Su He, who was as poor as a church mouse, finally stopped being lazy and started to put all her effort into earning money. Her drawings, which used to be updated once a week, were now updated every two days. She had also let slip that she might consider attending offline events, which she previously disdained.
The publishing house she had collaborated with before immediately sent her an invitation as soon as she showed signs of softening.
The annual Full Moon Festival was one of the most well-known comic conventions in the country. Only prominent figures in the industry were invited to participate, and it attracted over a hundred thousand fans each year.
Su He was also somewhat well-known in the industry and had received multiple invitations. However, she disliked being in the spotlight and did not want to have private contact with fans, so she had repeatedly refused.
This time, the remuneration offered by the event organizers was very generous. Although it wasn't as high as she had expected, for the money-strapped Su He, there was no room for pickiness.
So, with a determined grit, she took the job.
"It's wonderful that Teacher Miao is willing to participate in this event! We will send the event invitation and costume to your home via email. Could you provide a contact number?" the enthusiastic staff member on the other end asked.
Su He thought for a moment and gave them her current address.
The other party replied with a cute emoji and expressed their fondness for her work. "Teacher Miao, keep up the good work with updating your comics! I follow them every day. I really like the character design for this event!"
"Thank you," Su He, not being socially adept, only replied with those two words.
The other party did not seem to be displeased by her coldness, as if they were already accustomed to it. Most authors were quite reclusive, and after many interactions, they must have grown accustomed to people with social anxiety.
Closing the chat window, Su He picked up the bread next to her and took a quiet bite. To save money for renovations, she had to tighten her belt.
Thinking of the house she had just bought, Su He still felt a sense of unreality.
Over eight million yuan—a sum many people couldn't earn in a lifetime. For a property of over 170 square meters, renovations alone would cost one to two million. At her current income level, she would have to live frugally for two years.
"Sigh, how can I make money fast?" Su He wailed, slumping onto the table.
As soon as the words left her mouth, a small advertisement suddenly popped up on her computer screen—"Move the world with your voice! Yue Sheng Culture awaits your challenge!"
What the heck?
Su He stared for three seconds before, driven by some unknown impulse, she clicked on it.
She spent several hours researching.
Su He looked at the prices of several popular voice actors and felt like she had opened a new world.
Perhaps she could try it as a part-time job?
*
After a flight lasting over ten hours, Lu Yanbei's plane finally landed at B City Airport.
The driver had received the news long ago and was waiting at the arrival hall to pick him up.
As Lu Yanbei emerged from the VIP passage, a light rain was falling outside.
The driver held up an umbrella and escorted the big boss into the car.
Cheng Jue pushed his luggage, a step behind them.
After settling into the passenger seat, he asked the driver to turn down the air conditioning.
"What's wrong with the boss?" the driver asked silently.
Cheng Jue glanced back and said in a low voice, "He's been working non-stop for the past few days, only sleeping a little over ten hours. He's exhausted."
"That's too hard!" The driver immediately felt a sense of reverence.
Cheng Jue thought to himself: It's more than just hard work, it's practically risking his life! To uncover the truth behind his wife's amnesia, the boss has exhausted every means, spent a fortune, and even nearly clashed with local gangs.
Thinking of the thrilling events of the previous night, Cheng Jue still felt a lingering fear.
"Where is Madam?" Cheng Jue asked after a moment of silence.
"She went out of town, said she was attending some event." The driver was not young and obviously had a generational gap, having never heard of many things, so he didn't remember very clearly.
"Out of town?" Cheng Jue glanced at the boss in the back seat and swallowed nervously.
The boss had compressed a week's worth of work into five days, all for the sake of returning early to spend Christmas with his wife. Yet, she had gone out of town without so much as a word?
Cheng Jue found it hard to imagine what the boss's reaction would be upon hearing this news.
Others didn't know about Lu Yanbei's continuous use of antidepressants, but his special assistant was well aware of it. Although the boss rarely had episodes these years, when he did, it could be quite terrifying.
In the back seat, Lu Yanbei was staring blankly at his phone.
As soon as he got off the plane, he had sent a message to Su He. But after all this time, Su He hadn't replied. He had endless patience for anything else, but when it came to Su He, he couldn't remain calm.
Five minutes, ten minutes passed without a reply, and he would involuntarily start to overthink. Was Su He in trouble? Was her phone dead? Or was she busy with her drawings and hadn't seen it?
Ten minutes, which would fly by for others, felt like an eternity of torment for Lu Yanbei.
His gaze grew colder, and his hand gripping the phone began to tremble.
Su He would be fine!
He told himself over and over again, but another voice in his mind screamed wildly, making him unconsciously think of the worst.
"Cheng Jue," he finally called out to his assistant, unable to bear the torment any longer.
Cheng Jue had been listening intently to the movements in the back seat. Hearing his boss's summons, he immediately turned around. "What are Mr. Lu's instructions?"
"Call Madam," Lu Yanbei said, sitting up straight, his jaw tight, feigning nonchalance.
"Yes," Cheng Jue lowered his head and began to search his phone contacts.
A few seconds later, he dialed Su He's phone number. However, after ringing for a long time, a mechanical voice finally responded, "Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unreachable. Please try again later."
He didn't believe it and tried a few more times, but it was the same.
"Madam might be busy and not have her phone with her," Cheng Jue said cautiously, licking his dry lips.
"Keep calling," Lu Yanbei ordered coldly.
Cheng Jue dared not disobey and continued to dial repeatedly.
However, what greeted him was a reminder that the other party's phone was turned off.
Cheng Jue's heart sank, sensing trouble. "Boss, should we head back to the company for a meeting first?"
Lu Yanbei held his forehead, the veins on the back of his hand faintly visible, as if he were trying to suppress something with all his might.
Seeing the situation turn grim, Cheng Jue quickly searched Su He's Weibo for clues. Upon seeing the content of her most recent update, he excitedly reported to his boss, "Mr. Lu, Madam has gone to S City to attend an anime exhibition."
After hearing this, Lu Yanbei's expression indeed softened considerably. "Turn around, buy a plane ticket to S City."
"This..." Cheng Jue hesitated. "Madam might return tomorrow... You haven't had a good rest for several days, and if Madam sees you looking like this, she'll worry again..."
Lu Yanbei, who had been about to scold him, frowned slightly.
Did he really look that bad?
Lu Yanbei was silent for a moment, but he remained insistent. "To the airport."