1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan felt that if Zhang Ziyi could really reject Chen Kaige and stay in school to complete her studies solidly, she would definitely make a name for herself in the future.

Even without Zhang Yimou's appreciation, she wouldn't be too bad.

But the path is chosen by oneself, and Zhou Yan had no intention of instructing others in person. He just nodded and said, "Since you are in the studio, study hard. But if you go to the crew later, remember to tell them in advance."

"Yes, I understand, Director Zhou."

Zhou Yan nodded, ignored her, and turned to chat with Lin Juan.

After chatting for about seven or eight minutes, Zhou Yan went to chat with Hong Xin for a while and then went back.

After returning to the office, Zhou Yan was about to get a glass of water when he was suddenly hugged from behind.

The position of the other person's arm was just above the waist. Given her height, Zhou Yan subconsciously thought it was Akina Nakamori. He was about to speak, but then he smelled a fragrance.

This scent is unique to Shizuka Kudo.

Zhou Yan smiled and held her hand, saying, "Shizuka-san, why are you here?"

Seeing Zhou Yan so calm, Kudo Shizuka let go of her arm, walked in front of him, and pouted, "How did you know it was me?"

Zhou Yan smiled, "Who else could it be but you?"

Kudo Shizuka was very proud, but she still shrugged, "Who knows if there is someone else?"

Zhou Yan looked her up and down, "Have you lost some weight recently?"

"I have lost a little weight. I always forget to eat."

When Shizuka Kudo was in China, she was influenced by the people around her and always thought that eating was a big deal, so she took her three meals a day very seriously. Moreover, Zhou Yan always asked her to eat more every time she ate, so she would eat more unconsciously.

But after returning to Neon, the attitude of the people around her towards eating was just to ensure vital signs. As for how the food was, no one cared much. In such an atmosphere, she usually didn't eat very well.

"Then eat more tonight."

Kudo Shizuka raised her hands and hugged Zhou Yan's neck, looking at Zhou Yan with burning eyes, "I suddenly feel a little hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

"I want to..." Kudo Shizuka stood on tiptoe, leaned close to Zhou Yan's ear, and breathed warm air into Zhou Yan's ear, "eat you."

Zhou Yan felt his body warm after being blown by Kudo Shizuka. He also blew into Kudo Shizuka's ear, "Welcome to eat."

Then, before Kudo Shizuka could say anything, Zhou Yan kissed her.

Because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, after Zhou Yan's kiss, Kudo Shizuka's body suddenly softened and she leaned against Zhou Yan.

Shizuka Kudo has been practicing her singing skills hard recently, and her lung capacity is much better than before, but she was still breathless after being kissed by Zhou Yan.

When Zhou Yan let her go, her face was already red and her eyes were like two pools of spring water. If it wasn't broad daylight and they were in the office, Zhou Yan would have wanted to do it to her right there.

Shizuka Kudo also knew that the occasion was not right, so she left Zhou Yan's arms and started to tidy up her hair and clothes.

Zhou Yan asked, "Why did you come here suddenly today?"

"I just wanted to give you a surprise." Kudo Shizuka smiled, then looked around Zhou Yan's office, "I'll give you a surprise inspection."

Zhou Yan sniffed and thought that Kudo Shizuka had a bad habit.

"How long will you stay in China this time?" Zhou Yan asked.

"How long do you want me to stay?"

"As I think, you don't have to leave."

"I would like to stay longer, but I still have work to do. This time I have work in both Yanjing and Shanghai. When I finish my work, I will be able to go back with Mingcai."

"Do you know when she's going to be back?"

"Yes, I know. She will be back in half a month. I know her schedule very well."

"Does she know you're here?"

"Of course not. I want to give her a surprise too. Where is she now?"

"At this time, he should be in the training room."

"Come on, take me to find her."

Zhou Yan nodded, and took Kudo Shizuka to the training room to find Nakamori Akina.

Akina Nakamori was practicing singing at the moment with her back to the door. Shizuka Kudo gently pushed the door open and tiptoed towards Akina Nakamori.

When she walked behind Akina Nakamori, she hugged her and screamed.

"ah."

Akina Nakamori was so frightened that she almost fell to the ground.

When she turned around and saw Kudo Shizuka, she hit her twice in angrily.

"Bad girl, you scared me to death."

Akina Nakamori is very timid and is particularly afraid of this kind of sudden fright. She was frightened just now and broke out in cold sweat on her back.

After being hit twice, Kudo Shizuka didn't care at all, and said with a smile, "Haha, I scared you."

Seeing her sly look, Akina Nakamori couldn't help but hit her twice more, "You almost scared me to death."

"You can scare me next time."

"I won't scare you. You're not afraid of being scared at all." Nakamori Akina pursed her lips, glanced at Zhou Yan behind her, and then asked Kudo Shizuka, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to give you a surprise."

"This is clearly a shock." Akina Nakamori patted her chest.

The shock she was talking about wasn't just what happened just now, but also what happened between her and Zhou Yan.

Fortunately, she was practicing singing in the practice room at the moment. If she was in Zhou Yan's office and the two of them were caught doing something else, they would be doomed.

Now she felt very guilty in front of Kudo Shizuka.

"Haha, it's almost the same as a surprise." Kudo Shizuka smiled and asked, "How is your song practice going?"

Kudo Shizuka knew that Zhou Yan wrote a song for Akina Nakamori. They would talk about it whenever they chatted. Kudo Shizuka also knew that Akina Nakamori had encountered some problems while recording "Fireworks" recently.

"A little better than before."

"That's good." Kudo Shizuka clenched her fists, "Come on."

Since Kudo Shizuka was here, Nakamori Akina naturally couldn't practice singing anymore, and it was time for dinner, so Zhou Yan asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

"Let's eat noodles with soy sauce."

"Let's have hot pot."

The two people said it almost at the same time, and then they looked at each other and laughed.

Shizuka Kudo said "eat hot pot" because she knew Akina Nakamori liked to eat hot pot, and Akina Nakamori said "eat noodles with soy sauce" because she knew Shizuka Kudo liked to eat noodles with soy sauce.

Both of them knew that the other person considered themselves first, so they were very happy.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's not like hot pot and mixed noodles can't coexist. Let's eat together tonight."

"This is the best of both worlds." Shizuka Kudo said with a smile.

I have to say that Kudo Shizuka's Chinese level has improved rapidly, and now even uses idioms smoothly.

"However," Kudo Shizuka added, "the hot pot must be a shabu-shabu hot pot." She is different from Akina Nakamori and cannot eat spicy food.

"Okay, let's have a double-boiled hotpot." Zhou Yan said with a smile.

……

In the evening, Shizuka Kudo had the noodles as she wished, and Akina Nakamori also had hotpot.

Kudo Shizuka suggested drinking some wine, so Zhou Yan had someone open a bottle of red wine and shared it among the three of them.

After eating and drinking, Zhou Yan sent them both back to the hotel.

He didn't stay after that and asked the driver to take him home.

Nothing happened that night, and the next morning, around nine o'clock, Shizuka Kudo and Akina Nakamori arrived at the studio together.

When Zhou Yan saw the two of them, he was surprised and asked, "What happened to you two?"

The two girls looked listless, one of them had two panda eyes.

"We haven't seen each other for a while, so Akina and I talked for a long time last night," said Shizuka Kudo.

Zhou Yan was surprised to hear her say this, "Didn't you just meet a while ago?"

Before Akina Nakamori came to China, she met Shizuka Kudo in Neon. It's only been over a week. Why are they so excited? Are they going to chat for the whole night?
To have such dark circles under the eyes, I guess I chatted all night last night.

"Anyway, I'm just very happy." said Akina Nakamori.

"So you don't sleep during the day?"

"I want to practice." said Akina Nakamori.

"I want to practice with Akina." said Kudo Shizuka.

Zhou Yan pouted. These two girls looked weird to him, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just nodded and said, "Then go to the practice room. Have you had breakfast?"

"I've had breakfast at the hotel."

"Well, what do you want to eat for lunch? I'll ask the kitchen to prepare it."

Akina Nakamori yawned, "I'm fine with either. You decide."

Kudo Shizuka also yawned due to Akina Nakamori's infection. "I'm fine with that too. You can arrange it."

After that, the two of them went to the practice room together.

Looking at the two people's unsteady steps, Zhou Yan shook his head. He really couldn't understand them.

In fact, after he went back home last night, he waited for a while for a phone call. He thought that Akina Nakamori would call and secretly ask him to go back, but he waited for a long time and nothing happened.

It seems that we were busy chatting last night.

……

After the two girls left, Zhou Yan stayed in the office for a while, then got up and went to Building No. 5 next to the TV drama building, and then went directly to the second floor.

Now the entire second floor of Building No. 6 is the office of "The Yongzheng Dynasty".

When he arrived, quite a few people were moving tables.

The second floor has been cleaned and now we just need to do some simple arrangements.

Liu Wenwu and his team bought some office supplies such as printers and computers, and now Liu Wenwu is leading his employees to move them in.

Zhou Yan walked over and said with a smile, "Boss Liu, we have extra printers, computers and other office supplies in our studio. You can just use them."

Liu Wenwu laughed and said, "How can that be possible? Director Zhou, I am already very grateful that you can provide an office space. How can I use your office supplies? It's fine if we use them, but we must pay for them."

"you are too polite."

"I'm not being polite. Cooperation is cooperation. We need to be clear about this. I can't take advantage of you."

"Mr. Liu is indeed meticulous in his work." Zhou Yanshun praised.

In fact, Zhou Yan was just being polite. He provided the office space for convenience. He thought that the cost itself was not too high for him, but it could solve a big problem for the crew, so the cost-effectiveness was very considerable.

But sharing office supplies is impossible.

Even if Liu Wenwu really wants to use it, he will ask them to pay later.

Zhou Yan looked at the busy staff and asked, "Is Director Hu coming today?"

"She has arrived and is setting up her office now."

Because Zhou Yan provided a lot of space, Liu Wenwu also arranged an office for the director, and it was the largest office on this floor.

Although Liu Wenwu was a very arbitrary person, he did not care much about the pomp and circumstance, so when choosing an office, he chose a small one for himself and left the largest one for the director.

"Shall we go take a look?"

Liu Wenwu nodded, "Okay, I'll take you there."

When the two arrived at the director's office, Hu Mei was putting some documents into the filing cabinet.

Hearing the noise, Hu Mei turned around and saw Zhou Yan and Liu Wenwu. She smiled and said, "Boss Liu, Director Zhou."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Director Hu, are you satisfied with this office?"

"Satisfied, satisfied, very satisfied." Hu Mei nodded repeatedly.

The small office space of Yanjing Film Studio has been a problem that has not been solved for many years. Many directors do not even have a decent desk, let alone their own independent office.

Throughout the entire Yanjing Film Studio, there are no more than a handful of people who can own their own independent offices.

Now that Hu Mei is here, she not only has her own office, but it is also more spacious than the office of their factory director Han Sanping. Of course she is happy.

"As long as you are satisfied, it's good. If you need anything, just tell me and General Manager Liu, and we will do our best to satisfy you. We are like an army. Now that you are the commander, we have a backbone, and the battle is about to begin."

Zhou Yan's seemingly casual words made Hu Mei feel pressured immediately. She could hear that Zhou Yan was very pursuing efficiency.

She also nodded and said, "Director Zhou, President Liu, don't worry, I will work non-stop and devote myself to it."

"I naturally believe in Director Hu's professionalism." Zhou Yan smiled and then asked directly, "I wonder what Director Hu thinks of the male lead?"

Hu Mei was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Liu Wenwu, who just smiled and said nothing, so she said, "Actually, I already have a candidate in mind."

"Who?"

"Director Zhou, you should be quite familiar with Zhang Fengyi."

"Oh, it's him."

In fact, Zhou Yan and Zhang Fengyi are not very familiar with each other. They didn't have much contact when they were filming "Farewell My Concubine".

The main reason was that Zhou Yan was quite close to Zhang Guorong at that time, and Zhang Fengyi avoided Zhang Guorong in private.

Zhang Fengyi is a very outgoing person. He can talk to anyone he meets for the first time and seems very generous, but it is actually very difficult to open up to him.

Zhou Yan must be dissatisfied with Zhang Fengyi playing the role of Yongzheng. If he had played the role, the drama would have been much worse.

If Zhang Fengyi is to come, Zhou Yan would rather let Wang Xueqi, who Liu Wenwu had considered before, play the role. In Zhou Yan's mind, Wang Xueqi is definitely more suitable than Zhang Fengyi.

Zhou Yan was also very surprised. He thought that Tang Guoqiang was able to play the leading role because of Hu Mei. Now it seems that the situation is not what he thought.

Then Zhou Yan thought of another thing. Isn't Zhang Fengyi going to act in "The Emperor and the Assassin"? The two plays have conflicting schedules. (End of this chapter)