Chapter 314 - The elusive male lead

...

"Hmmph! What an amateur!" the boy actor, Tommy, sneered while folding his arm. There was still fake blood dripping from his forehead, where the bullet was supposed to be. "I told you before, to be careful about getting too deep in character. How the heck did you manage to forget that?" 

Xiao Lei chuckled and ruffled the boy's head. "Well, your acting is too great, to the point that I got pulled deeper into the character."

Tommy frowned at her and slapped her hand away. "Insolent! I might be younger, but I'm still your senior. Show me some respect!" 

Xiao Lei could not help but laugh slightly at the little boy. When she saw that he was serious, she quickly cleared her throat and bowed slightly at him. "As you wish, Senior Tommy. Sorry, this junior did not know her place." 

Tommy lifted his chin smugly as he said, "Glad that you're learning. Anyway, after this, I probably won't have any scenes with you anymore, at least not unless they change the script." 

He then put out a hand and said, "I hope that I would see you around. Don't get beaten down by the other sub-par actors. No matter what, you were instructed by this great Senior Tommy!" 

Xiao Lei looked at the boy who was trying to act as an a.d.u.l.t, and she smiled as she pulled him into a hug instead of shaking his hand. 

"Hey!" Tommy protested as his face turned red. "I'm going to call for the guards!"

Xiao Lei laughed softly. "It's great knowing you, Senior Tommy. I'll make sure to survive in this sector." 

"Fine! Now let me go!" Tommy grumbled before wriggling himself free. He then looked at Xiao Zhihao and said in an irritated voice, "Your mother is a little insolent! Tell her to behave herself, or she's going to have a hard time in this sector!"

He then stormed off before Xiao Zhihao could say anything else. 

"That's quite an interesting kid," Xiao Zhihao remarked as he watched the kid walk away. He then turned to his mother and asked, "Do you want anything to drink?"

Xiao Lei nodded. She placed an arm around her son's shoulders. "Let's go. I'll show you around."

She then signaled Tian Le to come with them as well. 

...

As Xiao Lei, Xiao Zhihao, Tian Le, and Assistant Yoon walked away, the director's eyes remained on Xiao Zhihao until they were completely out of sight. 

He then called for his assistant. "Bring me my laptop." 

His assistant immediately ran off, and a few minutes later, he returned with a Huawei laptop. "Here, director." 

The director took it and immediately searched for something online. 

His assistant saw what he was looking at and asked, "Why are you searching for the late President Fan Lei's photo?"

He was even more curious when he saw that the director's search words were "Fan Lei, 12 years old, teenage Fan Lei, Fan Entertainment, Fan Family Second Son". 

"That kid..." the director mumbled, but he did not finish his words. He looked through all the photos that he could find; those that showed the young President Fan Lei's face, whether it was his side profile or his full face. 

After a while, he called for his cameraman, and when the man came over, the director asked, "Did you manage to take photos of everyone earlier?"

"Yes, director."

"Those two kids who came in earlier. What about them?" 

The man nodded. "But mostly on the kid who went to Ms. Xiao earlier... since I thought it would be a good BTS photo should she get popular in the future."

The director nodded. "Send those photos to my email immediately."

The cameraman hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, director." 

"Director, are you interested in that boy?" the director's assistant asked. However, he did not get any response. 

A few minutes later, the director pulled out a couple of Xiao Zhihao's photos that were taken by the cameraman. He then compared those photos to those of the young President Fan Lei. The corners of his lips tugged slightly, and a few seconds later, a wide smile appeared on his face. 

"There!" He pulled his assistant closer and asked excitedly, "Do you see it?! Do you see it?!" 

He pointed at the photos as he looked at his assistant with an expression that the assistant had never seen before. 

"What?" The assistant was confused. He didn't know what he was looking for as he looked at the photos on the screen.  

"Those two! The way they smiled! The way their lips lifted up slightly higher on one side."

"Erm... Director, a lot of people smile like that."

"No! Look at those eyes! Look at their side profiles!"

The assistant looked at the photos. Sure, they looked similar, but there were a lot of people who looked similar when one looked at only their side profiles.

"I'm sorry, Director... But I don't get what you are trying to say," the assistant mumbled as he lowered his head. 

"Tsk!" The director glared at him before sending him away. He then looked at those photos by himself. "Too much coincidence... Xiao Lei made me thought of Chen Qingting, and her son reminded me of Fan Lei," the director mumbled to himself, clearly ignoring the people that were walking around him. His mind was completely focused on those two. 

"The heir passed away so long ago... yet there was no body found. Could it be that she did not die?" the director thought to himself. "No, that's impossible. She was still so young back then... How could she have survived all these years by herself? And even if she did survive, why didn't she go home?"

The "death" of Fan Wushuang had affected more people than what others would realize. She was the only child of two beloved superstars, and people had high hopes for her. Those who were the hardcore fans of Fan Lei and Chen Qingting hoped that they would be able to see a glimpse of them in her.

And the director was the same.  

Chen Qingting was the person he idolized a long time ago, and they could even be considered as friends since they worked on a few movies before and had often talked to each other. Of course, back then, he was just a small, insignificant assistant. However, even though he was a nobody, Chen Qingting had treated him with respect, and at one point, she even defended him from those who picked on him.

And he had never forgotten about her. Every year, on Chen Qingting's death anniversary, he would watch all her old movies. Now, for some reason, he kept seeing Chen Qingting in Xiao Lei. Xiao Lei did not have the elegance that Chen Qingting had... No, it was in the small things. The way she chuckled, the way her eyes narrowed when she got mad, the way her eyes sharpened when she glared at someone...

"Chen Qingting had a twin who disappeared back then..." the director thought out loud. Suddenly, another person appeared in his mind, and this was someone who other than sharing the same face with Chen Qingting had nothing else in common with her. Basically, she was a more mischievous, hyperactive version of her elder sister. 

"I wonder if Xiao Lei is the daughter of that twin," the director mumbled to himself as he c.o.c.ked his head. "What was her name again?" 

"Chen Qingyan."

The director turned around, and when he saw who it was that stood behind him, he smiled widely, "Ah, my elusive male lead!"