After trading a few barbs with Zhao Yan, Xiang Xu ate the leftover cake for brunch, went out to buy a pack of masks, and spent the rest of the day grinding games at home.
Having broken the phone given to him, he still had 2.05 million to repay. Xiang Xu decided to sell his services to clear the debt; to put it nicely, he decided to join Zhao Yan. Faced with his friend’s plan, which was equal parts reliable and unreliable, he had no reason to refuse.
With this decision made, Xiang Xu felt a bit lighter. When there is only one path to take, there is no need to agonize over choices; he simply had to buckle down and do it.
Beside him, he traced the black screen with his finger, his own face reflected in the fractured surface.
After becoming familiar with the script here, Xiang Xu had sought out many history books and searched online, yet he could find no information about the Yin Dynasty. It was as if his first twenty years, the imperial palace, the Emperor under whose authority he had wept so many times, were all nothing but a dream.
In a daze, Xiang Xu felt as though the Yin Dynasty had become a place he could never return to.
“Ding.” Zhao Yan’s avatar lit up.
Xiang Xu remembered that time: the young prince in his black robes, standing tall before the steps, his expression cold, his gaze resolute. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, no matter the time, Zhao Yan will always be by your side to assist you.”
His eyes stung, but the mist forming there was quickly dried by the wind.
He sent Zhao Yan a message: “This time, let me assist you.”
Zhao Yan replied: “Stop playing that shitty game of yours.” He included a disdainful emoji.
Xiang Xu smiled faintly. Chronicle of Divine Erosion was an ancient-style RPG, and Zhao Yan knew it.
“I mean it, Zhao Wulang. I am in on your project.”
The next day, his body still felt like it was falling apart, and the bruises on his face had not fully healed, but he still had to go to work. Xiang Xu had no choice but to wear a mask.
Zhao Yan was waiting for him at the bookstore entrance early in the morning.
“Not going on a date today?” Xiang Xu asked jokingly.
“Date your head! I am about to become a successful businessman; back then, I could have had as many girls as I wanted.” Zhao Yan clearly had high hopes for himself. He pushed up his sunglasses and paused. “Why do you look so pathetic?”
Xiang Xu smiled bitterly. “Heaven could not stand me being too smooth-sailing, so it sent some thugs to punch me twice.”
Zhao Yan became agitated. “Who dared to bully you? Your brother will get revenge for you!”
“It is not your turn. The police are handling it.”
“Then go to the hospital and get it checked.” Zhao Yan could see his injuries were not light.
Xiang Xu was afraid of spending money. “No.”
Zhao Yan could not do anything about him, so he followed him into the bookstore. Xiang Xu changed into his work clothes, and Zhao Yan wandered around the shop under the pretense of inspecting work. The employees were nervous, wondering what the boss was checking, but in reality, he was just waiting for Sister Wen. He had already sent her a hundred WeChat messages, harassing her to help persuade Xiang Xu to go to the hospital later.
“Why do you not do it yourself?” It was not Sister Wen’s shift yet, and she was already fed up with Zhao Yan’s badgering.
“It is too weird if I do it. It makes me seem too attentive to a man and too awkward with a brother. It is not good.”
Sister Wen did not think there was anything wrong with him going to do it himself; she just felt that his harassing her was very bad.
Inside the bookstore, Zhao Yan immediately scurried over, his eyes pleading. Sister Wen sighed and walked over to Xiang Xu, who had just finished a phone call.
Xiang Xu’s eyes were shining, looking very happy.
“Little Xu, shall we go to the hospital and get checked out?”
“Okay!” Xiang Xu agreed immediately. Sister Wen paused, then shot a look of disdain at her boss.
Was that not simple? He agreed as soon as you asked, did he not?
Xiang Xu had just received a call on the front desk phone from Ripple’s assistant, Li Li. He had not expected the number he gave Ripple the other day to be used so quickly.
It turned out that Li Li had left his contact information when filing a police report, and the police had contacted him to say that Xiang Xu’s medical expenses and property damage could be compensated by the perpetrators.
Xiang Xu’s world instantly cleared up; all the gloom vanished.
He explained the situation to Zhao Yan but did not mention the debt. He got the phone purchase receipt, the doctor’s note, and the list of prescriptions, then photocopied everything to send to the address Li Li provided.
Everything was handled with lightning speed. By evening, the three of them were sitting in a restaurant. Zhao Yan and Sister Wen were drinking, while Xiang Xu, the injured party, was ordered to drink juice.
Sister Wen looked at Xiang Xu and frowned slightly. “The wounds on your face need to heal quickly. We are about to do big things, and you have to rely on your face for now. Popularity comes and goes quickly; we must seize the opportunity to start working as soon as possible.”
Having said something so blunt about using him, Xiang Xu asked with a smile, “Sister Wen, where is your high emotional intelligence?”
Sister Wen giggled. “Polite talk is for outsiders. Between our own people, why beat around the bush?”
“Well said!” Zhao Yan agreed, raising his glass with grand ambition. “I am scouting for a studio, and the job postings are out. We will spend like crazy in the early stages. Sister Wen, you report how much money you need for marketing; do not save it for me.”
Xiang Xu thought Zhao Yan’s statement sounded rather unwise; he sounded like a fool with too much money.
The three clinked glasses. Sister Wen said, “No hurry. These next few days, I need to design a persona for Xiang Xu that is suitable for him. It cannot deviate too much from his original personality, but it cannot be too perfect, or people will think it is fake. Once a persona is set, it cannot be changed, so we must be extremely cautious.”
Zhao Yan sneered, “What persona do you need? So many people already like him for being himself.”
“Boss, you do not understand the industry. A little bit of fun and a little bit of looks can cause a temporary buzz, but there are too many interesting and handsome people out there. Why should people pay attention to you?”
Zhao Yan refused to admit defeat. “He is the only one who is both interesting and good-looking!”
Sister Wen rolled her eyes. “Can you be objective? Do not be biased just because you are close to Xiang Xu.”
Zhao Yan knew he was losing the argument, so he turned to Xiang Xu, who was drinking mango juice. “Since you have joined in, is it too much for me to get you an employee apartment?”
“That is too much! Boss! The company is in the startup phase. No matter how much money you have, save it for me!”
Zhao Yan was unhappy. “Sister Wen, we cannot save money on employee benefits!”
“You do not even have employees yet, and you are already talking about benefits? Can we wait until we are actually established to consider these things?” The boss’s lack of reliability left Sister Wen speechless.
Xiang Xu understood Zhao Yan and knew why he was suddenly offering an employee apartment. He smiled soothingly. “Zhao Wulang, I appreciate your kindness. Do not worry, my sister and I are already looking for a new place. Li Li also said that those thugs will not come looking for us again for a while.”
Sister Wen was stunned, but Zhao Yan only curled his lip and said nothing more, instead putting the cake he had ordered for Xiang Xu into his own mouth.
“Cut, that is a wrap.”
The weather in mid-June was scorching. After filming a major scene involving murder and body disposal on a boat, Mu Lianyi wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, accidentally smearing away some of the blood on his face.
Sitting in his chair, he crooked a finger, and Li Li immediately handed over a room-temperature, full-sugar iced milk tea. He turned on a small fan, and the hot wind ruffled his hair, which was dampened by the congealed blood.
Mu Lianyi’s brows smoothed out, revealing a look of comfort, as if he were not the same person who had just coolly slit a throat, held a victim’s head underwater, and laughed hysterically while watching them struggle.
Despite his pretty-boy face, whenever his manager, Brother Hao, forced him to take a romance role, he would “reward” himself by taking on gritty roles like this. The crime drama he had filmed previously was still being held up by censorship.
Li Li had no intention of judging Mu Lianyi’s personal hobbies. He presented his boss’s phone and whispered into his ear, “The money has been sent.”
The phone screen displayed a photo. The people Mu Lianyi had sent had used the excuse of needing a photo of the receipt to file the compensation with the police to get Xiang Xu to hold the envelope and pose for a picture.
The guy looked a bit awkward, his expression dazed as he held the envelope, standing in front of the giant arch of blue-purple hydrangeas.
The background was beautiful, his outfit was clean, and he looked well-behaved. At first glance, the envelope looked like a prop, and he looked like he was posing for an artistic photo shoot.
Checking carefully to ensure the injuries on his hands and face were healing, Mu Lianyi exhaled and curled his lips into a smile. “Well done.”
Orchestrating this was not difficult. Xiang Xu looked like he lacked common sense about life; he had just made up a few lies, packaged them a little, and the guy believed them all.
Looking after his wounds, replacing his phone, as long as he used a few small tricks, Xiang Xu would follow his lead.
Mu Lianyi felt Xiang Xu was easy to manipulate and thought himself a bit of a genius.
Of course, letting Xiang Xu send those materials was not just to make it look realistic. Those materials were truly useful. Mu Lianyi bundled them together with his own materials and sent them to a Lawyer Lin, asking him to find a way to mess with those thugs, at least make them sit in jail for a few more days, so they would not go bother Xiang Xu again.
Seeing him in a good mood, Li Li weighed his words carefully. “Boss, they want a private settlement.”
Less than two weeks later, those people could not sit still anymore. Mu Lianyi squinted, his smile fading. “How much money?”
“Five thousand.”
“Tell them to get lost,” Mu Lianyi leaned back in his chair, acting like a hoodlum. “Five thousand is not even enough to compensate for my shirt.”
“Then how much will it take for us to loosen our grip?”
Mu Lianyi scanned him, thinking he was an idiot. “What do you think? Do I lack that bit of money?”
You do not lack it, but who would complain about having too much money? Li Li cautiously opened his mouth. “I guess… one million?”
Mu Lianyi reached out to smack this disappointing assistant. “One million, my ghost! I would not settle for even a hundred million! I want them in jail! They beat me up and think they can solve it with money? Let them get lost! Tell Lawyer Lin to continue the appeal. I want them in prison, and the longer the better!”
Seeing his boss indignant, Li Li could not help but pour cold water on him. “Lawyer Lin says it is hard to put them in jail since it was just a street brawl…”
“That is not certain,” Mu Lianyi waved his hand, flashing a mysterious, wicked grin. “I had friends in the station check. These bastards caused trouble in a brawl three years ago, left a criminal record, and served two years before being released. As soon as they were released, they committed another crime. It is clear they have not had enough jail food, so naturally, I have to give them a hand.”
The blood on his forehead flowed down his cheek. Mu Lianyi wiped it off gently, tracing his scarlet fingers, his smile terrifying.
“Little Li, this round, the advantage is with me.”