After Sharing Senses with the Paranoid CEO, the Infamous Starlet was Forced into Pampering Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Even After Cremation, the Mouth is Still Hard

Li Yanzhou sat in his office playing with his phone, his head throbbing with pain. He stared at the number Xia Mu had saved in his phone, hesitated for a long while, and then dialed.

Li Yanzhou’s original intent was to bait Xia Mu into talking so he could see how serious the wound was. To his surprise, the call was declined.

Li Yanzhou didn’t give up and called again. Declined again. By the fifth call, Li Yanzhou realized he had been blacklisted.

?

Li Yanzhou found a reasonable excuse for Xia Mu; the boy probably didn’t know this was his number, so it was understandable he didn’t answer.

However, when Li Yanzhou sent a friend request on WeChat, he was still rejected.

What was going on? Li Yanzhou had already put “Li Yan” in the notes! Logically, Xia Mu shouldn’t have refused.

Li Yanzhou called Ren Zhilin:

“Is Xia Mu with you? Where’s his phone? Let him pick up.”

This triple-question barrage made Ren Zhilin unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes:

“He’s not here. I just finished bandaging his wound; he should be back in his dorm. I’m telling you, since you care about him this much, why don’t you just snatch him away to your own company? I wouldn’t have to stay here as a duty doctor either. Do you have any idea what a waste of my talent this is?”

“Is the salary not enough or is the research funding insufficient?” Hearing Ren Zhilin’s complaints, Li Yanzhou spoke flatly.

“Both.” In truth, Li Yanzhou was quite generous to him, but who would ever complain about having too much money?

“Apply for whatever you need; someone will approve it.” Li Yanzhou couldn’t be bothered with that. He asked again, “Do you know who caused the injury on Xia Mu’s head?”

“He didn’t say, but he just finished cursing his manager’s ancestors back eighteen generations in front of me. It should be Zhu Yunhong. You still aren’t going to fish him out of there? This time it was an ashtray; who knows what it will be next time.”

“If he can still curse people, his mental state seems fine. Besides, he isn’t anyone special; why would I want him?”

“Tsk. I’m done with you, Li Yanzhou. Even after you’re cremated, your mouth will still be hard… Beep—!“

Li Yanzhou hung up the phone immediately. Xia Mu went back to the dorm?

He remembered that Xia Mu was supposed to have a livestream for one of his endorsements this afternoon. Wait… the assistant said both of Xia Mu’s endorsements were gone, and he even had to pay compensation.

Li Yanzhou let out a cold sneer. Kicking someone when they’re down truly happened fast.

After treating his wound, Xia Mu picked up Xiatian from the front desk and returned to the dorm.

His company dorm wasn’t large; the bed was right next to the desk, but fortunately, there was still some room to move.

Xia Mu poured some cat food for Xiatian. Seeing the cat finish eating and lazily hop onto the cat tree to sunbathe, he couldn’t help but smile.

His phone had been taken, the dorm had no electronic devices, and there was no way to order takeout. Xia Mu planned to head to the company cafeteria for lunch.

Just then, there was a knock on the dorm door. Xia Mu opened it to find Ren Zhilin. He asked in confusion:

“Lin-ge, why are you here?”

“You haven’t eaten yet, right? I brought you lunch.”

Ren Zhilin placed the lunchbox on the table and explained, “The company cafeteria food isn’t very nutritious. If you want the wound to heal fast, you should eat this instead.”

“Thank you, Lin-ge. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”

Xia Mu knew that sending him food couldn’t possibly be the company’s idea. Ren Zhilin was only doing this out of the goodness of his heart.

“Sure, I won’t be polite then.” Ren Zhilin smiled and then asked tentatively, “I sent you a message saying I was coming but you didn’t reply. I thought you weren’t here.”

“My phone? It was taken by that guy surnamed Zhu. Said I was making ‘inappropriate remarks’ on the internet.” Xia Mu didn’t care about that, instead showing great interest in the food Ren Zhilin had brought.

“Lin-ge, isn’t this a bit too lavish? Have you eaten? Do you want to join me?”

Ren Zhilin, who was just a delivery boy, was also dumbstruck as he looked at the lunchbox Xia Mu had opened.

I can’t take this… didn’t you say Xia Mu wasn’t special at all? Didn’t you say you didn’t want him? This food is clearly made by the head chef of that incredibly famous restaurant.

“I’ve eaten, I’ve eaten. I still have things to do, so eat up.” Ren Zhilin had already gotten the information Li Yanzhou wanted and left with a smile.

Once the door was closed, Ren Zhilin called Li Yanzhou: “Are you insane? It’s just lunch; could you send something normal? I almost blew my cover.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Did you find out?” Li Yanzhou was somewhat displeased.

“Your boy’s phone was confiscated because he supposedly made ‘inappropriate remarks’ online.”

“…” Li Yanzhou fell silent, though it was unclear if he was amused by the fact that Xia Mu’s phone was taken or by Ren Zhilin’s phrase “your boy.”

“Watch your phrasing. I have nothing to do with him.”

“Yes, yes, yes. No relation at all, yet you can call three times in one morning to ask about him.” Ren Zhilin sighed and hung up.

Li Yanzhou looked at the mountain of work the assistant had delivered. Xia Mu’s face kept flickering before his eyes. Clearly, the burning sensation of the name on his abdomen had subsided; why did he keep thinking about him?

It hadn’t been this frequent before. Ever since they had physical contact last night, it was as if every cell in his body was screaming to get close to Xia Mu, wanting to touch him recklessly, wanting to crush him into his own body.

A thought bloomed in Li Yanzhou’s mind: perhaps he should just install a camera in Xia Mu’s dorm so he could watch him anytime, anywhere. Or better yet, just take him and keep him by his side like a canary to play with at will.

However, he immediately vetoed the second option. Not yet; it wasn’t the right time.

Just as he thought this, Li Yanzhou felt a wave of satisfying fullness. It seemed the lunch had suited Xia Mu’s appetite.

With his afternoon schedule canceled, Xia Mu was left with nothing to do in the dorm. He lay on the bed holding Xiatian, feeling like these past two days had been a dream.

Earthquake, trending searches, insults, work suspended, debt.

800,000…

This was an astronomical debt. How long would it take to pay off?

Whatever. Xia Mu rubbed his eyes. He never let material things consume him. He’d just endure a bit longer until his contract expired.

At worst, he’d just work to pay it off slowly. The absolute worst-case scenario was being blacklisted and forced out of the industry.

Though Xia Mu would be reluctant, he could accept it. Besides, he was graduating next year. In the worst case, he’d go home and help his parents herd sheep. Dealing with sheep was always happier than dealing with people.

Xia Mu let out a soft sigh, feeling a trace of lingering regret. Before university, he had bragged to his parents that he would make a name for himself in the entertainment industry, that the village would be covered in his endorsement posters, and that he would become their pride.

Now, after three years of circling around, not only had he failed to make a name, but he was covered in scandals.

At the thought of this, Xia Mu felt a bit dejected. He buried his face in Xiatian’s soft belly and, because he was so full, drifted off to sleep.

“Bang, bang, bang—!“

A violent pounding on the door startled Xia Mu awake. Xiatian jumped onto the quilt, his back arched. Despite being scared enough to have his fur stand on end, he still let out a low, warning growl.