Qin Wei woke up early in the morning and found herself with nothing to do in the hotel room. She flipped through the script that the crew had given her and yawned. She turned to Xiao Li and said,
"I'm going to take a nap in the bedroom. Remember to call me when the crew notifies us to go to the conference room for the script reading."
Li Liang nodded and replied,
"Sis, you didn't sleep well while shooting the advertisement yesterday. You should catch up on sleep now. You and Ju An can go to sleep. Don't worry, I'll be sitting on the sofa."
Qin Wei carried Ju An and went to the bedroom to sleep. Her little bear was soft and fragrant, and holding it gave her a sense of security. As long as it was by her side, she slept more soundly than usual.
Since she had a habit of taking naps during spare time, she always carried Ju An with her wherever she went.
This time was no exception. She lay on the bed, smelling the faint sweet fragrance from the bear, and soon fell asleep...
...
She vaguely heard some noise at the door, but she was too sleepy to open her eyes. She thought Li Liang would call her, so she didn't pay attention. Qin Wei turned over and continued to sleep, holding Ju An in her arms.
There were voices in the living room. People were talking.
Reluctantly, Qin Wei got up and opened the door, only to see Wei Lai and Qiao Sixiao sitting in the living room along with their assistants.
Wei Lai looked up and saw Qin Wei, and he couldn't help but smile and greet her,
"Wei Wei, awake now?"
Since she appeared here, it meant she had a role in the movie. Director Yuan had a good eye for casting, and Wei Lai's appearance was really suitable for action scenes.
Qiao Sixiao closed the script and turned to look at Qin Wei,
"Awake? Go wash your face and freshen up. Let's go to the conference room."
Qin Wei glanced at the time and realized that she had slept enough, three hours in total. Lunchtime was approaching, and she had woken up early to shoot a late scene. The whole morning had passed without organizing the script reading.
"What are you all doing here?"
Qin Wei asked them. Clearly, everyone had their own room, but these two decided to stay in her room.
"I went to shoot a public service advertisement in the morning and told them I would come later. When I arrived, Director Yuan said we would all go together.
Just now, Li Liang said you were sleeping, and I was worried because you came home at four in the morning and went out again at seven. So, I decided to wait here and let you sleep for an extra half an hour."
Qiao Sixiao handed the script to Xiao Wang and looked at her roommate,
"Now, can we go freshen up and then head to the conference room?"
...
Wei Lai seemed to have heard some incredible news, like being suddenly fed a piece of melon that he had been longing for. He felt excited and joyful, with an irresistible urge to share it with someone!
While waiting for Qin Wei on the sofa, Wei Lai couldn't help but gossip,
"Xiao Li, Xiao Wang, did you hear what Teacher Qiao said earlier? How did she know that Wei Wei came home late and woke up early?"
Li Liang looked puzzled and replied to Wei Lai,
"Teacher, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Xiao Wang looked even more innocent and said to Wei Lai,
"Teacher? My sister didn't say anything, did you mishear?"
Wei Lai: "???"
Am I too tired and hallucinating?
Wei Lai scratched his head, also doubting if he misheard.
...
Director Yuan had been busy in the conference room, only stopping her work when more than twenty actors arrived. Director Yuan rubbed her temples and didn't engage in much small talk. She briefly mentioned which scenes they would be reviewing today and asked the actors involved in those scenes to sit together in groups.
There were a total of four groups, each accompanied by crew members who sat at the same table, recording their discussions about the scenes. Director Yuan, like a teacher, came over to listen to the discussions of each group and then gave her own opinions.
At first, the actors were not very familiar with each other. They were still making simple self-introductions, but Qin Wei's group was relatively relaxed. Qin Wei, Qiao Sixiao, Su Yang, and Wei Lai all knew each other, and there were no other people in their group, so they could directly get into the discussion.
The conference room was lively with everyone engaged in enthusiastic discussions. They were focused on their conversations and didn't feel like they were disturbing each other.
Qin Wei and the three actors went through the lines once and didn't find any issues. Just then, Wei Lai gave Qin Wei a comic book, which made her happily start flipping through it.
The four of them sat together, each busy with their own tasks.
Director Yuan stood on the side, watching them for a while with her arms crossed, and then walked over.
"Let me see your notes."
Director Yuan walked over and didn't pay attention to the four people. Instead, she spoke to the staff member who was taking notes.
The staff member stood up, made space for Director Yuan, and opened the document on the computer screen for her to see.
Apart from the lines, this group didn't have much discussion.
Director Yuan glanced at the staff member with a serious expression and asked coldly, "Did you not take proper notes?"
The staff member felt a bit wronged. It wasn't the first time he had read the script and taken notes. He would usually jot down the actors' discussions about their roles and performances, but this group didn't talk much. What was he supposed to write down?
But he wasn't a fool. If he directly said, "They didn't talk, so I didn't have anything to write," it would seem like he was shifting the blame and would offend the main actors in the crew, risking his job.
So he stood there, facing Director Yuan's questioning, not saying a word.
"I told you to read the script and be responsible for taking notes, right? Why haven't you written anything? How are we supposed to continue later?"
Director Yuan raised her voice slightly. The other groups around could also hear, but they weren't fools. No one would stop and eavesdrop. They all pretended to be reading the script, but their ears were perked up, listening to Director Yuan.
The staff member hesitated to speak, feeling both wronged and unable to shed tears.
Director Yuan closed the computer and said, "Fine, do whatever you should be doing. I don't have room for you here."
"We didn't say anything, so there was nothing for him to write."
Qin Wei couldn't bear it and spoke up on his behalf.
Great, Director Yuan was waiting for you to speak up.
Director Yuan turned to look at Qin Wei.
"Well, why didn't you say anything? What's the point of coming here to read the script if you're not going to speak?"
Qin Wei was taken aback by her question, feeling how quickly the contradiction shifted onto her.
But she could only reply,
"We did say something, we just finished going over the script..."
"Oh, you finished going over it? Well, if you're done, you can go rest. I heard you came early to catch up on sleep.
I arranged a room for each of you to have a quiet space to read the script. I called you to the conference room so we could discuss it while it's fresh in our minds. But you, you came here to sleep. You're tired, you're sleepy, okay. I gave you three days to choose from in a week, so if you're tired today, you don't have to come!"
Director Yuan scolded the female lead in front of everyone.
Qin Wei remained silent, sitting beside her and letting her speak.
Wei Lai lowered his head to read the script, while Su Yang held the script but seemed absent-minded, occasionally glancing at Qin Wei with a worried expression.
Qiao Sixiao, on the other hand, was bolder. Although she held the script in her hands, she didn't bother to read it anymore. Instead, she looked at Qin Wei, who was being scolded like a dog, with a smirk on her face.
Others witnessed this scene—
Wei Lai was indifferent, Su Yang was willing but powerless, and Qiao Sixiao appeared friendly but distant.
Well, that's great. I thought they were friends!
