271: Are you thinking too far ahead?

After reviewing the day's achievements and identifying areas for improvement—checking where she hadn't performed well and how she could do better next time—Chen Xinyi gazed at Ye Su, who was busy eating, with affection in her eyes:

"Good brother, I won't have a job next month. Why don't you keep me for a while?"

"That's definitely not happening." Ye Su swallowed a mouthful of food, then immediately took on the role of a life mentor with a serious expression:

"You need to learn to be self-reliant; that's the only way to grow."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinyi put down her chopsticks, clutched her heart, and looked indignant: "How heartless!"

Although her request to be "kept" was flatly rejected by Ye Su, Chen Xinyi didn't care in the least, assuming Ye Su was just being sharp-tongued but soft-hearted again.

Besides, she was already eating his food, living in his place, and sleeping in his bed; it was no different from being kept by Ye Su.

Even though she didn't get a fixed monthly allowance like those who were truly being kept.

But the money Ye Su had helped her earn over the past few months was probably far more than what those professional kept people made.

Thinking of this, the look Chen Xinyi gave Ye Su gradually filled with tenderness and a touch of passion.

However, as Ye Su watched Chen Xinyi's exaggerated display of "indignation" just now, he felt like blacking out.

Things aren't like they were two years ago; acting in short dramas actually requires acting skills.

With acting like that, could she really pull off the short drama he invested in?

Could the system have messed up this time and given him a fake warm reminder?

Out of trust in the system, Ye Su went through a mental battle but ultimately chose to believe the "warm reminder" provided by the intelligence.

"You're quitting next month, so what are your plans?"

"Someone like me, what plans could I have?" Chen Xinyi carelessly picked up a piece of food and put it in her mouth: "Just taking it one day at a time."

"Then are you still looking for a job?"

Chen Xinyi rolled her eyes: "Of course, since you won't keep me, I have to keep looking for work."

"What kind of job do you plan to find?"

"Probably finance again, I don't know how to do anything else."

"Then are you interested in trying to act in a short drama?"

"Act in a short drama?"

Chen Xinyi was first surprised by Ye Su's sudden suggestion, then shook her head:

"I'm definitely interested, but there's no hope. Most companies making short dramas have partner agents, and casting is usually handled internally."

"Someone like me who hasn't signed with a company and has no connections doesn't even know what short dramas are being made or when and where auditions are held. Where would I get a chance? I'd better just honestly stick to being a wage slave."

"I just invested in a short drama today. The producer said casting starts in the next two days. If you're interested, I can put in a word for you with the producer."

"You invested in a short drama!" Chen Xinyi's chopsticks, which were just reaching her mouth, stopped comically in mid-air at Ye Su's words: "What short drama?"

"It's a 'big heroine' drama called 'After Rebirth, I Choose to Become the Empress.' Just hearing the title, you should know what kind of drama it is, right?"

Chen Xinyi nodded: "Got it."

She used to look down on short dramas, but ever since she downloaded a short drama app out of curiosity and watched one addictive show, she couldn't stop.

Long-form dramas nowadays aren't that great, so Chen Xinyi would find short dramas to pass the time every few days, naturally allowing her to guess the plot just by the title.

As for her saying she had thought about acting in short dramas, it was purely for the income; it had nothing to do with any "childhood dream of pursuing art."

She heard that if you could land a lead role in a short drama, the daily pay was several thousand yuan.

If you made it to the top tier of short dramas, you could even make ten or twenty thousand a day, plus additional traffic revenue.

It was hard work, though; she heard they had to shoot for over a dozen hours a day.

But two days of pay was enough to cover her monthly salary. Having made short videos for so long, Chen Xinyi had naturally thought about earning that kind of money.

It was just that she didn't have the connections, so it was only a thought.

"How about it? Do you want to try? If you do, I'll tell the producer and let you go try out for the female lead tomorrow."

"And it's for the female lead!" After processing this, Chen Xinyi nodded excitedly: "Yes, of course! Thank you, sugar daddy, for supporting me into the short drama circle!"

But then, Chen Xinyi worried: "I've never acted before. What if I mess it up?"

"No." Ye Su poured cold water on her: "Tomorrow is just for an audition. Whether you get picked depends on the director. You're already worrying about messing up the acting—aren't you thinking too far ahead?"

"Hehe—" Teased by Ye Su, Chen Xinyi sobered up from her excitement and laughed awkwardly: "Right, when does this short drama start filming, and how long will it take?"

"The producer said it starts this Saturday, and it's expected to shoot for eight days."

"Alright, if I get selected, I can use up my remaining leave. The timing works out perfectly."

"Alright, that's settled. Get off work early tomorrow afternoon, and I'll pick you up for the audition."

"Okay." After agreeing, Chen Xinyi asked anxiously: "For the audition, what should I do?"

Ye Su spread his hands: "How would I know? I'm not the one acting. Checking online yourself would be more reliable than asking me."

"True." After saying that, Chen Xinyi began to wolf down her food.

This display made Ye Su worry she would choke: "Slow down, there's no rush for these two minutes."

"Mm." Chen Xinyi replied perfunctorily without stopping her movements, finishing half a box of rice quickly: "I'll leave the cleaning to you. I'm going to prepare for tomorrow's audition."

"Hey—" Ye Su said unhappily: "You haven't even started filming the short drama yet, and you're already ordering me around?"

"It's a special circumstance, isn't it? After the audition tomorrow, I'll make it up to you properly."

As she passed by, Chen Xinyi made a [smack] sound and kissed Ye Su: "Love you, mwah—"

"Are you gross or what? You got oil all over my face!" Ye Su complained while disgustedly wiping off the oil from Chen Xinyi's kiss.

Chen Xinyi was in a great mood and ignored Ye Su's disgusted reaction. She hopped into the bathroom to rinse her mouth, planning to prepare well for tomorrow's audition tonight and strive to seize this rare opportunity.

Seeing Chen Xinyi enter the bathroom, Ye Su also got up on tiptoe and secretly hid beside the bathroom door.

It turns out that when people are up to no good, they never feel tired.

"Pop—" Just as Chen Xinyi finished rinsing her mouth and washing her face, she was ambushed by Ye Su, who retaliated by kissing a mouthful of oil onto her face.

"Are you gross!" Chen Xinyi knew Ye Su was childish, but she didn't expect him to be this childish. She roared and went back into the bathroom to wash her face.