Chapter 26
The agent and newcomers were stunned when they heard Pei Shaoze’s words. Cheng Xia also stopped and looked back doubtfully. Pei Shaoze told him, “The original author Lemongrass had me tell you a few words about the character of Qin Nian.”
The four of them realized. There were rumors that Cheng Xia’s audition was very popular with the original author. Zhou Yan smartly led the other three to withdraw first. Zhang Fan also left wisely.
Only Cheng Xia and Pei Shaoze remained in the office. Pei Shaoze pointed to the sofa next to him. “Come and sit down.”
Cheng Xia walked over, sat down and asked seriously, “President Pei, what did Teacher Lemongrass say?”
“Lemongrass promised to personally participate in the adaptation of the script.
Cheng Xia’s eyes lit up. “Really? That’s great! She knows the characters of Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang best. If she is there, the script must definitely be consistent with the characters.”
The most taboo thing in novel adaptations was magical modifications. There were countless dramas that he had seen changed so much that ‘their mother wouldn’t know them.’ If the original author personally participated, at least it wouldn’t be modified randomly. The script was guaranteed and the foundation of the entire drama will be stable.
Pei Shaoze looked at the happy young man. “Lemongrass really likes your performance. She asked you not to feel too much pressure. If the book fans scold you then she will help you. She and Teacher Xu have gone into retreat to revise the script. The two of them are cooperating and will revise the script to start shooting as soon as possible.” Pei Shaoze’s voice softened involuntarily when he said this. “This is your first work since your debut. Don’t think too much and learn some experience first. Honing your acting skills is the most important, understood?”
“Yes, I understand.” Cheng Xia sat obediently on the sofa in an upright manner, as if listening to a teacher. After listening for a while, he found that President Pei was looking at himself. Cheng Xia couldn’t help trembling and lowered his head in an embarrassed manner.
Pei Shaoze had a gentle look. “Yesterday’s performance was really great. You found tutorials online, performed live origami and brought a math paper. I interviewed so many actors and you are the most serious one I have ever seen.”
Cheng Xia’s ears were red at the praise. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
Pei Shaoze spoke calmly, “The opportunity was given to everyone. You won it with your own efforts so don’t thank me.”
A warm current rose in Cheng Xia’s heart. He found that President Pei was different from other bosses. Most bosses, they either directly gave newcomers resources and said ‘I want your praise’ or they would put on a lofty appearance when newcomers strove for resources and euphemistically said, ‘Without me, you wouldn’t have this opportunity. You should learn to be grateful.’
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +2.]
[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +2.]
…
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His tone was like a boss caring about his employees. His voice was extremely gentle and Cheng Xia’s heartbeat accelerated before he hurriedly answered, “President Pei, the apartment’s conditions are very good. Sister Rong takes care of my daily life.”
Pei Shaoze nodded. “Then what about your new agent?”
Cheng Xia told him, “Sister Yan does things simply and is much better than Zhao Wenxiu.”
Speaking of Zhao Wenxiu, some vague memories flashed in his mind. At the company’s annual meeting, Zhao Wenxiu deliberately drugged Cheng Xia so his pheromones went out of control. That night, Cheng Xia didn’t wear anything as he lay in Pei Shaoze’s bed and begged him for a mark.
Cheng Xia couldn’t help his face becoming hotter when he thought of that night and he fidgeted on the sofa. Pei Shaoze looked at the young man with red ears and was also a bit uncomfortable. He shifted his eyes away from the teenager and said, “Once you go home during the new year, you should spend more time with your parents. Once you are in the crew, you will have no time to go home.”
Cheng Xia nodded. “I know… by the way, I will send you the down jacket when I get home.”
“Yes, I’ve been living in Binjiang these days and can receive couriers.”
There was a sudden silence in the office. Cheng Xia lowered his head in embarrassment. Pei Shaoze didn’t want to show too much obvious concern so he had Cheng Xia go back first.
Cheng Xia took a deep breath after leaving the room. Why did his heart beat faster when he was alone with President Pei? Perhaps President Pei’s alpha aura was too strong and this had a big impact on himself as an omega?
Cheng Xia took continuous deep breaths and adjusted his heartbeat. he thought that once he went home for the new year, he should go to the hospital to get another injection of a long-acting inhibitor to avoid being affected by alphas. President Pei was so busy. He should rarely come to the cast once shooting started, right? There weren’t many opportunities to meet in the future so he didn’t have to worry about being affected and unable to film.
Cheng Xia didn’t know that just after he left, Pei Shaoze called Liu Xueyi. “Director Liu, I am the producer of Folding Paper. After it starts, I want to often come to watch the filming. Do you mind?”
Liu Xueyi laughed. “Of course I don’t mind! There is President Pei’s personal supervision and I have more confidence in the quality of the drama!”
***
Early on the morning of February 9th, Cheng Xia returned home.
The first thing he did after getting home was to tidy up Pei Shaoze’s down jacket and find a clean bag to wrap it in. Tomorrow was the new year. Today was the 209th of the last month of the lunar year. Fortunately, deliveries in the same city hadn’t stopped. His mother also bought fresh food online for delivery.
Cheng Xia thought about it and felt it wasn’t good to just send clothes.
Pei Shaoze took such care of him and helped him a lot. It might just be a boss’ help to his artists but Cheng Xia knew very well that if President Pei hadn’t invested in the school drama to give the Group C artists a fair audition opportunity, don’t even talk about him auditioning for the protagonist of the drama. Even the opportunity to audition for the second and third male lead would be difficult to win.
Cheng Xia naturally knew how to repay favors. Right now, it was the Spring Festival. He should take advantage of sending the down jacket to give a small gift to thank President Pei.
However, Pei Shaoze was the boss of Tianxuan Group and he was a contracted artist of Tianxuan. It was difficult to grasp the sense of proportion when giving gifts to the boss in private. If a gift was too expensive then the boss would think Cheng Xia was flattering him. If it was too cheap then the boss wouldn’t like it. Moreover, the Pei family was so rich. No matter how expensive the gift… could it be comparable to the mansion given by his parents?
Still, Cheng Xia felt that the gift was important.
During this period of time, he had been thinking about what would’ve happened if President Pei had marked him in the beginning. He wouldn’t have been able to raise his head in the entertainment industry. It didn’t matter if he was popular in the future. He would’ve still relied on climbing into the boss’ bed in exchange for resources. Netizens would taunt him if they knew it and he could only accept the ridicule.
However, President Pei left him enough dignity to be an actor. He was always grateful. He just didn’t know how to express it.
Cheng Xia didn’t have much to offer. He loved to eat sweets. In order to satisfy his own tastes, he enrolled in a one month baking class after graduating from high school. He thought that the desserts made by himself were delicious.
He didn’t know if President Pei loved sweets or not but he could give the small cakes made by himself to the other person to taste during the new year. There was no obvious’ flattering the boss’ and it could be regarded as a way to give thanks.
Cheng Xia made up his mind and ran to the supermarket to buy a lot of ingredients.
Jiang Qiong saw her son busy making pastries in the kitchen and was puzzled. “Xia Xia, what are you doing making so many cakes? I have prepared the ingredients for the New Year’s Eve dinner tomorrow.”
Cheng Xia told him, “I’m making some to send to people as gifts.”
Jiang Qiong walked over to help but Cheng Xia smiled and sent her out of the kitchen. “Mom, I can do it myself.”
Seeing him busy in the kitchen like a spintop, Jiang Qiong and Cheng Yiming looked at each other and exchanged glances.
Cheng Xia was busy until noon. He made so many pastries that they almost couldn’t fit on the table. He didn’t know President Pei’s taste so he made some sweet, salty or light. Cheng Xia’s pastries were small and could be eaten in one bite. There were also many delicate and beautiful patterns on them. It was almost comparable to the chef of a five star hotel.
Cheng Xia left a portion of them in the refrigerator for his parents. He found an exquisite tin box, put the colorful pastries in one by one and packaged the inside and outside layers. Then he carried it to find the courier brother. He sent the down jacket and pastries together and marked it as ‘fragile goods, handle with care’ on the box.
After sending it, Cheng Xia returned home a bit nervous. He didn’t know if President Pei would like the pastries he made. He also wrote a greeting card, hoping that President Pei would receive it before the new year.
Proofreader: Cat
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