When Shi Jing arrived at the designated time, Rong Yu was already waiting at the door.
The car stopped, and Shi Jing got out, smiling broadly as he asked, "Hello, Brother Yu, how long have you been waiting?"
"It didn't take long," Rong Yu said, glancing at Lin Mengmeng who was following Shi Jing, and nodding in greeting.
Shi Jing explained, "This is the tour guide I hired. It's inconvenient for me to go alone, so I asked Sister Meng to take me."
"It's advisable to invite someone along. There are quite a few tourists coming here during the Spring Festival, so please be careful."
"I know." After the two became closer, Shi Jing didn't speak as formally.
Rong Yu reached out and greeted Lin Mengmeng: "Hello, I'm Rong Yu, Xiao Jing's friend."
"Hello, Lin Mengmeng."
After greeting her, Rong Yu looked at Shi Jing and asked about her plans: "Would you like to stroll around the school or go somewhere else?"
Since Shi Jing was here, she naturally wanted to take a stroll around the school and see Rong Yu's learning environment. Even though she was a complete academic failure, she wanted to wander around for a bit.
"Let's take a walk around the school. This is my first time at Dingda University," Shi Jing replied, then asked, "By the way, do you have time this afternoon? Want to go out and have some fun?"
"I'm sorry, I have another tutoring session this afternoon, so I probably won't be able to keep you company."
"It's alright," Shi Jing said, indicating her understanding.
Over the past six months, the two have become quite familiar with each other, and Shi Jing has also learned some things about Rong Yu. He has an artist contract, which prevents him from doing many jobs. He usually does odd jobs and tutoring, which is how he saves up for tuition and living expenses.
Sometimes Shi Jing would think that although her current situation was awkward, she was actually much luckier than Rong Yu. At least she had plenty to eat and drink, and Shi Hai had never shortchanged her on her expensive tuition and living expenses. Rong Yu, on the other hand, had nothing, was unloved by her parents, and had a domineering contract.
Shi Jing thought for a moment and looked at Lin Mengmeng: "Sister Meng, could you please book a room for me near the school today? I won't go out this afternoon. We can go to the tourist attractions tomorrow."
"OK."
"My brother and I will walk around the school later. You can come with us or go back first." That's the good thing about private tour guides; they offer a lot of flexibility in making arrangements.
Seeing that they wanted to explore the campus together, Lin Mengmeng suggested leaving first. However, before leaving, she said, "I'll send you the room reservation via text message later. If you need to change your plans, feel free to call me."
"Okay, Sister Meng, thank you for your help." Shi Jing said.
After Lin Mengmeng left, Shi Jing looked at Rong Yu and said, "Alright, let's go."
"Okay, let's go."
Rong Yu was a student at Dingda University, so Shi Jing let Rong Yu arrange the tour. As a top student, Rong Yu's most frequent destination was the school library, and that was their first stop.
As they walked, Rong Yu introduced the collections of the Dingda Library, his familiarity with the place evident in his words. Shi Jing listened with great interest, and even the system couldn't help but admire him. Shi Jing knew that the Little God of Wealth had a very high level of affection for Rong Yu, so he was already used to it.
The library is not open to the public; anyone needing to enter must obtain a special reader's card. Therefore, they only toured the exterior. After visiting the library, Rong Yu, carrying Shi Jing, passed by Bohai Lake at Dingda University, the museum, and other places.
After briefly looking at a few popular tourist attractions, Rongyu checked the time; it was almost midnight.
"It's getting late, let's go eat first," Rong Yu suggested.
"Is the cafeteria still open?" Shi Jing asked.
“The school has a small canteen, but the selection of dishes is limited each day. Let me take you out to eat,” Rong Yu said.
It's currently winter break and schools are closed, so there are very few students left at school. As a result, only a small canteen is open, and in a few days, even that canteen may have to be closed.
Shi Jing didn't know the specifics, but he could guess what was going on. Chinese people generally don't have a strong emotional attachment to the Spring Festival; most people will go home to reunite with their families if they can. Since there aren't many students at the school, the cafeteria can't be open more often.
"OK."
The two found a restaurant on campus. There weren't many people in the restaurant at the moment, so they found a good spot to sit down.
They ordered three dishes and a soup, and the waiter quickly took the menu and went to place the order.
Shi Jing brought the kettle, scalded the cups and bowls, and poured hot water for the two of them. She sat back down and then continued their previous conversation.
"How long will the tutoring work last? What are your plans for the Chinese New Year?"
Rong Yu realized Shi Jing's intention from the moment she asked, so she didn't hide it and answered directly, "It will end on the 28th. After that, the students' families will go home for the New Year, and the tutoring will start again on the 8th of the new year."
He paused for a moment, then said, "It's still uncertain about the Spring Festival. Brother Meng called me and said there are two venues with stages during the Spring Festival, and they might need me to go there as a substitute."
"Huh? He's already like that, and he still wants you to come over?" Shi Jing was a little speechless.
"Hmm, maybe they're short-staffed during the Chinese New Year." Rong Yu was already used to it. Although he was currently not favored by the company and was essentially being sidelined, he was still occasionally included in smaller, less important events when the company was short-staffed.
"Is there a salary?" Shi Jing asked.
Rong Yu smiled and shook his head: "I don't know."
The truth is, he hasn't received a single penny from the company since his falling out with them. If it weren't for the overly unfair and long-term contract his parents signed for him, he probably would have terminated it long ago. It's precisely because of this contract that he would have to pay at least several million yuan in compensation if he terminated it, which is why he's been dragging his feet.
Fortunately, although his agency sidelined him and his manager caused him trouble from time to time, at least he had extra time to spend on his studies, which allowed him to get into his current university.
"Can't we terminate the contract?" Shi Jing had actually wanted to ask this question for a long time, but they weren't very familiar with each other before, and they had only been communicating by text message, so there wasn't a suitable opportunity to ask.
There weren't many people in the store at the moment, so Shi Jing didn't hide anything and asked directly.
Rong Yu paused for a moment, unsure whether she should tell Shi Jing the truth. After all, Shi Jing was just a young girl and didn't understand many things.
However, reflecting on their interactions over the past six months, Shi Jingye was not the naive, innocent girl who didn't understand the ways of the world. After thinking for a moment, he still spoke up: "Terminating the contract isn't that easy."
Shi Jing asked in confusion, "Is it because of the penalty for breach of contract?"
"Yes, that's the main reason."
Shi Jing remained silent, listening to Rong Yu speak.
“My parents signed a 15-year contract for me back then, and there are still seven years left. If I want to terminate the contract, the penalty will be at least four or five million.” Rong Yu revealed a bitter smile. “What’s more, I’ve offended some people in the company. Even if I want to pay the penalty, they won’t give in so easily.”
Shi Jing rested her chin on her hand. She had been wondering what kind of situation would lead a company to shelve a cash cow that was clearly going to be a hit. If it was because they had offended someone, then it would be understandable.
"But you're under contract all the time, which makes many things inconvenient, doesn't it?"
Arranging performances and other events all the time can be a real headache.
Rong Yu smiled, as if she was used to it: "Actually, it's not so bad once you get used to it. They usually don't like to spend too much time on me. Now that I've been admitted to Dingda University, they've toned it down a lot."
Shi Jing thought of the arrogant Meng Ge before and the man she met at the mall that time. Is this what you call restraint?
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