Chapter 64

"Zhongying, you two are really good kids." After Guo Rongrong took the contact information left by Xiahou Zhongying and left, Director Qu sighed and said, "My son is already in college, much older than you, but he's still not mature at all. If he could be half as sensible as you, I would be more than satisfied."

"Uncle Qu, you're too kind. Actually, I didn't do much. I really do need some help," Xiahou Zhongying said with a smile.

"No, you don't understand," Director Qu shook his head and said, "Many of the people here were lured into the wrong path, but most of them return to their old ways after they leave. Why? It's because their past makes people in society look at them differently, unwilling to accept them from the bottom of their hearts, and not trusting them."

"In terms of work, many people who leave here can't find a job to make a living. Out of desperation, most of them can only continue to sink into the illusion of drugs to find a sense of relief and pleasure," Director Qu said in a low voice. "Even if you just did it unintentionally, you gave hope to this child, Guo Rongrong."

"I know about this child. She was drugged by her friends and became addicted, then forced to participate in drug trafficking, which ultimately led to the destruction of her family," Director Qu said seriously to Xiahou Zhongying. "She turned herself in and provided information about the criminal gang, helping the police to apprehend the entire gang and seize a large amount of drugs. You might have heard about it; it was the large-scale operation last year that shocked the entire country."

Xiahou Zhongying nodded lightly, indicating that he had seen the news.

"She was a good child originally, but was forced into this by those evil people," Director Qu said solemnly to Xiahou Zhongying. "In the future, when she gets out, please treat her well. I'm counting on you."

"Uncle Qu, you're being too polite. You're flattering me. I know what to do," Xiahou Zhongying was startled by Director Qu's respectful words to a child like him and quickly waved his hands to stop him.

"Uncle Qu is a good person," after Xiahou Zhongying and Zheng Xiuyan left the drug rehabilitation center, they walked silently to the bus stop, and Zheng Xiuyan suddenly said.

"Um, I know," Xiahou Zhongying nodded lightly.

"Hey, let's hire a few more people from the drug rehabilitation center for our studio," Zheng Xiuyan, moved by Director Qu's words, suggested impulsively.

"Do you have the money to pay their salaries?" Xiahou Zhongying rolled his eyes.

"Uh," Zheng Xiuyan, reminded by Xiahou Zhongying that the studio had not yet made any income, was speechless for a moment. After a while, she asked, somewhat不服气 (unwillingly), "Then why did you hire Guo Rongrong?"

"Hiring one person is manageable. If the next shoot is for an online broadcast, we can take some of the sponsorship fees to pay her salary," Xiahou Zhongying said. "Do you want me to run around for sponsorships again next time? I'm still a student, you know."

"Can't you take a bit more?" Zheng Xiuyan, remembering how Xiahou Zhongying had run around every day worrying about sponsorship fees while they couldn't help at all, laughed awkwardly and continued, "With more people, you'll be less busy."

"Miss, do you know how much work our studio has? When we're not shooting, it's very idle. One person is enough. Do you want to hire more people just to support them?" Xiahou Zhongying asked, unable to help but laugh.

"Okay, okay, you're right," Zheng Xiuyan, knowing she wasn't cut out for running a studio, mumbled and didn't speak again.

At 1:30 PM, the crew gathered again for shooting. After the morning's experience, Zheng Xiuyan took a deep breath, forcing herself to recall Guo Rongrong's expressions and actions during her rehabilitation, and the shot passed in one take.

The crew, seeing Zheng Xiuyan's performance, which was completely different from the previous day, were puzzled but couldn't help applauding and cheering for her. Only Xiahou Zhongying, Zheng Xiuyan, and Li Xiaoli knew about the visit to the drug rehabilitation center; even Zheng Xiujing didn't know.

"Are you okay?" Li Xiaoli, seeing Zheng Xiuyan's frightened expression and the cold sweat on her forehead after her performance, glared at Xiahou Zhongying and quickly handed her a bottle of water, asking softly.

"Sister, I'm fine," Zheng Xiuyan managed a weak smile, her voice still trembling slightly.

"Good, good, I'm glad you're okay," Li Xiaoli comforted Zheng Xiuyan and resolved to give Xiahou Zhongying a good scolding later to prevent him from doing anything reckless again, seeing how scared Xiuyan was.

Due to Zheng Xiuyan's excellent performance, the shot passed in one take. Her outstanding performance also inspired the other actors, who all gave their best performances, making the subsequent shooting unexpectedly smooth, with Xiahou Zhongying rarely having to call "CUT." The day's shooting tasks were completed two hours ahead of schedule.

After discussing with Xiahou Zhongying, Li Xiaoli decided not to increase the workload and ended the day's shooting. The director's decision made the crew cheer again, as it was the most relaxed day since the start of the film.

After the announcement to disband, the actors could leave first, but the director and support staff had to stay behind to wrap up.

"Damn brat, I'm going to give you a good scolding tonight," Li Xiaoli said to Xiahou Zhongying after most of the actors had left.

"Sister, your words are ambiguous. You can't say things like that, it will cause misunderstandings," Xiahou Zhongying said with a smile.

"Ha ha," Li Xiaoli, who had been planning to scold Xiahou Zhongying for taking Zheng Xiuyan to the drug rehabilitation center and seeing her frightened expression during the shoot, couldn't help but laugh at his words, losing her serious demeanor and feeling quite frustrated.

"Brat, you're even teasing your sister now. No, tonight you have to treat me and Xiuyan to dinner," Li Xiaoli said with a mix of laughter and scolding.

"Really? Sister, you know I'm poor. How can you bear to take advantage of me?" Xiahou Zhongying said with a pained expression.

"Don't worry, I won't eat too much. At most, I'll eat up your 1 million this month. If it's not enough, I'll help you pay," Li Xiaoli said with a cold laugh.

Xiahou Zhongying almost fell over.

"Xiuyan, let's go eat," Li Xiaoli said to Zheng Xiuyan, who was waiting for Xiahou Zhongying nearby.

"Sister, you're treating us to dinner again?" Zheng Xiuyan asked when she heard Li Xiaoli's invitation.

Li Xiaoli's face turned dark, feeling quite frustrated. Over the past two months, she had no idea how many times Xiahou Zhongying had freeloaded off her, always claiming he had no money. Sometimes Zheng Xiuyan and her sister would join him, so when Li Xiaoli invited her to dinner, she assumed it was Li Xiaoli treating them again.

"Not me, it's him," Li Xiaoli pointed at Xiahou Zhongying angrily.

"Does he have money? I doubt he can even come up with 200,000 right now," Zheng Xiuyan asked doubtfully.

It was already mid-January, and Xiahou Zhongying's 1 million was almost always spent by this time each month, leaving only enough for bus fare. For the second half of the month, he would start borrowing money to pay for breakfast and lunch for himself and Zheng Xiuyan, and he had already accumulated a significant debt with his three underlings.

Zheng Xiuyan had long understood Xiahou Zhongying's pattern, so when she heard he was treating them to dinner, she immediately doubted whether he had the money.

"200,000, I have it," Xiahou Zhongying laughed awkwardly, then took out the money from his pocket and a pile of coins from his backpack, counting them to make 210,500. "See, I have 210,000, and even 500 extra."

Li Xiaoli was speechless. With such a small amount, how could he treat them to dinner? She groaned in frustration, realizing she would be treated to dinner by this little rascal again.