The Movie Queen, a Flirty Omega, Has Been Plotting Against Me for a Long Time (GL) - Chapter 7

At the restaurant, Xixi, for some unknown reason, booked a couples’ restaurant.

Chu Zhou was speechless and shot Xixi a look; she must have been too nice to her little assistant lately.

Xixi chuckled “hehe” and quickly walked away to eat somewhere else. Could she admit she did it on purpose?

That’s right, after seeing the two women’s photos online yesterday, she accidentally became their CP fan.

Chu Zhou watched helplessly as her assistant ran off, then forced a slightly unhappy smile onto her face and invited Shen Qingli into the restaurant.

As soon as they were seated, Shen Qingli glanced at the table display and smiled softly. “A couples’ restaurant?”

Her eyes curved in a smile, and she seemed to be in a good mood. “Is CEO Chu planning to pursue me?”

Chu Zhou couldn’t help but cough. What nonsense. The two of them were already slightly awkward because of their one-night stand, and this situation suddenly introduced a strange, ambiguous tension.

It was too late to leave and find another restaurant. It would be better to finish lunch quickly and part ways.

She first handed the menu to Shen Qingli, who only ordered a green salad before giving the menu back to her.

Chu Zhou was surprised. “That’s all you’re eating?”

Shen Qingli put on a slightly aggrieved expression. “As an artist, I have to maintain my figure.”

Chu Zhou knew that artists’ diets were strictly controlled. Everyone’s good figure isn’t achieved easily. She herself exercised a lot every day, running five kilometers in the morning and working out for an hour in the evening to sculpt her body.

However, she wasn’t an artist, so she didn’t need to control her eating so strictly.

Artists need to look good on camera, but the camera typically adds ten kilograms. The food they eat daily is carefully prepared by a nutritionist, and even when they’re alone, they don’t dare to indulge.

Chu Zhou ordered a bowl of noodles. As a staple food lover, if she didn’t eat a main carb for a proper meal, she would feel like she hadn’t eaten at all.

During lunch, Zhou Shinian sent her several messages, the general content of which was that several reality shows were looking for her.

Chu Zhou: “???”

She wasn’t an artist; why were shows looking for her? And a dating show, no less. Don’t be ridiculous.

Oh, it wasn’t just one show—it was several. Her photos from yesterday had gone viral online, and her popularity was soaring. The invitations were more than just reality shows.

In this era where traffic is king, no matter your identity, as long as you have popularity, these programs will be as daring as possible.

Chu Zhou replied to Zhou Shinian, exasperated: —No.

Seeing her unhappy expression, Shen Qingli asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Chu Zhou simply showed her the chat history with Zhou Shinian.

After reading the messages, Shen Qingli laughed out loud. “That CEO Zhou is quite amusing.”

—Miss Chu, consider it. You can even date on a dating show. I heard you’re a single lady.

—You can take Shen Qingli with you! The production team is offering a very high price.

—Promoting our company’s brand and attracting top talent. CEO Chu, you are duty-bound!

—The internet says your looks are good enough for you to debut. How about considering it? I will definitely package you as a priority.

Chu Zhou: —No.

Zhou Shinian: —Don’t say no! Think about it, the pay is really high.

Zhou Shinian’s inner thought: The new boss needs to get busy quickly so she won’t bother me.

Shen Qingli pushed the phone back to Chu Zhou. “How much are they offering me to be on the show?”

Chu Zhou answered without thinking, “Ninety million per season. Anything less than that price would be a loss.”

“And you?”

Shen Qingli hadn’t participated in variety shows, so she didn’t know much about domestic pay, only that it wasn’t as high as in the European and American circles.

An international superstar’s salary is calculated in US dollars. Her asking price for starring in a movie is fifteen million dollars.

Her salary for returning to China to film, converted by the exchange rate, would probably exceed one hundred million.

Ninety million per season for a variety show was a decent offer. She was more curious about the salary for an ordinary person to be on the show.

Chu Zhou pursed her lips and whispered, “Ten million.”

This was already a high offer, boosted by her aura as the CEO of Chu Yue, though it was still far less than Shen Qingli’s. For comparison, stars who aren’t A-list are typically quoted under 1 million, and would not exceed that price.

The production team was being very generous to her. Wait, why was she focusing on this? She wasn’t planning to be on the show anyway.

Shen Qingli put down her fork and took a sip of lemon water. “How do you plan to arrange my work for this year?”

To her, time was money; her time was literally calculated by the second.

Chu Zhou tapped her phone a few times and pushed it back to Shen Qingli. It showed the plan she had developed, which she originally intended to present at the meeting.

However, due to the incident at the meeting, she didn’t take out the finalized plan.

Since it was decided that she would be solely responsible for Shen Qingli, a discussion between the two of them was sufficient.

Chu Zhou suddenly realized that she seemed to have become Shen Qingli’s manager.

After Shen Qingli terminated her contract, she lost her manager as well, keeping only one assistant, Ximi, by her side.

Shen Qingli skimmed the career plan, her initially casual attitude becoming serious.

Chu Zhou also took a sip of water and then began to explain the content of the plan.

“Your international status speaks for itself. However, domestically, while your roles are widely known, your personal recognition is not very high. If you want to develop domestically in the future, you must build national awareness.”

For a star like Shen Qingli, who is somewhat distant from the local scene, mentioning her name might not be recognized as quickly as any domestic A-lister. But if you mention her character roles, people immediately know who you’re talking about. This is partly because she is of Chinese descent.

A Chinese descent person rising to become an international superstar is inherently a source of pride, but in terms of online traffic, her popularity is indeed not comparable to that of domestic top stars.

The best way to gain popularity domestically is through a major hit drama or a blockbuster variety show.

Shen Qingli, an international movie star, would primarily be a big-screen player even returning to China. Stepping into the small screen would be a downgrade in status.

Therefore, Chu Zhou suggested that Shen Qingli first take on a variety show to quickly build domestic recognition, while Chu Yue simultaneously begins preparations for the filming of The World Cannot Be Saved.

These two are the most time-consuming projects. Besides that, the screen was filled with numerous commercial activities.

Shooting eleven magazine covers, endorsements for several major brands, etc.

Shen Qingli felt that her workload for the previous three years combined wasn’t as much as this plan proposed for one year.

Chu Zhou spoke earnestly about her idea. “For The World Cannot Be Saved project, I plan to create a theme park.”

Building a set from scratch and having to construct it to the standards of a theme park—how much money would that cost?

Yes, for a Cyberpunk project, there are no existing sets that can be used for filming.

A single project could spawn countless derivative products. The Cyberpunk theme park would be used for filming first, and after the movie is released, it can be opened for business, so it wouldn’t be wasted.

“You will be the female lead of this movie.”

When Chu Zhou talked about work, she was focused and serious, absolutely glowing.

Seeing her like this, Shen Qingli blinked. “I am very keen to act in this movie.”

The female lead is incredibly cool—a rational, even ruthless, woman who slays demons and confronts Buddhas. If the movie is done well, it will surely become one of her signature works.

“As for the variety show…”

Shen Qingli pursed her lips and said deliberately, “If you join me, I can consider it.”

You… join… me… on a variety show?

Chu Zhou’s mind buzzed. These words, combined in pairs, hammered at her head.

She remained silent for a long time, then eventually squeezed out two words. “Stop teasing.”

Feeling that her tone sounded a bit like sulking, she added, “This is work.”

Shen Qingli didn’t respond. She pulled out her own phone. “Let’s add each other on WeChat.”

The two hadn’t exchanged contact information until now.

Chu Zhou opened her WeChat, and they added each other as friends.

She stared at the other person’s name, feeling a bit dazed: SQL.

Her Senior Sister’s WeChat name was also SQL. It’s very common to use the initials of one’s name as an ID on various platforms. They definitely weren’t the same account, as their profile pictures were drastically different.

Shen Qingli’s profile picture was a beautiful cat, while her Senior Sister’s was a beam of light in the darkness, looking rather melancholic.

She had briefly associated the two women during the “candy” conversation last night, but now she thought she must have been sleep-deprived and confused.

After lunch, Chu Zhou still had to return to the company to work. The launch of The World Cannot Be Saved project would not be easy.

This project would certainly be Chu Yue’s most expensive project this year, and her first major move since joining Chu Yue, requiring the cooperation of all companies under the Group.

She had too many things to do before the project launched.

As they were about to part ways, Shen Qingli suddenly reached out and poked her shoulder.

Chu Zhou turned around, confused, only to have Shen Qingli grab her tie and pull her body forward until the distance between them was just one fist.

She was completely stunned. Shen Qingli leaned in and whispered softly in her ear, “I’ll only join the show if you go with me, okay?”

Chu Zhou was frozen. It wasn’t until Shen Qingli got into her car and drove away that she fully processed what the other woman meant.