Against the Light - Chapter 70
Chapter 70: Business Can't Compete with Romance
"What's wrong with you? So fired up this early in the morning?" Ming Zhen wiped away a bead of sweat and sat down beside the boxing ring, taking a few sips from her water bottle.
"Didn't you just wrap up filming? And it went smoothly, right? Did someone piss you off?" Ming Zhen looked at her. This woman hadn't come here to learn boxing; she was clearly here to vent. She was pummeling the heavy bag as if it were someone she despised.
Suddenly, Ming Zhen's brow furrowed. She narrowed her eyes, rested an arm on the ropes of the ring, and leaned against it, a sly smile playing on her lips as she watched Bai Yilan.
This person was truly strange.
She'd come to work out, yet she was wearing a long-sleeved, high-collared, tight-fitting athletic shirt. Sweat was trickling into her collar, but she made no move to pull it open.
Ming Zhen raised an eyebrow and tentatively reached out. Before she could even touch the collar, she was scared off by a look that could kill.
"What's wrong? Come on, tell me. I skipped breakfast just to come here and help you vent."
"Er, no, I mean, to work out with you."
Ming Zhen felt she had guessed correctly. Her expression changed, and a wicked grin unconsciously spread across her face.
Although she hadn't visited Yilan's set much recently, she had heard plenty of rumors about Yilan and Gu Xinran. For instance, a certain director had used her authority to cut most of the kissing scenes in the script, and the few that remained were all shot using clever camera angles. As for the bed scenes, they simply faded to black.
And for another example, when a certain actress performed a particularly moving and heartbreaking scene, a certain director would also be crying her eyes out.
Moreover, that director often personally helped that actress with her makeup and such.
Tsk~
"Did your Little Fairy make you angry?" Ming Zhen asked with a smile.
Bai Yilan simply covered her face with a towel.
"What is it?" Ming Zhen tugged at the towel, only to notice that Bai Yilan's delicate, small earlobes were rapidly turning a visible shade of red!
Well, well! Now this was a rare sight!
"Hey, Bai Yilan, if you don't say anything, I'm just going to let my imagination run wild."
Annoyed, Bai Yilan pulled the towel away. "I just wanted you to sit with me for a bit. Why do you have so much to say?"
"Then why are you blushing??"
"I just finished exercising. My body is producing adrenaline, the capillaries in my face have dilated, and blood circulation has increased, causing my face to flush. Is that explanation acceptable?" Bai Yilan stated with a perfectly straight face.
"What about your ears?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Your neck is red too!"
Hearing this, Bai Yilan subconsciously raised a hand to cover the back left side of her neck. When her hand only met the fabric of her collar, she instantly realized Ming Zhen had tricked her!
"Hahahahahaha! Feeling guilty, are we?!" Ming 'Sherlock' Zhen burst out laughing.
"You two are moving way too fast. You've only been back for a little over two months, and you've already done the deed??"
"Should I call this rekindling an old flame, or are you just incorrigible?" Ming Zhen teased.
"…" Bai Yilan's face grew even redder from the teasing.
Ming Zhen stared at her for a moment. Strange.
In the past, when she'd been caught doing… that… with Xinran, she would just offer a faint smile. She'd never seen her this shy before. What was going on??
Meanwhile, Gu Xinran finished washing up, changed her clothes, left a note, and departed.
She hailed a cab straight to her own home, where she found Fang Yi waiting anxiously the moment she walked in.
"Sister Ran, you're back! Where did you go? Last night you…"
"Whose bed did you wake up in???"
Gu Xinran pressed her fingers to her forehead, shot a glance at Fang Yi, and silently cursed herself.
"No, nobody. I was at… a hotel."
Feeling a bit uncomfortable under Fang Yi's stare, Gu Xinran raised a hand to touch her neck. "Wait a moment, I'll change and then we can go."
Gu Xinran quickly slipped into her bedroom and changed into a black, high-collared shirt. She even made a special trip to the bathroom to check her reflection, turning her head from side to side. Thankfully, the marks on her neck weren't visible.
In the car, Gu Xinran massaged her temples, carefully recalling the events of last night. The corners of her lips uncontrollably curled into a wide grin.
Fang Yi peeked at her in the rearview mirror. Seeing her suddenly smile for no reason was a little alarming. It was just too strange, wasn't it!
"Don't tell anyone I didn't come home last night, and don't go asking around either," Gu Xinran instructed.
Hearing this, Fang Yi's heart pounded with panic. Something was definitely up!!
The two arrived at the company. There were more people in the office than the last time she had visited.
Gu Xinran nodded a greeting to everyone and headed straight for Qu Qi's office.
"Well, look who it is. The big boss has arrived." Qu Qi smiled and gestured for her to sit. The more she looked at Gu Xinran these days, the more pleased she was. She stood up, poured her a cup of tea, handed her a file, and began to discuss the company's current progress and future plans.
After talking for a short while, Qu Qi frowned. Something was off. Was this woman actually smiling while looking at the document???
Qu Qi paused. The room fell silent, but Gu Xinran didn't seem to notice at all, as if she were lost in her own world, clearly distracted.
Qu Qi was baffled. This was the first time she had ever seen her zone out during a discussion about company planning.
Just as Qu Qi was about to speak, she heard Gu Xinran let out a soft chuckle and cover her face with the file. Was she… blushing!??
Catching a glimpse of Fang Yi outside the glass door, Qu Qi immediately and discreetly slipped out.
"You, come here. What's wrong with her? She's been sitting there giggling like an idiot for ages," she said, crooking a finger at Fang Yi.
After some thought, Fang Yi decided it was best to come clean. After hearing the story, Qu Qi, far from being alarmed, actually broke into a smile.
"Sister Qi??"
"Hey, Xiao Fang, how old are you?"
"Huh? Almost twenty-five. Why?"
"Ever been in a relationship?"
"No…"
"Tsk." Qu Qi shook her head, patted Fang Yi's shoulder, sighed, and turned to go back inside.
"???"
Back in the office, Qu Qi walked up behind Gu Xinran, tilted her head to look at her, then leaned in close. "Is your little world for two quite harmonious?" she asked in a low voice.
"…?" Gu Xinran instantly snapped back to reality, wiped the smile from her face, and began flipping through the file with great seriousness.
"Yes, this plan is excellent."
"Cut the act. Let me remind you, it's great that you and Yilan have had a breakthrough, but you can't neglect your career because of it. Heart Entertainment is just starting out, and there are many issues waiting for your decision."
"Mm, I know. Don't worry, I'm determined to make Heart Entertainment a success," Gu Xinran said earnestly.
"Good. The movie wrapped ahead of schedule, so the summer release is definitely on track. I've checked the upcoming film releases, and besides Liu Ping's movie that hasn't finished filming, there are no others in the same genre as ours."
"Sisters just finished its run last month, and the response to the series was as good as expected. I heard it's already been submitted for awards, so we should be getting an invitation to the Xiyuan TV Festival next month. Your and Qin Qiong's reputations have both improved significantly, and audiences are saying they're excited to see you two work together again. Plus, with Teacher Yu making a guest appearance this time, it's served as great promotion for our movie. As long as the editing and review process goes smoothly, I have a feeling this is going to be a huge hit!"
"During this downtime before the release, I think we could get you an advertisement or an endorsement deal."
A lightbulb went off in Gu Xinran's head as she latched onto a key phrase.
"In that case, as an investor, don't you think I should go supervise the crew's editing work??"
"…?" Qu Qi was a bit stunned. I said all that, and your takeaway was the editing?
Five minutes later, Qu Qi stood at the window, watching Gu Xinran excitedly drag Fang Yi downstairs to the car.
Hah, expecting her to focus on work and build her career?
Yeah, right. :)
Chuxin Studio was the post-production studio that Bai Yilan's film crews had a long-standing partnership with.
In the office, Bai Yilan was guiding the staff through the editing process.
"Yes, keep that shot."
"Cut directly from this scene to the previous shot."
"Like this?"
"Mm, that's right."
Bai Yilan glanced at her watch. It was exactly twelve o'clock.
"Everyone, let's go get lunch. Thank you for your hard work."
The staff acknowledged her and got up to leave.
"This is so boring. You're such a strange woman. Why would you think to ask me to come watch people edit a film with you?? If you were lonely, you should have called Gu Xinran," Ming Zhen complained nonstop.
"Less nonsense. Are you going to eat or not?"
"I'm eating. A big meal, your treat," Ming Zhen said. As she was walking out, she suddenly stopped short. Standing in the doorway was a person wearing a mask and sunglasses, dressed in a black shirt and black jeans.
She was startled at first, but then she immediately realized who it was.
She turned to look at Yilan behind her, who was wearing a white shirt and white jeans.
"Are you two… cosplaying the Black and White Fiends??"
"Is this how people wear couple's outfits now??"
"What are you doing here?" Upon seeing the visitor, the corners of Bai Yilan's lips instinctively turned up before she quickly composed herself and put on a stern expression.
"You've been working hard. I brought lunch."
"Hey, hey, hey, excuse me, did you not see me?" Ming Zhen waved a hand in front of her face. She was standing closer, so how did Gu Xinran's eyes manage to look past her and straight at Yilan??
Bai Yilan glanced down at the lunchbox in her hand, a small flicker of delight in her eyes.
"I was just about to go out to eat with Ming Zhen."
"Ming Zhen hasn't eaten either?" Only then did Gu Xinran turn to look at her.
"Obviously! I was dragged here early this morning by your wife—hiss!!" Ming Zhen yelped and quickly clapped a hand over her waist.
Bai Yilan calmly retracted her hand and casually smoothed her hair.
"Perfect, then." Gu Xinran completely ignored the scene of Yilan's assault and smiled, nodding at Ming Zhen.
Twenty minutes later, Ming Zhen sat in a car, drumming her fingers impatiently on the door.
She turned her head and saw Fang Yi driving at a snail's pace, which only made her more irritated.
"Where are we eating?" she asked irritably. She had been starving all morning and thought she was finally going to get a big meal with Yilan, only to be pawned off on this little assistant for lunch? Was this any way to treat someone?
Fang Yi was on edge, feeling like she was sitting next to a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
She couldn't voice her grievances. For the sake of her boss and the boss's wife's private time, she could only… sacrifice herself.
"What would you like to eat?"
Ming Zhen glanced at her, and an idea sparked. Hah, Gu Xinran, just you watch how I deal with your subordinate!
"I want Australian lobster," Ming Zhen said, fluffing her hair with an air of casual extravagance.
Fang Yi's heart skipped a beat.
"Um… would a Weilong do?"
"???"
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