Chapter 4: I'm About to Meet Liu the Fairy
Creaaak—
Just as Zhou Qing was lost in thought, the dorm door swung open with a creak, and Zhu Yawen's sturdy figure stepped inside.
Though he still had the face of a pretty boy, the aura of a grown man was already starting to shine through.
Gotta hand it to Yang Tianzhen—she really knows her stuff. The guy was practically walking testosterone.
"You're still holed up in the dorm? You're not afraid of growing mold or what?"
Zhu Yawen spotted Zhou Qing sitting at his computer and didn't even bat an eye. But he couldn't help dishing out a roast.
It had been a full week, after all.
Zhou Qing's life had become a perfect two-point routine: dorm to classroom and back again, rinse and repeat. He hadn't stepped foot anywhere else. It was actually kind of scary.
What the hell kind of script was he working on that had him this wrapped up?
To be honest, Zhu Yawen had been holding back a piece of advice for a while: if Zhou Qing was really hitting a creative wall, maybe he should just take a break.
It's not like he was a writing major or in directing. He was in the acting program, for crying out loud—what was he doing writing a script?
"What's the problem? You can lick it clean for me and be done with it."
Zhou Qing stood up and stretched long and hard. Sitting for that long really had his back aching.
"Ugh! Gross, man. Do you even hear yourself?"
Zhu Yawen nearly gagged, then launched into his usual line of questioning. "So when's this magical script of yours gonna be done? I'm legit starting to worry you're gonna turn into a husk."
"No worries. I got you to take care of me when I'm old and dying."
Zhou Qing flashed a shameless grin.
"Screw you and your whole family!" Zhu Yawen landed a solid punch to Zhou Qing's shoulder.
"Oh, right—Xixi's coming to Beijing for filming in a few days. Wanna come visit the set?"
After the two of them horsed around a bit, Zhu Yawen suddenly remembered something and casually threw out the question.
"Fairy Liu's coming to Beijing? Wasn't she shooting Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils?"
Zhou Qing asked instinctively, then immediately caught himself.
Right, that drama wasn't shot entirely at the usual studio location—they had been filming at different places around the country. So coming to Beijing for location shots wasn't that strange.
"Fairy? You mean Xixi?"
Zhu Yawen's eyes widened, staring at Zhou Qing like he was trying to read his soul.
"That's a bit much, man. Don't tell me you've got a crush on Xixi?"
"Damn, reaching for the stars, huh? Gotta respect the ambition—goin' straight for the campus goddess!"
"Perfect timing too. You can take this set visit as your chance to confess!"
The more Zhu Yawen talked, the more ridiculous it got. Zhou Qing was practically dizzy from the nonsense, and even when he tried to explain, he couldn't make it sound convincing.
After all, calling someone "Fairy" did sound a bit over the top.
Sigh… habits from a past life die hard.
Zhou Qing decided to ignore Zhu Yawen's motor mouth and rubbed his aching head.
Still, visiting the set and seeing Liu "Fairy" in person wasn't a bad idea. Honestly, Zhou Qing was a little excited about it.
He couldn't help it. The rose-tinted lens from his previous life was still there, and he really didn't want to miss this opportunity.
"Alright, let's go check it out then."
Zhou Qing didn't hesitate long—he agreed right away.
"What the hell, man. I've been trying to drag you out of the dorm for days and you wouldn't budge. I mention Xixi once and suddenly you're down? I knew it!"
Zhu Yawen started wiggling his eyebrows and howling like an idiot again.
"Down your head. I'm done with my script, alright?"
Zhou Qing looked at him like he was watching a caveman discover fire.
"I get it, I get it! You finished just in time to go see Xixi, right?"
"Get lost, man. I can't with you right now."
No Need to Worry About the Script for Now
There was no need to stress over the script anymore—it just had to go through the approval process.
With that temporarily off his plate, Zhou Qing turned his full attention to something new: setting up his own personal studio.
After all, until the results came back, there wasn't much else he could do.
Thankfully, he'd done this sort of thing before. Zhou Qing knew the drill.
He was well aware of what documents he needed, which departments to visit, and handled it all smoothly and efficiently.
And in just ten days, Zhou Qing's personal studio was officially up and running.
He hadn't made any public announcements yet, so no one knew about it for the time being.
---
"I swear, Qingzi, what have you been up to lately? Always sneaking out like some secret agent."
Of course, as his roommate, Zhu Yawen had noticed something was up. He finally couldn't hold back and confronted Zhou Qing directly.
"I started a studio," Zhou Qing replied after a moment of thought, deciding not to keep it a secret.
First, it was bound to come out eventually. It wasn't anything shady, so there was no point in hiding it.
Second—he was already thinking of asking Zhu Yawen to help out once the movie shoot began.
After all, a film wasn't something a director could pull off alone. You needed people for lighting, sound, cinematography—and a dozen other odds and ends that could drive anyone crazy when things got hectic.
So giving Zhu Yawen a heads-up now seemed like a smart move.
"A studio? What for?" Zhu Yawen blinked, clearly confused.
In this day and age, personal studios were still pretty rare—especially among college freshmen.
"I'm planning to shoot a movie. Got the script all written."
Zhou Qing shrugged, half-joking but with a serious tone buried underneath.
"A movie, huh? Then can I be the lead?"
Zhu Yawen grinned with a theatrical fake smile, clearly not taking him seriously.
Can you blame him? A first-year acting student talking about shooting a film did sound far-fetched—even if he'd personally seen Zhou Qing grind out that script day and night.
That's just human nature—people have a hard time accepting things outside their usual frame of reference. A mindset shift like this wasn't going to happen overnight.
Zhou Qing just smiled, choosing not to push the point any further for now.
---
"Oh right—don't forget, we're visiting Xixi on set today. Let's head out right after class."
Zhu Yawen reminded him of their plans.
"No problem."
Zhou Qing nodded, then glanced over at Luo Jin, who sat across the room.
"You sure you're not coming?"
"Nah, you guys go. I've got stuff to do," Luo Jin replied with a shake of his head.
Whether he actually had plans or just didn't want to go, Zhou Qing couldn't tell—and didn't really care.
When class ended, he and Zhu Yawen rushed out, full of energy.
---
After switching between subway, bus, and taxi, the two finally arrived at the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils filming site.
"Man, this place is way out in the boonies," Zhou Qing couldn't help but complain. Still, his excitement didn't wane—it actually grew stronger.
Thanks to some prior coordination, they had no trouble getting in. After a brief exchange with the crew, they were both given visitor badges to hang around their necks—looking quite official.
Zhu Yawen even joked, "Feels like we're on an inspection tour or something."
Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils was a massive production, and the set was bustling with crew members hurrying back and forth.
From afar, they could see that two director teams were filming at once, each surrounded by their own crowd.
Zhou Qing and Zhu Yawen had no idea which set Liu "the Fairy" might be filming at—or if she was even shooting today at all. So they decided to take a walk around.
Zhou Qing was mostly here out of interest, but for Zhu Yawen, a first-year acting student, it was an eye-opening experience to see how real sets op
erated.
There's only so much you can learn from books, after all.