FLBCP: Chapter 26 Part 2

Zhao Yao thought that despite Pei Mingzhan’s words, he wouldn’t have much time to run to the hospital all day, not to mention that his new company was just getting on track. As a result, for the next three days, Pei Mingzhan had to come every day for a meal. At first, Zhao Yao was having lunch when Pei Mingzhan discussed something unknown with Uncle Wang. Then the meals that Uncle Wang brought for the next few days changed but Pei Mingzhan still arrived on time.

Zhao Yao wasn’t used to it at first but later he followed them.

Chen Xi came to the hospital with a pile of documents and a new assistant. After the accident, he called several times to ask about Zhao Yao. He learned that Zhao Yao was only slightly injured so he focused on dealing with the aftermath. He finally had time to visit the hospital today.

Huihua’s affairs were getting on the right track. Combined with the timely response to this event and the early exposure of Bewildering Traces allowed many fans to know that Pei Mingzhan had picked up a new work. It was only a supporting role but it still attracted a lot of new traffic. For this reason, Huihua once again entered the vision of the netizens. Chen Xi also pushed the boat along the water and contacted Huihua’s just reviewed projects to prepare for the next stage of publicity.

The TV hanging on the wall of the hospital was airing the new episode of the love variety show and Zhao Yao was watching intently from the bed. In fact, the wound on his right leg had almost begun to scab these days and the fracture caused by the car accident hadn’t been aggravated by the accident in the crew. He could be discharged in two days.

President Chen got rid of his previous fatigue and stepped into Zhao Yao’s ward with a radiant face. He had brought a plan for a new project.

“The project ‘Dream of Separation’ was bought before. Huihua was preparing for it but it was put on hold due to the troubles.” Chen Xi handed the project to Zhao Yao. “These are the specific details of the project. In addition, Huihua has reviewed two projects which should be aired in October. Bewildering Traces has also been pushed back to October. This year, the main focus will be on Dream of Separation. If you think there are no problems then we can start contacting the actors.”

Zhao Yao held the project book of Dream of Separation and thought that Huihua’s big IP was finally being put on the table. He remembered that his IP was an extremely famous novel on the Internet about an ancient court struggle. The copyright was bought by Huihua in the early years. In his previous life, Huihua relied on this IIP to turn things around and gradually got on the right track.

The director was a classmate of Chen Xi and the screenwriter was a famous one in the industry. Apart from the main actor who was a traffic star, the other actors were powerful but unknown actors sought by the producer. The veteran actors shone in Dream of Separation and made it the IP of the year. This was followed by many film and television versions. This project was undoubtedly profitable and it was the project that brought Huihua back to life.

Zhao Yao carefully recalled the relevant things and asked, “Has the script been changed?”

“Have you read the original?” Chen Xi was surprised. “There was no love line in the original novel. If the whole plot of power and conspiracy is filmed then it will be difficult for it to be popular in the current market. I discussed it with the director and we intend to add a love line without changing the main framework.”

“Don’t add love scenes. We can spend money if the later publicity isn’t enough.” Zhao Yao knew that the main audience attracted by this type of drama wasn’t into emotional dramas. He suggested, “There is no need to find traffic stars to act. It is more cost-effective to find those who fit the original novel well. Since you want to do this IP well, you should understand what the selling point of your IP will be.”

Dream of Separation was a bit hit IP but it wasn’t without shortcomings. Some people felt that the emotional line was redundant and some people thought the focus of the adaptation was blurred. However, this didn’t have much impact on the overall reputation of the whole drama. The biggest failure was the leading role.

During this time, conspiracy dramas weren’t the mainstream market. In order to give the drama some attention and later publicity, it was normal to add a traffic star as the protagonist or supporting role. However, the actor that Chen Xi found has such mediocre acting skills that it was obvious when acting against the veterans. This affected the reputation of Dream of Separation to a certain extent. Zhao Yao had studied Huihua’s case when he was testing the waters to enter the entertainment industry and planning new projects. At that time, he noticed the evaluation of Dream of Separation. A large number of people felt that the leading role was the only failure.

The flaws didn’t cover up the benefits but since Chen Xi wanted to do this project, it was necessary to do the best for this project. He needed to be careful of everything, from the script setting to the choice of actors.

“You said that it must conform to the image of the main character…” Chen Xi looked at Zhao Yao. “I feel that Film Emperor Pei is suitable but I know he wants to retire from the circle. He probably has no interest in this project. I’ll think about the actor. Once I find the right person then I will give you an answer.”

***

The Internet was calm these days but some netizens were still paying attention to Bewildering Traces. The reason for why the props wall fell had been sufficiently explained and few people stuck to this matter. These days, they were asking about the drama under the official Weibo and the official Weibo was also actively interacting with fans.

After seeing that the popularity of Bewildering Traces hadn’t decreased, it wasn’t known where it got them from but a marketing account sent out several photos of the crew. Then it vaguely combined it with things that happened before.

[Look at this figure. Isn’t it similar to the enthusiastic citizen Xiao Zhao?]

Enthusiastic citizen Xiao Zhao was a concept circulated among Pei Mingzhan’s fans. Since Zhao Yao helped Pei Mingzhan during the recording of Cultural Tourism, fans loved to call him enthusiastic citizen Xiao Zhao. During this time, Bewildering Traces was attracting attention and Zhao Yao never hid the fact that he went to the ground. In the days when he came and went, he was seen by many people.

Perhaps after seeing that Zhao Yao didn’t stop the Cultural Tourism incident last time, the marketing account also forwarded several of the posts about Cultural Tourism. Now seeing the heat of Bewildering Traces, it sent out two blurry photos to test the waters.

[F*ck, it is a bit similar!]

[He is sitting in a wheelchair and Huihua has invested in Bewildering Traces. It is probably Zhao Yao.]

[They seem to have a good relationship based on the way he is pushing the wheelchair for Xiao Zhao!]

[I feel that they might know each other. My boyfriend’s attitude toward my husband in Cultural Tourism is different. I don’t believe they don’t know each other!]

[Sisters upstairs, aren’t you too brave? You have both of them?]

Yao Bai had been in the hospital during his free time recently but his brother was always watching those strange TV dramas. A while ago, he had been watching Pei Mingzhan’s works but these days, Pei Mingzhan was always visiting. His brother probably didn’t want to watch them in front of him so he watched the pink variety TV shows again. He also learned to find the works of other actors.

Yao Bai could accompany his brother to watch variety shows but it was easy for him to become sleepy when watching youth idol dramas. Yao Bai looked at Weibo when he had nothing to do. He happened to see what happened to the Bewildering Traces crew. “Brother, you’ve become an Internet celebrity recently. Someone secretly took photos of you when you went to the crew.”

Yao Bai read the comments and glanced at Zhao Yao who was watching the drama. He thought his brother didn’t need to learn these things. There was already a group of girlfriends outside but ‘my husband and my boyfriend are together?’ What the hell was this? These sisters were talking too much.

There were other people recommending it below. Yao Bai glanced at it and saw that the husband x boyfriend fan works had come out. He thought, ‘Is this okay?’ Then he immediately clicked in to see how it was written.

Zhao Yao wasn’t very concerned with him. The TV series was showing the actress’ kiss scene. It stretched out the shot and added slow background music. Based on Zhao Yao watching history these days, he said casually, “These two people aren’t really kissing.”

Yao Bai followed the link sent by one of the sisters to a story. He had just seen the kissing pot when he heard Zhao Yao speak. This caused him to feel a sense of guilt. “How are they not kissing?”

Zhao Yao glanced at him. “If you are bored then you can go home first.”

“Hasn’t Uncle Wang gone home to get some things?” Yao Bai had never been polite with Zhao Yao. He secretly saved the link to the novel and planned to read it before going to bed in the evening. “I’ll leave in a moment.” Fortunately, he was determined. He determined that after Xiao Ji stayed at his brother’s house for two nights, dark circles emerged under his eyes.

Once Pei Mingzhan arrived, he found Zhao Yao watching the drama alone while Yao Bai was lying down on the sofa and playing with his phone.

Yao Bai noticed Pei Mingzhan immediately. The moment he wanted to speak, he saw Pei Mingzhan gesture to them. Then Pei Mingzhan lightly approached Zhao Yao’s side while holding a bag of things.

Zhao Yao originally thought it was Uncle Wang who came. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of food being placed on the table that he turned his head and saw Pei Mingzhan.

“Why did you come?” Zhao Yao was surprised. In the afternoon, Pei Mingzhan had said he wouldn’t come because he had something to do. Unexpectedly, Pei Mingzhan came so late.

Pei Mingzhan answered, “I came after I was done with my work. I brought you some late-night snacks along the way.”

Zhao Yao said, “I don’t eat late-night snacks.”

“They are all appetizing things.” Pei Mingzhan opened the bag of late-night snacks which was filled with side dishes. “I thought you were reading a book when I came over. You are still watching dramas at this late hour?”

Yao Bai’s voice was heard. “My brother doesn’t sleep until 3 o’clock. This is early.”

Pei Mingzhan was a bit busy these days and he usually came over to accompany Zhao Yao for dinner. “You are staying up late to watch dramas?”

Yao Bai put away his mobile phone. He looked at Pei Mingzhan and thought about what the Weibo sisters said about the boyfriend and husband. Then he thought about how they were getting along in front of him. His head went out of control and his thoughts became crooked as he answered, “My brother has insomnia.”

Pei Mingzhan knew that Zhao Yao had insomnia problems. Last time, he intended to ask about Zhao Yao’s insomnia but the doctor didn’t say anything. In addition, he saw that Zhao Yao’s usual state was fine so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Isn’t he adjusting his insomnia?” Pei Mingzhan asked Yao Bai. “Medication is a secondary thing. The main thing is to stabilize the individual’s physical condition, work and rest.”

Yao Bai thought that if this insomnia could be cured, Uncle Wang wouldn’t have to worry about losing his hair every day. “He takes medicine and can sleep. He has changed several courses of medicine. However, my brother has improved. Initially, he didn’t go to sleep until 4 o’clock. Now he can sleep a bit better than taking medicine.”

On average, he could fall asleep at 3 o’clock.

Pei Mingzhan heard these words and looked at Zhao Yao thoughtfully. The latter continued to watch the TV drama as if nothing had happened. It seemed that the problem of serious insomnia was insignificant in his eyes.

Zhao Yao naturally heard Pei Mingzhan asking Yao Bai about it but the problem of insomnia had been brought from his previous life. In fact, he was a lot better in this period of time. In the past, he was basically a light sleeper. Now his quality of sleep was okay and he could sleep deeply for at least two hours.

Uncle Wang quickly came back. Yao Bai went home to sleep but Pei Mingzhan hadn’t left yet.

It was already past 11 o’clock at night. It was past the hospital’s visiting hours.

Zhao Yao saw that this person was still at the hospital with no intention of leaving and wondered, “It is late. Aren’t you going back to rest?”

“No, I’ll stay with you today.: Pei Mingzhan took out the camp bed from the corner of the hospital room “If you want to look after your legs well, you shouldn’t stay up late. The future troubles caused by staying up late are more serious than you think.”

The TV drama finished airing and the ending song was playing.

Pei Mingzhan turned off the TV and sat by Zhao Yao’s bedside, looking at him. “You lie down and sleep.”

Zhao Yao felt strange. “My insomnia has lasted for more than a day or two. If I can fall asleep when lying down, would I need to go see a doctor?”

Pei Mingzhan said, “Just lie down. I’ll talk with you and perhaps you will become sleepy while I talk.”

Zhao Yao asked, “What will you say?”

Pei Mingzhan answered, “I saw that you recently love to watch TV dramas. Two of the three you’ve watched have Zhang Chenguang. Do you like watching her dramas?”

“Zhang Chenguang?” Zhao Yao was surprised. This was the heroine of the TV drama he was watching and she was a small star with some traffic.

Zhao Yao thought about it. “Her acting is okay. The only drawback is that she keeps on using positioning tricks for the kiss scenes.”

“Positioning tricks?” Pei Mingzhan frowned. “Do you like to watch kissing scenes?”

Zhao Yao heard this and felt it was a bit ambiguous. “Don’t we watch idol dramas to watch the main characters fall in love?”

He added, “Yao Bai told me that kissing is the basic skill of adult relationships.”

---

TL: I am starting a new job and need to do intensive training for it in January. I will have no time to translate at all so all chapter releases will be paused for January. It will resume again in February and hopefully, the schedule will become more stable since this job has steadier hours.

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