Chapter 124 - Bingo

Chen Yi had to say 'No' till her throat ran dry before Gu Chinatao finally gave up on the idea of bribing Chen Yi into sharing the number.

"How could you not be excited? You sure you not blind? He is so freaking handsome and you are casually telling me that you have his number?" Gu Chiantao was grouchy at Chen Yi's adamancy to not share the number.

"So what do you want me to do? Flaunt his card around? His assistant had only handed me the card for professional reasons."

Chen Yi sighed, thinking back to the screams of the women in the waiting room. Since he could elicit such a response from the opposite gender, he had to be a superior specimen. Speaking of a superior specimen, her thoughts wandered, plunging into the memories of a certain someone.

It was an injustice to compare anyone to Li Luxian. While Xu Jiayi might be handsome, Li Luxian was some pro-level. it was not only his face, his inherent grace, the way he spoke, the way he carried himself, the air around him...everything about him was excellent.

"Daydreaming about your forbidden fruit?"

Chen Yi blinked, finding Gu Chiantao staring at her with a humorous look.

"Ah, no, I mean..." He was forbidden, wasn't he? Then what's the point of thinking about him?

"Then why are you blushing? Don't tell me that your forbidden fruit is more handsome than Sir Xu."

"Drop it!" Chen Yi's face shaped into a tangible grimace, prompting Gu Chiantao to guffaw.

"You know, you are smart overall, But whenever it comes to your this...forbidden fruit, you kind of dumb down a little." Gu Chiantao's unrestrained side was coming out.

Chen Yi still recalled, the first day she had seen Gu Chiantao. Gu Chiantao had been the girl sitting quietly in the coffee shop, her distrustful eyes assessing Chen Yi acutely. Her heart had been burning with a dark vengeance against Chen Ying, finding no other reason to live for.

Then the day outside Chen Yi's University, Gu Chiantao's encounter with Jiang Li prompted a change. Her eyes had been so empty, her heart giving up on the man who used to hold her entire world. She was finally free, free of the shackles that bound her happiness, yet the consequence of liberation left her scarred.

But still, time proved to be the best healer.

In a steady manner, Gu Chiantao's cheerful smiles returned, her manner becoming spirited, her personality becoming richer - now this felt like the young arrogant miss of the great Gu family.

"Now can we please forget about my forbidden fruit and hold a serious conversation for once?"

Gu Chiantao found Chen Yi's serious face, her playfulness finally dissipating as she said. "To be honest, this Qin Chanpu isn't a big name. From what you have told me, no media outlet has leaked out his name. Some influential person is definitely shielding him. And his offense is relatively serious. It shouldn't be someone from the higher up helping him out unless..." Gu Chinatao ruminated.

"Unless he knows some secrets of the said influential person." Chen Yi finished.

"Wait for a second, I know who exactly it is, it's that bitch!" Gu Chinatao felt as if huge hands grabbed onto thick clouds, pushing them apart, revealing the clear sun. "She must have had some sort of understanding with this Qin Chanpu. Not only that, I bet Qin Chanpu was assigned your Manager at her directions. It's too much of a coincidence otherwise. And only she could directly intervene and force the company's senior lawyer to take his case."

Gu Chiantao looked at Chen Yi, expecting Chen Yi to reciprocate her excitement at her startling discovery. However, Chen Yi was unruffled.

"Bingo." Chen Yi's lips tilted, she had already arrived at this conclusion long ago. "And you know what that implies, Qin Chanpu is our first step to make a start."

"You mean to say—"

"Qin Chanpu must be knowing something about Chen Ying. Otherwise, she wouldn't be helping him out. She forced Shen Yue, a Manager of the senior-most post, to sign a bogus contract with me. If she could force Shen Yue so easily, she did not need to do a favor for a lower-tier Manager like Qin Chanpu. There is no other way around it." Chen Yi took out the card, twirling it in her fingers. "And that is our way out."

Gu Chiantao's eyes were attracted by the card, she did not see the card as personal contact to her idol but a method to crack the situation.

..

"What the fuck! Who does she think she is?"

Hearing the news his assistant brought, Qin Chanpu's muscles tensed, his temper flaring. 

"Was that bastard Xu Jiayi not giving me enough trouble now she had to get under my skin?"

If not for the congratulation email, they would never have known that an artiste under them not only submitted an audition video to Director Song but successfully got invited.

"Manager Qin, how about giving her a call?" The male assistant was a good buddy of Qin Chanpu, no stranger to, instead, an active participant in all the shady things Qin Chanpu did.

Nodding at his suggestion, Qin Chanpu reached out for his phone, aggressively dialing up Chen Yi. 

"Manager Qin, there's nothing to be concerned about. We have escaped the bullet. She must be confident assuming Manager Qin would never know... There is no way for her to audition without your permission." The assistant said. 

Hearing his assistant's assurance, Qin Chanpu relaxed somewhat. "You are right. I just need to rush her with some job."

What he and his assistant had not expected was that his phone won't be picked up.

They had never encountered such a situation before.

An artiste without any background not picking up their Manager call? Were they not afraid of being replaced?

Qin Chanpu dialed again and again before finally erupting. "F**k! If I don't get her to kneel before me, I swear to God-"

If Chen Yi succeeded in sealing the deal, hampering her at later steps would be a headache.

Qin Chanpu's hands reached out for the email, opening it and skimming through the details of the role she was auditioning for.

It was an epic fantasy romance thriller set in contemporary settings. The role Chen Yi auditioned for was not the main lead, but it was one of the mains. An antagonistic female vampire who was corrupted to the core, a seductress keeping human male slaves.

"Oh, so that's how she managed to get selected? Heh. No wonder." The male assistant sneered. Top-tier girls with some background would avoid antagonistic roles at all costs. Only desperate or bottom-rank artists would settle for them.

"I won't let her get this one." Qin Chanpu was an old player. The way to bring the girl to submission was to throw her to hopelessness. Rejection after rejection would break her confidence, leaving her with no alternative, clouding her judgment, and bringing her to readily accept shady deals. 

If Chen Yi succeeded in getting this job, she would slip out of his hands. 

"What a pity. If we still had Su Xiuying around, we would have certainly snatched that role..." The male assistant expressed regret. 

At the mention of Su Xiuying, Qin Chanpu had complicated expressions. "Don't mention it. We still have a lot of talents. But this Chen Yi is still too confident. In the end, what can you expect from women? They are inherently shallow and lack the ability to understand reality, holding onto their stupid dreams. Don't think the Director Song would accept a novice so easily." Qin Chanpu's eyes flashed.. "Even if they do, I have another way out."