Chapter 26
"I know you don't know how to use it, so I brought you the instant version. You can just rinse it with water when you get home."
Seeing that Shi Ru said this, Zhu Yu reluctantly accepted the gift.
But I can't help feeling a little indebted to those who give me gifts.
"You've helped me so much, even giving me a gift... and there's nothing I can do to help you..."
"I thought we were friends," Shi Ru said suddenly, sounding somewhat disappointed.
His reaction startled Zhu Yu, who couldn't understand why Shi Ru would say such a thing.
"Of course we're friends!" Zhu Yu, busy comforting others, naturally didn't notice that Shi Ru across from her was using the act of picking up his teacup to drink water to hide the corners of his mouth that he couldn't suppress from turning up.
Seeing that Zhu Yu had unknowingly fallen into his linguistic trap, Shi Ru almost laughed out loud: "Between friends, would they still care about who gives more or less?"
Zhu Yu shook her head. Seeing her shake her head, Shi Ru was about to continue trying to brainwash Zhu Yu when he heard Zhu Yu say, "I don't have any other good friends. You are the second person to be so good to me."
Zhu Yu spoke these words with such earnestness that Shi Ru felt a pang of heartache. Given his status, he could easily surround himself with good friends should he so choose.
Even with Zhu Yu, the direction of their relationship was actually guided by Shi Ru.
The words that were about to come out suddenly became inappropriate, and he could only manage two awkward laughs, stiff and forced.
Changing the subject: "Haha... the second one? Who was the first one? Do I know him?"
The first thing was the system. Zhu Yu suddenly realized that she hadn't thought about the system for a very, very long time, since she was reborn.
Even memories from her previous life, and even those before she encountered the system, are slowly fading away.
This won't do! She has very important things to do!
Zhu Yu racked her brains, trying to recall the important information she had forgotten.
The way she frowned and pondered deeply seemed to Shi Ru like his question had touched a raw nerve with Zhu Yu.
People tend to be more cautious about the people or things they care about.
Although Shi Ru didn't have this self-awareness at the moment, it didn't stop him from jumping up and down when he saw Zhu Yu's expression change.
"What's wrong? Did that person do something to you?"
Shi Ru asked with concern, “No,” Zhu Yu shook her head, “it’s gone.”
This "it" is not that "she/he," but Shi Ru didn't know that, and immediately had a "I'm so sorry!" expression on her face. "I didn't know..."
Shi Ru's unusual demeanor pulled Zhu Yu out of her worries. She couldn't really explain the existence of the system, nor did she intend to mention it to anyone.
Let this beautiful misunderstanding continue.
"It's alright, let me pay this time. How about I treat you to a welcome-back dinner?"
As is customary, Zhu Yu felt that she should reciprocate when she received gifts.
Knowing that she has a strong personality, although the average cost of living here is not low, it is not unaffordable for Zhu Yu.
So Shi Ru didn't refuse and readily agreed.
Just as the two finished their conversation, a waiter came by with a cart to serve the food.
While the two were enjoying their meal and chatting, the director, who had discovered that Zhu Yu had left early, was furious.
"So, when is she coming back?"
That's how leaders are. Even if I don't like you, don't give you anything to do, or even isolate you and make things difficult for you, if you dare to be late or leave early, then it's your fault.
However, the boss won't directly say that he's targeting you; he'll just say, "Call her! We'll wait for her to come back before we leave work today!"
In fact, the main actors left long ago. Now, the only ones left are the young people who managed to squeeze in as extras to fill their resumes, and who are stuck in the theater by the director.
(There aren't many people left.)
The group looked at each other blankly, until finally, a slightly bolder girl raised her hand and stepped forward to face the director's furious roar: "But none of us have her contact information..."
Actually, when the director yelled for people to contact Zhu Yu... they didn't expect that among all the people present who weren't left behind by the director, not a single one would recognize her.
After all, I had just had coffee at noon that someone had treated me to.
Even the lead actors, or even just the understudies, are still a different story from the extras and bit players.
So no one would bother to go up and get to know them.
This is terrible; they're being asked to contact people... and all they can do is vaguely say they couldn't reach them.
Judging from the director's expression, he seems even angrier...
The director glared at the person who spoke, and when he wanted to yell at them again, he was interrupted and didn't know how to yell anymore.
He turned around, took out another phone he rarely used, and scrolled through his call history.
Zhu Yu didn't have the director's phone number on her phone. Today was her first day on the job, and the only person she had added on WeChat was the kind assistant who had helped her.
However, the assistant had already gone to a promotional event with her artist and was unaware of what was going on, so she was unable to inform Zhu Yu.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Who are you? Who do you think I am? Are you still going to put on this show or not? If you don't want to, you'd better get out of here! Do you know how many people are eyeing your position?"
As soon as the call connected, the director launched into a tirade of abuse, his voice so loud that Shi Ru could hear it clearly even in receiver mode.
"?" Shi Ru frowned and silently asked Zhu Yu.
Zhu Yu smiled apologetically, shook her head at Shi Ru, and prepared to get up and go outside to answer the phone.
"Uh, Director? Is there something you need?" Zhu Yu didn't seem to care much about the director's temper.
She had been ignored all day, and this esteemed director deserves much of the blame for it. She didn't think she had done anything to offend him, yet he was targeting her like this.
Did you expect her to fawn over him instead?
Her head isn't made of dough, it's not like a steamed bun.
"What's wrong? Drop the 'what'! If it's wrong, you're in big trouble!"
"When did you leave? Who did you ask for permission before you left? Who gave you permission to leave?"
"Do you know that leaving early is wrong? According to the contract, I have the right to fire you and demand that you pay liquidated damages!"
Shi Ru, who was following Zhu Yu out, overheard these words and took the phone from Zhu Yu's hand.
"Director, I'm Shi Ru. You should have heard of me, right?"
Upon hearing the voice change, the director instinctively wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but unexpectedly, the other person directly introduced themselves.
Shi Ru... Of course he knew the name; he was now one of his direct superiors, the head of finances, Connor.
"Oh, it's Manager Shi. So it was you who transferred Zhu Yu. That girl didn't even say goodbye before she left. Since it was your decision, Manager Shi, then it's not a breach of contract."
It was as if his face had changed completely. Zhu Yu, who witnessed this historic moment, was still somewhat dumbfounded.
Shi Ru didn't say a single unnecessary word; he simply introduced himself, and the opposing side immediately abandoned their armor and fled in defeat.
"Then I won't disturb you and Zhu Yu's business any longer, Manager Shi. You two get back to your work!" With that, the director hurriedly hung up the phone.
He had just suddenly realized that the person who had given the order to make Zhu Yu the lead role and the person who had asked him to make things difficult for Zhu Yu during the day were not the same person!
The young master of the Zhou family and the heir of the Shi family, this Zhu Yu is truly extraordinary.
He was blinded by greed. Young Master Zhou ordered him to mess with Zhu Yu, just to win her over, but what if he really hurt her badly?
He'll be dealt with sooner or later if a word is spoken to him.
What's more, one of the girl's suitors is a member of the Shi family.
Young people these days are terrifying.
The director was terrified. All the young master of the Shi family did after making a phone call to assign the role was that he hadn't done anything else. He thought that was all the resources this girl could get.
Later, the benefits that Young Master Zhou offered were even greater, and for some reason, he genuinely didn't like this girl.
When they start tormenting people, they naturally become ruthless and forget about feelings.
Fortunately, it's only the first day, so he probably didn't offend anyone too badly.
We'll find an opportunity for her to practice on stage later, and give her some pointers. Given his status in the directing world, he won't be subjected to any harm.
After calming himself down, the director lost all interest in causing any more trouble and waved to signal that the people he had kept for two hours could leave.
"I'm sorry." Shi Ru handed the phone back to Zhu Yu.
"Huh? Why the sudden apology?" Zhu Yu took the phone, completely bewildered by Shi Ru's sudden remark.
"I recommended you for this role. I didn't expect the director to deliberately target you... He didn't force you to do anything, did he?"
What Shi Ru wanted to ask was that the director couldn't have acted this way for no reason. He must have wanted to force Zhu Yu to do something, and when Zhu Yu refused, he became so angry.
He doesn't understand the entertainment industry, but he understands men.
Especially after his uncle showed him how things worked at the very bottom of the entertainment industry, he even considered persuading Zhu Yu to change careers on the plane back.
But this is her life.
He can provide protection, but he shouldn't interfere.
"No, it's probably because the director saw that I left first and thought my attitude was not proper, so he was a bit angry."
After all, leaving early was indeed an early departure, and Zhu Yu had already anticipated that the director would be angry.
"There was no plan for an A and B role in the initial planning of this drama. I will go back and find out the truth about this. Don't worry, I won't let you suffer this injustice for nothing."
Disrupted by this, the two lost most of their appetites. After quickly finishing their meal, Shi Ru sent Zhu Yu back home and then drove straight to his uncle's house.
This matter has been entrusted to him with full responsibility. Given this case of double-dealing, he should have conducted his own investigation first. However, before that, he needs to consult his uncle on some matters.
He also had people assigned to supervise the scene, so he knew that Zhou Ye had appeared at the drama club.
Because there was no special explanation, the person didn't pay much attention to Zhu Yu, and therefore didn't realize that Zhou Ye had harassed her.
But the fact that half of the lead actors in Connor's plays come from the Zhou family's company already raises a significant issue.
"uncle!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com