Considering her personality and the film and television industry’s steady decline… this was such a good chance to change careers. She had to seize it!
She immediately nodded. “Okay! Thank you, Board Director Yu! I’m in!”
Yu Xiaxing immediately messaged Lu Yanzhao, telling him to draft the contract at once and include the penalty for breach.
A little over ten minutes later, the new contract was signed.
Blood surging through her veins, Shen Zhi stood up and wiped away her tears. “Let’s go! Board Director Yu, let’s get out of here! I feel sick just staying here for another second!”
Actually, while signing the contract, Shen Zhi had noticed that Yu Xiaxing’s acting-exam prep academy had not officially opened yet.
In other words, there was a chance it might not work out.
And if she left this place, there was also a chance she would have no job and starve.
But so what?
As long as there was even the slightest hope, she would never continue working under a disgusting director like Su Hao!
She tossed the script aside and turned to leave.
Yu Xiaxing immediately followed.
Outside, the crew was eating.
Qiao Tang sat beside Su Hao, smiling sweetly. A cup of coffee sat in front of Su Hao, and he still carried himself with his usual refined composure.
Shen Zhi marched straight over. “I quit.”
Su Hao said nothing. He merely stared at her in surprise.
Qiao Tang was the first to laugh. “Ms. Shen, what are you throwing a tantrum about now? It was only a slap just now. If you couldn’t handle it, you should’ve said so earlier. We can just cut all those scenes for you in the future, can’t we?”
Shen Zhi was supposed to be the female lead, and most of the important scenes had belonged to her.
But from the beginning of filming until now, her scenes had been cut again and again. By this point, she barely had as much screen time as the supporting actress.
“Qiao Tang, being young is an advantage, but it isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. If you don’t know how to act, then study properly. Don’t assume you’re talented just because someone keeps carrying you through your scenes. When you get older, you won’t even be half as good as me!”
Qiao Tang’s face instantly went white.
Shen Zhi continued, “And as for that slap just now, I’ll have my lawyer obtain the footage from the set. We’ll take our time discussing whether hitting someone for real under the guise of filming counts as workplace injury.”
Qiao Tang rose to her feet. “Who are you trying to scare?”
A trace of panic also appeared in Su Hao’s eyes. He had kept suppressing Shen Zhi because he believed that, with her lack of resources, she couldn’t afford to leave them.
But if she really walked away, this production would be in serious trouble.
There was no way to find a capable actress at the last minute, and Qiao Tang absolutely could not carry the drama on her own. Once Yu Lingyi found out, she would certainly investigate.
Su Hao was already beginning to regret what he had done, but he continued to say, “Shen Zhi, stop making a scene. You’re emotionally unstable right now. Calm down and think this through!”
Shen Zhi gave a cold laugh. “You men really love saying that. Save it for your wife and your mistress. Why say it to an employee? I have no obligation to be emotionally stable for your sake!”
Su Hao flew into a rage. “If you walk out today, don’t even think about working in this industry again!”
Shen Zhi was just about to curse him out when a snort came from behind her.
Su Hao looked up.
It was Yu Xiaxing!
What was this little heiress doing here?
Yu Xiaxing walked over to Shen Zhi’s side and looked at Su Hao and Qiao Tang. “I’m planning to open an academy for students preparing for the acting entrance exams, and Shen Zhi is the elite instructor I’ve hired.”
“Fourth brother-in-law, you were behind my arrest last week, weren’t you? From now on, I’ll be keeping a close eye on you! I’m going to compete with you in business!”
Su Hao’s eyes darted around. “What… what acting academy? That academy isn’t mine.”
He had used his fiancée’s money to invest in it for his mistress.
Everything had been handled by Qiao Tang. He had never personally been involved.
Yu Xiaxing waved her phone. “Zheng Wenhao has confessed everything. I even recorded it. Just wait and see.”
Su Hao ground his teeth in fury.
Yu Xiaxing was delighted.
You’re scared out of your mind, aren’t you? Hahaha!
Come on, use some despicable business tactics and drive me into bankruptcy!
She turned to Shen Zhi. “Let’s go.”
Shen Zhi gazed at her with shining eyes. This was the first time in her life she had ever admired someone so much.
Yu Xiaxing asked casually, “By the way, how old are you?”
“Thirty-two. Ugh, Su Hao and Qiao Tang keep bullying me over my age every single day.”
Yu Xiaxing had genuinely assumed that Shen Zhi was much older but simply looked young.
What was so old about thirty-two? Wasn’t that the prime of adulthood?
She drawled, “They’re not going to live past thirty-two, so they’re anxious. That’s why they keep bringing up your age.”
Shen Zhi burst out laughing.
But as she laughed, her eyes grew red again.
She had grown so accustomed to being bullied that hearing someone say what was actually true left her feeling dazed.
That was right. Thirty-two was clearly the strongest, most capable age of adulthood.
In today’s society, plenty of people hadn’t even developed basic sense by the time they were thirty-two.
She held her head high and followed the young board director toward a brand-new life.
After leaving the building, the two of them headed toward the parking lot together.
Shen Zhi couldn’t help looking back at the building.
Yu Xiaxing asked, “Can’t bear to leave?”
Shen Zhi shook her head. “No. I just never thought I’d really act so impulsively and quit filming all of a sudden…”
She had originally thought she would have to remain on that kind of set for a long time, gradually having her dignity worn away piece by piece.
She had acted somewhat impulsively just now, but she didn’t regret it.
Yu Xiaxing laughed, then suddenly asked, “Were you the one who anonymously reported Yu Lingyi before?”
Shen Zhi froze. She had no idea what Yu Xiaxing was talking about. “Reported Boss Yu?”
Yu Xiaxing nodded. “Yes. You should know that the third generation of the Yu family is currently competing to determine the heir, right? The task for the second round was to resolve a complaint case at zero cost.”
“The case Yu Lingyi handled was your complaint against Qiao Tang. Someone anonymously reported her… It wasn’t you?”
Shen Zhi hurriedly shook her head. “No, it wasn’t me. I didn’t even know about the heir competition… I—I didn’t have the nerve to report my superior.”
“Before I came to you, I cared deeply about this production. I was the female lead, and the director and supporting actress were working together to bully me, steal my scenes, torment me, and humiliate me, but I still wouldn’t leave.”
“How could I possibly report my superior? If my superior got punished, wouldn’t I lose my job too?”
Yu Xiaxing understood immediately.
The Yu family’s heir competition had not been deliberately concealed, but it had not been publicly announced either.
Even if outsiders knew about it, there was no way they could know the details of the tasks so thoroughly.
But Su Hao was Fourth Sister’s fiancé. He would certainly know every detail.
Su Hao knew the importance of the matter, and he also knew that his interests were tied to Fourth Sister’s. He definitely wouldn’t report her himself.
But he might have told Qiao Tang.
Qiao Tang was young and beautiful, and Su Hao spoiled her. In private, she had probably long regarded Yu Lingyi as the legitimate wife standing in her way.
By anonymously reporting Yu Lingyi, she could make her stumble in the heir competition while also testing whether Su Hao would actually protect her.
But after submitting the report, she must have realized that if Yu Lingyi were truly eliminated, the company would also run into trouble.
Once the shell company under Yu Lingyi’s control was gone, all the resources, training academies, and project endorsements that Su Hao and Qiao Tang wanted would vanish with it.
So there was no way she would dare admit to it.
Yu Xiaxing let out a derisive laugh and said nothing.
Yu Lingyi, just keep letting your fiancé and his mistress bully you like this!
Soon, the two of them reached the parking lot.
Yu Xiaxing said, “I’ll contact you when the academy officially opens. Go home for now.”
Shen Zhi froze, clearly flustered. “I’m going back right now? What do I need to prepare—certificates? Or a syllabus for the acting class? When does teaching start? I’ve mentored newcomers on film crews before, but I’ve never officially taught students at a school. Should I prepare a trial lesson first…?”
The more she spoke, the more anxious she became.
After all, she had only just been pulled out of the water, and she was terrified that she’d be thrown right back in the next second.
