“So it really is him, huh. By the way, let me ask you straight—what do you think of this guy?”
Curious!
Just pure gossip!
Jin Yi’s face was plastered with curiosity.
“…What do you mean, what do I think?”
Nie Luo asked in return.
Jin Yi was blunt and carefree.
“I mean, are you moved at all, Old Nie? Honestly, I think he’s pretty sincere toward you.”
If it were him chasing someone, he’d just send flowers, bags, and money.
Other than money—don’t expect anything else.
Nie Luo felt a headache coming on.
“You called me just to say this?”
Jin Yi snorted twice.
“Hey, I got first-hand intel and came to tell you first, okay? That’s called caring about you!”
He paused, then chuckled again.
“Or if you don’t want to answer that, you could tell me—how did it feel last time when he took you out for a drive?”
Damn, seriously—don’t even say it.
If Fan Qing were a black-haired, long-legged girl, he’d be tempted too, alright?
The veins on Nie Luo’s forehead began to twitch.
He slowly spat out a single word.
“Get lost.”
…Tch.
After having the call hung up on him, Jin Yi snorted a few times.
But very quickly, he couldn’t help sneaking a laugh.
Didn’t he know Old Nie well enough?
This was probably embarrassment turning into anger.
Heh—if that was the case, did that mean he might really get the chance to see that cold, aloof flower on the iceberg finally get plucked by someone?
Tsk tsk tsk, tsk tsk tsk.
Then wouldn’t his position in the front row, watching the drama unfold, be pretty great too?
“Oh right—I almost forgot to tell you. The results you asked me to look into are out.”
It took Jin Yi quite a while before he suddenly snapped back to his senses. He hurriedly called Fan Qing to report.
“No need.”
Fan Qing’s tone was light, but carried certainty.
“It was Jian Feiyang’s former manager, right?”
Jin Yi froze, scratching his head.
“You already checked it? No—wait, did you guess it? If you already guessed it, why did you still have me check?”
He really didn’t get it!
The pleased curve at Fan Qing’s lips became even more obvious.
“It’s precisely because I knew that I had you check.”
He paused. “And if I’m not mistaken, you probably told Nie Luo about this first, didn’t you?”
Jin Yi: “…Fuck. That’s—uh—you’re honestly kind of terrifying.”
No???
Fan Qing could even guess that?
What exactly was this guy?
Was he even human anymore?
Or was he some kind of thing?
All according to plan.
This time, Fan Qing let out an audible laugh of satisfaction.
Now Jin Yi understood a little.
“…You already knew from the start? You had me investigate just so I’d bring you up to Old Nie?”
Fuck—don’t tell him he actually guessed right?
“Second Young Master Jin is pretty sharp. Looks like personally managing the company wouldn’t necessarily be impossible for you…”
Before Fan Qing could finish, Jin Yi cut him off at lightning speed.
“Can you stop telling horror stories, please? Do me a favor—I’ll just pretend I don’t know anything, okay? And don’t tell me too much either. I don’t want to understand!”
He quickly hung up the phone, then slowly pulled out a candle.
He lit it—for Old Nie.
Nothing special, really.
Old Nie, you’re probably not escaping this guy’s grasp.
It’s not that your brother didn’t try to help you—your brother… not screwing you over already took a lot of effort, damn it!
What brand of creature is Fan Qing, anyway?
Second Young Master Jin—he really is a good person.
Fan Qing took a sip of his stomach-soothing tea and sighed.
Then his gaze fell on the mountain of documents piled up in front of him, and he paused.
Well… not entirely a good person.
It could only be said that he and Second Young Master Jin were mutually willing.
One willing to strike, one willing to take the hit.
As he thought this, the veins on the back of Fan Qing’s hand bulged as he picked up the documents again.
He was working himself to the bone like this—asking Jin Yi to help boost his presence a little in front of the person he liked was hardly excessive, right?
Although he had anticipated it long ago, once it was confirmed that the manager’s side had truly begun making moves against Nie Luo, Fan Qing sped up his work even further.
In just a single week, Tenghuang underwent a massive overhaul.
Led by Huazi, a group of artists with potential who had been shelved for various reasons all began to emerge into the spotlight.
At the same time, Fan Qing decisively terminated contracts with a number of artists notorious for their bad behavior. Some of them had even climbed to second-tier status on the back of resources gained through unspoken rules. When Tenghuang abruptly terminated their contracts, resentment flared instantly.
Among them was a second-tier pretty-boy idol named Hu Yelin, who was also on the termination list.
When he received the news, he found it absurd—who was he? Even if he wasn’t top-tier, he was still a money tree within Tenghuang.
How could a trash company like Tenghuang just terminate his contract on a whim?
At that very moment, he was still filming a costume drama, where he was the male lead.
Convinced that Tenghuang wouldn’t abandon someone of his stature, Hu Yelin ignored the notice entirely.
Go back to the company to handle the contract matters?
That had to be a joke.
That was what Hu Yelin thought—yet after wrapping up filming that day, his assistant walked up to him, face full of hesitation.
“Li—Lin-ge.”
“Say it if you’ve got something to say. What’s with that dead look on your face—who are you showing it to? And where’s the drink I told you to prepare? And the towel for wiping sweat—didn’t I tell you earlier? Get the brand that came to talk to me about endorsements before; their stuff is decent. Oh, right—have they contacted me again about an endorsement?”
Hu Yelin rattled off his scolding in rapid succession, then leisurely sat down in his chair.
After being berated like that, the assistant looked a little dazed.
“…Useless trash. I’m talking to you—answer me!”
Seeing his expression, Hu Yelin was furious.
Without thinking, he stretched out his leg and kicked the assistant hard in the shin.
“Ah—!”
The assistant cried out in pain, clenched his teeth, but there was a new firmness in his eyes.
“Lin-ge, I’m here to tell you that the company has arranged for me to go over to Brother Guan’s side tomorrow. From now on, I won’t be your assistant anymore.”
“What—?!”
Hu Yelin shot to his feet, glaring at the assistant, his anger flaring uncontrollably.
“Well, look at you—so you’ve been stabbing me in the back? Brother Guan? Which Brother Guan are you even calling that? The company tells you to go and you go? Then if I told you to go eat shit, why don’t you go eat that?”
The assistant took a step back, his tone much firmer now.
“I’m a company employee. I follow the company’s arrangements. Besides, Lin-ge, you’re about to terminate your contract with the company anyway. There’s no way I’d continue following you.”
He wasn’t Hu Yelin’s personal property—he was merely assigned by the company to act as his assistant.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
The moment Hu Yelin heard the words “terminate the contract,” panic flickered through his eyes, laced with coldness.
The assistant let out a soft laugh.
“Didn’t you get the text message too, Lin-ge? Why are you still pretending you don’t know?”
He paused, then continued.
“Lin-ge, you should actually be very clear about this yourself. After Second Young Master Jin took over the company, Vice President Chen was forced out a few days ago. All those people who were suppressed before have started rising again. Someone like you, Lin-ge… it’s only normal to have your contract terminated.”
“You’re talking nonsense! You’re talking nonsense!”
Hu Yelin lunged forward, raising his hand and slapping the assistant hard twice across the face.
“There’s no way the company would terminate my contract! Stop spouting bullshit here!”
“I’m not spouting bullshit. If you’ve got the guts, Lin-ge, then go back to the company yourself! Hiding in the production crew and pretending to disappear—aren’t you just scared now that Vice President Chen isn’t backing you anymore?”
The assistant was in pain, and his tone immediately turned sharp as well.
“…I’ll go back right now. Don’t think running your mouth will do anything. Once I confirm that the company is still supporting me, the first thing I’ll do is have them fire you.”
After saying that, Hu Yelin turned and went straight to find the director to ask for leave.
He didn’t care that the director’s face darkened; he simply said he had urgent matters and hurriedly left the crew.
The director’s face was drawn long—anyone could tell he was furious.
Seeing this, the assistant director quickly leaned over and whispered.
“We only picked him before because of Tenghuang’s backing. But I’ve heard Tenghuang’s had a massive shake-up—Chen’s been dragged down by that parachuted crown prince. This Hu guy has lost his support now. How about we replace him?”
After all, filming had only just begun.
The director hesitated.
“You sure? Is the news reliable?”
The assistant director nodded quickly.
“Absolutely reliable. Don’t you remember Huazi, the one we worked with before? He’s from Tenghuang. He’s just landed three consecutive magazine covers recently! If Chen hadn’t fallen, would he ever have gotten those resources?”
Mentioning Huazi, the director felt a twinge of regret.
But after a moment’s thought, excitement crept in.
“If that’s true, then go ask Huazi whether he wants to come act.”
He had had his eye on Huazi for a long time.
Back in that idol drama, Huazi’s performance had been quite solid.
If Huazi hadn’t been signed by Tenghuang back then—and if Tenghuang hadn’t been run by that bastard Chen—how could he have let such a hidden gem slip through his fingers?
“Well…”
The assistant director gave an awkward laugh and lowered his voice.
“Huazi’s resources aren’t bad now. I heard Tenghuang has already arranged a new drama for him too—also a costume drama.”
In other words, trying to poach him now?
Too late.
The director sighed with some emotion, but quickly came around.
“Then confirm things with Tenghuang. If that’s really the case, replacing this unreliable piece of work wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
It didn’t take long before news of Tenghuang terminating its contract with Hu Yelin broke.
Needless to say, Fan Qing’s hand was behind it.
What he hadn’t expected was that Hu Yelin somehow got hold of information from who-knows-where and actually came looking for him.
There was definitely someone else behind Hu Yelin.
Fan Qing’s thinking was clear.
When Hu Yelin showed up, he wasn’t flustered at all.
Although Hu Yelin opened by accusing him of trading on his looks, the fact that he had managed to find his way here meant he already knew there was a connection between Fan Qing and Jin Yi.
Still, trying to use Second Young Master Jin to pressure him was no match for the solid evidence Fan Qing held in his hands.
There was, however, one thing.
Fan Qing had considered whether Hu Yelin knowing about him might have been Vice President Chen’s doing after his dismissal.
But that seemed unlikely.
After checking a bit—or rather, after learning a little about Jin Si’s past methods—Fan Qing didn’t think that Vice President Chen still had the nerve to stir things up behind the scenes.
Jin Si was not a simple, gullible good boy like Second Young Master Jin.
If it wasn’t him…
Fan Qing thought for a moment and decided to look into Hu Yelin’s relationship with a certain manager.
Sure enough.
Before he even had to put in much effort, news broke that a certain manager had already signed Hu Yelin.
It was him again.
Fan Qing lightly rubbed his fingers along the pen shaft.
If he remembered correctly, Jing Yuan and Jian Feiyang were both still filming a survival variety show, weren’t they?
If that was the case, did Jing Yuan know about this person’s recent moves?
Thinking of this, Fan Qing recalled the information Jin Yi had dug up for him a couple of days earlier.
Was the move against Nie Luo really Jing Yuan’s idea, or that manager’s?
If it was Jing Yuan’s idea, then that really was putting him in a tough spot.
Fan Qing thought with interest.
He had assumed Jing Yuan should be struggling right now, figuring out how to perform well enough to suppress Jian Feiyang.
So—could it be that Jian Feiyang just wasn’t trying hard enough?
As Fan Qing pondered this, a Spartan-like ferocious expression slowly appeared on his face.