Chapter 95: Film Emperor (15)

Although Tong Jianxu was a Film Emperor and the lead actor of the production, he never asked for special treatment on set. He even ate the crew’s boxed meals, and only got something better when his agent came to visit. Occasionally, when filming was too exhausting, his assistant would order an extra serving of nutritious stew for him.

To be fair, the boxed meals from Moonlight of the Southern Dynasty’s crew weren’t bad—after all, the production was well-funded.

Still, they couldn’t compare to the dishes ordered from a high-end restaurant.

In Tong Jianxu’s rest area, the table was split in two: one side had the standard boxed meal, the other side was filled with a delicious spread of dishes from a restaurant.

Qian was sitting on the rocking horse chair Tong Jianxu had bought her, holding a set of adorable children’s utensils he had custom-ordered. She leaned over, scooping up a piece of braised pork ribs from the dishes in front of Zaiye.

Having just finished a scene, Tong Jianxu looked at Zaiye, who was seated across from him, with a fake smile.

“President Zai, why are you still here?”

Zaiye, unfazed, picked up a bowl and replied, “Just grabbing a bite together.”

The Film Emperor’s weakness was that he was a man of dignity—he wasn’t used to tearing faces openly. Plus, the kid was here, and he didn’t want to ruin his image as a loving father in front of her.

Fine, let him eat.

Tong Jianxu held out his bowl to Qian. “Qian, Daddy wants some braised ribs too.”

Qian reached out with her little spoon and scooped a piece of rib for him.

The refined Film Emperor didn’t mind that her spoon had rice grains stuck to it. He took a polite bite.

Zaiye frowned and said to Qian, “Don’t dip a dirty spoon into the food. There’s a clean one right there.”

Tong Jianxu immediately responded, “I’m her father. Of course I’m not bothered by sharing food with my child. But if President Zai minds, maybe you should go eat outside?”

Zaiye didn’t reply. He just held out his bowl to Qian. “Give me two pieces of braised pork.”

Qian had just bitten into one piece of braised pork and was thinking it was too fatty and not tasty. Hearing Zaiye’s request, she promptly dropped the half-eaten piece into his bowl, added a fresh one, and then picked a leaner piece for herself.

Zaiye tilted his bowl slightly, raised his brow at the Film Emperor’s disapproving glare.

On the table, a few items had been picked out—some cilantro from in front of Tong Jianxu, cucumber slices in front of Zaiye, and a mix of both in front of Qian.

Zaiye ate quickly—leftover from his startup days when he’d grab meals during busy company hours, rushing between meetings and tests.

Watching him seemingly race to eat, Qian unconsciously sped up as well, leaving only Tong Jianxu chewing slowly and deliberately while watching the dishes disappear rapidly.

He couldn’t help but remind her, “Qian, chew slowly. It’s better for your health. Don’t eat too fast.”

After the reminder, Qian did slow down a bit. But a few bites later, Zaiye deliberately said, “Only two pieces left. If you don’t eat them, I will.”

Qian instantly sped up again.

Tong Jianxu: “Qian, eat slowly. If it’s gone, Daddy will buy you more.”

Zaiye: “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

That tiny table turned into a battlefield.

Assistant Tian Miao silently ate her boxed meal nearby, too afraid to approach, worried she might get hit by a stray glare.

She had no idea what was going on—why this man, supposedly the CEO of Wild Games, suddenly decided to stay for dinner, and why the atmosphere was so tense.

And after the meal, her boss specifically told her: “Keep an eye on Qian. Don’t let Zaiye take her away.”

Tian Miao was confused. That Zaiye guy wasn’t even a relative of either Qian or her boss. Why would he take her away? If he really did, wouldn’t that be kidnapping? Just call the police, right?

Yet Zaiye didn’t leave after the meal. He stayed on set, and no one asked him to go. The director even came over and chatted with him for a while.

After all, anyone with money to invest these days was treated like royalty. What if they collaborated in the future? Gotta build good relations.

They waited until Assistant Zhang arrived from S City.

Capable and efficient, Assistant Zhang couldn’t understand her boss’s behavior, but still followed all his orders—lining up every possible resource for collaboration, even preparing a child-focused endorsement deal.

She had even drafted an endorsement contract that anyone would call “a philanthropist’s deal,” per her boss’s request.

But she truly didn’t understand why her usually wise and decisive boss had suddenly gone off the rails, doing such baffling things.

“Very good. Once Tong Jianxu finishes his work, talk to him and make sure to secure the deal,” Zaiye instructed.

If there was a collaboration, it would give him more chances to meet and spend time with Qian.

Thinking of the two times Assistant Zhang had misunderstood him, Zaiye specifically reminded her: “Don’t let him misunderstand. I really only want to collaborate with him because of the child. And you, Assistant Zhang—stop overthinking it.”

“Boss, you know me. I always go by the data. I used to work on data collection and analysis. Given your recent unusual behavior, I had to investigate. In the survey titled ‘My boss suddenly shows an interest in a celebrity and claims the celebrity’s daughter is actually his daughter—who is the real target, the celebrity or the child?’ 99.5% of respondents chose the celebrity. So logically, my thinking isn’t strange.”

“And regarding your earlier statement—that the child, now Tong Jianxu’s daughter, used to be your daughter—I just want to say, we need to believe in science.”

Zaiye had nothing to say, glaring at her. “You’re really something, huh?”

When Zaiye got serious, no one in the company dared to face the storm—except Assistant Zhang, whose expression grew even more solemn.

“Boss, my job is supposed to be limited to company matters. Strictly speaking, your personal affairs are not in my scope. So everything I’ve been doing lately? It’s unpaid labor.”

As a top-tier employee, Assistant Zhang wasn’t going to bend over for her boss easily.

“And because of your recent mental fatigue and erratic behavior, not to mention your sudden early departure yesterday, the company’s workload piled up. I worked through the night, then rushed to H City as instructed. I still haven’t rested. This is a serious violation of our labor contract.”

Zaiye fell silent.

Assistant Zhang had been with the company for years, shouldering most of the miscellaneous work. She was capable, well-connected. To keep her, he’d given her company shares last year. Though she was still called “Assistant,” she was set to be promoted to Vice President next year.

Zai Ye wasn’t the type to trouble his assistant with personal matters, so when he got scolded by his executive assistant, he couldn’t even get mad.

He really had been a bit careless lately.

Silently, he pulled out his phone and made a transfer.

“Ahem, sorry to trouble you. I sent you a red packet.”

A rare smile appeared on Assistant Zhang’s otherwise stern face. Once the money arrived, so did her cooperation. She no longer cared what the boss was saying and cut straight to the point.

“Alright, then let’s continue discussing your request, Boss.”

“I’ll go meet with the production team shortly and arrange the dinner with Film Emperor Tong. I booked a table at the Taihe Restaurant nearby—once we’re done here, we can head straight there. You didn’t drive here, right, Boss? I’ll book a car. Also, are you staying here tonight? If you haven’t booked a hotel, I’ll take care of that too.”

…

Once paid up, Boss Zai was neatly handled by Assistant Zhang.

Tong Jianxu, along with Qian and his assistant Tian Miao, went with Zai Ye and Assistant Zhang to the restaurant for dinner.

Unlike their head-on clash at lunch, Zai Ye focused on eating during dinner and even had time to play with the kid, leaving the difficult Film Emperor Tong to deal with the equally difficult Assistant Zhang.

Two well-mannered people sparring politely and subtly.

Tong Jianxu had never seen a business partner so eager to throw money at him—and in such a pleasant way, no less. Assistant Zhang had a great attitude, spoke pleasantly, and was at least more bearable to listen to than her boss.

But this only made Tong more alert. The more capitalists give, the more they want in return.

He had no idea where Zai found such a young yet formidable assistant.

After hearing her talk, he was already thinking that letting Qian take that children’s brand endorsement wouldn’t be a bad idea.

They finished dinner on a friendly note, and as they wrapped up, Tong Jianxu gestured for Tian Miao to pay the bill.

But not long after, Tian Miao came back with drooping ears and whispered, “Boss, Assistant Zhang already paid.”

He glanced at the composed Assistant Zhang behind Zai Ye, then at his own little assistant Tian Miao, and suddenly felt like he’d lost this round.

“I’ll have my agent contact you about the endorsement details,” Tong said.

Seems like it was time to get his agent involved to handle things properly.

The group headed downstairs to catch their ride.

Tian Miao went ahead to get the car, and Tong Jianxu suddenly turned to Zai Ye. “Boss Zai, I have something to ask you.”

He said to Qian, “Qian, Daddy’s going over there to have a quick word. You stay here with Assistant Zhang for a bit, okay?”

Zai Ye added, “You should call her Auntie. Assistant Zhang, keep an eye on the kid—don’t let her run off.”

Unfazed, Assistant Zhang replied, “Understood, Boss.”

Once aside, Tong Jianxu asked, “Has Qian ever said something like telling you not to like her too much?”

Zai Ye looked at him. He trusted his gut and was already convinced that this Qian was the same child from his past. But this Film Emperor still wouldn’t admit it and now came asking about the past like it was perfectly natural.

“She never said that.”

If possible, Tong wouldn’t have brought it up either. But that one comment from Qian had been bothering him.

“Then has she ever done anything… strange?”

“Strange?” Zai Ye thought for a bit. “She once woke me up by sitting on my face, scratched at the bathroom door whenever I was inside, stuck leftover candy inside my clothes, crawled all over the floor barking and wouldn’t get up… Do those count?”

Tong Jianxu: “Qian’s so well-behaved. No way she did any of that!”

Zai Ye: “Which eye of yours saw her being well-behaved?”

They both frowned and glared at each other.

Tong Jianxu: “Forget it. Has she ever liked… slapping the air around her?”

Zai Ye: “Nope.”

Tong frowned. “Really?”

Thinking again, Zai Ye added, “She just liked swatting flies. She even used to insist she had a blue pet fly.”

Tong Jianxu: “……”

Back at the waiting area, Assistant Zhang stood with the kid.

A bored Qian looked at the two grumpy-faced “dads,” then at some decorations on the nearby wall, and finally at Assistant Zhang next to her.

After being stared at for a while, the calm-faced Assistant Zhang looked down and met her gaze.

A moment later, she bent down and offered her hand. “Hello, I’m Zhang Qinghe, Boss Zai’s assistant.”

“Hi,” Qian said, and seeing the hand extended, she simply placed her gaming tablet on it.

Anyone working with Daddy Zai automatically equaled game cheat access in her mind.

Back in the company, she used to charm various older brothers and sisters into giving her backdoor help.

Now, she scooted closer to Assistant Zhang, opened her Feed the Little Yellow Duck game, and looked up. “I ran out of coins for draws. No more stars either. No puppies, no kittens, no fish…”

Staring up at her with sparkling eyes, Qian’s meaning was clear.

For the all-capable Assistant Zhang, this was nothing.

She tapped out a quick message on her phone, asking a colleague at the company to send over some in-game gift packs.

Soon, Qian received several gift packs. Her coin count instantly jumped from zero to 99,999—enough to draw almost a thousand times. The packs were filled with goodies that dazzled her eyes and made her fingers sore from tapping.

Eyes gleaming as she stared at her game screen, Qian snuggled up to Assistant Zhang and sweetly said, “I really like you!”

With the kid clinging around her neck, Assistant Zhang had no choice but to pick her up. Qian even planted a happy kiss on her cool, calm face.

When Tong Jianxu and Zai Ye came back, both were stunned to see the kid clinging affectionately to Assistant Zhang. She didn’t even want them to carry her and just stuck to Zhang.

When it was time to say goodbye, it took several coaxing attempts from Tong to peel her off.

Waving her little hands at Zhang, Qian said, “Bye-bye, bye-bye! Come again tomorrow!”

Zai Ye’s face darkened. “Are you talking to her or to me?!”

Qian: “Heehee.”