On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Tang Ning joined the film crew. As one of the investors and a good friend, Su Yang asked for a day off from Gu Xuyan the next day and planned to visit Tang Ning on set.
The closer it got to the Spring Festival, the busier Gu Xuyan became. Every time Su Yang saw him working recently, the phrase "With great power comes great responsibility" came to mind.
"... It's good that you're going to visit the set. I heard that Song Huaizhou is there today, too. You can just go and say hello to him. It's their business that he has a good relationship with General Manager Chen. But as a third - party collaborator, we still have to follow the proper etiquette."
After hearing Su Yang's proposal, Gu Xuyan highly approved and continued, "If you go, take Ji Xiaoman with you. Ask her to order some snacks, milk tea and so on before you set off. Consider it a little treat for everyone."
Su Yang patiently listened to him and then smiled, "I finally understand why there are always so many unfinished tasks on your desk, Boss. You're being way too hands - on. If I can't even think of what you just said in advance, I think you should just ask me to pack up and leave!"
Gu Xuyan was taken aback for a moment and then suddenly laughed, "You're really... biting the hand that feeds you. When have you ever seen me giving such detailed instructions to others? It's just because you've just returned to the country. I'm afraid you're not used to the working rhythm here."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's my fault!" Su Yang stuck out her tongue and saluted Gu Xuyan repeatedly, "It's my fault for not recognizing your kind intentions, Boss. Do you have any other instructions?"
Gu Xuyan couldn't stand her cute and obsequious act. He pretended to frown and scold her, "Since you've said so, shouldn't I make the most of my money spent on your salary? What other instructions could I have? You can just handle it as you see fit."
"Got it. Then I'll leave. As it's almost the end of the year, many dessert shops don't stock a lot of raw materials. I'm afraid there won't be enough small cakes if I buy them directly tomorrow. I have to place an order in advance." As she spoke, Su Yang took a peppermint candy from Gu Xuyan's desk, unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth.
Over the years, she had gotten along with Gu Xuyan for a long time, and there was really no sense of boundary between them in private.
To be honest, only in public did Su Yang regard Gu Xuyan as her boss. When they were alone, she saw him as an elder brother she had known for years.
Gu Xuyan looked up at her.
The moment the peppermint candy was in the little woman's mouth, she frowned slightly and then unconsciously licked the corner of her mouth with her tongue. Her subtle facial expressions were very rich. Under the sunlight shining through the window, a vaguely familiar silhouette emerged. For just a few short seconds, it was startlingly lifelike.
Just as Su Yang was about to reach the door and grab the doorknob, Gu Xuyan suddenly squinted and called out to her.
"Yang."
"What?" Su Yang turned around, thinking Gu Xuyan had something else to tell her.
"How are you going to spend the Spring Festival this year?" Gu Xuyan tried to ask as casually as possible.
"Me?" Su Yang pointed to herself, "I don't have any plans. I... haven't even gotten into the Spring Festival mood yet." She told the truth.
"Do you want to go back to City B with me and Zichen? Zichen has always said he wants to go to Universal Studios. I'll have time during the Spring Festival anyway." Gu Xuyan was from City B and would definitely go back for the Spring Festival.
Su Yang looked at him, and suddenly the words Xu Lize had said to her in the car that night flashed through her mind.
She subconsciously shook her head. Afraid that Gu Xuyan would insist, she directly brought up He Rou.
"That won't do. If I go to City B, what about my aunt? I wasn't in the country before. Now that I've just returned this year, if I leave again, my aunt will definitely hunt me down."
A white lie doesn't hurt. Sometimes, a direct rejection would make both parties feel awkward, and Su Yang didn't want such an ambiguous and awkward situation with Gu Xuyan.
Hearing this, Gu Xuyan smiled faintly. His tone sounded relaxed and natural, "It was really my oversight."
"Then if there's nothing else, I'll leave." Su Yang didn't dwell on this topic any longer and directly opened the door.
"Go ahead. Be careful." Gu Xuyan nodded, picked up the pen he had put aside earlier, and continued to bury himself in the documents.
...
On the day Su Yang went to visit Tang Ning, she made quite a grand entrance. Just the gifts for the crew filled a small van.
Not long after she arrived, a small freight truck brought cakes, milk tea and coffee from the city center. After they were laid out, they took up most of the public dressing room.
Tang Ning stood aside, gaping in amazement.
"In all my years in the film industry, I've rarely seen an investor as generous as you, even giving us gifts. It's just unbelievable!"
As she spoke, Tang Ning opened the gift bag. Inside were hand warmers, steam eye masks, rechargeable hand warmers and moxibustion patches. All were practical items for winter, not expensive but very heart - warming.
"Oh my god, this hand warmer is so cute!" Tang Ning was immediately attracted by the hand warmer shaped like SpongeBob. After taking it out, she couldn't put it down and kept asking her assistant to charge it for her.
Su Yang laughed, "If I were just an investor, there would definitely be no such a heart - warming gift package. But I'm also like half of the family here."
"Did you pay for this out of your own pocket?" Tang Ning was even more surprised.
Su Yang quickly shook her head and told her not to be too touched. She blinked and whispered, "Why would I pay out of my own pocket? I'm just here to deliver some advertising trial products for the director."
Hearing this, Tang Ning was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing.
"You're doomed, Su Yang. After doing business with them, you've become so sly." As she spoke, she took the just - charged hand warmer from her assistant and laughed uncontrollably, "How do you expect the director to insert a hard advertisement for such a cute - looking hand warmer?"
"I didn't tell the client that this deal would definitely work. They were so enthusiastic and said they could give me some trial products." Su Yang pretended to be innocent.
Tang Ning opened her mouth wide, scanned the crew around and said, "You call this some?"
Su Yang nodded, "For the manufacturer, it's really just a small amount."
"Wow, Yangyang, what kind of shady tricks has Gu Xuyan taught you over the years? I think he's even more of a shrewd businessman than Xu Lize!"
The moment Tang Ning mentioned Xu Lize, Su Yang subconsciously followed her words and asked,
"... Has his business grown a lot in the past two years? Is he in full charge of Xinyang Venture Capital?"
Tang Ning thought for a moment and pretended to shake her head casually, "I don't understand their business matters. Listening to their business talks is like listening to a lullaby for me, and they don't talk about it in front of me. But in the past two years, Xu Lize has been going to the hospital a lot. At the beginning of this year, he was even hospitalized for about ten days because of pneumonia."
"Pneumonia?" Su Yang was taken aback, "He... used to be in good health."
At least in Su Yang's memory, Xu Lize hardly ever got sick. He rarely even caught a common cold.
Hearing this, Tang Ning shrugged, "That's right. When we went to the hospital to visit him, I even joked that he had to admit that he was getting old. At his age, how could he stay up all night every day? Unlike me, when I'm filming, I really have no choice but to work day and night."
"Why does he stay up all night?" Su Yang was puzzled, "Does Mingkai have a lot of international business to deal with in the middle of the night?"
Tang Ning shook her head, "I don't know. Oh, right, Xizhu did mention that Xu Lize has started seeing her for psychological intervention again in the past two years."