After Becoming a Merman, I Became a Heartthrob 17

Chapter 17: Father’s Reprimand

The little black dog lay quietly in the grass, its small chest rising and falling very faintly.

Seeing this, Qiao Ning breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it’s not dead, he thought.

His agent pulled him away. “Why are you bothering with this dead dog? It’s so dirty. Let’s go. I don’t believe we can’t get that endorsement from Chi Xiasheng this time!”

At her words, Qiao Ning also nodded and strode away.

Not far from them, Chi Xiasheng was also walking over. He glanced with a puzzled expression at the spot where the two had been standing.

But when he looked, his eyes instantly widened.

“Little Black?!”

Little Black, who had been missing for a day, was lying silently in the grass by the roadside.

Chi Xiasheng quickly picked up Little Black from the ground and hurriedly checked him for any injuries. The wound on Little Black’s abdomen from the lightning strike had taken nearly a month to heal. This time, however, there were no visible external injuries, but Little Black’s left leg seemed to have been stepped on and was slightly twisted.

Chi Xiasheng got into Li Ge’s car and found a nearby pet hospital to have Little Black examined and treated.

Fortunately, after the examination, the only injury Little Black had was on his leg. The doctor fixed it in place and gave him a list of various precautions. Only then did Chi Xiasheng leave with Little Black in his arms.

Li Ge sat in the driver’s seat, taking a couple of puffs from his cigarette. Even though Little Black had been found, he was in no mood to congratulate Chi Xiasheng. He was too worried and had no mind to care about a small dog.

“Our company is small, and we can’t compete with a power like the Su family. We probably can’t even afford to suppress the online buzz.”

Chi Xiasheng’s brow furrowed slightly, and a hint of worry also crept into his heart.

He had signed with this company because he liked its atmosphere. Although the boss was a real estate tycoon who had transitioned into the entertainment industry, he was a fair person. The company was small and could offer few resources, but Chi Xiasheng was satisfied. However, in the current situation, the disadvantages of a small company were glaringly obvious.

“I’ll handle it myself.”

Hearing this, Li Ge ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “How are you going to handle it? Are you planning to go to the Su family’s house?”

Chi Xiasheng actually had this thought. The Su family had pushed him to this point, wasn’t it because they wanted him to go back and reflect on his mistakes?

After returning home and thinking it over, Chi Xiasheng still called that person.

He had originally saved the contact as “Dad,” but after leaving the Su family, he had changed it back to his real name—Su Chengjian.

Su Chengjian had not been in Hai City for some time and was unaware that Chi Xiasheng had left the Su family. Mother Su, being a considerate and gentle person, would not have bothered him with such matters.

His life was centered on his career. He had been on business trips frequently in recent years, expanding his business empire to even the smallest cities.

When he received Chi Xiasheng’s call, Su Chengjian was in the middle of discussing his trip to the next city with someone.

“Hello? Xiaosheng, if you’re short on money, ask your older brother to send you some.”

Hearing this, Chi Xiasheng knew that he was probably unaware of the fact that he and the Su family were on the verge of a complete fallout.

“Your eldest son is using the Su family’s name to blacklist me. Do you know about this?”

It was already a feat for Su Chengjian to find time in his busy schedule to answer the phone. Hearing what Su Jinfeng had done, the veins on his temples throbbed with a headache.

“I see. That boy Jinfeng, all he does is cause trouble. He’s not half as well-behaved and sensible as Mianmian.”

With that, Su Chengjian hung up, not waiting for Chi Xiasheng’s explanation, and went back to his work.

Chi Xiasheng knew the Su family well enough. Su Chengjian was a typical parent who liked to smooth things over. He wasn’t particularly invested in his family and was always buried in work. Even if he knew what Su Jinfeng had done, he would probably just give him a warning. He wouldn’t completely side with Chi Xiasheng, but he wouldn’t let Su Jinfeng off the hook either.

Su Chengjian was only gentle with Su Chimian. Every time he came back from a business trip, he would always buy him all sorts of small gifts, thoughtful and meticulous.

Chi Xiasheng had even once fantasized that if he did a little better, perhaps Su Chengjian would also share some of that gentle affection with him.

Chi Xiasheng had never felt any real affection in the Su family. Even the gentle Mother Su treated him with a layer of distance, only showing a detached warmth. It was Su Chengjian’s attitude towards Su Chimian that made Chi Xiasheng feel that was what a father should be like. Doting and warm, every gift he bought was carefully selected, completely placing Su Chimian at the center of his heart.

But towards Chi Xiasheng and Su Jinfeng, Su Chengjian was a stern and rigid figure, the most frequent question he asked being whether they had enough money.

After Chi Xiasheng found out that he had also hidden the truth about them being switched at birth, his once hopeful and eager heart had grown cold, and he no longer held any expectations for him.

As expected, after about ten minutes, Su Chengjian called back, his tone cold and stern. “What’s wrong with you, have you fallen out with Mianmian? Are you planning to disown him as your brother?”

After understanding the whole situation, Su Chengjian’s tone was unconsciously tinged with a reprimand.

Chi Xiasheng’s heart, which had long since grown hard, unexpectedly twinged with pain amidst the numbness.

“Mr… Su, I think my meaning is very clear. I am not on the same path as the Su family, and I hope the Su family will stop bothering me. I just want to live my own life quietly.”

Su Chengjian snorted coldly. “You’re thinking like a child, too naive! You can reflect on your mistakes outside for now. We’ll talk when I get back in a few days.”

With that, Chi Xiasheng looked at the disconnected call, having already anticipated this outcome.

However, Su Chengjian was a relatively upright person and disdained such underhanded methods of suppression. After sternly reprimanding Su Jinfeng, he lifted the blacklist on Chi Xiasheng and told Su Jinfeng not to interfere in the matter between him and Su Chimian anymore, saying he would handle it when he returned.

After being scolded by his father, Su Jinfeng couldn’t help but curse a few times. “Chi Xiasheng actually thought to ask Father for help. He’s really something!”

Su Chimian put down his teacup in surprise and blinked. “What did Dad say?”

Su Jinfeng managed to hold back his urge to curse in front of his brother and smiled, ruffling his hair. “It’s nothing. Father is definitely on your side. He said he’ll be back after he’s done with his work. You just have to wait.”

Su Chimian naturally knew how good Su Chengjian was to him. Hearing that he was coming back, he felt a little happy and quickly gave a small “hmm.”

“But I don’t know how things online got so out of hand. Do you think Brother Chi Xiasheng will really lose this endorsement?”

That’s right, Su Chimian hadn’t posted the news of Chi Xiasheng’s endorsement with Shengshi online. He had only told Qiao Ning. The subsequent online drama was basically a war started by Qiao Ning out of resentment.

“Don’t worry about it. Father said not to interfere. If Chi Xiasheng loses the endorsement on his own, who can he blame? Who told him to have so much negative press…”

Speaking of negative press, Su Jinfeng’s brow twitched, and he quickly stopped himself. After all, that incident had nothing to do with Chi Xiasheng…

“Let’s just watch from the sidelines. Let him be arrogant. Little Mian, you should go to bed. Don’t you have an interview tomorrow?”

Su Chimian obediently agreed and went to bed.

But as soon as he returned to his bedroom, he opened his phone to check the situation online.

After seeing Qiao Ning’s post and glancing at the comments below, Su Chimian was finally at ease.

Qiao Ning was an idol actor, and his fans were very powerful. The moment they saw his post, they immediately rushed over. He didn’t mince his words, directly announcing that he could no longer cooperate with Shengshi Jewelry due to health reasons and would no longer be the spokesperson for the youth series gemstone bracelet.

The fans all felt sorry for Qiao Ning, thinking it was a huge pity to miss this opportunity.

[No, brother, please reconsider! A Shengshi endorsement is very valuable!]
[It’s okay, I support you. I’ll stand by you no matter what you decide!]

Qiao Ning selectively replied to a few comments. Under a comment from a fan named “Little Meow Doesn’t Eat Fish,” he replied:

[There’s nothing I can do. But I believe that with Chi Xiasheng as the spokesperson, the sales will definitely be higher.]

Soon, this “unintentional” comment was deleted by Qiao Ning.

Before, the news of Chi Xiasheng’s collaboration with Shengshi Jewelry was just a piece of online gossip, something people only saw as a rumor. But this comment from Qiao Ning confirmed it.

Qiao Ning’s fans, who had been feeling sorry for him for losing the opportunity to work with Shengshi, immediately turned their attacks on Chi Xiasheng after hearing what he said.

[I get it now. Qiao Qiao wanted to end the collaboration because of Chi Xiasheng’s endorsement! After all, Qiao Qiao’s fame is much greater than Chi Xiasheng’s, yet he’s only endorsing the youth series, while Chi Xiasheng, who has no representative work, gets to endorse a high-end product?]
[I’m so angry, ahhh, why won’t Chi Xiasheng just get lost!]
[Qiao Qiao is so cool, not putting up with Shengshi and Chi Xiasheng!]

From cursing Chi Xiasheng to cursing Shengshi, the buzz continued to rise, attracting many curious netizens to watch the show.

Under many of the comments cursing Shengshi, many netizens, not wanting to miss out on the drama, even pushed the comments to the top and tagged Shengshi Group, telling them to come and see.

Ordinary netizens didn’t care much about who endorsed what product, but some fans who were active in the industry were very sharp and immediately started supporting Qiao Ning’s fans. After all, if Chi Xiasheng was out of the picture, the endorsement might just fall into their own idol’s lap, right?

So, the buzz was repeatedly pushed up, finally making it to the bottom of a trending topic.

At night, while everyone was busy commenting and watching the drama, Shengshi Group finally showed up and gave a reply.