Chapter Sixty-Four: The Palace Drama Slowly Unfolds

Holding her phone, Zhao Jinzhi stood in the office for a long time, speechless.

She wanted to laugh, for suddenly it seemed to her that sometimes, the happenings of this world were simply too coincidental.

Yet, when she recalled her earlier optimistic and open conversation with Li Shixin, and compared it with what Wang Hai had just revealed about Li Shixin’s true health, Zhao Jinzhi couldn’t help but feel a knot tightening in her chest.

“Director Zhao? Director Zhao, are you still there?”

“Oh, President Wang.”

It wasn’t until Wang Hai’s questioning voice broke the silence that Zhao Jinzhi returned to herself.

After a moment’s thought, she decided not to tell Wang Hai that the person she’d asked him to look after, and the one now causing him trouble, were one and the same. Instead, she asked, “President Wang, so how do you plan to handle this production?”

“What else can I do?” Wang Hai replied, vexed. “It’s my own fault for being careless—we’ve already signed the contract.”

Hearing this, Zhao Jinzhi understood. “President Wang, I’m aware of the situation now. Don’t worry. Since things have reached this point, just carry on with the production as planned. If… if anything goes wrong with the actor, I’ll cover your losses.”

Wang Hai was overjoyed to hear Zhao Jinzhi agree to back the investment.

Listening to his effusive gratitude over the phone, Zhao Jinzhi smiled faintly. “So, are you still going to sign Li Shixin to your company, Tianmeng?”

“Sign him? Of course not!” At the mention of Li Shixin, Wang Hai’s tone was filled with renewed frustration. “During the audition, that old man managed to ‘accidentally’ snatch two roles from me. I must have been out of my mind to let him join the crew! He’s like ginseng—too precious to touch. I wouldn’t dare get involved with him again!”

Ah.

Earlier at noon, Zhao Jinzhi had seen the announcement from Wu Ming in the fan club’s support group. She had wondered at the time how Li Shixin could possibly have landed two roles in the same production.

Now, hearing Wang Hai’s complaints, she understood.

Just as she had suspected.

After exchanging a few more polite words with Wang Hai, Zhao Jinzhi ended the call.

As she held her phone, thinking of Liu Xin earlier, a faint smile appeared on her lips. At that moment, a series of knocks sounded at the office door.

Her assistant opened the door and, upon seeing who had arrived, immediately bowed. The office door swung wide, and in strode a young man in a striped suit, his features chiseled and handsome.

“President Meng—”

The young man waved off the assistant’s greeting. “Aunt Wang, I need to speak with my mother.”

The assistant glanced at Zhao Jinzhi, whose expression remained as serene as water. With a nod from her, the assistant quietly took her leave.

With a soft click, the large office was left with just the mother and her son.

Zhao Jinzhi regarded her son for a moment, then curled her lips into a smile. “Go on.”

Meng Nan frowned at his mother’s unreadable face, his dissatisfaction clear. “Mom, what’s going on with Liu Xin?”

“Liu Xin?” Zhao Jinzhi calmly took a seat on the sofa, her gaze resting on her son, who had somehow reached his thirties without her quite noticing. She raised an eyebrow. “What about Liu Xin?”

“You came back from the Chengdu branch and immediately canceled the two variety shows and several commercial events that had been set for Liu Xin. And you’re asking me what’s wrong? Mom, Liu Xin was someone I personally recruited from Korea in my first year here. I’ve been in charge of him all this time. Now you’re suppressing him—what will others think of me?”

Faced with her son’s forceful questioning, Zhao Jinzhi tilted her head slightly and smiled. “Liu Xin threw his weight around on the set of ‘Dead End’ and didn’t appreciate the opportunities the company gave him. I’m giving him a warning—do you have a problem with that?”

“No problem! But you could have at least discussed it with me first!” Meng Nan protested loudly.

“In theory, I should have.” Zhao Jinzhi’s smile was even more composed. “But, son, when Liu Xin got into trouble on set, and for some reason found out I was on holiday in Chengdu, he went over your head to pressure me directly because of his popularity. I suppose he didn’t consult you first, did he?”

Hearing his mother’s calm yet deliberate words, Meng Nan’s expression changed and he was momentarily stunned.

At that moment, Zhao Jinzhi smoothed out a crease in her skirt and rose from the sofa. Her high heels clicked crisply as she walked over to Meng Nan, smiling.

Noticing his tie was a bit crooked, Zhao Jinzhi reached out her hand. “A mother knows her son best. I know what you’re thinking.”

As her son looked at her in flustered confusion, her slender fingers calmly straightened his tie.

“The company will be yours, sooner or later. But if I don’t give it to you, you can’t take it by force.”

She lightly patted the tie, then strode out of the office.

In the now-empty office, Meng Nan tore off his neatly straightened tie.

“Hah! You act like you’re my real mother!”

...

When Li Shixin returned to Jianhong Community, dusk was already falling.

He hadn’t brought his keys when he went out. After knocking on the door of 402 and finding no one home, he went upstairs.

Room 502 was as smoky and chaotic as ever. When he entered, he found more than a dozen extras, including Little Bucktooth, smoking and playing cards.

“Oh! The old man’s back!” Seeing Li Shixin’s cheerful face, Little Bucktooth stubbed out his cigarette and stuffed his cards into his pocket.

“Old man, I heard from Brother Shuo that you went for an audition this morning?”

“That’s right.” Li Shixin nodded, looked around the room, and asked in puzzlement, “What’s with you kids, playing cards every day? Don’t you have any work?”

“Heh!” Little Bucktooth laughed, sweeping his hand at the group of washed-up extras. “Well, the ‘Dead End’ crew is about to wrap up filming here in Chengdu, and next they’re moving to Weihai. These guys are all out of work! I’m not like them, though—I went to an audition myself this morning! Just landed a role in an online movie—‘Huang Feifeng Battles the Chrysanthemum Monster.’ I’m playing the villain Yachasou. How about that, old man? Did your audition go well?”

‘Huang Feifeng Battles the Chrysanthemum Monster.’

Just hearing the title, Li Shixin thought this film was sure to be a hit.

He really wanted to see it.

He glanced at the crowd and thought, if he told them he’d already landed two roles in ‘Soaring Against the Wind,’ the envy, jealousy, and resentment would probably only amount to four or five hundred points at most. Li Shixin curled his lips in disdain.

Heh, just scraps.

“I did it—I got the leads for both the first and third male roles.”

Ding!

Received a wave of vigorous [envy, jealousy, resentment]—541 points!

“Sigh, I’m getting on in years; I didn’t really want to work so hard. But remember Director Jiao Chendong from last time? He just insisted I take on more work since I’m capable. What could I do?”

Ding!

Received a wave of vigorous [envy, jealousy, resentment]—621 points!

“Honestly, I should’ve come back right after the audition, but a bunch of fans insisted on celebrating. They even want to set up a personal website for me and shoot a photo album. At my age, doing something like that…”

Ding!

Received a wave of vigorous [envy, jealousy, resentment]—709 points!

“Anyway, after I finally saw the fans off, Tianmeng—the entertainment company run by Director Jiao Chendong, you know?—their President Wang insisted on signing me. There was a physical exam, contract signing, all that…”

Li Shixin pulled three contracts from his pocket and handed them to Little Bucktooth. “Here, kid, my old eyes aren’t what they used to be. I didn’t really understand the contracts I signed this afternoon. Take a look—did they shortchange me?”

Ding!

Received a wave of vigorous [envy, jealousy]—1,120 points!

After harvesting a round of admiration from the group, who were now clutching the contracts and looking positively distraught, Li Shixin chuckled softly.

A lot of scraps still make a meal, don’t they?

“Where’s my godson?” he asked into the silence.

At the mention of Zhang Shuo, Little Bucktooth clutched his chest and pointed to the inner bedroom. “He’s packing up!”

Packing up?

Li Shixin, thinking of how Zhang Shuo could pile up a whole hoard of chamber pots at his bedside, found it odd that he’d be cleaning up. Frowning, he headed into the bedroom.

Pushing open the door, he saw that Zhang Shuo had already rolled up his bedding.

“Hey, what’s this about?” he asked.

Zhang Shuo, who was folding clothes, turned and grinned. “Old man, when are you moving out?”

“Moving out?”

Li Shixin frowned. “Why would I move out?”

“No, wait!” Zhang Shuo was taken aback. “Old man, didn’t you just get yourself a new godson? You’ve been staying here for over half a month now. Shouldn’t you spend some time with your new godson for fairness’ sake?”

So you’re packing because you expect me to move in with the new godson and you’ll get your room back?!

And to think I felt sorry for you this afternoon, thinking you seemed down—turns out I was mistaken!

Li Shixin narrowed his eyes, picked up his phone, and dialed a random number. “Hello? Director Jiao? About what I mentioned this afternoon—my godson wanting to join the crew as an extra head, you can just…”

“Godfather!”

Before Li Shixin could finish, Zhang Shuo leapt off the bed with a thud.

Snatching Li Shixin’s phone, Zhang Shuo declared solemnly, “If I ever try to kick you out, I’m a dog! From now on, 402 south room is yours; 502 is way better, right? Only a dog would want to move back!”

Woof!

From the hallway, a neighbor’s poodle barked.