Lu Ze had simply had no need for three days to change accommodation. His house was full of junk. Apart from a few pairs of clothes and some things that he would hate to leave behind, he could throw everything else in the trash or give them to his old neighbor and be on his way in two hours.
Lu Ze's head was full of sweat, and cobwebs were dangling from his face. In his fear of leaving something behind, he'd rummaged through the entire house, but he couldn't find anything worth taking with him and was left with a body covered in dust instead.
After washing his face and packing his luggage, he called Zeng Long and Liu Le. He didn't have good friends in Hengdian. Only these two showed him kindness, so he wanted to meet them today before leaving Hengdian the next day.
The three directly met at the restaurant. Zeng Long and Liu Le were also old acquaintances. Thus, there was no awkwardness at the wine table. The three booked a private booth and began drinking.
Zeng Long was astounded at first but quickly accepted the fact. As an employee at the union, he'd send off too many successful extras. Thus, seeing Lu Ze off was not surprising.
With shock written on his face, Lu Ze repeatedly muttered how it was too soon. In a total of four months, as if he had found his lucky charm, Lu Ze had one good thing after another falling in his lap, allowing him to make his way up: from a common extra to becoming a special talent, to working with a crew as temporary staff, to obtaining an official role, and in the end, signing with an entertainment company and moving out.
In his dozen years of working in Hengdian, he'd never seen such a thing. He really wanted to ask the heavens, "Is this even reasonable?"
Even though he felt a bit confused and out-of-sorts in his mind, he was happy for Lu Ze. He recognized Lu Ze as the first extra who made it through his own ability and hard work.
He also understood that Lu Ze was about to create huge waves in Hengdian. He would revitalize those tired extras who had already given up on their dreams. More importantly, if Lu Ze really became a star, he would inspire a lot of people to follow in his footsteps. Many would believe that since he could do it, so would they. Whether that would be a good thing or not, Liu Le couldn't say for sure.
As for Lu Ze's departure, the two merely expressed their support and offered their congratulations and didn't mention it again. After all, they were quite familiar with farewells.
The three drank till ten at night before eventually parting. Lu Ze exchanged quick hugs with the two and headed back home.
Lu Ze had drunk a lot, hence he was quite wasted. As he staggered his way back home, he began stroking the street light poles at the familiar corners.
Every time, he passed an area familiar to him, he would go and touch the facilities installed there as if trying to ingrain everything in his memory. In the end, he embraced the electric pole for support and threw up.
Returning home and opening the door with difficulty, he crashed on the bed without taking off his clothes and shoes, passing out as soon as he closed his eyes.
...
Knock knock…
"Who's there?"
"Big Brother Wang, it's me, Lu Ze. I'm moving out today. Can you check the room?"
The door opened, and the landlord, Old Wang, appeared. Who knew where he'd been yesterday night? His appearance seemed as if he'd just woken up. His hair looked like a bird's nest, and the moment he opened the door and faced the sunlight, he couldn't help but squint.
"What's going on, Lu Ze? Aren't you working anymore? Intending to go back home?" Old Wang only had that single possibility in mind. After all, there were simply too many people coming and leaving Hengdian. A Lu Ze would not make any difference.
Lu Ze faintly smiled and nodded, not willing to say much. As Old Wang put his jacket on, he led the former back to his room.
This old building had nothing good about it. However, no matter how damaged it was, as long as there wasn't a hole in the wall, nothing counted as damage. Old Wang looked at the power meter and let Lu Ze pay the electricity bill, then directly exempted half of the month's rent.
Slinging the bag on his back and lifting his two bags of luggage, Lu Ze headed out. Those who knew him asked what was he doing, but Lu Ze didn't tell them anything and only bade goodbye.
In this manner, Hengdian would no longer have the extra named Lu Ze.
...
Upon returning back to Qianshijia, he dropped his luggage on the reception desk and headed to the administrative department, knocking on the office door.
"Hello, do I register for the dorms here? Can somebody show me the way to the dorms?"
After asking an employee who was furiously typing away at his keyboard, Lu Ze soon found the person who was responsible for the artistes' dormitories. The latter grabbed a bunch of keys and led him down the building.
The dormitories were not far away from the office. It was an apartment to the north of the company. The surrounding environment was lovely with a lot of greenery although the apartments lacked some facilities.
"The fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth floors are where all our dormitories are. You may choose any floor you like."
Lu Ze liked to live at a height, and thus chose the seventeenth floor. The employee took out the elevator card for the seventeenth floor from the bunch of keys.
Each floor had fourteen rooms. Lu Ze checked them out and finally chose room 1703 which was a south-facing room. Since it was designed after a flat model, it had no north window. Living at the southern side would be hot in the summer, but the winter would be a bit better.
After getting his signature on the registration form, the employee handed him a bunch of keys and an elevator card. Thereupon, he reminded him to care for the hygiene of the room. The company performed random inspections, and if the hygiene standards were not maintained, there would be a fine.
After sending the employee off, Lu Ze took a gander at his new home. It was around eighty square meters in size. The surface was tiled, and there were a total of four bedrooms with each having a single bed, a medium-sized desk, and a wardrobe.
There was a television, a washing machine, and cooking facilities, but there was no air-conditioning and broadband. The toilet and bathroom were small though there was heated water, enabling hot showers.
Upon choosing the room with the most light, Lu Ze arranged his clothes and other things. Thereupon, he picked up the broom and gave it a thorough sweep. There was certainly somebody living here. The floor was clean, but there was dust accumulated in the corners. Lu Ze even swept out a used condom and a lady's underwear that caused his face to turn somewhat green.
There was a mattress on the bed but no pillows or bedsheets. Lu Ze even threw out the mattress since it was too dirty and too worn out. He could wait until he bought a new one.
Opening his phone and pulling out the notepad, he strolled around the entire house, thinking that he should make a list of everything he lacked. Thereupon, he put on his shoes and headed to the shopping complex.
Lu Ze had funds. He'd also received the company's sign-on bonus, which was not trivial. Therefore, he didn't lack money.
However, he still spent sparingly. He compared the prices in several stores before buying anything and saved wherever he could. It was not just because he had to take care of the family's expenses but also because he wanted to save for marriage.
Whether he bought expensive things like bedsheets or cheap things like bowls, ladles, and plates, he tried them all and chose the best cost-to-performance option.
Even so, he spent 1,800 yuan. After making several trips, he finally managed to get all the stuff upstairs. Wearing his newly bought slippers, he made a few circles in the room in satisfaction. Lu Ze sure approved of them!
He discharged the water in the washing machine and cleaned it with all his might. Sweeping out the condom previously had been quite traumatic. Who knew if the previous tenant had washed his shoes in the washing machine?
Dumping his blankets, quilt, and clothes into the washing machine and adding the detergent, he left it to wash while he went to the bathroom and took a bath as well.
Changing into clean clothes, he bought ingredients from Daily Fresh and cooked for himself. Then, he switched on the TV, sat on the sofa, and watched it while drinking beer.
His cell phone rang. Lu Ze took a glance and saw that it was Gao Wanzhi.
"Hello, Big Sister Gao? Is something the matter?"
"Lu Ze, you've moved to the company dorms, right? Are you free tomorrow?"
"Yes, do I need to come to the office tomorrow?"
"Yes. Your manager has been determined. Come to the office tomorrow morning to meet him."