Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, starting with the strategy of 95 flowers to counterattack

Chapter 264 Liu Haochun's Doubts
“Don’t make wild guesses,” he said, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “It was just a chance encounter. I saw that the girl was quite clever, so I helped her out a little. She’s not really my sister.”

"Help?" Li Yitong raised an eyebrow, lightly tapping his chest with her fingertip. "Then why haven't I seen you help me?"

Her fingernails brushed against the buttons of his shirt, her eyes filled with a hint of reproach. "Or is it that Director Gu now prefers this kind of...little girl who needs to be protected?"

Gu Yang suddenly stepped forward and pressed Li Yitong against the box.

The lighting in the prop room was already dim, and when he got close, their breaths mingled, and even the air seemed to freeze.

When Li Yitong turned around, she met his eyes. Before the teasing smile had faded, she was stunned by the surging emotions in his eyes.

"Gu Yang... I was just kidding..."

She had barely opened her mouth when he grabbed her wrist again, with even more force than before, carrying an air of undeniable authority.

He didn't speak, but simply lowered his head slightly, his forehead touching hers, the tip of his nose brushing against her cheek.

Li Yitong's breathing became erratic. She instinctively tried to back away, but her back was pressed against the cold wall, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.

Gu Yang's fingertips slid up her wrist, sending a shiver down her spine as they brushed past her forearm, finally stopping at the back of her neck, gently caressing that delicate skin.

"Don't overthink it." His voice was very low and a little hoarse, his breath brushing against her lips. "After a while, I'll help you put together a TV show..."

His thumb brushed against her lower lip, and Li Yitong's eyelashes trembled, but she didn't flinch.

The next second, he leaned down and placed a very light kiss on the corner of her lips, like a feather brushing against her, yet carrying a burning heat.

Li Yitong gripped his clothes tightly, her knuckles turning white, but she didn't push him away.

Gu Yang's kiss deepened, filled with a restraint he had been holding back for a long time, until she turned her head away slightly, panting. He then stopped at the crook of her neck, his breath hot enough to make her neck turn red.

"Come to my room tonight." He nibbled on her earlobe, his voice tinged with a husky laugh. "Don't let anyone see you."

Li Yitong turned her face away from him, but her ears turned bright red. She raised her hand and pushed his chest: "Let go, what will it look like if someone sees us?"

Gu Yang chuckled softly, finally taking a half step back, but his fingertips lingered as he touched her cheek.

Li Yitong quickly opened the door and left without looking back.

She was so kissed she could barely stand, and she urgently needed to go to the bathroom...

Gu Yang watched her figure disappear around the corner, raised his hand to touch the corner of his lips, and his eyes still held a lingering warmth.

……

On the Gobi Desert in Dunhuang, the midday sun made the corrugated iron roofs of the old factory buildings gleam white.

Liu Haochun, dressed in faded blue overalls and clutching a tin lunchbox, was confronting Zhang Yi.

"Give me back the film!" she shouted hoarsely, her bangs sticking to her face with sweat, her eyes filled with stubbornness mixed with the red of the wind and sand.

"Stop!" Zhang Yimou stood behind the monitor, holding a megaphone. The sand dunes in the distance were being blown about by the wind. "Haochun, when you shout, take another half breath in your chest. Don't just use your throat. Put on a fierce tone, like someone who's had their manhood taken away. Zhang Yi, when you turn around, stomp your feet on the sand a little more. That will make your voice sound rougher."

Zhang Yi wiped the sand off his face and grinned, "Alright, Director Zhang, let's do one more take."

Liu Haochun nodded, bent down to pick up the military green scarf that had been blown away by the wind, and tied it back around his neck.

During a break from touching up her makeup, she pulled her agent to a canvas awning, which rattled loudly in the wind. "Sister Guo," she said in a low voice, her fingers fiddling with the edge of her lunchbox, "when will we get paid for this film?"

The agent glanced at the film crew in the distance and whispered, "The contract states that payment will be made within 15 days after filming wraps. Didn't we pay a 20% deposit upfront?"

She was a newcomer, and she was filming a movie by Zhang Yimou, so her salary wasn't actually that high!
The deposit paid upfront cannot resolve the family's predicament.

"Why are you asking this? Are you short of money?" Liu Haochun shook his head, took a sip of hot water to warm his throat, and there were still some grains of sand on his eyelashes: "It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered this."

There will be no peace of mind until the problems at home are resolved.

She really wanted to pay off her debts as soon as possible through her own efforts and then improve her family's situation.

Her parents have worked hard for her for half their lives, it's time for them to take a break!
We've made it through three years already, let's hang in there a little longer!

After finishing work in the evening and returning to the hotel, she took a shower immediately.

She emerged from the bathroom with her long hair loosely tied back, a few stray strands clinging to her neck, damp with moisture.

She wore a simple white halter dress, and her shoulder and neck lines were like carefully polished jade, slender yet bony, the firmness that comes from years of dance training.

Her collarbone hollows were shallowly recessed, and there wasn't an ounce of excess fat around her waist and abdomen. When she stood on tiptoe, the muscles in her calves would flex into a smooth arc, conveying a sense of restrained strength.

She walked to the window, where moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Subconsciously, she raised her hand and did a simple flip, her toes touching the ground as lightly as a feather. As she turned, her skirt swirled in a small arc, and she finished with a graceful arabesque, her arms reaching out to the night sky outside the window.

This is a habit she has practiced since childhood: when she is tired or annoyed, she uses physical stretching to relax her mind.

My phone vibrated on the bedside table; it was a video call from my mother.

She walked over and answered the call. Her mother's smiling face immediately appeared on the screen, with the familiar energy-saving light in the living room of their old home in the background.

"Chun Chun, just finished showering? Look how wet your hair is, hurry up and dry it." Her mother's voice had a hint of static, but it also revealed her undisguised excitement. "I have some good news for you!"

Liu Haochun picked up a towel to dry his hair and replied with a smile, "What good news, Mom?"

"The money! The money's here!"

The mother's voice suddenly rose, then she quickly lowered it again, "Someone came to our door this afternoon, saying they were from your company, and they gave us five million!"

"They said they knew about our family situation and gave us an advance on our pay, just in case you were distracted while filming, and they wanted to take care of our worries!"

Liu Haochun paused, drying his hair.

Five million? An advance?

Her brows furrowed slightly, and she gripped the towel tightly with her fingers.

This morning, my agent said that the payment would be made according to the contract. How could five million suddenly be deposited into our home?

She is currently signed with Zhang Yimou's studio, but the studio focuses on creative work and does not handle artist management business.

Her daily operations, promotion, and management are handled by Bozhongxinghe, with the two parties sharing the profits proportionally.

She's a newcomer, who would care, let alone pay her in advance? Besides, she doesn't get much pay anyway!

"Mom," she tried to make her voice sound natural, "are you sure it's someone from the company?"

“How could it be fake?” the mother said incessantly. “That man was dressed very smartly, but he was a bit chubby, I think his name was Shen Wei.”

"I told you to focus on filming, and not to worry about anything at home. We'll clear out the debts first. You know, being a celebrity is different; they make money so fast..."

Shen Wei?

She doesn't know her at all...

(End of this chapter)