The Cannon Fodder 'Seme' is the Center of Attention Again (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 42

Zhang Cheng looked at the two messages sent almost simultaneously. His brain stalled for a long time before he finally reacted and called Li Qingran.

On the other end, the youth was likely holding his phone waiting for the call. Before the ringtone could even finish its first note, he immediately clicked accept. Li Qingran’s soft voice fell into Zhang Cheng’s ear through the receiver a second later.

“Hello, Brother Zhang?”

The young man’s voice sounded very obedient and gentle. Listening to him speak gave one the illusion that no matter what you said, the other party would accept and agree unconditionally.

But Zhang Cheng knew that Li Qingran only appeared humble, polite, and temperless on the surface. In reality, his personality was just as impactful as his looks. No matter what he did, he had his own plans and intentions.

Moreover, the young man seemed to have a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder; he liked everything to proceed according to his plan. Otherwise, he would feel uncomfortable all over and develop a strong resistance toward whatever he needed to do next.

Back at the studio, although Zhang Cheng had stepped out to take a call, he knew from the fragments of conversation he caught before leaving and after returning that Li Qingran was unwilling to lose his job as Qin Yanyun’s assistant. To that end, he didn’t even want a vacation. He would rather risk being harmed by sasaeng fans just to follow Qin Yanyun abroad and finish the variety show filming.

So, how did Qin Zechuan manage to handle someone so obsessed with his own plans? What did the man do to make Li Qingran give up his original ideas and calmly accept the fact of a job transfer in just half an hour?

Zhang Cheng was utterly confused. He was not the type to hide things; if he had a doubt, he had to ask the person who created the confusion.

“I told you to wait in the office for me to return so we could see the big boss together. Why did you go by yourself?” Zhang Cheng asked with a frown.

“It was not like that, Brother Zhang,” Li Qingran explained immediately. “I was originally going to our floor, but while taking the elevator, I happened to run into President Qin. He told me to follow him back to his office directly.”

Zhang Cheng’s brow furrowed even tighter. “Did you not tell him I asked you to wait for me?”

“I did,” Li Qingran said honestly. “But President Qin said he did not have much time for us. Since you weren’t there, he told me to speak for myself. He said he would only give me ten minutes, and once the time was up, he had to leave for another banquet. He said my work situation would be handled according to his previous decision.”

Li Qingran pursed his lips, his tone sounding quite helpless.

“Then he asked me if I wanted to insist on waiting for you to return or if I would organize my own words now to tell him what happened. Assistant Zhou, who was standing beside him, even started a ten-minute countdown. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it myself.”

Li Qingran paused, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded sad and full of apology. “I am sorry, Brother Zhang. I failed to wait for you to come back.”

How could this be your fault?!

After hearing this narration, the irritation Zhang Cheng felt toward Li Qingran for going upstairs alone vanished completely. All that remained was dissatisfaction and anger toward the only dictator in this entire affair.

What did he mean by giving them only ten minutes?! What did he mean by going to another banquet once the ten minutes were up?!

Zhang Cheng would bet that if he called Qin Zechuan right now and asked where he was, the answer would definitely be the office! The man only said that to shorten the time Li Qingran had to make a decision, creating a sense of urgency to make him panic. Once a person loses their composure, it is very easy to make mistakes when deciding.

For instance, right now, although Li Qingran kept his job at Jingyue, his status had changed from Qin Yanyun’s assistant to an employee under Qin Zechuan. Not only was this more restrictive, but the work would likely become more complex. More importantly, if Qin Zechuan only arranged a common and inconspicuous job for him, his salary might even decrease.

Zhang Cheng suspected Qin Zechuan was playing the ancient court tactic of “demoting an official.” Although he didn’t outright fire Li Qingran, he was punishing him for this workplace mistake by lowering his position and reducing his pay.

If that were really the case, Qin Yanyun would definitely cause a scene. The man was never one for following rules, and now that he liked Li Qingran so much, Zhang Cheng suspected he would start a rebellion the moment he heard the youth was being transferred away from him. Forget about filming the variety show; he might not even leave the country, instead loitering in front of Qin Zechuan until the man gave Li Qingran back.

The thought of that scene gave Zhang Cheng a headache. Fortunately, Li Qingran’s voice came through the phone again.

“But Brother Zhang, I also reached an agreement with President Qin. The job transfer will happen after I return from abroad with Brother Qin. Until then, I am still Brother Qin’s assistant.”

The young man seemed to have mind-reading abilities, instantly understanding Zhang Cheng’s biggest worry and offering a reassuring answer. Since the variety show filming was imminent, Zhang Cheng was more concerned about whether Qin Yanyun’s work could proceed stably than about Li Qingran’s long-term career path.

Now that Li Qingran had provided a satisfactory solution, Zhang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, but he became even more curious about what Li Qingran and Qin Zechuan had actually discussed in that office.

“We did not talk about much,” Li Qingran said, lowering his eyes slightly and slowly tracing circles on his knee with his fingertip. His expression was flat, and no joy or sorrow could be heard in his voice. “I just told President Qin that I like to finish what I start. So, I wanted to finish my assistant work with Brother Qin before returning to the company to work. President Qin agreed.”

“…That simple?” Zhang Cheng was stunned.

Li Qingran gave a small hum. “That simple.”

“…”

That didn’t seem right. Zhang Cheng felt something was off. Setting aside the fact that Qin Zechuan insisted Li Qingran explain the hot search himself, the mere fact that the man could be so lenient regarding Li Qingran’s work arrangement was quite a shock.

Thinking back to Qin Yanyun’s own behavior, Zhang Cheng could not stop Li Qingran’s handsome face from appearing in his mind. Immediately, a question followed that face.

Could it be?

Zhang Cheng swallowed. When he spoke again, his tone was more cautious. “Xiao Li, tell me. In those ten minutes in the boss’s office, what exactly did you say to him?”

“What did I say?” Li Qingran blinked, then sank back into the soft sofa. The tip of his pink tongue poked out slightly to moisten his somewhat dry lips. As his Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice slid out from between his lips. “Nothing much. I just repeated the previous events to him.”

Of course, Li Qingran did not throw the blame onto Qin Yanyun. It was fine for Brother Zhang to do that, but if he did it, it would be pure career suicide. After all, while Qin Zechuan was the big boss, Qin Yanyun was his frontline boss. Venting about your boss in private is one thing, but doing it in front of the Big Boss is asking to be fired.

But he didn’t know if it was his imagination or if Qin Zechuan truly didn’t care about the hot search incident, because while Li Qingran was narrating the events, the man kept his head down processing other documents. One beautiful stroke of cursive script after another appeared on the white A4 paper. Only after Li Qingran finished speaking did Qin Zechuan look up from the pile of documents and gaze at him.

“So, what do you think you did wrong in this matter?”

“…” Li Qingran put on a thoughtful expression before speaking slowly. “I should not have eaten that ice cream?”

Qin Zechuan: ” ”

He looked at Li Qingran in silence. The latter blinked innocently at him, as if he truly believed that was the only mistake he had made in the entire affair.

Being this good-looking yet having such a “slow” personality could someone like this really survive in the melting pot of the entertainment industry? Qin Zechuan could not help but wonder. He took a deep breath, and under Li Qingran’s confused gaze, he lowered his head again. While signing his name at the bottom of a new document, he spoke the final sentence regarding Li Qingran’s job in a deep voice.

“You are not suited to be a celebrity’s assistant.”

Li Qingran: “???”

Li Qingran didn’t quite understand what Qin Zechuan meant. Weren’t they discussing whether he would be fired? Why did the channel suddenly switch to career planning?

888 was also bewildered. But rather than getting career advice for its host from an antagonist, 888 was more concerned about whether the plot would fail because of this sentence. After all, Qin Zechuan’s words didn’t sound like he was letting Li Qingran go back to work.

The more 888 thought about it, the more nervous it became. It couldn’t help but ask, “Host, is he still going to fire you?”

Li Qingran bit the tip of his tongue, a trace of uncertainty flickering in his beautiful eyes. “I’m not sure either.”

“Then why don’t you try what Zhang Cheng said and push all the blame onto Qin Yanyun?”

“Are you sure? Will that not just make me die faster?” Li Qingran felt 888’s idea was a bit rotten. But right now, he couldn’t think of a better way.

Just as Li Qingran was hesitating about whether to ask directly what the man meant, he heard the man speak indifferently again.

“Pack your things over the next few days, hand over your work, and come work at the company.”

“Huh?” A look of rare shock appeared on Li Qingran’s face.

Seeing this, the corner of Qin Zechuan’s mouth turned up slightly. “What? Is being my assistant not good enough? Do you feel wronged?”

“…No, wait a minute!”

Listening to this point, Zhang Cheng could no longer sit still. He felt his brain had stopped working. His entire mind was filled with that sentence of Qin Zechuan’s that Li Qingran had just repeated.

“Come be my assistant…”

Be his assistant? Be Qin Zechuan’s assistant?!

This wasn’t a demotion at all! This was jumping from a local clerk to the Emperor’s inner circle in one step!

So, the big boss definitely had “other” thoughts about Li Qingran, right?! After all, this move was extremely similar, if not identical, to what Qin Yanyun had done!

Zhang Cheng really wanted to ask Qin Zechuan if his face hurt now, just as he had asked Qin Yanyun before. But considering the man’s status, he decided not to seek death. At this moment, he only wanted to ask the man one question.

After understanding the whole situation, Zhang Cheng quickly hung up the phone and dialed the sender of the second message. The other party seemed to be waiting for him; the call was picked up after just two rings.

However, after the call connected, unlike Li Qingran who would proactively offer a greeting, the first person to speak this time was Zhang Cheng.

“Hello, President Qin. May I ask if you are still at the company?”

“Where else would I be?” The man’s voice came from the other side of the line, deep, magnetic, and very pleasant to the ear.

Yet, hearing the words the other party spoke, Zhang Cheng only wanted to roll his eyes.

He knew it! What ten minutes! What next banquet! It was all just a trick to scare Li Qingran into following him back to the office! What a calculating man!

Zhang Cheng cursed silently in his heart, but on the surface, he maintained a respectful demeanor.

“I just wanted to show some concern for you, President Qin. After all, it has been so long since”

“Get to the point.” Qin Zechuan directly interrupted Zhang Cheng’s attempt at small talk, splashing a bucket of ice water over him with his cold voice.

Zhang Cheng thought to himself, “You stole my person and now you are putting on an act with me?” He rolled his eyes again before speaking under the other party’s warning like tapping sounds.

“I just got off the phone with Xiao Li. He mentioned that you are preparing to transfer him to your side as an assistant?”

Hearing this, Qin Zechuan put down his fountain pen and leaned back in his seat. His voice remained indifferent.

“Why? Do you have an objection?”

“How could that be possible! This is a great promotion and a raise for Xiao Li. I am more than happy for him. How could I have an objection!”

Zhang Cheng immediately explained, “I am just a bit unclear about one thing you said to him, so I thought I would ask you. I hope you, the boss, can point the way and solve this doubt for me.”

Qin Zechuan said, “Speak.”

“It is just…” Zhang Cheng asked curiously, “What did you mean by saying he is not suited to be a celebrity’s assistant?”

Zhang Cheng did not ask this to try and win Li Qingran back; he simply did not understand how Qin Zechuan concluded that Li Qingran was unfit for the job.

Qin Zechuan had no intention of hiding his thoughts, or perhaps he wanted Zhang Cheng to give up more quickly. He spoke directly.

“As a manager, should you not be more aware than I am? Where in the world is there an assistant who looks more attractive than the celebrity?”

He had just pulled up the news about Li Qingran and the other two and looked at it carefully. In the photos, although the youth only showed half of his face, those exquisite features and sharp contours completely overshadowed the other two blurry figures. It was no wonder the marketing accounts thought Chu Yu would abandon Qin Yanyun for Li Qingran. He truly was better looking, younger, and had a more upright posture.

Zhang Cheng was speechless. He did not even dare to imagine how angry Qin Yanyun would be if he heard Qin Zechuan’s evaluation. The man not only snatched your assistant but also threw a bomb called “disdain” at you.

Qin Zechuan stopped speaking after that. Zhang Cheng wavered for a dozen seconds between being shocked that the big boss might become his artist’s biggest love rival and wondering if he should just let Qin Zechuan transfer Li Qingran away. Ultimately, he chose to respect Li Qingran’s own wishes.

“President Qin,” Zhang Cheng said solemnly. “When you made this decision, did Xiao Li… show any signs of being troubled?”

“Why would he feel troubled?” Qin Zechuan felt the question was strange. “You are constantly clamoring about bonuses and salaries, yet you do not allow your own employee to climb the ladder?”

Zhang Cheng was not trying to stop Li Qingran from climbing. He was just afraid that the youth would have to pay a certain price while doing so. Such a clean young man did not need to give up his integrity for temporary wealth. Otherwise, back when Qin Yanyun showed his affection for Li Qingran, Zhang Cheng would have advised him to just throw money at the boy. Why would he have told Qin Yanyun to take it slow and win him over bit by bit?

Thinking of this gave Zhang Cheng a headache. Perhaps the water he had told Qin Yanyun to use was too lukewarm, so the frog in the pot was snatched away by someone else before it was even cooked. What was even more terrifying was that he did not know if the other pot was filled with water or oil.

Zhang Cheng struggled, wanting to probe further into Qin Zechuan’s true feelings for Li Qingran, but Qin Zechuan was unwilling to waste more time. He dropped one final line.

“Li Qingran’s work is decided. He will return to the company to work once that variety show finishes filming. Do not arrange any more tasks for him lately to avoid wasting time on handovers.”

With that, Qin Zechuan hung up, leaving Zhang Cheng standing stunned in the cold wind. You are certainly in a hurry! He, the manager who had to keep this a secret from Qin Yanyun while hiring a new assistant, was not even that anxious yet!

Zhang Cheng stared at his phone with gritted teeth, wishing he could smash it onto the ground as if it were Qin Zechuan. But he could not. It was a brand new phone, not even two months old; he could not be impulsive. He took a deep breath to calm himself and called Li Qingran to coordinate their story for fooling Qin Yanyun before lying back in the driver’s seat, ending his exhausting and absurd day.

“If you ask me, I should go in your place this time. Look at you, wearing a jacket, a hat, and a mask in the middle of summer. You are wrapped up more tightly than Brother Qin. How uncomfortable! What if you get heatstroke?” Xiao Wen looked at the fully equipped Li Qingran beside him with concern.

The latter curved his eyes at him. His voice sounded a bit muffled through the mask, but everyone in the car could still feel his happiness.

“It is fine. As long as I can go to work, I am willing to wear layers even thicker than this.”

Sitting behind Li Qingran, Qin Yanyun could not help but curl his lips upward. His “do not disturb, I am in love” look made the nearby Zhang Cheng feel nothing but disdain and increased worry. Qin Yanyun was so happy now; he had no idea how much of a breakdown he would have once the filming ended and he found out Li Qingran was going to be the boss’s assistant. He probably would not be so stimulated that he would terminate his contract and jump ship, right?

While worrying, Zhang Cheng leaned in and whispered to Qin Yanyun.

“Be careful out there. You are fine, but mainly Xiao Li cannot be photographed with Chu Yu again.”

Setting the news of Chu Yu’s change of heart aside, Zhang Cheng was mainly worried that the one back at the head office would see the news and turn on his “love rival radar” again to take Li Qingran back immediately. If that happened, Qin Yanyun might go crazy enough to storm back to the company. Not only would he have to pay liquidated damages, but his public image would also suffer, which was completely contrary to Zhang Cheng’s original intention for this show.

He was indeed good brothers with Qin Yanyun, but he was also his manager and responsible for his career. Thinking of this, Zhang Cheng pulled Qin Yanyun aside and gave one last instruction.

“This time, you absolutely must not be impulsive. You must, must keep your temper. Do not let the paparazzi catch a photo of the three of you together again.”

“Tch, what three of us? You make it sound so bad. I was just trying to take Li Qingran back to the dressing room.” Qin Yanyun frowned in protest.

Zhang Cheng remained unmoved. “Tell that to the marketing accounts and see if they believe you.”

Qin Yanyun: “…”

Zhang Cheng urged, “Did you get that? Handle things yourself as much as possible, especially in front of the cameras. If you can avoid letting Xiao Li appear before the public, do not trouble him.”

Qin Yanyun said wordlessly, “I got it.” He paused but could not help himself. “But why are you still so nervous? Has the hot search not been suppressed?”

What use was suppressing the hot search? The problem was that their big boss was watching them like a hawk from behind! But Zhang Cheng could not confess these things to Qin Yanyun. He just repeated over and over.

“Do not cause trouble. Do not cause trouble with Chu Yu. Do not take Li Qingran to cause trouble with Chu Yu!”

By the end, Qin Yanyun almost did not recognize the words “cause trouble.” However, while annoying, the method was effective. Throughout the first day of filming, Qin Yanyun did not show any unpleasantness toward Chu Yu. In a game for pairs, he even reached out to steady a nearly falling Chu Yu. Although he only did it to avoid being dragged down with him, it did not stop the livestream audience from going wild.

Zhang Cheng, who had been watching the livestream all day, finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, it seemed he had relaxed a bit too early.

Currently, in a hotel on the other side of the world, Qin Yanyun had finished his work, removed his makeup, and was preparing to go to bed as Zhang Cheng had instructed. Next door, Li Qingran was equally exhausted, but he could not lie down on his comfortable bed and enter a sweet dream like the other.

He still had a task. A plot task. And it was a plot task that left one speechless.

Li Qingran pursed his lips. When he spoke again, his voice carried a trace of unbelievable trembling.

“Say that again. What is the next plot task?”

“Peering from the Cabinet.”

“Who is in the cabinet? And whose cabinet is it?”

“Host, you are in the lead male’s cabinet.”

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