"Xiao Yue escaped from her family. What about you? Did you escape from your family?"

"Bang!"

"Crackling!"

With a crisp sound, the teacup in Shang Yechu's hand slipped and fell to the ground!

Shang Yechu gave an apologetic smile and bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the teacup: "Sorry, Teacher Jiang, I was just lost in thought."

Though she smiled, she was secretly astonished. What did "River Waves" mean? Could one glean anything from her performance based on just one movie?

Jiang Shang Nongchao is over seventy years old, but Shang Yechu feels as if he has almost become a spirit.

Jiang Shang Nongchao sighed and changed the subject: "Guan Yue's family has all passed away, but she is still living well; my family and close friends have also left me, but I am still living well. I called you here today to say that family may not be indispensable to a person. I thought that giving Xiao Fengque a home was the best ending, but that idea may be wrong."

Shang Yechu neatly collected the broken pieces of the teacup and placed them on a corner of the table: "What do you think would be the best thing to give Xiao Fengque?"

Jiang Shang Nongchao looked into Shang Yechu's eyes: "Freedom."

Shang Yechu paused, then smiled gently: "What kind of freedom?" If it were the kind of "freedom" found in "The Heavenly Gang Star-Slaying Sword," the lead actors, Yi Tianzhao and Shang Yechu, would probably be torn to shreds by the audience.

"The ending of 'The Heavenly Star-Slaying Sword' is too sharp, while the original ending was too perfect." Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng slowly crumpled the ticket stub into a cylinder. "Neither of these endings is good."

"Life is neither all perfection nor all darkness." Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng picked up his teacup and gently swirled it around. "Like this cup of tea, both cold and boiling tea are harmful. Why can't we mix them together and drink a warm cup of tea?"

Shang Yechu gazed into the eyes of Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng, thinking to himself: Life is life, and art is art. It is precisely because people are used to drinking lukewarm tea in life that they seek something passionate in illusory works of art.

But he said aloud, "So you mean Xiao Fengque's fate isn't between these two? Then I'll wait and see."

Looking at Shang Yechu, who remained unmoved, Jiang Shang Nongchao secretly found it amusing: "Never mind—you acted very well in your movie. It must have been a real hardship for you to take care of that brat Li Yi these past few days."

“What’s the big deal?” Shang Yechu said hurriedly, “Li Yi—he’s very diligent.”

Upon hearing this insincere praise, Jiang Shang Nongchao put down his teacup, looked at Shang Yechu, and smiled, "That kid really likes you."

"..." Shang Yechu immediately abandoned the idea that "the river surfer has become a spirit" that had just sprouted in her mind, and said without leaving a trace, "Xie An certainly likes Xiao Fengque."

Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng wasn't angry at Shang Yechu's slippery demeanor: "Fine, you have to walk your own path. No matter how much I, an old woman, say, it's just meddling. I called you here today mainly to talk about Xiao Fengque's ending, and also to discuss the movie 'The Mute Woman.' It's a very good movie."

The conversation finally ended, shorter than Shang Yechu had expected. Shang Yechu stood up, saw the old lady out, and then compensated the receptionist for the cup.

After seeing off Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng, Shang Yechu walked down the street. The sun was blazing, and the autumn heat was intense.

As Shang Yechu walked, the aroma of coffee wafted to her nose. Looking up, she saw a coffee shop that was open for business next to her.

A figure suddenly flashed through Shang Yechu's mind.

Shang Yechu walked into the shop and ordered a high-calorie "coffee" with sugar, milk, cream, and chocolate. She sat by the window, sipping her coffee while opening her phone.

The words "Ji the Skinflint" in the WeChat contact name caught Shang Yechu's eye, and she remembered the story Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng had told her about her and Li Yi's grandmother.

There is no friendship that can be obtained without effort, nor is there a good relationship that can be maintained without effort.

If she only wanted to maintain an employee-boss relationship with Ji Juntao, then she could simply wait for him to serve her, to speculate on her, and to assess her, just like she is now... But does she really only want to maintain an employee-boss relationship with Ji Juntao?

Do I want to be friends with Ji Juntao?

Shang Ye asked himself this question.

A fifteen-year contract, that's so long, what fraction of a lifetime does that represent?

Would it be easier to travel such a long distance if you had a friend by your side instead of your boss?

After hesitating for a long time, Shang Yechu recalled the smile on Jiang Shang Nongchaosheng's lips, the vitality in his eyes, and his radiant face when he talked about Li Yi's grandmother. In the end, she could not resist the temptation and opened the "Ji Bapi" chat box.

Perhaps she should give Ji Juntao a chance to speak out about certain issues instead of keeping them bottled up inside...

Just as Shang Yechu was about to type, Su Ge's voice call came in rapidly.

"Ye Chu! Go on Weibo!"

Su Ge said excitedly on the other end of the phone:

"Something's happened to 'The Mute Woman'! Quick, go to Weibo! Contact your boss and do some PR! It'll be too late if you wait any longer!"