Rebirth from the Ashes

Looking rather disappointed, Fu Qingxuan shushed it and turned his head away.

Fu Qingli looked out the window from the corner of his eyes as the feeling of annoyance overflooded his senses. Closing the lid of his laptop, he leaned against the car seat for a quick shut eye.

Fu Qingxuan sent Shen Xi a message. [Fu Qingxuan: Are you there yet?]

Shen Xi received the message when she had gotten off the plane and was getting into the rental car to go to the set. She gave a brief reply. [Shen Xi: Yes.]

[Fu Qingxuan: I’m going back home.]

[Shen Xi: Oh.]

Based on those single-word replies, Fu Qingxuan could imagine his leaving did not bother nor did it matter to Shen Xi. With his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach, he tightened his grip over the phone. He was tempted to ask if there was anything else she would like to add.

Then came a double text message from Shen Xi. [Shen Xi: Take care, stay safe.]

The cloudiness overshadowing Fu Qingxuan’s grimacing face quickly cleared up. Curling his lips in delight, he was easy to please. He read the single line of message over and over again.

Meanie still cared for him.

Sure, Meanie had a sharp tongue, but her heart was in the right place.

Fu Qingli peered over to find Fu Qingxuan smiling like an idiot at his phone. He observed with disdain and caught a glimpse of the name “Meanie” flickering on Fu Qingxuan’s mobile screen.

He knew this was the nickname Qingxuan gave Shen Xi. Qingxuan called her a meanie and knew that she was one, so why could he not just stay away?

This was the case with Qingye, and himself as well.

Fu Qingli could lie to the world, but who was he trying to fool? He did not come all this way to bring Qingxuan home.

Fu Qingxuan headed home.

Shen Xi and Yun Jinping were on their way to swing by the set.

Yun Jinping had informed Yu Yuanxi’s manager, He Xiang, of their arrival beforehand.

He Xiang had been waiting for them at the nearest intersection to the set. He was holding a banner in his hands written, “Welcome fellow Lil’ Yu’er to the set”.

“Lil Yu’er” was Yu Yuanxi’s fandom name.

He Xiang printed a huge banner for easy spotting in case the ladies missed him. Once an assistant to the former big-shot manager, Chen Nan, He Xiang had seen it all. However, this was the first time he entertained fans as Yu Yuanxi’s manager.

For Yu Yuanxi’s first film, the production funds were limited and all spent on the shoot, leaving little to no room for publicity.

Since the filming began, there was only a series of photographs from the opening ceremony, together with a brief introduction and the actors’ names that could be found online. No further information was released thereafter.

As the film’s leading man, Yu Yuanxi showed up once during the opening ceremony. His fans, who loved his appearance and the way he carried himself, chose to follow him while betting on the odds that he would make it big. There was a sense of accomplishment the fans would feel as they grew together with their favorite idol.

So far, a fan support club was established but only had less than a hundred followers. This was the first time the fans were visiting the set.

The captain of the fans, “Virtual Yun”, claimed to be over forty years old and a mother-figure fan to Yu Yuanxi. She was also the owner of the fandom’s group chat and president of the fan support club.

Here to visit the set together with the fans was Virtual Yun, who got in touch with He Xiang a week ago. He was embarrassed to call her the leader because of the sparse number of fans. There were a total of ten attendants and one of them was not a fan but Virtual Yun’s daughter.

After working for Chen Nan as an assistant for a year and having been trained as his successor, He Xiang was more than familiar with the rules in showbiz. Yu Yuanxi had done well in managing the fans despite being fresh in the business.

Nowadays, proper fans and social media management were beginning to make waves in showbiz. He Xiang was certain that the fans would be the most important asset in an artist’s career for a long time to come. It was best to start from now to unite the fans.

Even though there were only less than a dozen fans coming, He Xiang saw potential in these people to become Yu Yuanxi’s most loyal and steadfast fans in the fandom.

Additionally, he wanted to explore to fish out any possible talents who could aid in managing the fanbase.

Soon, a bus stopped in front of him.

He Xiang adjusted his glasses before plastering a friendly smile on his face and approaching them.

With girls getting down one after the other from the bus, He Xiang drew near for a closer look. These young girls, who were dazzling with the vigor of youth, appeared to be of high school age.

He Xiang was dumbstruck and lost his head when the last two ladies got off the bus. Gazing at the young and beautiful girl in all smiles, he doubted his eyes which could be playing tricks on him.

That was right.

A hallucination.

To think he just saw Lil’ Chairman Shen!

Moreover, the Lil’ Chairman Shen before his eyes was gentle and had a sweet smile, bringing an air of adolescence and daintiness to her. It was quite the opposite of the aloof and mature Lil’ Chairman Shen with a commanding presence in the office.

With He Xiang approaching in a fluster, Shen Xi placed her index finger against her lips to hush him. She also tipped him the wink.

He Xiang was quick-witted to get the hint that Lil’ Chairman Shen preferred to remain anonymous. The woman Lil’ Chairman Shen clung onto was gentle, pretty, and looked young for her age, albeit traces of aging were still visible on her face. She must be the mother-figure fan, Virtual Yun.

Virtual Yun mentioned she would be swinging by the set together with her daughter. In that case, Lil’ Chairman Shen was Virtual Yun’s daughter and Virtual Yun was Lil’ Chairman Shen’s mother!

If Virtual Yun was Yu Yuanxi’s mother-figure fan, it made Lil’ Chairman Shen’s mother a fan of Yu Yuanxi!

“Hello, Mr. He.” Yun Jinping walked over and greeted him.

Since He Xiang revered Lil’ Chairman Shen, he politely returned the greeting, “Hello, Madam.”

He had caught wind that Yu Yuanxi was brought in by Lil’ Chairman Shen to sign with the company. It was also her decision to hire him as Yu Yuanxi’s manager.

Nevertheless, He Xiang had his doubts about the rumor because Yu Yuanxi was basically invisible and non-existent in the office. Since he had a film under his belt, the company should at least promote him, market him, and build him up.

Yet, crickets. Nothing was done at all. There was no arrangement whatsoever for Yu Yuanxi, and if it had not been for the movie still in the filming stage and the handpicked brilliant script, he was tempted to pick the executives’ brains.

Yun Jinping smiled and introduced Shen Xi. “This is my daughter, Shen Xi.”

He Xiang cleared his throat before nodding with mixed feelings. “Hello.”