After Sharing Senses with the Paranoid CEO, the Infamous Starlet was Forced into Pampering Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Intolerable by the Heavens
“Meow, meow meow~”
Xiatian padded across Xia Mu’s lap, his tail occasionally brushing against his arm. The cat stuck out his tongue, playfully licking Xia Mu’s hand.
Xia Mu wiped away his tears, understanding what Xiatian was trying to do. “Don’t worry, Xiatian. I just got a little too caught up in my reading. I’m fine.”
Xia Mu hugged Xiatian, giving him a good, loving squeeze. He pulled out a cat treat, and after watching Xiatian happily finish his food, he was about to dive back into the scripts when he glanced at his phone. It was already almost 1:00 PM.
He had to be at the police station by 2:00 PM. If he didn’t grab lunch now, he was going to be late. Xia Mu rushed down to the company cafeteria, only to collide head-on with someone right at the entrance. They both clutched their foreheads, stepping back in unison.
“Ouch—!”
Xia Mu rubbed his head. Once he got a clear look at the person in front of him, his eyes lit up in surprise. “Dr. Ren? What are you doing here?”
“I just finished lunch. Don’t tell me you’re only getting around to eating now?” Ren Zhilin looked at Xia Mu, somewhat surprised. Why hadn’t Li Yanzhou warned him that Xia Mu was back at the office?
Still, considering Xia Mu had just been hospitalized with a high fever, Li Yanzhou wouldn’t have let him out if he weren’t fully recovered. With that thought, Ren Zhilin felt relieved.
“Yeah, I lost track of time reading scripts and only just realized what time it was.”
“Your body isn’t even fully recovered, and you’re already skipping meals? Is Sister Yi being a bit too hard on you?”
“No, it’s not her. I wanted to read them myself. I just didn’t expect to get so engrossed.”
Xia Mu and Ren Zhilin chatted as they walked side by side.
“What kind of project are you looking to shoot next? Nothing with dangerous stunts, I hope?”
“I’m not sure yet. Sister Yi gave me three scripts—a school drama and two xianxia fantasies—but I haven’t made up my mind,” Xia Mu replied.
“For the sake of your health, I highly recommend the school drama. At least you won’t have to worry about snapping stunt wires. It feels a lot safer,” Ren Zhilin teased. “But don’t just take my word for it. It ultimately depends on what you want to do.”
“I know,” Xia Mu said with a smile.
Xia Mu ordered a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup. Seeing that Ren Zhilin made no move to leave, he asked, “Dr. Ren, didn’t you already eat? Why are you still…?”
“The clinic is quiet today, and someone else is covering for me. Besides, we haven’t caught up in days, so I wanted to hang out.” Ren Zhilin propped up his chin, ordered a cup of coffee, and sat across from Xia Mu.
“That’s fine, but I’m a bit pressed for time. I have to head to the police station right after I eat.”
“What’s taking you to the police station?” Ren Zhilin was puzzled. Had Xia Mu run into some kind of trouble?
“I’m not sure if Sister Yi mentioned it, but after my shoot the day before yesterday, an obsessed fan threw a bucket of ice water over me. She’s currently in the detention center, and I want to see her before deciding how to proceed.”
“I heard about that this morning. You had a high fever that wouldn’t break all night.” Ren Zhilin rubbed his temples, feeling incredibly frustrated on Xia Mu’s behalf. “A few days ago you were swept away by the ocean, and now you end up in the hospital because of water again. You really ought to go to a temple and pray for some better luck.”
“Haha, you’re a doctor. Since when do you believe in old superstitions?” Xia Mu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. With Ren Zhilin’s teasing, his mood cleared significantly.
“Want me to tag along? I’m bored out of my mind anyway.” Ren Zhilin sipped his coffee, watching Xia Mu focus on his food.
“Wouldn’t that be too much of a hassle for you? I can handle it myself.”
“What hassle? Sister Yi mentioned your new assistant hasn’t been finalized yet, and I have nothing else to do. I can’t just draw a salary for doing nothing.”
In truth, Ren Zhilin had heard that Li Yanzhou wanted Qin Yu to look after Xia Mu. However, Qin Yu wasn’t very familiar with how entertainment companies operated, and Li Yanzhou wanted someone experienced, so he had him scouting for other candidates. They would likely find someone very soon.
Since Ren Zhilin put it that way, Xia Mu stopped refusing. Having some company actually sounded nice.
After finishing his meal, Xia Mu walked downstairs and was about to pull out his phone to hail a ride when Ren Zhilin stopped him. “The company has cars, doesn’t it? Why are you calling a taxi?”
“The agency van? I thought those were only for official events.”
“No, just the regular corporate cars. The company keeps drivers on standby. Did you not know that?” Ren Zhilin was genuinely shocked.
“Those aren’t for us actors to use. Zhu Yunhong told me those were strictly for corporate staff business trips. Whenever I needed to go somewhere, I always had to hail a cab.” Xia Mu didn’t understand why Ren Zhilin was so surprised and answered honestly.
“How is that even possible?”
Ren Zhilin was completely stunned. He had never paid attention to these kinds of administrative details before. Hearing it now, it was glaringly obvious that Shengyi Entertainment had been treating actors like Xia Mu like second-class citizens.
It was ridiculous. Shengyi relied on these artists to bring in revenue, yet they treated them like garbage. Weren’t they just alienating their own talent?
“Did they at least reimburse your cab fares?”
“They did at first. But later on, when the expenses started adding up, they told me the higher-ups wouldn’t approve the reimbursements anymore.”
Ren Zhilin took a deep breath to keep his temper in check. “Good grief, what kind of miserable life were you living under Shengyi? How did you even survive?”
Why hasn’t that idiot Li Yanzhou gotten you out of here yet?!
Agitated, Ren Zhilin grabbed Xia Mu by the wrist. “Come on, let me show you where the company cars are parked.”
Ren Zhilin led Xia Mu down to the underground parking lot, where a dedicated driver was already waiting. Seeing them approach, the driver walked over to greet them.
“Dr. Ren, hello. And this is… Xia Mu? It’s about time you requested a car! I’ve been driving for this company for years and have never seen you use our services.” The driver was clearly pleased to see him and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Wait, aren’t we actors barred from using the company’s internal vehicles? Aside from using the luxury van for major events and shoots, I’ve always taken taxis.”
“Huh? Who made up that rule?” The driver looked entirely bewildered.
Once they were settled in the back seat, Xia Mu couldn’t help but vent about his former manager. “Dr. Ren, I’m glad you brought this up today, otherwise I’d still be completely in the dark. Zhu Yunhong really was a piece of work.”
“Exactly! When Zhu Yunhong was running things, he constantly used all kinds of excuses to dock the staff’s bonuses,” the driver chimed in from the front seat. “If I didn’t have kids to support and a mortgage to pay every month, I would’ve resigned ages ago like the others.”
“What? He did that to the staff too?”
Xia Mu knew Zhu Yunhong was exploiting the talent, but he had no idea the corporate staff was suffering just as badly.
“Sir, do you still have your pay stubs or any physical evidence of him docking your bonuses? Like text messages or voice recordings? He’s been arrested, and the police are gathering evidence right now to make sure the charges stick.”
“Is that really possible? I’ve been holding onto this anger for so long.” The driver’s voice shook with excitement. After swallowing his pride for years, he finally saw a chance for justice.
Watching Xia Mu enthusiastically exchange WeChat contact info with the driver to help him out, Ren Zhilin sighed quietly. If a kid as sincere and kind as Xia Mu doesn’t make it big, the universe really has no justice.
Ren Zhilin pulled out his phone and fired off a few WeChat messages to Li Yanzhou, filling him in on everything that had just happened.