153 Staying in the Countryside

Little Brother Ye could only enjoy his popularity for a short while because he needed to turn off the phone after getting on the plane. However, this was enough to show Brother Shuang's popularity. Obviously, the two months of silence after shooting the movie had increased the thirst of his fans.

The flight was not long. They left San Lin City that morning, but in the afternoon, they were already in Shanghai enjoying the local delicacies. Ye Shuang asked for a private room. Before the dishes arrived, she made use of the time to look at the message she had just received.

Most of the other main actors would be arriving on the day of the premier; after all, they had other schedules they needed to attend to. However, the organizer had already arrived in Shanghai to start the preparation. They knew about Ye Shuang's flight date, so they naturally helped her arrange the hotel.

Due to the concern with the transformation, Ye Shuang did not choose to stay with the rest of the crew. Before she left that morning, she even messaged the organizer to ask them to add an extra room for Little Brother Ye. Therefore, the message was to explain the name of the hotel and the room number.

Ye Shuang went online to Google the hotel's location. After she found the location, she grumbled to herself, not because of the quality of the hotel but because it was located far away from the city. "Looks like the organizer misunderstood."

They had probably assumed Ye Shuang wanted a different hotel because she did not want to mingle with people.

"Hello?" Ye Shuang's phone rang before they even finished the meal. To Ye Shuang's surprise, the voice belonged to Luo Mingxin, whom she had not been in contact with for several months.

"I hear you're also in Shanghai already?" Luo Mingxin panted slightly on the phone; the background sound was silenced by the phone, so Ye Shuang could not tell for sure where Celebrity Luo was.

"Yes." Ye Shuang casually asked, "Are you at the gym?"

"Swimming," Luo Mingxin answered readily. "Director Zhou said you're afraid of crowds so you moved to the countryside, do you want to move to my hotel? The privacy here is not bad, and there's even a private car lane to prevent being spotted by fans or paparazzi when you come and leave."

"Thank you, but it's fine." Ye Shuang chuckled. Did she want to stay in the countryside? It was Director Zhou who read too much into her request. Then again, even if she did not stay in the countryside, she could not hang out with the rest of the crew. After thre days, Brother Shuang would disappear from the face of the earth, so she would not be able to explain that.

Luo Mingxin did not press after he was rejected. He then added, "Then do you want to come swimming with me? I'm at the hot spring with a sponsor who has some interest in you."

"…Please do not use such a term that might cause misunderstanding; instead, say interest to cooperate with me." Ye Shuang chuckled mirthlessly again. Even though she had cooperated once with Celebrity Luo, sometimes she could not get used to the man's changing personality.

Furthermore, swimming? What was she going to wear? Even though she was in her male form, exposing her bare chest in public was too challenging to her mindset; Ye Shuang was not able to convince herself to do that.

"So, what do you say?" Luo Mingxin asked with a light laugh.

"How much money? How about the amount of work? The payment? Will there be hidden rules?"

"A lot, not much, a lot, no idea," Luo Mingxin answered in one breath. "Never mind then, since you've said so, I know you won't be interested in this."

Ye Shuang laughed. "How can you be so sure?"

"It was never your intention to enter this circle. The question that you've asked means that you only see it as an opportunity to earn money. The gauge is between the ratio of effort and reward, and your standard to gauge is on money…" Luo Mingxin thought about it. "If it's someone who has an interest in staying in this circle, even for someone of my status, before accepting the job, the first consideration will be the brand and its reputation. In other words, we see each job opportunity as a chance to rise. Therefore, if I was the one who was asked that question, the first things I would ask are 'Who is the sponsor, and what brand are they representing?' But you only saw it as a part-time job, so your first question is about the payment and workload."

Little Brother Ye leaned in to try to eavesdrop. Ye Shuang gave him a side-eye but did not say anything. She knew the boy wanted to gather some gossip, so she moved her body and said with a smile, "Celebrity Luo sure is talented in the field of psychology, but everyone has their own goal in life. Even if you see through my perspective, it will not cause me to regret or have any guilt."

Cough, cough, cough! Little Brother Ye was choked, and he screamed, "Celebrity Luo‽"

F*ck, when did Sis' social circle get so big that she has Celebrity Luo's private number‽

Little Brother Ye was so loud that Luo Mingxin heard it. He asked with a frown, "Who was that?"

"My partner's younger brother." Ye Shuang thought about it and added, "That Ye Shuang's brother. He came with me this time to join in the fun. I hear you guys had quite some fun in Jing Hu City last time, so do remember to take care of him during the premier."

This time it was Luo Mingxin who coughed. Who else could that Ye Shuang be‽ Obviously, the man was talking about Sister Shuang. Thinking back to the female con artist who flitted about Jing Hu City's private clubhouses like a graceful butterfly, Luo Mingxin's face burned up with shame.

"From how I see it, you can deal with the premier problem just fine… Actually, I'll ask my assistant to assign a seat for him." Sister Shuang's threat was bigger than Brother Shuang, so Luo Mingxin's mood to recommend a newbie had completely disappeared. "That's all then, I'm still busy, talk to you later."

After the call was ended, Little Brother Ye who was listening gawked at his sister. "Sis… Bro, what have you done to him before?"

"I haven't done anything!" Ye Shuang thought about it and realized she really had not done anything out of line. She could not be faulted for Luo Mingxin having a low threshold for pressure. From Ye Shuang's perspective, she felt like phrase 'Lord Ye loves dragons' was quite fitting for Luo Mingxin. He said that he admired Frank Abagnale Jr, but when he saw someone put the man's teaching into practice, he was so scared and afraid. Luo Mingxin's acting skills were reserved for before the camera or at social events—there would be no real consequences even if his acting failed—so there was no pressure on his shoulders.

However, when it was during a dangerous situation, his mental instability would be the biggest flaw to his acting. If Luo Mingxin had a double identity like her, Ye Shuang would not mind bringing him out to have some fun…

After lunch, they left the restaurant to call for a taxi. The driver was very passionate, perhaps because he recognized that they were not locals. On the journey to their destination, he introduced the fun places to visit in Shanghai and some local delicacies that were hidden in alleyways. Ye Shuang felt like the mayor should present the man with some kind of prize. At least the driver was trying his best to welcome outsiders to the city. Listening to his many introductions, Little Brother Ye was already itching to go, and he turned to look at Ye Shuang with a pleading and anticipatory gaze.

"There'll be a chance after we're done with official business. It'll be more convenient then."

Little Brother Ye understood. Over the next three days, his brother had to attend and prepare for the premier, so he had no time. Furthermore, Brother Shuang's identity was too inconvenient. On the fourth day, when his sister appeared, they could visit anywhere without the worry of being followed.

After the driver got out from the car to help with their luggage, he was still talking. Ye Shuang took out her wallet to pay the man, and when the driver accepted the money, he looked at Ye Shuang with confusion. "How come I feel like I've seen you somewhere before… Wait a minute! You're the one who starred in that real estate commercial, right‽"

That's truly something else. You only noticed that after a one-hour car ride?

Little Brother Ye laughed until his hands were over his stomach. Ye Shuang was speechless, but she smiled politely. "Yes, but please do not reveal the location of my hotel to anyone."

"Of course, of course!" The driver nodded in a hurry before taking out his phone to ask, "Can you take a picture with me? My daughter is your fan. If I have a picture with you, she'll see me daily then."

What kind of logic is this‽ Ye Shuang took a picture with the driver and finally went to the counter to claim the key to enter her room. There was nothing to do during the afternoon other than rest, go on the internet, and watch television. When night fell, Director Zhou's call came to shatter Ye Shuang's boredom. "Come join us for a drink. Tomorrow will be the premier, so we're celebrating."

Ye Shuang did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Shouldn't we rest since tomorrow is the premier? Plus, shouldn't the celebration be at tomorrow night?"

"Do you really think there'll be much celebrating tomorrow night? The sponsors, leaders, and those without relations are joining; it'll be a social event, not a celebration." Director Zhou was an easy-going person.

Although to be precise, he was less easy-going but more willful. For example, since he thought Ye Shuang's image fit the character he was looking for, he had released the news that he wanted to meet with him. Another example was, since he felt like the premier would be attend by too many unnecessary people, he had this unwritten rule of having a small gathering the night before the premier.

Ye Shuang did not mind Director Zhou's personality. Since she had nothing better to do, she changed and left the hotel. When she arrived at the restaurant that Director Zhou had booked, the other people who were staying at hotels inside the city had already arrived. Luo Mingxin was squeezed in the middle by the crew, and Ye Shuang, who stayed the farthest away, arrived the latest.

"Three shots as punishment." Luo Mingxin saw Ye Shuang walk in and opened his lips to issue her punishment without pity. Then he handed Ye Shuang three thermos cups.

Thermos cups…

Everyone was stunned and then fell silent.'Lord Ye loves dragons' is a Chinese idiom meaning that someone loves a certain thing outwardly but not sincerely. (https://www.echineselearning.com/blog/yegong-hao-long-lord-ye-loved-dragons-beginner)