Chapter 19: A Strange Phone Call

Lu Xun once said, when you try to calm down and seriously do something, the whole world will find ways to pick on you.

Chen Ci couldn't help but wonder, could Da Mi Mi have psychic abilities, otherwise how would she know Yuan Shanshan would come looking for him?

But curiosity aside, Chen Ci currently has no interest in her.

"It's Shanshan, what's up?"

"Do you have time? I have some things I want to say to you in person."

"I think there's no need for that. I've been busy lately; if there's anything, we can just talk on the phone."

"Um, this..."

No response came from the other end of the line; Chen Ci was busy and didn't indulge her, so he hung up directly.

On the other side, Yuan Shanshan's expression stiffened, and she didn't respond for a while.

Chen Xu saw this, frowned, and asked, "What did he say?"

"He..."

Yuan Shanshan finally spoke, slowly put down the phone, with a complex expression: "He hung up the phone..."

In her impression, Chen Ci had always been an enthusiastic gentleman and refined and polite.

It was the first time he had ever hung up on her proactively; the stark contrast in attitude left Yuan Shanshan unable to accept it for a moment.

After a few seconds of silence, Yuan Shanshan spoke again: "Senior sister, what should we do now?"

At this moment, Chen Xu also looked grave, holding his phone in a daze.

On the phone screen, the two characters 'Gu Ma' were displayed.

Chen Xu hesitated repeatedly: "Let me think about it again..."

Jingcheng was overcast; a model unit in a certain villa complex.

This is actually the set of the TV drama 'Smiling and Living On'; such a degree of product placement is unimaginable to ordinary people.

The newly arrived Da Mi Mi was doing her makeup; seeing the bangs that Chen Ci had lifted up being put down again, various essential oils and foundations were smeared on her face like there was no tomorrow, making the mirror reflect an oily, watery sheen.

This made the already style-adapted Da Mi Mi feel a bit unnatural, yet she couldn't very well complain.

After all, the other actors in the crew seemed to be doing their makeup the same way; as a newcomer, she should just go along with local customs.

At that moment, another figure walked out from behind the mirror: "Mi Mi, have you remembered what you need to say later?"

"Don't worry, Jia Jie."

While doing her makeup, Da Mi Mi didn't dare move, and blinked at Ceng Jia in the mirror.

Ceng Jia glanced at the time: "I still have things to do, I'll go first; I've asked Xiao Zhao to stay with you in the crew."

"No problem, Jia Jie; I can handle it myself, I can take good care of myself."

"Hmm..."

Ceng Jia smiled and nodded, just about to add a few more reminders, when suddenly the voice of assistant Xiao Zhao came from behind.

"Jia Jie, your phone."

"Okay."

Ceng Jia's hand patted Da Mi Mi's shoulder, then she turned around and avoided the crowd to take the call.

Just then the makeup artist finished Da Mi Mi's face, packed up and left. Xiao Zhao walked over and sized up Da Mi Mi in the mirror.

"Yao Yao, how's it look?"

Xiao Zhao unconsciously frowned and bluntly said, "Feeling, so-so; not as good as your previous state."

Sure enough, Da Mi Mi felt the same way.

When filming 'Beijing Welcomes You', how beautiful it was; even she herself was stunned back then.

Da Mi Mi couldn't help but start missing Chen Ci—what if he were her makeup artist? No, that would be wasting him if he just did her makeup; at the very least, let him shoot a whole set of gorgeous photos of her.

Hmm… that still doesn't seem enough.

Chen Ci shoots an MV and it's already this beautiful; if he made a movie, she wouldn't even dare imagine how gorgeous it would be……

While she was pondering, Ceng Jia had already finished her call and come back; from the mirror one could see obvious doubt in her eyes.

"What's up, Jia Jie?" Da Mi Mi asked curiously.

Xiao Zhao also looked over, puzzled, only to see Ceng Jia shake her head slightly: "Nothing, just a call from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee."

"The Olympic Organizing Committee?"

Xiao Zhao was also completely bewildered, while Da Mi Mi, sitting nearby, seemed to understand something.

"Well, they said they want to film a promotional video for the one-year countdown to the Olympics, and they want Mi Mi to participate."

"Huh?"

It's quite sudden; Xiao Zhao also looked at Da Mi Mi with a blank expression.

"Mi Mi, do you know anything?"

"Um..."

Da Mi Mi pretended to hesitate, but the faint smile leaking from the corner of her mouth gave her away.

Xiao Zhao reached out and gently pushed her: "Come on, spill it."

Da Mi Mi couldn't suppress the joy at the corners of her mouth, and drawled: "Probably, it's related to Chen Ci."

"Chen Ci?"

Xiao Zhao still didn't get it, looked at Ceng Jia, who paused slightly and replied: "Mi Mi's little boyfriend."

"But he..."

Xiao Zhao wanted to ask more, but seeing Ceng Jia's expression seem a bit unnatural, he swallowed his words.

The now-interested Da Mi Mi also didn't notice their subtle facial changes, just chattering on.

"Chen Ci is the planner for the Olympic countdown activities; he previously wrote an Olympic theme song, and I also participated when they filmed the MV……"

As soon as she spoke, Ceng Jia understood the gist, her brows furrowed, and she said: "Why didn't you tell me before you filmed the MV?"

Her tone was so stern that Da Mi Mi felt a chill run down her spine, and the atmosphere suddenly froze.

"Uh..."

"You're a signed artist of the company; all activities must be arranged with company approval. Don't you know that making decisions on your own would breach the contract?"

In just a few seconds, Ceng Jia seemed to become a completely different person; her mature and slightly affable demeanor vanished entirely, replaced only by icy questioning.

"I..." Da Mi Mi was momentarily speechless; the shock of this sudden change far outweighed the consequences of breaching the contract.

However, Ceng Jia didn't give her much time to respond: "Speak up!"

Fortunately, Da Mi Mi wasn't completely unprepared—or rather, Chen Ci had also anticipated this.

This event is a public welfare activity organized by the authorities, completely free with no ticket sales. Moreover, what I filmed isn't an official promotional video; it's just a sample clip filmed by a friend to send for the program's selection review.

Ceng Jia listened, brows furrowed, then asked again: "So that means this phone invitation is because the review passed, and we need to film the official version?"

Under this oppressive atmosphere, Da Mi Mi dared not be too certain: "I guess so."

"I understand."

Ceng Jia's expression finally eased a little; if that's the case, then Da Mi Mi indeed isn't in breach of contract.

After saying that, she picked up her phone, made another call, walking while dialing, heading toward the door.

Da Mi Mi watched Ceng Jia's receding back in the mirror, unconsciously moving the corner of her mouth.

It wasn't lingering fear; she simply hadn't expected……

At that moment, Xiao Zhao from beside her placed a hand on her shoulder, his expression also somewhat unnatural.

He spoke softly: "Mi Mi, don't blame Jia Jie; she's doing this for your own good, she's worried. If you act on your own and breach the contract, the consequences would be quite serious."

Da Mi Mi returned as gentle a smile as she could manage: "I understand completely; how could I not?"

Xiao Zhao nodded, but the atmosphere here was still too heavy; he tried to change the subject.

"Hey, Mi Mi, that song you just mentioned, and Chen Ci..."