Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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When Jiang Mochen went home to cook at night, Yan Qingchi told him about this matter. Jiang Mochen was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, “This is really a coincidence.”
“Yes, Since Guan Mei has already agreed with Director Fu, I’d better go see her tomorrow.”
“Well, let Zhang Quan take you there.”
“Okay.”
Fu Minzhi had chosen a coffee shop as the meeting location and when Yan Qingchi went there, there was no one there, while the owner of the coffee shop was a little girl, who looked to be in her twenties. When she saw him coming in, she greeted him and took him upstairs. As soon as Yan Qingchi arrived on the second floor, he found that Fu Minzhi had already arrived. At this time, she was sitting on the sofa by the window and looking at some drawings.
The little girl made a gesture of invitation to him and left on her own. Yan Qingchi took out his mobile phone and checked the time. He was indeed not late, and even arrived 20 minutes early. It was just that Fu Minzhi had arrived earlier.
He walked over and sat down opposite Fu Minzhi, only to realize that what Fu Minzhi was reading was the short story he had previously drawn for Qi Qi.
“I didn’t expect you to be To Mr. Q,” Fu Minzhi saw him sitting down. So, without being polite, she went directly to the subject and started talking about the drawing. “To be honest, knowing that it was you made me feel more relaxed.”
Yan Qingchi smiled and said nothing. Of course he knew what Fu Minzhi meant. He was an actor, and not a very good actor, but Fu Minzhi was a director, a very good director.
“So, I want to invite you to draw again. Your agent should have told you that I have a new movie that is about to start filming. You can come and audition for my male lead. If it’s not suitable, I can also give you a supporting role.”
This was indeed a very tempting offer. Not all directors would conduct open auditions when selecting roles. Sometimes they already had suitable candidates in mind, and they would only send out audition invitations to those they thought were suitable. Now that Fu Minzhi had given him this invitation, Yan Qingchi felt that it was indeed tempting, especially since the other party promised that even if it was not suitable, he could still be given a supporting role.
However, Yan Qingchi was a little helpless, “I’m sorry, first of all, since you already know that I am To Mr. Q, you should know who this Mr. Q represents. These paintings are all for Qi Qi. It’s for my child, so I can’t paint it for other children. This goes against my original intention. Secondly,” Yan Qingchi smiled with regret, “the terms you offered are indeed very tempting. I’m also very excited, but I won’t be accepting any movie appointments this year, so even though I also want to participate in your movie, this schedule is really inappropriate.”
Fu Minzhi didn’t understand, “What are you going to do this year? Why can’t you film?”
“I’m feeling a little unwell, so I need to take a year off.”
Fu Minzhi looked him up and down, “With all due respect, I think you look much healthier than me.”
Yan Qingchi smiled and said, “Do you think it is necessary for me to lie to you about this matter? What is your identity? Why would I refuse to accept your film appointment if there was no compelling reason?”
Fu Minzhi said no more, Yan Qingchi was right, she knew her status very well, so after learning that the other party turned out to be Yan Qingchi, she felt that this matter would be easier to solve. After all, it may not be easy for a director to impress a freelance painter, but it was much easier for a well-known director to impress an actor who had just debuted. Therefore, if Yan Qingchi was not really unwell, then there was no reason for him to reject her.
——After rejecting her, she didn’t know when, a director would be willing to give him such a guarantee next time.
Fu Minzhi felt a little annoyed. At this time, the coffee shop owner brought over the coffee.
When she was about to put it down, Yan Qingchi whispered, “Sorry, I don’t drink coffee.”
The little girl was stunned for a moment, as if she didn’t expect that he would refuse directly, “This is the signature drink of our store.”
“Thank you, but I really don’t drink coffee, just give me a cup of boiled water.”
The little girl took the coffee back and nodded, “Okay, please wait.”
Fu Minzhi continued to speak after seeing the person leaving. “Well, let’s not talk about the movie. As Yan Yan’s mother, I want to ask you to create a story for my child. Can you really not agree? Yan Yan’s birthday is coming soon. He likes these stories you drew very much. I also think these paintings of yours are very educational and full of childishness, so I want to give them to him as a birthday gift. Can you really not agree?”
“Actually, if you want to give Yan Yan a birthday gift, why not paint by yourself?” Yan Qingchi was a little confused, “Even if your painting is not beautiful enough, for Yan Yan, what you paint for him must be more pleasing to him than what I paint for him.”
“I don’t have the time.” Fu Minzhi said, “As you know, our circle is always busy, especially since I have to be responsible for a studio, and my time is very busy. Even sitting here talking to you today has my schedule jammed.”
“Then you can record the story you want into an audio file for him to listen to as a bedtime story. Wouldn’t it be great?”
Fu Minzhi smiled and shook her head, “I haven’t been exposed to children’s books for too long, so I don’t have this concept in my mind. I can’t think of anything suitable to record for him.”
“Since you think he likes my paintings, you can record the stories in my paintings and give it to him.”
Fu Minzhi was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn’t thought that this could happen before.
“You and Bo Feng are divorced, and you are very busy. So, Yan Yan can’t see you often, but he must miss you. Therefore, recording some bedtime stories as a birthday gift for him can not only make him happy, but also make him feel how much you care for him, wouldn’t it be nice to have your voice accompany him when you are no longer around him?”
This was indeed very good, and it won’t take long, Fu Minzhi thought this was a good idea. The most important thing was that when she was not able to be with Bo Yan for a long time, Bo Yan could listen to her voice, which would indeed be another kind of companionship for him.
“You’re right, thank you.” Fu Minzhi looked at the person in front of her. Yan Qingchi was still the same as when she first met him, with a gentle smile, calm and unfazed, not because of the kindness he proposed. He was not overjoyed to meet the conditions, and not too regretful for missing this opportunity. This calm gentleness was indeed very suitable for the male protagonist of her next movie, but unfortunately, he was not free.
Fu Minzhi also felt a little regretful. When she didn’t know Yan Qingchi at first, she didn’t have a deep impression of him. She just thought he was good-looking and popular. Thus out of her disdain for the little fresh meat, she didn’t want her movie to be linked to him, so she rejected her friend’s recommendation.
But in the two subsequent encounters, whether at his home or now, he always spoke the most appropriate words and acted in the most appropriate manner. He did not violate his principles because of her fame, nor did he keep lobbying himself even though his schedule was not suitable. He even gave her some good advice.
At this moment, Fu Minzhi got rid of her prejudice against him. Although she didn’t know how Yan Qingchi’s acting skills were, Fu Minzhi felt that his attitude in speaking and doing things was very good, both as an actor and as a father.
The two didn’t talk for too long but said goodbye happily.
Yan Qingchi walked around the street for a while before picking up Qi Qi and returning home.
Before going to bed at night, Jiang Mochen asked him the result of his conversation with Fu Minzhi today. Yan Qingchi briefly talked about it, and when he heard about the inappropriate schedule, Jiang Mochen put his arms around him.
Yan Qingchi was afraid that he would feel sorry for him, so he comforted him, “Director Fu is not just shooting a movie like this anyway. Now that she has this idea, she might still consider me when shooting other movies in the future.”
Jiang Mochen: “Yeah.” He said, tilted his head and kissed him without saying a word.
At noon the next day, Fu Minzhi was recording a short story for Bo Yan when her cell phone rang.
She paused the voice recorder and answered the phone, “Hello.”
On the other end of the phone, Jiang Mochen’s voice sounded, “I’m sorry to bother you, Director Fu, but I didn’t know until I got home yesterday that you had met Qingchi. Your new play was originally intended to give him a chance. You also know that if a director like you is missed, you still don’t know when he will see such an opportunity again, so is it possible that your new play can be postponed?”
Fu Minzhi leaned on the back of the chair and asked him, “Yan Qingchi asked you to ask me?”
“Of course not, I want to ask you myself. Qingchi needs to rest this year due to physical reasons. But I also need to bear half of the responsibility for such a result, so I feel a little guilty and want to ask you, please don’t get me wrong.”
Fu Minzhi thought about it and said truthfully: “My play. It is expected to be launched in October, and we are already attracting investment. There is actually no problem for me to delay it for a few months, but even if I can wait, investors will not wait for me, so this is not my decision.”
When Jiang Mochen heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief, “Then you don’t have to worry. If you need investment, Nancheng can do it. If not, Jiangshi can do it. I believe that your movie will not have any worries about investment and sponsorship.”
Fu Minzhi smiled and said, “Jiang Mochen, you are really good at talking, but how do I know whether Yan Qingchi is worthy of my waiting for him?”
Fu Minzhi looked at the calendar on her desk, “I’ll just give him an audition opportunity and there’s no concept such as postponing everything just to wait for his schedule. Let’s give him a chance to audition at the right time. If he is not suitable, I can use someone else. As far as I am concerned, there is no loss in postponement just for him if he’s suitable. But if it’s not suitable, and I have to hire someone else, who will be responsible for the losses during this period?”
“When is Director Fu planning to arrange the audition?”
“It’s the end of March, almost the beginning of April.”
“That’s good. You can ask Qingchi to audition first. If he is suitable, you can then consider whether to wait for him. If not, there is no need to wait for him.”
Fu Minzhi said nothing.
“Let’s do this,” Jiang Mochen said, “Qingchi will audition first in early April. You can see if he is suitable. In July this year, “Lost” will be released, and Qingchi will also star in it. You can check him out then as well.”
“He also starred in “Lost”?” Of course Fu Minzhi is aware of this film, as Wang Yiyang’s works were also in the running to win awards.
Fu Minzhi and Wang Yiyang were both directors specializing in literary films, but Fu Minzhi had more awards, so her status was higher. But after all, they were colleagues. She also knew a little about Wang Yiyang’s movies and knew that he was not the kind of person who randomly chose actors, so she became more optimistic about Yan Qingchi.
“Okay, let him audition first, and we’ll talk about the rest later.”
“Thank you so much, Director Fu.” Jiang Mochen thanked her.
Fu Minzhi chuckled, “Jiang Mochen, if you put so much effort into thinking about him, are you not afraid that the higher he flies, the further away he will go from you until in the end, you can’t see him?”
Jiang Mochen didn’t expect her to ask this, but he had never been a shy person, so when he heard her say this, he just smiled, “Although sometimes, I really want to hide him and let him stay at home so that no one can see him. But I also know better than anyone else that he is not my canary. My cage cannot contain him, so I let him fly. He is a very good person and should naturally be seen and appreciated by more people. I have never been able to look down on him, but he always remembers the way home, so no matter where he is or what he encounters, he will always come back to me. So in this world, I can give him my blessing and becoming his world is of course good, but walking side by side while working hard is another kind of happiness.”
Fu Minzhi’s heartstrings were lightly plucked as she listened, and after a while, she smiled slightly.
She hung up Jiang Mochen’s call and leaned back in her chair, thinking about the past between herself and Bo Feng, as well as Jiang Mochen and Yan Qingchi, and couldn’t help but feel a little envious.
How old were she and Bo Feng, and how old were Jiang Mochen and Yan Qingchi, but they still didn’t understand as well as they did. Bo Feng wanted to keep an eye on her, and she wanted to fly high. She didn’t give Bo Feng a sense of security, and Bo Feng didn’t give her trust. In the end, the two parted ways and went their separate ways, only to make Bo Yan suffer.
Fu Minzhi sighed, and her phone rang again. She took a look and saw that it was Bo Feng. Fu Minzhi planned to hang up but hesitated the moment when she was about to hang up. Then she swiped down and answered the phone, “Hello.”
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