Chapter Ten: This Is Quite Awkward

While Xu Buyian was inquiring about Chen Qi's situation with Manager Zhao, Chen Qi himself was lost in thought at his desk.

The final outcome was somewhat unexpected, but it was not a bad thing for him. He truly knew nothing about filming, yet with a finished product as reference, the result should not deviate too much from the original. If he had to shoot it himself, so be it; perhaps after the work was done he could apply for some extra rewards from the company.

After pondering for a moment, he got up and walked out. Since this advertisement had landed mysteriously in his hands, he had a lot more preparations to make and had to hurry.

Not long after he left, a young man of similar age, carrying a camera, knocked on their office door.

“Hello, I’m looking for Chen Qi.” Perhaps because he was also new, the young man seemed a bit nervous.

“Chen Qi just stepped out. Is there something you need?” The curly-haired young lady looked up and asked.

“Our manager sent me to assist him in shooting an advertisement,” the young man replied.

“What did you say?”

“Assist him in shooting an advertisement?”

Hearing this, the whole office was stunned. The creative team glanced at each other, bewilderment plain in their eyes.

What was going on?

Wasn't Chen Qi part of their creative department? Why was he suddenly filming an advertisement?

...

“Driver, please take me to the nearest kindergarten—not one of those high-end ones, and… not a public one either.” After giving the destination to the taxi driver, he sank back into contemplation.

Manager Zhao had given him only five days, which was stressful for someone with no experience or preparation. Under these conditions, seeking child actors at a kindergarten seemed the quickest approach.

He had considered asking the company to help find a professional child actor, but quickly dismissed the idea; the company would almost certainly refuse. He was no fool—he could tell Manager Zhao didn’t believe he could come up with anything special, not even bothering to ask what he actually planned. The fact that they approved him to shoot and provided a budget was already a miracle—hiring professional actors? Those were expensive!

And the root of this awkward situation was his own clever suggestion of “guidance”...

The reason he ruled out high-end kindergartens was simple: families who could afford them would be hard to persuade to participate in an advertisement. Those who could afford public kindergartens likely owned property in the capital—families he didn’t dare approach, and who would probably scoff at his modest ad budget.

He only wanted to find an ordinary family, so the resulting ad would feel more authentic. Of course, if he couldn't find anyone suitable, he’d have to try other methods.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped by the roadside and Chen Qi saw a kindergarten across the street through the window.

Unfortunately, the kindergarten was obviously small and lacked an outdoor playground; at this hour, it was impossible for him to spot any children.

“Let’s try another, preferably one with an outdoor playground,” he said, not bothering to get out.

“Alright.” The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “Young man, you married early, didn’t you?”

“Huh?” Chen Qi was taken aback but quickly caught on, smiling without explanation. “Yes, a bit early.”

“How old is your child?”

“Just over three.”

“Oh, just the age for kindergarten.”

“That’s right.” Strangely, Chen Qi managed to discuss this topic with remarkable ease, neither blushing nor faltering.

More shamelessly, he responded to any topic the driver brought up, feigning expertise even in areas he knew nothing about, and conversed naturally. When he couldn’t keep up, he deftly shifted the subject.

After spending half a day together, the two nearly became cross-generational friends.

When they arrived at a kindergarten, Chen Qi kept waving goodbye to the driver, who seemed reluctant to leave, until the car turned the corner and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was exhausted! Pretending to know what he didn’t was tiring.

Luckily, he gained a lot that morning—he visited several promising kindergartens and learned much about the city and country. His only disappointment was not finding a suitable child actor.

He’d checked plenty of kindergartens, but with the sweltering summer, few children attended summer classes, and most were indoors, enjoying the air conditioning, rarely venturing outside.

Half a day passed, and he’d made little progress.

He got out at this hour because the driver mentioned it was kindergarten dismissal time.

He planned to try his luck at this kindergarten; if he still couldn’t find anyone, he’d have to think of alternatives.

At the kindergarten gate not far away, quite a few people were waiting, but Chen Qi noticed that most picking up the children were grandparents.

This was awkward.

He’d hoped to find a mother and child pair for the ad, so the child would act naturally. He didn’t have time for the actors to bond, and if the adults and children weren't familiar, the child wouldn't deliver the right performance.

“Well, let’s see. If there’s a suitable child, I’ll approach them,” Chen Qi decided to wait.

After five or six minutes, cheerful music played from the kindergarten’s speakers, and the gates opened.

The waiting adults filed in, heading to their children’s classrooms.

Chen Qi watched silently from outside.

But chemistry was a mysterious thing—of the sixty or seventy children emerging, he didn’t spot anyone who felt right.

He watched a while longer, and as the flow of children dwindled, he sighed quietly and turned to leave.

At that moment, he noticed an anxious figure crossing the street from the bus stop toward him.

It was a young woman, dressed simply and plainly.

Her ponytail was tied casually, a white shirt paired with a fitted skirt, and her face bore little makeup. Yet Chen Qi noticed her immediately.

There is something mysterious about temperament.

He felt she matched the mother in the advertisement perfectly.

“Here to pick someone up?” Chen Qi unconsciously paused, his gaze following her as she entered the kindergarten. When she actually went inside, his eyes brightened and he hurried to the gate.

Soon, he saw the young woman emerge, holding the hand of a lively, bouncing little boy.

Whether it was his initial impression of the young woman or the cuteness of the boy, Chen Qi felt the pair were a perfect fit.

As they reached the gate, Chen Qi stepped forward and said to the young woman, “Hello, I’m Chen Qi from Blueprint Advertising. May I take a few minutes of your time—”

“We don’t need anything, thank you.”

Awkwardly, before he could finish, the young woman politely waved him off, leading the little boy around him and continuing on her way.