This actor has something

Chapter 368 Deng Chao's Absent-Mindedness

After simulating the scene from Assembly, He Daqi was a little dazed. He stared blankly for a long time, then turned his head to look at the sleeping Zhou Huimin. He gently got up and went to the kitchen to take a bottle of iced cola from the refrigerator.

Sitting on the living room sofa, he could faintly hear the clear chirping of birds coming from the backyard. He took a sip of cola, and the cool bubbles burst on his tongue, instantly making him more awake.

The morning sun shone on the dining table and also shone on the carpet. The kitten, perhaps uncomfortable from the sun or perhaps having heard He Daqi's movements, opened its eyes from the carpet, meowed, and scurried over to He Daqi's legs, rubbing its neck against his calves.

At this moment, the bedroom door opened, and Zhou Huimin came out of the bedroom rubbing her eyes. She hummed and slowly walked to the sofa, sat down next to He Daqi, and leaned her upper body on He Daqi's lap.

He Daqi looked at the cat beside his legs, then at Zhou Huimin, and suddenly realized that the two had quite a few similarities.

"Why did you get up so early today?" He gently smoothed Zhou Huimin's disheveled hair.

"I opened my eyes and, still half asleep, saw you weren't beside me, so I got out of bed, opened the door, and looked around," Vivian Chow replied, yawning.

She shifted a couple of times to make herself more comfortable, then grabbed He Daqi's hand and pressed it against her face, closing her eyes. She was preparing to use He Daqi as a pillow to catch up on some more sleep.

The morning in mid-September was mild and comfortable. The annoying cicada chirping had almost subsided. He Daqi lay half-reclined on the sofa, his right hand touching Zhou Huimin's face. With his left hand, he beckoned, and the kitten, very obediently, jumped up gently, squinting its eyes and enjoying the caress of He Daqi's left hand.

It's a pity that the two children were taken away by Grandpa and Grandma He early on. Otherwise, with the two little ones sleeping soundly next to him, He Daqi might feel that life couldn't be more beautiful.

When Zhou's mother got up to have breakfast, she saw the two people and the cat lounging on the sofa. She shook her head and smiled, not wanting to disturb her daughter and son-in-law, and went to the kitchen to cook a congee with preserved egg and lean pork.

It seems the couple developed some kind of unspoken understanding after spending so much time together. When Zhou's mother finished cooking the porridge and ladled out a bowl to drink, the two spineless men on the sofa, as if they had made a pact, simultaneously got up, shamelessly went into the kitchen, and happily ladled out a bowl for themselves as well.

The kitten was left alone on the sofa, staring blankly with wide eyes, meowing a few times, seemingly not understanding the situation.

Another leisurely day begins.

After finishing their porridge, the couple lingered at home for a while before leisurely heading out to their nanny van.

Now, going to Yonghui Qiming every day has become a routine.

He Daqi went there to answer questions and resolve doubts, while Zhou Huimin went to keep him company every day because she was bored at home.

Although the teaching is almost complete, there are always some oversights, right? With continuous practice, employees will encounter various problems when doing special effects post-production. Some of these problems are covered in the video courses recorded by He Daqi, while others can only be addressed by asking He Daqi when he comes over every day.

Of course, as the practice time increased, the employees gradually asked fewer and fewer questions, sometimes not even one question a day.

He Daqi was happy to have some free time, so he would just come over every day to take a stroll and chat with people.

"The young man who acted in Chinese Paladin may have been disfigured."

Today, Wong Jing-hua happened to be there. She's well-informed, and while chatting with her, Ho Tai-kai heard a lot of juicy gossip from the entertainment industry.

"Is it that serious? Did you hit your face?" At the beginning of the year, Chinese Paladin was quite popular, and He Daqi and Zhou Huimin, these two idle people, have been watching the show at home every day. They happened to have watched the show online a couple of days ago.

"The assistant died on the spot, and the car was completely wrecked. The young man's response photos posted online showed that his wounds were covered by gauze and could not be seen. I heard that the wounds were very long and that he had stitches all over his body. I guess even after he recovers, he will still have a large scar."

"What a pity."

"Yes, so I've been telling my artists to take on fewer jobs if possible, and not to put themselves in danger just to rush through a series of events."

"Sister Hua, you are this one." He Daqi gave a thumbs up.

"Not really. I also have my own selfish motives. If something happens to the artists, I will also suffer losses. It's just that I have a lot of artists under my command and I'm willing to take things slowly." Wang Jinghua chuckled softly, then changed the subject: "By the way, in a few days there might be a new environmental protection standard for filming. It might not be as convenient for film crews to shoot in nature as it used to be."

He Daqi didn't care much about this; whether it was convenient or not was none of his concern. That was a headache for the director and producer. However, since the topic had come up, he had to play along and couldn't just say the obvious. So he asked with a smile, "What's the reason for this?"

"It's still because of Chen Kaige's filming of The Promise in Shangri-La. It caused quite a stir before, so recently the higher-ups discussed it and decided to issue a regulation."

He Daqi clicked his tongue. Old Chen has truly made a huge contribution to the domestic film and television industry.

Wang Jinghua was very busy and couldn't possibly keep up with the idle He Daqi by chatting about gossip. After a short chat, Wang Jinghua said goodbye and went to attend to her business, while He Daqi continued to stroll around the third floor of Yonghui Qiming.

After lunch and a nap, He Daqi figured no one would ask him any more questions, so he and Zhou Huimin took a car to the North Third Ring Road.

The neighborhood has changed dramatically. The old corrugated iron walls have been demolished and replaced with traditional Chinese-style walls with black eaves and white walls. The neighborhood is currently being landscaped, and many residents have even started renovations.

The new house is next to the community but separated. Zhou Huimin started decorating one of the earliest, before the community was even finished. Now it's almost done and she's opening the windows to let it air out.

The couple, wearing masks, toured their new home, floor by floor. Each floor of the new house was over a thousand square meters, completely incomparable to their current villa.

Vivian Chow was overjoyed, her eyes full of smiles as she clung to Ho Tai-kai's arm.

If it weren't for the fact that the renovations had just finished and it wasn't a good time to stay, she could have dragged He Daqi up and down the stairs for a whole day.

October 1st is almost here, and it happens to be our wedding anniversary every year. It's a pity we can't move in on October 1st, otherwise it would be so much happier and more romantic to celebrate our anniversary in our new home.

……

……

"Big Brother! Brother He! Over here! Long time no see!"

The greeting had a retroflex ending to each word, and the person who called He Daqi "elder brother" now had a dark and weathered face due to military training, so He Daqi felt quite sentimental.

The key point is that she is indeed younger than me...

"Baoqiang, didn't we already say that we're the same age? You can just call me Daqi."

“That won’t do. My mom said that even if he’s a year older, I still have to call him brother!” Wang Baoqiang looked at He Daqi with a sincere expression.

"You two are the same age? Daqi, you're even stronger than Baoqiang?" Deng Chaoku laughed from the side, his laughter as mesmerizing as could be.

He Daqi didn't understand what he was laughing at, rolled his eyes, and said, "Brother Chao, have you ever thought about this? Baoqiang is younger than me, and I'm younger than you, so logically you shouldn't be laughing right now, right?"

Sure enough, after being reminded by He Daqi, Deng Chao's smile slowly turned from bright to bitter.

"Daqi is here? Come, let me introduce you to the actors who will be acting alongside you in the future. You must know Baoqiang and Deng Chao. Oh, right, no need to introduce Hu Jun. Let me introduce you to this one. This is Liao Fan, your right-hand man."

Feng Xiaogang's smile betrayed a hint of fatigue. He'd just finished filming *The Banquet*, and then immediately started shooting *Assembly*, clearly feeling the strain. Especially since *The Banquet*'s box office performance hadn't met expectations; although later revenue could compensate, Feng Xiaogang's morale was noticeably lower than before.

"Hello, Teacher Liao." He Daqi smiled and shook hands with the long-faced middle-aged man in front of him.

This guy is just like Baoqiang; you can't tell his age at all. You could say he's thirty or forty.

"No, no, teacher, to be honest, I often watch your movies at home to learn acting skills." Liao Fan politely bent down and shook He Daqi's hand.

Fake fan! Never bought a movie ticket.

He Daqi's movies are basically not released on DVD; they can recoup their investment solely through box office revenue. Currently, he is the only one in China to do this. So when Liao Fan said he would watch them at home, He Daqi immediately made a judgment on him.

"This is Yuan Wenkang, who plays Wang Jincun. Daqi, you have a lot of scenes with him, so remember to mentor him," Feng Kuzi continued.

"Hello, hello." He Daqi shook hands warmly, but this time he didn't call him teacher because Yuan Wenkang looked quite young.

"Hello, Daqi." Yuan Wenkang smiled and nodded.

"This is Tang Yan, who plays Wang Jincun's wife in the drama. She is an important character who drives the storyline."

"Hello." He Daqi didn't shake hands, but smiled reservedly.

After Tang Yan finished responding, she wanted to argue with He Daqi a bit more, but Feng Kuzi didn't give her the chance and pulled He Daqi away.

Today is the press conference for the start of filming, a very important day. Especially since Feng Xiaogang just had a minor plane crash during the "The Banquet" incident, he's even more focused on the new movie than before. He needs to talk to He Daqi about what to say at the press conference and create some buzz, since the movie is now counting on He Daqi to carry it.

Half an hour later, the press conference officially began.

Feng Kuzi was speaking eloquently, while He Daqi next to him rested his chin on his hand, watching the reporters below the stage with great interest, pondering how to subtly steer the conversation to someone else later.

Feng Kuzi was hoping He Daqi would come up with something sensational, but sorry, He Daqi just wanted to get by.

"Hello Daqi, I'm a reporter from the 49 City Daily. I'd like to ask if it's true that you and your wife, Vivian Chow, will collaborate on a film again next year?"

I don't know when, but Feng Xiaogang's speech ended, and now it's time for reporters' questions.

"Excuse me, today is the press conference for the launch of the film 'Assembly', and I will only answer questions about 'Assembly'."

"Could you tell me about the role you played in 'Assembly'?"

This question was too vague, and even if He Daqi wanted to answer it, he couldn't. So he gave a similarly vague and perfunctory reply:

"In the movie, I play Gu Zidi, the company commander of the Ninth Company. He is a soldier with flesh and blood and a sense of responsibility. I fell in love with this rugged and resolute character the moment I saw the script. If you want to know more about the character's story, you can ask the screenwriter."

"Hello Daqi, I'm a reporter from Huanyu.com, a subsidiary of Yabo.com. In July, you and Cheng Long got drunk and sang a song together at Li Zongsheng's concert. Cheng Long has since apologized for his recklessness that day and said he would attend someone else's concert to sing 'True Hero' again, and he invited you to do so. What is your response?"

This is one of our own reporters. She's clearly taking advantage of He Daqi being the boss, so even though He Daqi had clearly stated beforehand that she would only answer questions about the assembly call today, she still dared to get up and ask other questions.

He Daqi smacked his lips and chuckled. After he and Cheng Long got drunk and acted crazy on July 10th, Cheng Long was severely scolded, but He Daqi was fine.

The reason for this is that Jackie Chan went on stage first that day, while He Daqi was called up later. Therefore, He Daqi's fans insisted that Jackie Chan had corrupted He Daqi, and they joined Jackie Chan's haters in criticizing Jackie Chan.

Just a couple of days ago, when Jackie Chan was filming Rush Hour in Hollywood, he felt that his public image couldn't continue like this, so he publicly announced that he would bring along Ho Tai-kai for another concert.

"As I said before, I won't answer any questions about anything other than 'Assembly' today. But I do have to respond to what you said. If nothing unexpected happens, I should go to the concert that Brother Jackie Chan mentioned."

This was the only question He Daqi seriously answered at the press conference for the start of filming. After that, he went into Tai Chi mode, and if any reporters in the audience stood up to ask him another question, he would deflect the question and pass it on to someone else.

Usually, the topic is passed to Feng Kuzi, since Feng Kuzi is quite willing to take over He Daqi's conversation. Most of the rest is passed to Deng Chao, but unfortunately, Deng Chao is not in the right frame of mind for some reason. His responses are hesitant and he even acts as a middleman. When He Daqi pushes the topic to him, he turns around and pushes it to others.

He Daqi assumed Deng Chao was still half asleep and didn't pay attention, but Feng Kuzi frowned slightly when he saw Deng Chao's absent-minded state.

After the press conference, we had dinner together that evening.

He Daqi and Deng Chao sat next to each other, each holding a mobile phone and chatting.

He Daqi didn't care who Deng Chao was talking to or what he was talking about, while He Daqi was taking advantage of Deng Chao's busy time to chatter about him in the QQ group.

He Daqi: "Family members, our Emperor Shunzhi may have lost his love again!"

Cui Bo: "Little droop, tell me carefully!"

He Daqi: "At today's press conference for the launch of 'Assembly', Deng Chao was absent-minded, which made Director Feng a little irritable. He looked just like he was after his last breakup."

Herrera: "When did he start dating?"

He Daqi: "..."

Cui Bo: "..."

Huo Siyan: "..."

Yang Rong: "..."

Li Xiumeng: "..."

Deng Chao: "You don't believe me, do you? You don't, do you? I think you all know what kind of person He Daqi is. He doesn't tell the truth."

Huh? He Daqi looked up at Deng Chao in surprise, not expecting that Deng Chao would actually look at the chat group.

Deng Chao gave He Daqi the middle finger, then yelled at the waiter, "Waiter, bring me a few bottles of baijiu. I'm going to get someone drunk and turn him into an idiot today."

"You can drink it yourself. I only drink Coke now. I haven't drunk alcohol for several years." He Daqi chuckled and shook his head.

"You were drunk and disorderly in public just back in July!"

(End of this chapter)