Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 86: A Little Neck-Strangling

Although Zhang Yan reminded himself to be careful with his words and actions before going, his reputation preceded him, and the leader kept calling on him to talk about his thoughts. So in the end, he had to bite the bullet and come up with a few new words to pass the test.

The leader was most interested in the 'one-stop service'.

Other terms are either too vague, require too much investment, or are slow to produce results, but getting all departments to work together to serve the developers can produce results in a very short time.

Moreover, the slogan "one-stop service" is simple, straightforward, and easy to promote, which can solve the immediate problem and provide a model for other units to visit and learn from.

The city leaders were overjoyed and not only hosted a banquet for him at noon, but also frequently toasted Zhang Yan.

Given Zhang Yan's limited alcohol tolerance, it's quite remarkable that he didn't slip under the table on the spot.

Later, he lost consciousness and when he came to, he saw Tao Hong wiping his face with a towel with concern.

Zhang Yan subconsciously sat up and found himself lying in a train carriage, but the surroundings were empty except for Tao Hong.

"This is……"

Zhang Yan was halfway through his question when he suddenly realized what was going on and asked, "Is this the repair vehicle we booked? Has it finished filming, or hasn't it started yet?"

"The filming location is in the next carriage, and Director Guan is leading the extras in rehearsal."

Tao Hong gave a brief explanation, then stared at Zhang Yan with a look that seemed to want to see right through him and asked, "Teacher Zhang, I heard that the vice mayor of Tianjin wanted to transfer you to the government office, but you refused outright?"

Her words were full of naked admiration, feeling that Teacher Zhang was not only talented, but also had the pride of a scholar—after all, he was being personally recruited by a vice-ministerial level official!

Unfortunately, such an outstanding person always seems to encounter the wrong people. First, there was Zhou Nan, who didn't appreciate her, and then she got entangled with a vixen...

Thinking of this, Tao Hong wished she could transform her body and soul into a torrent of love, wrap Zhang Yan tightly around her, and keep him away from those messy, bad women.

"what?!"

Zhang Yan scratched the back of his head hard, but he couldn't remember that incident at all, nor could he remember how he had answered back then.

Could I have unwittingly offended my boss?
He felt a little uneasy, but he didn't want to lose face in front of the girl's admiring gaze, so he waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "I'm a carefree person by nature, and I can't stand the constraints of government agencies."

"I know, I know!"

Tao Hong nodded vigorously and said with a serious expression, "This is called 'I am a madman of Chu, singing like a phoenix and laughing at Confucius'.

"Haha~"

Zhang Yan laughed out loud at her words, rubbed her head, stood up and said, "The literal meaning matches, but Li Bai was determined to become an official back then—let's go see how the rehearsal went."

In the past, commercials only had a few actors at most, but this time it's different. To imitate the scenes of a journey, dozens of extras are needed.

Moreover, they were all ordinary workers who had never appeared on camera before, so Zhang Yan was a little worried that he couldn't manage just one person.

However, before he could even step into the next carriage, he suddenly felt dizzy and staggered back to his seat.

Tao Hong exclaimed in surprise and reached out to pull him, but she failed to stop Zhang Yan and was instead pulled into his arms.

Smelling the alcohol on Zhang Yan, Tao Hong seemed to become intoxicated as well. Before Zhang Yan could recover, the hands she had been using to pull him away suddenly wrapped around his neck.

The puppy rubbed its moist face against Zhang Yan's coat, sniffing and whimpering softly, like a puppy that had been separated from its owner for many days and was finally seeing him again.

"Uh~"

Zhang Yan subconsciously looked down, only to be met with her tilting her head back and kissing him passionately, kissing him until he was breathless, yet she still wouldn't stop.

Zhang Yan could only push her away forcefully, panting heavily, and said, "I...I've never practiced...I've never practiced holding my breath underwater. You almost...almost suffocated me."

Athletes' lung capacity is beyond what ordinary people can compare to, let alone those who frequently practice diving—Tao Hong's maximum breath-holding time is four and a half minutes, and she is not even the one in the team who can hold her breath the longest.

Tao Hong, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the misunderstanding, propped herself up, but still couldn't bear to get out of Zhang Yan's arms.

Judging from her aroused expression, Zhang Yan estimated that he could ignite a passionate flame with just a flick of his finger.

Unfortunately, the time and place were both inappropriate.

In the end, Zhang Yan could only help her up and said again, "Let's go see how the rehearsal next door is going."

Tao Hong stepped back slightly in disappointment and picked up the camera on the table.

"what?"

Seeing the Canon EOS-1, Zhang Yan asked in bewilderment, "How did my camera end up here?"

He must have left it in the car.

"I don't know, Teacher Zhang, you were wearing this camera around your neck when you came."

"Uh~"

What exactly happened after I blacked out?
Zhang Yan took the camera, hung it around his neck, and laughed, "Once I learn how to take candid photos, I'll take some pictures of you swimming."

"It's possible now!"

Tao Hong, eager to try, smiled and said with her watery eyes, "I know where the spare key to the heated swimming pool is. We can sneak in tonight."

"Uh~" Zhang Yan's heart skipped a beat just thinking about it. Since Chen Hong had already given her tacit approval, he might as well...

Finally, he gave a vague reply: "We'll see how you do in a bit."

"Ok!"

Tao Hong nodded vigorously, his whole body brimming with energy.

To prevent further dizziness, Zhang Yan held onto the back of the chair and swayed forward, giving him a real sense of being on a moving train.

Once we passed through the connecting area and entered the next carriage, the environment suddenly became noisy, with dozens of extras sitting or standing, filling most of the carriage.

Chen Zhipeng and Guan Hu were giving instructions to each seat, trying their best to avoid any mishaps during filming.

Zhang Yan rubbed his temples and joked, "Director Chen is quite skilled in his job. I think Guan Hu can only be your assistant."

Chen Zhipeng was not modest at all: "That's right, I organized a lot of big events when I was in the advertising department, I have much more experience in this area than you guys."

As he spoke, he glanced at the camera around Zhang Yan's neck and asked, "I heard that after you drank at noon, you insisted on taking a group photo with the vice mayor at the TV station. Is that true?"

"what?!"

Zhang Yan was dumbfounded again. He reached out and touched the camera around his neck, and felt that the camera had suddenly become heavier and was a bit choking him.

He couldn't care less about the rehearsal anymore. He ran to a public phone to contact Deputy Director Ma to confirm that he hadn't done anything else out of line and that the leaders hadn't taken offense. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Actually, this whole commotion had its benefits; it indirectly proved that he was indeed not suited for the system.

Back in the train carriage, the extras' rehearsal was over, and it was time for the actual filming.

Tao Hong and Yu Hua sat side by side in the middle of the carriage. One, with simple makeup, looked younger and more lively; the other, with simple grooming, looked more mature and composed.

After adjusting the lights, the lighting technician immediately picked up the recording boom.

After changing into her flight attendant uniform, Guan Hu first shouted "Action!" and then pushed a cart while calling out, "Cigarettes, beer, hot water, peanuts, sunflower seeds, instant noodles~"

Originally, they wanted to find an extra to make a cameo appearance, but after trying several people, they all became too shy to move their legs or open their mouths when the camera was on them, so the director had to step in himself.

The camera then panned to Tao Hong, who glanced at the approaching food cart, grabbed Yu Hua's arm and shook it, saying, "Dad, I want to eat instant noodles!"

Yu Hua said stiffly, "There aren't any bowls or chopsticks here, how come..."

"Click~"

Since the director hadn't come over yet with the cart, the cameraman called "Cut!" and said to Yu Hua, "Teacher Yu, don't be so nervous. Just treat it like you're with your own child."

"I don't have children yet."

Yu Hua said awkwardly, then wiped his face hard and said, "Let's do it again, let's do it again. I'll definitely do my best this time."

He had given several interviews before, so the second take was noticeably better.

However, Guan Hu was so focused on filming that he pushed the food cart erratically, knocking over an extra's arm and scattering empty bottles used for props all over the ground.

This scene ultimately took six takes to be considered acceptable.

In the second act, the cameraman set up a ladder outside, peered through the window, and peered into the car with the camera to show Tao Hong from Yu Hua's perspective.

Without even looking, Tao Hong reached behind him, grabbed a bowl of instant noodles from the dining table, slammed it onto the square table in the middle, and then ripped open the lid with a hiss.

At the same time, she cheerfully recited, "Now that Guangming has launched cup noodles, you can make instant noodles anytime, anywhere, even without bowls and chopsticks!"

Then the cameraman went back into the car from outside and shot the scene of adding seasonings and pouring boiling water from an overhead angle.

Finally, Tao Hong, holding a plastic fork in one hand, and Yu Hua together lifted the steaming hot cup noodles, saying to the camera, "Bright Dairy cup noodles, convenience you can see!"

Yu Hua goes without saying, but Tao Hong is indeed quite talented. Her smile is both innocent and playful, perfectly matching the overall atmosphere of the advertisement.

"Click~"

This time, Guan Hu shouted "Cut!" and said with satisfaction, "This one is good. Let's take a break and do another one."

The advertisement, which lasted a total of 30 seconds, was shot from six or seven different camera angles over a period of about five hours, starting from around 3 p.m. and ending around 8 p.m.

They used more than a dozen packs of instant noodles, thankfully there were no shots of them eating them, otherwise Tao Hong would probably have been so full he would have thrown up.

After filming ended, Chen Zhipeng made arrangements to take everyone to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Zhang Yan waved his hand and said, "Let Guan Hu and the others go eat. Tao Hong has training tomorrow, and I have to take her back tonight—Brother Yu, what about you? Are you coming back with us, or…"

Yu Hua was wiping his forehead with a towel—shooting the commercial wasn't tiring, but it made him so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Upon hearing Zhang Yan's words, he first glanced at Tao Hong, then vaguely replied, "I'm fine with anything."

"Then let's go together."

(End of this chapter)