Spilling the Tea on the Movie Star Who Won't Leave Me Alone - Chapter 40

Before boarding, Xu Chi peeked at his phone and saw a message just sent by Gu Jingxuan.

Stay safe. Give me a message when you get off the plane.

Xu Chi’s lips instantly curved upward. Sitting beside him, Lin Tao could tell that even behind the sunglasses, Xu Chi’s eyes were sparkling with little stars. He felt a substantial amount of emotional damage from the display of affection.

After replying, Xu Chi obediently turned off his phone and tucked it into his pocket.

“Don’t plan on giving Xie Jin and the others a reply? That group is planning a ‘Revenge Meeting’ to gather one night and get back at him for you.” Lin Tao recalled the revenge methods he’d seen in the WeChat group a few days ago and felt that the mental age of the people on the other side didn’t exceed three years.

Xu Chi didn’t need to think twice to know what kind of revenge tactics they had come up with. He let out a biased, fond smile. “I won’t reply. If I do, Xie Jin will definitely start a message bombardment. I’ll wait until I land and settle in before replying. I also need to wait for Xie Jin’s anger to subside a bit; otherwise, he could scold me to death over the phone.”

Having been together for two or three years, Lin Tao knew Xie Jin’s temper well. He wouldn’t stop until he’d made Xu Chi profoundly realize the consequences of turning off his phone.

The flight attendants began instructing passengers to turn off all mobile phones and communication devices. Lin Tao took Xu Chi’s phone and placed it in a pouch along with his own.

There was something he had been mulling over for a long time and felt he should tell Xu Chi in advance.

“Chizi, there’s something I need to tell you.” When Lin Tao got nervous, his fingers would unconsciously start picking at the fabric of the armrest.

Seeing Lin Tao like this, Xu Chi knew the matter wouldn’t be simple. He joked to lighten the mood: “Don’t tell me you’re carrying my child.”

Lin Tao blanked for a second and instinctively blurted out, “How did you know?”

After the retort, both of them clutched their stomachs and laughed in their seats.

“Alright, let’s talk business.”

Lin Tao adjusted his clothes and sat up straight. “The manager suddenly sought me out this morning and said he wanted to see you.”

“See me?” Since signing with the company, Xu Chi had never met his manager. On his first day, the boss had simply given him an assistant and said to go to the assistant for everything.

Xu Chi had only spoken to his manager on the phone a handful of times. If Lin Tao hadn’t mentioned it today, Xu Chi would have almost forgotten that his manager wasn’t actually Lin Tao.

“Why does he suddenly want to see me?”

During all the public appearances and red carpets Xu Chi had attended, the manager had never appeared, nor had he even made a single phone call. Over time, Lin Tao and Xu Chi had grown accustomed to it; they solved problems between the two of them and never bothered to call that “nuisance” manager.

“It’s likely because of Zeng Shuqi.”

A while ago, when Lin Tao went to the company to pick up Xu Chi’s scripts and schedule, he had accidentally seen the manager and Zeng Shuqi hugging and kissing in a small cubicle by the elevator.

The manager, who had never expressed a desire to see Xu Chi, suddenly wanted a meeting right when the conflict between Zeng Shuqi and Xu Chi broke out. Aside from Zeng Shuqi, Lin Tao couldn’t think of any other reason.

Because Xu Chi was famous now? Xu Chi’s traffic hadn’t been bad before—he’d even been invited to European Fashion Week—and the manager hadn’t bothered to ask a single question then.

Though surprised, Xu Chi connected the dots and roughly understood the situation. He shrugged, indicating he’d just have to go; after all, they couldn’t do much to him.

“I have a feeling the manager is going to make you post a Weibo apology to Zeng Shuqi.” When Lin Tao heard Xu Chi mention Zeng Shuqi earlier, he felt things wouldn’t be simple. Now, his suspicion was proving correct.

“Why should I apologize? Just because Zeng Shuqi is his ‘little white face,’ he can twist the facts?” Although Xu Chi hadn’t received any care from his manager in recent years, he had at least felt his life was going well. He consistently had scripts, commercials, and plenty of public appearances and traffic.

But today he realized that he was actually nothing in their eyes. Zeng Shuqi only had to crawl into the manager’s bed to be able to openly snatch away things that originally belonged to Xu Chi.

Xu Chi had never felt so strongly that his manager wasn’t a person, but rather a beast—actually, a beast might be a bit better than him.

“Can we apply to the company for a change of manager?”

Lin Tao frowned and shook his head, his tone grave. “I’m afraid not. Once you propose a change to the company, they’ll find out about all this. Then he’ll definitely make life difficult for you. Yan Qiu is not a reasonable person.”

It was only now that Xu Chi learned his manager’s name was Yan Qiu. He let out a sigh and leaned back into his seat.

“Forget it. We’ll take it one step at a time. I have Director Jiang’s drama in my hand anyway. If the company wants to give me scripts, they will; if not, I’ll fight for other roles myself.”

If Xu Chi continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before he was essentially blacklisted (put in “cold storage”). Since Zeng Shuqi had climbed into Yan Qiu’s bed, he certainly wouldn’t make things easy for Xu Chi. By then, Xu Chi would likely find himself without appearances or scripts.

Lin Tao didn’t have a way to deal with Yan Qiu either. Yan Qiu was his direct superior, and his salary was in Yan Qiu’s hands. He couldn’t say anything foolish like running away with Xu Chi. If they tried to leave before finding a new agency, Yan Qiu would likely issue a notice that would ensure no one else would hire them.

“Let’s just cross that bridge when we come to it. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely do my best to make sure you don’t suffer too much.”

Xu Chi turned his head and gave Lin Tao a sincere smile, relaxing slightly.

His mind was still a mess. The issue between him and Zeng Shuqi remained unresolved. Logically, when an artist under an agency faces such an event, the manager should contact the PR department to handle it. But Xu Chi’s manager had done nothing, even allowing Zeng Shuqi to throw a tantrum on Weibo.

Xu Chi had also told the company he took another role with Director Jiang without giving an explanation. Yan Qiu would definitely think he was planning to jump ship, and would be even less likely to help him.

Even if Xu Chi didn’t apologize now, it wouldn’t be long before the scandal grew large enough. Yan Qiu would surely apologize to Zeng Shuqi in Xu Chi’s name. By then, no matter what Xu Chi said, it would be useless.

Slumped in his seat, Xu Chi felt a heavy sense of powerlessness. For the first time, he felt that the waters of the entertainment industry were truly deep; one wrong step could lead to total ruin—fame and fortune lost.

The only person he could potentially ask for help was Jiang Yusen. Although Gu Jingxuan’s Weibo post was helpful, it was just one person’s word. Yan Qiu could simply say Xu Chi and Gu Jingxuan were close friends and that it was just a friend supporting a friend, leaving Xu Chi with nothing to say.

But Jiang Yusen never meddled in the personal affairs of his actors. For a moment, Xu Chi was out of options.