Chapter 48

"Alright, you can talk about your business now." The woman seemed a bit distracted and spoke casually.

Interrupted by this strange woman, Xia Hou Zhong Ying suddenly didn't know how to start, feeling a bit frustrated, trying to figure out where to begin, he organized his thoughts and said, "I..."

"Does your dad tell you about his visits to the red-light district?" Just as Xia Hou Zhong Ying said "I," the woman suddenly spoke again, cutting off his next words.

Xia Hou Zhong Ying almost wanted to bang his head on the sofa, feeling helpless, wondering what kind of woman this was, with such a wandering mind.

Xia Hou Zhong Ying looked speechlessly at the beautiful woman in front of him, not saying a word for a long time.

"Go ahead, go ahead." The woman, realizing that her occasional interruptions had confused Xia Hou Zhong Ying, chuckled and covered her mouth, indicating that she wouldn't speak again.

"I don't know how to say it, you look for yourself." Xia Hou Zhong Ying said, pulling open his coat and reaching into his armpit to retrieve something.

The woman watched Xia Hou Zhong Ying's strange actions with surprise, her mouth slightly open, dumbfounded, not knowing what he was going to do.

When she saw Xia Hou Zhong Ying pull out a stack of A4 papers, bound together like a magazine, and hand it to her, the woman almost fell over. She couldn't believe that this strange boy had a stack of A4 papers hidden under his armpit, making her both laugh and cry.

The woman took the stack of A4 papers from Xia Hou Zhong Ying, lowered her head, and tried to read the cover. After a while, she could make out the words and read them softly, "Green Apple Paradise?"

After reading, she flipped to the first page. Due to the dim lighting, she found it difficult to read, so she took out her phone, turned on the flashlight, and read while shining it. After a few glances, she couldn't help but look up at Xia Hou Zhong Ying with a puzzled expression and asked, "A script?"

Xia Hou Zhong Ying nodded.

"Did you write it?" the woman asked.

Xia Hou Zhong Ying nodded again.

The woman didn't say anything more, lowered her head, and quietly read on.

At first, she read quickly, flipping through the pages frequently. However, after a few pages, her pace slowed down, and she occasionally flipped back to reread the content she had already read.

While the woman was reading the script, Xia Hou Zhong Ying let out a sigh of relief, feeling the world finally quiet. He picked up the wine glass on the table with his right hand, leaned back on the sofa, gently swayed his wrist, rested his head on the back of the sofa, closed his eyes to rest, and occasionally took a sip of red wine.

"An interesting script." After about ten minutes, the woman gently closed the self-bound A4 book, rubbed her slightly sore eyes, tilted her head, and looked at Xia Hou Zhong Ying, saying, "It's too difficult to read here, and I can't finish it in one go. Can I take it home to read?"

"Sister, I only have this one, no extra copies," Xia Hou Zhong Ying said, shaking his head lightly.

"Are you looking for someone to shoot this script?" The woman, seeing Xia Hou Zhong Ying's refusal, didn't get angry but asked with interest.

"No, I want to shoot it myself," Xia Hou Zhong Ying said, "but I can't get any sponsorship."

"Uh." The woman was speechless for a moment, then continued, "You mean, you want to be the director yourself?"

"Sure, why not?" Xia Hou Zhong Ying asked.

"It's not impossible." The woman, feeling both amused and exasperated, looked Xia Hou Zhong Ying up and down for a while, then said, "But do you think anyone will believe a child can shoot this script well?"

"That's right, no one believes..." Xia Hou Zhong Ying leaned back on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, murmuring softly, then fell silent. Thinking about the walls he had hit during this period, more refined or kind-hearted people would suggest he submit the script for others to shoot, but most mocked him, laughing at his overambition. He had experienced all kinds of human emotions, from coldness to warmth, from sweetness to bitterness.

"That's why I'm in a bad mood." After a while, Xia Hou Zhong Ying continued, looking worried.

"Why do you want to shoot it yourself?" the woman asked.

"Because I want to shoot it myself," Xia Hou Zhong Ying said.

"Is it that simple?" the woman asked, incredulously.

"Exactly that simple," Xia Hou Zhong Ying nodded seriously.

The woman, looking at Xia Hou Zhong Ying's serious and solemn expression, suddenly felt a bit dazed, as if she saw something sacred on his face, like the faith on the faces of devout believers. The woman fell silent for a while, then asked, somewhat unwillingly, "Why do you have to shoot it yourself? Can't others shoot it?"

Xia Hou Zhong Ying gave the woman a strange look and said helplessly, "Didn't I just say that? Because I want to shoot it myself."

The woman was instantly frustrated, feeling that they were talking past each other, like a chicken and a duck.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, the woman said seriously, "Since no one is willing to invest in you, why don't you try submitting the script for others to shoot? Your hard work could still be on screen."

Xia Hou Zhong Ying was taken aback, understanding what the woman meant, and couldn't help rolling his eyes, saying, "Why should I let others shoot it? I wrote this script because I want to shoot it myself. If others were to shoot it, I wouldn't bother writing it. I don't need that little bit of script fee."

The woman understood Xia Hou Zhong Ying's meaning and was almost in tears. He had written the script just to play with it, not to get his hard work on screen. The people at this party wouldn't care about that little bit of script fee. She had misunderstood.

After a while, the woman couldn't help but say, "Since you're not short of money, why don't you invest in shooting it yourself, instead of trying to get sponsorship?"

"My dad said if I want to play with movies, using the family's money isn't a skill. If I want to play, I have to do it on my own," Xia Hou Zhong Ying said.

Such a simple and pure truth, even a child could understand. Why hadn't she thought of it? The woman felt depressed, wanting to bang her head against the wall.

"How long have you been trying to get sponsorship?" The woman, after a while, snapped out of her depression and her mind wandered to another point.

"More than a month," Xia Hou Zhong Ying said, dejectedly.

"Has it been completely ineffective?" The woman felt a bit sympathetic towards this stubborn boy and couldn't help but admire his perseverance. A rich second generation, going out in the wind and rain to seek sponsorship for his own project, the image of a boy with a disappointed face walking out of a company's door in the bleak autumn wind came to mind.

"Not completely," Xia Hou Zhong Ying replied.

"Really, there are still fools out there," the woman's eyes lit up.

"What fools?" Xia Hou Zhong Ying glared at the woman angrily.

"Connoisseurs, connoisseurs, is that better?" The woman chuckled and continued excitedly, "Tell me, who sponsored you?"

"Cough." Xia Hou Zhong Ying coughed awkwardly and said, "The school agreed to lend us the teaching facilities and venues for free, and also sponsored 20 million yuan."

"Wow, not bad, you're quite capable," the woman said, looking at Xia Hou Zhong Ying in disbelief.

"Also, a photography equipment company agreed to rent us equipment at half price," Xia Hou Zhong Ying said, smiling awkwardly, his face slightly red. The school's sponsorship was obtained through underhanded means, and he felt very uncomfortable boasting about it to save face.

"Very good." The woman couldn't help but show admiration on her face.

Seeing the woman's admiring expression, Xia Hou Zhong Ying's face burned even more. After a while, he couldn't bear the discomfort and finally said with a bitter smile, "The school's sponsorship was obtained through underhanded means."

After saying the truth, Xia Hou Zhong Ying felt much better and couldn't help but sigh. He felt very puzzled, why did he feel so uncomfortable lying to this sister? He couldn't figure it out.

Actually, some people are like this. They don't feel particularly bad lying to ordinary people. But if they lie to someone with a pure mind, they still feel a sense of guilt.

The woman in front of Xia Hou Zhong Ying had given him a very pure impression from the beginning, with no ulterior motives, even fussing over his underage drinking, persistently trying to make him stop for the sake of the law, full of righteousness. So lying to her made Xia Hou Zhong Ying feel particularly uncomfortable.

"Obtained through underhanded means?" The woman was stunned for a moment, then asked hesitantly.

"Uh-huh." Xia Hou Zhong Ying nodded awkwardly.

"How did you do it?" The woman looked at Xia Hou Zhong Ying with bright eyes, full of anticipation.

Xia Hou Zhong Ying chuckled and explained how he had obtained the 20 million yuan.

"You're too, too bad." The woman leaned back on the sofa, shaking uncontrollably, slapping the top of the sofa, almost laughing until she choked.

The woman laughed for two or three minutes without stopping, making Xia Hou Zhong Ying feel very frustrated, and he said, "Sister, how long are you going to laugh? You've been laughing for so long."

"Sorry, sorry, it's just too funny. I haven't had such an interesting experience in a long time." The woman laughed while speaking, took a few deep breaths to calm down, and just as she was about to speak, burst into laughter again, leaning back on the sofa.

The woman's behavior made Xia Hou Zhong Ying feel like his mind was about to break. This woman really loved to laugh.

"Chori, what's so funny? I saw you laughing non-stop for several minutes from a distance. I didn't recognize you at first, but when I heard your laugh, I realized it was you. I haven't seen you for a while, and here you are, hiding here." After a long chat in the corner, someone finally came to interrupt them.

Page break for ads starts

Page break for ads ends