CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 0040 THREE MONKS HAVE NO WATER TO DRINK (REQUESTING MONTHLY VOTES)

"Do you need Mr. Zhang to help you get into character? Don’t worry, I’ll hire him by the hour. It doesn’t matter who wants to consult him."

You’ve already thickened your skin to call him big brother, so it’s fair to help you out this little bit.

Yang Mi almost wanted to roll her eyes.

Oh God!

Have you no heart, only a stomach?

But, now that it’s come to this, Yang Mi couldn’t possibly say, "I never really wanted to consult on acting."

If I wanted to consult on acting, I could just ask my school teachers.

I just want to get famous!

"Yang Mi, hurry up and get ready!"

The director called for her, so Yang Mi had to unwillingly get to work.

"If she hasn’t been able to get into character for this long, she’d have had a mental breakdown by now..."

Zhang Songwen couldn’t help but chuckle.

With acting skills that bad, how could she be so deep in character for so long?

It’s a miracle she can even get into character at all.

"Haha, buddy, you’re so humorous."

Qi Hao held back his laughter; pretending to seek acting advice was a cover, that woman just wants to sleep with me.

And she’s not even offering money.

"So-so, haha."

Zhang Songwen smiled mischievously, helping his employer out of a tight spot.

However, there was an undercurrent of tension between the male and female actors in the crew, clearly suggesting something’s off.

For instance, why are those three women revolving around Qi Hao like that?

If you said it’s because Qi Hao is one of the four talented young actors and an award-winning actor, well, that identity alone shouldn’t make female stars abandon their pride.

And they are three main actresses.

Female stars in the entertainment industry are especially proud; they love the feeling of being chased and wouldn’t easily pursue men.

Could it be because Qi Hao is handsome?

If that’s the case, have I missed out on too much because I’m not handsome?

There must be some reason I don’t know about.

Is it because of some unique talent?

Also, Qi Hao’s attitude is quite odd; he doesn’t seem to enjoy being surrounded by these beauties.

He even appears somewhat averse, and you don’t see him particularly fond of any one of them.

Liking someone is hard to hide; even if you’re hiding in a wardrobe, her husband will still find you.

"Come, let’s continue. Help me analyze Mr. You Benchang’s character in Jigong..."

Qi Hao has to pretend to be really busy so he doesn’t get tangled up with the female spirits.

Hmm, it’s not just female spirits.

Sometimes Hu Ge also likes to chat with him.

Does Hu Ge also know about that "Fortunate Wife’s Destiny" rumor?

But for a guy, what exactly does that mean?

Luckily, Hu Ge and Yuan Hong are closer in the crew.

They only occasionally come to Qi Hao for fun, but now that Qi Hao has found an acting teacher occupying most of his time, they mostly play by themselves.

But when it’s meal time, there’s no avoiding it.

At noon, Tang Yan brought a small stool over to Qi Hao’s makeshift dining table and even took out a glass jar.

The already eager Yang Mi nearly poked a hole in her lunch box.

Not eating it yourself, but not letting others eat it either.

That’s just too much.

"Brother Qi Hao, this is the pickled cucumber my mom made, want to try it?"

The crew’s lunch boxes don’t taste too bad, but you can’t expect them to be great, and no matter what dish it is, it all tastes the same. Eating it for too long makes people lose their appetite.

Pickles are indeed a good thing.

And since it’s made by Tang Yan’s mom herself, Qi Hao felt a bit flattered.

"Thanks, I’ll try it... it’s not bad!"

The pickled cucumber was made from cucumbers, looked a bit dark, but tasted crisp and refreshing.

"I brought quite a bit, if you like it, I’ll share a jar with you."

Although Tang Yan often felt bullied to tears when acting with Qi Hao, she did gain a lot from the experience.

Even her agent, Ji Rujing, said she’d improved.

Well, just a little...

"No need, just snagging one for meals will do."

How could Qi Hao be shameless enough to take a jar? This was someone’s mom’s heartfelt pickles.

Besides, there might be more rumors circulating later.

Since the filming of "Chinese Paladin 3" began, the outside world has been particularly curious about the crew’s internal gossip.

Several news items, some true and some not, came out.

Though Tang Yan is the second female lead, her on-screen character is romantically entangled with Qi Hao’s character through three lifetimes, naturally making them media headlines.

Otherwise, Yang Mi wouldn’t be in such a rush.

As for Liu Shishi, she spends most of her time looking bewildered. When Cai Yinong is around, she goes over to interact more with Qi Hao; when Cai Yinong leaves, she—looks like she’s zoning out.

For example, after lunch today, the next scene was Qi Hao subduing Liu Shishi’s Sword Demon character.

If it were Zhao Wenzhuo, surely it’d be "Audacious demon, I could tell you’re not human at a glance!"

Audacious demon! I want you to reveal your true form, Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, Prajna Buddhists, all Buddhas, Ksitigarbha, Prajna Brahma, manifest, audacious, blaspheme the Buddha, kill kill kill kill, the petty trick, dare to show off, Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, Great Arhat Mantra, Prajna Buddhists...

Audacious demon, I want you to help me cultivate!

But the related plot in "Chinese Paladin 3" is really uninteresting, Xu Changqing didn’t advance his cultivation in three lifetimes for a reason.

And acting opposite Liu Shishi is quite boring.

No passion at all.

Even if she is a demon, there’s no drive to subdue her.

She’s basically the so-called wooden beauty.

However, amidst external rumors, quite a few stories appeared about "things that have to be said between Qi Hao and the female beauties in the crew."

Who does he actually like?

Or does he like them all?

Did he play on-set couples with any one or more of them?

Many times, you don’t go looking for rumors, but rumors find their way to you.

But this time, it’s with three beauties.

Its authenticity is quite lacking, that’s why no legitimate scandal has come up.

It actually matches that saying.

One monk fetches water to drink, two monks lift water to drink, three monks have no water to drink.

In late February, someone delivered a car to Qi Hao that he had ordered earlier.

Whether it’s payment, receipts, or paperwork, everything was completely in order.

It’s like there’s a pen that swiftly put this all into writing.

Then it all turned into reality.

Tongzi, awesome!

It’s not a big deal for a boss to order a car, but the fact that the boss ordered this thing seemed a little unusual.

Zhang Nan hesitated for a while, but ultimately did not suggest the boss see a psychiatrist.

There’s nothing unusual about liking classic cars.

There are people abroad who like cars from a hundred years ago.

Santana 2000!

This outdated model looks no different from regular cars.

Only Qi Hao understands that this thing can save his life at critical moments.

During filming at Hengdian, he didn’t use this car.

The hotel is not far from the filming location, and though there are many cars on the road, they don’t move fast enough for a major car accident to happen.

In March, a lot was happening in the entertainment circle.

The issue with that artist with the surname Chen continues to ferment; one main character, Zhang Baizhi, is reported to be pregnant again, yet rumors say the Xie Family wants to kick her out.

There’s also talk that the child might not be Xie’s.

Later, Xie Tingfeng denied these rumors, saying their family is harmonious and everyone is very happy now.

Everyone expressed their sympathy.

To say the least, ever since Xie got "greened," people have showered him with sympathy, improving his previously poor reputation.

In truth, he wasn’t cheated on, the artist with the surname Chen is just his wife’s ex-boyfriend.

He and the artist with the surname Chen were even once close friends.

It’s not that the brother was no good; it’s just that the brother found himself a beautiful sister-in-law.

There’s also some less irritating news, such as Lord Ximen Shan Liwen marrying Hu Peiwei, which is unfortunate for Yang Simin.

There are matters related to Qi Hao as well.

One is that he received an invitation for the 100-day countdown celebration of the Olympics—the theme song "Beijing Welcomes You."

The timing was quite urgent.

If he accepted the invitation, he needed to hurry to the capital for recording.

Logically, those invited should be singers.

Qi Hao received the invitation probably because he went to participate in a singing commercial performance.

Moreover, a video of him singing was recorded and put online.

It caused quite a stir.

Everyone then realized he could sing, and quite well at that.

Since they invited Huang Xiaoming, inviting Qi Hao seemed reasonable.

However, Qi Hao decisively rejected the invitation.

He supports the Olympics, but not in such a showy way.

He knows his own abilities well.

With some frequently heard old songs, he could indeed sing without going off key; due to his voice quality, it initially sounds quite nice.

But in front of professional singers, it’s easily exposed.

As for what gave Huang Xiaoming the courage...

Maybe it’s Ultraman.

Another thing is that Wang Zhiwen is getting married.

The connection to him being that Qi Hao also received an invitation.

He and Wang Zhiwen are drinking buddies.

Back when filming "Jing Ke Stabs the King of Qin", Wang Zhiwen played Lao Ai, and Qi Hao played a small eunuch.

They were colleagues.

Of course, Qi Hao actually played a eunuch, while Wang Zhiwen isn’t, and he’s well-endowed.

During the filming, Qi Hao drank with them, and made a splash by drinking several big names under the table.

From then on, he often joined the table to drink with the big names.

For example, when Wang Zhiwen encountered someone who drank a lot, boasting about being able to handle a thousand cups or something, he’d call Qi Hao, saying there’s someone fearless here, come and drink him to the hospital.

Can’t say the relationship was that deep.

But being able to drink together often and enjoyably, and not inviting to the wedding would be absurd.

The reason Qi Hao is happy to attend.

Is because the "invite a performance teacher" task was already completed.

The system had acknowledged Zhang Songwen’s teaching.

Qi Hao could choose to complete the task at any time.

However, in the "Chinese Paladin 3" crew, he was interacting with those whose acting was relatively average.

He was worried the NPCs available might be Hu Ge, Yuan Hong, Lin Zicong and such.

If it’s Zhang Songwen, it wouldn’t be ideal either, because he didn’t have many works.

Of course, the most unfortunate might be Yang Mi and Liu Shishi having to return to the stage once again after not being chosen last time.

So Qi Hao plans to take two days off, go to Shen City to attend the wedding, and interact with the guests at the wedding.

Even capturing Wang Zhiwen.

Qi Hao could learn lines from him; old Wang’s lines are quite good.