Chapter 7: At Odds, Target Locked: Fuck
The elevator hadn’t arrived yet, and since they had nothing else to do, Fei Fan made small talk with Chen Shuo, asking him, “Are you going to the gym? No wonder you’re in good shape.”
Hearing Fei Fan’s compliment, Li Ge glanced at Chen Shuo. He was dressed in black, casual and loose-fitting clothes. Somehow, he looked even more robust than that night?
That kind of physique wasn’t appealing at all, all hard and stiff. It was a pity about that face, which was quite to his liking.
The moment their eyes met, Chen Shuo once again directly sensed the roguish air about Li Ge.
And under the bright lights of the commercial building, he could see more clearly than last time. Li Ge’s eyebrows were sharp, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned, his gaze carrying a flirtatious air.
Chen Shuo inexplicably felt like he was being hit on. He immediately adopted his professional demeanor, lowering his gaze and politely greeting, “Mr. Li, Mr. Fei.”
Before they could speak, he continued, “I just finished, I won’t disturb you.”
Before Li Ge could say anything, he watched Chen Shuo bypass him and Fei Fan, turning and disappearing without a backward glance, like a coward.
Fei Fan muttered, “He left really quickly.”
“That Assistant Chen is afraid of me.” Li Ge found it amusing, “Could I eat him or something? I wouldn’t want him even if he was offered to me for free.”
Fei Fan had interacted with Chen Shuo a few times and kindly explained to his friend, “No way, why would he be afraid of you? He’s just introverted and doesn’t talk much.”
Li Ge originally wanted to ask Fei Fan where his cousin had recruited this personal assistant. Not only was he clumsy with words, but he also lacked observation skills. Wasn’t this just keeping a freeloader?
The elevator arrived just then.
On the fifth floor of the commercial building, a new western restaurant had opened a few days ago. The owner was Fei Fan’s old classmate, and he had specifically dragged Li Ge along today to show his support.
Knowing that Li Ge was in a bad mood, Fei Fan had specifically asked his old classmate to arrange a private room. After they sat down and ordered, seeing that his friend was still listless, he snapped his fingers at the waiter.
“Get a musician to come over and play a tune for Mr. Li.”
“Are you looking for a beating? I don’t need it.” Li Ge took out his cigarettes and lighter, lighting one up for himself.
“You don’t listen, I’ll listen.” Fei Fan signaled the waiter to proceed with the arrangement. After the waiter left, he advised Li Ge, “Why the long face? We’re here to relax.”
Li Ge wasn’t particularly fond of western food. He had come out with Fei Fan to change his mood, but his assistant’s call came in at an inopportune moment. Upon answering, he heard that the little star, after losing the lead role, had suffered a mental breakdown and attempted suicide by slitting his wrists at the hotel.
He immediately became furious, scolding his assistant, “Why are you calling me about a suicide attempt? Am I a fucking doctor? Quickly call 120!”
“No, Mr. Li, I haven’t finished.” Yu Rui on the other end hurriedly explained, “He did it in front of Director Liu, and Director Liu stopped him, he’s not injured.”
Li Ge frowned and continued to scold, “Cut the crap, get to the point!”
Yu Rui: “He’s refusing to leave Director Liu’s room, crying and making a scene, insisting on playing the male lead. Director Liu asked me to ask you how to handle it, he’s afraid he’ll attempt suicide again later.”
Li Ge took a drag of his cigarette and coldly asked his assistant, “How do you think I should handle it?”
Having worked alongside his boss for two years, Yu Rui was quite observant and immediately sensed something was wrong with the tone on the phone, so he hurriedly explained, “I’m also afraid he’ll attempt suicide again, it’s a matter of life and death, Mr. Li…”
Li Ge: “See if he dies or not. If he dies, contact the crematorium directly.”
Yu Rui: “Uh…”
Li Ge: “How did I hire such a pig-brained assistant? You’re just causing trouble for me, give the phone to Liu Dasen.”
Yu Rui: “…Oh, oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Li.”
When Liu Dasen took the phone, Li Ge scolded him as well, asking only one question, “You requested to change the lead actor, can you still make this movie?”
“Yes, yes, of course I can!” Liu Dasen groveled like a grandson, “Mr. Li, don’t worry, he’s lying on the floor asleep now, looking just like a corpse, quite aesthetically pleasing. I think he’s suitable for the second male lead, I’ll persuade him later, I won’t bother you anymore, you’re busy, goodbye.”
The call ended. Li Ge threw his phone on the table, sat down, and smoked one cigarette after another, his face extremely grim, too angry to speak.
Usually, Fei Fan would offer some words of comfort, but he didn’t dare to this time.
After all, the little star was chosen by Li Ge himself, who had showered him with gifts and invested in a movie for him, essentially keeping him. Ultimately, he was the one who caused trouble for himself, who could he blame?
“Fuck, everyone is just causing trouble for me.” Li Ge stubbed out his cigarette and lit another one.
“Alright, it’s resolved now.” Fei Fan tried a different approach to comfort Li Ge, “Every time you have someone, you disappear. Qiao An and I try to make plans with you, and you’re always busy, busy, busy. Look at your cousin, if he can’t make it when we ask him out, he’s definitely busy with work. Unlike you, not only do you change partners frequently, but you also fall for them every time.”
Li Ge didn’t like hearing this and retorted, “Who the fuck fell for them? I just like fucking different people, is there a problem with that?”
“…” Fei Fan was speechless and helplessly changed his words, “No problem. I’m just concerned about your health, excessive indulgence will damage your kidneys.”
Li Ge didn’t care, “I haven’t had any meat since the New Year, I need to find someone, otherwise, I’ll really get sick. I was wondering why I’ve been so irritable lately.”
Fei Fan: “…”
Li Ge asked, “Are you free tonight?”
Fei Fan decided to refuse Li Ge, but when the delicate musician entered the private room with his violin, and Li Ge’s appraising gaze gradually changed, he knew that Mr. Li didn’t need to go anywhere tonight. Target locked: fuck.
Youthful ignorance, squandering his vitality.
In an apartment building seven kilometers away from the commercial building, Chen Shuo had just returned home with his untouched gym bag and the groceries he bought from the supermarket.
He had considered going to the sports center five kilometers away, but it was too late. After the beginning of spring, various leisure venues became lively, full of people strolling and exercising in the evenings.
There were leftovers from lunch in the refrigerator. Chen Shuo didn’t like the taste of microwaved food. Rice had to be steamed, and then he would simply make a dish and a soup, perfect.
Just as he sat down, the persistent caller’s phone came.
Chen Shuo immediately had a bad feeling. This endless cycle was giving him a headache.
He answered the phone and spoke first, reminding him, “Mr. Lin, your relationship with CEO He has long ended. This is the last time I’ll answer your call.”
“No, Assistant Chen!” Lin Yuzhi cried, “I know it’s over with CEO He, and I don’t want to bother you, but I clearly passed the audition today, Director Liu even praised my crying scene, saying it was very moving. But Director Liu just called me and said the second male lead role has been filled, what should I do, sob, sob, sob…”
Chen Shuo: “…”
“He asked me to go over again tomorrow to see if there are any other roles for me. My second male lead… Assistant Chen, can you ask CEO He to help me one last time? Really, the last time!”
It was at this moment that Chen Shuo started to feel that Li Ge was at odds with him.
Whenever he encountered Li Ge, nothing good happened.
Since the movie project also belonged to Li Ge, Chen Shuo really didn’t want to deal with this mess anymore.
He would also get annoyed and impatient, wanting to hang up the phone rudely and tell Lin Yuzhi to go somewhere else and stop disturbing his vacation.
“Assistant Chen, please, I can’t lose this opportunity! Sob, sob, sob… I even broke off relations with my grandmother to enter the entertainment industry. If I don’t achieve something, how can I face her? She’s already eighty years old…”
Chen Shuo remained unmoved and suggested, “Go back and fulfill your filial duty.”
“No, I want to bring my grandmother to Beicheng and let her live a good life! Just help me, if you don’t help me, I can only go beg CEO He myself.”
Looking at the steaming tomato and egg soup on the table, Chen Shuo lost his appetite. After a while, he said, “I’ll communicate with Director Liu and go with you tomorrow.”
“Really? Thank you so much, Assistant Chen, may good fortune follow you! I’m going to apply a face mask now, my eyes are all swollen from crying, bye.”
Chen Shuo didn’t have Liu Dasen’s contact information, so he had to send a text message to the small director to inquire about the situation. It wasn’t until just before he went to bed that Jin Hu called him back.
“Sigh, my senior was also forced. That little star slit his wrists in his room, insisting on getting the lead role back. They definitely couldn’t give him the lead role, so now they can only give him the second male lead. He just agreed to play the second male lead after a long persuasion tonight.”
“…” Chen Shuo didn’t know what to say. Everyone seemed to like attempting suicide.
“You know, his plastic surgery face is quite suitable for playing an expressionless corpse, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise.”
Chen Shuo asked, “Then what about Lin Yuzhi, is he getting the third male lead?”
Jin Hu on the other end was also troubled and said, “That’s the problem. The third male lead role has already been finalized during the day. It’s a newcomer with good acting skills. We can’t just kick him out, right? So we’ll have to see what my senior decides tomorrow.”
At this point, Chen Shuo had nothing to say, and he couldn’t say anything.
Before ending the call, he cautiously asked Jin Hu if Li Ge had completely abandoned the project and if he might be present at the scene tomorrow.
“I didn’t tell you, that little star’s suicide attempt today, Mr. Li told Assistant Yu to contact the crematorium directly and have him cremated, how heartless is that? These capitalists have no heart or lungs, it’s outrageous.”
“…”
After confirming that Li Ge had abandoned the project, Chen Shuo accompanied Lin Yuzhi to the hotel in the suburbs the next day, planning to discuss with Liu Dasen and see if they could add some scenes and lines for a small supporting role to quickly get rid of Lin Yuzhi.
He never expected that as soon as he entered the hotel, he would run into the person he was at odds with, Mr. Li, in the lobby.
