Xie Lian's artistic side| Colors of the Heart ~ Hualian AU

Chapter XLII

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"I'm sorry I saw you two, but why would you leave the door open?"

"Gege, what is he talking about?"

"Wait, Lian... you didn't tell him?"

***

Hua Cheng stood from his seat before the end of the Sunday night performance. On the way to his office, he mentally reviewed the things he would take with him today, since tomorrow he was not expecting to be at the theater at all. Until now, cast and crew had their Mondays off except for the director, but, since he had an assistant, he wished to make that true for himself as well.

He did not notice Yin Yu sitting at the side table until the noise of papers flipping startled him. "Oh, you're here. I did not see you..."

Yin Yu stood up to greet the director and spoke rather stiffly "Excuse me, sir, I should have stood as soon as you entered but I didn't because I was counting!"

Hua Cheng raised one eyebrow. "Counting?"

"Yes, sir. I counted one thousand and forty-six possible sponsors in our region. Circa eight hundred of them are already engaged with at least one type of artistic activity, and there are more than two thousand cultural work pieces taking place, being screened or exhibited for the next month."

Hua Cheng crossed his arms. "Who should we contact then?"

Yin Yu puffed his chest while pressing his clenched fists at his sides. "I don't know, sir!"

Hua Cheng let his arms loose and expired. "Well, so, then, the next step is to..."

"Excuse me, sir. I didn't contact them because tomorrow I will have access to a list of cultural works supported by either the ministry or the private sector. I believe this information is also important and could help us trim even further the number of possible sponsors."

Hua Cheng raised the left corner of his mouth and started to grab his papers to leave. "Hm, fine then. I'll be waiting for your report before we proceed with getting in touch." He was not going to say it out loud, but the director was a little impressed by Yin Yu's agility. "I ain't coming in tomorrow, so can you make sure everything is in place, also for today's closure?"

Yin Yu bowed and talked with his face looking down. "Of course, sir. Thanks for this opportunity of proving my services."

"That's intense" Hua Cheng commented low. He tapped his fingers on top of the table while considering if he should be bringing anything else with him. "Well, then, I'll leave you to it. Good evening" He said as he walked to the door, but turned on his heels to add "Back all this information up in a spreadsheet and it'll help you with counting next time. I'm sure it'll be faster."

"Yes, sir! See you on Tuesday, Director Hua." Yin Yu kept the bowed posture until the director left and then finally sighed. He needed a lot of energy and effort to rise up to director Hua's standards, and he was definitely aiming to do it. Yin Yu would not waste this opportunity of impressing the director. He would monitor everything meticulously.

***

Xie Lian was clean of makeup and already changed. He was about to message his mom when he realized he was not sure whether he was coming back home after the dinner or not, and he was not sure of how to ask San Lang this either. Suddenly, the door to his dressing room opened fast, startling Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng stepped inside abruptly and looked around. "Oh, Gege! I'm sorry for not knocking. I actually thought you were by the car already, because the door wasn't closed. Are you ready?"