Chapter Seventy-Six: A Perilous Moment, Hanging by a Thread

At this moment, it was already deep into the night.

On the other end of the internet, a twenty-five-year-old man took out his phone and dialed a number. “Acquire the film adaptation rights for ‘The Proud Wanderer’ and ‘New Meteor Butterfly Sword’!”

“The lead actor, the lead actor…” The young man looked up, deep in thought.

“Let’s have Jiang Yun play the lead…”

A woman’s voice responded from the other end, “Understood, Mr. Wang!”

“I want to see the production team begin filming within half a month!”

“Yes, sir!”

…

Jiang Yun had no idea what was happening. At this very moment, he was lying in bed, fast asleep.

Early the next morning, Jiang Yun was woken by Li Lulu.

“Boss? Boss?”

“What’s the matter?” Jiang Yun mumbled sleepily. “Why didn’t you knock?”

A bead of sweat appeared on Li Lulu’s forehead. Seriously, I did knock—you just didn’t hear it.

“Boss, there’s a call for you!”

“You could’ve answered it yourself, couldn’t you?”

“Boss, it’s better if you take this one yourself.”

“Oh!” Jiang Yun took the phone and called back. “Hello? Brother Hua?!”

Jiang Yun sat up in bed. “Brother Hua, what’s up?”

“You want me to write a song for you? No problem, no problem!”

“Of course, of course! How could I not have one?”

“Listen, here goes: ‘My hometown, oh, it’s right here in this village…’”

“You’re not comfortable with Mandarin? There’s a Cantonese version too: ‘My hometown, oh, it’s right here in this village…’”

“Alright, it’s settled. This is the one!”

After hanging up, Jiang Yun was stunned for a moment. “Why are you still here?”

Li Lulu looked at him and said, “Boss, you’re getting more impressive by the day! Even superstars are asking you for songs now!”

“They’ve been coming to me for songs for ages, okay?” Jiang Yun took off his pajama top. “This isn’t the first, and it won’t be the last!”

He put on a white shirt and, turning around, saw Li Lulu still there. “Why haven’t you left yet?”

“I’m listening to you, being your audience!”

“Who asked you to play the audience? If you don’t leave now, I’m taking my pants off!”

Li Lulu was speechless.

Jiang Yun placed his hands on the waistband of his pajamas, looking as if he was about to strip.

“Ha!” Jiang Yun let out a strange cry.

“Ah!” Li Lulu shrieked in fright.

She covered her eyes with both hands, but her fingers secretly parted, peeking through the gaps.

Jiang Yun’s lip twitched. “Go, go, go! Out, now!”

“Bleh, bleh, bleh!”

Li Lulu made a face at him and left the room.

Jiang Yun went to wash up, changed into a suit and tie, looking sharp and energetic.

The phone rang.

Jiang Yun answered, “Hello, who is this?”

“It’s me, He Yong.”

“Why the new number?”

On the other end, He Yong replied, “Nothing special, just two SIM cards, that’s all.”

“Oh, what’s up?”

“The payment’s come through, right?”

“Not yet.”

“It should be there. Check it.”

“Alright.”

Beep!

“A message just came in—must be the payment notification,” Jiang Yun said. “Let’s talk later.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yun opened the message. Sure enough, it was a payment alert.

“On xx year, xx month, 11th, 30,000,000 yuan received.”

Jiang Yun counted the zeros—good heavens, thirty million in total.

The phone rang again. Judging by the time, his novel royalties should be arriving too. Jiang Yun knew this must be Zhang Yi calling.

He picked up without thinking, “Hello? Zhang Yi?”

“Who’s Zhang Yi?”

Jiang Yun paused. “Aren’t you Zhang Yi?”

“No, I’m Li Mengya.”

Jiang Yun glanced at his phone—caller ID: Li Mengya. “Ah, I thought you were Zhang Yi.”

“And who is Zhang Yi?”

“He’s my novel editor.”

“Oh.” Li Mengya didn’t sound enthusiastic; she seemed upset.

Jiang Yun frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve terminated my contract with the company…”

Jiang Yun was taken aback. “Did the company end it, or did you?”

“The company did.”

“What happened?” Jiang Yun didn’t believe any company could be so generous.

“They saw that I’d worked hard for so many years and only had one year left on my contract, so they took the initiative to terminate it!”

Jiang Yun was skeptical. Could it really be that good?

“So, why did you call…”

“The condition is, after the contract ends, I can no longer work as an artist.”

“Phew—” Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. So there was a catch. “See? There had to be conditions. When there are conditions, people feel more at ease. If there weren’t any, it would be unsettling.”

“Mm.” Li Mengya agreed with him.

“You agreed to it?”

“Yes.”

“So you really don’t plan to continue in the entertainment industry?”

“What else can I do? I’ve already signed the agreement!”

“To restrict a person’s rights and freedom—doesn’t that make this a tyrannical contract?”

“Of course!” Li Mengya replied.

“Aren’t you going to appeal?”

“Sigh…” She let out a long breath. “I don’t know…”

“Why couldn’t you just wait one more year, or end the contract yourself?” Jiang Yun was a bit angry. “Last time I wanted to help you, you refused! Now you’re in this situation, and you’re making things difficult for me, you know? I want to help you, but I don’t even know how!”

“Jiang Yun?”

Jiang Yun paused. “What is it?”

“Thank you.”

“Li Mengya, what’s wrong?” Jiang Yun sensed her depression and started to panic. Calm down, he told himself, stay calm.

He summoned his logical clarity. “Li Mengya, you mustn’t do anything rash! I’ll find a way to help you!”

On the other end, Li Mengya smiled, her face lit with warmth and sunlight.

“Jiang Yun, thank you! Calling you has made my heart feel much lighter!” She stepped back from the balcony.

If Jiang Yun had known what was happening, he’d have been scared out of his wits.

In that critical moment, Jiang Yun had pulled Li Mengya back from the edge of the abyss.

She let go of her negative emotions, lay on her bed, and smiled softly. “Jiang Yun, thank you so much! Now I realize how beautiful life is!”

“Send me your location. I’ll come see you right now!”

“Okay!”

Li Mengya opened her app and sent Jiang Yun her location.

“Did you get it?”

“Got it!” Jiang Yun replied. “I’m on my way!”

“Alright!”

They hung up. Li Mengya sat in her room, feeling a bit lost. “Sigh, I was too stubborn…”

She called her parents.

“Mom, I’ll call you back, someone else is on the line.”

“Okay.”

She hung up and answered the other call.

“Hello, I’m downstairs at your building.”

“Okay, I’m coming down right now.”

Li Mengya opened her wardrobe. What should she wear?

After some thought, she remembered the first time she met Jiang Yun, and chose the deep blue dress from that day.

She put on flat white shoes, her long legs showing off her graceful figure at a height of 1.78 meters.

Since it was getting chilly, she grabbed a red jacket and put it on.

With long strides, she headed downstairs.

When Jiang Yun saw Li Mengya, he was stunned.

She wore the deep blue dress, a red jacket, and white flats, striding toward him.

Jiang Yun was utterly dazzled, just as he had been the first time they met.

PS: Four chapters today!