mijobooks Chapter 20: Mr. Guan, a Heroic Figure
Chapter 20: Mr. Guan, a Heroic Figure
The sun shone through the gap in the curtains and fell on Guan Shengbai's face.
Guo Biting propped her head up on her side and looked at the incredibly handsome boy in front of her.
The man who was as fierce as a tiger yesterday now lay quietly beside her, as serene as a sleeping cat in the sunlight.
Suddenly, she felt playful and took a strand of her hair, gently brushing it against Guan Shengbai's nose and lips...
For some reason, she was somewhat mesmerized by the man's features...
Half asleep, Guan Shengbai felt an itch on his face. When he opened his eyes, he found Guo Biting teasing his mouth and nose with the ends of her hair, as if she were holding a cat toy.
Guan Shengbai reached out and grabbed Guo Biting's hand, forcefully pulling the mischievous little rabbit towards him.
Guo Biting exclaimed in surprise and rushed into her arms.
Instantly, Guan Shengbai felt a soft, warm, and fragrant touch wash over him.
Guo Biting, who was only wrapped in a bed sheet, felt a chill on her body, and a dazzling white flower bloomed before Guan Shengbai's eyes.
"Ah!!! Don't look!!! Don't move!!! No! I'm ticklish!!!"
"Hahahaha! Don't tickle me! It's so itchy!!!"
Now that her "ticklish spot" had been caught, Guo Biting was no longer the crazy person she was the night before.
It was as if the resilient female warrior who repeatedly fought back despite defeats, tried to turn the tables and become the master again and again, was ruthlessly suppressed by the villains, and finally collapsed so weak that she couldn't even move a finger was not herself.
After a period of playful banter, their postures seemed to echo those of the previous night, and the nature of their playful antics gradually changed.
Gradually, a blush spread from Guo Biting's cheeks to her dazzlingly white collarbone, and even her whimpers of pleading as she was tickled seemed to become more rhythmic...
......
......
Fifty minutes later.
Guan Shengbai leaned against the headboard, picked up his phone, and turned off airplane mode.
The moment the screen lit up, missed call notifications came buzzing in like a hornet's nest that had been stirred up.
He glanced through it briefly.
Three missed calls, all from Yang Mi.
The senior sister who was in Hong Kong for business activities probably heard the news from Xie Yilin and hurriedly made three calls.
Five missed calls were from Amber Kuo.
There were two more calls, both from Guo Xiaosi.
The remaining dozens of missed calls were from Zeng Jia and Chai Zhiping's mobile phone numbers.
There were also a ton of text messages.
Yang Mi's text message was concise, just six words: "Call back, no matter what time."
Guo Caijie's text messages came one after another, from "I heard something happened, are you okay?" to "Where are you?" to "Reply to me when you see this", with each message more urgent than the last.
Zeng Jia's text messages were very professional, with each one reporting on progress.
"I've already made contact with Chai Zhiping."
"The production company has agreed to maintain a unified narrative."
"Now that you're awake, I'll tell you the specific plan."
Guan Shengbai scanned all the text messages and then first opened Yang Mi's chat window.
He considered his words for a few seconds and typed out a message.
The incident was briefly described, but some details that were not suitable for a detailed description in a short message were omitted.
He only mentioned a few things: someone set a trap, Guo Biting asked for help, and a physical altercation occurred after he arrived.
She added at the end, "Everyone is fine, everything has been taken care of, so don't worry, senior sister."
After sending the message, he didn't wait for Yang Mi's reply and directly dialed Zeng Jia's number.
The call was answered instantly.
"I'm sorry, Sister Jia."
Guan Shengbai spoke first, his tone carrying just the right amount of apology and exhaustion.
"My situation was chaotic last night, and I drifted off to sleep without even realizing my phone was dead."
Aside from the excuse that his phone was out of battery, Guan Shengbai was not lying.
There was a silence on the other end of the phone for about two seconds.
Zeng Jia was sitting on the sofa in her office, with the results of her entire night's work spread out in front of her.
The call logs with Chai Zhiping, the unified statement document finalized with the film company, and several draft lawyer's letters that she had prepared overnight.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her temples throbbed with pain.
My mother didn't sleep a wink all night trying to clean up this mess.
That brat is something else. He beat someone up and then acted like nothing happened, just went straight to sleep.
An unnamed fire surged up from her chest, making her throat feel tight.
Those habitual reprimands were already on the tip of my tongue, like a spring that had been compressed for too long, eager to spring out.
But she ultimately swallowed her anger.
You can't curse.
She kept repeating it to herself.
We've been working ourselves to the bone all night and have managed to handle this crisis to this point.
If I start cursing now, all the effort I've put in before will be wasted.
She's seen plenty of cases over the years where she did something but, because of a slip of the tongue, no one remembered the favor.
Zeng Jia would never be such a sucker.
Once this kid is completely in her hands, she'll have plenty of ways to slowly manipulate him.
Zeng Jia closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her voice had been adjusted to the softest setting.
"It's alright. After such a big incident last night, you really need to get some rest. Jia-jie has already taken care of most of it for you."
"Oh?"
Guan Shengbai's voice carried just the right amount of curiosity.
"Sister Jia, please tell me."
Zeng Jia picked up the cup of coffee on the table, which had long since gone cold, took a sip, and began to recount the results of the night's battle.
Her approach to the problem was very clear.
The first step is information gathering.
After hanging up Guan Shengbai's call last night, she immediately used her connections within the "Tiny Times" film crew to find out the most crucial information.
"The things he's been doing these past few years haven't been very clean, and Chai Zhiping has been helping him keep quiet about them."
This isn't exactly a secret in Taiwan, but it hasn't been exposed yet on the mainland.
Zeng Jia's voice carried a sharp edge, the kind usually reserved for negotiating.
"So I called Chai Zhiping directly and told her frankly that I knew everything about what her artists had done."
"If you dare call the police, I dare to expose everything."
Guan Shengbai's eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing this.
He was certainly familiar with this move.
In his past life, he used similar "reciprocal deterrence" countless times when helping clients handle crises.
But he didn't expect that Zeng Jianeng could figure out the other party's weakness in just one or two hours, and that he would dare to use a semi-fraudulent method to cheat Chai Zhiping, an experienced insider, without any solid evidence.
The important point is that she actually managed to scam him.
This courage and judgment truly live up to her reputation in the industry.
What was Chai Zhiping's reaction?
"What other reaction could she possibly have?"
Zeng Jia chuckled lightly, her laughter carrying an undisguised contempt.
"She knows better than anyone that her own artist is a complete mess."
I spoke vaguely, leaving her unsure of exactly what I had, but she was also hesitant to gamble. So she had no choice but to reluctantly accept it.
Once you acknowledge it, things become much easier.
Neither side is stupid; they know that making a big fuss about this would benefit no one.
Especially on the other side, once the police get involved, his messy past simply won't stand up to scrutiny.
Therefore, Chai Zhiping not only dared not call the police, but also had to take the initiative to help suppress the matter.
"I also called the production company."
Zeng Jia continued, her tone shifting from sharp to calm.
"Tiny Times is still in the filming period, and what these investors are most afraid of is that the crew will have negative news that will affect the later publicity and screening schedule."
I told them that both sides had reached a consensus on this matter, and now the film production company needed to come forward and provide a unified statement.
"What unified stance should we take?"
"When the cast and crew of 'Tiny Times' went out for a party, they were harassed by a drunk man. Ke immediately stepped forward to stop him, but was outnumbered and injured."
Guan Shengbai arrived just in time, bravely intervened, and successfully chased away the drunkard, protecting his fellow crew members.
Zeng Jia finished speaking in one breath, and added a final sentence.
"This version has already been approved by Chai Zhiping's side. The production company's press release will be drafted this morning, and both sides will release it together."
Guan Shengbai held his phone, the corners of his mouth curving upwards even more.
It must be admitted that Zeng Jia played this move brilliantly.
Not only did they completely clear his name of assaulting someone, but they also conveniently gave the person who received the beating a high hat of "heroic protector of the flower".
If we fight, we'll definitely be beaten for nothing.
Tell me, do you admit it or not!
In this way, they both shut the other party up and preserved the dignity of the production team.
Most importantly, this version can withstand scrutiny from most people.
As for the small number of people who insist on digging deep to uncover the truth...
Guan Shengbai knew very well that in this circle, the truth was never important.
The key question is who controls the narrative.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Jia."
His tone was filled with genuine gratitude, "If it weren't for you, I really couldn't have handled this by myself."
These words struck a chord with Zeng Jia.
She leaned back in her chair, a faint smile finally appearing on her tired face.
All that hard work last night, wasn't it all for this sentence?
"You're the artist I signed. If something happens, who will take responsibility if I don't?"
When Zeng Jia said this, her tone carried a hint of deliberate intimacy.
"But Xiaobai, next time something like this happens, remember to let Jia Jie know in advance."
"You were lucky this time; the other party had something on them. If you'd run into someone who was completely clean and fearless, it wouldn't have been so easy to handle."
"clear."
Guan Shengbai agreed readily.
After hanging up the phone, he leaned against the headboard and put his phone aside.
The sky outside the window was already beginning to lighten, and the early morning light in Shanghai's winter was a cold, grayish-blue glow.
He turned his head and looked to his side.
Guo Biting had stopped convulsing and was curled up beside him, too exhausted to continue sleeping.
Her long hair was spread out on the pillow, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks, rising and falling slightly with her even breathing.
The flush on her delicate face still lingered, and a trace of dried tears was faintly visible at the corner of her eye.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly from time to time, as if she were having a dream.
Guan Shengbai didn't wake her. He simply lifted the covers, got out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains a little.
The gray-blue morning light streamed in, drawing a narrow band of light on the carpet.
He stood there, his gaze passing over the low buildings outside the window and landing on a road in the distance where vehicles had already begun to pass.
The events of that night involuntarily resurfaced in my mind.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
To be honest, he had considered that Guo Biting might express something to him before filming wrapped up because of the passive effect of "entangled in love".
But he didn't expect it to take this form.
He could clearly see the expression on the girl's face when she came out from behind the toilet door.
The fear was real, and so was the exhaustion from surviving the ordeal.
But beneath that, there is something even deeper.
A sense of relief that "I've finally found a suitable excuse to do this in a legitimate way."
He wouldn't misread the data on the panel.
Affection level 80%, success rate 90%.
The label "Red Phoenix Star Strikes, Desires Entangle You" has always been hanging there.
Regardless of the circumstances, what's done is done.
He is never the kind of person who dwells on things afterward.
What's done is done, there's nothing to regret.
And frankly, if last night's events were to happen again, he would still make the same choice.
Furthermore, I need to be more careful when dealing with Zeng Jia in the future.
She really helped a lot this time, and handled it perfectly.
But Guan Shengbai had indirectly dealt with Zeng Jia's team in his previous life, so he knew this woman's style of doing things all too well.
The more amiable and kind she was to Guan Shengbai, the more it showed that she had placed a heavy bet on him.
For someone like Zeng Jia, the heavier the bet, the higher the interest she will receive in the future.
Of course, that's all for the future.
Guan Shengbai snapped out of his thoughts and picked up his phone again to scroll through unread messages.
Guo Caijie's text messages are still there; she has sent seven since last night, each one shorter than the last.
The last message was sent at around 4 a.m., and it only had four words: "It's good that you're okay."
Guan Shengbai stared at those four words and remained silent for a moment.
He thought for a moment and replied, "Everything has been taken care of, and Bi Ting is fine. Thank you for your concern."
After sending the message, he put his phone on the windowsill and turned to go to the bathroom to take a shower.
The bathroom door was half-open, and the steam inside had not completely dissipated.
Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound behind me.
Guo Biting woke up.
She sat up, wrapped in a blanket, her hair disheveled and hanging over her shoulders, her eyes still somewhat dazed.
Upon seeing Guan Shengbai standing by the window, her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed, the blush spreading from the tips of her ears to the base of her neck. Her mouth opened wide as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, only…
"morning."
Guan Shengbai leaned against the window, nodded at her, and had a half-smile on his face.
"We've already done morning exercises, isn't it a bit too deliberate to still say 'early'?"
"Ah! What are you saying?!"
Guo Biting's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
She kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of the blanket.
After a few seconds of silence, she seemed to have mustered up a lot of courage and looked up at Guan Shengbai.
In those misty eyes, there was shyness, trepidation, and a deeply hidden expectation.
"last night……"
"Zeng Jia has already taken care of what happened last night."
Guan Shengbai took over the conversation, his tone natural and calm, as if he were reporting the crew's schedule to her.
"The official story is that a crew member was harassed by a drunk man at a party, the man got injured when he intervened, and I bravely protected my colleague. The production company has already approved this version, and we will release the press release today."
Guo Biting was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Guan Shengbai's first words to be this.
But she quickly realized what was happening, nodded slightly, and a hint of relief flashed in her eyes.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Guan Shengbai picked up his phone from the windowsill and waved it at her.
"You should get some more sleep. The production team will probably announce a one-day suspension of filming today. I'm going back to the hotel now. Call me if you need anything."
After saying that, he picked up his coat and strode towards the door, his steps steady and composed.
Guo Biting sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket, watching his figure disappear behind the door.
The morning light from the window fell on her, casting a half-light and half-shadow on her still somewhat weary face.
She lowered her head, touched her two index fingers together, and slowly curved her lips into a small smile.
It looked exactly like a little fox that had finally stolen the chicks it had been eyeing for so long.