Ah Wan rolled up her sleeves and joined the chicken-chasing crew.
Vice Director Zhao did not dare to be careless either, grabbing a loudspeaker to direct the chicken chase, the target being the mottled rooster!
"You, stand by camera one."
"You, over by camera two."
"Surround it!"
"Hurry, grab it!"
With the Vice Director's orders, a few male assistants and Ah Wan swarmed in, pushing the rooster into a perimeter. Ah Wan seized the moment to perform a grapple, and in the blink of an eye, the rooster took to the air, soaring upwards: "Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck..."
After a brief scramble, they saw the rooster diving in one direction. Ah Wan focused her gaze.
Damn!
Vice Director Zhao slapped his forehead, it was over.
The mottled rooster landed right on the shoulder of the bedridden director. Instantly, the entire place fell silent. Then, a splat was heard, and a wad of chicken poo hung precariously, ready to fall.
Jiang Zhi was utterly dumbfounded, his face turning as white as a sheet.
The silence was so intense that one could hear a pin drop. Ah Wan held her breath, daring not to make a sound, and cautiously approached: "Mr. Jiang."
Speaking as softly as possible, Ah Wan was afraid of disturbing both the rooster and the impending drop of chicken poo.
Jiang Zhi lay there, body rigid: "Quick, quick, get it off."
His voice trembled.
Ah Wan worried he might pass out from sheer anxiety. This little master was incredibly delicate, and his fastidiousness was well known.
"Don't move," Ah Wan sternly advised. "Don't move a muscle, or the chicken poo will fall."
"..."
Jiang Zhi's face turned darker: "Then what the hell do you want me to do?" His handsome face twisted with rage.
Ah Wan had no idea what to do either. Hesitating for a long while, she finally inched forward, reaching her hand out, but before she could touch anything, suddenly—
A chicken feather fell onto Vice Director Zhao's face, making his nose itch.
"Achoo!"
Almost simultaneously, the mottled rooster flapped its wings and leaped up.
"Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck!"
Amidst the flurry of chicken feathers, a black lump was flung straight onto Jiang Zhi's gray sweater. Entirely frozen, he closed his eyes involuntarily.
"Cluck!"
A gust of wind blew by, swirling the chicken feathers up and down. No one noticed where the figure wrapped in sackcloth had come from. Her whole body pressed against the director, and the lump of chicken poo landed on her sackcloth attire.
"Ugh!"
Jiang Zhi groaned under her weight and suddenly opened his eyes. He was met with a pair of clear, shining eyes, dark as an endless night sky, devoid of waves or traces.
Zhou Xufang.
Xue Baoyi had mentioned her; this girl was named Zhou Xufang, with a peculiar name for a peculiar person, now peculiarly sprawled over him, stirring up strange emotional turbulence within him. Having never had close contact with the opposite sex, her repeated breaches of his personal space left him bewildered.
He inexplicably swallowed, his throat burning, making his face flush: "You, you… cough, cough, cough, cough…"
He coughed so hard his eyes turned red.
Zhou Xufang, still lying there, blinked.
He yelled at her: "Get off me!"
Oh.
She clambered off him, and because Jiang Zhi had taken off his coat for the action scene, his gray sweater was caught by her sackcloth costume, exposing a section of pale waist skin. Her fingers inadvertently brushed against it.
So smooth.
Zhou Xufang looked at the exposed waist, unfortunately, not for long. The waist's owner almost yanked his sweater down, covering up. Then he threw a blanket over himself, covering tightly. He sat up, covering his mouth and coughing furiously.
Coughing as if his heart was being torn out!
So fragile, Zhou Xufang thought. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Her face was wrapped, only exposing a pair of almond-shaped phoenix eyes that were clearly cold yet made Jiang Zhi's heart feel warm. He suppressed the itchiness in his throat, breathing heavily: "You, you stay away from me!"
Stuttering again.
Jiang Zhi clenched his fists, angry and heated all over.
She stepped back five steps.
Ah Wan came forward to ask: "Mr. Jiang, are you alright?" His face was so red, his ears too, even his collarbones, something was not right.
Using one hand to support himself on the lounge chair, Jiang Zhi, his forehead covered with a thin layer of sweat, said weakly: "What do you think?"
Ah Wan thought, her employer really is quite delicate. She considerately asked: "Do you want me to call Dr. Xue over for you?"
Jiang Zhi licked his teeth, pulling on his coat: "Get out of here, all of you!" His gaze fixed on the person wrapped in sackcloth. "Everyone get out!"
Fang Lixiang hurried over to drag Zhou Xufang away. Vice Director Zhao didn't dare make a sound, signaling everyone to retreat with his eyes.
However, Ah Wan dared not really leave, following along.
"I think I've messed up again." Zhou Xufang glanced at the still fluttering mottled rooster, frowning deeply.
Fang Lixiang consoled her: "It's not your fault, it's all because of that rooster."
She lowered her eyelids: "I'm the one who brought the rooster."
Fang Lixiang: "..."
What was going on, he found Zhou Xufang more and more adorably aloof.
In the director's lounge, there was a bathroom.
Jiang Zhi spent over half an hour showering before coming out, with the water turned up high. His skin, already pale, was steamed red.
Ah Wan was at the door: "Mr. Jiang."
"Get in here."
Ah Wan gingerly stepped in, head lowered, quietly putting down the clothes, planning to make her escape.
"Lin Wanwan."
"..."
Could he stop calling her that? She had her own dignity as a man, Ah Wan lifted her head: "Your order."
Wearing a soft white bathrobe, Jiang Zhi's collar was loose, hair yet to be dried, water droplets sliding down his side profile into his collar: "Go and slaughter that rooster."
"Oh."
Ah Wan sneaked a peek at his employer's collar. What kind of celestial collarbone was that? A big man with such delicate skin, quite unlike her preference for a rougher look.
Jiang Zhi rubbed his hair with a towel: "Still not gone?"
"Oh." Ah Wan walked to the door but couldn't help turning back, "Mr. Jiang, I've made a discovery."
"Speak."
Ah Wan said: "I think that person who was sticking to you…" taking a secret glance at his employer's gloomy expression.
"Liked your looks."
"Where did you see that?" Jiang Zhi, pulling his bathrobe tighter, sniffed himself, still feeling there was a stench, wiping his neck repeatedly with the towel until his skin warmed under the friction.
Ah Wan's reasoning: "She shielded you from the chicken poo." That must be true love!
Jiang Zhi stopped his action, lifting an eyelid: "Don't mention that word again."
Mentioning chickens was taboo now.
Ah Wan wisely corrected: "She shielded you from poo."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a milk can was sent flying, making her dizzy.
"..."
Working was tough.
Ah Wan rubbed her head, quietly withdrawing. As she did, she glimpsed the table. Wait, wasn't he despising the milk because it tasted like chicken? Why had he opened a box?
The employer's mind was like a needle in the sea!
At eight in the evening, Fusheng Inn resonated with the strings and flutes of the orchestra. The Imperial City had plenty of bewitching dens, mostly lavish, unlike the elegant Fusheng Inn.
Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo, the murals were painted exquisitely. Before the paintings stood a couple, elegantly dressed.
The woman leaned bonelessly against the wall, laughing charmingly: "Young Master."
The man curled his lips with slight displeasure: "Call me Mr., not Young Master."
There were several Misters in the Imperial City, but only one frequenting the Fusheng Inn, the young master of the Xue Family.
Xue Baoyi's father was ranked second at home. This Mr. Xue was his father, Xue Baoyi was also the second grandson in the Xue family. But Xue Baoyi disliked the odd title of Young Master and insisted on being called Mr.
The woman tactfully changed the address: "Mr.," she hooked her arm around Xue Baoyi's, "Shall we share a drink?"
"Did you put on perfume?" Xue Baoyi withdrew his hand, taking a step back, "Stay away from me, someone inside dislikes the smell of women's perfume."