167: Back on set!

"Baoqiang, it's a pity we're still filming, otherwise we would have definitely celebrated with you," Zhou Yiwei said with some regret.

Although Feng Xiaogang went to the Huabiao Awards ceremony, with the status of the two of them, they were not yet qualified to be brought along.

"It's fine, it's the thought that counts," Zhang Songwen responded with a smile.

Time quickly passed until evening, and Chen Le went to pick up Naza.

As soon as they met, Naza hugged him directly, completely disregarding the people around them, which gave Chen Le a start.

Afterward, the two went to a restaurant for a meal to celebrate.

Actually, there wasn't much to celebrate; after all, it wasn't the first time he had won an award.

So at the dinner table, Chen Le didn't mention it much.

After eating, Chen Le sent Naza home.

They had just returned to Naza's apartment.

Naza spoke up.

"Brother Le, did you bring that trophy? I want to see it," Naza asked with a smile.

"I brought it. Of course you can see it if you want," Chen Le said, pointing to the bag he used to carry the trophy.

Naza took out the trophy, very curious about what material it was made of; it looked quite nice.

After studying it for a while, she finally put the trophy down.

"Brother Le, when are you going back to the Film Crew?" Naza asked curiously, remembering that Chen Le still had scenes to finish.

"The flight is tomorrow afternoon, so I can only stay with you for one night," Chen Le replied.

"So soon?" Naza felt a bit resentful upon hearing Chen Le's words.

She thought he could stay for a few more days.

As it turned out, there was only one night. What could they do in just one night? They probably couldn't do anything, right?

But then she thought about it again; one night seemed like it might be enough.

The two of them shared a look; what they were both thinking was self-evident.

Soon, it was the next afternoon.

Chen Le boarded the plane feeling refreshed, while Naza was still fast asleep at home.

Yanjing is not far from Bin City; the flight arrived in Bin City in just over half an hour.

Just after getting off the plane, Chen Le took a taxi straight back to the Film Crew.

In the Film Crew, Shen Teng and Yin Zheng were messing around.

"Hey, Old Shen! You're running too slowly. Are you getting old? Is your body failing you? Why are you so weak?" Ma Li mocked Shen Teng from the side.

Just then, she suddenly saw Chen Le.

"Director Chen is back!" Ma Li shouted.

Everyone looked over together, and seeing that it really was Chen Le, smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

Shen Teng and Yin Zheng also stopped messing around and gathered around with everyone else.

"Director Chen, you're back! Congratulations to Chen Le for winning the Huabiao Awards best director award!" Shen Teng suddenly shouted loudly.

"Yeah! Yeah! Director Chen, shouldn't we celebrate this?" Ma Li also chimed in.

"Fine, fine, since you put it that way, I'll give you tonight off, and we'll go celebrate," Chen Le said somewhat helplessly, seeing their rowdy behavior.

"Director Chen, congratulations on winning the best director award," Li Liqun walked over and said with a smile.

"With a talented director like you in the China film industry, the future is promising! Perhaps you can lead our China films onto the world stage!" he praised again.

"Teacher Li Liqun, you flatter me. I don't have that kind of strength. At most, I can contribute a small part to the future of the China film industry; I wouldn't dare say I'm leading it," Chen Le hurriedly waved his hand.

He felt that as long as he made some money, it would be enough; he couldn't shoulder the burden of leading the charge.

Just at that moment, Zhao Sheng arrived.

Seeing Chen Le, he immediately walked over.

"Director Chen, you're finally back. Congratulations on winning the Huabiao Awards best director award!" Zhao Sheng said, his tone full of congratulations.

At the same time, he felt a bit envious of Chen Le, who was younger than him but had already won the best director award twice.

"Brother Sheng, I've told everyone that we'll find a place to celebrate tonight. Let's push back tonight's filming schedule," Chen Le said with a smile.

"Okay," Zhao Sheng nodded.

Since the boss had spoken, he naturally had no objections.

After all, he was just an Assistant Director, there to follow orders and do the work.

Afterward, Chen Le returned to his office, and Zhao Sheng showed him the footage filmed over the past few days, reporting on the situation as well.

"Mhm, these are all fine," Chen Le nodded with satisfaction.

He was quite satisfied with Zhao Sheng's work over the last few days; he liked this kind of worry-free Assistant Director best—not only was he outstandingly capable, but he could also perfectly complete the tasks assigned to him.

After confirming there were no issues, Chen Le let Zhao Sheng leave.

Hearing this, Zhao Sheng felt a sigh of relief in his heart.

There was no helping it; working under a Great Director like Chen Le indeed came with a lot of pressure.

Although the treatment was good, the pressure was also significant.

Night soon arrived.

Chen Le took the main creative members of the Film Crew to a large restaurant near the set.

They booked a large private room, and the group sat inside, making it very lively.

The owner of this restaurant recognized the Goodbye Mr. Loser Film Crew at a glance. He had been very surprised when he heard earlier that the Goodbye Mr. Loser Film Crew was in Bin City.

He just hadn't known exactly where the Goodbye Mr. Loser Film Crew was located.

Now that they had actually come to his restaurant, he was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

He knew who Chen Le was; wherever Chen Le went to film a movie, many people would go there because of his reputation.

Now that the Goodbye Mr. Loser Film Crew had come to his restaurant, he naturally had to provide excellent hospitality and not let them down.

Thinking of this, the owner immediately instructed the kitchen staff to use their best culinary skills and carefully prepare the dishes.

On the other side, unaware of this, Chen Le was chatting with the main members of the Film Crew.

They had already ordered their food and were just waiting for the dishes to be served.

Within a few minutes, the first dish arrived.

Seeing this, Chen Le immediately invited everyone to start eating. "Everyone, please eat. Don't be formal, help yourselves, you don't need to mind me."

"Director Chen, since you've said so, we won't stand on ceremony with you!" Li Liqun said with a smile.

"Why be polite? Aren't we here to celebrate? I don't have many annoying rules. Just eat and drink as you please. No need to toast me or anything; I don't really like that," Chen Le also explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Shen Teng and the others finally felt at ease and picked up their chopsticks.

Following that, the subsequent dishes were brought out one after another.

The entire Film Crew ate to their hearts' content.

By the end of the meal, everyone was stuffed.

After the meal, the restaurant owner wanted to give them the meal for free, hoping they would just mention his restaurant.

But Chen Le refused and insisted on paying the bill.

This made the restaurant owner feel it was a great pity... Time quickly passed for over two months, and the filming of Goodbye Mr. Loser was nearing its end, almost finished.

At the filming site of the final wrap-up scene, Shen Teng and the others were filming the last segment.

Charlotte returned to the small cottage he shared with Ma Dongmei and recounted the memories of their marriage in their past life to her.