Actresses

Chapter 87 Handover

Shi Jiahe covered her head and returned from the payment window after printing the receipt. She saw Wei Ning holding her phone and looking at her repeatedly.

"What's wrong?" Shi Jiahe asked, puzzled.

"Your sister Ran just called. I told her about what happened to you at the hospital."

"Damn it, why did you tell her that?" Shi Jiahe immediately got angry. "It's better to avoid trouble, okay? I don't want her to feel like she needs my pity."

Wei Ning looked worried. "But you've already started experiencing memory loss. Although it hasn't been examined yet, it's a fairly serious mental health issue. I think you should let her know. We talked for so long yesterday; you can't just face this alone. Where does all that pressure come from? Isn't it because of work?"

"Oh, please don't make decisions for me, okay?" As soon as Shi Jiahe spoke, she felt another throbbing pain in her head. After a moment, she continued, "I hope that after I finish handing over my responsibilities, I can take a break. If you do this, how am I supposed to see her? It'll seem like I have an excuse to be sick."

Wei Ning, as if she had done something wrong, quickly changed the subject. "Alright, now that we've paid the fee, we need to schedule the check-up, right? Can it all be done in one day?"

Shi Jiahe frowned and raised her chin. "Quickly send a WeChat message to my sister, explain that I'm fine."

Seeing that Wei Ning didn't move, Shi Jiahe glared at him. "Hurry up!"

"Okay, okay." Wei Ning stood up helplessly, picked up the phone, and went to the side.

Shi Jiahe sat down, looked at the thick stack of examination reports in her hand, and couldn't help but sigh.

Last night, she and Wei Ning drank until after 2 a.m. After returning to Wei Ning's house, she indeed found Zhao Cai. After repeatedly exchanging statements, Shi Jiahe finally accepted the fact that she had been experiencing frequent memory lapses lately. Actually, Zhao Cai had moved out two weeks prior, taken directly to Wei Ning's house, but Shi Jiahe had absolutely no memory of this. Furthermore, Zhao Cai's surname was Meng, which she seemed to have never known. Coupled with her lack of recollection of several things He Yuran had mentioned, she finally realized that her mental state was seriously compromised.

Wei Ning said that this is mostly caused by high-pressure work conditions, coupled with poor rest, which can severely impair memory. Two of her colleagues on the platform have already experienced similar situations and have had to stop all their work and are temporarily unable to continue.

"This disease is quite fashionable," Shi Jiahe said.

"How can you interpret this as fashionable? It just shows that our industry environment is too unhealthy, driving perfectly healthy people crazy... You should rest for a while. As for whether to take medicine, we'll talk about it after you go to the hospital tomorrow." Wei Ning said while thinking, "How about this, you can stay with me starting today. Otherwise, if something happens to you while you're home alone, like fainting or something, no one will find out, it's too dangerous."

Shi Jiahe frowned. "Will that work? What are you going to do?"

"Hey, this house may not be big, but it's still mine. Zhaocai is sleeping in the small bedroom now, so you can sleep in the same room as me. I'm not usually home, and when I go to work, it's like you two each have your own room, right? What's wrong with that?"

Shi Jiahe thought it made sense, and she suddenly realized that being able to spend all day with friends was a wonderful thing, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. "Then I'll go back and get some clothes during the day."

"I think your first stop should be the hospital, specifically the psychiatric ward."

Under Wei Ning's repeated urging, Shi Jiahe registered for an appointment at a top-tier hospital overnight.

Zhao Cai also asked Shi Jiahe a lot of questions with particular concern. Wei Ning said with a stern face, "Have you finished writing your script?" Zhao Cai immediately became obedient and went back to his room, closing the door tightly.

That night, Shi Jiahe and Wei Ning snuggled into the same bed for the first time in a long time. They talked about their feelings until late, and eventually both fell into a deep sleep. After being woken up by the alarm clock, they washed up, ate breakfast, and Wei Ning accompanied her to the hospital.

The doctor seemed very familiar with cases like Shi Jiahe's. After asking about and confirming a few symptoms, he bluntly told her that she was experiencing excessive anxiety and had already developed somatic symptoms. However, he advised her to have a comprehensive examination, and then ordered a thick stack of test forms, including blood tests, kidney function tests, cardiac enzyme tests, thyroid function tests, and so on.

After hearing this, Shi Jiahe breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had a reason and a place to go after all these inexplicable things happening lately.

She asked the doctor, "Do I need some medication prescribed first?"

The doctor looked at her and said, "Let's examine her first."

Shi Jiahe then asked, "Does the medicine have any side effects?"

The doctor glanced at her. "They all have side effects."

"Can I not eat it?"

"Yes, medication is ultimately an aid, but relying solely on self-healing is extremely difficult and will cause you a lot of pain due to repeated relapses. Don't think about these things for now; get checked out first. The check-up is to rule out any organic problems. Of course, if you really don't want to get checked out, that's fine too. But I wouldn't recommend taking any medication."

Shi Jiahe laughed. "I'll do the checkup, but I probably won't want to take the medicine."

The doctor was quite straightforward, saying, "If you're resistant, you don't even have to do the tests. I think you can take a pure rest approach and come back after a few weeks of observation. Because your sleep quality is so poor, I can prescribe some mecobalamin and oryzanol to alleviate it, but neither can eradicate the real cause of your illness. You still need a fundamental change in your lifestyle and mindset. If possible, I suggest taking a break from work for a while and minimizing your phone usage."

Shi Jiahe nodded and stood up. "Thank you, doctor. I'll register again later."

The two then left the consultation room and returned to the hospital lobby.

"Sure, I'm just taking a break anyway," Shi Jiahe said, shrugging. "I'll go back to the company this afternoon to handle some handover, and then I'll be free of all worries."

"How are you going to hand over the work?" Wei Ning frowned. "With all the things you have on hand, can you really manage to pass them on?"

"What do you mean?"

"The handover means that this matter needs to be handled by a specific person. In a normal company, you can just walk away and not care, but would you dare to do that with Sister Ran? I think you probably can't let go until she finds a new top agent."

Shi Jiahe stared wide-eyed, suddenly realizing the profound truth in those words. Why hadn't she thought of this before? She'd been particularly absorbed these past two days, focused solely on her resolve to leave He Yuran, but hadn't yet considered the specifics of how to do it.

"Then... what should we do?"

"I think you should go back to the company and talk to Sister Ran. If it really doesn't work out, take a long vacation first. While she's looking for a manager, you can put your work aside for now. She definitely won't let the studio shut down. If there's anything she needs your help with, just show up appropriately. That way, it won't look too bad, right?"

"But... I still have some reservations about going back to see her. Besides, how am I going to cope? What if I can't let go?"

"What are you afraid of? You've already made up your mind, and you've overcome the hardest hurdle. The rest will be a breeze."

"All right."

As the two were chatting, Shi Jiahe heard her phone ring. When she opened it, she was surprised to see a message from Ye Hongwei.

"Jiahe, I've been thinking about it, and there's something I might need to tell you."

Shi Jiahe immediately replied on WeChat: "Actually, I know everything, and I have already submitted my resignation, but Teacher Ye, please don't take it to heart. This has nothing to do with you. It's mainly a problem between me and Sister Ran."

Just two seconds after sending the WeChat message, a phone call came in, and Shi Jiahe answered it reluctantly.

Ye Hongwei's voice was unusually uncharacteristically out of control, clearly showing his surprise. "What happened, Jiahe? How did the consequences become so serious? Have I caused you a lot of trouble?"

"It's alright, Teacher Ye. Everything has a cause and an effect. This is my own business. I really didn't mean to blame you."

"Jiahe, we bumped into each other by chance yesterday. And then... I suddenly started asking about what happened last time." Ye Hongwei sighed repeatedly on the phone. "Actually, I regretted it a little after that. I'm not afraid for you to know, I always complain to my friends, 'If those masters can earn money, why can't we?' My friends took it seriously and started spreading this kind of news for me. But after actually meeting a few celebrities, I started to feel guilty. Especially after meeting you and Yu Ran, I haven't been to any similar gatherings since. What a person can do is indeed predetermined; I'm just not destined for this kind of money. Yesterday, I thought that being honest with the celebrities would be enough, but in a moment of impulse, I forgot that it would implicate you. After going home last night, I became more and more restless, and felt I had to call you to apologize. But..."

"What's meant to happen will happen eventually, Teacher Ye. Don't feel guilty. The mistake was mine. Maybe it was just that God couldn't stand by and watch Ran Jie run into you yesterday."

"Jiahe..."

"Okay, Teacher Ye, let's still be good friends, okay?" Shi Jiahe said.

"certainly."

"Let's not talk about these things between friends. I'm a bit busy right now, but I'll ask you out for dinner after I'm done with this."

"Take care of yourself, and let me know if anything happens."

After hanging up the phone, Shi Jiahe waved her phone at Wei Ning. "Another thing on my mind is done."

Wei Ning looked confused. "Huh?"

As Shi Jiahe walked out, she said, "I'm going back to the company now. What about you?"

"Since you're not going to get checked now, I'll go back to the company too."

"Anyway, it's valid for three months after payment. Let me think about it, but you don't need to come to the hospital with me after that."

Wei Ning gave a wry smile. "Today is a special case. Even if you want me to come with you next time, I might not have time. You're not doing the project anymore, but I still need to keep an eye on the script."

As Shi Jiahe ran towards the roadside, she said, "The most important thing I want to talk about when I get back is this. I hope you and I can continue doing this!"

Wei Ning shouted, "But don't make the artists come to script meetings every time, I can't handle it."

"Okay." Shi Jiahe got into the car.

Her mind raced through various tasks. The mundane work was manageable; Ding Yi could handle it all. Besides, it wasn't a promotional period, and it made no difference whether she did the routine tasks on Monday or Friday. But the moment Shi Jiahe stepped into the studio, she noticed something amiss.

Why is there someone sitting in my seat?!

When their eyes met, Shi Jiahe's heart almost stopped. It was her boss, He Yuran, sitting at her usual workstation. She noticed that He Yuran's expression at that moment—or rather, the complete absence of expression—was blank.

She seemed like a wooden doll, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever. It was as if He Yuran had spent an extremely calm day from yesterday to today. Or perhaps she was frozen solid, utterly indifferent.

Shi Jiahe suddenly felt a little uneasy.

—Perhaps Ran Jie doesn't think my departure is that important. After all, in this industry, only artists are irreplaceable, while managers can be replaced by anyone.

"Boss," Shi Jiahe stopped and said softly.

The entire studio was completely silent; everyone held their breath, waiting for the two of them to speak.

He Yuran remained motionless, simply sitting there watching her.

Shi Jiahe hesitated and said, "Could I... take up a little of your time, boss? I'd like to talk to you alone."

He Yuran's eyebrow twitched slightly, and then she uttered a cold reply: "Just say it here, and let everyone hear the grievances you suffered here."