Chapter 86: Signing the Contract

The New Year’s Eve party was held as scheduled. The moment Snow White, wearing a long dress, appeared on stage, gasps of astonishment rippled through the auditorium.

Zuo Hui, playing the evil queen, lowered his voice and asked the magic mirror who the most beautiful woman in the world was. All eyes fell on the princess. At that moment, without needing a magic mirror, they had already found the answer to the question.

The skit was a great success, ending with thunderous applause.

Jiang Shi slipped into the dressing room and quickly stripped off the outfit. By the time Jiang Fei came in, he had already changed back into his regular clothes and was sitting in a chair, pulling off the wig cap.

“My princess, how did you change so quickly? I wanted to take a picture with you.”

Jiang Shi couldn’t voice his suffering and could only tug at the wig cap with more force. “This lifetime… no, in my next lifetime, I will never wear something like a dress again!”

The long hair slipped from the side of his ear, blocking his view. He roughly pushed it away. “And I’ll never wear a wig again either!”

Although Jiang Shi wasn’t usually very talkative, it was the first time Jiang Fei had seen him like this. She had no idea what he had gone through after taking the dress home yesterday, but when he arrived this morning, he was radiating a low-pressure aura.

Her thoughts couldn’t help but stray.

A polite knock sounded at the door. Jiang Fei turned around and saw Cheng Ye, whom she had only seen a few times, standing at the entrance. He was holding a fluffy down jacket and a thermos in his hands. “Hello, I’m looking for Jiang Shi.”

“He’s inside taking off his makeup,” Jiang Fei let him in. After a thought, she lowered her voice and said to Cheng Ye, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but he’s been in a bad mood since he got here today.”

Cheng Ye knew exactly why, but he didn’t say anything. Like a magic trick, he pulled a small cake out of his jacket pocket. The originally cold cake had been warmed in his pocket and was now lukewarm. The chocolate shavings on top were perfectly intact, not a single one had fallen off.

He stood behind Jiang Shi, his voice low. “Didn’t you always want to eat the cake from this place? I stood in line and bought it for you. After you finish and get ready, I’ll take you out for hotpot to celebrate our princess’s perfect curtain call.”

Jiang Shi grabbed the makeup remover from the table and threw it at his face.

Cheng Ye was holding things in both hands and couldn’t block it. He could only take a step back and take the dull blow with his chest.

With a thud, Jiang Shi lifted his gaze and glanced behind him through the mirror, then quickly looked down again.

“Who cares about your stupid stuff? Hurry up and take it and get lost. The sight of you annoys me.”

Cheng Ye was the same on and off the bed. As shameless as he was in bed, he remained just as shameless out of it.

He put down the cake and the thermos, then bent down to pick up the makeup remover from the floor. “Still angry? It’s been a whole day, and you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder. My lips are almost raw from apologizing so much. If this doesn’t work, I’ll just have to kneel and beg for your forgiveness.”

The temporary dressing room was bustling with people coming and going. Jiang Shi didn’t believe he would have the nerve to do that. “Fine, you kneel.”

The volume of their conversation wasn’t loud, but it couldn’t stop the innate gossip-detecting radar of the Chinese people. Within a few sentences, the people around them, while seemingly doing their own things, had quietly held their breath.

Cheng Ye ignored the surrounding gazes. Still holding the down jacket for Jiang Shi, he just knelt down, bold as brass.

Jiang Shi: “…”

Jiang Shi shot up like a rabbit and yanked Cheng Ye up. “What are you doing!”

Cheng Ye said, “Begging for your forgiveness.”

Jiang Shi stomped on his foot. “If you embarrass me in public again, believe it or not, I’ll assassinate you tonight?”

Cheng Ye let out a “hiss” and, having been yelled at, didn’t dare to speak.

How could kneeling to his wife be embarrassing? This was clearly a symbol of his honor. In the whole world, who else would dare to kneel before Jiang Shi in public?

Jiang Shi was completely defeated by him. The faint gazes from the surroundings made his scalp tingle. He didn’t even have time to finish removing his makeup before he grabbed Cheng Ye and left this place of trouble.

The wind was blowing outside. The snow on the road hadn’t completely melted yet, and it was cold.

Cheng Ye put the down jacket on Jiang Shi.

He had only just put on one sleeve when Jiang Shi snatched the jacket away from him. Without looking at him, he sulkily walked ahead.

Cheng Ye followed behind him. Before he had taken two steps, someone suddenly called out from behind, “Jiang Shi.”

Jiang Shi turned around. Two people were standing at the exit. One of them was Sun Tianyu, and next to him stood a man of about the same age.

He was stunned for a moment and only came back to his senses when the two had walked up to him. “Director Sun, what are you doing here?”

Sun Tianyu didn’t know how long he had been standing outside. His hands were stiff from waiting. He rubbed them together and exhaled a puff of cold air. “I’m acquainted with your dean. I heard you were having a party, so I came to see.”

How exciting could a party hastily put together by a group of college students be? Sun Tianyu’s purpose for coming was not the party. Jiang Shi guessed this and looked at the man beside him.

Noticing his gaze, Sun Tianyu didn’t keep him in suspense and introduced him directly. “Liu Heping. I mentioned him to you before. He’s an agent from Xinghui.”

Jiang Shi didn’t expect him to bring the person directly. He was stunned for a few seconds before reaching out to shake Liu Heping’s hand. “Hello, I’m Jiang Shi.”

Liu Heping had a very peaceful appearance. At first glance, anyone would think he was a nice old man.

“The last time I saw you was in a magazine. I didn’t expect you to be even better-looking in person.”

Jiang Shi knew why he was here. He pursed his lips and was about to refuse when Liu Heping spoke again. “Don’t be in a hurry to refuse. Do you have time now? Let’s talk. It’s not too late to refuse after we’ve talked and you still don’t think it’s for you.”

Since he had put it that way, Jiang Shi couldn’t say anything more and could only follow them to a different location.

The place for dinner was chosen by Liu Heping. Considering Jiang Shi’s student status, he didn’t go to a place that was too expensive, choosing a restaurant near the school instead.

The heating in the private room was on full blast. Jiang Shi took off his jacket. Remembering he still had makeup on, he lowered his head and wiped the lipstick off his mouth with a tissue.

Liu Heping smiled and poured tea. “I watched your class’s skit. Although it was a bit nonsensical, the effect was quite good. Your acting is still very raw, but it’s not hard to see that you have a lot of spiritual energy. You’re good material for an actor.”

Jiang Shi took it as a polite compliment and didn’t take it to heart.

Liu Heping added, “Have you heard of Xinghui?”

Jiang Shi didn’t follow these things and honestly shook his head.

“That’s true… The entertainment industry has developed so much in recent years, and many new big companies have emerged. Xinghui has long since fallen. It’s normal that you don’t know about it.”

Sun Tianyu then gave Jiang Shi a quick rundown. He mentioned the names of several celebrities, all of whom were household names from Jiang Shi’s childhood. He hadn’t expected that all these people had come from this company.

Liu Heping gave a wry smile. “That’s all in the past. Of the current people, those who left have left, and those who retired have retired. They don’t have much to do with the company anymore.”

He held the menu, checked off a few dishes, and then handed it to Jiang Shi. “See if there’s anything you can’t eat or would like to eat.”

Jiang Shi took it, glanced at it, and passed it to Cheng Ye next to him.

Only then did Liu Heping notice the silent person sitting next to him. “Your friend?”

Jiang Shi hummed in agreement.

The clothes Cheng Ye was wearing, all put together, weren’t even as expensive as one of Jiang Shi’s jackets. He didn’t talk much either. While they spoke, he just sat there quietly with his eyes lowered.

Liu Heping didn’t think much of it and focused his attention on Jiang Shi.

“Can you tell me why you’re not willing to enter the entertainment industry? Is it because you don’t like it or something else?”

Jiang Shi didn’t particularly like it, but he didn’t hate it either.

He thought for a moment and said honestly, “I think it’s troublesome. And I can’t sing or dance, let alone act…”

“Those are not problems,” Liu Heping said. “You can learn all of that later. As long as you’re willing, I can arrange classes for you immediately after you sign.”

The moment he heard about studying, Jiang Shi shook his head like a rattle drum.

Sun Tianyu said with a smile, “I told you, he’s just lazy. And look at the clothes he wears, the food he eats. You can tell at a glance that he’s not short on the little bit of money you can offer. The fact that he was willing to agree to my photoshoot was probably just to experience life.”

Jiang Shi, with his actual rural household registration: “…”

Cheng Ye handed the menu out. “We’ve ordered.”

Liu Heping took it and habitually glanced at it, then…

“…”

He looked at Cheng Ye. The other person deftly rinsed the bowl in front of Jiang Shi and then took a sip of the complimentary drink from the restaurant.

“This doesn’t taste good.” He placed the thermos in front of Jiang Shi. “Drink hot water.”

After that, he grabbed some melon seeds from the plate and tried one. It seemed the taste was not good, so he didn’t give any to Jiang Shi. He turned and asked them, “Do you guys want some melon seeds?”

Sun Tianyu rubbed his head. “I’ve been feeling a bit ‘heaty’ lately, so no. Heping doesn’t like to eat these things either.”

So, Liu Heping watched as the person opposite him, Cheng Ye, opened his backpack, pulled out a plastic bag, and with a rustle, poured all the melon seeds into it.

“…”

The corner of his mouth twitched. He looked at the menu again, his face showing the pain of spending money as he asked the waiter to prepare the dishes.

Having spent the money but failed to snag such a good seedling like Jiang Shi, Liu Heping was extremely unwilling to give up.

“I understand your major. To be honest, it’s not very easy to find a job. I know your studies are your top priority right now. As long as you agree to sign with Xinghui, during your studies, the company can respect your personal opinions and not arrange any unnecessary work for you.”

“Jiang Shi, the country’s entertainment industry is progressing. I can guarantee that with this trend, it will only get hotter. If you miss this opportunity, it won’t be so easy to get in later.”

He took a stack of documents out of his bag and handed them to him. “Xinghui has always been very generous to its artists. We never force artists to do things they don’t want to do. If you leave Xinghui and go to another company, you won’t get this kind of treatment.”

“You can take this contract home and look it over. Don’t rush to a conclusion on many things. Think about it.”

Jiang Shi looked at the contract in front of him, lowered his eyes, and in the end, accepted it.

After the meal was over, Cheng Ye even packed a bag to take home.

Sun Tianyu first got a taxi for Liu Heping. He watched the taxi leave, and when he turned around, he saw Jiang Shi giving Cheng Ye a look.

“Seriously, Cheng Ye. It’s one thing to eat, but why did you have to eat and take away?”

Cheng Ye said honestly, “You’re going back to school on Monday. These leftovers will be enough for me to eat for a few days.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

You cheapskate.

He said, “This was someone else’s treat.”

Cheng Ye: “Someone else’s treat. It’s not your money.”

Someone else’s money; it would be a waste not to spend it.

Sun Tianyu: “…”

I’m still here, you know.