"Ms. Liu, this is where you're wrong."

Song Yuanqi said with a chuckle, "Didn't we discuss everything back then? Su Shengxi, with such high traffic, is Jiaxing Entertainment's cash cow! But the moment you and Xiao He spoke up, didn't we give him up just like that? We've always treated you with sincerity! Why does your question sound like you're doubting our friendly relationship!"

"Hehe."

Liu Rulan let out a snort of laughter. "Mr. Song, listen to yourself. 'Traffic' this and 'cash cow' that. You make it sound like losing a minor star who was being backlashed by fans was some monumental grievance. It feels like you're still holding a grudge over what happened back then."

"If you were unhappy, you should have said so earlier. Next time I return, I'll definitely pay you a personal visit to clear up that little misunderstanding. Wouldn't that be better? Why let a Su Shengxi become a thorn between us? You should know that our subsequent collaborations have been quite pleasant. Even Xiao He mentioned dropping by your place when he's free to see if there are any suitable projects to collaborate on."

Song Yuanqi replied, "Cough, could I really be that kind of person?"

Liu Rulan cursed inwardly.

Aren't you exactly that kind of person?

And now you're putting on an act? Pfft!

This old geezer is certainly full of smooth talk now.

"The matter with 'the imperial cause' has been making quite a stir lately. I assume you already know about it, Mr. Song. I'm quite busy right now, so why don't we just get straight to the point."

Liu Rulan decided to be direct. "Is Su Shengxi with you? Are you planning some project with Jingyou Entertainment? Are you really going to disregard our past rapport? As his former Agent, I feel obligated to give him a warning. Don't you agree, Mr. Song?"

Her attitude was direct, but her words were still layered, enough for Song Yuanqi to understand her meaning.

Song Yuanqi immediately gave a light cough. "Oh, you know how it is. We can't control what happens in Beijing, and they can't influence us much anyway. Regardless, we should still stay close, shouldn't we?"

"Mm-hmm."

Liu Rulan remained noncommittal.

Jingyou Entertainment suddenly wanting to cooperate with her former employer was clearly aimed at her. However, Jiaxing Entertainment wasn't stupid, nor were they suckers.

Having worked together for so long, who didn't know about the skeletons in each other's closets?

If they wanted to attack Liu Rulan by dragging up Su Shengxi, they would inevitably dig up some of Jiaxing Entertainment's past scandals as well.

The two sides were tied together; neither could distance themselves from the other.

So while he had accepted the job from Jingyou Entertainment, Song Yuanqi was still weighing his options and making choices.

He had also been waiting for Liu Rulan's call.

"Then tell me your conditions."

Liu Rulan leaned back, looking very composed.

"I only have one requirement."

"Make Su Shengxi get lost. I'm annoyed just hearing his name now. Also, release some of those old scandals you have on him to suppress the trending topics about our Film Crew."

Since the man had already retired from the industry, she figured he wouldn't mind being dragged out for another public downfall.

Since the other party was so eager to try something, why not send him for another round of public scrutiny?

"Uh—"

Song Yuanqi glanced at the person who had been sitting restlessly on the sofa since the start. His smile didn't waver, but he inwardly sighed at how vengeful this woman was.

"Fine, I understand."

After hanging up, Song Yuanqi looked with a beaming smile at the young man sent by Jingyou Entertainment for the negotiations. His tone was very gentle. "Little Su, don't be nervous. Come, let's have a good chat..."

Su Shengxi swallowed hard, having an inexplicable premonition of doom.

—

In the car.

Liu Rulan looked at her phone and rolled her eyes.

That idiot Su Shengxi; she couldn't carry him years ago, and she still couldn't carry him now.

If Jingyou Entertainment looked for him to get things done, it was their own bad luck for finding such a failure.

Guess why she had fled Jiaxing Entertainment?

With a teammate like that, you can rest assured that everything will definitely be botched!

"But this move clearly has that woman's signature on it," Liu Rulan murmured with a cold sneer, her gaze exceptionally icy. "I just don't know if her coming directly at me is because she's confident enough, or truly stupid enough."

Attacking her instead of Xiao He first?

Hehe, would she even care?

To be honest, in her years as an Agent, she had received no less vitriol than her own artists.

Idiot.

Liu Rulan picked up her phone again and dialed a number. "One hour. I want An Laijia's scandals spread all over the internet. Although I've already paid you for this, the faster you go, the more extra tip I'll give."

She raised her wrist and glanced at the time. "You can start preparing now. I want to see results within an hour."

Oh, as for why the one-hour limit?

Naturally, it was because in an hour, Xiao He should be leaving the Restoration Center and returning to the hotel.

If Xiao He were to step in, there would be no room for anyone else to play this game.

Liu Rulan chuckled and hung up the phone without caring about the person's reaction on the other end.

Then she set a timer and began counting down—

—

After Xiao He walked out of the restoration room, he found that Elder Qian hadn't left yet and was still waiting for him in the hall.

"Sorry for the wait."

He immediately went over to apologize.

"It's fine, it's fine."

Elder Qian waved it off and then asked with concern, "How is it? Did everything go smoothly?"

"Everything went smoothly."

Xiao He nodded with a smile, and the two of them walked outside together.

Just as they reached the door, they brushed past another group of people.

Xiao He paused as his crime alarm went off; he caught the scent of the police.

He turned his head to look and indeed found that this group, in terms of both dress and temperament, looked very much like Police Officers.

The female officer leading them was in plain clothes, her back straight and her presence heroic and spirited, giving off an impression of being very difficult to get along with.

And as if sensing the gaze from behind her, she immediately turned back alertly to look.

The old and young pair had already walked out of the Restoration Center's doors, leaving only their backs visible.

"Who were those two who just left? What were they doing here?"

Officer Chen raised an eyebrow. Her instinct from years of being a cop made her ask this question.

"Ah, they're from the Calligraphy Association. They came over to help provide materials for handwriting restoration."

The staff member following Officer Chen explained.

This staff member was a scientific researcher who didn't usually watch dramas or follow celebrities. To him, Xiao He was just a handsome young man with a unique temperament; he didn't know that this young man was actually a famous young actor in China.

Officer Chen didn't pay much attention either and didn't ask further. Instead, she continued, "Is Professor Ye still busy? We have some things we want to ask him."

"You've come at the right time." The staff member nodded with a smile. "Professor Ye just finished a new report. If you go over now, you can chat with him for a bit."

"Mm."

Officer Chen nodded and led the other Police Officers further inside.

Inside the restoration room, Professor Ye was still staring blankly at the machine in front of him.

A middle-aged man carrying a toolbox rushed in. "Old Ye, the system center just # Nоvеlight # reported an error. Which of your machines is having trouble?"

Professor Ye moved aside and said quite painedly, "Engineer Wang, although I know the system you installed this time is only a partial test version, it shouldn't have been taken down in seconds by some young man's system! You're making me embarrassed to call this your institute's most advanced AI system!"

"What?"

Engineer Wang was shocked and immediately defended his institute's latest system. "Bullshit! Version XI 4.1 is already our institute's latest achievement. How could it possibly be taken down by someone else's system just like that! You couldn't have installed a virus in my machine, could you!"

He then hurried to push Professor Ye aside and began to meticulously check the machine.

Sure enough, their XI system had been replaced by an AI system called 'Little Black Version 1.0'.

"What on earth is this? Little Black system?! Who installed it?! And it's even using our database?!"

"I'm doomed, I'm doomed—"

Although the internal database didn't involve highly classified information, it was for internal use only and not allowed to be opened to the public. The moment Engineer Wang saw this system, he had already planned how to write his subsequent report.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's just a built-in system and hasn't been opened to the outside," Professor Ye tried to comfort Engineer Wang. "Besides, I really feel this Little Black is much better to use than your thing..."

Engineer Wang's eyes widened in anger, and he was about to argue when a knock sounded at the door.

"Professor Ye, Officer Chen and the others are here."

Professor Ye immediately waved his hand. "Alright, alright, you study it yourself. I'm busy here."

He then ignored Engineer Wang and turned to welcome Officer Chen.

Engineer Wang could only grumble while checking the system. Then, his gaze inadvertently swept over and caught sight of a business card placed on the table.

He picked it up to look; it read 【Heguang Technology, Xiao He】.

"Heguang Technology? This name sounds a bit familiar... I'll go back and ask around."

Engineer Wang scratched his head and unhesitatingly tucked the business card into his pocket.