After the show ended, Li Baiqie just wanted to go home and enjoy himself for a while. When he couldn't reach his agent or assistant, he sensed something was wrong.
He quickly logged into his secondary Weibo account. His main account's followers hadn't dropped much. After all, it was just a matter of his public image, and many fans didn't care and still believed in and supported him.
He had anticipated the consequences after that day, but his agent was very good at handling such matters, so he wasn't worried.
Just as he was about to log into his main account to post an article to clear his name and promote his live stream, he found he couldn't log in.
"Mr. Bai, why hasn't your agent come to pick you up yet?"
No one in this industry was a fool. Li Baiqie sensed that Li Mochen was acting strangely.
"It was you, wasn't it? You deliberately set me up. What did I ever do to offend you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm just concerned about you. Since Mr. Bai doesn't appreciate it, I'll be taking my leave."
With that, he drove away in his car, leaving Li Baiqie to choke on dust, fuming. Sun Yanwu had hitched a ride with Sun Nanyi's car, and now Li Baiqie was the only one left at the filming location.
He grabbed a bottle of water and abandoned all his luggage. Following the map, he set off on foot towards the station. He walked until stars danced before his eyes and he almost suffered heatstroke, his heels rubbed raw by the time he returned to the company.
After asking around for a long time, he finally understood the current situation. The company intended to shelve him. He was still under contract, and there was no way for him to even switch companies.
Half of his assets had been divided by his ex-wife, making it impossible for him to pay the breach of contract fees. Looking at the agent in front of him, who was clearly new to the industry, he realized he couldn't solve his current predicament or secure greater benefits for himself.
Li Baiqie was about to explode with anger. By the time his contract expired, his popularity would have expired too. If he couldn't get any acting jobs for three years and remained inactive on screen, even the most loyal fans couldn't endure that.
"I want to see Mr. Sun. I'm the number one star in the company. You can't treat me like this. Mr. Sun wouldn't agree."
"Brother Li, please calm down. This is Mr. Sun's personal order. You'll be under my management from now on. Although I'm not as good as Brother Hu, I'll work hard. You have to believe me. I'll do my best to help you, and we'll definitely achieve glory again."
Li Baiqie felt his head spin even more. Where did this idiot come from? Was he trying to sell something? Thinking this, he rushed out, determined to find Mr. Sun and get to the bottom of it.
As soon as he stepped out, he ran into Mr. Sun's assistant.
"Oh, Baiqie. You're back just in time. Hurry up and clear out your office."
"What do you mean by that?"
The assistant patted his shoulder. "Don't be angry, I'm just following the boss's orders."
Li Baiqie knew he couldn't confront them directly at this moment. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions.
"Where will my office be then?"
"The building is short on staff. Offices are only reserved for those who need them."
The implication was that there was no place for him here. With many security guards around, he didn't dare cause a scene. Knowing that Mr. Sun was determined to get rid of him, he flicked his sleeve and went home.
"Alright, stop standing there like an idiot. Go do whatever you need to do."
The previously foolish-looking agent regained some of his sharp demeanor. He still had several promising young talents waiting to be nurtured behind him.
Li Baiqie couldn't understand how he had offended these two people. His future seemed bleak, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He went home, showered, changed his clothes, and drove to Mingjue for a drink. This bar was known for its privacy.
Xiao Yanyan had just finished a candlelight lunch with Zhao Yuming. Zhao Yuming returned to the company for work. She, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, was planning to wander around when she happened to see Li Baiqie about to enter the bar.
"Brother Li, what a coincidence to meet you here."
When Li Baiqie turned around and saw her, he could no longer suppress the stirring in his heart. He turned and walked towards Xiao Yanyan.
"Why are you here alone? Where's Mr. Zhao?"
"Ah Ming went back to the company. We just had lunch opposite. Where are you going?"
"Don't you know Mingjue?"
Xiao Yanyan shook her head.
"This is a place where people can forget their troubles. Yanyan, can you keep me company? I'm really suffering alone."
Xiao Yanyan hesitated for a moment. Seeing Li Baiqie's pitiful, pleading expression, her heart softened, and she went in with him.
Li Baiqie chattered about his misfortunes while gulping down alcohol. Xiao Yanyan could only sit by his side and offer gentle advice.
"Brother Li, I believe in your abilities. You'll definitely overcome this difficulty on your own. Mr. Sun looks down on you now, but she'll definitely regret it in the future."
"Yanyan, you're too naive. Things aren't that simple. They have the contract, which means they hold my lifeline. How can I fight against capital alone? It's a shame I still can't figure out what I did wrong."
"You did nothing wrong. There's no need to torment yourself over others' actions. It's only three years. With your talent, you'll definitely do better in the future."
"Yanyan, thank you. Right now, you're the only one willing to accompany this failure of a person and listen to my inner thoughts."
After he finished speaking, he reached for another drink, but Xiao Yanyan grabbed his cup and stopped him.
"That's enough for today. Drinking any more will harm your health."
The two of them were very close. Li Baiqie could clearly smell the fragrance emanating from Xiao Yanyan. For a moment, he was entranced.
"Yanyan, I like you. I don't care how many men you've had, as long as you belong to me for a moment. Thinking about it makes me so happy. I really like you so much."
As he spoke, he reached out to caress Xiao Yanyan's face. Xiao Yanyan, like a startled rabbit, quickly dodged away.
Seeing her reaction, Li Baiqie was filled with disappointment. He awkwardly withdrew his hand. "You should go. Leave me some dignity."
Seeing him like this, Xiao Yanyan felt a pang of sympathy. Recently, Zhao Yuming had been somewhat unwell, and she was in a state of unmet desires.
Xiao Yanyan suddenly threw herself into Li Baiqie's arms, encircling his lean waist. The two of them, like dry wood meeting fierce fire, engaged in a passionate embrace, but the flames died down after two minutes.
Xiao Yanyan looked embarrassed and quickly put on her clothes before fleeing. Li Baiqie, on the other hand, was filled with regret, thinking he had given the goddess such a poor experience. How could he be so useless? He had been quite vigorous just moments ago.
Xiao Yanyan quickly returned home, cleaned herself up, and used foundation to cover the red marks from being bitten.
Just as she was feeling guilty, she heard a knock on the door. Wearing a bathrobe, she hurried to open it, intending to call out "husband" but realized the person was wrong.
"Uncle, why are you here?"
"Oh, you're not welcoming me?"
"Not at all. Please, come in and sit down."
Welcoming him into the living room, Xiao Yanyan busied herself with making tea.
"You've caused so much chaos in the Zhao family, and Zhao Yuming has found you a nice place to live in peace and freedom. Leave my son and go harm someone else."
Xiao Yanyan dropped to her knees with a thud, just like the submissive female lead in a melodrama.
"Uncle Zhao, Ah Ming and I are truly in love. Please, don't tear us apart. I don't know how I'll live without him."
"Hmph, with your seductive skills, you'll never go hungry anywhere. Name your price. I'll satisfy you for any amount."
He was clearly the third son of the heavens, but now he lived like neither man nor ghost. The culprit, however, was enjoying herself freely here. Thinking of this, Father Zhao's anger had nowhere to vent.