1RomanceEB Chapter 20 Helping Her Reach the Pinnacle
Chapter 20 Helping Her Reach the Pinnacle
Stepping out of the barbecue restaurant, Tian Xi subconsciously rubbed her stomach, puffing out her cheeks and complaining, "Oh no, I ate too much again! It's all your fault, Brother Feng!"
I had just paid and followed you out when I heard you say, "I didn't force you to eat. You were the one who shouted 'Ten more skewers of butter,' and you even added a grilled bun at the end."
"That's because it smelled too good!" Tian Xiwei pouted and grabbed his arm, shaking it. "No, you have to walk with us for a while to digest after the meal, otherwise my mom will scold me if she sees that I've gained weight."
Liu Haochun stood to the side and quietly pressed her lower abdomen, feeling that she was indeed a little bloated from being full. She usually manages her figure very strictly when she practices dancing, but tonight she couldn't resist and ate two extra strings of corn and half a portion of taro. She was planning to practice her basic skills for an extra hour when she got back.
Hearing this, she nodded in agreement, looking at him with a hint of resentment, as if she were an accomplice. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes clearly said, "It's all your fault."
Amused by their back-and-forth banter, I said, "Okay, I'll go with you, but let's make it clear first, don't stay outside for too long."
"Yay!" Tian Xiwei immediately pulled him forward, while Liu Haochun silently followed beside her, keeping a half-step distance.
"Brother Feng, are we running out of scenes?" Tian Xiwei suddenly asked, her voice lower than before.
"Well, it should take about ten more days. If we work fast, we can finish filming just two days before your school starts, so it won't interfere with your studies."
Tian Xi lowered her head slightly, kicking at the pebbles by the roadside, and softly said "Oh." She suddenly looked up and asked, "So, now that we're done filming... does that mean we won't see each other for a long time again?"
"That's most likely the case. You'll have to go back to school for classes, and after I finish filming, I'll need to edit the footage and do post-production. I might also have to go to school to take care of some things." She added, "But there will definitely be promotion before the movie is released, so we'll be able to meet then."
"Wouldn't that mean it'll be several months?" Tian Xiwei's voice held a hint of grievance as she unconsciously dug at his arm. "It'll take so long."
"Want to meet? It's easy! We can chat on WeChat, and we can even video chat on weekends. If I come back, I'll just stop by to see you."
Tian Xiwei then perked up a bit, and the corners of her mouth curled up: "Then it's settled, when we start the video call you have to show me how you edited the footage, I also want to see how you did the post-production."
"Can you understand it?"
"Even if you don't understand it, you have to read it!"
Liu Haochun listened from the side, her steps a beat slower. She remained silent, but something seemed to gently tug at her heart. Yes, they would be parting ways after filming.
At least Tian Xiwei can still video chat with Feng Ge and meet him occasionally, but what about her? It's unlikely that they'll have any contact in the future.
Having spent this time together, she had long since grown accustomed to Tian Xiwei's boisterous laughter, Lin Feng's gentle tone when explaining the play, and even the way the two bickered felt endearing. The thought of soon returning to a life filled only with practice and homework suddenly made her feel empty.
She glanced at Tian Xiwei, who was chattering away to Lin Feng about interesting things at school. The disappointment on her face had vanished. Lin Feng, on the other hand, was listening intently with his usual smile on his lips.
It turns out that only I was secretly sad. Liu Haochun lowered his head, looked at his shadow, and suddenly felt a little lonely.
Catching a glimpse of Liu Haochun's silence out of the corner of his eye, he understood. This girl was starting to feel reluctant to part with him.
He cleared his throat and deliberately raised his voice: "It'll be great when you graduate from high school. You'll have more free time then, and you can meet up anytime you want. I'll take you to film movies, do promotions, and attend film festivals. If you two become Best Actress winners, don't ignore me, okay?"
Tian Xi's eyes lit up: "Really? No, no, I'll always be with you."
"Of course, the premise is that you film well for the next ten days or so and don't mess things up. If you can finish filming two days ahead of schedule, I'll take you to Foreigners' Street for a day. Roller coasters, pendulum rides, haunted houses, you can play as much as you want."
"Foreigners' Street!" Tian Xiwei instantly forgot her earlier sadness and jumped up excitedly. "I haven't been there in ages! When we were little, you took me to ride that 'Crazy Mouse' ride, and I was so scared I clung to your arm so tightly my nails almost dug into your flesh, do you remember?"
"How could I not remember? When I got back, my mom asked me why I had several marks on my arm. I told her I was scratched by a cat."
"I was just a kid back then!" Tian Xi blushed slightly and said stiffly, "I'm not afraid at all now! Forget the 'Crazy Mouse,' I can ride a roller coaster with my eyes open the whole time!"
"Oh? Then we'll have to give it a try."
Tian Xi turned to look at Liu Haochun, who hadn't said a word, and tugged at her sleeve: "Haochun, let's do our best to finish filming as soon as possible! Then we'll go to Foreigner Street together, it's so exciting!"
Liu Haochun was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm, then nodded slightly with a smile on his lips: "Okay."
"Oh, by the way, the sugar paintings on Foreigners' Street are delicious," Tian Xiwei began to chatter on and on, "and the freshly made hot and sour noodles, but the line is always so long..."
"And cotton candy, a really big one, all sorts of colors," Liu Haochun suddenly added in a low voice. She had eaten it once when she was little, at an amusement park with her parents, and it left a deep impression on her.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Tian Xi's eyes lit up even more. "Let's each buy one and see who finishes their cotton candy first!"
He slowed his pace, listening to Tian Xiwei chattering away about planning their trip to Foreigners' Street, with Liu Haochun occasionally chiming in with a word or two.
As they walked, Tian Xiwei suddenly remembered something, took out a fruit candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, popped it into her mouth, and then handed one to Liu Haochun: "Here, lemon flavor, to cut through the richness."
Liu Haochun took it, whispered "thank you," peeled it open, and put it in his mouth.
"Brother Feng, do you want one?" Tian Xiwei handed him another one.
"No, I don't like sweets."
"Tch, old-fashioned." Tian Xiwei curled her lip.
After strolling around for about half an hour, as they approached the hotel, Tian Xi yawned and said, "I can't walk anymore, let's go back."
"Weren't you supposed to be digesting?"
"There's a limit to how much you can digest food," Tian Xi rubbed her eyes. "We have to get up early tomorrow."
Liu Haochun nodded: "I need to practice my basic skills when I get back, otherwise I'll gain weight from all the food I ate today."
"Don't practice too late, get some rest."
Back in my hotel room, I unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and drank half of it. The icy liquid slid down my throat, dispelling the heat from the barbecue.
I casually draped my coat over the back of the chair, walked to the desk and sat down. The light from the desk lamp just illuminated the open script.
There weren't many scenes left, but there were two key climaxes. Once those two were filmed, the rest was easy. Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed his temples. With this film finished, it was time to start planning for the next project.
In the drawer on the corner of the desk was a company registration document, which he had taken some time out of his busy schedule to complete some time ago. The name was very simple, just "Fengrui Film and Television". Currently, the company only has a few people including himself.
"I need to scale up the business." He muttered to himself. Some time ago, he bought a lot of novel copyrights. These copyrights were like goods he had stockpiled. He had to find a way to turn them into finished products, either by making his own films or by finding a powerful company to cooperate with. In short, he had to do it quickly.
He opened his laptop, pulled up the copyright list, and his gaze lingered on the "Youth Campus" section. Tian Xiwei always said she wanted to be a big star, but that's not something you can just say and do.
"Could we tailor a career plan for her first?" His fingers paused on the keyboard.
Once this thought popped into my head, I couldn't stop it. I've seen too many examples of people failing miserably in the entertainment industry. Jing Tian, who had resources that were the envy of many, wasted many years of his promising career.
Chen Duling, who started at the peak, has been struggling in the industry because she couldn't find her niche. Too many examples show that having good resources is far from enough; accurate career planning is also the key to breaking through.
Xiaotian is different. She grew up with him, and the feeling of wanting the best for her from the bottom of his heart is much more complicated than a simple "investment".
"Help her reach the pinnacle..." he repeated softly.