Xia Shule felt guilty toward Song Dimu. After all, he had actually lost his head over someone like Jiang Gechen and kept making life difficult for Song Dimu, when that man was clearly the problem.
Xiang Lin: And I heard Jiang Gechen has been going crazy these past few days. He's cost Song Dimu several jobs. Aren't you the boss of Shengshi? You've got front-row seats to the drama!
Le Shuxia: Forget the drama. I bullied him so much that he runs whenever he sees me, okay?
"I'd still like to ask something, if you don't mind..."
Holy fucking shit...
Xia Shule jumped. He had been so absorbed that he had forgotten someone was still sitting across from him.
"Spit it out."
"?"
Su Jin took a moment to process that. When he caught on, he almost laughed in disbelief. Was this guy saying everything he said was hot air...?
He coughed to cover his embarrassment. "Ahem, I just wanted to ask, what exactly is your relationship with President Yan?"
Xia Shule glanced up at him, then snorted with laughter. His words cut straight to the heart of it. "You don't think I'm his kept lover, do you?"
Su Jin said nothing, tacitly admitting it.
"I'm fucking not. Stop imagining things."
"Sorry..."
Then stop doing things you need to apologize for. Xia Shule no longer wanted to talk to him. "I'm going to look around. Don't worry, I won't 'cause trouble' for you."
Su Jin's face alternated between red and pale. He had intended to show Xia Shule around the company and help him get familiar with it. But the matters on his hands had him tearing his hair out, so despite his embarrassment, he still let Xia Shule go alone.
Recently, an artist had demanded to terminate his contract without paying the termination fee, along with compensation for emotional distress, claiming that a senior executive had sexually exploited him. Su Jin had initially rejected the demand outright. After all, no such thing had happened.
But later, he discovered that wasn't quite the case. The executive and the minor artist had been in a consensual relationship. The artist had demanded that the executive divorce his spouse and be with him. When the executive refused, the artist had kicked up this fuss.
It gave Su Jin a terrible headache.
The executive and the artist each insisted on their own version of events, and neither would let the other off. Su Jin also had to protect the company's reputation, leaving him at a loss for what to do.
Clutching his chairman's ID badge, Xia Shule wandered aimlessly. The company was huge.
As he passed the operations area, everyone was focused on their work at their computers. Some were on the phone as well, and every one of them was swamped.
As he passed the postproduction editing area, everyone looked full of resentment, with dark circles practically reaching their feet. They radiated more bitterness than vengeful ghosts, scaring Xia Shule into hurrying out of the area.
The remaining areas were a little chaotic, and he couldn't see any signs. Xia Shule couldn't tell what any of them were for.
There were also managers' offices, but managers generally had no time to return to their own offices. After tending to one artist, they had to rush off to the next. Only those handling newcomers had much free time.
So this area was relatively quiet.
Shengshi was planning to launch new boy and girl groups soon. There was a floor of staff dormitories, as well as practice rooms. Before debuting, the trainees all had to eat and live at the company's expense.
In short... it was huge.
Practically every practice room had people training inside. Everyone worked hard, pouring sweat for those few precious debut spots.
Xia Shule stood by a doorway and pulled out his phone.
Le Shuxia: Mr. Know-It-All, do you know what kind of contract Song Dimu signed?
Xiang Lin: I heard he wanted an acting contract at first, but Shengshi has been focusing on the new groups lately. I think he ended up signing a boy group contract.
Le Shuxia: Oooh~~~~
Xia Shule looked up at the sign overhead: Practice room zone 1.
Well, I really came to the right place. Perfect timing beats an early arrival. Looks like there really is some fate between us. He is the innocent male lead, and I'm his villainous unattainable love, after all.
How was he supposed to search such a huge practice area? The only thing he could be sure of was that Song Dimu was somewhere in the company.
Everyone in the new groups ate, lived, and trained at the company. He was bound to be here at this hour.
As Xia Shule searched, he wondered how he was supposed to approach Song Dimu now, after treating him that way before.
He only wanted... only wanted to do what he could to make it up to him a little. Song Dimu needed money, and money was the one thing he had in abundance.
As luck would have it, Song Dimu had even signed with his company, so giving him some opportunities was certainly an option. Xia Shule just hadn't expected him to have signed a group contract. That left him little room to maneuver, since the company had professionals who assessed whether trainees qualified to debut.
If it had been an acting contract, Xia Shule could have showered him with opportunities.
But that's okay. Giving him money should work just as well, right?
Everyone in the practice rooms was drenched in sweat, and when they danced, he couldn't even make out their faces. Xia Shule's face scrunched up like a dried date as he moved from room to room.
Xia Shule wasn't determined to find Song Dimu today. He was just trying his luck.
As Xia Shule passed the restroom, the sobbing coming from inside caught his attention. Judging by his years of experience, someone was being bullied.
Instinct prompted his brain, and his brain prompted his body. Within a second, Xia Shule had charged into the restroom.
The door wasn't locked. In other words, the bully wasn't afraid of being discovered even with the door unlocked. The restroom in the practice area was very basic, and the moment he kicked the door open, he locked eyes with the person inside.
Xia Shule had seen the scene before him many times. Why did bullying always happen in restrooms?
Because the perpetrators knew their actions couldn't stand the light of day.
A boy, soaked from head to toe, huddled in the corner, trembling slightly. Even the sound of the door being kicked open didn't make him raise his head.
The person standing over him had a vicious look in his eyes, his hand still raised as though he would strike the very next second.
He looked so angry at being interrupted that he might beat Xia Shule up too.
But... this guy is so ugly. Is he really a trainee and not a staff member? Are you sure? Who picked him? He must have gotten in through connections, right?
Xia Shule made no effort to hide the bafflement on his face.
Du Jianhao whipped around angrily. None of the trainees in this batch had dared interrupt him yet. Which clueless idiot was this? "Who the fuck are you?!"
"Your dad."
The soaked boy in the corner froze at the sound of his voice, then raised his head toward the doorway in disbelief. His wet, wounded eyes widened slightly, his pupils trembling as he struggled to believe what he was seeing.
Xia... Xia Shule?
Du Jianhao instantly flew into a rage at those words. Not one trainee in this batch had dared speak to him like that. Where had this guy crawled out from?
An ignorant newcomer who doesn't know his place!
"Do you want to get kicked out of this company? How fucking dare you stick your nose into my business!"
Every Shengshi trainee wore a name badge on their chest, making it easier for the evaluators to recognize them and for everyone to address such a large batch of people.
Xia Shule read what was written on his chest... "Du. Jian. Hao."
Now that the other guy knew his name, Du Jianhao instinctively wanted to see who he was too. His gaze shifted to Xia Shule's chest, only to discover that he wasn't wearing a name badge.
Here, trainees lost points for not wearing their name badges. Once all their points were gone, they would naturally be eliminated.
"You're not wearing your name badge? Ha! I can make you lose ten times the points. If you don't want that, get the hell out! Otherwise... you'll end up just like him!" Du Jianhao shifted slightly to the side, pointing a stubby finger at the soaked boy behind him.
Oh no~ I'm sooo scared~
Xia Shule folded his arms, feeling the pain from the wound on his wrist, and silently reminded himself that it would be best not to get into a fight today.