Including Lai Yang and the other three, there were only five living people left in the small theater.
Faced with a 90-minute performance, there was clearly not enough staff, and the theater really seemed to be at the end of its rope.
On the small blackboard in the backstage, Lai Yang wrote with chalk: How to survive the cold winter
We discussed this issue until 5:30 in the afternoon.
The final result of the discussion was to find a way to negotiate a few commercial performances to make some money and maintain the development of the theater.
But when talking about the renewal of the lease, Li Dian and Yuan Sheng mostly looked at Lai Yang in silence. Lai Yang smoked one cigarette after another, but he had no idea.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, everyone counted the number of tickets for tonight's show, and there were less than fifty, and it was a Sunday.
Everyone felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, and they could all imagine the bleak situation that would occur in the next week.
"What should we do? Lai Yang, say something? Can you smoke less? You're almost choking me to death." Yuan Shengda pinched his upturned nose with one hand and pushed Lai Yang with the other.
"Well, I can't think of it if I don't smoke. Go buy me a cup of milk tea so I can think while I drink it."
Yuan Shengda slapped Lai Yang on the back of his head, and glared at him fiercely: "Look, you are so comfortable, how about I massage your feet again?"
"Okay, come back after you buy the milk tea, go quickly." Lai Yang frowned and pushed Yuan Shengda.
She gasped in anger, then breathed a sigh of relief and asked what flavor she wanted to drink.
"I want taro bubble milk tea. What would you like to drink, Li Dian?" Lai Yang asked, looking up.
Yuan Shengda's pretty face suddenly darkened, probably because he didn't expect that this guy also included Li Dian. Li Dian smiled innocently, pushed down his glasses and said: "Then give me a matcha one, thank you~"
Yuan Sheng left cursing, and they were the only two left backstage.
After Li Dian's smile gradually faded, he looked at Lai Yang who was frowning and said, "Lai Yang, there is something I know is not pleasant to say, but as a friend I still have to say it."
"Let go." Lai Yang said without raising his head.
Li Dian took a breath and said, "Actually, running a theater is a business, and businessmen can't rely on just one tree. You can't handle Tianjing now. Even if you can, it's hard for us to get the money for the renewal, and we can't sell the tickets."
Lai Yang raised his head slightly, his face a little cold: "So you are planning to break up?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant. I think you should find a part-time job if you are so loud. Let's not talk about anything else. Just say it's loud because she is so loud.
You are my childhood friend, so I came to Shanghai to seek refuge with you."
Lai Yang said nothing and looked at Li Dian.
"Let's be honest. With Shengda's looks, she could be a model, an extra, or even a receptionist, and her life would be much better than her current life. Even though you always treat her as a brother, she is just a woman, and a beautiful one at that. But she is so broke that she can only eat rice noodles every night. How can you accept this? I think she would feel bad just paying for two cups of milk tea."
These words were like needles piercing Lai Yang's face, but he controlled himself well and didn't let Li Dian see any fluctuation.
"Why doesn't she find a part-time job? Isn't it because she's afraid that you'll feel sad, so she sticks with you through it all?"
Li Dian also took out a cigarette and lit it: "Yesterday she asked me to borrow money for next month's rent, and she wouldn't let meI said, but you have to think about her too."
The smoke floated past Lai Yang's eyes, like refreshing wine or sobering tea. Lai Yang's heart skipped a beat and his nose felt a little sour.
"Okay, I get it. You're overthinking it. She's just lazy." Lai Yang said this deliberately to ease his embarrassment.
Li Dian rolled his eyes at him and silently lowered his head to play with his phone.
Lai Yang stared at the blackboard in a daze, wondering how to face Yuan Shengda later.
Take her milk tea and say thank you? Say it's delicious? Or... maybe find fault and have a quarrel, and then discuss it in detail when we get home tonight
Just when he was a little absent-minded, suddenly a cup of milk tea was handed to his mouth. The tubes had been inserted in advance. Lai Yang felt warm in his heart and took a sip directly.
"Huh? What is this? I wanted taro bubble tea, what cheap stuff did you buy!"
Lai Yang raised his head to find fault, but when he raised his head and saw the face clearly, he almost fell off the high stool.
The woman standing in front of him at this moment was actually Tian Jing
Li Dian, who was standing by, was also holding a drink in his hand and staring at the two of them in amazement.
"What? I'm treating you to a free drink, don't you like it?" Tian Jing's smile faded and she said a little coldly.
"No! I like it, but... this... that... No, why are you here?" Lai Yang's mouth trembled for a moment.
She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears, revealing the perfect curve of her neck. The delicate light makeup on her face was absolutely beautiful, and the corners of her mouth raised in a charming arc.
"Did you forget something?"
"Ah? What's the matter?" Lai Yang was confused.
Tian Jing's pretty face was a little unhappy, and her voice gradually became smaller: "I'm off work."
"…Hmm? Off duty, so what?"
"No, forget it."
After Tian Jing finished speaking, she twisted her waist, turned around and walked away. Lai Yang then suddenly realized that she wanted him to take her home
The opportunity has come, hasn't it
While Li Dian was stunned, Lai Yang quickly chased after him and said with a playful smile: "Hey, how could I forget? I'll take you home, right, Jingjing?"
As soon as the two walked out of the door, Yuan Shengda came back with two cups of milk tea, and at this moment Lai Yang was holding a quiet drink in his hand.
The moment they looked at each other, the three of them were stunned at the same time.
Yuan Shengda held two cups of milk tea in his hands, and looked at the two of them with some disbelief in his beautiful eyes.
When she saw the drink in Lai Yang's hand, something seemed to drop in her eyes, but she still smiled faintly: "Hey? President Tian is here? Lai Yang, are you going out?"
"Uh... yes, I went with her to do something and will be back after the performance." Lai Yang hesitated a little awkwardly.
Tian Jing's pretty eyes moved between the two men's faces for a few seconds. She greeted Yuan Sheng first, then looked at Lai Yang and said, "If you have something to do, go ahead and do it first."
"Are you okay? Who's okay? Are you okay, Sheng Da?"
Lai Yang winked at Yuan Shengda secretly, indicating that he was trying to build connections for the theater.
Yuan Shengda stared blankly for a few seconds, then smiled: "It's okay, do you still want to drink that milk tea?"
"No, I don't have any. Give some to Li."
"Oh, he doesn't like to drink Silt Bobo, so I'll throw it away." After Yuan Shengda said this, his pretty face turned stern and he walked straight into the theater, causing Lai Yang to feel embarrassed.
…
The residential area where Tianjing lived was not far from the Yunbin Building, less than twenty minutes' walk away. The two of them strolled slowly along the street at dusk.
Tian Jing was wearing a white windbreaker today, which made her already fair skin look even whiter and more crystal clear. The black pencil pants made her legs look slender and graceful.
Walking with such a beauty, Lai Yang often received envious looks from passers-by.
Those men must have been wondering in their hearts how they could have deserved to be able to walk side by side with such a stunning beauty.
Just as Lai Yang was racking his brains to think of what to say, a quiet and pleasant voice sounded first...