Some of the celebrities and popular young actresses who came to the banquet with the bigwigs gritted their teeth in frustration.
I originally thought I was going to see a good show, but instead they directly booked Serenoir's Asian ambassadorship.
Serenoir is a blue-blooded luxury brand. The position of Asian brand ambassador was vacant for two years, and many top-tier celebrities were vying for it but couldn't get it.
Song Shi'an did absolutely nothing, just stood in the corner and ate a piece of cake, and this endorsement deal landed on his head. Is it too late for them to get plastic surgery now?!
Pei Zhiyan raised his glass to Shen Lingshu: "Aren't you being a bit too harsh on your employees?"
Shen Lingshu took a small sip and swirled the wine in her glass. "Is that so? Mr. Pei, you should mind your own business."
Song Shi'an only had time to rest after the banquet ended.
Jiang Ye walked over with his coat and saw him leaning against the sofa, looking completely lost. "How come you're busier than Old Pei after this banquet?"
Song Shi'an took off his suit jacket and draped it over his arm. "How should I know? Everything was fine up ahead, and in the time it took to eat some melon, it felt like the whole world's bosses came running. I didn't even get a sip of water."
After seeing the guests off, Pei Zhiyan came over and said, "Let's go, I'll have Old Wang take you home."
Song Shi'an stood up. "Okay, we'll head back now."
Pei Zhiyan gestured, and a waiter came over and handed her three bags. "These are some portions made by Ricardo. Take them home and enjoy."
Song Shi'an took the bag and glanced inside.
The insulated box was packed tightly, but the aroma of truffles and butter mingled together still managed to escape from the cracks.
He looked up, so moved he almost hugged him on the spot. "What a wonderful roommate Huaxia loved!!"
As soon as they got back, the three of them divided the bag among themselves.
After finishing his meal, Song Shi'an went to take a shower. Chi Xun, wearing only shorts, ate the remaining half of the baked lobster from the takeout box while scrolling through his phone.
While brushing, he accidentally sprayed a mouthful of water all over Jiang Ye, who was opposite him.
Jiang Ye was engrossed in eating his spaghetti when he was suddenly sprayed in the face, nearly breaking his chopsticks in half. " Chi Xun! Are you crazy?!"
Chi Xun down his chopsticks, his eyes still glued to his phone screen, his brows furrowed. "These marketing accounts are killing me, what nonsense are they reporting!"
Jiang Ye wiped his face and leaned closer. "What happened?"
On the phone screen, the top trending topic was followed by a dark red "Explosive" character.
Chi Xun on the link, scrolling down faster and faster, his expression growing increasingly grim. The screen was filled with the same set of photos.
Photos of Song Shi'an serving drinks in a private room before she signed with Stars Entertainment were leaked.
In the photo, his hair is still a bit long, partially covering his eyebrows and eyes. He is wearing an ordinary white shirt and holding a wine glass, sitting next to a woman.
The woman's face was blurred, but one of her hands was on Song Shi'an's waist.
Although the photo isn't high resolution, anyone could recognize him from that profile.
Some people even dug up old photos of Song Shi'an on the wall of Jingchen University's campus, before he cut his hair.
At that time, he had long hair covering his face, wore a drab gray hoodie, and walked down the Parasol Tree Avenue with his head down. When the two photos are placed side by side, it is the same face, the same half-length hair, and the timeline matches perfectly.
The comment section exploded, and the trending topic went from "boiling" to "exploding".
"I knew it! A student with no connections suddenly has so many resources and became famous in just a few months. How could that be possible without some connections!"
"Hilarious! Turns out they brought their bed to the set, hahaha!"
"Don't be ridiculous. With looks like that, I don't believe he doesn't have a sugar daddy backing him. Look at the roles he's played since his debut. Although they're all supporting roles, they're all big-budget S+ productions. What makes a newcomer like him?"
"To be fair, his hair was really long in this photo. He hadn't even debuted yet, right? Isn't it a bit insensitive to use a photo from before his debut to criticize someone?"
"Who cares about before or after his debut? The face matches, and the photos aren't photoshopped. He was working as a hostess before his debut, doesn't that prove something even more?"
"Sigh, I saw him check into a hotel with a rich woman, but he wasn't famous at the time, so I didn't pay attention."
"Hey upstairs, which rich woman are you with? Is she famous online? Could it be that one from Stars Entertainment?"
"With your talent for spouting nonsense, it's a waste that you're not writing novels. Putting one hand on your hip counts as 'accompanying someone to drink'? Then what about taking a photo with your boss during your company's team building event? That would be considered 'accompanying someone to drink' too."
"Get the knife, you bunch of foul-mouthed bastards! You were hiding under someone's bed, how do you know all this!"
"This camera trick is way too obvious! The hand didn't even touch the waist, and there's a gap between the shadow of the fingers and the clothes. Are your eyes on the back of your heads?"
"Hilarious, the fans are starting to defend him. Your idol's career is about to collapse and you're still not running away? Are you waiting for him to send you a lawyer's letter to scare you?"
Jiang Ye slammed his chopsticks on the table, his eyes practically spitting fire. "Send me the link! I'll tear them apart if I don't!"
Song Shi'an came out after showering and drying his hair, only to see two people engrossed in frantically tapping on their phones, their expressions increasingly ferocious. "What are you two doing?"
Chi Xun didn't even look up. "People who are foul-mouthed may not have a good life in the real world, but they'll be judged online!"
Song Shi'an walked over to see what was going on, Chi Xun quickly covered the phone screen. "Don't look!"
Seeing their strange expressions, Song Shi'an picked up his phone. The screen lit up, and the notification bar was already overflowing with push notifications.
He clicked on the trending topics, and that photo immediately jumped into his view.
In the dimly lit private room, he sat on the sofa wearing a white shirt, next to a woman whose face was blurred, with one hand on his waist.
It felt like a long-sealed door had been suddenly pushed open in my mind.
He remembered that when the original owner of this body had just been signed by Cloud-Watching Entertainment, his agent Ge Qin, told him about a collaboration dinner. Several investors wanted to meet the newly signed artist, have a meal, and chat.
The original owner believed it, put on his cleanest white shirt, and went there. He pushed open the door to the private room, where a female boss who looked two rounds older than him was sitting.
The woman made him look up so she could see his face, then made him stand up and turn around so she could see his figure.
The original owner stood there, feeling like a commodity waiting to be sold.
The female boss was very satisfied and asked him to sit next to her and have a drink with her. He picked up the glass, drank it all in one gulp, and didn't let anyone touch him the whole time.
The hand on his waist in that photo didn't actually touch him; it was just a few centimeters away, but someone used a forced perspective to capture the moment.
After returning home, the original owner deleted Ge Qin's contact information and never answered any of her calls again.
Then came the exorbitant default penalties and debt collection text messages. He shouldered everything alone until this body was given to someone else.
Song Shi'an gripped his phone tightly, feeling the original owner's anger at being betrayed by someone he trusted, and the helplessness of being smeared but unable to defend himself.
At that time, he was a freshman in college and thought that signing with a talent agency was the starting point of his dream, but it turned out that the starting point was a swamp.
He took a deep breath, draped the towel over the back of the chair, and thought, "These debts need to be paid."