Chapter 38: The Industry Plant

"Thanks, handsome."

The moment Qi Fei said "handsome," Su Xiang beamed. He had been sulking for days after she asked him, "Is he handsome?" the last time.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to remind her, "This variety show relies entirely on your own improvisation, and those guys are all seasoned veterans."

"You must keep your wits about you during the recording. You're so naive that you'll be easily led astray by them if you're not careful."

Qi Fei: "..."

Did she really look like such a wide-eyed innocent?

"Is there a script for this show?"

"Of course there is, but you lot don't know it. It's all up to you."

Understood. If there really was no script, then Qi Fei was actually interested.

As soon as Qi Fei returned, she heard the director say, "We will record a segment shortly, then you'll have free interaction. Filming starts at six tomorrow morning."

Du Hui was the oldest and most calculating of the group. Though he remained smiling on the surface, he was still somewhat resistant to Qi Fei's presence.

He spoke up with a didactic tone, "Now that we finally have a girl on the show, let's avoid those physically demanding tasks, shall we?"

This wasn't just for Qi Fei's sake; he hadn't slept well yesterday and wanted to use her as an excuse to get the director to arrange easier tasks.

If Qi Fei didn't have the ability to read minds, she might have actually believed him.

Hearing this, the director looked at Qi Fei. She was, after all, a friend of the investor, so he had to tread carefully.

Still, the director didn't forget to give her a cautionary note: "On this show, you can't have any 'idol baggage.'" She needed to let go and be herself for the sake of authenticity; he didn't want the program's quality to suffer because of her.

[Even if she was pushed in by the investor, she still needs to follow the rules.]

[That is what distinguishes us from other variety shows.]

Qi Fei waved her hand. "No need to go easy on me. I'll follow whatever the production team arranges."

Qi Fei had no objections. To be honest, she didn't even really know what "idol baggage" was yet.

Hearing this, the director felt half-relieved. He hoped she would stick to her word.

With that settled, the group began filming, which served as a teaser for Qi Fei's introduction.

In the short hour or two they had spent together, Qi Fei realized that the four of them had a genuinely good rapport.

To be honest, this was unexpected. Based on her previous assumptions, they had only been brought together for work, so she was surprised by the depth of their personal connection.

Actually, before arriving, Qi Fei had decided to just keep her head down and follow the crowd, doing whatever was asked. Whether she was on camera or not didn't really matter, as more screen time wouldn't bring extra pay anyway.

But given this situation, combined with the lack of a script, Qi Fei—who had initially only come for the money—found herself genuinely interested.

Once the recording wrapped, Qi Fei couldn't wait to find something to eat. Looking at the other four, she felt like a newcomer who couldn't quite fit in; eating with them would feel awkward.

Seeing them head to their rooms, Qi Fei didn't knock. Just as she reached the lobby, she saw Su Xiang sitting there.

"Xiangxiang!"

"You didn't leave?" She thought he said he had things to do.

"I guessed you'd come down to find food on your own." After all, Qi Fei wasn't close with the others.

"Come on, let's go find Yangzi and make him treat us to a meal."

Oh, right. Wan Yang was in Shanghai.

"Yangzi, Yangzi, where are you? Come out and treat us to dinner."

"Qiqi and I are here," Su Xiang had already posted in their group chat, along with their current location.

With a local around, they were bound to find good food. Qi Fei, no longer in a rush, hopped into Su Xiang's car.

Shortly after the two left, the others came down together and happened to see Qi Fei getting into Su Xiang's car.

Men can be gossipy too.

"What do you think the relationship is between Qi Fei and President Su? Are they a couple?" Bai Chunle peeked slyly toward the entrance before turning back to ask.

They were about the same age—one a rich second-generation heir, the other a stunning celebrity. They looked like a perfect match.

Except for Bai Chunle, the other three were all seasoned veterans. Ba Yong glanced at the entrance. "Just friends, I'd say."

He had observed them closely; there were no ambiguous glances between them, and their behavior was perfectly normal.

"No wonder Qi Fei was able to make a comeback despite all the smear campaigns. Turns out she had a powerful patron."

"Word on the street is that the boss of Sandu Entertainment has been arrested."

"Gao Fenghua?"

Hearing this, everyone looked at Du Hui, who had broken the news, all of them wearing expressions of shock.

"Is that for real?"

"Could it be..."

They all simultaneously looked in the direction where the two had disappeared.

None of them were fools; they immediately linked the event to Qi Fei.

Du Hui wasn't sure if Qi Fei was the cause, but the timing was too coincidental not to make one suspicious.

None of them were stupid. For a celebrity to go up against a top-tier entertainment company, make a comeback, and even have the boss sent to jail—that wasn't something an ordinary person could do.

Who among them hadn't been exploited by an entertainment company at some point? Yet Qi Fei had managed to secure a contract termination with ease while it was still active.

Although they claimed it was because the contract had expired, anyone with a discerning eye knew that was just a face-saving excuse for both parties; it wasn't a secret in the industry.

But no one expected Qi Fei to be so formidable that she could actually send the boss of an entertainment company to prison.

Looking at it now, getting that contract release didn't seem as simple as it had appeared on the surface.

"Is the news reliable?"

Compared to the nature of Qi Fei and Su Xiang's relationship, the group was now more concerned with this.

"Whether it's true or not, we'll know as soon as the authorities step in."

Qi Fei, unaware that Gao Fenghua had been arrested, was currently in the car waiting for word from Wan Yang.

Wan Yang didn't appear, but Shi Lin and Tong Sheng were flushed out by the group chat.

"Brother Xiang, when did you go to Shanghai? Why didn't you tell me? You actually went to see Qiqi behind my back!"

"That's so low."

Tong Sheng checked the location in the group chat and looked out the window, surprised that Qi Fei had also come to Shanghai.

"Does Qiqi have a promotional gig?" Otherwise, she should be on set at this time.

Qi Fei watched with amusement as Su Xiang and Shi Lin traded barbs in the group chat. Seeing Tong Sheng's message, she replied, "Smart. With President Su's help, I'm here for a few days to record 'Extreme Variety'."

"President Su? Su Xiang?"

"Who else? This guy is full of surprises. I only found out after I got here that little Xiangxiang had become my boss."

"You guys went to Shanghai?"

"I'm in Guangzhou," Wan Yang finally chimed in, posting his current location.

"Well, there goes our host. He's out of town."

Qi Fei's stomach gave a timely growl. "Hungry?"

"Let's go. I'm practically a local myself; I'll take you to eat something good." Su Xiang came here many times a year.

Tong Sheng thought for a moment but decided not to mention that he was also in Shanghai. None of them had expected him to be back in the country.

Watching Su Xiang post photos of them eating and drinking happily all night in the group chat, Tong Sheng felt a slight pang of regret for not speaking up, but it was too late now.

After dinner, the two went to a quiet bar owned by a friend of Su Xiang's.

When the owner saw who was with Su Xiang, he stopped doing business and locked the doors, which made Qi Fei feel a bit embarrassed.

"Is this really okay?" It was bad for the owner's business.

Su Xiang waved his hand and pointed at the owner. "This guy lacks everything except money."

[This wealthy heir is so poor he only has money.]

He had called him after dinner, and the guy had rushed over specifically; otherwise, who knew where he'd be partying right now. [He only opened this place to host friends, not to make money.]

Hearing this, Qi Fei felt at ease.