Chapter 31
Like most protagonists in rebirth stories, Lin Yunan, after his rebirth, possessed An Ye's memory. He knew that everyone referred to Zhou Yuanzhe as Brother Yuan. He knew that Zhou Yuanzhe held a status in Xing Entertainment even more critical than the top celebs. He also knew that Zhou Yuanzhe was an attractive person exhibiting a cool and calculated demeanor.
Therefore, before coming to the company, An Ye was well aware that this time's 'seduction' carried significant risks.
But he had no choice.
However, unlike what An Ye had expected, Zhou Yuanzhe hurriedly averted his eyes in embarrassment before An Ye's perfect body.
The moment An Ye began to unbutton his shirt, Cheng Xuyuan already had a vivid image in his mind of being hacked by Xiang Boyan, left to fend for himself on a deserted island, which sent chills down his spine.
"Step back," Cheng Xuyuan tried to keep his voice steady, "put your clothes on properly."
An Ye smiled. The teardrop mole at the corner of his eye appeared particularly enticing at that moment. He obediently stepped back, patiently buttoning up his shirt. His eyes emitted an aura of docility.
Cheng Xuyuan was fully aware - all of this was an act by An Ye.
In order not to get caught between the two protagonists and meet his demise, Cheng Xuyuan vowed to maintain a safe distance from this guy at all costs.
An Ye looked at him with a pitiful expression and whispered, "Brother Yuan, are you sure you won't give me a chance?"
Please spare me my life. Cheng Xuyuan screamed internally while maintaining a calm expression on his face, replying indifferently, "I'll consider what you said. You can leave now."
However, An Ye was relentless and said meaningfully, "Can't you give me an answer now? Or is it that Brother Yuan is not satisfied with me?" As he spoke, he reached out to unbutton his shirt again.
"Satisfied!" Cheng Xuyuan hurriedly stopped him, "Don't undress any further. Get out quickly." If Xiang Boyan were to see this scene, Cheng Xuyuan imagined that he would lose both his hands.
Just as An Ye was about to say something, there was a knock on the door, followed by a woman's voice, "Brother Yuan, I have a work report for you to review."
Cheng Xuyuan stared intently at An Ye and said sternly, "You are not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today."
"Why is Brother Yuan so nervous?" An Ye laughed lightly, with a teasing look in his eyes, "I was just showing you my fitness progress recently. After all, for artists, maintaining a good physique is essential."
"Being in one piece is enough."
Iceberg Zhou Yuanzhe uttered a shocking statement, almost causing An Ye to lose his smile. With a cold gaze, he nodded and left the office with an inscrutable expression.
The staff member who entered the office saw An Ye leaving and was a bit taken aback. She walked up to Zhou Yuanzhe and asked in confusion, "Why did An Ye come to see you? Isn't the company planning to freeze him out?"
Zhou Yuanzhe remained silent.
The staff member placed the report in her hands down and, not without sarcasm, said, "It was An Ye who left you in the first place, and now he's come back like a pug. It's truly..."
"Speak less." Or else I'm afraid Xiang Boyan will cut off one of your hands, too.
Cheng Xuyuan motioned for the staff member to leave, picked up last year's annual report, and started reading. He found that the artists under him were not inferior to An Ye in terms of resources and potential, and they were definitely above the same period's artists.
Cheng Xuyuan said to the system, "If I were Zhou Yuanzhe, I must have gone crazy to give up these stars and reuse a scandal-ridden artist past his prime."
"An Ye comes with a protagonist halo," the system replied indifferently, "otherwise, Xiang Boyan and Zhou Yuanzhe wouldn't be so loyal to him."
"I beg you, I really won't have any ideas about him."
Cheng Xuyuan felt a headache coming on.
A few hours later, An Ye sent him a WeChat message.
"Brother Yuan, remember to reply to me after considering it. [Cheeky/][Cheeky/][Cheeky/]"
According to the original storyline, Zhou Yuanzhe was moved for a moment by An Ye's enticement, which set the stage for later drama. As a protagonist, An Ye was quite confident in himself and firmly believed that Zhou Yuanzhe would choose him.
But Cheng Xuyuan was different.
Around noon, he ordered a bucket full of KFC, his mouth full of grease, in no mood to ponder about An Ye's affairs.
At this time, the media center staff came in with a few new business inquiries. They saw the icy Zhou Yuanzhe holding a chicken leg, looking up at them in a daze.
"Well…" apparently, the media staff had never seen Brother Yuan in this state, "Brother Yuan, I have some new ads here, the clients specifically asked to talk to you…"
"Cough." Cheng Xuyuan calmly put down the chicken leg in his hand, "Put them on the desk. Remember to knock next time you come in."
The media staff tremulously placed the documents on the desk.
"Close the door on your way out." Brother Yuan ordered them indifferently.
After the media staff fled the room, Cheng Xuyuan locked the door, thinking that working in a big company was tough indeed, even eating a takeout meal had to be mindful of his image.
Not long after, the news that Zhou Yuanzhe was eating a family bucket in his office spread throughout Xing Entertainment.
"Did you hear? Brother Yuan was eating KFC in his office today!"
"Oh my god, doesn't my male god only eat steaks air freighted from Europe?"
"I heard he ordered a family bucket."
"I can't imagine the scene of the aloof adonis eating a family bucket…"
A few girls were whispering and discussing this during lunchtime. At this moment, Xiang Boyan answered a call, just as he was passing by the employee dining area.
The girls quickly fell silent, focused their attention on President Xiang, and greeted him sweetly, "Good afternoon, President Xiang~"
A rare smile graced Xiang Boyan's cold and resolute face, and a genuine hint of laughter surfaced in his ice-cold eyes. He acknowledged their greetings with a nod, and strode off.
"OMG, President Xiang…"
"Was he just smiling?"
"Holy Moly!"
The occurrence of Xiang Boyan showing a smile in the company instantly replaced "Zhou Yuanzhe ate a KFC family bucket", and became the hot gossip among the employees of Xing Entertainment.
But why did Xiang Boyan smile?
No one knew. Except Xiang Boyan himself.
Heaven knew how much he wanted to laugh out loud when he heard "Zhou Yuanzhe is eating a KFC family bucket". Not to mention those girls, even as Zhou Yuanzhe's long-time superior, he couldn't imagine the guy gnawing on a chicken wing.
Luckily Xiang Boyan had extraordinary self-control, otherwise the current gossip circulating in the company would be "President Xiang broke into fits of laughter in public".
Clearly, Cheng Xuyuan had no idea what was happening outside his office, and no one dared mention this to him either. He finished eating all the food righteously, let out a content burp, and drained all the cola.
"It's great to be a homebody." Cheng Xuyuan felt extremely happy.
"You should deal with An Ye's matter now." The system’s voice sounded.
Cheng Xuyuan picked up his mobile phone and flipped through his chat records with An Ye. He found that their relationship was very cold. Even during the time when An Ye was embroiled in a scandal, Zhou Yuanzhe had only symbolically asked, "Are you okay?"
It seemed that An Ye's departure a year ago was a knot in Zhou Yuanzhe's heart that was yet to unravel.
Pondering over his words, Cheng Xuyuan replied to An Ye after a while: "Your actions caused the company to lose several partnerships. Are you so confident that the board will approve of your comeback?"
A few minutes later, An Ye demonstrated his ambition and scheme with a single statement — "Give me a year. I will make Xing Entertainment the top player in the entertainment industry.”
Cheng Xuyuan felt a shiver running down his spine. This guy was way too confident.
He picked up a few business inquiries from his desk and settled on a proposal for a perfume advertising endorsement. After quickly scanning, he turned to the system: "This advertisement is the opportunity for An Ye to regain his popularity, isn't it?"
The system responded: "Correct. This advertisement is the life-saving straw for An Ye's comeback."
Tapping his fingers on the desk, Cheng Xuyuan contemplated for a moment before messaging An Ye: "Come to my office tonight."
Wanting to avoid ambiguity, Cheng Xuyuan added: "There's an advertisement that suits your image."
In less than half a minute, An Ye replied: "So, Yuan-ge agrees?"
"Depends on your performance. If you can pass the commercial audition, I will continue being your agent."
"No problem." [Cute Emoji]
Cheng Xuyuan closed WeChat and called the Media Promotion Center: "I plan to give the new spring perfume commercial of brand X to An Ye.”
Upon hearing this, Manager Chen of the Media Center was shocked, "An Ye? Isn't there a mistake, Yuan-ge?!
"You heard right, it's An Ye."
“But didn't the chairman intend to keep him on ice?"
"Only An Ye can take this ad." Zhou Yuanzhe's voice was cold and undeniable, "If not, just give up this resource."
Even after hanging up the call, Manager Chen remained in shock. Zhou Yuanzhe had clout in the company, but he also didn't dare to defy Xiang Boyan's orders.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Manager Chen had no choice but to dial Xiang Boyan's number.
Thus, Manager Chen, who just experienced the chill from Zhou Yuanzhe, was again exposed to the bone-piercing cold of winter swimming, this time, from Xiang Boyan.
"President Xiang, about that, the spring perfume endorsement for brand X...”
"Brand X is an A-level resource. Do not report to me about business inquiries below S-class." Xiang Boyan said coldly, "Haven't I told you this more than once?"
"No, it's not…”
Before Manager Chen could finish, Xiang Boyan had hung up the phone.
Half a minute later, as Xiang Boyan was dealing with his emails, he received another call from the Media Center.
Before he could lose his temper, Manager Chen's timid voice came through, rushing to explain the entire matter in one breath.
"I didn't want to disturb you, sir, but Yuan-ge wants to give An Ye the new perfume advertisement endorsement for Brand X, and I just wanted to ask if An Ye is still suspended?"
Xiang Boyan paused from typing, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Slow down, explain the situation clearly."
Half an hour later.
There was a knock on Zhou Yuanzhe's office door.
Cheng Xuyuan looked towards the door without much thought and asked casually, "Who is it?"
"Me."
A cold male voice came from the door, carrying a hint of annoyance.
The moment Xiang Boyan stepped into the office, Cheng Xuyuan's mind was in chaos, and only one sentence kept looping —
'Has the scene where I get laid off arrived ahead of schedule?'
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