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

Chapter 113 Gradually Syncing, Better to Arrive at the Right Time Than to Arrive Early

At seven o'clock in the evening, as the waves swept the last traces of summer heat into the twilight, Jiang Qing and his three companions were sitting on plastic stools at a seafood stall.

Chen Duo grabbed the menu and clamored for two more plates of mantis shrimp, while Zhao Jinmai's assistant, Jingjing, was holding her phone up to the ice-cold beer bottle to photograph the frost patterns, and Zhao Jinmai's floral skirt was being blown by the sea breeze, fluttering and sweeping across Jiang Qing's knees.

She didn't choose to sit opposite Jiang Qing, but instead sat to his right.

"Teacher Jiang really never took acting classes?"

The girl bit a disposable chopstick and stared at Jiang Qing with a look of wonder.

She recalled that during the afternoon's filming, the person even portrayed the pain of hitting the railing with distinct layers, first the tense defensive posture of the shoulders and neck, then the rolling of the Adam's apple as he swallowed a muffled groan.

Jiang Qing paused for a moment as he twisted open the soda bottle, then flicked the cap off.

"I was in the drama club in college and played a corpse that was stabbed thirty-six times by the female lead."

As he spoke, he suddenly leaned forward, startling Zhao Jinmai, who leaned back.

"Being a corpse is harder than being a living person; you have to control your breathing rate so you don't give yourself away."

This was obviously made up; he couldn't possibly have said that he had simulated each scene multiple times using the acting techniques of thirteen top actors.

Chen Duo couldn't help but burst out laughing, and quickly covered his mouth when he saw Jiang Qing's gaze sweep over.

He only knew that Jiang Qing had never participated in the so-called drama club.

My boss used to stretch every minute into ten when he was in college, so he didn't have time to care about any of that nonsense about theatrical performances.

That's why he couldn't help but laugh when he saw Jiang Qing speaking so seriously; it was really hard to keep it up.

Jingjing's camera captured Zhao Jinmai's ears turning bright red instantly. In a moment of quick thinking, she grabbed a lemonade and gulped it down, only to have her nose wrinkle from the sourness.

"Teacher Jiang, are you lying to me?"

Noticing Chen Duo's reaction, Zhao Jinmai looked at Jiang Qing with suspicion.

"No, no, Teacher Zhao, I just thought of how President Jiang played a dead body and found it a bit funny."

Before Jiang Qing could answer, Chen Duo quickly interjected to explain.

Upon hearing him say that, Zhao Jinmai imagined the scene, and then thought about Jiang Qing's shining moments and her impression of him after interacting with him for the past two days. She subconsciously laughed out loud, but then quickly suppressed it.

Thinking about it that way, it really is hilarious!
She nodded to Chen Duo in deep agreement.

Jiang Qing glanced over, and she quickly composed herself, trying hard to suppress the urge to smile.

Jiang Qing could roughly guess what she was thinking, and she couldn't help but smile, but she didn't point it out.

Seeing that she believed him, Chen Duo felt relieved and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He then noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jiang Qing was watching him, and quickly buried his head in his rice.

Seeing this, Jiang Qing couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle, quietly withdrawing her gaze.

When the salt and pepper shrimp were served, the conversation had already turned to Zhao Jinmai's embarrassing childhood stories.

She recounted an embarrassing incident from when she was twelve, filming a rain scene, where she was wrapped in a down jacket and eating a roasted sweet potato under a water truck, only to be discovered by the props master.

Jiang listened attentively, habitually tapping her fingertips on the edge of the table, which drew several glances from Jiang.

"Now I have much more freedom."

Zhao Jinmai, holding a crab claw, suddenly winked at Jingjing.

"Right? My mom now only sends a 60-second voice message to check up on me at most, so I don't have to be watched by her all the time."

Previously, her mother accompanied her throughout the entire filming process.

As she said this, her right toe unconsciously brushed against the edge of Jiang Qing's sneakers. By the time she realized it, two pairs of cramped feet were already stacked in the shadows under the plastic tablecloth.

Jiang Qing naturally sensed her movements, but pretended not to notice.

Chen Duo suddenly interrupted.

"President Jiang, doesn't this spicy stir-fried razor clams look just like what we had for our team building activity last year?"

Before he could finish speaking, Jingjing stuffed his mouth full of seaweed rice balls, leaving him only able to make "woo woo woo" sounds.

"You talk too much."

Jingjing couldn't help but complain.

She was only twenty-five years old, a round-faced girl who was a little chubby. She had been with Zhao Jinmai for three years and they had been together day and night, so she could naturally see through Zhao Jinmai's little thoughts.

Although they were boss and assistant, they mostly got along like friends, so she naturally wanted to help him out. However, she didn't expect Chen Duo to be so tactless and talk so much, which made her unable to tolerate it any longer.

"Ah? Is there any?"

Chen Duo pointed to himself, looking completely innocent.

"What do you think?"

Jingjing rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

She was extremely supportive of Zhao Jinmai and Jiang Qing's relationship. How could she miss out on such a high-quality prospect as Jiang Qing?
She was determined to protect and support Zhao Jinmai.

"I'm alright..."

Chen Duo muttered something, and soon the two started arguing again.

Taking the opportunity, Zhao Jinmai observed Jiang Qing's profile and noticed that his little finger would slightly curl up when peeling shrimp, just like his habit of pushing up his glasses during the afternoon shoot.

As the sound of the tide grew louder, Zhao Jinmai spoke of her nervousness about joining the crew alone for the first time.

She said she memorized her lines in an unfamiliar hotel until 3 a.m., turned the air conditioning to an extremely low temperature, and wrapped herself in a blanket to simulate the frost forming from her breath on a snowy day in northern China.

Jiang Qing suddenly reached out and touched the back of her hand that was resting on the edge of the table.

The touch was as light as a seagull skimming over a mast, yet it startled the girl so much that her heart skipped a beat.

She looked up and saw his gesturing look. Looking down, she realized that her hand had been resting on the remains of the seafood he had eaten.

"Thank you."

She thanked him as if nothing had happened.

"fine."

Jiang Qing smiled and shook her head, raising her hand to signal her to continue.

After composing herself, she continued to tell stories about her time on set.

She really wanted to ask Jiang Qing about his experiences, but when she thought about the information she already knew, she was afraid that he might say something she wouldn't understand and that she would seem ignorant, so she held back from asking.

One of them spoke earnestly, and the other listened attentively, so much so that they were completely unaware of the passage of time.

It wasn't until Chen Duo reminded them at nine o'clock that they realized so much time had passed.

"Shall we go back to the hotel first?"

Jiang Qing asked with a smile.

"Yes, there's another shoot tomorrow."

Zhao Jinmai nodded, meeting his gaze.

So, the two of them got up at the same time and reached for the tissue box almost simultaneously, their fingertips touching the paper and then separating in a flash.

Zhao Jinmai glanced at her fingers and suddenly remembered the candy kiss scene she filmed as a child, which required twenty takes.

She suddenly realized that there really are people who can make your heart race without even kissing.

Immediately, they each took out a tissue to wipe their hands, and then walked out of the store one after the other.

It's as if nothing just happened.

On the way back, Chen Duo insisted on imitating seagull calls while holding up the leftover grilled oysters, and was chased and hit by Jingjing with a selfie stick. Zhao Jinmai deliberately lagged behind by two steps, stepping on Jiang Qing's elongated shadow in the moonlight.

She suddenly spoke as his shadow covered her canvas shoes.

"Actually, that time you spontaneously protected my head this afternoon..."

"I was afraid you'd hit the roof of the car."

Jiang Qing stopped and turned around. The LED screen behind him was playing a trailer for a romance movie, and the reflected light kept flowing in his eyes.

"After all, Li Shiqing has used all her intelligence to save the world."

He joked with a smile.

Just as Zhao Jinmai was about to retort, she suddenly saw two fluorescent blue lights flash past the side of her head.

Those are glow-in-the-dark kites from the nearby amusement park.

She didn't realize she had taken a half step forward until she smelled the lingering seafood scent on the other person's shirt, and then she realized that their breathing was gradually synchronizing with the ebb and flow of the tide.

"Excuse me!"

"fine."

Seeing the girl in front of him hurriedly back away, Jiang Qing smiled indifferently.

He then led the way and continued forward.

He didn't deliberately try to increase the distance between them, but he also didn't intentionally get too close.

After all, they also have a romantic storyline.

As the brightly lit hotel building illuminated the night, Jiang Qing suddenly pulled a fluorescent starfish keychain from her pocket as if by magic.

"It was a gift from the boss when I paid, saying it was part of a recent promotion."

When Zhao Jinmai took it, her fingertips brushed against the thin calluses on his palm, and that negligible temperature difference made both of their eyelashes tremble at the same time.

She fastened the starfish to her backpack and made a quiet joke.

"If you mess up tomorrow, I'll hit you with this."

"Okay, I'll trouble you to keep an eye on things, Teacher Zhao."

Jiang Qing looked down at her, and happened to meet her bright black pupils as she looked up.

Both of them grinned at the same time, their eyes and brows softening.

Neither of them mentioned the backs of their hands that had crossed and separated on the way back, as if they hadn't noticed the extra candid photo in Jingjing's album.

Under the warm yellow streetlights, between two elongated shadows, hangs a glowing kite, seemingly about to fall.

-

Filming went very smoothly. Thanks to the outstanding performances of Jiang Qing and Zhao Jinmai, the production team was moving very fast. Sun Molong joked that this would save a lot of time for post-production and allow the show to be released earlier.

A week after filming began, on the afternoon of the 23rd, the crew resumed filming at Jimei University Village as usual.

The afternoon sun slanted in through the bus window at three o'clock. When the prop master stuffed the oil paper package into Zhao Jinmai's hand for the umpteenth time, her hand trembled reflexively.

The oiled paper rubbed together, making a rustling sound, and the aroma of chicken legs coated in sauce seeped into my nose through the gaps.

"Loop 23, action!"

The clapperboard slammed down.

Just as Zhao Jinmai was about to take a bite, she suddenly felt her sleeve being gently tugged.

Jiang Qing's backpack grazed past her knees, naturally trapping her in the corner of the seat.

"Li Shiqing, classmate."

As he pushed up his glasses, his little finger curled up slightly, and his eyes behind the lenses blinked at her from a blind spot in the surveillance camera.

"You said last time you wanted to get off at Jimei Station, right?"

These are lines that weren't in the script.

Zhao Jinmai paused for half a second, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and handed the chicken leg to him.

"How about... I share half with you?"

Her previously mechanical movements suddenly came alive; she could even feel the sticky sensation of the sauce seeping into her palm through the oiled paper.

Sun Molong, who was behind the monitor, suddenly sat up straight and shouted.

"This impromptu is great! Keep one!"

Jiang Qing and Zhao Jinmai exchanged a smile, and the girl gratefully clasped her hands together in gratitude.

God knows how many chicken legs she's eaten in the last two days for this scene; she's almost developed a chicken leg phobia!
"It's great to be young."

Liu Yijun, holding a thermos, swaggered over to Huang Jue's side and nodded his chin toward the two who were touching up their makeup.

"I just made a bet with Jiang Qing that they have to feed each other three chicken legs today."

He smacked his lips.

"I never expected him to pull something like this!"

Huang Jue was squatting on the curb fiddling with his new phone when he heard this, and tapped the screen twice without even looking up.

"In gaming terms, this should trigger a side quest involving increasing affection levels."

As she spoke, she pulled a pink earplug from her backpack. Many actors had them because of the explosion scenes on set.

"I bet you'll have a meal in the next episode, and Mai Mai's face will turn this red."

Liu Yijun gave him an "OK" sign.

A few minutes later, filming resumed.

During a break between Jiang Qing and Zhao Jinmai rehearsing their lines, she caught a glimpse of a Polaroid photograph peeking out of his shirt pocket.

This is a snapshot taken yesterday when I dropped the chicken leg on his trouser leg during my NG (outtake) period.

Without even thinking, she knew it was Jingjing's handiwork, but she never expected him to carry it with him.

"Beware!"

Jiang Qing suddenly grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to the side, and the two fell to the ground at the same time.

A drone belonging to the film crew made a mistake and grazed past Zhao Jinmai's head, causing a moment of panic on set, but fortunately no one was seriously injured.

Looking at Zhao Jinmai's blushing face in Jiang Qing's arms, Huang Jue's phone suddenly played the "Wedding March".

Liu Yijun sprayed a mouthful of goji berry tea all over the monitor's dust cover.

"Old Huang, you definitely did this on purpose!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the scene, and Zhao Jinmai quickly broke free from Jiang Qing's embrace.

Jiang Qing was about to make a joke to ease the awkwardness when a voice interrupted her before she could finish speaking.

"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I never expected to witness a hero saving a damsel in distress."

The sudden sound was crisp and sweet, with a slightly drawn-out ending tone.

Jiang Qing's heart skipped a beat, and when she looked up, she met a pair of big, bright eyes.

(End of this chapter)