Boss Xia

Lin Fengmian did not return the fifty million to Xia Qinghe. Even if he did, Xia Qinghe would transfer it right back. They would end up sending it back and forth, paying a heap of transaction fees, and the bank would be the biggest winner. He might as well find a chance to make it up to him some other way later.

But he really was thinking about making money.

What could bring in money fast enough for him to earn two billion in a short time?

Lin Fengmian, who had never held a proper job since graduating, was stumped. His experience making money was limited, and he was not good at business like Xia Qinghe.

Give him capital to start a business, and he would probably end up owing several times that amount. He knew his own limits very well.

The best earner in his family seemed to be his mother, Song Su.

At dinner, Song Su got a rare glimpse of an energetic Lin Fengmian. "What is it? Is something going on?"

He was not even shoveling food into his mouth with his eyes closed. Something had to be up.

"Mom, how did you make your money?"

Song Su raised an eyebrow. "I just kept taking acting jobs. Once I'd saved enough, I opened my own studio and signed a few artists. The company takes the lion's share of what the artists earn. That's how I make money."

Lin Fengmian understood. In short, he had to work hard and build up the initial capital to start a company.

Remembering how his mother had worked herself to the bone making money when he was little, Lin Fengmian felt he could not do it.

Just thinking about it was exhausting.

But he could hardly curse Xia Qinghe to remain a bachelor for life and never marry just because he dreaded hardship and exhaustion, was lazy, and did not want to make money.

He was not that deranged yet.

As his best buddy, he would wholeheartedly support Xia Qinghe getting married.

And he would be a groomsman, too.

Song Su stared at her son's weary face. He looked as exhausted as if he had lived several lifetimes, and her heart ached for him. "Mianmian, are you out of spending money? Mommy has some. I'll transfer it to you."

Song Su moved too fast. Another ten million appeared in Lin Fengmian's account.

Good grief. He had done nothing all day and raked in sixty million with just a few words.

No money-grubber could rake it in like he could.

If he did not have to pay back that fifty million, Lin Fengmian would have been delighted.

Unfortunately, he could not feel happy.

Sooner or later, he would have to repay what he had spent before.

After thinking it over and over, Lin Fengmian decided to take on some work within his abilities. He could not keep slacking off, nor could he accept any more money from Xia Qinghe. Otherwise, he would work himself to death and still never pay it all back.

Then he messaged Lin Sui, asking him to look for suitable work that he could do.

As for being some former sister-in-law's guest singing partner, a job that sounded dubious from the outset, he definitely would not do it.

Why would anyone pay him ten million just to sing a song with someone? He could believe his mother, Song Su, commanded that rate, but he was a nobody who did not even qualify as a hundred-and-eighth-tier celebrity. Why him?

They surely were not just after his face. They might be after something else, too.

Lin Fengmian hated trouble more than anything.

And the only way to avoid trouble was to stay far away from it.

But he had forgotten that Xia Qinghe was a perpetual trouble-making machine.

Even after transferring the contract termination penalty to Lin Fengmian, he still could not rest easy. "Secretary Su, go find out who wants to make my Mianmian their backdrop. Who gave them the nerve? Investigate this thoroughly."

Secretary Su had long since become adept at handling these extra tasks that had nothing to do with work.

Within minutes, he placed the results on Xia Qinghe's desk.

"Yu Huan. She's nothing special to look at. Not even as pretty as my Mianmian." Xia Qinghe opened Yu Huan's file and read down the page, then suddenly stopped.

"No wonder she looked familiar. She's Ji Ye's ex." Xia Qinghe tossed the folder onto his desk. Hmph. The ex of a former lead singer who was jealous of his Mianmian's good looks had some nerve, daring to trick his Mianmian into playing her backdrop. "Throw money at this show and get that woman kicked off it."

Secretary Su had already checked. "One of the group's subsidiaries is already an investor in this show. We can have Yu Huan removed at any time. We'll just have to pay some compensation."

"All right. Take care of it."

Some people had to pay for their inability to recognize who they were dealing with, as well as their excessive ambition.

A toad kept lusting after his swan.

All she did was disgust him.

Yu Huan had spent a long time keeping the show's person in charge company to get this job. How could it disappear just like that? Unwilling to accept it, she dressed up carefully and had her agent arrange a meeting with him.

But the man refused to see him at all. After repeated attempts to contact him, he even stopped answering calls.

Yu Huan's agent was named Yi Qiang. He was a top agent with substantial industry resources and extensive connections, and he was rarely treated this way. He looked Yu Huan up and down. She was a beautiful woman who knew how to show off her beauty.

She was also ambitious, uninhibited, and knew what to do to climb the ladder.

"Have you..." Yi Qiang considered his words, but ultimately asked, "...offended anyone?"

Yu Huan raised her long, slender eyebrows. "Do you think I'd offend anyone? It's not as if I think I'm making too much money and want to retire early."

"True enough." Yi Qiang did not think Yu Huan was a beautiful fool, either.

"Then why is the production team refusing to see us? Surely they didn't wait until recording was about to start to target you." Yi Qiang was very fat and had an amiable face, but whenever he looked at someone, he always seemed to be appraising merchandise.

Yu Huan did not mind being scrutinized like that. She was merchandise. Only better, prettier packaging would let her sell for a higher price, and Yi Qiang was the one supplying that beautiful wrapping paper.

"How would I know? I've been taking care of myself lately to prepare for this show. Apart from keeping the person in charge company, I haven't done anything."

"Are you sure?" Yi Qiang's piercing gaze settled on her again, hoping to catch a trace of a lie.

Sure enough, a barely perceptible flicker of hesitation and excitement flashed through Yu Huan's eyes.

It was the excitement of a hunter who had lain in wait for a long time and finally spotted signs of their prey.

"You'd better tell me what you've been doing out there. Don't hide anything from me, or else..."

Yi Qiang did not need to spell out what "or else" meant. They both knew perfectly well.

Offend a top agent in this industry, and you could forget about having a future.

There would be no future to speak of. They had plenty of ways to make sure anyone who offended them could no longer survive in this industry.

Yu Huan stood, walked around the desk, and settled into Yi Qiang's lap. "Qiang, how could you suspect me? I always do as you say. How could I possibly go around making decisions on my own?"

With a beauty in his arms, Yi Qiang remained unmoved, though he did not push her away. "Enough. If this job's gone, we'll find another."

"But I've already posted on my blog to promote it. My fans all know I'm going on Empire Singer. Wouldn't it look bad if I didn't?"

"Then I'll see what I can do." Yi Qiang thought it was a shame, too. They had promoted it for so long. If she suddenly withdrew, all their earlier investment would go down the drain.

Yu Huan cupped Yi Qiang's fat face and kissed him with a beaming smile. "I knew you cared about me most, Qiang."

Unfortunately, no matter how Yi Qiang asked around, he could not uncover a thing. In the end, Yu Huan pestered him until he had no choice but to go to the man's home to corner him.

The man looked as disgusted at the sight of Yi Qiang as if he had swallowed a fly. "You've been an agent for all these years. Can't you read between the lines? Yu Huan is a popular young actress. Naturally, we'd warmly welcome her onto the show. But why would we rather pay a contract termination penalty than have her? Don't you have a fucking clue? Why have you come all the way to my home? Does this little starlet have that much potential, to make you go this far?"

"I just want to know who exactly she offended." Yi Qiang did not want to remain in the dark, not even knowing who had been offended when it was all over. He also wanted to know what Yu Huan had done behind his back.

The man knew how stubborn Yi Qiang was. "Who besides the investors would dare shit and piss all over the production team?"

Yi Qiang mentally ran through the show's investors. "Shenghe?"

The man shook his head.

"Pengcheng?"

The man shook his head.

Yi Qiang named a few more, but the man shook his head at every one.

Yi Qiang fell silent. There was only one he had not named, and that investor was a subsidiary of the Xia Group.

As though they had reached some tacit understanding, neither mentioned it. Yi Qiang turned and left without a moment's hesitation.

With the old Xia Corporation, they could still have gone to plead their case, and perhaps talked things through. But with that man in charge of the Xia Corporation now, no consideration would be given at all.

Whoever dared plead with him would suffer for it.

He was a rabid dog, an unreasonable rabid dog, and this particular rabid dog held enormous power and had both wealth and influence.

Who would dare offend him!