After a one-and-a-half-hour performance, "The Factory" came to its curtain call.
When Tang Shu led the dozens of actors off the stage, they received blessings from Master Ke and Master Yan.
"Not bad, you have now graduated as a professional."
"Teacher Ke can’t say that, I still have a long way to go before graduating."
Tang Shu swore that her response wasn’t an act of modesty. Over the past six months, she had spent most of her time on theatrical plays, and she deeply felt her own psychological journey in acting—she gained new insights into her role every day.
This was an experience she never had in any of the major acting troupes.
Theater really can quickly enhance one’s acting skills. Tang Shu used to doubt this, but now she wholeheartedly believed it.
"I knew she would say that," Master Yan snorted with satisfaction in his eyes, "This young lady has big ambitions, you think she has only talent?"
Upon hearing this, Master Ke laughed heartily, "Who doesn’t have ambitions? It’s even more motivational for her continuous growth. We are old now, how can the newcomers have no ambition?"
Seeing both of them fall into a bickering match, Tang Shu silently stood to the side with a smile on her face, watching. She definitely could not join in; this was the hard-learned lesson she had acquired over the past six months.
"Alright, it’s getting late, Xiao Shu. You should head back home and rest early. We’re also going to leave."
"Okay, Teacher Ke, Teacher Yan, see you next year."
Ten minutes later, Tang Shu left the Imperial Capital’s First Theater, and Jing Yu, dressed in a black suit, was already waiting in front of the car for her, holding a bright red rose that was strikingly dazzling in the sunlight.
"You came a bit early today?"
"I just finished a meeting... Sorry, I didn’t manage to make it to see your play today."
Jing Yu elevated the rose to Tang Shu’s face, a hint of apology in his gentle black eyes. Up close, she could clearly see the darkness under his eyes.
"It’s okay, watching it after the New Year is the same. Have you been working overtime recently?"
"Yeah, a bit busy at the end of the year, but it’ll ease up in a few days."
Jing Yu stretched out a hand to rub his furrowed brow, feeling rather happy inside because of the concern in her voice.
"Let’s go, it’s going to get dark soon, and I hope the supermarket still has fresh vegetables at this hour."
After getting into the car, they headed towards Palm Pavilion.
Tang Shu sat in the passenger seat, placed the bright red roses in front of her, and with her right hand deftly took out her phone to open the food delivery app.
"How about we don’t cook today and just order takeout?"
Jing Yu smiled and looked at her, "Not up for grilled fish?"
"Having grilled fish for three consecutive days, no matter how delicious, is a bit too much... How about hamburgers? It’s not bad to have junk food occasionally, right? I want two ice cream cones."
As Tang Shu scrolled through the menu while pondering what to order, she was already eager to try.
"Whatever you order, I’ll eat. But ice cream cones probably won’t be delivered, you might need to pick something else."
The neighbors at Palm Pavilion had been in this state for several days now. Ms. Xie and Father Jing had both been busy with the year-end rush, and Aunt Lin had also gone back to her hometown, so Jing Yu once again became a "left-behind child."
And Tang Shu... had sent her own assistant away and volunteered to be a "left-behind child."