Chen Jingming was left speechless by my words, but he needed my help. After a while, he spoke to me in a softer tone, "I'm also frustrated that GUCCI changed the shooting date at the last minute, but what can we do? We can't afford to fall out with them. They have many options for setting up their counters, but for us, finding the eighth international top-tier brand is extremely difficult… Ah! We have to go with the flow… Zhao Yang, if you want to go higher and further in your career, you must learn to endure and compromise. Keep these two words in mind."

 

After hearing Chen Jingming's words, I felt a bit embarrassed to continue arguing. He was actually a decent boss. During my two years in the company, he had taken good care of me. It was just that I was not very ambitious.

 

I didn't want to put Chen Jingming in a difficult position. He had his own problems, and I understood the pros and cons of this situation. After a long silence, I said to him, "I'll contact her, but the day after tomorrow is the 10th, and time is tight. I can't guarantee that I can arrange a schedule this time."

 

Chen Jingming, tired, rubbed his temples and said, "Do your best to communicate with her. Tell her that if she can participate in the shooting on the 10th, I am personally willing to pay her three times the labor fee as compensation."

 

I fell silent again, deeply feeling the difficulty of Chen Jingming's situation. The company's senior management must have put a lot of pressure on him. He and I were different. After all, he had reached this position, while I was just a grassroots employee. If I was not comfortable, I could just switch to another company… Perhaps his helplessness and compromise were a cruel reflection of the workplace.

 

…

 

Leaving Chen Jingming's office, I dialed Le Yao's number with mixed feelings.

 

Le Yao seemed to still be in bed. After a long time, she answered the phone in a drowsy voice, "Hello, Zhao Yang, why are you calling me now?"

 

"Are you still sleeping?"

 

"Yeah, I had two night scenes last night and shot almost all night. I'm so tired!" Le Yao yawned and asked, "Do you need something?"

 

I hesitated for a moment before saying, "The shooting plan for GUCCI has been adjusted and moved forward to the 10th, which is the day after tomorrow. Can you adjust your schedule?"

 

Le Yao was silent on the other end of the phone, and her silence was enough to prove how difficult this was for her. She had already applied for leave on the 15th from the crew, so the crew must have adjusted her scenes. This adjustment would involve many other actors. If she adjusted again, the other actors would definitely have strong opinions.

 

"I'll go talk to the director now. If I can arrange it, I'll let you know as soon as possible," Le Yao said to me.

 

"Okay, I'm really sorry about this!"

 

Le Yao laughed and said, "What are you saying sorry for? If I can arrange it, you have to come to Hengdian to pick me up this afternoon. Taking the train is too boring!"

 

"No problem."

 

"Okay, wait for my news."

 

After ending the call with Le Yao, I immediately went to the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. I felt suffocated. I knew how bad it was for Le Yao, as a newcomer, to repeatedly make requests to the crew. But she still agreed to me so readily. I really hope it doesn't cause her any trouble.

 

Around noon, while I was eating, my phone vibrated. It was a text message from Le Yao.

 

"Zhao Yang, the crew has approved my leave. It's for 3 days. Come pick me up." She added a smiling face at the end of the text.

 

I took a deep breath, and my nervous mood finally eased a bit. I immediately replied to Le Yao, and this afternoon, I would go to Hengdian to pick her up and bring her back to Suzhou.

 

…

 

I went to Chen Jingming's office again to report the situation to him. He, like me, breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately gave me his car keys and 2000 yuan in cash, asking me to treat Le Yao to a meal in Hengdian on his behalf. Once Le Yao returned to Suzhou, he would treat her separately.

 

Chen Jingming also told me that the vice president of GUCCI's China region would come to Suzhou on the day of the poster shooting to officially sign the contract for setting up a counter with our department store. This meant that the GUCCI investment plan that the planning department and the investment department had been busy with for several months was finally completed. Baoli Department Store had officially reached the standard of a top-tier B-class department store. For me personally, I had the opportunity to be promoted to the leader of the planning and copywriting team.

 

I hope this time everything goes smoothly, without any more changes.

 

…

 

After leaving the office, I immediately drove Chen Jingming's Audi A4 to Hengdian. When I arrived, it was already past 4 in the afternoon. Instead of looking for a hotel, I went directly to the scenic area where Le Yao was filming. We agreed that I would wait for her outside the scenic area after she finished filming that afternoon.

 

The autumn wind blew away the dusk, and it was completely dark. Le Yao had not yet come out of the set. I lit a cigarette and habitually stared at the exit of the scenic area, lost in thought.

 

Le Yao finally appeared under the lights at the exit. She was walking slowly, her right hand covering her cheek. I couldn't quite see her expression.

 

I got up and walked towards her. She looked at me but didn't act as affectionate as before.

 

I smiled and asked, "Are you having a toothache? Why are you covering your face?"

 

Le Yao remained silent and continued to walk forward. Her unusual behavior made me puzzled.

 

I quickly caught up with her and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Let me see your face."

 

"I'm fine." Le Yao quickened her pace, but her voice was already choked with emotion.I grabbed her and forcibly removed the hand she had covering her cheek. I was shocked to see several bright red finger marks on her fair face.

 

Fury surged within me. "Who the fuck hit you? I'll kill him." I said, heading towards the entrance of the scenic area.

 

Le Yao desperately held me back. "Zhao Yang, don't go."

 

"Get out of my way. If I don't beat him (her) up, I'll be letting you down." I couldn't control my anger. I had a vague feeling that Le Yao being hit had something to do with this incident.

 

After I shook Le Yao off, she sat on the ground, tightly clinging to my leg, crying, "Zhao Yang, I beg you, don't make a scene… It won't do me any good… There are too many people here, let's go back to the hotel and talk."

 

I tried my best to control myself, seeing the surrounding eyes gradually calming down. At this moment, making a scene would only add insult to injury for Le Yao, unless she didn't care about anything and gave up this play, which was obviously impossible for her. At this moment, all I could do for Le Yao was to endure.

 

I helped Le Yao up from the ground, my heart twitching with unexpressed anger. I took out a tissue to wipe away Le Yao's tears, and said in as gentle a tone as I could muster, "Let's go back to the hotel first, but you have to tell me what happened."

 

Le Yao nodded, gently holding my arm, and we walked towards the parking area.

 

…

 

In the hotel room, Le Yao sat next to me. I used an ice pack to cover the bruised area on her face, my heart still burning with anger. I gritted my teeth and asked Le Yao, "Who the fuck hit you? Was it your director?"

 

Le Yao shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks again. After a long silence, she said, "It was a female actress from our crew… She said I was a vixen, seducing the director, so the director took such good care of me, arranged my schedule twice, causing them to have no rest, but I…"

 

Le Yao didn't finish her sentence, already sobbing uncontrollably. My heart felt as if it was being twisted by a knife. I guessed right, it was indeed my matter that had caused trouble for Le Yao. I wished I could find that actress right now and slap her back for Le Yao.

 

"Do they always bully you like this?"

 

Le Yao nodded, "The industry is complicated. I'm just a newcomer who just graduated from school. It's normal, Zhao Yang, you don't need to be angry for me."

 

"Who is that actress?" I asked with a frown, still wanting to stand up for Le Yao.

 

Le Yao shook her head vigorously, refusing to tell me.

 

A wave of frustration welled up in my heart, and I hated myself even more for causing Le Yao such humiliation.

 

As if seeing through my thoughts, Le Yao comforted me softly, "Don't think about it. Her hitting me will only make me work harder. I will go higher and further than her. Maybe one day I will even thank her for the slap she gave me today!"

 

I sighed with gritted teeth, thinking of what Chen Jingming had said to me in the morning. Yes! Whether in the workplace or in the entertainment industry, we must learn to endure and compromise, because we, who are struggling at the bottom, do not have the capital or the right to react. If we are impulsive, if we can't learn to restrain ourselves, the price we pay will only be greater. That's why Le Yao tried so hard to stop me from standing up for her.

 

But just because we are humble, do we have to live such a life without dignity? Is there really no "Castle in the Sky" that is crystal clear in this world? Can't we return to the empty city where human nature was originally?

 

Who the fuck can give me an answer?

 

—————–

 

Computer site flowers 7506, still short of more than 400,

 

Mobile site recommendation 107, still short of 33, it seems easy to achieve on the mobile site, but not on the computer site.