Yan Qiang took the phone.
"Assistant Wen."
"Miss Yan," Wen Yiran's voice on the other end of the phone was a little heavy, "I would like to ask you to go back to Jinghai."
"Is something wrong?"
"Mr. Huo's mother passed away today."
Yan Qiang didn't react for a while.
who?
Huo Qi's mother?
Her heart paused for a moment: "Why is it so sudden?"
"It did happen suddenly." Wen Yiran couldn't tell Yan Qiang some things on the phone, so he could only ask Yan Qiang, "Can you go back to Jinghai? This is my personal request. Mr. Huo's situation is not good. Great."
Yan Qiang didn't know what to say. Since she and Huo Qi separated that night in Zhouhai, they had not contacted each other for half a month.
It's like the Cold War, but it's also like normal. After all, one of them is in the south and the other is in the north.
Huo Qi...
Yan Qiang silently recited the name in her heart, and after a moment of silence she said, "I'll try my best."
"Sorry, Miss Yan."
Wen Yiran finished speaking before hanging up the phone.
Yan Qiang sat there still a little unrecovered.
She only met Tong Zi twice. The first time was in the hospital. At that time, Huo Qi and Xiao Jingshan were standing in front of her. She and Tong Zi did not say hello.
The second time was when Tong Zi went to Yan’s house to look for her.
She knew that Tong Zi was ill and had undergone a major operation, but this sudden death still caught her off guard.
Seeing that Yan Qiang's face was not very good, Ling Yin took the mobile phone from her, thinking that she was worried about Rong Xi and Ruan Yin, and said, "I asked my senior brother, Ruan Yin won't be able to come out for a while."
Ling Yin didn't mention it, Yan Qiang almost forgot the name Ruan Yin.
The entertainment industry is full of newcomers and iterations are rapid. After Ruan Yin was named by the official media, the major media, paparazzi, and major platforms will no longer mention her name. She has almost been submerged in the river of the entertainment industry.
"Ling Yin." Yan Qiang looked at her, "You can discuss with the crew and see if you can take an extra day off. I want to return to Jinghai early."
"Now?" Ling Yin was surprised.
Yan Qiang: "Yes."
"I'll ask first."
Ling Yin has now taken over many of Daodao's tasks and handled them in an orderly manner.
People are very down to earth.
When Daodao came over after contacting the styling team, he saw Yan Qiang staring at her phone in a daze with her head down, so she couldn't help but wave her hand.
"Sister Qiang, we've contacted you." Daodao said, "Nicole's time can be connected with ours, and his style is consistent with our style. If I don't have any other ideas, then I will make an appointment with him first. On."
Yan Qiang nodded, "Make time in the morning the day after tomorrow."
"The morning after tomorrow? We have to try on clothes in the morning the day after tomorrow. If there are any problems with the clothes, we have to change them. We also have to take pictures in the afternoon and evening. Sister Qiang, we are very pressed for time." Daodao said.
Yan Qiang pursed her lips and thought for a moment before saying, "Please take some time off. I have something to do. Pack your things. If Ling Yin comes back as expected, we will be ready to go back to Jinghai. We can put the fitting on tomorrow."
Daodao: "Oh, okay."
She didn't understand what was happening, but she knew she just had to do what she was told. Although she didn't know what she had missed since she was absent for such a moment.
Ling Yin came back soon.
The director readily agreed.
After all, Yan Qiang had participated in so many red carpet appearances for this drama before. When she heard that she was going to the National Drama Festival this time, she agreed without saying a word.
Yan Qiang returned to Jinghai overnight.
She did not go directly to the funeral home. Instead, she went back and changed her clothes before driving there alone.
She asked Wen Yiran for the address.
Huo Qi's mother passed away. Even if she didn't ask, she could know the address with just a little inquiry.
It was already late at night when we got there.
There were people guarding the funeral home, and everything was being handled in an orderly manner.
After Yan Qiang parked the car, she didn't rush to get out of the car. She saw many people inside.
Although it was already midnight, Huo Qi's identity was there, and many people came to express their condolences.
It's very cold in Jinghai tonight, more than ten degrees below zero.
Yan Qiang opened the car window a crack. The cold air instantly penetrated through the small cracks, slapped her face, and then merged with the hot heating in the car. The air in the car seemed to come alive.
Yan Qiang took out her cell phone, found Huo Qi's number and dialed it.
The phone rang for a long time before being answered.
There was a noisy background sound inside, but no one spoke.
There was a silent sadness in the air. Yan Qiang put her hand on the steering wheel, tightened it slightly and said, "I'm outside the funeral home."
Huo Qi hung up the phone.
Yan Qiang looked at the phone screen steadily. She felt like there was a big stone pressing on her heart, and the cold air invaded her neck. The coolness melted the heating in the car to ice.
She closed her collar and looked up to see Huo Qi coming out.
It was freezing outside, and although it wasn't snowing, the cold wind was still blowing on people's faces like knives.
He was only wearing a suit.
As if he already knew her location, he raised his feet and walked straight in her direction.
Yan Qiang was about to get out of the car when Huo Qi had already walked around the front of the car and walked to the passenger seat.
The car door was locked, but he didn't open it.
Yan Qiang immediately unlocked the car door. After a click, Huo Qi opened the door and got in.
There was an overwhelming cold air on him.
"My condolences." Yan Qiang said.
Huo Qi propped up his legs and leaned on the back of the chair. He didn't look at Yan Qiang. He seemed a little tired. He closed his eyes and said "hmm" in a low voice, not really wanting to speak.
Yan Qiang looked at him and didn't speak again. She just raised the car window and turned up the heater a little more.
It was quiet in the car.
Yan Qiang also leaned in the car like him, closing her eyes and feeling the warmth of the car. She didn't know when she fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was already two o'clock in the morning.
The co-pilot was gone.
Yan Qiang reached out and touched it. The leather seat was not warm, indicating that Huo Qi had been away for a long time.
There was no one in the funeral parlor at this moment.
Everything was silent.
As Tong Zi's son, Huo Qi should keep vigil at night. Yan Qiang looked at the time, thought for a moment, and then sent a message to Huo Qi.
Yan Qiang: [Do you want something to eat? ]
Huo Qi called.
Yan Qiang picked up.
"There is a place to eat nearby. If you are hungry, go and eat. If you can't leave, just let Wen Yiran take you there." Huo Qi's voice was a little hoarse.
"I'm asking if you are hungry." Yan Qiang said.
Huo Qi was silent for a few seconds, "Get out of the car, I'll accompany you there."
Yan Qiang actually wanted to explain that she was simply asking him if he was hungry, not that she was hungry.
But Huo Qi had already hung up the phone.
Huo Qi wore a black coat when he went out this time. In the bleak winter night, he looked stunningly handsome.
Yan Qiang got out of the car.
It was very cold outside. Yan Qiang looked at the brightly lit funeral parlor. There was no one everywhere. She suddenly said, "Can I go in and light the incense sticks?"
Huo Qi paused.
He looked at Yan Qiang, his black pupils filled with darkness.
"I can't just..."
"Go if you want." Huo Qi's voice was hoarse than before, and he turned around and walked towards the mourning hall.
Yan Qiang followed him step by step.
There was no one in the mourning hall.
Tong Zi's relatives haven't arrived yet, and the Huo family only has one son, Huo Qi. Huo Zhongkang, his ex-husband, had been here before. After staying for a while, he pretended to be unconscious and called an ambulance to take him to the hospital.
When Wen Yiran saw Yan Qiang come in, he lit three incense sticks and handed them to Yan Qiang.
Yan Qiang nodded towards him.
There is a black and white photo hanging on the mourning hall. She is much younger than when Yan Qiang saw her last time.
Yan Qiang went to burn incense.
Huo Qi kept looking at her until she turned around, and then he focused his attention on Tong Zi's photo.
"Let's go."
Huo Qi said lightly.
Under the light of the mourning hall, Yan Qiang saw the bloodshot eyes and green stubble on his chin, and his whole person seemed to be exhausted.
Compared with the warmth of the mourning hall, Yan Qiang felt a biting cold as soon as she went out.
"Are you okay?" Yan Qiang suddenly asked.
Huo Qi turned around to look at her. In the depth of winter, her face looked increasingly white against the black clothes.
"Aren't you filming?" he asked.
"Yes." Yan Qiang said, "For the National Drama Festival, I asked for leave from the crew."
"Why come here?" he asked again.
Their voices were blown away in the night wind. Yan Qiang raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ears and said, "When my father passed away, I couldn't cry. Until the day after the funeral, I sat at home and said For a moment, I suddenly realized that he would never show up at the dining table to eat again, he would never make a phone call on the sofa again, and he would never frown and say that I was not dressed appropriately and then transfer a large amount of money to me to buy new clothes. , I won’t say proudly that my daughter is so beautiful.”
Huo Qi said nothing.
He tried hard to recall that time.
He was very busy, busy with studies and exams. He didn't see her for several days in a row. Although he was thinking about it, he didn't ask much. She doesn't always live in Jiangwan. Most of the time, she has her own things to do.
But he didn't expect that when she returned to Jiangwan's apartment a few days later, her eyes would be swollen.
She looked at him and said, "Huo Qi, I have no father."
…
At this moment, at three o'clock in the morning, in the night with more than ten degrees below zero, Yan Qiang raised her head and looked at him and asked: "Do you want to cry?"
Huo Qi heard a faint tremor from her words.
He suddenly reached out and hugged her.
"In no mood."
He rested his chin on the top of her head and looked into the void in the distance, as if looking through time and space to look at Yan Qiang three years ago.
…
The funeral home felt unusually deserted.
"I'm going back." Yan Qiang looked at him and said, "You should also go and take a rest."
Huo Qi said "hmm".
Yan Qiang drove away, and Huo Qi watched her leave. After a long time, he returned to the mourning hall.
He looked at Wen Yiyi.
Wen Yiran pretended not to see it.
When Yan Qiang got home, it was almost five o'clock. She took a shower and went to bed.
When she woke up, Daodao had already sent over all the dresses to be worn at the Chinese drama ceremony.
Yan Qiang looked at the time.
half past twelve.
There were some messages on her phone. She leaned on the bedside and read them one by one, and suddenly found a bank transfer message among them.
Huo Qi transferred one million to her at around six o'clock in the morning.
Yan Qiang:?
She sent the screenshot to Huo Qi and asked him what he meant.
After a while, Huo Qi sent back a message: [Buying clothes. ]
Yan Qiang:? ? ?
Shocked and confused, she suddenly remembered what she had said to Huo Qi last night.
Um……
She tentatively replied: [Do you want to be my dad? ]
Huo Qi: [It’s not impossible. ]
Yan Qiang: [? ]
Huo Qi didn't reply.
There are still many things to deal with in Tong Zi's funeral. Huo Qi is very busy. There are many guests who come to express their condolences, but the rest of the Huo family never shows up.
Huo Qi's expression was always calm.
The Ning family also sent people because Ning Yinyin's situation was recurring, so Ning Yuzhou and Ning Huanhuan came.
"My condolences." Ning Huanhuan sighed.
Huo Qi nodded lightly.
When leaving the mourning hall, Huang Yuan and Huang Qinying came to express their condolences. Seeing Ning Yuanting, Huang Qinying couldn't help but frowned, but said nothing.
"Condolences."
Huang Yuan patted Huo Qi's shoulder, and after offering incense with Huang Qinying, he walked aside with Huo Qi and said in a low voice: "Your father's death, your engagement with Xiaobao may have to be postponed."
What is a house leak? It rains all night.
This is.
Tong Zi passed away suddenly. What would people think if Huo Qi and Huang Qinying were announced to be engaged again at this time.
Huo Boting is still considering the project of the ecological living area in the west of the city.
"It's better to delay." Huo Qi's thinking was calm and clear. "He will think that I have lost your backer, but it will be easier to talk."
Huang Yuan: "That's not what you said before."
Huo Qi: "One moment and another. Before this, it was obvious to all that I was friends with you. If you helped me without any purpose, would you believe it if it were you?"
Huang Yuan: "It seems that you have a chance to win this project."
Huo Qi: "When the time comes, you will have to perform the show."
"Easy to say."
Huang Yuan patted his shoulder again, took two steps, and then he stepped back, "I will go see Huo Boting in the evening. I will leave tomorrow and make a trip to Yangling before returning to Hong Kong City."
Huo Qi looked at him.
Huang Yuan's eyes were gentle, but he didn't give in.
"She is not in Yangling." Huo Qi looked at him and said, "She returned to Jinghai last night."
Huang Yuan was quiet for a few seconds: "Thank you."
Huo Qi's eyes narrowed and he heard Huang Yuan say, "It just saves me one trip."
…
Moonlight's dress has always matched Yan Qiang.
Yan Qiang tried on both the inner and outer sets, and there was nothing that needed to be modified. After communicating with Nicole about makeup, she was about to go home, but unexpectedly she received a call from Huang Yuan, asking her to have dinner.
Yan Qiang thought for a while and agreed.
Huang Yuan was not very familiar with Jinghai. The place to eat was chosen by Yan Qiang, and it was about seven o'clock in the evening.
Yan Ce also knew that she had returned to Beijing. After hearing that she had an appointment with Huang Yuan in the evening, he was silent for a moment and said, "I heard that Huo Qi is getting engaged to Huang Qinying."
"I heard that too."
"You and Huo Qi..."
"Emotions are not my place, brother, I want to do my career now." Yan Qiang said, "I plan to become stronger and bigger."
She didn't want to talk about her and Huo Qi.
Nothing to talk about.
After all, just cooperation will not lead to any results.
Yan Ce: "..."
"I met several directors last time and got to know some producers in the industry. The Huang family wants to go to Hong Kong. I want to become stronger and bigger. Brother, this is a good opportunity." Yan Qiang said.
The reason why the Huang family has been unable to gain dominance in Hong Kong City is simply because they cannot adapt to the outside market. Of course, part of the reason for this is that everyone is working together to prevent the Huang family from entering the Hong Kong City.
The era of the port city is over.
The Huang family was once at its peak, but it was difficult to maintain its peak.
But when the entertainment industry is developing rapidly and everyone is making money, it is difficult for the Huang family to squeeze in and get a piece of the pie.
The Xiao family's position in the Beijing-based literary and art circles is second to none.
Judging from the fact that the Huang family has not cooperated with the Xiao family so far, we know that the Huang family's entry into the industry has not been smooth.
Yan Qiang has Xiao Jingshan's stocks and resources. If she can get the support of the Huang family, she will undoubtedly have resources from both parties.
This is a unique advantage.
