Chapter 119: Replace Him
Gao Xinlin would have to be possessed to let Jiang Su help him up.
He shot Jiang Su a wary look, shrank back, and yelled at his stunned assistant, “Give me a hand!”
The assistant hurriedly reached out and pulled Gao Xinlin to his feet.
As soon as he was up, Gao Xinlin limped to the side, as if afraid Jiang Su would trip him again.
“Director, you saw it. I’m injured. I can’t film today’s scene anymore.” Gao Xinlin held out his hands, showing the director his current state.
The director’s brows furrowed into a knot.
He couldn’t figure out how things had escalated to this point.
Originally, Jiang Su was ready to walk off because Gao Xinlin couldn’t remember his lines and get into character. Now, in this situation, he couldn’t expect anything from Gao Xinlin.
Without waiting for the director to speak, Gao Xinlin limped away, ordering his assistant to support him.
As he left, he didn’t forget to shoot Jiang Su a “you’ll see” glare.
Once they were far enough away, the assistant whispered to Gao Xinlin, “Brother Lin, is it really a good idea to fall out with Jiang Su like this? I heard Huo Qingyan invested in the show because of him…”
“When will you ever use your brain? If Jiang Su was really that close to Huo Qingyan, would he be playing a supporting role to me? Why didn’t they just make Jiang Su the male lead?” Gao Xinlin said with a disdainful look.
The assistant felt that Gao Xinlin’s words made some sense and was at a loss for a reply.
Remembering Jiang Su’s condescending attitude, Gao Xinlin gritted his teeth in anger. “Huo Qingyan is a businessman. Of course, he invested to make money. He invested because he saw my popularity, not because of Jiang Su.”
It was only after Gao Xinlin’s figure disappeared that the director let out a sigh of relief.
He turned to Jiang Su and said in a negotiating tone, “Teacher Jiang, do you think we could film the later scene ahead of schedule?”
“Sure.” Jiang Su had no objection to the director’s arrangement.
A black Rolls-Royce pulled up at the entrance of the gala.
Zhou Fu got out first and walked around to open the car door for Huo Qingyan.
Huo Qingyan, dressed in a well-fitted, plain black suit, stood there with a natural air of authority.
The organizers had released the news of Huo Qingyan’s attendance as soon as he had agreed to come.
As a result, the number of attendees had surged. Besides business celebrities, many reporters had also shown up.
The reporters had arrived early to wait. The moment they saw Huo Qingyan, they all rushed forward, wanting to interview him, but unlike with other celebrities, they didn’t shove their microphones in his face.
They had a certain reverence for Huo Qingyan.
Huo Qingyan’s pace didn’t falter in the slightest, and Zhou Fu understood that he didn’t want to be interviewed.
Zhou Fu stepped forward and blocked the reporters behind Huo Qingyan. “Thank you for your enthusiasm, but President Huo is not accepting interviews today. I apologize.”
Just as Huo Qingyan entered, he felt someone pat his shoulder from behind.
He paused for a moment, then continued walking.
Shen Xiumo jumped out from behind him. “Huo Qingyan, you’re really no fun. Aren’t you curious who patted you?”
Huo Qingyan’s tone was as serious as could be. “You’re thirty years old and still playing these games. You’re quite the character.”
Shen Xiumo: “…” He felt like he’d just been mocked.
Shen Xiumo’s ability to self-regulate was extremely strong. He was only down for three seconds before he asked Huo Qingyan, “Why are you suddenly in the mood to attend this kind of gala?”
“You’re here too, aren’t you?” Huo Qingyan walked on without looking at him.
Shen Xiumo was shocked. “Don’t tell me you came because I’m here?”
“Mm,” Huo Qingyan replied.
He had been too efficient at work lately and had nothing to do, even if he wanted to work overtime, so he decided to come out. He received countless invitations every day for all sorts of banquets, galas, and events. He figured a gala that Shen Xiumo would attend probably wouldn’t be too boring.
Shen Xiumo was so shocked his pupils dilated, and he jumped far away. “Something’s wrong with you!!”
Huo Qingyan gave him a look as if he were looking at an idiot, then continued walking inside.
At that moment, Zhou Fu finished dealing with the reporters and caught up.
As soon as Shen Xiumo saw Zhou Fu, he rushed over and grabbed him. “Zhou Fu, I have a serious question for you, and you have to answer it seriously.”
Zhou Fu said, “President Shen, you can let go of me before you speak.”
There were many tabloid reporters around today, and he was worried that being seen in a scuffle with Shen Xiumo would start rumors.
Shen Xiumo let go of him and pouted. “Why are you acting just like your President Huo…”
“What did you want to ask, President Shen?” Zhou Fu selectively ignored Shen Xiumo’s comment.
Shen Xiumo asked, “Your President Huo… does he not like Jiang Su anymore?”
Zhou Fu: “Hmm?”
Shen Xiumo rephrased, “Let me put it more directly. Is Huo Qingyan interested in me?”
Zhou Fu: “What??”
President Shen had seemed fine the last time he saw him. What was wrong this time? Had he finally been secretly drugged and driven mad by an ex-boyfriend for being too much of a player?
Seeing Zhou Fu’s expression change, Shen Xiumo grew anxious. “Why are you staring at me? Just say it.”
“President Shen, I think you might have some misunderstandings about yourself. Mr. Jiang is outstanding in every way. Our President Huo is a normal person, so of course, he still likes Mr. Jiang.”
Zhou Fu’s tone was gentle and his words were tactful. At first glance, the sentence seemed perfectly fine.
Shen Xiumo only heard the last part.
He let out a long sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
It wasn’t until Zhou Fu walked away that Shen Xiumo belatedly realized that Zhou Fu had been implying he was inferior to Jiang Su and that he wasn’t normal…
He could accept being told he was inferior to Jiang Su. But being told he wasn’t normal!
Shen Xiumo was furious. He decided that from now on, the first thing he would do every morning was to curse Huo Qingyan to go bankrupt. Then he would hire Zhou Fu at a high salary and torment him every day!
Zhou Fu found Huo Qingyan and said in a low voice, “President Huo, I just got a call from the film crew.”
Huo Qingyan, who had been looking relaxed, tensed up. “What happened?”
“This afternoon, Mr. Jiang had a scene with Gao Xinlin. Gao Xinlin was two hours late and couldn’t remember his lines. Mr. Jiang was very angry, and they had a big argument. They almost came to blows…”
Zhou Fu noticed Huo Qingyan’s face darken and knew there was no need to go into the details. He cut to the chase. “Mr. Jiang didn’t lose out, and he wasn’t injured.”
Huo Qingyan’s face was grim as he said just two words: “Replace him.”
“Replace Gao Xinlin?” Zhou Fu confirmed. “Gao Xinlin is the male lead.”
Huo Qingyan turned to look at him. “Someone who’s not punctual and can’t remember his lines can be a male lead?”
As a work machine, Huo Qingyan was genuinely puzzled that such a person could be a male lead.
Zhou Fu didn’t grasp Huo Qingyan’s confusion, only that he was determined to replace Gao Xinlin. “I’ll take care of it right away.”
