Chapter 47 - Role

Yan Ting: Accompanied the child to watch a movie. He acted well. This circle of friends post still excluded Li Zhao as usual.

He praised the child twice in a day, making the senior officials couldn’t help thinking about what type of intimate relationship there was between Li Zhao and the big boss.

There was a senior official a few days ago who sent something to his circle of friends, vaguely sneering at those who did public displays of affection. Then he saw his boss showing off the child twice in one day and he silently deleted this.

How could the boss’ behavior be called showing off? It was called being approachable and grounded.

In order to understand the boss’ hobbies, those who were lucky enough to add the boss’ WeChat even went to see Rising Storm. They had high salaries and were busy with work, so they had little time to watch movies. Thus, they suddenly decided to take their families to the movies and this promoted feelings among their relatives.

After coming out from watching the movie, they looked at their happy family and couldn’t help reflecting. Their action of neglecting their family was really wrong.

On the morning of the second day of the new year, Li Zhao changed his clothes, took the gifts the housekeeper had prepared for him and dawdled as he went out. He said he had to go but didn’t leave the villa until 9:30.

“Don’t drink coffee and eat on time at noon.”

Yan Ting nodded.

Li Zhao didn’t believe him. “Let the housekeeper uncle record you eating your meal and send a short video to me.”

“Yes.” Yan Ting nodded. “If you don’t leave then you’ll be late.”

The housekeeper smiled at the two people. “Please rest a.s.sured, the vehicle and driver have been arranged.”

Yan Ting looked up at the housekeeper. The housekeeper bowed his head and retreated but there wasn’t much nervous fear. There was even a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Then I’m leaving” Li Zhao was still somewhat uneasy. “You have to be obedient.”

Yan Ting, “…”

“Li Zhao, I’m eight years older than you.”

“What’s wrong with being eight years older?” Li Zhao smiled as he picked up the gifts on the table and walked to the door. Then he turned back, “Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re old. Even if you are eight years older, you can become a close friend who forgets his years.”

After saying that, he ran away before Yan Ting could respond. There was the sound of footsteps running away and Yan Ting’s pressure gathered around his body as Li Zhao departed. The house emptied and was once again restored to its previous cold silence.

Li Zhao arrived at Zhang Xiaoyuan’s house and was warmly welcomed by his parents. They didn’t know anything about the entertainment circle and always asked if he was eating enough or if he was tired.

“I’m not tired and it isn’t bitter.” Li Zhao patiently answered these questions. In many young people’s hearts, it might seem annoying but it was precious for Li Zhao.

“I heard Xiaoyuan say that you have been working with Er Ya for a movie?” She was very excited when she mentioned Er Ya.”Is she as pretty as she was on TV?”

Er Ya was a role played by Liu Fen as a teenager. This role was so good that it became popular all over the country. Even a 80 year old lady could point to Liu Fen’s photo and say, “Isn’t this Er Ya?”

“She looks better than she does on TV.” Li Zhao saw that Mother Zhang really liked Liu Fen so he said some good things about her. Mother Zhang enjoyed it so much that she couldn’t eat in ease.

“Mom.” Zhang Xiaoyuan put the dishes prepared by Father Zhang on the table. “Don’t keep talking to Zhao Zhao and eat.”

Li Zhao wanted to go to the kitchen to help but was seriously stopped by Mother Zhang. “You must not go. How important is your face as a star? It will be a pity if your skin worsens due to oil and smoke. It’s fine to leave it to Xiaoyuan. In any case, he isn’t good-looking and can’t become uglier.

“I am really your son.” Zhang Xiaoyuan smiled bitterly. “Mom, I might not be as handsome as Zhao Zhao but people can look at me. I can’t be buried by you like this.”

“If you aren’t ugly then why do you have no girlfriend despite being in your 30s?”

Zhang Xiaoyuan, “k2026;k2026;”

The pit was here waiting for him.

Li Zhao saw this scene of mother and son fighting and suddenly missed Yan Ting. It was only by Yan Ting’s side that he didn’t feel like an outsider. The natural sense of family created by blood ties was something that couldn’t be reproduced by care.

Yan Ting wasn’t the same. He was like Li Zhao with no parents, no blood siblings or no lover. They were the closest friends and most special beings to each other. Although Yan Ting had never said so, Li Zhao had the mysterious confidence that Yan Ting treated him the same way he treated Yan Ting. They were the best brothers.

After eating, Li Zhao sat at the Zhang house for a while before offering to leave. The Zhang parents were reluctant but they thought that Li Zhao was a star and his work arrangements weren’t the same as ordinary people. They didn’t ask him to stay and just gave him any products given by their relatives and friends, as well as their own snacks.

“I’ll drive you.” Zhang Xiaoyuan picked up the car keys and sent Li Zhao downstairs.

“Brother Xiaoyuan, there’s no need for the trouble.” Li Zhao saw Zhang Xiaoyuan start to change shoes and was slightly fl.u.s.tered. “My friend arranged for a driver to pick me up downstairs.”

“Yan Ting?”

“Um.” Li Zhao carried two plastic bags full of food and the bag shook slightly when he nodded.

“Then I’ll send you downstairs.” Zhang Xiaoyuan changed his shoes and helped Li Zhao with the bags.”It seems that you’ve had a great new year.”

Li Zhao smiled.

Zhang Xiaoyuan’s parents lived in an old building without an elevator. The walls of the corridor were covered with messy lines drawn by children in the building. Some families didn’t close their doors and the TV could be heard from the stairs.

Zhang Xiaoyuan said, “I’ll come pick you up at night.”

“Are we going to sell noodles together?” Li Zhao laughed.

“Don’t mention the word noodles. I have PTSD because of the word.” Zhang Xiaoyuan smiled bitterly. “Recently, I’ve received a new script that isn’t a Strawberry Entertainment drama. Do you want to see it?”

“The script is called My Immortal Girlfriend?” Li Zhao had some impressions of the script. “It seems to be an altered script and the plot is very interesting.”

“Yes, it is a very popular only manhua and has a certain fan base. However, due to the subject matter, it can only be played on online channels.” Zhang Xiaoyuan explained. “If you hadn’t taken Rising Storm then I would’ve suggested you accept the drama. However, now your role in this movie is highly praised. It won’t be helpful for your long-term development if you accept this online drama.”

After the show aired, it might help Zhao Zhao gain some fans but it would be easy to stereotype him. If he wanted to gain other resources in the future, more effort was needed. If Zhao Zhao hadn’t signed with Strawberry Entertainment then Zhang Xiaoyuan would’ve had him accept the script but now the situation was different.

There was no need to sacrifice a long-term future for the sake of momentary popularity.

“I understand.” Li Zhao nodded.“ He might like the plot of Immortal Girlfriend but he knew Brother Xiaoyuan’s words were right. In addition, Sky Song wasn’t finished. He didn’t have the time or energy to do the character biography for a new script. “Help me push away the invitation for this drama.”

“Okay.” Zhang Xiaoyuan smiled and nodded.

He brought Li Zhao downstairs and saw a huge car not far away. “Zhao Zhao, is that the car picking you up?”

“Yes.” Li Zhao took the things from Zhang Xiaoyuan’s hand. “Brother Xiaoyuan, it is cold outside. You go back.”

Zhang Xiaoyuan watched Li Zhao leave and noticed that the driver of the luxury car hurriedly get out. The driver walked quickly to meet Li Zhao and carried Li Zhao’s things. It wasn’t easy to be a chauffeur. He had to help his employer’s friend carry things.

Before Zhang Xiaoyuan’s former boss ran away, he also hired a driver. The driver wasn’t so attentive to the boss. He privately complained that the boss was stingy and found an excuse to deduct the salary. The rich weren’t the same. Even the drivers were different.

As Li Zhao was on the way home, Yan Ting faced a table full of food and had no appet.i.te.

“Sir,” the housekeeper persuaded. “You have to eat. Otherwise, what should I show Mr Li?”

Yan Ting paused as he was about to put down his chopsticks. “What time is it?”

“It is almost two in the afternoon.” The housekeeper took out his phone. “If you eat two bites, I’ll shoot a video and send it to Mr Li?”

Yan Ting looked up at his housekeeper, who was smiling at the food on the table, and the atmosphere gradually froze.

Outside, there was the sound of a car driving through the gate and the housekeeper was surprised. “So early. Is Mr Li back?” He put away his phone and went to the door to see Li Zhao descend from the car.

“Housekeeper uncle.” Li Zhao carried two big bags and quickly walked over to the housekeeper. “Has Ting Ting eaten?”

The housekeeper wondered, “You cam back so early?”

“Yes.” Li Zhao walked through the door to see Yan Ting sitting at the table and eating. “Ting Ting, why are you only eating now?”

Yan Ting wiped at his mouth and put down the chopsticks.”I had a bit of work to deal with at noon and ate late. Why did you come back so early?”

“I was worried that you wouldn’t eat well and came back to see.” Li Zhao put his things in the kitchen, washed his hands and sat at the thing. “The dishes on the table seem barely eaten. There is really no way. I will accompany you to eat for a while.”

Li Zhao grabbed an empty bowl and chopsticks and boasted, “The crew said that watching me eat gives them an extra appet.i.te. You can watch me for a few minutes and will become hungry.”

The housekeeper standing in the corner saw the boss eating many things in Mr Li’s company and silently rubbed his face. His persuasion method wasn’t wrong. It was his face that wasn’t right. An old and faded face naturally couldn’t compare to a beautiful one.

Knowing that Yan Ting had a problem of not eating well, Li Zhao finished dinner with him before rushing to the promotional place of Rising Storm. The audience was very enthusiastic and many girls screamed when Li Zhao came on stage.

“Wow, the audience is so enthusiastic.” The host teased. “Come, let’s have our matchless n.o.ble son greet everyone.”

“h.e.l.lo, I play the face value artist who plays the role of a n.o.ble son in Rising Storm.” Li Zhao spoke only to hear the audience shout, “No, you are a face and performance actor.”

“Who is praising me like this?” Li Zhao looked at the audience below the stage. “Whether you are fooling me or not, I will take it seriously anyway.”

“Really!”

The female audience members shouted, “It is more real than a pearl.”

The male audience, “……”

The girlfriends or wives were treating another man like this in front of them, who wouldn’t be shamed?

Then they secretly looked at Li Zhao and had to admit that he was really good-looking. He was full of spirit, had a sunny laugh and his nature didn’t repulse the same s.e.x. It was difficult to hate such a person.

The publicity event ended and Liu Fen and Zhao Yingnan were surrounded by reporters. Some of the reporters were unable to squeeze in so they all gathered in front of Li Zhao.

“Zhao Zhao, it has been two days since the release of Rising Storm and the box office has pa.s.sed 300 million. As a special guest in this movie, what do you think about this?”

“I’m very happy.” Li Zhao didn’t know why the reporter raised such a useless question.

“A movie critic says that your performance is the highlight of the entire movie. Do you agree with him?”

Brother Luo and Brother Xiaoyuan had reminded him that the reporters’ digging would come and he was a bit excited. “I am honoured to be praised as a newcomer. I think the entire movie is the highlight. If you don’t believe it then you can buy tickets to see it.”

“There are rumours spreading on the Internet that you will be the male lead of My Immortal Girlfriend. Is this true?”

Li Zhao replied, “Recently, I have partic.i.p.ated in the filming of Director Yang’s Sky Song and I won’t take any other work.”

The scene was noisy. Although the questions raised by reporters were strange, there were no malicious or tricky questions. Just as Li Zhao was about to finish the interview, a reporter suddenly asked loudly, “Li Zhao, the screenwriter of Overbearing Female President said that after you became popular, you don’t around and ignored people. What is your explanation?”

The crew saw that the situation wasn’t good and came over to maintain order. “The free interview time is over. All reporter friends, please give way.”

“Li Zhao, don’t you want to give a response?”

“The interview is over.” Da Ke squeezed over and looked at the reporter’s work card while protecting Li Zhao behind him. “Please don’t mention issues that have nothing to do with the movie, thank you.”

Liu Fen noticed something was wrong and motioned her a.s.sistant to help.

Backstage, Liu Fen comforted Li Zhao. “Don’t worry about these things. Every popular artist will be accused of having no conscient and forgetting old feelings. The screenwriter is just using you for hype. If you respond then you will just help him. The best way is to ignore him.”

“Thank you Sister Fenfen.” Li Zhao thanked her.

“You don’t have to thank someone from your own company.” Liu Fen smiled. “I used to be in your spot. As long as someone I used to work for said something, people would come to scold me for not caring enough.

Liu Fen elegantly rolled her eyes while saying this. “It is just watching the fun and won’t become too big. Who would take it seriously?”

Li Zhao still just smiled.

Liu Fen changed the topic. “I heard you are going to shoot Cang Shi’s advertis.e.m.e.nts tomorrow. Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

The Song family.

“Are you sure that Li Zhao rejected the offer from My Immortal Girlfriend?” Song Yu received the call from his agent and was excited. “That’s great. Quickly help me gain this role.”

The agent wondered, “Why do you have to wait for Li Zhao to not accept it? This show didn’t receive any investment from Strawberry Entertainment and there is room for us to fight, even if Li Zhao wants it…”

“You don’t understand.” Song Yu’s expression was tranquil. “Picking up something dropped is different from actively grabbing it.”

It was because he didn’t dare lose his temper at fate.

Once the agent finished his call with Song Yu, he called My Immortal Girlfriend to help Song Yu get the role.

“What? The character is set?” The agent was a bit surprised. “You didn’t say that this afternoon.”

How did the story change in just a few hours?

The author has something to say:

Baby Ting Ting sitting in kindergarten is picky about food again.

Baby Zhao Zhao dragging the small stool to sit next to him, holding a small spoon to eat: Ting Ting, we’ll eat together.