The situation between Yan Yixuan and Yan Yili left Ji Ling feeling a bit unsettled, but at the moment, he didn’t have the energy to dig into the Yan family’s secrets. He was still focused on his career.
Since that day, Mo Yulan’s attitude toward Ji Ling had been less than friendly, but Ji Ling didn’t have time to fix her mood. After all, which boss hasn’t been bad-mouthed by their subordinates? Besides, he wasn’t even really her boss.
Ji Ling noticed that Mo Yulan was particularly obedient to Yan Yixuan. Although she seemed dissatisfied, she still quietly assisted Ji Ling without causing any trouble. Meanwhile, Ji Ling suspected that Mo Yulan was reporting every move he made back to Yan Yixuan.
Despite all of this, Ji Ling still relied on Mo Yulan—after all, he couldn’t do everything on his own.
He Xiaoguang was still working part-time, though with the semester ending and Ji Ling’s team fully staffed, Ji Ling had cut back on his workload. This week, he had again asked Ji Ling for leave, saying he wouldn’t be able to make it on Saturday. Ji Ling told him to focus on studying, but He Xiaoguang responded, “It’s not that, I have an important class this Saturday.”
“Go ahead, don’t skip it. If you really fail, come to me, I’ll cover your retake fees.”
“Wow, don’t jinx me! It’s not that, Brother Ji, it’s just that I finally got into a class taught by Shen Dongqing. There were so many people trying to get in, and I got in by pure luck. The course is super rare, only a few sessions, so I really can’t miss this Saturday’s class!”
Ji Ling froze for a moment, almost yelling at He Xiaoguang, “Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
Shen Dongqing was a top actor in the country, an outstanding alumni of the film academy. To give back to his alma mater, he would occasionally return to teach one or two classes. However, due to his packed schedule, these opportunities were rare, and the one He Xiaoguang mentioned was the first in over a year.
Shen Dongqing’s class was kept very low-key. If He Xiaoguang hadn’t mentioned it, Ji Ling wouldn’t have known.
Ji Ling let out a deep sigh. After waiting for so long, it turned out the rabbit was right under his nose. Hiring He Xiaoguang as a part-timer was definitely the right move. Otherwise, he would have missed out.
He told He Xiaoguang to wear their company’s creative T-shirt to class that day, sit in the front, and try to interact more with Shen Dongqing.
He Xiaoguang immediately understood Ji Ling’s intentions and jokingly replied on WeChat: “Brother Ji, are you sending me to butter him up, huh?”
After all, he’d invested in Xiaoguang for a reason. If not, why else would he have hired a part-timer and taught him so much?
But Ji Ling didn’t say it outright to He Xiaoguang. Instead, he simply replied, “Just change your clothes. It’s a simple thing.”
“But what if the school finds out I’m doing promotion and scolds me?” He Xiaoguang asked.
“Just wear a jacket and keep the logo covered,” Ji Ling replied.
“Alright, but you’d better cover my promotion fees. Ahhh, I’m so excited! It’s my first time seeing my idol up close! Even if you didn’t tell me, I would’ve fought for the front row! You know, my idol is amazing! He’s not teaching an acting class, but a film history class. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have gotten in! I’m so excited!”
Ji Ling couldn’t help but interrupt him, “Just keep that excitement during the class on Saturday, and I’ll make sure you get a lot of pay.”
On Saturday, Ji Ling drove to the film academy. As expected, Shen Dongqing kept a low profile this time. A few media outlets were there, but there were no fan meetings organized. If it weren’t for Ji Ling being an old acquaintance at the academy and getting a vehicle pass, they wouldn’t even have been able to get their car inside.
Ji Ling asked He Xiaoguang for the location of the classroom and waited outside the building early.
He Xiaoguang was so excited, even last night he couldn’t stop talking to Ji Ling about Shen Dongqing.
Actually, He Xiaoguang didn’t know Shen Dongqing better than Ji Ling did.
Shen Dongqing was a professional actor, a method actor from the start. Over the years, he worked his way up to becoming an award-winning actor, not just relying on talent but hard work too.
Back in the early days, actors who gained fans weren’t as common as today’s young idols, but Shen Dongqing had won international awards, maintained steady box office results, and had a strong fan base. He was considered one of the most prominent national actors, with loyal fans who followed his career closely.
In fact, there was some history between Shen Dongqing and Zong Bolin, as Zong Bolin had invested in one of Shen Dongqing’s films.
But all of that seemed like a lifetime ago to Ji Ling.
Checking the time, Ji Ling saw that the class was about to end. Sure enough, he noticed a stir at the entrance of the building, and the crowd started to get louder. Ji Ling knew that at times like this, there was no point in joining the crowd. Shen Dongqing was only here to teach, not for any fan interactions. He would probably leave right after the class.
As expected, the commotion at the entrance quickly faded, and Ji Ling saw He Xiaoguang running out, his face flushed and full of excitement.
“Brother Ji!” He Xiaoguang waved as soon as he saw Ji Ling and ran over to him, gushing about how handsome Shen Dongqing was, how charming he was, and how interesting the class had been.
“I even talked to him! He praised me and said I did well!”
Ji Ling ruffled He Xiaoguang’s hair, thinking to himself, ‘Well done.’
To reward He Xiaoguang, Ji Ling decided to take him out for a meal. Today, with Shen Dongqing visiting the film academy, the school had blocked off many of the social vehicles. However, in an effort to promote the school, they let through some media cars, and a few fans of Shen Dongqing, who had caught wind of the news, were also showing up. Ji Ling figured the parking lot would be a bit crowded.
Luckily, Ji Ling had been at the school for a long time and knew the layout pretty well. He avoided the crowds and parked in an underground garage beneath one of the school’s plazas.
People at the school often parked around the teaching building, and very few wanted to take the extra detour to the underground garage. Not many people knew about this place, and there were even fewer cars.
Plus, Ji Ling was feeling a bit lucky, so he didn’t mention anything to He Xiaoguang and just led him there.
And they really got lucky.
They caught a glimpse of Shen Dongqing getting into his car.
He Xiaoguang almost screamed, but Ji Ling quickly grabbed him to stop him from rushing forward.
They were still standing a little far away, just watching as Shen Dongqing was escorted by a group of people, with some staff members from the school around him, walking toward the car.
It seemed like Shen Dongqing felt something, as he looked up and briefly glanced toward Ji Ling.
He Xiaoguang couldn’t hold back anymore, but didn’t dare make a scene. He grabbed Ji Ling’s arm tightly and whispered, “Ahhh, the idol looked this way.”
Ji Ling saw Shen Dongqing stop in his tracks and smile at them.
Ji Ling grabbed He Xiaoguang and started walking toward Shen Dongqing. An assistant tried to stop them, but Shen Dongqing waved them off.
Up close, Shen Dongqing definitely had a unique presence.
It wasn’t about being handsome—there were plenty of good-looking men out there, like Yan Yixuan, who was also quite attractive—but Yan Yixuan didn’t have this kind of aura.
Yan Yixuan had the typical rich boy vibe, but when you looked at Shen Dongqing, you immediately knew he was an actor.
He Xiaoguang got close to Shen Dongqing and, for once, the normally chatty guy couldn’t find his words. After a long pause, he finally managed to blurt out, “Teacher Shen, I’m your fan.”
Shen Dongqing smiled, narrowing his eyes in a friendly way, and said, “Thank you.” He then glanced at He Xiaoguang’s clothes and added, “You’re the first student to dare to do promotion in my course.”
He Xiaoguang chuckled, “It was our boss’s idea.”
Only then did Shen Dongqing turn his attention to Ji Ling. Ji Ling extended his hand and said, “Hello, I’m Ji Ling.”
Shen Dongqing seemed surprised that Ji Ling would extend his hand so formally, pausing for a moment before reaching out to shake it.
He said, “I’ve heard of Mr. Ji. Some of the school staff mentioned that you support student activities. I didn’t expect Mr. Ji to be so young—truly rare.”
At the right moment, Ji Ling handed over his business card, saying, “It’s nothing special. Just giving back to the campus.”
Shen Dongqing looked at the card for a moment, smiled, and passed it to his assistant behind him.
He Xiaoguang stared at Shen Dongqing eagerly and asked, “Teacher Shen, could you sign something for me?”
Shen Dongqing, with no airs about him, replied, “Sure, where would you like me to sign?”
He Xiaoguang pointed to his stomach and said, “On my shirt, please!”
Shen Dongqing happily signed a large, bold name on He Xiaoguang’s creative T-shirt, then smiled and got into the car to leave.
He Xiaoguang watched the car drive off, unwilling to walk away, and Ji Ling slowly said to him, “Go post the signed photo with the logo on your WeChat and Weibo, stir things up a bit.”
He Xiaoguang shot him a glare. “Wow, this is mine! I’m not giving it to you!”
Ji Ling wasn’t bothered. “Just a little borrowing.”
“Brother Ji, you’re really sneaky. Now that I think about it, wasn’t every step you took a part of the plan?”
Ji Ling chuckled, getting into the habit of ruffling his head. “Appropriate promotion never bothers people.”
In fact, it piques interest.
Student activities don’t make a profit; they’re about shining for a cause. For Ji Ling to get involved, there had to be another kind of value.
“Back when Shen Dongqing was at a low point in his career, the school gave him tremendous help. So, he’s always been grateful and supportive of the school’s development. He truly cares for the students as well.”
So supporting student work could really earn Shen Dongqing’s favor.
He Xiaoguang gasped, “The idol is so warm! Wait, Brother Ji, how do you know this?”
Ji Ling gave him a glance. “Business secret.”
He Xiaoguang thought for a moment, then suddenly shivered. “Wait, Brother Ji, am I just a pawn in your game? That’s terrifying!”
Ji Ling gave his head another ruffle.
When Ji Ling handed Shen Dongqing the business card, he wasn’t really expecting much. His mind was already shifting to the next step: how to get closer to this film industry big shot.
At the same time, news came through from the Zong Group.
Zong Jiqi had reorganized some of the third-party businesses to ensure there was enough capital to maintain the production and sales lines.
Ji Ling knew this was really the only option, because the Zong family was running low on money. But whether Zong Jiqi’s drastic move could turn things around for the company was uncertain.
Every time Ji Ling saw news about the Zong Group, his mood soured. Fortunately, his own career was going well, and he hadn’t expected the critical email to arrive so soon.
He read the invitation in his inbox carefully, then let out a long sigh. Standing up, he walked out of his office.
He knocked on the whiteboard in the middle of the office to signal, and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.
Ji Ling addressed his team. “We’ve got a big case on our hands.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
A big case?