Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 131 Little Zhou Ye Who Works Hard
Zhou Ye thought about it and felt it made sense, so she got up and started packing her luggage and choosing clothes to wear when she went out that night.

The two of them took showers, put on makeup, and changed clothes. After carefully dressing up, it was almost 6 p.m. before they knew it.

Outside the window, Budapest's lights begin to twinkle, and the ancient buildings along the Danube gradually illuminate, creating a captivating night scene.

"Perfect!" Meng Ziyi looked at herself in the mirror, picked up her phone and room key, and said, "Xiao Ye, you wait for me in the room. I'll go next door and call our bodyguard/wallet!"

As she spoke, she winked at Zhou Ye and hurried out the door.

Zhou Ye hummed in agreement and obediently sat in the room to wait.

She took out her phone and looked through the night view guides she had researched beforehand, feeling excited about her upcoming night tour.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The night view outside the window became increasingly dazzling, but Zhou Ye remained alone in the room.

Her initial anticipation turned into boredom, and then she began to worry.

7 o'clock... 8 o'clock... 9 o'clock...

She sent Meng Ziyi several messages, but received no reply.

I called, and it rang for a long time but no one answered.

At 10 o'clock... Zhou Ye's stomach was growling with hunger, and her initial excitement had long been replaced by fatigue and doubt.

Around 11 o'clock, the door finally beeped with the sound of a card being swiped.

Meng Ziyi is back.

But she wasn't the radiant, meticulously dressed woman she was when she went out.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, her face had an extremely tired yet unusually rosy glow, and her walking posture seemed slightly awkward.

She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn when she left the house, but they looked wrinkled.

"Sister Meng?" Zhou Ye immediately stood up from the sofa and went to greet her worriedly. "Why did you take so long? Are you alright? I texted and called you but you didn't reply..."

Meng Ziyi seemed to be still immersed in some kind of emotion. She was only brought back to her senses when Zhou Ye asked her a question. Her eyes flickered, and she mumbled, "Huh? Oh... no, nothing."

She subconsciously avoided Zhou Ye's probing gaze and went straight to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

Zhou Ye frowned, noticing her obviously odd state: "Didn't you say you were going to call Director Jiang so we could go for a night stroll together? It's so late..."

"Night view?!" Meng Ziyi paused in her drinking, her eyes widening suddenly, a look of guilt and annoyance flashing across her face.

She had completely forgotten about it...

She went to Jiang Ye's room earlier, intending to ask him to come out with her.

But who knew that when they opened the door, they would see Jiang Ye had just finished showering, his hair still wet and dripping with water, wearing a loose bathrobe with the collar slightly open, vaguely revealing his well-defined chest and abdominal muscles...

In a moment of impulsiveness, what she was going to say took a different turn... and then... and then...

She frantically put on her acting skills, her face quickly contorting with distress and grievance as she tried to salvage the situation: "Ugh! Don't even mention it! Director Jiang gave me a really bad scolding!"

Zhou Ye's eyes widened in surprise: "Huh? He scolded you? Why? Uncle Jiang... I thought he was usually quite gentle with us."

She simply couldn't imagine Jiang Ye cursing.

“Gentle? How could that be!” Meng Ziyi immediately put on a dramatic act, her expression exaggerated. “I told him I wanted to go out at night, and he immediately put on a stern face! He said we were being silly, that we had just gotten off the plane and weren’t adjusting to the time difference, that it wasn’t safe to go out at night, blah blah blah… He gave me a good scolding! He said I didn’t set a good example and that all I knew how to do was have fun!”

As she spoke, she secretly observed Zhou Ye's expression.

Zhou Ye believed it and was even more surprised: "He...he even scolded you? It's that serious?"

Meng Ziyi recalled the scenes in Jiang Ye's room over the past few hours, her face flushing uncontrollably. Her eyes darted around, and she mumbled, "Um... he was so fierce..."

These words did carry a genuine tremor in their tone.

Looking at her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, Zhou Ye suddenly tilted her head and asked with a touch of innocent confusion, "But... Sister Meng, Director Jiang scolded you... for several hours?"

"Huh?!" Meng Ziyi's heart skipped a beat, and she almost choked on her saliva. She quickly waved her hands, "No, no! How could I have been yelling for so long! I finished yelling a long time ago... Later... Later Director Jiang asked me to stay and explain the script to me!"

"Yes! Talk to the script! The second female lead's scenes later on are very important; she has many psychological changes, so we need to communicate with her in advance!"

Zhou Ye's eyes lit up: "Talk about the script?"

"Yes! What else?" Meng Ziyi felt a little guilty and frantically tried to cover it up.

"Director Jiang is a workaholic! You know that, right? He only cares about the play! He seizes every opportunity to talk to people about the play, regardless of whether it's the middle of the night or whether they just got off a plane!"

As she spoke, she became more and more fluent, as if she herself was convinced: "Oh, it was so agonizing! They broke down each scene and explained it in detail, insisting that I fully understand those complex emotional layers... They said my audition was a bit superficial, and they needed to dig deeper..."

As she spoke, she rubbed her temples, feigning exhaustion from work, saying, "My brain is almost unable to function anymore; it's more tiring than filming all day!"

She yawned widely, her acting becoming increasingly polished: "No, no, I have to go to sleep now. My brain is still a complete mess. I need to process what Director Jiang said about the character arc... Goodnight, Xiao Ye!"

After saying that, she practically fled into the bedroom and closed the door.

Outside the door, Zhou Ye stood still, tilting her head to look at Meng Ziyi's tightly closed door, and then thought about her vivid complaints just now.

"Scriptwriting...workaholic...devilish director..."

She muttered to herself, a thoughtful glint in her clear eyes.

Meng Ziyi's words sounded reasonable; she knew how strict and dedicated Uncle Jiang Ye was to his work.

But she's not a child!

She pondered for a moment and then understood.

Sister Meng... your curls are so tight!

She went straight to the director to discuss the script as soon as she got off the plane, striving for perfection! No wonder she's so outstanding!

She can't fall behind!

So, with a positive and determined attitude that she couldn't be left behind by Juan Wang, Zhou Ye decisively went out and walked to Jiang Ye's room.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door carefully and gently.

……

Jiang Ye was already asleep in the room.

The fatigue from a ten-hour flight, plus the several hours spent with Meng Ziyi just now.

Intense, in-depth script discussions nearly exhausted all his energy.

He was fast asleep when, in his hazy state, he seemed to hear someone knocking on the door. He struggled to wake up, his eyelids almost glued shut.

He thought it was a hallucination or hotel service.

But the knocking persisted stubbornly, not loud, but exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Who is it...?

His voice was hoarse, heavy with sleepiness and impatience. He struggled to get up, hastily put on his bathrobe, staggered to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

Zhou Ye?

Jiang Ye was momentarily stunned. He subconsciously glanced back at the messy bed, quickly rubbed his face to clear his head, and then opened the door a crack.

"Xiao Ye? What's wrong? What happened?" he asked, forcing himself to stay awake.

Zhou Ye, standing outside the door, had a serious and eager-to-learn expression on her face. She tilted her head back, her eyes clear and bright: "Uncle Jiang, I'm sorry to bother you so late. I... I'd like to ask you about the script, is that alright?"

? ? ? ? ?

Asking for script advice? In the middle of the night? In the director's room?

Jiang Ye wondered if he was still asleep or sleepwalking.

"Could you... teach me how to write a script?"

Zhou Ye nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with sincerity: "Yes! I know it's late, but Sister Meng said that you are extremely dedicated to your work, a workaholic. Whether you've just gotten off a plane or it's the middle of the night, you seize every opportunity to give acting advice and help actors deeply understand their characters. I feel that I can't fall behind, so I also want to take advantage of this time to learn from you about the character's inner emotions!"

Jiang Ye: "..."

Listening to Zhou Ye's words, especially what Sister Meng said, and recalling Meng Ziyi's guilty look when she left not long ago, he instantly understood what had happened.

This……

He could feel the veins on his forehead throbbing.

He's exhausted and just wants to go back to his soft bed and sleep, instead of giving acting instructions to the actors at 11 p.m.

Or is it really about directing?

But... looking at Zhou Ye's incredibly serious and inquisitive eyes, which were completely devoid of any impurities, he saw that she was just a studious child.

If he refuses now, wouldn't he be exposing Meng Ziyi's lie on the spot?

Will it also dampen Zhou Ye's enthusiasm?
Jiang Ye was torn between his inner thoughts and his feelings. In the end, a mix of helplessness, amusement, and a little pity for Zhou Ye's silly earnestness prevailed.

He took a deep breath and forced a relatively gentle expression: "...Alright, come in. But only for a short while, it's late, you need to rest too."

He stepped aside to let Zhou Ye in, then looked at the slightly messy room that hadn't been completely cleaned up yet, and his head throbbed even more.

Zhou Ye, however, did not notice anything amiss. She happily walked in with a small notebook and pen, looking as if she was ready to listen attentively.

Jiang Ye sighed helplessly and resignedly rubbed his temples.

For Director Jiang, this night was destined to be a long and "fulfilling" one.

……

The morning sunlight in Budapest streamed through the glass windows of the hotel restaurant, illuminating several female staff members who were having breakfast.

They were young women from the costume and makeup teams, and on their rare day off, they made plans to go shopping together.

One of the girls, with short hair, lowered her voice mysteriously, her eyes gleaming with gossip: "Hey, do you know what I heard when I came down for breakfast this morning?"

"What? Tell me, tell me!"

The other two girls immediately moved closer, their faces full of curiosity.

Xiaolin looked around and lowered her voice even further: "I heard our lead actress, Zhou Ye, talking to the director over there!"

She pointed in another direction of the restaurant, "I happened to be passing by and heard her say to Director Jiang very earnestly, 'Uncle Jiang, thank you so much for patiently explaining the script to me so late last night. I learned a lot!'"

"Wow?!"

Another girl named Amy was so shocked she almost choked, quickly covering her mouth with her eyes wide open. "Tonight? To discuss a script?"

"...How could she just say that so directly?"

“Exactly!” Xiaolin nodded vigorously, with an expression that said, “You think so too, right?” “Although this kind of thing… isn’t unusual in our line of work, and everyone knows it but doesn’t say it, isn’t this a bit too high-profile? As if they’re afraid others won’t know?”

The third girl frowned and interjected, "Wait a minute? Isn't everyone in the company saying that Sister Meng and the boss are in that kind of relationship? And I think Sister Meng and Zhou Ye get along really well, they even share a suite. What... what's going on?"

Xiaolin pouted, giving him a look that said, "You're too young to understand. What do you know? Boss is so young and promising, handsome, and still unmarried. He's the ultimate eligible bachelor!"

"With such an opportunity right in front of us, who wouldn't want to seize it? Sister Meng is quite capable, but the newcomer is even more ambitious, isn't she? Maybe they have a strong sisterly bond and will share resources?"

"Resource sharing, you know?" Amy chuckled, nudging Xiaolin with her elbow. "You're so mean! But seriously..."

She cupped her face in her hands, feigning infatuation, "If the boss ever calls me to go talk to the script at night, I'll probably have insomnia for days!"

"You're dreaming!" Xiaolin mocked her mercilessly. "Wake up, sister! Hurry up and finish your breakfast. You can have anything in your dreams! She has the face of a leading lady, but what about you? You look like a working-class person!"

"Get lost!" Amy laughed and shoved her. "Can't I have some dreams? What if the boss likes someone as down-to-earth as me?"

"Simple and unpretentious? You wish!" Xiaoyu joined in the teasing. "Hurry up and eat, we still have to go on a shopping spree after that! Men's stuff is just for show, bags and lipsticks are more practical!"

The girls burst into laughter, and the previous gossip was gradually replaced by shopping plans amidst the jokes.

But Zhou Ye's late-night thank-you to the director for explaining the script, though a small incident, was like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating subtle ripples within the production crew.

In this closed yet fluid circle, similar topics of conversation always spread rapidly, becoming a little spice to spice up the otherwise tedious work.

As for the truth, perhaps not many people really care.

……

The Central Market in Budapest was bustling with activity and full of life.

Under the enormous dome, stalls lined the area, selling a variety of Hungarian handicrafts, spices, sausages, and fruits.

In front of a stall filled with exquisite ceramics and embroidered fabrics, Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye were squatting on the ground, enthusiastically selecting items.

Both of them dressed up specially. Meng Ziyi wore a bright yellow knitted dress with a white cardigan, looking radiant and lively.

Zhou Ye wore a light blue floral dress with a beige knitted cardigan over it, looking fresh and elegant.

Holding several hand-painted ceramic dolls and embroidered tablecloths, they whispered and discussed which one looked better, their smiles radiant, like a pair of best friends on vacation.

(End of this chapter)