After Jing Yuanqi left, Shi Qing dismissed his assistant, leaving him alone in the dressing room. It was then that he began to carefully absorb the information of this world.
In this entertainment industry-themed story, the male lead, Jing Yuanqi, came from a wealthy family. He had just graduated from university when he had a falling out with his family. In a fit of anger, he left home and entered the entertainment industry. In less than half a year, he transformed from an unknown newcomer into a popular young actor.
Of course, it wasn't just his talent. Due to the rift with his family, his childhood friends, who came from similar backgrounds, stood by him. These friends, who were considered younger in their own families, were highly influential in the entertainment industry. They supported Jing Yuanqi wholeheartedly.
However, the downside of being the young master who concealed his identity and had influential friends was that he was often perceived as someone who used his looks for personal gain. Moreover, Jing Yuanqi was quite good-looking, tall with sharp features, and his eyes sparkled as if he were always smiling. His physique was impressive, even in the competitive world of entertainment. As a result, some people, including the original protagonist, regarded him as cannon fodder who used his looks to gain popularity.
In the original storyline, Jing Yuanqi's life should have been smooth sailing. He would rise to the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, then build his own business empire. However, perhaps due to the author's successful portrayal, this independent world had become remarkably real.
Reality often proved to be more dramatic than fiction.
In the end, Jing Yuanqi tragically died at the hands of the story's main antagonist, the biggest boss character.
According to the original plot, the biggest boss, despite having a powerful family background and a strong position in the entertainment industry, wouldn't succeed in his schemes. Jing Yuanqi would eventually turn the tables and defeat him. However, in this self-contained world, the biggest boss had no intention of waiting for Jing Yuanqi to grow stronger. He simply hired someone to assassinate him.
With the protagonist's death, the world collapsed, and everything was over.
The system patiently waited for Shi Qing to finish reading the entire plot. When he opened his eyes, it spoke cheerfully, "Host, your task is simple: protect the protagonist and reduce the rejection rate to below fifty percent within one month."
After the previous world, the system had been completely won over by Shi Qing, its boss host, and was ready to support him willingly.
However, Shi Qing leaned back in his chair and spoke gently, "System, guess who the biggest boss in this world is?"
The system suddenly had a foreboding feeling and replied hesitantly, "I can't guess."
"It's me," Shi Qing declared.
The system fell silent.
"Surprised, aren't you? Unexpected, right?" Shi Qing continued.
While flipping through his memories, he casually remarked, "Previously, I didn't have a chance to do much, but this time, I've evolved. Before we arrived here, this body had already taken care of everything it needed to."
"Throwing tantrums, messing with juniors, let me see the latest one. Ah, besides this spicy pepper incident, there's another one where you know Jing Yuanqi is auditioning for a major IP drama. After he becomes popular from that role, someone behind the scenes wants to use their connections to have him removed."
The system inquired cautiously, "He... doesn't know, right?"
Shi Qing ruthlessly shattered the system's last hope, "He knows, otherwise, where do you think the one hundred percent rejection rate came from?"
The system sighed, "Ugh..."
"Shall we withdraw, Host? After all, we earned some points in the previous world. We can afford to skip the points for this world."
Shi Qing replied, "Why withdraw?"
Shi Qing looked at himself in the dressing room mirror, squinting slightly. "Actually, this face is quite good. Even though I'm approaching thirty, good maintenance has kept my skin fair and my features clear. Even without makeup, my lips naturally reveal a delicate shade."
He appeared to be an outstanding handsome man from every angle.
However, because the original host was usually gloomy, rarely interacted with people of lower status, and had a perpetually cold demeanor, this handsome face, despite its high appeal, had been lowered to a seven on the attractiveness scale.
As a result, there weren't many fans who solely admired his looks; most were drawn to him because of the characters he portrayed.
Shi Qing briefly reviewed the host's memories.
The original host had a privileged background that was even more impressive than the male lead's. However, after his mother's early death, his father remarried and brought a stepbrother into the family. Although this stepbrother had no blood relation to him, he was sweet-talking and managed to win the father's affection.
The original host harbored resentment due to this and tried to undermine his stepbrother on several occasions. However, his efforts backfired, and he was reported to his father. The host, who had always been doted on by his father, couldn't bear the scolding and left home in anger. In this regard, he was somewhat similar to Jing Yuanqi.
But the host was luckier than Jing Yuanqi. His father didn't hold a grudge against him for his actions. Despite leaving home to enter the entertainment industry, he still had the support of his connections. He had protected his son all the way to becoming a movie emperor.
However, because of his stepbrother, the host became even more gloomy. He couldn't stand to see anyone cheerful, especially since his stepbrother always appeared extremely joyful. He had a gift for twisting words and turning facts, making the living seem dead and the dead appear alive.
In addition to this, he had a strong aversion to anyone who excelled more than he did. If he discovered someone even slightly better than himself, he would go to great lengths to suppress them.
Jing Yuanqi, being a naturally confident and talented individual, fell into the category of people the host disliked the most. When the host discovered someone who was as annoying as his stepbrother, he took decisive action.
Afterward, the more he intervened, the more he found this person detestable, and the more he disliked him, the more he intervened. In the end, he almost wished that Jing Yuanqi would drop dead right there.
This kind of mentality, where there was no previous grudge, but simply because the other person was better, was naturally strange. However, the original host believed he had done nothing wrong. He had been raised in privilege, had everything he wanted, and thought it was perfectly normal to squash an ant he didn't like.
Jing Yuanqi was the biggest ant he wanted to squash.
When Shi Qing opened the door to the dressing room and stepped out, his assistant was waiting outside. Upon seeing him, the assistant hurried over and asked, "Shi Ge, have you finished shooting your scenes for today? Are you going back to the hotel?"
This assistant had just been assigned to him recently, as the previous ones had all been dismissed shortly after joining. It was because the assistants under him never lasted more than a month. In the industry, he was known for being easy on his subordinates.
This meant that while others might be strict with their subordinates, he was lenient to the point where they would quit within a month.
"I'm not going back to the hotel. I'll stay here for a while," Shi Qing replied coldly and glanced at the young assistant. "What's your name?"
Although in his heart, the assistant was thinking, "After three days of serving this big shot, he finally remembers to ask my name," he wore an expression that suggested it was normal for someone not to know their assistant's name after three days. He answered, "I'm Gao Zhi, Shi Ge. You can call me Xiaogao."
"Hmm," Shi Qing responded with a nasal tone.
Gao Zhi stole a glance at the man in front of him, who looked lazy, and thought that the rumors about him in the industry weren't false. This guy was indeed difficult to serve and communicate with.
Although it had been three days since he arrived, Gao Zhi had been busy with errands during the first two days and hadn't had much interaction with Shi Qing. Today was the first time he had a chance for a face-to-face conversation. However, as soon as they met, he was tasked with the mission of adding purified devil pepper sauce to the meal of a fellow actor in the same crew.
Initially, Gao Zhi thought he had encountered a colleague's prank. He didn't stand up for what was right but obediently went to buy the devil pepper sauce and added it to Jing Yuanqi's meal as instructed.
When he first entered the industry, senior colleagues had told him that this circle was full of dirty tricks. As long as it didn't involve breaking the law or going to jail, you should do whatever the higher-ups asked. After all, without a job in this city where the cost of living was soaring, he would be left with nothing but the northwestern wind to drink.
He had originally felt sorry for Jing Yuanqi when he was ordered to carry out this task. However, he never expected a series of events to unfold beyond his expectations.
First, Jing Yuanqi, who was not supposed to confront anyone directly, did just that.
Then, Shi Qing, who seemed to be planning to harm Jing Yuanqi, actually ate the meal with the devil pepper sauce.
That was devil pepper sauce!
Before buying it, Gao Zhi had searched online, and the reviews were numerous, with descriptions like "tongue-numbing," "tear-inducing," and "spiciness to the point of heartbreak." It looked very intimidating.
He had personally added the bottle of devil pepper sauce to the meal, and he was certain that just one bite would make anyone question their life choices.
Gao Zhi sneaked another glance, feeling anxious about his new boss's stomach.
However, Shi Qing seemed perfectly fine.
When Jing Yuanqi saw Shi Qing again, the Movie Emperor was sitting in a chair, leaning back lazily with a calm expression as he conversed with Gao Zhi.
Shi Qing had a long, slender figure, and his languid posture on the chair was inherently attractive. In the sunlight, his skin appeared almost translucent, and every part of him seemed meticulously crafted. It was the kind of perfection where a little more would be too much, and a little less would be insufficient.
Unfortunately, the more pleasing his appearance, the more Jing Yuanqi rejected it.
Such looks and temperament were wasted on someone who used their status to suppress their juniors.
Just thinking about it made Jing Yuanqi uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because of the spacious feeling that good looks gave people that Jing Yuanqi, who rarely had any curiosity, actually wanted to know what Shi Qing was saying to his assistant. He was an audacious person, so when he wanted to know something, he wouldn't bother thinking twice and would simply move quietly.
When he had taken a bite of the meal and spat it out earlier, he didn't even need to guess who was responsible. Such a blatant, elementary-level prank could only have been pulled off by Shi Qing, who had been targeting him for no apparent reason.
At that moment, Jing Yuanqi couldn't help but burst into laughter. Where did this confidence of the Movie Emperor come from? He didn't even try to hide that it was him.
Did he really think that he could always live carefree and do whatever he wanted in the industry just because of his family background and position?
Jing Yuanqi wasn't going to indulge this guy's annoying habits.
However, things took an unexpected turn when Shi Qing, without any hesitation, finished the meal that Jing Yuanqi couldn't even tolerate.
This left Jing Yuanqi feeling completely out of sorts. It was as if he had thrown a punch that ended up hitting thin air.
He really wanted to know if Shi Qing had been forcing himself to eat it or if he genuinely wasn't bothered by the spiciness.
Like a silent, stealthy hunting panther, Jing Yuanqi tightened the muscles in his body and silently approached Shi Qing from behind, going unnoticed.
The Movie Emperor was speaking to Gao Zhi, his voice cold, his tone flat. "The chili sauce tastes good. Order another box."
Gao Zhi was taken aback. He had a mind full of images of people suffering from the extreme spiciness of the sauce but, driven by his love for his salary, he responded, "Alright, Shi Ge."
Shi Qing continued, "Tell the crew that I'll be treating them to dinner as well. You can use the money I gave you to buy it."
With thoughts of "thinking what the boss thinks and considering what the boss considers," Gao Zhi cautiously asked, "Shi Ge, what about the chili sauce? Should I add it to Jing Ge's meal?"
Jing Yuanqi was also curious.
His position allowed him to look down on Shi Qing from behind, observing the man who seemed completely unaware of his presence.
Shi Qing leaned lazily on the chair, his posture relaxed. Jing Yuanqi could see his delicate and fair earlobes and the slender neck covered in soft, scattered hair. It was quite attractive.
At this moment, Shi Qing spoke.
Jing Yuanqi finally noticed that Shi Qing had a distinctive voice – clear and cold, like a jade bead striking a jade plate, cold yet translucent. It made people feel that this was a person who didn't want others to get close to him.
His tone was also cold, sounding like he was displeased.
"He doesn't like it, so why add it."
After hearing this, Jing Yuanqi couldn't help but chuckle. The content of his words also sounded like he was not pleased.
Gao Zhi was completely speechless after hearing this exchange. He remained silent for a while before cautiously reminding his superior, "Shi Ge, well, most people wouldn't like devil pepper sauce... right?"
Jing Yuanqi was hiding behind Shi Qing, looking down at him from a higher vantage point. He observed Shi Qing's lips, which were as delicate as amaryllis petals, moving slightly.
Even though Shi Qing's face had no expression, Jing Yuanqi sensed a faint sense of melancholy emanating from Shi Qing.
The Movie Emperor's tone was slightly lower than before, as if he were murmuring to himself, "I just like it."
[Notification: Jing Yuanqi's rejection level: 99/100.]
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