New Times, New Hell

Chapter 116 - Unspoken Rules

The celebratory banquet was scheduled to take place at a famous hotel not far away from the opera house. Because this was Sagittarius Band’s first concert, the management company was being more careful. The scheduling had been comparably lenient. Consequently, by the end of the interview, it wasn’t that late yet.

Under the protection of the security guards, the group headed in the direction of the hotel. The kinnaras hadn’t thought that Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que would specially go watch their concert. The entire way, they appeared extremely excited and carefully asked Boss how they had done.

Shang Que didn’t actually have any thoughts. However, it was enough that his mother and father in law had liked the concert.

Yu Zhengdu acted as the representative and encouraged, “Very good. My parents really like you guys.”

Mother and Father Yu looked at them shyly from off to the side. “Can we take a picture with you and post it on WeChat?”

The kinnaras hadn’t expected that they would be able to be liked by their CTO aka boss’s boyfriend’s parents. They were simply ecstatic and hurriedly nodded.

As such, the Yu parents successfully managed to take pictures with their new idol band and post these pictures to their Moments. Additionally, they received the most likes and comments they had ever received since starting to use Moments.

Yu Zhengdu really felt like lamenting: Prior to today, his mother’s Moments had been completely filled with short videos of Peppa.

Shang Que really felt like lamenting too: Before Peppa, Mother Yu’s Moments had been filled with HD photos of him.

As such, it was easy to see that middle and old aged people were extremely nimble and quick while flipping walls too.

Very quickly, the group reached the entrance of the hotel. Because the celebratory banquet was only open to Star Path Management’s own employees and didn’t include the opera house employees, there weren’t a lot of people. Because of this, they had only reserved a small parlor. After arriving, a worker led them towards the little parlor.

The entire way, the Star Path employees had all been in great moods. Xu Hui was also completely content. He acted extra friendly towards Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que, practically gluing himself to them the whole trip.

He was submerged in his excitement, so didn’t really pay attention to his surroundings. While passing a private room, the door to the room just so happened to open. Someone walked out. Xu Hui almost ran into that person.

“Do you not have eyes……” The other angrily cussed. Halfway through this sentence, though, both parties froze.

Xu Hui had originally wanted to turn around and apologize. As soon as he saw the other’s face, though, his expression instantly changed. He cocked an eyebrow. “Yo, isn’t this Big Celebrity Ye? Long time no see.”

Yu Zhengdu glanced at the youth who had been cussing. He felt that the other looked a bit familiar. It was Shang Que who recognized him first. “It’s that singer, Ye Yingge.”

Yu Zhengdu finally remembered. Ye Yingge could be considered a singer who had been rather popular these past few years and who had a big online following. He had lots of fans and frequently ended up on the trending topics list. Even Yu Zhengdu, someone who wasn’t part of fan culture, could frequently see posts on the Internet that were promoting him.

However, in person, Ye Yingge looked much worse than those carefully edited photos online. Whether due to alcohol consumption or staying up late, his face looked a bit swollen. It wasn’t Yu Zhengdu’s fault for not being able to recognize him immediately.

Yu Zhengdu looked at Shang Que, slightly surprised. “You can actually recognize a celebrity?”

Shang Que calmly replied, “His fans once compared his carefully edited photos to my unedited photos.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Boss even knows how to differentiate between carefully edited photos and unedited photos now……His image of being adamant about winning hasn’t been ruined today either.

As soon as Ye Yingge realized it was Xu Hui, he forced himself to swallow the insults on the tip of his tongue. But his expression was still arrogant. Indifferently, he greeted, “Boss Xu, what a coincidence. I hadn’t expected to run into you here.”

“Right?” Xu Hui had a hand in his pocket. His tone was full of implication too. “If I had known earlier that you would be here as well, I would’ve had someone save an extra spot. Catching up with you would be nice. After all, we were once coworkers. Don’t you agree?”

“Boss Xu is too polite.” Ye Yingge didn’t seem to care about Xu Hui’s mocking at all. He sounded rather pleased. “I’m quite busy. There’s no need.”

After a few exchanges, knives were flying. Yu Zhengdu felt consistently astounded. He didn’t have a great understanding of the entertainment industry, so naturally didn’t understand what was going on between these two people. Instead, the old employees of Star Path who were standing next to him all secretly glared at Ye Yingge with eyes full of rage.

Yu Zhengdu’s interest in gossip ballooned. He dragged someone from Star Path over and whispered, “What’s wrong with Boss Xu and that celebrity?”

“Don’t you know?” The employee looked at him in surprise. “Ye Yingge used to be a singer signed to our company. Boss Xu was the one who led him to success.”

It turned out that Star Path Management had started off as a music company. Though they weren’t large scale, they had always been rather professional when it came to music. This was mainly because of their executive music producer, Xu Hui. Xu Hui was an experienced musician. In the golden age of music, he had once produced many extremely popular and famous songs. After, the music industry had taken a dip. Star Path Management had also encountered a rather critical moment. They started looking for an opportunity to change their path.

Yet, Xu Hui had never given up on making music. A few years ago, he had singlehandedly discovered Ye Yingge. After expending great effort and resources, he successfully promoted Ye Yingge to stardom. Originally, he had thought that Star Path would be able to rise again with Ye Yingge’s help. He had never thought that after becoming popular, Ye Yingge would become disdainful of how lowly Star Path and its resources were. The other had rapidly broken his contract and joined a bigger company in the industry.

Ye Yingge’s betrayal had harmed Star Path Management greatly. Fortunately, later, in the field of acting, Qin Yuejian had appeared. Otherwise, Star Path would probably already have gone bankrupt now. However, though the company had successfully survived, the effect this occurrence had had on Xu Hui was obvious.

Yu Zhengdu was struck with realization. No wonder Xu Hui’s words were filled with hidden attacks. How fortunate that this was Xu Hui. If this were Shang Que, those hidden attacks would probably be actual physical attacks.

Only to hear Xu Hui chuckle and seemingly unintentionally say, “Are you that busy? The band our company just signed has sold exponentially more albums than you, but not even they are so busy that they don’t have time for a meal.”

As soon as Xu Hui said this, Ye Yingge’s expression instantly darkened. Previously, he had broken his contract so resolutely because he had believed that Star Path didn’t have good enough resources. Additionally, Star Path truly hadn’t debuted any impressive singers after him. This made him even more confident that his decision to leave had been correct. Also because of this, each time he met his previous boss at gatherings, he could act lofty.

But now, Star Path had suddenly debuted a Sagittarius Band. They were completely crushing him in terms of sales and popularity. How could Ye Yingge be willing to admit this? He was no longer as confident as he had previously been in front of Xu Hui.

However, Ye Yingge wasn’t an easy opponent. How could he reveal his fear in front of Xu Hui so easily? Upon hearing this, he scoffed. “Of course I have time for a meal. However, that also depends on my meal partners, you know?”

Just as they were in the middle of their argument, someone inside the room seemed to notice that Ye Yingge was standing in the doorway and not moving. They asked in confusion, “Yingge, what’s wrong? Why are you standing there?”

Ye Yingge pulled open the half-open door to the private room and said with a smile, “Chen ge, Boss Tang, my apologies. I ran into an old friend and we were just having a short conversation.”

There were a few people in the private room. Xu Hui looked around and felt slightly surprised. There were a few unfamiliar faces in the crowd, but Xu Hui did recognize two people. One was Ye Yingge’s current manager, Chen ge. The other was the Boss Tang that Ye Yingge had called out to.

“Yo, Boss Xu. What a coincidence.” As soon as Chen ge saw Xu Hui, he stood up with a smile. “I hadn’t thought that you would be here too. If I had known earlier, I would’ve told Yingge to say hi to you.”

Xu Hui smiled insincerely. “No thanks.”

Only now did Ye Yingge drawl out, “Boss Xu, you see it too. It’s not that I don’t want to go reminisce about the past with you, but that I honestly can’t. It’s not like I can neglect Boss Tang, right?”

Xu Hui finally knew why Ye Yingge was being so cocky. So he had gotten in contact with Boss Tang.

Yu Zhengdu was slightly surprised too. He asked the employee next to him, “This Boss Tang is that Boss Tang?”

His question sounded like a cipher, but the employee instantly understood. He nodded, “Yes, he’s that Boss Tang.”

This was due to no other reason but the fact that Boss Tang was too famous. Even Yu Zhengdu, someone who didn’t pay attention to the entertainment industry, had seen gossip about him online before.

Boss Tang came from a great background. He owned lots of properties and also had lots of investments in the entertainment industry. With money and power, he was an investor that many celebrities wanted to connect to no matter what. He himself was also renowned for loving beautiful women. In the past, there had been rumors about him and several female celebrities in the industry. Consequently, though he was a businessman, he was more famous than certain celebrities.

Apparently, as long as Boss Tang set his eyes on an artist, even if they were a wooden stick, Boss Tang could still turn them into a celebrity with the abundance of resources he had. If Ye Yingge really managed to cling onto Boss Tang, his subsequent flow of resources would be boundless. No wonder he had acted so cocky in front of Xu Hui.

Ye Yingge had been scorned by Xu Hui earlier. Now, he was purposefully using Boss Tang in an attempt to gain victory. Unexpectedly, Boss Tang cocked an eyebrow upon seeing Xu Hui. He stood up and asked with a smile, “Isn’t this Boss Xu?”

Though everyone used “boss” in their names, Boss Tang and Boss Xu were obviously on different levels. As soon as he noticed that Boss Tang was speaking to him, Xu Hui immediately smiled respectfully, “Hello Boss Tang. I didn’t know you were here. Otherwise, I would’ve specially come to greet you.”

Upon noticing how polite Xu Hui was being to Boss Tang, Ye Yingge felt a lot better in his heart. But very quickly, the next few minutes of conversation caused his face to darken once more.

Boss Tang chuckled twice. “Boss Xu is being overly polite. How come you’re here too?”

Xu Hui honestly answered, “The new band our company signed just held a concert at the opera house nearby. We decided to hold a celebratory banquet close by.”

“Oh, that Sagittarius Band, right?” Boss Tang’s eyes lit up. “What a coincidence. I’m their fan too. I was just wondering if I would have the chance to collaborate with your company.”

As soon as Boss Tang said this, everyone else’s expressions changed.

Ye Yingge and Chen ge hadn’t expected that Boss Tang had actually already started paying attention to Sagittarius Band. They had originally intended on using Boss Tang as a way of humiliating Xu Hui. But now, hadn’t they accidentally gifted an opportunity away to Xu Hui?

However, Xu Hui’s expression had changed because Boss Tang wasn’t a normal person. When he said he was someone’s fan, that usually meant that he already had his eyes on that person.

If this opportunity had been given to any other artist and management company, it would naturally be exceedingly welcomed.

But given Xu Hui’s understanding of Sagittarius Band, those two definitely wouldn’t accept being subjected to the unspoken rules. Given their prowess, they didn’t need to rely on the unspoken rules either.

However, since Boss Tang had already targeted them, given Boss Tang’s power in the entertainment industry, this wasn’t something they could control anymore.

Xu Hui’s expression slightly stiffened. He smiled in embarrassment. “Listen to what Boss Tang is saying. We’re a small company. How could we dare to wish……”

“Boss Xu doesn’t need to lower or shame yourself. No matter how small, you’ve still debuted so many celebrities, right?” Boss Tang started slowly strolling over. “There’s no time like the present. What a rare coincidence that we’ve encountered one another. How about you tell your Sagittarius Band to come have a few drinks with us?”

While sweating, Xu Hui declined, “Ey, our artists are both rookies. They don’t understand the rules. For fear of neglecting Boss Tang……”

With a fake smile, Boss Tang said, “Lots of rookies have had meals with me. Those that don’t understand the rules are the ones who need more training. Are you planning on never allowing them to see others in this industry?”

Boss Tang was used to being at the top. His voice was filled with the threatening tone of the elite. This managed to render Xu Hui speechless.

Though Xu Hui wanted to remain steadfast and reject the other, Boss Tang wasn’t a very forgiving person. If he offended him, it was probable that the entirety of Star Path Management would suffer.

His head was covered in cold sweat. Just as he was feeling helpless, Shang Que’s voice suddenly sounded out from next to him. “Then tell Sagittarius Band to come over.”

Xu Hui immediately whipped his head around. He stared at Shang Que in disbelief, almost as if he was looking at the owner of a sweatshop. “Boss Shang, how could that do……”

Shang Que looked completely apathetic. “This is just a trivial matter.”

How could this be a trivial matter? Xu Hui thought that Shang Que didn’t understand the unspoken rules of the entertainment industry. He furiously tried to signal to the other through his gaze. Unfortunately, Shang Que didn’t even look in his direction at all. He ignored him the entire time.

Only now did Boss Tang notice that there was someone else. He asked Xu Hui, “This is?”

Upon realizing that it was already too late, Xu Hui admitted his bad luck and introduced the two to each other.

“So you’re Sagittarius Band’s boss. My mistake.” Boss Tang shook hands with Shang Que. Then, he felt something poke his palm. He flipped it around to check: it was a business card.

Shang Que calmly said, “If you show my business card, you’ll get a discount for the collaboration.”

Boss Tang: “……”

The people around them had been astounded by Shang Que’s actions too. They thought to themselves, no wonder he let Sagittarius Band out so carefreely. There are so many people who want to cling to Boss Tang’s thigh?

Very quickly, Sagittarius Band got summoned over. Xu Hui gave them a brief rundown of the situation. He had originally thought that Sagittarius Band would be a bit reluctant. Unexpectedly, the two of them didn’t appear reluctant in the slightest. Their postures remained the same as normal as they greeted Boss Tang.

Boss Tang revealed a pleased smile. His eyes stayed glued to the female kinnara, completely unmoving. “Miss Jin Na is even prettier in person.”

The female kinnara politely nodded. “Thank you.”

Upon noticing that the female kinnara didn’t seem to be in opposition at all, Boss Tang’s gaze became even more obvious. “Personally, I have high hopes for Miss Jin Na’s future development. I’ve always hoped to have the opportunity to collaborate with Miss Jin one day. I wonder if Miss Jin is interested at all?”

Off to the side, Xu Hui facepalmed and turned to look at Shang Que in despair. If at first Boss Tang had been using Sagittarius Band as an excuse, he had already abandoned the excuse now. From beginning to end, he had only stared at Jin Na and Jin Na alone, completely ignoring Jin Luo. Wasn’t this obvious enough?

Xu Hui was in a rush to find a way to politely reject Boss Tang for Jin Na. Only to hear Jin Na gratefully say, “What an honor that Boss Tang has faith in me. If Boss Tang isn’t unwilling, how about we go discuss the details in a different room? I’m very willing to provide additional services for Boss Tang.”

Xu Hui: ???

The others: ???

In the beginning, when Boss Tang and Xu Hui had been locked in a subtle battle of words, everyone had thought that this would be a story of a top businessman of the entertainment industry threatening a female artist into the unspoken rules. Why had everything changed so suddenly? The female artist was the one taking the initiative to offer services to the investor?

Additionally, Jin Na’s face was clearly pure and indifferent. Nobody had expected that she would be so bold. The investor hadn’t said anything yet, but she was already locking him in?

Boss Tang had originally thought that he would have to waste some energy arguing with Xu Hui. Unexpectedly, Jin Na was so sensible. He instantly burst into laughter and attempted to hug her. “Good, very good.”

Jin Na quickly darted away to avoid his wandering hands. She clasped her hands together and respectfully said, “Boss Tang, this way please.”

Boss Tang didn’t bother being polite either. He was familiar with everyone at this table. They all knew what each other was like. He didn’t need to fake anything. On the spot, he waved goodbye to everyone and walked off with Jin Na.

Leaving a group of people who had been thrown into disorder.

After an unknown amount of time, someone finally regained their wits. Ye Yingge mockingly said, “So Boss Xu’s new artist is so willing. No wonder they managed to climb to the top so fast!”

Xu Hui glared at him. He wanted to say something in rebuttal, but after moving his lips for a long time, he couldn’t get anything out. Sagittarius Band clearly hadn’t relied on any unspoken rules to get to the top, but after this occurrence, nobody would believe this anymore.

In the beginning, Yu Zhengdu had maintained his silence because he trusted that Shang Que wouldn’t do anything out of line. Upon seeing Jin Na and Boss Tang walk into a room together, though, he was a bit agitated too. He lowered his voice and asked Shang Que, “Why did you tell the kinnara to go?”

“What’s wrong?” Shang Que surprisingly didn’t understand why they were so shocked. He said, “In the past, nobles and aristocrats often set up banquets to receive the Western emissaries too.”

Yu Zhengdu fell silent for a moment. “These aren’t the same things, right?”

Shang Que thought about it. “They’re about the same.”

Yu Zhengdu: “So Jin Na and Boss Tang went into the room to……?”

Shang Que: “Doesn’t he want to invest? Western emissaries have always been polite to almsgivers……”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Though Shang Que had said this, Yu Zhengdu was still a bit confused. He realized that he still didn’t have a deep enough understanding of the rules of conduct for these gods and ghosts. He then glanced at Jin Luo; the other looked extremely calm too. He didn’t seem worried for his female partner in the slightest.

After brief thought, Yu Zhengdu got over it as well. No matter how unimportant, kinnaras were still gods. They wouldn’t be at a disadvantage when faced with mortals.

Coincidentally, Xu Hui looked over. His gaze was filled with bewilderment and perplexion. Yu Zhengdu could only smile and comfort him. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

While Xu Hui still felt hesitant, the group of people returned to the little parlor where the celebratory banquet was being held. The news that Jin Na and Boss Tang had entered a room together had already spread like fire among the Star Path employees. Everyone looked like zombies. They were obviously still stuck in their shock.

Father and Mother Yu didn’t have appetites either. They incessantly asked Yu Zhengdu, “Has Miss Jin Na been forced? Nothing will happen to her, right?”

Yu Zhengdu could only continuously comfort them, “Don’t worry. They’re only having a discussion about the collaboration.”

However, his words didn’t gain anyone’s trust at all. Instead, he received a bunch of gazes that expressed their compassion for an idiot.

A beautiful female artist and a renowned pervert in the entertainment industry had only entered a private room to discuss a collaboration. The collaboration was probably rated R, right?

Because of this, the celebratory banquet no longer seemed like a celebratory banquet. The atmosphere in the little parlor was strangely tense. Nobody was even making toasts. Xu Hui noticed that no one was really in the mood, so only randomly ate a bit. Then, he prepared to have everyone disperse first.

But before he could speak, he suddenly heard the sound of rushed footsteps and voices from outside the parlor. Someone could faintly be heard urging, “Madam, calm down first. Let’s sit down and talk……”

Immediately after, a middle-aged woman’s cold voice sounded out: “There’s nothing to talk about.”

Xu Hui hurriedly stood up and exited the little parlor. He was met face to face by a large group of people walking in this direction. The person in front was a madam dressed elegantly. Next to her, several people carrying tool boxes followed. The big group behind them was surprisingly the people at Boss Tang’s original table.

Upon seeing this, Xu Hui’s temple started throbbing. That wealthy madam was clearly Boss Tang’s wife.

He hurriedly stepped forward and greeted, “Madam Tang, hello.”

Madam Tang coldly glanced at him. “Who are you?”

Chen ge took two steps forward and said with a smile, “Madam, this is Star Path Management’s Boss Xu.”

Madam Tang’s gaze instantly became meaningful. “So you’re Miss Jin Na’s pimp.”

Her use of language was rather hurtful, but Xu Hui had sorrows that he couldn’t share. He couldn’t refute her statement at all. He could only ask in embarrassment, “Madam, how come you’re here?”

“To catch a cheater.” Short and to the point. Madam Tang was too lazy to bother making useless conversation with Xu Hui, so led her entourage around them and headed in the direction of Boss Tang’s room.

Xu Hui hadn’t thought that Madam Tang would receive the news so quickly. In agitation, he slapped his thigh. Only to hear Chen ge laughing from off to the side. “Boss Xu, taking a side door is faster, but the risk is greater too.”

Xu Hui immediately turned to look at him. “You’re the one who leaked the information to Madam Tang?”

Chen ge immediately waved his hands around in denial. “Ey, with no evidence for such things, you should be careful of what you say.”

Ye Yingge stood behind Chen ge and was smiling too. “Boss Xu, would this be considered a double whammy?”

Xu Hui resentfully glared at the two of them. “Because of your actions, Boss Tang won’t let you guys off easy either.”

Ye Yingge said, pleased, “Have you forgotten that there’s also Madam Tang?”

At this time, Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que had walked out too after hearing their voices. “What’s wrong?”

Xu Hui relayed the events to him. His entire person was beside himself with agitation. “What should we do?”

Shang Que was bewildered. “Is it a very difficult situation?”

Xu Hui: “Is it not? You guys don’t know what power Madam Tang holds!”

It turned out that though Boss Tang was impressive, he had actually started his business with his father-in-law’s help. Madam Tang’s status was incomparable. She also owned a lot of stock in Boss Tang’s company. Because of this, even though Boss Tang wasn’t loyal and was easily mesmerized by beautiful women, he needed to hide his cheating from his wife.

Additionally, rumors had recently spread throughout the industry that Madam Tang was already completely sick of Boss Tang’s behavior. She was in the middle of a civil war with Boss Tang and was doing her best to find evidence of his faults.

As soon as Madam Tang caught them in the act today, Boss Tang would actually be able to survive through it because he was a big tree with deep roots. However, he definitely wouldn’t dare to save Jin Na. By then, Star Path and Sagittarius Band would likely both become cannon fodder in this couple’s civil war.

After hearing Xu Hui’s explanation, Yu Zhengdu’s heart rose into his throat too. But he trusted Shang Que as well. Thus, he turned to look at Shang Que. Shang Que: “Don’t you guys feel like you’re overthinking things?”

Xu Hui had completely lost hope. “Am I overthinking things?”

Chen ge and Ye Yingge felt great upon noticing Xu Hui’s dazed and disappointed expression. They sped up and kept pace with Madam Tang, preparing to personally witness the cheater-busting of the century.

Xu Hui thought about it and ultimately followed along behind Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que. If worse came to worst, he was at least an extra pair of hands, right?

Very quickly, they reached the door of Boss Tang’s suite. A group of people was already standing there.

Madam Tang’s arms were crossed over her chest. Expression cold, she stood next to the door. The hotel employee said to her, “Madam, we’re not allowed to……”

Madam Tang waved her hand. Two people appeared and forcibly moved the hotel employee away. In the manner of the truly rich, Madam Tang stated, “I’ll compensate ten times the cost for any damage caused.”

Boss Tang’s friend was still trying to deescalate the situation. “Madam, just ring the doorbell. There’s no need to break the door down, right?”

Madam Tang was too lazy to bother replying to him. She only coldly said, “Git.”

Yu Zhengdu scanned their surroundings, only to see two subordinates standing outside the door and holding tools. Another person was holding a camera. It looked like not only was Madam Tang planning on breaking the door down, she was also determined to get evidence at the first possible moment.

He was so worried he tugged at Shang Que’s arm. “Xiao Shang……”

Shang Que patted the back of his hand. His tone was slightly confused. “What is there to take photos of? Stuff to be used as promotional pictures?”

Only to hear an enormous “bang.” Madam Tang’s subordinates familiarly broke through the door. Then, a group of people immediately rushed in. The cameraman with the camera went first; the shutter clicked nonstop.

Chen ge, Ye Yingge, and the others also squeezed in impatiently.

Only to see that in the room, Boss Tang still had his clothes neatly on. He was meditating near the window. Across from him, a female artist wearing a leather jacket and smokey eye makeup had her hands clasped together. Her legs were criss-crossed and she sat on the ground in the same posture as him. She was in the middle of lowly chanting the Diamond Sutra: “It is as in the past when the King of Kalinga dismembered my body. At that time, I had no mark of self, no mark of others, no mark of living beings, and no mark of life……”

If one listened carefully, they would discover that there was distant Buddhist music flowing throughout the room as well. This caused people’s hearts to calm down.

Upon hearing the commotion from nearby, Boss Tang slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head. His gaze was clear. He held his hands together and bowed at everyone. “May I ask why everyone is so agitated? Why not sit down and chant a Buddhist sutra with me. Feel the mysteriousness of Buddhism.”

Everyone: ???