The next day.

"Haohan Entertainment wants to sign me?"

"Yes," the assistant said from the other end. "I was wondering if we could meet in person?"

Xiao He held his phone, quite surprised.

If he remembered correctly, wasn't Haohan Entertainment the agency of that celebrity Ran Yunrui?

That was one of the biggest giants in the entertainment industry, and he really hadn't expected them to proactively seek him out.

Xiao He naturally had no good impression of this company, which primarily operated by manipulating public opinion and controlling traffic.

However, this was also an opportunity to learn more up close, to see the contracts and conditions of these big companies, and to broaden his horizons—

"Of course."

The two agreed on a time over the phone and ended the call. Lin Yipeng walked over from the side and reminded Xiao He, "Haohan Entertainment is quite controversial in the industry. You'd best think it through and not make a decision too soon."

"Mm, I know," Xiao He nodded and explained. "It's fine, I'm just going to check it out."

So, the next day, Xiao He, who had already asked Lin Yipeng for leave, arrived at the coffee shop first.

This was a coffee shop near the Film and Television Base. Xiao He and Pu Rong had been there a few times and were quite familiar with the owner.

As soon as he entered, he greeted the owner, "Sister Zhou, good afternoon."

"Xiao Xiao, good afternoon." The owner was a plump middle-aged aunt, dressed very fashionably, with a natural smile in her eyes that made her very approachable. "Is Xiao Pu not with you today?"

"I have an appointment today to discuss work," Xiao He replied with a smile.

"Oh, I see. Then I'll find you a quieter spot—"

"Great, thank you, Sister Zhou!"

Sister Zhou found Xiao He a quiet and secluded corner, convenient for both parties to talk.

But after about twenty minutes, with most of the coffee already drunk, the person Xiao He was waiting for still hadn't arrived.

Xiao He: ...

He picked up his phone to confirm again.

He definitely hadn't remembered wrong.

Are big companies really that unpunctual? Or did they simply not care about his existence?

Xiao He twitched the corner of his mouth, rarely feeling a bit annoyed. He decisively picked up his phone and redialed the assistant who had called him earlier.

On the other side, the assistant, holding items and jogging to keep up with Cheng Hongwen, looked anxious: "Brother Cheng, my phone is ringing, it should be Xiao He—"

"Tell him to reschedule!" Cheng Hongwen said indifferently. "We have to go pick up Youyou right now! It would be terrible if she gets mobbed at the hotel!"

"Okay—"

The assistant struggled to free a hand to answer Xiao He's call, but the next moment, Cheng Hongwen impatiently urged him, "Hurry up! Has the driver not brought the car yet?"

"I'll call him right away."

The assistant could only temporarily hang up Xiao He's call and instead call ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the driver.

On the other end of the line, listening to the busy tone of the hung-up call, Xiao He was truly exasperated to the point of laughter.

What was this now? Was he being stood up?

Is this how big companies operate?

Were they treating him like a fool?

Just then, a notification popped up at the top of his phone screen—

【Breaking! National Best Actress Xu Youyou Secretly Meets Boyfriend! Suspected Underground Relationship Exposed!】

Xiao He narrowed his eyes.

Xu Youyou? Best Actress?

He subconsciously clicked on it.

【Early this morning, Xu Youyou and her underground boyfriend appeared at a hotel in the Shanghai Film and Television Base! In the footage, Xu Youyou and the man were intimate, holding hands...】

The account that broke the news was a very familiar paparazzi account, and the content of the revelation was about the relationship rumors of the recently crowned Best Actress, Xu Youyou.

The cover showed a beautiful woman with a very pure appearance and a gentle, sweet smile.

And Xiao He keenly noticed that this Xu Youyou was an artist under Haohan Entertainment.

Could it be that the reason they weren't answering his calls... was because of this relationship news?

But no matter what, they shouldn't have stood him up. They should have at least called back or sent a message!

To put it bluntly, he simply wasn't being taken seriously.

Xiao He found it quite ironic. He simply leaned back in his chair and began to leisurely scroll down through the comments.

【Spreading rumors is illegal! Haohan Entertainment has already issued a statement, please delete the video immediately and apologize!】

【Hahaha, before clicking in, I was wondering which Best Actress it was, turns out it's the newly crowned 'Water Queen'. Well, no big deal then, undeserving of her title, she'll collapse sooner or later.】

【The person above, be careful of being silenced. If they come after us, we'll all run first.】

【It's truly a refutation announcement visible only to fans. The leaked photo shows them mouth-to-mouth, don't tell me they're exchanging bad breath.】

【Don't bother, you can never wake a sleeping person.】

【Even if it's true, I don't care. Youyou has always relied on her strength, and actors aren't forbidden from dating.】

【Bullshit! She's just starting her career, dating really delays things! Please, Youyou, wake up!!】

The comment section was diverse, and hot searches kept popping up one after another. This scale was not an exaggeration to call it the most explosive relationship news of the latter half of the year.

Xiao He originally didn't know much about Xu Youyou, but with the help of the comments section, he understood the situation.

Xu Youyou was a new talent promoted by Haohan Entertainment in recent years. Her looks and acting skills were very good, and last year, with the company's operation, she successfully won the Hundred Birds Award for Best Actress.

However, because Xu Youyou had always followed the pure, innocent route, and the movies she acted in were basically about campus beauties or first loves, coupled with Haohan Entertainment's frequent marketing of her as delicate and kind, her fans developed extreme possessiveness and control. They felt everyone would bully their Youyou, giving a "mother raising a daughter" vibe.

This led to a particularly severe backlash when Xu Youyou's relationship news came out. Many of Xu Youyou's fans couldn't accept the fact that their "little cabbage was rooted by a pig."

Xiao He shook his head with some regret.

Tsk tsk.

So, this is the price of bearing traffic. If you want to gain it, you must be prepared for the backlash...

Xiao He finished the last sip of coffee in his cup, not taking the matter to heart. He put away his phone, ready to leave, and at the same time, thought about how to deal with the agent who had stood him up when he got back—

"Ding—"

The wind chimes at the coffee shop entrance jingled. A girl wearing a hat and a mask walked in from outside, brushed past Xiao He, and hurried towards the back door of the coffee shop.

Xiao He walked straight ahead, said goodbye to Sister Zhou at the counter, pulled open the shop door, and was about to leave—

A man, also wearing a hat and a mask, turned sideways and squeezed through the gap Xiao He had opened. He then also brushed past Xiao He and headed towards the back door.

Xiao He's hand, which was opening the door, paused.

He turned his head and only saw the fleeting figure of the man disappearing through the back door.

Xiao He narrowed his eyes.

That was—the aura of his kind!

Something's wrong... that guy is very wrong!

Thinking of the girl who had just hurried past, Xiao He retracted his hand, turned around, and followed in the direction of the back door.

The back door of the coffee shop led to a small alley. The surroundings were relatively secluded, mostly tall buildings, and the ground was randomly strewn with items from shops on the street in front, looking messy and narrow.

Xiao He carefully maneuvered around the items, quietly creeping forward, and finally saw the figures of the two people from earlier.

"Please! Please stop following me! Isn't one exposure enough?!"

Straight ahead, the masked girl finally couldn't hold back, turning her head and yelling at the man behind her in a breakdown.