After leaving the living room, Song Anan jogged upstairs.
When closing the door, she even inexplicably locked it.
It felt somewhat like a guilty conscience.
She didn't video call Pei Kuang right away, but instead sat at her desk trying to calm herself down.
It was just a video call with Qiuzi, why was she so nervous?
Song Anan sighed silently. She seemed to be getting stranger and stranger.
After a few minutes, Song Anan finally regained her composure. Only then did she make a video call to Pei Kuang.
The other side connected quickly.
The background seemed to be a wall. After some shaking, the camera focused and Pei Kuang's face appeared on the screen.
Song Anan's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Pei Kuang adjusted the camera distance a little and asked with a smile, "Have you had breakfast?"
Song Anan nodded, "Yes, I've eaten. What about you?"
Pei Kuang: "Not yet, I just got back from the gym. I'll eat after I rest a bit."
Song Anan lightly murmured in acknowledgment.
So he went to the gym.
No wonder his hair was a little wet. He probably just got out of the shower and didn't have time to blow dry his hair yet.
"Is Linchuan not home?" Pei Kuang asked.
Song Anan pursed her lips and said, "He's busy with something, probably in his room."
After a pause, she added, "Do you need him for something? I can go downstairs and get him."
Pei Kuang smiled and shook his head, "No need, I don't have anything for him. I was just asking."
Song Anan said "Oh."
"Wait for me, I'll go get Qiuzi," Pei Kuang said.
Then he directly put his phone on the table. The camera just happened to face the air conditioner next to it.
Half a minute later, Pei Kuang reappeared on the screen holding Qiuzi.
Seeing Qiuzi on the other side of the camera, Song Anan happily called out, "Qiuzi, Qiuzi!"
Hearing Song Anan's voice, the little cat looked confused. It turned its little head left and right, clearly looking for someone.
Pei Kuang rubbed its head and forcibly turned it in the right direction.
His voice was gentle with a hint of laughter. "Silly cat, over here."
Qiuzi finally saw Song Anan on the phone. Its eyes suddenly widened, "Meow!"
Song Anan also waved at it through the camera, "Qiuzi, can you see me?" "Meow!"
"Qiuzi, have you been good in your new home?"
"Meow meow!"
"You better not be picky about your cat food in the morning."
"Meow meow meow!"
Seeing the two chatting through the camera, Pei Kuang couldn't help but smile.
Hearing Pei Kuang's voice, Song Anan came back to her senses. She scratched her head embarrassedly.
Looking at his hair, she hesitated for a moment before asking, "You didn't blow dry your hair?"
Pei Kuang touched the ends of his hair. It was indeed a little damp. "It's fine, it'll dry by itself later."
Song Anan frowned slightly. "You should still blow dry it. I see you have the AC on at home."
Since the little auntie insisted, Pei Kuang didn't refuse her kindness either. "Okay, give me a second to find something to prop up the phone so I don't interrupt your call with Qiuzi."
After saying that, he brought over a phone stand from somewhere and propped up the phone on the coffee table.
Then he put the cat on the sofa in front of the camera to make sure Song Anan could see it.
"Stay here nicely, don't run around." Pei Kuang rubbed Qiuzi's head.
Then looking at the camera towards Song Anan, he said, "Chat with Qiuzi, I'll go blow dry my hair."
Song Anan nodded lightly. "Okay, go ahead."
She stared quietly at Qiuzi.
Then Pei Kuang's footsteps grew farther and farther away.
Soon, the sound of a hairdryer could be heard from his end.
Song Anan somehow got lost in thought.
She couldn't help imagining him blow drying his hair in the bathroom...
"Meow!"
A meow snapped Song Anan out of her thoughts.
She suddenly looked at the camera. Qiuzi was tilting its head, looking at her innocently.
Song Anan was startled. The next second, as if having her thoughts seen through, her face instantly turned red with heat rushing to her forehead.
At this moment, she clearly felt her heartbeat amplifying, as if it was about to burst out of her chest.
-
After Song Anan left, Song Linchuan played some games for a while but soon got bored and was about to go back to his room for a nap.
There wasn't much he could do at home while nursing an injury. It really was quite boring.
But just as he was about to get up, his phone suddenly rang.
It was Jiang Han's call. He casually tapped the answer button, and Jiang Han's excited voice instantly came through.
"Linchuan, when did you get in touch with Director Qi? How come you didn't tell me!"
Song Linchuan was startled. He had just remembered that he didn't let Jiang Han pick him up yesterday, so he didn't know about the new movie role Director Qi had mentioned.
He lightly murmured in acknowledgment. "It was just yesterday's matter, I forgot to mention it to you."
"How could you forget something so important?" Jiang Han said, exasperated. "Tsk, as expected of a young master who can go back and inherit the family business if he can't make it in the entertainment industry. You've got backing so you can do as you please, huh."
"Piss off!" Song Linchuan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Stop ridiculing me, let's talk business."
In fact, it wasn't that he didn't care about this matter. Yesterday Director Qi had said he would get someone to contact Jiang Han, so he didn't worry too much about it.
Jiang Han shrugged and finally got to the point.
"Director Qi's assistant just contacted me and sent me the script already. Do you know which role you're playing?"
Song Linchuan raised his eyebrows. "Which one?"
Jiang Han said a character's name, then explained, "Although this is a supporting role, the character is very well-developed. I went over it and the scenes are quite a lot, almost on par with the main character."
Song Linchuan was stunned. He had thought it would be good enough to get a cameo role, he didn't expect it to be such an important role.
Not just Song Linchuan, even Jiang Han was completely surprised.
Directors on Qi's level wouldn't mind using traffic idols, as their popularity did contribute to box office to some extent.
But a situation like this was indeed rare.
"With my many years of experience as an agent, I analyze that if this role is played well, it will stand out a lot." Jiang Han added.
What he actually wanted to say was, if the role was played well, he could completely rely on it to charge for awards. But he didn't want to put too much pressure on Song Linchuan.
To win awards, both the role itself and the actor's skills were indispensable.
"But Linchuan, I must remind you that in Director Qi's previous films, there have also been instances of people being replaced on set."
Song Linchuan wasn't stupid. Naturally he understood this logic.
The opportunity was given by the other party, but whether he could seize it depended on his own capabilities.
He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Send me the script later. And during my injury recovery time when I don't have much to do, help me arrange an acting coach."
Jiang Han had the same thoughts, so he readily agreed.
Speaking of which, he had been extremely anxious about Song Linchuan's leg injury before, since so many jobs had been canceled. But now it seemed like destiny!
"Right, tell me quickly, exactly what happened between you and Director Qi these past few days? How did he suddenly decide to promote you like this?" Jiang Han asked.
Song Linchuan didn't hide anything and directly explained Song Anan's role in this.
Jiang Han was startled.
He knew Song Anan was on good terms with Qi Mushi, and had considered whether it was possible to use that relationship to get connected with Director Qi in the future.
But he didn't expect the director to be so straightforward.
Famous directors really were famous directors. Everything was dealt with so decisively.
You helped my son so I'll help your nephew - it was just that candid.
Thinking of Song Anan, Jiang Han really couldn't help getting excited again.
He felt so grateful to himself for insisting that Song Linchuan send Song Anan that message at the beginning.
Ever since Song Anan accompanied Song Linchuan on that family variety show, Song Linchuan's reputation had rapidly reversed, resolving Jiang Han's urgent dilemma.
Song Linchuan's transformation was imminent, and Jiang Han had been worrying about how to get him into the mainstream circle.
Well, with Song Anan's help again this time, they got the opportunity to work with Director Qi.
Song Anan was simply his lucky star!
"That's it, next time I see the little auntie I have to kowtow to her properly." Jiang Han excitedly declared.
Song Linchuan raised his eyebrows. "Alright, I've taken note of that."
Jiang Han was puzzled. "Taken note of what?"
Song Linchuan casually said, "Kowtowing to my little auntie."
Jiang Han: "..."
He was just casually saying it, was there a need to take it so literally?
"I think if there's any kowtowing to do, we should do it together. Our interests are aligned here. And ultimately, you're the biggest beneficiary!" Jiang Han said.
Song Linchuan scoffed. "She's my aunt. Is there a need to stand on ceremony?"
So the only one who would kowtow was him.
Jiang Han couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Great, he just had to open his big mouth.
Next, Jiang Han sent Song Linchuan the script and talked about some specific cooperation details with him. There wasn't much actually, of course they would just do whatever the other party said. Things like pay weren't even under consideration.
Song Linchuan didn't have any objections to this either.
He left the rest to Jiang Han to handle.
Once his leg injury healed, he could directly join the crew.
-
For Song Anan, the rest of this summer didn't feel much different from many previous summers.
She spent most of her time reading every day, occasionally going out for beauty treatments with her sister-in-law, and spending weekends with her family at the resort in S City.
But when she thought about it carefully, there did seem to be a difference.
She started thinking about Pei Kuang frequently.
She looked forward to video calling Qiuzi every day, and would somehow lose focus when reading.
When she occasionally overheard him talking to Song Linchuan on the phone, she would subconsciously prick up her ears to listen.
Something seemed to be taking root in her heart, sour yet sweet. But whenever she tried to grasp what it was, she couldn't seem to get a hold of it.
Song Anan was very confused. She didn't know what was going on with herself, yet she seemed to vaguely understand something, but she couldn't be sure.
In her two lifetimes, this was still the first time she had encountered this kind of situation.
She really wanted to ask someone, but she didn't know who to ask or how to bring it up.
Song Anan knew she wasn't good at pretending. No matter her friends or family around her, it seemed anyone could see through her thoughts at a glance.
Especially her family. Song Anan believed that as soon as she opened her mouth, whether it was her eldest brother and sister-in-law, or Song Linchuan, they would likely break the pot and get to the bottom of it.
After all, in their eyes, she wasn't an adult yet, still just a child.
Song Anan didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble for her family and Pei Kuang because of herself.
So she became more and more cautious, not daring to ask anyone, for fear of revealing even a tiny clue.
She could only slowly figure it out herself.
Before she knew it, summer vacation was almost over, and it was time to start the new semester.
Song Anan had to go back to City B too!
