Although Taoran Media has only gained momentum in recent years, it has a wide range of business. It not only acts as an agency to launch celebrities but also regards training new talents as a profitable business.
In just two or three years, relying on the popular stars they had packaged in the early stage, they had recruited quite a few trainees and their parents who were chasing star - dreams, thus amassing a great deal of wealth.
One could tell how wealthy they were just from the fact that Taoran had rented an entire floor of the commercial building.
Now, Si Jiangchen and I joined hands to hold the intern Xia, who had been scared out of her wits. I loudly chanted the Mind - Cleansing Mantra and finally managed to bring back a glimmer of her consciousness.
"Repeat after me!" I shouted at her. Xia finally began to mumble. Her soul had almost been devoured by the One - Eyed Buddha Mother. After returning to her body, her soul was unstable, so it was natural for her to be bewitched by the illusions deliberately created here.
Xia repeated the Mind - Cleansing Mantra after me several times. The ghostly apparitions that had blocked her vision gradually faded away like smoke. She blinked her eyes hard and then saw that the parents and staff standing in the corridor were just ordinary people, not the long - necked monsters she had seen before.
"Aren't you coming down yet?!" Si Jiangchen frowned slightly when he saw that she had regained her senses.
"Y - yes, sorry." Xia apologized repeatedly and carefully climbed down from the railing.
"Xia, what's going on with you?" The director stomped over angrily. She had only said one word to Xia just now, but this intern had let out a scream as if seeing a ghost and rushed to the railing in the corridor, trying to jump off.
This was the ninth floor!! If she jumped from here, she would land on the central lobby of the commercial building. The floor was paved with beige granite. No matter which part of her body hit the ground first, she would turn into a pool of blood.
"How could you act so irresponsibly?!" The director was extremely angry. If there was a death, not only would the company have to pay compensation, but its reputation would also suffer a great loss. Which parent would dare to send their children to a training institution where someone had died?
Xia was still terrified of the director in the illusion just now. She shrank behind me and didn't dare to move at all.
"It's okay. Let her go to the lounge and have a rest." Suddenly, Song Yixuan walked out gracefully from the office. "In addition, Miss Du, what on earth is your purpose for coming to our Taoran so quietly with President Si?"
Song Yixuan recognized Si Jiangchen! When I was trying to escape Si Jiangchen's pursuit and help Wang Yingxiu, I had once approached Song Yixuan. As a result, Si Jiangchen thought I liked this kind of man, and he even kindly sent Song Yixuan to my rental house...
The media company under Lengshan Group had business overlaps with Taoran. By asking such a question, Song Yixuan was clearly doubting that Si Jiangchen and I were here to spy on Taoran's business secrets.
There were few people with the surname Si in the upper - class circles of the capital. Si Jiangchen was often featured in magazines and periodicals. So as soon as people mentioned the big shot with the surname Si, the first person that came to mind was Si Jiangchen.
Immediately, everyone's eyes were focused on Si Jiangchen and me.
"Is President Si the one from Lengshan Group?"
"Yes, I think so! He looks even better in person than in the photos..."
"Right! Even wearing sunglasses can't hide his charm!"
...
Many of the parents had seen Si Jiangchen in magazines. They couldn't help whispering about his good looks and didn't seem interested at all in Song Yixuan's attempt to direct public opinion against us, accusing us of trying to steal Taoran's business secrets.
"Who's the woman beside him? Could she be his wife?"
"Definitely not. The President Si of Lengshan Group is a diamond bachelor. It's clearly written in the magazines."
"Then who's the child? Could it be their illegitimate child?"
...
The gossiping voices became more and more diverse, forcing Song Yixuan to clear his throat to draw everyone's attention back.
"President Si coming here, does it mean that Lengshan also wants to follow Taoran's example and reserve potential future stars?" He tilted his head and looked at Si Jiangchen. His frivolous manner hadn't changed even after being possessed by the One - Eyed Buddha Mother.
I felt a little gleeful inside. How dare this guy regard Si Jiangchen as a rival? He was really overestimating himself! I was waiting to see Si Jiangchen put him in his place.
Unexpectedly, instead of Si Jiangchen speaking, Si Tong in his arms mimicked Song Yixuan's gesture and tilted her head, then said in a childish voice, "Comparing Taoran with Lengshan? You guys sure know how to flatter yourselves! My dad would never be interested in your shady business! You've taken so much money and recruited so many kids. How many of them can really become stars?"
Si Tong didn't know where she heard these words, but they were even more incisive than what I had in mind!!
"Not only do you cheat the parents out of their money, but you also deprive the kids of their playtime!" Si Tong's last words sounded more like those of a child.
"We just want to give kids from ordinary families a chance to become stars! Just like me!" Song Yixuan patted his chest. The inspiring story promoted by Taoran's training institution was about how Song Yixuan had risen from a nobody to a million - star. He always boasted about it.
Unexpectedly, Si Tong snorted heavily. "Song Yixuan! How dare you brag? The money you used to participate in the talent show and win the championship was earned by Aunt Xiuxiu's family selling noodles, bowl by bowl!"
"You! You're lying!" Song Yixuan had deliberately forgotten about the help Wang Yingxiu's family had given him. Suddenly hearing a child mention it was like someone tearing open an old wound in his heart. How could he admit such a shameful thing that he had tried so hard to erase from his mind?
"Who taught you to say that? It must be Miss Du, right?! No!! It's Lengshan! Lengshan is slandering my reputation!" His fair face turned bright red.
"You're overestimating yourself!" I couldn't help but sneer. "Just wait for Wang Yingxiu to come after you for the debt!"
Of course, I was just scaring him. I wouldn't let Xiuxiu get involved with this jerk again. I had already made up my mind that when I got back, I would hold a religious ceremony for her and the other kids, send a lot of gold and silver ingots along with the memorial texts to the underworld, so that they could be reborn into happy families and live a new life.
Si Jiangchen ignored Song Yixuan completely. He took my hand and carried Si Tong downstairs.
"Ah... N - no! Don't go!!" Song Yixuan roared behind us. He felt as if he had punched the air with all his might. Si Jiangchen regarded him as a trivial speck of dust and didn't even bother to refute his slander of Lengshan.
"Are we just leaving like this?" I couldn't help looking at Si Jiangchen after we left the chaotic environment on the ninth floor.
"Of course." Si Jiangchen's big hand was a bit cold. He held my hand in his and smiled. "I remember Xiao He isn't the kind of person who likes to meddle in other people's business!"