Translator: Sy
Editor: SipsTea
Chapter 9: The Scheme in the Dark
“Mr. Jiang, Director Zhang wants to speak with you.” Jiang Feng’s assistant stood timidly in the corner of the break room, holding his breath as he twiddled his fingers.
The man lounging on a swivel chair with his legs propped up on the dressing table listened, eyes darkening viciously. Jiang Feng was scanning through his messages, and some of them were getting on his nerves.
One: Lin Ning didn’t die. And not only did he delete his Interstellar account once he’d come back to life, he even posted a well-wishing note for the marshal. What was that supposed to mean?! Was he trying to make a comeback by hopping on a trend?!
Two: it seemed that he no longer had Lin Ning under his thumb the way he used to. The contact who brought him the update this time mentioned that Lin Ning had a line Jiang Feng couldn’t cross when it came to ghost-writing music. That bastard. What was he playing at now?! And the men he sent out before didn’t do their jobs right — somehow every single one of them ended up in the hospital, and he heard it was because of some kind of full-body itch?!
Jiang Feng’s anger exploded the moment his thoughts drifted there. He used to be so gentle and stupid, now he’s trying to oppose him?! He was one hell of a guy, that Lin Ning. So killing himself finally woke up that dead brain of his?!
Jiang Feng wrapped his hands around his head, now coloured pale green, as anxiety and uneasiness swelled in him. If he didn’t come up with a new single to act as a support while he switched over to Midsummer Entertainment, he’d be replaced by younger shining idols sooner or later.
“Mr. Jiang, Director Zhang is waiting…” The assistant chewed on his lip nervously.
“Shut up! God, you’re so dumb,” Jiang Feng lashed out, but then turned his head to the side, as if he’d seen something vile. He let out a long breath. “Director Zhang’s screen writing isn’t worth it. Reject it!”
The assistant lowered his head, too scared to answer.
That was the scene Jiang Feng’s manager, Liu Ze, witnessed as he walked into the room.
“Jiang, man, why the bad mood?” Liu Ze waved his hand, gesturing for the assistant to leave. He had a very gentle face, the sort that showed how mild his temper was.
Liu Ze was a manager the assistant deeply respected. Seeing Liu Ze enter the scene, he sighed a breath of relief, retreating from that ticking time bomb of a room.
Jiang Feng’s eyes met Liu Ze’s, but turned his head away again, guiltily.
Liu Ze pushed up his glasses. “Jiang Feng, we can’t afford to make any mistakes now that we’re standing at such a height. How many assistants have you replaced these past few years? You’ve got to hold back no matter how bad your mood is, or else someone will catch on. The last assistant you fired exposed your bad temper, don’t you know how much money we spent just to stop it from spreading? Things almost went out of hand, too…”
Jiang Feng raised his eyebrow arrogantly. He was a completely different person than he was on screen. “Ze, stop. I get it.”
That was exactly what Liu Ze expected he would say. For a moment, he was speechless. In the heavy silence that hung over the room, he recalled a recent rumour while he watched the man’s alluring eyes. He couldn’t suppress the urge to ask.
“Jiang Feng, I heard you’ve been meeting frequently with Midsummer Entertainment’s Madam Rong.”
Midsummer Entertainment — the most reputable idol factory in the entertainment industry. They had the most prestigious team of lawyers and the largest pool of talent and resources. Many professionally-trained artists and talented newbies made their name through the company, and Midsummer Entertainment’s current gold-lettered billboard was the hottest film star in the galaxy, Zhang Yiming. The moment you’re in Midsummer Entertainment, you’ve got your whole life secured. As long as you don’t walk around trying to get yourself killed, even if you retire immediately, you wouldn’t have to worry about money — you’d have a whole personal team ready to sort everything out.
It could be said that in the entertainment industry, those with guts went to Midsummer Entertainment to fight for gold while those without guts also went to Midsummer Entertainment, but to cool off. Countless people trained hard trying to get into Midsummer Entertainment, and it wasn’t as if they did that for no reason. Midsummer wasn’t something a company as new and unsteady as Feihao Entertainment could oppose.
And Madam Rong, naturally, was the wife of Midsummer Entertainment’s Chairman Rong.
Jiang Feng’s heart quivered at the seemingly nonchalant question, his right eye twitching along. He didn’t dare look Liu Ze in the eye, so he glared at the floor instead, furiously racking up ways to reassure Liu Ze.
As the current number one idol, he was Feihao Entertainment’s money tree. He could do whatever he wanted — he had nothing to fear.
That is, except for one person — Liu Ze. He was by his side as his manager from the beginning, so the credit had to be given to him for where’s Jiang Feng today. In other words, he and Liu Ze needed each other. Jiang Feng needed Liu Ze to survive. Besides, Liu Ze had way too much dirt on Jiang Feng, and tossing any bit of that dirt out to the public was enough to grind Jiang Feng to dust.
“Ze, my mother and Madam Rong are old friends, you know. That’s how I know Madam Rong—”
Liu Ze pushed up his gold-framed glasses again. Watching the man, who’d been acting so high and mighty in front of his assistant yet suddenly looked so anxious before him, gave him the answer he’d been searching for. Everything on Jiang Feng’s mind was spelt out before him immediately.
“Jiang, you want to go to Midsummer Entertainment?”
Liu Ze didn’t hesitate to cut Jiang Feng off, not bothering to let him explain himself.
Jiang Feng paled. To be honest, he hadn’t prepared himself to fight Feihao so soon.
Liu Ze had had enough. He slammed his hands on the table and growled, “Jiang Feng, don’t forget who helped you get to where you are today! Don’t think you can just wipe your ass clean and move off like this!”
Liu Ze’s gaze was sharp and fierce, like a dagger piercing through Jiang Feng’s heart. Throughout the years, it wasn’t as if he’d never heard of the rumours surrounding Liu Ze — it was just that he’d never seen him this terrifying with his own eyes, and had completely forgotten how cruel this manager of his could get.
He fumbled for an excuse. “I’m not planning on pulling out alone. We’ll go to Midsummer together.”
“Just listen to what I say and take up that show’s acting role. Don’t let it get to the point where you can’t cough up a good song nor present a decent filmography. There are too many eyes watching you now, and it’s been too long since you’ve released a single. People are beginning to suspect something’s up!” Liu Ze was no longer putting up an act. He understood clearly that if one’s ambitions swelled too much, it’d be impossible for them to pull back. Jiang Feng was Feihao’s pillar and his important pawn. He couldn’t let him go.
“I’ll make sure the company gives you better resources, so no need to rush and cling yourself to Midsummer. Do you have any idea how many big stars and legends, and red carpet kings and queens that company titan has?! You may be quite famous now, but there are people who exploded in fame and then were knocked back down to the bottom right after they’d hit their peak. If you don’t produce a new single soon, it’ll only be a matter of time before you find yourself in deep shit.”
“Besides, if you go there, you’ll always be under the shadow of that filmstar, Zhang Yiming.”
A shadow, like prickles of poison, flashed across Liu Ze’s face as he turned his back on Jiang Feng. He knew Jiang Feng wasn’t an easy person to deal with. If he hadn’t been tricked into it back then, he wouldn’t have chosen to support Jiang Feng no matter what — not to this cruel man.
*
Lin Ning spent his days rather productively. He’d stream for two hours in the day, then spend the rest of his time mulling over his next dishes and sharpening his cooking skills. At night, he’d take his kitty out for a walk. Everytime he tried something new with his techniques, he’d let the kitty try a bit of his work, making the kitty the first guest of every meal.
What made him worry was that no matter how many times he tried to improve the cat food’s formula, his kitty always seemed disinterested in it. But everytime it saw human food, its tail would unconsciously sway and flick, its ears would perk up, and those dull, quiet eyes would momentarily brighten. More importantly, the kitty never let Lin Ning pet it whenever it ate cat food, yet when it had the same dishes as he did, it wasn’t as reluctant at letting Lin Ning ruffle its back.
He supposed living with the kitty was pretty enjoyable.
“Meow~” The cat’s voice rang from the door, as if trying to rush Lin Ning.
Lin Ning grabbed a little spade and plastic bag, then brought the kitty out. When they first started taking strolls, he tried to put a collar and leash on it, but the cat glared at him for a good ten minutes, nastily leaving him with a long, thin scratch. Lin Ning gave up after that.
His cat was just way too big, so he was really worried it’d scare the kids around the neighbourhood. Siberian cats were fighters. This kitty had a nimble body and sharp eyes that often made Lin Ning suspect he’d adopted a cat raised by a military task force.
If it weren’t for the fact that the kitty hadn’t actually attacked him yet, or the fact that it looked really cute while gobbling his food, Lin Ning would’ve been deathly afraid of it.
The author has something to say:
Lin Ning: I’m a pooper scooper (flashes little shovel and plastic bag)
Kitty: …Come on, let me kiss you (holds down Lin Ning)
