Chapter 301: Happy
The days of staying in this place were just as Hu Qing had said: very idle and relaxed, without needing her to do anything. She just had to write autographs in the hotel and prepare five hundred of them, so it would be convenient for their promotion. They had already purchased a sufficient number of prizes. When they held an interactive event with the audience, they would then take the opportunity to promote the movie. It could be said that this was a bundled sale. What the director wanted was just for the audience to notice this movie.
Yu Linna was quite idle in this place. She didn’t have much work to do. Staying in the hotel was just writing manuscripts. She didn’t have many tasks or much work now. She just had to write her own things every day. She didn’t need to write a script or draw character designs. She just had to write novels and draw an illustration. It was just that simple.
Of course, during her breaks, she could eat with everyone from the crew, chat about some topics, and prepare for the event.
“Shion-sensei, I’ve read your book. It’s quite good. To be honest, I’m a fan. Can you give me an autograph?”
An Xiayue would occasionally come to visit her room. The first time, she had even asked her for an autograph. It was very cute.
And because she often visited, she and Yu Linna gradually became familiar with each other. When she finished work, she would come to see her and bring her some small snacks.
“I think Chinese food is the most abundant and delicious in the world. I’ve been eating it for so many years and never get tired of it. You should try these squid skewers. They’re freshly grilled and smell very fragrant.”
But sometimes she would also bring some snacks over.
Yu Linna took the squid skewers from her and slowly ate them. This skewer was not bad, just that there was a little too much chili. But seeing An Xiayue squinting her eyes and eating so happily, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Miss An… Sister Yue, how is life in America?”
She had wanted to call her Miss An, but thinking that she had just been told to call her Sister Yue yesterday, she immediately changed her words.
“America is okay. I grew up in America, so I’m more familiar with it. It’s just that there isn’t as much delicious food as in China. I lived in China when I was a child, and then I moved. Actually, I still have Chinese blood flowing in my bones. My father is three-quarters Chinese, and actually, my mother also has one-quarter Chinese blood in her.”
An Xiayue was born in the United States, spent her childhood in China, and her adolescence in the United States. She could speak fluent Chinese and would return to China every year. To her, China was also her hometown. It was just that her nationality was in the United States. She still recognized her Chinese identity quite a bit. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have chosen to use a Chinese name after returning to China to develop.
“And, I like domestic snacks, especially beef balls. They taste great. It’s a pity you can’t get them in America or England. I love them so much. And also, you know spicy strips, right? The spicy strips in New York are not authentic at all, like eating fake goods. I still like the taste of China.”
When it came to food, her topics seemed to never end. She could always bring up many things. Although Yu Linna was also happy to discuss this topic.
“I don’t like spicy food. The taste is not very good. I like sweet things. Ice cream and cake, I like them very much.”
“Me too. Many people tell me not to eat things with such high calories, that I’ll get fat. But I think I’m the type who won’t get fat no matter how much I eat.”
“I ate instant noodles for a whole month straight, and I didn’t see myself get fat.”
“Mmm, I can totally understand.”
When Yu Linna and An Xiayue discussed food, they could always talk endlessly. They had many things in common, and An Xiayue also liked this girl very much.
Although they had only just met, she really liked to get close to her. Looking at her eyes was like seeing her own. When An Xiayue saw her, she liked her at first sight. They always had many topics to talk about, many common languages. Her eyes were very beautiful, and for some reason, very familiar.
In the past, when she saw Shion-sensei in the news, she had thought it would be an old-fashioned literary youth. She never expected it to be such a cute little loli, and like her, a mixed-race. Looking at her appearance, she even looked a bit like her. Perhaps this was the reason they got along so well.
“I’m getting hungry just talking about it. After we finish eating in a bit, shall we go shopping?”
“Okay.”
“Haha, when Brother Qing said a few days ago that Shion-sensei would be coming, I was startled. I thought it would be hard to get along with her. I never thought you’d be so easy to get along with. I like you. We can be good friends.”
An Xiayue held out her hand, and Yu Linna also shook it back. An Xiayue was 23 this year, having just graduated not long ago. She was now looking for a role that suited her, wanting to act in more types of movies. When she was acting in America before, she had played many roles, most of which were supporting roles or extras. After that, she had also acted in TV dramas, and the response was alright. But her popularity didn’t rise, and she was always in the third or fourth tier. Although she was still young, she was a little anxious. Seeing many big-name stars earning a lot at the box office, while the movies she starred in were losing money, the production companies were even more unwilling to cooperate with her. Just take last year for example. The B-movie she acted in, Love Balloon, only grossed 2.35 million at the North American box office, and its global box office was only 10.05 million US dollars. Warner Bros. stopped cooperating with her because of this.
She either had to act in TV dramas in Hollywood or find other ways to transform, but she couldn’t think of a good way. She could only try to go back to her home country and see. Perhaps the vast Chinese film market would have a way. Although many netizens criticized this, saying she had come to China to make money, she did indeed need an opportunity.
Her previous American drama, Skyfire Agent, was very popular in China and was now in its fourth season. The drama was about a group of agents, with a thrilling plot and constant praise. But she wasn’t the female lead in it, at most just the third female lead. But it was enough to be eye-catching, and she had a lot of fans.
This time, returning to her home country, she wanted to try a different type, a movie she had never filmed before. In the past, she had acted in art-house films. Although she had also acted in commercial films, most of them had flopped. This time, acting in a war-action themed movie in her home country, she didn’t know what the response would be. She hoped everything would be good.
“Next time, I’ll let you try my cooking. I’m pretty good at it.”
“Really? Then I have to try it. I can’t wait. Let me find you right after I finish filming!”
“Okay.”
Yu Linna also liked her very much, liked to get close to her. Although they had only just met for less than a week, she felt that being with her was not annoying at all. Usually, she was always very wary when she was with strangers, very uncomfortable. She would never let down her guard around someone without a long period of getting to know them. But An Xiayue was different. The first time she saw her, she hadn’t put up any defenses.
…
When they were eating, Director Hu Qing even specially teased them.
“You two girls, your relationship is so good now? Not bad. Shion-sensei, you and she are about the same age. You young people can chat more. Young people always have a lot of ideas.”
Even when eating, Hu Qing had a carefree manner. Although he was very serious when working, in private, he was a clown, very fun.
“Um… Director, you calling me ‘sensei’ is a bit weird.”
“Isn’t that what everyone calls you? It’s fine. Just treat it as a nickname.”
Hu Qing was clearly not someone who cared about this. To her, the title “sensei” was like a nickname. It didn’t matter what she was called. And the title “Shion-sensei” was already what people in the industry were used to calling her. It didn’t have any special meaning, just to tell everyone that her identity was a novelist.
“Yeah, I think the title ‘Shion-sensei’ sounds pretty good. Although you’re younger than all of us, it’s not a loss to call you ‘sensei.’ I’ve read all your works.”
An Xiayue said with a smile.
To be fair, putting aside the animated version of Ballad of the Enchantress, the reputation of Shion-sensei’s other works was still quite good. The worst was also just a passing grade, not that bad. And she wrote her novels with sincerity, driving the trend in the novel world. Many authors who tried to fool their readers and trick them with bad plots began to restrain themselves and slowly started to write with their hearts. From this point of view, Shion-sensei had indeed brought a good trend to the industry.
Although her popularity was no longer there, and her heat had dropped a lot, everyone still recognized her as a great god.
Everyone on the crew called her Shion-sensei, without a single exception. Of course, there was another important reason, which was that she had never said that her real name was Yu Linna.
She had originally wanted to say it, but after a long time, she was too lazy to say it and just let everyone call her that.
“Brother Qing, we want to go for a walk after we finish eating.”
“Feel free to walk around. Remember to be back at the hotel before ten. I’ll be checking the rooms.”
“Got it. I’m not a child anymore. I’m an adult.”
“How big can you be? You’re still a child in my eyes.”
An Xiayue rolled her eyes at Hu Qing, then took Yu Linna’s hand and went shopping. Everyone on the crew smiled at the two youngest people on the set, thinking, Youth is so good. An Xiayue’s relationship with Hu Qing in private was quite good. Their way of getting along was a bit like a father and daughter. Although they were the male and female leads in the drama, they were very close in private.
“I think Belia and Shion-sensei are a bit alike.”
“Are they? I don’t think so.”
“It’s just… their eyes are very similar, as if they were carved from the same mold.”
“A coincidence, perhaps.”
“I think so too. After all, they are both mixed-race, so it’s normal for them to be a bit similar.”
The crew continued to eat and drink, completely unconcerned.
An Xiayue and Yu Linna were having a blast, wandering around the street block, looking for snacks and delicious food. An Xiayue’s stomach seemed to be a bottomless pit; she was always eating. Although Yu Linna was also eating, she felt she had had enough after a while, but An Xiayue’s mouth still hadn’t stopped. For her to eat so much and still maintain such a good figure, how many girls would be envious?
Someone had asked An Xiayue for the secret to maintaining her figure. She would always say to go to the gym more to exercise, but everyone knew that she didn’t watch what she ate, dared to eat anything, and was never fat.
“Sister Yue, you’ve eaten enough, right?”
“How is this enough? Of course I have to continue eating. There’s too much delicious food in China. I’ll definitely not be able to finish it all. I work so hard every day. Don’t I deserve to eat more?”
With that, An Xiayue stuffed a fish ball into her mouth. Yu Linna silently glanced at her own fish tofu, then ate it. She was a little afraid that she would eat hers.
They held hands, wandering around the food street together. Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, their brilliant light illuminating the darkness.
