Chapter 13 Watching the Drama Unfold On-Site

The moment the dressing room door opened, Jiang Shuwan, relying on the agility she had honed over years of scrambling for food in H University’s cafeteria, darted inside first under Xia Xiangyang’s surprised gaze.

She then performed a completely theoretical and entirely inexperienced acting move, pretending to have been pushed from behind, and shoved Xia Xiangyang, who was standing in the doorway, out of the room.

Amid Xia Xiangyang’s confused shouts of “Ouch, hey, huh, Jiang Xiao—”, she leaned in and whispered, “Hold on for another ten minutes.”

After that, she continued her emotionless performance, staggering unsteadily as if she’d lost her footing, and seamlessly blended into the crowd that had rushed in to watch the drama.

Xia Xiangyang, who was genuinely unprepared and nearly knocked over, struggled to regain his balance. He looked at her with a mix of surprise and confusion, and then a dawning realization as though he had just been enlightened by a master. In the end, he discreetly flashed her an “OK” gesture.

Jiang Shuwan wasn’t sure if he truly understood what she meant.

Gao Zhiyong followed into the dressing room, trailed by a baffled crowd of onlookers.

His first sentence was: “Xia Xiangyang, get these people out of here.”

Even though he had come today to ask for a favor, even though whether Xia Xiangyang signed or not directly affected whether his dear son would have to spend a few more years working a sewing machine, he still maintained a high-and-mighty attitude like a typical superior.

Xia Xiangyang glanced at Jiang Shuwan and, without getting angry, replied with a gentle smile, “This is the production team’s dressing room. They’re all staff.”

Meaning: he had no authority to kick anyone out.

Gao Zhiyong was momentarily stumped. He wanted to say, “Didn’t I see your name and someone else’s on the door? Didn’t you just lock the door and refuse to let people in? And now it’s suddenly the crew’s dressing room?”

But when his gaze met Xia Xiangyang’s smiling face, he swallowed those words.

Although Gao Zhiyong was a company board member, he rarely got involved in day-to-day operations and wasn’t very familiar with the company’s artists.

He only knew a bit about Xia Xiangyang because his son Gao Xiaoming had been acting as Xia’s assistant. He knew Xia had decent acting skills and real talent, but lacked luck. A breakout might not be in the cards, but he was a steady performer who could reliably earn money for the company.

Previously, Gao Xiaoming often complained in front of him that Xia Xiangyang was a total coward.

Now, facing Xia Xiangyang in person, Gao Zhiyong suddenly realized that Gao Xiaoming’s assessment might not have been accurate.

Cowardice, patience—maybe it was all a façade.

If he were truly a coward, he wouldn’t have dared to request a new assistant from the company.

If he were truly a coward, he wouldn’t have dared to shut the door just now and claim he was changing clothes to keep Gao out.

Still, since you’re a contracted artist of the company, even if you were a dragon, you still have to be coiled by me.

With that thought, Gao Zhiyong decided to be blunt: “Xia, Xiaoming’s just a bit of a blockhead. He’s been your assistant for a long time without any major issues. He wasn’t the one who tried to frame you, was he? And now you want to change assistants just like that? Young people are prideful and stubborn—they can’t handle that kind of blow.”

“He just couldn’t accept it in the moment and did something stupid. He’s still young. If he goes to prison, his whole life will be ruined. You’re both young people—give him a chance to turn over a new leaf.”

He glanced at the crowd watching and added, “Of course, we’re not asking you to sign this for free. Whether financially or otherwise, whatever compensation you want, feel free to ask. You’ve earned it—no need to feel embarrassed.”

Didn’t want to talk in private? Great—let’s talk in public. You’re a public figure. Can’t you even handle this?

So melodramatic. At the end of the day, aren’t you just trying to negotiate for more benefits?

But having this conversation in front of everyone—who does that really hurt?

Heh.

Gao Zhiyong sneered.

Xia Xiangyang’s smile faded slightly.

The crowd looked at each other. Someone whispered, “Well, in the end, the framing didn’t actually work. Prison does seem a bit harsh, doesn’t it?”

But someone else said, “Yeah, but what if it had worked?”

Then a voice suddenly piped up from the crowd: “Xiao Xia, are you being ungrateful? Gao Xiaoming might be in his twenties, but he’s still just a kid. What did you expect—a kid doing a perfect job as an assistant? Even if he messed up, you shouldn’t have tried to replace him. See? You pushed him to the edge! He tried to frame you, even wanted you to take banned substances—all because you pushed him! If you don’t forgive him, you’re the one ruining his life. You’re stalling and stalling on signing the papers—aren’t you just trying to squeeze more out of it? So why pretend? Just say it!”

Though that speech sounded weird, it basically summed up the attitude.

Gao Zhiyong nodded, “No need to say it so bluntly, but that’s the general idea.”

One staff member, who had been stifling laughter, finally couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“God, a kid in his twenties? Then I must be a baby at forty!”

“I never knew that messing up at work and getting fired gave you the right to attack your boss. Meanwhile, us regular workers do a great job and still get thrown under the bus. What a world!”

“Oh please, that’s straight-up moral blackmail.”

“Wrong—it’s not moral blackmail. It’s pressure from the top. Workers really have it rough!”

No legal repercussions when many are involved, and besides, the person being berated wasn’t their boss. After that sarcastic speech, the crowd quickly empathized.

Who among the exploited workers hadn’t been wrongfully blamed or framed by a superior or someone with connections—then forced to swallow the injustice?

Gao Zhiyong couldn’t understand why everyone was suddenly siding with Xia Xiangyang. “You’re deliberately misinterpreting my words!”

Xia Xiangyang gave a small smile, and any anger he had vanished. He glanced at Jiang Shuwan, who was hiding behind a tall staff member, and calmly said, “Director Gao, why don’t you sit and have some water? Just plain water—we don’t have tea.”

His attitude surprised everyone present.

Gao Zhiyong eyed him for a moment, scoffed, and said, “Don’t play these games. Just tell me what you want, sign the paper, and let’s be done—I’m in a hurry.”

He thought Xia Xiangyang had come to his senses and was ready to accept the deal.

Xia Xiangyang looked hesitant and said slowly, “Director Gao, maybe you should sit for a while. I do need to think this over.”

Gao Zhiyong snorted, “Don’t play tricks with me—it won’t work.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’ll give you five minutes.”

Xia Xiangyang, in truth, was unsure. He didn’t know what kind of turnaround Jiang Shuwan expected to achieve in ten minutes.

He was simply trusting the earnest enthusiasm he had seen in Ms. Jiang over the past few days and a strange gut feeling that Jiang had something magical about her—and so he chose to believe in her.

The nearby staff, frustrated by his immediate backpedaling, felt a bit disappointed in him. But being workers themselves, they understood—and even helpfully began making suggestions.

“Try to get a movie lead out of it. He’s an exec, should be doable, right?”

“There’s that trending variety show, The Great Challenge. Snagging a spot on that wouldn’t be bad either.”

“TV dramas are good too. I heard Director Tan Mo is prepping a new mystery series—if you can land the lead, that’d be great.”

…

All insiders, none of them mentioned money. They clearly assumed getting good opportunities was more beneficial to Xia Xiangyang.

Gao Zhiyong twitched at the corners of his mouth. Unable to take it anymore, he snapped, “Alright, you can think about those later—just sign the understanding agreement first.”

Xia Xiangyang figured ten minutes must be almost up by now, but he still hadn’t seen any kind of turnaround. He was about to stall further: “I still need to think—”

Suddenly, a group of burly bodyguards in black suits rushed in from outside, clearing a path through the crowd. A middle-aged woman in a custom designer suit, adorned with a pearl necklace, stormed in and—smack—slapped Gao Zhiyong across the face.

He stood there stunned, needing a moment to process what had just happened. “Liu Meifang, are you out of your mind?!”

Liu Meifang, her face pale with rage, her voice shrill, screamed, “Gao Zhiyong, you shameless bastard! Of all people, you had to mess with your own sister-in-law?! And gave birth to that bastard Gao Xiaoming?!”

Onlookers:

Whoa!

Xia Xiangyang: Whoa? WHOA!