Huayu, my cheat code is a bit strange.

Chapter 48 International Long Distance (Please read on, please recommend, please do everything!)

When Chen Kun finished reading the last line, Li Dawei clapped his hands gently, and the crew finally finished a whole day of reading together.

The atmosphere in the meeting room immediately relaxed, with the sounds of chair legs rubbing together, papers turning over, and whispers mingling together.

"It's finally over."

Chi Shuai muttered something under his breath.

Gu Xiao nodded in agreement, gently twisting her stiff body, making a crackling sound.

"Chirp!" (I want to eat!)

Xiao Jiu jumped out of the backpack and threw herself into his arms, her bright black eyes filled with accusation.

"Didn't I just eat a big bag of nuts at noon?" Gu Xiao sighed, and was about to reach for the nuts in her backpack when a gentle voice sounded beside her:
Is it hungry?

Looking up, I saw Liu Jiajia, who played the third concubine, walking over at some point, holding a small paper bag filled with melon seeds.

"I just grabbed it while I was eating lunch. Would you like to let it have a taste if you don't mind?"

Xiao Jiu's nose twitched immediately, and she looked at Gu Xiao expectantly.

"Thank you, Jiajia." Gu Xiao took the paper bag and poured some melon seeds into her palm.

Xiao Jiu immediately pounced over, scooped up the melon seeds with its two front paws, and quickly stuffed its little cheeks full.

Liu Jiajia was amused by its adorable eating habits and couldn't resist reaching out to touch it, but Xiao Jiu cleverly shrank back and dodged away.

“It’s a little shy,” Gu Xiao explained, tapping Xiao Jiu’s head with her fingertip. “Be polite.”

Xiao Jiu tilted its head to look at Liu Jiajia, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered its head to continue eating sunflower seeds, only flicking its tail slightly as a gesture of goodwill.

"What a clever little guy." Liu Jiajia didn't press the matter and withdrew her hand with a smile.

At this moment, You Jianming walked over, glanced at Xiao Jiu who was eating, and said to Gu Xiao, "The reading session will continue for another day. You newcomers should take advantage of this time to familiarize yourselves with the crew. Especially you."

He pointed at Gu Xiao and reminded her, "Once you're on set, make sure you get along well with everyone. The lighting technician, the cameraman, and the makeup artist are all your colleagues. Observe them and learn from them."

Gu Xiao nodded in agreement.

After You Jianming walked away, Liu Jiajia lowered her voice and said, "President You seems to care about you a lot."

Chi Shuai also cast a curious glance his way.

Gu Xiao explained, "We only chatted for a few minutes. I guess they were afraid I'd cause trouble."

Chi Shuai and Liu Jiajia looked incredulous.

Gu Xiao shook her head, said nothing more, packed her things, and left.

"Xiao Jie?"

At the front of the long table, Chen Kun saw Dong Jie looking dazed and gently waved his hand.

Dong Jie was taken aback, looked away from Chen Kun, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Kun said, "What are you staring at?"

Dong Jie shook her head, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the conference room door.

His eyes looked thoughtful.

……

……

New York, early morning.

Sunlight streamed through the glass and fell onto the wooden floor.

Liu Xiaoli stood under the eaves, holding a phone in her hand, a gentle smile on her face:
"Oh, is that so? Congratulations! Everything is fine here."

On the other end of the phone, Gu Xiao's voice came through, with a little background noise: "Auntie, I'm on a tight budget, so I'll keep it short."

He said, "The second female lead can't come to the production due to visa issues. Filming is about to start, and Mr. You doesn't have time to issue announcements for auditions. It's highly likely that she'll be recommended internally. Would you like to let Yifei give it a try?"

Liu Xiaoli subconsciously turned her head, her gaze passing through the living room and looking up at her daughter's tightly closed bedroom door upstairs.

She said with some concern, "Sisi's courses won't finish until the end of May at the earliest."

“Then let’s start filming at the end of May,” Gu Xiao said. “Bai Xiuzhu has a lot of scenes, and President You won’t give her a perfunctory response.”

Liu Xiaoli remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Let me ask Qianqian what she thinks."

Gu Xiao nodded gently, "Okay."

The dial tone came through. Liu Xiaoli put down the phone, went to the innermost room on the second floor, and gently knocked on the door. A moment later, Liu Yifei, with slightly disheveled long hair, peeked out and asked softly:
"Mom, is something wrong?"

Liu Xiaoli asked with a strange expression, "What are you doing in the room?"

"I didn't do anything," Liu Yifei said somewhat guiltily.

Liu Xiaoli raised her chin slightly: "Why are your hands like this if you didn't do anything?"

Liu Yifei was taken aback. She raised her hand and saw that it was covered with pencil marks. She quickly hid it behind her back.

She blushed and said, "I just drew some random things."

Liu Xiaoli glanced at her, shook her head, and said:

"Gu Xiao just called."

Liu Yifei's eyes lit up instantly, but quickly dimmed again, and she asked with dissatisfaction, "What did he say?"

Liu Xiaoli changed the subject before she could finish her sentence: "Go wash your hands first."

"Mom!" Liu Yifei stamped her foot anxiously.

Liu Xiaoli's eyes became complicated, and she recounted the events of "The Story of a Noble Family" in a less than pleasant tone.

Liu Yifei's heart pounded; she felt a mixture of fear and anticipation.

Liu Xiaoli continued, "Gu Xiao will recommend you to President You. I'll have someone send photos and videos to the production team. We'll have to wait for news on the specifics."

Liu Yifei wasn't really listening, and instead asked, "Mom, if I go to the film set at the end of May, will Gu Xiao still be there?"

Liu Xiaoli said helplessly, "You haven't even secured a role yet, aren't you thinking too far ahead?"

"Oh, I was just asking!"

Liu Yifei hugged her mother's arm and gently shook it, "Can't I at least find out what's going on?"

Liu Xiaoli had no choice but to shake her head after thinking for a while, saying, "I really don't know. Gu Xiao only mentioned recommending you."

Liu Yifei quickly replied, "Then you should ask."

Liu Xiaoli turned and walked towards the living room, leaving behind the words, "Ask him yourself if you want."

Watching her mother's retreating figure, Liu Yifei stood still, puffed out her cheeks, and muttered to herself, "I'll ask, I'll ask."

She closed the door, rushed to the bedside, grabbed her phone, and quickly dialed the number she knew by heart.

But just as her thumb was about to press the dial button, she suddenly stopped.

Wouldn't it be too abrupt to just attack like this?
Is he busy?

What if I fall asleep?
Ugh, this is so frustrating.

……

……

Longshan Hotel, lobby.

Gu Xiao hung up the phone and let out a breath.

Seeing his expression, Chi Shuai teased, "Are you reporting to your girlfriend?"

Gu Xiao paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "An elder."

Chi Shuai clicked his tongue, his tone slightly mocking: "Is he some big-name director?"

Gu Xiao ignored the other party's sarcastic tone and instead asked, "The reading session ends tomorrow, so shouldn't we start filming soon?"

"It's not that easy."

Chi Shuai waved his hand and said, "After the reading, we will take costume photos, try on costumes, and then invite etiquette teachers to do action training. Finally, there will be the opening ceremony."

He counted on his fingers, "This whole process will take at least four or five days."

"It sounds like time is very tight," Gu Xiao probed.

"That's right. It'll be even busier once filming starts. The scenes for supporting roles like yours and mine will be filmed quickly in the first few weeks. I guess we'll be working through the night every day." Chi Shuai said with a worried expression.

Gu Xiao didn't take it to heart; on the contrary, she was happy to see it happen.

He was terrified of the long wait for auditions and wished he could be as busy as possible, ideally solving the problem all at once.

(End of this chapter)