When I Woke Up, I Had Three Romantic Partners - Chapter 52

Hearing Zhu Qi’s words, Duan Rong hesitated, but when she thought of her grandmother, if she could be cured of her illness, her grandmother wouldn’t be criticized because of her future choices. And she wouldn’t have to worry about herself while she was still sick.

Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth and stepped into the room that she would regret for the rest of her life.

“Come, drink some water. I’ll go get your medicine.”

Zhu Qi took a cup of water from the kitchen and handed it to the nervous Duan Rong, comforting her: “Don’t be afraid. We are both women, I understand you. Don’t worry, the teacher will definitely not have any prejudice against you. You are my good student.”

Duan Rong took the water and nodded: “Mhm.”

She took a sip with a tense heart. Zhu Qi saw her drink it and returned to the bedroom. After a while, Duan Rong felt her head spinning and the objects in front of her blurring.

“Teacher…”

Zhu Qi calculated the time in the room, and when it was about right, she came out.

Duan Rong lay weakly on the sofa, her face flushed red.

Duan Rong gasped out hot air, murmuring: “Teacher, I’m so hot…”

Zhu Qi’s cool fingers traced her cheek, her voice sounding as if it held water: “Don’t be afraid. It’s good to be hot.”

If she wasn’t hot, it meant the medicine hadn’t taken effect.

Duan Rong’s consciousness became blurry. She felt a ball of fire burning in her chest and lower abdomen, and she couldn’t help but let out a moan: “Mmm…”

Zhu Qi looked at Duan Rong like this, her throat dry, her eyes filled with undisguised satisfaction and desire. Her urge to make a move on her grew stronger and stronger.

“What a good girl. Teacher will give you a reward.”

Zhu Qi pulled Duan Rong up, picked her up, and carried her back to the bedroom.

Then Duan Rong’s jacket was taken off and thrown on the floor, and Zhu Qi’s body pressed down on her…

“Cut!”

“Very good, very good, that’s exactly it!”

Yu Zhi was very happy. This was the exact feeling he wanted, that restrained perversion!

Chi Jinqing heard the sound and broke free from the feeling she was just immersed in. Her face was flushed with the blush applied during the interruption. This kind of rosy cheek was the hardest to achieve, but the makeup artist on this crew, although it was their first time working with the team, had excellent technique.

Even Chi Jinqing herself, when she saw the makeup, had a momentary feeling that she had truly been affected by the drug.

Si Jiamo unnaturally looked away and stretched out her hand: “Get up.”

“Just now…”

Chi Jinqing’s look of wanting to speak yet shy just now almost made her lose control and kiss her. She used tremendous willpower to suppress this impulse. If she had just kissed her without restraint, Chi Jinqing would definitely have been angry.

She had already angered Chi Jinqing, and if she continued like this, Chi Jinqing would never forgive her.

Chi Jinqing straightened her clothes: “Hmm?”

Si Jiamo: “Ah, it’s nothing.”

Chi Jinqing: “Oh.”

After adjusting her clothes, she walked over to the director, looking at her performance on the previous clips: “How is it? Do we need another take?”

She casually tugged at her collar. Her delicate collarbone and hand bones, moving with her action, were captivating to everyone. She herself didn’t feel it, but anyone watching her flush-faced, pulling at her clothes, and fanning herself would feel a sense of attraction.

“Cough.”

Si Jiamo stood next to her, picked up a small fan, and fanned her, while fiercely scanning the faces of those who were peeking. The others immediately looked away, looking at the sky and the ground, not daring to look at Chi Jinqing.

Si Jiamo was satisfied.

Chi Jinqing looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she was doing, but it was nice not to have to fan herself. For some reason, she felt a little hot, as if she had really taken the medicine, even though she hadn’t.

“Are you very hot?”

Si Jiamo saw through her expression, and her own expression was momentarily unnatural.

Chi Jinqing was silent for a moment, then shook her head: “No.”

Yu Zhi finished watching the clips and shook his head: “It’s fine. This is great.”

“No need to redo it. This take was perfect.”

Chi Jinqing: “Mhm.”

Yu Zhi: “That’s it for today. We’ll shoot the rest tomorrow.”

“Thank you all for your hard work, for staying up late.”

Chi Jinqing smiled understandingly: “It’s fine. It’s all for the filming.”

It’s work. When inspiration strikes, it’s best to finish it in one go, which is better than losing the feeling later.

She understood.

Si Jiamo shrugged. She had no objection. She was happy with her performance anyway.

However, it was her first time experiencing the joy of playing a twisted villain, probably because the subject of this scene was Chi Jinqing.

If it were anyone else, she probably wouldn’t be this happy.

Yes, she was very happy.

She had never imagined acting in such a scene with Chi Jinqing.

If it weren’t for Yu Zhi, she probably wouldn’t even be speaking to Chi Jinqing now.

After work, the others had to stay to pack up the equipment, but Chi Jinqing could leave first.

Back at the hotel, Chi Jinqing instructed Xiao He: “Everyone worked hard tonight and will definitely want to wash up and sleep early. We have to rush again tomorrow, and everyone’s energy won’t be great. Please make the effort to get up early tomorrow and order coffee and milk tea for everyone.”

“If possible, buy some snacks for everyone too.”

The crew provides breakfast, so she wasn’t worried about that. She was just worried that everyone would be low on energy, and snacks would help.

Xiao He: “Mhm, I’ve noted it down, Sis.”

Chi Jinqing: “Good.”

She transferred ten thousand to Xiao He: “You manage it. The rest can be your bonus.”

“Great, thank you, Sis.”

The next morning, everyone started working early.

Because they had stayed up late the previous night, everyone was low on energy. Xiao He came in with people carrying things—all things to boost energy, including quite a few snacks.

Because of the nature of their work, many people tend to have low blood sugar first thing in the morning, so Xiao He bought a lot of chocolate so everyone could recover quickly.

“Come, come, Sis Chi is treating everyone to drinks and snacks. Everyone comes and grab what you like.”

“Thank you, Sis Chi.”

Everyone cheered and went to grab their favorites. During her time on the crew, she had figured out some people’s general preferences through others. Based on these preferences, Xiao He bought a higher ratio of milk tea than coffee.

Before filming, everyone had some snacks and milk tea, and their spirits immediately lifted. The following shooting went very smoothly. Even Jian Huan and Shen Yirou, who hadn’t been in the zone, passed their scenes successfully in just two takes.

Yu Zhi held a hot cocoa, his expression relieved: “Little Chi is very good at dealing with people.”

His wife, Deputy Director Yang Hong, chuckled: “Isn’t she though? But it’s good that she’s like this. I was worried she would be targeted before, but now it’s good that she knows how to win people over.”

Yu Zhi sighed: “Yeah, her acting is excellent, and she’s a good person. We can’t let the entertainment industry swallow her up.”

Yang Hong shrugged: “If you really think so highly of her, then start preparing for the movie soon. I told you before when you were going to shoot this TV series that movies are your specialty, but you didn’t believe me.”

Yu Zhi snorted coldly: “I refuse to believe it. I insist on showing them that even though I specialize in movies, I can still shoot a TV series.”

Originally, he hadn’t planned on shooting a TV series. He wasn’t good at it; the techniques for movies and TV series are different, and he didn’t want to get involved.

But those directors who shoot TV series kept provoking him, saying his movies were poor and threadbare, and that besides art, he didn’t understand what a story was at all.

This made him so angry that he almost ground his teeth to pieces.

So, he switched to being a TV series director. He refused to believe that after all this preparation, he wouldn’t even be able to shoot a TV series!

“Why bother getting upset with them? They simply don’t understand your aesthetics. It’s not just about making money; we also need to film things that align with our heart’s intent.”

Yang Hong patted his shoulder. She understood Yu Zhi. Over the years, the two of them had supported each other. They shared the same hobbies and profession, understood, tolerated, and loved each other, which is why they had been together for so many decades.

Others might not understand Yu Zhi’s talent, but she did. Even without the filter of being his wife, Yu Zhi was a formidable director in her eyes. No matter the type of film, he could create a style that was uniquely his own.

Regarding the suggestions his students gave him, as long as they were useful, could help him improve, and could make the film better, he would make changes.

He didn’t have the typical flaws of other old-fashioned directors who refused to adapt, wouldn’t allow criticism, and acted domineeringly based on their seniority.

This was also what Yang Hong liked most about him.

Yu Zhi felt better after being soothed. His mood improved, and he handed over the chocolate he was holding: “Have some. This is delicious, but your blood sugar is a bit high, the doctor told you to eat less.”

Yang Hong took it, smiling widely: “Okay, I’ll eat a little less. I promise to share half with you later.”

Yu Zhi nodded in satisfaction.

After breakfast, the first segment they shot was the continuation of Duan Rong and Zhu Qi’s story. After filming these few scenes, they would be almost done with the principal photography.

When Duan Rong didn’t show up for school for several days, Zhu Qi merely expressed slight confusion when she went to class, then didn’t dwell on it. However, as she adjusted her glasses, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes, too quick to discern.

Because Duan Rong only had her grandmother and no other relatives, no one said anything when she disappeared for several days.

Only the school somehow discovered her leave note, which requested a week off, stating that her grandmother was seriously ill and she needed to provide close care, so she was temporarily unable to attend school.

In class, Duan Rong was already invisible. Her grades were average, her appearance was slightly above average, and her personality was weak—anyone could bully her. She used to have Qing Chen sticking up for her, but after Qing Chen transferred, she was left alone.

She wanted to resist, but her strength was too weak. The others weren’t afraid of her at all and even deliberately ganged up to bully her. So when she disappeared this time, no one paid any attention.

They were just bored after losing a source of fun and a target for bullying. Occasionally, when they wanted to bully someone, they would kick her desk, thinking about how they would bully her when she returned to vent the dissatisfaction they had suppressed during this time.

It was only when Grandma Duan, who hadn’t heard from Duan Rong, dragged her sick body to the school to inquire that everyone realized Duan Rong had been missing for over a week.

The time on the leave note had long expired.

The school felt uneasy, but they could only push all the blame onto Duan Rong, saying she must have run away with someone else, that it had nothing to do with the school, as they had received a leave note.