Chapter 7: Everyone Wants a Piece of the Action
As her number one long-time fan, Cheng Xiao Xiao knew Miss Worry-Free in real life. The little angel’s real name was Gu You, and she was in the same line of work as Cheng Xiao Xiao. Her sudden, imaginative message took Cheng Xiao Xiao by surprise. She paused for a moment and began to seriously reflect.
Could it be that, subconsciously, she had a crush on Lu Xiao Shan all those years ago? Is that why she wrote him to be so popular with the fans?
That can’t be right! If she’d had a crush on him, how could she not have realized it back then? A secret crush wasn’t her style—she was usually quite direct with her feelings.
Cheng Xiao Xiao considered herself to be very rational and objective about this. After a long while of thinking, she couldn’t pinpoint where she had written anything out of line that would give her readers the wrong idea. So, she calmly tapped on her keyboard and asked, “Alright, tell me, which part gave you this delusion? I’ll change it!”
“…Author, you can’t be serious. Overcorrecting isn’t your style. Freedom and openness are your thing!” Gu You replied with a “hehehe” snickering emoji to show her skepticism. “An over-the-top reaction is more likely to cause a misunderstanding, you know (＾Ｕ＾)ノ~ＹＯ”
Cheng Xiao Xiao looked up at the ceiling, speechless, and sent back a “haha.” This group of book fans of hers loved to play detective. They could spin countless theories from the tiniest clue—which also meant that sometimes, when they went down the wrong path, they became a bit obstinate. Oh well, they were her fans, after all. She’d have to put up with their wild imaginations.
The chat box showed that the other person was typing. A moment later, Gu You sent over a long, well-reasoned analysis: “Author, I have plenty of evidence—in that book from ten years ago, you wrote Brother Yi so well! He was so vivid, powerful when he needed to be, and smart when it counted. Although he was a bit tragic and angsty in the beginning… that part of the plot was quite down-to-earth. Later on, Brother Yi was both cool and cute, and there was even a subtle hint of sweetness! Who knew that after a dozen or so chapters, things would take a turn! Brother Yi’s earlier plans were laid out so perfectly, just waiting for him and Brother Ze to join forces and secretly close the net. But he ended up messing things up because of some white lotus. That’s just so out of character! With Brother Yi’s intelligence, how could he fall for a white lotus’s tricks? So, right here, I strongly suspect that you were in a bad mood and deliberately set up a low-level obstacle for Brother Yi, and then forced him to trip over it!!!”
Girl, that’s because your girlfriend filter is too strong!
Cheng Xiao Xiao held her coffee, calmly looking at the string of astonishing exclamation marks at the end. She shook her head with a resigned and emotional smile. With one hand, she poked at the keyboard and slowly replied, “There’s a saying—a beauty’s trap, a hero’s grave. I think it’s very fitting here. You’re able to connect such a clichéd plot point to an ex-boyfriend. Your imagination is quite something.”
“Author, I’m not done yet,” Gu You replied unhurriedly, full of confidence, and continued to type. “Originally, I couldn’t figure it out either. After all, Brother Yi was so reliable in the beginning, and then suddenly collapsed later on. There must have been a reason! From my many years of knowing you, Author, you never make mistakes like that. So if the reason can’t be found in the book, then looking at the bigger picture, it’s very likely due to something in real life. The most direct reason is that you probably got tired of Brother Yi! As for why, there’s too little information to speculate—but, this time, Brother Yi has come back from the dead! That’s what’s so incredible! The way Brother Yi made his entrance at the beginning, with that aura of an overwhelmingly powerful boss, it looks like he’s back to do great things! Hahaha, comparing the before and after, with this trope, I can come up with a whole romance novel in my head in minutes! The narrative perspective you’re using this time, Author, is so much like the female lead’s perspective of the male lead at the beginning of a romance novel! It really makes one wonder—are you about to rekindle an old flame with an ex-boyfriend?”
This… how could these two things even be connected? Are readers’ imaginations all this rich nowadays? A single scene from an author who doesn’t even write romance could make her readers conjure up a whole romantic drama?
Cheng Xiao Xiao was speechless, instantly admitting defeat. She sent a “respect” emoji: “You win, young lady! I have no rebuttal! It’s your imagination, you call the shots!”
In stark contrast to Cheng Xiao Xiao’s lighthearted and cheerful banter with her fans, Lu Xiao Shan’s face was currently shrouded in gloom. His back was a heavy silhouette in the darkness as he stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze dark as he listened to the report from the person behind him. His entire being was like a cold, unsheathed sword, radiating a chill that could be felt from a distance.
Lin Yi, standing in the office, felt as if the heating wasn’t turned up high enough today. He shivered, glanced at the new message on his phone, and carefully began, “Brother Shan, the paparazzi just sent over the rest of the photos. They’re asking for… thirteen million…”
These little punks really knew how to pick their moments, stirring up trouble before the New Year was even over. Not to mention, Ding Yuan was only in the preparatory stages of going public; this bit of gossip was just a drop in the bucket and wouldn’t have any impact. Even if it were right at the time of the IPO, he’d bet his life that these people wouldn’t get a single cent.
Did they really think Brother Shan was as easy to extort as those celebrities? Damn it, these brain-dead punks had even dragged in the woman who had been on a blind date with Brother Shan. Just the fact that she could sit there calmly and listen to Brother Shan on the phone during the date meant she was no ordinary person. Was she someone that any common paparazzo could just slander and fabricate stories about?
Damn! Treating them like they were in the entertainment industry and ripe for the picking! They must be tired of living!
Lin Yi cursed inwardly. Before he could finish, he felt the temperature around him drop another degree. He could only cautiously glance at Lu Xiao Shan’s back, swallow the rest of his words, and take two steps forward to hand the phone to Lu Xiao Shan. He tentatively explained, “Brother Shan, I took a look. You’re only in the photos from the back. Those guys were probably squatting in the building across the street and happened to get… that… that lady…”
Unsure of how to address the person in the photo, Lin Yi stammered for a long time. Glancing at Lu Xiao Shan’s profile, shrouded in shadow, the word “sister-in-law” remained stuck in his throat. He ended up choking and coughing twice, swallowing the title that was on the tip of his tongue. “Ahem, they just… happened to get a front shot of the woman. It’s from a distance, so it’s blurry, but it does look a bit like that celebrity, Lin Wan…”
Lu Xiao Shan took the phone, and Lin Yi’s words came to an abrupt halt. He held his breath, waiting until Lu Xiao Shan had slowly scrolled through all the photos before he finally let out a sigh of relief. He took the phone back and continued to explain, “These guys clearly came prepared, but their heads aren’t screwed on right. I don’t know what they’re plotting. I’ve got two IT guys helping me trace the IP right now—”
As he was speaking, his phone chimed with a notification. Looking down at the message, Lin Yi almost cursed out loud. He gritted his teeth in anger. “They want the money by tomorrow! And they want to meet in person! Heh, why don’t they just go rob a bank! Damn! They really think I don’t have a temper! What the hell!”
In that short moment, he had already thought of no less than ten ways to make these punks suffer.
After a long while, Lu Xiao Shan, with his back to Lin Yi, turned around. His profile was illuminated by the scattered light from outside, flickering between light and shadow. The sharp, intimidating aura from before instantly vanished with that turn, as if the momentary chill had just been a figment of one’s imagination.
“Ask them how they came up with thirteen million.”
Lin Yi’s sudden burst of anger was instantly choked off. He took a couple of seconds to process, glanced at Lu Xiao Shan’s expression, and didn’t dare to ask any more questions. He hesitantly began to type a message.
The reply took a while to come. They said that thirteen million was the standard industry price, based on the celebrity status of the other female star in the photo with Lu Xiao Shan, Song Jie, which was ten million. As for the other one, since the photo was blurry, she was just an add-on for three million.
Along with the message was a long, eye-catching exposé that had clearly been prepared in advance. The way it was written, heheh, it all but pointed a finger at his boss, implying that he was a respectable man on the surface but sleazy in private. The text, paired with the photos, painted a picture of him frequenting a private club with Song Jie, a female celebrity currently embroiled in scandal and known for her chaotic lifestyle, suggesting a shady connection between business and politics. At the same time, it shamelessly implied he was involved with the married actress, Lin Wan. It portrayed him as a young, wealthy man with a messy private life and a questionable rise to fortune.
Even if this tycoon wasn’t well-known in the entertainment industry, with photos of two famous female celebrities, the story was bound to get a lot of attention.
It was so damn disgusting!
When this reply came, Lin Yi’s anger dissipated, replaced by a desire to sneer. Now that his anger had peaked, his mind had calmed down. Countless speculations swirled in his head, and he even started to suspect that this was a cheap trick by one of Ding Yuan’s competitors. Otherwise, why would entertainment industry paparazzi suddenly target their boss? Wouldn’t it be more direct to extort those two female celebrities?
Lu Xiao Shan’s eyes were calm, unlike his previous gloomy and intimidating demeanor. Now, it was hard to read any emotion on his face. He gestured for Lin Yi to continue asking, “Where did they get their information?”
Lin Yi was clearly a bit unsure of his boss’s intentions, but that didn’t stop him from playing along with the other party. How do I know you won’t continue to blackmail us after we pay you? Those photos from the private club are so clear, it was obviously a setup. Who knows if you’ll pull the same trick again!
The other party clearly had no intention of revealing their source, vaguely replying—It was a coincidence. Don’t worry, we have professional ethics. We each get what we want.
Lin Yi sneered, his fingers flying across the screen as he replied bluntly—You’re fcking blackmailing outside your circle, and you still have the nerve to talk about ethics? I’m not playing along!*
This time, the other party obviously paused for a moment. A few minutes later, a reply came, dripping with threat—Then we’ll see you on the trending topics.
It was expected that the other party wouldn’t cooperate. Lin Yi reported the entire conversation to Lu Xiao Shan. He hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, “Brother Shan, should I… give Brother Chen a call? It’s their circle, after all…”
Lu Xiao Shan’s expression remained unchanged. He didn’t comment, but strode around the long table and turned on the office lights. His fingers tapped on the desktop as he pondered for a moment before asking in a cold voice, “Have you found the IP?”
Lin Yi paused, suppressing his disgust. He quickly made a call and then nodded at Lu Xiao Shan. “We found it, but it’s a public IP, so it’s hard to trace the person. It’ll probably take some time. How about—”
“Thirteen million,” Lu Xiao Shan said without even looking up, as if talking to himself. He paused, then spoke again in a cold tone, “That’s enough for extortion—keep everything and send it to the police.”
Huh? Send it to the police?
This—it could be handled like this?
Weren’t they going to teach those reckless punks a lesson?
Just report it to the police directly?
Wouldn’t that make an even bigger scene?
Lin Yi was stunned, his eyes wide as he stood frozen on the spot.
He couldn’t understand Brother Shan’s thinking at all!
After a long while, Lin Yi hesitantly asked again, “Then… Brother Shan, where should we report it?”
The photos were taken in different places, and they didn’t know where the blackmailing paparazzi were from. They had even managed to follow them across provinces. Where to report it was a problem.
Lu Xiao Shan glanced at Lin Yi lightly. “Are you planning to take a special flight back just to report it?”
Lin Yi chuckled. This time, he finally got it. He swiftly went out to have someone organize the materials.
Author’s Note:
Lin Yi: Brother Shan, if we don’t teach those punks a lesson, it won’t show our power and authority!
A Certain Author: This is a modern society. What’s with all the teaching lessons? You have to make rational use of social resources, you know?
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