Chapter 44: Rescue

"En?" Song Xiao was the producer for

and naturally recognized the second male lead Qiao Su. Hearing Chu Qin's words, he too turned around to look.

Qiao Su's complexion didn't look too good and he retreated a few steps, "Where is my manager?"

"Your manager is preoccupied and can't make it. Go in first, the boss is inside," The bodyguard said expressionlessly as he stretched out a hand, inviting Qiao Su to enter.

Qiao Su's lips pursed up. Standing motionlessly, he picked up his mobile phone and gave his manager a call. The bodyguard didn't have any intention of stopping him from doing so either and calmly waited for him to finish the call.

"w.a.n.g-ge, why aren't you here yet?" Qiao Su couldn't suppress the raging fury in his heart as he made the call while holding onto the last strand of hope.

"I'm busy here, go in yourself and chat with Mr Zou," The manager on the other side said vaguely.

"w.a.n.g Jianguo, what is the meaning of this!" Qiao Su couldn't hold it in any longer and questioned him in a loud voice. His manager had said that he would bring him to visit Zuo Bo. Zuo Bo possessed significant power in the industry but had a very poor reputation. Originally, Qiao Su was unwilling to go along with it but his manager told him that he would meet with Zuo Bo first. Yet now, he was thrown here alone.

The manager had no choice but to hurriedly placate him, "Xiao Qiao, your career is on the rise now and there are some people you just can't afford to offend. Zuo Bo has plenty of resources within the industry, step out of your narrow zone a little and you won't encounter hards.h.i.+ps for many years. Be more open-minded…"

Qiao Su was angered till his hands trembled. He hung up without listening to the end. Glancing at the bodyguards to his left and right, he inhaled deeply, "My manager isn't present so today's business can't be discussed. Apologize to Mr Zuo on my behalf," Saying this, he turned around to leave.

Chu Qin narrowed his eyes as he witnessed the two bodyguards directly blocking Qiao Su's way out and half-forcing him into the neighboring villa.

"Who stays in the neighboring villa?" Chu Qin asked Zhong Yibin. This villa belonged to the Zhong family. Given that they had been neighbors for so many years, they should know of this. Zhong Yibin looked towards him innocently as he spread out his fingers.

Chu Qin pressed a hand against his forehead. How could he have forgotten that this guy had amnesia. He didn't even have any recollection of his father and mother, much less his neighbor.

"We can just give the district management a call," Butler Cao said mildly at the side. Picking up the phone attached to the courtyard's wall, he dialed through to the district management, "h.e.l.lo, this is the 16th villa. I would like to purchase the neighboring villa; do you mind revealing the other party's surname and contact method?"

"Your neighbor is Mr Zuo. You can contact your neighbor by dialing 017 through the internal line," The management on the other end answered conscientiously.

"Zuo…" Chu Qin swiftly thought back about whether he recognized anyone surnamed Zuo. Eight to nine out of ten people that Qiao Su met were industry insiders, and the only one who had power and was surnamed Zuo was that detestable Zuo Bo.

Zuo Bo was h.o.m.os.e.xual and was fond of laying his hands on young hunks who were currently popular. He didn't care if they were straight or bent, as long as he took a fancy to them, he would think of ways to obtain them.

The publicity clip for

had already been released and not only was it being frantically forwarded on the internet, even the people in front of the television screens were greatly antic.i.p.ating it. Since Qiao Su was playing the graceful male empress, he had taken up an enormous portion of the publicity clip.

The proud visage of the top scorer in the palace examinations. Accompanying the Son of Heaven[1] during autumn hunting while dressed in fine clothes and riding a well-groomed horse. His heroic disposition during disputes in the imperial court. His bashful and helpless look on the wedding night. Within the short span of a few minutes in the publicity clip, Qiao Su had worn four different sets of clothing, each set exquisite beyond compare. Against that pure and cold charming face, he was truly made out to be a n.o.ble son with a gentle temperament akin to jade. It was unknown how many girls were smitten with Qiao Su but within a few days, the number of fans on his Weibo had skyrocketed from over a million to five million.

This sort of good-looking person naturally drew Zuo Bo's attention.

Zuo Bo couldn't be said to be a boss of any entertainment company. He could only be considered to be someone who mixed around in the industry, but whom managed to accomplish something while mixing around. He relied on his connections with the higher-ups and pulled strings for countless people. His field of connections were extremely wide. After mixing around in the industry for many decades, his influence had spread. The resources he held in his palm were indeed rich - he was friends with a few directors of status and was also familiar with a few old directors of entertainment companies. Most importantly, he controlled a division of gossip media.

Anybody whom Zuo Bo wanted to raise would really become popular. On the other hand, it was only a matter of minutes for him to suppress anyone.

Qiao Su had no choice but to follow the bodyguards in. A middle-aged man of average build with a beer belly half-reclined against a leather lounge chair behind the tea table. His hand held onto a cigar as he blew puffs of smoke out. This person was Zuo Bo.

"You're here," Zuo Bo saw Qiao Su and his eyes lit up. Raising his chin, he indicated for Qiao Su to sit down. His eyes swept across Qiao Su's person without the slightest restraint, appearing increasingly satisfied the more he looked.

Under the sunlight, his fair skin somewhat resembled porcelain and his five facial features[2] were delicately beautiful. No matter if they were viewed in isolation or seen in totality, all his features were extremely pleasing to the eye. The most important thing was that he had a nice figure, with a pair of slender legs, narrow waist and upturned b.u.t.tocks. Eating him would most a.s.suredly be a tasty affair.

"My manager isn't around so there isn't any way for us to talk about doing business. My sincere apologies, we can arrange for another date," The minute Qiao Su entered, he felt unwell all over, almost like he had been slathered with □□[3] venom.

"Don't be so serious, come over and sit," Zuo Bo sat up and patted the seat beside him, signaling him to go over, "This business was originally meant to be discussed only with you. There isn't a need for the manager."

Qiao Su's jaw clenched tightly. It wasn't like it was his first time encountering such a thing, it was fine if others were insensitive towards him but Zuo Bo was not someone easy to deal with.

Yu Tang ate the barbecued meat while listening to Chu Qin speak of Zuo Bo. Disgusted, he could no longer continue eating the meat. He raised his chin towards a back-clothed person squatting in the shade eating roasted potatoes. The black-clothed person quickly finished up the potato skewer, and with a smooth fling, a bamboo stick was hung securely on the wooden dummy[4] beside Butler Cao. Then, he leaped over the wall.

Zhong Yibin couldn't help exclaiming in admiration, "What skill! Is that your family's bodyguard?"

"He's called Solitary Darkness, an adopted son of Tang Tang's house," Song Xiao smiled and explained.

Chu Qin smacked his lips. This was a real aristocratic family, raising an adopted son from young to be a killer and letting him protect their son… This was illegal right…

Not long after, Solitary Darkness leaped over again and moved over to whisper into Yu Tang's ears expressionlessly.

Yu Tang's brows simultaneously creased, "That Zuo Bo appears to be on the brink of forcing himself on him."

The reality of the situation did indeed match up with Solitary Darkness' observations. Zuo Bo coerced Qiao Su to his side and pushed him down, preparing to bully him. Qiao Su kicked him aside and ran but was captured by the bodyguards and pressed against the floor.

"Tiny prost.i.tute, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink even more," Zuo Bo kneaded his chin, "You don't want to be in the industry any longer?"

Qiao Su glared at him, "I don't need your resources, there's no business to talk about. Let me go and I'll treat it as nothing happened today. If you dare to force yourself on me, I'll expose you even if it means leaving the industry!"

"Oho, expose me then. Let's see if someone who sold his a.s.s can still attain the public's sympathy," Zuo Bo said and went to tear apart Qiao Su's clothes.

Qiao Su was pressed down by the bodyguards with his back on the sofa. The old man on top of him smiled nefariously as he pinched his body. Qiao Su gazed at the splendid villa's ceiling, inundated by waves of despair.

"Be good, don't be scared. As long as you serve me well, I'll let you pick from the best resources," Zuo Bo said with twinkles in his eyes. This small beauty was really pretty, he was even more captivating than that other popular one he just ate two days ago. He was worth using a large amount of resources to raise.

"Ding-dong—" The doorbell suddenly rang, stunning everyone in the house.

The courtyard was completely sealed, and the scene inside could not be seen by those outside. A bodyguard went over to answer the videophone and Zhong Yibin's face appeared on the screen.

Zuo Bo knew that the neighboring villa belonged to the Zhong family but hadn't thought that Zhong Yibin would actually be present today. He gestured for the bodyguard to speak.

"Seeing that Boss Zuo is here, I wanted to deliver some good things to eat," Zhong Yibin raised the plate full of slices of barbecued meat in his hands.

If it was an ordinary neighbor calling on him, it would be alright if he let the bodyguard receive the items. However, Zhong Yibin was different. Shengs.h.i.+ was an existence in the entertainment circle that few people provoked. The main reason for this was because the company produced everything on its own. It had its own entertainment company, artists, television station and even funding. They didn't lack anything and had ma.s.sive influence within the country. Zuo Bo didn't dare to easily offend Zhong Yibin either so he could only tidy his clothes and let the bodyguards look after Qiao Su, while he himself went out to receive him.

"Director Zhong is in such good spirits, did you also come out to have fun?" Zuo Bo saw that Chu Qin was following behind Zhong Yibin and his gaze sparkled, smiling as he greeted Chu Qin.

Chu Qin was not only good-looking, but also eloquent. It wasn't that Zuo Bo had never been interested in him but that the minute he showed some interest, Zhong Yibin let it be known that Chu Qin belonged to him. Hence, n.o.body dared to express any devious ideas. Moreover, hosts were not considered artists and weren't very reliant on resources.

Zhong Yibin pushed the plate of barbecued meat in his hands at Zuo Bo, "Not inviting me in for tea?"

Zuo Bo smiled stiffly and invited the two of them in. The bodyguards attempted to chase Qiao Su into the house but after Qiao Su heard Chu Qin's voice, he immediately exerted all his strength to struggle free and rush out, as if he were grasping at a life-saving straw.

"Ah!" Chu Qin collided head-on with Qiao Su.

Zhong Yibin hurriedly reached out to support him. Only then was the tragic scene of the two people falling prevented.

"Qiao Su! Why are you here?" Chu Qin deliberately asked in a tone of surprise.

"I was supposed to come with my manager to talk about business, but my manager didn't come so I was just about to bid goodbye to Boss Zuo," Qiao Su held onto Chu Qin's hand tightly, hoping that he would understand his meaning.

Chu Qin didn't appear to feel anything, replying happily, "Just nice, let's go, come over to our place to have some fun. We were just searching for people to play Fight the Landlord[5]."

Zhong Yibin made small talk with Zuo Bo while Chu Qin dragged Qiao Su out the door.

Zuo Bo's complexion was ashen, yet he couldn't say anything. He could only give a forced smile while squabbling with Zhong Yibin.

The author has something to say:

Small theater:

Villain Bo: *bleats* Haha, n.o.body will care even if you shout yourself hoa.r.s.e!

Qin Qin: Oh, how coincidental, come play Fight the Landlord

Villain Bo: … F*ck, ruining my fun

Er Bing: *bleats* Haha, n.o.body will care even if you shout yourself hoa.r.s.e!

Qin Qin: Oh, how coincidental, come play Fight the Landlord

Er Bing: … Alright, I'll go first then, a pair of JJ

Qin Qin: ……

[1] Refers to the emperor

[2] 五官: Five sense organs of traditional Chinese medicine (nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears)

[3] It was like this in the raws.

[4] A wooden dummy used in Chinese martial arts training. It is a.s.sociated with the martial art of Wing Chun and other kung fu styles of Southern China.

[5] 鬥地主: A Chinese card game

Translator's corner: There will only be one chapter next week (Friday) because I'm behind on work ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚