Chapter 24.2

She started running laps around the stage.

There were no extra movements.

She simply ran.

Halfway through, she started panting, but she kept running…

“???”

That was the shared confusion of the two directors and the screenwriter.

They didn’t interrupt her.

Instead, they picked up the script she had chosen.

One glance—

and realization dawned!

“Zhai You’s acting is pretty good.”

What acting was there?!

What the hell was this?!

In this scene, Kong Yubai sat beside the classroom window watching someone run on the sports field.

And Zhai You’s role was simply to run.

There could be no additional performance whatsoever.

How had a scene like this gotten mixed into the audition scripts?!

And because the character was an Omega, she was supposed to find running extremely tiring.

No wonder.

Zhai You had only completed a few laps before she started panting!

Luo Yin had nothing to say.

She had written this plot.

She had also put it into the script.

After holding it in for ages, she could only mutter quietly, “Come to think of it, most of this character’s scenes are just Kong Yubai silently watching her. There aren’t actually that many scenes where they directly interact.”

Simply put, after being stripped down to the actual screen time, the character was practically a supporting role.

It was only the sheer number of shots and her narrative importance that made her the second female lead.

Having Zhai You play her…

really might not be a problem.

Luo Yin looked at Zhai You’s flying red hair.

It was almost more eye-catching than the sun.

“As for her appearance, if we ask the makeup artist to make her look as plain as possible, it should be fine. The character is supposed to be very popular among her classmates anyway. Thinking about it that way—”

It was actually quite acceptable.

Director Guo fell into a daze.

Why did the more they talked, the more it sounded like no one but Zhai You could play the role?

If Zhai You hadn’t invested in the production, she would have been eliminated at first glance.

And yet now they were actually nodding in approval?

This world was too absurd.

Most astonishing of all, even the assistant director had started nodding.

Director Guo looked at him uncertainly.

The assistant director shrugged. “Don’t you think so too? As long as Zhai You doesn’t speak, her appeal among people her age is enormous. It makes perfect sense for the female lead to secretly fall for her. You couldn’t even question it.”

The speaking part was easy to solve.

They could simply cut down her dialogue.

Director Guo was starting to be convinced too.

It was fucking strange.

Zhai You had no idea how many laps she had run.

She estimated she must have completed about a thousand meters by now.

If she kept panting, she was genuinely going to get exhausted.

The director still hadn’t called stop.

She ran a few more steps before suddenly realizing—

What are they doing?

Are they torturing me?!

They actually dared torture the investor herself?

Clearly, they hadn’t yet tasted the beating power of money!

Zhai You stopped.

She saw Director Guo and the others whispering among themselves, the staff members wearing complicated expressions, while Jiang Bailu had recovered from her shock and now wore a cool expression that practically said, I knew it would turn out like this.

Zhai You interrupted them. “That’s enough, right?”

“Huh? Oh, oh—” Director Guo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Enough. I’ll have someone deliver the script to you in a couple of days. You two can go home and rest first.”

Zhai You walked over to Jiang Bailu and naturally extended her hand.

Now, holding hands no longer required an excuse.

Jiang Bailu followed Zhai You out.

Once the two leads had been finalized, Director Guo simply had the staff notify the actors still waiting outside.

Those who were willing to audition for the remaining roles could continue.

Those who weren’t could leave early.

A large number of people gradually departed.

The remaining roles in the drama weren’t particularly important, so only some lesser-known actors were willing to keep competing.

Among them, Li Xiaolan—her real name—entered the audition room.

“Hello, directors! Hello, Great Luo Yin!”

Having participated in a girl-group survival show before, she was full of energy.

“My name is Li Baimeng—my stage name—and I’d like to audition for the role of Kong Yubai’s deskmate.”

The introduction left no particular impression on Director Guo.

He waved a hand and had the staff give her the script.

After Li Xiaolan finished auditioning,

Director Guo and Luo Yin remained silent.

The assistant director, however, nodded. “I think she could give it a try.”

Li Xiaolan was quite attractive.

Perhaps she could—

Director Guo and Luo Yin, neither of whom had watched her survival show, exchanged glances.

“You’re probably not suitable for Kong Yubai’s deskmate, but there’s another character’s deskmate. Would you be willing to try that?”

“Of course!”

Li Xiaolan was delighted.

A deskmate was a deskmate no matter whose desk she sat beside, right?

As long as she got a role and got paid, that was enough.

She still had no idea that she was about to become Zhai You’s deskmate.

Once both sides confirmed it, Li Xiaolan even took the initiative to shake hands with Director Guo and the others, obvious excitement on her face.

She left the audition room satisfied, but didn’t leave immediately.

Instead, she found a staff member and struck up a conversation. “Brother, do you know which role Zhai You is playing?”

The staff member had come out for a break.

He had happened to be inside when Zhai You auditioned.

This wasn’t some huge secret that needed to be hidden. It would be officially announced on Weibo before long anyway.

The staff member gave Li Xiaolan a meaningful glance before casually answering, “Yu Er.”

Li Xiaolan’s smile cracked.

She was going to play Yu Er—

meaning she was going to be Zhai You’s deskmate?!

The staff member finished resting and returned to work.

Li Xiaolan remained standing there, angrily stomping her feet.

“AAAAAH—Zhai You, we are mortal enemies!”

Then, as though thinking of something, Li Xiaolan’s eyes darkened.

She quietly crept toward the equipment.

At the Zhai residence, the butler had already prepared dinner in advance.

“Did the audition go smoothly [unauthorized copy]today, Young Miss?” The butler looked at Zhai You with kindly eyes.

There were noticeably more dishes on the table.

After being nursed back to health for a while, Jiang Bailu had switched to another meal plan.

Her resistance had proven useless, so she had simply gotten used to eating it.

After all, she was eating Zhai You’s food.

She didn’t have to pay for it.

Jiang Bailu was in a very good mood, and it had nothing to do with her appearance fee.

She had already made up her mind that all the money she earned from this drama would go to Zhai You.

What made her happy was that she really could act.

The butler didn’t care about Jiang Bailu at all.

As usual, he ignored her completely.

The only person he treated with reverence was Zhai You. “Young Miss is so outstanding. You must have easily secured the role you wanted.”

“It wasn’t exactly easy.” Zhai You painfully recalled the audition.

Running a thousand meters itself was easy for her.

But she had to pant while doing it!

If she didn’t pant, it wouldn’t have been tiring at all.

Once she started deliberately panting, her physical stamina drained twice as fast.

It had really been exhausting.

And those people hadn’t even called stop.

Were they deliberately trying to see her look miserable?

Too evil.

They were practically flowers of pure evil!

The butler froze, then immediately looked distressed. “Why don’t I mention it to Madam and Master? They could increase the investment so acting will be easier for you.”

That wasn’t necessary.

Zhai You felt her scenes were actually pretty easy.

After all, she was playing an Omega who barely had to move.

But more money?

Zhai You loved that.

She smoothly put on a pitiful expression. “Forget it. That would disturb their rest. I chose this path myself, so even if I have to crawl on my knees, I’ll see it through.”

“Young Miss—”

Young Miss had grown up!

The butler wiped away tears.

As if he would actually forget it.

Later, he absolutely had to tell Madam about this.

Jiang Bailu appreciatively watched the slight redness at the corners of Zhai You’s eyes.

Who said this woman couldn’t act?

Her acting was ridiculously good.

The next day, Sister Ji called Zhai You and asked whether she should come over personally or if Zhai You would bring Jiang Bailu to the company.

“The contract is settled?” Zhai You couldn’t control her emotions.

“I stopped Director Guo and told him not to release the news about Jiang Bailu yet. I thought it would take several more days to negotiate with Jiang Bailu’s company, but unexpectedly, they agreed yesterday afternoon.”

After her initial surprise, Sister Ji understood why.

That Sister V wanted to deliver Jiang Bailu to some big shot.

Jiang Bailu refused.

And with Zhai You “blocking” Jiang Bailu’s career, the company believed Jiang Bailu was about to become incapable of earning money.

If someone was willing to pay her breach-of-contract penalty, why wouldn’t they agree?

At least they could still make a substantial amount.

For something this important, they naturally had to go to Xingyu Entertainment in person.

Zhai You took Jiang Bailu out, and Sister Ji sent the assistant to pick them up.

At the entrance of Xingyu Entertainment, Jiang Bailu looked up at the entire building.

Judging from the location alone, Xingyu Entertainment seemed even less impressive than her previous company.

It was so low-key that it was difficult to spare it a second glance.

No wonder people said Xingyu Entertainment was laid-back.

This company genuinely didn’t seem to care about anything.

Jiang Bailu looked toward Zhai You again.

Zhai You said something to the assistant, then turned around. “Why are you looking at me? Let’s go upstairs.”

Jiang Bailu: “……”

For some reason, Zhai You seemed a little smug lately.

“Let’s go together.”

“Okay.”

Zhai You abandoned the assistant.

It wasn’t as though he couldn’t find the way.

This was where he got paid, after all.

The interior decor was several levels better than Jiang Bailu’s previous company.

The receptionist and the occasional people passing through all looked remarkably relaxed.

Even when they saw Zhai You, they merely greeted her casually.

Jiang Bailu liked the atmosphere here.

No one was deliberately put on a pedestal.

And no one seemed to look down on anyone either.

Inside Sister Ji’s office,

Zhai You pushed the door open.

Sister Ji didn’t even need to lift her head to know who it was.

But because Jiang Bailu was there, she still put down what she was doing and looked up.

Jiang Bailu looked very different from the last time they had met.

Now, she looked as though she were living surrounded by happiness.

Yet Jiang Bailu herself didn’t seem to realize it.

She had simply become more confident without noticing.

“Sit down.”

Sister Ji personally stood up to pour her some water.

She was only a manager, not some big boss.

And Zhai You wasn’t an ordinary employee who could be casually bullied either.

After placing the glass of water in front of Jiang Bailu, Read on BaiLianTalesSister Ji efficiently took out two contracts.

“This is the termination agreement between you and your previous company. I had someone negotiate it on your behalf. This copy is yours.”

This document was extremely important.

Logically, it should have been kept by Xingyu Entertainment.

But Zhai You had paid the money, and for various other reasons, it was still better to hand it directly to Jiang Bailu.

There was no need for Sister Ji to explain the rest.

Jiang Bailu also understood how important the termination agreement was.

Confusion rose in her heart, but before she could ask, Sister Ji spoke first.

“Zhai You paid for it.”

Her ability was countless times better than that Sister V’s.

Jiang Bailu could tell that too.

She was filled with anticipation for the future—and with gratitude toward Zhai You.

“This one is your new contract. You’ll sign with Xingyu Entertainment, and I’ll be responsible for managing you from now on. The term is eight years. Can you accept that?”

Eight years was somewhat long in an entertainment industry where people relied heavily on youth.

If she failed to develop within the company, even changing agencies later would be difficult.

“Sign it.” Zhai You placed the contract in front of Jiang Bailu and spoke succinctly.

Jiang Bailu was absolutely going to become famous.

How could she possibly fail to develop?

Zhai You would stake every ounce of her credibility on that.

There was no need to worry.

She would protect Jiang Bailu’s path forward.