NOVPUBSong Niannian was very proactive, arriving at the drama’s office photography studio at 2 p.m. and collaborating with the team to shoot new posters.
However, it was strange that this top-tier celebrity, upon arriving at the drama group, looked around the office as if she had never seen it before.
Her agent asked her what she was looking for, to which she responded that it was nothing.
Liu Liqun sat quietly in a corner with a bunch of stagehands and whispered, "Logically, stars in the entertainment circle often seize opportunities from other stars when they slip up, but I always thought Song Niannian was not that kind of person. Turns out she is. Now, Qin Peipei’s opportunities have all been given to her. Although Director Zhang is not yet a top-tier director, I heard that everyone thinks highly of his script, calling it a good piece."
Zhou Cang asked, "Who said that?"
Liu Liqun replied, "My aunt and my second aunt."
Zhou Cang: "… You leaked the script."
Liu Liqun hit Zhou Cang on the back of the head with the script in his hand, "What, are you going to report me? There are plenty who leak scripts. What I got was a script Qin Peipei carelessly tossed aside; if anyone should be investigated, it’s Qin Peipei."
A stagehand said, "I heard Director Wang and Director Zhang chatting, and they said that they didn’t invite Song Niannian."
"Ah? Then who else could have invited her?" Liu Liqun wondered. "Recently, Song Niannian almost reached beyond the top tier. Her schedule has been fully booked; I didn’t expect her to come and rescue the situation."
That stagehand said, "I heard it was someone else who invited her; she directly turned down more than twenty events and proactively called Director Zhang to say she could bring funds to the group."
"Who has such great influence?" Liu Liqun was astonished.
"It’s said that a major figure from Qing’s Family personally sought her out, even though Director Zhang can’t remember knowing any important person from Qing’s Family."
Zhou Cang said, "The media reporters are also quite sharp. The cast just changed, and there are already media stationed downstairs. Moreover, many press releases have been sent out, all addressing the issue of Song Niannian cutting in, but no one mentions Qin Peipei acting like a diva."
"That’s definitely Qin Peipei’s management company buying those stories; what else could it be," Liu Liqun said. "By the way, where’s Qing Xiaotu?"
Zhou Cang said, "He worked extra in the morning, loaded the equipment onto the truck by himself, and then said he needed to go home to pack up some things. He’ll meet us directly in the underground parking lot tomorrow morning."
Liu Liqun was stunned for a moment: "He moved everything by himself?"
Zhou Cang nodded. "Although the guy’s motives for joining the crew weren’t pure, he’s pretty efficient and strong despite his slight build."
Liu Liqun said no more.
What he needed were people who could work.
As long as Qing Chen was willing to work, he didn’t care whether he was dreaming of a career in showbiz.
Amused, Liu Liqun chuckled, "That lad is missing out, Song Niannian is really beautiful. Didn’t you see those cameramen, photographers, and artists craning their necks just now? I’d better have a word with Assistant Director Wang to remind everyone to behave, so they don’t make the celebrity uncomfortable."
The next morning dawned.
All the crew members gathered in the office, some pulling banners, others burning incense for the kickoff ceremony.
Oddly enough, it was as if Song Niannian had never seen a kickoff ceremony before, curiously looking around the whole time.
Her agent asked in a low voice: "Tell your sister the truth, are you looking for someone?"
Song Niannian paused, "No, not at all."
"Don’t lie to me, you can’t lie, your eyes betray you," her agent said: "Are you dating Li Yu and haven’t told your sister? No wonder you took this drama so proactively. Is it to secretly date him on set? Listen, don’t even think about it!"
Song Niannian couldn’t help but laugh: "Sister, it’s not what you are thinking."
Her agent whispered, "That Li Yu is no good. He brought twelve assistants, six men and six women, I saw at least two of those girls were involved with him. Plus, he was previously the pet of a female bigwig from Chen’s Consortium, he’s been played out long ago. You better not get involved with such a person."
"Don’t worry, sister," Song Niannian laughed: "You know me, would I fall for such a person? I am here to repay a favor to someone, not because of Li Yu."
"As long as that’s the case. You are not only acting but also investing a lot of money," her agent muttered softly: "Just don’t fall into those love-struck behaviors, you are at the peak of your career, you can’t afford to think about such things."
"Got it!" Song Niannian replied.
Everyone headed downstairs and got into the vehicles. The drama group had over thirty vehicles, including six trucks.
As Liu Liqun and Zhou Cang boarded the stagehands’ vehicle, someone suddenly spoke up from the back seat, "Ready to go?"
"Ah!" Liu Liqun, taken aback by the presence of someone in the back, virtually lost his soul in fright. Turning, he saw it was Qing Chen and said grimly, "Why are you sitting in the car instead of attending the kickoff ceremony? That was a great chance to get photos with the celebrities."
"What’s the point of photos with celebrities?" Qing Chen replied.
Laughing knowingly, Liu Liqun said, "You really don’t know, do you? Later, when you go to another drama group, that photo is the best door opener, a lot of people join just to get photos with celebrities."
The convoy departed from the southern part of City 10, well-prepared and well-funded, even taking the express lanes out of the city without stopping for checks.
The convoy headed north, everyone buzzing with the excitement of leaving the city.
Qing Chen, however, seemed unusually calm.
Sometimes, when everyone stopped by the road for breaks, they lingered to view the wilderness landscape, whereas Qing Chen dawdled and didn’t get out until everyone else had reboarded. Then he would get out briefly.
Qing Chen clearly saw from inside the vehicle that Song Niannian got out and started looking around as if searching for something.
This definitely wasn’t a coincidence; she must have known he was in the convoy!
Who had leaked the information?
Qing Chen narrowed down the suspects to a few, as his movements were highly secretive, only a few powerful forces had the capability to track him.
The Shadow was most suspect.
At that moment, Liu Liqun in the vehicle noticed Qing Chen stealing glances at Song Niannian and remarked, "Pretty, isn’t she?"
Qing Chen glanced at him and objectively assessed, "Indeed, she is very pretty."
Liu Liqun was amused, "Don’t overthink it, we are not from the same world as those people. I’ll tell you, in this life, it’s better not to have too many thoughts—that way you won’t live in too much pain. Look at me, I’ve met so many celebrities and never had feelings for anyone, and I’m still single to this day."
Qing Chen was speechless for a while, thinking to himself that this guy could really turn any topic towards himself.
Indeed, Song Niannian was from a different world; he had no interest in this attractive celebrity and was only worried about being found by her.
Then it would be social death.
Liu Liqun would probably never guess that the person Song Niannian was looking for was none other than Qing Chen.
Curious, he asked, "You must be fifty, right? Don’t you have someone?"
"I had someone when I was young, but it ultimately didn’t work out," Liu Liqun shared.
"What caused the breakup?" Qing Chen found it odd.
"Her parents didn’t approve of me, they looked down on me," Liu Liqun explained.
"What happened after that?" Qing Chen inquired, "Didn’t she wait for you?"
"No, she didn’t wait. She married someone else the year after we broke up," Liu Liqun said.
Qing Chen: "????"
Is the entertainment industry this messy? Why isn’t even the stagehand straight?!
…
…
By nightfall, all the crew members had decamped and Qing Chen didn’t leave the vehicle, officially to keep watch over the convoy.
Normally, several people should have taken turns to keep night watch, but he took over all the duties, claiming he would just sleep in the vehicle.
At 10 p.m., the campsite quieted down. There were no entertainment activities, and the mobile signal was poor, causing everyone to go to sleep early.
Seeing this, Qing Chen quietly got out of the vehicle and walked towards the outskirts of the camp.
"Inspector Qing Chen, do you really need to avoid me like this?" Song Niannian stood behind a tree, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she watched him.
"Hahaha, am I avoiding you?" Qing Chen thought to himself, annoyed, "Miss Song, please don’t overthink it, I just like staying in the vehicle."
Song Niannian scrutinized him, "Tsk tsk, the youngest inspector in PCA’s history, and the future youngest director, pretending to be a little stagehand in the crew, nobody in City 10 would believe this if it got out."
To ordinary people, the youngest candidate for director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a direct descendant of a consortium was already a big deal.
So today, while her agent was lecturing her, she wondered how Li Yu could even compare to such a figure?
Song Niannian had no other thoughts about Qing Chen; she just found the situation incredibly amusing, as if she had touched a new world.
Qing Chen thought for a moment and asked, "How did you suddenly join the crew? Who let you in?"
Song Niannian was puzzled, "Weren’t you the one who invited me? You called me on a video call yesterday."
Qing Chen: "…"
Great, he was now very certain that this was definitely Shadow’s doing.
The person had impersonated him to get back at him, and thus had tricked Song Niannian into joining the crew by pretending to be him.
With the Federation’s advanced intelligence technology, not only could Qing Chen disguise himself as others, but given some time, others could also make a realistic mask to impersonate him.
This mask might not deceive professional intelligence officers, but to trick Song Niannian, it was more than sufficient.
Moreover, Shadow had occasionally impersonated him before the public test—this task must have been quite familiar to Shadow.
Qing Chen was a bit surprised; was Shadow impersonating him really that effective, that simply by inviting her, she would bring funding into the crew?
One must know, the crew wasn’t just missing a little funding.
"Cough, cough, it was me who invited you, I forgot," Qing Chen said.
That was the rule; he impersonated Shadow, and Shadow covered for him.
If Shadow impersonated him, he had to cover for him...
Song Niannian said, "I came to repay a favor. You saved me last time, and I haven’t formally thanked you. So, after I bring in funding for the crew, we’ll be even."
"Even, even," Qing Chen hadn’t planned on her repaying the favor, as it was purely Shadow messing with him. He thought for a moment and said, "I’m going to the restroom, do you want to come with me?"
Song Niannian’s eyes flickered, and she turned back towards the camp, "You go by yourself… By the way, I already know you are in the crew, so you don’t have to hide anymore. Don’t worry, I’ll pretend I don’t know you."
Qing Chen walked into the woods, and after a few hundred meters, he saw Yaoyao happily leaning against a tree, "Well done, Qing Chen, even coming to the wilderness you manage to find such an interesting situation?"
"What kind of interesting situation is this," Qing Chen said with a bitter smile, "Let’s go."
"Okay, you lead the way," Yaoyao took Qing Chen and soared into the sky.
They intended to return to City 10 tonight.
Now, with an alibi established and over a hundred crew members to vouch for his absence, who would expect him to be causing trouble back in City 10 at this time?
Qing Chen was waiting for this very moment.
While the interested parties thought he had left City 10, he planned to strike back forcefully!
