Chapter 13: An Old Friend in a Foreign Land (Part 2)!

  After chatting for half a day, Xu Jie finally noticed Wang Xue beside her. Seeing this beautiful girl with a lovely face, and then looking at Zhang Ziheng who is now successful in his career, Xu Jie smiled and said: "Right, Ziheng, you two are boyfriend and girlfriend, aren't you?"

  These words made Zhang Ziheng and Wang Xue both stunned for a moment, then they all said in unison: "No."

  "Haha, looking at how tacit you are, even if it's not now, maybe someday it will be." Xǔ Jié chuckled.

  "It's really not, after all these years of being classmates, don't joke with me like that. We're just colleagues, she's the chairman's daughter, the big sister in the company." Zhang Ziheng said with a bitter smile.

  What she said was right, but Wang Xue felt a bit awkward hearing it. "Who are you being sarcastic to? What's wrong with my dad being the chairman? If you're not satisfied, you can find a rich dad for yourself." After saying that, Wang Xue gave him a cold glance and walked away.

  Xu Jie looked at them in confusion and asked: "What's going on? Did I say something wrong? Why are you two arguing?"

  Zhang Ziheng smiled and shook his head, saying: "It's okay, she's always been like this, spoiled since childhood, getting angry at the slightest thing. Don't mind her, let's continue chatting. By the way, what made you think of becoming a star?"

  "Hehe, this is an unexpected surprise. When I was in school, I always liked singing, and after coming here, I went to music college. In my free time, I like to write songs and stuff, who knew that one day, when I went to KTV with friends, I was discovered by a talent scout from our company. He said I have great potential and even offered to help me release an album." Xǔ Jié smiled.

  "So you agreed then?"

  "Of course not, who knows if he's a scammer in that situation. So the next day, I took the business card he gave me to the company, and unexpectedly everything he said was true. After going back home, I told my parents about this, they were all very supportive of me, and I also wanted to sing out the songs I wrote, so I signed a contract with the company." Xu Jie's words seemed ordinary, but Zhang Ziheng always felt like it was a dream, maybe this is something that can't be sought after for him.

  "You're doing great now, you've become a big star. I think among all our classmates, you're probably the one who's done the best." Zhang Ziheng said with envy, thinking about his own current situation.

  But unexpectedly, after Zhang Ziheng said that, Xu Jie's expression became even more melancholic. "Do you think being a star is really that great? I'd rather be an ordinary person now."

  "What's wrong? You look unhappy," Zhang Ziheng asked.

  Xu Jie nodded and said, "Actually, I didn't think about becoming a big star at first. I just wanted to sing the songs I wrote myself, and the record company gave me that opportunity, which is also a great platform. So at the time, I didn't think too much and signed with them. But after entering the company, I realized that everything wasn't what I thought it would be. Although I had the opportunity, sang records, and achieved good results, the workload was really too much every day. Sometimes I really couldn't bear it."

  "It's normal for work to be hard, everyone is the same, you shouldn't be so complaining."

  "Yes, it's true that hard work doesn't matter, but can't they treat me like a human being? In front of the public, I'm a superstar who is chased after by many people, but inside the company, I'm just an employee. Once, I worked continuously for two days and two nights, my body was exhausted to the point where I couldn't take it anymore, but they didn't give me any time to rest at all. Do you know? As long as the company can make money, they don't care about the life or death of an artist." Xu Jie said this with tears in her eyes, apparently she had suffered a lot of grievances.

  Zhang Ziheng hastily handed over a tissue and said, "So being an artist is so hard? I see those stars on TV and they all seem fine, but behind the scenes, there are so many heart-wrenching stories."

  Xu Jie wiped away her tears and said, "Actually, it's been pretty good lately. My records have been selling well on the market, and gradually, the people in the company have become more polite to me. Moreover, as you just saw, basically my agent was doing all the talking, I could only listen from the side."

  "Actually, your agent just wants to make more money for you, it's nothing." Zhang Ziheng said.

  "Do you know? Every time I get the money, it's only thirty percent of the total. The rest is all taken by the company. So she's not doing it for me, but for the company, for herself." Xu Jie said with a bitter smile.

  "Huh? So that's how it is. If you put it that way, you're actually quite impressive." After hearing Xu Jie's words, Zhang Ziheng suddenly felt that he was doing pretty well himself. He had a stable job, a fixed income every month, and the people in the company were nice to him. Thinking about it this way, he suddenly felt some sympathy for Xu Jie.

  Xu Jie sighed and continued: "Actually, I can tolerate all these things, after all, it's for a living. But now that I'm considered a public figure, every time I go out, I have to wear a hat and sunglasses, afraid of being recognized by others. Sometimes even going out to buy something requires attention to image, which makes me feel very uncomfortable. By the way, do you know what my greatest wish is?"

  "What is it?"

  "I want to wear slippers and shorts, and have dinner and drinks with friends at a roadside stall. And it's still in the extremely hot summer, everyone is sweating, drinking iced beer on one side and eating lamb skewers on the other, that feeling... hmm... it's really cool." Xǔ Jié said with her eyes closed and a look of nostalgia.

  Zhang Ziheng was delighted, never expecting her wish to be so simple, even a bit common. But for a star like her, this kind of thing that ordinary people find easiest to do is actually something she can't achieve.

  After lunch, Xu Jie returned to the company to record a song. Zhang Ziheng wanted to go to the photography studio to take a look, and the advertisement had been shot for two days. He wanted to see how it was going. Wang Xue was driven away by herself and had no choice but to sit on the bus after losing her sports car seat.

  On the bus, Zhang Ziheng inadvertently looked out of the window and suddenly saw a familiar figure. It was Director Xu, who was getting off her car at this time and walking into a coffee shop. The bus happened to be stopped at the station, and Zhang Ziheng looked at the open rear door, thought for a moment, and got off.

  He himself didn't know why he got off the bus, there were still several stops away from the studio, maybe it was because he wanted to know why Xu would appear here during working hours.

  Driven by curiosity, Zhang Ziheng also walked into the coffee shop. After entering, he saw Xu Zong sitting with his back to him in a window seat not far away, and in front of her was a man who appeared to be around thirty years old.

  "How many of you are there?" The waiter came over and asked.

  "Ah? Oh, one seat, I'll sit there." Zhang Ziheng said, pointing to the seat behind President Xu.

  "Alright, this way, sir."

  Zhang Ziheng followed the waiter to his seat, casually ordered a cup of green tea, and listened to Mr. Xu's conversation with that man while drinking.

  "Look at you lately, seems like you're doing pretty well, is it because you've got another good thing going on?" The man said with a smile to Director Xu.

  "Song Fan, I didn't expect that after such a long time, your mouth is still so cheap. This is this month's money, quickly disappear from my sight." Xu Boss sounded very unhappy.

  The person called Song Fan took over the envelope thrown by Director Xu, opened it and looked at it, then laughed and said: "Oh, you really worked hard, every month at this time to come and give me money. In fact, looking at your current success and beauty, I really regret divorcing you."

  "Pfft... cough, cough." Zhang Ziheng almost spat out the green tea he had just drunk. He was stunned and listened intently. The man said he regretted divorcing Xu Zong, so did that mean Xu Zong had been married before? Was this man her ex-husband? Was this true? But Xu Zong didn't look like someone who had been married before at all.

  "Really? Well, let me tell you, I really regret marrying you. I truly hate myself for being blind and choosing you back then. When my parents advised me against it, I should have listened to them."

  "Haha, unfortunately you're a stubborn person, and would rather believe me than your own parents. To be honest, at that time I really liked you."

  "Hmph, I've heard enough of this already. You don't know how many women you've said that to, do you?" Xu Zong hummed and said.

  "Whatever you say, I'm also alone now anyway. How about this, why don't we try again? You haven't found anyone yet either, and who's to say it won't work out with me? It's not like you have a better option right now." Song Fan said with a smile.

  Xu didn't say a word, picked up the coffee in front of him and splashed it on his face. The coffee had just been served for a short time, still warm, scalding Song Fan suddenly.

  "Ah...... you stinky girl, what do you want to do?" Song Fan wiped his face and stood up, shouting loudly at Director Xu.

  Xu didn't show any fear, looked up and stared at him, saying: "For a beast like you, this is what needs to be done. What? You want to hit me again? Go ahead and try, if you dare touch me, I'll call the police."

  "You...good, you win this time, let's see what happens next." Song Fan said as he picked up the clothes on the chair and the envelope on the table. He then added: "Thanks for the coffee and this month's alimony." After that, he turned around and left.

  Although Director Xu splashed a cup of coffee on Song Fan's face, from the tears in her eyes, it can be seen that she was actually the most heartbroken. Zhang Ziheng stood up and walked to her front, sat down, and handed her a tissue.

  Xu Zong was taken aback for a moment, looked up and said: "Zi Heng? What are you doing here?"

  "I'm just passing by, Director Xu. Just now..."

  "Did you see all of that just now?" Xu asked as he took over the tissues.

  "I heard something, but... it wasn't very clear. Who was that man just now? And what's this about alimony?" Zhang Ziheng asked with feigned ignorance.

  "He's my ex-husband, we divorced a year ago. According to our post-marital agreement, I have to give him alimony every month." Xu said in a low voice, wiping away her tears.

  It was really her ex-husband, Xu had indeed been married. Zhang Ziheng's heart suddenly ached for a moment, and even he himself didn't know why, maybe it was out of sympathy.