Jiang Li believed she hadn't affected the work of the drama troupe. She composed herself and said calmly, "If you want me to stop performing, you should give me a proper reason."
The person in charge looked up haughtily, with a look of disdain on his face. "Jiang Li, this is an arrangement from the higher - ups. I'm not quite clear about the specific reason. It might be related to the illness you made public."
"You're being too much!" Jing Yi had come with Jiang Li today. Hearing the veiled meaning in the person in charge's words, she stamped her foot in anger, her face turning red. "What does this have to do with performing in the drama?"
Jiang Li frowned deeply. She stared silently at the person in charge for a few seconds, then turned around. "Jing Yi, let's go."
Jing Yi was still fuming. As she left, she gave the man a fierce glare and then trotted to catch up with Jiang Li.
After they left the drama troupe, Jing Yi was still indignant. "That guy just now looked down on people. He's so rude!"
Jiang Li averted her gaze and simply said softly, "Even a tiger will be bullied by dogs when it lands on flat ground."
Judging from the attitude of that person in charge just now, it was very likely that the order to stop her performance didn't come from the higher - ups at all. It was simply because the other person didn't like her.
Jiang Li had joined Baijiao through special arrangements. To put it bluntly, she was a "favored newcomer". Although she had been performing seriously since she joined, there were bound to be some people who didn't like her.
She had sensed before that this person in charge had some opinions about her, and now she was even more certain. It was obvious that he was taking advantage of her difficult situation to deliberately embarrass her and show her who was in charge.
Jing Yi half - opened her mouth and couldn't say a word for a long time.
She was not good with words and couldn't scold people as wittily as Ye. In the end, she just blurted out a "crazy person".
Jiang Li rarely heard her scold someone and burst out laughing.
"Sister Jiang Li, should we go to President Du?" Jing Yi came up with a solution, which was to complain to Du Shiming.
"No need." Jiang Li shook her head, very calm and resolute. She stood upright. "I have a way to make him beg me to come back and perform in the drama."
Jing Yi looked at Jiang Li's confident expression and nodded, half - believing.
When they got home, Jiang Li picked up her phone and posted a message on her Moments. She listed the plays she was going to practice recently and invited everyone to come and support her performance.
One of the plays was "The Draft".
After posting, she put the phone aside and started to memorize the drama lines.
A few hours later, she picked up the phone and looked at the likes from her friends. As expected, she saw Sheng Shuocheng's like and his message.
[Shuocheng Sheng: When will you perform "The Draft"?]
A simple question, and Jiang Li couldn't help but smile.
Before, Xiao Yanzhi had mentioned that Sheng Shuocheng's ex - wife's representative and well - known work was the drama "The Draft". Currently, there weren't many actors performing this drama, so she was sure it would catch the attention of the old President Sheng.
She replied calmly: [If you're interested, you can come and watch my performance in a month.]
[Shuocheng Sheng: Why a month?]
It was obvious that he was dissatisfied with this long waiting time.
While Jiang Li was still thinking about how to explain, the other person directly called her and asked in a calm tone, "Why do I have to wait for a month?"
Jiang Li answered euphemistically, "I've been suspended from performing."
There was an obvious moment of confusion on the other end, and then he said he would help her solve the problem and hung up the phone.
In less than half an hour, the person in charge of the drama troupe actually came to her home in person to apologize and begged her to come back and perform normally.
This time, there was not a trace of the previous arrogance and contempt on his face. He just bowed and pleaded. If Jiang Li didn't agree, he probably would have knelt down and kowtowed to her.
After getting Jiang Li's reply, he left with a beaming face. Before leaving, he bowed and thanked her again and again, as if Jiang Li was his savior.
Jing Yi watched the whole process and was so shocked that she gave Jiang Li a thumbs - up. "Although it doesn't seem very honorable, it's really satisfying."
Jiang Li let out a soft sigh and looked at her with a smile. "How is it dishonorable?"
Jing Yi choked and felt that she had said the wrong thing. She stammered, "Well... he already thought that Sister Jiang Li joined through connections. Now that you've asked the old President Sheng to put pressure, he'll think you're even more of a favored newcomer."
Jiang Li glanced at Jing Yi. "Even if it's through connections, it depends on whose connections."
Before, this person in charge thought that Jiang Li was relying on Du Shiming, so he naturally looked down on her. But now it was Sheng Shuocheng who had stepped in. Even if he still looked down on her, he had to think twice.
There were some people you just couldn't afford to offend.
Jing Yi seemed to understand but not really. "But in this way, won't he have even more opinions about you?"
Jiang Li smiled silently. "Even if I didn't do this, he wouldn't change his opinion of me. No matter how hard and serious I am in the troupe, if he doesn't like me, he still won't."
Prejudice in people's hearts is like an immovable mountain.
"Rather than that, it's better to find a stable way to prevent him from making things difficult for me in the future."
After she finished speaking, she tapped Jing Yi's head with her slender finger. "You still have a lot to learn."
Jing Yi looked at Jiang Li in front of her. Although she still didn't understand why Jiang Li had involved the old President Sheng in such a small matter, seeing the look in her eyes, she finally felt relieved.
As long as Jiang Li still had the will to fight, it was okay.
The suspension was cancelled, and Jiang Li smoothly returned to the troupe to perform. The person in charge didn't dare to show any sign of arrogance in front of Jiang Li. In fact, he even showed more concern than before.
Regarding his huge change, Jiang Li just smiled and said nothing.
On the day of performing "The Draft", Jiang Li saw the old President Sheng sitting in the first row backstage. This was within her expectation.
She had been practicing repeatedly in the past few days, aiming to make today's performance perfect.
Her efforts paid off. When she looked up during the curtain call, she happened to meet the old President Sheng's eyes. In his wise and deep eyes, there was a smile of approval for her.
Jiang Li returned the smile.
After the curtain fell, Zhang Yi came to pick up Jiang Li and said that the old President Sheng had come rarely and wanted to have a meal with her.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Jiang Li was no longer as nervous and cautious as before. She was more and more calm and natural. When she took her seat, she greeted President Sheng generously.
After chatting about today's performance for a few words, Sheng Shuocheng brought up a topic. "Jiang Li, there's a saying: Why use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken?"
Sheng Shuocheng picked up his teacup. His eyebrows were relaxed, and he asked her with a smile, "It was just a little trick from a subordinate. You still had to ask me to step in. Isn't that a bit of a waste?"
"Before, I asked you to rely on me, but you were very reluctant. Now, for such a small matter, you've brought me out. What's your intention?"