Chapter 41: What Does It Matter

“Godmother, come pick me up, quick!”

Xu Lingjia hid in the shadows behind a few trees by the lawn. He was thankful that, apart from the lit-up white marble building of the clubhouse not far away, the streetlights here were dim and there were very few pedestrians. No one had seen the scene of him being kicked out of Zhong Yue’s car.

“Godmother is in a meeting. I just stepped out for some air. There’s another half of the meeting to go. Be sensible,” Ye Mei’s voice was a little tired. She then remembered something, “Weren’t you at a dinner with Zhong Yue? Why didn’t you have him drive you back like before?”

Xu Lingjia unconsciously bit his nails, betraying a hint of panic, “Godmother, I was filmed! I was filmed!”

Ye Mei found it amusing, “What was filmed? You and Zhong Yue were filmed going to dinner in the same car? Didn’t we plan this in advance? I’ve even thought of the press release for you. It’ll be another wave of popularity.”

“It’s not that,” Xu Lingjia gritted his teeth and forced the words out, “I was filmed swapping the thermos with the starfruit juice for Zhong Yue’s. Godmother, you have to save me! You must save me!”

“What do you mean, you were filmed? Who filmed it? Is someone blackmailing you with a video?” Ye Mei’s tone immediately became serious, her words fast and urgent. “Xu Lingjia, explain clearly, what happened?”

She then scolded, “How could you let something like that get filmed?”

“I didn’t even know there was a camera there!” Xu Lingjia’s tone was even more agitated than Ye Mei’s. The tightly wound string in his heart snapped. He recounted what Zhong Yue had told him in the car, “The assistant who was fired was responsible for filming behind-the-scenes footage for Zhong Yue. After filming, he just put the camera on a shelf in the dressing room and forgot to turn it off. The camera only shut down automatically when the battery died!
Later, that assistant was fired, and no one used that camera again. It wasn’t until filming wrapped up two days ago that Zhong Yue’s other assistant was organizing the video footage and found this ten-hour-long video on the memory card!”

After hearing this, Ye Mei instructed, “The video ended up in the hands of the fired assistant? Did she contact you? Whatever she asks for, agree to it first. Any amount of money is fine. You must stabilize her first. This video absolutely cannot—”

“Godmother,” Xu Lingjia interrupted her, his voice trembling, “That assistant already posted the video on Weibo.”

Cursing under her breath, Ye Mei quickly opened Weibo. She didn’t even need to search for keywords. On the hot search list, the title #XuLingjiaAttemptedMurder# made her vision go black!

The first post under the topic was from an account called “Brother Zhong’s Little Assistant Can Can.” The number of reposts and comments was increasing at an alarming rate.

It was a long essay. Ye Mei skimmed through it, her brow twitching fiercely at several paragraphs.

“I entered this industry full of passion, starting as an assistant. Every time I was so tired I couldn’t go on, I would imagine myself becoming a powerful person one day, earning a lot of money, and giving my family a good life.”

“For the past month, I’ve had insomnia, hair loss, and been sick. I’ve been in a daze, and several times I’ve wanted to die. But I didn’t dare to die. I was afraid that if I died, I would still carry this blame.”

“Until my old sister sent me this video. I sat in front of my computer and cried for over two hours. It felt like the tears would never stop.”

“When Brother Zhong had a severe allergic shock and almost died, I was pushed out to take all the responsibility. Tens of thousands of fans sent me private messages, harassment calls, and texts day and night, cursing me, saying it was all because of me that Brother Zhong almost died. It was all my fault, that I didn’t take good care of Brother Zhong, that I couldn’t even be a good little assistant, that I was useless, trash, that I should die, that I should atone with my death, why haven’t I died yet.”

“But, I really did my best and did everything I could. My only mistake was underestimating malice and the human heart.”

“Where are you? I’ll have someone pick you up right now! That assistant’s writing is too inflammatory, this can’t be suppressed!” Ye Mei quickly tried to think of a solution, asking Xu Lingjia, “Does Zhong Yue know? What’s his attitude? Is there any room for negotiation? As long as their side doesn’t pursue it and cooperates, there’s a way to handle this!”

The image of Zhong Yue’s extremely cold expression flashed in Xu Lingjia’s mind. Fear flickered in his eyes, and his voice lowered, “He won’t cooperate. He won’t even listen to my explanation! Godmother, he said he just can’t find the evidence, otherwise no one could protect me.”

It all happened too fast. He was a bit dazed. “Godmother, wasn’t I about to play the second male lead in Godly Capital Robbery and Murder? This movie is going to be a Spring Festival champion, I was going to be a huge hit, I was going to—”

Ye Mei wanted to curse out of frustration, “What time is it now? What’s the use of thinking about all that?”

“Shouldn’t I be thinking about it!” Xu Lingjia’s lips trembled spasmodically. If Ye Mei weren’t so incompetent, unable to get him good roles, would he have needed to swap roles with Shen Xici? Would he have needed to take such a risk and swap the starfruit juice for Zhong Yue? Besides, if he got a good role and connected with the major capitalists from the capital circle, wouldn’t Ye Mei benefit as well!

His remaining rationality told him he absolutely could not say these words out loud. He was still counting on Ye Mei to help him quell the public opinion.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Lingjia made his voice sound pitiful, “Godmother, you’re the only one who can help me now!”

Half an hour later, a black sedan pulled over to the side of the road. Xu Lingjia, wearing a hat, hunched over and quickly got in.

Ye Mei’s assistant was sitting in the front passenger seat and turned back, “Boss Ye asked me to tell you, don’t go home for now, and don’t go to a hotel either, you’ll easily be cornered by paparazzi. It’s best to go to the house at Shanhai Bay to lay low for a while. It’s remote there, and you shouldn’t go out for the next two days.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to Godmother,” Xu Lingjia said. After a while, he asked again, “How is it online? Has the public opinion been suppressed?”

The assistant didn’t dare to tell the truth. How could it be suppressed? The difference in their status was too great. Zhong Yue had a huge number of fans, and the CP fans were also more biased towards Zhong Yue. Neutral netizens and fans of other celebrities had all joined in. What’s more, there was clear evidence right there. The hot search had already exploded beyond belief.

“Boss Ye has already had people working on public relations full force, trying to guide the narrative as much as possible.”

A glimmer of light appeared in Xu Lingjia’s eyes. He asked, “Are they guiding it towards the fact that it was impossible for me to know that Zhong Yue was allergic to starfruit?”

This was the solution he and Ye Mei had come up with earlier. No matter what, they had to insist that he couldn’t possibly have known this. They couldn’t waver on this point.

The assistant nodded, “Yes.”

Xu Lingjia’s frightened-bird expression finally stabilized a little. His eyes darted around as he muttered to himself, “That’s right. Zhong Yue himself didn’t even know he was allergic to starfruit, how could I possibly have known? I just admired Zhong Yue so much that I bought the same thermos, and I accidentally took the wrong one, which led to Zhong Yue mistakenly drinking the starfruit juice inside, causing a severe allergic reaction!”

After the incident, he was scared and didn’t dare to say it was his cup. Wasn’t that just human nature?

Everyone would surely understand. Even if they criticized him a little, it didn’t matter. He didn’t do it on purpose!

A faint hope rose in Xu Lingjia’s heart. He took out his phone, opened Weibo, thought for a moment, then handed the phone to the assistant. “Read it to me. What are they all saying? Do they know I didn’t do it on purpose? I just took the wrong thermos!”

The assistant looked at Xu Lingjia. She felt his expression was very strange at the moment. His dark eyes stared over, looking quite creepy. His emotions seemed to be on a knife’s edge. She didn’t dare to refuse. She took the phone, looked at the comments under “Brother Zhong’s Little Assistant Can Can”‘s post, and hesitated to read them.

“Read it!”

Seeing the assistant still didn’t dare, Xu Lingjia snatched the phone back and looked at it himself.

“—What’s the difference between this and murder? Is this how you guys play in the entertainment industry? Zhong Yue even fed a lot of resources and traffic to the person who wanted him dead, right? Is he furious right now?”

“—I don’t believe it! I don’t believe Jiajia did it on purpose! Jiajia isn’t a god, he can’t predict what Zhong Yue is allergic to!”

“—Xu Lingjia is so allergic to mosquito bites that he needs to carry an epinephrine pen with him? I’ve never heard of that before. I thought it was strange when this news came out. So there were no coincidences at all, it was all man-made. Zhong Yue really had it rough.”

“—Attempted murder, a rescue, shipping a CP, rising in status, getting endorsements and film contracts left and right, and now a second collaboration in a big production. To be honest, to repay the life-saving grace, Zhong Yue was really willing to be a ‘blood bag’ for Xu Lingjia to climb up. Tsk, I feel sorry for Zhong Yue this time.”

“—I’ve been following Can Can for a long time. This post makes me want to cry. What, are assistants not human? It’s so good that in the end, a girl helped a girl. The blogger and her good sister are both so amazing! The cyberbullies are the real trash!”

“—Xu Lingjia! Murderer! Xu Lingjia! Murderer! Murderer!!”

The screen was filled with “attempted murder” and “murderer,” making Xu Lingjia feel dizzy.

Why don’t any of them believe it?

With a “bang,” the phone was thrown, hitting the side of the car and leaving a noticeable shallow dent.

Finally, the phone landed on the floor mat.

Xu Lingjia’s face was deathly pale. He panted heavily, his eyes exceptionally creepy, nothing like his usual sunny and cheerful appearance. He grasped at straws, “Call Godmother, quick! Isn’t she handling the PR? Why is there no effect at all!”

---

The private jet crossed the Arctic Circle, flying through the deep night. There were still a few hours before it landed at the airport in New York.

Sheng Shaoyan had made this special trip to see his recuperating grandfather, Sheng Huaizhou, in Long Island. He had been missing for a month, so he had to report his safety. Additionally, there were many backlogged documents and affairs at the New York headquarters that needed his attention.

On the satellite phone, the old butler of the Sheng family ancestral home smiled, “The old master heard you have a knife wound on your back and has already arranged for doctors. When you get home, you’ll inevitably have to cooperate with another check-up.”

“Mmm, Grandpa must suspect that I’m actually seriously injured, and that I lied to him about being healed so he wouldn’t worry.”

He and his grandfather both knew that his second uncle, Sheng Junhong, never showed mercy.

Over a month ago, a large mine was discovered in the central plateau region of a neighboring country. The Shenghe Group’s mining resources division wanted to secure the mining rights, but there were multiple competitors, and the government was wavering, so it hadn’t been decided.

He happened to be passing through and planned to stop for two days to handle the matter. Unexpectedly, Sheng Junhong, who had been watching him, found an opportunity.

None of the bodyguards he brought survived. His attackers were still in hot pursuit behind him. He simply drove the car at full speed into the mountain forest at the edge of the border, then abandoned the car and continued on foot. Using the complex terrain and dense vegetation of the forest to cover his tracks, he successfully shook them off.

But he was injured, continuously losing blood, and had suffered a heavy blow to the head. The pain was getting stronger. It often rained in the mountains. Before completely losing consciousness, he only had time to find an arched rock formation to shelter from the rain, erase his tracks, and then send the relevant arrangements to Lin Yueshu and Yu Zhou.

He hadn’t expected to lose his memory, and even less expected to be rescued by Shen Xici.

His thumb caressed the scar left from making the ring. After exchanging a few more words with the old butler, Sheng Shaoyan hung up the satellite phone and dialed another number.

“Aren’t you going back to Long Island to see your grandfather? Are you on the plane now?” Song Xinghuai was a little surprised to receive the call. Although he had a good relationship with Sheng Shaoyan and they were both Princeton alumni, everyone was too busy, especially Sheng Shaoyan, who flew all over the world. If there was nothing important, they didn’t contact each other frequently.

It hasn’t been long since the last call, why is he calling again?

Sheng Shaoyan replied, “Mmm, not there yet.”

“I know, of course you’re not there yet. You’re flying on the Earth, not on a globe. How could you be so fast,” Song Xinghuai tutted. “Your family is really troublesome. When we couldn’t contact you before, and your second uncle had that triumphant look on his face, I knew something was wrong. For his own son to want to kill his own grandson, your grandfather is really composed.”

Sheng Shaoyan’s tone was calm, “He’s not just my grandfather, he is Sheng Huaizhou.”

To his grandfather, the struggle between him and his second uncle, Sheng Junhong, as long as it didn’t violate the family’s interests, was no hindrance, no matter how fierce it was. Because in the end, the emergence of a strong leader would inevitably benefit the Sheng family the most.

He had long understood his own way of survival.

His identity dictated that he could only survive by seizing power, more and more power.

Compared to his original life, the month as “Ah Shao” was so peaceful it felt unreal.

Going to the set every day, coming home, walking to a restaurant for dinner, buying fresh fruit, riding a worn-out motorcycle through the small county town, watering and pruning the bougainvillea, sunbathing, and chatting and rehearsing scenes with Shen Xici.

He had to admit, he had grown fond of that feeling.

But he knew even more clearly that once he developed a fondness for that time, his situation would become even more dangerous. To prevent a hidden arrow from piercing his chest, he could not have the slightest negligence or flaw.

In the end, he was not Ah Shao, who had a bad relationship with his family, failed at stock trading, and relied on his boyfriend to support him.

Sheng Shaoyan could never have that kind of life.

Since it could not be held in his hand, then he would completely abandon it.

Including that period of time, and including that person.

“Alright,” Song Xinghuai pondered for a while. A flash of inspiration hit him, and he suddenly understood the purpose of this call. He casually brought it up, “By the way, didn’t you say to put all of that person’s expenses on your account? I gave the order, but he wouldn’t have it and insisted on paying for it himself. There was nothing I could do.”

Hearing the news he wanted to hear, Sheng Shaoyan’s rational analysis was immediately washed away. A moment later, he replied, “Got it.”

Song Xinghuai teased, “Yo, why does it sound like you’re quite happy that he didn’t accept your favor?”

“Can’t I be in a good mood?”

“Fine, fine, be happy or not, whatever you want,” Song Xinghuai joked. “So, our CEO Sheng is into playing hard to get, huh!”

Not paying attention to what else Song Xinghuai said, Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze passed through the plane’s window. In the night, the clouds revealed their outlines.

Understanding his habits, plus knowing his ID code at the club, it was obvious that Shen Xici not only discovered he had amnesia but knew his true identity from the start.

This time, he was deliberately testing what Shen Xici’s purpose was.

The conclusion was that, despite all the trouble, Shen Xici was not after his money, nor the network and path to success he could provide.

To be so composed, it was obvious that the most likely possibility was that the other party had a much larger scheme and ambition.

But what does that matter?

No matter how large the scheme, how great the ambition.

Whatever Shen Xici wants, he can afford to give it.

As long as Shen Xici’s target is him.