The Martial Artist Turned Movie Mogul-Chapter 963 - 962. Tang Shu, consultant?

"Clearly, she’s been a troublemaker all her life, Aunt Cheng has become an expert at cleaning up her messes... Oh, to use Uncle Cheng’s words, whenever Ran Bao puts on a sweet smile, they know their daughter has been up to no good outside."

"Ye Zi! Which country are you from?!"

"Sorry, I stand with the truth."

Tang Shu disregarded Cheng Ranran as insignificant and leaned in to whisper, "What kind of good deeds did she do as a child?"

"Like plucking a swath of flowers from the neighborhood’s green strip, pulling down a neighbor boy’s pants, stuffing bugs into a kindergarten classmate’s backpack, and so on."

Ye Xiaohui listed off the deeds fluently, concluding with: "Too many to count, just a bunch of heartless acts."

Tang Shu cast a shocked glance at Cheng Ranran, surprised to find that such a cute and sweet-looking kid could have been so mischievous?

"Ye Zi, don’t think I won’t hit you!"

What to do when you’re losing the argument? You must resort to physical action, so the next second the two childhood friends started wrestling each other.

Meanwhile, the instigator Tang Shu silently leaned back, acting as if nothing had happened, burying her face in a pile of graduate exam materials.

Two hours later, after lunch in the cafeteria, the three parted ways.

"I have to go, got some stuff this afternoon."

"But I remember your three theater performances this week are already over, and today isn’t the shooting day for ’You Smile 3’ either."

Cheng Ranran disagreed with her friend leaving early again, and for once, Ye Xiaohui didn’t take her side but waved at Tang Shu heading toward the cafeteria door.

"Go on then, see you next time."

Tang Shu saw that Cheng Ranran’s arm had already been pulled away, and she left without looking back.

Instead of chasing after her, Cheng Ranran let Ye Xiaohui grab her round, chubby, and extremely tactile arm, tilting her little head with a puzzled expression.

"I always feel like you guys are keeping something from me, it must be a secret!"

"..."

At times like this, you really can be a bit obtuse.

Before heading out of the school gate, Tang Shu put on a blue surgical mask; Yang Tiantian was already waiting for her under the bare Tree at the Doorway.

"Let’s go, to the Xu Corporation’s factory in the development zone."

"Okay, but boss... are you sure you don’t want to inform Sister Luo? Just in case someone takes a photo, you might still need PR."

"No need to notify."

Tang Shu said, "Xu Corporation is responsible for an order from the Mechanical Research Institute this time; even the equipment and semi-finished products are under a confidentiality agreement, so there won’t be any video leaks."

That was also why Wen Nuan asked her to go; she had anticipated this.

Yang Tiantian didn’t quite understand orders from the government, but she listened to whatever her boss said, as she always had. After finding the destination on the navigation, she drove there directly.

By the time the nondescript Volkswagen van reached the factory in the development zone, two hours had passed, and Tang Shu had her first taste of the first great specialty of the capital:

——Traffic Jam.

It had reached new levels of congestion, considering the distance between these two points was merely 22 kilometers.

After getting out of the car, Tang Shu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief and took out her work badge, which she had used at the Mechanical Research Institute, from her bag and walked towards the factory gate.

"I’m not sure what time I’ll be done, but it won’t be very late. There’s a coffee shop nearby, you can sit there if you get bored."

"Boss, will it be reimbursed?"

"Yes, you can add an afternoon tea for yourself."

"Roger that!"

Yang Tiantian happily dashed to the small but exquisite café after parking her car.

***

Although the Development Zone of the imperial city lacks the towering high-rises of the downtown area, it possesses its own unique tranquility and serenity.

The factory chains of Xu Corporation cover an extensive area, which can be discerned from the construction style of the factories. Perhaps because it’s now working hours, there are hardly any people entering or leaving the factory gates.

Tang Shu approached the gatehouse and took out the proof from the Mechanical Research Institute, signing her name on the visitor list.

"Hello, miss. Please present your ID and... uh, please lower your mask."

The guard, dressed in a security uniform, was not young, already showing some graying at the temples; Tang Shu surmised that he must be at least fifty years old.

"Tang Shu, right... Wait, Tang Shu?!"

The last two words completely changed tone, as the guard, who had lived through half a lifetime, looked at Tang Shu in utter surprise, even blinking his eyes in disbelief.

"You’re Tang Shu? You look a lot like Zhang Xiaojun from the TV, it really is you!"

"Shh—it’s me, I’m here to... um, take a part-time job?"

"Right, right, you’re here for a part-time job..."

Wait a second, a part-time job? Since when can stars replace consultants from the Mechanical Research Institute for a part-time position in this era?

What a mix-up!

Excited as he was to see his idol, this senior fan still kept his wits about him and checked the credentials provided by Tang Shu once more.

"You’re sure you’re representing the Mechanical Research Institute, right?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

"Then you may go in... also, could I get your autograph? My daughter is your fan; my wife and I also really enjoy watching ’The Tree at the Doorway’. We’re all from That Era."

"No problem."

Tang Shu used the pen for receiving visitors at the gatehouse to sign her name, and also asked for his daughter’s name, writing down a blessing for her.

"I suppose... your company has a confidentiality agreement, right?"

"Yes, I’ll keep it a secret."

The two exchanged a smile, Tang Shu put her mask back on, and with the enthusiastic guidance of the guard, she smoothly found the design team’s office.

Ten minutes later, Tang Shu saw three men in suits at the entrance of the office. They looked puzzled for a while at the sight of her before hesitantly approaching.

"Hello, are you Consultant Tang from the Mechanical Research Institute?"

"That’s me."

Tang Shu took off her mask, folded it neatly, and put it into her coat pocket, revealing her full appearance.

"Hiss—"

"!!"

Inevitably, the three of them were shocked into silence on the spot, unable to speak for a long time.

Tang Shu’s mouth twitched, no longer expecting the men across from her—apparently highly educated—to have brought their brains with them today. After considering for a moment, she took out the proof she had just put away.

"This is my proof of identity, and... this is my work badge."

On the front of the rectangular work badge, there was an official photograph of Tang Shu wearing a black suit; the background was blue, and her facial features were just more delicate compared to other formal photos. Below the photo were a few bold characters:

[Mechanical Research Institute]

[War Machine 06 Research Department - Tang Shu - Consultant]

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m fre𝒆webnov(e)l.com