Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 58 Victory Celebration Banquet

The final outdoor scene was filmed in a stairwell. The lighting was poor, so Peng Bing asked the lighting crew to add two more lights, which created a warmer effect and made the shadows on the walls appear very long.

Dilireba stood at the end of the corridor, dressed in her costume, a light gray knitted cardigan, her hair loose and falling on both sides of her shoulders, her eye makeup a little heavier than usual. She stood there without moving, waiting for Peng Bing to call "action".

This scene isn't difficult; it involves two lines of dialogue, a turn of the head, and closing a door.

Peng Bing watched it over from behind the monitor and said, "That's enough."

The atmosphere on set loosened up. The lighting crew began winding down their cables, the production assistants pushed over the prop cart, someone went to fetch a thermos, and someone started dismantling the clapperboard. The sounds of wrapping up drifted in from all directions, completely silencing the last vestiges of quiet in the hallway.

Filming has wrapped.

Peng Bing hung the walkie-talkie back on his waist, walked over, and handed the phone to Zeng Hao. The screen showed the last draft of today's daily report, with the following line: "The last scene was successfully completed, filming officially wrapped, no abnormalities today."

Zeng Hao took the phone and scrolled down to the bottom of the daily report. There was a note that Peng Bing had added himself: "At 3 p.m. outside the scenic area parking lot, someone set up a telephoto lens outside the film crew's location and took pictures for about 20 minutes. They were discovered by security and left. The license plate has been recorded."

He glanced at the license plate number but didn't speak immediately.

"Should we investigate?" Peng Bing asked from the side. "I had security follow them for a while. It was a rented car, so it's hard to trace it back to its source."

"No need to check," Zeng Hao handed the phone back to him. "The footage is all here. What he filmed was just the final outdoor scenes, it's useless."

Peng Bing responded, put his phone back in his pocket, paused for a moment, and said, "The people from Dingsheng are becoming more and more active. Last month they were just hovering around Hengdian, but this time they've come all the way to Qianhu City."

Zeng Hao didn't reply to that sentence. Instead, he took out his phone and sent Xu Wen a message: "Send me a copy of the license plate number for my records."

After sending, turn your phone over to the back.

Peng Bing glanced at him, said nothing more, and went to direct the production crew to wrap things up.

When I got back to the company it was almost five o'clock, Sister Liu sent over today's accounts.

The third batch of payments for "Diamond Lover" totaled 238 million yuan, triggered 15 working days after filming wrapped.

Based on today's milestones, the funds should arrive by mid-March at the latest.

At that time, the book value will be increased from 3110.5 million to 3348.5 million.

Xu Wen wrote it down on the other side: "Is the celebration banquet scheduled for tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tonight," Zeng Hao said, "have Peng Bing inform all the main creators that the location is the usual place, don't make a big fuss, and leave after dinner."

"Okay," Xu Wen noted this down, paused for a moment, "Also, regarding the behind-the-scenes footage, Peng Bing said it's already been edited and asked which version you want."

"The longest it lasts is how many seconds."

"At two minutes and forty seconds, Peng Bing said this version has the strongest CP feeling. There's also a one-minute version and a thirty-second version."

Zeng Hao glanced out the window. "Show me the fifteen-second version."

Xu Wen was taken aback. "Fifteen seconds? There's no fifteen-second version."

"Let Peng Bing cut it," Zeng Hao said. "Take the best shot from the two minutes and forty seconds, fifteen seconds long, and post it after the celebration banquet tonight. After posting it, leave the first comment in the comment section, no matter what it is, don't delete it."

Xu Wen wrote this down, paused his pen on the paper, looked up, and said, "Why only fifteen seconds? Wouldn't it be better to release more? The one that's two minutes and forty seconds, I watched it, and it's really good."

"Because once you've watched 15 seconds of something, you want to watch it again," Zeng Hao said. "Once you've watched 2 minutes and 40 seconds of something, you've already finished watching it."

Xu Wen pondered this for a moment, his expression showing that he hadn't fully grasped it but was too embarrassed to ask further. "What if the first comment is abusive?"

"Keep it."

"You're even keeping the insults?"

"Um."

Xu Wen capped his pen, glanced at Zeng Hao, and ultimately didn't ask a third question. He closed the notebook and said, "Okay, I'll go get Peng Bing to cut it."

He walked to the door, turned around, and asked, "Mr. Zeng, what time is the celebration banquet?"

"Eight o'clock."

The celebration banquet was held at the restaurant that the crew of "Diamond Lover" often went to. The private room was small, with a dozen or so people sitting at the round table.

Peng Bing and several key members of the production team sat in a circle, while the lighting and props crew sat on the side.

Dilireba was next to Peng Bing, having changed out of her costume and into a deep brick-red knitted dress with a small round neckline that revealed her neck. Her hair was casually styled in a bun, with a few wisps falling down her sides. She wore only a thin gold earring. She looked much cleaner than she did on set, but her eyes were the same—quiet, with something in them.

Halfway through the meal, Peng Bing raised his glass and said a few words, not long, ending with "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Zeng." The whole table raised their glasses, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

Zeng Hao finished his drink, put down the glass, and his phone vibrated. It was a message from Xu Wen: "Version confirmed in fifteen seconds. Waiting for your command."

He flipped his phone over and continued listening to Peng Bing speak.

After the dishes were served, people at the table started talking about the upcoming projects. Dilireba and Peng Bing exchanged a few words, but Zeng Hao didn't pay much attention to what they said. However, when she turned her face to the side, the table light shone down from above, making her cheekbones very defined. Most of the makeup at the corners of her eyes had been removed, making her look even more neat than when she was wearing makeup.

She has a habit when she speaks: her eyes are completely focused when listening to the other person, without wandering or getting distracted.

Zeng Hao noticed this and, without dwelling on it, picked up his phone and called Xu Wen: "Send it."

The celebration banquet ended close to 11 p.m.

Zeng Hao was the last to leave. He put on his coat at the door of the private room. The corridor was already quiet. The waiters were clearing the tables, and the sound of plates clattering could be heard from inside.

The lights at the end of the corridor were warm-colored, but one of them had a problem; the light flickered on the wall for a moment before settling down.

Zhang Tianai stood at the other end of the corridor.

She wore a light camel-colored loose-fitting suit jacket over a white camisole, paired with straight-leg beige wide-leg trousers and pointed nude high heels. Her hair was all pulled back, with only two very fine wisps framing her face. Her features were deep and her contours were distinct. This outfit accentuated her bone structure beautifully. Standing in the corridor, the warm yellow light from the other end shone down from the side, giving her profile a distinctly sculpted look.

She walked towards him, her steps slow, the sound of her high heels hitting the floor clearly echoing in the corridor.

Zeng Hao finished buttoning his coat and waited for her to approach.

Later, the coat buttons were unbuttoned again, and after the light in the corridor went out, only a sliver of city light remained outside the window, and the color of the walls changed from warm yellow to dark gray.

Later, when the lights came back on, she leaned against the wall, combed her hair again, tucked the stray hairs back, and her fingers were steady.

"Isn't it time?" she asked, her voice flat. "Can we talk now?"

"Let's talk after filming wraps up," Zeng Hao said. "Diamond Lover wrapped up filming today."

She paused for a moment in her mind, then turned to look at him. "Let's talk then."