Chapter 33: Aunt Zhu’s Favorite

In the month that followed, Sang Zhiyi was quite busy.

Not only did she have to discuss business matters with Zhongli Hanyu, but she also had to work with Song Ying and Zhu Qing on preparations for the upcoming film.

Song Ying had made it clear that this film was to be tailored specifically for Sang Zhiyi, meaning it had no connection whatsoever to Insect-Eating Rotten Wood, which would have been produced around this time in the original plot development.

Sang Zhiyi looked at the tentative draft script in her hand, lost in thought.

The title of this new script was Feast of the Prisoners.

***

On another day scheduled to meet with Zhu Qing, Song Ying appeared promptly downstairs at Sang Zhiyi’s place to drive her there.

Over the past month, Song Ying had finally learned Sang Zhiyi’s address and, using work as an excuse, had often actively volunteered to be her driver.

Sang Zhiyi got into the car with practiced ease.

Song Ying glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Sang Zhiyi looking down, typing on her phone with both hands, her face expressionless.

He had grown quite familiar with this look of Sang Zhiyi’s—it was her state when she was busy with something relatively urgent.

Grinding his molars, Song Ying spoke in a somewhat snarky tone.

“Is it Zhongli Hanyu looking for you again?”

Last month, when Zhongli Miaomiao had intercepted him and taken Sang Zhiyi to her home, Song Ying hadn’t heard clearly, only vaguely remembering Zhongli Miaomiao mentioning her brother.

But Zhongli Miaomiao was the type to be loud and rambling, often speaking without getting to the point; she might have just suddenly thought of something and said it out loud.

So at the time, Song Ying hadn’t paid much attention.

But soon, Song Ying learned from Zhongli Miaomiao herself that Zhongli Hanyu had very grandly entertained Sang Zhiyi alone and had since maintained quite close contact with her.

At that time, he and a few friends were singing karaoke at a KTV.

Under the flashing colorful lights, Zhongli Miaomiao’s eyes were full of longing.

“I’ve discovered that my brother and Sister Xiaoqian are such a good match!

The two of them standing together are super pleasing to the eye, their temperaments match perfectly, they have great conversations, and they’re compatible in every way!”

“Old Song, do you think Sister Xiaoqian might actually become my sister-in-law in the future?”

Song Ying: “…”

Song Ying gave a cold “Heh” and raised the microphone in his hand.

“I don’t know about sister-in-law, but right now, you’re looking pretty deserving of a good smack.”

Originally, Song Ying had thought he had already taken big steps on the path to getting close to Sang Zhiyi.

After all, Lou Yanchen was still running all over the place unable to find out where Sang Zhiyi even lived.

But then Zhongli Hanyu had suddenly appeared, and he could actually get Sang Zhiyi to actively seek him out.

The difference between those two was significant.

Having grown up playing with Zhongli Miaomiao, Song Ying naturally knew Zhongli Hanyu as well.

In the wealthy social circle of A City, everyone knew there were two “other people’s children” among the younger generation: besides Lou Yanchen, there was Zhongli Hanyu.

Handsome, from a prominent family, exceptionally capable, young and single.

A truly strong competitor.

After paying attention over this period, Song Ying discovered that the frequency of Sang Zhiyi’s contact with Zhongli Hanyu was no less than with himself.

Fortunately, his meetings with her were in person, while hers with Zhongli Hanyu were only online chats.

When focused on work, Sang Zhiyi’s reactions were slightly slower.

After sending the sentence she had just typed to the person on the other end, her mind finally processed the information in Song Ying’s words.

Sang Zhiyi couldn’t help but smile.

“This time, no.”

This time, she was talking to someone from Jinxiu.

Jinxiu was the entertainment company Jiang Yingru was signed with, and also the most senior among the current major players in this world’s domestic entertainment industry.

At this point in the original plot development, it was precisely when a major change was occurring among Jinxiu’s upper management, causing some upheaval throughout the company.

For Sang Zhiyi, this was a golden opportunity.

With her connection to Zhongli Hanyu, it was not difficult for Sang Zhiyi to get in touch with the key figures at Jinxiu.

***

Today’s meeting with Zhu Qing was originally scheduled at a tea restaurant.

But midway, something unexpected happened on Zhu Qing’s side, and the original plan had to be canceled.

After some hesitation, Zhu Qing finally told Song Ying over the phone to bring Sang Zhiyi to her home instead.

Song Ying was quite surprised at this.

“Aunt Zhu rarely invites people to her home,” Song Ying said to Sang Zhiyi.

“I’ve known her for years, and the number of times I’ve been to her place doesn’t exceed three.”

Song Ying smiled, looking somewhat proud.

“She really values you.”

Sang Zhiyi admitted this.

Ever since learning that she was not a vase internet celebrity whose acting was indistinguishable from a wooden board, Zhu Qing’s attitude toward her had softened more than just a little.

Zhu Qing was clearly not the warmest of elders, but when facing Sang Zhiyi, she still showed quite a bit of fondness.

Zhu Qing lived in a somewhat older villa complex in A City, in the most secluded corner.

It wasn’t hard to see how much the owner valued independence and quiet.

Song Ying rang the doorbell, and Zhu Qing quickly came to open the door.

Seeing Song Ying’s face, Zhu Qing still wore her usual stern, sharp expression, but upon seeing Sang Zhiyi behind him, the expression on her face instantly softened considerably.

“Come in,” Zhu Qing said.

“Xiao Ren, sit down first.

I’ll get you some fruit.”

She almost completely ignored Song Ying.

The truth proved that Sang Zhiyi’s differential treatment was not without reason.

Once inside, Sang Zhiyi didn’t stay idle at all.

She followed Zhu Qing into the kitchen.

“Aunt Zhu, I’ll wash the fruit.

You take a rest!”

While washing the fruit, Sang Zhiyi also praised the simple, elegant, and tasteful decor of Zhu Qing’s home, saying that one could see she had excellent taste.

Sang Zhiyi also very sincerely extended an invitation.

“When I buy and decorate a house in the future, I’ll definitely ask Aunt Zhu to help me oversee it.

With you there, my house will surely be decorated beautifully too!”

She praised Zhu Qing so much that even her stern face showed an obvious smile.

Song Ying sat on the living room sofa, listening to the commotion in the kitchen, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Such a sweet, thoughtful, diligent, and sensible young girl—what elder wouldn’t like her?

As for Song Ying being completely ignored the whole time, not only was he not upset, but he actually felt a bit proud that Zhu Qing liked Sang Zhiyi so much.

The girl he had his eye on was just that outstanding.

After washing the fruit, Sang Zhiyi was the one to carry the plate out, beating Zhu Qing to it.

Now that Feast of the Prisoners was still in the preparation period, the several decision-making parties involved had quite a lot of busy matters to discuss.

In order to make this film as perfect as possible, Song Ying and Zhu Qing had both applied the strictest standards.

Many times, Sang Zhiyi felt something was already acceptable, only to have both of these big shots unanimously reject it.

And their attitudes were exceptionally tough.

“Be more discerning,” Song Ying said, somewhat helplessly.

“This is your first leading role in a film.

How can you just settle for anything?”

Zhu Qing also nodded.

“No matter how strong your abilities are, you need a matching stage to show them off.”

What else could Sang Zhiyi do?

She could only smile, sit quietly beside them, and let these two big shots make the arrangements.

At the same time, she firmly remembered this favor in her heart.

This was also a point that Song Ying and Zhu Qing really appreciated about Sang Zhiyi: she never tried to instruct the professionals from an outsider’s perspective, only offered opinions, never bossed people around, insisting on this or that.

Just as the three were about to finish their discussion, the front door of Zhu Qing’s home suddenly opened from the outside.

Hearing the key turning in the lock, Zhu Qing immediately turned her head, a very obvious surprise appearing on her face.

“Zilin?!”

The next second, Zhu Qing stood up completely and walked quickly toward the door.

“Zilin’s back?”

Seeing Zhu Qing this excited for the first time, Sang Zhiyi also looked over.

A tall, long-legged young man walked in.

As he put away his keys, he greeted Zhu Qing.

“Aunt.”

His voice was low and magnetic, very captivating.

The man was dressed in a dark casual outfit, with handsome features and deep, chiseled facial contours, a highly distinguished presence.

Sang Zhiyi’s gaze paused.

This was… Yu Zilin?

Yu Zilin, a grand slam Best Actor.

A child star turned actor with exceptional acting skills, the most valuable male artist in today’s entertainment industry.

After Sang Zhiyi had transmigrated into this world, she often saw his figure in entertainment industry news, so it wasn’t hard to recognize him.

However, the original plot of this world revolved around the male and female leads.

Yu Zilin had neither a competitive nor a cooperative relationship with Jiang Yingru and Lou Yanchen, and their interaction was limited.

So, despite his extraordinary status, there wasn’t much related plot.

Yu Zilin also kept a low profile.

In nearly twenty years since his debut, he had almost no scandals, and related news and gossip were also scarce.

Online, people often compared Yu Zilin and Jiang Yingru, saying that the two had superb acting skills and noble characters, and were models for the younger generation of actors.

Sang Zhiyi’s knowledge of him was thus quite limited.

Seeing Sang Zhiyi’s slight confusion, Song Ying took the initiative to explain to her.

“Best Actor Yu is Aunt Zhu’s biological nephew.

His mother and Aunt Zhu are twin sisters.”

Song Ying didn’t bother mentioning Yu Zilin’s identity at all.

After all, in this world, whenever the title “Best Actor” was brought up, it inevitably referred to Yu Zilin.

His fame was simply too high; there was no need for an introduction.

If Zhu Qing treated Sang Zhiyi like an elder treats a beloved junior, then Zhu Qing treated Yu Zilin like an elder treats her most doted and indulged junior.

“Quick, quick, come in!”

Zhu Qing directly reached out and pulled Yu Zilin inside.

“Haven’t you been filming out of town all this time?

Why are you back?”

“You look thinner, child.

Have you not been eating properly?”

“Are you hungry?

What do you want to eat?

Aunt will make it for you right now!”

At this point, even Sang Zhiyi was being ignored.

Song Ying laughed, a bit gleefully.

“How does it feel to be sitting on the sidelines with me?”

“Pretty good,” Sang Zhiyi said with a smile.

“Being with Director Song, no matter where I’m sitting, it’s pretty good.”

Joking aside, seeing that these aunt and nephew hadn’t seen each other in so long and clearly had plenty of family matters to discuss, Sang Zhiyi knew it wasn’t appropriate for outsiders like them to linger.

Fortunately, they had already discussed almost everything they needed to.

Sang Zhiyi signaled secretly to Song Ying, and the two simply took their leave.

Before they left, Zhu Qing finally remembered that Sang Zhiyi was still there.

Just like any elder doting on a beloved junior, she specifically went to pack a bag of things for Sang Zhiyi to take home.

Sang Zhiyi didn’t decline.

She happily accepted the items and sweetly thanked Zhu Qing.

Zhu Qing genuinely found Sang Zhiyi more and more pleasing.

How had she not liked such a wonderful child at first sight?

As Sang Zhiyi walked out the door, she didn’t forget to gently close it behind her.

Thus, she didn’t notice that at that moment, Yu Zilin inside the door glanced in her direction.

“Aunt,” Yu Zilin said.

“Was that the girl you’ve been mentioning so often lately?”

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