Chapter 18: He Only Feared No One Could Protect Chen Wei
It was ten minutes later when Chen Wei saw Han Chi again.
From the time he went in to the time he came out, so little time had passed that it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened inside.
As for whether he could act in the company’s self-produced drama, Chen Wei didn’t really care.
It was just that Han Chi’s view was that, no matter what, he was a member of Xingyao Media.
When they weren’t popular before, it was one thing for the company not to give them resources.
Now that they had finally caught a wave of popularity, they had to get something out of the company.
Otherwise, wouldn’t all the commissions taken from them over the years be the equivalent of feeding a dog for nothing?
Since Han Chi wanted to try, Chen Wei accompanied him.
In the distance, Han Chi’s figure was walking toward him.
However, what first caught Chen Wei’s eye was the distracted, crestfallen expression on Han Chi’s face.
Startled, Chen Wei quickly stepped forward and grabbed Han Chi. “Brother Han?”
The familiar voice finally pulled back a sliver of Han Chi’s focus.
Raising his head and realizing it was Chen Wei, he tried to act as if nothing had happened, quickly suppressing his expression.
Restoring his usual smile, Han Chi patted Chen Wei’s hand lightly. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
But Chen Wei was no fool.
If it were a simple rejection, according to the usual pattern, Han Chi’s face should be filled with boundless rage right now.
He feared that something else he didn’t know about had happened in the office.
Was it Jiang Chuan?
In the entire company, those who could affect Brother Han and cause such a large emotional fluctuation…
Jiang Chuan, who had betrayed him, was one of them.
But Chen Wei quickly shook his head, dismissing his guess.
Normally, conversations between a manager and high-level company officials were conducted away from the artists.
Although Han Chi told him every time that he didn’t need to care about these broken company rules…
Chen Wei didn’t want to give people a reason to gossip.
Therefore, as soon as the two entered the company, he took the initiative to find an excuse to part ways with Han Chi.
Because of this, he had the chance to cross paths with Jiang Chuan, who had entered after them.
He remembered clearly that the direction Jiang Chuan eventually left in was not toward the Director’s office.
Such a short amount of time wasn’t enough for him to make a round trip.
So, whatever happened in the Director’s office shouldn’t have anything to do with Jiang Chuan.
But besides Jiang Chuan, Chen Wei couldn’t think of a second person in the whole company who could affect Han Chi.
Chen Wei knew a bit about Han Chi’s past in the company.
Introduced by someone in the circle, he entered the entertainment industry, worked as an artist’s assistant for three years, and then successfully transitioned into an artist manager.
His first artist, Jiang Chuan, won the Best Newcomer Award in his debut year.
Perhaps it was the arrogance of a “newborn calf not fearing the tiger.”
During the year Han Chi was at his peak, he made many enemies in the company while fighting for resources for Jiang Chuan.
Later, he was betrayed by Jiang Chuan.
When he wanted to quit the industry, he met the current Chen Wei.
In the beginning, their “duo that no one wanted” had to face mockery and cold eyes from rivals almost every day.
Later, he met Zhou Sijin.
After having Zhou Sijin, they no longer relied on the company for their livelihood.
Except for appearing at the company during the annual meeting, he and Han Chi basically wouldn’t step through the doors of Xingyao Media unless it was absolutely necessary.
Without the meaning of competition, their former rivals naturally couldn’t be bothered to pay them any attention.
In three years, influenced by Chen Wei’s temperament, Han Chi had slowly begun to live a low-profile life, so there was no such thing as offending people.
Excluding these, Chen Wei could only think of one possibility.
However, with people coming and going in the company right now, some things couldn’t be said directly.
It wasn’t until they sat in the car that Chen Wei had the chance to ask about his guess.
“It was Xu Cheng, right?”
There was no work today, and besides the driver, Xiao Wu, there was no one else in the car.
The out-of-context sentence startled Han Chi.
“What?”
He hadn’t even reacted to Chen Wei’s words.
Then he saw Chen Wei’s lips curl slightly into a smile as he looked at him:
“Xu Cheng probably wanted me to go accompany someone at a drinking party, right?”
Han Chi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“…You…?”
Seeing the stuttering reaction, Chen Wei didn’t speak; he just gave a very light laugh.
He hadn’t expected that even after three years, Xu Cheng was still dwelling on this matter.
Regarding Xu Cheng, Chen Wei’s feelings were complicated.
After all, it was Xu Cheng who had discovered him on the street and brought him into this circle.
But it was also Xu Cheng who, after he rejected that proposal of trading his body for resources, ruthlessly tossed him to Han Chi to deal with.
If it were in the past, he would certainly have sneered at Xu Cheng’s methods.
But now…
Chen Wei lowered his eyes.
The matter of Zhou Sijin going abroad to find his “White Moonlight” hadn’t been settled yet.
Given his status, he naturally wouldn’t be so dull as to chase after Zhou Sijin and ask.
He still remembered why the two of them had parted on bad terms in the Borai office on the day of the advertisement shoot.
Perhaps in Zhou Sijin’s eyes, he had always been just an optional plaything, carrying the status of a lover who couldn’t be shown in public.
In that case…
After a moment of silence, Chen Wei raised his head and reached out to Han Chi with a normal expression.
“Give it to me.”
“Give what?” The random movement startled Han Chi again.
Chen Wei didn’t answer; his calm gaze moved unhurriedly to Han Chi’s jacket pocket following his question.
Ignoring the shock in his heart, Han Chi quickly looked down, following Chen Wei’s gaze.
Then, seeing the small section of the white business card exposed in his trouser pocket, he reflexively moved to cover it.
But because the movement was too large, the business card lightly rubbed against the smooth pocket fabric and was about to fall out.
Chen Wei was quick-eyed and quick-handed, catching the business card before it slipped away.
It was too late for Han Chi to stop him.
Lowering his eyes to examine the business card in his hand, the large words “Yuanchen Technology” quickly drew Chen Wei’s attention.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
A moment later, the palm holding the card began to exert pressure uncontrollably.
Chen Wei’s tone carried a rare hint of anger: “What does Xu Cheng mean by this?”
Back then, the entire company knew about the conflict between Han Chi and the Chairman of Yuanchen Technology, Zhang Chen, over Jiang Chuan.
Shortly after Jiang Chuan won his award, Zhang Chen of Yuanchen Technology expressed his interest in Jiang Chuan at a victory banquet.
As Jiang Chuan’s manager, Han Chi naturally was the first to disagree with “hidden rules” being applied to his artist.
But the other party was a client—an investor who couldn’t be offended.
As a manager, Han Chi inevitably had to step forward to apologize.
He just hadn’t expected that President Zhang of Yuanchen Technology was an old lecher. As soon as he saw Han Chi, he immediately turned his sights on him instead.
Taking advantage of the opportunity while Han Chi was pouring wine to apologize, Zhang Chen shamelessly felt Han Chi up.
In the beginning, Han Chi could still suppress his disgust and deal with him with a smile between glasses.
Until that old lecher declared that he wanted Han Chi to sleep with him for a night instead of Jiang Chuan.
The final result was that Han Chi, unable to bear it any longer, ruthlessly picked up the wine in his hand and splashed it all over Zhang Chen.
Afterward, Zhang Chen spread the word in the circle, vowing to blackball him.
So, as the company’s Director, knowing full well that Zhang Chen hated Han Chi to the core, why would Xu Cheng stuff his business card into Han Chi’s hand?
Given Han Chi’s personality, it was absolutely impossible for him to have taken this card himself.
Unless…
Recalling the way Han Chi looked when he came out of Xu Cheng’s office just now, Chen Wei’s gaze toward him became much sharper in an instant.
“Did Xu Cheng threaten you?”
Privately, Han Chi didn’t want to tell Chen Wei what had happened in the office.
He still remembered Xu Cheng’s threatening words before he left:
“Do you think that after you leave the company, and no one is left to protect Chen Wei, how long he can remain safe and sound?”
Xu Cheng had threatened him with the expiration of his contract; it was clear he had no intention of renewing it.
He did want Chen Wei to leave Xingyao Media with him.
But Chen Wei’s contract hadn’t expired yet, and the breach of contract penalty was a significant amount for both of them.
With his and Chen Wei’s current net worth, even if they combined all their assets, it likely wouldn’t be enough to cover even a third of the penalty.
Han Chi wasn’t afraid of leaving.
He only feared that after he left Xingyao Media, no one would protect Chen Wei.
So Xu Cheng’s threat had truly struck Han Chi right where it hurt most.
He understood Xu Cheng’s meaning.
It was either him or Chen Wei.
Either way, the matter of finding Zhang Chen to trade their bodies for resources was set in stone.
If he didn’t do it, Chen Wei would have to do it after he left.
That incident back then had been so big; his suicidal act of splashing wine on Zhang Chen had offended the man to the core.
Now that Xu Cheng dared to so blatantly hand him Zhang Chen’s business card, it must have been approved by Zhang Chen himself.
Zhang Chen wanted to settle the score with him.
But the trouble was caused by him; there was no need to let Chen Wei suffer with him.
According to his plan, he had originally intended to secretly find Zhang Chen after today without telling Chen Wei.
While apologizing to Zhang Chen for the incident back then, he would see if he could secure some resources for Chen Wei during this final period.
But now, Chen Wei was pressing him step by step.
Meeting his gaze, Han Chi let out a helpless, long sigh.
“Xiao Wei, my contract with Xingyao Media is about to expire.”
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