Qiao Jingjing and Ling Jie arrived at the agreed location only to find that not only were they there, but also the rumored tentative male lead and his agent.
Director Li's assistant apologized, "There's an urgent matter in Beijing, so I have to go back tonight. That's why we arranged to meet together. I hope you don't mind."
There wasn't really anything to mind—it was just a group chat over tea.
Director Li was very amiable. As everyone drank tea, they didn't discuss too much about the film. These renowned directors have their own methods of observing people; sometimes, a single word or action from you can determine the outcome.
After casually chatting for over half an hour, the conversation turned to some current trends. The male lead's agent suddenly said, "Jingjing, we've been playing that game you endorse too. It's really popular, but we just can't seem to climb the ranks. When are you going to carry us?"
The table fell silent for a moment, and Ling Jie's eyes nearly shot flames.
No one from Director Li's side spoke. Qiao Jingjing asked, "What rank are you?"
The agent replied, "I'm only Platinum."
Qiao Jingjing said calmly, "My rank is too high. Carrying you would increase the difficulty. Give me your phone, I'll play a round for you."
Qiao Jingjing dominated the game as Wang Zhaojun, earning the Winning MVP.
When they were leaving, Director Li smiled kindly and said, "Both young actors are quite good. But Jingjing—" he suddenly addressed Qiao Jingjing directly, "this role suits you very well, but there's one thing: you're too thin. You probably need to gain a little weight."
Ling Jie's eyes instantly lit up.
After Qiao Jingjing left, Yu Tu cleaned the dust off the projector again and found himself with nothing to do. He returned to the living room and began to wonder why he had agreed to wait for Qiao Jingjing. But the more pressing question seemed to be: how could Qiao Jingjing trust him alone in her house?
Zhai Liang sent a message: "What are you up to? Haven't seen you all day."
He replied: "House-sitting."
Zhai Liang: "??? You're not at home."
He turned on his computer and focused on reviewing work-related materials. An hour later, he received a call from Qiao Jingjing.
"Yu Tu, I have good news for you."
"Did you get the role?"
"Pretty much. But the most important thing is~ Director Li said~" Qiao Jingjing's tone was brimming with delight. Yu Tu thought the great director had given her some kind of recognition and was all ears, only to hear her cheerfully announce:
"He said I'm too thin!"
Yu Tu: "..."
"You're still at my place, right? Come down, come down. Let's go crash a dinner party."
Yu Tu went down to the underground parking garage, where Xiao Zhu waved at him from a van. He walked over and got in the car. Qiao Jingjing said, "It's Ling Jie's husband's birthday today. She went home first. We're going to crash their dinner and surprise her."
Yu Tu: "...Are you sure it's a surprise?"
When they arrived at Ling Jie's house, Ling Jie opened the door and saw Qiao Jingjing, looking as if she were thinking, "Why are you haunting me?" But as soon as Qiao Jingjing presented her with a TF necklace, her face broke into a happy smile.
A'guo came over holding his daughter and said discontentedly, "Teacher Qiao, it's my birthday."
Qiao Jingjing reasoned, "I gave it to your wife, which saves you money. Isn't that the same as giving it to you? If you're really unhappy, you can exchange it at the store for something you can use."
A'guo: "..."
Ling Jie had spotted Yu Tu long ago and had been eyeing him excitedly. "This must be Teacher Yu, right?""Just call me Yu Tu." Yu Tu apologized, "I came empty-handed without any preparation, sorry."
"No need, no need, just you coming is enough. Jingjing wouldn't even let me go pick you up before." Ling Jie couldn't help but complain a little.
After everyone settled inside, Ling Jie hesitated for a moment before leaning in to ask, "Teacher Yu, would you be interested in joining our entertainment circle? The industry is most lacking people in your age group right now, and it's not too late to debut at all."
Qiao Jingjing really wanted to roll her eyes. She knew this would happen.
After finally talking her out of the idea, Ling Jie said, "I think we should call Xiao Zhu, Dandan and the others over to liven things up. They're all from the studio, Teacher Yu, do you mind?"
Yu Tu naturally had no objections, and Qiao Jingjing nodded too.
When the young staff from the studio arrived, the atmosphere immediately became lively. Ling Jie went ahead and ordered hotpot, so everyone could cook and eat together.
The young studio members had never met Yu Tu before but had long been curious about him, secretly giggling and sizing him up. Ling Jie coughed to remind them to mind their manners.
Qiao Jingjing calmly said, "It's fine, Teacher Yu was already used to this kind of attention back in middle school and high school."
Teacher Yu: "...Middle school?"
Qiao Jingjing said, "I was your schoolmate in middle school too. In ninth grade when the two schools merged, you were in Class 1, I was in Class 14."
Yu Tu looked surprised.
Qiao Jingjing took the opportunity to steal a spoonful of beef he had just cooked.
"Hey Jingjing, was your school organized by academic performance?" Ling Jie teased.
"You've watched too many idol dramas," Qiao Jingjing glared at her. "My grades were pretty good in middle school, otherwise how could I have gotten into the same high school as Teacher Yu? It was only in high school that I got intellectually crushed by annoying people like Teacher Yu."
The annoying Teacher Yu silently cooked another spoonful of beef nearby.
Xiao Zhu immediately spoke up to support her boss: "It's okay, Jingjing, haven't you always claimed to rely on your beauty and figure... Hey, why are you eating so much meat?"
"Let her eat, Director Li requires it." Ling Jie explained, then remembering what happened when they met the director that afternoon, couldn't help complaining to everyone.
"Tell me, isn't this ridiculous? I've never seen such a fool, setting up obstacles right in front of people. Duan Wu's face changed color immediately."
Duan Wu was the male actor Director Li met today. While his popularity is slightly less than Qiao Jingjing's, his acting is quite good.
Qiao Jingjing said, "Duan Wu sent me a WeChat message later, saying his company had already decided to change his agent next year."
"He should change, it's holding him back." Ling Jie said thoughtfully, "So that's what it is. Big companies are so troublesome. Was that fool trying to promote her next artist? She didn't even care about Duan Wu anymore, such ugly behavior. Why don't these people understand that ruining you won't make her succeed?"
"Whatever, anyway I'm the MVP." Qiao Jingjing said proudly to Yu Tu, "Didn't embarrass you, Teacher Yu."
A'guo chimed in disappointedly, "I was your teacher too, how come you switched mentors so easily?"
"No way, no way," he put down his chopsticks, not even eating hotpot anymore. "Teacher Yu, let's have a solo match."
"Go, go, go." Qiao Jingjing cheered from the side, "Teacher Yu, don't go easy on him just because it's his birthday."
Yu Tu readily agreed.After three rounds, A'guo put down his phone and said with internal frustration, "Let's have hot pot."
He needed to replenish.
After finishing the hot pot, some drank alcohol while others played games. The younger staff in the studio were playing games in the dining room. In the living room, Qiao Jingjing played with Ling Jie's daughter on the sofa while listening to A'guo and Yu Tu chatting on the other side.
They first talked about games for a while, then moved on to stocks of gaming companies, and naturally shifted the topic to Hong Kong and U.S. stocks. Yu Tu had quite insightful opinions, which made A'guo curious. "Teacher Yu, what do you do?"
Yu Tu replied, "I'm going to Zhongx next month."
"Investment banking, no wonder."
Qiao Jingjing was momentarily stunned.
After chatting for a while, A'guo was pulled over to play Texas Hold'em. Yu Tu declined the invitation, took a glass of wine, and walked to the balcony.
The city lights sparkled beneath his feet.
Qiao Jingjing returned the little girl to Ling Jie and walked over to him, tilting her head to look at him. "Are you really planning to go into investment banking?"
"Mm."
"In high school, I always admired you," Qiao Jingjing suddenly said.
Yu Tu looked at her.
Qiao Jingjing appeared completely candid: "Because you always got perfect scores in math and physics. Back then, I thought this classmate would probably become a remarkable scientist someday. If that happened, I’d feel honored too."
"...As your classmate," Qiao Jingjing hurriedly added.
Yu Tu smiled faintly. "I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you."
"Not at all, investment banking is great too." Qiao Jingjing made sure not to show any regret, her tone particularly cheerful as she said, "I think you’ll excel at anything you do."
In this field, he probably wouldn’t be as outstanding as that Mr. Su. The thought suddenly crossed Yu Tu’s mind, and he was taken aback, inwardly scoffing at himself.
Why would he even think of comparing himself to someone else?
Yu Tu took a sip of wine and suddenly said, "Someone once told me I’m selfish."
Qiao Jingjing looked at him, her eyes filled with question marks.
"Even though I have the ability to provide a better life for my family, I selfishly let them sacrifice for my so-called ideals."
Qiao Jingjing frowned. "You should have told them, 'Sorry, but this is the only ability I have.'"
Yu Tu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Qiao Jingjing said, "Think about it—if you weren’t so capable in every area and could only excel at one thing, wouldn’t you still be considered outstanding by most standards? Would anyone call you selfish then? That person called you selfish only because you’re too talented in too many ways. But how can they blame you for being exceptional?"
After saying all this in one breath, Qiao Jingjing pondered for a moment and nodded. "I think my logic holds up."
Yu Tu suddenly laughed.
He felt like he was being ridiculous. He had deliberately brought up those two sentences just now. Six or seven years ago, someone had indeed said that to him. He hadn’t paid it much mind at the time, but occasionally, he would still feel troubled by it.
For some reason, he wanted to know what Qiao Jingjing would think.
But her response was so... full of twisted logic?
"Am I wrong?" Qiao Jingjing tilted her head to look at him.
"You’re right."
Yu Tu withdrew his gaze from her face, and a phrase he’d seen somewhere suddenly popped into his mind: You’re so beautiful, whatever you say must be right.
Qiao Jingjing said with some emotion, "I never thought we’d one day be talking about things like this."
Yu Tu said, "What’s even stranger is that I taught you how to play games.""Won by deception." Qiao Jingjing threw his words back at him, then remembered to ask, "You said you're going to the investment bank next month, when exactly?"
"Around mid-month."
"So you can keep teaching me until the competition?"
"Yes." Yu Tu answered succinctly and firmly.
Qiao Jingjing felt somewhat happy.
The gentle breeze caressed her hair as she leaned against the balcony railing, thinking cheerfully, could they be considered friends now?
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