novelraw Chapter 66 Tian Xiwei's birthday is approaching
Chapter 66 Tian Xiwei's birthday is approaching
"I've never heard of that name. Is there something you need from him? I can ask around with my friends."
Yang Mi spoke half a beat faster than usual.
It seemed a little too deliberate.
If Yang Mi truly hadn't heard of it, her normal reaction would be, "Who? Too lazy to find out," and then she would immediately change the subject. Instead, she would remain silent for four seconds.
This is a classic case of "protesting too much."
Song Ze didn't expose it.
"Okay, then it's nothing. It's probably just some small fund trying to ride the wave of popularity; I was just asking casually."
"Yeah, just ignore people like that." Yang Mi's laughter returned to normal. "Alright, I have a meeting, I'm hanging up."
"Okay, goodbye, Honey."
The phone was disconnected.
Song Ze tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and stared at the rain outside the windshield.
Chen Weike. Registered in the Cayman Islands. The actual controllers are all shell companies.
At a private dinner in Montreal, Liu Yifei was questioned about his contract status, contract duration, overseas release plans, and even the 80 million yuan termination fee.
Song Ze didn't continue thinking about it. It wasn't that he was afraid to think about it, but that thinking about it now was useless. There was too little information, he had too few brain cells, and he wasn't Sherlock Holmes; how could he possibly deduce anything coherent?
But one thing is certain—Liu Yifei's warning was not unfounded; someone was watching him from the shadows.
He started the car, and the windshield wipers swept across the glass.
Let's finish "Singer" first.
Two days later.
A high-end Cantonese restaurant next to the Peninsula Hotel on the Bund in Shanghai.
Song Ze arrived half an hour early and sat down in the innermost private room on the second floor. Eight dishes, two bottles of juice, and a pot of Tieguanyin tea were served.
Two things to do today: First, celebrate Bai Lu's discharge from the hospital after her cast was removed; second, celebrate Tian Xiwei becoming a music partner for "I Am a Singer 2017".
The door to the private room was pushed open.
Bai Lu walked at the very front.
Her high heels, seven centimeters high, clicked loudly as she walked. The cast on her leg had only been removed two days ago, but now she walked with a spring in her step, as if she had never been injured.
She was full of energy, with exquisite makeup, and seemed to have her own background music as soon as she entered.
Following behind was Tian Xiwei, who had just flown back from Changsha. She still looked tired, but her smile was so sweet it could give you diabetes.
Finally, it's Wang Churan.
She walked in quietly, wearing a white shirt and with long hair cascading down her shoulders. She sat down in a corner, creating an aura of tranquility.
Song Ze glanced around.
Three girls, three styles. Bai Lu is like strong liquor, Tian Xiwei is like milk tea, and Wang Churan is like plain water—it looks bland, but it can scald you to death if boiled.
The three rising stars are all here.
Pleasant to the eye.
"Sit down." Song Ze raised his chin. "Don't be shy, it's on me today."
Bai Lu plopped down opposite him and crossed her legs.
"Brother Song, let me tell you, I've been in the hospital for almost a month and lost eight pounds. Eight pounds! Do you know what that means?"
"Does that mean you're going to get your revenge today?"
"You understand me!"
Tian Xiwei sat obediently next to Bai Lu, with her hands on her knees, a standard good student posture.
Wang Churan sat to Song Ze's right, poured herself a cup of tea, and did so with practiced ease.
The dishes were served one after another.
Bai Lu picked up a piece of poached chicken with her chopsticks, chewed it twice, and then suddenly put down her chopsticks.
She picked up the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in front of her and turned to Song Ze.
"Brother Song."
His tone softened. He no longer had his usual carefree air about him.
"When I was being attacked online, to be honest, I thought about quitting." She paused for a moment, "But you stood by me and didn't let me quit. And there was Sister Mi who helped remove the trending topics, and there was also 'Zhou Sheng Ru Gu'..."
She raised her glass.
"This toast is for you."
Song Ze took his teacup and clinked it against his.
"Don't rush 'Zhou Sheng Ru Gu'. I'll save that script for you. Filming won't start until at least 2020. Your only task now is to thoroughly understand Deng Chanyu."
Bai Lu nodded emphatically, patting her chest.
"Don't worry! She's the daughter of General Deng Jiugong, and later married Tu Xingsun. I'll chew this role up and swallow it. When 'Chaoge' airs, I'll shut up everyone who says I'm a 'resourced' actress."
Song Ze smiled and reached out to press her back into the chair.
"Alright, alright, learn to manage your emotions first. Don't make Director Yu Zheng have a heart attack on set again; he's old and can't take your abuse."
Bai Lu chuckled, her momentum instantly vanishing.
The atmosphere in the private room relaxed.
The topic then shifted to Tian Xiwei.
"Xiwei, how's the training in Changsha?" Song Ze asked.
Tian Xiwei put down her chopsticks, and her whole demeanor brightened.
"Senior! You don't know! That training base is huge! The production team arranged a separate observation seat for each of us partners, so we could see the singers rehearsing!"
She gestured animatedly, indicating the size of the famous stage.
"And another thing! It really rained outside during Jam Hsiao's rehearsal! I saw it with my own eyes! The windows were completely soaked!"
Song Ze drank his tea, listening to her chatter.
Tian Xiwei became more and more excited as she spoke, and began to imitate the camera reactions taught by the director team during training—how to make the right shocking expression when a singer hits a high note, and how to get teary-eyed at the right time during emotional segments.
She imitated with great effort, squeezing out all sorts of exaggerated expressions on her sweet little face.
"Then the director said, 'At this point, we need to—'"
"Your shoulders were too tense when you mimicked that shocked reaction."
Wang Churan's voice drifted over from the side, calm and unhurried.
She was still peeling a mantis shrimp in her hand, without even looking up.
"The first reaction of someone who is truly shocked is to relax their muscles, not tense them. Your reaction is closer to being 'frightened'. Also, when you were imitating crying just now, your breath stopped in your throat and didn't sink down. What the audience sees is 'acting to cry,' not 'really crying.'"
After peeling, put the mantis shrimp meat into your own dish.
He didn't look at Tian Xiwei even once throughout the entire process.
Tian Xiwei turned her head away angrily.
"Wang Churan! Can you please stop finding fault with me every time! I'm not there to act! I'm a partner! I'm sitting there listening to music!"
"There's a technique to listening to music too." Wang Churan finally looked up, calm and collected. "The camera won't go easy on you just because you're a partner."
Bai Lu was eating melon seeds nearby, her eyes darting left and right.
"Hey, I think Chu Ran has a point."
Tian Xiwei glared at her.
Bai Lu shrugged: "I'm just stating the facts."
"Sister Bailu, shut up! You just love making things worse!"
"Yes, that's me." Bai Lu smiled frankly.
Song Ze held a teacup and leaned back in his chair.
Three future rising stars were bickering in front of him, and he was in charge of serving them water.
The years are quiet.
Halfway through the meal, Song Ze was picking up a piece of roast goose when he noticed movement under the tablecloth out of the corner of his eye.
Tian Xiwei's toe touched Wang Churan's calf under the table.
Once. Twice. Three times.
They were making exaggerated facial expressions and winks.
The look in his eyes probably meant: Speak up! Speak up now! Didn't we agree on this?
Wang Churan sighed.
He gently put down his chopsticks and wiped his fingers with a tissue. The whole sequence of actions was composed and elegant, carrying a sense of helplessness, as if saying, "I didn't want to do it, but I agreed, so I did it."
Then she turned to Song Ze.
With her back slightly straightened and jawline relaxed, her entire aura shifted—from a "quiet, aloof girl eating quietly" to a "stage actress preparing to speak."
"Senior Brother Song."
"Um?"
"As our senior brother, what kind of perks do you usually give your junior sisters on their birthdays?"
Song Ze paused for a moment with his chopsticks.
Wang Churan continued, unhurriedly.
"For example, October 24th. The Monday after next week."
Bai Lu was stunned.
She turned to look at Tian Xiwei, a half-smile on her face.
Tian Xiwei lowered her head with lightning speed, picked up the soup bowl, and took a big gulp.
I didn't hear anything.
I'm drinking soup.
I'm just a sweet girl who quietly drinks soup.
But the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they could bleed, burning all the way from her earlobe to her auricle.
Song Ze glanced at Wang Churan, then at Tian Xiwei who was engrossed in drinking her soup, and then at Bai Lu, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
have to.
So, the real intention behind this meal wasn't the food itself.
He put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair.
"October 24th?"
Bai Lu blinked, unable to suppress a smile.
Tian Xiwei stirred the soup in the bowl with her spoon, creating a whirlpool.
Song Ze looked at the three pairs of eyes opposite him—no, two and a half pairs—staring at him, and suddenly laughed.
"Okay." He picked up his teacup and said jokingly, "We'll see how I feel then."
Tian Xiwei's spoon clattered against the side of the bowl.
She looked down at the sloshing soup in the bowl and thought: Oh no, he must have guessed it.
But why... is my heart beating so fast?