Accidental Mark-Chapter 19

After Pei Shaoze left, the staff ate and drank enough to continue the afternoon shooting.

Director Zhang’s requirements were very high. Cheng Xia didn’t take a break all afternoon. Fortunately, he learned a lot of knowledge from the shooting process, especially the ‘sense of the lens’ that Director Zhang mentioned. He hadn’t known how to grasp it but after several demonstrations in person, Cheng Xia gradually found the feeling. He was learning while shooting. He was exhausted but he felt very fulfilled in his heart.

He returned home to the apartment and took a shower. Then he leaned against the bed and started to read the original novel of Folding Paper.

As he was reading a message suddenly popped up on his mobile phone’s WeChat. It was sent by Pei Shaoze. [D-102, Longhu Villa, Binjiang District, Rong City, received by Pei Shaoze. Tel: 1897463XXXX. Just send it to this address.]

Cheng Xia opened a memo and saved Pei Shaoze’s address and phone number Then he replied, [President Pei, the down jacket is at my parent’s house. I will send it to you after I go back.]

Pei Shaoze, [There’s no hurry. I don’t usually wear it so you can give it to me when you have time.]

Cheng Xia replied, [Okay.] Then he put down his phone and walked to the window. He found that the office lights on the 33rd floor of the Tianxuan Group opposite him were still on. This was President Pei’s office. President Pei was working overtime again today. Was he busy with the school drama?

President Pei valued this drama so much. Cheng Xia thought that he couldn’t compare to his boss’ professionalism. Therefore, he took a pen and sat at the desk. He read the original novel while marking down the important parts and re-evaluating it. It was just like taking notes in high school.

One of them worked in the office while the other read carefully at the artist apartment.

Time gradually passed while the two rooms across the street were always lit with warm lights. They didn’t disturb each other but they were working hard for the same goal.

Pei Shaoze worked overtime to check all relevant information related to filing and reviewing.

The film review system in the ABO world was different from the world he lived in. Today, he finally figured out the process thoroughly.

Rong City was regarded as the second largest city in this country and it had a prosperous economy. However, the administrative center of the entire country was in Xing City. The general office that managed all TV dramas and movies was also in Xing City and it was called the General Office of Radio, Movies and Television.

Each work had to be filed with the general office before the project was established. There were many materials needed for filing such as plot outline, diversity outline, character biography, script ideas, movie and television adaptation authorization letter, list of chief creators, company business license, shooting permit, filing registration form etc. Pei Shaoze prepared the information one by one in accordance with the regulations of the general office.

The drama he chose was a school drama that was suitable for all ages. The theme was also very positive. It not only told the warm and emotional lines of the two protagonists who accompanied each other but it also had a lot of descriptions about traditional origami culture. It shouldn’t be stuck here in the review.

Still, to be on the safe side, Pei Shaoze decided to take a trip to Xing City in a few days to personally submit the information to the general office. On the one hand, he could urge the general office’s work efficiency. On the other hand, he could take a closer look.

This ABO world was different from reality but the review and scheduling process of movies and television dramas was similar. If he didn’t have a good relationship with the general office and the release date was stuck by the general office after filming was completed, Pei Shaoze wouldn’t be able to implement the ‘summer vacation’ and use the word-of-mouth of students to reach his goal.

Pei Shaoze quickly tapped on the keyboard and wrote a complete project plan.

Zhang Fan had been working overtime with him recently. Pei Shaoze knew it was tiring to be the assistant of a workaholic like him so he said, “Xiao Zhang, you have been working hard recently. I will ask the finance department to give you a pay raise next month. For the next few days, please accompany me on a business trip.”

Zhang Fan’s eyes lit up when he heard about the salary increase and he immediately poured a cup of coffee for President Pei. “It isn’t hard work! Where are you going on a business trip, President Pei? I’ll book it for you in advance.”

Pei Shaoze looked at the plan and estimated the time. “We will go to Xing City on the 26th and stay for three days, Ya’an on the 29th and stay for two days. Then we will come back on the 31st. You can book the plane tickets and hotels.”

Zhang Fan hurriedly wrote down the time so he could book tickets online. He could guess why President Pei was going to these two places. The General Office of Radio, Movies and Television was in Xing City and President Pei obviously wanted to do the review in person. As for Ya’an, he mentioned today that it could be used to shoot the drama’s summer plots. Obviously, he was visiting the shooting location in advance.

There was such a responsible producer that it would be much easier for the entire crew!

Zhang Fan felt relieved helping his boss do such things. President Pei always explained clearly what he needed to do and Zhang Fan didn’t have to guess what the boss was thinking. He followed the boss’ requests and his work efficiency was naturally high.

Pei Shaoze worked overtime again today until 10 o’clock. However, once the project plan was made, the rest of the work just needed to be carried out as planned. There was no need to stay up late and work overtime in the future.

Pei Shaoze finished writing the plan and walked to the window, rubbing his pained temples. He opened the window to breathe fresh air. Just then, he noticed that a window of the apartment across the street was suddenly pushed open. Pei Shaoze had good eyesight and recognized Cheng Xia as the person walking to the window.

The young man was wearing orange pajamas and stood at the window stretching. He seemed to spot Pei Shaoze and paused for a moment while stretching. Then he put down his arms and smiled shyly at Pei Shaoze.

Pei Shaoze picked up his phone and sent a message. [Cheng Xia? Is your apartment on the 33rd floor?]

Cheng Xia replied, [Yes, it is a coincidence. I live opposite President Pei’s office and I saw you are the window! [Smiley face]]

Pei Shaoze, [The heating is too hot so I came to the window for some air.]

Cheng Xia, [The heating in the apartment is also very hot. I have been sitting for a long time and came to the window to move my body.]

The two people, “……”

Thus, he saw Cheng Xia the moment he opened the window.

Such a coincidence made Pei Shaoze very happy and the exhaustion of working overtime was wiped out. His lips curved up slightly as he sent a voice message and patiently advised, “I’m going on a business trip for the next few days. Follow Chen Yijun to shoot the MV while also learning the skills of facing the camera from Director Zhang. You are a newcomer. If you show respect for the people around you then they won’t be too hard on you, you know?”

Cheng Xia pressed the play button. The voice that entered his ears was a low and sexy voice unique to an adult alpha. It was especially nice to hear in the quiet night. It was obviously a light statement but Cheng Xia felt his heart beating. He inexplicably heard some concern in President Pei’s words. Or was he thinking too much?

Cheng Xia drove away the nonsense in his mind and typed quickly to reply, [I know. I will cooperate with Director Zhang for the shooting. Rest assured and I hope your business trip is successful!]

[Yes, I’m getting off work. Good night.]

[Good night!]

At the end of the conversation, Pei Shaoze turned off the lights and headed downstairs. Cheng Xia also closed the window, rubbed his sore neck and headed back to the table to read.

The next day was the weekend and the weather was fine.

Cheng Xia got up early and took Chen Yijun’s nanny car to go and shoot the MV.

Yesterday, they filmed two interior shots and today’s content was all exterior shots such as running on the sports field and playing on the court. The weather might be good but it was winter after all. Cheng Xia’s hands and feet were numb when filming these scenes.

Assistant Rong hurriedly wrapped the down jacket she had brought around him and also prepared hand warmers for him. Zhou Yan looked at Cheng Xia’s frozen red hands and was distressed. “It is too cold. I’ll talk to Director Zhang about letting you wear an extra sweater.”

Cheng Xia smiled and shook his head. “It’s fine. This school uniform fits just right and adding one more will make me very bloated.”

As an actor, it was common to wear short sleeves in winter to shoot summer scenes or wear a lot in summer to shoot winter scenes. If he couldn’t bear this small bit of suffering then it was better to give up as soon as possible. The entire crew was waiting for him. What qualifications did he have as a newcomer to delay the progress?

Cheng Xia rubbed his hands together and ran to the studio. Director Zhang’s strict requirements meant this scene was shot five times. Chen Yijun saw this and couldn’t help saying, “Director Zhang, is it almost okay? Don’t let Cheng Xia freeze to death!”

Director Zhang beckoned to Cheng Xia. “It’s cold right? Come and have a cup of hot water.”

Cheng Xia’s cheeks were red with cold but his smile was bright when he took the thermos. “Director Zhang, I’m sorry. I didn’t perform well enough and delayed everyone.” Looking at this young man’s smile, the staff felt that this newcomer was too sensible and their attitude toward Cheng Xia naturally became much gentler.

For the next few days, Cheng Xia followed the crew to shoot the MV.

Meanwhile, Pei Shaoze took Zhang Fan on a business trip.

The two of them arrived in Xing City and went to the hotel to rest for one night. Early the next morning, Pei Shaoze took the materials prepared by Director Liu and Screenwriter Xu to the General Office of Radio, Movies and Television in person. The people at headquarters hadn’t expected Tianxuan’s boss to make this trip himself. As one of the best companies in the entertainment industry, Tianxuan submitted many works for review every year but this was the first time everyone had seen this new boss.

Pei Shaoze was very polite and offered to buy a meal for the people of the general office.

He was well versed in interpersonal communication. Back in the real world, many things were hard to say on the surface but they were talked about at the meal. In addition to the new drama, he explored the tone of the high level officials. For example, which subject matter was more strictly controlled, which subject matter was relatively loose, etc. so as to prepare for future works.

He also personally visited a high-level executive of the general office. This senior executive’s surname was Qin and he was a classmate of Pei Shaoze’s father. Although they were meeting for the first time, Uncle Qin considered Pei Sheng and was very concerned about Pei Shaoze who visited him in person. He promised to let Pei Shaoze know if there were any future developments so that a certain subject wouldn’t be filmed and then stuck at the review, unable to be broadcasted.

After finishing their work in Xing City, the two of them flew to Ya’an City.

There were two purposes for going to Ya’an. The first was the Minde Private High School located in the suburbs. Pei Shaoze had checked on the Internet that this school had a good environment and was the best choice for summer scenes of campus dramas. The second was the Xinya Movies and Television Studio. It was a well-known filming base and was extremely large. It could shoot dramas with various themes such as costume dramas, procedural dramas, war dramas etc.

Going to the movie and television studio for a field trip was also preparing for the future.

If Cheng Xia wanted to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry, he had to expand his range of dramas. A school drama was just to test the water. If the effect was good, Pei Shaoze would let Cheng Xia continue trying different themes that could be shot at the movie and television studio.

Zhang Fan ran around with President Pei for several days and found that he was a very clear-minded and far-sighted boss. Most people would just subconsciously solve the current problems and only handle current affairs. Meanwhile, President Pei often completed several things in one action and even included problems that hadn’t been encountered but might arise in the future.

It was a short week’s travel but the harvest was extremely rich. Since the original Accidental Mark didn’t write about any cities other than Rong City, Pei Shaoze wanted a more comprehensive understanding of this ABO world. This trip wasn’t just for business.

On the day he returned to Rong City, it was the end of January. The moment he got off the plane, he received three messages with good news.

The first was from Chen Yijun. [President Pei, the MV has been filmed. Cheng Xia’s performance is very good. Currently, we are in the late stages and there should be no problem finishing it by Valentine’s Day. I will keep reporting to you!]

The second was from Director Liu Xueyi. [President Pei, several scripts for the audition have been written and sent to your email. How is your progress? When will the audition time be announced?]

The third was from Uncle Qin of the General Office of Radio, Movies and Television. [Shaoze, I had people pay close attention to the review of the drama you are making. It has already passed. The license number is 20200106 and it could be found on the official website of the general office.]

Pei Shaoze replied, [Thank you Uncle Qin.]

He looked at his phone’s calendar. This year’s Spring Festival was February 10th and Valentine’s Day was February 14th. There were still 10 days until the new year. Pei Shaoze opened the conversation box with Liu Xueyi and said decisively, [Tomorrow will be a meeting, publicity on the 2nd and the formal audition on the 7th.]

Liu Xueyi, [So fast?]

Pei Shaoze leaned back, his expression calm. Time was tight but he believed Cheng Xia was ready.

Proofreader: Cat