38: Hard power shocked the entire crew

“Okay, I’ll be right over.”

Li Qinghe stood up from the sofa with a happy expression; even if he wasn’t chosen this time, he had gained a lot from coming here today.

“Brother Qinghe, if anything comes up, just call me.”

Pham Huyen My seemed to know what Director Li was calling Li Qinghe over for, and she smiled as she gave him instructions.

Li Qinghe followed the assistant director to the reception area on the other side, where Director Li politely shook his hand, congratulated him on passing the interview, and then presented a contract for him to sign.

Li Qinghe picked it up and glanced at it; there were basically no issues with the terms, only the amount was different from what Pham Huyen My had mentioned last night.

Last night, Pham Huyen My had said 725 million vietnamese dong, but the contract stated 900 million vietnamese dong, which was roughly 250,000 dragon country currency—a full 50,000 increase.

The director, a shrewd man, saw Li Qinghe’s eyes on the remuneration section and, with a smile, specifically explained that the financier’s representative was particularly satisfied with Li Qinghe, hence the special increase to 900 million.

Li Qinghe smiled and thanked the director; at his current daily wage, it would take him more than ten days to save that much money.

Seeing no other issues with the terms, he signed his name directly.

The remuneration payment method was bank transfer, using the bank card Li Qinghe had obtained in Vietnam, which had taken quite a bit of effort to acquire back then.

Now with the system, Li Qinghe was considering when to get a Citibank card in the United States.

Because he currently had a Chinese card and a Vietnamese card, adding an American card would basically cover all spending scenarios.

30% of the remuneration would be paid to his card today, and the remaining 70% would be paid after filming was completed.

After the contract was signed, the director, with a smile, asked Li Qinghe to try on the costumes for the shoot, which made Li Qinghe a little excited to see what kind of outfit he would be wearing with Pham Huyen My.

Upon arriving at the props room, two staff members presented Li Qinghe with a pair of white tight-fitting sports pants with red trim, specifically reminding him that he also needed to remove his underwear, otherwise, there would be unsightly panty lines during filming.

Li Qinghe paused for a moment, then looked at the tight-fitting sports pants and asked, “Do you have a size larger for these?”

A staff member, with a hint of a smile, asked him if he was worried about a certain aspect.

Li Qinghe frankly admitted that some strengths couldn’t be hidden.

The staff member advised him to try them on first, saying that the particular area had been enlarged and thickened, with plenty of capacity, but their tone still didn’t quite believe in Li Qinghe’s capabilities.

Li Qinghe turned and went in to change his pants, but after changing, he found the problem was very serious, so he immediately called a staff member in.

It was the same one who had just advised him to try them on… Half an hour later, Li Qinghe appeared on set wearing white loose-fitting sports shorts with temporarily sewn-on red trim.

However, all the staff who saw him had strange looks in their eyes, especially the female staff, whose eyes almost turned into balls of fire.

“Brother Qinghe, you’ve finally changed. Mei Jie is waiting for you over there.”

Xiaoyun, who came to lead the way, also had flickering eyes and kept turning back to steal glances.

In a corner of the studio, Li Qinghe and Pham Huyen My stood in front of the camera and tried a few shots.

A staff member explained the script content for the shoot to both of them, mainly focusing on Li Qinghe, as Pham Huyen My had already memorized it thoroughly yesterday.

The script content was cliché: it was about a couple at a gym who were listless and mocked by many.

A coach, unable to stand it, gave them two energy drinks, and so the couple began a series of magical exercises at the gym—of course, it was mainly the man doing the moving.

The focus of the shoot was that no matter what exercise the man was doing, the woman was always a part of his weight.

The final shot was the woman directly carrying the man in her arms, with the product slogan popping up as the ultimate conclusion.

However, when going over the plot, it was discovered that given Li Qinghe’s weight, Pham Huyen My would never be able to lift him.

The director’s team called the financier for an urgent discussion to adjust the content.

The rest of the crew were all arranged to eat lunch, which consisted of roasted pork Rice Noodles and pineapple shrimp fried rice, looking quite appetizing.

Li Qinghe carried his portion and ate in Pham Huyen My’s lounge.

In the lounge, there were only the two of them and an assistant, Xiaoyun.

When Li Qinghe finished eating, he recalled Xiaoyun’s strange behavior before the script reading and gently asked her the reason.

As a result, the girl, who was slurping her noodles, was choked by Li Qinghe’s question, and a noodle directly protruded from her nose.

“Qing… Brother Qinghe, I’ll tell you…”

Pham Huyen My, who was laughing uncontrollably at Xiaoyun’s appearance, had no choice but to haltingly explain the reason to Li Qinghe.

Even though she was far more mature than most young girls, discussing such a matter directly with the person involved still brought a blush to her cheeks.

After listening to Pham Huyen My’s account, Li Qinghe finally understood the reason.

No wonder everyone in the crew had been acting strangely after he tried on those tight, uncomfortable fitness shorts; no one dared to make eye contact with Li Qinghe.

The men appeared guilty and dejected, while the women appeared guilty and curious.

It seemed that because their needs were different, the Vietnamese men and women, both middle-aged and young, reacted completely differently when faced with Li Qinghe’s significantly superior Chinese “hard power.”

Even Pham Huyen My, standing before him, felt a bit guilty; she was actually half-skeptical of the news that had spread like wildfire through the crew.

How could there be an East Asian in this world even more exaggerated than the Black teachers in educational films? No wonder everyone said China was a mysterious and infinitely potential great nation.

For such legendary and exaggerated “hard power” to appear was truly a bit fantastical.

Discussing such an issue with a man was clearly not something this mixed-race beauty could do; after shyly finishing her explanation, she changed the subject.

She then began discussing their cooperation during the advertisement shoot.

Because she was about to enter a real crew to film a TV series, the dedicated Pham Huyen My didn’t miss any opportunity to hone her acting skills.

She even hoped that Li Qinghe’s eyes could convey the kind of affection one has for a girlfriend.

This was not difficult for Li Qinghe to do.

However, when it was her turn, judging from the video Xiaoyun took on the side, her eyes lacked that tender, affectionate feeling.

Li Qinghe, who had initially thought this girl was deeply hidden and had exceptional acting skills, realized that apart from her grand pronouncements, her acting didn’t seem to be that great either.

“Brother Qinghe, you have to help me!” The girl immediately grew anxious, pulled out her phone, and made a video call to her acting teacher, planning to use the lunch break to practice her acting skills diligently.

Indeed, there are specialties in every field; in Li Qinghe’s eyes, Pham Huyen My, who was quite professional in video planning, despite her hard work, didn’t seem to have maxed out her talent in acting.

Because Pham Huyen My was in a hurry, the acting teacher on the video call gave her a suggestion: simulate immersion.

The teacher frankly stated that he advocated for experiential acting, where immersing oneself in the role made it easier to find the desired state, but one should be careful not to immerse too deeply, leading to difficulty in detaching from the emotions.

Pham Huyen My was anxious at the time; she didn’t care about experiencing or not experiencing, as long as she achieved the state she wanted.

So the teacher immediately gave online guidance.

He told Pham Huyen My to first interlace her fingers with Li Qinghe’s, earnestly look for his good qualities or points that could make her heart flutter, and then hypnotize herself into believing she was Li Qinghe’s girlfriend.

Pham Huyen My diligently followed the instructions.