Chapter 44: Not Afraid

The sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling windows resembled thin golden threads, casting a faint halo of light upon Sheng Shaoyan.

Having just concluded an online overseas conference call, Sheng Shaoyan closed his eyes. No one knew what he was contemplating. The meticulously tailored handmade suit he wore was like a flawless diamond, making it impossible for anyone to glimpse what lay within.

Yu Zhou’s fingers left the keyboard. The high-intensity, prolonged meeting had left his brain feeling somewhat overheated and overloaded. He shot a quick glance at Sheng Shaoyan, thinking to himself that some people, after being blessed with a rare and precise mind, could also receive fate’s generous gifts.

Sheng Shaoyan’s face had always been jokingly called the “strongest public face” of the Shenghe Group by his few confidants. Due to his heritage, his cool-toned skin and sharply defined features could easily make people lament the unfairness of the heavens.

A top-tier family background, a brilliant mind, and such good looks—where was the justice in that?

During his school years, Yu Zhou had been outstanding all the way. He was admitted to a top global university with a full scholarship, graduated with first-class honors, completed his two-year master’s program at the top of his class, and then smoothly entered an internship at a top investment bank. His resume was enviable.

However, it was only after becoming the president’s special assistant that he discovered his brilliant resume merely qualified him to stand before Sheng Shaoyan. This place was filled with people just like him.

But he was also self-aware enough to know that he could never reach Sheng Shaoyan’s level—commanding a massive conglomerate with ease at such a young age, making countless decisions every day, as if he were always rational, always resolute, and would never fall into a trap.

No matter how many people coveted the position of heir, to this day, no one dared to directly confront Sheng Shaoyan’s sharpness. He had heard too much jealousy and hatred directed at Sheng Shaoyan behind his back. Yu Zhou always felt, wasn’t this a form of disguised admiration and awe?

A low WeChat notification sound came from the drawer. Yu Zhou glanced towards it. The phone, costing only a few hundred yuan, wasn’t as valuable as a single button on Sheng Shaoyan’s suit, yet Yu Zhou had carefully charged it several times, as if tending to a rare and precious plant.

He reminded him in a low voice, “President Sheng, that phone is ringing.”

After a moment, Sheng Shaoyan opened his eyes.

This was the second time. With the experience from last time, Sheng Shaoyan knew it was highly unlikely that the message was from Shen Xici. But a voice in his heart still whispered that maybe Shen Xici had run into a problem with the new movie he was filming and needed help, or perhaps, Shen Xici was finally ready to reveal his intentions.

However, the low-probability event did not, in fact, become a reality.

Jiang Lieyuan, the boss of Zhulong Guangqi, sent a WeChat message: [The PR company you recommended last time was fantastic. We saved a lot of money! Thank you so much!]

Sheng Shaoyan typed a “You’re welcome” and waited for the other party’s next message.

[Jiang Lieyuan: I’m bothering you this time to venture a question: is it possible for us to hire Shen Xici as our brand ambassador?]

Hire Shen Xici as an ambassador?

Obviously, the other party still thought he was Shen Xici’s agent. Sheng Shaoyan pondered for a moment, then, instead of correcting him, he replied: [Send over the offer.]

[Jiang Lieyuan: Great, great, great! After we trended, the advertising effect was excellent. Our company never had orders before, but in the last half month, the number of orders has broken double digits! It’s a first for us! This is all thanks to Shen Xici giving us a boost!]

[Jiang Lieyuan: Shen Xici knows our product so well, isn’t he the perfect choice for an ambassador?]

On the phone screen, Jiang Lieyuan’s messages kept popping up one after another. Sheng Shaoyan looked up and instructed Yu Zhou, “Look into the company Zhulong Guangqi.”

Zhulong Guangqi? The name wasn’t within his area of expertise, but Yu Zhou immediately replied, “Yes, President Sheng.”

An hour later, Yu Zhou placed a freshly prepared acquisition proposal on Sheng Shaoyan’s desk and summarized, “President Sheng, although this company is just starting out and is very small, it has a lot of potential.”

Yu Zhou wondered why his boss was suddenly interested in a professional lighting control company. Was the group planning to enter this line of business? But if they were to acquire a company, they should be targeting a mature and valuable one like DMA Lighting.

Or perhaps, that small company called Zhulong Guangqi had some unique aspect that he hadn’t uncovered during his research?

After reading it, Sheng Shaoyan asked, “What is Jiang Lieyuan like as a person?”

A background check was also essential. Yu Zhou answered, “He graduated from a prestigious university and started the business with his dorm mates and junior classmates. He has solid technical skills and a very good reputation.”

“Mm, you may leave.”

The office door closed. Sheng Shaoyan keyed in the phone number and made the call.

The long “beep” of the dial tone sounded in his ear.

Sheng Shaoyan knew very well that he had never hesitated this long over a relationship or a problem.

The call connected.

Sheng Shaoyan spoke first, “It’s me.”

Shen Xici’s voice came through the signal waves to his ear, carrying a hint of confusion and surprise: “Mr. Sheng?”

Mr. Sheng.

Sheng Shaoyan’s fingers, which were resting on the desk, suddenly tightened.

He heard himself say, “Jiang Lieyuan, the boss of Zhulong Guangqi, thinks I’m your agent. He contacted me to discuss inviting you to be their brand ambassador.”

On the other end, Shen Xici seemed to whisper something to someone beside him and moved to a quieter spot. “I’m sorry to have troubled you, Mr. Sheng. I’ll contact President Jiang in a moment to clarify this matter. I will definitely not waste your time again in the future.”

His tone was polite and distant, completely different from how it was in Sui County.

His gaze narrowed slightly. As if he hadn’t heard that, Sheng Shaoyan continued, “I’ve looked into Zhulong Guangqi and Jiang Lieyuan. The drawbacks are that the company is a startup, small in scale, and the endorsement fee they can offer is relatively low. However, in terms of professional technology, they are a domestic leader with promising prospects and a good reputation. You can consider it.”

As if not expecting him to say this, Shen Xici was stunned for a few seconds before replying, “Thank you, Mr. Sheng. I will consider it carefully.”

He had finally found a reason to make this call, but the feeling of frustration in Sheng Shaoyan’s heart grew stronger.

One “Mr. Sheng” after another… then who was “A’Shao” meant for?

But from April 18th until now, sixteen days had passed. Sheng Shaoyan couldn’t deny that he wanted to talk to Shen Xici, about anything at all.

“What have you been busy with lately?”

Shen Xici answered briefly, “Busy with preparations for the new movie.”

Sheng Shaoyan was reminded that Shen Xici had used his ID number to get investment from Cheng Mingye. He paused for a moment and asked, “Is there anything you need help with?”

He thought, as long as Shen Xici asked, whether it was a problem with funding, personnel, or even later issues with production, approval, and release, he could help solve it.

But he heard the person on the other end reply, “Not at the moment, but thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Sheng.”

In a detached building designed to resemble a century-old Western-style house, Shen Xici hung up the phone and walked back into the main hall from the shade of the garden.

Lu Jiming was curiously looking around with the real estate agent. Seeing Shen Xici return, he immediately gestured excitedly, “What do you think? A ball, we’ll set up a gramophone and things like that here. You, playing Gu Changsheng, wearing a white vintage-style shirt and a beige plaid vest, hands in your pockets, will walk down from those stairs.” He demonstrated by taking two steps. “Just like a rich playboy, a young master’s posture, exuding an air of relaxed elegance and nobility that’s been soaked in gold and silver!”

Shen Xici looked at the staircase he was pointing to. “Mm, yes, it’s very suitable.”

For the past few days, he had been calling Lu Jiming punctually every morning to wake him up so they could go out to find actors and shooting locations. The house they looked at today best matched their vision for the movie’s setting. Just standing in the high-ceilinged hall, it was as if one could hear decadent music and be transported back to the glamorous Shanghai of a hundred years ago.

Lu Jiming was very perceptive about micro-expressions and tone. He walked over. “What’s wrong? Who was that on the phone just now? Why do you seem so down all of a sudden?”

Sunlight streamed in through the window panes that took up an entire wall. Shen Xici stared at the floating dust, which looked like gold powder in the light. “A… very important person. But we probably can’t be friends anymore.”

Unexpectedly, Lu Jiming hit the nail on the head. “Your former agent? That handsome guy?”

Shen Xici turned his head. “How did you know?”

“Maybe after spending so much time with you, I’ve picked up some metaphysical abilities!” Lu Jiming joked, then asked with concern, “Last time in Sui County, you two seemed to have a good relationship. Why did you fall out? To the point where you can’t even be friends anymore?”

After a moment of silence, Shen Xici shook his head. “It’s a bit complicated.”

That meant he didn’t want to talk about it.

Lu Jiming tactfully didn’t press further, patting Shen Xici’s shoulder as a gesture of comfort.

As his fingers traced the metal edge of his phone, Sheng Shaoyan’s words about the Zhulong Guangqi endorsement deal and his later offer of help echoed in Shen Xici’s ears.

He knew Sheng Shaoyan too well.

Sheng Shaoyan still suspected him. He didn’t know how much sincerity was in the offer to help, but testing him was undoubtedly the main intention.

The feeling was a bit unpleasant, but after preparing himself mentally for so long, it wasn’t unacceptable.

Lu Jiming deliberately changed the subject. “Are you really not signing a contract for a fixed salary?”

Part of the investment from Cheng Mingye had already arrived. The legal support was also provided by Cheng Mingye, supposedly a professional team he had begged for from his older brother, Cheng Weishen. For a small crew like theirs, the setup was too high-end and comprehensive, almost overkill.

There were two types of actor contracts prepared for Shen Xici. One was for a fixed salary; compared to “Mountain Range Line,” his pay for this leading role was quite substantial. The other option was to forgo the salary and sign for a share of the box office profits. But what the actual box office results would be—a loss or a gain—no one, including Shen Xici himself, could be sure.

“Yes, I’m sure. Let’s sign for the profit share. Once filming starts, money will be spent like a flood. There will only be not enough money, never a surplus.”

Shen Xici wanted to act in this film, partly because he really liked the character of Gu Changsheng and the story, and partly because he wanted to see if he could forge a path completely different from his previous life.

Lu Jiming wiped a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye and, with a look of deep emotion, grasped Shen Xici’s hands. “You truly are a good brother, saving me from dire straits!”

After touring the entire house, upstairs, downstairs, and the garden with the agent, Lu Jiming asked what the monthly rent was.

The agent hesitated. “Are you really planning to rent it?”

Lu Jiming nodded. “Yeah, we’ll rent it if the price is cheap. What’s wrong? Is the house not available for the period we need?”

“Not at all! No one even comes to see this house. Forget half a month or a month, even if you wanted to rent it for a year, no one would compete with you!” The agent wiped the sweat from his forehead and emphasized, “You do know… this is a haunted house, right?”

Lu Jiming nodded again. “Of course, I know. I specifically asked you to show it to me because it’s a haunted house and the rent is cheap.”

The agent had never met anyone like this. His mouth hung open. “Aren’t you scared?”

Lu Jiming patted his chest. “What’s there to be scared of? A poor person is basically a ghost, right? I’m a 100% match for a haunted house!” He then asked Shen Xici, “Hey, are you scared? They say there was a murder here.”

Shen Xici shook his head. “Not scared.”

He and a ghost were sort of the same kind, weren’t they?

Both had died once. In the future, he could even die one more time than the ghost.

After a thought, Shen Xici asked the agent, “When did the murder happen?”

“Last month.”

Shen Xici thought, Oh, in that case, I died a month earlier than the ghost. Why would I be scared of it?