2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 25 Escape

Chu An stood at the door, but no one opened it for a long time, so he could only pass the time by looking at the door number.

8307
They just had to add an 8 before the 307.

It just goes to show that the bigger the government office, the more superstitious they become; otherwise, where did those three-colored billboards come from?

It's either a transfer of benefits, or some feng shui master giving advice.

Ta-da!

After three more knocks, the door was finally opened. However, to Chu An's slight disappointment, Xu Daxing's stunningly beautiful face, which wouldn't have been broken even by two punches, didn't appear. Instead, Zhang Yuan poked her head out, looking displeased, "What!?"

Chu An: "Where's the big star Xu?"

Zhang Yuan: "I'm taking a shower. Tell me if you need anything."

Chu Anxin said, "That's such a coincidence."

I could only mention that Director Lu had informed me about preparing for the script reading.

"It is expected to be the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."

"However, since she's in the group, it would be best if the two of us talked it over tomorrow and did a character test."

Chu An is the screenwriter, and she needs to have a legitimate claim to the role.

Zhang Yuan clearly didn't like Chu An. "Let's talk about it later. It's not even certain whether Xu Shu will act in it!"

Chu An narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly and began to dig a hole.

"I understand!!" Her tone was extremely righteous, with a look of "I know, I understand." "Everyone knows about Director Lu and Tian Du's situation. I think it's more reasonable for the big star Xu not to act!"

"However!" she changed the subject, "if you don't want to act, you'd better tell Director Lu as soon as possible. Otherwise, it'll be difficult if we can't find a female lead."

Zhang Yuanxin said, "It's better if it's difficult, that is, so that he can't film it."

But he didn't say anything, instead giving Chu An a good look and said, "You're quite sensible! Alright, I'll talk to Xu Shu later and decide that she should do it herself."

After saying that, he closed the door and left Chu An outside.

Chu An looked at 8307 and thought to himself, "You better keep delaying this. When the time comes, I'll find a few tabloid reporters, give them a lot of travel expenses, and have them live on set. Who will feel bad when I see that?"

Chu An is a cunning fellow; even if you don't trick him, he might still have bad intentions.

If he really gets cunning, Chu Shikuai can truly show you what the wickedness of the human heart is.

Although he didn't get a date with the famous Xu, Chu An wasn't in a hurry and turned to leave. But before he even reached the stairwell, he saw Li Chunhua rushing out of her room in a hurry. She brushed past Chu An in a few steps, didn't even say hello, and went straight to Xu Shu's room.

Chu An tilted his head and looked, thinking to himself, "Something's happened?"

Thinking back, Zhang Yuan was in such a hurry to get rid of him that she only opened the door a crack. Chu An grinned, realizing that something must have happened.

He smacked his lips, "There's no sound of running water during a shower!"
I walked downstairs with my hands behind my back, looking like a retired cadre, only to find that there was nothing to do.

Director Lu is recovering his losses, and Ma Lan is going back to Shengjing this afternoon.

Last night, she made a list of the people the crew was currently short-handed for. These were people Ningyuan couldn't possibly have, so she had to recruit them from Shengjing or Shanghai.

As for Tong Meng, she stayed up late last night reading the script and is now catching up on sleep.

This time, Meng Jie really put in a lot of effort and vowed to give a good performance.

Because Chu Anzhen changed the character of the particularly outstanding director of the teaching affairs office in the drama to a woman.

With nothing to do, Chu An decided to go home. His older sister was setting up her shop and needed help.

As I crossed the ancient stone bridge, I saw a thin figure wandering aimlessly along the riverbank in the distance.

Chu An's gaze sharpened, and he was about to step off the bridge and cross over.

Unexpectedly, two boys around Chu An's age appeared out of nowhere. Without a word, they grabbed Chu An by the neck and demanded, "Little An, where did you go during summer vacation?!"

Chu An knew who it was just by hearing the voice, without even looking at the person.

Chu An found this way of getting along between young people both familiar and unfamiliar.

What's familiar is that one of them is short, stocky, and dark-skinned, named Zhao Yang; the other is neither tall nor thin, wearing Adidas shoes and Nike clothes, all fake designer brands, named Li Chunming.

They were all Chu An's classmates and best friends.

Although the three brothers only met in high school, they had already formed a deep bond of friendship. They had fought together, stayed up all night together, and even liked the same girl.

chap!
There were four people sitting at the table: three men and one woman. It's best not to mention that all three men liked the same woman.

What's unfamiliar is that she's never been this close to a man in her past life, so a man on top of a man is probably out of the question!

He broke free from their iron elbows and lied through his teeth, "I've been home every day, and you haven't come looking for me?"

"I'd like to find one too!" Zhao Yang glared. "Even the old man guarding the gate of your family compound has to let us in!"

Okay, a film crew has come to the family compound. The factory and the county are taking this very seriously and are keeping a tight watch on it. No outsiders are allowed to enter.

Chu An simply led the two off the bridge to the banks of the Ma Yan'er River.

It must be said that Ningyuan's environment is relatively well-preserved. A main road runs along the riverbank, next to the wall of the agricultural machinery factory's residential compound, then a green lawn slope, with a pedestrian walkway below. Whether day or night, there are elderly men strolling and young couples cuddling together. Three people sat on the grass on the slope, oblivious to the people coming and going on the walkway, laughing and joking wildly.

Chu An searched through the memories of these two good brothers and found that they were indeed good brothers.

There's not a single good thing in my memory!!
Either Zhao Yang peed on his shoe, or Li Chunming dismantled his deskmate's chair. Either they were all holed up in internet cafes watching porn, or someone had tricked their dad into paying for study materials again.

It was utter chaos.

The bad things he did were no less than those of Chu An at forty.

As soon as Li Chunming sat down, he got straight to the point: "We've all heard that the film crew is shooting at your house?"

"My mom also said that your dad is so poor that he gave the house to the film crew."

Zhao Yang shut Li Chunming down with one sentence, and said to Chu An, "Don't listen to his nonsense, tell me quickly, is Xu Shu pretty or not?"

Chu An "honestly said," "It's just so-so, the real person is just so-so."

Zhao Yang didn't believe it. "Ma Ling from Class 7 said she's really good-looking, much better looking than on TV!"

Ma Ling also lived in the family compound. When she was a child, Chu An once threw his smelly shoes into her family's sauerkraut jar.

"You actually believe Ma Ling's taste? She's always squatting downstairs at my house, all she can do is listen for noises, she can't even see anyone!"

The two brothers listened intently, completely absorbed, as if they had just realized how it was.

This was the first time Chu An had ever bragged to two high school students, and it seemed to feel pretty good, allowing him to completely let loose.

"That guy surnamed Xu is like he has facial paralysis, he's really just so-so."

The three of them were completely unaware that a thin figure wearing a fisherman's hat, sunglasses, and a large mask—the typical three-piece set for a celebrity—had been passing by them, but upon hearing Chu An's comments about a certain big star, he slowly stopped in his tracks.

He simply sat down diagonally behind the three of them, as if afraid of being discovered, and pretended to take out a thick notebook and pen, and write something with his head down.

Chu An got more and more excited as he talked, "Once, I cooked a pot of tea eggs for the crew, and the whole crew ate them. The director thanked me, and guess what happened next!?"

Zhao Yang and Li Chunming asked, "What's wrong?"

Chu An: "So this big star is just putting on airs and hasn't touched a single bite!"

“Back then…” she said vividly, “you didn’t see the expression on Xu’s face, she looked so disgusted! It was as if people from our small town weren’t worthy of giving her tea eggs.”

"No way?" Zhao Yang looked pained. "Xu Shu is my favorite person. Are you misunderstanding her?"

Chu An: "What misunderstanding? I'm such a good-tempered person, why are you making me like this? Think about it!"

Zhao Chunming: "I told you Xu Shu wasn't a trustworthy idol, was she? My Xingxing is much better, isn't she?"

The star he mentioned is named Lin Wanxing, a rising star who is often compared to Xu Shu by the media.

Upon hearing Lin Wanxing's name, the figure in the fisherman's hat standing diagonally behind him stiffened, and two blue veins appeared on the back of his snow-white hand.

Chu An also spoke up at this moment, "How can she compare to Lin Wanxing! Wanxing has both acting skills and good character, and she's a movie star. How can she compare?"

At this point, Chu An suddenly turned around and looked at the figure in the fisherman's hat. "Young man, you be the judge. Am I right?"

Zhao Yang and Li Chunming were both stunned, completely bewildered. Why was Chu An suddenly turning around and asking a stranger a question while he was talking?

Following Chu An's gaze, she curled her lip and said, "In this sweltering heat, is it really necessary to be wrapped up so tightly?"

Chu An: "..."

He considered many possibilities: faced with his sarcastic remarks and deliberate attempts to embarrass her, Xu Shu might retaliate without hesitation, or she might pretend to be a passerby and offer a few perfunctory words.

Chu An even thought that she could use her acting skills to get along well with the three boys and smear her reputation.

But he never expected this:

A celebrity who has lived in the spotlight for years might find themselves engaging in this relatively simple exchange...
They fled in disarray!

Yes, Xu Shu's first reaction was to shrink back, just like her reaction the previous two times Chu An approached her.

It was only then that Chu An realized that her earlier retreat when discussing the script and her refusal when offering the tea egg might not have been what she thought.

Just like now, Xu Shu flinched, her notebook and pen flying off onto the lawn. The next second, this big star actually... actually turned and ran, leaving the three of them with only a panicked and helpless back view.

"what's going on?"

Zhao Yang was completely bewildered. "Why did you run away after just asking one question?"

Just as he was about to get up to pick up the notebook and pen that Xu Shu had dropped, he kindly reminded her that she had left something behind.

However, before he could even get up, Chu An had already picked up the notebook. He glanced at the open page, then rolled it up and held it in his hand.

Li Chunming leaned closer but saw nothing. "What is it? Let me see."

Chu An watched Xu Shu's retreating figure, his brows furrowed tightly. "It's nothing!"

……

.

(End of this chapter)