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

Chapter 120 My mind is in turmoil; how many people have I lost to?
When Jiang Qing returned to the hotel, it was already past eleven o'clock.

The steam in the hotel bathroom hadn't dissipated yet when he opened the video call invitation while drying his hair.

The moment the screen lit up, two girls wearing strawberry-patterned nightgowns squeezed into the frame at the same time, and Jiang Nan pushed Zhou Ye's hair drying cap on his head into a rabbit ear shape.

"Brother, why is your collarbone red?"

Jiang Nan brought her face close to the camera.

"Burned by the pressure cooker?"

Zhou Ye was holding a coconut water bottle when he heard this and choked, patting his chest.

Jiang Qing tossed the towel onto the back of the chair and saw the Chinese restaurant apron hanging on the wall behind Jiang Nan, the one with Zhou Ye's Q-version portrait printed on it.

"Behave yourself. Listen to Ono-neechan over there and don't cause trouble."

He flicked the screen with his finger.

"Did you hear me?"

"You threaten me!"

Jiang Nan puffed out her cheeks in protest.

Seeing this, Zhou Ye picked up a mango pudding and shook it.

"Nannan is very sensible. Today she taught me how to make molecular gastronomy! Using liquid nitrogen."

"It gave Yao Ann's sister a big fright."

Jiang Nan interrupted, her fingertips twirling around the ends of her hair as she smiled slyly.

"She thought I blew up the gas stove."

Zhou Ye popped a cherry into Jiang Nan's mouth.

"Eat this, it's very sweet."

Jiang Qing smiled faintly, then glanced at the half-exposed flight case in the corner of the video and rubbed her temples in exasperation.

"Didn't Jiang Xiaomiao chew up your suitcase?"

"Its name is Zhou Xiaomiao now."

Jiang Nan suddenly held the orange cat up to the camera.

"Look! It has the same bow as Ono-neechan! It really likes Ono-neechan!"

Zhou Ye laughed and covered her mouth. The strap of her nightgown slipped down to her elbow, revealing a patch of snow-white skin, which made Jiang Qing raise an eyebrow slightly.

He turned the porcelain doll on the table and looked away, suddenly noticing that the color of its eyes was exactly like someone's eyes that were misty with sea fog that evening.

"You today..."

Zhou Ye brushed Jiang Nan's hands away, subtly curving his lips as he looked at him, adjusting his shoulder strap.

"Was filming successful?"

The sound of waves seeped in through the crack in the balcony door, which wasn't fully closed. Jiang Qing pursed her lips and poured herself a glass of water.

"It went quite smoothly. But you, did you have many guests today? I didn't want Jiang Nan to go, because I was afraid she would cause you trouble."

Jiang Nan suddenly pushed Zhou Ye to the edge of the frame.

"Brother, you clearly said you wanted me to come see Ono-neechan and take pictures of you. I just took a lot of exclusive photos, you want them?"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Ye pressed her into the blanket with a pillow.

As the two girls laughed and joked, Jiang Qing saw the WeChat chat interface that Zhou Ye's phone had slid down to reveal, which was the profile picture of herself that had gone viral during her live stream in Peach Blossom Village.

"Jiang Qing."

A few minutes later, Zhou Ye straightened his crooked hair drying cap and looked at him.

Why do I hear the sound of seashell wind chimes coming from your end?

Jiang Qing raised her hand and turned off the aroma diffuser that mimicked ocean white noise.

"Props from the film crew."

He glanced at the porcelain doll on the bedside table.

"But you, you bullied my sister right in front of me?"

He squinted at her.

"Exactly! Brother, look at her..."

Jiang Nan struggled to raise her hand from under the covers to complain.

"Sister Ono is so fierce, brother, you'd better watch out in the future. I'm afraid she'll turn into Wei Lai..."

Zhou Ye's practiced action of pressing her back down was so skillful it was heartbreaking.

Jiang Qing stroked the porcelain doll, recalling the smiling face of someone jumping up and down on the breakwater, saying, "Even a doctor gets anxious."

The video suddenly started shaking, and Zhou Ye jogged over to show the refrigerator.

"Nan Nan saved some mango mousse for you, it was flash-frozen with liquid nitrogen!"

"Shelf life is three hours."

Jiang Nan's voice drifted in from off-screen.

"Now it's turned into a slime."

Jiang Qing looked at Zhou Ye's frustrated stomping and suddenly remembered a similarly bouncing figure on the beach that evening.

"Jiang Qing, was it beautiful just now?"

While Jiang Nan was in the restroom fixing his hair, Zhou Ye suddenly leaned close to the camera and raised an eyebrow at him, a mischievous smile playing in his eyes.

Jiang Qing's smile froze, and then she glared at her fiercely.

Go to sleep early, goodnight!

He immediately cut off the video.

Looking at the video call that had ended, Zhou Ye smiled slightly and shook his head smugly.

It's just a bare shoulder, hehe...

As the porcelain doll spun around in his palm for the third time, Jiang Qing saw a special notification pop up.

Zhang Jingyi updated her WeChat Moments.

The eighth picture in the nine-square grid is fireworks on the breakwater, captioned "I met a little fish from the river today".

Jiang Qing smiled silently; they were all very interesting girls.

-

The following day, the filming location for "The Beginning" was set.

At 2:17 p.m., the sea breeze, carrying a salty and fishy smell, swept across the film set.

After a half-day rest, today's filming went exceptionally smoothly.

Sun Molong even joked that they could film for three days and then rest for half a day.

During a break in the film crew's schedule, a new visitor arrived on set in a grand manner.

Jiang Qing put her hands on her hips and looked at the person who came. She had expected this girl to come, but she never expected her to be so high-profile.

Three mint green ice cream trucks wobbled along the beach, and Meng Ziyi leaned halfway out of the driver's seat of the lead truck to wave.

Today, she wore a black halter top with black trousers, which perfectly showcased her shapely figure, making her look sexy and alluring at first glance.

On her exquisite makeup, her red lips gleamed with a dewy sheen in the sunlight.

For this set visit, she landed on Xiamen Island at nine o'clock in the morning and spent nearly three hours getting her makeup and styling done at the hotel.

"Dr. Jiang! Your summer cooling package has arrived... Oh dear!"

The bumps from the tires rolling over the pile of seashells caused her to slam her head against the car window frame, letting out a painful howl.

As Jiang Qing closed the script and stood up, she nonchalantly hopped in front of the monitor with an ice cream cone in hand, and several packs of fever-reducing patches tumbled out of the pocket of the sun-protective clothing she had just put on.

"Hello Director Sun! I'm actress Meng Ziyi. I'm here to visit the set today and bring some things for everyone."

When she bowed at a 90-degree angle, the ice cream cone almost poked Sun Molong's baseball cap, startling him so much that he leaned back and moved slightly.

"I brought you a sea salt and caramel syrup; the caffeine content is absolutely up to the crew's standards!"

Sun Molong straightened his baseball cap, which had been blown askew by the sea breeze, and paused for a moment as he took the ice cream cone.

"Thank you, Teacher Meng."

"Dr. Jiang's friend, um... just a friend!"

She emphasized it deliberately, and Sun Molong's eyelids twitched, and he turned to look at Jiang Qing.

"Sister Meng!"

Jiang Qing covered her forehead and walked forward, raising her hand to introduce Liu Yijun, who looked like he was looking at her with a gossipy expression.

"This is Mr. Liu Yijun." "Hello, Mr. Liu!"

Meng Ziyi instantly switched to obedient mode and offered the ice cream cone with both hands.

"I've seen your portrayal of the Marquis of Ningguo, and it scared me so much that I didn't dare walk at night for three days!"

Liu Yijun's hand trembled slightly as he took the ice cream cone, and he turned to look at Jiang Qing.

"Are young girls these days so good at chatting?"

Jiang Qing gave an awkward laugh and turned to glare at Meng Ziyi.

You're such a good conversationalist!

"That's the truth!"

Meng Ziyi, however, was completely unaware and pouted innocently.

She tiptoed to peek at Zhao Jinmai, who was touching up her makeup.

"Is that Mai Mai?"

Before Jiang Qing could answer, she had already jogged over.

"Would you like some cranberry pieces, Mai Mai? I had them freshly ground!"

Zhao Jinmai's hand, which was holding a makeup brush, was suspended in mid-air. She subconsciously took a half step back when she saw the ice cream cone suddenly thrust in front of her.

"Thank you, Sister Ziyi."

She is lactose intolerant.

Jiang Qing took the ice cream cone away and put it back in Meng Ziyi's hand.

"I glanced at it, and it has unsweetened coconut milk."

Zhao Jinmai paused for a moment, then nodded obediently.

She had been paying attention to Meng Ziyi ever since she appeared, but she never expected her to be so enthusiastic, and she never expected Jiang Qing to know her so well.

The sea breeze lifted the hem of her sun-protective clothing, and Meng Ziyi frantically tried to hold it down.

"It's okay, we have some!"

She pulled a glass bottle from the freezer in the food cart and grinned at the two of them.

"MaiMai, look at this label, absolutely zero additives!"

Huang Jue swayed as he walked forward, adjusting his reading glasses to examine the food cart.

"With Teacher Meng's posture, anyone who didn't know better would think she was here to steal the group's meals."

“The last time Jiang Qing visited our set, it was a much bigger affair.”

She glanced at Jiang Qing, then raised her delicate eyebrows with a smile.

"In addition to the desserts and drinks from the two food trucks, we also brought over the most popular private chef in Hengdian to cook a meal for the crew, which made everyone lose their appetite for the next two days."

Recalling the scene the day after Jiang Qing left the crew, Meng Ziyi still couldn't help but smile.

That day, their crew really made a splash in Hengdian, making the later crew lunches seem so hard to swallow.

Yang Zi also asked her to pass on a message, saying that it was all Jiang Qing's fault for spoiling her tastes.

Liu Tao burst out laughing as soon as she approached.

"Such a big show? Our crew has never experienced anything like it before. Jiang Qing, you'd better handle this. We can't show favoritism."

"Right, right!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Meng Ziyi immediately shrank back, suddenly realizing that he seemed to have said something he shouldn't have.

When she met Jiang Qing's gaze, she grinned, putting on an innocent and naive look.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Jiang Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud as well.

He knew two days ago that Meng Ziyi had finished filming and guessed that she would come to visit the set in the next couple of days. He didn't expect her to pull such a stunt as soon as she arrived; she still couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Afterwards, Jiang Qing introduced her to the main members of the production team one by one.

After the excitement, the filming continued.

While the stagehands were shouting "Move out!" through a megaphone, Meng Ziyi was squatting on the beach demonstrating to the props crew how to use seashells to spell out "Go for it!"

Upon hearing "Prepare for live filming," she immediately crouched down and scurried to the folding chair behind the monitor, biting a straw just like a squirrel waiting to be fed.

"Scene 3, one take, one shot!"

Sun Molong glanced at her and issued instructions through the walkie-talkie.

The moment Zhao Jinmai's wrist was grabbed by the "thug," Meng Ziyi crushed the milk tea cup. When Jiang Qing rushed forward to take the knife, she didn't even notice that the zipper of her sun protection clothing had bitten the tassel of her straw bag.

It wasn't until the demolition team activated the smoke device that she was choked and coughed as she looked in Jiang Qing's direction.

"Miss Meng, have you seen this kind of cyclical theme before?"

Liu Yijun leaned closer and asked her with a smile.

"what?"

She hurriedly wiped away the snack scraps on the table.

"I've seen it! I've seen it! It's that one."

She suddenly blinked as if she had a lapse in concentration.

"Anyway, Jiang Qing said this is a mind-bending version of Groundhog Day!"

Huang Jue, who was standing nearby, almost spat out his goji berry tea.

"Is that what Dr. Jiang told you?"

"He said he wanted to take Mai Mai to experience what it feels like to have a heart attack forty times!"

She pointed to Jiang Qing, who had collapsed again on the monitor.

"Look! The angle of the impact with the glass this time is more realistic than last time, right? That's how I used wires when filming the cliff fall scene."

"Cut! Teacher Jiang, pull your elbow back two inches and rest for two minutes to adjust your state."

Sun Molong's shout made her stop talking and stand up instantly, staring at Jiang Qing with tense eyes.

By the time Liu Yijun and the others realized what was happening, she had already run towards Jiang Qing, who was touching up her makeup, holding a sunscreen spray.

"The back of my neck! The back of my neck is sunburned!"

Zhao Jinmai bent down to tidy up the script that had been blown about by the sea breeze. When she looked up again, she saw Meng Ziyi standing on tiptoe to put a fever-reducing patch on Jiang Qing's neck.

"Ziyi is so considerate to our Dr. Jiang."

Liu Tao stepped forward and handed over the sun protection sleeves, jokingly saying with a light laugh.

"It should be!"

She turned around and pulled a first-aid kit from the food cart.

"When Dr. Jiang visited the set last time, I felt like I was bitten and kissed by mosquitoes a lot. This time, I even used mosquito repellent patches."

"Sister Meng!"

Jiang Qing held the crumpled fever-reducing patch, smiling as she watched her.

"Some adjectives still need to be carefully considered!"

"Oh well!"

Meng Ziyi reacted a beat late, then hurriedly stepped aside, her face slightly flushed, and lowered her head.

Seeing this, Liu Tao looked at Jiang Qing and gave him a thumbs up.

He couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

A wave suddenly surged forward, and as Meng Ziyi jumped to avoid the splash, the strap of her sandal came undone again.

As she bent down to tie her shoelaces, she saw Zhao Jinmai silently put the script that Jiang Qing had casually left behind into a waterproof bag, and she raised an eyebrow slightly.

As dusk painted the sea red, only the swaying ribbons of the three food carts remained.

Meng Ziyi was squatting on the beach stuffing seashells into a glass bottle when she suddenly raised the bottle and waved it at Jiang Qing, who was finishing work.

"Dr. Jiang! This is a wrap gift for you!"

"Whose turn is it, yours or mine?"

"It's only a matter of time!"

She skipped and jumped, disturbing her own shadow.

"There are fifteen heart-shaped shells inside, representing the number of times you had to NG (take a mistake)!"

As Zhao Jinmai walked by carrying her thermos, she heard Jiang Qing burst out laughing in exasperation.

The glass bottle containing seashells shimmered with iridescent colors in the sunset, as the tide washed over her footprints on the beach, smoothing everything over.

She couldn't tell for a moment how many people she had lost to.
(End of this chapter)