Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Aside from the people at Xingchen Film and Television, no one knows that this is the new "employee dormitory." Jiang Mingyue is currently unknown, so there's no chance of fans chasing her to the dormitory.
The three people who were having hot pot heard the door open, but none of them suspected anything.
Xiao Liu even joked with a smile, "It must be that Brother Gu finished his work and came over to freeload a meal."
She got up and opened the door, only to find Lan Xu standing there, looking panicked.
"...Lan Xu? How did you find your way here!" Jiang Mingyue immediately put down her chopsticks. Without thinking, she ordered, "Xiao Li, open the window. You and Lan Xu go stand by the bed."
Although she herself is still a nobody, Lan Xu is not!
Seeing Lan Xu rushing over in a panic, you could tell that he definitely hadn't had the energy to hide his identity properly along the way, and who knows how many fans would recognize him and secretly take pictures of him.
While it's the same as Lan Xu using Gu Yifan's manipulation to create rumors and boost her own fame, she definitely doesn't want to debut as "Lan Xu's girlfriend".
Xiao Li did not raise any questions.
He was chosen by Gu Yifan as Jiang Mingyue's assistant, so naturally, Jiang Mingyue's decision took precedence.
Upon hearing the order, Xiao Li immediately grabbed Lan Xu's wrist and dragged him to the window, ensuring that if there were any long-lens cameras outside, they could clearly capture the figures of the two men on the windowsill.
Jiang Mingyue remained seated at the table, assuring everyone that no matter who was secretly filming her, she would never appear in the shot.
"Google gave you my address."
Jiang Mingyue tentatively spoke slowly, and Lan Xu nodded absentmindedly.
Jiang Mingyue threw a bottle of mineral water, which landed in Lan Xu's arms.
Lan Xu caught it in a flurry of activity.
Interrupted from his emotions, Lan Xu's flustered expression quickly dissipated. He rubbed his face, unscrewed the bottle cap, gulped down the entire bottle of water, and let out a long breath.
"Don't ask about my affairs. Gu Yifan said he'd come over tonight and asked me to stay here for a while. Is there anything to eat? I didn't sleep all night and haven't eaten anything yet."
The things that happened to Lan Xu were not only bad, but extremely bad.
But just as Lan Xu said, this matter has nothing to do with her, and she has no need to pry into other people's privacy.
Jiang Mingyue smiled and grabbed all the chopsticks from the chopstick holder, then walked to the window with a smile. "Lan Xu, rub your tummy and smile."
Lan Xu's expression stiffened for a moment.
His lips twitched twice. He clenched his fists, pinching his palms, using the pain to remind himself not to turn his head to look outside, and only then could he barely control his expression.
Then, Lan Xu obediently placed his hand on his stomach, forced a stiff smile, took a pair of chopsticks from the ones Jiang Mingyue offered him, and followed her away from the window.
Jiang Mingyue then placed the chopsticks in front of Xiao Li.
Xiao Li opened his mouth in confusion, but Jiang Mingyue's smile remained unchanged: "Smile at that pair of chopsticks, then close the window and come back."
Xiao Li did as instructed.
After all that fuss, when they returned to the table, Jiang Mingyue and the other two had no appetite.
Lan Xu ate his hot pot in silence, finishing all the remaining meat and vegetables on the table. He would occasionally grab his sleeve and rub his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to ask for a tissue, trying his best to maintain his crumbling self-esteem.
At this moment, Lan Xu looked exactly like a stray dog that had just been picked up and was eating leftovers with relish, completely lacking the high spirits he had when he first met Jiang Mingyue.
Jiang Mingyue simply got up and left the table, saying, "I'm finished eating. I need to stand for a while. You can eat slowly."
After saying that, she quickly got up, went to the living room, found the script that had been flipped through, found a wall, and leaned against it to start reading it from the beginning again.
Xiao Li took out a box of beef slices from the refrigerator and put it into an empty plate. Then he followed Jiang Mingyue and they stood against the white wall together.
She asked in a low voice, "Sis, you must have seen paparazzi just now."
"Hmm, I found several." Jiang Mingyue answered casually. After what Gu Yifan had done, she became even more suspicious of the truth of Gu Yifan's claim that he "wanted to sign Lan Xu."
When artists switch companies, the more low-key they do it and the more amicable their separation from their former company appears, the better.
Lan Xu's second album hasn't even been released yet, and now she's making a fuss about switching companies, which will inevitably lead to rumors. It just doesn't make sense.
What exactly does Gu Yifan want to do?
Xiao Li continued, "Sis, when is Brother Gu coming back?"
Hearing the voice, Jiang Mingyue snapped out of her thoughts and slowly said, "You forgot? Brother Gu said he went to the TV station today to take care of some important business and told us not to disturb him before 8 p.m. He's not coming too early, is he?"
Xiao Li was so anxious that she couldn't stand up straight. Although she still kept her voice down, her tone was much louder: "The paparazzi definitely won't leave. It'll be dark by then. If they really stay until then, it won't matter who's in the house. Tomorrow you'll definitely be the tabloid's leading lady! Sis, you'd better find some reason to make them leave."
It felt so good to have someone care. Jiang Mingyue smiled and teased Xiao Li softly, "You don't believe Gu Yifan anymore?"
"No, but I'll have to eat with my sister from now on. I have to think about you too."
"It's alright, Brother Gu knows what he's doing." Although Jiang Mingyue didn't know Gu Yifan's plan, she still chose to believe in his loyalty to Xingchen Film and Television—or rather, He Rui.
Jiang Mingyue sent Gu Yifan a message, informing him that there were paparazzi downstairs, but Gu Yifan did not reply.
But less than two hours later, Gu Yifan actually drove into the residential area.
Not only did He Rui come along, but a legal representative and a finance representative also arrived with them.
As soon as the group entered, He Rui slammed his briefcase onto the coffee table in the living room.
He pressed his hand against the briefcase: "This is the pornographic videotape of you that was secretly recorded. Kid, you've got a serious Oedipus complex."
Lan Xu stood up instantly and reached out to grab Gu Yifan's briefcase.
Gu Yifan stopped the people and gestured for the legal and finance departments to come over.
Soon, a bank transfer slip, a loan agreement, and another contract appeared before Lan Xu: "You have pornographic videotapes of you having fun with Xu Wenjia, and there's no room for negotiation on the penalty for breach of contract proposed by Gigabyte. Add the production costs for your second album, and that's the total. Take a look, and if there are no problems, sign the contract."
Lan Xu's face was completely drained of color, and his hands trembled as he opened the IOU.
Upon seeing the amount and loan interest rate, his eyes widened in surprise: "How can it be so low?!"
He Rui chuckled and slapped Lan Xu on the head: "Don't push your luck. If you still think it's too little, we'll do it the way they do: thirty-five percent interest compounded."
Before He Rui could finish speaking, Lan Xu had already snatched the contract, signed his name, and pressed his fingerprint on it.
He Rui stroked his chin and nodded in satisfaction: "You're quite sensible. In a few days, I'll arrange for you to go to Hong Kong and meet up with some veteran singers. Change all the songs on your current album except for the theme song. Put half of them in a melancholic style and the other half in an uplifting style, and that should be about right. Take the videotape to the kitchen and burn it yourself."
Standing to the side, Jiang Mingyue finally understood that this so-called "signing" was a trap set against Lan Xu from the very beginning.
Regardless of whether it's a trap or not, as long as He Ruizhen redeems Xu Wenjia and Lan Xu's sex tape, Lan Xu will have no choice but to be devoted to the new company from now on.
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