ITVCFITB CHAPTER 128

Chapter 128— Extra: If This Were a Modern AU · 2

Luo Shuyu’s family situation was both simple and messy.

His father was a scumbag. Because Luo Shuyu’s grandparents forbade him from dating his college girlfriend, but he secretly got her pregnant while marrying Shuyu’s mother. At first, his mother didn’t realize he was a hypocrite. Later she discovered he didn’t care about their son and was rarely home and then the real blow: he had two sons outside the marriage, both older than Shuyu.

The revelation nearly sent her to the hospital, but she kept her head. Their marriage hadn’t been for love, and there were no deep feelings to salvage. She cut her losses, divorced him, and took half the marital assets. As for Luo Ren­shou, the cheating husband, he got little help from the Luo family; before the divorce, Shuyu’s mother had already reclaimed everything the company could take back. As an adulterer, he had no ground to protest.

After the divorce, Mrs. Luo never remarried. She focused on running the family’s talent agency. Gifted in business, she revived the near-bankrupt company and produced a roster of A-listers.

Now she’d decided to hand the company to her son. Once his engagement party wrapped up, she went traveling with her new, younger boyfriend, living quite freely.

Freshly engaged, Luo Shuyu sat at his desk, scrolling through the profile of the actor he had just signed.

Classically trained, mostly cast as the second male lead. He’d finally landed a male lead, only for Shen Mingyun to snatch it.

Chen Rong wasn’t hot-tempered by nature, but having one’s role stolen by Shen was nauseating. The project was funded by a Li family subsidiary; as a likely future heir, Li Mingchun pulling strings to secure the role for Shen didn’t shock anyone.

But the part had already been set. After spending two or three months building the character, Chen had every reason to be furious when Shen suddenly cut in. Brought to Li Mingjin’s engagement banquet by a friend, Chen saw Shen and unable to swallow it, deliberately splashed him with wine.

Yes, deliberately.

He’d turned down another series for this one. Watching it all go up in smoke without being angry would be inhuman.

He knew the splash would likely end his career. Shen had heavy hitters behind him; stars fawned and flattered. Offending him was a thankless act.

Chen was on the verge of giving up his tiny rented room and going home when a phone call changed everything.

Now he sat before a young man who swiped across a tablet, then looked up.

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Luo Shuyu measured him. “You’re Chen Rong?”

Proud but composed, Chen answered evenly, “Yes.”

The sign on the wall read: Violet Media.

Half an hour earlier, he’d signed a very reasonable contract with this company, so generous he feared it was a scam. After checking, he learned Violet Media was a discreet agency that had launched quite a few stars.

It could be trusted.

Shuyu nodded. “Good. Starting today, the company will tilt resources your way. Focus on honing your acting.”

It felt like a pie from the sky. Chen couldn’t help asking, “Do I need a packaged persona?”

Shuyu smiled and shook his head. “Others might. You don’t. Just be yourself. You’re naturally inspirational.”

Shen already had his manufactured persona. There was no need to copy it.

The only way forward was to beat Shen head-on, strip away the shine, and let the world see what lay underneath. Only then could both his and Li Mingjin keep their lives intact.

Chen: “…” Inspirational? My public image is a disaster.

Reading his thoughts, Shuyu chuckled. “Worried because your reputation’s in the gutter?”

Chen nodded. “Yeah. The internet’s pouring filth on me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Luo knew the truth: Shen’s system had helped him seize the role, and the PR machine was smothering any backlash.

“If I’m backing you,” he said, “I’m not afraid of the blowback.”

In the last life, Chen was unlucky, an earnest actor steamrolled because Shen wanted a shortcut to a good script.

This time, Shuyu would take the fight to him.

So you want a pure, wholesome image?
You want to be an award-winning actor?
You want to be the priciest face in advertising?

One by one, Luo would take those crowns off Shen’s head.

Without that system, what would Shen be? If he failed his missions, where would his points come from to fuel those props?

Reborn, he intended to watch Shen tumble off his entertainment-industry pedestal, step by step.

What a joke.

Chen found himself startled by the resolve blazing in his new boss’s eyes.

Shuyu’s first move was to slot Chen into a drama Violet Media was prepping, paired with the currently hot actor Lin Yuan.

No fake persona, but they could leverage existing star power to introduce Chen to the public.

If all went well, their series would premiere the same day as the one Shen had stolen.

From Shuyu’s last-life memory, Shen’s stolen show turned out to be trash: a middling script hyped to the heavens, then a high start and a steep drop, ultimately landing a 4.3 on “That Site.” Yet thanks to rabid fans, Shen’s fame still skyrocketed, and he was touted as a “young acting genius.”

As for acting, did Shen not know? It was all the system.

Luo quickly got Chen into the crew, then told the heads of Operations and Marketing to ensure their show launched the same day as Shen’s clunker.

The two directors couldn’t understand and made repeated trips to his office to object. Don’t gamble the company’s future. Don’t be reckless.

Right now the web was blanketed in news about Shen’s show, makeup-test drama, trending topics about how dedicated Shen was on set, rumors of on-set romances, on and on. The heat wouldn’t die down. How could their new series compete, especially with a male second lead who’d just been publicly dragged?

The closer the premiere dates crept, the more it looked like the marketing director needed heart medication, ASAP. 

Shuyu had just finished another meeting with them when his phone rang. He answered.

A deep voice flowed through the speaker. “Didn’t we say crab tonight? I’m downstairs at your office.”

His fiancé, Li Mingjin.

The headache pounding behind Shuyu’s eyes eased. “I just wrapped the meeting. Coming down now.”

Since their engagement, their feelings had steadily warmed.

Shuyu knew Mingjin wasn’t cold; he just struggled to express himself. Given another chance at life, he chose to be the one who reached out first.

Maybe because he took the lead, Mingjin responded differently too, more open than in their previous life, even initiating dates. Sometimes all it takes is one person to take that first step.

He grabbed his phone and laptop and headed downstairs.

A luxury car waited at the curb.

Mingjin kept a low profile. The car wasn’t flashy, most people wouldn’t recognize the brand, but it was a global limited edition, released only this year.

Shuyu climbed in and Mingjin’s gaze lingered on him.

Catching it, Luo looked up. “Hm? What are you staring at me for?”

Mingjin startled. “…Nothing.”

Shuyu smiled, pulled a small gift box from his bag, and handed it over. “For you.”

Mingjin opened it.

A watch strap.

Buckling his seatbelt, he asked, “Do you like it? It’s for you.”

Mingjin blinked. “Why the gift?”

Luo said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “Do I need a reason to give my fiancé something? I wanted to.”

Something thumped hard in Mingjin’s chest.

He started the car toward their reserved restaurant.

At the next red light, Luo nudged him again: “I give you gifts because I like you.”

Mingjin drew a long breath. “…”

He suddenly wanted to get married right now.

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