The Eleventh Year of Secretly Loving Her - Chapter 11

It was quite cold outside, and when Zhong Xiran climbed into the car, she brought a gust of wind in with her, quickly shutting the door.

She glanced at Qi Sinian, trying to read his expression to see if he had heard what she had just said—

Oh, he showed no expression at all.

The phone rang, and Qi Sinian answered.

The car was a closed space, and even though Zhong Xiran tried not to listen, Qi Guangyuan’s stern reprimands came through loud and clear.

“How many times have I told you? The most important thing in business is discretion. And you? Saying all that nonsense in front of the media, are you trying to make it easy for others to find your weaknesses…”

Zhong Xiran breathed cautiously, her hands instinctively curling slightly.

Qi Sinian’s face showed no expression; he just listened, occasionally uttering a soft “hm.”

After a long scolding, he suddenly looked at her, deliberately slowing his tone, “This time it was my fault for being reckless. Perhaps it’s the magic of love.”

Zhong Xiran: “……”

Qi’s father couldn’t help but blurt out over the phone, “What the hell?”

Qi Sinian, “Nothing.”

Qi Guangyuan continued to scold him a few more times before finally hanging up.

Qi Sinian didn’t directly ask why she had said that, but his gaze kept flicking toward her, intentionally or not.

Zhong Xiran felt awkward under his gaze and had to explain, “What I said just now… was to maintain our relationship in front of outsiders.”

Qi Sinian replied with a simple “hm.”

Outside, the sky had darkened.

Neon lights of various colors flickered on, casting shadows of the trees, lending a slightly eerie atmosphere.

Zhong Xiran tilted her head against the car window, catching Qi Sinian’s reflection in the glass.

He held the phone in his hand, eyes gently closed, seeming a little tired.

A large space separated them in the car, enough room for two more people.

Feeling guilty, Zhong Xiran turned and said, “I’m sorry. I dragged you into this.”

Qi Sinian lifted his eyelids to look at her, “I don’t ever want to hear you say ‘sorry’ again.”

Zhong Xiran understood immediately.

He meant that she shouldn’t do anything that would require her to apologize in the first place.

She obediently agreed, “Okay.”

Perhaps because the space was tight, Zhong Xiran suddenly noticed Qi Sinian stretch his right leg over the middle of the seat.

But it didn’t crowd her at all.

After apologizing, Zhong Xiran focused entirely on preparing the movie.

Afraid of disturbing Qi Sinian’s rest, she didn’t dare call and instead sent WeChat messages to Xu You to discuss the roles.

CiCi: For the male lead, I want to choose Li Cheng.

Li Cheng had a gentle, introverted appearance, matching both the character and temperament of the male lead in the script, and his acting was quite good.

Youzi1: I know Li Cheng is great, but can we afford him with this budget?

They only had fifty million yuan, and all the actors’ fees together would max out at twenty million, or the production costs wouldn’t suffice.

CiCi: It should be doable. I’ve worked with Li Cheng on an ad, and he had a good impression of me. Also, I plan to lower the female lead’s budget. As long as Li Cheng agrees, the female lead can be a third-tier actor with acting skills, or even a newcomer, like Ming Yan.

Ming Yan was also her friend, and Xie Yu was Ming Yan’s manager.

Youzi: Ming Yan won’t work. If the female lead has no fame, the chemistry with the male lead won’t work. At most, Ming Yan could play the second female lead.

Zhong Xiran thought for a moment and replied: Fine, we’ll negotiate Li Cheng first.

Youzi: Alright.

Zhong Xiran sent Li Cheng a message, waiting for his reply.

While waiting, Xu You sent a string of pictures: Take a look at these other post-90s actors, they’re pretty good too.

Zhong Xiran carefully looked through each one and replied: None of them will work. They don’t evoke that heart-tugging, fragile feeling that Li Cheng does.

This was a story about the male lead secretly loving the female lead, so making the audience care for the male lead was particularly important.

Some of Xu You’s recommendations were too aloof, some too sharp; none were as good as Li Cheng. His face alone could make people feel for him.

After that, she searched online for several pictures of Li Cheng and sent them to Xu You: Just tell me if your heart aches or not!!!

Xu You sent her Li Cheng’s movie offer: My wallet aches even more.

: …

Zhong Xiran watched the video of Li Cheng in the photos and imagined him playing the male lead secretly in love with the female lead. She couldn’t help but get excited.

He was perfect!

He was literally heaven-sent.

Not sure if it was her excitement, her leg moved slightly, and her knee brushed against Qi Sinian’s calf. He turned to look, his gaze landing on her phone screen.

Although the lighting was dim and his expression hard to read, Zhong Xiran clearly sensed he wasn’t in a good mood.

Afraid he might think it was Huo Xin, Zhong Xiran instinctively explained, “It’s someone else.”

To prove her innocence, she held the phone up to Qi Sinian. “I’m choosing the male lead for my first movie and picked him.”

Qi Sinian probably didn’t know anyone in the entertainment industry.

Zhong Xiran thoughtfully explained, “His name is Li Cheng, one of the hottest post-90s actors, who rose to fame through historical dramas, has his own fanbase, and if we get him as the lead, he can help with promotion too.”

Qi Sinian raised an eyebrow, seeing the gentle, soft face on the screen—was this really her type? She liked this kind of look?

Zhong Xiran’s voice betrayed her excitement, “What do you think of him?”

Does seeing him make your heart ache and break, so you end up spending money on him?

Before she could finish her thoughts, she heard Qi Sinian’s detached voice.

“I don’t think much of him.”

“He’s not as good-looking as our driver.”

“What kind of awful taste is that?”

Zhong Xiran: “???”

Shouldn’t he be the one with the terrible taste?

And is their driver really that good-looking?

Zhong Xiran quickly glanced into the rearview mirror. Driver Xiao Zhang was in his twenties, usually aloof and reserved, probably exactly why his temperament matched Qi Sinian’s.

But comparing him to Li Cheng, who is that insulting to?

On camera, everyone looks ten pounds heavier, and facial flaws get exaggerated a hundredfold. Someone like Xiao Zhang, with a slightly flat, ordinary face, would completely fall apart on film.

Zhong Xiran pursed her lips, wanting to say that Xiao Zhang looks far worse than even him, let alone Li Cheng, but faced with Qi Sinian’s overly indifferent gaze, she swallowed her words.

Qi Sinian raised an eyebrow. “Not true?”

Zhong Xiran cleared her throat, hesitated, and reluctantly said, “Maybe from certain angles, Li Cheng isn’t that unbeatable…?”

At that moment, she deeply agreed with what Yan Yike had said earlier.

Being a rich lady really wasn’t easy.

After returning to Jade Bay and having a simple dinner, Zhong Xiran got to work.

She spread out papers and pens on the coffee table and began sketching storyboards.

She was used to working in the living room, where the space was large and flexible. She could sit on the floor and lay papers out freely. It helped her creativity flow.

During the day, the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows made it even more pleasant.

Qi Sinian made a pot of tea, sat in a corner of the sofa, sipping slowly, occasionally glancing at the tablet in his hands.

At first, Zhong Xiran felt a little uneasy, as if her private space had suddenly been invaded.

But once she started working, she became fully absorbed. Qi Sinian was busy with his own things and didn’t disturb her, so she gradually stopped caring.

Qi Sinian had always thought he was the workaholic, but Zhong Xiran worked just as intensely.

He hadn’t slept well; waking in the middle of the night, he noticed she wasn’t beside him. He opened his eyes and looked toward the door; the living room floor lamp was still on.

He glanced at the time, 3:30 a.m.

He got up and walked out.

Zhong Xiran was asleep, lying over the coffee table.

Her black hair fell partly over her shoulders, the rest swaying lightly in the air from her shoulders. With her head resting on her arm, a sliver of her fair wrist was exposed.

Storyboard sheets were scattered across the coffee table and floor.

Qi Sinian walked over, picked up the storyboards one by one, and turned off the floor lamp.

Moonlight spilled through the window onto Zhong Xiran, as if she were wrapped in a veil of silver.

Like a bride.

It was hard to say exactly what about this scene moved him.

Qi Sinian went back to the bedroom, grabbed his phone, took a photo, and then reached out to carry her back to the bedroom.