Ye Qiu didn't respond.
The agent glanced at his watch; the auction was about to begin.
She gave Ye Qiu an ultimatum: "You can refuse to go, but from now on, the company will not spend any more time or resources on you. Your contract with the company expires in five years. If you sue the company as the party at fault, can you afford to pay the damages? After that, you will have no resources, and your acting career will basically be over. Five years from now, who will remember who you are?"
The agent grabbed his bag and said, "You figure it out yourself!" Then he turned and left.
With a 'bang,' the door to the lounge slammed shut.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ye Qiu crossed his arms and turned to look out the window at the endless blackness.
The agent's words echoed sharply in my ears again and again.
Ye Qiu's phone vibrated in his bag, bringing him back to his senses. It was Xi Jia calling.
Ye Qiu took a deep breath and composed himself.
"Hey, Jia. I'm touching up my makeup in the lounge, I'll be right there to find you."
Ye Qiu took out a makeup mirror, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and, finding her makeup perfect, opened the door and went out.
Ye Qiu's seat was in the back row. His manager had already left, so there was an empty seat for Xi Jia, and there was no need to add a seat at the last minute.
As the auction began, Xi Jia kept raising her paddle regardless of whether she liked it or not, bidding on several items in a row.
Ye Qiu also bid on one, which sold for 250,000.
Xi Jia wanted to raise the price, but Ye Qiu held her hand down.
“It’s the same for you as me filming.” Xi Jia felt sorry for Ye Qiu’s money. She always played minor supporting roles, and after her share of the pay was taken, she didn’t get much.
Ye Qiu: "I still have some savings. It's okay."
Xi Jia: "You're not buying a car?"
Ye Qiu shook her head; given her terrible driving skills, she wouldn't buy it.
Last time, I drove the company car to the horse farm to see Xi Jia, but Xi Jia went to the mountains. She drove aimlessly all the way, and in the middle of it, she was distracted. In order to avoid oncoming vehicles, she crashed her car into the roadside guardrail.
She was covered in sweat, and her clothes were soaked through.
The airbag deployed, and she was ejected, her face covered in blood. She thought she was going to die.
At that moment, the person she wanted to see was Ji Qingshi.
The car accident caused a mild concussion, which only the agent knew about.
She didn't tell anyone, not even her parents.
While they were chatting, another item was put up for auction.
This time, it's a painting, a little horse, a child's drawing.
Ye Qiu wanted to hold up the sign again, but Xi Jia stopped him, saying, "You want to take a picture of it for me, right?"
Ye Qiu glanced sideways: "Don't flatter yourself, I'll keep it for myself."
"Forget it." Xi Jia stopped her from taking pictures and held up the sign herself.
A child's drawing was auctioned off for 150,000 yuan. The bidder was still raising the price.
Xi Jia looked over there, but could only see the back of the person holding the sign; she didn't recognize them. Perhaps that person also liked Xiao Ma; she had already bid on quite a few, so she gave up her spot to them.
In the end, Qin Sulan bought the painting for 180,000.
Qin Sulan came over with her friends tonight, and she saw Xi Jia.
My friend asked, puzzled, "Why are you arguing with your daughter-in-law?"
Qin Sulan: "I took these photos to give to Jiajia."
The auction ended after half an hour, and the next activity was a cocktail party.
Xi Jia had a successful evening, purchasing five items and paying for them all with Mo Yushen's card. After completing the formalities, she wrote down her address and had them delivered to her home.
Ye Qiu linked arms with Xi Jia, saying, "We haven't had a drink in a long time."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qiu's phone vibrated; it was a call from his agent.
Ye Qiu asked Xi Jia to get her a glass of wine first, "I'm going to take a call, I'll be back in a few minutes."
She hurriedly left the banquet hall and went to a corner outside.
The agent received a call from Chu Shan's assistant, asking the actor to audition with the assistant director at 2 PM the next day. After hanging up, she immediately called Ye Qiu.
"Give me an answer. If you don't want to act, I'll replace you."
"As for the consequences, you should weigh them carefully."
"In this industry, no one is irreplaceable; there are many people who would do anything to get in."
"Can you spare that much energy and money to fight a lawsuit to terminate your contract? Okay, even if you're free, who will dare to sign you in the future? Can you still survive in this industry?"
"When the truth is distorted online and things get out of hand, your parents will have to worry about you, and they might not even be able to hold their heads up in front of their relatives!"
"If you want to be arrogant, you need to have the right to be!"
"Ye Qiu, you're not a newcomer, so there's nothing I need to say."
Ye Qiu fell silent for a moment, his fingernails almost digging into his flesh.
She used to think that as long as she was down-to-earth and didn't compete with others, she could live a simpler life, do what she liked, and support herself.
However, the reality is not like that.
"Ye Qiu!" The agent lost his patience.
Ye Qiu finally succumbed to reality, "Okay, I'll go for the audition tomorrow."
After reeling in the line, she opened her palm, revealing a deep fingernail mark.
At this moment, in the banquet hall.
Xi Jia doesn't know everyone. Occasionally, someone will greet her, and she will nod slightly and smile.
"Jiajia".
Someone called from behind.
Xi Jia took a sip of red wine and turned around.
Two middle-aged women walked towards her, their makeup exquisite and their demeanor elegant.
Xi Jia looked unfamiliar; she must be a friend of her mother or father. If she were a relative, she would recognize her.
Qin Sulan and her friend approached. "Why are you alone? Didn't Yu Shen come?"
Xi Jia: "Hello, Auntie." She greeted her first.
Qin Sulan's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly composed herself.
Qin Sulan's friend couldn't stand it anymore. She looked at Qin Sulan and said, "You're not a good mother-in-law. Did you forget to give her the money for the bride's address to her new husband?"
Qin Sulan tried her best to give Xi Jia a way out: "Jiajia is used to calling me that, she used to call me Auntie. It's okay, it's just a form of address."
A friend patted Qin Sulan on the shoulder and said, "You're really carefree. You even went out of your way to have someone take pictures of your painting, and look what happened." With a sigh, she turned and left.
Only the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law remained.
Xi Jia was stunned. Only then did she realize that the person in front of her was Mo Yushen's mother.
Looking closely now, his eyebrows do indeed bear a resemblance to Mo Yushen.
Xi Jia apologized, "Mom, I'm sorry, I don't remember." She didn't know if Mo Yushen's mother knew about her illness, or how much she knew.
Qin Sulan had heard from Old Madam Mo and Old Master Mo that Xi Jia had a bad memory, but they didn't go into detail. Little did she know it was already this serious.
Qin Sulan smiled, "It's alright. Shall we sit over there with Mom?"
Xi Jia nodded, took Qin Sulan's arm, and sat down in the rest area.
Qin Sulan asked, "Where's Yu Shen? Why didn't he come with you?"
Xi Jia: "He's busy, I'm out having fun with friends." She was also puzzled, wondering why Mo Yushen hadn't mentioned coming with her.
Qin Sulan replaced the wine glass in Xi Jia's hand with a glass of warm water. "Alcohol is bad for your skin." She looked Xi Jia up and down; she had lost a lot of weight.
She met Mo Yushen when they got their marriage certificate.
Ten months have passed in the blink of an eye.
Xi Jia didn't know what to talk about with Qin Sulan. She had brought her handbag tonight, but it couldn't hold her laptop, so she hadn't brought it with her and couldn't replace it now.
"Mom, just chat with me as you like. I'll tell you what I remember."
Qin Sulan: "It's good that you can't remember. I wish I could be like you and forget all the grudges and grievances of the first half of my life, but I'm not destined for that."
She patted Xi Jia's hand and said, "Don't be sad about being sick. Forgetting the past is a blessing."
Xi Jia smiled faintly and nodded vigorously.
Although she didn't quite understand what the grudges and grievances of her mother-in-law's previous life were.
Xi Jia chatted with Qin Sulan for a while, talking about trivial topics that she had something to say, such as tonight's auction and the movie.
Time flew by, and Ye Qiu came to find her.
Qin Sulan stood up. "Mom has also gone to see her old friend."
Xi Jia said apologetically, "Mom, I'll go with you and explain to your friend that I was sick and that's why I couldn't remember."
Qin Sulan waved her hand, "Mom used to care a lot about face and lived for other people's opinions. Now she thinks that face is the most useless thing."
She tidied Xi Jia's long hair, saying, "It's okay, don't worry about it. Mom will come to see you on set during the Spring Festival."
She smiled faintly and nodded slightly to Ye Qiu.
She left with graceful steps.
Ye Qiu stared intently, watching until they were quite a distance away. "Was that Mo Yushen's mother?"
Xi Jia: "Mm."