Chapter 4

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For two consecutive days, the Pujiang Film Studio did not respond at all. Zhang Tan did not just sit and wait; during this period, he applied for two other jobs, sent out his resume, and even interviewed with one of them, which he passed, but the conditions were far from what he had hoped for, so he politely declined.

Searching for job postings online, he found nothing suitable. Closing his computer, he decided to go to the job market the next day.

Zhang Tan stretched lazily and noticed that it was already dark outside. The quiet Little Red Horse Kindergarten was gradually becoming lively.

The children were already entering the kindergarten one after another.

Zhang Tan had been eating out these past few days. Today, he felt like cooking, so he made two dishes. After dinner, he went downstairs to the courtyard for a walk, with the sounds of children's chatter filling his ears.

The Little Red Horse Kindergarten had a large courtyard, surrounded by many camphor trees, locust trees, osmanthus, and two mulberry trees. There were two buildings, both three-story red brick structures, but only one was currently in use. The first floor was where the children played, the second floor housed the children's dormitories and the teachers' offices, and the third floor was currently occupied only by Zhang Tan and used for storage.

As for the other building, it was currently unused. Before it was transformed into a night school, both buildings were in use, but now there weren't enough children to fill them.

Zhang Tan was lost in thought when he suddenly heard an "Ouch!" In the darkness, a child had bumped into him and fell on his back.

Zhang Tan quickly went to help.

"Are you okay, little one?"

A young voice in Sichuan dialect came out.

"I got hit so badly~~~"

"Who are you?"

Zhang Tan was taken aback for a moment. Sichuan dialect? He immediately thought of the little girl, Xiao Bai, who had bitten him a few days ago.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you. Does it hurt where I hit you?"

Zhang Tan helped the child up. It was a little girl with short hair, thin and small, her face no bigger than his palm, with a sharp little chin and big, bright eyes.

She was wearing a red long-sleeved, long-legged sports suit with the words "China" in white on the chest. The cuffs were already frayed, as if gnawed by a mouse, and the color of the clothes had faded.

Zhang Tan had only seen such clothes in his memories, giving them a sense of nostalgia.

Who else could it be but the little girl who bit him!

Her shoes and trouser cuffs were covered in sand, and a small red plastic bucket was on her foot.

Xiao Bai had been running hurriedly with this little bucket, and in the darkness, she hadn't noticed and bumped into his leg, spilling the sand out of the bucket.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

Xiao Bai looked at him curiously, suddenly widening her eyes as she remembered: "It's you! Black-ass!"

Zhang Tan: "..."

Xiao Bai turned and ran, abandoning the little bucket as if he would eat her.

Zhang Tan: "..."

It seemed the child had a grudge against him and had given him a nickname, "Black-ass," which didn't sound as good as "Sea King."

Xiao Bai ran to the gatekeeper's booth and spoke to Old Li, pointing at him. She was probably complaining, and he bet it wasn't anything good.

Indeed.

Xiao Bai was whispering to Old Li: "It's bad, it's bad, a bad guy with a black ass has come."

Old Li asked, "Where did a bad guy come from?"

Xiao Bai pointed to Zhang Tan under the streetlight: "That's him, the black-ass who came the other day. I've never seen him before. He's going to find the other children, catch him quickly!"

Old Li, seeing it was Zhang Tan, said, "That's not a bad guy, that's the owner of our kindergarten."

Xiao Bai was surprised, "The owner?"

Old Li: "The owner, everything here belongs to him."

Xiao Bai was stunned for a moment, finding it hard to believe that he could be the owner.

The cute Sichuan dialect came out again: "He's black-ass, very bad. He hit me so hard just now, I think he's a bit crazy."

Old Li laughed: "Crazy? You mustn't let the owner hear that."

When Xiao Bai first came to the kindergarten, Old Li couldn't understand her cute Sichuan dialect, but this child loved to talk and often came to chat with him, so he gradually got used to it. "Crazy" wasn't a good word, roughly meaning "weird" or "mentally unstable."

Although he was the owner, Xiao Bai still dared to challenge him. She believed that the culprit who took away her friend, Xiao Mi, was Black-ass.

At least that's what she thought.

If it weren't for Black-ass blocking her, she could have caught up with Xiao Mi and saved her.

"Grandpa, here's my little water gun. You go and get the owner, give him a couple of slaps."

Xiao Bai handed her little water gun to Old Li, urging him to go to his death.

Old Li: "..."

Do I look like a fool?

"Don't be afraid, Grandpa, just a few minutes." Xiao Bai encouraged him.

Old Li was speechless. It's not that I'm afraid, but I'm worried the owner will think I'm trying to extort him.

"Why don't you go?"

Xiao Bai looked shocked, as if Old Li had said something that adults shouldn't say, something that wasn't human.

"I'm still a child, I'll get him when I grow up." Xiao Bai said.

Old Li didn't dare to talk to Xiao Bai anymore. She was becoming more and more disrespectful. If Zhang Tan heard, it would be awkward, thinking he was inciting the child to say bad things behind his back.

"The owner is already gone, look." Old Li said.

Zhang Tan was no longer under the streetlight.

Xiao Bai looked around, really not seeing him, and huffed, "Black-ass runs so fast."

"Grandpa, don't let him in tomorrow. If he comes in, give him a couple of slaps."

You make it sound so easy! Old Li didn't comment, urging Xiao Bai to go back: "You've come out to play again, go back quickly, Teacher Xiao Liu will be worried if she can't find you."

"Teacher Xiao Liu is dating, she doesn't have time to worry about me."

This little smart aleck, she knows everything, so knowledgeable.

Old Li pushed her little body forward, saying, "Go, go, don't be talkative."

This little one, tough and talkative.

Xiao Bai put away her gun and reluctantly returned to the classroom. Seeing Teacher Xiao Liu playing games with the children, she suddenly had an idea. Could she get Teacher Xiao Liu to "cut" Black-ass's head? Teacher Xiao Liu often scolded her boyfriend on the phone, so she must be fierce, unlike the timid Grandpa.

Zhang Tan, unaware of the child's thoughts, returned to his room, turned on the TV, watched for a while, then turned it off. He opened his computer, found a video website, registered as a member, and wanted to find a domestic movie with a rating of over 9 to watch. After searching for a long time, he couldn't find one, so he settled for one with an 8.6 rating.

He wasn't watching for entertainment but with a mission, to understand the film and television industry of this world.

To be a screenwriter, the first step is to watch movies, to watch a lot of movies. Without a certain amount of accumulation, you can't even join in the script discussion meetings.

After watching the movie, Zhang Tan wrote a review. It was already past 9 PM. He went downstairs to the activity area on the first floor and saw the children gathered in small groups, some reading picture books, some listening to stories, some singing and dancing, all under the supervision of teachers.

The children here were the oldest at 8 years old and the youngest at 3.

Among the group singing and dancing was Xiao Bai.

One moment, Xiao Bai was happily watching her friends dance, clapping and cheering. The next moment, seeing Zhang Tan, her little face turned serious, even darker than "Black-ass."

She looked at Teacher Xiao Liu with big eyes. She had already asked Teacher Xiao Liu to "cut" Black-ass, excitedly waiting for her to do so, but instead, she saw Teacher Xiao Liu smiling at Black-ass.

"Teacher Xiao Liu, I'm done dancing," said the little girl who was dancing.

Zhang Tan recognized this little girl; she was Xiao Qian, whom he had met on his first day at the kindergarten.

Teacher Xiao Liu praised Xiao Qian and then scanned the group of children, locking onto Xiao Bai.

"Xiao Bai, come and dance."

Xiao Bai's eyes widened. She had expected Teacher Xiao Liu to "cut" Black-ass, but instead, she was asked to dance! Humph!

She turned her head slightly, looked at the wall, crossed her arms, and said with great resolve, "I can't."

She might have danced if Black-ass wasn't there, but now that he was, she wouldn't dance for him.

Teacher Xiao Liu thought Zhang Tan was feeling shy, so she encouraged, "Girls should be more confident and bold."

Hearing this, Xiao Bai immediately shouted arrogantly, "I can't!"