"How does your company handle bullying like this?" Xia Shule fell silent for a moment, then continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter how you handle it. Having me here is enough." With me here, you're in for it.
One look at the man in front of him told him he must have some kind of connection at the company. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been this brazen. He hadn't even locked the door. That said it all.
Sensing Xia Shule's indifference, Du Jianhao felt he wasn't being taken seriously, which made him even angrier.
He grabbed the mop bucket beside him and hurled it at Xia Shule with vicious force. Xia Shule quickly dodged, and the metal bucket hit the floor with a wonderfully musical clatter.
Xia Shule couldn't believe it. He started throwing things just because he didn't like what he heard? Did he have some kind of rage disorder? Just like Dad's rabid dog.
The metal bucket rang out loudly, its repeated impacts painfully shrill. Many trainees heard the noise and came over.
More and more spectators gathered at the door. A few who seemed to be Du Jianhao's lackeys squeezed inside and immediately sidled up to him like fawning lapdogs.
"Jianhao, I shut the door properly before I left! What blind idiot came barging in to bother you?!"
"Let's see who dared stick their nose into our Jianhao's business!"
One of them froze briefly at the sight of Xia Shule, then ordered him around arrogantly. "Where did this clueless newbie come from? You're pretty good-looking, at least. Apologize to Jianhao. Once he's satisfied, he'll let you off!"
"Don't you know? The prettier they are, the more they rely on... certain things to get ahead!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Their jokes were utterly vulgar. Plenty of people watched from the doorway, but not one dared speak up.
Besides, did anyone really need to sleep their way through a preliminary audition that selected five hundred people? Anyone reasonably good-looking who could sing decently should have been able to get in.
Xia Shule looked at their faces one by one. "...Tsk."
Maybe they were so ugly that they assumed good-looking people had to sleep their way to the top? After all, only people whose looks didn't make the cut would mistake themselves for talented.
When Yan Zhiyi gave him the contract, he had also given him Su Jin's number. Xia Shule just hadn't called it yet.
Xia Shule didn't rush to make the call. Instead, he took out his phone, turned it sideways, and photographed the group first.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" One of the men reached out to snatch his phone.
Xia Shule moved the phone behind his back and dodged backward, then brought it out again to record the names on their name tags.
Lu Ming, Qu Jiayuan, Dong Hui, Feng Yue.
Then he briskly opened his contacts and called Su Jin. Seeing an unfamiliar number, Su Jin hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Hello, who's this?"
"Su Jin, this company I've just acquired has a pretty serious bullying problem."
"What happened?"
Hearing him talk about a company he'd just acquired, Feng Yue scoffed disdainfully, not caring that he was on the phone. "What bullshit are you spouting?! Calling President Su, too? Keep dreaming. President Su doesn't take lovers."
Su Jin heard every word clearly on the other end. Now he knew what was happening. It would have been impossible not to.
"Where are you? I'm coming over right now!" Su Jin set aside his work. Why did these freaks at the company keep making trouble for him all day long?
Xia Shule rolled his eyes at Feng Yue. "The restroom in Practice Room Zone 1."
After he hung up, Du Jianhao approached Xia Shule, reaching out to stroke his face as contemptuous chuckles kept spilling from his mouth.
Watching those filthy hands draw closer, Xia Shule slapped them away.
The sound was crisp enough to hurt just hearing it.
"You stink. Stay away from me! You assume everyone else does whatever you do-oh, no, that's not quite right." Xia Shule shook his head.
"With faces like yours..." Xia Shule swept his gaze over them one by one. "Tsk, sleeping your way to the top probably wouldn't work. You look like you've been run over by a truck. Any sugar daddy who hired you would get scared into a heart attack in the middle of the night."
"But I do think you must have some pretty powerful connections." Agreement appeared on Xia Shule's face. "After all, it's quite a miracle that you made it onto the boy band shortlist looking like that."
Xia Shule laughed at his own words. "Hahaha, no, this is just too funny. Wouldn't you scare the fans to death if you debuted?"
Hearing that, Du Jianhao spat viciously. "Do you know who I am?! I'll make my uncle fire you! You want a career in entertainment? Forget it, kid!"
"Exactly! You've got some balls, daring to mess with Jianhao!"
Xia Shule mimicked him. "Ooh, ooh, ooh~ Do you know who I am? Watch out, or I'll fire you and your uncle."
"Fuck your..." Du Jianhao hurled an especially vile insult.
Xia Shule didn't care how offensive their words were, but insulting his family was the one thing he wouldn't tolerate.
Xia Shule went into fighting mode, completely forgetting his injured wrist. He clenched his hand into a fist, gathered his strength, and punched Du Jianhao in the face. "Right back at you!"
The room fell silent. No one had imagined this "newbie" would actually dare hit Jianhao.
Even Du Jianhao hadn't reacted. The punch knocked his head to one side, leaving him utterly stunned. His cheek burned, and his gums were rapidly swelling.
Before Du Jianhao could turn his head back, Xia Shule stepped in and kicked him to the floor, leaving him a complete mess.
Du Jianhao's lower back slammed into a toilet stall door. He grimaced and rolled around on the floor in pain; otherwise, he would already have gotten up to fight back.
The lackeys felt humiliated to see their boss beaten up and wanted to avenge him. Seeing them itching to move, Xia Shule gave them one final warning.
"Think carefully. If you lay a hand on me today, you'll never have a place in the entertainment industry again."
Two of them exchanged looks and scoffed, clearly not taking him seriously. Only Qu Jiayuan stood with his brows tightly knitted, his heart pounding.
He had a feeling it was true, so he didn't dare gamble.
Qu Jiayuan raised his hand like a schoolboy. "I'm out. Don't count me in."
"Qu Jiayuan?! You fucking coward! You actually believe his bullshit? Those two sentences were enough to scare you off?" Feng Yue was furious.
"Exactly! He's fucking dreaming, and you're dreaming along with him?!"
"I could say I'm President Yan, too!"
He was just a newbie, someone Jianhao could send packing with a flick of his finger! What the hell was Qu Jiayuan doing?
Qu Jiayuan's reasoning was actually very simple. He needed to debut, so he couldn't take any risks. Even if he didn't believe the threat, he still had to avoid the risk.
He only followed Du Jianhao to protect his place as a trainee. Otherwise, who would willingly join him in his reckless behavior?
"I can't afford to leave, even if the risk is tiny."
"&%￥%@&*##!!" Du Jianhao forced himself to his feet through the pain, his mouth spewing unspeakable filth.
As soon as he steadied himself, he attacked Xia Shule. His back still hurt, but his fists were clenched tight, as though he was determined to avenge that punch.
Although Xia Shule had been pampered since childhood, he had encountered plenty of situations like this. His fighting ability was naturally nothing to scoff at.
As they traded blows, it was Du Jianhao who got the worst of it. His lackeys wanted to help, but in the chaos, some unidentified people held them back. Apparently, the others couldn't stand watching either, and no one would notice amid the confusion anyway.
With no one helping him, Du Jianhao quickly fell behind. Several of Xia Shule's punches landed squarely in his face. Then punch followed punch, leaving him utterly unable to fight back.
By the time the brawl ended, Du Jianhao's face was bruised and swollen.