CH 22

March 19, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 22: Returning home

Translated & Edited by KChandra

The final box office of ‘Lord Brother-in-Law’ was 630 million yuan, 150 million more than ‘The Moaning Wind’, a box office figure that gave Ma Rong a hard slap in the face.

Although Ma Rong said sourly at the end that he couldn’t compete with a rich second generation, and no one helped him to boost the box office, in the eyes of the netizens who were watching, these kinds of discontented words were just sour grapes.

The ‘National Industry’ crew also had only a few key scenes left to shoot, and the directing team and the cast were tense.

“The third scene of the international parliament is ready.” Director Lee had a bearded face, but his eyes were extraordinarily bright, “the actors are in position.”

“We, the people of Flower country, prefer peace and oppose war, but that doesn’t mean we’re afraid of war,” said Admiral Zheng, whose temples were already graying. He straightened his spine and looked at the representatives of the countries present. “As the victorious country this time, we have the right to dispose of these war criminals who have committed numerous evil deeds in our country.”

He raised the dossier in his hand, “This is all the evidence of the invaders’ evil deeds in our country. All of you here are men of justice, and I believe you will make a just decision.”

The projector showed photos of the appalling scenes of devastation. Before the presentation of the photos was finished, some female delegates already had red eyes and couldn’t bear to look at them anymore. The whole conference hall fell into silence.

“The verdict on the war criminals isn’t about revenge, but to warn the world that those who started the war are guilty and the consequences are terrible,” Admiral Zheng looked at the changing photos on the projector with a grave expression. “These people who died tragically were innocents. There were elderly people, children, and even pregnant women! But they became toys under the knives of those executioners who killed for pleasure. They had families, they had peaceful lives, but all this was destroyed by the executioners!”

“If these war criminals who have done so much evil are not judged justly, how can the souls of those who died by their mutilation rest in peace?”

“Cut.” Director Li nodded in silence, “This scene is good, prepare for the next one.”

Gongxi Qiao let out a long breath and sat down weakly on the chair next to him. The scene had made him sweat in the middle of winter.

“Qiao Shao, the ‘Immortal Mountain Courtyard’ crew just called. They said the broadcasting rights have been sold and will premiere on satellite TV after the Spring Festival,” He Peng took the empty glass of water from Gongxi Qiao’s hand. “The crew’s intention is that if you have time, they hope you can cooperate with the publicity.”

“The ‘National Industry’ side will be finished in the next few days, so if the schedule works out, I’ll cooperate with their promotion,” Gongxi Qiao said, closing his eyes, “I’m going to get some sleep.”

Yesterday, he and more than a dozen other actors stayed up until 3 a.m. for a few nighttime group scenes. This morning, he woke up early to put on middle-aged makeup, and now his eyes could hardly open.

He Peng saw his face full of fatigue. He knew he hadn’t slept well in recent days, so he turned around and grabbed a coat to cover Gongxi Qiao’s body, and sat next to him to browse Weibo on his phone.

As an artist’s assistant, he would browse Weibo and forums to promptly find out remarks about Gongxi Qiao, but the recent war of words between film critic Third Brother and Director Ma Rong led to Gongxi Qiao’s attention getting higher and higher. Other than that, from the fact that the number of Gongxi Qiao’s fans had turned from hundreds of thousands to millions, it was clear how much popularity ‘Lord Brother-in-Law’ had brought to Qiao Shao.

“Brother He,” Xiao Yao came over holding a hand-warming pouch. Seeing Gongxi Qiao asleep, she lowered her voice and said, “I just heard the director’s assistant say that this movie will be finished in about 3 days from now.”

“That’s good. Uncle and Auntie don’t have to worry that Qiao Shao will be unable have a reunion dinner with them on New Year’s Eve,” He Peng put his phone into his coat pocket and looked at Gongxi Qiao, who was already asleep, “He’s been filming so hard lately, so he can finally relax a bit.”

Xiao Yao nodded. “The movie Qiao Shao acted in this time was a box office hit. Ma Rong was so sour that he lost face and now he’s being scolded by netizens, so let’s see how he can manage in the future.”

He Peng lost his smile: “When this is over, he will still make movies and make money as usual. There are so many new and exciting things on the Internet. Netizens can only remember so much.”

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“Then wasn’t Qiao Shao criticized by him for nothing?” Xiao Yao was a little reluctant, “Even if he made a blockbuster, he can’t bully people like that.”

He Peng didn’t answer her question, just shook his head. The two didn’t see Gongxi Qiao’s eyelids moving as he leaned back in his chair, and a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

A few days later, the ‘National Industry’ crew wrapped up, and the crew graciously invited everyone to a big meal at a luxury restaurant, where they exchanged glasses, All thirteen directors got drunk, and were finally sent home.

Gongxi Qiao, who played an important role in the movie, didn’t escape being toasted by everyone. Plus he was really in a good mood, so he drank a few more glasses and became dizzy by the end.

When he walked out of the room with Liang Yumeng, he didn’t see He Peng who was supposed to pick him up, so he rubbed his forehead and said to Liang Yumeng who was also very drunk, “Brother Liang, has your assistant arrived yet?”

Liang Yumeng looked up blankly and saw a man in a suit walking over. “Mr. Liang, are you okay?”

After seeing the man, Liang Yumeng tugged on his bow tie with some boredom. “Why are you here, did she tell you to come?”

The man in the suit said with an insincere smile, “The boss heard that you finished your work today, so she specially asked me to pick you up and take you back.”

“I see,” Liang Yumeng was silent for a moment, then let go of Gongxi Qiao’s shoulder. “Xiao Qiao, I’ll go first then.”

“Take care, Brother Liang,” Gongxi Qiao waved his hand and walked into the next elevator with a drunken look, almost bumping into the corner because of his stumbling steps.

The man in the suit helped Liang Yumeng and watched with cold eyes as Gongxi Qiao dazedly walked into the elevator alone. He turned his head to Liang Yumeng and said, “It’s not easy for Mr. Liang to come this far, so don’t get too close to a starlet casually.”

Liang Yumeng didn’t say anything. The man in the suit also did not speak again when he saw this.

After the elevator door closed, the drunkenness in Gongxi Qiao’s eyes disappeared for a few moments. He took out his cell phone, but before he could dial the number, the elevator stopped and the door opened. Two men came in from outside.

“Qiao Shao?” Xi Qing walked into the elevator and smelled the odor of alcohol on Gongxi Qiao’s body, so he took two steps closer to him, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I just drank a little too much,” Gongxi Qiao rubbed his temples, “I didn’t expect to meet Mr. Xi in the elevator again.”

Xi Qing was silent for a moment, then changed the subject, “It’s already so late, and you’ve had a little too much to drink. Why don’t I give you a ride?”

Because of the drunkenness, Gongxi Qiao’s eyes were filled with a layer of haze. He looked at Xi Qing, who looked serious enough to scare children, and nodded slowly, “Then I’ll be grateful to Mr. Xi.”

“It’s a fan’s honor to send their idol home,” Xi Qing’s mouth showed a slight smile, then he reached out to hold Gongxi Qiao’s arm, “so you don’t have to thank me.”

The other party’s expression was too serious, serious enough to make Gongxi Qiao speechless.

The car was very quiet. Nothing could be heard except the sound of breathing. Xi Qing looked at the young man who had fallen asleep beside him and said to the assistant who was driving, “Don’t drive too fast, or someone who has drunk alcohol will have an upset stomach.”

“Okay, boss.” The assistant saw from the rearview mirror that the boss took off his suit jacket to cover the young artist. He quickly withdrew his eyes, not daring to take a second look.

He Peng, who was stuck in the middle of the road at this time, almost wanted to cry. His cell phone was stolen at some point, not to mention that his car was hit on the way. How unlucky he had to be to encounter this kind of thing.

“Brother, I’m really sorry about this,” after the other car owner took a phone call, he walked to He Peng with a smile. “This is all due to my carelessness. Tell me how to compensate, I have no problem.”

He Peng was hit by the other vehicle. Although He Peng was angry, the other party was so nice that he couldn’t lose his temper, so he had to borrow the other party’s phone to call Chen Ke. In case Qiao Shao was drunk, there was no one to pick him up, which was a problem.

In the quiet car, the phone rang suddenly. Xi Qing took out the phone from Gongxi Qiao’s jacket pocket, looked at the caller ID, and calmly pressed the answer button.

“Hello, this is Xi Qing,” Xi Qing looked at the sleeping youth beside him, “I’m on my way to take him home.”

“You’re welcome.” Xi Qing disconnected the call and put the phone back in its place.

When they arrived at Gongxi Qiao’s house, Xi Qing half-supported and half-carried Gongxi Qiao to the front door, and his assistant took a few steps up and rang the doorbell.

The door was opened by Gongxi Xiong, who was worried about his son. When he saw his son being held by a stranger, he went up and helped him to lie down on the sofa in the living room. He was relieved to see that Gongxi Qiao had only had a few too many drinks.

“I thank you two gentlemen for sending Xiao Qiao back. Let’s sit down and have something to drink first,” Gongxi Xiong looked at his wife who was wiping their son’s face. “This brat, why is he so drunk?”

“The crew wrapped up filming. Other people were more drunk than he was, so don’t blame him,” Xi Qing looked at Gongxi Qiao, who was 1.8 meters tall, curled up aggressively on the sofa, and couldn’t help but say, “Let’s help him to bed first. Uncle and auntie, you can check on him several times at night. In case he’s thirsty or has to vomit, there will be someone to take care of him.”

“Right, you give me a hand to help out,” Gongxi Xiong thought Xi Qing was a friend of Gongxi Qiao’s in the crew, so he wasn’t too polite with him and invited him to help Gongxi Qiao upstairs together.

When the door opened, Xi Qing saw a very neat room, decorated in a very warm style. The bookshelves in the corner were filled with various books, and there were no celebrity or anime posters on the wall. The whole thing was very fresh.

Seeing that Gongxi Xiong didn’t take off Gongxi Qiao’s shoes nor give him the quilt, Xi Qing bent down to help Gongxi Qiao take off his shoes and socks, and smoothly pulled the quilt down to avoid the quilt covering Gongxi Qiao’s mouth and nose, before following Gongxi Xiong out of the room.

When he got downstairs, he said to Gongxi Xiong and Qiao Lanfen, “Uncle and Auntie, it’s late, we should go back too.”

“You’re tired from sending our Xiao Qiao home. You didn’t even have a drink of water,” Qiao Lanfen came out with several cups of warm milk. When she saw Xi Qing was leaving, she said, “Why don’t you stay at our house tonight?”

“Thank you for your kindness,” Xi Qing said to Qiao Lanfen, “but we won’t bother you. We came by car and will be home soon.”

Qiao Lanfen repeatedly detained them, but Xi Qing’s attitude was firm. Finally, she had to put a bag of oranges into Xi Qing’s hand. “My dance partner brought them back from the countryside. They haven’t been treated with chemicals. They taste delicious and natural, so take them back and try them.”

Finally, Xi Qing and his assistant each carried a bag of natural oranges out of the Gongxi family’s door. After getting into the car, the assistant smiled and said, “This family is really interesting.” When he turned around and saw his boss actually start peeling oranges, he immediately changed his tune, “They’re honest people who are very enthusiastic. No wonder they can teach such a good son.”

Xi Qing lifted his head and gave him an imperceptible smile.