The Exclusive Bodyguard of the Top Idol - Chapter 5

Signing the contract with the new company went smoothly without any hiccups.

Huaying Media, the industry leader, was far superior to the previous Skyline Entertainment in every aspect. The company building was located in the cultural and creative park at the heart of Bin City’s CBD, offering a comfortable and pleasant environment.

Bin City had seen rapid economic growth in recent years, attracting many emerging entertainment companies to set up branches there. While Huaying Media’s headquarters were in the capital, they had established a branch in Binhai City just two years prior, focusing on emerging sectors of the entertainment industry including the cultivation of idol singers.

Cen Shu led the seven members of Team S to sign the contracts in the legal department. The person in charge of liaising with them was the chief secretary of the branch’s general manager, who also happened to be the vice president of Huaying Media’s headquarters. After the branch was established, she had been transferred to oversee operations here and held considerable prestige in the industry.

“President Lian is back at headquarters for a meeting, so she asked me to guide you through the contract process. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me,” the chief secretary said. She was a composed woman in her thirties who treated them warmly, and her attitude made it clear that Lian Na truly valued Team S.

The seven girls, usually lively and chatty when together, were unusually restrained in the new company, appearing nervous and hesitant to speak loudly.

After signing the contracts, the chief secretary gave them a tour of the company. Noticing their subdued demeanor, she smiled and said, “You don’t have to whisper here. Our company doesn’t have rigid rules. Speak freely and don’t worry about being noisy. Besides, every office area has excellent soundproofing, so you won’t disturb anyone.”

With that reassurance, the seven little chatterboxes quickly perked up and soon filled the air with excited chatter.

“As expected of the industry leader. It’s so impressive!”

“This is just the branch. I wonder what the headquarters in the capital looks like.”

“It must be even better than here!”

Listening to their discussion, the chief secretary chuckled. “Not necessarily. The headquarters building isn’t as nice as this one. This is a new building.”

Maknae Zhang Meng widened her eyes. “Really?”

“Yes. The headquarters is actually considering renovations now. You’ll see the old building when your tour reaches the capital.”

After touring the company inside and out, the chief secretary arranged a lunch with the new team members.

Now that they were part of Huaying, Team S would receive the treatment they deserved, including a complete restructuring of their support team. Back at Skyline Entertainment, Sheng Dingzhe had been reluctant to spend money. Aside from assigning them personal assistants, everything else, from makeup and styling to photography, had been outsourced on a per-event basis.

But at Huaying, things were different. Lian Na had personally approved a professional team for them, covering everything from styling and photography to promotions and business liaisons. The new team members were all young professionals, and since everyone in the entertainment industry knew Team S, they were thrilled to join the group.

The young team members quickly bonded, even getting along well with the personal assistants.

After lunch, they held their first official meeting with the new team in the company’s conference room. Led by their manager, Cen Shu, the discussion focused on the upcoming tour.

Ji Qingshi spent the entire day today accompanying Ren Jiao in the role of an assistant. The other assistants had already grown familiar with her, even calling on her to help with tasks just like they did with Qianqian. At first, Ji Qingshi wasn’t used to it, but as more people asked her, she stopped bothering to explain further.

Cen Shu, aware of her true identity, considered reminding the other assistants not to treat her like a real assistant. But Ji Qingshi behaved naturally, showing no resistance, and Ren Jiao simply said to let her be.

Ji Qingshi also attended the meeting, listening to the arrangements for the upcoming tour. This tour was S-Group’s first major project after officially joining Huaying Entertainment, and they took it very seriously. The tour had originally been planned while they were still under Zenith Entertainment. Tickets for the first few shows had already sold out but then the company suddenly collapsed, leaving fans and audiences anxious, while rumors and speculation ran rampant.

“Now that we’ve officially signed the contract today, tomorrow we’ll roll out the tour promotions across all platforms. All the external noise will naturally die down,” Cen Shu stated during the meeting.

She explained that S-Group now had its own dedicated publicity team, which would handle public opinion far better than before. The new company wouldn’t neglect them like the previous one had, and the negative voices online would gradually fade.

S-Group had debuted at the peak of China’s idol industry, riding the wave of rising idol culture to become the undisputed top group. But this also brought them endless trouble. Companies jealous of their popularity often manipulated public opinion to smear them, insinuating that their dazzling success was achieved through underhanded means, even spreading rumors that they traded their bodies for resources.

Their former boss had only cared about profiting off them, unwilling to spend a single extra cent on their behalf. Naturally, he never bothered to refute these malicious claims, let alone use legal means to fight back.

Over time, if you never deny or counter such accusations, outsiders take it as silent admission, and the rumors grow wilder and more absurd.

As Ji Qingshi listened, her gaze unconsciously drifted to Ren Jiao, who sat leaning back, her expression indifferent, as if the past slander meant nothing to her. Ji Qingshi had always been far removed from the entertainment industry. She had never been a fan of celebrities and had no idea just how infuriating things could get in this world.

If Ren Jiao knew what she was thinking, she’d probably laugh and say, “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Cen Shu continued outlining the upcoming plans: “The first show of the tour is set for Little New Year’s Eve at Bin City Stadium. Tickets were already sold out before, but we’ll make the official announcement tomorrow. With less than half a month left until Little New Year, you’ll need to focus hard on rehearsals.”

“Let’s finalize the setlist today, both group songs and solos so we can start intensive rehearsals tomorrow.”

The seven girls discussed and quickly settled on the setlist for the first tour. After three years since debut, they had released two full albums and three EPs as a group, totaling over thirty songs. Each member also released a solo EP annually. With so many tracks, they couldn’t perform them all in one concert, so choices had to be made.

Once the setlist was confirmed, the meeting adjourned, and everyone headed home. Cen Shu arranged a shuttle bus to take them back, but Ren Jiao mentioned she had an errand to run and wouldn’t be riding with the team.

“Where are you going?” Cen Shu glanced at the time and said, “It’s almost dinner time. Going out alone would make you too conspicuous.”

Ren Jiao replied, “To the sanatorium, to see my mom.”

Hearing she wanted to visit the sanatorium, Cen Shu immediately understood. As their manager, she was well aware of each member’s family situation. She nodded right away, “Then I’ll arrange a car to take you there. Do you want to bring Qianqian along?”

Ren Jiao shook her head, “Let Qianqian go home. Officer Ji can come with me. Since she has to follow me anyway and we live together, there’s no need to make Qianqian make an extra trip.”

Cen Shu paused, realizing it made sense. She joked, “But Qianqian doesn’t know anything about this. She might worry about being replaced.”

Ren Jiao pondered for a moment. Originally, this wasn’t a big deal, but Cen Shu’s remark reminded her with Ji Qingshi inevitably by her side for a long time, she didn’t want Qianqian to feel unsettled.

“I’ll talk to Qianqian myself.”

Cen Shu looked at her, “Are you going to tell her the truth?”

Ren Jiao said, “Just give her the gist. No need to share the specifics. No point in making one more person worry.”

Indeed, as the manager, Cen Shu had been informed of the details. Ren Jiao was involved in the case of Sheng Dingzhe’s arrest, and the fewer people who knew, the better. Telling Qianqian wouldn’t help and would only add to the list of people concerned.

Ren Jiao specifically sought out Qianqian and briefly explained the real reason Ji Qingshi was staying with her, though she kept the details vague, only mentioning that she needed extra protection for a while.

Ji Qingshi leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, watching Ren Jiao and Qianqian whispering not far away. After a short while, their conversation ended, and Ren Jiao walked toward her.

“Thank you for your hard work, Officer Ji. After a whole day out, you still have to accompany me to the sanatorium.”

Ji Qingshi studied her for a moment before shaking her head, “It’s fine. It’s my duty.”

“Ah, duty again,” Ren Jiao sighed deliberately. “Officer Ji really isn’t very romantic.”

“Romantic?” Ji Qingshi’s heart skipped a beat, blinking in confusion. What did this have to do with romance? It was just her job.

Seeing her clueless expression, Ren Jiao sighed inwardly. Her obliviousness was amusing at times, but sometimes it was too much. She couldn’t even say something nice.

Cen Shu arranged a car for them, and the two set off directly from the company to the sanatorium. The Bin Medical University Sanatorium was in the western suburbs, quite a distance from the CBD where the company was located. Combined with the evening rush hour traffic, they arrived well past dinner time.

After three years in the industry, Ren Jiao had earned enough to secure a VIP room for her mother, with the highest standard of nursing and medical care. She also had exclusive VIP access for her visits.

Ji Qingshi followed Ren Jiao into the VIP ward and saw Ren Xiuxian lying on the hospital bed, surrounded by medical equipment.

The nurse was combing Ren Xiuxian’s hair and greeted Ren Jiao as she entered, “Miss Ren, you’re here.”

“Auntie Liu.” Ren Jiao walked to her mother’s side and sat down by the bed, gazing at the woman lying there with her eyes closed, unresponsive.

“Mom, I’m here to see you.”

There was no sign of Ren Xiuxian waking. After being bedridden for so long, her body had rapidly weakened and deteriorated.

Watching her mother like this, Ren Jiao felt a pang of heartache creeping through her chest. She gently held her mother’s hand. It seemed even thinner now, gaunt to the point of being skeletal, the bones pressing sharply against her palm. Yet Ren Jiao vividly remembered a time when those hands had been warm and smooth, firmly clasping her tiny fingers as they guided her through childhood. Later, those same hands had shielded her steadfastly, leading her through the years after they lost her father.

Being the wife of a police officer was no easy role, but Ren Xiuxian had never complained. She loved her husband and daughter deeply, respecting and supporting her husband’s work. Once, she had single-handedly held up the sky for her daughter. Now, it was her daughter’s turn to protect her.