Chapter 32 – Meeting Director Bai to Sign the Contract

Leng Yan tossed her phone aside. She didn’t really want to keep chatting, so she quickly finished her bath, changed into another silk shirt as pajamas, and went back to bed to catch up on sleep.

“Morning, Yanyan.” Luo Jibai was already waiting in Leng Yan’s office bright and early. “You don’t look very well.”

When Leng Yan saw Luo Jibai reach toward her, she instinctively leaned her head back. “I’m fine. I just went to sleep a little late.”

“Alright.” Luo Jibai withdrew her hand, looking somewhat disappointed. Even her smile seemed a little forced.

“We have a meeting in a bit. Uh… Assistant Luo, sit closer to the front so you can take over these miscellaneous tasks as soon as possible.” Leng Yan began sorting through the documents on her desk.

“Understood, President Leng.” For some reason, Luo Jibai found it amusing to hear Leng Yan call her “Assistant Luo,” so she played along and called her “President Leng.”

Leng Yan seemed unable to hold back either. When it was time to head to the meeting, she changed how she addressed her.

“Luo Jibai, let’s go.”

“Okay.” Luo Jibai followed behind Leng Yan with a lingering smile in her eyes.

·

When He Yinshao went to look for Leng Yan that morning, Leng Yan had already left her room.

The servants had all returned, and breakfast had been prepared for her as well. Today, she needed to meet Director Bai and sign the contract.

After getting ready, He Yinshao headed out.

Director Bai was at the filming location discussing scenes with Wang Chaoyang.

He Yinshao remembered that in her first life, Wang Chaoyang later became a Best Actor winner. He was skilled at reading people and observing subtle expressions, understood human nature well, and could immerse himself completely in his roles.

Among the young male actors of her first life, he had been the first to win the title of Best Actor.

He fully deserved it.

Wang Chaoyang had originally been discussing the script with Director Bai, but when he caught sight of He Yinshao from the corner of his eye, he suggested going off to study the script by himself, leaving Director Bai and He Yinshao alone.

“Hello, Director Bai.” He Yinshao greeted him politely.

“Mm, sit.” Director Bai wore a warm smile, completely different from how he had looked at the audition.

“Alright.” He Yinshao sat down.

“What do you think of your audition?” Director Bai asked while rummaging through the bag he carried with him.

“My pacing with the dialogue wasn’t controlled well enough. Overall, I’d say I was above average.”

“You’re quite confident.”

“If I weren’t confident, I wouldn’t be able to be an actor.”

“Hahahahaha, good.” Director Bai’s smile widened considerably. He liked that fearless spirit in newcomers. “I heard you’re new to acting?”

“Yes.”

“To perform at that level as a newcomer really does put you above average.”

“Thank you, Director Bai.”

“This drama is set during the Republican era, so filming will take quite a long time. At least four months.” Director Bai took the prepared contract from his bag and straightened it. “If there aren’t any special circumstances, you can sign.”

The implied meaning was roughly:

If she accepted this drama, she wouldn’t be able to continue participating in Time Travel Journal, so she needed to settle that issue properly.

He Yinshao flipped through the contract, accepted the pen Director Bai handed her, and signed her name.

She had already asked Leng Junhui to tell Director Zhang that she would be withdrawing.

“I don’t have any problems.”

She needed fame.

Money.

Power.

Once she had all of those, she would have enough confidence to express her feelings to Leng Yan.

At the very least…

She couldn’t let Leng Yan enter a marriage alliance with someone else.

Director Bai was a smart man. He could see the ambition in He Yinshao’s eyes and was more than willing to work with an actor like that.

“Then welcome to my drama, He Yinshao.”

“The honor is mine.”

As He Yinshao turned to leave, she ran into Wang Chaoyang, who had been studying the script.

“You’re done talking?”

“Mm,” He Yinshao replied.

“That was fast.” Wang Chaoyang nodded.

“It was alright.” He Yinshao turned sideways, preparing to walk around him, but Wang Chaoyang stopped her.

She frowned slightly in confusion.

“Is something wrong?”

“Are you and Leng Yan close?”

The sudden question immediately set off alarm bells in He Yinshao’s mind.

“Why?”

“I’m a fan of hers. Could you help me get an autograph?” Wang Chaoyang smiled and lowered his hand.

“Phew… sure.” He Yinshao breathed a sigh of relief and left with the contract.

Still…

Something felt strange.

That afternoon.

Leng Yan had another meeting, but this time, the person she was meeting was He Ji, so unauthorized copyher posture was noticeably more relaxed.

“President He, you’re quite a rare guest at my company.” A faint smile hung on Leng Yan’s lips.

“I can’t help it. My status barely qualifies me to cross the threshold of President Leng’s company.” He Ji spread his hands and replied modestly.

Luo Jibai quietly studied the man in front of her.

He had a gentle, well-behaved appearance that made it easy for people to lower their guard.

But judging from the cooperation contract Yanyan had shown her earlier, she knew He Ji was far from simple.

The meeting lasted two full hours.

By the end, Leng Yan had roughly finalized the cooperation plan with He Ji.

After seeing him off, Leng Yan leaned back in her office chair and looked up at Luo Jibai, who was standing nearby organizing documents.

“Well? Were you able to follow everything?”

“I understood it, but I don’t understand why you gave He Ji twenty percentage points of the profit. For us, that really isn’t a very wise decision.”

“He’s very smart, and he knows how to get things done. If we support him now and build a good relationship with him, it’ll benefit the company in the future.”

“Alright.” Luo Jibai leaned forward slightly. “But bailiantales.com Yanyan, you seem to be planning to cooperate with him only once?”

“Was it that obvious?” Leng Yan looked at Luo Jibai in surprise, smiling.

“Mm…” Luo Jibai stared at the smile blooming in front of her and momentarily froze.

“He’s capable, so of course I’d like to work with him more than once.”

“Then do you like capable people?”

Leng Yan assumed Luo Jibai meant “like” in the sense of admiration and answered without hesitation.

“Of course I do. Most people would, wouldn’t they?”

“Mm. Good.” Luo Jibai curved her lips slightly and lowered her eyes, as though she had made some kind of decision.

Leng Yan’s phone suddenly rang.

It was Director Zhang, calling to discuss filming for the variety show next week.

“Alright, I’ll go. Is He Yinshao… going?”

Luo Jibai’s fingers tightened around the documents in her hands.

“Teacher He isn’t coming. It seems she’s going to film a drama.”

“Alright. Got it.”

After Leng Yan hung up, Luo Jibai asked, “Was that about filming the show?”

“Yeah. We’re filming next week.” Leng Yan fiddled with her phone. “I’ll spend this week helping you get familiar with the work. Once I leave to film the show, my previous assistant will probably handle things. You can assist her and learn along the way.”

“Alright, I understand.” Luo Jibai forced a smile as she looked at Leng Yan. “Will He Yinshao be filming the show too?”

“Her? No.” Leng Yan stretched lazily. “Finally, work is over~ Why did you suddenly ask about that?”

“Nothing. I just saw your CP supertopic before.”

“Alright.”