Chapter 53: Misdirection
“Chairman, I’ve been with you for a long time… I’ve contributed to the company…”
Manager Zhao stammered, but since Yoyo Xu’s company had only been in operation for a short time, his words carried little weight.
He then turned pleading eyes toward Xie Ran. “President Xie, all you want is the personnel files, right? I’ll prepare them right now! I can get them to you today!”
Yoyo Xu truly intended to fire him. While she had been abroad, the company had seemed to be under Ouyang Ouyang’s management on the surface, but in reality, Manager Zhao had been in charge. Although none of his shady dealings had directly reached her, she had ways of finding out what was happening within the company.
The most important artist in the company right now was Song Zhibai, but due to short drama productions, they had also signed a few young actors and actresses, though they did not receive the same level of treatment as Song Zhibai.
The company had only been operating for less than two months, yet Manager Zhao had already been hinting at hidden rules to manipulate young actors and attempting to control Ouyang Ouyang. His schemes were relentless, and Yoyo Xu’s patience had reached its limit.
Had he been in power longer and caused major issues, simply firing him wouldn’t have sufficed.
“Manager Zhao, I advise you to leave quietly. If this escalates to the point where you can’t work in the industry anymore, that would be unfortunate.” Yoyo Xu said.
She then showed him a few chat screenshots.
Since it was clear that Manager Zhao had harassed employees first, he didn’t dare demand severance pay. He packed up his things and left in disgrace.
With no one else in the conference room, Xie Ran directly asked, “Did you already know I would have a conflict with him?”
Yoyo Xu shook her head. “Even if you hadn’t clashed with him today, I believe you would’ve noticed his misconduct sooner or later.”
Hearing this, Xie Ran chuckled softly and said, “Thank you.”
Firing the HR manager right after their conversation sent a stronger message than any words could. It served as a clear warning to the rest of the employees.
Yoyo Xu continued, “I know there’s a lot of filth in the entertainment industry, but in my company, I want everyone to earn clean money.”
Hidden rules in the entertainment industry were like shadows under the sun—almost unavoidable. There was hardly a company in the industry that could claim complete innocence.
Xie Ran, however, didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he said, “I still don’t fully understand the entertainment industry, but before I went to prison, resource exchanges were common. No one can guarantee that every project will be profitable.”
The cost of producing TV dramas was extremely high, involving numerous stakeholders. Very few dramas were funded by a single investor—most had multiple backers overseeing the production together.
With more investors, complications naturally arose.
But Yoyo Xu firmly stated, “I’m not short on money. Our company’s projects will be primarily self-funded whenever possible.”
Hearing this, Xie Ran was reassured and asked, “How much are you willing to invest in this company at most?”
Yoyo Xu trusted his ability to make money and replied, “However much you saw in my bank account before, that’s how much I can invest.”
Xie Ran smiled faintly. “Then I’ll make sure you earn a fortune in the shortest time possible.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a system notification popped up in front of Yoyo Xu.
[Congratulations, host! You have successfully completed the ‘Hidden Gem’ task and received a reward: A misdirection ability so convincing it can pass as real. (Already used.)]
Yoyo Xu: ?
She stared at the system in disbelief. “Why is it already used? Where was it applied?”
The system explained, “This reward is bound to Xie Ran and can only be used on him. It’s meant to cover any potential gaps in your plan.”
Yoyo Xu quickly understood and asked, “So it’s protecting Xie Ran? Ensuring his enemies don’t immediately come after him?”
The system confirmed her suspicion.
Thinking about the dazzling Xie Ran from her past life, Yoyo Xu suddenly felt it was only right for the system to take extra precautions.
Meanwhile, under a bridge in the outskirts of Hu City—
A short man wearing a black baseball cap and a face mask was rummaging through the makeshift “home” Xie Ran had previously occupied under the bridge.
Apart from some old blankets and tattered bedding, he found nothing valuable—only a stench that nearly knocked him out.
After searching for a long time, he finally gave up. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a fisherman by the riverbank yelling, “Somebody help me! I caught a big one!”
The short man wasn’t interested in helping, but the fisherman’s gaze had already locked onto him. “Come on, don’t just stand there! Help me out!”
The fisherman’s eyes were filled with excitement as he stared at the water, desperate to reel in his catch. Not wanting to appear suspicious, the short man reluctantly went over to help pull up the bent fishing rod.
But instead of a big fish, they reeled in a person.
“Holy crap, what is this?!” the fisherman shouted in shock.
Meanwhile, the short man’s scalp went numb. The waterlogged body, dressed in ragged clothes, had bloated beyond recognition.
Instinctively, the short man associated the corpse with the homeless man’s “home” nearby.
What happened next surprised him even more—the fisherman, after screaming for a bit, casually rebaited his hook and cast the line back into the water with practiced ease.
“Wait, aren’t we going to report this? Why are you still fishing?” the short man asked, bewildered.
The fisherman gave him an even more confused look. “What else am I supposed to do? I already baited the spot. If you want to call the cops, go ahead.”
Even though he knew his presence here was suspicious, the short man was merely a lookout—he didn’t want to be implicated in a murder case. In the end, he reluctantly chose to report it to the police.
The police couldn’t determine the corpse’s identity. The short man knew the truth but couldn’t reveal it without incriminating himself. In the end, the autopsy ruled it a suicide, and the authorities simply linked the body to the unidentified homeless man living under the bridge.
After leaving the police station, the short man pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“Young master, the person you had me watch has committed suicide.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely, young master. There was no trace of him or any evidence in his hideout. Do you still want me to keep an eye on things?”
Honestly, even the short man found this ridiculous. The man was already dead—who was he supposed to watch now?
“No need. I’ll handle things with my father.” With that, the call ended swiftly.
Yoyo Xu was unaware that, thanks to the police declaring Xie Ran dead, he had temporarily escaped his enemies’ attention.
She had expected Xie Ran to make a move immediately. However, to her surprise, he remained quiet for over half a month before finally deciding to take action.
He asked her for 20 million yuan.
