After Sharing Senses with the Paranoid CEO, the Infamous Starlet was Forced into Pampering Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Poaching
As soon as Xu Wenyi saw Xia Mu, she pulled him over, looking him up and down:
“If you’ve been discharged, you should be fully recovered, right? If you weren’t, President Li wouldn’t have let you out. Yesterday, when I heard from Qin Yu that you had a high fever all night, I was worried to death. But I had to hold down the fort here at the company and couldn’t pull myself away to visit you.”
Hearing Xu Wenyi refer to Li Yan as “President Li,” Xia Mu found it a bit strange. Weren’t the two of them friends? However, he didn’t pay it much mind; their business had nothing to do with him anyway.
“I’m fine, Yi-jie,” Xia Mu smiled. “I saw the trending searches this afternoon. You must have been incredibly busy because of my situation. I’m sorry for all the trouble.”
“What trouble? You’re my artist; naturally, I have to do my utmost for you.”
Xia Mu headed to his dorm first. Xiatian lazily jumped into Xia Mu’s arms, rubbing against him gently, his tail raised high, seemingly expressing his excitement at seeing Xia Mu.
Seeing this, Xu Wenyi smiled and told Xia Mu to bring Xiatian along to the lounge so they could talk.
“Let me explain everything that’s happened since yesterday one by one. About the doctor who saved the cat that I asked you to contact before—because of the sudden situation, I connected with Ting-jie directly. I didn’t expect that from the moment you started being cyberbullied, she had already posted about Xiatian’s origins online. It’s just that she had too few followers, so not many people saw it.”
“Regarding this, I’ve already confirmed the text of the post with Ting-jie, and we plan to have her post the clarification tomorrow. EK’s new product launch is at 6 PM tomorrow night. At that time, you’ll need to log into Weibo and share their post. The text for your post is already written; the copywriting team will send it to you shortly.”
Xia Mu nodded, earnestly noting it down.
“Also, regarding the incident where the anti-fan splashed you, the testing results for the substance in the bucket are out. It was indeed unmelted ice water. Because the ice cubes were over four centimeters in diameter and carried physical impact force, and with your medical records provided as evidence to the police, the authorities have classified the circumstances as severe.”
So it was just water. That was good; he didn’t have to worry about being disfigured. Xia Mu breathed a sigh of relief. But when Yi-jie mentioned physical impact force, Xia Mu couldn’t help but touch the area behind his ear. There was a thin, long scratch there, and Li Yan had reminded him to apply medicine when he left this morning. It seemed he had been scratched by an ice cube.
Speaking of this, Xu Wenyi paused. “The anti-fan is an adult. Currently, there are two solutions: one is to accept mediation, and the other is for you, as the victim, to file an incidental civil action along with the criminal proceedings to demand compensation.”
Xia Mu, having studied law, naturally understood what Xu Wenyi was saying. After pondering for a moment, he said:
“I’ll find time to go to the police station and see her today, and then I’ll decide how to resolve it.”
“That works. Go between 2 and 3 PM this afternoon. Also, you need to change your clothes. They are already prepared in the fitting room; just pick a few outfits to wear as your casual clothes.”
Having switched managers, Xia Mu felt his schedule instantly become tight, far more fulfilling than before.
“One more thing. Six scripts were handed to me. After screening them, I have three left: one ancient idol drama, one Xianxia, and one youth campus drama. It’s up to you to choose.”
“Setting aside the malicious trending searches over this period, your role as the fox spirit and your acting skills have been recognized by directors and the public. However, because the rumors haven’t been completely cleared up yet, everyone is currently in a wait-and-see state to determine if you, as an actor, can actually be used.”
“But don’t worry. Within a week at the latest, your public image will definitely be reversed.” Xu Wenyi was fully confident in herself.
Looking at the three thick scripts Xu Wenyi pushed toward him, Xia Mu couldn’t hide his excitement:
“What’s your advice, Yi-jie? Which script am I best suited for?”
Xu Wenyi smiled. “Actually, the ancient idol and the Xianxia are practically the same genre. Because of your explosive popularity as the fox spirit, the characters they want you for in these two scripts are very similar to the fox. It would be considered your comfort zone.”
“The campus one… how should I put it? It might not be quite what you imagine. Production-wise, it’s not as good as the other two. The reason I kept this campus script is that the role suitable for you is the second male lead. I won’t give you my recommendation just yet; wait until you’ve read them all before deciding.”
“But just because you were handed the scripts doesn’t mean you go straight to filming. You still have to audition and do makeup tests, so don’t let your guard down.”
Xu Wenyi smiled, watching as Xia Mu stood up with the scripts in his arms, speaking to her with boiling passion:
“Don’t worry, Yi-jie. I absolutely won’t smash your reputation.”
Xu Wenyi laughed out loud. Seeing Xia Mu close the door, she dialed a number. The very first sentence when the other end picked up was:
“How is he?”
“Great CEO Li, rest assured, Xia Mu’s mental state is excellent.” Xu Wenyi leaned back in her chair, casually crossing her legs. “The artist you handed me is truly not bad. Face, physique, mentality—put them all together, and he’s highly resilient across the board. But when are you planning to poach him over to our own company?”
“Why?”
“It’s not like you don’t know how things are. The company’s name also affects the resources Xia Mu receives.”
“With you here, could his resources be bad?” Li Yanzhou took a sip of coffee, his eyes scanning the documents in his hand.
“How is that the same? Never mind, President Li, do whatever you want; I can’t control you. But I’ll give you a reminder… I have a premonition that Xia Mu will choose the campus drama out of these scripts. Once it finishes filming and airs, he will become the irreplaceable ‘White Moonlight’ in the hearts of thousands.”
The corners of Xu Wenyi’s lips hooked up. If President Li didn’t make a move soon, there would be plenty of people fighting to snatch Xia Mu away.
“Then we’ll talk after it airs.”
Li Yanzhou hung up the phone, but he found himself completely unable to read the documents on his desk. Annoyed, he called for Qin Yu:
“Bring me a copy of the campus script that was handed to Xia Mu.”
“The script?” Qin Yu was a bit puzzled. “President Li, wouldn’t it be faster to ask Teacher Xu Wenyi for something like that?”
“Just go do it.”
Li Yanzhou shot him a flat glance, and Qin Yu instantly read the displeasure in it. He quickly agreed and walked out.
Why did it always feel like whenever Xia Mu wasn’t around, President Li’s mood was as unpredictable as the weather, making it impossible to figure out what he was thinking?
Xia Mu sat on the sofa reading the campus script. Just looking at the second male lead’s character setting, he was already deeply captivated.
To be honest, it wasn’t particularly novel, and the screen time wasn’t much, but the plot transitions were incredibly clever, and the characterization was deeply profound.
In just one morning, Xia Mu had read through most of the script. Because he had fully immersed himself in the role of the second male lead, the agonizing feeling of loving someone but being unable to have them made Xia Mu cry a river.
Even Xiatian couldn’t help but jump onto Xia Mu’s lap, his clear, emerald-green eyes staring unblinkingly at Xia Mu, revealing a look of concern.
“Meow~”
“Xiatian?”
Xia Mu looked at the cat through tear-filled eyes, gently petting his little head with his hand. “Are you hungry? What time is it now? Did I forget to put out your cat food? Or do you want to eat freeze-dried treats?”