Huayu 2021: Isn’t he in the technology field?

Chapter 109 Mai Mai's Transformation Amazes the Entire Audience
As Jiang Qing and her group stepped into the film crew's hotel, the salty sea breeze carrying the sweet fragrance of bougainvillea greeted them.

Fresh magnolia blossoms were displayed on the marble countertop at the front desk. As Jiang Qing checked in, she caught a glimpse of a concept poster on her room key card sleeve that read "The Beginning," with an exploded bus floating in a cyclical symbol.

As the elevator ascends to the 28th floor, the outline of Gulangyu Island can be seen floating in the sunlight through the panoramic glass curtain wall, like a seashell pushed away by the waves.

Upon arriving at the room and pushing open the door to suite 2801, the sea outside the floor-to-ceiling windows shimmered with sparkling light.

Jiang Qing knew that Tencent had specially added 20 million yuan in investment after she confirmed her participation, and upgraded "Beginning" to an S+ project rating, with all related configurations being improved.

This suite is one of them.

Jiang Qing pushed her suitcase into the dressing room when her phone suddenly vibrated. She took it out and saw that it was a message from Chen Duo.

"President Jiang, the seafood porridge delivered from the hotel restaurant is on the coffee table in the living room."

He walked to the living room, picked up the thermos, went to the French windows, leaned against the window, and pushed the glass aside.

The moment it was opened, steam mixed with the aroma of dried scallops filled the air.

Jiang Qing took a picture and sent it to Chen Duling. After receiving a thumbs-up reply from her, he smiled and started eating. The moment he tasted it, his eyes lit up. It was surprisingly good.

He then shared some with Zhou Ye and Meng Ziyi before continuing to eat.

It took Jiang Qing ten minutes to finish the entire small bucket of porridge.

The script for the afternoon's reading was spread out on the coffee table, and Xiao Heyun's lines about time loops were marked with a highlighter.

Suddenly, a noise came from the bathroom, and Chen Duo poked his head out, carrying three sets of ironed shirts.

"Mr. Jiang, would you prefer something more casual or formal for the reading party? This linen one suits the seaside vibe."

"You think you're here for a vacation?"

Jiang Qing glanced at the red ribbon bookmark with the words "Guide to Entertainment Agents" hanging around his neck.

"You don't need to show up before 1:30 pm."

After Chen Duo left with his head hanging low, Jiang Qing called out softly.

"Thirteen."

As the blue light rippled across the phone screen, the electric curtains in the room automatically lowered by half.

"Oh, the great River God, I've arrived!"

Thirteen has taken over the Xiaodu smart speaker in the room.

"Let's get serious and talk about the public opinion situation."

Jiang Qing said irritably.

This guy is getting more and more cheeky.

"Okay, Dr. Jiang."

Thirteen's electronic voice carried a hint of eagerness.

He shook his head, flipped the script in his hand to the section where Li Shiqing first grabbed Xiao Heyun, and tapped the note marked "This part should be performed cautiously".

Thirteen's youthful electronic voice filled the air.

"According to public opinion monitoring over the past 72 hours, netizens' concerns about your delivery of lines have decreased by 12%, but Zhao Jinmai's fans have started a 'Save 00 Flowers' campaign on the Super Topic, believing that cross-dimensional collaborations will weaken the chemistry between the two."

Jiang Qing smiled and continued flipping through the script.

"Bai Jingting posted a photo of himself at the gym on Instagram yesterday, and it has already received over a million likes."

"37% higher engagement than your airport Reuters report."

Thirteen's voice suddenly switched to a news broadcast mode.

"However, this morning, the Beijing News reposted your speech video at the Artificial Intelligence Summit, and the comment section was flooded with comments from 'Xiao Heyun himself,' which has sparked public opinion."

"Let's do this for now."

Jiang Qing cut it off, showing little interest.

"Okay, boss, I'll be going now."

"Ah."

The moment the curtains were drawn back up, the fleeting shadows of seagulls skimming past the corner of the window flashed across the title page of the script.

Jiang Qing looked at the script book, which was filled with starlight with highlighter, and suddenly remembered Chen Duling's sigh when she said, "Save the red bean paste for last." So she picked up the landline and dialed the room service number.

"Could you please send me a taro bun, with red bean paste filling?"

I inexplicably wanted to give it a try.

At 1:07 PM, Jiang Qing walked out of the room wearing a light gray shirt over her white T-shirt.

As he turned through the corridor covered with phoenix wood projections, whispers wafted from the slightly ajar conference room door.

"I heard that Tencent has invested an additional 20 million? They're really willing to spend money!"

"Fans of the original work posted over 100,000 messages on the official Weibo account to protest against capitalist puppets."

"That General Manager Jiang has a good image, but his move of being parachuted in is too domineering. I wonder if he will be easy to get along with."

"The key is acting skills; we can't tarnish the reputation of Noon Sunshine..."

Jiang Qing smiled slightly. As he pushed open the door, dozens of eyes shone upon him like spotlights.

Director Sun Molong, who was adjusting his microphone at the end of the long table, looked up and greeted him with a smile.

"President Jiang is very punctual."

"Hello Director Sun, hello everyone."

Jiang Qing smiled and nodded at him, then looked around the conference room and greeted everyone.

"Hello, Teacher Jiang."

"Hello, Dr. Jiang..."

Clearly, they haven't reached a consensus on how to address Jiang Qing.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Jiang."

Sun Molong smiled and waved to Jiang Qing.

Jiang Qing responded and walked towards him, feeling all sorts of scrutinizing gazes as she walked, but her expression remained unchanged.

Nearby, a photographer was capturing his every move on camera.

The left side of the oval conference table instantly became empty, and as he sat down, Zhao Jinmai, who was wearing a pink knitted cardigan, looked up at him.

Her fluffy curly hair was tied into a low ponytail and half-bun, and the earrings that were exposed trembled slightly as she nodded.

"Hello, Teacher Jiang, I am Zhao Jinmai."

The tips of her canvas shoes beneath her dark jeans unconsciously turned toward the doorway; she looked like a fawn ready to escape the camera's view at any moment.

"Teacher Zhao is thinner and more elegant than when she was filming 'Life of Pi'."

As Jiang Qing unbuttoned her cuffs, she noticed the man diagonally opposite her, wearing a baseball cap, frantically tapping on his phone.

That's Liu Yijun, who plays the policeman Zhang Cheng.

He was sending the secretly taken photos to a WeChat group called "The Beginning of the Melon-Eating Squad".

"Thank you, Teacher Jiang. You are even more handsome in person than in the photos."

Zhao Jinmai responded with a shy smile.

She secretly glanced at Jiang Qing, who always had a smile on his face, and found that he seemed quite easy to get along with.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Jiang Qing smiled noncommittally.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere on set, the executive producer tried to smooth things over by slapping on the call sheet.

"Let's go through the relationship chart first! Mai Mai and President Jiang, should we sit closer together to build rapport?"

Zhao Jinmai pulled the thermos closer to her chest.

"Xiao Heyun and Li Shiqing were suspicious of each other in the first five cycles, and now sitting too close will only destroy the tension."

She kept her eyes on Jiang Qing's reaction as she spoke.

To her disappointment, Jiang Qing simply smiled, his expression remaining unchanged.

The sound of the stagehands bringing in the coffee machine masked the awkwardness, and the screenwriter Qi Dao, wearing a fisherman's hat, suddenly spoke up.

"President Jiang, do you think we should add the line 'What kind of hero is this?' to this scene where Xiao Heyun breaks down? That would better suit the emotional trigger points of highly intelligent people."

"When you're truly on the verge of a breakdown, you can't crack a joke."

Jiang Qing interrupted him, smiling as she opened the script.

"Just like that night when you couldn't write the acknowledgments for your thesis, you probably didn't give the middle finger to your computer, did you?"

Amidst laughter, Zhao Jinmai drew a star on the script with a highlighter.

She recalled a popular Zhihu post she'd seen last night: "Can Jiang Qing portray Xiao Heyun as a research elite or a game architect?" At that moment, she suddenly found the answer in Jiang Qing's dark circles under his eyes—the weariness only someone who'd stayed up all night would have.

"Dear teachers, let's first reenact our first encounter on the bus."

Sun Molong tapped on the storyboard, drawing everyone's attention.

"President Jiang, I need you to show physical aversion to being dragged into the cycle, but your body cannot resist Mai Mai's touch."

"Ok."

Jiang Qing loosened his collar and walked to the center of the field. Zhao Jinmai followed closely behind, getting up and walking to stand in front of him.

The entire conference room quickly fell silent, and the lead actors, including Liu Yijun and Liu Tao, all showed expressions of great interest.

The staff were no exception; they all wanted to see if this CEO Jiang, who was known as a genius and had been parachuted in with great force, was capable of handling such a delicate task.

Amidst the intense attention, Sun Molong raised his hand behind the monitor.

"It's time to start."

Jiang Qing and Zhao Jinmai locked eyes. She slowly moved closer to him, and the two could feel each other's presence.

When the girl's warm fingertips gripped his wrist, he instinctively flinched, just like Xiao Heyun trembled when Li Shiqing pulled him away from his seat.

"Card!"

Sun Molong peeked out from behind the monitor.

"That muscle reaction is amazing! Did President Jiang study acting before?"

"The USTC Drama Club staged a play called 'Copenhagen'."

Jiang Qing moved her wrist and casually replied.

He couldn't possibly say that he had simulated this scenario hundreds of times in the past two days with the help of Thirteen.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of Zhao Jinmai taking out a script from her pocket and writing "Realism of Stress +1" on the edge.

Soon, they began to try other scenarios.

As the clapperboard sounded for the nth time, outside the curtains fluttering in the sea breeze, egrets were flying past the "No Spying" banner stretched out by the film crew.

"Very good, let's leave it at that for now. President Jiang is truly a pleasant surprise. Let's take a break."

About an hour later, Sun Molong said with a ruddy complexion.

He suddenly realized that Jiang Qing might be a more suitable choice than Bai Jingting.

Her acting skills are exceptionally good, and her looks and temperament are even better, which is truly surprising.

Not only him, but everyone present had a completely different opinion of President Jiang after that hour.

Is this what geniuses are like?
Even if they cross industries, can they still achieve a crushing victory?
When Zhao Jinmai sat back down, the way she looked at Jiang Qing was completely different.

She hadn't expected Jiang Qing to perform so well; she had initially thought it was just a whim.

In retrospect, it seems she was narrow-minded.

A moment later, the reading continued.

Half an hour later, the hum of the air conditioner vent was diluted by the sea breeze, and Zhao Jinmai tightened and unscrewed the mineral water bottle for the third time.

She watched Jiang Qing standing in the projector beam, her shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows, gesturing with the director about the motion design for the eighth loop.

"Teacher Zhao, it's your turn."

The script supervisor tapped the storyboard.

Zhao Jinmai, who was lost in thought, hurriedly got up.

This scene depicts the conflict between Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun, who discovers that Xiao Heyun is concealing his physical condition.

Sun Molong asked the two to simulate a confrontation across a bus aisle, and Zhao Jinmai needed to act out the progression from shock to heartache.

A makeshift site has been set up.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the script, when she suddenly heard Jiang Qing speak.

"How about trying pantomime?"

Before she could react, Jiang Qing had already retreated three meters away, bracing herself against the back of the air simulator seat with one hand.

This movement made his shoulder blades appear sharp and defined under his shirt, and Zhao Jinmai suddenly remembered the line from the original novel: "Xiao Heyun was as thin as a scalpel."

"You lied to me!"

The lines she blurted out were trembling and sharper than she had anticipated.

Jiang Qing's back visibly stiffened, and he turned around before speaking after his Adam's apple bobbed twice.

"If I didn't lie to you, how could I possibly protect them..."

The last syllable suddenly collapsed into a breathy sound, and his right hand unconsciously pressed down on his ribs.

There should have been bruises there from the circulation.

Zhao Jinmai felt as if her heart had been squeezed.

She watched as Jiang Qing staggered and slumped into a chair that didn't exist, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Even without makeup or special effects, at that moment she truly believed that the person in front of her was enduring excruciating pain from ruptured organs.

"Card!"

Sun Molong's shouts woke everyone up.

"Where did President Jiang learn this pain response technique?"

"My experience last year of having a gallbladder attack and being taken away by ambulance."

Jiang Qing smiled and straightened up, then handed over the hair clip that Zhao Jinmai had slipped off.

The metal surface still retained the warmth of his palm. Zhao Jinmai discovered that this legendary man with extraordinary abilities was not domineering at all, but rather remarkably gentle.

As the reading continued into the evening, the sea outside the floor-to-ceiling windows shimmered with a wine-like crimson hue.

Zhao Jinmai glanced at Jiang Qing across from her countless times. He was marking forensic terms on Liu Yijun's script with a highlighter, the shadows cast by his eyelashes swaying gently as he explained.

"Teacher Jiang."

She finally couldn't help but speak up.

"You adjust the tightness of your neckline every time you change scenes. Is that a subtle design feature?"

The meeting room suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at the girl who had suddenly asked the question.

Zhao Jinmai belatedly covered her mouth, her eyes blinking frantically beneath her bangs.

"Perfect observation skills."

Jiang Qing chuckled as she twirled her pen.

“Every time Xiao Heyun restarts the cycle, the lingering feeling of impending death in his body causes him to experience suffocation hallucinations.”

He suddenly loosened his collar, and the pale blue veins on his neck rose and fell with each swallow.

"like this."

Zhao Jinmai was completely stunned.

For the first time in her nineteen years of life, she clearly felt the thrill of the resonance between performing arts and life experience.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that his script was filled with annotations for "Jiang Qing's attention to detail."

As the final reading session ended, the sunset cast Jiang Qing's shadow long through the glass curtain wall, reaching Zhao Jinmai's feet.

She followed the outline of the shadow as if possessed, completely unaware that someone was approaching, until she heard a man's laughing voice above her.

"Is Professor Zhao interested in projective measurement?"

"Ah! No!"

She retreated hastily, bumping her lower back against the conference table.

Jiang Qing subconsciously reached out to help, but quickly withdrew her hand.

This seemingly obvious detail led Zhao Jinmai to secretly text her best friend Cai Wenjing from the restroom after the event.

"Of those actresses who have been rumored to be having affairs with him, at least one of them is definitely true!"

The sound of ocean waves seeped in through the ventilation vents, and Jiang leaned against the fire escape entrance, rubbing his temples.

The image of Zhao Jinmai's shadow that she had just described overlapped with the image of the senior student who had followed him closely in the laboratory for a long time in her memory.

He suddenly remembered a highly praised comment in the public opinion report compiled by Thirteen that said, "Jiang Qing's eyes can solve partial differential equations." At this moment, he was afraid that some equations would get out of control.

Given the current situation, it's best to be more restrained.

After all, he still had a tangled mess to untangle.

(End of this chapter)