NOVPUBQing Chen and Yangyang soared through the night sky, the scenery on the ground appearing particularly tiny. He felt he was infinitely close to the heavens.
It wasn’t yet dawn when he already saw the campfire of the camp from afar.
"Bidding farewell after accompanying you for a thousand miles," Yangyang said with a light laugh, "I wish you all the best in area 065 of Taboo Land."
"I wish you all the best for the student protest in city number 10," Qing Chen replied, "I’ve already talked to Luo Wanya; he will coordinate with you on some matters."
Qing Chen was well aware of the arduous and difficult task Yangyang had to undertake. Although he was reluctant to take it on himself, he could still offer his support and best wishes.
The two landed in the forest where they had parted, Yangyang thanked him with a smile, and then decisively flew back to city number 10.
The separation of these two seemed like they had never been sentimental or draggy.
Yangyang had never asked Qing Chen to stay in city number 10 to help her.
Qing Chen had not asked her to join him in going to area 065 of Taboo Land.
Everyone was very particular about the limits of their friendship, both of them could joke around, but were very measured when it came to serious matters.
Qing Chen walked unevenly towards the camp, only to return to his vehicle and discover something unusual.
There were faint sounds of breathing and heartbeat coming from inside the vehicle.
He looked through the window and saw, to his surprise, that Song Niannian was sleeping inside?!
What was going on, why had she come to his vehicle during his watch?
Qing Chen knocked on the window, waking the actress inside.
Song Niannian got out of the car in a fluster, and Qing Chen curiously asked, "What were you doing in this vehicle?"
Song Niannian said softly, "Where did you go? I passed by this vehicle in the middle of the night and realized you weren’t here, so I thought I’d keep watch for a while, and I ended up falling asleep without realizing it."
Qing Chen clearly didn’t believe her explanation.
The actress had clearly come specially to check if he was present and, finding him absent, decided to wait in the vehicle to see when he would return.
Qing Chen frowned; if she was a Kite Falcon placed by another Shadow Candidate near him, it wouldn’t be long before the other Shadow Candidates knew he had left the convoy tonight.
If there were suddenly a clearing of misunderstandings between Qing Xing and Qing Wen, everyone would soon connect this clue with him.
Fortunately, Yangyang’s flying speed was extremely fast, comparable to an airship.
Given their current distance from city number 10, it would take a day by car, and without an airship to meet him, Qing Chen wouldn’t be able to return to city number 10 in time.
Qing Chen looked at Song Niannian...
To kill her to silence her?
It hadn’t come to that yet.
Important people always say, it’s better to wrongly kill than to let go.
But Qing Chen was not a person who would kill indiscriminately. Without evidence proving who had sent her as a spy to him, he would not entertain thoughts of killing.
Song Niannian looked at Qing Chen, "Where did you go?"
Qing Chen calmly said, "I went to the woods to relieve myself, but I got lost and it took a long time to find my way back to the camp."
Song Niannian curled her lip, "Never mind then."
She didn’t believe that this youngster known as Living Hades could get lost.
After being saved last time, Song Niannian had inquired about Qing Chen with many people, joking if she was tired of being a celebrity and wanted to become a spy instead.
She had then understood that Qing Chen was not a simple figure, an insider of Qing’s shadow, possibly to become the youngest director in the history of PCA Central Intelligence Agency.
This person had a purpose for being in the film crew.
Song Niannian stretched and felt the wilderness was truly too cold.
She was about to say something more, but then she heard Qing Chen saying, "Hurry back and get some sleep, it’s still not dawn."
After saying that, he went straight into the vehicle and closed the door.
Leaving Song Niannian shivering alone in the cold wind...
Song Niannian was furious, she turned and returned to her tent, curling up in her sleeping bag.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. How could someone be so rude!
She hadn’t even finished speaking, and he had dismissed her like that.
It was him who had invited her to the film crew, yet upon arrival, it was as if he had forgotten all about it, now treating her so coldly!
The money she had invested in the film crew was also hard-earned, she hadn’t even asked her family for it!
Little did Song Niannian realize, the one who had invited her was not Qing Chen all along...
...
...
At 6:30 in the morning, the chef responsible for cooking had already started bustling about, and the film crew had a dining truck, while field supervisor Liu Liqun was organizing the workers to set out folding tables and small stools for the crew to use in turns during mealtime.
However, it seemed like the people in the crew hadn’t slept well, as each of them appeared groggy, and they ate sluggishly.
Site worker Liu Hui muttered in the chilly wind, "At this rate, when will they finish eating? We still haven’t eaten yet, and the convoy will be leaving."
Liu Liqun glared at him, "It’s only because you’re my nephew that I brought you into the crew. Otherwise, with your lazy habits, which factory would keep you? There are rules in place; workers eat last in the crew."
Sun Chu Ci and a few others were sitting next to a folding table to eat, when they saw that Qing Chen hadn’t eaten yet and immediately said to Liu Liqun, "Why don’t you come eat with us?"
For a moment, the crew members’ impression of Sun Chu Ci and his group greatly improved, but Liu Liqun insisted, "Rules are rules, you eat first."
Qing Chen found it very interesting. He had heard that many film crews would ask about Liu Liqun’s availability before they were even formed.
This was a baffling notion since the crew members generally held the lowest status within the film crew. Why would a film crew’s formation depend on the schedule of a crew leader?
The reason was that, although Liu Liqun was old, he always knew what rules were and what propriety was.
In his crews, there had never been any incidents of crew members fighting over food, taking sneaky photos that exposed mistakes, hitting on female actors, or harassing celebrities. Moreover, their work was always well done without mistakes.
With such a person around, you could entrust him with all the miscellaneous tasks without worrying about errors.
At that moment, Qing Chen was still scanning the crowd, watching for any unusual behavior from Song Niannian.
Suddenly, Liu Liqun walked over quickly with a hand raised to smack the back of Qing Chen’s head.
However, just as his hand was about to reach Qing Chen, Qing merely shifted slightly to the right and easily avoided it.
Seeing this, Sun Chu Ci and the others almost spat out the plain porridge in their mouths.
Tuan Zi trembled and said, "The crew wouldn’t have deaths before even seeing snow, would they...?"
"No, no," Sun Chu Ci said, "This boss is quite benevolent, not the kind to kill over such a small matter. He must be mentally prepared since he’s mingling with the crew... It’s just that one day if Liu Liqun finds out the identity of this boss, I wonder if he will be too scared to sleep."
In their eyes, this might just be the pinnacle moment of Liu Liqun’s life.
Even if Liu Liqun became a producer for the crew in his lifetime, it wouldn’t compare to this moment...
Then they heard Liu Liqun complaining to Qing Chen, "I told you, stop eyeing the female celebrities. Why won’t you listen? If you become a celebrity later, you can look all you want, but for now, just be a good crew member, you got that?"
Qing Chen wasn’t angered; he laughed and responded, "Got it, got it."
It was just this morning that Qing Chen finally met the male celebrity called Li Yu, who was quite handsome with semi-long hair and a slender face with distinct features.
Upon his arrival at the set, the various supporting actors and agents who were part of the crew flocked to greet him, each more eager than the last.
Qing Chen suddenly remembered what a renowned actor from the Outer World had said in an interview, "Once you become famous, all you see in a set are smiles, and all you hear are lies."
Just then, Song Niannian also got out of her car.
Liu Liqun immediately came to supervise Qing Chen, who couldn’t help but turn his gaze away, laughing and crying at the same time.
Unexpectedly, something surprising happened. Song Niannian, wearing a thick down jacket, walked towards the crew members, stood right in front of Qing Chen, and smiled as she asked, "This young man is quite handsome—what’s his name? Is he a supporting actor in the crew?"
Qing Chen thought, what are you playing at here...
Liu Liqun then said to Qing Chen, "She’s asking you something, answer her."
"Qing Xiaotu, set worker," Qing Chen replied.
Song Niannian’s smile grew even broader, "You look good, it’s a pity to be just a set worker. How about you come and sign with my studio to become an artist?"
The set workers were shocked. This truly was a world where good looks ruled. Qing Chen had only just arrived at the production crew, yet he was already spotted by a popular female star?
What they didn’t know was that Song Niannian was just taking advantage of the fact that Qing Chen didn’t want to expose his identity, purposely teasing him.
She remembered how sincerely he had invited her to the crew, and thinking back to his cold demeanor towards her yesterday, she couldn’t help but want to see Qing Chen embarrassed...
Qing Chen calmly said, "No need, thank you."
The set workers were stunned. He just refused?
This was an opportunity of a lifetime, and he just declined it?!
If that student from Los Angeles Foreign Language School, Xu Zimo, were here, she would find these five words all too familiar. When Qing Chen rejected her from a thousand miles away, he used these exact words and wore the exact same expression.
Qing Chen had previously heard from Nan Gengchen that Xu Zimo later took a month off, claiming she wanted to visit 26 public testing cities to see if she had the potential to become a Time Traveler.
This included six cities in Korea and the Island Country.
At this moment, Liu Liqun, seeing Qing Chen refuse, couldn’t hold back his rage, and quickly explained to Song Niannian, "This kid doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know how important the opportunity you’re offering him is. I’ll talk to him about it later."
"Okay," Song Niannian replied, her smile brimming and her eyes seeming to ripple, "Then do try to persuade him, I invited him because I thought he was particularly suitable."
After saying this, she turned and left, leaving Liu Liqun frustratedly telling Qing Chen, "Isn’t this why you joined the production crew? Why not seize the opportunity when it comes?"
This time Qing Chen finally couldn’t help but roll his eyes, "I’ll think about it."
Suddenly, from not far away, the sound of an argument arose.
All eyes turned to see it was Li Yu’s manager and Song Niannian’s manager having a dispute.
Li Yu’s manager raised his voice and said, "What’s wrong with giving you a heads-up? Everyone knows your Song Niannian had impure motives for suddenly joining the crew. She wasn’t supposed to be here, then she suddenly showed up. Is she trying to stir up a scandal with our Li Yu? I’m warning you, don’t even think about it! A friendly reminder, and you’re not grateful at all?"
Song Niannian’s manager was infuriated, "A scandal with you? As if your dark history isn’t long enough. Do you think we want to tarnish our reputation along with yours? Rest assured, our Song Niannian doesn’t give a damn about Li Yu! If it weren’t for a corporate tycoon inviting us, we wouldn’t have come here at all!"
Li Yu’s manager scoffed, "A corporate invitation? Assistant Director Wang and others don’t even know about this. You fabricate as soon as you open your mouth? There’s no corporate investment in this production crew, why would they personally invite you? Come on, who invited you?"
The manager said, "It was..."
Song Niannian quickly came over and grabbed her manager, "Sister, don’t talk about this with them, we know what’s going on, that’s enough."
Song Niannian knew the severity of the situation, she absolutely couldn’t expose Qing Chen at this moment.
Director Zhang, Assistant Director Wang, and others pretended not to hear, no one dared to get involved in the dispute between top star managers...
The crew members were happy to watch the drama unfold, wondering if Song Niannian’s reason for joining the production was really because of Li Yu?
