Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me-Chapter 285 : Checkmate (3)

Recently, he kept drawing the shorter stick again and again.

It seemed that people working for him were nothing but useless scum, in comparison to Shang Ruohai’s blindingly dazzling followers.

Shang Ruohan inhaled and exhaled several times before he knocked at the door of his father’s ward/office.

"Come in," Shang Xiaoyi’s croaking voice was heavy with disappointment even before he hurled any insult on his eldest son’s face.

Shang Ruohan pushed the door open and raised his head to look at his father.

To his amazement, Shang Ruohai was also there.

"..."

And he had the cheek to grin at him, this little bastard.

"Sit down, Ruohan."

Shang Xiaoyi’s authoritative voice brooked neither argument nor protest from Shang Ruohan.

Shang Ruohan quietly took his seat on the other side of his father’s bed.

"Have you read the latest news on Weibo concerning your champion?" Shang Xiaoyi asked.

"I... Yes, I did. Wu Jin is currently in my office."

Shang Xiaoyi let out a disdainful harrumph.

"At least he knows how to show some humility."

Shang Ruohan clenched his jaw.

"Father, Wu Jin is young and likes to experiment around. Technically, these orgies, while frowned upon, are not against the law."

Shang Xiaoyi stared at his eldest son, who has yet to practice some humility concerning this issue.

"Do you not know how many underage girls he slept with?"

The question struck Shang Ruohan like an icy blade.

"How... How many?" Shang Ruohan sputtered.

That fucking Wu Jin! So that blond young woman was not his first sixteen-year-old???

Shang Ruohai cleared his throat before he answered, "According to police investigation, there has been at least three. One of them even got pregnant, and Wu Jin paid for the abortion process."

"...."

Shang Xiaoyi gave Shang Ruohan a barbed look. If he were a decade younger and healthier, he might have slapped some sense into Shang Ruohan’s head.

"We can negotiate with the police officers behind the screen to preserve Wu Jin’s reputation," Shang Xiaoyi began. "But his pictures were spread on Weibo this morning. Even though the faces were blurred, some netizens already recognized him to some extent. We need to do something to address this issue."

"I... I have," Shang Ruohan stammered. "I have contacted my social media team. They are negotiating a deal with the gossip account owner."

Shang Ruohai smiled.

"How long has it been, dear Brother?"

Shang Ruohan gritted his teeth.

"... An hour ago."

Shang Ruohai casually switched on his phone and scrolled through Weibo.

"It has been one hour, but the post is still there, garnering more and more comments. Some fans have begun citing old pictures of Wu Jin, when he showed off the tattoo while training at a gym."

"..."

Shang Xiaoyi cleared his throat before coughing into his fist.

"One hour is more than enough time to ruin someone’s career. Ruohan, if it’s too late to salvage Wu Jin’s reputation, I fear that the competition between you and Ruohai is herewith over..."

"Wait a minute!" Shang Ruohan snapped.

"Father, your sons are competing in our abilities to nurture our talents. Throughout these years, Wu Jin has been a valuable asset for our agency. Now that he is facing troubles, shouldn’t we unite our efforts to help him overcome them???"

The three men stared at each other.

"Certainly," Shang Xiaoyi began. "It doesn’t matter which one of you succeeds me next, you will still have to take care of all talents without exception. Ruohai."

Shang Ruohai turned to look at his father, his demeanor calm and collected.

"Yes, Father?"

"Kindly see if you can peruse your connections to remove those pictures from Weibo. Wu Jin’s fall will inadvertently smear mud all over CNC Studio’s name."

Shang Ruohai nodded.

"I understand. Let me try."

The three men watched the huge screen in front of them, showing the scandalous post in question.

Shang Ruohai made a single call and spoke into the line, "There is a troublesome post on Weibo regarding Wu Jin. Please take care of it for me."

The call barely ended when the post, along with the millions of comments and shares disappeared by the hand of magic.

Shang Ruohan gaped at the screen in disbelief.

Shang Xiaoyi nodded in acknowledgment.

Shang Ruohai merely sported a soft smile on his lips.

"It is done," he said.

Shang Xiaoyi slowly turned to look at his eldest son.

"You know what, Ruohan? The marks of a good CEO not only lie in the abilities to recruit and nurture talents but also in managing resources and solving problems. I fear that you still have a lot to learn from your younger brother."

Shang Ruohan was so angry that he did not dare open his mouth. Otherwise, he might started spewing profanities at Shang Ruohai.

In fact, this was Shang Ruohai’s goal all along.

He did not rely only on Yan Renzhong’s success over Wu Jin’s to win.

He also wanted to show their old man that, as someone who personally worked in the entertainment industry for years, he was more than capable of braving any kind of storm, as opposed to Shang Ruohan.

Although Shang Xiaoyi had yet to make his decision final, the winner of their competition was clearly Shang Ruohai.

So close to the Kunlun Snow Lotus Award ceremony, what else could Shang Ruohan do to overturn the table in his favor?

When Shang Ruohan returned to his office, his mood could not be fouler.

But Wu Jin, who had seen the post vanish from Weibo, was more than elated.

"Mr. Shang, thank you," he said while bowing deeply in front of his sponsor.

"I don’t know what else to say. Thank you. I will not abuse your trust in me a second time."

Shang Ruohan took his seat behind the desk and scoffed.

"You fool. Thanks to your incapability of keeping your penis in your pants, I lost against Shang Ruohai."

The news hit Wu Jin hard. If Shang Ruohai emerged victorious, then he was surely going to make life difficult for Wu Jin.

"Mr. Shang, what can we do?" He frantically asked.

Shang Ruohan responded by dismissing him with a hand wave.

"For now, go. Refrain from doing anything foolish. I want to be alone."

It was time to make one last pawn move across the board.

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