CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 401: CHOOSING A ROMANCE FILM

The weekend arrived in the blink of an eye.

Before leaving on Thursday, Mo Siyu had stopped by to see Tang Yue, even if for a mere five minutes, but it showed that Mo Siyu always kept her in his heart.

Before the joy of reunion had time to settle, Mo Siyu had to leave, and all Tang Yue could say to him before his departure was "take care".

With Mo Siyu gone, Tang Yue didn’t need to go out over the weekend, which was just as well, since Zhang Minmin was coming to visit.

Tang Yue and Zhang Tingyu went early to the train station to pick her up. Zhang Minmin, always one to dress beautifully, would surely be the most fashionable in the crowd. But as the crowd dispersed, neither she nor Zhang Tingyu found Zhang Minmin.

"Tingyu, are you sure it was this train?" Tang Yue couldn’t help but confirm, as they had yet to spot Zhang Minmin.

A young girl traveling alone by train, especially as pretty as Zhang Minmin, what if something had happened to her?

The thought made Tang Yue’s back involuntarily chill.

"Yes, I’m sure. I asked her several times," Zhang Tingyu said with certainty, standing on tiptoe, looking toward the exit, catching glimpses of one or two passengers, but none were Zhang Minmin.

"Hey." Suddenly, Tang Yue and Zhang Tingyu felt a tap on their shoulders. Startled, they turned around to see Zhang Minmin, dressed in black sportswear with an added black cotton coat and wearing a black hat.

Zhang Minmin, in head-to-toe black, seemed to have darkened as a person too.

"You...this..." Tang Yue stared at Zhang Minmin, unable to reconcile this image with the beauty-loving Zhang Minmin she knew.

Zhang Minmin, who always wore dresses, when did she start dressing so casually? And why all in black?

"Zhang Minmin, are you still the same Zhang Minmin that I know?" Zhang Tingyu was even more shocked. After not having seen Zhang Minmin for half a year, she was thinner, darker, and her style of dress had changed too, like the thick sports trousers she was wearing and the thick cotton coat.

When had she given up dresses and boots?

"Hehe, of course, it’s for convenience on the train," Zhang Minmin replied with a playful smile, looping an arm around Zhang Tingyu and the other around Tang Yue, saying, "Let’s go, I made some money, I’ll treat you to a meal."

An hour and a half later, in the alleyway where Zhang Tingyu lived, Zhang Minmin, seeing the place, enviously said, "Tingyu, your uncle and aunt are really good to you, this house is so nice, um, I want to stay in this room."

Zhang Minmin chose a room next to Zhang Tingyu’s. The room was decorated to her liking, with pink curtains, beddings, and even a large pink teddy bear, looking exceedingly charming.

"Minmin, tell us, how did you get so thin and dark?" Zhang Tingyu and Tang Yue, sitting in front of Zhang Minmin, asked, "Haven’t you been doing well over the past six months?"

"Yeah, I’ve been doing well," Zhang Minmin said cheerily, "I’ve been on set every day, let me think..."

Zhang Minmin counted on her fingers and realized she had played three roles in the past six months, though all were inconspicuous extras, either as maidservants or roles that appeared only to disappear quickly. Most of the time was spent on set; with an arts school that had few classes and far from Jinghua University, Zhang Minmin barely had time to meet Zhang Tingyu.

Zhang Minmin shared her experiences from the past six months.

Listening, Zhang Tingyu felt sympathy for her uncle and aunt and hugged her, saying, "Minmin, why put yourself through all this? Uncle and aunt miss you so much. Although they didn’t say anything when I came to school this time, they really wanted to hear news about you."

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely go back, but not now," Zhang Minmin said resolutely. She had already made up her mind not to return home until she achieved some results.

"Minmin, why are you so stubborn?" Zhang Tingyu stared at Zhang Minmin, her joy of reunion immediately turning into concern.

"I’m doing pretty well right now," said Zhang Minmin cheerfully, dancing with excitement, "Xiao Yue, Tingyu, do you know? I just filmed a TV drama. I played a maid and appeared many times."

Many times, these three words, Zhang Minmin emphasized particularly.

"How many times?" Tang Yue asked.

Zhang Tingyu sighed and said, "Less than ten fingers’ worth."

This matter, Zhang Minmin had mentioned it no less than ten times over the phone.

"Uh..." Tang Yue cleared her throat.

Zhang Minmin said excitedly, "Exactly ten times, and that’s not too few. Each time I appeared for... about one or two seconds."

No sooner had she finished speaking than even Zhang Minmin felt a bit sheepish.

"Alright," Zhang Minmin sighed, sat down on the sofa next to her, and snuggled into it. A roaring fire was keeping the room warm, so she didn’t feel cold at all. She said, "I’m just starting out now. It’s impossible for me to get such good roles without connections, so I definitely have to take it slow."

"By the way, Xiao Yue, your uncle called me before to talk about the new advertisement. What’s going on? Is your family’s clothing factory going to advertise again?" Zhang Minmin inquired. The commercial she had shot previously did not take long and earned her quite a bit of money, even more than acting in dramas.

"Should be," Tang Yue nodded uncertainly. Tang Mingli had only mentioned it in passing to her that the branch factory was now working hard on construction, and once it was built, it would definitely need advertising support. Nowadays, advertising didn’t cost much, and year-round, commercials would be aired on television.

Mingyue Clothing Factory’s reputation was growing higher and higher.

Cai Wanwan, Jiang Shan, and Zhang Minmin were all exclusive advertisement models, and the response had been very good.

"Then keep a spot for me," said Zhang Minmin, hugging Tang Yue, "Xiao Yue, now I really rely on you. Who knows, by doing commercials, I might even get to film a couple of TV dramas."

Right now, Zhang Minmin wanted to try out any opportunity that came her way.

"No problem," Tang Yue affirmed with a nod, with Zhang Minmin’s qualifications, not to mention as a friend, even if they weren’t friends, it would be great to have her for advertising.

This time, she planned to launch a series of workplace attire, which might yield even better results, but she only had some rough ideas in her head and hadn’t figured it all out yet.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Zhang Tingyu took the call. After a short while, she handed it to Zhang Minmin. In no time, Zhang Minmin was alternating between laughter and confusion, which made both Tang Yue and Zhang Tingyu watch intently.

"That’s great," Zhang Minmin said excitedly after hanging up the phone, "Xiao Yue, Tingyu, I’ve got a drama to shoot."

"But, I have two offers at the same time, and they clash. Which one should I choose?" Zhang Minmin mentioned two names, one was Princess, a period drama, and the other, a modern love story, better described as a youth film.