Chapter 2: Modern Realm 1.2
The timeline in this realm coincides with the female protagonist's second year at Dongjia Entertainment after her rebirth. Having risen to prominence, she subsequently left the company alongside Xu Haoran, the vice president of Lu Entertainment.
Lu Xuefei was only 25 this year. After taking over the company at 20, he found himself at a loss. It was then that Xu Haoran, his childhood friend four years his senior, appeared as an ally, helping him weather the storm. It could be said that without Xu Haoran, there likely would be no Lu Xuefei of today. Lu Xuefei held Xu Haoran in the highest regard. On one hand, he admired Xu Haoran; on the other, he harbored a secret, intense crush on him. Timid and rigid in nature, Lu Xuefei had deliberately concealed his sexual orientation since discovering it, terrified of others finding out.
By the time Lu Xuefei was 23, Lu Entertainment had stabilized. They began signing their own artists, bringing the 20-year-old Wang Sisi under their wing. Reborn with an innocent yet alluring charm, Wang Sisi quickly captivated Xu Haoran. Xu Haoran leveraged his connections to propel Wang Sisi into the top female artist position at Lu Entertainment.
Two years later—just recently—Wang Sisi suddenly stormed into his office, thrusting a stack of photos showing him in intimate moments with two men.
Baili Xin lowered his lashes, concealing his deep, dark eyes.
Speaking of these photos, Lu Xuefei had her own unspoken anguish. Watching Xu Haoran grow increasingly fond of Wang Sisi, Lu Xuefei felt a sharp pang of pain in his heart. Knowing Xu was straight and that his own hopes were hopeless, Lu drowned his sorrows in alcohol, heading to a bar to drink. But as he drank, two men suddenly barged in front of him. Without a word, they picked him up, kissed him passionately, then turned and left.
Lu Xuefei was fastidious and rigid by nature. He wouldn't let anyone he didn't like get close, so despite being gay, he'd never been intimate with another man—not even kissed. After this incident, he returned home and vomited for a long time. This little interlude was orchestrated by Wang Sisi.
She had long sought proof of Lu Xuefei's promiscuous homosexuality, but he remained chaste as a virgin. With no other options, she hired someone to orchestrate this incident.
Just a month prior, Wang Sisi threatened Lu Xuefei with the photos. She warned that if he didn't let her terminate the contract, she would show them to Xu Haoran. How could Lu Xuefei let her show these seemingly promiscuous photos to Xu Haoran? He was the type who'd rather go bankrupt than ruin his reputation.
Moreover, even if he explained, Xu Haoran wouldn't believe him. Lu Xuefei knew Xu Haoran would unhesitatingly side with Wang Sisi in any confrontation between them.
In the end, he had no choice but to agree to Wang Sisi's demand and unilaterally terminate her contract. Outsiders unaware of the truth assumed Lu Xuefei had fired Wang Sisi, but only the two of them knew the real story.
Unaware of the truth, Xu Haoran stormed into Lu Xuefei's office after learning of Wang Sisi's forced termination, had a heated argument, and stormed out.
During the month after leaving the company, Wang Sisi swiftly raised funds and established her own studio.
A few days ago, she reached out to Xu Haoran for help, claiming she was in trouble. Without hesitation, Xu Haoran gathered his team, left Lu Entertainment, and immediately joined Wang Sisi's studio to support her.
That's why, when Baili Xin arrived, Lu Xuefei looked so disheveled. Having lost both her people and her assets, that was precisely Lu Xuefei's current state.
Baili Xin tidied the documents on his desk and addressed the HR manager and Secretary Wang who had come to report: "Let them go. Don't bother with them. Ungrateful ingrates who never learn their place—keeping them around is nothing but trouble. If anyone else wants to leave, let them go. Don't stand in their way."
The HR manager hesitated before replying, "But... over a month ago, Xu Haoran secured several advertising contracts for Wang Sisi. With her gone, we can't deliver the talent for the shoots. We risk facing penalty fees for breach of contract. General Manager Xu has already delayed things for a month. We can't stall any longer. We must give the clients a satisfactory response."
This just goes to show that when a woman gets ruthless, ten men can't hold a candle to her. Wang Sisi clearly planned to jump ship all along. She even egged Xu Haoran on to secure all those ads for her. Wasn't she counting on Lu Xuefei being too afraid of Xu Haoran to take action, just to screw Lu Xuefei over?
But it was Lu Xuefei who loved and respected Xu Haoran, not him, Baili Xin.
Wang Sisi's revenge against Zhou Yun and her lover Baili Xin was understandable. But her relentless efforts to destroy Lu Xuefei beyond redemption were utterly baffling. The only wrong Lu Xuefei had ever done to her was failing to stand up for her in a past life.
Yet if one put herself in Lu Xuefei's shoes, she hadn't truly wronged Wang Sisi.
After signing Wang Sisi, Lu Entertainment poured vast resources into her. Without the company's full backing, Wang Sisi could never have achieved what she did in her past life.
When Wang Sisi publicly announced her relationship with Zhou Yun in the past life, Lu Xuefei had warned her that Zhou Yun was no ordinary man and advised her to proceed cautiously. Yet a woman mired in the quagmire of love is impossible to pull back, even with nine oxen.
Unless Lu Entertainment truly lacked the means, how could they bear to shelve a star they had invested so much money and effort into, as if cutting flesh from their own body? On one side stood a solo star; on the other, hundreds of employees awaiting paychecks. Faced with such stakes, anyone would choose to protect the company and its workforce for now.
Lu Xuefei had only intended to shelve Wang Sisi temporarily, waiting for the storm to pass before resolving the matter. But Wang Sisi, stubborn and headstrong, had actually taken her own life.
A woman who dared not face what had already happened, yet stirred up trouble before anything had even occurred after her rebirth—the very thought was both pitiful and terrifying.
He licked his lips and turned to Secretary Wang, who had followed him in. "What advertising contracts did Wang Sisi sign?"
Secretary Wang thought for a moment before replying, "She signed four contracts in total: three clothing ads and one television commercial. The three clothing ads are manageable—they're long-term partners. We can negotiate a replacement without issue. But this TV ad is our first collaboration with them, and they're an electronics company under the Luo Group. They've visited us three times this week alone, even sending lawyers yesterday. They claim that if we don't pay the breach penalty, they'll file a lawsuit. When we signed the contract, we thought it was a windfall. Who could have imagined that instead of reaping the rewards, we're now on the verge of being crushed by it?"
Baili Xin rubbed his forehead, feeling the sheer hostility radiating from this world. "How much would we have to pay if we breach the TV commercial contract?"
"Forty million yuan. And our company currently has only fifty million in available working capital because we're preparing for a new film. If we pay that all out, the entire company will be crippled."
Baili Xin felt his forehead ache even more. He rubbed his temples and said to Secretary Wang, "I understand. You handle negotiations with the three clothing companies and resolve the follow-up issues. As for the Luo conglomerate, I'll handle that personally. You two may leave now."
Secretary Wang and the HR manager exchanged stunned glances. Secretary Wang was particularly speechless. "Mr. Lu, three clothing advertisements aren't a small matter. You want me to negotiate this alone?" Back when Xu Haoran was here, he always brought her along for project negotiations.
Baili Xin nodded. "You haven't been with this company for just a year or two. You were my father's secretary back when he was here, and I've seen your capabilities. I believe you have the strength for this. Just go boldly. I trust you can handle whatever demands they make. These past years, I relied too heavily on Xu Haoran, which led to this situation where the entire company is paralyzed the moment he leaves. From this moment on, I expect everyone remaining in the company to grow at the fastest pace possible and maximize their individual contributions."
Baili Xin spoke with righteous conviction, and Secretary Wang listened with her heart bursting with joy. Having served the Lu Corporation for seven years, she had followed Lu Xuefei and Xu Haoran around tirelessly, learning much along the way. Yet she had never found a place to apply her skills. She had thought her abilities were useless, but unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Lu Xuefei entrusted her with a crucial task.
"Rest assured, President Lu. I will complete this mission successfully. Should I make advance arrangements with the Luo conglomerate for you?"
Baili Xin shook his head. "No need. I have my own methods. Also—" He paused, turning to the HR manager. "If anyone else resigns, let them go without interference. Follow the contracts strictly—pay the penalty fees where due. Show no leniency." This incident serves as a trial by fire, weeding out those with ulterior motives—those who step on others to climb higher.
"You are all people I trust most deeply. You place your trust in me, and I will reward that trust accordingly. Continue working as usual. Within a week, things will turn around. Rest assured—as long as Lu Xuefei remains at the helm of this company, it will never collapse!" Seeing the HR manager still anxious, Baili Xin added.
After seeing them off, Baili Xin locked the door from the inside and opened his computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard. From Lu Xuefei's memories, he learned that after Lu Entertainment paid the penalty to Luo Group's TV company, the latter immediately signed an advertising contract with Wang Sisi's studio. It was the same TV commercial, with Wang Sisi still as the lead actress.
The reason Luo Group insisted on casting Wang Sisi for this ad wasn't just her acting prowess, but also her ingenious creativity.
Though this world resembled modern civilization, technology remained underdeveloped. 3D effects were still the stuff of legend. Commercials relied on basic character-scene transitions, offering little innovation. Most ads focused solely on promoting the product's features.
During her audition, however, Wang Sisi had a sudden inspiration. She suggested the director consider appealing to the audience's emotions. Speaking of which, Baili Xin couldn't help but note: it was both Xu Haoran's triumph and his downfall. Initially, this emotional concept had been proposed to Xu Haoran by Lu Xuefei. Upon hearing it, Xu Haoran deemed it excellent and immediately shared the entire idea with Wang Sisi without hesitation.
In Lu Xuefei's memory, Baili Xin also witnessed the final outcome of this commercial.
Wang Sisi portrayed a devoted granddaughter. As her gravely ill grandfather lay on his deathbed, he murmured repeatedly about his final wish: to see the vast fields of blooming rapeseed flowers in the countryside one last time. Suddenly, the scene shifted. The grandfather, who had been in the hospital moments before, now stood amidst a sea of golden blossoms. Amidst this sea of flowers, he passed away with a smile on his face. Another cut revealed the grandfather still lying in his hospital bed—he hadn't gone anywhere. His granddaughter had simply brought him a television, playing a recorded video of blooming rapeseed flowers.
The commercial's filming techniques and set design were nothing extraordinary, but its novelty made it stand out.
Wang Sisi delivered a standout performance in the ad. In just two minutes, every expression and smile etched itself into viewers' minds. Especially after the grandfather's smiling departure, her tear-filled yet smiling expression propelled her to the top of Asia's Most Beautiful People list, significantly boosting her popularity.
Though the TV's sales were mediocre afterward—people found it unlucky, associating the set with that melancholy ad and feeling uneasy—the commercial itself repeatedly made headlines, pioneering the narrative-driven ad format.
Crushing your enemy strengthens yourself. Since he had come, there was no way he could let this advertisement slip away, allowing Wang Sisi to reap the benefits.
He, Bai Li Xin, had never bowed to heaven or earth. Now that the world had driven him to the edge of a cliff, he was all the more determined to fight a glorious victory. To battle heaven brings boundless joy;
To battle earth brings boundless joy;
To battle man brings boundless joy!
If he wanted the Luo Group to continue partnering with him, he had to deliver an even more brilliant piece of work.
Others couldn't pull this off, but Bai Li Xin could.
Over the past millennium, traversing countless parallel worlds, he had not merely fulfilled missions. More often, he had absorbed knowledge as vast as the starry sea from each dimension. Horizontally, he possessed the knowledge and skills of dozens of worlds; vertically, he carried the accumulated wisdom of five thousand years of human history. Today, he was the epitome of an academic prodigy.
After dismissing everyone, Baili Xin sat before his computer. His ten slender fingers danced across the keyboard like butterflies in flight. He worked nonstop from the afternoon of the first day until six in the evening of the next, burning the midnight oil. He didn't even leave the office to eat, instead having his assistant bring meals in, which he consumed before sending them away.
After a day and night of relentless work, Baili Xin took a deep breath, stretched lazily, and finally burned the finished design onto a CD, ready to confront someone the next day.
Who would he confront? Naturally, it was the head of the Luo Group—Luo Qiantian.
When his secretary had asked yesterday afternoon if he needed an appointment, he'd declined. It wasn't that he didn't want to meet with them—it was simply impossible to get one. Even if he did secure an appointment, it would only be with a spokesperson from the Luo conglomerate.
If he was going to negotiate, it made the most sense to go straight to the top. Besides, this collaboration wasn't the final one. For the upcoming film production, he would still need the full support of Luo Group.