I'm Rich - 16
Chapter 16
Not long after the New Year, Guan Zhiyi joined the cast of The Imperial Court.
The day she joined happened to be the day the fourth episode of Get Lost, Fat! aired. During the broadcast of the first three episodes, the show had lived up to expectations and shot to the top of the hottest variety shows rank.
Before the first episode aired, most viewers tuned in for Xiao Ran, Lin Jia'er, and the others, but by the later episodes, a large portion were watching for Guan Zhiyi.
How to describe Guan Zhiyi as a person? An entertainment blogger wrote something on Weibo that resonated deeply with netizens:
[She looks all innocent and adorable, easy to tease, but her inside doesn't match her outside at all. This girl has insane life skills, maxed-out cooking abilities, and handles problems with real decisiveness. If Hou Lu and Huang Xiao's comedy bits on the show rely on them being actual comedians, then Guan Zhiyi's humor comes out of nowhere. She's not trying to be funny, she's not deliberately funny. She just has this natural comedic quality. Even watching her seriously haggle over groceries is entertaining. Bottom line, that little round face is just incredibly likable…]
Guan Zhiyi's fame skyrocketed with the variety show, her Weibo follower count multiplying several times over. But amid all the comments saying "adorable" and "so fun," there were still some people who brought up her acting work.
Though they weren't exactly wrong. The dramas she'd filmed over the past few years really hadn't been great. So all she could do now was nail the role of Zhaoyang. An actor without a breakout role had no grounds to complain when criticized.
Guan Zhiyi's part in The Imperial Court wasn't the largest, and her scenes weren't scheduled to start so early. So by the time she joined the cast, the leads, Li Xuan, Xiao Ran, Zhao Mingming, and the others, had already been filming for a while. Zhao Mingming was playing the role Zheng Yitong had originally wanted. Her acting had always been widely praised, so no one had opinions to say about her replacing Zheng Yitong.
In this cast, aside from Xiao Ran, whom she'd worked with on the variety show, Guan Zhiyi didn't know anyone well. So she spent most of her time quietly in a corner, studying her script.
A week after she started filming, Liu Yun brought her unexpected news.
"What, the boss changed?" Guan Zhiyi was stunned, forgetting even to eat her lunch box.
Liu Yun said, "What, you really had no idea? I figured Qi Chengyan would have told you something."
Liu Yun was still living in the fantasy that Qi Chengyan was pursuing her...
Guan Zhiyi said, "He wouldn't tell me about things like this."
"Fine, I'll tell you then. Same thing. Actually, I heard about this a while ago, but we weren't allowed to say anything until the contract was signed." Liu Yun said, "Qi Corporation acquired Yixing. From now on, Yixing is their first stepping stone into the entertainment industry."
"Are you serious..."
"Why do you think Qi Chengyan became an investor in The Imperial Court so early on? It's because this IP was bought by Yixing."
Guan Zhiyi still had trouble processing it. She knew he must have his reasons for doing this. But she'd already decided to keep her distance from him, and now he'd gone and become her boss on top of everything...
"Alright, don't overthink it. It's good for all of us anyway. With Qi Corporation's massive financial backing, Yixing can only get better."
"Mm..."
A change in ownership really wasn't something they, as contracted artists, had any say in. Guan Zhiyi was shocked, but she didn't ask more questions after that, focusing entirely on filming.
A month into the shoot, Guan Zhiyi's big scene was about to be filmed.
The scene was this: after General Shen Sibo, played by Xiao Ran, dies in battle and his body is brought back, the household holds his funeral. Princess Zhaoyang, dressed all in white, leaves the palace and confesses her grief before Shen Sibo's coffin, weeping.
This was the greatest turning point in Zhaoyang's life. In the early part, she was lively and adorable, the joy of everyone's life, especially Shen Sibo's. In the later part, after Shen Sibo's death, as mysteries pile up, Zhaoyang's heart turns to ash and her personality undergoes a massive shift.
Guan Zhiyi remembered reading the novel and sobbing through the "Shen Sibo dies, Zhaoyang breaks down" arc. She hadn't recovered for a week after finishing it.
So to deliver the same impact as the novel on screen would be a huge challenge for her.
That day finally came. Her scene was in the afternoon, so she spent the entire morning in a heavy, low mood.
At lunch break, the set grew noisy. Guan Zhiyi glanced toward the crowd in the distance and saw many outsiders carrying food in.
Someone visiting the set, probably?
But her mind was entirely on the afternoon scene, she couldn't be bothered to care. She stayed in the rest area at the edge of the set, trying to get into the right emotional state.
Not far away, several other leads and the director had gathered around, greeting a man.
"President Qi, didn't expect you to come today! You should have given us a heads up!" the director said.
"Didn't want to disturb anyone. Just came to take a look."
The man was Qi Chengyan. The main reason he'd come today was because Xiao Ran had invited him a couple of days ago. Thinking about how important this shoot was to Guan Zhiyi, he wanted to see how she was doing here.
But he didn't seem to see her.
"You came all this way and brought so much food. As expected of our boss." Xiao Ran teased. "Hey, did you bring anything I like?"
Qi Chengyan glanced at him. "What do you like?"
Xiao Ran nearly choked. "I told you two days ago I wanted food from Huangtong Tower!"
"Did you? I forgot."
"Tch..."
"Come on, Xiao Ran. Be grateful there's food at all, and you're still picking." Li Xuan, who played the emperor, laughed.
Xiao Ran: "Yeah, yeah, my bad, alright? I'm starving. Let's eat."
"Sure."
The director said, "President Qi, come eat over here."
"No need. You all eat. I'll walk around."
The actors all ate in the same rest area. As everyone headed over together, Qi Chengyan held Xiao Ran back. "Where is she?"
"You mean Zhiyi?" Xiao Ran looked around and pointed. "That one, in the goose-yellow dress. Probably sitting there waiting for food."
Qi Chengyan spotted her from afar too. "I'll come with you then."
"Sure."
Qi Chengyan's people had already set out all the food and drinks. The actors and crew were thrilled, already picking up their chopsticks. But just a few bites in, they saw Qi Chengyan heading their way. Come to think of it, this man wasn't much older than them, but he was their biggest investor, so there was bound to be some awkwardness around him.
Awkward or not, those who wanted to steal glances still stole them.
They'd long heard that Qi Group's young president was handsome, and seeing him now, it was true. Standing next to Xiao Ran, currently the hottest star in the industry, he didn't lose out in the slightest. If anything, he had an indescribable steadiness about him.
"Join us for a bit," Li Xuan called out when he saw him approach.
"I'm fine. You all go ahead." After saying that, Qi Chengyan's gaze landed on the person in the small corner a few meters away. She hadn't even looked at the food, and hadn't noticed him arrive. She just sat there, listless, lost in thought.
Was she not feeling well?
**
Guan Zhiyi had actually noticed the food, but she hadn't moved. Probably from too much pressure, she didn't even have the drive to eat right now.
"Zhiyi, why aren't you eating?" Just then, Zhao Mingming, who played the empress, sat down beside her. Zhao Mingming and Guan Zhiyi had many scenes together, they'd gotten quite familiar over the past few weeks.
Guan Zhiyi: "I'm not very hungry."
Zhao Mingming understood. "It's because of the afternoon scene, isn't it?"
Guan Zhiyi, caught, felt a little embarrassed.
Zhao Mingming said, "It's a heavy scene, but I believe you can do it. Just relax."
"Mm..."
"Here, eat something first." Zhao Mingming joked, "The boss sent it. It's good."
"The boss?"
Zhao Mingming nodded and leaned in, lowering her voice. "He seems to be good friends with Xiao Ran. That one... look, he's actually really handsome. Not like the bosses I picture in my head, haha."
Zhao Mingming was just making small talk with Guan Zhiyi, but she never expected that the moment she finished speaking, Qi Chengyan would walk toward them.
Zhao Mingming froze. "Did I... was I that loud?"
Zhao Mingming was startled, and so was everyone else. They watched Qi Chengyan head toward Guan Zhiyi and Zhao Mingming's direction, when they saw him stop in front of their table, their first thought was that Qi Chengyan seemed to know their little empress.
Not a single one of them suspected it had anything to do with Guan Zhiyi, because in their eyes, she was just a small actress who'd recently gained a bit of attention, while Zhao Mingming was a top-tier actress. Surely she was the more likely one to attract the boss's attention.
Though no one's expression changed, the gossip in their hearts was already quietly burning.
"Why aren't you eating?" Qi Chengyan stood there and asked.
Zhao Mingming looked up at him, after several seconds of shock, it suddenly hit her that he wasn't talking to her at all.
She slowly turned to look at the stunned Guan Zhiyi beside her...
"Are you not feeling well?" Qi Chengyan asked again.
Guan Zhiyi finally snapped out of it. "Why are you—"
"Visiting the set."
"Oh..."
Qi Chengyan repeated himself. "Are you not feeling well?"
"No." Guan Zhiyi said awkwardly. "I just don't have much of an appetite today."
"Is there something you'd like to eat? I'll have someone go bring it."
Noticing everyone staring in their direction from the corner of her eye, Guan Zhiyi hurriedly said, "No need. I'll just eat this. I'll eat a little."
"Mm." Seeing her finally pick up her chopsticks, Qi Chengyan said nothing more and sat down directly in the seat beside her.
Zhao Mingming's gaze bounced between the two of them, then she quietly stood up. "...Zhiyi, I'm going to go get some fruit."
"Okay."
Zhao Mingming felt like she'd just stumbled onto something she absolutely shouldn't know and got out of there fast.
After she left, only the two of them remained at the table.
Guan Zhiyi said quietly, "Chengyan-gege, why did you come visit the set today?"
"Xiao Ran kept going on about it, and I figured you'd been on set for a while. Wanted to see how you were doing."
"I see..."
---
Comments
Post a Comment