Chapter 32
Less than a day after the ambulance incident, photos of Tian Tian participating in other activities appeared on Weibo.
Judging from the way her assistant was constantly following and supporting her, Tian Tian must not have fully recovered from her illness, and was forced to go out to work by the company.
Zhu Yu felt a pang of sadness. Even someone as famous as Tian Tian felt like her life was being held hostage when her contract was in someone else's hands, leaving her with absolutely no freedom.
With this in mind, Zhu Yu became even more certain that she couldn't just sign with any company.
"I'm going to be on stage next Saturday, do you want to come?"
While I feel sorry for Tian Tian, I still need to focus on my own career path.
She has been practicing hard for this for a long time.
Zhu Yu is confident that her acting skills are now much better than they were at the beginning!
"It should be fine. I'll invite Zhang Yuge to come watch your performance. Good luck!"
Shi Ru replied as quickly as ever. Sometimes Zhu Yu would wonder if Shi Ru was actually working seriously, since he seemed to be playing on his phone all day long.
Did they give her special treatment?
Shi Ru (looking aggrieved): It just so happens that you sent me a message, and I just happened to be looking at my phone...
You can say we have great chemistry, but you can't say I didn't work hard...
"Okay, but Mr. Shi probably doesn't need me, a nobody, to reserve a ticket for you, right?"
"Of course, you, Mr. Shi, do have this much ability. Just focus on your rehearsals and we look forward to your performance!"
This performance was also the last stop of the entire tour, and the decision was actually made on short notice.
After all, such a bad thing happened when a member of the cast was hospitalized. Although the news was blocked at the time, some rumors still circulated online.
It was predictable that Zhu Yu's replacement of Tian Tian on the stage essentially confirmed these rumors.
No one could have imagined that Zhu Yu, who was originally a substitute and came on as a last-minute replacement, would become such a tiny leaf amidst all the gossip and rumors.
A sudden storm swept through the hall, and even the newly sprouted leaves on the branches were powerless to resist.
"Don't worry, Tian Tian even thanked you specially, didn't she?"
Because it was the last performance, Zhu Yu was under a lot of pressure during the rehearsals these past two days.
She had a vague feeling that the change of performers at the final show was a bit inappropriate. Even if the tour was divided into two shows, with Tian Tian as the fourth performer in the first show and Zhu Yu as the fourth performer in the second show, the fans would have been more likely to accept it.
Unfortunately, the director canceled all the subsequent scenes.
Now everyone's attention will be focused on this nameless person who can replace Tian Tian.
Sharp, critical, malicious, and well-intentioned voices will engulf her.
For once, Zhu Yu felt a sense of fear, something she had never experienced in her decades of life.
Except for that time—
"Who was that just now!?"
The actress who plays Zhou Fanyi is Yin Jie, an actress from the National Theatre of China. She has a habit of watching the news channel regularly.
At noon, Zhu Yu and Ye Fan squatted together to eat. While watching Ye Fan record her performance on stage, Teacher Yin Jie sat next to her and watched the news.
Thanks to Ye Fan, who held up two phones and managed to record for Teacher Yin Jie while also recording for her.
Only by allowing Zhu Yu to see the flaws in her performance in a timely manner can she improve rapidly.
Zhu Yu was feeling down because the director had just announced that it was the last scene. Ye Fan was comforting her when she accidentally looked up and saw a face on Teacher Yin Jie's tablet that shocked her.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Yin Jie was startled by Zhu Yu's sudden outburst.
Looking at the scene on the screen again, the eerie and familiar sense of horror had faded, and Zhu Yu frowned and shook her head.
Feeling a little dizzy, she forced a smile and sat back down.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Yin Jie, I misread it."
Yin Jie is almost fifty years old this year, but because she takes good care of herself, she looks like she is only in her thirties.
Perhaps it's because time never defeats beauty; she simply sat there, and all the beautiful adjectives like elegant and beautiful were bestowed upon her.
Looking at Teacher Yin Jie, who was wearing a custom-made cheongsam and elegantly taking small sips from her thermos, Zhu Yu's eyes were blank.
Zhu Yu couldn't explain what had just happened, but she felt something was off. Images she had no recollection of kept popping into her mind, even though she would forget them quickly.
But it still had some impact on her life.
"Zhu Yu, this is Xiao Lin, who just graduated this year and is here for an internship. Could you take over his job?"
Zhu Yu sat below the stage. It was lunch break time, and the other members found places to sit or lie down for their lunch break.
She sat there, watching the spotlight on the stage.
Strange yet familiar fragments kept emerging in my mind, and countless pieces came together to form a complete memory.
"Hello, my name is Lin Haodong, Lin as in General Lin." Zhu Yu was sitting, and the person in front of her had raised his hand very high, almost reaching Zhu Yu's chin.
He frowned subconsciously, feeling that this person seemed a bit impolite, but... General Lin?
"Hello, I'm Zhu Yu. Brother Li, the one who just brought you here, is our captain. From now on, I'll be your mentor."
Zhu Yu stood up with a friendly smile, and was about to shake the man's hand back when his outstretched hand was suddenly slapped away.
Lin Haodong sat down in the empty seat next to Zhu Yu. The force of his sudden stomp caused the seat to spin half a circle before stopping.
With a kick of his long legs, he turned around and lay back on the chair, one foot on top of the other thigh, legs crossed, as he pulled a game console from his pocket.
"You can't mentor me. Just focus on your job. I'll have someone find me a different mentor tonight."
Amidst his busy schedule, Lin Haodong glanced at Zhu Yu from head to toe and said, "This guy surnamed Li doesn't want to work anymore, does he? He actually brought a woman to mentor me."
“I’m different from you; I’m going to get to the front lines and do real work.”
Zhu Yu hesitated, unsure of what to say in her anger.
But the text message she received on her mobile phone quickly left her with no time to argue with this person. After shutting down her computer, Zhu Yu picked up her phone and went to the captain's office.
"Brother Li, they've taken the bait!"
"Good! Well done!" After reading the message on Zhu Yu's mobile phone, Brother Li patted Zhu Yu on the shoulder. "I knew we women could hold up half the sky. You'll officially start working tomorrow. I'll have the technical department prepare a set of special tools for you."
They are currently investigating a company's tax issues. Because the amount involved is huge and there is evidence pointing to corruption, they must be extremely careful during the evidence collection and investigation process.
Zhu Yu was originally a clerk in the archives, responsible for organizing and archiving various documents.
In the past two years, the higher authorities have equipped all departments with computers and required them to compile all the case files from previous years into electronic files for safekeeping. In an era when computers were not yet widespread, this requirement caused a lot of headaches for a group of computer illiterate people.
Zhu Yu was hired under such circumstances as a non-permanent staff member specifically responsible for organizing documents.
Unfortunately, we stumbled upon such a major case, and the most effective way to obtain evidence, according to the plan we discussed, was to infiltrate the enemy's ranks.
However, because of the corruption issue, all the staff members were essentially on the other side's radar. In order to ensure that the mission would not be accomplished before it was even launched, Brother Li tentatively turned his attention to Zhu Yu.
She hasn't been working here for a full year and hasn't been promoted yet, so applying for a job at this time wouldn't raise any suspicion.
Moreover, even if she openly puts her current position on her resume, the employer will only think that she is too young to do a job that provides a fixed salary for retirement.
Logically, after consulting with Zhu Yu, Brother Li decisively made a decision and applied to his superiors for emergency training for Zhu Yu.
Less than a week after submitting my resume, I received a text message from the company inviting me to an interview.
"This time we're playing the long game, so you have to be careful in your actions. Collect as much evidence as possible while ensuring your safety. It's okay if you can't find it right away, understand?"
Thinking that such a beautiful young girl was about to go undercover, Brother Li was filled with anxiety. If it weren't for the fact that his face had been featured on local news so many times, he would have loved to go in himself.
The girl performed very well during training, but I wonder how she'll fare in real-world situations. "Remember, if anything goes wrong, run! It doesn't matter if we don't get the evidence; our first priority is our own safety, understand?"
Hearing this instruction warmed Zhu Yu's heart, and her blood boiled so much that her eyes almost welled up with tears. She nodded firmly, secretly determined to bring these corrupt officials of the country to justice!
"Where there's a will, there's a way." The sudden ringing of the phone interrupted Zhu Yu's reverie. Everyone was taking a nap, so the abrupt ringing of the phone seemed rather jarring.
"Uh, hello?" She quickly answered the phone, nodding apologetically to her colleagues who were looking up at her.
"Hello, Zhu Yu, this is Yueyue, Tian Tian's assistant."
"Um, hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
Tian Tian had already expressed her gratitude once over the phone, so why was she calling again, especially at a time when everyone was resting?
Because his thoughts had been interrupted, Zhu Yu's tone wasn't very pleasant.
"That's right. Tian Tian paid a year's tuition at Kazama Academy at the beginning of the year, but her current health really doesn't support her continuing to work and study, so the tuition can't be refunded."
Zhu Yu listened silently, trying to search her mind for information about "Kazama Academy".
Before Zhu Yu could ask, she heard a few other voices coming from Yueyue's side. Then, as if enlightened, Yueyue took the initiative to explain: "Fengjian is an acting training academy jointly founded by several well-known big names in the industry. Tian Tian's situation is special. She enrolled in one-on-one classes, which cost 150,000 yuan per session."
"Let me speak," a weak voice said, and then the person on the other end of the phone changed.
"Zhu Yu, it's me, Tian Tian. I owe you so much for this incident, otherwise I would be dead. I don't have anything to thank you for, but after thinking about it, this master class might be of some use to you."
"This is too expensive..." Tian Tian's voice was gentle and pleasant, but Zhu Yu was currently overwhelmed by Yueyue's comment, "150,000 yuan a session!"
"Whether Zhu Yu is expensive or not depends on who it's for," Tian Tian interrupted her, her tone unusually firm and leaving no room for refusal: "If it's for you, it's not expensive."
Before Zhu Yu could say anything more, the person on the other end coughed violently for a moment, then said, "I'll have Yueyue hand over the relevant documents to you," and hurriedly hung up the phone.
In the final moments, Zhu Yu could still hear Yueyue anxiously calling for the doctor.
Tian Tian seems to have changed a bit?
That's true. After such a huge ordeal, there are probably countless lawsuits to be decided with the company. If she can't stand up again, she'll really be chewed up and swallowed whole.
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