After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 30

Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai finished their meal together and left discreetly through the back door.

Although Jiu Xuan had officially reached its grand finale, its popularity remained high, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the number one hit drama of the year.

As the show exploded in popularity, many people began to follow the trend of digging deep into the behind-the-scenes details. Moreover, Huo Qingzhuo had just been certified as an artist under Shuimu Entertainment. Netizens instantly became enthusiastic “Great Detectives,” and they indeed uncovered quite a lot.

For instance, Huo Qingzhuo was a high school student recruited online.

Jing Bai was pulled in by the screenwriter just to make up the numbers.

The director, Song Jue, had just finished his PhD abroad and was switching careers to become a director for the first time upon returning to China.

The original novel only began serialization online after the TV series was released. Furthermore, the author of the original novel was the well-known “Eternal Abandoner” (the author who never finishes books); the reason the “Eternal Abandoner” dropped their last book was to come to the Jiu Xuan set as a screenwriter.

The reason they used real locations for everything was that they didn’t have time to build a studio. Because of this, the filming duration was extended from three months to half a year, covering more than half the country and various terrains. Some photos were even taken by National Geographic to be used as teaching materials.

The special effects, praised nationwide as world-class, were made by a group of students who hadn’t even graduated yet.

In short, aside from a group of veteran supporting actors and the professional screenwriter Lao Yao, the entire crew seemed unreliable and overly amateurish everywhere you looked. Yet, it was this “shambolic crew” that appeared to be pulled together from random people on the street that produced Jiu Xuan.

“Don’t even talk about it, I only admire the person who dared to invest in this drama. You really dared to film it, and I really dared to invest. Looking at it early on, what was the difference between this and throwing money into the water?”

“Look closely at the person upstairs; the investor for this drama is Shuimu Entertainment. Exclusive investment, so domineering.”

“Holy crap, impressive!”

“Have you guys noticed that Shuimu Entertainment signed Huo Qingzhuo right after filming ended? And Huo Qingzhuo is the only artist under Shuimu Entertainment?”

“So Huo Qingzhuo doesn’t have a sugar daddy; she just stumbled into Shuimu Entertainment when they wanted to promote someone? This luck is at the level of winning fifty million in the lottery on the spot!”

…

The online discussion was in full swing, reaching a peak after Jing Bai announced his return to school and deleted his Weibo.

However, none of this had much to do with Huo Qingzhuo anymore. After rushing to finish the follow-up activities, her school term began.

If it were any other school, given Huo Qingzhuo’s current explosive fame, she might have needed to worry. But at A University, there was no impact at all. Furthermore, Huo Qingzhuo enrolled quietly; the news media didn’t even know which school she was in, so it was exceptionally peaceful.

The day before school started, Huo Qingzhuo arrived in A City early. After arranging her stay at a hotel, she stayed in her room alone to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Just after lunch, she received a call from Shu Yueqing.

Shu Yueqing was also in A City for a business trip.

The two naturally made plans for dinner. Since Shu Yueqing had missed their last appointment, although they had agreed to find time to eat together, there had been no opportunity. After all, Huo Qingzhuo had been traveling all over the country for activities and was rarely in H City.

Once the plan was settled, they didn’t bother picking a fancy place and chose the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel where Huo Qingzhuo was staying.

Just after hanging up Shu Yueqing’s call, Huo Qingzhuo received a call from Lao Jiu.

“Rested enough? Interested in joining another crew?” Lao Jiu got straight to the point.

Hearing the excited tone on the other end, Huo Qingzhuo could guess that Lao Jiu had probably come up with another new idea. There was no reason to refuse.

“Send me the script to look at,” Huo Qingzhuo said with some anticipation.

“Don’t have one,” Lao Jiu said righteously. “I just drafted an outline; the script hasn’t been written yet. If you want to see it, I’ll send the outline to you.”

Huo Qingzhuo: “…” Truly a talent.

“Can’t you tell me after you finish writing? What’s the point of telling me now?” From the script to approval, establishing the project to recruitment, then storyboarding and casting… with Lao Jiu’s writing speed, nothing would happen for at least six months to a year.

“Who says it’s useless? I’ve already applied to establish the project. We’re still using our Jiu Xuan team: Director Song Jue, Screenwriter Lao Yao, the filming team—they’re all ready to go. And I’ve added a few more people to the special effects crew; they’ve already been hired under Shuimu Entertainment’s digital technology company. Professional equipment, professional personnel—how much has the configuration improved? Isn’t this a sure thing?”

Huo Qingzhuo was speechless.

“That digital technology company was also just founded by you, right?” Huo Qingzhuo felt she had seen through Lao Jiu’s essence.

“Yeah, expanding business, as I should. As for the script, we’ll write while filming; it won’t affect anything, right? And for this drama, I don’t plan on releasing it as a web drama; I plan to release it as a serious TV drama to test the waters first.”

It must be said that if she hadn’t already collaborated on Jiu Xuan, and if Lao Jiu wasn’t the boss of the company who could invest at will, Huo Qingzhuo might have already hung up on this person’s mad ravings.

“Fine. I’ll join the crew whenever you call me. By the way, is my manager not in place yet?” Although Lao Jiu personally arranged everything for Huo Qingzhuo now, this wasn’t a long-term solution. A manager was still very important.

Lao Jiu thought carefully for a moment. “Wait for me, I’ll go buy a company for you. Do you have one in mind?”

“…That’s really not necessary. Just find someone who can help me handle basic resource planning and such.” Huo Qingzhuo felt like she had encountered a “silly child from a landlord’s family.”

Lao Jiu agreed readily and hung up the phone.

Thinking about having dinner with Shu Yueqing in the evening, Huo Qingzhuo took another shower. She even chose her clothes with a bit of “scheme” and applied a “no-makeup” makeup look, appearing casual while maximizing her own advantages.

Once everything was ready, Huo Qingzhuo went to the top-floor restaurant at the appointed time, only to find that Shu Yueqing had already arrived. She was sitting in a booth, wearing somewhat casual clothes that made her look less unapproachable than before.

“You’re here?”

Shu Yueqing seemed to be lost in thought; she only reacted when Huo Qingzhuo walked up to her side, looking up to glance at her.

“Yes. Has CEO Shu ordered yet?”

Looking at the distracted Shu Yueqing, Huo Qingzhuo sat down next to her and naturally began to set up Shu Yueqing’s tableware.

“Not yet,” seeing Huo Qingzhuo’s movements, Shu Yueqing reached out to take them. “I can do it myself.”

“It’s fine, it’s already done.”

Withdrawing her hand, Huo Qingzhuo continued to arrange her own tableware.

Shu Yueqing’s eyes unconsciously followed Huo Qingzhuo’s movements.

Although the two had been in constant contact, if they calculated carefully, it had actually been half a year since they last met. The last time was when she accidentally ran into Huo Qingzhuo at the wrap party, but she had only caught a glimpse of her back and hadn’t even seen her face.

Seeing someone on screen is always different from reality. Although she had seen many of Huo Qingzhuo’s TV dramas, photo shoots, and various activity photos, seeing her in person like this was still different.

Shu Yueqing drifted off again. The green and immature teenage image in her memory had completely faded. The grown-up Huo Qingzhuo had bright and elegant features, a pair of naturally affectionate peach-blossom eyes, and a composed, generous manner.

“CEO Shu?” Huo Qingzhuo tilted her head slightly, looking at the silent Shu Yueqing.

“Hmm?” Coming back to her senses, Shu Yueqing blinked and looked elsewhere somewhat awkwardly. “The environment here is quite nice.”

“Yes, it’s quite good. CEO Shu, would you like to order first?”

Not knowing why Shu Yueqing was distracted, Huo Qingzhuo handed the menu to her.

“Okay.”

Shu Yueqing and Huo Qingzhuo took turns ordering. As usual, Huo Qingzhuo ordered some desserts after the meal. Shu Yueqing flipped through the menu. “What drink would you like?”

“Baileys or Château Margaux would both be fine.” Huo Qingzhuo wasn’t sure of Shu Yueqing’s taste; these were two types of alcohol she had recently taken a liking to, and the taste was quite good.

“Bai—” Shu Yueqing was about to place the order but then saw the full names: Baileys Irish Cream and Château Margaux Dry Red Wine. She immediately looked at Huo Qingzhuo with disapproval. “You’re still a child, how can you drink alcohol?”

Huo Qingzhuo’s hand, which was pouring tea, paused. Her smile vanished. She set down the teapot and looked at Shu Yueqing with a heavy gaze. “CEO Shu, I am already an adult.”

Shu Yueqing was habitually treating Huo Qingzhuo as a younger junior who hadn’t grown up. On second thought, the other person was indeed no longer small. “Then I’ll order for you. But you have school tomorrow; drink a little less, and study hard.”

The alcohol was ordered, but Huo Qingzhuo wasn’t happy at all. The phrase “still a child” that Shu Yueqing had blurted out had completely dampened her excitement for the evening.

Shu Yueqing had been raised with strict family rules and wasn’t used to talking much during meals. Huo Qingzhuo also had things on her mind, so the meal was unexpectedly silent.

Unknowingly, the two had almost finished eating. When Shu Yueqing finished her focused eating state, she realized those two bottles of alcohol were almost gone.

Shu Yueqing rarely drank; an occasional drink was just a small taste. She had only had one small glass of red wine just now. As for who had consumed the rest, it was obvious.

After Shu Yueqing stopped, Huo Qingzhuo also put down her wine glass. She placed the newly served dessert in front of Shu Yueqing. “Would CEO Shu like some dessert?”

Seeing that although Huo Qingzhuo’s face was slightly flushed, her eyes were clear and her speech was articulate, with no trace of being drunk, Shu Yueqing felt relieved and accepted the dessert.

Huo Qingzhuo was also nearly full; she took another portion of dessert and ate it. Her serious expression made it look as if she were tasting some world-class delicacy.

Shu Yueqing didn’t like sweets, so she didn’t move the dessert after taking it. However, watching Huo Qingzhuo eat so seriously, spoonful by spoonful, she became curious about the taste. She took a small bite; it was a bit sweet and sour, nothing special.

Waiting quietly for Huo Qingzhuo to finish, Shu Yueqing drank some tea. Feeling that it was about time, she prepared to head back.

“Qingzhuo, Qingzhuo?” Shu Yueqing stood up. Seeing Huo Qingzhuo sitting in her seat with her head lowered and motionless, she called out twice but received no response.

Standing up, Shu Yueqing walked to Huo Qingzhuo’s side and tapped her on the shoulder. “Qingzhuo?”

“Hmm?” With a slightly cute, milky voice, Huo Qingzhuo answered. She looked up at Shu Yueqing. The eyes that had been clear just now were now misty. Her cheeks were crimson and her pink lips were slightly pursed, looking both well-behaved and aggrieved.

The words Shu Yueqing was about to say instantly vanished. She stared blankly at the Huo Qingzhuo before her, losing all ability to react.