Bonus kofi chapter. Thank you to Rii, Heemi, Missahful and I-chan for the kofi. Enjoy!
In Jing Li’s impression, Gu Tingshen had always been the cold and stern type, just like his Second Senior Brother. He was usually taciturn and smiled little, treating everyone with a serious, aloof attitude. Except for severely criticizing him whenever he got into trouble, he would never take the initiative to approach him at other times.
As far as he knew, the impression Gu Tingshen gave others was not much different from his Second Senior Brother’s, or perhaps even more stern and cold-hearted due to his high position. During their brief encounter at the last banquet, Jing Li had also felt the other’s taciturn nature.
Therefore, he did not feel that such a person would be the kind to take the initiative to call him twice in a row.
He could understand the first call being to help resolve the situation out of consideration for Jing Yu, but now that everything had been completely resolved, why was he calling again?
Surely, he couldn’t be calling just to congratulate him? The thought of his Second Senior Brother congratulating him with a straight face sent a sudden chill down Jing Li’s spine.
However, no matter how doubtful he was, Jing Li just stared blankly for a few seconds before quickly answering the phone. “Tingshen-ge,” he took the initiative to greet the other.
“Mm, busy?” Gu Tingshen’s tone sounded strangely dissonant, as if he was deliberately trying to create a relaxed atmosphere but ended up sounding awkward due to his unfamiliarity.
Hearing his voice instantly made Jing Li freeze up. On instinct, he pulled the phone away and glanced at the screen again, thinking he had misread the caller ID.
It wasn’t until he heard the other party on the receiver calling out his name in confusion, and the tone was obviously the same as before, that he came back to his senses. Then he couldn’t help but laugh at himself for this sudden thought. Still, he obediently responded, “No, I was just confirming the work process with my assistant. Did Tingshen-ge call for something?”
“I can’t call you if there’s nothing?” Gu Tingshen laughed lightly by himself. Feeling the silence from the other end, he realized his overly familiar joking between two unfamiliar people seemed a bit too abrupt. Although he was indeed quite curious about this little friend, after all, they had only met twice.
So, he coughed uncomfortably and awkwardly changed the subject, “I saw the trend online. That was a beautifully executed counterattack.”
After a pause, he suddenly asked, “Interested in coming to Sentu Entertainment?”
Jing Li raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
Sentu Entertainment was the entertainment company under the Gu Group, a top dog in the entertainment industry. Although it was rather selective in choosing actors, everyone picked became hugely popular and successful, achieving fame and fortune.
Therefore, in the entire entertainment industry, receiving an invitation from Sentu Entertainment meant one was about to embark on a dazzling journey to stardom and was something almost all aspiring young people coveted.
But Jing Li had never heard of anyone being personally called by the Gu Group’s boss himself. He did not think there was anything irreplaceable or extraordinary about himself that would trouble the other to extend a personal invitation. He even suspected this person might be a lobbyist brought by his brother, considering what had just been exposed online. It did seem like something his brother would do.
As his thoughts swirled, Jing Li opened his mouth, about to decline. But the other seemed to guess his mind and took the lead to say, “Don’t worry, this call has nothing to do with anyone. I saw your potential myself.”
Gu Tingshen chuckled lightly. “I’m a businessman, so spotting what I think is most valuable and maximizing its worth is just instinct.”
After a pause, as if feeling his own words were too impersonal, he added, “But for your brother’s sake, if you’re willing to come to Sentu, I don’t mind making concessions and giving you the best terms, you can even bring your team along. What do you think?”
Jing Li: “……”
The feeling that this was his brother’s lobbyist grew stronger.
He never believed there were such free lunches in the world, nor that there would be many people in the world who were unconditionally good to him like his Eldest Senior Brother, let alone that he would encounter them all.
Even if a koi fish becomes a spirit, this was still too outrageous.
However, he had never been good at rejecting others’ goodwill, so even if unwilling, he still politely expressed his thanks, “Thank you, Tingshen-ge. Let me think about it first before giving you an answer, okay?”
Gu Tingshen did not expect that even after saying all this, the other was still hesitating. He felt somewhat surprised, but the more the young man acted this way, the more intrigued Gu Tingshen became.
“Alright.” Gu Tingshen let out a meaningful, inscrutable laugh, then added, “What I said still stands. If you need anything in the future, you can call me. My number is…”
“Open 24 hours a day,” Jing Li took the initiative to complete the next line. Then, as if recalling something, he suddenly laughed very softly.
That sound was like a breeze brushing across his heart, tingling lightly. Gu Tingshen, on the other end, paused, then couldn’t help but chuckle lowly along.
Neither spoke again, just listening to the voice from the earpiece, but the previous estrangement and unfamiliarity between them dissipated significantly, becoming a little more acquainted.
Even after hanging up, a trace of a smile still lingered in Gu Tingshen’s eyes.
This Gu Tingshen was drastically different from his usual self. Even Secretary Qin, who had seen all kinds of grand occasions, couldn’t help revealing a trace of astonishment. But more than that, what concerned him was, “…President Gu, do you plan to sign Jing Shao to Sentu?”
“Oh? Why?” Gu Tingshen lazily raised his brows, his expression inscrutable, making it hard to discern his emotions.
“Nothing, I’m just a bit surprised.” Unsure of his intentions, Secretary Qin jokingly said with a smile, “It’s rare to see you take interest in promoting someone, but it seems the other party doesn’t intend to appreciate the gesture?”
“Yeah.” Recalling that young man full of secrets, Gu Tingshen also smiled interestedly.
This was the first time in his twenty-seven years that he had tasted rejection. Yet he did not feel indignant, but rather, it aroused his competitiveness.
Originally, the phone call he made earlier was a spur-of-the-moment decision to test the other’s attitude, though he didn’t know what kind of response he hoped to see. But now, it seemed the call was not without gains.
*
Of course, Jing Li was oblivious to Gu Tingshen’s thoughts. After hanging up, he pondered briefly before sending his brother a message: [Ge, Tingshen-ge invited me to Sentu. What do you think?]
After sending it, he waited a moment, but there was no reply, likely because his brother was busy.
Seeing this, Jing Li locked his screen and put away his phone, about to continue looking through the script. But then his ringtone suddenly sounded. Thinking it was his brother calling, he hurriedly picked up his phone to look. But it was an unknown number without a contact name, also from this city.
Jing Li paused, then accepted the call but did not speak.
The person on the other end was also strangely silent. Only the faint sounds of breathing into the receiver could be heard.
Jing Li inexplicably glanced at the screen again, then waited a few more seconds. With the other still remaining silent, he could only take the initiative to ask, “Hello? May I ask who’s calling?”
The moment his voice rang out, he clearly sensed the breathing on the other end of the line hitch before suddenly becoming hurried, as if desperately suppressing some emotion.
Jing Li’s brows slightly knitted, thinking someone had dialed the wrong number. He was about to hang up when a hoarse male voice finally came from the other side: “…It’s me.”
Jing Li froze.
He was extremely sensitive to people’s voices by nature. So, the moment the other spoke, he recognized it as Lin Xiao’s voice, though he didn’t know how Lin Xiao got his number. Still, he remained calm and did not speak.
Moreover, he felt that given Lin Xiao’s current state, he probably didn’t need to say anything.
Sure enough, hearing his silence, the person on the phone was also quiet for a moment before speaking again.
“You must be secretly laughing at me in your heart now, right?” Lin Xiao suddenly blurted out inexplicably, then paused and couldn’t help mocking himself, “No, in Jing Shao’s eyes, an insignificant little guy like me probably isn’t even worth a second glance.”
“That’s right, in the eyes of you rich people high above us, people like us are…”
“Do you have something to say?” Jing Li coldly cut him off, unwilling to waste time on such nonsense.
Lin Xiao choked on his words, unable to finish his sentence. He was silent for a moment, then let out a mocking chuckle again, though it was unclear what he was laughing at. Then he said, “I just wanted to ask, is Jing Shao satisfied with my current miserable state?”
“If so, can you please let me go?” After a pause, he murmured hoarsely, “I’m begging you.”
For the first time in his life, Lin Xiao felt deeply weary. For the first time, he willingly bent his arrogant spine and lowered his stance to the dust.
But he had no choice. He really was at his wits’ end now. In just the few hours after Jing Li exposed that evidence, he had been vilified and attacked by countless netizens. His agent had called him several times. The endorsement he finally got through Wang Junwen’s connections had been canceled, the products he endorsed were all pulled from shelves, and all the variety shows he had been on were blurred out…
All the misfortunes he had suffered before came crashing down on him again, even more severely than before. Now, not only was he facing enormous penalties for contract breaches, but the company directly said they would shelve him unless he resolved things with Jing Li.
And Zhong Liangchen, the only one who had treated him well and could help him, had been arrested. If the charges of hiring assailants were confirmed, prison would be inevitable.
Without Zhong Liangchen’s backing, that arrogant rich second-generation Wang Junwen obviously wouldn’t bother with a lowly person he had always looked down on. Even Jing Li’s number was something Wang Junwen had impatiently given him just to brush him off.
Moreover, from what he knew, things weren’t much better on Wang Junwen’s side. Because he had offended Jing Li earlier, the Jing family had suppressed the Wangs. And after this matter was exposed, the Jings had gone all out getting revenge on the Wangs. The Wang Group’s stock price had plunged nearly to the limit down, and they probably couldn’t even save themselves now, let alone bother with his troubles.
Just as he had said before, he really had reached utter despair, and aside from ending his life, there seemed to be no other path left.
But he didn’t want to die, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and lower his head to beg Jing Li for mercy.
Even knowing the chances of the other forgiving him were miniscule, he had no choice but to take the risk and try.
“I know it’s a bit shameless for me to say this now, but I really am at my wits’ end.” Lin Xiao wretchedly wiped his face, his voice choking up. “Jing Shao, I’m begging you, please let me go, okay?”
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