In a river-view penthouse in the S City, Xi Juan leaned back on the sofa, his sleeves rolled up, revealing a slight needle prick mark on his wrist. He listlessly flipped through the documents his assistant handed him, saying very little.
Those ever-shimmering peach blossom eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, and his expression was stern.
In the vast room, only the assistant's voice echoed.
"We all thought you were possessed. Mr. Xi. and Mrs. Xi even found a master to exorcise you, but they were unable to meet with you."
"Because you refuse us access and forbid your wife from visiting you. You spend all your time with Bai Ruanruan, and you've been secretly photographed a lot during this period, some of which were staged by Bai Ruanruan, which has a very bad influence."
The assistant swiped the phone screen.
"These are all contracts that need to be terminated. They said that considering the pleasant cooperation in the past, if we can provide timely compensation to offset the negative impact on the company, they won't sue us."
"These were the original work arrangements, but the agent's phone has been ringing off the hook, and the situation is not optimistic. Some shows we were asked to appear on because of personal relationships, but now they are being aggressive, demanding exorbitant compensation."
"That's not all. They also contacted us, saying that our performance at this year's gala has been canceled. The charity also said that the matter has had a huge impact, with tens of thousands of reports filed, and that the authorities have intervened to investigate."
"We've done everything right, so of course we're not afraid. Over the years, all our money has been used honestly and effectively; we have nothing to hide. But we're afraid of those who might kick us when we're down, or spread false information."
" Brother Xi, it's so easy to smear someone in this industry, but so hard to clear one's name."
The weather outside the window was gloomy, and a light drizzle fell onto the river.
After what seemed like an eternity, Xi Juan finally appeared to come to his senses.
Can you afford to pay for it?
"We can definitely afford to lose money, but you've invested a lot over the years and donated a lot to charity, so you don't have a lot of liquid funds on hand. If we sell the properties we're not currently living in, it will only hurt our finances a little, and the impact won't be too great."
"But it's precisely in terms of public opinion..."
The assistant paused for a moment,
" Brother Xi, I'm so sorry. If we had kept an eye on you, this wouldn't have happened."
Xi Juan waved his hand, "It's not your fault."
Hurried footsteps came from another direction. The agent, dressed in a suit, stood with his back to the light autumn rain outside, muttering something as he hung up the phone.
Xi Juan looked at her, "What do you mean?"
The young, capable female agent sighed silently and forced a smile.
"The company told us to take a break first."
"Why don't we take this opportunity to go out and relax? We've had a very busy schedule these past few years, and you always complained that you never got a proper rest."
" Xi Juan, we--"
Are you going to sideline me?
The man sitting on the sofa looked at her and smiled, then suddenly spoke.
"How long?"
"Is it a temporary or permanent ban? Will the authorities issue a document?"
The agent paused for a moment, then comforted him.
That's how public opinion works; there's a period of explosive activity. Let's keep a low profile for now.
"That means no specific time was given."
Xi Juan nodded. "Okay."
He turned to his assistant and handed him the phone.
"I've drafted an apology letter; could you please post it and pin it to the top of the chat?"
"Have my personal doctor come here and prescribe a short-term, high-efficiency finasteride tablet—"
The agent's pupils contracted slightly. " Xi Juan, you can't take medicine randomly."
"I didn't want to touch him, and I didn't touch him, but it's always better to be safe than sorry."
Xi Juan frowned, suppressing a kind of nausea.
"Find another psychiatrist."
"And my lawyer and financial manager, have them sort out my assets and pay the outstanding compensation first."
The assistant nodded quickly, "I'll definitely keep a close eye on this money! If anything unexpected happens, I absolutely won't let that guy surnamed Bai get his hands on it!"
Xi Juan smiled and turned to look at his assistant.
"He wants money, so give it to him."
"Give as much as you can, however large the amount, as much as possible, as long as it meets the sentencing standards, do you understand?"
The assistant's eyes lit up, then he heard Xi Juan continue:
"Dismiss the rest of the staff first and give them three months' compensation. I'll have to trouble you and Sister Chen with this mess for now."
"That's enough for now, I want to rest."
The wind outside the window grew stronger, and the lake surface rippled gently.
Xi Juan leaned back on the sofa, his handsome and deep features reflected the bleak autumn rain outside the window, casting a shadow between his brows and eyes.
That superstar, who shone brightly under countless lights, suddenly fell into the mud on a rainy autumn day.
The woman he called Sister Chen turned her head away, swallowing the tears welling in her eyes.
"Good."
"Don't go online for now, get some sleep."
Xi Juan and replied, "Understood."
The wind and rain were fierce, and dark clouds gathered.
The whole world was shrouded in gloom; the willow branches by the lake were pressed down by the wind and sank heavily into the lake's surface; the air was filled with a kind of stifling anxiety.
Xi Juan opened his phone and logged into Weibo using his alternate account.
The screen was filled with vile insults. "Perverted man" and "scumbag" came rushing in. His usually large fan base was drowned in the crowd, helplessly posting "I believe in him," only to be screenshotted and mocked in the next instant, and caught in the vortex of angry insults along with him.
Xi Juan ignored the insults and clicked on a profile picture that was being insulted.
"Log off the internet first, stop watching."
He didn't receive a reply.
With hundreds of messages every minute, his words were long ago drowned out by the insults.
A fierce wind was blowing outside, and dark, ominous clouds were gathering overhead.
In the dimly lit room, Xi Juan stared for an unknown amount of time before finally closing his eyes.
A moment later, he found a number he knew by heart.
Nan Qing had messaged him a few tens of minutes ago, asking how he was doing and if he needed any help.
Xi Juan edited a message,
" Qingqing, I'm fine. But I really didn't do anything..."
He typed out words one by one and deleted them, carefully revising the language several times.
His face was reflected on the screen, and a new message popped up in his "Special Concerns" section.
"Rumor has it! Our Qingqing auditioned for the new film by renowned France director Joaquín Guzmán. If she passes the audition, our Baby will truly become a young actress with some international fame!"
Xi Juan raised an eyebrow and smiled, then logged out and liked the Weibo post.
A moment later, he returned to the text message page.
He deleted all the words he had typed out, then clicked on that familiar name and dragged him into his blacklist.
never mind.
Someone I like so much.
It's best not to drag him down with all the scandals he's involved in.