barbecue restaurant. The crew used to come here for late-night snacks sometimes. The food was pretty good. The owner was a local and very warm and generous. Meng Ziyi was the type who had big eyes but little stomach. She ordered a whole table full of all sorts of things, and in the end, nine-tenths of them ended up in Zhou Le's stomach. It's just that Zhou Le doesn't have to worry about his figure right now, otherwise Meng Ziyi would have really wasted all that food.

After finishing their meal and paying the bill, the two planned to stroll back to the hotel. Zhou Le was really full, while Meng Ziyi was simply refreshed after a good night's sleep.

However, it is not an ordinary thing for public figures to walk side by side so openly, especially since they are a popular male artist who is generating a lot of buzz and a rising starlet whose career is on the rise.

The two were walking slowly when Zhou Le's phone suddenly rang. He took out his phone and saw that it was Guo Qiling calling.

Zhou Le was still hesitant about whether to answer, as he rarely had such a leisurely time, but then he remembered what happened with Saito Asuka before, so he pressed the answer button anyway.

As soon as the call connected, Guo Qiling's voice came from the other end: "Hey, bro, what are you doing? Why are you taking so long to answer the phone?"

"I'm taking a walk to eat. What do you want?"

"Walking around for food? Which sister-in-law am I with? Or is there a new sister-in-law?" Guo Qiling joked.

"You'd better have something important to do, or I'll deal with you when I get back to the capital."

Upon hearing this, Guo Qiling dropped his nonchalant attitude and quickly said, "Brother, brother, something really happened. Saito Asuka added me on social media before, and she contacted me today to discuss the specific details of the collaboration. I was thinking of waiting until you return to Beijing to talk to her in detail. Is that alright?"

"Don't wait for me. Talk to me however you want. You need to understand your place. You are the boss of this company, not someone who works for me. We are partners, equals. I can't decide everything. You need to grow up."

"But brother, can I do it?" Guo Qiling had some self-doubt.

“Give me that. You’re capable. How can a man say he can’t? Don’t worry, your brother will cover the losses. Your brother has plenty of money now,” Zhou Le said firmly.

"Okay, then I'll go talk to them. You and your new sister-in-law can continue your stroll. I won't bother you any longer." With that, he hung up the phone.

……

“What new sister-in-law? Where did this new sister-in-law come from? This brat…” Zhou Le shook his head helplessly as he looked at his black-screened phone.

"Hey, when did Brother Le get a new sister-in-law? He didn't even bring her out for us to see." Because the surrounding environment was quiet and there was little noise at night, Meng Ziyi heard Zhou Le and Guo Qiling's conversation clearly, and she started to chatter on.

“Isn’t your new sister-in-law right here? Can’t you see her?” Zhou Le said with a smile, looking at Meng Ziyi.

"Where is it? I don't see it." Meng Ziyi's silly, big-sisterly manner came back, as if I couldn't understand her.

"Come on, I'll show you my new sister-in-law right now." With that, he pulled Meng Ziyi along and started running.

Looking at Zhou Le's clothes being blown by the wind, Meng Ziyi suddenly felt that it wouldn't be bad if time could stop at this moment. Pure love is sometimes more touching than massage parlors, at least it is at this moment.

But life is full of surprises. An hour later, Meng Ziyi, wearing a baggy T-shirt and going for the "no pants" look, quietly knocked on Zhou Le's door, but that wasn't what she was thinking.

I'm here for a massage!

When Zhou Le opened the door, he saw Meng Ziyi standing there without makeup after taking a shower and gave him a helpless smile. Her obsession with massage parlors was truly not to be underestimated.

"Brother Le, I'm here to collect a debt. Don't struggle anymore. Cooperate obediently, or I'm afraid you won't be able to handle the principal and interest." Meng Ziyi looked exactly like a creditor.

"Okay, just don't regret it later." (End of Chapter)