After Sharing Senses with the Paranoid CEO, the Infamous Starlet was Forced into Pampering Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Could It Be That I Can Only Give Myself in Return?
“By the way, regarding the trending searches about Xia Mu, whether good or bad, don’t let anyone take them down. President Li, you don’t need to intervene in Xia Mu’s situation; I will turn the public opinion around.”
“What do you plan to do?”
Hearing this, Li Yanzhou knew Xu Wenyi already had an idea.
Xu Wenyi picked up the coffee in front of her, took a sip, and leaned back against the sofa, saying:
“We start with the EK poster shoot. Xia Mu almost drowned during the shoot yesterday, right?”
Li Yanzhou nodded. Xu Wenyi continued, “We’ll go to the nearest beach to shoot a video explaining the dangers of rip currents, and broadcast it simultaneously on CCTV’s educational science programs. Given his current status, appearing on CCTV can serve as a perfect entry point to clear his name.”
“Also, since he initially trended because of his butt… ahem, his physique, then we should select more photos from the EK shoot and promote them extensively. Subway entrances, mall posters, and scrolling displays on large screens at high-traffic landmark buildings. Don’t they love to look? Then let them look to their hearts’ content. However, this will rely on the company’s promotional department to push it forward, so the funding needs to be secured first.”
Hearing Xu Wenyi’s PR strategy, Li Yanzhou fell silent for a moment before replying, “I will select Xia Mu’s photos. You can arrange the rest.”
“Huh? You’re selecting the photos? …Alright then.”
It was just a few photos. President Li’s taste shouldn’t be bad, so letting him decide was fine.
“President Wang, how many assistants does Xia Mu currently have?” Xu Wenyi asked what needed to be asked.
President Wang had been trembling with fear as he listened to the entire conversation from the side. God knows why President Li of Qimu Media had suddenly sent his assistant knocking on their door, saying he wanted to assign a manager to personally take charge of Xia Mu.
This was the largest and most famous entertainment agency in domestic showbiz. Why would they suddenly set their sights on a lukewarm actor like Xia Mu?
Although he had indeed dominated the trending searches these past two days, the vast majority of it was scandalous material, wasn’t it?
Facing Li Yanzhou and Xu Wenyi, President Wang didn’t dare to lie. “He had one before, but Xia Mu didn’t have many scheduled activities, so the assistant eventually went to follow other artists.”
“What about promotional staff? And styling, makeup, hair, or an accompanying photographer? Does he not have any of those either?”
“U-usually, when attending larger events, the company assigns people to him, and he has accompanying staff when joining a film crew. But for his daily makeup and styling, Xia Mu does it himself…”
Seeing the sharp glare Xu Wenyi shot his way, President Wang broke into a sweat, his voice growing smaller and smaller.
Xu Wenyi frowned and let out a soft sigh. “To think Xia Mu has been staying at Shengyi… You can’t even provide the most basic things? Half the reason he isn’t famous is because of you people.”
“By the end of today, fully equip his team with promotional staff, makeup, styling, and a photographer. As for the assistant… you don’t need to worry about that.”
As Xu Wenyi spoke, she glanced at Li Yanzhou. Regarding Xia Mu’s assistant, he probably wanted to arrange one himself.
“Also, assign a few more bodyguards. Xia Mu has been smeared so badly online; he won’t be lacking in anti-fans and extreme sasaengs. Does the company not care about his personal safety at all?”
President Wang nodded repeatedly in agreement and hurriedly ordered someone to get it done.
“I know Xia Mu’s contract is about to expire. During this period, don’t even think about playing any more tricks. That’s all for today. If anything comes up, report to Qin Yu.”
Seeing Li Yanzhou preparing to leave, he quickly followed, trying to curry favor.
“Please rest assured, President Li. I guarantee Xia Mu will be treated like a revered ancestor here. Shengyi will fully cooperate with Teacher Xu’s arrangements.”
“You’d better.”
Li Yanzhou said flatly, not even bothering to spare him a glance.
Xia Mu, who had returned to the company dorm earlier, had just walked through the door when he saw Xiatian jump down from the cat tree by the entrance, rubbing back and forth against his pant legs.
The moment he saw him, a bright smile spread across his face. Xia Mu crouched down, scooped him up, and buried his cheek in the cat’s soft fur.
At this moment, Xia Mu could hardly conceal his excitement. His mind was entirely filled with the fact that his manager was being changed to Xu Wenyi. He finally didn’t have to suffer under Zhu Yunhong anymore.
He had originally thought he might be trapped in Shengyi for the rest of his life, wasting away in obscurity. He never expected his manager to suddenly be replaced. Xia Mu felt a faint sense of anticipation for the future.
Xia Mu knew very well that Shengyi’s network and resources could never possibly hire Xu Wenyi. When he was dropped off, Li Yan was also there. He guessed that Xu Wenyi had likely been brought in by Li Yan for him.
Moreover, the man owned an advertising company; his connections were certainly no worse than Shengyi’s.
What should he do? Xia Mu lay on the bed, feeling a bit distressed. It seemed like he owed Li Yan more and more…
Could it be that he could only give himself in return?
But he had already explicitly stated he wasn’t looking for a Gold Master, yet Li Yan continued to help him like this, asking for nothing in return. This fact made Xia Mu a little worried.
If Li Yan wasn’t after his body and wasn’t after his money, what was he after? Did he really like him? How could that be? He had already denied it.
Just as Xia Mu was entirely puzzled and unable to figure it out, there was a knock at the dorm door.
Xia Mu hurried to open the door, only to see Xu Wenyi standing outside holding a stack of documents. “Yi-jie?”
“Xia Mu, do you have some time right now? Do you want to hear your upcoming schedule?” Xu Wenyi smiled as she looked at Xia Mu, who was covered in cat hair.
Xia Mu nodded, turned around to give Xiatian a quick instruction, then closed the door and walked with Xu Wenyi to the company conference room. Several people were already sitting inside. Xu Wenyi explained to Xia Mu that most of them were from the company’s legal department.
“Xia Mu, your cat… where did he come from? Did you buy him at a pet store?”
As soon as Xia Mu sat down, Xu Wenyi asked this completely out of the blue.
“Ah? His name is Xiatian. His mother was a stray cat and also an animal actor on set. My scenes had just finished when she went into a difficult labor that very night. The crew was in an incredibly remote area, and there were no pet hospitals nearby. I had no choice but to look up tutorials online to help deliver the kittens, but it still didn’t work.”
“Left with no other options, I had to drive her to the nearest pet hospital. The sister there was also very kind-hearted. It was already 2 AM, but after receiving my call, she waited at the hospital the whole time.”
“In the end, too much time was lost. Out of the six kittens, only one survived, and the mother cat also…”
As Xia Mu spoke, his eyes reddened. For a long time after experiencing that, he would wake up from nightmares in a cold sweat, dreaming that he was racing against time to save the cats.
“Can that pet hospital still be contacted?” Xu Wenyi’s expression was also a bit heavy.
“Contacted? The one who saved the cat back then was Ting-jie. She also absolutely adores Xiatian. We still chat frequently about him now.”
“Speaking of which.” Xu Wenyi looked down and pulled Xia Mu’s phone from her bag. “Here’s your phone back. The company will not confiscate an artist’s phone under any pretext. The Weibo post you made the night of the earthquake wasn’t wrong, and lawfully defending your own rights is definitely not wrong either.”
“Thank you, Yi-jie.”
Xia Mu took the phone. In truth, the things Xu Wenyi said were nothing extraordinary, but with Zhu Yunhong as a previous contrast, even such a small gesture left Xia Mu incredibly moved.
Xu Wenyi watched Xia Mu turn on his phone, still feeling a bit apprehensive inside. After all, none of the trending search tags about Xia Mu had been removed. What if he saw them…
Translator’s Note: Xia Mu is still putting the pieces together, but he’s connecting the wrong dots! He thinks Li Yanzhou (Li Yan) runs an advertising firm, not the massive Qimu Media mentioned by President Wang. We also see the phrase “以身相許” (Yǐ Shēn Xiāng Xǔ) pop up again—meaning to give one’s body/hand in marriage to repay a debt.