However, Chu Feiliang didn’t say how she was going to tease her.
Someone came over looking for her.
Rong Guang was stunned for a moment when she saw the person. After the two finished talking, she said, “Teacher Chu, did you change assistants?”
Chu Feiliang raised an eyebrow and admitted frankly, “Yes, I did.”
Rong Guang slowly let out an “oh,” blinking as she watched the young woman who had just left. This wasn’t the one who would eventually stay by Chu Feiliang’s side either; she would probably be replaced again later.
But she clearly remembered that Yan Congxue, the last assistant to stay with Chu Feiliang, had been with her for many years.
In between… was there some reason for it?
“Go get ready,” Chu Feiliang said with a smile. “Two little ones have been waiting for you over there for a long time.”
Rong Guang nodded. “Take care, Teacher Chu.”
She eagerly watched Chu Feiliang’s back until it completely disappeared from view. Only when she was sure she couldn’t see her anymore did she sigh, no longer keeping herself tense.
The fragrance seemed to linger faintly. Rong Guang pressed her lips together, glanced at her hand, and carefully brought it to her nose to sniff, feeling as if she could still smell that scent.
She curled her lips into a smile and turned back, satisfied.
Later… if there’s a chance later, I’ll ask Chu Feiliang how she had planned to tease me today.
Chacha and Ye Zi were standing hand in hand in front of Rong Guang, blinking their eyes curiously.
Rong Guang felt a wave of embarrassment, hoping the two little girls hadn’t seen her recent look of obsessed, almost perverted, fascination… Clearing her throat, she said, “What are you two doing here?”
“Nothing,” Chacha shook her head and said, “I saw the meeting over there ended. Sister Guangguang, should we go back and check?”
“Let’s go.” Rong Guang nodded.
On the way, Chacha suddenly said, “I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?” Rong Guang asked casually.
“But I can’t remember it,” Chacha scratched her head and said, “It’s probably not important. I’ll tell you when I remember.”
Rong Guang lovingly patted Chacha’s head.
This contract was also in triplicate. Rong Guang called Tang Yuan, who had been wandering outside, back. Upon learning that the contract was settled and only needed to be signed and stamped, she was so happy she nearly hit the roof!
“Six hundred thousand,” Tang Yuan said, looking at the contract amount with a sigh. “That’s not even as much as you used to make for a single event.”
“Can you even compare it to that?” Rong Guang thought of the past and let out a cold laugh.
In the past, for events, including concerts, Star Cluster Entertainment’s commission was extremely high. The split between the artist and the company was three to seven.
For a concert worth millions, after nearly six hours of non-stop singing and dancing on stage, the amount that ended up in Rong Guang’s hands wasn’t even a fifth of this current fee.
Tang Yuan paused, also roughly aware of Star Cluster’s commission rates. She sighed and said, “That’s how small workshops are.”
Real major companies wouldn’t even deign to sustain themselves by exploiting the blood and sweat of their artists. They’re more interested in the event resources and traffic an artist brings, which is where the real money is.
“So do you know why this time, I insisted on having you handle the contract first, instead of letting Cai Xiang sign it?” Rong Guang offered a slight smile. “Because I signed for installment payments. After the contract is signed, the finance department will immediately pay out half. The other half will be paid to me in parts according to the project’s progress.”
Tang Yuan stopped in her tracks, then said, “You did this for me?”
If Cai Xiang had been the one to sign, half of the six hundred thousand would have gone into the company’s account and been confiscated, and she herself wouldn’t have gotten a single dime of it.
“Mhm,” Rong Guang nodded and smiled. “Not entirely. I hold a grudge. Cai Xiang exploited me for so many years, and she thinks she can just take over a hundred thousand from me for doing nothing? In her dreams.”
Tang Yuan also felt that was exactly how it should be.
The thought of the collapsed and regretful faces of Cai Xiang and Chen Changping afterward made Tang Yuan unable to resist a smile.
“Your contract is up in less than half a year, right?” Tang Yuan calculated.
Rong Guang nodded, a cold smile tugging at her lips. “Right.”
Star Cluster thought they could crush her within a year, spread some sordid rumors to make her disappear completely, and force her to terminate her contract early and pay a hefty penalty.
Unfortunately for them, Rong Guang was determined to make their efforts come to nothing.
In any case, getting the contract finalized was a joyous occasion.
After returning, Rong Guang called her grandmother to tell her the good news.
Xu Mingli was of course very happy, and her hearty, resonant laughter from the phone made Rong Guang’s eyes curve into crescents.
“My granddaughter is going to be a big star!!” Xu Mingli said happily.
Rong Guang had previously debuted as a singer and dancer on stage.
Although for Xu Mingli, that was also a glorious event that brought honor to their ancestors, she was afraid that the villagers would judge the child harshly after seeing Rong Guang’s stage outfits and heavy makeup. So, she endured it for three years, not saying a single extra word about it.
She only told outsiders that her granddaughter was a star and would surely become a household name in the future.
Most people in the village just took it as a bit of fun and didn’t believe it.
After all, so many years had passed, and Rong Guang had indeed not sent much money back. The Rong family’s house still hadn’t been renovated, and they still looked to be living frugally.
When the news that Rong Guang was going to act in a drama came back this time, Xu Mingli finally felt she could hold her head high in the village and would be able to show off her granddaughter everywhere in the future.
And she would finally no longer have to listen to her old friends say things like, “I heard so-and-so’s granddaughter married a real estate developer, a big boss”!
By acting and becoming an actress, her granddaughter would be able to earn a lot of money on her own and wouldn’t have to worry about food and drink!
Of course, saying these things out loud would place an infinite burden on Rong Guang.
What Xu Mingli worried about most was Rong Guang shouldering too much at such a young age.
So she thought for a moment and said, “You still have to be careful. You’re so pretty, you must not let people trick you. You need to join a proper workplace and build a good relationship with your superiors…”
“Mhm, mhm, mhm.” Rong Guang smiled, picking at the fabric cushion on the sofa, nodding tirelessly. “Don’t worry, Grandma.”
On the other end, Xu Mingli’s eyes crinkled into a line from smiling. “If you have any good friends, bring them home. Grandma will cook a big table of delicious food for you.”
“Okay,” Rong Guang nodded with a smile.
After hanging up the phone, however, she thought of something else.
Something similar had actually happened in her previous life.
The first friend Rong Guang ever truly brought home was, in fact, Chu Feiliang.
It was just that the experience was so disastrous. They spent less than a day in her hometown before Rong Guang took Chu Feiliang and fled under the cover of a dark and windy night.
At that time, both Rong Guang and Chu Feiliang were household names, big stars who had even been on national television. Their popularity was evident.
Rong Guang had grown up in the village, so the folks there weren’t too surprised by her.
But Chu Feiliang’s sudden appearance caused her to be surrounded and gawked at like a national treasure.
On the first day, anyone from the surrounding villages who heard the news came rushing over on their three-wheelers and tractors.
That day, Rong Guang and Chu Feiliang genuinely smiled until their faces cramped, and when they returned to their room, they didn’t even have the strength to take off their clothes.
Recalling the past, Rong Guang shook her head with an amused smile.
Her arm was suddenly poked. Rong Guang turned her head. Chacha was squatting on the floor, poking her with wide, watery eyes.
Rong Guang was in a very good mood and couldn’t help but ask, “Want some ice cream?”
“No.” Chacha had a serious expression. “I remembered what I wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Oh, maybe it’s not a big deal,” Chacha said. “Actually, Ye Zi’s name is written with the character for ‘purple’ (紫), not the character for ‘son’ (子). I was just teasing you.”
“…” Rong Guang was silent for a moment. “Yes, that’s really not a big deal.”
“Then there’s one more thing,” Chacha said, wagging her little ponytail. “It’s probably not a big deal either.”
“Go on,” Rong Guang let her guard down and picked up her script, continuing to murmur her lines.
“Before, you were hugging your phone, crying your eyes out at the pretty sister on the screen, and calling her ‘baby.’” Chacha blinked. “You also said, ‘Wuwuwu, I love you so much, my baby.’ And then you kept kissing the screen. You kissed it so hard the video call disconnected, then you kissed it again, and the video reconnected several times.”
Chacha finished with a thumbs-up. “Sister Guangguang is amazing! You can even tap the screen so quickly with your mouth. Truly stable, accurate, and ruthless!”
The script in Rong Guang’s hand fell to the floor.
She quickly pulled out her phone and cautiously tapped on the pinned message.
Video Call History: Six entries.
Rong Guang: “…”
A bolt from the blue. This was probably it.
Rong Guang felt like she was about to split apart.
