Cheng Che is helping to organize the shelves in the cultural and creative store.
He sorted the postcards by theme, putting the ones with Spring City scenery in one row, the ones with Caiyun folk customs in another row, and the ones with hand-drawn illustrations in yet another row.
I also arranged the keychains and fridge magnets by color to make the whole shelf look neater.
Su Qingyue, Lin Xiao, and Zhou Mingxuan each held up their equipment and filmed footage in the store.
Su Qingyue switched to a smaller camera today and walked back and forth between the shelves, filming close-ups of the goods, and occasionally pointing the lens at Cheng Che.
Jiang Xue stood behind the counter, watching the young people bustling around, and curiously pulled Guo Xin aside.
What are you guys filming?
"Auntie, Cheng Che wants to shoot a cultural tourism video for a competition." Guo Xin, carrying a video camera, spoke fluently, "It'll be about the unique features of Spring City. If it's good, you can win a prize."
Jiang Xue's eyes lit up. "Then take more pictures of our store! Let's promote it!"
"Don't worry, Auntie," Guo Xin patted his chest, "Leave it to me. I'll make it even better than the official promotional video."
Jiang Xue grinned from ear to ear, then turned around and rummaged through the shelves, finding a few of the most photogenic cultural and creative products and placing them in the most prominent position.
At noon, Jiang Xue invited everyone to a restaurant on the old street for lunch.
Aunt Cheng Yulan and Uncle Xu Chengjun were already waiting in the private room.
"This must be Cheng Che's classmate, right? Come, come, have a seat." Cheng Yulan greeted them warmly.
Cheng Che introduced both parties.
Guo Xin was very sweet-talking; as soon as she entered, she greeted everyone with "Hello, Aunt and Uncle," and Lin Xiao and Zhou Mingxuan also greeted her respectfully.
Su Qingyue walked at the very back and nodded politely.
Jiang Xue took Su Qingyue's hand and looked her up and down.
"This girl is really pretty." The more she looked, the more satisfied she became. "She has fair skin and beautiful features. Isn't our Cheche taken care of by you at school?"
Su Qingyue's ears turned red. "No, Auntie, it was Cheng Che's own hard work."
"Still being modest." Jiang Xue glanced at Lin Xiao again. "This girl is pretty too, and she looks quite clever."
Lin Xiao chuckled, "Auntie, I'm the more mischievous type."
"It's good to have some noise and excitement." Jiang Xue laughed even more happily.
Cheng Che buried his head in his food, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
Aunt Cheng Yulan chimed in with a couple of compliments, then inquired about Jiang Xue's shop.
Uncle Xu Chengjun poured Cheng Jianguo a glass of wine, and the two chatted about business.
The dinner table was bustling with activity; the adults were talking, and the young people were eating.
Cheng Che was eating rice, but he overheard a conversation at the next table.
Have you registered? It's for the Spring City Marathon in 10 days.
"Why even bother signing up? I can't even run five kilometers. A full marathon is over forty kilometers, that's going to kill me!"
"I heard the prize money is quite high this year, with the Champion getting 50,000."
"Fifty thousand? That's not even close to our level. Professional athletes run like the wind."
Cheng Che put down his chopsticks and took out his phone.
He searched for " Spring City Marathon ".
An official announcement popped up:
The Spring City International Marathon includes three events: a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10km fun run. The full marathon Champion receive a prize of 50,000 yuan.
Cheng Che clicked into the official website, found the registration portal, and started filling in the information.
Guo Xin sat next to him, leaned over for a glance, and was stunned for a moment.
"You're going to run a marathon?"
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone at the table heard it.
Lin Xiao, Su Qingyue, and Zhou Mingxuan all looked up at the same time. Cheng Jianguo and Jiang Xue also looked over.
"Hmm." Cheng Che didn't look up, continuing to fill out the form. "I want to run a marathon and win."
Su Qingyue put down her chopsticks, somewhat worried:
"A marathon is such a long distance... You've never run more than ten kilometers before."
"That was this morning." Cheng Che entered his ID number and clicked submit. "There are still ten days until the competition, enough time for me to practice."
"But..." Su Qingyue wanted to say something more.
Cheng Che looked up at her and smiled:
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
His smile was steady, and his tone was steady, Su Qingyue swallowed the rest of her sentence.
"Then you'll have to train hard for the next ten days," Guo Xin said. "We won't film you anymore; just focus on running."
"Yes." Cheng Che took a screenshot of the registration success page. "After I finish the marathon, let's go out and take pictures of the Caiyun."
Cheng Jianguo put down his wine glass, glanced at him, and asked, "Going out? Where to?"
"West Western Yunnan, or Southern Yunnan," Cheng Che said, "To shoot some local footage and do some sightseeing while we're at it."
"Sure," Cheng Jianguo nodded. "Does it cost money?"
"I have."
"Okay." Cheng Jianguo asked again, "Can you drive? It's best to drive ourselves to those places."
Cheng Che was taken aback.
He hasn't finished his driving test yet.
"I passed the test." Guo Xin proudly raised his hand.
"I took the exam too," Lin Xiao said.
"I have one too." Zhou Mingxuan nodded.
Su Qingyue said softly, "I passed my third driving test, but I haven't received my driver's license yet. I should get it next month."
All eyes turned to Cheng Che.
Cheng Che: "..."
"Didn't you register at the driving school?" Guo Xin asked.
"I registered, passed the first part of the test, but haven't started the second part yet." Cheng Che lowered his head and shoveled some rice into his mouth. "I've been too busy lately."
"Then you'd better hurry," Cheng Jianguo said. "I'll have your mom find you a coach later, so you can cram."
Cheng Che nodded, already calculating the time in his mind.
It's definitely too late before the marathon. After the marathon, I'll cram for a few days to improve my driving test skills (Part 2), and then try to pass Part 3 while I'm on vacation.
In the afternoon, the group returned to the cultural and creative store to continue filming.
Guo Xin took pictures of the shelves for a while, and then took pictures of Cheng Che helping Jiang Xue organize things behind the counter.
Su Qingyue squatted at the shop entrance, taking pictures of the storefront from a low angle, while Lin Xiao and Zhou Mingxuan went off to take pictures of other shops on the old street.
As evening approached, Guo Xin packed up his equipment and dusted off his hands.
"We've almost finished the daily footage. I'll sort through it when we get back. We won't be filming for a while." He looked at Cheng Che, "You should focus on your running practice; ten days isn't much."
Cheng Che nodded. "Okay."
When Cheng Che got home that evening, he took a shower and was about to lie down when his phone lit up.
It's Yan Ruanning.
[ Yan Ruanning: Are you asleep?]
Cheng Che: No, I just took a shower.
[ Yan Ruanning: Sister Su Jianqiu is filming in Spring City. She just joined the crew today. She knows you're also in Spring City and told me she misses you. If you're free tomorrow, you can visit the set.]
Cheng Che thought of Su Jianqiu.
The mature woman in the Mushroom House who was obsessed with shipping Yan Ruanning and her boyfriend had a bright, crinkled smile and spoke in a very outspoken manner, but she always knew exactly how to handle the teasing of Yan Ruanning.
But are they really that close?
Cheng Che thought about it and decided to go and take a look; he'd never seen a movie being filmed before.
Cheng Che: Okay. Where is she filming?
Yan Ruanning sent me an address.
[ Yan Ruanning: I told her, you can just go tomorrow, she should be quite happy.]
[ Cheng Che: How did you know she was happy?]
[ Yan Ruanning: She's been talking about you all afternoon, saying why that top Zhuangyuan in the college entrance exam hasn't come to visit her class.]
Cheng Che smiled.
Cheng Che: Okay, I'll go see her tomorrow.
The next day, Cheng Che got up at five o'clock as usual, first went to the park to practice ball, and then ran eight kilometers.
After going home, I ate breakfast, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, put on a mask, and went out according to the address Yan Ruanning gave me.
Su Jianqiu was filming at a film and television base on the outskirts of Spring City.
Cheng Che took the subway and then a bus, a journey that took almost an hour to reach his destination.
When he arrived at the destination, he found that he couldn't get in.
The entrance to the film and television base was cordoned off, with two security guards standing on either side.
Several trucks used by the film crew were parked inside, and staff members were going in and out, carrying walkie-talkies and various equipment.
Cheng Che had just reached the door when he was stopped by the security guard.
What do you do?
I've come to visit the set.
Whose set are you visiting?
" Su Jianqiu."
The security guard looked him up and down. "Do you have an appointment?"
"..." Cheng Che really didn't.
He only knew the address, but he only told Yan Ruanning, not Su Jianqiu himself.
He stepped aside, took out his phone, and prepared to message Yan Ruanning to ask for Su Jianqiu's contact information.
How embarrassing! They came to visit the set without even having my contact information.
Or... should I moisturize it?
Before he could even type, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from inside the film studio.
Cheng Che looked up.
Su Jianqiu ran out from inside.
She was wearing a light blue dress and her hair was up in a bun; she must have just finished filming a scene and hadn't had time to change yet.
Her skirt swayed from side to side as she ran, and her high heels made a crisp sound on the concrete.
" Cheng Che--!"
She ran all the way here, and the security guard at the entrance paused for a moment and made way for her.
Su Jianqiu ran up to Cheng Che, and before she could even catch her breath, she opened her arms and hugged him tightly.
"You little rascal!" Her voice was bright and hearty, her arms tightening around him. "You've been in Spring City for so long and haven't even come to see your sister. Have you forgotten about her?"
Cheng Che was a little dazed by her hug.
She was quite strong, and her perfume had a light, pleasant scent.
" Sister Su... I'm here now."
Su Jianqiu released his grip, took a half step back, and looked him up and down, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.
"You've grown taller again." She reached out and patted his shoulder, then pinched his arm. "And you've gotten stronger too. Not bad, not bad. Ningning has good taste."
Cheng Che: "..."
He certainly didn't grow taller, after all, his charm attribute is still hovering around 70 points.
And you, you female hooligan, are you trying to take advantage of me right from the start?
"What are you standing there for?" Su Jianqiu grabbed his wrist. "Come on, let's go inside and take a look. I'll show you what a professional actor's performance is like."