Plip.
A drop of blood fell to the floor, drawing everyone's attention.
The boy in the corner raised his head shakily, following the trail of the falling blood upward.
It came from Xia Shule's wrist. His movements had been too forceful, reopening the wound, and blood ran down his hand to drip onto the floor. His hand trembled slightly, probably from the pain.
The sight seared itself into Song Dimu's heart. His eyes seemed to burn, and he had no words for the shock he felt at that moment.
This was the person who had bullied him before, the person who had hated him. In his mind, Xia Shule had always been a spoiled young master who did whatever he pleased.
And yet, out of his sight, without even knowing who he was, Xia Shule had helped him without hesitation...
Song Dimu silently mocked himself. You're so pathetic.
One little kindness, and you forget everything he did to you. You're pathetic. Maybe he'll regret it once he finds out you're the one he saved.
A murmur ran through the crowd as they looked at the blood on the floor. From where they stood, they couldn't see Xia Shule's bloodstained hand.
The lackeys thought Du Jianhao had been injured and crowded around to check him. Only after finding no injuries did they turn their attention to Xia Shule.
Xia Shule raised his bloody hand and flipped them all off.
...?
He was still insulting them in that state?
Judging by this fight alone, Du Jianhao had lost. He couldn't even stand straight without his lackeys supporting him. Meanwhile, his opponent was still hurling insults despite his condition...
Xia Shule lowered his hand and stopped looking at that pighead. He walked aside and picked up the brooch the boy in the corner had dropped.
He cursed inwardly. Su Jin, you useless bastard. Are you taking the stairs down?!
Before returning the brooch, he instinctively turned it over for a look. It was just human instinct to inspect something you picked up.
That one look changed everything.
Song... Song Dimu?!
Xia Shule abruptly raised his head and met the eyes of the boy sitting on the floor, looking straight into that damp gaze.
It really was a case of good timing beating an early arrival, love waiting around the corner, and fate bringing people together.
Looking into Xia Shule's eyes, Song Dimu suddenly felt afraid. Now that Xia Shule had seen who he was, would he really regret helping him?
He no longer had the courage to meet Xia Shule's gaze and lowered his head despondently.
No wonder Jiang Gechen always calls me pathetic. I actually thought...
Of course. He still hates me.
Xia Shule only froze for a moment before recovering and pretending nothing had happened. This wasn't the time for a heart-to-heart.
"Your name badge." Xia Shule held it out with his clean hand.
His voice was as calm as a windless sea, clear and crisp, without disgust, disdain, or regret.
Song Dimu looked up again. There was a faint smile on Xia Shule's face as he waited patiently.
He took his name badge with a trembling hand. "I... you... you're hurt."
In all the time they had known each other, this was their first calm conversation.
After assessing him, Xia Shule concluded that Song Dimu was an obvious people pleaser, and a fairly severe case at that.
If someone had constantly bullied him, why would he care whether that person was hurt? Sure, they had helped him, but they had also caused him plenty of harm.
Xia Shule was just about to tell him he was fine when an obnoxious voice interrupted him, accompanied by Du Jianhao's clamoring.
"What's going on? What's all this fuss?! Who bullied my nephew?!"
"It was him! Make him get lost, Uncle! He hit me, too!"
Oh, his uncle's here. Let me see what kind of big shot he is.
When it came to connections, Song Dimu wasn't worried about Xia Shule at all. No one in Jingjiang could compete with him. But his wound had bled so much...
Turning around, Xia Shule saw a greasy, fat face with a pair of charming little beady eyes. He had almost thought the man was speaking to him with his eyes arrogantly shut.
He looked at the man, then at Du Jianhao. Definitely a family resemblance!
"You..." Xia Shule struggled to find the words. "Did nobody get suspicious when you slipped your nephew in here?"
"Young man, you'd better watch what you say! Once you debut, that mouth of yours will get you into trouble!" Du Tong pointed at Xia Shule and lectured him.
Du Tong put on a stern expression. "Our company can't keep someone like you. It seems Shengshi isn't the place for you. I'm informing you now: pack your things and leave."
"Instead of telling me to pack, you'd better hurry up and pack your own things. Both you pigheads, big and small."
"You!" Du Tong pointed at him and was about to curse.
A commotion broke out by the door, with everyone calling out greetings to President Su.
Su Jin had been held up by an employee on his way over, delaying him for a while. He hadn't expected to arrive and find this scene of "rivers of blood."
Well, wasn't this just perfect? On the new chairman's first day, a trainee had injured him, and a low-level employee had threatened to fire him. If word got out...
What kind of mess was this?!
Xia Shule thought Su Jin had quite a knack for timing his entrance. That damned pighead had been about to curse at him, and a shouting match had been imminent, only for Su Jin to arrive right then.
Su Jin hurried forward, concern written all over his face as he looked at Xia Shule's still-bleeding hand. He had no deep affection for Xia Shule, but the man was the chairman, after all, and he had just given Su Jin a dressing-down.
"You... good heavens... who did this?!"
In the employees' eyes, Su Jin was a fairly ruthless boss. One sweep of his gaze left everyone drenched in sweat.
Qu Jiayuan could tell Xia Shule was no ordinary person, so he chose to speak rather than remain silent. "Du Jianhao was bullying someone, and this man caught him. When he tried to stop Du Jianhao, Du Jianhao threatened him. Then he even called his uncle over."
Xia Shule glanced at him. This kid had a good eye. He could see exactly which way the wind was blowing.
Hearing this, Du Jianhao wanted to slap Qu Jiayuan right then and there. But with President Su present, he couldn't. Remembering his uncle's claim that he knew President Su well, Du Jianhao launched into his complaints.
"President Su, he not only mocked my uncle, he hit me, too! You're my uncle's buddy, so you're practically my uncle, too! You have to stand up for me. We can't keep someone who throws his weight around the company like this!" Then Du Jianhao looked at Xia Shule with his smug little eyes.
It was as though he were saying, See? So what if you called President Su here? My connections are rock solid!
At that moment, Song Dimu stepped forward and took hold of Xia Shule's uninjured wrist. His voice trembled slightly, but it was firm. "He only ended up like this because he stood up for me."
Even without hearing anyone's explanation, Su Jin had a rough idea of what had happened. He turned to Du Tong. "Who are you?"
Du Tong's face filled with a fawning smile. "It's me, President Su. Du Tong, the casting director!"
"Oh. Don't know you. Stop pretending we're close." Then he turned to Xia Shule. "How do you want to handle this?"
"Those two, and those three. Get rid of them all. Oh, and don't forget to blacklist them." Xia Shule pointed them out one by one.
Sensing something was wrong with the atmosphere, Du Jianhao hurriedly spoke up. "President Su! My uncle is Du Tong! Why are you only asking him how to handle this?!"
Su Jin was already annoyed beyond belief, and Du Jianhao kept shouting whenever he spoke. He wasn't some good-tempered boss. "Who the fuck knows your uncle?! Hurry up and get the hell out, all of you!"
"And let me introduce this gentleman." Su Jin pointed at Xia Shule. "He's our company's new chairman. The next time you see him, have enough sense not to offend him!"
A rustle of whispers passed through the crowd. Everyone was relieved that they hadn't done anything earlier to offend the chairman.