Ning Siyin’s gaze turned bewildered, his eyes following Yan Zijin’s figure as he moved, a faint smile remaining on his face the whole time.
However, the other party didn’t look at him at all, passing directly by his table and taking a seat at the location farthest away.
Only then did Ning Siyin turn his head back to face the burly, fierce-looking man across from him who was staring at him in astonishment; the smile at the corners of his lips vanished, no longer bearing that spring-breeze-like warm expression from a moment ago.
The ferocious-looking man being stared at by Ning Siyin lowered his head hurriedly under this glance, stuffing a small steamed bun into his mouth and pretending to be dining attentively.
Conversational chatter and the clinking of tableware rose and fell throughout the restaurant, with only this single table remaining eerily quiet.
Under a gaze so intense it felt tangible, the ferocious-looking man lowered his head lower and lower, even his jaw’s chewing motions slowing down.
“Don’t let it happen again.”
It wasn’t until this sentence came from across the table that the ferocious-looking man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Young Master indeed has a bad temper just as the rumors say, he thought to himself secretly.
But his mood seems pretty good today? He actually didn’t pursue my improper behavior just now. He didn’t dare raise his gaze to confirm his suspicion, and secretly warned himself in his heart that he must never be as careless and negligent as he was just now in the future.
“Ah-Si.”
The manager who was nowhere to be seen yesterday walked over. As if he hadn’t noticed the tense atmosphere at the table just now, he greeted him with an unruffled expression.
Ning Siyin gently stirred the porridge in the porcelain bowl in front of him.
“Did you get all the stuff?”
“Got it.”
“Once my dear uncle sends those photos to the old master, send a copy of the ones in your hands to the old master as well.”
“Understood.” The manager nodded in agreement.
He then added, “That account you instructed me about has been investigated thoroughly. The holder is a Frenchman named Arthur, but the actual user is an American named James. Neither of them has any connection with the domestic side here. Do we need to continue checking further down?”
“Keep checking,” Ning Siyin said. “Check every single inflow and outflow of funds. For all those involving the domestic side, thoroughly check them all—and see who they are linked to.”
This was clearly no small workload, but judging the importance of this matter from Ning Siyin’s tone, the manager couldn’t help but tense his nerves, answering solemnly: “Yes, I’ll instruct them right away.”
Having finished the serious business, he brought up another matter.
“The company is preparing a new show called Super Idol, and they want to invite you to be a mentor. What do you think?”
Ning Siyin’s expression was cozy and relaxed, clearly in high spirits right now, as he casually said, “Then let’s go.”
The manager’s heart eased; it seemed his deduction earlier was correct.
Ning Siyin gave him a half-smiling glance, making his heart leap into his throat once more.
Fortunately, it was merely a glance, and that immensely pressuring line of sight was retracted. The manager couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat over his bold behavior just now.
Ning Siyin set down his spoon, pulled over a napkin, and wiped his hands unhurriedly.
“Enjoy your meal, you two. I’ll head back first.”
He nodded to the two of them—his movement carrying the exact elegance and reservedness that fans loved most—glanced in Yan Zijin’s direction, and only then stepped off toward the elevators.
Holding down the person who subconsciously wanted to rise and follow, the manager scolded in a low voice: “Did you forget what I told you before? If he didn’t call for you to follow, stay where you are obediently and don’t try to follow him! Also, did you offend him just now?”
Although he didn’t see what happened earlier, judging from the expressions of the two, he could deduce that this guy must have crossed President Ning’s taboo.
“Sorry, brother, I forgot. I’ll definitely pay attention in the future.”
With Ning Siyin absent, he was no longer that nervous, scratching his head with a silly smile, causing his ferocious-looking face to instantly turn goofy and simple-minded.
“Though Young Master seems to be in a pretty good mood today?” He surprisingly didn’t punish him.
The manager raised the document in his hand, wanting to hit him.
“Forgot what I just said again? Don’t make random guesses. Also, when not at the main mansion, you are not allowed to call him Young Master; he hates that form of address. Just call him Ah-Si like I do!”
The burly man nodded vigorously, signaling he had kept it in mind.
The manager let out a sigh, deeply worried—with this stupid and foolish demeanor, he would probably be replaced next month.
Needs to have capability, needs to be trustworthy, and needs to meet other harsh requirements as well. This kind of person was truly not easy to find. Hopefully, the one in front of him could stay a bit longer and buy himself more time to find a replacement.
After accepting the reality of transmigration, Yan Zijin quickly adapted to the identity of Shen Qing.
Although they had different life experiences, they could ultimately be considered the same person after all.
Since the branching point of life occurred at fourteen, the youth’s personality and worldview had already taken shape. In terms of behavior, demeanor, and interpersonal relations, Yan Zijin and Shen Qing did not differ much, with only slight differences in small living habits.
Under Yan Zijin’s deliberate imitation and cover-up, these differences were practically negligible.
Therefore, even after a month had passed, the family, friends, and company colleagues around him hadn’t discovered that this Shen Qing was no longer that Shen Qing.
Clicking send on the final email, Yan Zijin glanced at the time in the bottom right corner—it was already 6:20 in the afternoon.
Not bad, relatively early today.
Yan Zijin stretched his body, leaning back against the chair’s backrest, closing his eyes, and massaging the bridge of his nose.
While relaxing, he also began to ponder a question.
Should future days just continue on like this?
At Shen Corporation, he was responsible for the work in the Foreign Trade Department. The original host was satisfied with this job—after all, Shen Qing’s university major was foreign trade, so it suited his field of study.
Yan Zijin was different; possessing Shen Qing’s memories indeed allowed him to smoothly complete daily work tasks.
However, after a month of personal experience and comparison, Yan Zijin felt that he still preferred acting much more.
Having made his decision, Yan Zijin immediately took action.
Yet things were not as easy as he thought.
“Our family owns an entertainment company ourselves. If you’re really interested in the entertainment industry, you can take it to play around with. But making an official debut? I won’t allow it.”
Right after Yan Zijin proposed his plan, he was flatly rejected by his family.
He could actually understand. A respectable family with status like the Shen family wouldn’t let their own child join the entertainment industry—not only was it a matter of saving face, but even more so because the entertainment industry was a mixed bag of good and bad, filled with numerous temptations. If one lacked experience and possessed insufficient willpower, it was very easy to be led astray onto the wrong path.
Pondering briefly, Yan Zijin decided to accept this proposal.
Shen Qing had indeed reached adulthood and worked for a while, yet he had always been under the protection of the Shen family, not even achieving financial independence to this day.
Yan Zijin had struggled and tumbled in the entertainment industry for over a dozen years, being genuinely experienced and possessing firm willpower. But these were things he ultimately couldn’t tell anyone.
Besides, before transmigrating, Yan Zijin had already decided to open a company of his own; now it could be considered reaching the same destination by a different route.
As for making a debut, he needed to achieve financial independence at the very least before he could have a greater say in matters.
When Yan Zijin appeared at Qichen Company, he was met by the weeping former person-in-charge of the company.
“If you hadn’t come, Second Young Master, the company wouldn’t even be able to pay out salaries soon.”
Yan Zijin: …
Although he knew this company wasn’t doing well, wasn’t this a bit too exaggerated? After all, it was a company under the Shen family—how could it degenerate to the point of being unable to pay salaries?
However, upon understanding the company’s current situation, Yan Zijin fell silent.
Jincan, controlled by Shen Corporation, was not only famous in A City, but could also be ranked on a national level.
Yet Qichen, controlled by Jincan, was merely an unranked, bottom-tier nobody in the entertainment industry.
Counting all employees across Qichen together, there were only a dozen or so people, half of whom were signed artists, while the other half were clerical staff, drivers, and assistants.
This scale wasn’t even as large as Yan Zijin’s team back before he transmigrated.
And as for that half of signed artists, if they could afford the breach-of-contract penalties, they would have probably terminated their contracts and run off long ago.
Developing a company like this into something successful was probably no easier than starting a brand new company from scratch.
It seemed the Shen family truly didn’t support his idea at all. No wonder everyone at the head office felt he had been banished.
Taking up a whole morning’s time, Yan Zijin gained a complete understanding of all company affairs. This was perhaps the benefit of a small company scale, Yan Zijin thought, finding humor in adversity.
Although Qichen belonged under Jincan, it had always been in a state of free-range neglect. Without resource support from the head company, it naturally couldn’t develop.
Making a profit was out of the question; not requesting financial aid from the head office was already considered managing with skill by the person-in-charge.
Yan Zijin pondered for three days on how to make Qichen develop.
Since his family didn’t support his idea, Jincan certainly wouldn’t support Qichen just because of his identity as the Second Young Master of the Shen family.
“Change Qichen Entertainment into Jincan Qichen Media?”
Hu Lei looked at his good friend in surprise.
“Right, changing it to Jincan Qichen—what a great omen, and it rolls off the tongue nicely.”
An entertainment company relies not only on resources, but popularity and brand awareness are also extremely important.
Even though the head company didn’t support him, he could take the initiative to attach himself to them.
Almost no one knew the name Qichen. The head company Jincan was different; as long as that name was mentioned, everyone would know it referred to the Shen family’s business.
Adding the two words “Jincan” before Qichen’s name was a blunt way of telling everyone: Qichen has the backing and support of Shen Corporation’s Jincan.
Without needing to say anything else, people would automatically associate: Can Jincan’s funds, contacts, and resources all be utilized by Qichen?
Especially with him, the Second Young Master Shen, managing and operating it in person, it served as the most conclusive proof that Jincan would spare no effort in developing Qichen.
“But didn’t your family not support you? Will Jincan’s side agree to this?”
Hu Lei was somewhat hesitant.
“So what? Is Jincan really going to issue a special clarification announcement?”
When Hu Lei thought about it, that made sense too; if Jincan did so, it would be offending Shen Qing, the second young master.
Regarding the matter of Shen Qing being transferred to Qichen Entertainment, outsiders might not know the truth, but those closer to him and Jincan’s high-level executives all knew what was going on.
Just looking at the numbers added to Shen Qing’s bank account was enough to tell. Not only had Second Young Master Shen not fallen from grace, but the Shen family was even worried that Qichen Entertainment’s poor operations wouldn’t provide sufficient profits for Shen Qing to spend, so they even transferred pocket money over in advance.
“How was Uncle Hu’s surgery?” Yan Zijin asked suddenly.
Hu Lei said, “The surgery was very successful. The tumor was benign, and he can recover after resting for a period of time after the surgery.”
Yan Zijin nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as well: “That’s good then.”
In the original novel plot, Hu Lei’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer a few months later. Even though the Hu family possessed immense wealth, they couldn’t save Father Hu’s life. Afterward, Hu Lei took over the family business; taking over hastily with insufficient experience and internal traitors at work, the Hu family quickly fell into ruin. Yet even so, when the Shen family went bankrupt, Hu Lei still extended a helping hand to Shen Qing, only to be dragged into the quagmire in the end, unable to save even the Hu family’s final assets.
Knowing all this, Yan Zijin naturally had to remind Hu Lei to help him avoid this disaster.
“Shen Qing, what do you think if I open a marketing company?”
Yan Zijin froze for a moment and repeated, “Open a marketing company?”
Hu Lei nodded.
His father’s surgery suddenly gave him a sense of crisis; he remembered the anxiety and fear while waiting outside the operating room. If his father collapsed, could he shoulder the family business? He needed to change and couldn’t remain muddle-headed like before.
Yan Zijin smiled and said, “Of course you can.”
He glanced at the time on his wristwatch.
“In a bit, I’m heading to Leguo Video to discuss the collaboration between Jincan Qichen and Super Idol. Does Manager Hu want to come along? Learn on-site how top video platforms conduct marketing.”
What he was wearing right now was a personal item belonging to the original host Shen Qing—a Cartier Ballon Bleu. Five years ago he would have liked it very much too, but today’s Yan Zijin preferred Vacheron Constantin much more, especially the FiftySix series, which was mature and steady.
However, the development of Jincan Qichen was more important right now; for non-essential luxury items like this, he would make do for the time being.