/
Chapter 10
Zhou Yan was busy moving offices but she keenly smelled a different breath.
Her colleagues in Group C might be wailing and felt it wouldn’t be good to follow President Pei since their bonus would be deducted, but Zhou Yan had an intuition—Pei Shaoze wasn’t as incompetent as rumored. She saw Pei Shaoze for the first time today and the alpha’s calm gaze gave people a strong sense of oppression. His calm yet swift and decisive actions didn’t seem like an idiot at all.
Zhou Yan cleaned up her desk and sat down to carefully read the information that President Pei gave her on Cheng Xia. Just then, she received a friend verification message on her mobile phone that said ‘I am President Pei’s assistant Zhang Fan.’
Group C’s agents received their verification and accepted. Then Zhang Fan pulled all the agents of Group C into a WeChat group called ‘Tianxuan Group C.’ Everyone entered the group and saw that the leader was Pei Shaoze.
Pei Shaoze’s previous profile picture was a selfie of him dressed coolly by the beach wearing sunglasses, raising a childish ‘scissors hand’. Pei Shaoze really disliked this profile picture so he simply changed it to one with only the word ‘Pei.’ Everyone saw the ‘Pei’ profile picture and felt extremely complicated.
Someone took the lead in saying hello and the others followed. After all, the superficial politeness must be in place. After a round of greetings, Pei Shaoze came out to speak. [Hello, I am Pei Shaoze, the leader of Group C. You have all worked hard today. I welcome you to join Group C.]
Everyone, “……”
It was quiet for a few seconds. Obviously, everyone was reluctant to join Group C. Zhang Fan hurriedly took the lead with a clapping emoji and the others also followed.
Pei Shaoze typed. [The company has suddenly changed to group management and I know that everyone is reluctant. However, no matter how much you gossip in private, this group is an office group chat. It is forbidden to screenshot any of the chat records and send them to relatives or friends. If I find out about it then you will have to leave immediately. Please follow this rule and show everyone the most basic trust.]
It wasn’t allowed to take screenshots and leak secrets from the company’s office group chat. This was right and everyone expressed their understanding.
Pei Shaoze continued. [There are a total of 7 agents, 12 full-time assistants and 30 artists in Group C. When grouping, try to let your artists come to Group C with you so it is more convenient to arrange work. For the specifics of the artists, I have asked Assistant Zhang to sort out the specific assignment of artists and to send it to the group later. Once you have read it, you can directly contact me if you have any comments.”
[The adjustment is limited to three days. It will be decided after three days. Then notify the artists you have been assigned. Regardless of any arrangements they have, you must find time to bring them to the company to sign the contract before January 20th. Then come to the office to talk to me.]
Once he finished, he sent red envelopes.
Everyone, “……”
Who said that President Pei was an idiot? Wasn’t this a good arrangement? Sort out the list first and limit it to three days to be adjusted. After the list was confirmed, give the artist one month to return to the company to sign the contract and talk to him one by one. This didn’t seem like playing around at all. Rather, it was like serious management.
Everyone rushed to grab the red envelopes and sent ‘thank you boss’ emojis. Zhou Yan was lucky and she grabbed the biggest red envelope. She also sent a ‘thank you boss’ emoji. After sending it, she boldly sent Pei Shaoze a friend verification. Unexpectedly, President Pei accepted it straight away.
Zhou Yan didn’t dare talk nonsense so she talked about work. [President Pei, I have read the information you gave me in detail. Cheng Xia’s image is very good and he is also smart. He is indeed worth cultivating.]
Pei Shaoze replied, [Yes, the four artists assigned to you are all newcomers. Look after them well in the future.]
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Four newcomers? Then Cheng Xia wasn’t special?
Ugfrlvfca Ufl tjv ulnfc tfg atf lcobgwjalbc bo bcis Jtfcu Wlj lc atf wbgclcu. Vtf atbeuta atja Jtfcu Wlj tjv j rqfmlji gfijalbcrtlq klat Ugfrlvfca Ufl. Rbk la rffwfv la kjr pera yfmjerf Jtfcu Wlj’r jufca tjv pera ifoa. Vtf tjv cb jgalra bc tfg tjcvr rb Ugfrlvfca Ufl tjcvfv Jtfcu Wlj ab tfg?
Zhou Yan wasn’t sure about the boss’ attitude but she replied, [I know, President. I will work hard!]
Pei Shaoze didn’t answer.
The reason she was chosen to manage Cheng Xia wasn’t because she was strong. It was because she was just right.
The company information showed she had looked after a few celebrities. They might have been tepid but they always gave her a good evaluation. This beta woman was straightforward and had a sharp personality. The important thing was her protectiveness.
She was very protective of her artists. She once turned against a reporter for an artist.
Pei Shaoze didn’t need a powerful agent for Cheng Xia. It was because Cheng Xia had him and resources could be provided by him. He only hoped that when he wasn’t with Cheng Xia, the agent could take good care of Cheng Xia and protect him.
Things like Zhao Wenxiu’s harm to Cheng Xia should never happen again. That was enough.
***
For the next week, Cheng Xia concentrated on the exam. His grades had always been good since he was a child. He had the highest score of the entire school’s performance department for the art exam. His classmates didn’t know about the contract he signed with an entertainment company. After all, he only just signed the contract and it wasn’t easy to publicize it. Only his parents knew.
Cheng Xia returned home after the exam and his mother Jiang Qiong had already made a table full of hearty dishes.
Jiang Qiong was a dancer. She was in her 40s but she looked like she was just over 30. She was a gentle beauty with an elegant temperament but she hurt her waist dancing when she was younger and wasn’t in good health. Thus, she retired from her dance group and rested at home.
His father Cheng Yiming was a very traditional movie actor. He might not be well-known but Cheng Xia’s dream of becoming an actor was influenced by his father. He grew up watching his father’s movies and felt that his father’s acting in movies was interesting as changing people. Thus, he wanted to act and create different roles.
Jiang Qiong greeted Cheng Xia as he sat down in the dining room and asked in a soft voice, “Xiao Xia, how was your exam?”
Cheng Xia smiled brightly. “Mom, don’t worry. I studied well and my performance was pretty good. Even if I’m not first in the grade, it will be no problem to get a scholarship.”
Jiang Qiong smiled and gave her son a piece of ribs. Cheng Xia was about to eat when Cheng Yiming suddenly asked coldly, “The down jacket you wore the other day, the size is 190cm and doesn’t belong to you. Where did it come from?”
Cheng Xia’s fingers shook and the ribs he picked up suddenly fell to the table.
Oops, the down jacket that President Pei gave him that day was soaked in the snow as he went home. He hung it on the balcony to dry. The next day, he hurried back to school and forgot to take it with him. It must’ve been seen by his parents.
The size of 190cm looked like a tall alpha’s clothes. How could this be explained? He couldn’t say that he was calculated and sent to the boss’ bed. Then the boss gave him a piece of clothing after sending him home. His father would probably break his leg if he knew the truth?
Seeing Cheng Xia so stunned, Cheng Yiming spoke vigilantly, “Why did you come back wearing an alpha’s clothing? Cheng Xia, tell me honestly. Did you fall in love with an alpha?”
Cheng Xia hurriedly shook his head. “No no, you must not think that!”
Just then, a friend verification message appeared on WeChat. The message read: Pei Shaoze.
Why did President Pei add him as a friend?
Cheng Xia passed the verification and had an idea. He explained to his father, “The jacket belongs to a senior surnamed Pei. I went back to school after the company’s annual meeting because the school club had an activity the next day. I only wore a sweater and it was snowing heavily when I left. The weather was too cold and I was sneezing. The senior lent me his down jacket to wear.”
Cheng Xia paused and added, “Senior Pei has a very good relationship with an omega girlfriend. I also know that senior sister and they only regard me as a little brother, nothing else.”
Cheng Yiming looked suspicious. “Is that so?”
Cheng Xia looked sincere. “How dare I lie to you?”
Cheng Yiming spoke sternly. “Call your senior now and thank him for lending you his down jacket. Say you will return it to him another day.”
Cheng Xia, “……”
Was this necessary? What about the most basic trust between father and son?
Cheng Yiming’s eyes were stern as if saying ‘You’ve been acting since you were a child. How can I believe you?’
Cheng Xia turned to his mother for help. Jiang Qiong lowered her head and ate with a calm expression of ‘it is none of my business.’
Facing his father’s serious eyes, Cheng Xia had to send Pei Shaoze a voice message. “Brother, thank you for lending me your down jacket the other day. I have washed and dried it. Once I go back to school, I will return it to you.”
After sending it, he immediately pressed the ‘withdraw’ button with quick hands so President Pei wouldn’t hear it. Unfortunately, Pei Shaoze’s hand speed wasn’t ordinary. He had already clicked on it the moment he received the message.
The young man’s voice rang in his ears. Brother? Listening to this, it was… pleasant?
It seemed that Cheng Xia’s down jacket had caused a misunderstanding and he was suspected by his parents, so he made this excuse temporarily. Pei Shaoze cooperated with him in acting and replied with a voice message, “You’re welcome. You can bring the clothes back to school when you’re free. I’m not in a hurry.”
Cheng Xia made a scared expression when he saw the WeChat reply. It was over. President Pei sent him a voice message. If his father heard it, wouldn’t it reveal his lie in an instant? Cheng Yiming’s expression said ‘If you have the guts then play it.’
Cheng Xia was forced to press the play button. To his surprise, Pei Shaoze actually helped him with the lie?
Cheng Yiming heard the low voice coming from the phone and finally believed his son’s explanation. “Cheng Xia, the entertainment industry is a big jar of contamination. If an omega wants to be famous in the industry, they can take shortcuts. However, you must not be deceived by the sweet words or betray yourself for popularity. It will just cause you to be looked down on, do you know?”
His father cared about him and was afraid he would suffer. Cheng Xia immediately promised. “Don’t worry, I’m not that type of person. I am serious about acting. Being popular or not isn’t important. If I have to sell myself to get resources then I would rather not act. It isn’t difficult to find another job with my grades.”
Cheng Yiming’s eyes finally softened. “It is best if you think like this. Remember, even if you don’t have anything to shoot, your mother and I can support you.”
Jiang Qiong finally spoke. “Okay, Xia Xia is an adult now. You don’t have to tell him these things every day.”
Cheng Xia immediately agreed. “Yes, I have a sense of proportion!”
Cheng Yiming nodded and said no more. The family started to have dinner happily. Cheng Xia pretended to be innocent but in fact, he was extremely guilty. Fortunately, President Pei didn’t mark him that night or he really wouldn’t be able to raise his head in front of his father. Thinking about it this way, President Pei was actually a good person.
Cheng Xia’s pheromones were out of control but President Pei didn’t take advantage of it. Instead, he calmly gave Cheng Xia an inhibitor to let him retain his dignity. Then he personally sent Cheng Xia home and gave a down jacket because he was worried about potentially catching a cold. After that, he dealt with the agent swiftly and didn’t do anything to Cheng Xia.
The others said he only cared about clubbing and drinking, not working…
They must all be rumors!
[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +5.]
[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +5.]
[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +5.]
Pei Shaoze, “……”
The three messages that flashed in his mind in succession made Pei Shaoze put down the official duties he was doing. He turned on the system and took a look. Cheng Xia’s good impression of him had risen to 30.
This attribute of ‘spontaneous increase in good impression’ due to the young man’s brain was really too cute. He didn’t mind if it went up a bit more.