Chapter 144: Target
After buying a bag for Zhang Xinxin, Li Jing was pulled back to her house by her.
According to Zhang Xinxin, to be fair, since Li Jing stayed at An Tong's place for so long, he should also stay at her place for a few days.
Compared to An Tong's clean and tidy room, Zhang Xinxin's rented apartment was a bit more cluttered.
Actually, to be precise, it's not messy, but she has a lot more stuff than An Tong.
In the two-bedroom apartment, one of the bedrooms had been forcibly turned into Zhang Xinxin's storage room, filled with clothes, shoes, accessories, and various things.
And the messiest room was that one; aside from it, the master bedroom and the living room were still clean and neat.
Seeing the room's setup, Li Jing knew that she didn't intend to give him a separate bedroom, but let him sleep in the master bedroom.
Because she heard An Tong personally cooked for Li Jing every day, Zhang Xinxin volunteered to cook dinner for him.
After a burst of clattering in the kitchen, Zhang Xinxin came out awkwardly with messy hair and an apron full of oil stains, grinning sheepishly at the bewildered Li Jing in the living room, and said, "Brother Li Jing, how about we just order takeout..."
Li Jing: "..."
Although Li Jing didn't have a great dinner, he had a rather excellent one that night.
It seemed all of Zhang Xinxin's innate abilities were focused in that area, even though An Tong had learned quite a bit about films, Li Jing felt that for a smart kid like Zhang Xinxin, An Tong still had a lot of room for improvement.
...
After a night of tossing and turning, Li Jing didn't wake up until noon the next day.
Zhang Xinxin had already gone to work, leaving Li Jing, a big man, alone in her bedroom, without seeming worried in the slightest.
After getting up, Li Jing looked at the breakfast she left for him, which had long gone cold, shook his head, washed up, and ordered takeout to fill his stomach before heading to the set.
This scene involved the lead actress. Compared to others' respect and deference towards Li Jing, the lead actress only gave a faint smile and greeted him upon learning his identity and then brushed past him towards the shooting location.
Li Jing could feel her inner arrogance and didn't mind, after all, she had made it to the lead actress, she had some resources in the industry, and had met various bosses, unlike Yang Xiaoxiu, who was a complete newcomer without any background.
Moreover, in everyone's mind, he was just an investor with five million, unaware of his actual billion-dollar wealth, which even Wen Lan and Wei Jia didn't know. Th*is c%o!py+ come-s fr-om c@on*te$nt on M|.V|%L.0$E&M+P%Y.R$.
According to Wen Lan, it seemed the lead actress's boyfriend was also a high-level executive at a film company.
However, Wen Lan chose her mainly because her acting skills and physical conditions fit the character.
Li Jing watched the lead actress perform a few scenes and nodded to himself, she was indeed much stronger than Dai Weiwei the other day.
"No wonder Sister Min studied the character so deeply; it seems Director Wen is also very satisfied."
At this moment, Yang Xiaoxiu proactively offered a cup of hot tea to Li Jing and then naturally stood beside him, attentively observing the set.
Li Jing took the hot tea, glanced at this young girl with a lot on her mind, and said, "What, she's your target?"
"Her?"
Yang Xiaoxiu shook her head: "My target isn't that low, I want to become an A-list star, earn a lot of money, and leave many classic works."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing was surprised, not expecting her goal to be so high and specific.
But looking at her serious and determined eyes, Li Jing somehow felt she really had a chance.
Yet he couldn't help but remind, "Though I don't know much about your industry, to become an A-list star, hard work alone might not guarantee success."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoxiu's determined eyes didn't waver in the slightest, and she calmly replied, "I know, besides improving my acting skills, I need connections, resources, and benefactors."
Li Jing raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious: "Then why are you so certain? Do you already have benefactors or connections? Or does your family have resources to help you in this industry?"
"No." At this moment, Yang Xiaoxiu's eyes slightly dimmed but then once again showed a determined look: "But opportunities always favor the prepared. Without benefactors, I'll find them; without connections, I'll seek them out.
I have my hands and feet; no matter the difficulties, I believe there's always a solution unless I'm incapacitated or dead."
Upon hearing these words, Li Jing squinted slightly at the girl before him, suddenly feeling that maybe everyone, including himself, had underestimated her.
If she could walk the talk, she might really stir things up in the industry.
After chatting briefly with Yang Xiaoxiu, Li Jing sat with Wen Lan in front of the monitor to watch the actors perform.
By Wen Lan's side, he could better understand her demands and thoughts, thereby enhancing his comprehension of his character.
During this period of filming with Wen Lan, he learned new things every day and gained new insights.
Although these things weren't very useful to Li Jing, the learning and accumulation of knowledge satisfied his spirit.
During this time, after materially enriching himself, Li Jing's spirit had been somewhat empty.
But learning alongside Wen Lan reduced that emptiness considerably and gave his spirit a certain degree of fulfillment.
By evening, while driving his sports car away from the set, Li Jing, noticing movement, saw Yang Xiaoxiu standing at the roadside bus stop, waiting for the bus alone in the cold autumn wind.
Li Jing lowered his car window, honked a few times, and asked, "Where to?"
"Brother Jing?"
Upon seeing Li Jing in the Maserati, Yang Xiaoxiu's eyes brightened, and she immediately stepped forward and answered, "I'm going back to school. Are you heading to the city? Just drop me off at a nearby subway station."
"Alright, hop in."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoxiu looked surprised, initially moved to sit in the front passenger seat, but after hesitating for a second, decided to sit in the back.
Li Jing was puzzled: "Why not sit in the front?"
"Isn't that the spot for your girlfriend, Brother Jing? It doesn't feel right for me to sit there."
"It's fine; there isn't anyone specific for this seat."
Seeing her still hesitant, Li Jing smiled and said, "Usually, leaders sit in the back. Are you treating me like a driver?"
"Oh no, no."
Yang Xiaoxiu was startled, quickly shook her head, and then obediently sat in the front passenger seat.
As soon as she sat down, she slightly flared her nostrils and quietly said, "This is Chanel's Chance, right?"
"What's Chance?" Li Jing was puzzled.
"It's a perfume." Yang Xiaoxiu smiled: "The girl who sat here before probably wore Chanel's Chance series perfume."
Hearing this, Li Jing realized, recalling Zhang Xinxin's frequent presence in his front passenger seat over the past few days, assuming it was the scent she left behind.
Then, while driving, he glanced at her and asked, "Do you girls all have such keen noses? I didn't notice any smell. Do you use this perfume too?"
"I can't afford it. A hundred milliliters costs over a thousand."
Yang Xiaoxiu shook her head, then hopefully said, "But when I start earning money, I'll definitely buy it."
"Over a thousand?"
Li Jing, whose expenses often run into tens of thousands, instinctively replied, "That's not expensive, is it?"
"It might not be expensive for you, Brother Jing, but for a poor student like me, it's not something I can just buy."
Yang Xiaoxiu tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at Li Jing's attire again with curiosity and envy: "Brother Jing, your whole outfit must cost around a hundred thousand."
"A hundred thousand?"
Li Jing thought of his watch worth over three hundred thousand, chuckled, and shook his head without saying anything.
And from his demeanor, Yang Xiaoxiu grasped a bit, privately surprised, thought for a few seconds, and then said, "Brother Jing, many people on the set know you invested five million in our movie, so they speculate your net worth is around ten million. But I think your wealth is definitely more than that."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing didn't answer but looked at her seemingly pure face in the rearview mirror and calmly said:
"Are you deliberately trying to gauge my power and then decide how to relate to me in the future?"