BXBX NOVEL Chapter 118 - 118: Contract Signed
After Xia Xin texted Zhao Nan, Xia Xin said to Jing MO, “Help me contact Sun Hu. I’ve decided to sign with him.”
Xia Xin couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret at how quickly her Human Affinity points were being depleted. She wondered, ‘When would I ever reach level three? Layle was still waiting for me to heal its tongue.’
Jing MO remained silent for a moment and then said, “Zhang Chao contacted you this afternoon, probably also to discuss signing with you. Are you sure you don’t want to hear his terms?”
Curious, Xia Xin asked, “As far as I know, Zhang Chao and Sun Hu are from the same talent agency. Does it really matter which one I sign with?”
Jing MO shook his head and explained, “Even if they are from the same agency, there is still competition between talent agents. However, both of them are excellent agents with seven or eight artists under their management, so there isn’t much difference in their choices.
Xia Xin said, “Since there isn’t much difference, I’ll choose Sun Hu. Besides, we live together, so it’s more convenient for work. If I signed with Zhang Chao and our living arrangement was discovered, it would probably cause you a lot of trouble, right?”
Jing MO looked at Xia Xin, who was focused on her congee, and thought to himself, ‘No, it wouldn’t.
After a brief silence, Xia Xin suddenly put down her bowl and looked at Jing Mo, asking, “Why did you suddenly disappear without a word back then?”
Jing MO froze for a moment, maintaining eye contact with Xia Xin. It seemed as if he were looking far into the distance when he replied in a calm tone, “There were some family matters.”
Xia Xin didn’t say anything, lowering her head to sip her congee. Only after nearly finishing it did she speak softly, “I looked for you many times. Later, the landlord rented the place to someone else, so I gave up.”
The truth was, Xia Xin had waited at the entrance of the apartment almost every day after school. The landlord told her that the tenant had moved out, but she didn’t believe it. She continued waiting until the next tenant moved in, and even then, she was reluctant to leave. The new tenant eventually drove her away. Over time, she slowly forgot about Jing Mo.
Jing Mo’s hand, hidden under the table, clenched into a fist and then relaxed. He said with a tinge of sorrow, “I’m sorry.”
That night, after Xia Xin had composed her resignation letter and sent it via email to Lu Yuan, she expected a reply the next morning. To her surprise, Lu Yuan hadn’t slept either and replied promptly. He called her briefly, showing concern as a senior and wishing her well. He also mentioned that the zoo would always be her home, and she could return at any time.
Jing MO went to his room and called Sun Hu. After informing him of Xia Xin’s decision, Sun Hu rushed over to Jing Mo’s place early the next morning, bringing the contract. Without much conversation, Xia Xin signed with Sun Hu, who then took the signed contract to the company for formalization.
When Xia Xin logged back into her social media account, she noticed that her profile verification had changed from “Zookeeper” to “Signed Artist at Stellar Entertainment.”
Sun Hu, feeling proud, came out of the office and happened to run into Zhang Chao, who wore a displeased expression. Sun Hu boasted, “Sorry, I beat you to it.”
Zhang Chao glanced at Sun Hu and said, “If that jinx didn’t cling to me when I went out, I would have seen Xia Xin yesterday afternoon.”
Zhang Chao and Sun Hu were rivals in the company. They often bickered, and everyone was used to it.
Sun Hu continued, “You only saw Xia Xin in the afternoon, but I went to see her yesterday before noon. First come, first served, understand?”
Zhang Chao, clearly irritated, shot him a glare and said, “Show off! You don’t need to brag about it. Xia Xin is a new artist. We don’t even know if her future will be successful.”
Sun Hu continued to gloat, “When was the last time you saw such a promising newcomer? If you thought she wouldn’t succeed, you wouldn’t have put in so much effort to sign her. You’re just jealous now.”
Zhang Chao couldn’t be bothered to argue with Sun Hu and turned to leave. Sun Hu, however, stopped Zhang Chao and said, “Your face looks bruised. What happened?”
Zhang Chao, thinking about what happened yesterday, became even angrier.
He muttered, “It’s that Wu Jia again!”
“You ran into her again?!” Sun Hu exclaimed.