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

Chapter 222 Dudu's Other Side, Not Like Acting
At 8:43 p.m., the wooden boardwalk on the west bank of Swan Lake was bathed in a honey-colored glow from the streetlights.

After dinner, Jiang Qing took Chen Duling for a walk by the lake.

He received a video call from Ono during dinner, but it was abruptly hung up. Although she made up an excuse, he didn't believe her at all.

Seeing that trending topic online again, it became clear what was going on.

Moreover, there was a selfie of Jingyi in the phone's chat box, which made him chuckle.

Even though I always knew this girl had an interesting personality, I never expected her to express her dissatisfaction in such an unexpected way.

Chen Duling stepped on the sycamore leaves between the stone slabs, the crisp sound of her shoes crushing the withered leaves mingling with the distant drumbeats of square dancing, sometimes near, sometimes far in the night wind.

The moonlight shimmered on the lake, and she caught a glimpse of Jiang Qing fiddling with pebbles with the tip of his shoe. She silently pursed her lips.

He was probably thinking about how to appease Zhou Ye.

"Jiang Qing, what were you thinking when you saw me today?"

Chen Duling stopped and turned to look at him.

"He seems quite calm."

Jiang Qing met her curious eyes.

"Actually, I was quite surprised. My first reaction was, 'Why didn't you give me any warning? You just pulled a surprise attack,' but..."

He paused, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

"But when I saw someone's eyes wide open like a shocked rabbit, I wasn't so surprised anymore, and I just thought it was cute."

The laughter in her voice made Chen Duling's cheeks flush.

"I just didn't react for a moment!"

She raised her chin in defense, her expression extremely serious on her small face.

"And I clearly told the guy in front of me not to expose me."

Thinking of this, her eyes suddenly turned sharp, and she glanced sideways at Jiang Qing.

"It's all your fault, you lecturer. Like father, like son."

Jiang Qing's lips twitched; he never expected this to be related to him.

"Teacher Chen is right, it's my problem."

He returned the gesture with a cupped-hand salute.

By now, he has come to understand that it's better to avoid lecturing girls.

"Hmm, their attitude was fairly sincere."

Chen Duling nodded in satisfaction, put her hands behind her back, and walked past him with light steps.

Jiang Qing couldn't help but chuckle as he watched her swaying back as she walked away, and followed her step by step.

If you added some special effects to her, she'd probably look like a hopping rabbit.

"What kind of support are you going to bring when you visit the set tomorrow? Just don't bring Zhan Ji's tiger skin taro mochi, I don't think anyone would want to eat that except for Jingyi."

Jiang Qing decided to change the subject, but as soon as she said it, she realized something was wrong. However, it was too late to take it back, so she could only pretend to be nonchalant.

Chen Duling wrinkled her nose, and the small pebble she kicked bounced three times on the water's surface.

"Dr. Jiang seems to be quite clear about the preferences of the actors he works with."

She deliberately pronounced the word "cooperation" clearly, like biting into a pomegranate seed.

"Last week she ordered twenty boxes to the film crew, ate them until she was sick of them, and then fed them to the whole crew."

Jiang Qing took out her phone and opened the chat history. In the crew's group chat, Zhang Jingyi had posted an emoji of herself eating a virtual mochi.

"Now the whole group wants to run away whenever they hear the word taro paste."

"Then why did you remind me to buy this?"

"I just wanted to remind you to avoid these pitfalls, so that everyone else won't suffer as a result."

"Dr. Jiang really thinks of everyone's best interests."

Chen Duling stared at him with a half-smile.

"Well, it's alright, I guess."

Jiang Qing nodded seriously, earning a cute eye roll in return.

The two turned into a pavilion along the wooden boardwalk, and Chen Duling turned around and leaned against the railing.

The night breeze ruffled her hair, revealing red mosquito bites on her forehead.

Even though it's already October, the weather is still a bit warm, and mosquitoes are inevitable in places like the lakeside.

Jiang Qing noticed the red dot on her forehead, took out a menthol balm from his pocket, and unscrewed the cap.

He paused his fingertip half a centimeter above her temple.

"Do you need help?"

"Is Mr. Jiang providing such attentive service?"

Chen Duling took the round box, and the cool cream made her eyelashes tremble slightly when she spread it.

Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow at the sight of her silent rejection, but upon reflection, it wasn't surprising.

Clearly, his previous answer did not fool him.

The sound of a guitar drifted from across the lake; a wandering singer was performing "So Many People in This World."

Jiang Qing's eyes flickered, and she turned to look at the girl beside her.

"Teacher Chen, is there any song you'd like to hear?"

Chen Duling looked up at him and gently shook her head.

"Nothing here can compare to the effect of a concert."

She held up three fingers.

"However, I do have three questions I would like to ask Dr. Jiang."

Moonlight streamed over her knuckles, as if gilding her slender fingers with silver.

"Excuse me."

Jiang Qing couldn't help but smile after being subtly teased again. She imitated the way the woman asked her questions that afternoon, even perfectly mimicking the small gesture of adjusting her glasses.

Chen Duling gave him a reproachful look.

"Question 1: In today's open class, the emotional threshold of robots was mentioned. What is the basis for setting the threshold?"

As she spoke, she traced the first five digits of π on the railing with her finger.

"It references the human dopamine secretion curve."

Jiang Qing used her phone's flashlight to project a wave pattern onto the wooden railing.

"When the emotional feedback value exceeds this baseline"

Chen Duling's phone suddenly slipped from her hand and was stopped by Jiang Qing's outstretched leg, causing it to fall to the ground after the force was absorbed.

"Like right now, the tension caused by preventing important items from falling can trigger an adrenaline surge."

He bent down, picked up the dusty phone, wiped it on his pants, and handed it back.

Chen Duling took the phone, glanced at his pants, and smiled slightly.

"Question two."

She pressed her phone against his wrist, the coolness seeping through his skin.

"If there were a camera pointing at us right now, Dr. Jiang, how do you think people would interpret this action?"

"Academic exchange among colleagues in science and engineering."

Jiang Qing magically produced three coins, which he stacked into a small tower in his palm.

"Or, smart people are playing some kind of game of strategy."

The last coin suddenly tipped over, and Chen Duling reached out to steady it but had her wrist grabbed.

Jiang Qing's body temperature was transmitted through the heat.

"My third question is for you, Mr. Chen. What time will you be on set tomorrow?"

Jingyi said that you have an important scene with her around nine o'clock.

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, a gentle smile playing in them.

"I plan to show up at nine o'clock with Zhan Ji's tiger-skin taro mochi. What do you think, Dr. Jiang?"

Suddenly, the lake surface burst open with silvery spray, and the leaping fish splashed and plunged back into the lake.

Jiang Qing stepped aside to shield her from the splashing water droplets, then looked down and gave a helpless smile.

"Then I can only smile and say it's delicious."

Chen Duling chuckled, her eyes and brows instantly filling with amusement as she looked at the man who had been so confident and assertive on the podium that afternoon. Even knowing it was an act, she was still delighted.

The next morning at eight o'clock, on the set of "Lighter and Princess Dress".

Inside the makeshift dressing room, Jiang Qing was being styled in front of the mirror by a stylist.

The mirror reflected his well-defined face, and his signature blond hair was being styled and styled by the stylist's skillful fingers. Although he himself didn't feel any obvious change from the left or right, he still felt that there was no difference from before.

He wore a simple white shirt with the cuffs casually rolled up to his forearms, paired with clean light-colored jeans, looking fresh and neat.

Zhang Jingyi strolled in, script in hand, her white sneakers clicking softly on the floor.

Today she wore a lively bun hairstyle, which showed off her full forehead and three-dimensional facial features without reservation. The simple style highlighted her natural good looks, and she looked youthful at first glance.

"Did Teacher Jiang sleep well last night?"

She walked to the vanity and leaned on the edge of the table with one hand. As she spoke, her fingertips "inadvertently" swept across the table and knocked over the foundation.

"Ouch~"

She exclaimed in surprise, but a mischievous smile lingered in her eyes.

Jiang Qing reacted extremely quickly, reaching out to steady the bottle just as it rolled to the edge.

He looked up at Zhang Jingyi through the mirror, a knowing smile curving his lips.

"I slept okay, but looking at the bloodshot in Teacher Zhang's eyes, could it be that he stayed up all night surfing the internet last night?"

Zhang Jingyi's ear tips turned bright red instantly, like tiny flames that had been lit.

She grabbed a powder puff from the side and pretended to pat him.

"Who's trending on Weibo?! I..."

"what?"

Jiang Qing immediately interrupted her, her smile in the mirror clearly mocking.

"Did I not say that Teacher Zhang was trending on social media?"

"You and I……"

Zhang Jingyi was taken aback, then realized she had let something slip. Her face flushed even more, and she glared at Jiang Qing with a mixture of shame and annoyance before turning and leaving.

"Makeup artist, mess up his hair a bit!"

The sound disappeared outside the door.

Jiang Qing watched her figure disappear through the door and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Today we're filming a key scene in the drama where Li Xun and Zhu Yun fall in love with each other in the early morning light after staying up all night coding on the rooftop.

The scene was set on a rooftop. When Jiang Qing and the others arrived, the morning sunlight shone down with just the right amount of warmth.

Once everything was in place, the clapperboard slammed shut with a steady "Action!" from Liu Junjie.

The photographer's lens was pointed at the edge of the rooftop.

Jiang Qing, with her blonde hair, stretched lazily in front of the rising sun.

The sunlight outlined his tall and straight profile, and a soft halo spread across the edges of his blond hair, making him seem to blend into the golden morning light, exuding a lazy yet vibrant youthful charm.

The camera panned to a spot not far away, where Zhang Jingyi, who had been pretending to organize equipment with her head down, looked up when she heard the noise.

When her gaze fell upon that graceful figure in the sunlight, she visibly paused.

Her gaze was initially somewhat dazed, but then she seemed to be firmly drawn to the dazzling light and figure, staring at Jiang Qing without blinking, her face unconsciously revealing a pure, slightly bewildered appreciation.

The girl's eyes were as clear as morning dew, clearly conveying the fleeting flutter of a young girl's heart.

Just then, Jiang Qing seemed to sense her gaze, paused slightly in his stretching, and turned his head to look precisely at her.

Unconsciously, everyone around could feel their gazes locked on one spot.

Zhang Jingyi seemed to be burned by his gaze, and suddenly came back to her senses, turning her head away in embarrassment and panic at being caught red-handed.

To cover up her earlier behavior, she walked to the edge of the rooftop and pretended to take a picture of the distant sunrise.

Jiang Qing smiled, but her gaze never left her.

He watched Zhang Jingyi's slightly clumsy attempt to conceal her true feelings, her slightly reddened ears and her stiff but trying-to-straight back, and his gaze gradually changed.

The gaze that used to be teasing or calmly observing has become exceptionally focused and gentle.

His lips curved upwards in a gentle arc, almost imperceptibly, from an angle Zhang Jingyi couldn't see.

His eyes clearly reflected the girl's flustered yet adorable silhouette in the morning light, and a silent flutter of emotion quietly spread through them.

Off-camera, the main actors watching from the monitor were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Zhao Zhiwei couldn't help but nudge Zeng Keni beside him with his elbow, lowering his voice with excitement.

"Wow, the atmosphere is amazing! Jingyi's momentary daze was so natural, and Jiang Qing's change of expression was incredible!"

Zeng Keni stared intently at the monitor screen, nodding repeatedly in approval.

"Yes, yes, yes! Look, Jingyi's ears are all red, she acted so well! And Teacher Jiang's eyes, wow~ so gentle they could melt your heart, completely different from usual!"

Cui Yuxin also joined in, laughing and teasing.

"I suggest you investigate; it doesn't seem like acting."

The group exchanged glances, their faces displaying ambiguous expressions.

"Cut!"

Liu Junjie's voice rang out through the loudspeaker, tinged with obvious satisfaction.

"Excellent! That take is perfect! You captured it so perfectly! Jingyi's moment of regaining her senses and her shyness, and Teacher Jiang's profile and the look in her eyes were all spot on! The chemistry was flawless!"

As soon as he finished speaking, applause and good-natured laughter erupted on set.

Zhao Zhiwei and his group immediately surrounded them.

"Teacher Jiang, you're amazing! That look in your eyes just now, so full of affection, gave me goosebumps!"

Zhao Zhiwei smiled and patted Jiang Qing on the shoulder.

Zeng Keni then moved closer to Zhang Jingyi, looking her up and down with a grin.

"Jingyi, your ears are so cute red! Were you stunned just now?"

Cui Yuxin followed up with a joke.

"It seems that Dr. Jiang's charm has even overshadowed the rising sun?"

Jiang Qing just smiled; she was already used to being teased by the others.

"The director did a great job, and Jingyi led the team well."

Zhang Jingyi's face flushed even more. The embarrassment from before had not completely faded, and then everyone teased her in front of her. She embarrassedly touched her cheek with the back of her hand in an attempt to cool down.

"Hey, stop fooling around! It's because Teacher Jiang's performance was so captivating!"

She lowered her head slightly, not daring to look in Jiang Qing's direction at all.

Just then, a slightly hoarse, laughing female voice suddenly rang out.

Did I miss something great?

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Chen Duling standing smiling at the entrance to the rooftop.

She wore a simple gray cropped T-shirt with jeans, revealing a dazzling white waistline, and her long hair was loosely draped over her shoulders, looking very casual.

His gaze swept across the faces of everyone on set, finally landing precisely on Jiang Qing, a hint of understanding and mischief in his eyes.

She waved the paper bag in her hand, which had the eye-catching "Zhanji" logo printed on it.

"I brought some snacks and some refreshing coffee for everyone, which will be delivered shortly."

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone to hear clearly, especially the pronunciation of "refreshing and invigorating," which seemed to carry a special meaning.

"Tiger-skin taro mochi, I brought this especially for you, Jingyi."

She looked at Zhang Jingyi and winked playfully.

The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder laughter.

Zhao Zhiwei and the others laughed so hard they were doubled over, and Zeng Keni even covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

Who in the crew didn't know the joke about those twenty boxes of mochi?

Chen Duling's visit to the set and her support were incredibly precise, like a "bomb drop."

Zhang Jingyi was both angry and amused, and stomped her foot in embarrassment.

"Dudu! You did this on purpose!"

Jiang Qing looked at the incredibly conspicuous paper bag in Chen Duling's hand, and the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.

He raised his hand to rub his temples, meeting Chen Duling's "sincere" gaze, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible helplessness and amusement.

"Teacher Chen is really... thoughtful."

(End of this chapter)