Chapter 165 - Time is Tight

When Chu Qianqian headed downstairs, Qingyi had already set the table. He sat there, his eyes intently fixed on the food in front of him, perfectly demonstrating the meaning of “mouth-watering.”

“Huh,” Chu Qianqian chuckled, noticing Qingyi’s gaze towards her. Her tone was full of teasing, “Is it really that exaggerated? It’s just a vegetable salad.”

“The point isn’t the vegetables, it’s the salad!” Qingyi argued loudly, “It’s sweet salad dressing! You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve had something sweet.”

“Oh?” With a raised eyebrow, Chu Qianqian pointed out the facts mercilessly to the self-righteous Qingyi, “Who was the one sneaking snacks behind my back the night before last? I seem to recall seeing yogurt and chocolate among those snacks.”

“I-I didn’t eat the chocolate!” Qingyi diverted from the yogurt and focused on the chocolate. His eyes flickered for just a few seconds before dragging Chu Ziyu, who was standing behind Chu Qianqian looking amused, into the mess. “The chocolate was eaten by Ziyu. Qianqian, you can’t wrongly accuse me!”

Chu Ziyu, unexpectedly caught in the crossfire while quietly enjoying the show, quickly shot Qingyi a glare. Then he displayed the art of changing expressions in seconds, wearing an innocent face just as Chu Qianqian turned to look at him, “I didn’t. I don’t even like chocolate. I was eating potato chips.”

Remembering that Chu Ziyu disliked chocolate, Chu Qianqian dismissed her doubts about him within two seconds and returned her gaze to Qingyi, her look one of exasperated disbelief mixed with a hint of threat, “Look at you, Qingyi. Not only are you sneaking food, but now you’re even lying. Sigh~”

The “accused liar” Qingyi widened his eyes at Chu Ziyu in disbelief. Ziyu was clearly the one who ate the chocolate, so why was Chu Qianqian still suspicious of him?

In response, Chu Ziyu offered a mysterious smile – oh, naive Qingyi, it’s all about the performance.

In this duel, with Chu Qianqian as the judge who decided the winner between the two, Qingyi was thoroughly defeated, KO’d by Chu Ziyu.

The issue of sneaking food was already dealt with through punishment, and Chu Qianqian only mentioned it without withholding Qingyi’s food.

However, as Qingyi eagerly added more salad dressing to his bowl, Chu Qianqian pressed her fingers to her temples, feeling she might have been too indulgent with him. Did he not realize how high in calories salad dressing was?

“Qingyi, if you don’t put down the salad dressing right now, I’m sorry to say your post-meal workout is going to be doubled.”

Her soft tone carried an unmistakable threat. Qingyi froze for a moment, then reluctantly put down the salad dressing under Chu Qianqian’s intimidating pressure. Yet his eyes lingered on the dressing with a look of longing, as if he was parting with a beloved rather than a bottle of dressing.

Feeling a little nauseated by her own metaphor, Chu Qianqian stood up without hesitation, picked up the salad dressing, and headed to the kitchen. She intended to put Qingyi’s “beloved” back where it belonged.

Watching Chu Qianqian’s retreating figure, Qingyi looked dejected and pitiful, then let out a heavy sigh, “Sigh, if it wasn’t for my passion for singing, I wouldn’t have chosen to be a celebrity. Not being able to eat my favorite sweets is too painful.”

“Oh.” Chu Ziyu responded indifferently, waiting until he swallowed the vegetables in his mouth before continuing, “If you didn’t like singing, when we first met, you might have been a 180-jin¹ chubby guy.”

“You, you-” The sharpness of this remark left Qingyi speechless for a while. It took him a moment to grasp the shocking fact that “his buddy had somehow become super sharp-tongued,” before he finally retorted, “You’ve changed, Ziyu. You weren’t like this before. The little buddy who promised we’d be best friends for life must have been secretly swapped by someone.”

When Chu Qianqian returned to the dining room, she found Qingyi wearing an expression of “you’re heartless and unreasonable.” She massaged her aching forehead, realizing her task as an agent was a long and arduous one.

“Qingyi, focus on your meal,” she advised, unable to hold back. “It’d be nice if you watched fewer nonsensical dramas. You seem a bit out of it these days. You used to be such a smart and clever little cutie, and now… sigh~”

The meaningful sigh at the end hit Qingyi like a critical blow, leaving him as wilted as cabbage hit by frost. This time, however, no one came to comfort him.

After finishing the early dinner, Chu Qianqian received a phone call and had to head out. She was gone for a while, and by the time she returned, the sky had fully darkened. Yet, as she walked in, her face was graced with a smile.

“Qingyi, Ziyu, come here quickly,” Chu Qianqian’s excitement was infectious, quickly spreading to the two others in the room.

Once they were all gathered in the living room, Chu Qianqian beamed as she presented her find from the outing-two scripts.

Seeing Qingyi and Chu Ziyu’s eyes light up instantly, her smile grew even wider. She didn’t keep them in suspense and announced, “These are scripts for Ling Xiao. They’re labeled with your names, so take your respective copies.”

Noticing Chu Qianqian frequently swallowing back her excitement, Chu Ziyu quietly poured a glass of water for her, signaling her to drink before continuing.

Chu Qianqian, not standing on ceremony, took the glass as she indeed felt a bit tired from rushing back. After downing the water, she finally felt somewhat refreshed. “Assistant Zhang called earlier, asking me to grab the scripts from him.”

Assistant Zhang is Zhang Dong’s assistant.

Seeing the question in their eyes-“Why the rush to get the scripts?”-Chu Qianqian paused and explained, “The scripts were just printed. Apparently, the screenwriter had new ideas and made last-minute revisions.”

“The originally scheduled start date was next Thursday, but for some unknown reason, it got moved up by three days. This means you’ll have three fewer days to review the scripts. Time will be tight, which is why Assistant Zhang was so urgent.”

With the shoot now scheduled for next Monday, this left only five days to prepare. Qingyi and Chu Ziyu exchanged glances before looking at the scripts in their hands, both feeling the pressure of the time crunch.

Chu Qianqian was well aware of this. Seeing the two looking so serious and on edge, she had no choice but to offer some soft reassurance, “I’ve spoken with Lin-Ge earlier; he said the contract with the film crew is already signed. There’s nothing else scheduled for the coming days, so just focus on studying your scripts. Leave everything else to me.”

Footnote:

1. Jin(斤): The “jin” is a traditional Chinese unit of weight. It is commonly used in China and is approximately equal to 500 grams, or about 1.1 pounds.