The evening breeze gently brushed through Shen Tong's soft black hair. Under the dim street lights, her slender yet graceful figure cast a long shadow.
Because part of the filming took place at night, she had only just finished work and left. After work, she obviously no longer had the privilege of a company car to take her home.
Instinctively taking out her phone, she saw it was already past 10 PM. She couldn't help but sigh, looking up at the empty street, suddenly realizing how pitiful she was.
Working so late and not a single person cared about her - truly, the world was going downhill.
Thinking this, Shen Tong couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath.
"Ahem." Liang Xiaoyuan, who had just walked up behind Shen Tong, heard her quiet cursing and raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Hey, my dear Miss Shen, just because no one came to pick you up after work, is that really enough to claim the world is going downhill?"
Hearing this, Shen Tong turned around in delight, her previously tired eyes now sparkling brightly, causing Liang Xiaoyuan's heart to skip a beat.
However, Liang Xiaoyuan soon realized that the sparkle in her eyes wasn't for him, but for the free food he was carrying.
The saying "Food is the first necessity of the people" was indeed true, especially for a penny-pincher like Shen Tong who would rather torture her legs than waste money on a taxi.
"My dear Director Liang, you just don't understand. But I'm not planning to explain it to you either. Haha, how come you're free to come here? I didn't see you earlier."
Liang Xiaoyuan finally completely lost his composure. Fortunately, he had long since learned that arguing with Shen Tong was just a waste of his lifespan.
He allowed Shen Tong's delicate, jade-like hands to take the bag of burgers, chicken wings, and cola he had just bought from the KFC on the street corner. He smiled helplessly and pointed to the store on his right.
"I heard you became Su Xiao's manager and assistant. How could I not worry about you working so hard? Of course I had to come check on you. When I got here, I realized you probably hadn't eaten yet. You're lucky; this was the last order they took before closing. I was going to pick you up from the set, but you were already on your way. When I came out, I heard someone cursing..."
Listening to Liang Xiaoyuan's words, Shen Tong rolled her eyes quite rudely, but her heart was filled with warmth. Following Liang Xiaoyuan's gesture, she saw the store was indeed closed.
"Of course, it's because I'm Shen Tong. My good fortune is unparalleled, unlike you, a mere mortal."
Liang Xiaoyuan really couldn't bear to watch Shen Tong's face as she stuffed herself with burgers, occasionally sipping cola, while still not forgetting to boast about herself. He grabbed her and stuffed her into the car.
"Hurry up and get in. People might think you're a refugee reborn."
Shen Tong protested, "It's easy for you to say. Try standing all day without eating, serving two big stars. How could I not be starving? Besides..."
"Enough enough, ugh even food can't shut you up," Liang Xiaoyuan interrupted, shoving a chicken wing into her mouth and starting the car.
"Mmm..." Shen Tong mumbled, glaring at him.
Liang Xiaoyuan felt a rare sense of satisfaction seeing Shen Tong's disgruntled expression. He drove with a smile on his face.
The journey was unusually quiet. Liang Xiaoyuan wanted to chat with Shen Tong, but seeing her fall asleep from exhaustion before finishing her food, he decided to let her rest.
Maybe she really needed a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Shen Tong went to work as usual, feeling sweet about the previous night.
But as she reached the company entrance, her colleagues' odd looks made her feel uneasy.
What's going on?
Puzzled, she walked into her office and found Chen Xiaoyong surprisingly early, with Su Xiao quietly sitting nearby.
"What's happening?"
Chen Xiaoyong seductively brushed her hair, with a look that said 'stop pretending'. "Everyone in the company knows now. Your charm is so great that even the general manager is opening back doors for you."
Shen Tong looked at Chen Xiaoyong, confused. She had no idea what she was talking about.
"But I'm really grateful to you for arranging such a good schedule for me." Seeing Shen Tong's increasingly bewildered look, Chen Xiaoyong finally realized that Shen Tong really didn't know. She grabbed the schedule that Manager Wang had given her this morning and threw it in front of Shen Tong.
"I didn't believe it when I first got the notice, which is why I came so early to check. I didn't expect it to be true. Shen Tong, you're really something. Municipal government business banquet, the celebrity exchange banquet... I never thought we'd be invited to such events. Tell me, Shen Tong, how did you manage this? With this my fame will skyrocket!"
Shen Tong had no time to care about Chen Xiaoyong's boring self-indulgent talk. Looking at the contents of the schedule, she felt like a thousand white horses were galloping in her heart.
Did Xia Zixuan hit his head yesterday? Why was he suddenly being so nice to her?
"What about you, Su Xiao, you too?" Shen Tong excitedly looked towards Su Xiao, who was sitting on the side with an impatient look.
Su Xiao shot her a disdainful 'you idiot' look, without even bothering to respond to her.
Shen Tong suddenly recalled Liang Xiaoyuan's hesitant behavior last night. He must have wanted to tell her about this. Now she felt even more conflicted, thinking he might have spoken to the general manager on her behalf again. Her debt to him kept growing.
But this time, Shen Tong was wrong. Liang Xiaoyuan had just learned about this as well and was pacing anxiously in his office. He wished he had been the one to speak to Xia Zixuan on her behalf, then he wouldn't be so troubled now.
This matter was arranged by Xia Zixuan himself. How could Liang Xiaoyuan not understand that this was Xia Zixuan's way of showing his authority?
He feared that Shen Tong would soften her heart, falling into Xia Zixuan's trap of gentleness, that would be bad. Xia Zixuan was not a good person.
The more Liang Xiaoyuan thought about it, the more anxious he became, yet he didn't realize why he felt so uncomfortable and worried in his heart.
In the general manager's office, Shen Tong stood in front of Xia Zixuan with a sweet smile on her face.
"This is the schedule I've temporarily arranged for you. I hope you perform well and don't disappoint me. I want to see Su Xiao and Chen Xiaoyong become popular stars who can stand on their own soon." Xia Zixuan narrowed his eyes, concealing the brilliant light in them that was like black obsidian.
"Yes." Shen Tong was slightly stunned. She hadn't expected that this was arranged by Xia Zixuan, but she quickly gave a formal response, "Yes, sir. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you."
"Mm, you can go now."
"Yes." Shen Tong responded and pushed open the door. As soon as she was out, Shen Tong headed towards Liang Xiaoyuan's office.
For some reason, she just wanted to share her happiness with him.
Behind her, Xia Zixuan raised his head, watching her close the door with her delicate hands. A miracle appeared on his lips - a genuine smile, which even he himself didn't notice.
Xia Zixuan hadn't expected that he would actually make an exception for her, like a young man in love.