After seeing the content of the email, Quan Jiu was momentarily lost in thought.
Quan Xingfa, heh, she had almost forgotten that such a family existed in this world.
Quan Jiu felt no gratitude towards Quan Xingfa. From the age of fifteen to eighteen, during her three years there, she had paid him 19,800 yuan in rent, yet she had only actually stayed during the winter and summer breaks, roughly nine months of nights.
She had eaten only one meal there on the first day; she hadn't eaten a single bite since.
If Quan Xingfa hadn't been her legal guardian at the time, she wouldn't have wanted to see the faces of Quan Xingfa's family for even a second. They were too disgusting.
However, Quan Jiu sometimes found it amusing that someone like Quan Xingfa was willing to be her legal guardian. Was it for the nearly 20,000 yuan in rent? That seemed unlikely.
She had always felt that Quan Xingfa's family was hiding something from her, something she just didn't know yet.
To be honest, Quan Jiu didn't care whether Quan Xingfa's family was alive or dead. What she cared about was the mastermind behind all of this.
First, her old house inexplicably caught fire, and then her former legal guardian had a car accident. Given that outsiders didn't know her true relationship with Quan Xingfa's family, this was enough to show that someone was targeting her, preparing to threaten and persecute her.
The email was just a notification, not a warning or a demand. This indicated that the other party was solely intent on harming her, not on making any demands.
In other words, the sender of the email and the perpetrator of the actions were either the same person or the same group.
Using the notification to lure her out was the most likely scenario Quan Jiu could think of.
Quan Jiu took out a pen and wrote an address on a sticky note. This was the IP address she had her beloved son, Tu Tu, trace after receiving the last email. Clearly, the other party was not a computer expert and had no awareness of this, making it easy to track.
Fushun Road, No. 666, Songhua Apartment, Building 3, Unit 1701.
The reason Quan Jiu hadn't asked Song Ren to investigate the owner last time was twofold: she knew the other party might be involved with gangs or have gang connections, and she didn't want to alert them. Secondly, she wanted to see if the other party would take further action, thereby judging their intention in luring her out.
Now, it seemed that the person hiding in the darkness must have a deep grudge against her.
Quan Jiu's first thought was Shen Lu. She had inquired about her from He Miao and had colluded with Guo Dongmei to harm her with such malicious methods. Starting a fire or staging a car accident seemed like something she could do.
But Quan Jiu couldn't be sure. She thought about it and then opened the chat dialogue with Song Ren.
"Can you find out the owner's information with an address?"
Song Ren replied almost instantly: "Yes, five thousand."
Quan Jiu sent him the address and then added, "I asked you to inquire about Shen Lu's whereabouts last time. I still need her whereabouts for the past month."
"Yes, ten thousand."
Quan Jiu transferred fifteen thousand and received Song Ren's deadline: "I'll have the information for you in 48 hours."
...
At five in the afternoon, in the audition room. Liu Teng nervously watched the actors on stage, "The lines are not fluent, the expressions are stiff, and the acting shows obvious immaturity."
He Nian picked up the microphone, "Alright, you did your best. I know. Next."
Lu Bin's face turned pale, and he bowed with a stiff smile, "Thank you." He walked off the stage.
Liu Teng clenched his fist, silently excited: "Great, I almost became someone's grandson."
He Nian glanced at him, "That's why I said, why are you stressing yourself out alone?"
Liu Teng covered his forehead with both hands, his eyelids pulled up, making his entire face look even more dejected and hopeless.
"I'm numb, truly numb. I think I finally understand why, when she returned to the country, she could make those international big shots collectively see her off."
How could he forget the earth-shattering, shocking return blessings on the internet back then? Or perhaps, without seeing it with his own eyes, there was always some doubt.
Scriptwriting ability was one thing, and the ability to recognize talent was another.
Liu Teng painfully held up eight fingers, wanting to laugh and cry, "Nine people, eight of them passed. I really want to thank this last child named Lu Bin."
He Nian rolled his eyes, "You're so sarcastic."
Liu Teng sighed, "I have nothing more to say. This casting is definitely the most bizarre one I've encountered. This 'nine' is truly miraculous. She's not an ordinary person; an ordinary person wouldn't have this capability."
"The name 'Nine God' isn't just for show," He Nian chuckled, deliberately being mysterious, "When you have a chance to meet her, you'll probably jump for joy." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Mentioning this made Liu Teng uncomfortable, and he pressed further, "Just describe her to me. Tall, short, fat, thin, old, young, big eyes, small eyes, high nose bridge, flat nose bridge. You can at least say a few things, right?"
He Nian stroked his ponytail, his attitude firm, "No. You'll see for yourself in the future."
...
Lu Bin walked out of the audition room dejectedly. He was the last of the nine people, and the only one who wasn't selected.
Seeing everyone in the group chat happily discussing the audition process or their expectations of joining the crew, Lu Bin's heart was filled with mixed emotions. Envy, jealousy, and hatred – that was probably how he felt at that moment.
Without thinking, he left the group. Out of sight, out of mind.
Lu Bin's departure stunned Zhuang Yu, Xiang Fei, and the others who were still discussing. However, they weren't stupid and immediately guessed that Lu Bin might have been rejected. Being the only one rejected among the nine, the feeling alone was suffocating.
Zhuang Yu, always active, was the first to tag Quan Jiu, "Teacher nine, Lu Bin left the group. He might have been rejected."
Quan Jiu was engrossed in her writing. By the time she saw the message, it was half an hour later. Besides the group chat, Han Zhao, Ren Kui, and Zhuang Yu had also sent her private messages.
Quan Jiu hadn't received any messages from Lu Bin. If he felt guilty or self-blaming, he would have definitely sent a message proactively. But after half an hour, not only had he said nothing, but he had also left the group. This indicated that he was extremely unbalanced internally. He wasn't just feeling guilty and self-blaming; he couldn't face his friends' success with a smile.
"It's okay. He has his own thoughts and choices. Don't worry about him. Just act as you normally would."
Given Lu Bin's personality, being overly considerate would only make him overthink and cause conflict.
Zhuang Yu and the others believed Quan Jiu's words implicitly and therefore stopped paying attention to Lu Bin.
Ji Yun watched the group chat become lively again, still not knowing what to say.
Suddenly, Zhuang Yu messaged him privately: "Ji Yun, we're planning to pool money to treat Teacher nine to hot pot. Two hundred per person, do you agree?"
Ji Yun let out a sigh, as if making a major decision, "I'm not planning to film 'Immortal in Modern Times.' Actually, my company has arranged a male lead role for me."
Zhuang Yu was initially surprised, then inexplicably felt a surge of anger, "If you weren't going to film it, why did you even audition? You should have said so from the beginning. Teacher nine gave you so much guidance. Aren't you an ungrateful wretch?"
Ji Yun, who had felt a sliver of guilt, lost it completely after Zhuang Yu's words.
"I passed the audition through my own abilities. I have the right to choose whether to participate or refuse. Just because she recommended me, does that mean I must go? You're the second male lead, so of course, you're eager. But I'm just a minor supporting role. Between the male lead and a supporting role, how would you choose?"
Zhuang Yu felt his worldview had been refreshed. This was Ji Yun's true thought – he found the role too small.
"Besides the male and female leads, everyone else is a supporting role. Your role has quite a bit of screen time." Zhuang Yu replied angrily, "Also, if you didn't want to go, you should have said so from the start. By doing this, you've disheartened everyone."
Ji Yun also became angry, "According to you, if she hadn't recommended us, no one else could have auditioned? It's called recommendation, but it still relies on our own abilities. Why are you putting so much importance on yourself for such a small matter? If she were truly capable, why would she even have us audition? Shouldn't she have directly sent us into the crew?"