PEU Chapter 1

Day 1 of Provoking

When Jiang (江) Cheng opened his eyes, he noticed that he was in a moving car.

He suddenly tensed his body, like a dormant cheetah who was in a state of alert.

Then, an incomparably noisy voice was heard next to his ears–

“Look at Jiang (姜) Xinghao who debuted in the same talent competition as you, he’s already quite famous. What about you? You can only get a salary of 800 yuan a day as a cannon fodder supporting role!”

“I’m telling you, this is your last chance! You can do as you see fit!”

Jiang Cheng’s brows tightened.

The huge amount of information pouring into his mind made him feel faint and dizzy. That man’s voice also grew more shrill and unpleasant, making Jiang Cheng unable to respond for a moment.

When Wang Chen saw that Jiang Cheng was ignoring him, the agent became more angry. He raised his hand with the intention of giving Jiang Cheng a slap, but that hand was unexpectedly grabbed before it could even get close.

The back of his hand grew numb as his palm was pinched and turned upwards, making him hiss and gasp from the pain.

“Are you crazy?!” Wang Chen yelled.

Only then did Jiang Cheng snap out of it and release that hand. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he said, “Sorry, occupational disease. Instinctive reaction.”

Wang Chen laughed angrily. An abandoned star diagnosed with depression and autism could still have this kind of occupational disease?!

How lawless and undisciplined!

“I want to rest,” Jiang Cheng interrupted when he saw that Wang Chen wanted to keep talking, then leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.

Jiang Cheng remembered that he was the Chief Instructor of Jianghan Special Zone, and that he was originally on a special mission.

—Honestly speaking, people with a special identity like him have to be given regular psychological counselling when they retire. Otherwise, once they return to normal life, some stress disorders are bound to arise.

Unfortunately for Jiang Cheng, he was on a mission before he suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar environment and with a completely different identity and couldn’t fully adapt in time.

—So, carelessly twisting someone’s hand was really not done on purpose.

The memories of two different people’s entire lives flooded Jiang Cheng’s mind and mixed together, the tremendous load giving him the impression that he was being split apart. He felt so dizzy that he thought he was actually dreaming.

During the time Jiang Cheng was digesting the information, Wang Chen looked at him again.

The feeling Jiang Cheng gave off just now gave him the impression that the person had changed. It was the first time Jiang Cheng had interrupted him, and this kind of feeling was a bit strange.

It must be said that Jiang Cheng’s appearance was really outstanding. A straight nose bridge with inward nose wings, and the root of his nose to the tip was as smooth as a slide.

His lips were also beautiful. They were a pale pink color, giving him an air of innocence and fragility. His lip bead was small and delicate, but it was barely noticeable as he would usually purse his lips. However, this feeling of restraint aroused people’s desires more.

At the beginning, Wang Chen arranged for Jiang Cheng and Jiang Xinghao to debut together because he liked Jiang Cheng’s appearance and Jiang Xinghao’s ability to deal with people. They would complement each other and become a hit. However, he didn’t expect that Jiang Cheng would become more and more withdrawn. Jiang Cheng had myopia and couldn’t adapt to wearing contact lenses, so he bought a pair of glasses with thick frames to wear. It covered up most of his face and made him look gloomy.

Only when Jiang Cheng was resting did he appear less gloomy.

Tsk, it was really a waste of this face.

Wang Chen retracted the strange thoughts he just had. Did he not know how Jiang Cheng was like? He even had high expectations for the latter at first.

Wang Chen opened his mouth to say, “I will bring you to Muxie later. Whether you can get resources or not will depend on your performance.”

Muxie Company was a building located in the center of Lin City that was used to host gatherings. The first to tenth floors were banquet areas, the eleventh to the fiftieth floors were the functional areas, and all the above floors were high-end guest rooms.

When Jiang Cheng heard those words, he raised his eyes to look at Wang Chen. He then pushed up the frames of his glasses in an unaccustomed manner and asked, “Muxie?”

There was also a ‘Muxie’ in his world, and he had even performed a mission there.

“Yes, Director Liu invited you to dine there with great sincerity. You should seize the opportunity yourself,” Wang Chen answered.

Jiang Cheng nodded slightly. He knew that the original host was a celebrity, so he should follow the agent’s instructions first before figuring out the situation.

—

Traffic congestion was precisely at its peak at this time of the day, and the heavy traffic could be seen outside the car window.

Jiang Cheng had been carefully keeping an eye on the streets and roads along the way and was even more determined that this was really the same city he knew.

This Muxie… It was probably the same Muxie he had been to before.

The car stopped directly at Muxie. Wang Chen got out and was about to call Jiang Cheng when he noticed that the other party had already walked towards the entrance with quick steps.

Then he was blocked by the doorman.

Next to the doorman was someone whose dressing style resembled a manager, and that person was still repeatedly emphasizing: “The boss will be coming for an inspection later, you should all be careful and strictly act in accordance with the rules and regulations.”

“We have an appointment in Muxie’s Tianshui Banquet…” Wang Chen said in a hurry, then grabbed Jiang Cheng to go in after reporting the information.

Wang Chen pressed his aching forehead. As expected, this person was a country bumpkin who had never seen such a big scene before. Did he think that just anyone could enter and leave Muxie?

Muxie had specially arranged a guide to lead them to their reservation in the private Tianshui Banquet room, but Jiang Cheng still walked ahead faster.

After all, he had been to Muxie for a mission before. The overall map layout was still clearly engraved in his mind.

Wang Chen wanted to call out to him, but decided not to after thinking about it– some disobedient artists would only learn how to be obedient after embarrassing themselves.

He looked at Jiang Cheng with amusement, wanting to see him make a fool of himself, but didn’t expect that the other party actually knew the way. He stared blankly as Jiang Cheng directly entered the Tianshui Banquet private room with large strides.

Could Jiang Cheng have been here before? Impossible!

The guide looked at Wang Chen with a smile, “Dear guest, this is the Tianshui Banquet private room.”

The guide didn’t leave even after the introduction, and continued to stand there with a polite smile.

Wang Chen froze for two seconds and then understood. He looked depressed and fumbled around his pocket in embarrassment, and finally managed to fish out a hundred yuan bill to give the guide.

“It has been a pleasure to serve you,” The guide took the tip and left happily.

Wang Chen took two deep breaths and silently told himself that this was just an investment. As long as they could win Director Liu’s favor, they could get many resources.

When he walked into the room, Jiang Cheng was already seated. The only other person in the spacious room was Director Liu.

Wang Chen conveniently and enthusiastically helped serve the dishes after greetings were exchanged, and even Jiang Cheng was given preferential treatment.

Jiang Cheng was immediately engrossed in eating at lightning speed. Only after smelling the fragrance of the dishes did he realize just how hungry he was. It was likely that he had been starved for too long and couldn’t feel it until now.

Both Wang Chen and Director Liu had ulterior motives in mind, but they could only stare at Jiang Cheng with a stupefied look— obviously the latter didn’t look like he could eat a lot, so how did the food on the table disappear in the blink of an eye?

Director Liu stared until he couldn’t help but pick up a pair of chopsticks. He seemed to finally understand why his colleagues have been showing more interest in setting up mukbang variety shows recently. They could weirdly stimulate one’s appetite.

Noticing that the situation was improving, Wang Chen got up and prepared to leave. “Director Liu, I just remembered that I still have something to do. I’ll be leaving first.”

He faced the other party with a faint smile that seemed to carry a profound meaning and emphasized, “About the cooperation and its specific details, you can just tell Jiang Cheng. Our side will cooperate as much as we can, please rest assured.”

“Don’t worry, go ahead. I will explain it to Xiao Jiang clearly,” Director Liu said.

Wang Chen walked out and closed the door.

As soon as he closed the door, Wang Chen felt a sudden chill in his heart— Jiang Cheng seemed to be more aggressive than usual.

But it couldn’t be, right? A blindly obedient person like Jiang Cheng should know what to do for the sake of his own future.

He shook his head and left with confidence.

Not long after Wang Chen left, Director Liu opened his mouth to say:

“I seem to have drunk a bit too much. Xiao Jiang ah, I will have to trouble you to take me back to my room. It’s just upstairs.”

Direction Liu was a bit over thirty years old, was neither too fat nor too thin, and his appearance wasn’t too aggressive. It was just that he seemed to be a little nervous.

Jiang Cheng also felt a bit dizzy. He didn’t know if it was because his body had a poor alcohol tolerance, but he couldn’t even handle a few glasses of foreign wine.

He also wanted to go back early, so he nodded at those words. Jiang Cheng lifted the glasses that had slipped and focused his gaze on Director Liu before saying, “Okay.”

After sending Director Liu back to his room, Jiang Cheng was just about to leave when the other party unexpectedly pressed him against the door.

Director Liu cleared his throat, appearing as nervous as a novice, and said: “Jiang Cheng, since you’ve come here, you should be aware of the situation. If you make me feel good, I will give you resources for variety shows– as many shots as you want, and even having hot searches isn’t impossible…”

Director Liu was a zero. After being in the circle for so long, he finally mustered up the courage and wanted to use his power to make himself happy once.

Although it wasn’t easy, he managed to find a man lacking in resources that suited his taste and who was also gay and immediately took action.

Seeing that Jiang Cheng barely reacted and didn’t seem to resist too much, Director Liu tried to pull his hand.

Jiang Cheng took a big step back. He didn’t know if it was because he was drunk, but his head was tingling with pain and his senses were muddled. The alcohol made him feel like he was being baked alive. His eyelids were burning and sweat was dripping down his nose, causing his glasses to slide down often.

“I don’t have this desire, have some dignity.” His voice was cold and his face indifferent, but the corner of his eyes were red. It gave rise to an even stronger temptation.

Director Liu stared at Jiang Cheng’s red eyes and his heart felt even more itchy.

He moved a bit closer and touched Jiang Cheng’s Adam’s apple. Men were sensitive here and could easily be provoked with one touch. That was what Director Liu thought.

However, he didn’t expect that Jiang Cheng would have such an extreme reaction! With the swing of an arm, he was turned over and pushed to the ground.

“口口…” Director Liu subconsciously cursed.

Jiang Cheng turned around and straddled the other party’s back, then grabbed both arms and exerted strength. The man immediately cried out and begged for mercy with a series of “ei, yo, ei, yo” while continuously twisting and struggling in place.

The glasses that were on the bridge of his nose were thrown off by the large movement and were crushed to pieces by Director Liu with a “kacha” sound.

The loud and clear sound of the glass pulled back some of Jiang Cheng’s rationality. He glanced at the man who seemed to be rather miserable and shook his head in a troubled manner. After staggering to his feet, he seized the opportunity to open the door and quickly walked out.

If he stayed any longer, whether he would really beat that man to death or not, only God would know.

But he had no authority, no influence, and no money. Even if he really wanted to beat up the other party, it would definitely not end well.

How could Director Liu be willing to let him go like this? He got up with a grimace and rushed out to follow, roaring, “Jiang Cheng! Stop for me!”

Jiang Cheng heard the footsteps behind him and ran straight to the elevator not too far away before pressing the button, anxiously waiting for the elevator that still had one floor to cross until it would open its doors to come.

However, the corridors in this building were much too short. Director Liu caught up even while limping, and he held Jiang Cheng’s broken glasses in his hand as he muttered endlessly–

“Jiang Cheng, come back with me. Didn’t you come here with the intention of letting me give you resources? Even your agent has agreed! And, besides, aren’t we all the same? You won’t lose out if we sleep together…”

The elevator door opened before he could finish his words.

A man and a woman stood inside. The man who was 1.9 metres tall was dressed in a suit and had a crew cut, and was expressionless. The elevator room seemed especially narrow due to his outstanding presence.

Standing to his side was a woman with an awkward and embarrassed expression. She was the general manager of the hotel.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng was reminded of what he had heard previously– “The boss will be coming for an inspection later”, and hurriedly walked to the man’s side.

There was not enough time for him to have a clear view of the other party’s appearance. He slightly tilted his head to block Director Liu’s sight, then lowered his eyes and whispered to the man, “Sorry, help me.”

After waiting for a few seconds, Jiang Cheng didn’t hear the other’s refusal and immediately took advantage of the angle to pretend that he was holding the man’s arm. He then said, “It’s not a problem about whether I will lose out or not. This is my partner.”

When he heard these words, Director Liu subconsciously turned to look at the man held by Jiang Cheng. His eyes widened slightly, and he instinctively retreated by a small step.

The man’s figure was the standard model’s broad shoulders and narrow waist. With a pair of long legs wrapped in pants and bulging pectoral muscles that made his suit appear somewhat tight, he was like a crane standing among chickens at a glance. This figure made people unable to look away.

He had a crew cut similar to a retired soldier. There was a scar the length of a thumb near the corner of his eye that slanted upwards, stretching to his forehead. Just one glance was enough to tell that—such an ominous look, it was definitely not someone who could be trifled with.

It was unknown why, but four big words with effects that came straight out of variety shows popped up in his mind— Thug in a suit!

The general manager by the man’s side let out a gasp and subconsciously wanted to block Jiang Cheng, but her boss unexpectedly beckoned to her and indicated that there was no need to.

Only then did Director Liu recognize the man in front of him. He had heard that the heir of the Jian family business had retired from the military and was coming back to inherit the company, and that he had been inspecting various industries lately. It seemed that his target today was precisely Muxie.

The man in front of him actually knew Jiang Cheng? In addition… there seems to be something more.

Director Liu’s expression because unsightly as he broke out in cold sweat, then he finally stopped pulling Jiang Cheng and let go.

After Jiang Cheng got away successfully, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was just that he felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed. He lowered his head and hurriedly muttered a word of gratitude and apology, then quickly walked inside the elevator and covertly tried to push the button at lightning speed to have the door close faster.

To give way to his impulse and find such an excuse, the alcohol must have influenced and completely crushed his rationality!

After the elevator door closed, the general manager who stood to the side asked with some hesitation whether they should follow up on this matter or not.

“No need,” Jian Xingce withdrew his gaze and said coldly.

He also didn’t know why he was suddenly soft-hearted and allowed this young man to use him as a shield. It was probably because the corner of the other party’s eyes were red, making him seem like a cornered fox who had its fur puffed up yet who still pulled him to make a show of false bravado.