Chapter 81: The Reason

After finishing the editing that day, Wu Yu has finally managed to relax. The remaining post-production procedures could be handed over to others. These few people had been following him since "Car 44," and after the previous production of "The Night of the Comet," their experience was more or less sufficient. Wu Yu cannot be expected to handle every single thing himself.

Of course, he certainly wouldn't treat them unfairly; when handing out red envelopes to the crew of "The Comet," the behind-the-scenes staff were not left out.

After leaving the Qingying Studio, Wu Yu strolled through the Tao Jingying Academy campus to stretch his limbs. As he walked, he spotted two familiar faces near the teaching building.

"Chen Kun, the exams are already over, don't overthink it. Tell me when the results come out; if you pass, everyone will be happy. If your score really isn't enough, I'll think of another way."

Chen Kun nodded. He had just returned to Beijing to earn money after finishing the college entrance exam in Shancheng a few days ago. It just so happened that Teacher Cui was calling to check on everyone's situation, so he ran directly to the school to talk in person.

Every year after the college entrance exam, these acting class admissions teachers feel a bit anxious because there are always cases where the students they have their eyes on don't have high enough scores in their academic subjects.

Take Zhang Ziyi, for example; on the day of the college entrance exam, she was still out performing and didn't take the test at all. When Teacher Chang Li found out, she was worried sick. In the end, Teacher Chang dug out all the regulations and read them from beginning to end before finding a clause stating that students who had won the Taoli Cup could be exempted from the academic exam, which is how she managed to save Zhang Ziyi.

Cui Xinqin felt the same way. Although she had a few spots in her hand to apply for a lower score threshold for special admissions, it couldn't be too low.

"Teacher Cui!"

Cui Xinqin turned her head to look, then smiled and said, "Oh, Wu Yu, why are you still at school during summer break?"

Wu Yu smiled, "I'm just wandering around aimlessly. I didn't expect you to be so busy in this heat."

The college entrance exam is currently still held in July; it wasn't moved to June until 2003.

Then Wu Yu turned his head and said to Chen Kun, "You are Chen Kun, right?"

Chen Kun was quite surprised. He nodded and asked in astonishment, "You know me?"

"I've seen your performance at the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe. Li Xiaoran and I are friends," Wu Yu said with a smile. Upon hearing this, Chen Kun suddenly understood.

"You two chat first, I'm going back to handle other students' matters." Seeing the two students start to chat, Cui Xinqin didn't stay any longer.

After Cui Xinqin left, Chen Kun asked, "How is Xiaoran doing lately?"

"She should be fine. I've been a bit busy lately and haven't been in touch with her." After being asked by Chen Kun, Wu Yu realized he hadn't contacted Li Xiaoran for several months.

In these past few months, he had been filming "Together" and "The Night of the Comet," had Jiang Qinqin by his side, and often called to check on Ceng Li's exam preparation. He really had forgotten.

Seeing Wu Yu's expression, Chen Kun tentatively asked, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Xiaoran quit her job."

"Ah? When did this happen?" Wu Yu was shocked and asked immediately.

"I'm not sure exactly when. I quit my job and went back to Shancheng for the exam after finishing the art exam here. A friend told me when I returned to Beijing two days ago."

Chen Kun still felt a bit regretful and envious when mentioning it. Although he and Li Xiaoran were both in the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, their incomes were worlds apart because he didn't have a permanent position. If he had a permanent position, he wouldn't have considered trying for the art exam at all; the household registration and income issues would have been solved in an instant. But Li Xiaoran just quit like that.

Wu Yu frowned and asked, "What exactly is going on? Do you know anything more?"

"I heard something happened in the troupe. I just heard a bit, I really don't know the specifics."

Wu Yu nodded, then said to Chen Kun, "Thank you! I haven't introduced myself yet; my name is Wu Yu, I'll be a sophomore soon. If you have any trouble at Tao Jingying Academy in the future, you can come to me!"

"No problem." Chen Kun shook hands with Wu Yu.

Wu Yu was no longer in the mood to chat with Chen Kun. He didn't expect Li Xiaoran to have quit her job just like in his past life. As he walked, he took out his phone and called her, but no one answered. He called her home and tentatively asked her mother a few questions, but it seemed her family knew nothing about it and thought she was still working at the song and dance troupe.

Seeing this situation, Wu Yu rushed directly to her rental apartment.

Knock, knock, knock. After several consecutive knocks, Li Xiaoran walked behind the door, leaned against it, and asked tentatively, "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Hearing Wu Yu's voice, Li Xiaoran breathed a sigh of relief. She opened the door, pulled Wu Yu in, and then quickly slammed it shut.

Wu Yu looked at Li Xiaoran at this moment: her hair was messy, her eyes were sleepy, her lower body was wearing home-style shorts revealing her fair legs, and the small vest on her upper body was also bulging.

However, he had no time to focus on these things now. Noticing Li Xiaoran's cautious manner when opening the door, he knew she must have run into some trouble again.

"Sister Ranran, why did you quit your job?" Wu Yu asked directly.

"Ah? How did you know?" Li Xiaoran asked in surprise.

"Never mind how I know. You should talk about yourself first. I called your mom, and she doesn't even know."

"You didn't tell my mom and the others, did you?" Li Xiaoran immediately asked nervously.

"No, I'm helping you keep it a secret. What exactly is going on?"

Hearing Wu Yu mention this, Li Xiaoran's expression couldn't help but collapse:

"Don't mention it, I'm annoyed to death by this. It's that guy surnamed Lu from last time again."

"He's pestering you again? And he managed to get your troupe to fire you?!" Wu Yu immediately frowned. He didn't feel that the guy surnamed Lu was that powerful last time.

Li Xiaoran waved her hand, "No, it's just him alone, and he went bankrupt."

"What?" This twist left Wu Yu stunned again.

Li Xiaoran let Wu Yu sit down, got him a drink, and continued:

"I don't know the specifics, but he kept shouting that he was set up and lost everything. Not long after the New Year, he ran to our song and dance troupe, demanding back all the money he spent on flower baskets before."

Wu Yu remembered hearing that this guy surnamed Lu had gone to ask for it once, but left when he didn't succeed. He didn't expect that things are unpredictable; he became a pauper so quickly and ran back to ask for it again.

"And then?"

"How could our song and dance troupe agree to refund it! They kicked him out directly. Seeing that he couldn't mess with the troupe, he ended up pestering me, hanging around the entrance of the troupe every day, shouting about how much money he spent on me and that I have to be responsible."

"I was so annoyed I had no choice, so I took out 5,000 yuan myself to get him to stop pestering me. But he became even worse, latching onto me. He just stays at the entrance of the troupe all day, shouting that I cheated him out of 100,000 yuan, that I'm a vixen, and that he won't leave until I pay him back."

Wu Yu frowned as he heard this. He didn't expect that a person who looked like a gang leader back then had now become a shameless rogue.

"Then why didn't your troupe do something about it?"

"I get angry just talking about this. I called the police several times, but the police told us to handle it ourselves. I was already annoyed, and then our leader came to lecture me, telling me to solve it quickly and not to smear the troupe's reputation."

"That was gift money they received; at most, I only got a little bonus, and I even spent that. Now they're blaming me! I had a big fight with the leader and just quit."

Mentioning this, Li Xiaoran pouted, feeling a bit indignant and aggrieved.

Wu Yu didn't expect that such an incident back then would evolve into this situation. It was completely beyond his expectations, and he finally understood the reason for Li Xiaoran's resignation.

He thought of Li Xiaoran's cautious look when opening the door earlier, and his heart stirred as he asked:

"Is that guy surnamed Lu still pestering you?"

Li Xiaoran nodded, "He found his way here. Every few days he bangs on the door, demanding I pay him back. I've been trapped in my house for a long time."

"Why don't you go back to live with your parents?"

"If I go back, he'll follow me to the courtyard gate and cause a scene. How would my parents face people? I'd have shamed them completely."

Hearing this, Wu Yu sighed. Encountering such a shameless rogue who has completely lost all sense of shame is indeed very disgusting.

"Why didn't you contact me?"

Li Xiaoran glanced at Wu Yu, turned her head away, and said, "I didn't want to cause you trouble. Aren't you in a relationship?"

"Sigh, you really are..."

Wu Yu wanted to say something to her, but thought better of it and changed the subject:

"I'll stay with you for these few days. Help me tidy up."

"Really?!" Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoran's eyes lit up, showing joy. With Wu Yu staying here to accompany her, she wouldn't have to worry or be afraid anymore.

"Would I tease you?"

Li Xiaoran happily went up and hugged Wu Yu, saying joyfully:

"You're still the closest to me~"

Afterwards, she pulled Wu Yu inside excitedly and came to a computer desk:

"Let me tell you, computer games are so fun. I've been playing games at home every day for these past few months!"

Wu Yu looked at this computer, which seemed quite retro to him, and couldn't help but ask, "You quit your job and still bought a computer? Do you still have money?"

He knew that a computer currently costs over 10,000 yuan, and Li Xiaoran isn't someone who likes to save money. She also paid that guy surnamed Lu 5,000 yuan, and with no income for these past few months, she must be close to bankruptcy!

Li Xiaoran wrinkled her nose and waved her hand, "I bought it before I quit. Don't worry about it."

She had bought the computer because she was annoyed by Wu Yu, but she is the type of person whose emotions come and go quickly. That little matter had already been thrown to the back of her mind, and now she just wanted to show off to Wu Yu:

"Let me tell you, playing that Monopoly game is so interesting. I'll teach you in a bit. I guarantee you'll be addicted after playing for a while!"

Hearing about the game "Monopoly," Wu Yu felt a bit dazed. Such a distant memory!

There was no need for Li Xiaoran to teach him at all. He bullied Li Xiaoran so much in two games that she wailed, calling it impossible and refusing to believe she was that bad.

While Li Xiaoran went to cook, Wu Yu saw the game icon for "Legend of Sword and Fairy" on the desktop, and a wave of emotion surged up. Lost youth!

After Li Xiaoran brought over two bowls of noodles, seeing Wu Yu open "Legend of Sword and Fairy," she couldn't help but say, "This game was okay when I first started playing, but it got boring after a week or two."

"Boring?" Wu Yu asked rhetorically. He felt that such a classic game couldn't be called boring.

"Yeah, just spinning around in that one fishing village, hitting little bees. I felt it was meaningless after playing for two weeks," Li Xiaoran complained.

Hearing this, Wu Yu tilted his head and looked at Li Xiaoran strangely. If he could send an emoji, he would really want to give her a black man question mark face.

"Which plot point did you reach?"

"What plot? Isn't this just a game about hitting little bees?" Li Xiaoran said with her innocent, wide eyes.

Seeing Li Xiaoran answer so naturally, without any intention of lying to him, Wu Yu's mouth twitched.

Played for two weeks and still spinning around in the fishing village? Hitting little bees every day?

This silly girl wouldn't happen to not know that this game has a plot progression, would she?

He loaded the game and saw that Li Xiaoyao was currently at Shili Slope, with the information bar clearly showing level 31.

"How many hours a day do you play this?"

"I don't know, I have nothing to do at home anyway."

Wu Yu was truly impressed. In his past life, he heard of a player from Taiwan who spent half a year grinding to level 71 at Shili Slope and was called the Sword God of Shili Slope. He didn't expect to meet a Li Xiaoran by his side who spent two weeks grinding little bees to level 31!

Wu Yu used the mouse to operate Li Xiaoyao, ran to the pier of the fishing village, clicked on an NPC to start a conversation, and then the screen changed, appearing on the sea in a boat.

Li Xiaoran was stunned. She threw the bowl containing the noodles onto the table and exclaimed, "Ah! So you can take a boat out to sea!"

Now she couldn't care about eating, squeezed over, and grabbed the mouse to operate it herself.

Wu Yu didn't fight her for it. Watching her excitedly operate Li Xiaoyao to wander around, he went to the side and ate his noodles.

Night, 12 o'clock. Wu Yu urged Li Xiaoran from the side, "Sister Ranran, it's time to tidy up the bed for me."

"How old are you? Go tidy it up yourself!" Li Xiaoran didn't even turn her head, she was addicted to the computer.

"If you don't tidy it up, I'm going to sleep on your bed!"

"Suit yourself~" she said, pushing Wu Yu away.

Wu Yu knew that once she got addicted to a game, she wouldn't have any sense of time, so he didn't bother with her. He took a shower, put on a vest and big shorts, and lay on the bed to sleep.

The next morning, Wu Yu felt something pressing on his chest in his daze. After opening his eyes, he discovered it was a fair arm.

He gently picked up Li Xiaoran's arm and placed it to the side. Seeing Li Xiaoran sleeping soundly beside him without any image, he didn't know what time she played until last night.

Wu Yu felt that Li Xiaoran was truly gifted: skin as white as snow, and a delicate figure.

There were certainly people in the circle with better figures than her, but almost no one could be picked out with better skin than her. Her skin was so white it glowed; she was the girl with the best skin Wu Yu had ever seen, bar none.

Li Xiaoran had a loyal fan, Chen Shu, who praised Li Xiaoran's appearance many times in different programs in his past life. Look at her original words: "When I was in school, I thought, how can someone be so well-grown! Thick eyelashes, fair skin, big watery eyes, moving and charming. Standing beside her, I felt like an ugly duckling, so envious. She was truly fed by God!"

Afterwards, Wu Yu got up on tiptoe. He couldn't stay here forever; he still had to go to the post-production of "Together" during the day to check on the situation, and come back to accompany her at night. If anything happened, she could call him at any time. After going out, he also pondered that he had to think of a way to solve that rogue surnamed Lu.

When he returned in the afternoon, Wu Yu was carrying a bag. After entering, he saw that Li Xiaoran had already woken up and was sitting in front of the computer motionless.

He put the bag on the table, walked over, and took a look. Li Xiaoran was currently curled up on the chair with her legs, her eyes red, and tears constantly flowing out. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Seeing Wu Yu walk to her side, Li Xiaoran said with a crying voice, "What kind of broken game is this! How could Lin Yueru die!"

Wu Yu stared at the screen and took a look. It turned out that she had reached the plot where Lin Yueru died. This was considered one of the most tear-jerking scenes in the game, and it was clear that Li Xiaoran had been broken.

He chuckled:

"Should I delete this game?"

"You dare!"

Li Xiaoran immediately glared at him, then wailed again, "My Yueru!"

Seeing this, Wu Yu smiled knowingly. This was basically a hurdle that every fan of the Sword and Fairy must go through. Young lady, there is still a tragic ending waiting for you!

Late at night.

Lu San, the former Boss Lu, now the pauper Lu, wearing flip-flops, walked toward Li Xiaoran's door again.

He now truly had nothing left. His business was gone, his lackeys were scattered, and he had lost his former momentum and style. He didn't dare to provoke anyone with any power. The only thing he felt had hope of getting money from was Li Xiaoran. Therefore, he came to harass her irregularly. The police couldn't do anything to him because of this anyway. Anyway, the only thing he had now was time.

When he walked to Li Xiaoran's door, Lu San was about to knock on the door with a bang as usual, but suddenly discovered that the door didn't seem to be closed. He pushed it gently, and the door opened.

Lu San poked his head in to look. There was a floor bed on the living room floor, and a sturdy young man was sleeping on it. He looked carefully; wasn't this Li Xiaoran's soldier boyfriend he saw half a year ago? Did he return from the army and sleep in the living room specifically to wait for him?

Lu San wanted to retreat a bit. After all, he had no lackeys now, and he himself was just a middle-aged man in his forties whose body had been hollowed out by cigarettes and alcohol. Bullying women was fine, but facing this kind of soldier, he might be beaten half to death.

Just when he wanted to leave, he saw through the light from the corridor that there were several stacks of large banknotes on the living room table. This made his eyes turn red instantly, and his feet couldn't move.

Lu San looked carefully; it should be 50,000 yuan. He swallowed his saliva and gritted his teeth. This was originally money owed to him!

Seeing that Wu Yu was still sleeping soundly, he took off his flip-flops and tiptoed into the room. Wu Yu on the floor bed had no reaction, his breathing heavy and even.

Lu San picked up the money stack by stack from the table, his heartbeat accelerating involuntarily, and he was also extremely excited. After taking this money, he would leave Beijing overnight and head south to Yangcheng.

Everything seemed as smooth as a dream. The moment Lu San stepped one foot out of the room, he wanted to run away, not even wearing his flip-flops. But before he could take two steps, he was kicked to the ground from behind.

Wu Yu pressed him down directly from behind, gave him a few more hard kicks, took out the rope he had prepared, and tied his hands, shouting at the same time, "Sister, call the police!"

More than an hour later, Wu Yu and Li Xiaoran had already finished their statements.

Lu San didn't admit it at first, but he couldn't deny it with the stolen goods caught. Later, he changed his story, saying this was a debt owed to him, and it was only right for him to take it. Heh, let's see if anyone believes his ghost stories.

After coming out, Li Xiaoran asked, "Did the police just say this counts as theft or robbery?"

"Theft."

"It would be great if it could be classified as robbery," Li Xiaoran sighed and said.

Wu Yu naturally understood that Li Xiaoran hoped he could be sentenced longer, probably wishing she would never see this person again for the rest of her life.

He said softly with a smile, "Don't worry, he won't be getting out for ten years."

"Ah? Really? I see some thieves get out after half a year or a year?" Li Xiaoran asked.

Wu Yu said lightly, "The amount is different, and he ran into the muzzle of a gun."

An incident happened this year that many people don't know about and don't mention much. A big figure whose name cannot be mentioned and whose status is too high to be mentioned was killed by a knife because of a theft. It was very absurd, very magical, but it happened. This incident triggered thunderous anger, and a major earthquake occurred in places unseen in the entire capital, followed by the second crackdown across all of China.

Now is exactly this special time period. This Lu San is also committing theft, which can be said to have run right into the muzzle of a gun. Don't even think about coming out again without spending ten years inside sewing sewing machines.

After hearing Wu Yu's explanation, Li Xiaoran was sure she wouldn't be pestered again, and she was overjoyed. She was finally liberated, feeling as if the dark clouds covering her head had dissipated.

She jumped up, wrapped her arms around Wu Yu's neck, kissed him several times on the face, and cheered excitedly, "I love you to death!"

Only her cheers could be heard on the empty street at night. Wu Yu was also infected by her happy mood, held her, and spun her around in place.

Feeling the white rabbits constantly rising and falling against his chest, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that his Sister Ranran's figure was too good, making him almost unable to hold on.

After returning that night, Li Xiaoran was too excited to sleep, so she pulled Wu Yu to... grind the game together.

Wu Yu didn't have the energy to accompany her. He turned around and went back to his room to sleep. The post-production of "Together" would be completed in these two days, and he planned to keep a close eye on it.

The next day, Li Xiaoran pushed away the 50,000 yuan on the table, "Take it away, take it away, I don't need your money~"

"I'm offering to lend it to you and you don't want it? You'll miss this opportunity if you pass this village," Wu Yu raised an eyebrow and said.

Li Xiaoran thought about the fact that she had spent her account down to only 200 yuan, but she still said toughly, "I'll go shoot commercials, I can earn money by taking photos."

Wu Yu gave her a thumbs up and put the money into his bag, "An independent new woman, much better than the fairies twenty years later. I give you a like!"

Li Xiaoran didn't understand what Wu Yu was babbling about, but in her view, wasn't this a matter of course?

Wu Yu thought for a moment that Li Xiaoran had quit her job at the song and dance troupe, and she would probably move towards the path of an actor in the future, so he asked, "Sister Ranran, seriously, have you considered going to take the exam for a film academy or something?" ===== CHAPTER 82 =====