Chapter 115 : Chapter 115

Chapter 115: “Long Aotian! We must have Long Aotian!!”

Chu Zu opened his eyes, and all the gazes in the room fell on him at once.

It was a typical conference room, with blindingly bright lights.

He was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his lean forearms.

The Patek Philippe on his wrist showed the time was three o'clock.

The night wind rushed into the high-rise office building, but it couldn't disperse the tension in the room.

This body was in a state of high-intensity work, possibly having pulled all-nighters for several days.

If it weren't for the body's physical fitness, Chu Zu could have imagined himself dying on the spot.

Physical fitness was one thing, but his vision was still a little blurry.

It took a few seconds for him to see the room clearly.

The white office table was surrounded by people on both sides, while he sat in the main seat.

His phone vibrated, making the table ding non-stop.

A laptop with its back facing Chu Zu was playing a video.

The screen was invisible, but a young man’s voice, full of sarcasm, came from the speaker.

“I haven't been an idol for so long, and you're still bringing up the past? Have I made too few movies or won too few awards over the years?”

“My love life is none of your damn business.”

“Since you have so much time on your hands, why don't you have Wanshu Zu manage the other artists who are messing around? Didn't you just say that so-and-so was sleeping around for resources?”

“Me sleeping around… ha, hilarious. I have to report it to you guys if I do, is that it? You're crazy.”

Chu Zu had just finished resting with the system and immediately felt tired again upon being put back in.

All kinds of noises and the pressure in the room piled up, and under the influence of the body, a feeling of irritation subconsciously leaked out.

He pinched the bridge of his nose impatiently.

The owner of the laptop immediately pressed pause, swallowing while observing Chu Zu's reaction.

The system asked in a low voice: “Are you okay, host?”

“I'm fine.”

Chu Zu simply turned on his phone’s do not disturb mode.

“Let's go. Load the original plot. Let me see what's wrong this time.”

The little yellow chicken nodded.

“Target novel, Death by Entertainment, transmission complete.”

“To save time, the plot will be imported in a combination of text and images. Please be prepared, host.”

“Loading original plot...”

Death by Entertainment tells the story of three young people working hard in the entertainment industry.

Chu Zu’s role this time was Wanshu Zu, the founder of Lishou Entertainment and the company’s senior manager.

Two of the three protagonists were signed under him.

Shen Weidi was one of the protagonists.

He was 25 this year, the nephew of a partner at Wanshu Zu’s company, and he demanded to enter the entertainment industry during college, directly dropping out for it.

Shen Weidi was extraordinarily handsome—or rather, ridiculously good-looking.

After participating in an idol survival show, he became a phenomenal hit, shining brightly on stage.

He became incredibly popular in just a few years, becoming another cash cow for Lishou Entertainment.

Lishou Entertainment was a typical film and television resource-based company.

Naturally, while Shen Weidi's popularity was high, the company quickly pushed for his career change, picking out several films for him.

Shen Weidi had no acting skills to speak of, but he was so good-looking.

Coupled with the director's solid skills and the fact that he was paired with veteran actors, the company managed to get him a few gold-inlaid trophies.

If he could have just followed the company's arrangements, he would have become "Teacher Shen" in the entertainment industry in a few years.

But Shen Weidi happened to have a terrible temper.

He had been spoiled since childhood.

With the company's protection and the fans' praises of "as long as he has his face, the world is his," everything had been smooth sailing.

And then he caused a huge disaster.

With the development of the industry, more and more entertainment companies had their eyes on the blue ocean of live streaming.

Lishou Entertainment was no exception.

It held the full contracts of its artists, and live streaming contracts were among them.

Shen Weidi was the most unsuitable artist for live streaming, bar none, but to cooperate with the new drama's promotion, he still showed up in front of the camera with the cast.

Just as there were fans who doted on him, there were also audiences who didn't buy into his act and believed his virtue didn't match his position.

The special thing about live streaming was that comments were broadcast in real-time and couldn't be controlled.

Shen Weidi saw the mockery directed at him with a sharp eye and, ignoring the staff's expressions, directly fired back.

After going back and forth, they started a full-blown argument.

If Shen Weidi had only argued with the audience about his own problems, the company could have still covered for him.

After all, he had said plenty of nonsense over the years.

But Shen Weidi's mouth was like a black hole; he would say anything.

He blurted out, "so-and-so is sleeping around for resources."

The audience immediately exploded.

Netizens who weren't watching the live stream heard the news and rushed over.

The live stream was quickly suspended, and all the pressure was now on Lishou Entertainment.

“Just a few days ago, news broke online about a famous director's 'unspoken rules'.”

The system said, “The famous director in the topic was a casting director at the time. He was originally being investigated for tax evasion, but they found a list of 'unspoken rules' from over the years on his computer, along with many revealing photos.”

“Someone released a portion of the list, which included one of Lishou Entertainment's artists, Qiao Tian.”

The system said, "She is also one of the protagonists, and she's also signed under Wanshu Zu."

“Netizens were all guessing if Lishou Entertainment's resources were all obtained through artists selling themselves.”

Chu Zu finished accepting the plot and listened to the system's summary of the current developments.

Chu Zu: “You can be more direct. They're all guessing if I'm a pimp.”

“You are not!”

The little yellow chicken said, “You signed them but didn't manage them much. You were busy with other company matters, and both Shen Weidi and Qiao Tian were handed over to other managers!”

“After Qiao Tian's matter was exposed, you had been working overtime to investigate and handle it. The results weren't even out yet, and Shen Weidi came and blew up the dung pit with his traffic!”

The metaphor of blowing up a dung pit was quite apt.

Although it was a bit crude, it did show the power of the event.

According to the original plot, the company ultimately decided to completely abandon Qiao Tian and no longer pursue whether the unspoken rules actually existed.

If Shen Weidi said they did, then they did.

Qiao Tian was labeled as a personal case, blacklisted with the reputation of unspoken rules.

Then, Shen Weidi was given the trending topic of "the industry bigmouth" for marketing, making him reveal some true and false gossip.

This easily extricated Lishou Entertainment from the unspoken rules incident.

“Then Qiao Tian starts all over again, and Shen Weidi gradually realizes how the entertainment industry works. After experiencing confusion and repentance, he finds himself again…”

The little yellow chicken said, “There's another protagonist in the live stream incident. He was the live stream host, a former social media influencer. His career was basically ruined after this incident, and he later became Qiao Tian’s manager.”

Chu Zu thought for a while: “So I'm being cursed because this public relations response was very unethical?”

“No.”

The little yellow chicken said, “You're about to have a mental breakdown and faint. When you wake up, the people below you have already handled the whole thing.”

Chu Zu: “?”

It flipped through the original text.

“But you are too much of a side character. You never appeared in a formal setting. Too many people were involved in handling this matter, and some characters didn't even have names. Readers couldn't curse them all one by one, so they just grabbed you to curse at.”

Chu Zu: “…I knew this heart palpitation felt familiar. It would be a miracle not to die suddenly. How am I even still awake?”

The system couldn't stand to hear the words "suddenly die" and quickly displayed a selection of reader comments in front of Chu Zu.

“Here’s a joke: Wanshu Zu, the best manager in the country, bar none. He’s brought up a legendary Movie King and became a partner with him to start a company… The author would seize any chance to show me how awesome he is, and then he does this kind of low-class, shoddy stuff.”

“Author, are you okay? I can understand why Qiao-mei would take revenge on Shen Dog after her rise, since that dog mouth of his is indeed so vile. I can even accept her reconciling and having dumplings with him after Shen Dog truly repents. But why did she get teary-eyed and thank Wanshu Zu after winning the Best Actress award?”

“Is the author sick? What is Qiao-mei thanking Wanshu Zu for? Thanking him for his shamelessness? Or thanking him for deliberately creating setbacks to temper the young people?”

“I flipped back and forth and couldn't find where Wanshu Zu was. He's like a ghost, you can't see him, but his name always pops up whenever something messed up happens.”

“This must be the author's alt account, right? Didn't it even specifically say it was a collective decision by the other Lishou Entertainment executives? Decision my ass. What a brain-dead move.”

Chu Zu: “What do you mean, ‘his name always pops up whenever something messed up happens’… Is there more trouble down the line?”

“A lot more.”

The system said honestly, “But you won't be involved in any of it. Either you'll be out of the country on business, or you'll have collapsed. Your Movie King partner trusts you completely, and you and he are basically tied together, working non-stop.”

Chu Zu: “…I think this mission is very complex.”

The little yellow chicken became wary: “What do you mean, host?! Is the superior being malicious again!”

Chu Zu shook his head.

The superior said this job was like a vacation, and it was true.

He didn't do anything that deserved a curse.

He just simply didn't do anything, which attracted all the blame.

“First, if I don't do the work of a manager, there's no reason to keep people under my name. It's only right to be cursed for dereliction of duty.”

“Second, I don't appear in public and don't say what I'm busy with. A high status naturally brings high expectations from readers. As Spider-Man's uncle said, with great power comes great responsibility. The meaning is similar. But I'm completely useless.”

In conclusion, Chu Zu summarized, “I do think I deserve to be cursed.”

The system thought for a while and puffed out its chest: “Host, then let's slack off this time. I can definitely write a report that will leave the superior speechless!”

Chu Zu: “Struggling is also a form of slacking off.”

System: “?”

“The author wrote it himself: Wanshu Zu is the best manager in the country, bar none. If he can't even manage the people under him, what kind of 'best manager' is he?”

Chu Zu flipped through the plot summary again.

“Without changing the main plot, there should be setbacks, but they shouldn't be forced hardships. If Qiao Tian wants to thank me, there has to be a tangible reason for her to thank me.”

“Besides, I've never been a manager before. I'm quite curious.”

As soon as the little yellow chicken heard this, it knew the host was very motivated.

After experiencing several previous complex ailments, the problem in Death by Entertainment was actually quite "proactive."

“Whatever you decide!”

The system instructed.

“But don't get too tired.”

When it was told this was a vacation, the little yellow chicken had already picked out a whole set of home entertainment equipment in the store and even found a bunch of movie lists online, planning to buy DVD discs to watch with the host.

“I think we should learn from Guanfu-laoshi. Work when it's time to work, and relax when it's time to relax,” the system said.

Chu Zu also knew the system had added many things to its shopping cart.

He hadn't paid for it yet, planning to wait for the little yellow chicken to bring it up first and then satisfy its desire to hear the word "buy."

The little yellow chicken was really easy to please.

“Don't worry, I'll figure it out,” Chu Zu said.

“And don't I 'faint easily whenever something messed up happens'? I can faint through the entire event and have time to rest.”

The system almost blurted out, "Yay."

“Am I about to faint? How much longer?”

The system checked: “About five minutes. Be careful not to hit your head when you fall.”

Chu Zu said okay and then had the little yellow chicken pull up the settings related to him and Qiao Tian.

The system did as it was told, puzzled: “Qiao Tian being blacklisted is the premise of the entire story. By the time you wake up, the matter will have already ended... Do you want to fix something?”

Qiao Tian was one of the first artists signed by Wanshu Zu and his partner after they founded the company.

At that time, she was still in college, majoring in a science and engineering field.

Qiao Tian wanted to give herself another option, so she insisted on completing her degree and successfully obtained her graduation and bachelor's certificates before officially starting her job after graduating from college.

The "unspoken rules" incident happened right after she graduated.

The plot didn't explain whether she was really subjected to the unspoken rules.

The whole thing was suppressed by Lishou Entertainment, and she was unwilling to bring up what happened at that time.

“I've had enough time to rest before. I'll be idle when I faint later, so I might as well do some work.”

Chu Zu said, “We'll go back and do what a manager should do and solve everything that can be solved. At the very least, we have to make sure the girl didn't really get into an accident. We'll deal with the rest later.”

He knew how to stir up the little yellow chicken's enthusiasm and added: “And we can also simulate the work content after we switch jobs.”

As expected, upon hearing "switch jobs," the little yellow chicken immediately got excited.

Its beady eyes were shining, and it asked in a rush: "Simulate what? Simulate what?"

“Becoming the best manager in the country—how is that not a simulation of 'Dragon-Slaying King correction'?”

The system’s mouth formed an "O."

The limitations of “Side Character Correction” had always been great.

Basically, no side character could become a "Dragon-Slaying King" in an objective sense.

First, with the protagonist around, it wasn't a side character's turn to have a good time.

Second, the endings of side characters were basically set in stone.

If the plot remained unchanged, it was difficult to make a change.

But Death by Entertainment was different.

A large part of the reason Wanshu Zu was cursed was that his character setting was built so high, yet he wasn't involved in the main plot, and it was unclear what he was so busy with.

Doing the job of a manager well, reaching the peak of his career, and becoming a winner in life—this was one of the ways to solve this mission!

The little yellow chicken was happy.

It fluttered its wings and circled the host: "Dragon-Slaying King! We must have a Dragon-Slaying King!!"

The little yellow chicken shouted loudly, knowing this would be recorded in the system log—it wanted the superior to see it and have a sense of urgency!

Chu Zu remained silent and added a chicken feather care set to his shopping cart.

The system fluttered so much that chicken feathers flew everywhere, and a few of them almost floated into his mouth.

The phone kept lighting up and going dark.

The entire room was filled with communication.

The staff didn't dare to answer calls under such high pressure, so they hunched over and temporarily left the suffocating space.

When the door opened and closed, the soft, low conversations in the hallway were faintly discernible.

The internet was completely out of control now.

Every platform was like a frying pan.

Marketing accounts and other people with malicious intent constantly threw in shocking news, causing it to boil and boil again.

The oil splashed onto sparks, threatening to create a chain of explosions at any moment.

Li Yichi sat at the long table, his head almost touching the screen, his hands stuck to the keyboard.

His whole body was stiff and he didn't dare to move.

He was Qiao Tian's publicity manager.

He had taken over from Wanshu Zu after Qiao Tian graduated and had been with her for a few years.

At first, he paid great attention to this girl, since she was signed by Wanshu Zu himself.

When Wanshu Zu handed her over, he mentioned that he was busy with many things and couldn't spare the energy.

He said that for important decisions and overall arrangements, they should schedule a time to talk to him.

Wanshu Zu also said that Qiao Tian was a very easy artist to manage.

She had talent and was obedient.

As long as the general direction wasn't wrong, there wouldn't be any problems.

At that time, Lishou Entertainment hadn't fully gotten on track yet.

It relied on Wanshu Zu's previously accumulated connections to gradually expand its resources.

The titles of "famous manager" and "talented Movie King" sounded good, but they couldn't stand up to the former company trying to trip them up.

And other entertainment companies didn't want their piece of the cake to be divided.

Even if they didn't actively resist, a little attitude was enough to keep him busy.

When Lishou Entertainment got on track, Wanshu Zu became even busier.

At first, Li Yichi had hoped to climb his way up by using his relationship with Qiao Tian to get close to Wanshu Zu.

A publicity manager was just one of the many managers an artist had.

He wanted to become a full-time manager, just like Wanshu Zu, to gain decision-making power over the artists and continue to climb higher.

After a while, Li Yichi gradually found that.

Qiao Tian was an artist who was completely unable to "cause trouble."

Wanshu Zu's evaluation of her was completely correct.

She had talent and could handle any resource given to her, and she was very obedient—she was just too obedient.

Entertainment companies wanted their artists to be obedient, but managers didn't want artists who just waited for food to be served and had no ambition at all.

If you didn't "complain" to the boss, how could you snatch resources from others?

Li Yichi was not only responsible for Qiao Tian, a "fifth-tier actress."

After working for a few years, his mind was no longer on her.

When the unspoken rules incident first broke out, Li Yichi should have handled it immediately.

But he didn't take it seriously at the time and even felt a little gloating, thinking this was a chance to completely get rid of Qiao Tian.

There were plenty of vacancies in other artist teams in the company, and every one of them could make more money than Qiao Tian.

Why wouldn't he take this opportunity to get rid of a burden?

Li Yichi deliberately missed the golden hour for public relations.

He told Qiao Tian to stay at home and not go anywhere, refused interviews with reporters, and didn't even ask if the unspoken rules were true.

Li Yichi vaguely remembered that around the time of the unspoken rules incident, he did have Qiao Tian attend some dinner party.

It was just socializing.

Qiao Tian was obedient, so even if she didn't want to, she wouldn't refuse.

But he definitely didn't receive any benefits.

Even if Wanshu Zu were to investigate, he could get himself out of it.

But the way things had developed now... was far beyond Li Yichi's expectations.

He looked at the shocking reports on the screen, cold sweat pouring out.

As the night wind blew, he felt a bone-chilling cold.

(Lishou Entertainment’s Crown Prince Exposes Company’s Unspoken Rules Secrets?)

Every single word was enough for Wanshu Zu to tear him to pieces.

Shen Weidi's stinky mouth had no filter.

He had no idea what the situation was, yet he had the identity of Lishou Entertainment's CEO's nephew!

Even if Wanshu Zu didn't care about Qiao Tian, he would never allow Shen Weidi to get involved.

This was his partner's biological nephew!

Li Yichi only hoped that Wanshu Zu wouldn't notice him now.

He had to quickly come up with an excuse for himself...

This entire matter had to be blamed on Qiao Tian.

The sound of the door opening and closing rang out a few more times.

The man in the main seat suddenly spoke: “Where is Shen Weidi?”

Wanshu Zu had been in the business for many years.

He was always calm and reserved, a typical business elite who would make all decisions with the fewest and most concise words.

Logically, a manager's career required a sense of warmth, and a friendly smile would make people like them, but Wanshu Zu was not that type.

He was tall, and regular exercise ensured his physique.

His skin was healthy and on the paler side.

His black hair was often slicked back with hair wax, and paired with a classic three-piece suit, he was meticulously groomed.

An administrative staff member once joked privately that the boss didn't look like he belonged in the entertainment industry; he could give a speech at the United Nations at any time.

The entertainment industry was not short of handsome men and beautiful women.

Although there were no explicit requirements for an actor's appearance on the surface, appearance standards had long become an unwritten rule.

Even when standing in a crowd of celebrities, Wanshu Zu still stood out.

According to the standards of people in the industry, his facial features were very distinctive.

His cheekbones were high, his nose bridge was high and straight, and his jawline was clear, all perfectly meeting the standards for being photogenic.

His eyes were also very distinctive.

His eye sockets, which were deeper than average, created a clear eye contour.

It was unknown if it was a pathological mutation, but in strong light, his eyes were always tinged with red.

The most important and most difficult hurdle for an artist was to be memorable at a glance, but Wanshu Zu could do this with ease.

If he were any other male celebrity, he probably would have a hard time accepting that his manager had a superior appearance.

They would often be seen together, whether at events or in interviews with entertainment reporters.

Wanshu Zu would bring pressure to his artists.

But Wanshu Zu's most successful artist—who was also his current partner—didn't need to care about this at all.

This was also where Wanshu Zu's personality came from.

The artists he mainly managed gave him their complete trust, and everything was only about professionalism.

As long as things were handled properly, it didn't matter if Wanshu Zu was furious all day long.

Li Yichi felt that he was no different from being furious right now...

He didn't show much emotion, but everyone in the room, just like him, was too scared to even breathe.

Wanshu Zu stood up.

He tapped his index finger's knuckle on the office table and asked again in a deep voice: “Where is Shen Weidi?”

Shen Weidi's publicity manager quickly spoke: "H-he's at home!"

“Tell him to get his ass over to the company and review every single dog bark he made tonight with the public relations team.”

Wanshu Zu's gaze swept over the messy crowd.

“Who can tell me, after Qiao Tian's name appeared in the news, what did he find out and what did he do?”

Li Yichi's face turned pale.

He forced himself to look up.

The moment he was caught by Wanshu Zu's gaze, Li Yichi felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head.

It was a very cold gaze, tinged with scarlet, sharp enough to be suffocating.

There was not only his usual semi-congealed indifference but also a certain unannounced anger.

Just one look, and Li Yichi immediately understood—he knew everything.

His little tricks couldn't hide from him.

“Boss…”

Li Yichi desperately tried to control the urge to curl up.

The mental draft he had urgently prepared, not even a single punctuation mark of it, could be said.

The only thing he could feel in his entire body was the pain of his chapped lips tearing.

“I don't know how you have the face to show up here.”

His voice was even colder. “A lawyer will contact you later to verify your relevant contractual and civil liabilities.”

“Now get out.”

Li Yichi's mind went blank.

He was also a manager and knew very well that if a manager's inaction caused an artist financial or reputational losses, the artist could sue the manager in a civil lawsuit for corresponding compensation.

He wasn't worried about what Qiao Tian could do.

Even if it went to court, it would just be a lawsuit, a test of who could outlast the other.

But Wanshu Zu's meaning was clear: the company would interfere.

With Lishou Entertainment's current size, it was too easy to crush a publicity manager...

“Boss!”

Li Yichi exclaimed, standing up, nearly knocking over the laptop on the table.

He didn't dare to stay, and he didn't dare to leave.

His heart was about to stop.

He desperately tried to find something to say.

Li Yichi knew Wanshu Zu's style.

If he was kicked out now, he would be completely finished.

Wanshu Zu's attitude was unmoving, still as cold as an iceberg.

He didn't even look at Li Yichi again, as if he had completely lost interest in his existence.

“I—”

Li Yichi still wanted to do something, but the exclamations of the others drowned out his voice.

“Boss—!”

A slight ripple formed on Wanshu Zu's nose.

He had been standing up straight, but now he was supporting his body with both hands.

Two strands of his meticulously groomed black hair fell down because of the shaking.

The people around him quickly came forward to help him up.

In the end, Wanshu Zu couldn't stand.

His tall figure leaned on someone else.

The Patek Philippe, a gift from his partner, hit the corner of the table, and the edge of the sapphire glass shattered.

The hands of the watch were still ticking.

The person who caught him was pressed down by his weight and let out a terrified cry: “What are you standing there for? Get him to the hospital! Hurry, get the boss to the hospital!!”

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