Qiao Qi knew she might be acting a little impulsively, but the moment she received those three words from Liang Yan, her first reaction was: she absolutely had to get onto the same production as him!
So she turned right around and went to find Cheng Yueming.
Cheng Yueming had been busy lately, apparently still caught up in some romance of her own; Qiao Qi’s message sat unanswered for a long while. Growing impatient, she suddenly thought of Xu Lu.
Xu Lu had once extended an olive branch about a contract collaboration; Qiao Qi hadn’t given a direct answer at the time, and had assumed Xu Lu would follow up again later.
But Xu Lu seemed entirely unbothered.
Never came back a second time.
Why.
Qiao Qi frowned slightly.
Misty Cloud Pavilion hadn’t even aired yet, but with Liang Yan and Director Cheng anchoring it, the show had already reached the level of being famous before it even premiered.
It had even already won a production award.
With this kind of trajectory, once the show aired, even more companies would want to sign her.
In truth, taking the long view, Qiao Qi understood better than anyone that now wasn’t the ideal time to sign with anyone.
But she felt a bit anxious.
She was afraid of ending up on a different path from Liang Yan.
After mulling it over further, Qiao Qi called Xu Lu.
She didn’t state her intent to sign outright, instead asking whether the other party had any suitable scripts on hand.
Xu Lu laughed. “I’m a businesswoman—scripts, I’ve got plenty. But Teacher Qiao, what are you offering in exchange?”
Qiao Qi didn’t hesitate. “Myself.”
Xu Lu snapped her fingers eagerly. “Deal.”
Before hanging up, she told Qiao Qi, “Teacher Qiao, work with me, and I promise you’ll never regret it.”
Qiao Qi smiled but said nothing.
Not long after the call ended, Xu Lu emailed Qiao Qi a handful of scripts.
Honestly, in terms of both content and the director-and-writer lineup, these scripts were all worthy of Qiao Qi’s current standing.
But none of them were what she wanted.
She thought about it, then asked over WeChat.
Qiao Qi: Nothing else?
Xu Lu: ?
Xu Lu: What else do you want?
Xu Lu: It’s good to be ambitious, but you should pace yourself too.
That comment was worth reading between the lines.
Qiao Qi wasn’t stupid—she understood Xu Lu was implying she was being too eager for success.
But it wasn’t that kind of success or gain she was eager for.
A little at a loss, and knowing this wasn’t something she could bring up directly, she tried a roundabout approach instead.
Qiao Qi: Oh, by the way, have they all joined new productions recently?
Qiao Qi: Would joining a production right now interfere with the promotion for Misty Cloud Pavilion later?
Xu Lu: Actually, I’d advise you not to pick anything right now either.
Xu Lu: Once the show airs, you’ll have a whole stack of good scripts to choose from.
Xu Lu: As for them, from what I know, it’s just a couple of the younger girls who’ve joined productions.
Xu Lu: Doesn’t matter whether they’re around for the promotional push or not.
Qiao Qi: Oh.
Qiao Qi: What about He Nianyi and Lin Chu?
Xu Lu: I’m still picking through scripts for He Nianyi.
Xu Lu: She especially can’t afford to rush.
Xu Lu: I don’t know much about Lin Chu, haven’t asked.
Qiao Qi paused, catching a piece of information hidden in those three lines: Xu Lu had also signed He Nianyi.
A ripple passed through Qiao Qi’s eyes; after a moment she reined the emotion back in.
She tapped her fingers idly.
Qiao Qi: Got it.
Only now did she ask, as if it were an afterthought.
Qiao Qi: What about Liang Yan?
Xu Lu: No idea if that young master’s brain short-circuited or what, hunting for work on Weibo.
Xu Lu: His inbox is probably about to explode.
Xu Lu: Poor Sister Zhou too, having to manage such a headache of a client.
Sister Zhou was Liang Yan’s manager, and also half the owner of Liang Yan’s agency.
People in the industry all said Liang Yan was difficult to manage, needing constant attention, but everyone actually knew that Liang Yan was the least trouble of anyone.
The man never lacked for resources, never lacked for acting skill, and could keep his public image perfectly steady all on his own.
Countless managers would jump at the chance to work with him.
Xu Lu: Though he probably hasn’t found anything suitable yet.
Xu Lu: Nothing’s stirring in the industry about it.
Xu Lu: Why? Thinking of digging for info?
Just as Qiao Qi was considering how best to answer, Xu Lu suddenly sent another message.
Xu Lu: I noticed your CP fans with Liang Yan are pretty active. What do you think? Any thoughts?
Qiao Qi froze.
But before she could respond, another message came through immediately.
Xu Lu: Never mind.
Xu Lu: It’s not like either of our opinions matter here.
Xu Lu: Let me go test the waters with him.
Qiao Qi didn’t stop her.
She fiddled with her phone case a little nervously, unable to guess how Liang Yan might respond.
He’d probably refuse.
After all, he’d kept a clear distance from her back on set, and in interviews afterward had also, deliberately or not, made his stance known.
Sigh.
Maybe she should just let it go.
Just as Qiao Qi was about to type that, Xu Lu sent another message.
Xu Lu: Don’t get your hopes up too high though—Liang Yan’s always gone solo, doesn’t do CP stuff.
Qiao Qi: …
Well, now she almost wanted to be the exception, just to be contrary.
So Qiao Qi held back the urge to stop Xu Lu.
Being a businesswoman, Xu Lu naturally knew a business opportunity when she saw one.
And right now, Qiao Qi’s biggest business opportunity was pairing up with Liang Yan.
If this real-life CP took off, given the current trajectory, the potential was immeasurable.
Best of all, teaming up with Sister Zhou, she had ways to make sure this pairing profited everyone’s goodwill even if it ended badly.
But…
Xu Lu sighed, somewhat troubled.
Everyone in the industry knew Liang Yan didn’t do CP hype—not only did he not do it, but if any agency dared latch onto him, they’d lose a layer of skin even if they survived it.
Xu Lu thought about Qiao Qi’s current standing—if she genuinely angered Liang Yan’s team, crushing her would be about as easy as crushing an ant.
Effortlessly ground into the dirt.
But… you never know until you try, right?
Xu Lu thought it over and decided to ask anyway.
Only, she didn’t intend to make an official request to Liang Yan’s team—she went straight to chat with Liang Yan directly.
Casually!
Xu Lu: Young Master, busy?
Liang Yan: ?
Liang Yan: Say what you need.
Xu Lu: ?
Xu Lu: So rude.
Xu Lu: Can’t we just chat?
Liang Yan: Nothing to chat about with a shady businesswoman like you.
Xu Lu: …
Xu Lu: That’s a pretty boring thing to say.
Xu Lu: We did live through half a year on the same set together—even without family love, friendship, or romance, don’t we at least have some die-hard comrade-in-arms bond?
Liang Yan: Oh.
Xu Lu: …
Damn it.
So rude!!
Fine then, Xu Lu decided she didn’t care about keeping face either.
Xu Lu: Want to pair up a CP with my girl?
Liang Yan: ?
Liang Yan: Do you want to die?
Xu Lu: …ok.
Xu Lu: Sorry to bother.
Xu Lu: Bye.
Then she took a screenshot and sent it to Qiao Qi.
In response, Qiao Qi sent back a string of ellipses.
Around this time, because Qiao Qi had followed Xu Lu on Weibo, it sparked a wave of discussion.
Every move Qiao Qi made on Weibo now drew intense scrutiny; after staying quiet for so long, suddenly following a producer clearly implied something.
So it wasn’t long before a marketing account posted that Qiao Qi was about to sign with Xu Lu’s company.
Liang Yan only saw this right before bed; he froze for a moment, then immediately switched over to Weibo to find Xu Lu.
Liang Yan: ?
Liang Yan: You signed Qiao Qi?
She replied instantly.
Xu Lu: Yep.
Xu Lu: Why else would I have come to you?
Xu Lu: Is there anyone else on my roster who’d suit you better?
Liang Yan: Guess not, honestly.
Liang Yan: Actually, thinking about it, this isn’t bad at all.
Liang Yan: Mutual growth and all that.
Liang Yan: I think it works.
Liang Yan: Sure.
Liang Yan: I’ll talk to Sister Zhou tomorrow.
Xu Lu: ?
Liang Yan: Hey, what CP name sounds good?
Liang Yan: The one the fans came up with isn’t great.
Liang Yan: Ugh, never mind, let me think about it.
Liang Yan: First time doing this—gotta take it seriously.
Xu Lu: …………?
This is quite the sudden turn.jpg
Author’s Note: Liang Yan: This feeling is probably about the same as getting married for the first time.
Lunch break’s short, couldn’t fit in more updates. Also, it’s my buddy’s birthday tonight, so no update then either… will make it up over the weekend!
And… I’ve gotta ask too. Anyone got a good CP name?