Gu Zhanran assumed An Juexiao intended to take the money, so he reminded her, “For your safety, I will need to make some arrangements before transferring the twenty million to you.”
Hearing this, An Juexiao looked confused.
Gu Zhanran explained, “If no arrangements are made and such a large sum suddenly appears in your account, the moment you walk out of here, you will likely be investigated by both the police and the bank to determine whether you were involved in illegal activities.”
An Juexiao widened her eyes in surprise and honestly shook her head. She truly had no idea such consequences existed.
“Mr. Gu, you are really attentive. You even thought of something like this for me.”
Gu Zhanran’s dark eyes studied her face seriously, as if trying to detect even a hint of sarcasm, but all he saw was a smile brighter than the morning sun.
That smile was so radiant it seemed to shine straight into one’s heart.
Gu Zhanran slowly withdrew his gaze and took out his phone.
Seeing this, An Juexiao knew he was about to make arrangements and quickly said, “Wait, I do not want the money.”
Gu Zhanran paused and lowered his phone, looking at her in confusion.
Being stared at by such a handsome face, An Juexiao could not help feeling a bit shy. She cleared her throat, rubbing her fingertips together as she voiced her wish.
“I want an audition opportunity for Song of the Flourishing Tang Dynasty.”
“Director Zhang’s new film?”
An Juexiao’s eyes lit up. Since Gu Zhanran knew about the film, did that mean her chances were higher?
“Yes, yes, Director Zhang’s new film. Back in school, my teachers mentioned it. He has been preparing Song of the Flourishing Tang Dynasty for a long time, even polishing the script for five or six years, so I really hope to have the chance to participate.”
Not to mention a newcomer like An Juexiao, even top actors in the industry all hoped to catch Director Zhang’s attention.
“But Director Zhang is so famous. If I submit myself for consideration, it will probably sink without a trace, so…”
Compared to her chattiness, Gu Zhanran remained composed. “I understand.”
His decisive tone left An Juexiao momentarily stunned. She asked in disbelief, “You mean I can go for the audition?”
“Of course.”
“That is amazing! I never even dreamed I would get a chance to audition for Director Zhang’s film!” After all, even her teachers might not have the connections to arrange it.
Just as she was celebrating, Gu Zhanran calmly added, “I thought you would ask me to place you directly into the production as the female lead.”
An Juexiao paused, then belatedly realized. “You mean I could just push through everything and parachute straight into the crew?”
“Yes.”
Her expression became awkward, as if something was stuck in her throat. “That is actually possible?”
“Of course.” Gu Zhanran looked at her as if to say, why would it not be possible, my power is far greater than you imagine.
An Juexiao felt so regretful she almost wanted to beat her chest. Her look of deep anguish even surprised Gu Zhanran, who had remained calm all along.
As if she had just missed out on a fortune, she wailed, “You should have said so earlier!”
“How did I not think of that option!”
“Sigh, I really lack experience. I do not even know how to properly use a powerful connection. If I had known, I would have asked for a deluxe treatment and directly gotten a leading role.”
Gu Zhanran pressed his lips slightly, watching her complain with a faint smile.
Although he had not spent much time with An Juexiao, Gu Zhanran had an inexplicable intuition that she was only saying those things casually and would not truly take advantage of him to parachute into a production.
As expected, after finishing her rambling, An Juexiao did not bring up changing her wish or asking him to place her directly into a crew. Instead, she made another request earnestly.
“There is one more thing I would like to trouble you with.” She gestured with her fingers to show it was something small. “Consider it a supplement to my first wish.”
Gu Zhanran nodded, curious about what else she might ask for.
“If I manage to get this role…” An Juexiao took a deep breath and looked at him pitifully. “Could you make sure my role will not be inexplicably taken away again?”
Gu Zhanran looked at her steadily.
With her small gesture, she seemed so cautious. She was like a little plant that always grew toward the sun, striving upward. Even when she was often stepped on just as success was within reach, she still held on to her principles.
“Alright.” Gu Zhanran gave a slight nod, but the weight of that promise was immeasurable.
The moment his answer fell, the girl reflected in his eyes burst into happy cheers. Her lively energy was like a spark that ignited his calm, dark gaze.
He added softly, “And it will not happen again in the future.”
However, An Juexiao did not hear that last sentence, because she was completely immersed in the joy of the good news.
Amused, Gu Zhanran watched her. After she calmed down a little, he asked, “Do you have any other wishes?”
“For example, having a dozen assistants follow you around so even eating and drinking are taken care of, having tens of millions of followers on Weibo, or having a hundred young heartthrobs perform chest-breaking stone acts in front of you?” When he mentioned that last wish, he paused slightly before adding, “Performing chest-breaking stone acts? Are you some kind of devil?”
After teasing her, he asked, “Which two do you most want to achieve?”
An Juexiao was stunned.
Whether I am a devil or not, I do not know, but you definitely are. Who treats drunken nonsense as real wishes? And how does he even know what I said last night?
“No, no.” An Juexiao waved her hands quickly. “None of those, none of those.”
After denying it, she noticed Gu Zhanran seemed to let out a sigh of relief, which made her laugh helplessly. She was the one who should be relieved.
Thankfully, this “wish-granting lamp” was manually operated, not some automatic trap mode that would blindly fulfill her drunken nonsense. Otherwise…
Imagine opening the door early in the morning to find a hundred men stripping and performing chest-breaking acts in her house, with a dozen assistants surrounding her trying to serve her, while she could not even afford their salaries. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
“Those were all drunken ramblings, Mr. Gu, you do not need to take them seriously,” An Juexiao emphasized again. “As for the other wishes, I have not thought of them yet. Can I decide later?”
Just as she finished speaking, her stomach growled loudly.
She immediately looked embarrassed, though she comforted herself, it was such a small sound, he probably did not hear it.
Gu Zhanran said apologetically, “That was my oversight. I kept talking business and forgot you have not had breakfast.”
Hearing that only made her feel more embarrassed. Blushing, she followed him out of the room.
“I arranged for your two friends to dine in the next room. I thought you would prefer to have breakfast with them,” Gu Zhanran said.
Only then did An Juexiao realize there had been a dining table set up in the previous room, complete with tableware, clearly prepared for the two of them to eat together. Yet after learning her friends had come along, he immediately changed his plans.
Thinking of this, she could not help glancing at the attentive Gu Zhanran a few more times.
As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head to look at her and smiled faintly.
Her heart started pounding wildly. This man was truly too much.
When they reached the door of the next room, Gu Zhanran’s assistant hurried over and whispered something in his ear.
Gu Zhanran nodded, his expression calm as ever. After finishing the quiet exchange, he said to An Juexiao, “I have something to take care of, so I will not be joining you for breakfast.”
An Juexiao quickly said it was fine.
“Give me your phone,” he added.
She obediently handed it over. He quickly typed in a string of numbers. “This is my phone number and WeChat. If anything comes up, you can contact me directly.”
“Good luck with the audition.” Gu Zhanran returned the phone to her.
Holding the phone, still warm from his touch, An Juexiao felt as if a warm current flowed into her, filling her with strength.
Seeing that he was about to leave, she hurriedly called out, “Wait a moment.”
She dashed back into the room and soon returned with a bag of desserts.
“Mr. Gu, do not go hungry.” She stuffed the desserts into his arms.
She figured that since he had invited her for breakfast, he likely had not eaten yet himself.
Gu Zhanran looked at the desserts in slight surprise. “Thank you, but do not call me Mr. Gu anymore.”
Confusion appeared in her eyes. “Why?”
According to typical drama logic, his next line should have been, “Call me Gu Zhanran,” or simply, “Call me by my name.” In a more cliché domineering CEO script, it would be something like, “Woman, I permit you to call my name.”
But Gu Zhanran did none of those. He said seriously, “It sounds too tacky.”
An Juexiao froze. “Too tacky?”
“Mm.”
“……” So she was not holding an idol drama script, nor one of those domineering CEO plots after all.
And despite Gu Zhanran’s calm, unshakable demeanor, as if nothing in the world could rattle him, he actually had a bit of a youthful, almost boyish side?
He even thought being called “boss” sounded tacky?
Author’s note: Do not be fooled by how serious the male lead looks, he is actually a reserved flirt at heart, hehe.