Lu Qin probably wouldn’t bring him to a banquet next time, right?"
That’s a good thing.
Pei Rong tossed his shirt and suit into the washing machine and studied the functions for a while before selecting the gentlest setting.
Let the salted fish wash with his hands? Humans had sensitive skin, unlike machines. And washing with hands wasn’t as good as machine washing.
Pei Rong pursed his reddened lips. He realized belatedly that Lu Qin had traded his first kiss for a sip of red wine.
Last time, he had to go to work the next day, so he didn’t let Lu Qin kiss his face. In hindsight, that was a wise decision.
The image of Lu Qin leaving earlier flashed in Pei Rong’s mind, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude.
Did Lu Qin participate in some extreme challenge competition? His reaction from the restroom during the event hadn’t faded. What drove President Lu to come up and kiss him?
Perhaps... President Lu really wanted to understand his own limits. Just like drinking alcohol, knowing the limit of a few glasses of red or white wine to avoid getting drunk at social gatherings.
Pei Rong somewhat believed Zhou Hang’s statement that Lu Qin had abstained from certain things. If alcohol tolerance could be trained, then probably something else as well. He hoped Lu Qin could soon control his desires and stay away from the trap of drugged one-night stands.
This was the realm of self-discipline for the strong.
At banquets, in order to maintain an image, most people didn’t eat much. Lu Qin fed Pei Rong a sip of wine, and his stomach warmed up, increasing his appetite.
He glanced at the refrigerator and selected from the assortment of frozen foods, finally opening a container of instant noodles with chicken and mushroom flavor.
The flavor didn’t matter much; Pei Rong didn’t use the seasoning packets that came with the instant noodles. He boiled the noodles, cracked an egg into it, added a bit of salt, and sprinkled freeze-dried scallions on top before serving.
The egg yolk and egg white were mixed messily, enveloping the noodles like scraps of paper, with the only highlight being the scallions.
Every week, Pei Rong would buy a bunch of scallions, chop them up, and put them in the freezer. Whenever he cooked something, he’d sprinkle some on top, giving the food its soul.
Before going to sleep, he called Zhou Hang and said straightforwardly, “Tell Jiang Tian that his cooking on the variety show is too terrible. I feel like throwing up when I see him. Don’t appear in front of me.”
“Otherwise, I’ll expose my deal with Jianglu Entertainment to President Lu.”
In the entertainment industry, artists covered for each other to build their images. As long as they didn’t cross any lines, they turned a blind eye to certain things.
But it’s not right to knowingly cause trouble for others. Jiang Tian probably knew, as he himself hadn’t taken a bite, pretending to respect his senior and making Pei Rong taste it. He added excessive chili peppers for presentation and ignored Pei Rong’s frantic drinking of water off-camera.
Remembering that incident, the day of the variety show was the first time he vomited because of Jiang Tian, and today was the second time.
Originally, he didn’t mind, but Jiang Tian’s expression today was just too ridiculous.
There’s no need to save face for each other in such cases.
Zhou Hang said in a series of tones, “We can’t shift blame! Alright, alright, I promise there won’t be a next time. I don’t even know how he got the invitation. The company didn’t arrange it!”
A sip of red wine before bed, Pei Rong slept even more soundly.
***
On the other hand, Lu Qin came out of the cold shower with a headache, feeling that inviting Pei Rong to attend the banquet together was simply inviting trouble upon himself.
Yesterday, he deluded himself into thinking that he had invested so much money in Jianglu Entertainment, and if he didn’t get some returns, the company’s financials wouldn’t look good. He needed a partner, took Pei Rong out for a spin, and paved a smoother path for Pei Rong’s future. It was a win-win situation.
President Lu was losing his touch.
He had just nonchalantly recharged in a game, not even bothering to create an account, and before he knew it, he was already addicted.
He wanted to spend a lot of money, wanted Pei Rong to accept his rewards, wanted to be with Pei Rong...
When Pei Rong vomited into his lapel, Lu Qin first thought the way Pei Rong restrained himself, yet gave away his discomfort through his slightly trembling body and reddened eyes was quite attractive, and only afterwards did he feel a hint of disgust.
When he realized it was just some liquid from the wine, that insignificant feeling of revulsion disappeared. His mind was now occupied by the thought of tit-for-tat.
He had to offer Pei Rong a glass of wine.
Once the thought was planted, it was unstoppable, as if today his very soul would be split in half, one half adhering to self-discipline and the other half plunging into a pursuit with no turning back.
Because he left with Pei Rong early, his initial plan to exchange ideas with the CEO of Zhongji Energy at 9:30 PM during the banquet had to be canceled.
This couldn’t go on; it was affecting his work too much.
His own thoughts shocked Lu Qin, unwilling to admit he couldn’t overcome his primal instincts like a wild beast.
Only low-intelligence creatures would submit to their mating instincts.
Highly intelligent President Lu quickly went on a business trip to the still-frozen Siberia, far from the unsettling spring of the northern hemisphere.
***
A week later, Pei Rong had Secretary Gao return the clothes to Lu Qin. He intentionally delayed, pretending the clothes had air-dried naturally.
Secretary Gao came to collect the clothes, without mentioning Lu Qin.
Pei Rong knew that President Lu was undergoing some kind of transformation in the flames of passion, successfully breaking free from base desires.
He couldn’t quite explain his feelings; he admired it but also felt like laughing a little.
Lu Qin did indeed possess impressive self-control, far beyond what he could achieve.
Although President Lu was absent and Secretary Gao wasn’t around often, they still left something behind at Jianglu Entertainment for him to do.
Zhou Hang: “This script was left for you by Secretary Gao.”
Pei Rong leaned on the sofa, eating grapes. He would take a mouthful, no seeds or skin, and then continue the call, casually saying, “Pick a new recruit from the company who has potential and send them.”
Zhou Hang was furious, saying, “Do you think I don’t want to?”
But President Lu had already clearly mentioned that he shouldn’t dare to allocate Pei Rong’s resources to others.
Investing resources into a star destined to leave the industry. Wouldn’t that be painful for him?
Zhou Hang said, “It’s a mainstream long-form TV drama. Your previous image wasn’t suitable for involvement, and we didn’t have the resources back then. Now that you’ve become a low-profile figure in the entertainment industry, there’s no concern. And you’re not the protagonist, just a well-designed supporting male character. Your departure from the industry won’t affect their promotion and release.”
Pei Rong pondered for a moment. After completing this project, he could probably leave the industry. It was better to make a serious TV drama before leaving, rather than taking random gigs. He ignited one last wave of professionalism, determined to act well and repay Lu Qin for the guidance during this transformation period.
He agreed, “Alright.”
Zhou Hang continued, “Then get ready to join the production. I’ve assigned two new assistants to you.”
Pei Rong’s confusion was resolved after receiving the script. The shooting location was in a remote rural area in the northwest, far from the hotel. So, Zhou Hang provided him with additional personal assistants for convenience.
The role of this supporting male character was originally meant for a minor celebrity, but he decided not to participate at the last moment and instead became the lead in a historical costume idol drama. Pei Rong speculated that Secretary Gao was behind this resource switch.
The production had already begun.
Pei Rong quickly packed his belongings and flew to the local area the next day. He took a high-speed train after getting off the plane, then switched to a smaller vehicle, driving along straight paths for two hours before reaching the filming location.
The village nestled against the backdrop of a yellow clay slope. Looking around, there was a vast expanse of sky and yellow earth. The houses were modest, with white-washed walls, and the village had access to running water and electricity. Modern solar-powered streetlights stood by the brand-new roads.
The village had a touch of modernization, but most of the young people had left for work, resulting in a small permanent population. The arrival of the film crew brought a lively atmosphere to the once-quiet village.
Corresponding to the village’s state, the script revolved around the new era of rural economics and, judging from the ending, it was a positive storyline.
The production team had rented a row of houses for accommodations, guarded by security personnel. Pei Rong shared a two-story house with four assistants. They had duties when needed and relaxed on the second floor when free, leading a leisurely life akin to retirement.
Pei Rong portrayed an economics researcher who graduated from a prestigious university, full of passion and dreams. He responded to the call and came here to experience the stark difference between theory and reality.
In the earlier scenes, “he” was often seen with economics textbooks, portraying a somewhat out-of-touch bookworm.
With spare time on hand, Pei Rong casually read through the economics books he hadn’t taken seriously during filming. Sometimes he’d wake up, still lying on the bed, with the book on his face.
He delved into a method of economic shock therapy, in specific terms, it was about forcibly reducing overall social demand and curbing malignant inflation to restore economic order when supply and demand were imbalanced in society.
This was a potent remedy. After its implementation, smaller countries like Bolivia managed to get through it, while major Eastern European nations like Russia experienced an economic collapse.
Pei Rong finished reading a book in a month’s time, feeling somewhat like an economics PhD with his demeanor. No wonder the director has been praising his improved acting skills lately, right?
In early May, Pei Rong returned from filming and saw President Lu, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, in the hallway.
As the weather gradually warmed up, he only needed to wear a long-sleeved shirt in the evenings. Lu Qin rolled up his shirt sleeves past his elbows, sitting on the dusty steps with an air of nonchalance.
The moment Pei Rong met Lu Qin’s gaze, he immediately understood.
Suppressing demand, curbing inflation, restoring order.
No wonder this sounded somewhat familiar.
President Lu, who had undergone “shock therapy” in Siberia, inevitably... had a breakdown.
Pei Rong took a step back, raising an eyebrow, “Is something the matter?”
‘Don’t disturb me while I’m retiring from the industry.’
Lu Qin took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one.
Pei Rong said, “If you want to smoke, go outside.”
Lu Qin flicked his finger, silently pushed the cigarette back, then silently stood up and tossed the cigarette box into the trash.
He actually didn’t have a lighter.
Lu Qin pursed his lips and dryly explained why he had disappeared for so long. “Actually, during this time, I went to Siberia to sign an energy contract...”
“Oh, Siberia... It’s a suitable place.”
Suddenly, Pei Rong couldn’t help but suppress his laughter, clutching the stair railing and laughing so hard that he covered his stomach. With this laughter, the dimly lit corridor seemed to brighten up, as if it had been sprinkled with a floor of round and smooth pearls.
Lu Qin: “...”
Flustered.
