The Overbearing CEO Is Driven Mad by His Frail Canary 43

Chapter 43

The two men shook their heads vehemently, like bobbleheads, wondering how to resolve this situation.

“Xiao Lu, don’t worry, listen to my explanation…” Ji Yang tried to salvage their image in Lu Mingxi’s eyes.

But Lu Mingxi was like a frightened bird, his eyes filled with concern for Xia Wansheng and guilt for his own helplessness.

If he had known Xia Wansheng had paid such a high price for his current success, he wouldn’t have come, wasn’t this pushing his friend into a fire pit?!

“You…” Lu Mingxi, forgetting about songwriting, focused on saving his friend, “If you’re being forced, let’s leave now, we can make money by running our shop!”

“Things aren’t as bad as you think…” Xia Wansheng covered his head.

He didn’t have the energy to explain everything to Lu Mingxi again.

So he pushed Ji Yang, the instigator of this mess, forward, signaling him to explain.

Clean up your own mess.

“Although it seems unlikely, Xiao Xia really hasn’t gone astray, this isn’t some kind of quid pro quo.” Ji Yang said sincerely.

But he knew, no matter how he explained, he couldn’t easily change Lu Mingxi’s mind.

Just like his own initial reaction.

“There’s really no shady deal between you two?” Lu Mingxi asked in disbelief.

This didn’t seem right. If it was truly a normal relationship, why was Xia Wansheng being so secretive?

Lu Mingxi was skeptical, there must be something wrong, they were hiding it from him to protect his feelings.

“Why don’t we talk about the record company? You said they were very interested in you, we should seize this opportunity…”

Ji Yang quickly changed the subject, finally managing to slightly divert Lu Mingxi’s attention.

“Yes, we had agreed on everything, but the record company suddenly said they had some financial difficulties and the project might be postponed,” Lu Mingxi recalled,

“I thought this collaboration would fall through like the previous ones, but a few days later, they suddenly asked about my availability, they seemed to have changed their minds.”

Then he remembered a detail: “They said the project was about to be scrapped, they couldn’t find any investors and were about to give up, then they suddenly received funding from Yu Corp… wait a minute!”

A thought suddenly struck him, recalling a gossip article he had read about Xia Wansheng.

The person associated with Xia Wansheng was Yu Congyan!

Lu Mingxi jumped up from the plush sofa.

“So, the sudden funding was also because of you…”

Putting two and two together, Lu Mingxi felt like he had grasped the truth of the world.

There was no such thing as a free lunch, his sudden good fortune was all thanks to Xia Wansheng’s sacrifices.

And judging by this, his agent’s words earlier were probably just comforting lies.

Xia Wansheng must have paid a high price for all this, and yet he still remembered his friend back in their hometown.

Lu Mingxi was touched.

Xia Wansheng watched as Lu Mingxi, who was full of passion earlier, now shrunk into a corner, looking dejected.

Silence spoke volumes. Xia Wansheng glanced at Ji Yang, his eyes saying:

Even if we explain everything now, he won’t listen.

“Are you just going to refuse to believe anything I say now?” Xia Wansheng asked, rubbing his temples.

Lu Mingxi lowered his head dejectedly, “I understand everything, you don’t have to lie to me anymore. This isn’t simple, but don’t worry, I’ll work hard on my music, I won’t let down the resources and connections you worked so hard to gain…”

He couldn’t betray Xia Wansheng’s trust and expectations!

“Alright, Brother Yang, I don’t think he’ll believe us, let’s just start working.” Xia Wansheng sighed, thinking only work could distract him.

Ji Yang could only agree, busyness could quickly dispel overthinking.

So they drove back to the company and started working voluntarily.

After two consecutive all-nighters, Xia Wansheng, exhausted, said goodbye to the others and went home to sleep.

Lu Mingxi hesitated, then firmly shook his hand.

Xia Wansheng, seeing his unusual expression, knew he must have misunderstood something.

He wanted to explain, but looking at his friend’s dejected face, as if he was about to pull out a morality textbook…

“I’ll be going now, make sure he doesn’t pull another all-nighter.” Xia Wansheng said worriedly.

He felt like he was marching towards his execution instead of going home to sleep.

Downstairs, he instinctively hailed a ride-sharing car, only to find no drivers available during rush hour.

Looking at his dwindling battery, Xia Wansheng thought, it’s been a while since he rode a bike, a trip down memory lane.

He found a shared bike, and as he was about to scan the QR code, a message from an unknown number popped up on his phone. He walked aside to answer.

Hadn’t Yu Xuan just been scolded by the old man at the family dinner? He seemed to have recovered quickly.

Almost immediately after he replied, Yu Xuan called.

Yu Xuan’s voice was filled with anger: “You ignored my instructions about making Yu Congyan leave the family dinner early?!”

Then he asked suspiciously, “Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for him.”

If that were the case, things would become much more interesting.

He could temporarily forgive Xia Wansheng’s betrayal, the image of him heartbroken and begging for forgiveness would be quite entertaining.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredibly stupid?” Xia Wansheng perfectly imitated the original owner’s arrogant and impatient tone when replying to Yu Xuan.

“Don’t you know about the donation? Making Yu Congyan leave early, facing all those reporters and their exclusive interviews?! Unless you don’t want to inherit the Yu family anymore.” Xia Wansheng turned the tables.

Although this guy clearly wasn’t the kind of villain who could challenge the protagonist, considering his generosity, he was willing to offer a plausible excuse.

“You don’t think I’m that gullible, do you?” Yu Xuan said coldly,

“That document seemed fine at first glance, it was indeed Yu Congyan’s style, but knowing him, it must have been a forgery he personally created.”

“There was no reason for him to do that, unless someone needed to complete a task for me.”

Yu Xuan leaned back in his private booth at the bar, dismissing the waiter who was about to pour him a drink, “I believe I told you before, there’s a price to pay for deception.”

“Think what you want, I’ve done my part.” Xia Wansheng’s tone remained unchanged, trying to maintain his composure.

“Really? Then congratulations, our collaboration ends here.” Yu Xuan’s tone was filled with amusement,

“The compromising information and photos, everything you’ve done behind the scenes, will arrive in Yu Congyan’s inbox in three minutes, guess what he’ll do?”

“Everything you’ve done was to ruin him, you wouldn’t be betting on him covering for you, would you?” Yu Xuan mocked.

The person on the other end seemed to want to say something more, but the phone died and the call disconnected.

Xia Wansheng stood there in the cold wind, dumbfounded.

He had known the villain was unscrupulous, but this was the first time he had encountered such an unprofessional client.

It was like completing a project perfectly, only for the client to suddenly express dissatisfaction and demand compensation.

Outrageous!

And even more tragically, while he was on the phone, the last shared bike in the area was also taken.

On the empty street, the only comforting sight was the brightly lit sign of “Qingjiang Legal Aid.”

The intern on night duty at the law firm was wiping the leaves of the money tree at the entrance.

Suddenly, he saw a thinly dressed young man walk in, his complexion pale. The intern quickly approached him with concern: “Good evening, this is Qingjiang Legal Aid, are you in need of assistance?”

Being alone outside so late at night, he must have encountered some kind of emergency.

“My phone died, could I borrow a charger?” Xia Wansheng asked.

“Oh, one moment, I’m still new here, please have a seat, I’ll find a charger for you.” The intern said hurriedly.

Meanwhile, a notification flashed on Yu Congyan’s computer screen, indicating a new email.

After quickly scanning it, Yu Congyan frowned and threw it into the shredder.

Such clumsy tactics.

But then he thought they might use this to threaten Xia Wansheng. He felt uneasy and decided to call him.

After all, they hadn’t seen each other for a day and a half, and with this sudden development, Xia Wansheng might have received a threat as well.

“Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off, please try again later…”

The familiar electronic voice sounded, but Yu Congyan’s heart sank with every word.