Chapter 54: The Figure at the Stairwell
Although she did nothing all day, Ye Zhiyun still felt very tired, mainly because Orange River’s interference had brought her a lot of trouble. She was originally one of the investors in the “Storm Seal” movie project, and a major one at that. But Orange River’s intervention increased the movie’s investment figure, and the dominant position suddenly shifted from Ye Zhiyun to Orange River.
Ye Zhiyun’s arm couldn’t twist the thigh; she couldn’t possibly add more money, so she had to give up. Orange River, after all, was a large company, and the movies they produced were quality guaranteed. Last year’s box office champion movie was invested and filmed by this company. And Director Zhang was still just a small director, unable to decide the movie’s direction. Naturally, he could only accept the investment.
But having her own project interfered with still felt unpleasant.
Miss Ye, in the face of power, could only choose to submit. After all, her strength was not yet strong enough to sit in the same position as her father. Besides, she had so many other movie projects; there was no need to hang herself on one tree. The movie directed by Murong Yan had also finished filming and would soon enter post-production. As one of the investors, she just had to wait for the movie to be released and make money.
Now she had to consider how to handle the photographer job for the summer comic convention. Although she took the job out of consideration for her friend’s face, she still had to do it well. So she had to buy a new, good camera, and also wear makeup; image was still very important.
Besides discussing work matters and her studies, Ye Zhiyun spent her spare time taking pictures. In this aspect, no one was more skilled than her. She had already thought about what she wanted to study in university. She wouldn’t necessarily follow the path paved by her father, but she would definitely create her own career.
Like this Orange River incident, once she had the ability, she would absolutely not let this kind of thing happen again.
Ye Zhiyun then entered a dual mode of work and study…
Speaking of which, how was Yu Linna doing…
Since agreeing to this matter, she had already requested leave for next week. It was her first time being a cosplayer. Besides nervousness, she was more excited. She was going to make big money!
“Hey, Sister Qing, I need to take leave next week for something.”
“Ah, well… it’s a bit busy, please understand…”
“Alright, alright, I know. I’ll find time to go over.”
Hanging up the phone, Yu Linna sighed heavily. Sure enough, taking leave meant getting docked pay.
Don’t look at Yu Linna working so many part-time jobs, seeming like she could earn a lot from each one. But in reality, she wasn’t specialized in any single job. She spread her attention too thin, wanting to earn here, wanting to earn there. In the end, none of her jobs were stable.
Yu Linna was also aware of this point. It was just that she was really short of money.
But being used to finding joy in hardship, she didn’t show much sadness. She still whistled, ate when she should eat, slept when she should sleep. Several more days passed like this, her life remaining uneventful, passing peacefully.
Since telling Fang Jianing she decided to go to the summer comic convention, Fang Jianing was overjoyed, almost giving her a big hug in front of everyone. Did she like hanging out with her that much?
Of course, the happiest one was Huo Ningning, the girl who always wanted to get close to her. Knowing she was also going to the comic convention, her face flushed red, the smile unable to be contained. She silently made a cheering gesture to herself, seemingly planning something. Forget it, Yu Linna didn’t care about this at all.
The senior year curriculum was tight. After a day of classes, almost everyone felt dehydrated. Yu Linna also felt quite tired. Even for a top student, a day of high-intensity studying was exhausting. She packed her schoolbag and textbooks early, planning to go straight home. She had to work later in the evening and needed to go back and grab something to eat.
“Bye-bye, Linna, see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
After saying goodbye, Yu Linna chose to walk home to save the two yuan bus fare. She was always a loner. If no one actively approached her, she basically wouldn’t talk to people. Her personality was inherently indifferent, never liking to socialize much. She just liked doing things silently.
But the appearance of Fang Jianing and Huo Ningning seemed to have stirred ripples in her peaceful life.
She whistled softly, spending about an hour walking, her stomach conveniently getting hungry. She entered the commoner district where she lived, holding a string of keys, about to go upstairs.
“Yu girl, you’re back.”
Just as she reached the stairwell, the landlady was already standing there. Her large rolls of fat jiggled with her cheeks, her eyes filled with malice. She stood with her arms crossed, her massive body blocking the stairwell entrance.
“Land, Landlady…”
Yu Linna was dumbfounded. She never expected the landlady to be waiting for her here.
Although this wasn’t the first time, being caught by the landlady like this again still made her panic. Undoubtedly, the landlady was here to collect rent. She owed quite a lot of rent; not counting this month’s, last month’s hadn’t been paid either.
The landlady had reached her limit; she couldn’t tolerate it anymore. She had to catch her. Even if Yu Linna were stupid, she should know what this meant, let alone the fact that she was actually very smart.
“Yu girl, tell me, how do you plan to resolve this today?”
The landlady’s fierce gaze made the girl tremble. Her feet felt glued, unable to move, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Her complexion also turned bad.
“Ma’am, I… please wait another week for me. I’ll get the money soon and pay you back last month’s…”
“No! You have to pay today! Yu girl, I tolerated you dragging the rent because I saw you were a child with no adults around. But today it’s been too long, I can’t tolerate it anymore! You must pay today!”
“I… I don’t have the money…”
Yu Linna had recently gone to Shenzhen for the audition and screen test. Accommodation and food cost quite a bit, rapidly shrinking her previous savings. She was already unable to make up the overdue rent. She could only wait until next week’s summer comic convention, get the money, and then consider paying it back.
But before that, she couldn’t produce the money.
“No money? If you have no money, don’t even think about going up to sleep tonight! Sleep on the street!”
“Landlady, please be kind. I’ll pay you back next week, really. Don’t kick me out.”
Yu Linna was scared. She repeatedly apologized, bowing constantly. But the landlady didn’t buy it at all, simply refusing to let her go up. She had tolerated Yu Linna for too long; today she couldn’t bear it anymore.
“Yu girl, I didn’t rush you because I saw you were a child. But a person’s patience is limited. Paying debts is natural justice. If you don’t pay, don’t go back today. Don’t think I’m easy to talk to. I won’t let this go today. One word: pay the rent!”
Yu Linna’s body trembled, her face pale. She had absolutely no idea what to do. If she didn’t give her the money tonight, she would really have to sleep on the street tonight, a situation she least wanted.
But she couldn’t come up with that much money either. Two months’ worth, how could she possibly make it up just like that?
“Landlady, please, be lenient, okay? I really will pay back the money, please.”
“No!”
“Ma’am, please, one week, okay? Just one week…”
Yu Linna was crying, her eyes brimming with tears as she begged, almost kneeling down. But the landlady remained unmoved.
“Don’t try to act pitiful with me! I’m not falling for your act! No money, then get lost onto the street!”
“No, no…”
“If you don’t want to, then pay the money!”
The girl felt helpless and lost at this moment, completely unsure what to do.
Neighbors heard the commotion and opened their doors to see the situation. Seeing it was the landlady collecting debt from Yu Linna, everyone quickly closed their doors. After all, no one wanted to get involved. This made Yu Linna feel even colder.
In such an isolated and helpless situation, she was completely abandoned.
Unable to produce the money, she could only sleep on the street. But she couldn’t scrape it together.
Why did it turn out like this…
Why did all the unlucky things happen to her alone?
Why her specifically…
Why couldn’t she live a normal life like a normal person, instead of living such a miserable life?
Now, impoverished and destitute, she was also about to be kicked out.
“Wait a minute.”
Suddenly, a slender little hand patted her head. The tears in her eyes were gently flicked away by this hand, droplets splashing onto the ground.
Then came a pulling force. That hand pulled her back, her whole body drawn backward. When she looked up, a figure already stood before her.
This figure wasn’t very broad, nor large. On the contrary, it was very slender, perhaps breakable with a slight bend. But it was this very figure that shielded her behind it.
“Ye Zhiyun…”
Her tears weren’t dry, but she still recognized the owner of that back. Back when she was chased into the alley by the punks, it was this figure that fiercely protected her, preventing her from getting hurt even a little.
“Leave this to me.”
Ye Zhiyun said nothing more, just simply gave her the words she most wanted to hear.
“Wild girl, where did you pop out from? Are you planning to stand up for her? Let me tell you, as long as she doesn’t pay the money, no one gets past me!”
The landlady was imposing, arms crossed, not yielding an inch.
Ye Zhiyun looked at the trembling girl behind her. This girl was still crying incessantly, looking utterly helpless. She roughly understood what had happened.
She knew before that she was very poor, just didn’t expect it to reach this point.
“The money she owes, I’ll pay.”
A simple sentence, enough to soothe all the unease in that person’s heart.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I’ll pay. I brought cash when I came out. However much she owes, I’ll pay that much. That should be fine, right?”
The landlady stared at the black-haired girl’s face for a long time. Seeing that she didn’t seem to be joking, her expression finally softened.
“Ye Zhiyun, this…”
“Don’t talk. Listen to me. I’ll handle this.”
Ye Zhiyun made her stand properly behind her, not letting her interfere, indicating she could resolve all the problems herself.
“I have no objection to you helping her, but let me make it clear first: if she continues to owe next month, I will definitely kick her out.”
“Don’t worry. What’s owed will definitely be paid. Please don’t make things difficult for her anymore. Her affairs, I will handle them.”
She stood before her, no nonsense, only simple action. But this simple action left a very deep impression on Yu Linna.
She could have ignored all this at the stairwell; it originally had nothing to do with her. But when she saw the tears on the blonde girl’s face, at that moment, something seemed to snap inside her. Then, she stood out without hesitation, pulling her behind.
Why did she do it? She didn’t know either. Just subconsciously felt that she didn’t want others to bully her.
It was just that simple.
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