After Punching Her Way Through The Entertainment Industry [Ancient-to-Modern] - Chapter 8

After watching Yang Man film for a while longer, Meng Shi finished work early and returned home.

Meng Jiu would be getting off work early today, and Meng Shi had no desire to be chased around and lectured by her.

As soon as she opened the front door, her mother, Xie Ping, came out to greet her.

“You’re back. You must be tired. Go rest for a while. Mom will make dinner.”

“Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll cook later.”

Xie Ping looked utterly shocked.

“You know how to cook now?”

【Meng Shi: Actually, I only said that casually…】

After helping Xie Ping back to her room, Meng Shi returned to her own bedroom, lay on her stomach across the bed, and fiddled with her phone.

First, she searched for the history of Boyi Entertainment. Then she looked up the manager named Wang Zhe.

She had been somewhat angered by Wang Zhe’s arrogant attitude today. In her previous life, she probably would have slapped his head clean off.

After browsing for a while, she suddenly remembered Fang Yu mentioning something called Weibo.

The application happened to be installed on her phone, so she opened it.

After scrolling for a while, Meng Shi felt as though she had opened the door to an entirely new world.

Once she started scrolling, she could not stop.

She was thoroughly absorbed when her finger suddenly froze.

She stared at a post Fang Yu had published several days earlier.

【fire—Huayu Fang Yu: Artist Ah Meng has officially signed with our company and joined Huayu Entertainment. Seniors, please take good care of her in the future. [Fist Salute] Thank you, Sister Qing, for generously giving her up. [Fist Salute][Fist Salute][Fist Salute] @YanQingQingQingQingQing】

The words “Thank you, Sister Qing, for generously giving her up” particularly bothered Meng Shi.

She tapped on Yan Qing’s account and checked it.

It was indeed Yan Qing herself.

Looking at the date and time the post had been published, wasn’t that exactly when she had signed the contract with Fang Yu?

Could it be…

From the very beginning, Fang Yu had only approached her to antagonize Yan Qing?

Thinking of this, Meng Shi hurriedly looked through Fang Yu’s older posts.

There seemed to be quite a few cases similar to hers.

Whenever Yan Qing believed someone had potential, Fang Yu would spare no effort to poach them. Then she would tag Yan Qing on Weibo and deliberately provoke her.

Meng Shi clenched her fist.

A powerful feeling of having been toyed with rose inside her.

She immediately called Fang Yu.

【Hello. The number you have dialed is currently switched off.】

Meng Shi became even angrier.

She called Jia Jia instead.

The phone was not switched off, but no one answered!

Meng Shi reviewed everything she had experienced over the past few days.

That so-called manager had shown less concern for her than Yang Man.

When Meng Shi encountered trouble today, it was Yan Qing who stepped forward to help her.

Come to think of it, Jia Jia’s expression had turned unpleasant afterward, and she had hurriedly left.

Could it be…

Meng Shi’s guess was correct.

After the incident, Jia Jia immediately rushed back to the company and personally reported everything to Fang Yu.

The moment Fang Yu heard it, she slammed the table.

Yan Qing had confronted Boyi for the sake of an unknown newcomer?

Who was Yan Qing trying to impress?

And that newcomer had finally obtained a rare opportunity, yet she had still caused trouble.

Leave her alone for a while.

Fang Yu wanted to see exactly what game Yan Qing was playing this time!

…

Over the next several days, Meng Shi repeatedly tried to contact Jia Jia.

However, her calls continued to go unanswered.

Even Yang Man stopped contacting her first.

Only then did Meng Shi completely give up.

She took out her phone and directly deleted Fang Yu’s and Jia Jia’s contact information.

She no longer wanted anything to do with either of them.

…

Meng Shi did not leave the house for the next few days.

She seemed to have returned to her previous state of locking herself inside her bedroom all day.

Xie Ping had originally thought her daughter had finally grown up.

How had she grown for only two days before shrinking back again?

Naturally, Meng Shi could see Xie Ping’s concern.

One day, after returning from her exercise and waiting for Meng Jiu to leave for work, Meng Shi also went out.

She wandered aimlessly along the streets.

Over the past several days, she had carefully considered her situation.

She was still unfamiliar with this world, particularly the treachery of the human heart, which seemed even worse than in her previous life.

Back then, she had always stayed away from political struggles.

Most people in the military camp had also been rough and straightforward, making them easy to deal with.

After coming here, however, she had learned a new expression:

A dagger hidden behind a smile.

Behind those seemingly friendly smiles, who knew what schemes and calculations were concealed?

The so-called entertainment industry in particular made her head ache.

She knew that she was not completely without options.

In fact, a shortcut was already laid directly before her.

She simply did not want to take it.

She did not want to seek out Yan Qing.

Yet if she continued along her current path, only darkness awaited her.

She could also tell that Fang Yu had never genuinely intended to promote her.

Had it not been for Yan Qing, Fang Yu would never even have noticed someone like her.

Continuing to place hope in Huayu would be foolish.

Unfortunately, she was still under contract with them.

Perhaps she could simply remain an insignificant nobody until Fang Yu completely forgot about her.

Only after using Weibo over the past few days did Meng Shi understand how much influence Yan Qing possessed within the industry.

For the time being, Meng Shi could no longer survive in the entertainment industry.

She had her own considerations.

Meng Jiu had told her more than once to go out and find a proper job, and Meng Shi had been seriously thinking about it.

She now understood the family’s situation.

Their finances were extremely tight, and the entire household depended on Meng Jiu alone.

Furthermore, their mother’s health seemed to have worsened recently. She was always coughing.

Since Meng Shi was now a member of this family, she had a responsibility to help shoulder its burdens.

Between dreams and reality, she had already weighed her options.

For now, she could only apologize to the original owner of this body.

As for finding work, this world’s Meng Shi had never attended university. She had not even graduated from high school.

Meng Shi herself had possessed very little experience outside the military in her previous life.

Finding a job was therefore quite difficult.

She walked around the streets and saw notices advertising positions for dishwashers at restaurants and cashiers at supermarkets.

She shook her head and continued onward.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

She looked at an inconspicuous little shop on the corner.

The three large characters on its sign immediately caught her attention.

Xing Boxing Gym.

Meng Shi became slightly excited.

She quickly walked over, pushed open the door, and looked inside.

The interior was far more spacious than its plain exterior suggested. It was brightly lit, with two boxing rings on the left. Several punching bags and pieces of exercise equipment stood on the right.

It was noon, and there were no customers.

Only three people sat near the front desk eating lunch.

“Hello. Are you here to box?”

A short, thin man with a crew cut put down his bowl and chopsticks and hurried over.

Meng Shi examined him.

He wore only a pair of blue shorts, leaving his upper body bare. His skin was deeply tanned, and the muscles across his chest, abdomen, and arms were all highly developed.

He clearly looked like a trained fighter.

“Hello. I’d like to ask whether you’re hiring.”

After Meng Shi spoke, not only the short-haired man, but also the man and woman still eating beside the counter, stopped moving.

All three stared at her in surprise.

It was not that they were looking down on her.

It was simply that, judging by Meng Shi’s appearance…

She did not look like someone capable of either hitting people or enduring being hit.

“We’re… not hiring cleaners,” the only woman said.

Meng Shi smiled when she heard this.

…

Xiang Xiaoyan was an older unmarried woman.

Since childhood, she had possessed a boyish personality and loved boxing. Unfortunately, she lacked the natural talent for it.

To make up for that regret, she opened a boxing gym.

Her gym had a number of loyal regular customers, so business was fairly good.

What made her most proud was having opened the gym and hired several employees who shared her passion.

Carrying drinks and humming a tune, Xiang Xiaoyan walked toward her Xing Boxing Gym.

The moment she pushed open the door, she sensed that something was wrong.

“Ow…”

A series of groans reached her ears.

Xiang Xiaoyan’s eyelid twitched violently.

At a glance, she saw all three of her prized employees lying on the floor and rolling around in pain!

It was not unusual for Yuan Xiaosong and Yuan Xiaobai, the two sparring partners, to be beaten down.

However, why did Wang Yang, the gym’s strongest boxing instructor, also have a dark bruise around his right eye?

“Coach Wang, what happened?”

The short, muscular man with the crew cut looked toward Meng Shi in the corner, his expression indescribable.

“Sister Xiaoyan, someone came to challenge the gym!”

Yuan Xiaobai, the young woman, immediately accused Meng Shi first.

Clearly, she had been the one who called Meng Shi a cleaner…

Xiang Xiaoyan’s eyelid twitched.

Someone had come to challenge her gym?

How outrageous!

She looked around and finally noticed a young woman silently striking a punching bag nearby.

Her white T-shirt had a pink Patrick Star printed on it. Her long hair nearly reached her waist.

From this angle, her profile looked somewhat youthful.

Hmm…

She appeared to be around the same age as Yuan Xiaobai—a lively and delicate-looking young woman.

“You…”

Xiang Xiaoyan walked over and examined her.

Meng Shi caught the punching bag she had sent flying with a single punch and turned around.

A smile still remained on her face.

“Hello.”

“Uh…”

Black lines practically covered Xiang Xiaoyan’s forehead.

Was this woman treating the boxing gym as though it were her own home?

She certainly was not shy.

“I’m the owner of Xing Boxing Gym. Are you… here to challenge us?”

She did not look like it…

Hearing this, Meng Shi immediately stood obediently.

“No, no. You’ve misunderstood. I came to ask for a job.”

“A job?”

“Yes. I know some martial arts. I can work as an instructor or a sparring partner. Are you still hiring?”

Meng Shi looked at Xiang Xiaoyan expectantly.

Seeing the light shining in Meng Shi’s large eyes, Xiang Xiaoyan was tempted.

She could tell that Meng Shi genuinely loved this field.

Furthermore, with Meng Shi’s appearance, there were not many attractive young women who could fight so well.

Perhaps she could become a living advertisement for the gym.

However, Xiang Xiaoyan hesitated again.

Boxing was physically demanding work, particularly being a sparring partner.

Yuan Xiaobai was covered in bruises every few days.

Could this quiet, obedient-looking, somewhat slender girl truly handle it?

“You… well…”

As though her conscience had suddenly awakened, Xiang Xiaoyan carefully explained how exhausting and difficult the profession could be.

Meng Shi did not care in the slightest.

She firmly insisted that she wanted the job.

【Xiang Xiaoyan: Hmm… Well… she came here willingly. I didn’t force her…】

“All right. You can give it a try.”

“Working hours are from nine in the morning until six in the evening. You’ll have one day off each week.”

“Meals are provided, but accommodation is not.”

“The monthly salary is four thousand yuan, with a one-month probationary period. Your salary will not be reduced during probation.”

Meng Shi quickly calculated in her mind.

The conditions seemed fairly good.

She hurriedly nodded.

A heavy burden finally lifted from her heart, and she released a long breath.

“Thank you, Sister Xiaoyan!”

“When can you begin working?”

“Right now!”

“Don’t you need to discuss it with your family first? Work at a boxing gym carries a certain amount of danger. If your family disagrees—”

“There’s no need. I can make my own decisions.”

Author’s Note:

You didn’t expect our Shi to change jobs, did you?