The CEO of the talent agency’s surname was also Zhao.
Up until now, even when face to face with Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing, President Zhao still didn’t know exactly what kind of person he’d provoked, but that didn’t stop him from maintaining a respectful attitude, answering every question without hesitation.
He admitted that when an entertainment reporter approached with secretly taken photos of Yu Guan and the rich lady, demanding money, he thought his chance had come—a chance to thoroughly put Yu Guan in his place, to force him to obediently become a tool.
It couldn’t be denied that Yu Guan always had reason to be proud: the young man was naturally handsome, his singing and dancing skills were outstanding, his acting was commendable, and more importantly, he was hardworking, valued learning, and never fantasized about some meteoric rise.
Honestly, President Zhao had some admiration for Yu Guan. It was just a pity that this circle wasn’t for young men striving to do the right thing… Especially when the number of rich patrons willing to spend big just for Yu Guan couldn’t even be counted on one hand.
President Zhao gave a bitter laugh. “They offered too much, I couldn’t help being tempted. So when the chance to control Yu Guan came, of course I couldn’t miss it. I picked a few photos and had the company’s PR contact a couple of marketing accounts to put them out. We were still buying hype when Mr. Zhang’s assistant got in touch.”
Next, he recounted in detail how they’d written those stories and spread rumors about Yu Guan and Mi Jingzhou’s improper relationship, and how they paid to buy trending searches and hire the water army.
“Then,” his tone turned, “I ran right into a brick wall, literally—I hit my head so hard I was bleeding. Even though I still don’t know who you really are, since Mr. Zhang already admitted defeat and apologized, I’ll kneel down and beg for forgiveness. Would that suffice?”
Ling Jing was toying with Qin Jingzhou’s slender fingers and remarked playfully, “You’re quite adaptable.”
President Zhao grinned obsequiously. “In this industry, if you can’t adapt, the grass grows half as tall as a man on your grave.”
Ling Jing gave President Zhao an assessing look. “Terminate Yu Guan’s contract. You and Yu Guan’s agent go and turn yourselves in. If you do that, I won’t make things any harder for you.”
President Zhao’s smile disappeared instantly and he fell silent. Letting Yu Guan go, as long as he signed a letter of forgiveness… That wasn’t impossible to accept. But now she wanted him to turn himself in? They really had him in the palm of their hand.
If that’s the case, then why not go down fighting?
Ling Jing could tell just from the look on President Zhao’s face. “Looks like the negotiations are over.” She stood up, looped her arm through Qin Jingzhou’s, and they left the private room together.
They’d met President Zhao at a lavishly decorated tea house diagonally opposite the hospital.
When they strolled back to the hospital, the assistant recommended by Chief Wang was waiting with Yu Guan’s complete medical records and test results.
Before seeing Yu Guan, Ling Jing flipped through his medical records. She’d only read two or three pages before handing them to Qin Jingzhou. The two of them, in the assistant’s eyes, seemed to be flipping through everything as if it were just idle reading.
But of course, neither Qin Jingzhou nor Ling Jing cared what the new assistant thought. They only talked to each other, as if no one else was there.
Ling Jing spoke first. “It’s not looking good. The tumor is compressing a lot of nerves—if they don’t treat it soon, he could be paralyzed at any time. The doctors here are pretty responsible; when they found out, they admitted him right away.”
Qin Jingzhou put the thick stack of records on the table. “Even with timely surgery, the prognosis isn’t optimistic. There will definitely be irreversible nerve damage. And interestingly, he also has ALS.” He turned to the assistant, “Go tell the doctor to run focused tests for Yu Guan, at least confirm the ALS.”
The assistant nodded, suspicion written on his face, and left to follow instructions.
With the assistant gone, Ling Jing smiled and said, “The script never mentioned Yu Guan’s end—whether Ling Yu in her life before or after rebirth. Turns out, he died early both times. No wonder Ling Yu treated him like a disposable tool. Beautiful, strong, tragic, and a loyal lover who dies young… This kind of character really draws in fans. I’d remember him too.”
Qin Jingzhou didn’t speak, only stared at Ling Jing intently.
Ling Jing was utterly shameless. “I can’t chase stars just because I have a boyfriend?” She rested her chin on Qin Jingzhou’s shoulder. “Having him as a contrast just makes you feel even more perfect.”
Her praise might not have been the most heartfelt, but that didn’t matter. As long as she was saying it, it was enough for him.
Qin Jingzhou said, “Of course you can.”
Ling Jing asked immediately, “Can we save his life?”
Qin Jingzhou replied without hesitation, “Of course. It won’t be easy to cure at the root, but keeping him in a state close to recovery won’t be difficult.”
Ling Jing, half an expert herself, guessed, “Microcurrent stimulation?”
ALS is caused by damage to motor neurons. In a world with no spiritual energy, with the current level of science and technology, it was nearly impossible to repair this kind of nerve damage.
But to make a device that outputs tunable microcurrent signals, providing stable stimulation for damaged nerves, and to supplement it with suitable drugs so that nerve damage doesn’t worsen—or only does so very slowly—well, there was nothing far-fetched about that at all.
Ling Jing then suggested, “Why not make him a test subject? He’d be the best living advertisement we could have.” She laughed at herself. “The original host wanted me to make him happy. I can’t give him love, but I can give him a second life. If the original host can’t accept that, well, I’ll let her be.”
Qin Jingzhou watched as a streak of flowing light shot out from Ling Jing’s forehead. “She agrees.”
Ling Jing nodded slowly. “She does agree.” She took Qin Jingzhou’s hand. “Let’s go see the real star—Yu Guan.”
When Ling Jing and Qin Jingzhou entered Yu Guan’s private hospital room, Yu Guan looked perfectly normal, playing a game on his phone, no family members in sight.
When he saw them, Yu Guan sincerely thanked them, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even gotten my phone back. President Zhao and his lot…they really don’t change their ways, do they?”
Ling Jing smiled, “You’re easier to push around than before, so of course he doubled down.” She paused, then added, “But you’re not falling apart over your breakup. I’m glad.”
Yu Guan was suffering because of the breakup, but he wasn’t falling into total despair. “If Ling Yu hadn’t dumped me, I wouldn’t have found out about my illness until my next physical—so in a way, this was a blessing in disguise.”
Ling Jing praised him, “Impressive attitude.”
Yu Guan couldn’t help but sigh, “I still have parents and a sister, after all.”
His family wasn’t complicated at all.
Just then, Ling Jing’s phone chimed softly. She took it out, checked it, and laughed. “Your sister’s asking if I’m interested in her current apartment.”
Yu Guan was touched but amused. “You’re the only rich lady she’s even slightly friends with.” After a brief pause, his eyes reddened. “Thank you for coming today. I may be blind… but I was lucky to meet you. I… the rights to all those songs you like, I’m giving them to you, for keepsake…”
Ling Jing chuckled. “You’re distributing your inheritance already? There’ll be a doctor coming to run a few extra tests. Once you’re done, we’ll chat some more.”
Yu Guan immediately sensed something was off. “Huh?”
Ling Jing didn’t keep him guessing. “We suspect you have ALS.”
Yu Guan let out a sigh. “So finding there’s another layer of hell once you’ve already reached the bottom, huh?”
After all, the doctors had told him that if the brain tumor wasn’t removed, based on previous cases, surviving another two or three years would be lucky. Surgery brought its own risks—the worst would be dying on the table, next worse, being left in a vegetative state. The largest possibility was partial nerve damage, losing motor abilities, maybe not even able to take care of himself…
And if, on top of it all, he had ALS—well, one more lice doesn’t itch. Maybe an early death would bring a cleaner reincarnation.
He was starting to feel at peace with life and death. When it came to his own illness, he’d let things take their course. But the CEO of his agency and his agent—those two, he wouldn’t let off the hook!
Still, that wasn’t something he’d trouble the two people before him with. Just having them stand up for him was more than enough.
These little thoughts of Yu Guan’s were as clear as a mirror to Ling Jing.
The more grateful he was, the less trouble he wanted to cause others, which made Ling Jing even more determined to help him.
She muttered to Qin Jingzhou, “The original host really had good taste. I almost misjudged her.” Then to Yu Guan, “Let me tell you, inviting the gods is easy, sending them away is hard. If I don’t get your situation all sorted, my obsessive-compulsive disorder will start acting up.”
Ling Jing’s acting chops had been tested in the task world time and again. Yu Guan was completely taken aback by what she said, and a moment later, his eyes turned misty with tears as he pressed a hand to his forehead but ultimately stayed silent.
When Ling Jing saw this, she whispered again to Qin Jingzhou, “Wow, he really is beautiful when he cries…”
Qin Jingzhou sent a voice transmission with helpless amusement. “You’ve opened a new door for yourself, haven’t you.”
Ling Jing took Qin Jingzhou’s hand. “You’re a peony, but a wildflower dancing in the wind has its own charm.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “I’ll think about how we can get your wildflower to stand tall.”
Ling Jing’s eyes lit up. “If it weren’t for others being present, I’d definitely kiss you!”
Qin Jingzhou gave a small hum. “We’ll make up for it when we get home. Don’t forget.”
Ling Jing hugged Qin Jingzhou, then turned, beamed at Yu Guan, and said, “My boyfriend happens to have a project and needs a guinea pig. Once you’ve confirmed the ALS, and had the tumor removed, want to give it a shot?”
Yu Guan glanced at Gu Xin and Mi Jingzhou’s interaction, utterly confused. Were you really that attached to me back then?
Still, his curiosity didn’t stop him from agreeing. “Sure, test anything you want. If I can help advance medical technology, then my life won’t have been in vain.”
Ling Jing waved her phone. “Deal, stay in touch.”
Yu Guan tried to smile. “Alright.”
After saying their goodbyes, Ling Jing and Qin Jingzhou went downstairs, got in the new business car assigned to him. Ling Jing instantly started bombarding her phone with messages. “Gotta rile up Ling Yu a bit. Betting she’ll come visit Yu Guan personally once she hears, and the sooner they cut ties, the better.”
Qin Jingzhou just smiled. “As you say.”
Having suffered through days of dog food, the System finally found a chance to speak up. “Brother Zhou, you’ve been in such a great mood lately.”
Qin Jingzhou replied, “Yeah. Ever since we got together, she’s really relaxed.”
System asked, “Is it because she’s not constantly tiptoeing around, afraid of upsetting you?”
Qin Jingzhou was silent for a moment before replying, “Didn’t expect you to be a relationship expert.” He laughed as he finished praising his System. “I like her most when she’s lively.”
Before his words were fully out, Ling Jing suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “There, made up for it as promised!”
Qin Jingzhou’s eyes curved with delight. “We said we’d do it at home—this one only counts as a deposit.”
Ling Jing: …
She ignored the driver in front, who was struggling not to laugh, and gave Qin Jingzhou a light punch on the shoulder.
Qin Jingzhou burst out laughing, hugged his girlfriend tightly, who finally broke character and laughed along.