[ABO] The Despised One Becomes an Internet Sensation After Marriage - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Assistant Li pushed up his glasses. “And then, it just depends on whether the other person accepts. However, there are exceptions.”

“What exceptions?”

“Someone like you, President Fu. As long as you just stand there, the other party will definitely agree.”

Critical Strike!

“…” Fu Shiyan silently raised his eyes to look at him. Assistant Li felt a chill run down his spine.

The next moment—

“…Li Xi, the coordination work for the project with the Gu family? I’m handing that over to you.”

“!” Assistant Li wanted to cry but had no tears. They had just snatched someone from under the Gu family’s nose; going to coordinate with them now was practically asking for his life!

…

On the van, Kailin informed him of the recording’s appraisal results. Encountering professional matters, Xu Zhimian’s heart rate settled, and the messy thoughts in his mind dissipated. He nodded with a calm expression.

Kailin’s phone vibrated. Her brow furrowed slightly, and her tone wasn’t great when she answered: “…What now?”

“Sister, how do you use your microwave?” A deep, magnetic male voice came from the other end. Xu Zhimian and the driver both looked at Kailin simultaneously. Her hand shook, and she quickly turned off the speakerphone, sounding quite exasperated: “Can’t you read the manual? If all else fails, search for it on Baidu!”

The person said something else to her, and Kailin’s expression softened: “Speak properly… Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. Don’t call me for things that aren’t important.”

After hanging up, the driver gave a meaningful laugh: “Little Kailin, a boyfriend? When did you start dating?”

Kailin coughed twice, sounding a bit defensive: “…What boyfriend? There’s no such thing. He’s just an artist under my management.”

Kailin only managed two artists. Xu Zhimian said thoughtfully: “That… Xu Mu?”

Kailin nodded. “That’s him. After taking your advice last time, I had him try that explosive music style, and it really worked.” His debut track had become a minor hit, and in the last two days, he had gone viral for his looks and physique, making him somewhat famous.

Speaking of this, Kailin’s eyes lit up again: “Seriously, Mianmian, if you became a full-time singer, you would definitely be a superstar.”

As an actor, Xu Zhimian had the looks and the talent, but his luck had been poor. Lately, with the exposure from the variety show and the copyright controversy, his traffic was massive. However, in an entertainment industry where the new replaces the old rapidly, one cannot go far on traffic alone without a solid body of work. To make people remember him, he needed a breakout piece. If someone like Jiang Xiaocheng could win awards with a plagiarized work, there was no reason original talent should be buried.

But Xu Zhimian had his own considerations. Back at Sky Entertainment, his roles were out of his control; he couldn’t get good resources, so his acting skills were wasted on one bad movie after another. With Kailin, he had more room to choose. He wanted to truly act well for once.

When he told Kailin this, she was slightly surprised: “…That’s fine, but it’s a pity for that voice of yours.” She felt quite regretful.

Xu Zhimian blinked: “I never said I wouldn’t sing.”

“You said it yourself!!” Fearing he might back out, Kailin quickly sent him a file. “Look at the contract terms; I’ve already signed you up for The Gift of Voice.” Seeing that Xu Zhimian sat there quietly, she arched an eyebrow and smiled: “Trust me that much, do you?”

“…” Xu Zhimian shrugged. “Sister Kailin, I left my things in the dressing room.”

Kailin: “…”

After contacting Fu Shiyan, Kailin said thoughtfully: “I really need to find you an assistant.” In the month since signing him, it had either been Kailin or Fu Shiyan by his side. But Kailin had other artists, and Fu Shiyan couldn’t follow him every day.

Xu Zhimian didn’t care much about having an assistant. He wasn’t famous before, and Chen Yubin was too lazy to assign him one. Plus, he had been saving money for his grandmother’s cemetery plot, so he had no money for an assistant anyway. He nodded: “Okay, I’ll leave it to you, Sister Kailin.”

Letian Entertainment was adjacent to the Glory Group headquarters. Fu Shiyan had set up a personal studio for him there. Xu Zhimian had visited once; the rest of the time was spent filming the show or doing promotions. Since Fu Shiyan was usually with him, Kailin would report everything to Fu Shiyan first. Therefore, he didn’t return to the studio unless necessary.

…

“Tell him if he wants his phone back, he has to come get it himself.”

Kailin hung up and pouted at Xu Zhimian: “President Fu wants you to go get the phone yourself.”

“…” Xu Zhimian knew he couldn’t dodge it. Fortunately, Glory wasn’t far from Letian.

At the company reception:

“Actually, I don’t really believe President Fu is married.” “How so?” “First of all, look at his hand—he doesn’t even wear a ring. Also, I watched that show; the way they interact is so strange. A lot of the scenes feel fake. To me, they don’t look like people living a life together.” “Shhh, lower your voice! Don’t let anyone hear!” “Fine, fine… and I also noticed that Xu Zhimian looks a bit like President Qi!” “Wait, which President Qi?” “The one who was on the trending search with President Fu. Don’t you think their eyes are similar? Both are long and narrow, with the corners tilted up like little hooks. If there’s a difference, it’s probably that President Qi looks more aloof and cold.” “From what you’re saying, President Qi and our President Fu have a history!” “Of course! You got here late, so you don’t know. When the company was just starting out, President Qi and President Fu were practically inseparable. Almost the whole company assumed they were a couple. Occasionally, some brave souls would ask President Qi, and he would just smile without denying it,” the female receptionist sighed. “I just don’t know why President Qi entered a political marriage with the Gu family—and with an old man at that. President Qi and President Fu had a huge falling out then. I was terrified when I went up to deliver documents; they were arguing so fiercely. President Fu finally told him to ‘get out.’ That was the first time I saw him that angry.”

Xu Zhimian interjected calmly: “How long ago was that?”

“Four or five years ago.” After saying it, the receptionist froze and turned to look at him. Seeing those familiar eyes, she was stunned for a moment: “…And you are?”

Xu Zhimian took off his mask. “Xu Zhimian.”

The two receptionists’ eyes widened, and they were instantly petrified.

“I don’t have my phone. Could you please contact President Fu for me?”

“No trouble at all, not at all!”

Having spoken, Xu Zhimian walked over and sat on a nearby sofa, leaving the two receptionists in a state of panic and unease.

He mulled over the receptionists’ words. Four or five years ago… wasn’t that exactly when Fu Shiyan started sponsoring him? Xu Zhimian traced his own eyes with his finger. Various clues flooded his mind—for instance, Fu Shiyan particularly liked kissing his eyes. He would even kiss away his tears one by one when he cried. Such actions were the most heart-stirring.

Xu Zhimian tensed his shoulders. Was it really… just because he looked like Qi Qingran? Then, when Fu Shiyan confessed to him, looking into his eyes—was he thinking of him, or Qi Qingran?

Li Xi, having received Fu Shiyan’s instructions, soon came downstairs to collect him. Li Xi hadn’t been alone with Xu Zhimian for a long time; usually, when Fu Shiyan was there, he didn’t speak much to him. He expected a silent ride.

The silence was broken by Xu Zhimian. “Assistant Li, can I ask you a question?”

Li Xi was puzzled: “What is it?”

“How long did Qi Qingran and Fu Shiyan date in the past?”

Li Xi’s foot slipped as he stepped into the elevator. He said in shock: “You—you said President Qi and President Fu?”

Xu Zhimian looked at him, confused: “Is it a hard question to answer?”

Li Xi pushed up his glasses, misinterpreting his intent: “Don’t worry. On the day the scandal broke, I was with President Fu every step of the way. He just gave President Qi a hand, and then we went back to the office. The trending search is pure fabrication; President Fu couldn’t possibly be involved with him!”

“No, what I mean is…”

Ding. The elevator doors opened. Li Xi stepped out, interrupting him: “If you’re worried, I can pull up the surveillance footage for you!”

“…” Hearing the talking, others peeked out from their workstations to look at Xu Zhimian in the hallway.

Xu Zhimian swallowed his words. “No need. Thank you.”

Li Xi waved his hand: “Don’t mention it, don’t mention it.”

Xu Zhimian: “…”

Fu Shiyan was in a meeting, so Li Xi led him to the CEO’s office. Not having stepped inside for three years, the layout hadn’t changed much. Documents were neatly arranged. Through the glass window, one could overlook the whole of City A. His gaze accidentally swept over the lounge, and he unthinkingly thought of the old passcode—09070413.

It was composed of his mother’s death anniversary and his first love’s breakup date.

The door had been changed to a fingerprint lock, and perhaps the code had changed too. Thinking this, Xu Zhimian couldn’t help but enter the string of numbers again.

With a beep, the door opened.

Xu Zhimian stared blankly into the dimly lit lounge, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed. His breathing became difficult.

The door opened. He hadn’t changed it.

Qi Qingran was too dazzling; his painting was carefully kept by Fu Shiyan. When people thought of Fu Shiyan, they only felt that Qi Qingran was a better match. Fu Shiyan’s passcode included Qi Qingran. And even he… was just a substitute for Qi Qingran.

If a first love is irreplaceable, then what did Fu Shiyan’s confession to him even mean?

Xu Zhimian bit his lower lip, his heart filled with bitterness. He looked away and quickly shut the door.

Fu Shiyan was still scolding someone as he entered the office. Frowning, his deep-voiced reprimand was quite intimidating. The subordinates stood aside, trembling, not daring to make a sound.

Until he saw Xu Zhimian. Xu Zhimian was holding a water cup with both hands, sitting obediently on the sofa, his small face tensed as if in deep thought.

The moment their eyes met, the tension in Fu Shiyan’s brow smoothed out. He stopped and threw out one sentence: “Redo it and send it back.”

The others felt as if they had been granted a grand pardon. They couldn’t help but steal glances at the “Boss’s Wife” they had only seen on screen. They were amazed; a big star really was a big star—he was even more striking in person than on a screen.

As one person left, he said strangely: “Don’t you think the person inside looks exceptionally familiar?”

“Familiar, yeah. I watch the variety show with President Fu and his husband every day.”

“No,” the person waved his hand, thinking back. The more he thought, the more Xu Zhimian looked like that “little lover” he had seen in Fu Shiyan’s office three years ago.

Except that one was an art student.