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

Chapter 183 Be My Male Lead, Both on and off Screen

At 11:03 p.m., scattered lights floated on the surface of Xuanwu Lake; those were the fluorescent floats of night anglers swaying with the waves.

Zhang Jingyi walked in a straight line, stepping on the gaps between the bluestone slabs, occasionally kicking up small pebbles with the tips of her canvas shoes, seemingly enjoying herself immensely.

"Are you really not angry?"

Jiang Qing reached out and brushed aside the willow branches drooping in front of her eyes, looking at the girl who seemed completely unaffected.

"Those comments weren't very nice."

"You're saying I'm scheming and trying to gain attention?"

Zhang Jingyi turned and walked backwards, the streetlights casting long, thin shadows of her.

"Last year, I was criticized for stealing resources when I filmed an advertisement, and last month I was mocked for wearing an outdated dress on the red carpet. If I really cared about that, I would have been furious long ago."

"You can think about it."

Jiang Qing smiled, but her eyes revealed admiration.

What attracted him to this girl was her carefree attitude; she had a well-behaved appearance, yet she always managed to do something unexpected.

She suddenly squatted down to tie her shoelaces, and Jiang Qing stopped in her tracks.

Five meters away, a couple was recording a vlog with a selfie stick when the girl suddenly pointed at them and exclaimed in surprise.

"Jiang Qing? Who's that woman next to you, Zhang Jingyi?"

"I misread it, I misread it!"

Zhang Jingyi jumped up and pushed Jiang Qing away in a flash, her reaction was incredibly fast.

A few minutes later, the two turned onto the waterfront boardwalk, and the shouts of ticket inspectors came from the cruise ship dock.

"There are two people left on the last ferry!"

Jiang Qing took out her phone to check the time, wondering if she could take a night tour of Xuanwu Lake.

Zhang Jingyi suddenly grabbed the railing and shouted towards the lake.

"Hello--!"

The egrets at the bow of the boat were startled and took flight, their wings flapping against the water, shattering the starlight and moonlight reflected in the pond.

Jiang Qing turned to look at her, wondering what had suddenly gotten into this girl.

“When I was a kid, I used to yell like this by the lake in my hometown.”

As she turned around, her long hair was disheveled by the night wind, and she laughed freely.

"Once, I scared my cousin so much that the roses he was going to use for his confession fell into the lake."

"and after?"

"Later he married the florist."

She blinked.

"Isn't fate amazing?"

Jiang Qing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and chuckled.

"Ah."

This girl always manages to surprise him.

Suddenly, a red carp leaped out of the lake, splashing water droplets that landed on the back of Zhang Jingyi's hand.

She flicked her wrist, looked at Jiang Qing, and tapped her knuckles on the wooden railing, making a soft tinkling sound, but she didn't notice that the hair tie on her wrist had been thrown off.

"I recently took on a new script."

"What subject matter?"

Jiang Qing bent down and picked up her hair tie.

When I looked up, I saw the pale pink tinge on the tip of her nose caused by the night breeze, like cherry blossoms falling on porcelain in March.

Zhang Jingyi took the hair tie but didn't rush to tie her hair, letting her black hair dance in the night wind.

"The contract was just signed last week. The script is called 'Lighter and Princess Dress'."

She turned and leaned against the railing, the toes of her canvas shoes touching Jiang Qing's Oxford shoes.

"The male protagonist is a computer genius, the kind who is invincible in the world of code."

Amidst the distant sound of cruise ship horns, Jiang Qing paused for a moment.

"Does this sound like you're writing my biography?"

He raised an eyebrow and joked.

"right."

Zhang Jingyi grinned at him, then her expression turned serious.

"That's why I accepted the call."

Jiang Qing's expression froze.

The sound of fish churning and splashing suddenly became clearly audible.

"Chen Feiyu has been confirmed as the male lead."

Zhang Jingyi broke the silence first, looking up at him.

"His father is director Chen Kaige, a very senior and influential director in the industry."

The night wind tousled the stray hairs at her temples, but her eyes remained bright.

"But I think... if you want to, you can definitely get this role."

Jiang Qing looked down at her, somewhat surprised by the sudden invitation.

"Teacher Zhang wants to collaborate with me?"

"We'll be starting filming next month, so it's not too late to change the cast now."

Zhang Jingyi stared intently at him, tiptoeing closer.

"If I said I wanted to find a male lead who actually understands coding, would that be a valid reason?"

She poked his chest with her finger.

Jiang Qing took a half step back and leaned against the willow tree, looking at the girl in front of him with an interested smile.

"So you're here to poach talent for the production team?"

"I'm……"

Zhang Jingyi hesitated for a moment, then her expression became firm, as if she had made up her mind.

"I want you to be my leading man."

Just as she looked up, the streetlights came on, and tiny sparkles danced in her pupils.

"It applies both on and off screen."

Jiang Qing paused for a moment, her eyes gradually softening.

From a distant food stall came the crackling sound of charcoal fires going out. Jiang Qing raised her hand and brushed the willow catkins off her eyelashes.

"That young master Chen makes you so dissatisfied?"

"When he was auditioning, he typed on the keyboard, but his typing speed was slower than my eating lunchbox."

Zhang Jingyi imitated the mechanical striking motion, her fingertips drawing comical arcs in the air.

"I've seen you typing on the keyboard online..."

She suddenly fell silent, the tips of her ears turning red in the night.

"Anyway, they're different."

Jiang Qing took out her phone and opened the search bar.

"Is the original title 'Lighter and Princess Dress'?"

The blue light from the screen reflected her suddenly dilated pupils.

"The female lead was called a princess?"

"That's what the author wrote!"

Zhang Jingyi lunged forward to snatch the phone.

"I haven't even said it yet..."

"It's easy to check."

Jiang Qing raised her arm and watched her hop around like a penguin flapping its wings.

"The encyclopedia says the male lead has dyed his hair blonde and wears ripped jeans?"

"That was their look when they first appeared!"

She grabbed the hem of his shirt.

"A video of you wearing a white lab coat in the lab during your college years has tens of millions of views on Bilibili."

The girl's fingers unconsciously traced the folds of the fabric.

"Director Liu Junjie asked me before..."

The patrolling security guard's flashlight suddenly swept over, and Jiang Qing took the opportunity to stuff his phone back into his pocket.

"What do I ask you for?"

Zhang Jingyi turned around and clung to the railing, her voice muffled in her arms.

"Is there anyone in real life who fits Li Xun's image better than Chen Feiyu?"

The night breeze tousled the stray hairs at the back of her neck.

"You were the first person I thought of, but I didn't say it out loud."

"Because the other party is the son of a famous director?" "Yes."

At the end of the boardwalk, a group of young people rode by on shared bicycles, their bells jingling and breaking the silence of the night.

Jiang Qing moved to the inside to shield her body.

So that script.

Zhang Jingyi suddenly returned to the main topic.

"The male lead is a computer genius whose dream is to develop an intelligent medical system. Of course, in order to defeat his opponents, he mainly focuses on making games. What do you think?"

She took out her phone, swiped a few times, brought up the electronic version of the script, and handed it over.

The screen light illuminated Jiang Qing's chin. He quickly scanned a few lines of technical terms, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Were these code comments just randomly added?"

"The production team hired a professional consultant."

Zhang Jingyi leaned closer and pointed it out to him.

"Is there a problem?"

"A heart-shaped piece of code is something to be amazed about? Our company's interns can do that effortlessly."

Jiang Qing glanced at the script, her expression revealing her disdain.

"It's obvious that the screenwriter really doesn't understand any professional knowledge."

"That's why we need our Jiang Shen to set things right!"

The girl tilted her head and grinned at him, giving him a thumbs-up.

Suddenly, the cruise ship sounded its horn, growing louder as it approached, and the noise of tourists on the deck drifted over, carried by the steam.

Jiang Qing smiled but did not give a direct answer.

As he returned the phone to her, the searchlight on the bow of the ship swept across the area, but the girl suddenly turned and ran towards the vending machine.

She slammed the metal button repeatedly.

"I want a Coke!"

Jiang Qing paused for a moment, then shook her head and smiled.

When he slowly strolled over, she was already squatting down at the pickup point, taking out soda cans.

Under the streetlight, her eyelashes cast small fan-like shadows on her cheeks. She pulled the tab with a "snap," splashing foam all over her hands.

"When I was little, my mom said that drinking too much soda would cause cavities."

Jiang Qing teased her with a smile.

"Then you'll drink half of it for me?"

Suddenly, a soda can was thrust in front of me, its coolness mingling with the sound of bubbles.

Zhang Jingyi's eyes curved into crescent moons.

"I'll listen to you."

The vending machine's glass reflected the two people's shadows. Jiang Qing took the soda, tilted her head back, and took two sips, making a crisp swallowing sound.

"The sugar content is too high."

"Is Dr. Jiang afraid of this?"

Zhang Jingyi snatched the can back and wiped the water droplets from the rim of the can with her fingertips.

"Don't you run every morning?"

Before I could finish speaking, my phone rang and I was interrupted.

Jiang Qing took out his phone and glanced at the caller ID. Zhang Jingyi immediately stood on tiptoe to peek, but he raised his arm to avoid her.

"Mr. Jiang!"

The moment the call connected, Chen Duo's wailing came from the other end of the line.

"It's causing quite a stir on Weibo. PR manager Zhang asked if we should clarify things regarding you and that... uh, Zhang, Zhang..."

Zhang Jingyi suddenly leaned closer to the microphone.

"It's Zhang Jingyi!"

A heavy thud came from the other side.

Jiang Qing hung up the phone helplessly and found the culprit biting the edge of a soda can and chuckling to himself, the streetlights shattering into stars in her pupils.

This girl is a bit mischievous.

The aroma of grilled sausages wafted from the end of the boardwalk, and Zhang Jingyi sniffed.

"I want a crispy sausage!"

"Isn't it said that female celebrities have to control their weight?"

"So I bought two to share with you!"

She pointed confidently to the food stall.

"The kind with chili powder on it!"

As the sausage sizzled and dripped oil on the hot plate, the proprietress suddenly widened her eyes.

"Hey! Are you guys...?"

She hesitated for a while before speaking.

"That young man from Peach Blossom Village!? You mean that PhD?"

Jiang Qing subconsciously shielded Zhang Jingyi behind her and smiled at the proprietress.

"You've got the wrong person."

"Impossible! My daughter watches your show every day, she loves you!"

The proprietress was so excited that she could barely hold the shovel.

"Can we take a photo together? My daughter is taking the college entrance exam this year."

Zhang Jingyi suddenly peeked out from behind.

"Auntie, please add extra chili to both sausages!"

She deliberately dragged out the tone.

"Give Dr. Jiang some more meat gravy!"

Jiang Qing smiled helplessly, and finally got the landlady to let him go with an autograph.

On the way back, the two of them each carried a grilled sausage, and Zhang Jingyi blew on the sausage as she walked.

"We should have had the shop owner post this on Douyin (TikTok), with the title: 'Shocking! Tech upstarts are actually at the night market!'"

"Zhang Jingyi".

Jiang Qing called her by her full name.

"Do your fans know how good you are at making up stories?"

"They know! I interact with them all the time."

She bit into the tip of the grilled sausage and hissed in pain from the heat.

"It seems Dr. Jiang still needs to get used to it."

Jiang Qing pinched the bridge of her nose.

The lights at the cruise ship dock gradually went out. He glanced at the time and then turned his gaze to the girl.

"Shall I take you back to your hotel?"

"No need, Fangfang is waiting for me at the West Gate."

Zhang Jingyi suddenly shoved the remaining half of the sausage into his hand.

"Help me sort this out, Fangfang really keeps nagging me!"

Jiang Qing held half a sausage and watched the girl run away like a rabbit.

He had lost count of how many times he had felt helpless that night; this girl always seemed to have a sudden change in her behavior.

The streetlights stretched and shortened the shadows of the two people.

Jiang Qing watched the girl skip and hop towards the RV, her hair rising and falling in the night breeze.

She suddenly turned around and walked backwards, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting.

"I've sent you the digital version of the script!"

The moment the car lights came on, Jiang Qing saw her eyes blink twice, sparkling like the splashes of water from a fish leaping out of a lake.

While waiting at a red light on the way back, a new email notification popped up on my phone, and Zhang Jingyi immediately followed up with a voice message.

"I forgot to mention, the screenwriter said the male lead should have a kind of arrogant genius vibe."

He smiled and pressed the voice call button.

"When did I agree to take on this script?"

The other person replied instantly, their voice sweet and gentle.

"So, how about I offer some guidance as a true tech genius? Come to think of it, I've never seen you so arrogant before~"

Jiang Qing smiled and replied with a dash that said "to be continued".

As we turned at the intersection, moonlight slanted into the car window.

He recalled the girl's bright eyes when she said she wanted him to be her leading man, eyes filled with anticipation and a touch of nervousness.

Her feigned composure is rather endearing.

(End of this chapter)