I Want a Lifetime with You novel Chapter 102

Fu Chengyan tilted his brows and grinned, “You want to avoid suspicion from others?”

Upon hearing that, Shi Nuan shot Fu Chengyan a death glare. She felt like he was teasing her, but Fu Chengyan gave her a reassuring smile. He then pinched her hand lightly and sighed, “No one knows about us.”

Shi Nuan’s eyes met with Fu Chengyan’s, and she felt like he was blaming her, albeit in a teasing manner. He’s right. I was the one who didn’t want to expose our relationship. But Fu Chengyan had consented to this too.

She did not force him back then. However, she peeped at Zhou Zheng for a split second and then back at Fu Chengyan again. It was obvious that she was telling him that there were some who knew about their relationship.

Fu Chengyan narrowed his eyes and glared at Zhou Zheng, giving him a warning.

There was no way Zhou Zheng could straighten his back further, and thus, could only protest silently in his heart. It’s not like I wanted to know! Just then, Zhou Zheng cleared his throat and plucked up the courage to speak, “Madam, you can pretend that I don’t exist at all. In fact, at times like this, I wish I could be invisible.”

Shi Nuan was amused by his remark and looked at Fu Chengyan as she burst into laughter.

She found Fu Chengyan’s assistant to be quite funny. He did not even blink when he said that he wished he could be invisible.

“Okay, then I’ll pretend that you don’t exist.” Shi Nuan grinned.

Soon after, the car had reached the basement parking of Xinhuang Entertainment, and there were a few lots reserved for Fu Chengyan. Zhou Zheng then got off the car to open the door for Fu Chengyan, “Master Chengyan, Qin Hong had called again to rush things up. She informed that Shi Wei is throwing a tantrum.”

However, Fu Chengyan merely pursed his lips, “Let her wait!” He had wanted to witness the extent of Shi Wei’s tantrums.

Shi Nuan got off the car after Fu Chengyan and frowned upon hearing Zhou Zheng’s words, “She’s throwing a tantrum?” Shi Nuan was puzzled. Even though Shi Wei had not treated her well, she had always behaved in front of others.

As an actress, Shi Wei would take good care of her image on different occasions, and throwing a tantrum was the least expected.

“Yep, I think it has been quite some time.” Zhou Zheng smiled as he commented. He was not at all surprised at Shi Wei’s demeanor. It was even quite common among celebrities, as their images were at stake.

“What do you think, Master Chengyan?” Zhou Zheng glanced at Fu Chengyan and asked.

“Take her to the first recording studio, and keep the CCTV rolling.” Fu Chengyan replied as he slid his hands in his pockets. He paused for some time before asking again, “Which script did you give her?” He was unfamiliar with the operations of the entertainment company since he had always delegated everything to Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng thought for a while before answering, “It’s a historical drama about spies. The second female lead is the antagonist, and her ending is quite tragic. Master Chengyan, do you want to change it?”

“No need!” Fu Chengyan nodded his head. “This one will do. Who’s the director?”

“It’s Mr. Chen. Chen Yuming. He is well known for being strict on set. On the other hand, he was quite upset that Shi Wei had been selected without auditioning this time.”

Fu Chengyan frowned, “Then try to console him.” He then turned his head over to Shi Nuan and said, “I’ll bring you upstairs. You might have to come here often in the future.”

“Okay!” Shi Nuan smiled as she thought about the shares that she had exchanged with Fu Chengyan and knew what he meant by that.

Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan went directly to the president’s office while Zhou Zheng called Qin Hong, “Take her to the first recording studio. Is Mr. Chen here?”

“No. Mr. Chen said that the second female lead has already been set aside for Shi Wei and that her audition doesn’t matter. He’s quite upset at casting her, but what can we do?” Qin Hong did not understand Zhou Zheng’s intention, so he asked, “Who is this Shi Wei? How did she get the second female lead role without even auditioning? Mr. Chen has had his eyes set on Bai Qing for this role. Surely he would be bummed out about this.”

“It’s not my intention either. This is an order from the top management. Though it’s up to you guys on how you guys want to treat her.” Zhou Zheng replied nonchalantly, “Just make sure to give her this role.”

“Okay then!” Qin Hong had finally grasped the situation when he heard Qin Hong saying that it was an order from the top. “Then I’ll bring her to the first recording studio then. Mr. Zhou, are you going to watch the audition?”

Audition? More like a good show.

Zhou Zheng’s lips curved into a smile as he thought about Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan in the president’s office, “Yep. I’m going to watch it. This is going to be a good one.”

In the meantime, Shi Wei had been waiting for over an hour, and her patience was running thin. She would have thrown a tantrum already if her agent had not stopped her from doing so.

The staff here are seriously slacking! I mean, seriously, what are they even doing? I’m here because Fu Chengyan introduced me! Doesn’t that mean anything? Fu Chengyan had promised to give her this role and that today’s audition was just for show. She was here only out of respect for him. However, it seemed like the staff here did not take her seriously.

Shi Wei was frustrated at having to wait for such a long time in the guest room and was about to leave. “Let’s go. This role had been set aside for me anyway!” Her agent hurriedly stopped her, “Wei, be patient. You know that Xinhuang is a big company. Although this role is most likely yours, we still have to cooperate in the future. It doesn’t do us good if we displease them. Maybe they’re just busy right now. Let’s wait for a little longer.”

“Wait, wait, wait. That’s the only thing you know! Do you know how precious my time is….”

Just as Shi Wei was about to finish speaking, the door of the guest room swung open. A girl, who looked like the secretary, stood at the entrance and asked, “Are you Ms. Shi Wei? Ms. Qin and Mr. Zhou are already here. Please follow me to the first recording room!”

The girl was curt in her manner and did not seem excited at meeting a well-known celebrity like her. However, that didn’t bother Shi Wei. She simply thought that the girl must have seen quite a number of superstars while working at an entertainment company like Xinhuang.

Yet, Shi Wei’s face remained stern as she was afraid that the girl might have overheard her nasty remarks. Hence, she shot a glance at her agent and signaled him to do something. The agent was quick to respond and took out a red envelope for the secretary. “Pleasure to be here.”

“There’s no need to. I’m just a lowly secretary, and I could not do much to do take good care of a big celebrity like Ms. Shi.” The girl then signaled for Shi Wei and her agent to follow in her direction, “Mr. Zhou came all the way here from the headquarters, and time is running out!”

Shi Wei flinched but still smiled, “Yes, I understand that Mr. Zhou is quite busy. Then kindly show the way, Miss.” Shi Wei uttered but was clenching her teeth to herself. She did not actually care for Zhou Zheng.

How dare a lowly assistant like him behave in this manner. Who does he think he is? He’s not Fu Chengyan nor the owner of the company.

Shi Wei was mocking him in her head, but her smile did not give her away. One might even find her smiles pleasant to the eyes.

After a while, the secretary led Shi Wei to the first recording studio and pushed the door open, “This way, Ms. Shi.”

Shi Wei and her agent went into the recording studio, but there were only three people inside. She recognized Zhou Zheng from meeting him once at the Shi family house. The other one was the producer, Qin Hong. However, she did not recognize the last one. It was only after some time when she had found out that the third person was the deputy director and not someone of a respectable position.

She went over to greet them one by one. However, Qin Hong wasted no time and said, “Ms. Shi, I believe that you had familiarized yourself with the script that Mr. Zhou had given you last time. Let’s begin straight away!”

Shi Wei was stunned by the abruptness and glanced awkwardly at Zhou Zheng. Yet, Zhou Zheng merely titled his brows and nodded, “Ms. Shi, let’s start!”

Shi Wei’s face darkened. It was true that Fu Xicheng had passed her parts of the script, saying that it was from Zhou Zheng. But she had only skimmed through it and did not prepare herself for this audition as she had thought that the role was definitely hers. In fact, to show up out of respect for Fu Chengyan was already a big step for her since she knew that this audition was just for show.

Zhou Zheng looked quizzically at Shi Wei’s odd demeanor and asked, “Ms. Shi, did you not prepare for this?”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just…”

“Ms. Shi, my time is precious too. I deliberately came all the way from the headquarters just for this audition since Mr. Fu had instructed me to personally monitor this. The fact that you did not prepare for the audition had certainly caused me inconvenience!”

Shi Wei was stumped, “Mr. Fu? He had instructed you personally?”

“Of course. Xinhuang had invested a lot into this new drama. I understand that this is only the second female lead role, but this role is quite important to the storyline. You would even be able to take over the female lead if you’ve done well. I had thought that Ms. Shi would appreciate this opportunity given your experience before this.” Zhou Zheng shook his head before continuing, “Now it seems like the second female lead role is not good enough for Ms. Shi?”

“I… Um… I’m feeling under the weather recently and had been taking breaks. That’s why I wasn’t able to make progress on the script,” Shi Wei had not expected Fu Chengyan to personally ask about this, so she appeared to be very uncomfortable at that moment. Besides, Shi Wei could sense Zhou Zheng’s discontent from his tone.

“Feeling under the weather? It seems like you’re not in a good condition recently. Why don’t you take a break for a few days? We can wait, but Mr. Chen, the director of this drama, was displeased that I had allocated the second female lead role to you. Moreover, he already had his eyes on another actress…”

“Mr. Zhou, please give me some time right now to get ready. I’ll be ready in a minute!” Shi Wei panicked upon hearing what Zhou Zheng said.

Shi Wei knew the importance of getting this role. She was nearly cast aside by her company, but their attitude had improved when they knew that she had got a role with Xinhuang. Besides, she was also afraid that it would be near impossible for her to get back up on her feet again if she were to fail this time.

At that instant, Shi Wei bit her lip and started acting pitifully. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she held them back with a sniffle. She glanced at Zhou Zheng, trying hard not to let them fall. Zhou Zheng was shaken, right to the core, but it was not out of sympathy for her. He was just impressed at her inherent acting skills that she put to good use in real life. No wonder Fu Chengyan said he is bringing Shi Nuan to witness a good show.

“In that case, I’ll give Ms. Shi half an hour. It should be more than enough!” Zhou Zheng said as he acted to glance at his watch.

Shi Wei nodded immediately, “Yes, definitely!” She signaled for her agent to pass her the script.

Her agent, on the other hand, was flustered when he mouthed his response to Shi Wei, “We didn’t bring it!”

It was like the whole world had crashed. Shi Wei was stumped.

Puzzled, Zhou Zheng raised his eyebrows and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Shi Wei’s facial expression was beyond awkward, and she could only stare back at Zhou Zheng, “Mr. Zhou, could you lend me a copy of the script? I had forgotten to bring it because I was rushing to come here just now!”