Chapter 6

"This is Boss Peng, and this is Young Master Gu. They're both investors in our Young Emperor production. This is Chen Mo, who plays Han Yan. He's a newcomer and only started high school this year."

Zhang Qingzhong had said that for Boss Peng, who had strongly insisted that Director Zhang introduce Chen Mo. He hoped Boss Peng would show some restraint. But the effect was clearly limited. As soon as Zhang Qingzhong finished the introduction, Boss Peng said with a smile, "So he's still a student. How old are you this year, kid? What grade are you in? Which university are you planning to apply to? If you're free at noon, why don't we go out for a meal? I think highly of you. Such a pretty young man, and you can ride and shoot arrows too. It's really a waste for you to play only the fourth male lead."

Boss Peng deliberately stressed the words "ride and shoot arrows," while his cloudy eyes kept roaming over Chen Mo's body. Chen Mo realized that some fat, boorish country bumpkin was actually flirting with him—and using tricks Chen Mo hadn't even bothered with in his previous life.

Chen Mo was so angry he nearly laughed out loud. When Boss Peng once again asked him with ill intent what he liked to do in his spare time, Chen Mo smiled and said, "I also like sanda and boxing. Especially beating people I don't like until they have internal bleeding. It's only a few months' medical bills. I can afford that."

Perhaps Chen Mo's aura was simply too dangerous when he spoke. Especially when those smiling eyes rested on someone, yet gave off a cold, grim chill that involuntarily brought to mind a leopard in the Americas stalking its prey.

That gaze—dangerous to the extreme and arrogant to the extreme—made Boss Peng shudder instinctively. For a moment, he actually felt as though he had been targeted by a wild animal. Yet after that fleeting fear passed, Chen Mo's reaction instead stirred up Boss Peng's determination to have him. His perpetually narrowed eyes widened at once as he carefully looked Chen Mo over from head to toe, then from toe to head, and said meaningfully, "Your hobbies are quite unusual, kid. But I'm a strange person too. I just like trying dangerous things. Exciting things."

Chen Mo caught the double meaning in Boss Peng's words. He curled his lips disdainfully, then turned to the production assistant beside him and asked, "When are they serving food? I'm starving."

He was actually being ignored!

Seeing Chen Mo's wild and unrestrained manner, Boss Peng smiled even more happily. He liked people with fiery tempers. Especially young people like this, who had just entered the industry and had yet to be molded and corrupted—clean and proud.

He could hardly wait to see what Chen Mo would look like after being tamed.

While Boss Peng and Chen Mo were locked in confrontation, Young Master Gu stood to the side with an arm around Lin Xia, watching the show. As an investor in the production and the financial backer of the female lead, Lin Xia, Young Master Gu had never picked up the habit, popular among industry investors, of keeping male celebrities. He had always felt that hard-bodied men could never compare to soft, sweet women.

But that had been before he saw Chen Mo playing Han Yan—

Honestly, Chen Mo's scene on horseback had been quite seductive. Especially those close-ups of Han Yan looking back through the monitor: dressed in white, with a face like jade and eyes like bright stars. It made people blush and their hearts race, and they immediately understood why the historical records said that Han Yan and Liu Che "studied together and loved each other."

If he had a childhood sweetheart like that, he probably wouldn't be willing to let him suffer any grievances either, right?

That bit of goodwill made Young Master Gu frown when Boss Peng gave Chen Mo a hard time, and he spoke up to help Chen Mo brush him off.

Boss Peng was wary of Young Master Gu's family background and did not dare refuse to give him face. Still, he firmly believed that good food was worth waiting for. As long as he got to eat it in the end, he did not care whether it was a day earlier or later.

In fact, the longer he waited, the more excited he became.

Boss Peng's blatant attitude toward Chen Mo made everyone in the crew worry for Chen Mo. Only Chen Mo himself did not take it seriously. When Huang Lixin warned him to be careful, he merely laughed carelessly. "It's fine. At worst, I'll quit after this production wraps. As long as I'm not making a living under him, there's nothing he can do to me."

Perhaps because of the emotional carryover from filming, Huang Lixin had clearly become somewhat immersed in the role. When he heard Chen Mo say that he did not want to enter the entertainment industry after finishing this production, he felt a faint sense of disappointment. He tried to persuade Chen Mo, saying, "You don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Boss Peng may be an investor and have considerable influence over the production, but he can't say much when facing a powerful agency in the industry. You're so talented at acting. It would be a shame if you didn't become an actor. How about I introduce you to my agency? If you join our company, I can have my agent represent you, and I can look after you too."

Although Chen Mo had been a rich second-generation heir who knew nothing about practical matters in his previous life, he had dated enough minor celebrities to understand a little about the industry. He knew that high society did not think highly of actors, and he himself disliked overly complicated interpersonal relationships. If being broke after transmigrating had not stifled him so badly, he never would have agreed to Director Zhang's invitation in the first place.

Even now, Chen Mo had not made up his mind to become an actor. He was merely taking things one step at a time. He was even planning to return to school for his final year of high school when the semester began in September. After all, compared to him, a useless rich second-generation heir, the original owner had been an excellent student with good character and grades. Chen Mo's parents had also always hoped that Chen Mo would attend university. Now that he had inexplicably taken over the original owner's identity, he ought to consider the original owner's parents' wishes, shouldn't he?

Thinking about all this gave Chen Mo a headache. He could only wave his hand and tell Huang Lixin, "I haven't decided yet. Let's wait and see."

Seeing that Chen Mo truly had no intention of becoming an actor or signing with an agency, Huang Lixin could only stop trying to persuade him.

But while Huang Lixin stopped, the agents of several other actors in the production had no intention of letting Chen Mo, this prime prospect, slip away. Lin Xia's agent, Sister Hong, in particular, used their previous acquaintance as an excuse and insisted that Chen Mo was fated to meet her and ought to sign under her.

Her nagging annoyed Chen Mo endlessly, so he could only find every possible way to avoid people whenever he was not filming. He stayed busy like that until even Chen Mo himself had forgotten about Boss Peng, and Boss Peng finally could not hold back any longer and made his move.

It started when Chen Mo suddenly received a call from his uncle, Jiang Jie, while filming. Jiang Jie told him that someone had gotten food poisoning after eating delivery from Don't Come Back Restaurant. The matter had become quite serious.

Soon after, Chen Mo received another call. Boss Peng's smug voice came through the phone. "Student Chen Mo, do you have the time and the mood to have a meal with me now?"

Chapter 6

Hearing Boss Peng's smug invitation over the phone, Chen Mo immediately understood and asked, "Someone got food poisoning after eating delivery from our restaurant. You were behind this, weren't you?"

Boss Peng chuckled and said in a sickening tone, "You're quite sharp, kid. I like smart people like you."

Chen Mo sneered and got straight to the point. "Twelve-thirty this afternoon. I'll be waiting for you at Eighth Day Café across from the film studio."

After saying that, he hung up without waiting for Boss Peng to respond.

His uncle Jiang Jie stood opposite Chen Mo and asked worriedly, "Was that Boss Peng? What does he want from you?"

"No matter what he wants to do, I won't let him succeed." Chen Mo answered calmly. Seeing Jiang Jie's hesitant, worried expression, he reached out and patted his shoulder. "It's fine. Don't worry. You still have me."

The situation was urgent, so Chen Mo immediately went to ask Director Zhang for leave. Director Zhang was also disgusted by Boss Peng's disregard for the rules. Not only did he approve Chen Mo's leave, he even asked, "Do you need me to help block him?"

"No need. I can handle it." Chen Mo thanked Director Zhang and left the production. He had not taken Boss Peng's little tricks seriously in the first place. Or rather, he had never considered Boss Peng worth his attention. Back when he had been a spoiled rich second-generation heir in his previous life, he had occasionally approached a minor celebrity he took a liking to. But those had all been mutual affairs. If the other person truly did not want it, Chen Mo would not force them. Much less resort to such dirty tactics and drag their family into it.

Since Boss Peng refused to follow the rules, then I'll teach him what rules are.

After leaving the set, Chen Mo went straight into an internet café and rented a private room. He sat on the sofa, closed his eyes, and entered the system. "Find me some novels about hackers. I want to learn about this field."

Two hours later, Chen Mo left the internet café looking pale and exhausted. He ran to the print shop across the street and told the owner, "I need to get online and print some materials."

The owner smiled and gave up the computer.

Five minutes later, Chen Mo left the print shop with a stack of documents in hand and entered Eighth Day Café. Boss Peng was seated in a booth at the very back of the first-floor lobby. Seeing Chen Mo approach, Boss Peng stood and smiled smugly. "You're half an hour late. But why are we meeting at a café? Why don't you come back to the hotel with me? It's more comfortable and quieter there, and we can have a proper talk."

Chen Mo was in a good mood too. He tossed the stack of documents onto the table and said with a smile, "I never expected Boss Peng to be so capable. You built your fortune off your wife, yet you kept a mistress behind her back and even had an illegitimate son. As the company's executive president, you disregarded the company's interests and set up shell companies outside to transfer company assets. I wonder if your wife and your company's shareholders know about all that?"

Boss Peng's expression changed drastically after hearing Chen Mo's words. He snatched up the stack of documents Chen Mo had thrown onto the coffee table and skimmed through it quickly. It listed, in exhaustive detail, every movement of his funds through the bank over the past two years. It had even uncovered the several secret accounts he had opened in the bank under his mother's name without his wife's knowledge.

The more Boss Peng read, the more nervous he became. His hand holding the documents trembled slightly, and cold sweat from his forehead dripped onto the pages. He shakily wiped his forehead with his sleeve and asked with an uncertain expression, "Where did these come from?"

Chen Mo crossed his arms, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned back comfortably against the sofa. Smiling, he said, "Boss Peng, you're the legal representative of your company. It isn't hard to find your specific information. Once we have that, the rest is even easier. It's simply a matter of following the trail. Thank goodness for the all-knowing internet. It really has made life more convenient for ordinary people. Oh, right... because time was short, I only had time to investigate your bank account information. Based on your financial dealings with certain people, I inferred that you were keeping a mistress, raising an illegitimate child, and secretly transferring company assets. If I got anything wrong, please forgive me, Boss Peng. I can call Mrs. Peng and ask her to help verify it, so I can clear your name."

Boss Peng truly had not expected Chen Mo to have such a move up his sleeve. His grip on the documents loosened, then tightened; tightened, then loosened. Sweat from his palms had already soaked the edges of the pages. His face alternated between pale and green. He wanted to threaten Chen Mo, but he did not understand Chen Mo's temperament and feared provoking him. He wanted to tempt Chen Mo with benefits, but he did not know where to begin.

Chen Mo could not help finding it amusing. He took out his phone, checked the time, and said with a smile, "I only took the morning off. I have to return to the set this afternoon to film, so I really don't have time to waste with you. Let's keep this short. Resolve the issue with our restaurant's delivery, and I won't make things difficult for you. From now on, we'll stay out of each other's way. How does that sound?"

Boss Peng had not expected Chen Mo to let him off so easily, and for a moment, he could hardly believe it. He blurted out, "How much money do you actually want?"

Chen Mo gave a scornful laugh and raised an eyebrow. "What would I want with your filthy money? It's not like I can't earn my own. But if you're really worried, then stop pulling these dirty tricks in the future. Honestly, it's really low."

As he spoke, Chen Mo snapped his fingers in a good mood, signaling the waiter to bring him a cappuccino.

Watching Chen Mo handle the situation so lightly and effortlessly made Boss Peng itch all over inside, as if ten cats were clawing at him. Still unwilling to give up, he probed, "Actually, I'm pretty easy to get along with. Everyone who follows me knows that. I'm generous, and there are already several newcomers in the industry whom I've made famous... Why don't the two of us give it a try?"