Chapter 55

“Did Gu Xi just smile? I can’t, I’m gonna faint!”

“I think he was looking at me!”

“Girl, are you for real? That was clearly just one of those polite smiles for the camera, you know? You think he was looking at you? He was obviously looking at me!”

By the time Rong Jing came back to his senses, the camera had already shifted to the other celebrities entering the venue.

Gu Xi’s collar was slightly open, revealing a small section of the necklace. That must be the one Rong Jing had given him.

Gu Xi had to know that, under normal circumstances, an Alpha giving such an item to an Omega might harbor ulterior motives. And yet, he didn’t seem to suspect Rong Jing at all?

This feeling of being trusted made Rong Jing unexpectedly emotional. It only strengthened his determination to help Gu Xi break free from the constraints of the novel’s plot.

The trainees who had pushed Rong Jing earlier finally noticed his presence. Some of them had already heard about his identity—he was the boss’s treasured little brother, and came from a professional academic background. They quickly greeted him, while the one who had shoved him turned pale, apologizing profusely. They were terrified of being dismissed by someone like Xie Jisheng, who had been known to fire people on the spot before. It wouldn’t be a first if such an incident happens, since the current state of Xie’s entertainment department is undeniably linked to that man’s contributions.

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“Wow, I’m so jealous. Other people’s twenties compared to my twenties… feels like we’re living in different centuries.”

“I’d love to trade places with him for even one day!”

“First, you’d need a billionaire brother. And better yet, one who’s obsessed with spoiling his brother.”

“But isn’t President Xie so cold? He doesn’t seem like the doting type at all.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong.”

Rong Jing’s visit today was primarily to follow up on the progress of Absolute Idol. Lately, he’d spent quite a bit of money, including investments in his own project, finally reaching his set goal of spending 100 million.

Aside from acquiring companies, Rong Jing had also secured several international copyrights.

One of them was for a show called Absolute Idol, similar to a wildly popular boy group reality series from his past life. The format was straightforward: a hundred trainees would compete in various challenges, and the top nine would debut as a group. While Rong Jing wasn’t aiming to become an idol himself, he was deeply involved in the process—overseeing everything and collaborating with the production team to localize the show for their audience. 

Back then, the acquisition of Shengteng Entertainment hadn’t even been finalized. Through a series of twists and turns, Rong Jing managed to snag the copyright for the Xie ahead of everyone else.

This was also the first copyright purchased under Wu Fuyu’s leadership of the entertainment department in the later stages of the story. It was clear that if this golden egg were left on the table, someone else would have taken it. Rong Jing had no regrets about getting to it first.

Especially now that Wu Fuyu had started looking at him with increasingly strange expressions.

After the last dinner banquet, Rong Jing had connected with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. He was now on a mission to recruit talents for the program, aiming to make the first episode a success.

This was the Xie’s entertainment department’s big chance to turn things around. Since Xie Ling had entrusted him with some of the rights, Rong Jing intended to give it his all. He wasn’t familiar with the operation of other industries, but the entertainment industry? That, he knew well.

The past few years had been a harsh winter for the entertainment industry—and an especially bitter one for their entertainment department. Numerous projects have been shelved, artists had jumped ship, investments have failed to break even, and year after year, the department posted losses, barely surviving on lifelines from the company’s funds.

The official name of Xie’s entertainment department was ‘Xietian Entertainment,’ but because it also sounded like ‘Thank God’, employees and fans alike jokingly called it the ‘God Entertainment’. The nickname stuck, not because of their talent pool or hit productions, but because their facilities and equipment were top-notch. They could always throw money at their hardware needs to deliver godlike production value.

But money couldn’t fix their lack of star power or breakout hits. The department had been dormant for far too long. The few who remained were industry veterans, each eager to prove themselves.

After wrapping up a meeting, Rong Jing was brought to observe the trainees’ practice sessions. The plan was to select the best performers to participate in the first episode of Absolute Idol.

However, Rong Jing wasn’t as well-versed in the idol industry as the professionals. His attention wandered after a while, his thoughts drifting as he absently listened to the chatter around him.

He opened his WeChat and pulled up Gu Xi’s chat. After some hesitation, he typed: Did you receive a gift?…

But such a reply would make Gu Xi doubt his IQ level, since it was already obvious that Gu Xi had received it. He deleted it.

Rong Jing had planned to wait until Gu Xi confronted him in anger before explaining everything in one go. Given their recent interactions, it wouldn’t be difficult.

However, Gu Xi’s unpredictable actions had thrown him off completely.

Switching to a different app, Rong Jing accessed the backend system and checked the device’s locator feature. Sure enough, Gu Xi’s real-time location tracking was already enabled.

Rong Jing decided to stick to his original plan and offer a proper explanation. Honesty was important, after all—for both of them.

He typed: About the recent things that happened to you, including what you found at home… I thought having a tracking device might keep you safer. I won’t look at it unless necessary, so don’t worry.

He figured Gu Xi wouldn’t reply for a while, given how busy he must be, but the response came almost immediately: Look if you want.

Rong Jing could practically see the teasing smirk on Gu Xi’s face. He covered his own face with one hand. His big sister was right.

The deadliest flirt is the subtle one.

Just then, one of his group chats exploded with activity.

The messages came from people who’d already arrived at the Xietian Entertainment’s entrance, asking when Rong Jing was coming to meet them. These weren’t just random guests. They were industry seniors Gu Xi had introduced him to. Rong Jing had exchanged contact information with them, and they had cleared their schedules to be here.

Many of them knew each other and greeted one another. While waiting, they joked about what kind of rookie could have prompted Gu Xi to rally them all together in one place. Most of them were repaying a favor to Gu Xi by showing up.

Rong Jing didn’t want to waste Gu Xi’s efforts. Upon learning they had arrived, he personally went to greet them. He asked the Director to clear out a stage room for them, and as soon as the setup was ready, they jumped straight into rehearsals.

Just as Gu Xi had said, every second counted.

To restore the original soul’s reputation and to continue his own lifelong passion even in a foreign world, Rong Jing focused all his energy and took the matter seriously.

Rong Jing had printed out the script that the original soul had failed with, starting by recreating the stage accident from back then.

Even with the cameras and lighting set up, Rong Jing’s performance remained underwhelming. Everyone present, including the trainees who came over to watch, frowned.

When Rong Jing wasn’t facing the camera, he was fine. But the moment he did, sweat poured down his face, and his whole demeanor was comparable to a fish out of water.

Everyone could see how hard Rong Jing was working and how much effort he was putting in, but his phobia was far more severe than anyone had expected—worse than the rumors circulating online.

At first, no one had high hopes for him. But over time, they started noticing that Rong Jing was improving little by little every day.

The process of overcoming his fears was excruciating. Sometimes, Rong Jing would push himself so hard to suppress his physical reactions that he nearly went into shock.

Between the intense training and his work schedule, Rong Jing barely had time for anything else. Even his calls with Gu Xi were reduced to extremely brief conversations.

Sometimes, Gu Xi would send a good night message, and Rong Jing wouldn’t see it until the next day. Other times, Rong Jing’s reply would come while Gu Xi was in the middle of a meal, and Gu Xi would send a voice message back during a spare moment.

Both of them were incredibly busy, but it seemed they were each steadily moving toward their respective goals.

Even the industry veterans who had only come because of Gu Xi began to feel a bit moved.

From their initial words of admonishment and comfort, their attitudes shifted to admiration, as if they were watching Rong Jing gradually grow up before their eyes.

They started sending messages to Gu Xi: [thumbs up][thumbs up] Where did you find this guy? Not to mention anything else, his willpower is incredible.”

“His condition looked pretty severe, honestly. I never would’ve thought he’d pull through. You should come see him for yourself.”

“I’ve never met such a stubborn young man before. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

As Gu Xi read through these evaluations, he felt prouder than if he’d won an award himself.

This was the friend he cherished most and was most proud of.

*

#White Suit Gu Xi#, #Opening Ceremony# and other similar words surged to the trending topics.

Gu Xi had been in the industry for years and had never worn a white suit before, always preferring darker, more mature colors like black and gray.

Now, suddenly changing his style, the effect was unexpectedly good. How could it not steal the spotlight?

The domestic reporters were going wild with their cameras, bombarding him with questions about which brand his suit was from. The suit he wore was likely to sell out as soon as it was put on the shelves.

However, no one could find which brand it was. Gradually, this topic became more and more heated.

The Xie company also received instructions from the boss—this free traffic was too valuable to let slip away. Just because Xie kept a low profile didn’t mean they would miss out on any obvious benefit.

Gu Xi trended several times, gradually overshadowing the news of Xun Jiarui being replaced, burying most of the heat on that topic.

Though it was suppressed, it didn’t mean the fans had forgotten. At some point, some fans began to say that this newcomer’s rise must have been due to some improper channel.

Otherwise, why would Xun Jiarui specifically mention Gu Xi?

Gu Xi’s fanbase, known for being proud and self-assured, typically ignored most rumors. They were usually too refined to even bother reading them.

But this time, they couldn’t stand it. Someone in their fanbase brought up the topic.

“I am so mad! I watched the original video, and it’s terrifying. I feel bad for those classmates who worked hard and performed seriously. Just how many classmates’ dreams did RJ destroy back then? If he messed up a stage production, who’s to say he won’t ruin this movie too? Gu Xi is clearly the victim, and now he’s being tied into this for publicity!”

“I’m starting to believe the director has been bewitched. Here’s the link—go watch it guys.”

“That XJR is such a *** dumbass, can’t even handle a newbie and now still dares to drag our Xixi down with him.”

“The most annoying part is this! These newbies are being used for clickbait without restraint! Every year, there’s always a dozen of these situations. I’m starting to get PTSD just seeing new faces!”

“So angry. Guys, just avoid interacting with the related topics, don’t give them any more hype!”

“Just let this topic die down, I wanna see how they keep it going!”

“Did you hear? Reporters are going to be at the set on the first day. I’ll be waiting to see if that newcomer dares to stay in the set after this!”

By the time Gu Xi discovered this, half the day had already passed.

As the president of Rong Jing’s fanbase, he also received numerous comments on the fansite, some of which included screenshots from his own fanbase.

It was a coincidence that among the earliest members who had followed Rong Jing were also those who also supported Gu Xi.

Seeing this kind of rhetoric in the fansite nearly made these fans cry in anger. They went to each of the comments to confront the GX fans. These GX fans were usually calm, yet when they fought back, not a single reply was left unanswered. No matter how many times they tried, it was a complete failure.

They felt weak and isolated but, once united, they decided to never support Gu Xi again.

Gu Xi was also frustrated, knowing that no matter how he responded at this point, it would likely lead to unfounded speculation, making things harder for Rong Jing.

The most crucial thing was that Rong Jing didn’t have any works to prove himself yet, and that dark history was undeniably true.

Because of this incident, Rong Jing’s fans had developed a pretty bad impression of Gu Xi’s fans.

Rong Jing’s fans thought, You’re all high and might so you’re looking down on us? We don’t wanna climb up to your level, thank you very much. From now on, let’s just mind our own business.

Gu Xi’s fans took a cold and different approach, simply ignoring them. In this ever-changing industry, do you think your idol can last a month? Stop inflating your worth. We can’t be bothered to lower ourselves to your level.

The show hadn’t even started, and the two fan bases had already clashed several times, clearly disliking each other.

However, Rong Jing’s fan base was still small, so they were easily overwhelmed.

If one day Rong Jing’s fan numbers rose to a certain level, the scale of this war would multiply exponentially.

At some point, rumors started spreading that there was tension between Gu Xi and the newcomer co-star, that they hadn’t interacted before filming started, and that the newcomer was likely to be replaced.

As time passed, the tide shifted when Lou Ta brought home an award the entertainment industry hadn’t seen in thirteen years, creating a massive buzz across the scene.

That same day happened to be Gu Xi’s return to the country.

On the plane, Director Liu Yu sat beside Gu Xi. Out of nowhere, he said, “Gu Xi, outside of this drama, it’s best if you and Rong Jing act like total strangers.”

***

GX: Am I the only one who ships this Arctic Circle¹Describes a couple pairing that is unpopular, or not accepted by the mainstream. CP?

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T/N: Happy new year everybody!