The Canary and Little Cannon Fodder [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 4

In the afternoon, Bo Shuyi was conducting a video conference in her second-floor study. Auntie Wang knocked and entered, placing a cup of her favorite fruit tea on the desk.

Thinking Bo Shuyi was video-chatting with online friends, Auntie Wang sighed. “Miss, I have never understood why you have so many friends online, yet you cannot seem to make any in real life.”

Bo Shuyi took a sip of the fruit tea. The sweet and sour flavor slightly eased her irritable mood.

“Auntie Wang, you forgot; I do have a friend in real life.”

Auntie Wang lightly tapped her own forehead. “Ah, I remember now. That beautiful young lady who brought you back this morning.”

“Still, one is a bit too few. You cannot even throw a party with just one. It is better for you to make more friends, Miss; that way, Mr. Wei will feel more at peace down there.”

After Bo Shuyi was adopted by Wei Chunze, her daily life was largely managed by Auntie Wang. Their relationship was less like employer and servant and more like that of an elder and a child.

Bo Shuyi replied, “As long as I am living well and not short on money, my father will be at peace. Having a few friends or many makes no difference.”

Auntie Wang knew Bo Shuyi had her own ideas and was rarely swayed by persuasion, so she did not push further. After reminding Bo Shuyi to get some rest, she stepped out.

On the other end of the computer, Lin Jiu and several other screenwriters were stunned by the news they had just overheard.

Lin Jiu: “Bo Shuyi, the Great Boss Bo, just admitted with her own mouth that she has a friend!”

Having worked with Bo Shuyi for so long, Lin Jiu had long realized how cold and ruthless she was beneath her glamorous exterior.

Among them, only Lin Jiu had seen Bo Shuyi’s true face. Fang Ruiyi secretly sent a message to their private group chat on his phone.

Fang Ruiyi: “@Lin Jiu, you must know, right? Which warrior is the friend Great Boss Yishu is talking about? Give us a name so we can worship them!”

Lin Jiu: “I really do not know.”

Lin Jiu: “But this morning, Teacher Yishu asked me to look up someone’s information. I am wondering if it is that person.”

Fang Ruiyi: “Investigating someone’s information just to be friends; as expected of a boss.”

Fang Ruiyi: “Quick, tell us, whose information is it?”

Lin Jiu: “It is a secret. [Smile.jpg]”

After finishing her fruit tea, Bo Shuyi leaned back lazily against her chair, looking at the men on the screen who were all looking down, busy with something. “Have you finished your discussion?”

Bo Shuyi’s sudden voice gave them a fright. Fang Ruiyi, in particular, nearly dropped his phone. He looked up at Bo Shuyi’s pixelated face on the screen and asked curiously, “Teacher Yishu, you did not ask us to discuss anything just now.”

Lin Jiu covered his face. It was obvious Bo Shuyi knew they were discussing her personal life. He really did not know how someone with a brain like Fang Ruiyi’s managed to write detective scripts.

Bo Shuyi propped her elbow on the desk, resting her chin in her palm. She said with a beaming smile, “Were you not discussing who my friend is?”

Fang Ruiyi’s eyes widened as he stared straight into the camera. “No! Teacher Yishu, we really were not discussing it, and we definitely do not know whose information you asked Lin Jiu to investigate.”

“Lin Jiu will not tell us.” The last sentence sounded quite aggrieved.

Lin Jiu: “This idiot.”

Lin Jiu straightened his expression. “Teacher Yishu, everyone is just concerned about you. We did not mean anything else.”

Bo Shuyi let out a soft chuckle. “In the future, if you are concerned about me, remember to tell me to my face.”

Fang Ruiyi breathed a sigh of relief. Bo Shuyi saying this meant she would not hold a grudge this time.

“Fang Ruiyi,” Bo Shuyi called out.

Fang Ruiyi’s heart leaped into his throat again. He looked at Bo Shuyi nervously. “Teacher Yishu, what are your instructions?”

“I see you are quite good at gossiping. Why do you not write a movie script with a gossip theme?”

“Huh?” Fang Ruiyi was dumbfounded. He specialized in investigative and mystery scripts; he had never touched other genres. Gossip and mystery were worlds apart. How could he possibly write that? “Teacher Yishu, I cannot do it!”

“How can a man say he ‘cannot’? Hand it over to me next month,” Bo Shuyi said with a smile.

Five years ago, Wei Chunze discovered Bo Shuyi’s talent for writing. He took a short script she wrote and gave it to a young director to test the waters. The director filmed it exactly according to her script; the props, storyboarding, and everything else were identical.

The movie had an investment cost of one million. After its release, it earned 120 million at the box office. Bo Shuyi’s pen name, Yishu, became famous overnight, making her a highly sought-after screenwriter in the entertainment industry. At the time, Bo Shuyi was only fourteen.

In the two years that followed, two more of Bo Shuyi’s scripts were made into movies by Wei Chunze. One won the National Golden Rooster Award for Best Screenplay, and the other won the Best Screenplay award at the International Lucerne Film Festival. Both films were critically acclaimed and commercially successful. The name “Yishu” became synonymous with “God” in the screenwriting and acting worlds.

Three years ago, sixteen-year-old Bo Shuyi, with the support of Wei Chunze, established her own film and television investment company. The Yishu Screenwriter Studio under the company recruited a group of unknown young writers personally selected by her.

Now, three years later, those once-unknown writers had all become famous. Sixty percent of the hit scripts every year came from Yishu Screenwriter Studio. The reason Ding Cheng tried to use a role in Order of the Rising Sun to force Bo Shuyi into a compromising social gathering was that the script came from Yishu Studio; it was a masterpiece of the Xianxia genre that the “God-level” screenwriter Yishu had spent a year writing.

There was a saying widely circulated in the entertainment industry: “If it is produced by Yishu Screenwriter Studio, it is a masterpiece; if it is written by Yishu herself, it is divine.”

Back then, Wei Chunze said that a young tree breaks easily in the wind, so he advised Bo Shuyi to hide her true identity. Once she became an adult, Wei Chunze had planned to announce her identity after filming a movie she wrote and starred in. However, he met with a sudden accident halfway through filming.

The outside world thought Wei Chunze had exhausted his fortune on the film, leaving his adopted daughter only a villa after his death. Little did they know that Bo Shuyi was actually much wealthier than Wei Chunze. The monthly profit of Yishu Screenwriter Studio alone was over a million, not to mention her highly profitable investment company. A few hundred million was something Bo Shuyi could easily produce.

After finishing the company meeting and setting the goals for the quarter, Bo Shuyi told the finance department to distribute the previous quarter’s bonuses and exited the online meeting room.

Except for Fang Ruiyi, who was worrying about how to write a gossip script, and Lin Jiu, who did not receive a bonus, everyone else was thrilled. What set Yishu Screenwriter Studio apart was that writers did not just receive a fixed monthly salary. After their scripts were released, they received bonuses based on box office profits and other comprehensive factors. These bonuses ranged from over a hundred thousand to several hundred thousand. Last year, in the third quarter, Fang Ruiyi had even received a million-dollar bonus.

Lin Jiu’s position was Business Director and Assistant to the CEO; he only received a year-end bonus, so quarterly bonuses did not apply to him. The other screenwriters excitedly left the meeting to check their bank accounts. Only Fang Ruiyi sat there in silence with his head down.

Seeing Fang Ruiyi’s lifeless expression on the screen, Lin Jiu snapped, “Enough, Fang Ruiyi. You are getting hundreds of thousands in bonuses and you still cannot smile?”

Fang Ruiyi sighed. “You do not understand my sorrow.”

Lin Jiu thought: “He only wanted the bonus; he did not want to understand any sorrow!” In the entire studio, Fang Ruiyi was likely the only person who could feel sad while receiving money.

After dinner, Bo Shuyi went for a stroll in the garden. After two leisurely laps, she sat on a lounge chair among the flowers, lazily enjoying the sunset. Suddenly, her phone rang.

“Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong-dong-dong.” Someone was requesting a video call.

Bo Shuyi picked up her phone. Her calm black eyes fell on the screen and suddenly rippled with emotion, shimmering like water under the setting sun. She pressed the green accept button. After two vibrations, Lin Nanyun’s exquisite, beautiful face appeared on the screen, her eyes sparkling like a thousand stars.

“Shuyi, good afternoon!” Lin Nanyun waved her right hand happily at her.

Seeing the back of a sofa behind Lin Nanyun, Bo Shuyi asked, “Are you at home?”

Lin Nanyun hugged a pink heart-shaped pillow and tilted her head adorably. “To be precise, I am at the apartment I bought.” Her brother, Lin Dongting, was at home; she would not dare video-call Bo Shuyi there. What if he saw her?

Gazing into those pure and lively eyes, Bo Shuyi felt her heart race. She kept the camera on her face but shifted her gaze elsewhere. “Nanyun, did you need something?”

Lin Nanyun said, “Of course, and it is something very, very important. Ding Cheng has been fired for acting as a pimp for several artists under the company. I have had a new manager assigned to you.”

“Thank you, Nanyun.” Bo Shuyi’s lowered eyelashes trembled, and a faint glint of tears appeared. She looked so fragile, pitiful, and helpless.

Lin Nanyun’s protective instinct instantly surged. “You are my friend; helping you is what I should do. Do not worry, as long as I am here, no one will be able to bully you again.”

The girl’s voice was crisp and firm, more pleasant than any sound Bo Shuyi had ever heard. Bo Shuyi could not help but look up to gaze at the girl on the screen. Leaning closer to the camera, she said in a soft, husky voice, “Nanyun, it is so good to know you.”

Looking at Bo Shuyi’s flawless, charming face, Lin Nanyun nearly fainted from the visual impact. She actually slept in the same bed as Bo Shuyi yesterday! She slept with Beauty Bo! Beauty Bo even said it is good to know her!

“Ah, why are there such beautiful girls in this world? It is way too heart-fluttering!”

[Host, calm down. The corners of your mouth are practically reaching your eyes.]

Lin Nanyun said awkwardly: “Is it really that exaggerated?” She quickly suppressed her smile.

[Seriously, Host, if you like Bo Shuyi, why do you not just act as her benefactor and support her yourself?]

Lin Nanyun: “No, I will leave this place once I complete the task. What will happen to Bo Shuyi then? Without my protection, her life might be even more tragic. I cannot be an executioner.”

[Then what do you want to do?]

Lin Nanyun: “I do not know yet. I need to think about it more.”

Bo Shuyi the next morning received a call from her new manager.

“Hello, Miss Bo. I am Luo Lei.”

“Brother Luo, you can just call me Shuyi.”

Bo Shuyi was very surprised. She had not expected that after she had expressed a lack of ambition and a desire to be “kept,” Lin Nanyun would still have Xingshan Media’s top-tier manager represent her.

Bo Shuyi and Luo Lei agreed to meet at the company at eleven o’clock. Luo Lei wanted to have a detailed discussion about her future plans. At 10:50, Bo Shuyi arrived ten minutes early. Luo Lei was busy upstairs, so his assistant led her to the office to wait.

Bo Shuyi was not particularly interested in “future plans.” To her, entering the acting world was a complete accident; being a screenwriter was much more interesting than being an actress. However, since Luo Lei managing her was Nanyun’s wish, Bo Shuyi thought of the sparkling look in Nanyun’s eyes when she looked at her, and she felt that being an actress was not so unbearable after all.

As soon as it struck eleven, Luo Lei pushed the door open, not a minute late and not a minute early. Bo Shuyi stood up and shook his hand. “Brother Luo.”

Luo Lei was a man in his forties with healthy bronze skin and a neatly trimmed goatee. He was efficient and disliked wasting words. “Shuyi, sit.”

The two sat opposite each other with a glass coffee table between them. As the steam from the tea curled up, Bo Shuyi looked even more ethereal to Luo Lei, like a celestial fairy who had accidentally wandered into the mortal realm; glamorous in posture but cold and detached in her gaze. This face was actually perfect for the entertainment industry. If she had acting skills, it would be even better.

Luo Lei said, “Your current contract only has half a year left. I heard you do not plan to renew it for now. In other companies or under other managers, you might be forced to constantly do gigs to squeeze out your popularity and make money for the company during these six months. But I am different. I cannot tolerate my artists being labeled a ‘Vase Beauty.’ That title does not mock you; it mocks your manager for being incompetent. Therefore, I will arrange some classes for you to improve your acting. I hope you will cooperate.”

Bo Shuyi smiled and nodded. “I have no objection.”

No one knew that when Bo Shuyi was eighteen, her acting had already been recognized by Wei Chunze. As long as she wanted to, she could easily play any role. As the female lead in Wei Chunze’s new film, she would have easily shed the “Vase Beauty” title once the movie was released, but unfortunately, Wei Chunze had met with an accident.

“Knock knock knock.” A knock on the door interrupted them.

Luo Lei frowned and said, “Come in.”

The door opened slowly, and Lin Nanyun cautiously poked half her body in. “Uncle Luo, am I disturbing you?”

Luo Lei naturally recognized the boss’s daughter, and a warm smile immediately appeared on his face. “Nanyun, come in.”

Today, Lin Nanyun wore sneakers with a designer pink patchwork hoodie and blue skinny jeans. She walked in and happily sat down beside Bo Shuyi. “Shuyi!”

Bo Shuyi asked, “Why are you here?”

Lin Nanyun leaned into her ear and whispered, “Uncle Luo looks a bit serious. I thought you might be scared, so I came to give you some courage.”

The breath from Lin Nanyun’s words reddened Bo Shuyi’s snow-white earlobe. A tingle of itchiness traveled through the small blood vessels of her ear to her heart. Bo Shuyi felt her heart itch with Nanyun’s unintentional flirting.

The sight of two top-tier beauties sitting together was truly pleasant. Luo Lei smiled. “What secrets are you two whispering that I cannot know?”

Lin Nanyun sat up straight and tilted her chin. “It is a secret; I cannot tell Uncle Luo.”

The distance between Bo Shuyi and Lin Nanyun widened, and the muggy air began to circulate again. Bo Shuyi glanced at Lin Nanyun, and Nanyun happened to turn her head at the same time. Their eyes met, and both were stunned for a moment, their cheeks flushing slightly.

Luo Lei, sitting opposite them, thought: “The atmosphere is suddenly wrong. Who am I? Where am I? I actually feel like I am the third wheel!”

“Cough. Shuyi, there is an audition for the Starlight for You crew next week. I will take you there. To improve your acting, you do not just need theoretical knowledge; practical experience is more important. You two go play. I still have work to handle.”

Luo Lei found an excuse to let them leave. He really could not adapt to the strange atmosphere just now.

“Thank you, Brother Luo.” “Goodbye, Uncle Luo.”

As they left the office, both Lin Nanyun and Bo Shuyi felt a bit embarrassed and did not dare look at each other.

“The food in the company cafeteria tastes good. You treated me to breakfast yesterday; let me treat you to lunch today,” Bo Shuyi said.

Naturally, Lin Nanyun did not refuse. The two went to the cafeteria, ordered their food, and picked a corner seat. Even so, they attracted a lot of attention. One was the daughter of the company boss, and the other was a famous vase beauty. The visual impact of the two standing together was intense. Several people stopped eating and stared blankly, only coming to their senses when food fell from their chopsticks onto the table.

In less than half an hour, almost every employee and artist in the company knew that Lin Nanyun and Bo Shuyi were eating together and looking quite intimate.

Lin Nanyun asked curiously, “Shuyi, what did you and Uncle Luo talk about in the office?”

Bo Shuyi replied, “Brother Luo said he wants me to take acting classes.”

Lin Nanyun asked expectantly, “Did you agree?”

Bo Shuyi nodded. “I did.”

“That is great!” Lin Nanyun clapped her hands happily.

Actually, it was Lin Nanyun’s suggestion to have Bo Shuyi take acting classes. She had thought about it for a long time after the video call yesterday and finally came up with a plan. She could find someone to love and support Bo Shuyi, or if she could not find someone reliable, she could do it herself; after all, she was not short on money.

But Bo Shuyi also had to have her own career. In case the person she chose for Bo Shuyi changed their mind, or she left this world after completing the task, Bo Shuyi would not end up as a helpless canary with no survival skills. After all, one is most reliable when they rely on themselves.

“I have not thanked you yet for having Brother Luo become my manager,” Bo Shuyi smiled.

Lin Nanyun said, “I told you, we are friends. No need to be polite with me. By the way, do you not think there is a problem with how we address people?”

“You mean the issue where you call him Uncle Luo and I call him Brother Luo?”

Lin Nanyun nodded. “Exactly! That makes me a generation younger than you. No way, we are friends; we cannot have a generation gap like that. I have called Luo Lei ‘Uncle Luo’ since I was little and cannot change it now, so how about you call him Uncle Luo too?”

Faced with Lin Nanyun’s expectant gaze, Bo Shuyi could not refuse. She nodded gently. “Alright. I am just afraid Brother… Uncle Luo will be unhappy that I am calling him old.”

Lin Nanyun said, “Do not worry about that. Uncle Luo is not someone who cares about titles. I will go talk to him about it in a bit.”

After lunch, Bo Shuyi went home, and Lin Nanyun went back to Luo Lei’s office. Luo Lei was speaking with another male artist. Seeing Lin Nanyun return without Bo Shuyi, he breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want to fall into that strange atmosphere again.

“Uncle Luo, you guys finish talking first. I will talk to you afterward.” Lin Nanyun stepped aside to wait. Even with her back to them, her graceful figure was evident.

The male artist could not help but look toward her, only to be met with a warning look from Luo Lei. “Do not think about things you should not.”

Clinging to Lin Nanyun could save someone a hundred years of struggle, not to mention she was so beautiful. There were many male artists in the company who had designs on her. Under Luo Lei’s cold, stern gaze, the male artist gave an awkward smile and did not dare look again.

After the conversation, the artist left, and Lin Nanyun walked over before Luo Lei could say a word.

Luo Lei asked, “What is so important that you had to tell me in person?”

Lin Nanyun pulled Luo Lei down to sit. “Actually, it is not a very big deal, but it is very important to me.”

Luo Lei looked at her, waiting for her to speak. Lin Nanyun fidgeted with her fingers and said, “Uncle Luo, you know Shuyi and I are friends, otherwise I would not have asked you to take her on.”

Luo Lei crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knee. “Mhm, so?”

“So, can Shuyi stop calling you Brother Luo and call you Uncle Luo instead?” Lin Nanyun blinked. “I told her you do not care about titles, but she is still afraid a sudden change would make you angry. Uncle Luo, you will not be angry, right?”

Luo Lei thought: “I am not angry.” Lin Nanyun waited all this time just to say this? Just this!

“That is great! Thank you, Uncle Luo. I am going to tell Shuyi the good news now. I will not disturb you anymore!” Lin Nanyun left the office like a gust of wind.

Luo Lei thought: “Pure confusion.”

Support The Canary and Little Cannon Fodder [Quick Transmigration]