Chen Jingming was at a loss whether to laugh or cry at what I said. Since he had a request for me, he softened his tone after a while and said, “I’m also very upset that Gucci changed the shooting schedule temporarily, but what can I do? We can’t possibly offend them—they have plenty of options for department stores to collaborate with, while it’s extremely difficult for us to find our eighth international top-tier brand… Sigh! People must follow the trend… Zhaoyang, if you want to go higher and further on your career path, you must learn and firmly keep in mind these four words: patience and compromise.”
After Chen Jingming said this, I felt awkward continuing to be angry. Actually, he was still a pretty good boss. During my more than two years at the company, he had given me a lot of support; it was just that I myself wasn’t very ambitious.
I didn’t want to make things difficult for Chen Jingming—he had his own challenges. I understood the stakes involved in this matter. After a long silence, I told him, “I’ll contact her, but the 10th is already the day after tomorrow. With such a short notice, whether she can adjust her schedule again, I really can’t guarantee.”
Chen Jingming tiredly rubbed his temples and said, “Try to communicate with her. Tell her: if she can attend the shoot on the 10th, I personally will pay triple the usual fee as compensation.”
I fell silent again, deeply understanding how difficult it must be for Chen Jingming. The company’s senior management must have placed enormous pressure on him. Unlike me, he had already reached this position, while I was just a grassroots employee— if I wasn’t comfortable working here, I could always switch companies… Perhaps his helplessness and compromises were exactly what made the workplace so ruthless.
…
After leaving Chen Jingming’s office, I dialed Leyao’s number with complicated emotions.
Leyao seemed to still be asleep. It took a while before she answered the call with a sleepy voice: “Hey, Zhaoyang, why are you calling me now?”
“Are you still asleep?”
“Mm, I had two night shoots last night and filmed almost the entire night. I’m so tired!” Leyao yawned and asked, “What’s up? Why did you call me?”
I hesitated a bit before finally saying, “Gucci changed their shooting plan—they moved it up to the 10th, which is the day after tomorrow. Can you adjust your schedule again?”
Leyao remained silent on the other end of the line. Her silence alone was enough to show how difficult this must be for her. Previously, she had already requested time off on the 15th from the production team, so the shooting schedule must have been adjusted accordingly. Such adjustments would involve many other actors, and changing it again now would definitely cause dissatisfaction among them.
“I’ll go talk to the director now. Whether it can be coordinated or not, I’ll let you know as soon as possible,” Leyao told me.
“Okay, I’m really sorry about this.”
Leyao chuckled and said, “Why are you saying that? If it works out, you have to come to Hengdian to pick me up this afternoon—it’s so boring taking the train!”
“No problem.”
“Okay, then wait for my message.”
After ending the call with Leyao, I immediately went to the restroom and smoked a cigarette, feeling a heavy burden in my heart. I knew very well that for a newcomer like Leyao, repeatedly making requests to the production team would have a bad impact. Yet she still agreed so readily. I really hoped this wouldn’t cause her any trouble.
Around noon, while I was having lunch, my phone vibrated. I saw it was a text message from Leyao.
“Zhaoyang, the production team has approved my leave for three days. Come and pick me up quickly.” There was a smiley face emoji at the end of the message.
I took a deep breath, feeling some relief from the tension. I immediately replied to Leyao’s message, and that afternoon I would head to Hengdian to pick Leyao up and bring her back to Suzhou.
…
I went back to Chen Jingming’s office to report the situation to him. Like me, he also heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He immediately handed me his car keys and gave me 2,000 yuan in cash, asking me to treat Leyao to a meal in Hengdian first, and he would personally host her separately after she returned to Suzhou.
Chen Jingming also told me that the vice president of Gucci China would come to Suzhou on the day of the promotional poster shoot to officially sign the contract with our department store for setting up a counter. This meant that the months-long efforts by the planning and investment attraction departments to bring Gucci on board had finally paid off. With this achievement, Baoli Department Store officially met the B-level standard of top-tier department stores. As for me personally, I had an opportunity to be promoted to head of the planning and copywriting team.
I hoped this time everything would truly go smoothly without any more disruptions.
…
After leaving the office, I immediately drove Chen Jingming’s Audi A4 toward Hengdian. When I arrived, it was already past four in the afternoon. Instead of looking for a hotel, I went directly to the filming location where Leyao was working. We had agreed that I would wait for her outside the scenic area until she finished filming for the afternoon.
The autumn breeze carried away the dusk, and it had already grown completely dark, but Leyao still hadn’t emerged from the set. Lighting a cigarette, I absentmindedly stared at the exit of the scenic area.
Finally, Leyao appeared under the light at the exit. She walked slowly, her right hand covering her cheek, making it hard for me to see her expression clearly.
I stood up and walked toward her. She looked at me but didn’t show the usual affection.
I smiled and asked, “Do you have a toothache? Why are you covering your face?”
Leyao remained silent and continued walking forward. This unusual behavior left me puzzled.
I quickly caught up with her and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Let me see your face.”
“It’s nothing.” She quickened her pace, but her voice was already choked.
I grabbed her tightly and forcibly removed her hand from her cheek. I was stunned to see several bright red finger marks on her fair face.
I was furious: “Which bastard hit you? I’ll kill him.” Saying that, I started walking toward the entrance of the scenic area.
Leyao desperately pulled me back: “Zhaoyang, don’t go.”
“You let go. If I don’t beat him (or her) up, I’m not worthy of you.” I couldn’t control my anger anymore. I vaguely realized that Leyao being hit must be related to this matter.
After I shook her off, Leyao sat on the ground and tightly hugged my legs, crying: “Zhaoyang, I beg you, don’t cause any trouble… It won’t benefit me at all… There are too many people here. Let’s talk about this back at the hotel.”
I tried my best to calm myself down, seeing the curious glances from people around us. At this moment, rushing in and making a scene would only make things worse for Leyao. Unless she didn’t care at all and was willing to give up on this drama, which was obviously impossible for her. At this moment, the only thing I could do for Leyao was to endure.
I helped Leyao up from the ground, my heart filled with an unrelenting surge of anger. I took out a tissue and wiped away Leyao’s tears, trying to soften my tone as I said, “Let’s go back to the hotel first, but you have to tell me clearly what happened.”
Leyao nodded, gently linked her arm with mine, and walked toward the parking spot.
…
In the hotel room, Leyao sat beside me. I used an ice bag to press against the bruised and swollen areas on her face, still feeling waves of anger rising in my heart. I gritted my teeth and asked Leyao, “Which bastard hit you? Was it your director?”
Leyao shook her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks again. After a long silence, she told me, “It was a female actor from our crew… She called me a seductress, accusing me of luring the director into giving me special treatment. That’s why the director arranged time off for me twice, which caused others not to have any rest at all. But I…”
Leyao couldn’t continue, already sobbing uncontrollably. My heart felt as if it was being cut by a knife. My guess was correct—it was indeed my fault that Leyao had encountered this trouble. I wished I could find that female actor right now and return the slap for Leyao.
“Have they always been bullying you like this?”
Leyao nodded and said, “This industry is complicated. I’m just a newcomer who just graduated from school recently. It’s quite normal, Zhaoyang. You don’t need to be angry for me.”
“Who is that female actor?” I asked with a frown, still wanting to get some explanation for Leyao.
Leyao shook her head desperately and refused to tell me.
A wave of frustration surged in my heart, and I felt even more resentful toward myself for letting Leyao endure such humiliation.
As if seeing through my thoughts, Leyao softly comforted me, “Don’t think about it anymore. Her slap will only make me work harder. I will definitely go higher and further than her. Perhaps, in the future, I might even thank her for this slap today!”
I gritted my teeth and sighed. My mind drifted back to what Chen Jingming had told me that morning. Yes! Whether in the workplace or in the entertainment industry, one must learn to endure and compromise. Because for those of us struggling at the bottom, there’s no capital or right to act out. If we act impulsively and fail to control ourselves, the price we pay will only be greater. That’s why Leyao had desperately stopped me from seeking an explanation for her.
But because of our low status, must we live such a life without dignity? Is there truly no crystalline “Castle in the Sky” in this world? Can we never return to that empty city of our original human nature?
Who the hell can give me an answer?
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