“You may leave now if you don't wish to film the advertisement . You're not indispensable,” Long Tianze said sternly, the smile on his face having disappeared .
Taken aback by his words, Song Yan's face stiffened as she was momentarily at a loss for words . “Well, I have a really tight schedule lined up with jobs, anyway . Since you've said that, I guess I'll be taking a rain check then . ”
“Goodbye, I won't be seeing you out . ”
All eyes were on Long Tianze as they stared on in astonishment .
“Give me half an hour,” he said to the crowd nonchalantly .
His secretary quickly chased after him and asked softly, “Mr . Long, the client had specifically requested for Song Yan to be the lead in the advertisement . What are we supposed to do, now that she won't be filming it anymore?”
“I'll discuss this with the client,” he said, reaching out to press the elevator button .
“Have you got anyone in mind to replace Song Yan with, Mr . Long?”
“A replacement? How about a fresh face?” Long Tianze suggested as he turned to look at his secretary .
“Are you kidding, Mr . Long? This is an advertisement for a prestigious brand . The spokespersons for their previous advertisements had all been listers and top celebrities . I highly doubt that they will agree to using a fresh face for this upcoming one . In fact, they might even terminate the contract with us . We've worked with them several times before, we're definitely going to incur a huge monetary loss if they decide to call the deal off . ”
“I'm more aware of that than you are . ” Long Tianze gave it some thought and continued, “But, I do have someone in mind, and I really think we could give her a shot . ”
“Who is it?”
“A girl I know . ” Whipping his phone out, he said, “Let me call the client to discuss about this . ”
Filled with fear and trepidation, the secretary stood beside him quietly, too afraid to even face him . Without a doubt, the client would definitely hit the roof .
As expected, there was stiff tension on Long Tianze's face throughout the entire duration of the phone call . Meanwhile, the elevator had ascended then descended back and forth repeatedly .
The secretary's legs had turned jelly from standing for so long .
Finally, Long Tianze ended the call .
“Mr . Long…” the secretary began to ask .
“It's settled, though they obviously weren't too convinced that using a fresh face would bring about much attention . However, they've decided to give it a shot, on account of our relations with them . Okay, head to the set now while I go look for the female lead for the advertisement,” Long Tianze instructed .
“Got it . ”
Mei Yangyang was surprised to see that Long Tianze had shown up again, despite having just left not long ago . “I've got something to tell you,” he said before she could even speak .
“Alright,” she agreed and followed him out .
She hopped onto his car and waited for him to break the news to her . Mei Yangyang was taken aback upon hearing that he had intended to cast her as the female lead in the advertisement, feeling both excited yet nervous . “But, I don't have any experience or knowledge on modelling for advertisements . ”
“My question is, are you willing to take on the role?”
With a nod, she answered, “Yes, I am . ”
“That's great, let's go . ”
“Wait a minute,” Mei Yangyang hesitated, though she was definitely not going to turn down the once-in-blue-moon opportunity of starring in an advertisement . Besides, her Mother had stopped receiving treatments at the hospital, since she could not afford to pay the hefty bills . Although her Mother had still been taking her medicine, it was undoubtedly less effective than treatment, for it had only helped to stabilize her condition . Perhaps, if the advertisement job pays well, I can bring Mother to the hospital to get her illness treated , she thought to herself .
“What's wrong?”
“I have to wrap up at the clothing store and give Sis Xiaoning a call to inform her about this . ”
“Alright, go ahead, I'll wait for you here . ”
Mei Yangyang then alighted from the car and walked towards the store . Along the short journey, she was overwhelmed with emotions as she began to think about it . After all, it was her first time starring in an advertisement . Besides, it was for a prestigious shampoo brand — what a rare opportunity indeed .
“Sis Yangyang, isn't that the man who came here to confess to you the previous time?”
She nodded and answered, “Yes, it's him . I have something to attend to, now . You two tend the store today . I'll call Sis Xiaoning to tell her about it . ”
“Alright,” Zhang Li agreed .
“Sis Yangyang, what do you have to attend to?”
“Something important,” she answered . She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the door .
“Look how anxious Sis Yangyang is, I've never seen her in such a hurry before . I wonder what it is that she has to attend to so urgently . ” Xu Jingwen stood by the entrance and stared out of the glass . “Wow, it's a luxury car . I knew it, he must be rich . Sigh, why don't I ever get to meet such handsome and rich men?” she lamented .
“Hurry and sort the goods out . Why do you keep daydreaming about such stuff?” urged Zhang Li, not bothered by Long Tianze at all .
“Do you think Sis Xiaoning will set me up with someone, if I asked?”
“You're still so young…”
“I'm already 19, way past the suitable age for dating . Sis Li, tell me what you think, would Sis Xiaoning agree if I asked her to introduce me to some heirs of wealthy families?”
“Jingwen, please remember your status, you're only an insignificant sales assistant in Sis Xiaoning's clothing store . Enough with it . I'm going to use the washroom,” Zhang Li chided, unable to tolerate what she was hearing any further .
Staring at her with pouted lips, Xu Jingwen muttered under her breath, “How unambitious . ”
An Xiaoning had just woken up and not gotten out of bed when she received a call from Mei Yangyang .
An Xiaoning tried to sit up straight as soon as she hung up the phone, only to feel a pair of hands wrapped tightly around her waist .
“Who called you?”
“Yangyang . She said she was going to film an advertisement at Long Tianze's company . Just what does he do for a living?”
“He's in the advertising and entertainment productions industry . But, the sponsors and clients are usually the ones deciding the spokespersons for the advertisement . Mei Yangyang is a nobody who has no knowledge about modelling for advertisements . Did she get recruited via underhanded means?” said Jin Qingyan with his eyes still shut .
“Long Tianze is wooing Yangyang . ”
Jin Qingyan opened his eyes in astonishment . “What?” he gasped .
“Aren't you two buddies? Didn't he tell you about it?”
“No, he never did . Ah, that explains why he had been acting rather strange lately . But it's not a bad thing, I suppose . Does he even have to court her though?” said Jin Qingyan, sitting up slowly .
“Of course he has, Yangyang hasn't agreed to be his girlfriend yet . ”
“Why? I'm not looking down on anyone, but girls like her from poor families would usually jump at the chance to be Tianze's girlfriend,” he asked in puzzlement .
“Yangyang is different from those girls, she has a mind of her own . Besides, she has only met Long Tianze a while ago, they barely know each other . A girl has to first respect and love herself before she can command the respect of others . I think it's great that she's taking her time to decide, unlike me — both times, I jumped straight into a marriage without even knowing the other party well . ”
“You barely knew me before we got married, but don't you know me well enough now? Hmm? Answer me,” Jin Qingyan pressed her for an answer while pinching her cheeks .
“Now… I still don't know you that well, yet . ”
“Liar . What else is there left about me for you to find out? You already know me inside out,” he retorted, staring at her .
“Rascal, we're not even on the same page,” she said in annoyance, moving her face out his hands . “I'm getting out of bed . ”
“Me, too,” he loosened his grip and lifted the blanket before getting down from the bed .
An Xiaoning zoomed towards the cloakroom to pick out a set of clothes . She then laid the clothes onto the bed and began putting them on orderly .
“What are you going to do about Chi Rui'er?”
“Didn't you want to punish her?” Jin Qingyan asked, raising a brow .
“It's better that you do it yourself, since she's someone that matters so dearly to you,” said An Xiaoning . She knew that she could not underestimate the influence Chi Rui'er had over Jin Qingyan, although she had greatly disappointed him with what she had done .
“Alright, I'll handle it myself, then . ” He put on his clothes and proceeded to wash up .
An Xiaoning followed closely behind him into the bathroom, where they stood side-by-side at the basin . Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she lamented, “My eyebags have gotten so heavy, after such a long night . ”
Chapter end
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