Ji Yunhuai thought Lu Xiaoxiao was calling to share good news, so he put her on speaker in front of He Mingchuan without a second thought.
But when Lu Xiaoxiao spoke, there was no joy in her voice. Instead, she sounded downright furious.
"Heh, yes, I'm done over here." Her voice was low, her displeasure unmistakable. "And you're done for!"
Ji Yunhuai: "???"
D-done for? Why was he done for?
Once he confirmed that the murderous edge in Lu Xiaoxiao's voice wasn't his imagination, Ji Yunhuai looked bewildered. Under He Mingchuan's nosy gaze, which plainly said, "Buddy, something seems off here," he asked uncertainly, "When did I upset you?"
"Don't you know perfectly well?" Lu Xiaoxiao seemed to laugh out of sheer anger, her voice rising a notch. "Let me ask you. Did you call the director of 'Graceful' yesterday and tell him to reserve the role of Wen Yao for me?"
"...You found out?"
At her question, Ji Yunhuai was surprised at first, but a second later, he immediately began explaining.
"But I didn't tell him to reserve the role for you." He had a rough idea of what bothered Lu Xiaoxiao, so he hurried to clarify the details. "I told him you'd worked very hard for this role, that you were smart and dedicated, and asked him to pay more attention to you. And... whatever the outcome, I hoped he would give you more encouragement."
That was indeed what had happened. After seeing Lu Xiaoxiao off the night before, Ji Yunhuai had been in a very good mood. Remembering her complaints about being nervous over the audition, he kept wanting to do something. After thinking it over for a long time, he had asked Shen Yufeng for the contact details of the director of "Graceful," then personally called