After Entering a Book, He Just Wants to be a Flower Vase

Chapter 28

Not long after Jiang Dao returned to the private box, Lu Zhengrong also returned.

Everyone chatted a little more, and the party soon ended.

Jiang Dao took the drunk Zhu Yao back upstairs to his room, but he didn’t do anything more. He left him inside to fend for himself, and stayed just to prevent any accidents.

Zhu Yao tossed himself for a while, washed his face, took off his coat and shoes, sat on the carpet by the bed, and waved to Jiang Dao: “You…you go back, I…don’t take care of you.”

Seeing that he wouldn’t die of drunkenness, Jiang Dao felt at ease, got up and prepared to leave.

Who knows, before he reached the door, he was dragged by Zhu Yao again.

Zhu Yao frowned: “Where are you going? You…you’re not allowed to go anywhere! The, the company arrangement is broken… Why do I feel uneasy… That, uh, that director… you must not find him. You come back, sit down… You sit down! You’re not allowed to go anywhere!”

Jiang Dao: …

He understands his logic, but why pull him down to sit on the carpet?

Helpless, Jiang Dao sat cross-legged on the ground and looked at Zhu Yao.

Zhu Yao ripped off his tie and threw it aside, leaned his head against the mattress behind him, and after a while, he sighed heavily and muttered, “I have a guess… But I really didn’t expect that Xingyao, this kind of big company would also do this… Xiao Dao, you must not go to Li Cheng.”

“En, I won’t go.” Jiang Dao reluctantly agreed.

In the original book, there are very few descriptions about Zhu Yao. In the few occasional appearances he makes, he’s indifferent and inhuman, and doesn’t have a good relationship with the original Jiang Dao.

After getting along with each other in the past few days, Jiang Dao’s impression of Zhu Yao is a very calm and ruthless person who prioritizes business… No, instead of a ‘person’, he’s more like an ‘NPC’ from the book, with an empty skin but no flesh.

Instead, when he was drunk, he looked like a “human”.

The phone vibrated.

Jiang Dao picked up Chu Yinlong’s call. “What’s the matter?”

Chu Yinlong asked knowingly: “The banquet is over? Are you drunk?”

Before Jiang Dao could answer, Zhu Yao muttered a few words, and suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“I should remind you that there may be a problem tonight. I wasn’t sure myself, but…” Zhu Yao mumbled incoherently, “…I shouldn’t have brought you here! But, but I can’t, I can’t resign. My family, they, I…”

“There is someone next to you?” Chu Yinlong’s tone became serious.

“It’s Zhu Yao.” Jiang Dao was helpless. “He helped me block a lot of alcohol, and is drunk.”

“…Oh.” Chu Yinlong was silent for a moment, and asked, “Can you handle it? Do you need help? I can ask Lu Zhengrong to send an assistant over there.”

Jiang Dao paused, curious: “You and Ms. Lu are very familiar?”

Beside him, Zhu Yao suddenly shouted: “No Ms. Lu either! You can’t… you can’t go to them. You can’t go anywhere!”

Jiang Dao: …

Chu Yinlong: …

“Zhu Yao knows that there is a problem with the wine bureau today?” Chu Yinlong asked.

“Based on what he said, he had some guesses, but wasn’t certain.” Jiang Dao smiled. “However, the company should have arranged such a social event to try their ‘luck’.”

Chu Yinlong was silent.

In a good mood, Jiang Dao asked again with a smile: “Are you familiar with President Lu?”

Chu Yinlong sighed: “Yes, very familiar.”

Jiang Dao tsked: “You said you wanted to help me before, why did you only mention it at the last minute? Since President Lu is an investor, she can squeeze out my small role with a single word. There’s no need for you to save me a role in your movie, right? Really scheming.”

Chu Yinlong was speechless.

After a while, he said helplessly: “You really don’t want to act so much? If that’s the case, I won’t persuade you again… I’ll go back and say something to Lu Zhengrong to remove you.”

Jiang Dao glanced at Zhu Yao. Seeing that he was finally asleep on the carpet, he got up, and went to the balcony.

“Your idea from before, tell me about it.”

Jiang Dao watched the city at a distance. His tone was calm as still water.

“You know what I want. If you help me solve the liquidated damages, I can act with you in a few plays in return… But I won’t sign a brokerage contract.”

There’d be no difference between that and Xingyao Media.

After a moment of silence, Chu Yinlong smiled bitterly: “This matter is not something that I or Lu Zhengrong can directly decide. Using funds to help an artist pay liquidated damages, but not sign a brokerage contract. That’s impossible… Longqi Entertainment isn’t a charity. I can’t take advantage of it for personal reasons.”

Indeed, the bigger the family business, the less one is able to act willfully. Otherwise, it’s easy to cause trouble.

However, Jiang Dao also considered this point. “What if I borrow money in my own name? You and I will sign a personal agreement to repay with my future salary.”

There was another silence on the phone.

Then came Chu Yinlong’s chuckle.

“It seems…” His tone was a lot lighter, “…this is also a solution.”

“It’s just that we are not familiar with each other, and a million is not a small amount.” Jiang Dao said half-jokingly. “I don’t know if you trust me?”

“Let’s talk face to face when you come back from Linshi.” Chu Yinlong said.

“Okay, it’s settled.”

After temporarily setting his future development direction, Jiang Dao hung up the phone and went back inside.

Laying on the carpet, Zhu Yao snored loudly. Jiang Dao didn’t force him to sleep on the bed, and walked out lightly and went back to his own room next door.

Early the next morning, Jiang Dao was awakened by a sudden knock on the door.

He took off his earbuds, got out of bed and opened the door, only to find Zhu Yao standing outside the door with crazy bedhead.

The moment he saw Jiang Dao, he was obviously relieved.

He stepped into the room, closed the door with his backhand, and asked, “Did you last night… did you sleep here all the time?”

Jiang Dao turned into the bathroom and said casually, “En, I was here, don’t worry.”

Zhu Yao pushed up his glasses, seeming like he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn’t say anything. His face was as cold as usual.

Jiang Dao squeezed the toothpaste, held the water glass, and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Zhu Yao was slightly embarrassed, and coughed lightly: “It’s okay, I’m here to tell you that we’ll leave for the airport in an hour and wanted to make sure you don’t oversleep.”

After speaking, he turned and left Jiang Dao’s room.

…

By the time the two boarded the car to the airport, Zhu Yao had completely recovered his calm and seemingly easy-going appearance: “Fortunately, your role should be stable this time. When I go back to the company—”

“It might not be stable.” Jiang Dao interrupted ruthlessly. “After you drank, I’m not sure how I offended Lu Zhengrong. She said she wouldn’t let me join the crew.”

Zhu Yao almost slammed his head on the steering wheel.

“How could you offend Lu Zhengrong?” He stared in disbelief. “Could it be that she…”

Halfway through his words, he stopped himself and put on a serious face. “Alright, some things are not to be touched. Even if this time doesn’t work, there will always be another opportunity. You’re still young, and have a decent chance at becoming popular.”

Jiang Dao silently retracted his gaze and said nothing.

Back in Yan City, just after getting off the plane, Zhu Yao received news that Jiang Dao had been eliminated.

The two tacitly agreed to not mention this matter again, and returned to their own lives.

Jiang Dao actually had nothing to do.

Apart from recording variety shows and yesterday’s audition, he doesn’t have any work arrangements. After returning to the dorm, he simply cleaned it up, made an appointment with Chu Yinlong on WeChat, and went to class.

…

On Saturday, Jiang Dao waited outside the coffee shop to wait for Chu Yinlong.

Seeing him standing outside the door, Chu Yinlong was torn between laughter and tears. “Why are you dressed like this? No wonder my friend didn’t dare to open the door just now, and asked me to come out to pick you up.”

Jiang Dao took off his sunglasses. “Isn’t it normal for an artist to disguise themselves when taking a taxi, and in public?”

Chu Yinlong was speechless. “But you don’t have to dress up like this… so rustic.”

Jiang Dao looked down at his clothes: “My shirt is tucked into the waistband, the key is chained to the belt, and I’m wearing socks and sandals. Don’t many people dress like this?”

Chu Yinlong’s friend brought tea over, and couldn’t stop laughing when he heard this.

Jiang Dao sat down on the chair, raised his hand and pulled his plaid shirt out of the waistband of his pants, and unbuttoned it to reveal a white vest inside.

Chu Yinlong was speechless, but Jiang Dao’s words reminded him of something. “Why did you take a taxi? You haven’t got your driver’s license yet?”

“En, I haven’t learned to drive yet.” He looked into it. The original body didn’t have a license, which saved him the hassle of pretending. “I plan to learn after terminating the contract.”

“That’s a coincidence,” Chu Yinlong replied. “The character I reserved for you has a racing scene. You need a driver’s license, otherwise you can’t touch the steering wheel.”

“You’ve already reserved the role?” Jiang Dao was surprised. “Deciding which drama to play in before determining the personal agreement?”

Chu Yinlong smiled: “Because I believe that you will not refuse the conditions I offer.”

After speaking, he took a document from his assistant and pushed it in front of Jiang Dao: “It’s just a draft. If you want to add or change anything, just say it directly. No need to be polite with each other.”

“Well, I’ll take a look first.” Jiang Dao opened the document and read it carefully.

As he had previously demanded, Chu Yinlong agreed to loan him the cash in his own name. The amount has not yet been written, and needs to be negotiated with Xingyao Media first. Regarding Xingyao Media, Chu Yinlong Studio will send a professional team to negotiate, and Jiang Dao does not need to handle it personally.

Next, Jiang Dao will pay 60% of his remuneration for each project by participating in the films prepared by Chu Yinlong’s studio until the loan is fully paid off. If Jiang Dao is not satisfied with the script provided by the studio, he can refuse to act and wait for the next opportunity.

The terms are very simple, and there are no restrictions on Jiang Dao’s personal freedom, nor does it even stipulate that Jiang Dao must use his salary to repay the debt. That is to say, if Jiang Dao wins the lottery one day and pays off the debt, he won’t need to star in any films for the studio.

Jiang Dao looked at the black and white words in his hand, and his heart was touched.

No wonder Chu Yinlong believes he won’t refuse. This paper agreement is essentially an IOU, and he’s not forced to do anything due to the debt.

“I have a suggestion. Here, change it.” Jiang Dao put the agreement back on the table and pointed to one of the words. “Change it to ‘During the repayment period, Jiang Dao is obliged to obey all the work arrangements of Chu Yinlong Studio’.”

Chu Yinlong looked at Jiang Dao in surprise.

At the same time, Jiang Dao raised his eyes with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

“You know I want freedom, and of course I also know what you want.”

JD – your fashion sense…

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