Chapter 78: Chen Duling: The Director Wants Me to Build a Good Relationship with Zhou Jin?

Zhou Jin froze for a moment, instantly recognizing Li Yitong's voice.

He turned his head with some surprise: "Yitong? How did you end up here?"

Li Yitong playfully removed the sunglasses and mask covering her face, revealing those beautiful, pitiable, crescent-shaped smiling eyes, and stared straight at him:

"Zhou Jin, hello! As for why I appeared here... of course, it's because I'm also flying back to Hengdian."

"Did you pick up a new drama?" Zhou Jin asked curiously.

Li Yitong nodded gently: "Mm, Director Yu Zheng said there's a role in a new production and asked me to come over for an audition to see if I'm suitable." Read good books, watch novels every day on 𝖙𝖙𝖐𝖘. 𝖙𝖜, super worry-free.

"Then congratulations; getting a new drama to film is definitely a good thing," Zhou Jin said with a smile to offer his regards.

For a newcomer actor, the best thing is having dramas to film, while the most agonizing thing is having no dramas to film.

Yet, Li Yitong still looked at Zhou Jin with those eyes full of smiles, her voice soft yet incredibly direct as she said:

"But for me, the best thing right now isn't getting a new drama to film... it's being able to meet you here."

Faced with Li Yitong's sudden, straight-to-the-point confession, and seeing the tenderness and smile overflowing in her eyes, Zhou Jin felt his heart suddenly soften.

Zhou Jin and Li Yitong followed the crowd into the cabin, taking their seats in first class.

Compared to the crowded economy class, the seats in first class were much more spacious.

Li Yitong's ticket happened to be right next to Zhou Jin's; the two spoke in soft voices all the way, the atmosphere very harmonious.

After the plane landed, Li Yitong behaved quite boldly.

At the exit, she took the initiative to step forward and embrace Zhou Jin, her warm red lips lightly kissing his cheek, before stepping back, waving playfully:

"Wait until I've met Director Yu Zheng and succeeded in the audition, then I'll come find you."

Feeling the lingering warmth of the young girl on his face, Zhou Jin nodded with a smile.

Li Yitong walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Zhou Jin, her expression becoming exceptionally serious:

"Zhou Jin, one day, I will walk by your side openly and legitimately, letting the entire internet spread nothing but CP news about the two of us."

Having said this, she lingered no longer, turning around to stride away without any attachment, her back view revealing a sense of resilience.

Watching this spirited girl, Zhou Jin helplessly shook his head and smiled.

After returning to the hotel and changing clothes, Zhou Jin headed straight to The Left Ear film set.

"Director, I'm back," Zhou Jin said, finding Su Youpeng busy in front of the monitor.

The filming schedule for The Left Ear was already somewhat tight; as the absolute lead actor, Zhou Jin had taken three consecutive days off, which would have likely displeased most directors.

But upon seeing Zhou Jin, Su Youpeng not only showed no dissatisfaction but stood up, patted his shoulder proactively, and teased with a smile:

"Zhou Jin, although you weren't in Hengdian these past three days, everyone in the crew, from top to bottom, has been talking about you."

Zhou Jin naturally knew Su Youpeng was referring to the CP melee involving himself, Yang Mi, and Reba that had stirred the entire internet into an uproar, so he could only smile helplessly:

"It's all netizens spreading rumors randomly; it shouldn't be taken seriously."

Su Youpeng shook his head, his eyes full of deep meaning.

No film director does not hope for their work to achieve massive box office success.

In this industry, while the quality of the film itself is fundamental, traffic and heat are also key factors determining victory or defeat.

Breakup Master has not yet aired, yet its heat has already reached an absurd level; the female lead is the soaring Yang Mi, and the male lead is Zhou Jin, who is maxed out on topic value.

Although Su Youpeng did not know the specific quality of that film, he had a strong intuition:

As long as the quality is above the passing line, supported by this massive traffic, the box office would absolutely have astonishing guarantees; if the quality were even slightly outstanding, the box office would surely surge to a height that makes people envious.

After encouraging Zhou Jin a few words, Su Youpeng asked his assistant to call over Chen Duling, the female lead of the film.

Because Zhou Jin had gone straight to the set immediately after getting off the plane without greeting anyone else in the crew, Chen Duling's eyes were still somewhat bewildered when she arrived.

Seeing Zhou Jin standing beside the director, a trace of surprise flashed in Chen Duling's eyes: "Teacher Zhou Jin, you're back?"

Despite being somewhat surprised, her voice still carried that innate sense of cool aloofness.

Looking at this pure and cool young girl before him, Zhou Jin waved his hand with a smile:

"No need to be so polite; just call me Zhou Jin. If you really feel awkward, calling me Brother Jin is fine too."

Chen Duling nodded obediently, but when she spoke, she remained politely formal:

"Okay, Teacher Zhou Jin."

Su Youpeng sat to the side, looking at Zhou Jin, then at Chen Duling, when a bold idea suddenly floated into his mind.

In Sword of Legends, the roles played by Zhou Jin as Ling Yue and Reba as Fuqu were originally not that substantial.

But simply because the "Yue Fu CP" formed by the two had such great spark, with a handsome man and a beautiful woman, they forcibly whipped up popularity to an inconceivable height; now, even the slightest stir could trigger heated discussion across the entire internet.

Since hyping a CP is so effective, why couldn't he also hype the CP between the male and female leads in The Left Ear?

As these thoughts turned in his mind, Su Youpeng said to Zhou Jin:

"Zhou Jin, go prepare for filming first; I need to give Duling a few separate instructions."

Zhou Jin didn't think much of it, nodded, and turned to leave.

Once Zhou Jin had walked far away, Su Youpeng looked at Chen Duling and asked directly: "You must have seen the Hottest Search entries regarding Zhou Jin on Weibo recently, right?"

Chen Duling nodded gently.

Su Youpeng said in a grave tone: "Deng Chao, by leveraging the CP rumors between Zhou Jin and Yang Mi, has truly mastered the art of playing with heat, saving at least tens of millions in promotion costs; therefore, for the upcoming film promotion, I also want to hype a CP between you and Zhou Jin."

Chen Duling was immediately startled, her eyes widening slightly: "Ah? A CP between me and Teacher Zhou Jin?"

Su Youpeng raised an eyebrow slightly: "What's wrong? Do you have a strong aversion to Zhou Jin?"

"No, no!" Chen Duling hurriedly shook her head to deny it, "How could I have an aversion to him... I'm just worried that Teacher Zhou Jin is so popular right now, while I'm just a newcomer actor; he might not agree to cooperate with the hype."

Su Youpeng smiled lightly, his tone revealing a degree of seasoned experience: "Under normal circumstances, he might refuse a forced pairing."

"But what if the two of you have a good relationship in private? As long as you take the initiative to get closer to him, I believe he certainly won't refuse."

Seeing Chen Duling's contemplative expression, Su Youpeng continued to offer guidance:

"After filming ends today, take the initiative tonight to invite Zhou Jin out for a meal and stroll around Hengdian. We're all young people; spend more time together to draw your relationship closer."

Chen Duling fell silent.

In her mind, Zhou Jin's handsome, chiseled face inevitably surfaced, along with the gentle manner he had always shown while patiently and meticulously teaching her acting during their time on set.

After a moment, a faint blush rose on Chen Duling's fair cheeks, and she gave a slight nod.

"Director, I understand."