Chapter 166: Breaking Your Lower Leg

Shi Xiaonan walked out of the Office, looking dejected.

She had received notice a few days ago that she was on the list for the performance in Hong Kong next month.

At the time, Shi Xiaonan was overjoyed and could hardly believe her ears; although she was considered a student of a famous performer and her skills in singing, reciting, acting, and acrobatics were solid, she hadn't performed in years and was currently only appearing at a little-known small theater troupe, so she never expected someone from the Musician's Association to suddenly call her.

However, she was now as disappointed as she had been happy then.

The reversal of events over these past few days felt like a roller coaster to her.

Yet, in the whole affair, she was like a marionette on strings, without a shred of agency.

When she was given the spot, the good fortune came inexplicably, and when they stripped her of it, there was nothing she could do.

Arriving on the main street, Shi Xiaonan looked at the flow of people coming and going, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from her body.

She did not know why things had turned out this way.

Her home was a mess due to the divorce proceedings with Wang Kai, and now her work was a complete disaster.

Because she had obtained this spot earlier, there were already people behind her back being snide and sarcastic; if she had actually been able to go, it wouldn't have mattered, and those people could only be jealous and green with envy.

But now, she couldn't go, and Shi Xiaonan could already imagine the faces those people would make once this news spread.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but heave a long sigh, lamenting in her heart how her life had ended up like this! Just then, a person involuntarily came to her mind.

That Section Chief Zhang from the Street Office.

A few months ago, after a performance ended, this Section Chief Zhang had come specifically to the backstage to tell her how much he liked her acting.

This wouldn't have been anything unusual, especially for their small troupe; it was common for fans to like them, come backstage afterward, say a few words, or bring some gifts.

It was just that Shi Xiaonan's first impression of this Section Chief Zhang was not favorable; she was a very beautiful woman, and she was all too familiar with that look in Section Chief Zhang's eyes—what the other party had his eye on wasn't her acting, but her person.

His eyes kept darting toward her chest and hips.

Shi Xiaonan always kept such people at arm's length, especially while she was going through a divorce; if a scandal broke out, it would only make her more embarrassed.

However, Section Chief Zhang had not crossed any lines afterward, and instead, not long ago, he had informed her that there was an opportunity to perform in Hong Kong and that the Street Office could help her apply.

Otherwise, Shi Xiaonan wouldn't even have known about it.

Although, strictly speaking, going to Hong Kong didn't count as going abroad, the effect was much the same.

Once she had a resume with such a performance, her status would be different; she would rise to fame in the industry, go to larger troupes, and perform on bigger stages.

Yet, this also made Shi Xiaonan wary.

As the old saying goes, if someone offers a favor for no reason, they are either a traitor or a thief.

Section Chief Zhang helping her so much, combined with her previous impression, made her feel it was inappropriate.

But inappropriate or not, she still couldn't resist the temptation of performing in Hong Kong.

She thought to herself that it was organized by the Musician's Association anyway, and Section Chief Zhang was just helping her register.

Afterward, she would just pretend not to understand Section Chief Zhang's explicit and implicit hints.

Shi Xiaonan held onto a fluke mentality, but the result was that her efforts were all in vain.

At this moment, a thought suddenly popped into her head: would there still be a chance to salvage it if she went to find Section Chief Zhang?

But as soon as this thought emerged, her heart tightened again; based on the previous situation, if she went to find Section Chief Zhang, she feared she would have to pay a price.

Shi Xiaonan couldn't help but bite her lower lip, hesitant and indecisive.

……

After sending Bai Fengqin to the exam hall, Ning Weidong did not wait outside the whole time.

After all, he was not Bai Fengqin's relative, and being able to send her over was already decent enough. After smoking a cigarette at the entrance, Ning Weidong didn't return to the Manager, but went directly to the Siheyuan that Liu Yun had introduced earlier.

Now, after some maneuvering, this Siheyuan had been transferred to the name of the "Dongyi Trade Company."

One could tell from the name that this trade company, affiliated under the Mechanical Bureau, was set up by Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi.

Zhao Ruyi's personnel file had already been moved out of the Red Star Factory and placed with this collective-owned trade company.

To people nowadays, this seemed like complete nonsense.

Giving up a perfectly good position as a Cadre in a large State-owned enterprise to go to a ragtag collective enterprise.

Fortunately, Zhao Ruyi's family didn't have high expectations for her work anyway, and since there were indeed many people doing this now, they let her mess around.

Anyway, even if it didn't work out in the end, there was someone to bail her out.

Ning Weidong rode his bike and stopped in front of the courtyard gate.

By now, the sign for the trade company had already been hung on the gate of the Siheyuan.

Ning Weidong pushed his bike inside; as soon as he entered the courtyard, someone poked their head out from the gatehouse in the front yard, opening their mouth to question him, but upon seeing it was Ning Weidong, they hurriedly said, "Oh my, Brother Ning, you're here~"

This person was none other than Wang Xuewen; previously, Wang Xuewen and Zhao Chunming had both followed Ning Wei and helped Ning Weidong with quite a few things.

Later, Ning Wei went to the Red Star Factory, but Wang Xuewen and Zhao Chunming didn't follow; not long ago, since this place was just starting up, they simply brought the two of them over to fill the numbers, which also counted as having a proper job.

The two lads were overjoyed.

Although the trade company was a collective enterprise, for the past two or three years, the unemployed youth in Beijing were like locusts; let alone a proper trade company, even for selling big-bowl tea outside the Qianmen, many people were racking their brains to get the job.

Ning Weidong smiled, casually parked his bicycle in the front yard, and asked, "Is Ruyi inside?" Wang Xuewen hurriedly said, "Sister Zhao is inside; two people just came, and they seem to know Sister Zhao."

Ning Weidong nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go in and take a look." Saying this, he went through the open Chuihua Gate to the middle courtyard.

This courtyard had been well-maintained to begin with, so Zhao Ruyi didn't need to do much to tidy it up when she arrived.

In the summer, the doors and windows of every room in the courtyard were left open.

Ning Weidong swept his gaze and saw Zhao Ruyi's head appearing through the window of the North Room, where she was talking to two young people.

Ning Weidong walked over leisurely and called out "Ruyi" from outside.

Hearing the commotion, Zhao Ruyi turned her head to look, her eyes lighting up: "Weidong! Why are you here?"

As she spoke, she stood up and walked out from the room.

Ning Weidong walked inside.

Zhao Ruyi's Office was on the west side of the North Room, which, according to the layout of a Siheyuan, belonged to the master's bedroom.

However, the courtyard was converted for office use, and this place became the Office of Zhao Ruyi.

The original main room of the North Room was furnished into a reception room for guests.

Zhao Ruyi came out of the Office, followed by two young men.

Or to be more precise, two half-grown boys.

The two were one tall and one short; the tall one had red frostbitten patches on his face, looking as if he had just returned from a particularly cold place.

The short boy, however, had delicate skin and tender flesh.

Seeing Ning Weidong looking him up and down, he grinned and said, "Sister Ruyi, is this your partner?"

Zhao Ruyi glared at him: "Stop grinning at me, watch your mouth, if you dare to spout any nonsense, I'll break your shins."

(End of this chapter)