Burning With Anger

Chen Jingming didn't know whether to laugh or cry at my words. He had something to ask of me. After a while, he said in a gentle tone, "I'm also very annoyed that Gucci changed the shooting date at the last minute, but what can I do? We can't just fall out with them, right? They have a lot of shopping malls to choose from, but it's too difficult for us to find an eighth international first-tier brand… Sigh! People always had to follow the situation... Zhao Yang, if you want to go higher and further in the workplace, you must learn to be patient and compromise."

Chen Jingming's words made me feel embarrassed to continue being furious. Actually, he's considered a good boss. In the past two years in the company, he's taken care of me a lot. It's just that I'm not very motivated.

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

Chen Jingming rubbed his temples tiredly and said, "Try your best to communicate with her. Tell her that if she can participate in the filming on the 10th, I'm personally willing to pay three times the labor cost to compensate her."

I fell silent again. I deeply understood how difficult it was for Chen Jingming. The higher-ups of the company must have put a lot of pressure on him for this incident. He was different from me. After all, he had already reached this position, while I was at the bottom. If I was uncomfortable, I could just change companies… Perhaps his helplessness and compromise were the embodiment of the cruelty of the workplace.

...

After leaving Chen Jingming's office, I dialed Le Yao's number with mixed emotions.

Le Yao didn't seem to have woken up yet. After a long time, she answered the call in a hazy voice, "Hello, Zhao Yang, why are you calling me now?"

"Are you still asleep?"

"Yeah, we filmed two night scenes last night and stayed up all night. I'm so sleepy!" Le Yao yawned and asked, "Why are you calling me?"

I found it a little difficult to speak. After a long silence, I said, "Gucci has adjusted the shooting schedule and brought it forward to the 10th, which is the day after tomorrow. Can you adjust the time again?"

On the other end of the phone, Le Yao was silent. The silence was enough to prove how difficult it was for her because she had already applied for leave on the 15th. The crew would definitely make adjustments to her scenes. This adjustment would involve many other actors. If she made adjustments at this time, the other actors would definitely have a lot of objections.

"I'll go find the director now. I'll inform you if we can coordinate it as soon as possible." Le Yao said to me.

"Yes, I'm really sorry this time!"

Le Yao smiled and said, "What's the point of saying this? If we can settle this, you have to come to Heng Dian to pick me up this afternoon. It's too boring to take the train!"

"No problem."

"Yes, I'm waiting for your news."

After ending the call with Le Yao, I immediately went to the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. My heart was filled with anxiety. I knew how bad the impact of Le Yao's repeated requests to the production team was as a newcomer, but she still agreed to it so readily. I really hoped that I wouldn't cause her any trouble.

It was around noon when his phone vibrated while he was eating. He saw that it was a message from Le Yao.

"Zhao Yang, the production team has already approved the leave. It's a total of three days." A smiley face was added to the text.

I took a deep breath, and my nervousness finally eased a little. I immediately replied to Le Yao's message. This afternoon, I would rush to Heng Dian to pick up Le Yao and return to Suzhou.

...

I went to Chen Jingming's office again to report the situation to him. He was also relieved like me. He immediately gave me his car keys and gave me 2000 yuan in cash. He asked me to treat Le Yao to a meal in Heng Dian on behalf of him. When Le Yao returned to Suzhou, he would treat her in peson.

Chen Jingming also told me that the vice president of Gucci China would come to Suzhou on the day of the poster shooting to officially sign the contract with our department store. This meant that the Gucci investment plan that the Planning Department and the Investment Promotion Department had been busy for several months had finally been completed. Pola Department Store had officially reached the standard of a top-class department store. Personally, I got a chance to be promoted to the head of the planning and writing team.

I hoped that this time, it would really be perfect and that there would be no more changes.

...

After coming out of the office, I immediately drove Chen Jingming's Audi A4 to Heng Dian. It was already past 4 pm when I arrived. I didn't look for a hotel but went straight to the scenic spot where Le Yao was filming. I made an appointment with her to wait outside the scenic spot for her to finish filming this afternoon.

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

Le Yao finally appeared under the light at the exit. She walked very slowly and covered her face with her right hand. I couldn't see her expression clearly.

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

"Do you have a toothache? Why are you covering your face?"

Le Yao remained silent and continued to walk forward. This abnormal behavior filled me with doubt.

I followed her and asked with concern, "What's wrong with you? Let me see your face."

"It's fine." Le Yao quickened her pace, but her voice was already choked with sobs.

I grabbed her and forcefully removed her hand that was covering her face. I was shocked to see several bright red fingerprints on her fair face.

I was furious, "Which idiot hit you? I'll f*cking kill him." I said as I walked towards the entrance of the scenic area.

Le Yao grabbed me tightly from behind, "Zhao Yang, don't go."

"Get off me, I won't f*cking slap him (her), I'm sorry." I could no longer control my anger. I vaguely realized that Le Yao's beating must have something to do with this matter.

After Le Yao was shaken off by me, she sat on the ground and hugged my leg tightly. She cried and said, "Zhao Yang, I beg you, don't cause trouble… It's not good for me at all… There are too many people here. Let's go back to the hotel and talk."

I tried my best to control myself and look around at the gazes that had been cast at us. I gradually calmed down. At this time, if I ran in, it would made things worse for Le Yao. Unless she didn't care about anything and gave up showbiz. Obviously, this was completely impossible for her. At this moment, for Le Yao, all I could do was endure.

I helped Le Yao up from the ground, and my heart twitched with anger that I couldn't vent. I took out a tissue to help Le Yao wipe her tears and tried to speak in a gentle tone, "Let's go back to the hotel first, but you have to explain things clearly."

Le Yao nodded and gently held my arm as we walked toward the parking lot.

...

In the hotel room, Le Yao sat beside me. I used an ice pack to cover her bruised area. I was still furious. I gritted my teeth and asked Leyao, "Which idiot hit you? Is it your director?"

Le Yao shook her head and tears flowed down her cheeks. After a long silence, she said, "It's an actress from our production team… She said that I'm a vixen who seduced the director. That's why the director took such good care of me. He helped me arrange my schedule twice, causing them to not have any rest, but I..."

Le Yao didn't continue. She was already sobbing. My heart felt like it was being stabbed by a knife. My guess was right. It was indeed my matter that caused Le Yao this trouble. I wanted to find that actress to help Le Yao slap her back right now.

"Do they usually bully you like this?"

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

"Who is that actress?" I frowned and asked, still wanting to help Le Yao get an explanation.

Le Yao shook her head desperately and refused to tell me.

I felt a surge of grievance that I couldn't vent, and I hated myself for making Le Yao suffer so much.

Le Yao seemed to see through my thoughts and comforted me softly, "Don't think about it. If she hits me, it will only make me work harder. I will definitely go higher and further than her. Maybe in the future, I will have to thank her for slapping me today!"

I gritted my teeth and sighed. I thought of what Chen Jingming said to me this morning. Whether it was in the workplace or in the entertainment industry, we had to learn to be patient and compromise. Because we, who were struggling at the bottom, had no capital or right to act out. If we were impulsive and couldn't learn to restrain ourselves, we could only pay a greater price. That was why Le Yao tried her best to stop me from helping her get an explanation.

However, because of our inferiority, do we have to live like this without dignity? Was there really no such thing as a crystal clear 'Castle in the Sky' in this world? Can't we return to that empty city where human nature originated?

Who the hell is going to give me an answer?