After Becoming a Merman, I Became a Heartthrob 14

Chapter 14: Blacklisted

Chi Xiasheng had been at home for a whole week. His bond with Little Black grew closer and closer, but his work had come to a standstill, leaving him idle and anxious.

“Little Black, look at how much you eat every day. I’m almost unable to afford you.”

Chi Xiasheng performed his daily ritual of rubbing Little Black’s head and putting meat in his bowl.

After spending some time together, Chi Xiasheng had more or less figured out Little Black’s habits. Although this little guy was small, he disliked the dog biscuits and treats that all puppies loved. Instead, he had a passion for all kinds of meat. And he was very picky. He would only eat cooked meat, turning his nose up at anything with a hint of red.

Chi Xiasheng was a vegetarian, so most of his daily meat budget was spent on Little Black. He himself only nibbled on vegetables.

Little Black glanced at the salad in Chi Xiasheng’s bowl and, with a look of utter speechlessness, pushed his own meat towards him.

You eat two blades of grass a day, can that even fill your stomach?

Chi Xiasheng was taken aback. He couldn’t help but burst out laughing, his mood instantly brightening. After raising him for so long, this was the first time the little guy had shared something he liked with him.

Chi Xiasheng rarely smiled. When he did, it was like a cool snowflake melting on his fingertips, turning into a few warm drops of water that flowed through one’s heart, making it itch with delight.

Little Black, who had been recuperating all this time, was also seeing him smile so beautifully for the first time.

It was so beautiful that the little black dog’s ears couldn’t help but flush. He turned his head away and fiercely snatched the meat, putting it back in his own bowl to gnaw on.

If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t. What are you smiling so foolishly for?

Just as Chi Xiasheng was about to hug the little dog and give it a good rub, his agent knocked on the door, carrying hot pot ingredients.

“Li Ge? Why are you here?”

The man outside the door answered, then sighed.

“Came to see you. Let’s sit down and have a drink.”

Chi Xiasheng had a vague idea of why he was here, so he didn’t refuse. He arranged the cut ingredients on a plate and placed them on the table.

The red, oily hot pot base bubbled in the pot, and the air filled with a hot, spicy, and numbing aroma that tickled one’s nose, causing a series of sneezes. Little Black couldn’t stand the spicy smell and ran into Chi Xiasheng’s bedroom to hide.

Li Ge took a couple of sips of alcohol before he started talking. “Little Chi, I had originally negotiated two jobs for you, but…”

Although he only said half of it, Chi Xiasheng knew what he meant.

Chi Xiasheng’s negative image was too deeply ingrained in people’s minds. It would take a while to completely change their impression. The variety show was originally meant to help whitewash his image, but who would have thought that the show would be canceled before the first segment was even finished filming?

“But it’s better that you can’t film. That director is also a profit-driven villain, always trying to use you to make Su Chimian look good. I think his retribution came at the perfect time! It would be best if he was sentenced to a few decades. Let’s see how he can stir up trouble then!”

Once Li Ge had a drink, he became talkative, blurting out things he should and shouldn’t say.

“And the Su family, they clearly know you’re having a hard time in the industry, yet they’re deliberately suppressing you…”

Li Ge’s words came to an abrupt halt. The alcohol had sobered him up a bit, and he quickly looked up at Chi Xiasheng in a panic.

Chi Xiasheng wasn’t surprised at all. He curled his lip in a sarcastic smile. “I was wondering. Even with so much negative press, I shouldn’t have zero job offers.”

After all, in this day and age, it’s not about being hated, it’s about not having any buzz. Being “infamously popular” still brought in traffic.

Because he had to raise a puppy, Chi Xiasheng wanted to earn more money and had asked Li Ge to keep an eye out for job opportunities. But after so long, there hadn’t been a single ripple. As expected, the shadow of the Su family was indeed behind it.

“Sigh, I don’t know what these people are thinking. It’s one thing not to help their own son, but to deliberately suppress him…”

Li Ge took another sip of alcohol, genuinely feeling that the hearts of the Su family were completely black.

Chi Xiasheng, however, showed no expression, calmly eating the blanched vegetables from the hot pot. He knew the Su family too well. Since he had fallen out with Mother Su that day, the rest of the family must have also learned of his attitude and were surely furious.

Chi Xiasheng even thought that the Su family probably still believed he was just throwing a tantrum, jealous of their doting on Su Chimian, and was using leaving home as a way to act out. This straightforward method of suppression would not only let him know that they wouldn’t easily change their minds, but also make him retreat and return to the Su family to admit his mistake.

As expected, halfway through his meal, Su Jinfeng’s call came.

The very first thing his “brother” said was, “Chi Xiasheng, have you thought things through?”

Chi Xiasheng slowly swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking unhurriedly. “Of course.”

A contemptuous smile appeared on Su Jinfeng’s face. It seemed his father was right. After leaving Chi Xiasheng to fend for himself for a while, he would naturally correct his mistakes once he had nowhere else to turn.

“That’s good. But your attitude towards Mianmian on the show was too terrible. You must apologize to him when you come home. You don’t know how upset he was because of this.”

Thinking of the malicious comments about his brother online, Su Jinfeng’s dissatisfaction with Chi Xiasheng grew. This person had constantly been at odds with Mianmian on the show. Watching the livestream, Su Jinfeng had wanted to jump in and curse him out.

Listening to Su Jinfeng’s reprimand, Chi Xiasheng let out a soft “tsk.”

“I have thought things through. I should have blocked your number when I left. Then you wouldn’t be blabbering in my ear late at night, not only dirtying my ears but also ruining my good mood for the day!”

The smug smile on Su Jinfeng’s face hadn’t yet faded. Hearing Chi Xiasheng’s words, his expression twisted.

Anger surged from his chest to his brain, making his voice louder. “Chi Xiasheng, do you know what you’re saying?”

Chi Xiasheng nodded. “Of course I do. Su Chimian’s image collapsed so badly on the show this time. Did he go home crying?”

It was just as Chi Xiasheng had thought. After returning home, Su Chimian had undoubtedly cried and complained to the Su family. He had gone on the show thinking he could crush Chi Xiasheng, but he never expected so many accidents. Not only was Chi Xiasheng unaffected, but he himself had lost a lot of fans.

As the older brother who had protected Su Chimian since they were young, Su Jinfeng naturally couldn’t swallow this insult. That very day, he had contacted his assistant and told him to spread the word in the industry: anyone who dared to hire Chi Xiasheng would be making an enemy of the Su family.

The Su family was a century-old family with a profound history and numerous branches, involved in various industries. Su Jinfeng’s branch was in the construction industry, practically monopolizing the entire country’s construction sector. In addition, the Su family had branches in medicine, electronics, real estate, and so on. Once Su Jinfeng gave the word, the other branches of the Su family quickly responded, all in a bid to curry favor with his family, which was the most prominent and prosperous branch at the moment.

This made Su Jinfeng feel a little better. He was just waiting for Chi Xiasheng to be unable to hold on any longer and come back to the Su family to apologize.

But after waiting for nearly half a month, he still hadn’t received a call from Chi Xiasheng asking for forgiveness.

Su Jinfeng knew that Chi Xiasheng had left the Su family penniless. By cutting off his financial resources, he had guessed that he would only be able to last a week at most. But he never expected him to have such backbone and hold out for so long, so long that Su Jinfeng had lost his patience and had to call him.

“Chi Xiasheng, how long do you think you can last? Without the Su family, you are nothing!”

From their very first meeting, Su Jinfeng hadn’t particularly liked this brother of his. He was cold and wouldn’t yield at all, a stark contrast to the soft, pliable brother he had in his mind. Su Jinfeng couldn’t accept such a cold-faced brother, so his heart had leaned towards Su Chimian.

Li Ge, who was sitting nearby, heard Su Jinfeng’s threat on the phone and let out a long sigh. They were brothers, how could his heart be so biased?

“Do whatever you want. The Su family claims to be a century-old family, but it seems their tolerance is only as big as the eye of a needle. I wish you an early bankruptcy.”

After saying that, Chi Xiasheng decisively hung up and blocked Su Jinfeng’s number. He really didn’t want to hear his disgusting voice anymore.

Li Ge couldn’t help but want to applaud Chi Xiasheng. If he were Su Jinfeng, he would probably be exploding with anger.

And Su Jinfeng was indeed furious. The veins on his forehead throbbed, and he almost threw the phone he was clutching. It was only when Mother Su came up with a bowl of chicken soup and massaged his head that he felt a little better.

“Mom, he won’t come back.”

Standing behind Su Jinfeng, the gentle expression on Mother Su’s face completely faded. She let out a cold “hmm.”

“If he doesn’t want to come back, then so be it. If he does, he’ll just make Mianmian unhappy. Jinfeng, you must remember, Mianmian will always be your brother.”

Since he was a child, Su Jinfeng had been reminded of this by his mother countless times. This time, he also nodded, indicating that he remembered.

“As for Chi Xiasheng, without power or influence, he won’t be able to make any waves in the entertainment industry. As long as he doesn’t get in Mianmian’s way, it’s fine.”