Standing at the entrance, Xia Shule did not get into the car.
"Um... you should head home. I want to take a look around Shengshi." Xia Shule wore a bashful smile, but there was no embarrassment in his eyes, only excitement at the prospect of inspecting his own company.
Yan Zhiyi found him amusing. "Haha, I'll drive you there."
"No need. Hurry home and get started on the wedding preparations. With so little time, you'll have plenty to do. I'll just take a taxi."
In the end...
Xia Shule had Yan Zhiyi stop by the roadside rather than drive any farther in. What if his former employees recognized their old boss's car? That would ruin Xia Shule's air of authority.
He hurried out of the car and into the company. Numerous roll-up banners featuring its artists stood outside the building.
Xia Shule knew little about the entertainment industry, so he found them rather novel. Apparently, Shengshi's motto was: "Come to Shengshi and fight for a new life."
A good eighty percent of Shengshi Entertainment's artists had already carved out a place for themselves in the entertainment industry. The company had done its best for the remaining twenty percent, too.
As long as you had talent, the company could put you on a pedestal. Of course, none of this would have been possible without a good chief executive officer (CEO), Su Jin.
He had apparently learned the ropes under Yan Zhiyi, whose influence could be seen in the way he worked.
Over the years, he had led Shengshi Entertainment to one new peak after another.
Xia Shule continued inside. Every face on the banners looked familiar, leaving him marveling that all these people belonged to Shengshi Entertainment.
Someone among them had starred in the soap opera Ms. Ming Yue had watched last night.
Chang Mu: expanding internationally, five nominations for national awards, still only thirty-five upon returning after twenty years in the industry, fifteen high-quality productions.
Jiang Yunjun: best actress winner at all three major film awards, the first actress to complete that grand slam, eight national and regional award nominations in total, semi-retired.
Xu Suidong: a rising top star, a specialist in male leads for period dramas, two regional award nominations.
Zheng Fanfeiran: a popular young actress, a specialist in catapulting her male co-stars to stardom, never billed second since her debut, one national award nomination and three regional award nominations.
There were many, many more after that: popular stars, top stars, boy bands, girl groups. Xia Shule could hardly take them all in, but even without knowing much about the entertainment industry, he could tell from these alone how impressive they were.
The banners lined a corridor that stretched beyond sight, and some of the less popular artists had not even been included. It was easy to imagine the enormous operation supporting them behind the scenes.
With their abilities, they could have left the company and struck out on their own long ago, but they had not.
"Wow..." Xia Shule let out an awed sigh.
Yan Zhiyi really did live up to his status as the man the original novel's male lead feared most. Even an ordinary entertainment company under his control had reached this level.
Thinking of what a callow youth Jiang Gechen was now, Xia Shule felt that even another two hundred years would not be enough for him to surpass Yan Zhiyi.
Even at the end of the original novel, after Jiang Gechen had fought him for years, the two had merely settled into peaceful coexistence. Yan Zhiyi remained the most mysterious and formidable figure in the book.
Still, this big shot was pretty easy to talk to~
Xia Shule walked inside with light, happy steps. Even the young woman at reception was as pretty as a star.
"Hello, who are you here to see?" Seeing an unfamiliar face, the receptionist assumed he was someone's fan.
"An inspection~" Xia Shule said quietly, with an air of mystery.
The entire company had already been informed that they would be getting a new chairman, and the receptionist had received the news long ago. She simply had not expected the new boss to look even younger than President Yan.
The receptionist worked at her computer. "One moment, please. I need to verify that. Sorry."
"No problem!"
The receptionist used the internal system to confirm that he was indeed the new boss, entered his information into the computer, and handed Xia Shule a little badge.
"Chairman Xia, I'll recognize you now, so next time you can go straight in. This badge grants you access everywhere, and it's exclusively for the chairman. Once everyone gets to know you in a few days, you won't need it anymore. I'm worried someone might not recognize you and inadvertently offend you, so please bear with wearing this pass."
Xia Shule turned the badge over and saw the word written in large characters: Chairman.
How thoughtful. "Thank you. You're really pretty."
At last, a genuine expression broke through the receptionist's professional demeanor: shy pleasure at the compliment.
Xia Shule swung the badge in his hand as he headed inside. Having it really did help.
He discovered that the elevator to the top floor required a senior executive's badge. Ordinary employees could not select that floor.
The elevator was transparent, so he could turn around and watch himself rise. By the time he reached the top floor, Xia Shule had discovered that the view was quite nice.
Naturally, he failed to notice the elevator doors opening behind him. Someone covered up from head to toe stood outside.
"Are you getting out?"
Xia Shule turned around. The speaker was the person beside the heavily disguised figure, a chubby middle-aged man with shrewd eyes.
Hmm... the one who looks like a secret agent must be a big star, and this man must be his manager.
Lucky me, running into a star as soon as I get here. I wonder which one of those banners downstairs he was on?
"Yes." Xia Shule walked out, his eyes still on the "secret agent." He did not follow celebrities, so seeing one like this for the first time felt rather novel.
Perhaps he was staring too intently, because he accidentally met the other man's gaze.
As the elevator doors closed, Xia Shule became increasingly certain that those eyes were familiar. After thinking back, he realized they belonged to Xu Suidong, whose banner he had seen downstairs.
A young heartthrob who was all the rage right now.
Xia Shule thought little of it and turned toward the office.
Inside the elevator...
Xu Suidong frowned. "Was that a newcomer at Shengshi?"
His manager was looking at several scripts that had been sent to his phone and did not raise his head. "No idea. Nobody's told me anything, anyway, but that kid really is good-looking."
Xu Suidong lowered his head. It was unclear whether he had heard his manager; he seemed to be answering his own earlier question. "He's not a newcomer. How could a newcomer come straight up to the top floor?"
Noticing Xu Suidong's mood, the manager put down his phone. "Maybe he's President Su's..."
Before he could finish, Xu Suidong cut him off sharply. "Su Jin isn't that kind of person!"
Seeing the anger in Xu Suidong's eyes, the manager wisely stopped talking. Whenever Su Jin was involved, his artist acted as though he had swallowed explosives.
Forget it, forget it~
Xia Shule stood outside the office, looking at the gap in the doorway. Those two must have just left; they had not even closed the door properly.
He knocked to announce his presence, then walked in.
The man reading documents with his head lowered did not look up. Perhaps he thought the person who had just left had returned, because he sounded rather impatient.
"Xu Suidong, I've made myself clear enough. What more do you want?"
"..." Xia Shule froze.
"Hello, my surname isn't Xu. And he left quite readily just now." The moment Xia Shule opened his mouth, he sounded as though he was already on familiar terms with the man.
Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Su Jin frowned and looked up. It was an unfamiliar face. An unfamiliar, beautiful face.
If he were one of my company's artists, Su Jin thought, I'd have to give him every support.