The price of courting death is often very painful.
When Ye Zhou said this, the word “sleep” in his words was originally meant as a noun, but who knew that when this word reached Jiang Tingyuan’s ears, it became a verb.
Well…
Ye Zhou saw Jiang Tingyuan’s eyes darken, and many emotions seemed to flash through his eyes in an instant. Ye Zhou wanted to carefully identify these emotions, but everything was just fleeting, disappearing before he could even pursue them.
Jiang Tingyuan reached out his hand, his slender fingers pressing on the bank card that Ye Zhou had slapped on the table, his fingertips slowly rubbing the edge of the card.
Although his movements looked quite normal, Ye Zhou inexplicably felt his mouth go dry. Clenching his hand hidden behind his back, he blurted out in annoyance, “I was just talking casually. If you don’t want to, then forget it…”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Before Ye Zhou could finish his words, Jiang Tingyuan had already interrupted him. He looked at Ye Zhou, his eyes that were always filled with indifference now seemed like a surging deep sea, brewing an unknown storm.
Ye Zhou felt his face getting a little hot under his gaze. He coughed lightly and said dryly, “Ah, then… it’s settled.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Tingyuan took the bank card on the table without any hesitation and asked for Ye Zhou’s opinion, “So this card, I’ll keep it for now?”
“Keep… keep it!” A certain Ye, who was usually so eloquent, was completely timid in front of Jiang Tingyuan today. He couldn’t even speak properly, mumbling and stammering for a long time before responding.
At this moment, Ye Zhou no longer had the slightest bit of the aura of a director who controlled the entire crew. He was like a little chick, wishing he could bury his head in his feathers.
Fortunately, this ambiguous atmosphere was temporarily interrupted by the sound of a vibrating phone.
Jiang Tingyuan’s phone on the table vibrated. When he picked up the phone and saw the number on it, his eyebrows raised slightly. He signaled to Ye Zhou and answered the call.
Of course, Ye Zhou didn’t mind. Not only did he not mind, he even felt a sense of relief, and his tense heartstrings finally relaxed. While Mr. Jiang was on the phone, he took the opportunity to fiercely scold himself in his heart.
This mouth, how could it be so cheap! Looking for trouble for no reason, wishing he could tape his mouth shut!
However, now that the words had been said, not only had Mr. Jiang agreed but he had also taken the card. There was obviously no room for turning back. It was too late to say anything.
While Ye Zhou was reflecting on himself, he suddenly heard Jiang Tingyuan chuckle. Attracted by the sound, Ye Zhou raised his head to look at Mr. Jiang, who was on the phone.
Jiang Tingyuan seemed to sense something too. When he turned his head, their eyes met, and the ambiguous atmosphere that had just paused momentarily rose again in the room due to this exchange of glances.
Jiang Tingyuan looked into his eyes, his starry eyes full of smiles, and at the same time said to the secretary on the other end of the phone, “I may not be going to the company for a while.”
The secretary had followed Jiang Tingyuan for many years and knew that although her boss was not quite a workaholic, he was close enough. Work basically occupied all his time outside of daily life.
Over the years, rain or shine, he rarely took time off. In this situation, out of the blue, hearing their boss suddenly say that he was not going to the company, the secretary was so shocked that they almost lost grip of the phone in their hand.
“Ah? Did something happen, Mr. Jiang?” the secretary asked, holding their breath and feeling scared.
If they hadn’t asked, it would have been fine, but as soon as they did, Jiang Tingyuan’s faint smile at the corners of his lips seemed to deepen a little more, but his voice remained steady and calm, “Nothing much.”
“I’ve had my fill of hard work; I want to try living off someone else for a change.”1硬饭吃多了，想尝尝吃软饭 (yìng fàn chī duō le, xiǎng cháng cháng chī ruǎn fàn) = having eaten too much hard rice, wanting to try eating soft rice. Metaphorically, this phrase is often used to describe someone, typically a man, who wishes to live off the wealth or earnings of another, usually a woman, rather than working hard to support themselves. It implies a shift from independence to financial dependence. Basically, JTY is saying he’s going to be a gigolo hahaha
Secretary: “???”
They seriously doubted if there was something wrong with their ears. Otherwise, how could they possibly hear their ruthless boss talk about living off someone else??
However, Jiang Tingyuan did not give them a chance to ask further questions. After saying this, he directly hung up the phone.
Facts have proven that talking nonsense really does come at a price.
Poor Ye Zhou paid an extremely painful price for his momentary smugness and loose tongue over the next full week.
Sleep together for a night?
How could one night be enough? Jiang Tingyuan was very understanding and told Ye Zhou that seven hundred million was too much, so he could give Ye Zhou a discount, buy one get six free, for a total of seven days.
Faced with such an understanding Mr. Jiang who took the initiative to offer a discount, Ye Zhou tried to refuse, but it was all in vain. Even if he shouted until his voice was hoarse, it was of no use.
On the morning a week later, Ye Zhou finally saw the sun outside. When he pushed open the door, holding his waist and limping, Ye Zhou was so moved that he almost cried. The price was too painful, so much so that he swore to be cautious in his words and actions in the future and never to talk nonsense or be smug again!
Seeing that he was awake, Jiang Tingyuan put down the morning paper in his hand and waved at him, “Come here.”
Ye Zhou instinctively took two steps back when he heard his voice, and snorted defiantly, “I’m not hungry. I won’t have breakfast today.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Tingyuan glanced at him when he heard this, but he was not in a hurry. He said slowly, “Breakfast is the oatmeal and milk porridge you like. It was just cooked this morning and the temperature is just right now.”
Ye Zhou wanted to refuse, but his stomach betrayed him, and his legs and feet were not listening to him.
Hearing that there was oatmeal and milk porridge, Ye Zhou immediately surrendered and slowly walked towards the dining room, holding his waist.
The closer he got to the dining room, the stronger the sweet smell of the oatmeal and milk porridge became. Ye Zhou swallowed, very cautiously pulled out the chair furthest from Mr. Jiang, and slowly sat down.
Even though he deliberately slowed down his movements, Ye Zhou still couldn’t help gritting his teeth when he sat down.
Thinking of the culprit behind all this, Ye Zhou suddenly felt that the steaming oatmeal and milk porridge in front of him was suddenly not fragrant anymore!
Jiang Tingyuan didn’t say anything when he saw him sitting so far away. He smiled slightly at him, his voice low and slow, “The small buns are also freshly baked, with a crispy crust and a very good taste.”
Ye Zhou didn’t speak and sulked, but he couldn’t get angry at Jiang Tingyuan. Who could he blame? Originally, he was living a good life, but he had to make himself uncomfortable and personally propose to sleep together.
What a sin!
The person involved, Ye Zhou: Now I regret it TAT
Ye Zhou couldn’t get angry at Jiang Tingyuan, so he might as well convert his grief and indignation into appetite. He picked up the small buns in front of him and quickly stuffed the few buns on the plate into his stomach in one go.
After eating and drinking his fill, he felt that his body seemed to be not as uncomfortable as before.
“Do you really not need to rest for two more days?” Seeing that he had eaten his fill, Jiang Tingyuan also put down the spoon in his hand and turned his head slightly to look at Ye Zhou, with a hint of concern in his eyes.
Ye Zhou was planning his itinerary for the day when he was suddenly caught off guard by Jiang Tingyuan’s question. He was stunned for a moment, and when he reacted, his face instantly turned red, and he glared at him.
“’The Circus2He just called it The Circus instead of Thriller Circus’ is over, and the other crew has already been set up. I, as the director, should have gone to take a look the day before yesterday, but because of…”
At this point, Ye Zhou couldn’t continue. He raised his fist to his lips to cover up his embarrassment and muttered a few words in a low voice, “Anyway, I should have gone over long ago, but I’ve been dragging it out for so long. I definitely have to go and take a look today.”
Jiang Tingyuan saw his insistence and felt a little helpless. In the end, he couldn’t bear to go against his wishes. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll accompany you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Zhou shook his head, “You haven’t gone to work for a long time, and there must be a lot of things to deal with. I’ll go by myself.”
Jiang Tingyuan couldn’t persuade him otherwise and accompanied Ye Zhou to the entrance of the new filming location before leaving with a reluctant look.
“Call me when you’re done, and I’ll come and pick you up to go home.”
Seeing his cautious appearance, as if treating some fragile item, Ye Zhou felt both annoyed and amused. Despite repeatedly emphasizing that he was fine, he still couldn’t make him completely reassured.
In fact, it wasn’t as serious as he had imagined. Although it was his first experience, Jiang Tingyuan had been very considerate of his feelings throughout the process, and his movements were extremely gentle. Apart from some soreness and discomfort in his waist and some weakness in his legs, there was indeed no substantial damage that really required time to recover from.
If he couldn’t handle such a small problem, what face would he have left?
It’s a small matter.
Ye Zhou, who classified this matter as a small issue, rubbed his sore waist, trying to make himself look more normal as he stepped into the crew.
It was only after Jiang Tingyuan had been gone for a long time that Ye Zhou finally collected himself and met with the crew members. After their introductions, they discussed the work arrangements for the upcoming period.
After finishing “Thriller Circus”, Ye Zhou, who had achieved impressive box office results in three consecutive films, instantly became a hot commodity in the industry. His work phone was almost blown up, receiving twenty to thirty calls every day, all without exception inquiring about his upcoming arrangements.
A large portion of these people were investors. A movie breaking 100 million wasn’t scary, but what was scary was that no matter what genre this director filmed, the final box office could reach hundreds of millions or even billions. Such an incredibly impressive ability to attract money, how could it not be coveted?
Another portion came for his directing skills. If it could be said that Ye Zhou still had a hint of inexperience during the period of “A Farce”, then after “Chasing the Light”, he handed in a beautiful answer sheet to all those who had doubts about him with “Thriller Circus”.
His filming and use of shots were very ingenious. This kind of ingenuity often only appeared occasionally in some new directors, perhaps the product of a moment of thought collision. For others, it was fleeting and extremely precious, but for Ye Zhou, this ingenuity was almost pervasive throughout his entire work, luxuriously visible everywhere.
There was no screenwriter who didn’t hope that their work would meet someone who understood it. In the eyes of these screenwriters and authors, Ye Zhou was undoubtedly also a hot commodity.
Many people were eager to cooperate with him, not knowing that Ye Zhou had actually already finalized the script for his next movie during the review period of “Thriller Circus”.
It was the script that Jiang Tingyuan had sent someone to buy back from Jiang Yu’s side at a very low price some time ago, “Rewind”.
The story was similar to the previous few films. It was also a low-budget movie. The budget for this film continued Ye Zhou’s consistent style, keeping the cost within 50 million.
What was different from before was that, strictly speaking, “Rewind” should be considered a warm and healing movie, like a small flower blooming from a thorny ground, warm, brave, and fearless.
During the filming of the movie “Rewind”, a piece of news that Ye Zhou had expected but was still a bit surprised by was spread along with the mess of the “Battle City 2” crew.
It had been more than a year since “Battle City 2” started filming and had not been conspicuous. During the filming period, it was like a bottomless pit, with money being thrown into it like crazy without even a sound, but even if it couldn’t be heard, they still had to grit their teeth and continue throwing money into it.
Normally, the consulting cycle of a movie ranges from a few months to a few years. For a large-scale production like “Battle City 2”, it wouldn’t be strange even if it took two to three years or even four to five years to film.
But what was strange was that it had only been a little over a year since it started filming, and it was said to be in the final stages already.
This news made the movie fans and followers who originally had high expectations for this movie instantly feel a pang in their hearts.
Of course, this news was not particularly explosive for Ye Zhou. What really surprised Ye Zhou was…
Cheng Ran had run away.
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