In the afternoon, Li Qianqian arrived at the office and was just pulling out the files of the artists under her management when, before she’d even settled into her seat, someone kicked the door open.
“Li Qianqian, don’t push it too far! Even a dog deserves a bone. I spent the whole night drinking with that fat woman, and I put up with her groping me. Didn’t we agree that if I kept her company, I’d get the second male lead in Epiphyllum? Why didn’t you keep your word!”
Pei Jin slammed his fist onto the desk with vicious force, his eyes blazing with fury.
A full year of being trampled on had pushed him past his limit, and he no longer cared whether he offended Li Qianqian.
“You just love throwing every resource at the artists under Yu Shushu’s management—so why even sign us! Your brother is nothing but mud that can’t be plastered on a wall. No matter how many good resources you throw at him, he’s still useless!”
Those two statements were a heavy blow to Li Qianqian. When they connected with the memories in her mind, her heart seized even harder.
In the original book, the original owner had no interest in her career but was a fanatical brother-supporter. She simply handed all her resources to her brother, and since her brother was signed under the female lead Yu Shushu, all the results counted toward Yu Shushu’s record.
The original owner had repeatedly suggested her brother come under her management, but her brother had a crush on the female lead and refused no matter what.
He even demanded that the original owner share some resources with the other artists under Yu Shushu.
This resulted in the five artists the original owner had personally signed receiving zero resources.
Meanwhile, her brother had a mountain of good roles thrown at him yet remained lukewarm at best, constantly being exposed for throwing diva tantrums and having terrible acting skills.
As for Pei Jin—he was the number one artist under the original owner. He was the youngest young master of the Pei family, and because his dream was to enter the entertainment industry, he refused to go home and inherit the family fortune.
So the Pei family provided him no support and wouldn’t let him reveal his identity, hoping he’d back out on his own.
Unfortunately, he ran into an agent like the original owner—what a miserable situation.
After being tricked by the original owner into entertaining that fat woman, only to have the role given to someone else, he completely lost it, went home to inherit the fortune, and secretly resolved to get revenge on the original owner.
The Pei family naturally knew all of this, which was why after the original owner was kicked out of the Fu family, the Li family immediately cut ties with her, and she couldn’t even find a job, ending up on the streets.
Li Qianqian mulled it over. Pei Jin himself had potential—good acting skills, good looks, and a willingness to work hard. She quickly made a decision and tapped the desk.
“When did I ever say I wouldn’t give you the second male lead in Epiphyllum?”
“You’re trying to fool me again! The whole company is saying Li Baichi is the second male lead of Epiphyllum!”
Pei Jin’s voice was at its most volatile, and he reached up to press his hand against his stomach, which was throbbing with pain.
“See for yourself—what is this?” Li Qianqian pulled a contract for Epiphyllum out of the drawer based on her memories.
Pei Jin opened it with skepticism, and when he saw that the idiot’s name was indeed not on it, cold sweat began to form on his forehead. The pain in his stomach grew sharper, but he refused to show weakness in front of such a heartless agent.
He gritted his teeth and endured. “But my name isn’t on it either!”
Li Qianqian didn’t hesitate. She took out a pen and wrote the name “Pei Jin” on it.
“You got this role not because you went to entertain Mrs. Wang, but because you’re right for it.”
Pei Jin almost wondered if the sky was falling. Could those words really have come out of the mouth of a vicious woman like Li Qianqian?
Li Qianqian took in his shock without deliberately explaining. Noticing his pale lips and the hand resting on his stomach, she got up and walked to the water dispenser, taking out a disposable cup to pour him some water as she said:
“Sit and rest for a bit. I’ll pour you some warm water. Have you eaten lunch? Epiphyllum starts filming the day after tomorrow. If you don’t take care of your body, how will you be in shape to act?”
“No… no.” Pei Jin sat dazedly on the sofa, staring at the water offered to him, feeling a sense of unreality.
He had a feeling nothing good was coming—he was about to be screwed over again.
“I’ll order you some takeout. Make yourself at home.” Li Qianqian sat back down at her desk and used her phone to order him a light bowl of congee with some side dishes, then stopped paying attention to Pei Jin.
She began reviewing the files of her other artists, planning to distribute her current resources to those who were suitable.
As Pei Jin ate the congee, he wondered if he was dreaming. Li Qianqian was actually concerned about him?
Could there be poison in the congee?
Just then, a knock came at the office door.
“Knock, knock!”
“Come in.” Li Qianqian didn’t even look up.
Yu Shushu pushed the door open in her high heels, with Li Baichi following behind her.
Yu Shushu knew Li Qianqian’s true identity, so her tone was extremely polite. “Qianqian, I brought Baichi to pick up the script for the second male lead in Epiphyllum.”
“Pei Jin, why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to suck up to my sister to steal my role?”
Li Baichi spotted the man on the sofa at a glance and sneered dismissively. He swaggered over, plopped down on the sofa, and propped his legs up on the table, deliberately nudging against Pei Jin’s food.
Pei Jin’s hand gripping the spoon tightened. In the past, he would have taught this idiot why the flowers were so red.
But now, having finally secured the second male lead, he endured—all for the sake of chasing his dream instead of going home to inherit the company.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Exhausted from spending the night with that fat cow?”
Li Baichi grinned as he sidled over, deliberately kicking over his meal with a sweep of his foot.
Warm congee splashed instantly across Pei Jin’s pants, soaking a large patch. Pei Jin clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked audibly.
A figure appeared before them with lightning speed.
A resounding slap landed on Li Baichi’s face. “Smack!”
Li Baichi shot to his feet, looking up at the newcomer while clutching his cheek in disbelief.
“Is this how you were raised? If your parents didn’t teach you properly, I don’t mind disciplining you in their place!”
Li Qianqian stared coldly at her younger brother. His life had been smooth sailing from the start—their parents had favored him since their school days, arranging everything for him.
After she married into the Fu family, he’d risen even further in the entertainment industry, the kind of person with terrible acting skills but endless resources.
He lay around raking in money, never having tasted a shred of hardship in society, yet still didn’t appreciate it. Stupid and vicious through and through.
“Mom and Dad never hit me! What right do you have to discipline me in their place?! And you hit me because of him? Did this bastard seduce you? You’d stoop to someone like this?”
Li Baichi pointed furiously at Pei Jin. His sister had always indulged him, yet today she’d struck him over some piece of trash—how could he possibly tolerate that?
“Watch your mouth. There’s surveillance in my office. If you want your reputation to sink even lower, I don’t mind releasing the footage.”
The moment Li Qianqian spoke—
Yu Shushu was startled. She hadn’t expected Li Qianqian to suddenly treat her own brother this way.
But if that kind of video got out, all of Li Baichi’s recent gigs would fall through.
She discreetly tugged at Li Baichi’s sleeve, signaling him with her eyes to say something conciliatory.
But Li Baichi was still seething, and he had no intention of backing down. He immediately spat out his ultimatum.
“So you really are hooking up with him! Apologize to me, or I’ll tell the Fu family you’re messing around outside!”
“Go ahead and tell them. The door’s right there—get lost.” Li Qianqian let out a scoff and pointed at the door.
“Fine! Li Qianqian, I’ll never acknowledge you as my sister again!” Li Baichi turned and stormed off. In the end, his sister would always come crawling back to appease him, and she’d throw him a role as compensation.
He wasn’t worried at all.
When the time came, he’d make Pei Jin pay!
“Qianqian, calm down. Baichi just says the opposite of what he means—you know that. He’s been having some trouble at work lately, so his words come out harsher than usual.”
Yu Shushu soothed her in a gentle voice, playing peacemaker, afraid that Li Qianqian might, in a fit of anger, give the male lead role in Epiphyllum to someone else—after all, it was a major campus IP.