Chapter 023: Courting Disaster

Chapter 23: Courting Disaster

Ximen Lu was a woman who valued efficiency. After confirming three times with Chu Fei that he could handle the young model, she immediately called all staff for an extended meeting. She briefly explained the situation and instructed everyone to shift their focus entirely to this endorsement project. Since they had already lost precious time, both Group 2, previously responsible for ad shoots, and now Chu Fei’s Group 6 were to be involved, hurrying all preparations so they could begin filming the endorsement commercial as soon as the young model’s team responded.

Feilu Media was merely an advertising design company, to put it plainly, an intermediary. Their main responsibility was to handle client relations and post-production, while the actual filming required hiring a professional crew. For now, the primary task was to reach out and prepare with such a team.

After assigning the tasks, Ximen Lu returned to her office to take care of other matters, but the entire company was instantly abuzz. People speculated about why Liu Ping had visited earlier—how had the issue with the young model been resolved so quickly? At the same time, everyone looked at Chu Fei with growing curiosity. Xiao Ai had kept her mouth shut, so no one yet knew that Chu Fei and Ximen Lu were old classmates, but everyone could see that Chu Fei seemed to have quite a close relationship with the boss.

Gossip was always the hottest topic. Once again, Chu Fei became the center of attention in the company.

Chu Fei could only smile wryly inside—Ximen Lu was truly the master of putting people on the spot. He had only wanted to discreetly contact Qingyan Studio, but with just a few words, Ximen Lu had made the matter public…

“Some people really don’t know their own limits. Do they think they’re omnipotent? That’s Qingyan Studio we’re talking about—a superstar’s agency. Who are we to negotiate with them? It’s laughable…”

A discordant voice suddenly rang out.

It was Li Changying.

Li Changying was deeply frustrated. He used to be the company’s “one and only,” always surrounded by women, but now Chu Fei had completely stolen his spotlight. He had accepted it when it came to the nightclub—after all, Chu Fei was good with his fists—but this was different. Though he sensed there was more to Chu Fei, he couldn’t suppress his anger. Men can be jealous too, and he was convinced Chu Fei was just boasting. Negotiate with Qingyan Studio? Even the country’s top film and television companies barely had the right to do that—what made Chu Fei think he could?

And besides.

He was the team leader of Group 6, yet now everyone in the group was gathered around Chu Fei, chattering over plans. What was this, being upstaged in his own domain?

Chu Fei’s brow furrowed momentarily, but soon relaxed. He could understand Li Changying’s feelings—anyone in his shoes would be uncomfortable.

Chu Fei magnanimously ignored him, but that didn’t mean everyone else would.

Murong Wei’s face instantly darkened at Li Changying’s words, as though the comment was directed at her.

“Team Leader Li, what do you mean by that? Chu Fei worked so hard to win this opportunity for our company, and you talk like that?” Murong Wei turned to Li Changying. After what happened at the nightclub, her impression of Chu Fei had greatly improved, and she had always found Li Changying’s advances irritating. She was blunt and direct.

Li Changying regretted his words as soon as he spoke, but Murong Wei’s response made his face fall, and his anger flared. His resentment toward Chu Fei was mostly because of Murong Wei. He sneered, “Weiwei, you’re too naïve—don’t let yourself be fooled. That’s Qingyan Studio. Do you really think he can negotiate with them? What’s he got to offer?”

“I don’t know what he’s got, but I believe in Chu Fei,” Murong Wei replied, glancing at Chu Fei. “If you think he can’t do it, why don’t you go negotiate yourself?”

“I—” Li Changying was left speechless, unable to utter another word for a long moment.

Now, not just Murong Wei, but everyone around looked at Li Changying with complex expressions. No one in the workplace was a fool—it was obvious Li Changying was jealous of Chu Fei.

Among the crowd was a poised, elegant woman in her thirties—Su Yanan, head of Feilu Media’s business department. She stood up, eyebrows slightly knitted, and looked at Li Changying. “Team Leader Li, now is the time for everyone to pull together and focus on preparations, not to question everything. Since the boss made this decision, she must have her reasons. Stop speculating.” Her tone was stern. While it seemed she was scolding Li Changying, she was really giving him a wake-up call: if even the boss trusts Chu Fei, who is he, a team leader, to worry?

Li Changying’s face grew uglier. Su Yanan was his older sister’s university friend, and he’d gotten into Feilu Media partly through her connections—otherwise, with Feilu’s strict hiring policies for male employees, it would have been hard for him to get in. Usually, whenever Su Yanan gave him advice, he didn’t feel embarrassed—he was glad she didn’t treat him as an outsider. But today, in front of so many colleagues, and in a situation like this, Su Yanan’s well-intentioned “reminder” felt like a public slap in the face.

A rush of blood to his head made Li Changying blurt out, “I just don’t believe he’s got what it takes. He couldn’t even handle Seven Stars Entertainment—what right do we have to negotiate with Qingyan Studio? Isn’t the boss just being fooled by him?” Not only did he talk back to Su Yanan, he dragged the boss, Ximen Lu, into it as well.

“You…”

Murong Wei, who had already sat down, sprang to her feet, but before she could speak, Chu Fei gently pulled her back into her seat.

“Don’t say anything. Team Leader Li is just thinking of the company,” Chu Fei soothed the fuming Murong Wei.

“Hmph,” Murong Wei snorted angrily but stayed put.

Li Changying, witnessing this, thought Chu Fei was feeling guilty and laughed even louder. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? I knew you were full of hot air. Qingyan Studio…”

“Li Changying, what if I do bring the contract back?” Chu Fei abruptly stood, realizing Li Changying was pushing his luck. He had tried to be patient, but Li Changying kept pressing. Sometimes, one must teach a lesson.

“You bring back the contract?” Li Changying was caught off guard. At first, he was stunned, but then a strange excitement rose within him—convinced Chu Fei was just putting on a brave front.

“That’s right. Why don’t we make a bet? Let’s see if I can get the contract back,” Chu Fei said with a half-smile. Since Li Changying was so eager to dig his own grave, Chu Fei was happy to oblige.

“A bet?” Li Changying hesitated, not expecting this, and didn’t reply immediately.

“What, are you scared?” Chu Fei sneered, his tone full of disdain. His principle had always been: Don’t mess with me unless you’re prepared for the consequences.

Anyone who knew Chu Fei would be silently mourning for Li Changying—what a fool, digging his own grave.

“Who said I’m scared?” Li Changying was cowed by Chu Fei’s presence but quickly recovered, glaring at him, trying to read him. But Chu Fei’s expression was as lazy and inscrutable as ever—not even the best psychologist could read him.

“Fine, it’s settled. If I bring back the contract with the young star, you lose and you drink that. Otherwise, I lose and I’ll drink it. Deal?” Chu Fei smiled, glancing toward a transparent little water bucket in the corner.

“Drink that?” Li Changying’s face went pale as he looked at the little bucket, unable to respond.

Feilu Media was a small company; only the boss’s office had a restroom and washing facilities. Regular employees had to use the public washroom in the corridor. To save time, each team’s cubicle had a dedicated trash can and a small water bucket, where people would pour leftover coffee, juice, or tea, which would later be emptied during breaks.

The bucket Chu Fei indicated belonged to his own group’s cubicle. By now, it contained all sorts of things—tea leaves, soy milk, maybe even juice—a colorful, “lively” concoction.

Li Changying never imagined the bet would involve that. The idea of drinking it made him gag.

Was Chu Fei really that confident?

Li Changying stared at Chu Fei, unsure whether to reply.

“What, you don’t dare?” Chu Fei raised an eyebrow.

“Who says I don’t dare?” Li Changying forced himself to appear calm, staring at Chu Fei, trying to discern any hint of uncertainty. But Chu Fei remained as unreadable as ever.

“Good. So it’s settled: if I bring back the young star’s contract, you drink the whole thing. If not, I do. Agreed?” Chu Fei said with a smile.

“Agreed. Who’s afraid of who?” Li Changying gritted his teeth, glaring at Chu Fei as if facing a mortal enemy. He was truly going all out—he just couldn’t believe Chu Fei was capable of pulling this off.

“Fine. With so many colleagues here as witnesses, don’t try to back out if you lose,” Chu Fei added.

“If I back out, I’m not a man,” Li Changying, clearly driven half-mad by the provocation, actually used crude language, then retorted, “And you can’t back out either.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be the one losing,” Chu Fei said calmly, looking supremely confident.

This scene made Li Changying waver for a moment—maybe Chu Fei really had some connections? But he quickly dismissed the thought. This was Qingyan Studio, after all—a challenge even for major film and TV companies. How could Chu Fei manage it?

Reassured, Li Changying glanced at the colorful little bucket, then suddenly walked over and spat into it with a loud “ptoo.”

Damn.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

So was Chu Fei.

But his thoughts differed from the others. While everyone else thought Li Changying was shameless, Chu Fei thought Li Changying was simply courting disaster. The concoction in the bucket was disgusting enough—spitting into it just made it worse.

Just picturing Li Changying hugging that bucket and gulping it down…

Chu Fei felt sick. He quickly stopped himself from imagining it further.

He couldn’t think about it anymore—it was just too revolting.

[It’s Monday—your IP tickets have been reset, so don’t forget to vote every day! Also, today at noon, Xing’er is leaving home, first to Beijing, then by car to Sister Xing’s place in Guangzhou for the Spring Festival. There’s no internet where I’ll be staying, so I’ll try to get a data card or something. I may not be online much in the coming days, but I’ll schedule updates. If you can’t reach me in private messages, don’t worry—I’ll log in as soon as I can!]