Chapter 18: Speaking Up for Chi Xiasheng
A few lonely stars twinkled faintly in the sky. In the east, there was only a pale sliver of a moon, so faint that one could easily miss it if not looking closely.
When Little Black woke up, his ears twitched alertly. Then, he heard a familiar, cool voice from his left front, and the tension in his body relaxed a little.
It seemed he had been saved by him again.
He had hidden his tracks, but he never expected to be found. That ugly thing had taken advantage of his weakness after his tribulation and launched a sneak attack… But the other hadn’t gotten away unscathed either. His injuries were even worse than his own. He would probably have to lie low for a while.
Little Black smelled the clean scent coming from Chi Xiasheng and felt as if his whole body was soaking in a hot spring, warm and comfortable.
Little Black had found it strange before. The other was clearly a human, yet he possessed such a powerful spiritual energy, even unconsciously emitting it, making it impossible for anyone to guard against. One could only be drawn towards him by this spiritual energy, praying for his favor.
Little Black’s rationality began to blur again. He opened his eyes and saw Chi Xiasheng frowning slightly, his cheeks flushed. Is he sick? he thought. Why does he look so unwell?
But Little Black didn’t want to expose himself. He had already given the other the job he needed as a thank you for saving his life, which might have already aroused his suspicion.
Chi Xiasheng also felt his breathing was a bit labored. On one hand, he was angry with Su Chengjian; on the other, he was probably running a fever again.
His breath was hot, and his lips were starting to crack. The craving for water made his grip on his phone unsteady. He struggled to get up, wanting to go to the bedroom.
Little Black only felt the powerful spiritual energy in the air begin to surge wildly, rapidly expanding and overflowing. In a few minutes, any animals with even a hint of intelligence would be lured over by this spiritual energy.
This was too dangerous. If it wasn’t controlled soon, this person would surely be torn to pieces by his own overwhelmingly powerful spiritual energy!
Such a powerful ability was completely mismatched with such a fragile body. The only end would be to explode and die.
Little Black couldn’t even figure out how, with such a powerful force, the other had managed to survive to adulthood.
Chi Xiasheng, who had thought his symptoms of dehydration and fever were gone, now felt the illness return with a vengeance. All his strength drained away, and before he could even reach the bedroom, he fainted in front of the door.
The thud startled Little Black. He ignored the bandage on his leg and hopped over to check on Chi Xiasheng.
The other had saved him twice. Little Black already trusted him, and with Chi Xiasheng’s spiritual energy rolling towards him in waves, Little Black was now completely focused on him. His emotions surged, and he wanted to save him at any cost.
So, enduring his internal injuries, he transformed back into his human form.
Sheng Sheng’s black fur transformed into a set of black clothes. His features were handsome, his eyes cool. He gently bent down and picked up the person on the floor. He was tall, and Chi Xiasheng was already thin. Being held in his arms, he looked even smaller, like a weak little kitten.
Seeing the faint fish scales on the other’s legs, Sheng Sheng’s dark eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly recovered and carried Chi Xiasheng to the bathroom.
He filled the bathtub with water. Sheng Sheng’s eyes were half-closed, his black hair falling over his eyelids. His movements were gentle, as if he were performing a solemn and important task, as he slowly placed Chi Xiasheng into the bathtub.
The moment he touched the water, Chi Xiasheng’s symptoms immediately eased. His cracked skin was moistened by the water, and the fish scales on his legs gradually receded, returning to smooth, delicate skin. The chaotic spiritual energy also slowly dissipated into the air as if it had never been there. Outside the window, many of the animals that had been drawn over quickly left in a daze.
Chi Xiasheng was only wearing a thin T-shirt. Soaked in water, it clung tightly to his chest, faintly revealing the two small, red buds underneath.
Sheng Sheng’s pupils constricted, and he looked away, a little uncomfortable.
Strange, has the spiritual energy not completely dispersed yet? Why is it still so hot?
The tips of Sheng Sheng’s ears were slightly pink, but his expression remained calm.
Because of Chi Xiasheng’s spiritual energy, Sheng Sheng had been unconsciously lured and controlled. The intense affection that had filled his chest was now receding like a tide, but it seemed to have left a mark on his heart, making it difficult for him to look directly at Chi Xiasheng for a moment.
It was only because he was weak now. If he were at his peak, he wouldn’t have been so easily tempted. And to think he had even transformed into his human form because of him. This was the first time in his hundreds of years of life that Sheng Sheng had acted so irrationally.
Seeing that Chi Xiasheng wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, Sheng Sheng had no choice but to go outside to get some air. The steam from the hot water in the bathroom made him feel as if it were still mixed with a lot of the other’s spiritual energy, making his head a little dizzy.
After going outside and getting some fresh air, Sheng Sheng’s mind cleared up a lot.
Chi Xiasheng’s phone rang on the living room sofa. The sound of the call drew Sheng Sheng’s attention. He was afraid it would wake Chi Xiasheng, so he walked over to turn it off. But he found that the call had already been disconnected, and the screen was on the Weibo page Chi Xiasheng had been browsing earlier.
The comments were in an uproar. Qiao Ning’s fans had already cursed Chi Xiasheng out.
Sheng Sheng had no desire to snoop on other people’s phones, but the unsightly insults made his expression grow colder and colder. After scrolling through all the comments, his face was as dark as water.
Qiao Ning?
Isn’t that the person who stepped on my leg today?
In truth, the small injury on his leg had mostly healed after Sheng Sheng had recovered a little. But Sheng Sheng was not a nice person. He always got his revenge and never let himself be taken advantage of.
Using Chi Xiasheng’s phone, he made a call. A confused “hello” came from the other end.
“What’s going on online? You haven’t handled the endorsement matter?”
The secretary on the other end was initially confused, but when she heard her boss’s magnetic voice coming from the phone, she took a sharp breath to steady herself.
“CEO Sheng, it’s like this. Qiao Ning’s fans are starting a war of words online. He’s a little famous, and since Mr. Chi’s reputation isn’t very good, the netizens feel that he is not qualified to endorse our subsidiary’s products.”
Sheng Sheng didn’t understand. The jewelry industry was just one of his company’s subsidiaries. He didn’t usually pay much attention to it, and he couldn’t understand why Chi Xiasheng wasn’t qualified.
Are those viewers blind? Isn’t Chi Xiasheng much better looking than that Qiao Ning?
Originally, Sheng Sheng had wanted to make Chi Xiasheng the spokesperson for Shengshi Group’s entire line of products. But when the advertising department manager heard this, he was so scared he almost fell out of his chair. A spokesperson for the entire line was no joke. They had to have qualifications, traffic, and tens of millions of fans to back them up! There were only a handful of stars in the entire country who could fit that bill! If Chi Xiasheng endorsed the entire line, it would be like truly roasting him over a fire!
So, they had retreated again and again, finally settling on a series from a subsidiary’s line. With Chi Xiasheng’s fame, this endorsement was still within a reasonable range and wouldn’t cause too much controversy.
Sheng Sheng was still not very satisfied. He probably didn’t even realize it himself, but in his heart, Chi Xiasheng was different.
“I don’t want to see this Qiao Ning person in the industry anymore. And Weibo… forget it, give me the account. I’ll post it myself.”
The secretary immediately agreed. “Yes, CEO Sheng.”
The secretary quickly contacted the subsidiary’s CEO Zhou and gave the official account of Shengshi Jewelry’s subsidiary to the big boss.
Not long after, Shengshi Jewelry’s subsidiary retweeted Qiao Ning’s post and replied:
[If you don’t want to endorse, then get lost. Chi Xiasheng is the most suitable person for Shengshi’s endorsement.]
Seeing this post, the subsidiary’s CEO Zhou was shocked. He quickly contacted the higher-ups, suggesting that they make the post more formal.
Sheng Sheng just replied with an “oh.”
CEO Zhou then contacted the PR department to present CEO Sheng’s meaning in the form of a public announcement. At least, not so blunt! This was basically giving Qiao Ning no face at all, even rubbing his face in the dirt.
CEO Zhou thought to himself, No wonder they all say CEO Sheng has a bad temper. His choice of words is really sharp.
Originally, CEO Zhou didn’t believe that CEO Sheng and Chi Xiasheng were having an affair, but now, he had to believe it.
After the announcement was re-edited and posted, the netizens online quickly gathered around.
[Damn, is Shengshi stepping up to protect Chi Xiasheng?]
[I have a theory, see if you guys agree. Could it be that some big shot in Shengshi Group is going to marry into the Su family? And the person chosen for the marriage is Chi Xiasheng?]
In a few seconds, this comment was pushed to the top.
The netizens also felt that Shengshi’s attitude towards Chi Xiasheng was too good. With their previous spokespersons, they had always been very business-like. But with Chi Xiasheng, the moment he was slandered, Shengshi immediately stepped up to help him fight back. Even the Su family wasn’t this quick to react. This was more protective than a real father!
If there wasn’t something going on between Chi Xiasheng and some big shot in Shengshi Group, it was completely inexplicable!
Chi Xiasheng was once again brought into the spotlight, his persona now being joked about by netizens as the “little prince of a wealthy family marriage alliance.”
[I don’t need a wedding gift, but can I witness the wedding of a wealthy family?]
[Hey, just tell me where to stand, I’ll be there.]
Under Shengshi’s operation, the previous negative news about Chi Xiasheng was also suppressed. The speed was so fast that Li Ge, who was still worrying in his office, was completely shocked.
Is this the power of a big company? It’s so reassuring.
On Qiao Ning’s side, after seeing the reply from Shengshi’s subsidiary, his heart skipped a beat. Their intention was to use a retreat as an advance, to show Shengshi their attitude and that they wouldn’t accept Chi Xiasheng having a higher-level endorsement than him. Qiao Ning had many fans, so with a little guidance, Shengshi might have reconsidered and replaced Chi Xiasheng.
But he never expected that while he had retreated, Shengshi had no intention of letting him come back. They had directly told him to get lost!
Before Qiao Ning could even be angry or surprised, he was informed of even more heartbreaking news.
Shengshi was going to completely blacklist him!
This time, Qiao Ning completely fainted, collapsing onto the floor and being rushed to the hospital by his agent for emergency treatment.
After waking up, he was dazed for a while before his agent, with a blank expression, informed him, “Qiao Ning, all your advertisements and endorsements have been canceled.”
Only then did Qiao Ning understand that Shengshi was not joking. This time, he was really finished.
