The next day.

“Hao Entertainment wants to sign me?”

“Yes,” the assistant replied from the other side. “Not sure if it will be a face-to-face meeting.”

Xiao He held his phone, quite surprised.

If he remembered correctly, this Hao Entertainment was the agency of the celebrity Ran Yunrui, right?

That was one of the biggest giants in the entertainment industry; he never expected they would actively seek him out.

Naturally, Xiao He didn’t have a good impression of this company, which mainly operated by manipulating public opinion and controlling traffic.

But this was also a close opportunity to understand their contracts and terms, to gain some insight—

“Of course, that’s possible.”

After setting up a time over the phone, the call ended. Lin Yipeng walked over and reminded Xiao He, “Hao Entertainment has quite a controversial reputation in the circle. You should think it through carefully. Don’t decide too quickly.”

“Yeah, I know.” Xiao He nodded, explaining, “It’s fine, I’m just going to take a look.”

So the next day, having taken leave from Lin Yipeng in advance, Xiao He arrived early at the café.

It was a café near the film base, a place Xiao He and Pu Rong had visited several times and had a fairly familiar relationship with the owner.

As soon as he entered, he greeted the owner, “Sister Zhou, good afternoon.”

“Little Xiao, good afternoon.” The owner was a plump middle-aged aunt, dressed stylishly, her brows and eyes naturally carrying a warm smile that made people feel very friendly. “Is Little Pu not with you today?”

“I made an appointment with someone today, to discuss work matters.” Xiao He answered with a smile.

“I see, then I’ll find you a quiet spot—”

“Sure, thanks Sister Zhou!”

Sister Zhou found Xiao He a quiet, secluded corner, convenient for private conversation.

But after about twenty minutes passed and more than half of his coffee was already drunk, the person Xiao He was waiting for still hadn’t arrived.

Xiao He: …

He picked up his phone and double-checked.

He really hadn’t misremembered.

Are big companies really this unpunctual? Or did they not even take his existence seriously?

Xiao He tugged at the corner of his mouth, feeling a rare flicker of irritation. He decisively picked up his phone to call back the assistant he had talked to earlier.

On the other end, the assistant was carrying some items, running to catch up with Cheng Hongwen, looking somewhat anxious. “Brother Cheng, my phone is ringing; it should be Xiao He’s side—”

“Tell him to schedule next time!” Cheng Hongwen said casually. “Right now we have to rush to pick up Youyou. If she gets trapped at the hotel, that would be terrible!”

“Okay—”

The assistant struggled to free one hand to answer Xiao He’s call but was immediately urged impatiently by Cheng Hongwen, “Hurry up! Has the driver brought the car yet?”

“I’m calling him now.”

The assistant could only temporarily hang up on Xiao He’s call and instead dial the driver.

Listening to the busy signal after being cut off, Xiao He couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

What was this now? Had he been stood up?

Is this how big companies operate?

Treating him like a fool?

Just then, a notification popped up on the top of his phone—

[Breaking! National Best Actress Xu Youyou secretly meets boyfriend! Suspected underground romance exposed!]

Xiao He squinted.

Xu Youyou? Best Actress?

He instinctively clicked into the article.

[Early this morning, Xu Youyou was spotted with her secret boyfriend at a hotel near the Shanghai Film Base! In the footage, Xu Youyou and the man show intimate behavior, fingers intertwined…]

The source was a very familiar paparazzi account, and the content was about the recent romance gossip of the newly crowned Best Actress Xu Youyou.

The cover photo was of a very pure-looking, sweetly smiling beautiful woman.

Xiao He keenly noticed that this Xu Youyou was an artist under Hao Entertainment.

Could it be that the people on the other side not answering calls was because of this romance scandal?

But no matter what, they shouldn’t have stood him up—at least a return call or message!

Simply put, they just didn’t take him seriously.

Xiao He felt it was quite ironic, so he leaned back and started casually scrolling through the comments.

[Spreading rumors is illegal! Hao Entertainment has already issued a statement, please delete the video and apologize immediately!]

[Hahaha, before clicking in, I was wondering which Best Actress it was. Turns out it’s the new ‘Water Queen’—no worries then. Not suited for the position, will collapse eventually.]

[Be careful of being ‘boxed’ by the fans; if they call, we’ll all run first.]

[Such a fan-only denial announcement. The leaked photos are practically mouth-to-mouth. Don’t tell me they’re exchanging bad breath.]

[Forget it, you can never wake a sleeping person.]

[Even if true, I don’t care. Youyou has always relied on talent. Actors can date, can’t they?]

[Nonsense! She’s at the start of her career. Dating is a huge distraction! Please, Youyou, get your head straight!]

The comment section was a chaotic mix, and the trending topics kept coming one after another. This was arguably the most explosive romance gossip of the second half of the year.

Xiao He originally didn’t know much about Xu Youyou, but after reading the comments, he understood the situation.

Xu Youyou was a newcomer pushed hard by Hao Entertainment in recent years, with both good looks and acting skills. Last year, through the company’s operations, she successfully won the Bai Ming Award for Best Actress.

Because Xu Youyou had always portrayed a pure, innocent girl-next-door image, mostly acting as school beauties or first loves, and with Hao Entertainment often marketing her as fragile and kind, her fans developed intense possessiveness and control, seeing everyone as a threat to their Youyou, giving a “motherly raising daughter” vibe.

This caused the romance scandal to provoke an especially strong backlash among fans, many of whom couldn’t accept that “their little cabbage was being courted by pigs.”

Xiao He shook his head with some sympathy.

Tsk tsk.

So this is the price of fame and traffic; if you want it, you must be prepared to be bitten back…

Xiao He finished the last sip of his coffee, didn’t dwell on the matter, put away his phone, and prepared to leave, thinking about how to deal with the agent who stood him up once he got back—

“Ding—”

The café’s doorbell jingled. A girl wearing a hat and mask walked in, brushing past Xiao He as she hurried straight to the back door of the café.

Xiao He kept his eyes forward, said a word to Sister Zhou at the counter, opened the door, and was about to leave—

A man, also wearing a hat and mask, sidled in through the door Xiao He opened, brushing past him as well, heading toward the back door.

Xiao He’s hand froze on the door handle.

He turned his head, catching only a glimpse of the man’s figure disappearing through the back door.

Xiao He narrowed his eyes.

That was—the aura of someone like him!

Something was off… that guy was very suspicious!

Thinking of the girl who had rushed past just now, Xiao He retracted his hand and turned, following toward the back door.

The café’s back door led to a narrow alley, relatively secluded, surrounded by tall buildings. On the ground were randomly placed goods from shops on the nearby street, making the place look cluttered and narrow.

Xiao He carefully dodged the items, quietly approaching. Finally, he caught sight of the two people from before.

“Please! I beg you! Don’t follow me anymore! Isn’t one exposure enough?!”

Up ahead, the masked girl finally lost control, turning her head and shouting in despair at the man behind her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep