Chapter 28
With conditions this good, there was absolutely no reason for Lin Zhiqiao to refuse.
“Alright then. I’ll send the offer to your manager later.”
Director Xu smiled kindly. Now that the misunderstanding about Lin Zhiqiao being a “two-faced hypocrite” had been cleared up, the more she looked at him, the more pleasing he seemed.
What a lovable child!
Cute face, cute personality too.
Xu Mingjie’s heart softened greatly.
His inner activity was a little richer than average, sure, but that was hardly a problem, and even less of a flaw.
As far as she was concerned now, those magical inner thoughts had helped her tremendously. She liked them too much to complain!
“The show is still in the planning stage. It’ll probably be a while before filming officially starts,” Xu Mingjie said. “When the time comes, we’ll work around your schedule and stay flexible.”
Lin Zhiqiao’s pale amber eyes brightened slightly. “Okay, thank you, Director Xu!”
Xu Mingjie raised a hand. For a moment, Lin Zhiqiao thought that hand was going to land on top of his head, but in the end it only came down on his shoulder.
“Don’t be so formal. Just call me Sister Xu,” Xu Mingjie said with a smile. “Do your best. Sister Xu has high hopes for you!”
Lin Zhiqiao nodded obediently. “Mm!”
Xu Mingjie left first.
She still had a lot of follow-up matters to deal with. For her, tonight was destined to be a busy one.
Lin Zhiqiao and the other two did not stay long either.
Fang Xinnan asked him, “How did you come here?”
Lin Zhiqiao said, “My manager drove us here.”
Fang Xinnan nodded in understanding. “Alright, then later President Song and I will take you back.”
“Ah?” Lin Zhiqiao instinctively glanced at Song Fengshi. “Th-that wouldn’t be very appropriate, would it?”
[Did I hear wrong? President Song is personally taking me home too? What kind of royal treatment is this!!!]
Song Fengshi: “…”
“There’s nothing inappropriate about it. If we hand you back to your manager again, we won’t feel at ease either.” Fang Xinnan stood up. “Alright, let’s go.”
Lin Zhiqiao silently followed behind.
Across from them, the original gathering in Spring Room had clearly been interrupted beyond repair by what had happened. There was no way it could continue.
Everyone had lost interest and was heading home.
But for some unknown reason, Wu Yuan had not hurried off. Instead, he was waiting outside Summer Room with a whole group of young actors.
When Lin Zhiqiao came out and saw them, he almost hallucinated a mother hen leading a flock of chicks.
Mm. The version where the mother hen had made a mistake and was acting all timid.
Lin Zhiqiao pressed his lips together and barely managed not to laugh out loud.
Who could possibly understand his crap-tier sense of humor?
No one.
So all he could do was keep suffering alone while suppressing laughter.
Song Fengshi, who was walking in front, did not spare Wu Yuan and the others even a glance. Beneath his suit trousers, those long legs kept striding forward with calm, steady steps that carried overwhelming authority.
Some people were simply born with a sense of pressure around them. Even if they said nothing and did nothing, they still made others afraid to even breathe too loudly.
Clearly, Song Fengshi, who had long occupied a high position, was exactly that sort of magical figure.
Lin Zhiqiao glanced at Wu Yuan.
The image of Wu Yuan practically gift-wrapping him and offering him up to President Yuan was still vivid before his eyes, making Lin Zhiqiao extremely unwilling to bother with him now.
But Wu Yuan just had to call out to him at that moment.
“Zhiqiao, aren’t you coming back with us?” Wu Yuan asked.
When speaking to Lin Zhiqiao, his voice carried a rare trace of what sounded like nervousness.
Wu Yuan was no fool.
Quite the opposite. After spending so many years in the entertainment industry, if there was one thing he had learned, it was how to flatter people, read expressions, and judge the situation.
For example, right now he could tell that both President Song and Director Fang cared very much about Lin Zhiqiao.
This kind of concern did not feel like ordinary concern. It felt more like “valuing” him.
Wu Yuan could not understand it no matter how much he thought about it.
He could not figure out how Lin Zhiqiao had won the favor of these two big shots—especially one of them, who was unquestionably a giant among giants.
But not understanding did not stop Wu Yuan from changing his attitude.
“I’ll drive everyone home. You should come with us too, so you won’t have to call a cab yourself,” Wu Yuan said. “It’s so late already. Taking a cab isn’t safe.”
Lin Zhiqiao politely declined. “But I don’t need to take a cab.”
Wu Yuan said, “If you’re not taking a cab, how are you getting back?”
“Someone’s taking me.” Lin Zhiqiao smiled shyly. “I won’t trouble you, Brother Yuan.”
Wu Yuan reflexively said, “Someone’s taking you? Who—” ah?
Before he could finish, he stopped on his own and let his gaze drift forward.
The two accomplished young men of the new era had already stopped walking and turned back to look in his direction, clearly waiting for someone.
And who they were waiting for…
Wu Yuan could figure that out with the soles of his shoes. They were waiting for Lin Zhiqiao.
Wu Yuan: “…”
He waved his hand. “Fine then. Go ahead. Be careful on the way.”
Lin Zhiqiao replied, “Don’t worry, Brother Yuan. The road will be perfectly safe.”
[No matter how you look at it, Director Fang and President Song’s car is still safer than your shady one.] He muttered inwardly. [If I accidentally fell asleep on the way, I also wouldn’t need to worry about waking up teleported onto Brother ‘Bear’’s bed.]
Needless to say, everyone present knew exactly who that “Brother ‘Bear’” was.
The thought was so horrifying that even Lin Zhiqiao himself could not help shivering slightly.
[Yikes. That’s seriously scary qaq.]
Wu Yuan: “…”
Fang Xinnan coughed lightly, his raised hand covering the smile on his face. But when the corner of his eye swept over Song Fengshi standing beside him, his expression paused.
Was Song Fengshi… smiling?
Fang Xinnan was a little surprised. When he looked carefully again, Song Fengshi gave him a calm sideways glance. “Something wrong?”
Fang Xinnan hesitated for half a second, then shook his head. “Nothing.”
Wu Yuan was furious but did not dare say a word. All he could do was stand there glaring as he watched the three of them leave.
The three figures stepped into the elevator together. The second before the metal doors closed, Wu Yuan suddenly felt a chill run down his back, and his heart skipped a beat.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but in that brief instant…
President Song’s eyes, cold as frost, seemed to land on him.
Like a silent judgment.
One of the artists beside him nudged him. “Brother Yuan, let’s go. Why are you spacing out?”
Wu Yuan came back to himself and instinctively rubbed his arm, where a layer of goosebumps had already risen.
“Mm. Let’s go.”
Wu Yuan was still distracted.
He thought it over again and again, yet the unease in his heart would not go away. After hesitating for a long time, he still edited out a message and sent it to Lin Zhiqiao.
By then, Lin Zhiqiao was already sitting in Song Fengshi’s car.
Tonight had only been a small gathering among friends, so Song Fengshi had not brought a driver.
Fang Xinnan was the driver.
Lin Zhiqiao very sensibly climbed into the back seat. Naturally, the front passenger seat belonged to Song Fengshi.
Fang Xinnan adjusted the rearview mirror inside the car. Just as Song Fengshi finished fastening his seatbelt and looked up, he happened to see Lin Zhiqiao in the back through the mirror.
The chestnut-haired young man was sitting upright in a very proper manner, looking as though his posture was exceptionally disciplined—but his hands… were not exactly behaving.
Touching the leather seat, touching the seatbelt, then touching the window…
[This car costs more than an entire villa… let me touch everything and steal some fortune from it. Money come, money come, let money come from all directions!]
[Not worshipping the God of Wealth tonight—tonight I’m worshipping President Song! I’m not greedy. I only pray that President Song will bless me so that one day I can earn even the tiniest fraction of President Song’s fortune. Thank you, President Song!!!]
Fang Xinnan pressed a fist to his lips, but in the end he still could not hold back. He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel and laughed soundlessly, his shoulders shaking.
Song Fengshi: “…”
At that very moment, a phone notification sounded.
Lin Zhiqiao opened it and glanced down. It was from Wu Yuan.
It was a very long message, probably close to a hundred words. Lin Zhiqiao could not be bothered to read it carefully and only skimmed a few key phrases—
“for your own good,” “I had no choice,” “don’t take it to heart”…
Lin Zhiqiao had long gotten used to Wu Yuan’s attitude and did not take his words seriously at all. With practiced ease, he replied with a sticker.
Lin Zhiqiao: “Mm-hmm, you’re absolutely right.jpg”
Then he hmphed inwardly: [Once I’ve earned enough money, I’m kicking you sooner or later!]
Song Fengshi’s gaze shifted slightly, and he looked at him through the rearview mirror. The fingers resting on his knee tapped lightly twice.
Fang Xinnan noticed the small movement. That was a habitual gesture Song Fengshi made whenever he was thinking.
Mm. Usually when he was thinking about how to “deal with” someone.
Fang Xinnan understood at once.
Looks like someone was about to have bad luck again.
More than an hour later, the car finally reached its destination.
Lin Zhiqiao got out of the car. “Thank you for the trouble, Director Fang, President Song.”
Fang Xinnan rolled down the car window and waved at him. “No problem. Hurry upstairs.”
Lin Zhiqiao nodded, but before he could turn away, someone suddenly stopped him.
“Wait.”
It was Song Fengshi.
Lin Zhiqiao looked surprised. “Does President Song still have something else?”
Song Fengshi handed him a small card. “My business card.”
Lin Zhiqiao instinctively took it.
The streetlight in the old neighborhood had broken. Under the dim moonlight, the dark gold pattern along the edge of the card shimmered faintly.
“My private number is on it,” Song Fengshi said.
Fang Xinnan added with a smiling face, “There probably aren’t even ten people who know President Song’s private number!”
Lin Zhiqiao’s hand shook. The light little card suddenly felt somewhat scorching in his fingers.
[Th-this… this is way too sudden—]
Song Fengshi said, “Thank you for reminding me before to go get a medical checkup.”
[So it’s a thank-you gift.]
[One reminder in exchange for a promise from the man in charge of the Song Group—this is way too worth it!!!]
“There’s no need to thank me.” On the surface, Lin Zhiqiao remained calm and reserved. “Then I—”
Song Fengshi spoke again. “I said before that I would treat you to a meal. When the time is right, I will keep that promise.”
Lin Zhiqiao froze slightly. “Eh? Didn’t you already treat me tonight?”
“This one doesn’t count,” Song Fengshi said instead. “Tonight I interrupted your dinner. That was only compensation.”
“I see.” Lin Zhiqiao nodded. “Then I’ll respectfully accept.”
The chestnut-haired young man smiled shyly, yet in the ears of the two men inside the car, his voice rang out in perfect sync—passionate and spirited.
[That interruption was beautifully done!]
[If it hadn’t been interrupted, I wouldn’t have been able to eat such amazing gossip afterward!]
[My purity stayed intact, I got delicious food, and I ate such a huge melon live on the scene too—this couldn’t have been more profitable!]
By now, Song Fengshi could already keep a completely straight face no matter what kind of inner thoughts he heard.
“If you run into any trouble and need help, you can call me.” He pointed to the business card in Lin Zhiqiao’s hand. “I’ll answer.”
Lin Zhiqiao readily agreed. “Okay, thank you, President Song.”
With the status of the Song Group, getting such a promise from President Song was practically equivalent to gaining a life-saving talisman.
Lin Zhiqiao suddenly felt a little emotional. Who could have guessed that one impulsive reminder at the time would bring him such enormous benefits?
He thought about it, then hesitantly spoke. “Actually… I do happen to have a small bit of trouble right now.”
Song Fengshi gave a slight nod. “Go ahead.”
Was it about his manager Wu Yuan?
That was Song Fengshi’s guess.
“My current rental place is about to expire,” Lin Zhiqiao said. “There’s less than half a month left, but I still haven’t found a new place to live.”
For once, Song Fengshi blanked for half a beat.
Lin Zhiqiao had saved his life. Giving him a house would have been perfectly reasonable.
Without hesitation, Song Fengshi said, “Alright, I—”
At almost the same time, Lin Zhiqiao also spoke: “I want to rent a better place. My budget is about this much.”
He named a number.
Song Fengshi: “…?”
“If President Song has time, could you help me keep an eye out for rental listings?” Lin Zhiqiao smiled a little embarrassedly. “If you don’t have time, that’s fine too. I’ll keep looking slowly, and sooner or later I’ll find something suitable.”
[The agents these days are more black-hearted than the last. They’ll praise a place shot full of holes like it was shelled by a cannon until it sounds like heaven. The listing photos and the actual place aren’t even just a little different—they basically have nothing to do with each other! None of them are reliable at all!]
Lin Zhiqiao could not help complaining inwardly.
He had saved up a bit of “small money” now, so naturally he did not want to keep mistreating himself.
With the rental budget Lin Zhiqiao had just quoted, he could already rent a very good apartment in an affluent neighborhood.
One of the reasons he had hesitated for so many days without finding a suitable place was because he knew too little about rentals in that price range and could very easily end up being slaughtered like a clueless sucker.
Song Fengshi was silent for a moment.
[Asking President Song to help look for a rental place really is a bit of an overuse of talent.]
Lin Zhiqiao muttered inwardly. Just as he was about to say maybe forget it, he suddenly heard Song Fengshi say, “Alright.”
Lin Zhiqiao did not react in time. “Huh?”
“I’ll keep an eye out for you,” Song Fengshi said. “What other requirements do you have?”
A little dazed, Lin Zhiqiao told him the rest of his housing requirements.
Song Fengshi nodded. “Understood.”
It was not until the young man’s figure disappeared into the dim alley that Fang Xinnan finally laughed out loud.
Unsurprisingly, he received a cold glare from his friend.
Fang Xinnan was completely fearless.
“Should I congratulate you on unlocking a new identity?” he asked while rubbing his stomach from laughing too hard. “Consultant Song, real estate agent edition?”
Song Fengshi: “…”
“Shut up,” he said.
*
The next day, Lin Zhiqiao was awakened by a phone call.
“Okay, okay, I got it. Mm-hmm, yes, yes, I’ll definitely arrive at the company on time…”
After vaguely mumbling his responses to the instructions on the other end, Lin Zhiqiao rolled over and buried himself under the blanket, blocking out the chirping birds outside the window.
A moment later, he suddenly threw off the blanket and poked his head out. The sleepiness on his face gradually transformed into shock.
That call just now had come from Lin Zhiqiao’s agency.
Not from his manager Wu Yuan, but from the head person in charge of managers at Xinghe Entertainment.
Lin Zhiqiao ran a hand through his hair, messing up his already wildly sticking-up little curls even more before stopping.
What had the chief just said?
Wu Yuan had left the company, and the agency was assigning him a new manager, so he should go to the company and complete the handover procedures?
Holding his phone, Lin Zhiqiao looked utterly incredulous.
Had he heard wrong?
Wu Yuan had actually… left the company?!
Lin Zhiqiao almost thought he was dreaming.
Whether this was real or not still needed to be confirmed, but one thing was certain—his drowsiness was definitely gone.
Scared awake.
After getting in the car to head to the company, Lin Zhiqiao finally had the time to look at his phone.
WeChat told him he had a new friend request.
When Lin Zhiqiao clicked in to take a look, he saw that the other party’s profile picture was a hermit crab on a beach. Very cute.
Then he looked at the request note… just three simple words: Song Fengshi.
Lin Zhiqiao: “?”
So President Song actually used such a cute profile picture in private?
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Zhiqiao accepted the request and then stared at the screen in a daze.
One minute passed.
Two minutes, three minutes…
No message came from the other side.
Lin Zhiqiao also had no idea what to say, so he simply closed the chat window and rested with his eyes shut.
By the time he arrived at the company, it was already close to noon.
Lin Zhiqiao made his way to the chief manager’s office. Just as he was about to knock, he heard angry scolding from inside—
“You signed an agreement when you joined! Our Xinghe is a legitimate company, but look at you—bringing a whole group of artists to serve as matchmaking fodder? Is this how you usually manage artists?”
“Do you have even the slightest professional ethics as a manager? Did all the promises you made when you joined get swallowed by dogs?”
“And now you come apologizing to me? What use is that? Am I the one you should be apologizing to? Even now you still haven’t realized what exactly you did wrong?!”
“The second things don’t go your way, you start trying crooked backdoor tactics. With a mindset like yours, even if you stay in this industry for ten or twenty years, you still won’t raise a single good actor!”
“Don’t let me fucking see you again! Take your things and get the hell out of here right now!!!”
With a loud bang, Lin Zhiqiao outside the door shook three times and silently retreated two steps to the side.
The door opened, and Wu Yuan stumbled out of the office looking miserable, low pressure radiating from his entire body.
The two of them inevitably made eye contact—
[Oh ho! So it wasn’t a voluntary resignation. He got fired!]
Lin Zhiqiao thought with perfect cheer.
[The scolding was so fierce, I love it! It was basically my mouth speaking for me!!!]
Wu Yuan’s face instantly became even uglier.
Dragged to the company first thing in the morning, criticized in front of the entire company for violating regulations, scolded again and again and again and again and again, not only fired but also forced to pay a huge penalty fee—
Wu Yuan’s mood could no longer be described as merely “very bad.”
Hearing Lin Zhiqiao’s practically gloating inner thoughts, Wu Yuan’s fists clenched tight.
Lin Zhiqiao was so startled by the “murderous intent” in his eyes that he jumped a little.
But in the end, Wu Yuan still said nothing and left in silence.
Even though no one had directly told him what was going on, Wu Yuan knew very clearly in his heart that this dismissal had most likely had something to do with Lin Zhiqiao.
More precisely, President Song had intervened.
Wu Yuan was filled with rage, but all he could do was grind his teeth and swallow it down.
The soft persimmon he had once thought he could squeeze as he pleased now had backing. He had become someone Wu Yuan could no longer afford to provoke.
After watching Wu Yuan leave, Lin Zhiqiao hummed a cheerful little tune inwardly and stepped into the office.
The chief had already prepared the documents in advance, and the process of changing managers went very smoothly.
The new manager was called Ning Qing.
Lin Zhiqiao was somewhat surprised.
Ning Qing was one of Xinghe’s veteran managers, with quite a few top artists under her hand. She had not taken on any new artists for a full two years.
The chief said, “Ning Qing has something going on these next two days and couldn’t make it over. Remember to add her on WeChat. If anything comes up, coordinate online first.”
Lin Zhiqiao sent the friend request on WeChat and then prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, in the main lobby of Xinghe headquarters, he ran into two familiar faces.
Ji Ran and Cheng Xia.
Ji Ran waved at him in greeting. “Lin Xiaoqiao? What a coincidence!”
Cheng Xia silently quickened his pace, looking just as pleasantly surprised.
Lin Zhiqiao glanced at the documents in his hand. “Here to formally sign the contract?”
“Yes,” Cheng Xia said. “I already looked over the contract in advance. I just need to go through the procedures later.”
Lin Zhiqiao felt genuinely happy for him.
Ji Ran also shook the documents in his own hand. “Guess what I’m here for?”
“I know.” Lin Zhiqiao sounded very certain. “You’re here to run alongside him—ah no, to accompany Cheng Xia!”
Ji Ran: “…”
If the time and place had not been wrong, he really would have wanted to give Lin Zhiqiao a good smack.
Ji Ran snapped, “I’m here to sign a contract too!”
This time Lin Zhiqiao was truly shocked. “Who’s signing? You? Signing with who?”
Ji Ran said, “Me! With Xinghe!”
Lin Zhiqiao asked, “You terminated your contract with Mingguang?”
Some time ago, the Ji family had sent Mingguang a lawyer’s letter. Maybe Mingguang had not wanted to make things bigger, because in the end, they chose to compromise and back down.
On Mingguang’s official Weibo, the company announced that Mingguang Entertainment would be opening a special contract termination channel. Trainees who met specific conditions could apply to terminate their contracts without paying any penalty fees.
At the same time, the Ji family also made a post stating that if any trainees from Mingguang needed help, Ji Group could lend out its legal team free of charge.
It could be said that Lin Chen had kneeled down and slid on his knees very thoroughly this time.
Lin Zhiqiao loved seeing that self-righteous group of people from the Lin family suffer. When he saw the announcement, he was so delighted he rolled around in bed and nearly tumbled off the edge.
“Of course.” Ji Ran gave a small snort. “How could I bear to let Cheng Xia come to a new company all alone!”
He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “He’s not very sharp. I’m worried he’ll get bullied at the new company, so of course I had to come with him!”
Lin Zhiqiao expressed deep doubt.
[Clearly you look easier to bully! Who was it that got fooled by that scumbag for so long like a complete idiot, and would probably still be happily helping count the money even if he’d already been sold off?]
Ji Ran: “…”
Please stop bringing up black history that has already passed, ahhhh!
Cheng Xia pressed his lips together and smiled slightly. “After signing today, Ji Ran and I will leave for Xinghe’s training base. Xinghe is also closed training, so there may not be as many chances to meet in the future.”
“Why are you making this sound so sad? We’re not being sent to prison,” Ji Ran said with a curl of his lip. “Alright, enough of that. Did you get the news?”
Lin Zhiqiao was caught off guard by the question. “What news?”
[What? Has Lin Chen’s Mingguang Entertainment finally gone bankrupt?]
Ji Ran’s mouth twitched. “Dad said the sportswear brand under Ji Group is shooting a promotional ad soon. He said good water shouldn’t flow to outsiders’ fields, so…”
At that exact moment, Lin Zhiqiao received a message.
His new manager Ning Qing had accepted his friend request and immediately sent over an electronic contract.
Ning Qing: “A new job offer. Take a look at the contract, and if there’s no problem, sign it.”
The brand was called Four Seasons.
It was exactly Ji Group’s sportswear brand.
*
At the same time, Mingguang Entertainment headquarters, president’s office.
Lin Chen’s assistant handed him a report and said cautiously, “President Lin, this is Mingguang Entertainment’s recent stock trend. Please take a look.”
Lin Chen directly tossed the report to the side.
There was no need to look. He already knew Mingguang’s stock had been falling recently, and looking at it would only make his chest feel blocked.
“What’s this?” Lin Chen asked, picking up another stack of reports instead.
The assistant’s voice grew even lighter. “Statistics on trainee contract termination applications.”
Lin Chen: “…”
With a slap, he flung that report off to the other side too.
Might as well not read any of these reports.
There wasn’t a single one he wanted to see.
