Chapter 14

The place for lunch was not a common western restaurant as seen in novels, but a regular local Chinese restaurant.

The place was naturally chosen by Liu Qinghe, but what Zuo Mingran didn't expect was that before they went, Liu Qinghe specifically asked for her opinion.

Zuo Mingran never had any particular demands when it came to food, the only criterion was that it tasted good. Liu Qinghe told Yunyang, who was driving, the location, then turned to Zuo Mingran with a smile, "I used to go to that restaurant frequently. The owner is a young couple, but now they should be around my age. The husband is the one who cooks, and he's really good. We used to go there with a group of friends for gatherings."

Zuo Mingran remembered the information she had just read, Liu Qinghe was a local of City B and grew up there, only settling abroad after her divorce.

Perhaps it had been so long since she had eaten hometown cuisine that Liu Qinghe, in high spirits, started chatting with Zuo Mingran about it. "It's been such a long time, I wonder if that restaurant is still open."

Just as Liu Qinghe finished speaking, Yunyang, who hadn't said much, suddenly spoke up, "It's still open, and the owners are still that couple."

Liu Qinghe appeared somewhat surprised, "Is that so? I thought you wouldn't remember."

Yunyang gave a simple "Hmm" and focused on driving, not saying anything more.

Zuo Mingran looked at him, then at Liu Qinghe, and vaguely understood something. She was amazed by Yunyang's tsundere nature in front of his own mother and couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

The mealtime was not in a bustling area, it could even be considered deserted. Zuo Mingran looked around, realizing that this place wasn't within her and Yunyang's usual activities. However, when Liu Qinghe asked about it, Yunyang immediately shared the recent updates, and they didn't even use navigation on the way here, indicating a strong familiarity with this place.

This mother and son duo, though they claimed to have had a weak relationship for over a decade, were actually just stubborn on the surface but soft-hearted inside. They truly were a united mother and son.

It was mealtime, and the restaurant was quite busy. The owners even remembered Liu Qinghe, and when they saw her, they asked a few questions with a smile, saying, "It's been almost twenty years since you last came, right? Back in the day, when you were in college, you would often call in the middle of the night."

Looking back on the past, Liu Qinghe also felt a bit nostalgic as he held Zuo Mingran's hand and chatted casually, "Back then, we used to conduct experiments until midnight. The school had curfew and didn't allow us to go out, so we had to order takeout. We would use a basket to hoist it up. At that time, there weren't many places that delivered food late at night, but this shop was willing to take our orders and come all the way to deliver food for us."

After waiting for a while, the shop owner arranged a private room for them. Because it was in a public area, Zuo Mingran wore sunglasses and a mask, and although Yan Yunyang was shielding her, there were still many people looking at her.

The shop owner couldn't help but ask, "Young lady, is this girl your daughter? I remember you having more than one son?"

Liu Qinghe pointed at Yan Yunyang and said, "That one is my son, and this is my daughter-in-law."

The shop owner exclaimed, "Ah, you are really lucky."

"Yes," Liu Qinghe smiled and said, "Let's order like we used to."

After having dinner, they all accompanied Liu Qinghe back to his place of stay.

Even though it had been over ten years since they last came here, Liu Qinghe's house in B city was still being kept, and they had hired people to clean it in advance. After escorting the cleaning crew inside, Liu Qinghe needed to rest, so they didn't stay long and left after having a cup of tea.

Zuo Mingran sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and teasingly said to Yan Yunyang, "You have a good relationship with your mom, it made me worried for so long."

Yan Yunyang paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Worried about what?"

Zuo Mingran chuckled and said, "Of course, I was afraid that your mom wouldn't like me. What if she sees me and immediately offers me ten million to leave you? That would be so awkward!"

"What are you thinking?" Yan Yunyang shook his head helplessly.

Zuo Mingran said, "So, how should I accept that ten million and make it seem natural?"

Yan Yunyang gave her a strange look and asked, "Do you think I'm only worth ten million?"

"...Is that the main point here?" Zuo Mingran replied.

Yan Yunyang started the car and casually said, "The jewelry set my mom gave you as a wedding gift is worth more than ten million."

Zuo Mingran choked on her own saliva, and as the car was about to leave the residential area, she turned her head and looked back, as if suddenly remembering something, she said, "Your mom really loves you."

Yan Yunyang didn't say anything. Zuo Mingran lazily leaned back against the seat, and said lightly, "Otherwise, why do you think your mom treats me so well?"

"You are amazing, my mom really likes you," Yan Yunyang sighed softly, blinking his eyes. 

Zuo Mingran sighed lightly and said, "Actually, you know, it's rare for people to like each other at first sight. The reason why your mom likes me is because of you."

Zuo Mingran changed the subject, not caring whether Yan Yunyang heard her or not, and asked what they should have for dinner that night.

Since they started living together, Yan Yunyang had been the one cooking breakfast and dinner, while Zuo Mingran took responsibility for putting the dishes and chopsticks in the dishwasher. Apart from meal times, they were both busy with their own work - one with shooting schedules and the other with business trips. They didn't have much time to spend together, but their time together was harmonious.

Back home, Zuo Mingran continued to memorize her script. The new drama was about to start filming, and she had no prior experience in this genre. Although she had some memories from her past life, she knew that her acting skills were not very effective.

She used a highlighter to mark her lines on the script and carefully studied the psychological state of her character.

She wasn't sure how well she could do, considering she didn't have a background in acting and had never been in this industry before. Zuo Mingran had been in the industry for seven years, but she knew her acting skills were not great. At the very least, she could complete a drama without any obstacles. However, she was worried that she might burst into laughter and have continuous NGs on the day of filming.

Rubbing her hair, Zuo Mingran lay back on the carpet with a hopeless expression on her face.

This was a modern drama that portrayed a strong career woman, but ultimately could not escape the curse of love. The majority of the plot revolved around the interaction between the male and female leads. Fortunately, the plot's continuity was decent, and the limited workplace scenes were within a reasonable range, without going too over-the-top just because it was a TV drama.

As long as the production team and post-production process weren't too disappointing, this drama would at least be passable.

But if there were any flaws, it would probably be the decision to cast Zuo Mingran, an unreliable female lead.

The script was adapted from a highly popular novel. Zuo Mingran, lying on the carpet, thought for a moment, then reached for her phone, downloaded the website's app, registered an account, and searched for the book title before clicking on it.

In her previous life, she was a full-time writer, so she found more inspiration from novels than scripts.

With the TV drama about to begin filming, news about the novel securing the copyright also spread. Many people in the comments section were discussing how the scriptwriter would change the plot, as there were too many examples these days of novels being adapted into film and television works that no longer resembled the original, resulting in book fans refusing to acknowledge it while drama fans felt unsatisfied. Arguments between the two sides were common.

However, this time, the arguments started earlier than ever, as the production team announced the female lead more than half a month ago. The book fans, who were initially excited to hear that the author would be involved in the script adaptation, felt like they had swallowed a ton of flies. They immediately flooded the production team's Weibo, demanding a change of female lead, threatening that they wouldn't contribute to the viewing count unless the investment side replaced her.

Changing the female lead is impossible because this time, Zuo Mingran not only invested in the production but also holds the power to decide the cast configuration of the crew.

Zuo Mingran's fans, in response to the request to change the female lead, turned their criticism towards Zuo Mingran. They listed the good actors and good scripts that had been harmed by Zuo Mingran in the past. As a result, Zuo Mingran's fans joined the battle, and the two sides have been at odds with no resolution. Recently, there was a controversy related to Guan Xin's actions, which attracted some of Zuo Mingran's fans to join in.

Unlike the situation on Weibo where there are more fans of celebrities, the majority of fans in the novel industry are book fans, and they cannot help but criticize the selection of the female lead in the TV drama.

Zuo Mingran doesn't really care because what the fans say is indeed true. If her favorite works were casted with actors who have terrible acting skills, she would have the same attitude as the book fans.

It must be said that the novel is indeed good, and the script has faithfully reproduced the plot of the novel. Zuo Mingran read the first few chapters, suddenly closed the app, and opened a website to search. She clicked on a different book title.

She searched for several books in a row but found no results. Zuo Mingran silently got up and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze.

The books she searched for were the ones she had written in her past life, and it was not surprising that there were no results. This meant that her works did not exist in this world.

Zuo Mingran felt a surge of excitement. If that was the case, it meant that she could publish her previously written novels again. In her previous life, she was a relatively popular writer, although her fan base was not as large as those of the top authors, each book had tens of thousands of subscribers, which could be considered decent.

Moreover, her memory was still good. It would be unrealistic to transcribe all the original books, but she could remember the basic plot, characters, and outline, which would make her writing more efficient.

Action speaks louder than words. Zuo Mingran quickly got up from the ground and opened her computer to register a pen name. But just as she was about to do so, her phone on the floor suddenly rang.

Looking at the caller ID, it was Shi Shuangxia. Zuo Mingran first reflected on whether she had caused any trouble recently. Remembering that she had been out earlier, she thought she might have been secretly photographed outside.

She answered the call, but before she could speak, she heard Shi Shuangxia's heavy voice, "Something happened."

Setting aside the matter of registering a pen name, Zuo Mingran opened Weibo and browsed through the popular gossip while listening to what Shi Shuangxia was saying.

"The person behind the leaked chat records that have been released is still under investigation. The PR department is preparing an emergency plan, but the most crucial aspect is you and Yan Yunyang."

Looking at the numerous messages mentioning her, Zuo Mingran calmly said, "No need to investigate, I know who it is."

Shi Shuangxia fell silent, and Zuo Mingran asked her, "Has Guan Xin been involved in any recent activities?"

Shi Shuangxia sighed and said helplessly, "I'm not her manager, how would I know?"

Zuo Mingran smiled lightly and said, "Xia Jie, if I wanted her to disappear from this industry, could you make it happen?"

Shi Shuangxia fell silent for a moment, then gave an affirmative answer, "Yes, I can."

"That's good," Zuo Mingran moved her fingers slightly, "Give me the password to my Weibo account. Let her experience what it feels like to be hit by public criticism."