Chapter 19

The boxed lunches on set were always the same for everyone, regardless of who they were. However, most major stars would have their assistants bring them food from outside. Just now, Zuo Mingran saw Ran Luning's assistant rush back with a food box.

In the past, Zuo Mingran had a bit of a scandal about this because she never ate the boxed lunches prepared by the crew. As a result, there was a time when they were filming in a remote mountainous area where delivery couldn't reach. The assistant couldn't leave, so when it was time to eat, she forced the assistant to set up a fire on the spot and cook a meal for her, refusing to eat the boxed lunches prepared by the crew.

Later, this incident was exposed by someone on set, and Zuo Mingran was criticized by the official media in the fire department. As a result, during that time, whenever there was news about Zuo Mingran, there would always be someone in the comments section saying, "Fire in the morning, police station in the afternoon."

However, Zuo Mingran didn't have any special demands when it came to food. After all, when she was busy with deadlines in the past, she often made do with instant noodles for a day. Compared to that, the boxed lunches on set had both meat and vegetables, rice and soup, and the taste wasn't bad. It could be said that they were both filling and healthy.

The aroma of the chicken soup quickly filled the room. Zuo Mingran had been busy all morning, so it wasn't a lie that she was hungry, but she didn't feel it much in the first place. However, the fragrance tempted her stomach, causing it to growl uncontrollably.

There were only the two of them in the room, and Zuo Mingran had no one else to blame for her embarrassment. She couldn't help but feel awkward. Yan Yunyang, who had no expression before, couldn't help but reveal a faint smile. He looked around and asked Zuo Mingran, "Are there food boxes here?"

Zuo Mingran was unsure and said, "There should be."

Zuo Mingran only managed to find a stainless steel bowl from the corner. She crouched down on the floor and estimated the time.

Yan Yunyang's flight arrived in B City at 7 a.m., and if we counted the meeting at 8 a.m., he would have returned home around 9 p.m. Adding in the time needed to buy groceries and cook, he basically made it and had it delivered to himself. There was simply no time for him to eat it himself.

Sighing and resigning herself to her fate, Zuo Mingran placed the bowl aside and continued searching through a pile of daily necessities.

However, this time she dug herself a hole. When she was packing, she thought since she lived nearby, she could keep it simple and just go back and get it if needed. As a result, she only packed a set of cutlery, and it was unintentional.

Unable to find anything, Zuo Mingran sighed and stood up from the floor. She used hot water to sterilize all the cutlery and placed them on the table.

The thermal flask wasn't big, estimating it could hold enough for two people. Zuo Mingran poured out half of it and added some pieces of meat, pushing the bowl in front of Yan Yunyang. "You can eat this."

Yan Yunyang didn't expect her to consider him. Looking at the mountain-like bowl in front of him, his eyes darkened slightly as he said in a warm voice, "What about you?"

"I'll use this." Zuo Mingran pointed to the thermal flask without any hesitation.

Yan Yunyang: "..."

Even though the thermal flask was small, it was still a flask. How did a female celebrity who relied on her face to eat manage to say without any hesitation that she would use a thermal flask to drink soup? Thinking back to the negative news about Zuo Mingran's diva behavior on the internet, Yan Yunyang began to doubt the authenticity of the entertainment industry for the first time.

There was only one set of cutlery, and Zuo Mingran held up a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other, asking, "Which one do you want to use?"

After a moment of silence, Yan Yunyang took the chopsticks and exchanged the positions of the thermal flask and the bowl. "I'll use this."

Zuo Mingran didn't have time to stop him and watched as he took a sip of soup from the thermal flask, completely cutting off any thoughts of switching back.

Yan Yunyang's face was barely smaller than the mouth of the flask, and when he held the thermal flask to drink soup, almost his entire face was covered. From Zuo Mingran's perspective, it looked like he had stuck his head into the thermal flask, giving off a strange and cute vibe. Zuo Mingran shamefully found it adorable and quickly lowered her head, pretending she hadn't seen anything.

After taking a sip, Yan Yunyang lifted his head and calmly looked at her, a barely perceptible smile in his eyes. Zuo Mingran, holding the spoon, grumbled for a while, and couldn't bear the pain any longer. "I can't eat this much meat."

"..."

Zuo Mingran said, "My manager will scold me for it."

"..."

In the end, those pieces of meat ended up in Yan Yunyang's stomach, while Zuo Mingran held a bowl of soup. The warm chicken soup was perfectly cooked, with just the right balance, without too much seasoning, but refreshing and not greasy when it entered the mouth, retaining its own flavor. The feeling of satisfaction weighed heavily in the stomach.

Zuo Mingran happily drank the soup, while Yan Yunyang hung his head, silently watching her.

During this business trip, he saw the person he least wanted to see in his lifetime.

His father.

Since moving out of the family's house several years ago and starting his own company without relying on any family connections, the father and son had met only a few times, and each meeting had ended in a heated argument.

This time, while passing through that city, he was directly confronted by the person who claimed to be his father at the airport. The argument between them was more intense than any before, until the other person said something hurtful about him losing his inheritance rights. Only then did he finally understand why Liu Qinghe had hurriedly returned from abroad.

The current Yan Group was dominant in the domestic technology industry, and everyone knew that Yan Guangqi, the CEO of Yan Group, was firmly seated on the list of the country's wealthy, but they didn't know that the success of Yan Group was actually the result of the efforts of two families.

Only one family achieved fame and fortune, while the other retired from the limelight.

The power struggle had never ceased.

He hurriedly returned to City B, feeling mentally and physically exhausted. After the meeting, he had his assistant send him home and personally cooked a meal.

This was a habit he developed in his childhood. At that time, their family could never gather together, even for a meal, they would eat separately like strangers.

As a child, he heard from his teacher that he should cook a meal for his parents with his own hands. After school, he pushed aside the busy nanny and made a scrambled egg himself. He put too much salt, making it too salty, but that was the first time his family gathered together to eat.

Later on, he developed the habit of cooking his own meals.

The well-cooked chicken soup was placed on the table, but he had no desire to drink it.

There was no one sitting on the chair across from him, the large room was empty, and almost echoed with his own breathing.

And then, Yan Yunyang, for some reason unknown to himself, actually carried the chicken soup and ran to Zuo Mingran's filming location. Without notifying anyone, luckily Zuo Mingran's assistant had seen him once and brought him inside.

"..."

In the end, those pieces of meat ended up in Yan Yunyang's stomach, while Zuo Mingran held a bowl of soup. The warm chicken soup was perfectly cooked, with just the right balance, without too much seasoning, but refreshing and not greasy when it entered the mouth, retaining its own flavor. The feeling of satisfaction weighed heavily in the stomach.

Zuo Mingran happily drank the soup, while Yan Yunyang hung his head, silently watching her.

During this business trip, he saw the person he least wanted to see in his lifetime.

His father.

Since moving out of the family's house several years ago and starting his own company without relying on any family connections, the father and son had met only a few times, and each meeting had ended in a heated argument.

This time, while passing through that city, he was directly confronted by the person who claimed to be his father at the airport. The argument between them was more intense than any before, until the other person said something hurtful about him losing his inheritance rights. Only then did he finally understand why Liu Qinghe had hurriedly returned from abroad.

The current Yan Group was dominant in the domestic technology industry, and everyone knew that Yan Guangqi, the CEO of Yan Group, was firmly seated on the list of the country's wealthy, but they didn't know that the success of Yan Group was actually the result of the efforts of two families.

Only one family achieved fame and fortune, while the other retired from the limelight.

The power struggle had never ceased.

He hurriedly returned to City B, feeling mentally and physically exhausted. After the meeting, he had his assistant send him home and personally cooked a meal.

This was a habit he developed in his childhood. At that time, their family could never gather together, even for a meal, they would eat separately like strangers.

As a child, he heard from his teacher that he should cook a meal for his parents with his own hands. After school, he pushed aside the busy nanny and made a scrambled egg himself. He put too much salt, making it too salty, but that was the first time his family gathered together to eat.

Later on, he developed the habit of cooking his own meals.

The well-cooked chicken soup was placed on the table, but he had no desire to drink it.

There was no one sitting on the chair across from him, the large room was empty, and almost echoed with his own breathing.

And then, Yan Yunyang, for some reason unknown to himself, actually carried the chicken soup and ran to Zuo Mingran's filming location. Without notifying anyone, luckily Zuo Mingran's assistant had seen him once and brought him inside.

In the afternoon, there was still a filming task to be done, with limited time and heavy workload, so Zuo Mingran didn't remove her makeup, she only wiped off her lipstick. However, her lips were a pale pink color, and removing the lipstick actually diminished the sense of distance brought by the makeup. Zuo Mingran hung her head, her long eyelashes leaving a shadow on her eyelids. She sat on a small stool, sipping the soup spoon by spoon. Her long legs had to stretch out because the stool was too low, and she wore pink slippers on her feet, swaying cutely.

Yan Yunyang withdrew his gaze and began looking elsewhere in the rest area.

This was his first time on a filming set, and although Zuo Mingran was drinking soup, she was secretly observing Yan Yunyang.

As the saying goes, when there's no trouble, one may still be up to no good.

She and Yan Yunyang were only husband and wife in name, and it was fine for them to eat together when they lived together. But how could she come to the filming set and even bring food for him?

To be honest, considering Yan Yunyang's looks, Zuo Mingran didn't really think he had any improper thoughts towards her. However, if there was another reason, she couldn't think of it for a while.

Zuo Mingran's eyes glanced at Yan Yunyang, and he clearly understood, yet he didn't say anything, just sitting there on his own without playing with his phone, as if lost in thought.

Watching him boredly survey the rest area, Zuo Mingran set down her bowl, coughed and said, "Do you want to take a look yourself?"

Yan Yunyang nodded and stood up from the chair, starting to wander around. When he saw the script placed on the makeup table by Zuo Mingran, he paused, turned around and asked, "Can I take a look at this?"

Under normal circumstances, scripts are highly confidential. Although there was an original work, the script would always have some modifications, and keeping it confidential was also for the sake of the final ratings.

But Yan Yunyang was not a gossip reporter, so Zuo Mingran nodded and said, "Sure, but it's a bit messy with my annotations, as long as it's not too troublesome for you."

Yan Yunyang picked up the script, and on the cover was Zuo Mingran's name. She had stuck a few smiley face stickers next to it, looking somewhat funny.

Flipping open the script, every line of dialogue that belonged to her was marked with a green highlighter, and next to it, she had written detailed analysis of her character and understanding of the plot in blue ink. Yan Yunyang casually flipped through it, a thick stack of scripts, almost every page had such content, indicating how much effort she usually put into it.

After reading for a while, Yan Yunyang put down the script and turned his head to look at Zuo Mingran, who had finished her soup.

Having eaten her fill, Zuo Mingran felt like something was missing. She propped up her chin and murmured softly, "Did I forget something?"

Just as she thought about it, someone knocked on the door. In a flash, Zuo Mingran finally remembered what she had forgotten. She had forgotten about An Qi!

They had agreed to pick up the lunchbox, but she was forced to take more than an hour. An Qi cautiously poked her head in from outside the door, not daring to look in Yan Yunyang's direction, only staring at Zuo Mingran and saying, "Sister Zuo, the director wants you to go over there."

Translation into English:

In the afternoon, there was still a filming task to be done, with limited time and heavy workload, so Zuo Mingran didn't remove her makeup, she only wiped off her lipstick. However, her lips were a pale pink color, and removing the lipstick actually diminished the sense of distance brought by the makeup. Zuo Mingran hung her head, her long eyelashes leaving a shadow on her eyelids. She sat on a small stool, sipping the soup spoon by spoon. Her long legs had to stretch out because the stool was too low, and she wore pink slippers on her feet, swaying cutely.

Yan Yunyang withdrew his gaze and began looking elsewhere in the rest area.

This was his first time on a filming set, and although Zuo Mingran was drinking soup, she was secretly observing Yan Yunyang.

As the saying goes, when there's no trouble, one may still be up to no good.

She and Yan Yunyang were only husband and wife in name, and it was fine for them to eat together when they lived together. But how could she come to the filming set and even bring food for him?

To be honest, considering Yan Yunyang's looks, Zuo Mingran didn't really think he had any improper thoughts towards her. However, if there was another reason, she couldn't think of it for a while.

Zuo Mingran's eyes glanced at Yan Yunyang, and he clearly understood, yet he didn't say anything, just sitting there on his own without playing with his phone, as if lost in thought.

Watching him boredly survey the rest area, Zuo Mingran set down her bowl, coughed and said, "Do you want to take a look yourself?"

Yan Yunyang nodded and stood up from the chair, starting to wander around. When he saw the script placed on the makeup table by Zuo Mingran, he paused, turned around and asked, "Can I take a look at this?"

Under normal circumstances, scripts are highly confidential. Although there was an original work, the script would always have some modifications, and keeping it confidential was also for the sake of the final ratings.

But Yan Yunyang was not a gossip reporter, so Zuo Mingran nodded and said, "Sure, but it's a bit messy with my annotations, as long as it's not too troublesome for you."

Yan Yunyang picked up the script, and on the cover was Zuo Mingran's name. She had stuck a few smiley face stickers next to it, looking somewhat funny.

Flipping open the script, every line of dialogue that belonged to her was marked with a green highlighter, and next to it, she had written detailed analysis of her character and understanding of the plot in blue ink. Yan Yunyang casually flipped through it, a thick stack of scripts, almost every page had such content, indicating how much effort she usually put into it.

After reading for a while, Yan Yunyang put down the script and turned his head to look at Zuo Mingran, who had finished her soup.

Having eaten her fill, Zuo Mingran felt like something was missing. She propped up her chin and murmured softly, "Did I forget something?"

Just as she thought about it, someone knocked on the door. In a flash, Zuo Mingran finally remembered what she had forgotten. She had forgotten about An Qi!

They had agreed to pick up the lunchbox, but she was forced to take more than an hour. An Qi cautiously poked her head in from outside the door, not daring to look in Yan Yunyang's direction, only staring at Zuo Mingran and saying, "Sister Zuo, the director wants you to go over there."

After checking the time and realizing it was already 2 PM, Zuo Mingran quickly took out a tissue to wipe her mouth, stood up, and started heading towards the exit. However, she remembered that Yan Yunyang was still there, so she turned back and said, "You..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Yan Yunyang responded smoothly, "It's alright, you can go ahead. I can stay here by myself."

Zuo Mingran choked back her words. She actually wanted to ask when he would leave, but his response made it difficult for her to say it without sounding like she was trying to chase him away.

With the words stuck in her throat, Zuo Mingran could only force a smile and say, "Okay, but there's no internet here. I'll ask Anqi to turn on the hotspot on my phone for you."

The rest area was small in size, and Zuo Mingran took a few steps outside before finally giving in to the urge to turn back. She found a pair of sunglasses with a neutral style and handed them to him, saying, "If you go out, take these with you. Don't let the media catch you. They love creating stories." After saying that, Zuo Mingran hurriedly left under Anqi's silent urging.

Yan Yunyang looked down at the sunglasses in his hand and smiled.

What? Was she asking him to cosplay as a blind person?