Chapter 97 - Amélie's Farewell
After downing another round of drinks, Chow Mingrun proposed to the crowd, "Hey guys and girls, let's take a group photo! I also have a group task for you all to complete - everyone take a selfie in front of this poster and post it to your friends to cheer us on for our new movie!"
With that, he led by example, happily took a selfie and wrote on his TweeChat app, "Somehow became the second producer of one of this year's biggest productions... Ow Meow!"
"You're so shameless!" Amélie laughed at Chow Mingrun's brazenness, while she herself showed a big picture of the poster with the words, "Follow your dreams far and wide; stay together year after year."
Waylon posted "An underdog's fight back" while Stephen said he might have to take six months off next semester to work on a blockbuster movie. Chestnut said it with the least confidence. She zoomed in on the names of several actresses on the poster and wrote, "I grew up watching the works of these big stars and never thought I'd get to work with them one day. I will work hard to make everyone proud!"
"Yuan Ge, and Old Dude, everyone's posted their updates. Where are you two's?" Chow Mingrun was quite strict, checking the completion of tasks one by one.
"How can I be casual about something this big? I'll go back and photoshop the poster first, then think of a clever slogan, otherwise I'm sure to be mocked and my follower count will drop!" Du Jinghai had always been very concerned about his online image.
Yuan Ge's fingers were busy for a while, but when he was finished, all anyone saw of his update was a just string of ellipses under the picture of the poster.
"You're too perfunctory!" Amélie had always felt helpless about Yuan Ge's low-key approach.
"It's called 'being silent at this time is better than being loud', saying less is more." Chow Mingrun teased mercilessly …
"That's enough banters for one night. It's late and many of you have flights and trains to catch tomorrow, so let's eat up, drink up, be merry, and see you after New Year!"
"Yes, yes, we're all away during the New Year. Here are the keys to the set and my congee bar; I will be counting on you to keep our company safe during the festival season..." Chow Mingrun staggered to his feet and shoved a bunch of keys into Yuan Ge's hand.
"Duh! This is what you call the advantage of being a Beijing local? He has to be a night watchman for the company!" Yuan Ge shook his head as he put away the keys, then took out a number of oddly shaped and exquisitely designed thermos cups from the large backpack he had brought with him, "This is my little Chinese New Year gift for everyone, made in Switzerland. It can automatically adjust the temperature and keep warm for three days, using my dad's latest AI technology."
With good food, good wine and good news, and now a gift, the crowd was overjoyed to see how thoughtful Director Yuan was. It was just a small gift, but certainly a very practical thing to have on set.
"Hey, why are you all looking at me!" When Chow Mingrun saw that everyone had turned their expectant eyes towards him, as if he suddenly remembered something, he hurriedly took out several packages from his bag, "I almost forgot, come come, everyone gets a New Year VIP gift pack of Chow's Pickles. As your diet gets too rich in the New Year, it's good to have some light congee with Chow's Pickles in between the banquets!"
"An iron cock[1] is always an iron cock. This New Year gift is not sincere at all!" The crowd moaned at this sight.
"Oh dear, you're really something... Who hasn't had enough of your pickles these days!" Amélie carried the heavy gift bag of Chow's Pickles in her hand and didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
"But I treated everyone to a hot pot as well!" With the long itemised receipt in his hand, Chow Minrun had a pained expression on his face, "So many people were having lamb hot pot together tonight, and my heart was also going up and down with the boiling soup..."
Thus, the lively New Year's dinner ended in a roar of laughter.
As she was leaving, Amélie's bright face finally took on a hint of drunken flush, and after saying goodbye to the crowd, she made a point of walking up to Yuan Ge, "My dear Director Yuan, I wish you a happy New Year, and we'll see you next year!"
"Lady Producer, see you next ye..." Before Yuan Ge could finish his words, Amélie hugged him and gave him an authentic French farewell - all he felt was her soft cheeks gently sweeping left and right of his face, an intoxicating womanly scent wafting in, and the sound of her soft and warm lips kissing his cheeks.
Yuan Ge was at a loss for words and froze in place, forgetting to respond to her gesture. Amélie did not appear bashful in front of everyone, showing the natural poise of someone who had lived in Europe for many years, smiling, raising the thermos cup in her hand, and said gracefully, "Thank you, see you next year!"
Until he saw her disappearing into the night, Yuan Ge could still feel the scent of her perfume lingering around him...…
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[1] An iron cock is used to describe a type of person who is petty, stingy and calculating in life because you cannot pluck a feather from an iron cock.