Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Hello, my name is Zhang Qin. I'm going to film a movie called 'Spring Bright Pigsy.' What about you?"

Unlike her previous wariness and perfunctory attitude, Zhang Qin, now driven by a compensatory mentality, immediately introduced herself with considerable enthusiasm.

Qin Lan glanced at "her brother" Yang Che in surprise, then became excited as if she had met an old friend in a foreign land: "Me too, what a coincidence! I... I'm Qin Lan, and I play the Third Princess of the South China Sea, Princess Chui."

Zhang Qin was also very excited: "Really? I don't know what to say. I play the gambling princess, your older sister."

Then the two shook hands in front of Yang Che, looking like they had known each other for a long time.

Yang Che's body tensed up a bit because Zhang Qin was leaning forward sideways, and she was a great beauty; his arm had been hit.

The impact didn't last long. After the two let go of each other's hands, Zhang Qin sat back down. When she looked at Yang Che again, her eyes were filled with more affection and a smile.

Yang Che extended his hand to her: "Yang Che."

Zhang Qin grasped it: "I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's alright. I didn't remember your role clearly and said something that made you misunderstand. I'm sorry."

Zhang Qin smiled, pursing her lips.

Yang Che's pupils contracted. She was indeed a very elegant and beautiful woman, but it seems that she retired from the entertainment industry after filming "Spring Bright Pigsy".

At this moment, the announcement reminded them that the plane was preparing for takeoff. Whether it was due to the loud engine noise or poor sound insulation, the pressure on their eardrums was extremely noticeable, so the three of them stopped talking.

A few seconds after the plane began taxiing, Qin Lan grabbed Yang Che's arm.

Yang Che thought the girl was taking advantage of him again, but seeing that her face was a little pale, he gently patted her hand and then pulled down the sunshade.

"Look at me, don't look outside."

"Pfft, haha."

Qin Lan could always be easily amused by him. She gave him a reproachful look, which made her feel much more relaxed.

However, when they took off, Qin Lan, who was momentarily weightless, still gripped his arm with great force, and her face turned even paler.

Zhang Qin watched the two men's expressions with a mixture of curiosity and smugness.

Curiosity goes without saying, but what made her proud was the look of amazement in Yang Che's eyes when he looked at her earlier. No woman would be unhappy to be looked at like that, especially by a young and handsome man.

Seeing Yang Che turn to look at her, Zhang Qin quickly looked at Qin Lan with concern: "Are you alright?"

Qin Lan shook her head: "Thank you, I'm not dizzy."

Yang Che chuckled inexplicably, and facing the two women's curious gazes, said, "I remembered a friend of mine. Once, he felt airsick on a plane and kept wanting to vomit, so he called over a flight attendant. She gave him a plastic bag to vomit into, and soon it was full. The flight attendant said to him, 'Wait a minute, I'll go get you another bag, don't vomit outside.' A little while later, the flight attendant returned and found it all over the floor, so she questioned him. He said, feeling wronged, 'I saw it was almost full, so I took a sip, and they all saw it and vomited it all up...'"

"Ugh~ What you said makes me sick."

Qin Lan felt both uncomfortable and disgusted.

Hahahaha.

Zhang Qin was laughing so hard she couldn't stop; her laughter was incredibly rousing.

Yang Che was already subconsciously trying to restrain himself, but he still couldn't help but look.

Zhang Qin noticed his gaze, her laughter stopped abruptly, and her cheeks began to flush. She subconsciously raised her arm to cover herself, and then her face turned even redder.

With a beauty like her and a figure like hers, she's bound to attract attention wherever she goes. I'm used to it, but right now I feel shy.

Yang Che, who had witnessed all of this, was tempted, only regretting that there was a third wheel and a jealous person by his side.

"Are you from Beijing?"

Are you an actor too?

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Then Zhang Qin quickly looked away.

Yang Che coughed lightly: "I'm not an actor, I'm a screenwriter."

Qin Lan didn't notice Zhang Qin's expression, but she vaguely sensed something was wrong, so she quickly added, "Brother Che is also an investor; he invested in our TV series."

Zhang Qin's expression didn't change much, she just suddenly realized: "Oh, I see. Um, I'm from Bazhou, Langfang."

"Aren't the lotus flowers in full bloom on Baiyangdian Lake?"

Zhang Qin smiled and said, "Yes, it's incredibly beautiful. I went to see it yesterday. You've been?"

"I went there four or five years ago, and the water smelled a bit."

"Not bad, I was already quite dry when I was a kid."

"....."

The two chatted casually, with Qin Lan naturally joining in.

When Yang Che returned from the restroom, Zhang Qin said she wanted to sit in the middle so she could chat with Qin Lan. Naturally, there was no problem. Qin Lan was also quite happy. She had felt a little awkward earlier, but after changing seats, she felt much more comfortable being right under Qin Lan's nose.

Qin Lan didn't notice that, out of her sight, such as under the small table, Zhang Qin and Yang Che's legs would touch every now and then, seemingly close yet distant, unintentional but with an adult-like tacit understanding.

At 6:20, Yang Che saw the Yangtze River outside the plane window; they had already reached the airspace above Nanjing.

The plane landed at 6:35.

Unlike Qin Lan, who patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, Zhang Qin subconsciously looked at Yang Che and found that he was also looking at her. They exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away, a hint of regret and panic flashing in her eyes.

Yang Che chuckled inwardly. It was 1999 after all; they already knew the unspoken agreement, yet they were still shy.

The three of them then naturally traveled together. As soon as they arrived at the terminal, their cell phones, which had just been turned on, rang.

"Hello Mr. Yang, I'm Xiao Zhou, sent by Mr. Fan to pick you up. I'm at the arrival gate, holding a sign."

"Okay, thank you for your help, I'll be right there."

When the two suitcases arrived at the baggage carousel, Yang Che picked up Qin Lan's suitcase without any hesitation.

"Thank you, Che-ge."

Zhang Qin said with a smile, "It's so good to meet you all, otherwise I would have had to take a taxi to the film set."

Qin Lan asked in surprise, "The production team isn't accepting the role?"

"Third sister, I'm just a small-time actress."

"......"

Arrival point.

Yang Che saw a lean man in his thirties with parted hair holding up a sign that read "Mr. Yang Che". This man was obviously "Xiao Zhou".

This was the first time Yang Che had encountered something like this in both his past and present lives.

However, looking at the dozen or so signs held up at the arrival gate, it became clear that this was a characteristic of the times.

They waved, made eye contact, and confirmed their agreement.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xiao Zhou mentioned that Fan Xiaotian was tied up with the film crew and went on and on.

Yang Che laughed and said, "He's not the kind of person who's so polite, haha. It's alright, we don't stand on ceremony, let's go."

Xiao Zhou chuckled a few times, and with great tact, took the suitcase from Yang Che's hand... and then he took the suitcase from Zhang Qin's hand.

The four of them got into the car in the underground parking garage, no longer having to endure the high temperature outside.

The car is a bullet-shaped model, the Toyota Previa, which is considered one of the most luxurious MPVs available today.