Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Over the next few days, I tried to keep visiting film sets to look for extra work, but not a single production was willing to take me.

I realized immediately that Lu Junrong was a man of his word.

With rent due soon and the money in my pocket running low, I had no choice but to continue working part-time jobs.

I used to work with such passion, eager to interact with others because I had a goal. But now, I felt exhausted, unable to muster any enthusiasm for anything I did.

I even entertained the thought of leaving Gangcheng.

But I had achieved nothing. I couldn’t accept the idea of returning to my hometown with my tail between my legs like this.

I figured that a director as prominent as Lu Junrong was probably just acting out of temporary anger; he wouldn’t hold a grudge against an insignificant nobody like me forever.

I would wait. I’d wait a month or two until his anger subsided and he completely forgot I existed, and then I’d go back to the sets to find work.

Thinking this made me feel a bit better and less dejected.

I maintained my previous routine: exercising, reading, and working part-time every day.

To my surprise, ten days after Lu Junrong had berated me, Sister Fang sought me out.

Her face was beaming with joy as she reached out to me.

“Zhiyi, Ah Ron wants to sign you to a long-term contract. Are you willing?”

Hearing this so suddenly, I stood frozen in place. “Doesn’t he loathe me?”

Sister Fang threw up her hands and complained, “Who knows what’s going on with him? He changes his mind every day.”

Sister Fang later told me what happened.

She had waited for Lu Junrong’s temper to cool, then found an opportune moment to show him the various notes I had taken over the past six months.

That tsundere Lu Junrong had acted disgusted and ordered Sister Fang to throw them away.

Sister Fang lost her temper too. “You brought this young girl to Gangcheng and then vanished for half a year. Now, the moment you see her, you scold her and kick her out without even trying to understand the situation. If you want the notes thrown out, do it yourself. I’m not touching them.”

Sister Fang said she peeked later and saw Lu Junrong flipping through my notes.

Besides that, Lu Qiaoyi had been pestering Lu Junrong all day, saying she wanted to hear the pretty auntie tell stories and that she liked playing with her.

It was a clear afternoon following a rainstorm.

Lu Junrong called Sister Fang and Aunt Lan to him and listened to their full account of what had happened in the office that day.

After a long silence, he made his decision.

Sister Fang asked me, “Ah Ron plans to sign you for five years. Are you willing?”

I nodded like a chick pecking at grain. “I am! I’m very willing!”

I officially signed with the Entertainment Film & TV Company under Lu Junrong.

The process hadn’t been easy.

I moved out of that cramped, dilapidated old room, and the company rented a much better apartment for me.

I no longer had to go to a public bathhouse; I had my own bathroom.

Shortly after signing, Sister Fang called me. She said Lu Qiaoyi was still thinking about me and wanted me to play with her, asking if I was willing to go.

Without a second thought, I immediately packed my things.

Of course I was willing.

Sister Fang drove me to the Lu Family villa. As soon as I got out of the car, Qiaoyi came running over.

The little girl hugged my legs and acted spoiled. “Pretty auntie, did you bring me a gift?”

I knelt down and rubbed her little head. “Of course. Has Qiaoyi been eating her vegetables lately?”

Lu Qiaoyi nodded emphatically and replied in a milky voice, “I haven’t just been eating my vegetables; I drink milk every day too.”

“Good girl!” I pulled a Donald Duck plushie out of my bag.

Qiaoyi’s eyes sparkled, and she snatched it excitedly. “Wow! Thank you, auntie!”

I glanced around and asked Aunt Lan softly, “Is Director Lu home?”

Aunt Lan smiled. “Sir is in the study. It looks like he’s writing a script.”

I hummed in acknowledgement.

I spent half the day playing with Qiaoyi, cooked a meal for her, and watched her take her nap.

Ordinarily, I should have left then.

But after much deliberation, I plucked up my courage and asked Aunt Lan to help me brew some coffee. Carrying it, I knocked on the study door.

Lu Junrong’s cool voice drifted from inside the room: “Come in.”