Oh No, My Tail Has Been Seen! - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

◎No Signing◎

How did Bai Jin know she had been drinking?

“Huh?” Su Miao grabbed at her hair in annoyance, trying harder to recall last night’s events. She seemed to have fallen in front of a woman. The last thing she saw was half of a face. It seemed to be Bai Jin’s face!

Su Miao’s heart skipped a beat. Bai Jin had brought her home last night, and Bai Jin had seen her in her drunken state. She knew she wasn’t a good drunk and had no idea if she had done anything strange. Whether her identity as a mermaid had been exposed was a whole other issue.

“Did you forget?” Bai Jin spoke unhurriedly, waiting for Su Miao to react.

“I remember,” Su Miao said hesitantly, not knowing how to explain last night to Bai Jin. She had just said good night and then gone to a bar. She really shouldn’t have drunk that drink.

“I might be a bit unruly when I’m drunk,” Su Miao said like a child who had done something wrong. She easily had memory blackouts when she drank, and the memory of the latter half of the night was missing. And she liked Bai Jin so much, so she might have done something weird. “Thank you for bringing me home.”

I’ve said thank you, so she won’t keep talking about last night, right?

“Unruly?” Bai Jin chuckled lightly. “Are you referring to collapsing unconscious in front of the ladies’ restroom?”

“I… I shouldn’t have drunk so much.” She felt inexplicably weak in front of Bai Jin. If it were anyone else, Su Miao probably wouldn’t have admitted her mistake so quickly.

Bai Jin’s playful tone changed to a serious and stern one. “As your agent, I have to remind you. As an artist, you must be careful with your every word and action. You’re not famous yet, so there might not be paparazzi watching you all the time. But once you gain some fame, hidden cameras will be everywhere, magnifying your every move. A simple moment of being drunk, and the reason you got drunk—whether it’s for love or sorrow—will be twisted and exaggerated.”

Su Miao listened silently. She realized she had made such a big mistake last night. It wasn’t something that could be dismissed with a simple, “I drank too much.” The little bit of happiness she had felt earlier from being brought home by Bai Jin had now completely vanished.

Bai Jin continued when Su Miao didn’t speak. “As a friend, a girl being so drunk in a bar that she’s completely helpless and can’t take care of herself, with so many people around, both good and bad, what if you ran into a bad person and they took you away? Have you thought about the consequences?”

“I won’t drink outside again.” When she drank that beverage, it was just a moment of chance. She was gambling on her alcohol tolerance, thinking that a few drops wouldn’t be enough to make her drunk. But who knew, she couldn’t handle any alcohol at all. Now that she fully understood her alcohol tolerance, she was confident that something like this wouldn’t happen again.

“You don’t need to promise me. You just need to be responsible for yourself.” Bai Jin noticed her voice was weak and realized she might have been a bit harsh and scared her, so her voice softened a little.

She’s already this disappointed in me before we’ve even signed the contract. Will Bai Jin go back on her word and not sign me? Su Miao panicked. “Are we still signing?”

“No, we’re not.”

“What?” Su Miao’s heart leaped into her throat. “Can you give me another chance? I’ll do better.”

“It’s already late today, and you have a hangover. Get some rest, and come over tomorrow,” Bai Jin said, immediately realizing that she had misunderstood.

So she’s not giving up on me. Su Miao let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay.”

Seeing her calm down, Bai Jin gave her a few more tips on how to handle a hangover and then hung up. Su Miao looked at the disconnected call, weakly put down her phone, and buried her face in her pillow.

After calming down for about ten minutes, Su Miao looked up again, her eyes filled with tears. She reached for the tissue box on her nightstand and wiped her face. Then she took a deep breath and sighed, as if to expel all her recent frustration. Okay, okay, it’s all in the past. Life goes on.

After comforting herself, Su Miao quickly adjusted her mood. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Sister Su Miao, are you awake?” Tong Yao’s childish and sweet voice came from outside the door.

“I am,” Su Miao said, getting out of bed to open the door for Tong Yao.

Seeing that Su Miao could walk and stand steady, Tong Yao was finally relieved. It seemed she had completely sobered up.

“You had me so worried last night. You were all dizzy and mumbling names,” Tong Yao said, walking past Su Miao and hopping onto the chair in front of the vanity.

“Mumbling names?” Su Miao had no memory of that.

“Yeah, you kept saying ‘Bai Jin.’ Are you close with her?” Tong Yao came over for this very reason. She had sensed a hint of gossip last night and couldn’t let it go.

Huh? How could that be?

Aside from their brief encounter in school, she and Bai Jin were just colleagues who had met once. What did it mean that she was mumbling Bai Jin’s name all night?

“Was I calling out the name when I was lying in bed at home, or was I already calling it out while Bai Jin was driving me back?” She looked at Tong Yao with expectation. This was very important to her!

Tong Yao patted her head and thought carefully. “You were calling it out when you were lying on the bed, but I don’t know if you were calling it out in Sister Bai Jin’s car.”

? Then she couldn’t be completely at ease.

But what’s done is done. Worrying about it now was useless. Su Miao went over to the bed, sat down, and then languidly lay down. She planned to use the rest of the day to prepare. She was about to have a new identity. Life as an actress would no longer be as carefree as it was in college.

Su Miao spent the rest of the day being well-behaved, going to bed early and waking up early. The next day, she entered the doors of Starry Entertainment right on time.

“Are you Su Miao?” The receptionist at the door greeted her warmly. “Bai Jin said you should go to her office first. It’s on the sixteenth floor. This is the elevator card.”

“Thank you.” Su Miao took the card and walked to the elevator. People came and went, and many office workers were waiting for the same elevator. Su Miao could feel the occasional glances from the people around her. Was it because of Bai Jin, or was it simply because of her, Su Miao? It was hard to say. But she should get used to being looked at.

The elevator soon arrived on the first floor. Su Miao swiped her card to go straight to the sixteenth floor to Bai Jin’s office. At first, she wondered why the receptionist hadn’t given her the exact location of Bai Jin’s office, but when she got up there, she realized that the entire floor was Bai Jin’s office. In front of her was a tall floor-to-ceiling window with a panoramic view of the outside.

She turned her head and saw Bai Jin. She was sitting at her desk, flipping through some documents. Unlike their previous meetings, she was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. She looked cool and disciplined, but her brows were furrowed, as if she had encountered a problem.

Is this a bad time to be here? Su Miao hesitated, wondering if she should retreat. Bai Jin suddenly looked up at her, pushing away her unhappy expression. She closed the documents in her hand, put them aside, and gestured for her to come in. “Su Miao, come sit down.”

“Mm.” Su Miao didn’t dillydally. She walked to the chair opposite Bai Jin and sat down obediently.

“This is the contract I drafted. The clauses are as detailed as possible, and there are many things to pay attention to. Take a look. If you have any questions, we can negotiate and revise them. If not, we can sign this one.” Bai Jin handed a folder to Su Miao and gestured for her to open it.

“Okay.”

Su Miao lowered her head to read the contract, and Bai Jin got up and left her seat. Where is she going? Su Miao was a little curious, but her main priority was to read the contract, so she suppressed her curiosity and continued to read.

She didn’t have to wait long. Bai Jin came back with two cups of coffee and placed one in front of Su Miao.

“Thank you.” Su Miao looked up at her. “I’ve finished reading the contract. I have a question about the contract’s duration. Why is it only for two months?”

Bai Jin explained, “We need a two-month trial period. If after two months, our partnership is a good fit, we can sign a long-term contract.”

“I see.” Su Miao looked through the entire contract and had another question. “Why isn’t there a clause restricting dating?” Her roommates’ agencies all had clauses that explicitly forbade dating.

“That’s your freedom; I have no right to interfere. But during the period your career is on the rise, I hope you will focus on work. If you do get into a relationship, it’s best to keep it private and not let the public know. If the relationship is exposed, and my public relations fails, that will be my problem.”

“Okay. I have no other questions. I can accept all the clauses in this contract.” Su Miao turned to the last page of the contract, wrote her name, added her promise, and then pressed her fingerprint.

“It’s a pleasure working with you, Su Miao.” Bai Jin also signed her name.

“It’s a pleasure working with you, Sister Bai Jin.” Su Miao hesitated for a moment. Bai Jin was three years older than her. Was it appropriate to call her “sister”? Had it been rude to just call her by her name before?

“You don’t have to call me ‘sister.’ Bai Jin is fine.” Bai Jin didn’t dwell on the matter and took a sip of her coffee after signing the contract.

Su Miao finally looked at the coffee next to her. It must have been a latte. There was a strange white circle on top of the coffee.

“That’s latte art. I haven’t learned it yet,” Bai Jin said, smiling awkwardly. She showed Su Miao her own cup, which also had a failed latte art that had turned into a circle.

“I’ll try it.” Su Miao took a sip. The ratio of coffee to milk was just right; it wasn’t too bitter. “It’s good.”

“You’re the first person to compliment my coffee.”

Seeing that Su Miao had relaxed and was no longer as nervous as she was when she came in, Bai Jin continued to talk about work. “Every artist who joins Starry Entertainment has a one-week training program to strengthen their voice, speech, movement, and acting. Starting tomorrow, you’ll come here to the fifth floor for classes at 9 AM.”

“Once the classes are over, I’ll officially start managing you.”