The Vicious Cannon Fodder Despised by Everyone Really Doesn't Want to Go Viral - Chapter 34

As soon as Lin Zhiyu finished speaking, the girl seemed to sense something was wrong. She quickly lowered her head to avoid their gaze, tilting her phone just enough for Chen Chen to see the camera interface on her screen.

“Holy crap, you were right!” Chen Chen squeezed his fists in excitement, looking eager to jump into action. “Should I go make her delete those photos?”

“What is the rush? Sit for a while,” Lin Zhiyu replied unhurriedly, calming him down.

Chen Chen spoke up again, “Lin-ge, perhaps we should head upstairs first. There are too many eyes down here, and with your current popularity, it is not exactly convenient.”

Lin Zhiyu, however, did not seem to care. He tapped his finger lightly on the tabletop and said in a breezy tone, “It is not as if my face is hidden from the world. Besides, with these large sunglasses blocking me, there is no risk of a ‘bad facial expression’ moment. If she wants to take pictures, let her.”

Chen Chen’s eyes widened. “Lin-ge, your mindset is impressive! But should we not guard against a ‘what if’ scenario? These days, fake rumors can be seventy or eighty percent believable. If she actually posts something outrageous to ride our hype, we are the ones who will lose out.”

Lin Zhiyu smiled lazily, his gaze drifting elsewhere. “Let her. If she dares to post it, it is not as if I do not dare to sue.”

As the two were talking, the wind chimes at the door suddenly jingled, followed by the sound of leather shoes striking the floor.

Lin Zhiyu looked back at the sound and saw Xu Dongdong walking in, dressed in a sharp suit and wearing his usual pretentious smile.

The moment his eyes landed on Lin Zhiyu, his face immediately adopted an enthusiastic expression, a stark contrast to his previous attitude. He walked over quickly. “Oh, Zhiyu! I kept you waiting, did I not? My apologies. I was just sending a newcomer to a gig and got stuck in traffic.”

“You should have told me in advance that you were coming today. Signing a contract is not such a big deal; I could have just had Chen Chen run the errand. Why work so hard?”

Lin Zhiyu’s lips curled into a faint, superficial smile. He stood up and gestured toward the company building. “It is fine. I am on break anyway.”

Smiling broadly, Xu Dongdong followed beside him as they left the cafe. He pulled out his phone to reply to messages while talking. “Aya, it has been so lively lately! Every time I open Weibo, it is full of people praising you! I told you long ago that as long as you have real talent, you will slap those haters in the face sooner or later.”

The words sounded like praise, but they carried an inexplicable air of condescension and a hint of hypocrisy.

Lin Zhiyu caught the subtext but did not bother to respond. He pressed the elevator button and walked in, eyes fixed straight ahead.

“However,” Xu Dongdong glanced at him, his smile suddenly becoming meaningful, “I saw the video Director Zhao released last night. Tsk tsk, your performance in it was indeed excellent. For someone as strict as Zhao Jinyu to appreciate you so much and even go through the trouble of adding so many scenes for you, that must have taken a lot of effort, right?”

Lin Zhiyu had already suspected that Xu Dongdong knew about the “real versus fake young master” situation and knew he had been abandoned by the Lin family. That was why Xu had dared to treat him so dismissively before.

Now, likely because Lin Zhiyu had accidentally salvaged a bit of his reputation, combined with Wen Lu’s downfall and Zhao Jinyu’s special treatment, Xu Dongdong sensed something unusual. He had shifted his attitude slightly and was intentionally testing to see if Lin Zhiyu had found a new “backer.”

If it were the original Lin Zhiyu with his straightforward personality, he probably would have started bragging by now if he truly had someone backing him up.

But Lin Zhiyu was not that kind of person.

Furthermore, he did not know if Mu Sui was willing to be treated as his “backer.”

He put on a face that suggested, “Huh? What are you talking about? I do not understand,” gazing at Xu Dongdong with a look of blank innocence.

Sure enough, Xu Dongdong’s expression visibly relaxed.

Even his tone changed slightly. “Director Zhao really went to great lengths. With your acting skills, if she had not mobilized a ton of resources to support you and used her miraculous editing, I am afraid the results would not have been this good.”

Chen Chen could not take it anymore. He frowned and asked, “Brother Xu, what is that supposed to mean?”

Xu Dongdong raised a hand, feigning innocence. “Aya, do not misunderstand. I am just saying that external support is also a part of one’s strength. Everyone online is praising Zhiyu right now, and of course, I am happy for him. But as his manager, I still have an obligation to remind him: do not let the online flattery go to your head. We would not want you stirring up trouble like you did in the past.”

Though he called it “guidance,” it was a suppression filled with hidden thorns in every word.

The elevator doors opened. Lin Zhiyu stepped out first, then turned back with a half-smile, looking down slightly at Xu Dongdong.

“Do not worry, Brother Xu. I know what I am doing. I do not get ‘heated’ easily anymore.”

“Well, that is just grand.” Xu Dongdong pulled his lips into a dark smirk. He opened his office door, walked quickly to his desk, unlocked a drawer, and pulled out a contract, handing it to Lin Zhiyu.

He muttered under his breath, “Did I not always tell you to change your personality? See? How much better is this?”

Lin Zhiyu smiled and remained silent.

“Here. This is the contract you signed with the Blue Bird crew earlier. Check whatever you need to compare for yourself.” As Xu Dongdong spoke, he pulled out his chair to sit down.

However, at that exact moment, Chen Chen poked his head in from outside and shouted, “Brother Xu! The legal department is calling for you. They said there is something they are not quite clear on.”

Xu Dongdong was confused. “Who came to call me? Did they say what it was?”

“He just left a message and walked off. I did not hear clearly. Why do not you go over and talk to them personally?”

Xu Dongdong shot a hesitant look at Lin Zhiyu.

“If you have business, go ahead, Brother Xu. I will start looking into how much we should increase the salary. If I have questions, I will tell you all at once when you get back.” Lin Zhiyu looked at him with a kind gaze.

Xu Dongdong hesitated for a moment as if weighing something. But half a minute later, he said, “Take your time looking then. I will go find out what this is about and come right back.”

As soon as Xu Dongdong left the room, Chen Chen immediately followed. “Hey, Brother Xu, can I come along to learn? If there are company secrets, I will step out.”

The office door clicked shut. Lin Zhiyu looked up, and once he heard the footsteps and voices fading away, he quickly tossed the contract on the desk. He yanked open Xu Dongdong’s drawer and rummaged through, finding every contract related to himself.

Time was tight. He found the livestreaming contract and immediately started recording a video. As for the others, he did not have time to read them; he just photographed as many as he could.

The clock on the wall ticked away. Lin Zhiyu held his breath, the sound of his fingertips touching the paper sounding excessively loud in the quiet room. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his heart hammered like a drum.

He did not dare flip the pages too fast, fearing the camera would not focus, but he did not dare go too slow either, as if an invisible hand were strangling time. Every time he heard a footstep outside, he stiffened as if struck by lightning.

An unknown amount of time passed until Chen Chen’s voice echoed outside again.

Lin Zhiyu’s movements were nearly a blur. He stacked the contracts in order, shoved them back into the drawer, and immediately returned to his original seat. He picked up the Blue Bird contract, pretending to look deeply troubled.

“Aya, is it not just that Wen Lu was too much of a bully? Besides, there is nothing wrong with Lin-ge defending his legitimate rights. Our evidence chain is complete; we will win the second we sue.”

“You are not a law student, so do not sound so certain,” Xu Dongdong said dismissively. He pushed the door open, and seeing Lin Zhiyu look up curiously, he blurted out, “Why did you not tell me you sued Wen Lu?”

Lin Zhiyu’s expression went blank for a few seconds before he reacted sluggishly. He slapped his forehead and said sheepishly, “Oh man! How did I forget about that!”

Xu Dongdong subconsciously glanced at his desk. Finding nothing out of place, he walked over to the sofa and sat down.

“While Chen Chen was driving me to the set earlier, I was bored, so I just whipped up a complaint and submitted a case application through the court’s service system.” Lin Zhiyu scratched his hair. “The review time is seven days, and I had to resubmit some materials halfway through. I got busy and forgot. Why? Did the legal department call you because Wen Lu wants to mediate?”

Xu Dongdong looked at Lin Zhiyu with a complex expression, as if he could not believe such a “sophisticated” maneuver could come from Lin Zhiyu’s brain.

“You wrote the complaint?”

Lin Zhiyu nodded like a chick pecking at grain. “Yes. But I had someone polish it for me. Do not worry, Brother Xu, I did not reveal my real identity; that person does not know it was me.”

In truth, he had written it all himself. He only shifted the credit to someone else because he was afraid Xu Dongdong would get suspicious.

Xu Dongdong asked, “Eighty thousand dollars in compensation?”

“I consulted someone. Loss of earnings, mental distress… eighty thousand should be much for Wen Lu, right? Though if he really wants to fight the lawsuit, the payout might be a bit less. But we will definitely win.”

Xu Dongdong looked at him with an expression that was hard to describe.

Lin Zhiyu realized instantly: this guy thought it was too little.

“You should have discussed this with us beforehand instead of always acting on your own! It is not just me; the legal department did not even know what was going on when they got the call!” Xu Dongdong rubbed his hair, masking the impatience on his face. “Lin Zhiyu, you always make things difficult for me!”

If I told you in advance, how could I have had Chen Chen distract you? Lin Zhiyu thought.

“It will not happen again, Brother Xu.”

But outwardly, he admitted his mistake with an honest and submissive air.

He handed the contract back to Xu Dongdong and continued, “I have thought about it. Increase the salary a bit, but not too much. Nominally, it counts as me ‘saving the day.’ It will be good for building a reputation.”

Lin Zhiyu opened his mouth and softly quoted a figure.

Xu Dongdong’s eyes flickered, appearing dissatisfied with the decision. Just as he opened his mouth to argue, Lin Zhiyu seemingly anticipated his move and interrupted him. “Brother Xu, you are the one who taught me to take the long view. I cannot let a little flattery go to my head. I need to stay grounded. We would not want Zhao Jinyu thinking I am greedy and refusing to give us even this much money.”

Xu Dongdong: “…”

Lin Zhiyu gave him a mechanical smile, stood up, and waved to Chen Chen.

“Then it is settled. I have another gig tonight, so I will head out first. Sorry for the trouble, Brother Xu.”

With that, he bolted, not giving Xu Dongdong a single chance to ask him to stay.

The office door slammed shut. Xu Dongdong threw the contract onto the sofa and cursed, “Dammit! All that for such a petty matter, and he made me run back here for it!”

The moment Lin Zhiyu sat back in the car, his phone, which had been on silent for a long time, flashed with an incoming call.

The notification bar showed eight other missed calls, all from the same number.

Lin Zhiyu casually answered. Wen Lu’s low voice came through the line, sounding like a bomb about to explode: “Lin Zhiyu, what is the meaning of this? You told me to talk to your legal department, but they had no idea what was going on! Are you playing me?”

Lin Zhiyu said nothing.

Wen Lu also fell silent for a moment. It was unclear if someone on his end had said something or if he had realized something himself, but half a minute later, he said through gritted teeth: “I am sorry. I was a bit aggressive just now. I know I was wrong. I am apologizing to you. I was possessed; I should not have tried to harm you. I will do whatever else you want, just tell him to let me go.”

Lin Zhiyu finally spoke. “I agree to mediation. The requirements are as stated in the complaint: a letter of guarantee, a public apology on Weibo, and eighty thousand in compensation. As for President Mu, you will have to talk to him yourself. After all, I am not the one he is angry at. I cannot just agree on his behalf.”

“Otherwise, if I am that ungrateful, he will get angry with me, too.”