Chapter 41 - I’ve got this Celebrity’s back (1)
Chapter 41: I’ve got this Celebrity’s back
While their special abilities were still there, the two stayed in the current world for three years before passing through the altar under dispatch orders from headquarters and returning to the main world.
The system had peeled a world’s worth of garlic. After Gu Ting transformed into a quasi-human, Lu Deng pickled the peeled garlic in a sweet and sour brine. The two of them couldn’t possibly finish all of it, so a few cans were sent back home. The sharpened crosses were also sent back together to be hung on the walls as decoration.
The system hated to part with the garlic and it sobbed while keeping a statement of accounts on a small notebook. Lu Deng smiled helplessly and decided to give it a red envelope. He concealed the amount and didn’t tell it about the red envelope. Lu Deng then raised his hand to open the selected new world.
This was a story world centered around the entertainment industry.
It was a purely rise-to-the-top kind of story. The protagonist, Chu Heng, was the young master of Shengxing Entertainment. He was kept tightly protected by his family from an early age but due to an unexpected turn of events, was nevertheless pulled into the entertainment circle by scouts.
Under the halo of the protagonist, Chu Heng’s journey to the top was unstoppable and his acting skills were constantly being tempered and refined. He finally reached the top before the deadline set by his family and successfully won the highest award in the entertainment industry.
The cannon fodder who needed saving was called Gu Xi. Compared to the protagonist, his character design was undoubtedly standard cannon fodder. A youngster when he made his debut, professionally trained and admitted through recommendations, with excellent acting skills, his road to Film Emperor was broad and level. But because his rise was too fast, he had gotten in people’s way. When he was about to enter his golden age, he became mired in scandals. He was completely blackened by the overwhelming cyber-harassments. He got into a car accident while trying to shake off the chasing paparazzi. He was seriously injured, treatment was ineffective and he unexpectedly died.
When Gu Xi got into that car accident, he had negotiated a role in a movie called “The Journey” and it was about to start shooting. Because of this accident, his role was unexpectedly left vacant.
“The Journey” was a big screen movie. Gu Xi’s role was a supporting male lead. It was a brilliant role that as long as the acting was not too outrageous, anyone could become an instant hit. It was originally for this role that the villain had ruined him but no one could stand against the protagonist’s halo. After Gu Xi’s death in the car accident, the role has been tossed around several times and it actually landed into the hands of the protagonist who had just made his debut. It became the most solid cornerstone of the protagonist’s ascent to the summit.
The system has imported the storyline. With apprehension, it reminded its host, “Host, this is the coolness point of an A-level main storyline. We can’t snatch it away otherwise the protagonist won’t be able to act that role…”
“Alright. We won’t snatch it away.”
Lu Deng smiled soundlessly and soothed it in a calm tone. His eyes stopped at the final few sentences of the plot. “Is there a driving skill pack available in the mall?”
When he began to take on missions, he was not yet twenty years old and couldn’t drive a suspended car. He had also never specially practiced it. Now, after going through these words, he was finally old enough. It would be better to just learn it once and for all.
The system immediately cheered up. “Yes! The Old Driver Package only needs 9999 experience points and I can get an 20% discount coupon from the systems group. Host, do you want to buy it?”
Although the name was a bit strange, the price was not too expensive for a general skill pack that could be mastered without any practice. Lu Deng nodded. He transferred the experience points to the system and began choosing what character he would take on this time.
He could not occupy any of the existing roles. Gu Xi already had assistants and agents by his side so he had to find another way. Although he’d had practice in several of the previous worlds, Lu Deng was still unaccustomed to facing crowds of people. After pondering for a moment, he chose the last character and raised his hand to click on it.
The light flashed, and the starry sky spread out before him once again.
————————
The summer night was cool and the moonlight was bright and clear.
Lu Deng squatted behind the bushes. He had on a mask and a pair of thin gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. A camera, protected by a leather cover, hung around his neck.
This camera had been given to him when Gu Ting taught him photography in the last world. Its design mimicked those of cameras from past eras, which coincidentally fit the setting of this world. And so, he decided to bring it with him. Apart from having slightly higher specs, it did not stand out much if basing on its appearance alone.
“Host, our current role is that of a paparazzo. Taking secret photos would be enough…”
The system reminded him while sending out ultrasound waves to bombard mosquitoes away from him. Lu Deng just pulled down the brim of his hat and set down the sealed bag on the road. He responded patiently, “I know.”
The Main System gets to decide at which time agents enter a story world. This was probably in order to not impact the plot too much. When he came to this world, the storm around Gu Xi had already begun to appear.
Right now, they were on the road Gu Xi had to take to get home. According to the plot, Gu Xi’s car will pass by in five minutes. When he gets out of the car and walks to the door of his house, someone who had been waiting in ambush would come up to him, crying and making a scene at the door of his house, playing out a messy and tasteless drama of seduction and abandonment.
Implicated in this entanglement, the taken pictures were posted on the Internet and it became a sensational topic.
A piece of scandalous picture naturally wouldn’t be enough to suppress a true Film Emperor but at this time Gu Xi was already mired in scandals. Scandals such as “bullying newcomers”, “playing diva”, “giving fans the cold shoulder”, “a chaotic private life” and other such sewage was being splashed down on him one after the other. His agency also accepted bride money and gave only a token scripted statement denouncing those claims and remained completely indifferent.
Although there were fans trying to preserve his honor, those outrageous claims were overwhelming and it quickly defeated the audience that Gu Xi had accumulated from his years of performing.
The system could find out his mobile phone number and send a message of warning. However Gu Xi probably barred any unknown numbers from contacting him. Although the message would be send, no reply would be coming.
Lu Deng preferred to solving problems quickly and he was no expert in the machinations of the entertainment industry. Faced with such a situation, he instinctively chose the method he was best at.
The location of Gu Xi’s villa was remote so there wasn’t any strict security measures. The asphalt road in the outskirts was flat and wide. The night was quiet, only the sound of insects could be heard.
Seeing that its host was planning on hijacking the car, the system hacked the surveillance all along the route Gu Xi was taking. Despite this, it still felt uncontrollable worry.
The night was getting deeper and deeper.
The car lights uncovered the road from the darkness. Gu Xi rubbed his brows and opened the car windows to let in some fresh air.
This road was very remote and was a one-way street with almost no other vehicles passing by. He’ll just drive slowly, he’ll reach there eventually anyway.
Before he noticed it, rumors of him suppressing newcomers, pushing out others from the shooting site, maliciously raising his talent fees had spread around seeming as though it were all real.
The director and producer apologized repeatedly and gave repeated promises to thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors. However, the status new dramas whose negotiations were quickly being finalized became questionable overnight using all sorts of ambiguous excuses.
The phone buzzed with a call. Gu Xi had no intention of paying it any attention. He glanced at the call information and threw it onto the co-pilot seat.
All these black materials were all used to provide a spectacle for industry outsiders. He was an experienced actor. It stands to reason that he knew how things stood. Things shouldn’t have reached this stage given just these rumors.
He has been focused on acting all these years but he was not a fool that could be kept in the dark. Seeing that something wasn’t right, he invited a director he was on familiar terms with to a meal. The director hem and hawed but managed to convey to him the situation. Only then did he realize that the matter of the pay increase was not merely baseless accusations. It was in fact something done secretly by his agent.
The company had specially assigned him a gold medal agent. These years, the exposure activities for him has been steadily declining but this agent’s hands were nimble enough to stretch out this far.
Gu Xi didn’t intend to leave him any face. He demanded the so-called gold medal agent who had been assigned by the company to go back home on the spot. He also politely asked the agent’s cousin who had been serving as his assistant to leave as well. In the blink of an eye, the normally peaceful and quiet Film Emperor Gu didn’t even spare the driver and had him leave as well, choosing to drive himself. All he wanted was to go home and have a good sleep.
The phone rang for a while and then stopped but persistently rang once again.
Gu Xi lighted a cigarette. He focused all his attention on driving. He casually took back his phone, intending to shut it down. He glanced at it accidentally though and saw that a different number was calling him.
When he was young and ignorant, he had signed a contract that basically amounted to him indenturing himself. He planned to terminate the contract and it needed to be taken on step at a time. Gu Xi frowned. Seeing that it was Yikun Entertainment’s president, his finger hovered for a moment and then pressed to answer.
“Gu Xi, look, about what happened today—”
The voice on the other end of the phone had a moderate compromising tone in his voice. There was a deliberate pause. Seeing that Gu Xi was remaining silent, he had to continue speaking.
“This was Mao Chuan’s mistake. He shouldn’t have changed the talent fee without informing you. But this was also the company’s deliberated decision. You are now the Film Emperor and you can’t be taking these second-rate and third-rate scripts…”
“So, you mean to say–”
Gu Xi raised his eyebrows, still speaking gently, “The company also knew about him raising the price.”
Realizing that there was a hint of something wrong in Gu Xi’s tone of voice, the voice on the other end of the line was taken aback and hurriedly explained, “Gu Xi, this kind of thing is common practice in every company. We will definitely inform you next time. Right now, you’ve driven off your broker and assistant. Who will manage your activities? Who will drive you to your shootings? You are no longer young. You shouldn’t let yourself be swayed by personal feelings…”
“I can take care of myself. I don’t need two people to fatten me up so that they can estimate my value and then sell me to market.”
Gu Xi smiled and flicked the soot off his cigarette. There was an unmistakable chill in his voice. “There is still half a year in my contract. Let us leave each other some face so that in the future, we can be civil when we cross paths. President Fang, in the future, I won’t have to trouble you about my matters.”
“Gu Xi!”
The voice on the phone was obviously annoyed by his attitude. He raised his voice and shouted, his tone becoming stern, “Don’t think that you’re now some bigshot celebrity who can just do as you like! The company has taken care of you this long and this is how you repay…”
Listening to the same old scolding over the phone, the corners of Gu Xi’s lips insipidly ticked up and he snuffed out his half-finished cigarette.
He made his debut at the age of fifteen and signed with Yikun Entertainment. He was now approaching his fifteenth year. Yikun Entertainment used him as a cash cow. They had forced him to do promotions during the period when he should have been studying for college. They used him to pick up batch after batch of younger generation talents. He could bear it but their actions failed to endear the company to him.
This time, the omnipresent sewage was undoubtedly the work of someone secretly creating difficulties for him. It was bad enough that the company wouldn’t help, they still had to kick him behind his back and squeeze him dry of all his remaining value. He was left with no choice by the get the word out first.
“…If the company hadn’t fought to get you that role back then, where do you think you would be now? Even if we threw you outside, no one would want you!”
His unceasing torrent of indignant rebuke continued on. He was now already talking about Gu Xi’s resume when he was 21. Gu Xi tapped on the steering wheel, wondering if it would be too overly rude if he were to just hang up the phone like this. When suddenly, it seemed that the car had bumped into something. There was a loud and clear pop.
Gu Xi stepped on the brakes and looked down from the window of the car. He couldn’t find any clue as to what it could have been. Holding his phone, he opened the door and got out of the car.
Just as he had stepped on the ground, a black shadow suddenly leaped at him head on.
The thought that this might be someone out to rob him to get revenge flashed through Gu Xi’s mind. He instinctively raised his hand to block, but the person who came at him was far more skilled than he was with his little tricks he had picked up during acting. The assaulter grabbed his arm, twisted and pushed. In short order, he already had Gu Xi pressed against the car door.
During the scuffle, Gu Xi’s mobile phone dropped and fell to the gravel covered road. The screen went black instantly. He had no idea if the call had already been disconnected.
Since he could not defeat him, it was better to see if he really had provoked someone unknowingly or if he had simply offended the Tai Sui this year.
Gu Xi simply let go of all his strength. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the unexpected guest in front of him.
The wind blew and the clouds shifted. Moonlight poured down once again.
He didn’t know if the moonlight was especially bright and clear but his assaulter looked particularly delicate and pretty. Although most of his face was blocked by a mask and he was also wearing glasses to boot, he could still see those black eyes that looked like two clear and smooth pools. Thick lashes and slender, refined brows made his eyes appear more rounded, He looked like he was between being a teenager and a young man.
That pair of eyes widened slightly, showing a bit of surprise. He looked away from his face. While the assaulter had Gu Xi pressed against the car, the assaulter looked towards the inside of the car.
The assaulter’s stance while looking in the direction of the car was completely relaxed. Gu Xi was more than half of a head taller than his assaulter. As long as he seizes the opportunity to fight back, he could throw the other to the ground and make his getaway in the car.
While he rehearsed the majestic fighting scene in his head, Film Emperor Gu leaned back lazily. He raised his hand to catch the uninvited guest, who already had more than half his body stretched out. He patted his back and said jokingly. “No need to look. It’s just me. Is this a robbery?”
In any case, his reputation has already been ruined to this extent. Instead of getting another black mark for hitting someone as he made his escape, he might as well just get robbed.
Gu Xi comforted himself by rationalizing his situation. He was about to calculate how much money he had with him, when the robber in front of him had straightened up his body and once again looked back at his face. The robber shook his head.
He wasn’t here to rob him and he didn’t look like he was here for revenge either.
Gu Xi dropped his gaze thoughtfully. He recognizing the thing that had been pressing hard against his chest just now. His brows raised up slightly, caught in a rare bout of hesitation.
He recognized this thing.
And he usually recognized most of the people who had it.
But this was the first time he had encountered someone with this kind of thing who laid out an ambush for him on his way home, pressed him against his car and attempted to rob him.
While he was pondering, the unidentified uninvited guest in front of him had taken the initiative to let him go. He took off half of his mask and raised his head to meet his gaze. His brows and eyes were curved in a happy expression. His voice was clear and gentle.
“I’m here to rob you.”
…
He looked back into those eyes that seemed to contain a thoroughly serious and earnest light. Film Emperor Gu, single and nearing thirty, suddenly felt his heart give a jump.
The robber stood in place, camera slung around his neck. He was quietly looking at him and smiling.
The moonlight was clear and bright, falling into the bottom of his clear eyes. His warm and refined appearance looked as though they were drawn in black ink. Gu Xi subconsciously raised his hand. His fingertips passing through his hair, landing on the other’s ear, taking off the mask completely.
In passing, he swallowed down all his conjectures that had anything to do with robbery.
The author has something to say: Film Emperor Gu: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey Σ(｀艸’;)
#Papparazzi Nowadays#
#have prospects#