Rebirth from the Ashes

Chapter 573: Poaching

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ultimately, Zhou Zhen could not muster the courage to chat Shen Xi up. Regret and frustration weighed over her as Shen Xi walked out of the elevator.

Shen Xi was right to trust her gut. Her heart skipped a beat the moment Fu Junqiu was revealed behind the private dining room door. She froze for a moment but quickly pulled herself together.

Lucky for her, Fu Junqiu seemed oblivious.

Qingye knew she was Cloud Seven. She had to give Qingye props for keeping it a secret, even from his family.

As the middle person, Jiang Yin introduced them to each other.

Fu Junqiu greeted him with a smile. “How do you do, Mr. Cloud Seven?”

Shen Xi nodded in return. “Hello.”

Fu Junqiu studied the young man in front of her. He gave her a similar feeling to Dr. Jiu Zhou who had been in their home.

The food had not been served.

Fu Junqiu poured them tea. “We have to wait for one more person, but we can start service if you’re hungry. There’s no harm waiting while eating.”

With a scowl barely visible across her face, Shen Xi had a bad feeling. One more person? Who? Fu Qingli?

F*ck!

Fu Qingli was the last person she wanted to see. Her every disguise fell apart before his eyes. Fortunately, he put a tight lid on it or perhaps felt it was beneath him to let anyone know. Otherwise, her efforts would be in vain.

Jiang Yin gleefully uttered, “Is it your oldest nephew?”

Mingling in the fashion crowd, Jiang Yin had met Fu Junqiu before. Nevertheless, they were only acquaintances in the past but grew close in the last few months.

Technically, she and Fu Junqiu did not hang in the same circle. Fu Junqiu mixed with the crème de la crème and was best friends with the princesses, queens, and the First Lady. Jiang Yin did not come close in terms of high society.

Still, Jiang Yin found Fu Junqiu easy to get along with once she got to know her. The latter was not at all aloof as rumored. Apart from her title as the young lady of the Fu family, she was no different from any average girl.

Fu Junqiu bobbed her head with a smile. “He admires you and has insisted on coming along when he heard I managed to ask you out, Mr. Cloud Seven. I hope you don’t mind.”

Shen Xi shook her head. Oh, would he get lost if she said she minded?

Were the Fu family workaholics? Since they were just reunited with their father and brother, could they not spend time together at home and simply take a few days off?

“It’s great that you don’t mind.” Fu Junqiu handed a teacup to her and expressed with emotion, “You’re a fine young man, Mr. Cloud Seven. What a surprise.”

There was something familiar about the young man. Although the young man built walls around him, more so than her oldest nephew, Fu Junqiu really took to him.

“You flatter me, Ms. Fu.” Shen Xi could not play mute. She had to return the courtesy.

“I’m being honest here. You don’t give yourself enough credit. My whole family enjoys watching your TV shows, especially my sister-in-law and my youngest nephew. They had the show on reruns.” It never occurred to Fu Junqiu that the author and screenwriter of The Smiling Nation was a young man. This took her by surprise.

The entertainment industry in China was flooded with all kinds of rumors about Mr. Cloud Seven. Some said he was a young and beautiful girl but there were also rumors that he was a middle-aged woman. Some others theorized that she was a cougar in her prime but no one came close to saying he was a dashing young man.

The Smiling Nation revolved around a leading lady. Judging by the intricate and emotionally moving plot, Fu Junqiu honestly thought it was written by an experienced female writer.

As she came here for Screenwriter Cloud Seven, Fu Junqiu kept discussions close to business; from The Smiling Nation with its script and investment to the TV shows in China and the screenwriting market.

She came all the way here to set up a meeting, not just to meet Mr. Cloud Seven, but to recruit talents. The entertainment business in China was a huge pie and the Fu family wanted a piece of it.

Shen Xi immediately got the message. Fu Junqiu was trying to sway her. It appeared that the Fu family was prepared to advance in the local showbiz. It explained why they had been poaching talents lately.

Fu Junqiu proposed to buy into Cosmos Entertainment, but Shen Xi turned down the offer.

The quick-witted Jiang Yin had long picked on the Fu family’s movements, but Fu Junqiu’s words validated the Fu family’s upcoming plans. Feeling regretful to set up the dinner, she cautiously glanced at Mr. Cloud Seven.

Mr. Cloud Seven was Cosmos Entertainment’s screenwriter. It would be an enormous loss to Cosmos Entertainment if the Fu family stole him away. Her student would kill her!

With that in mind, Jiang Yin sent a text message to Shen Xi to watch over Cloud Seven. She would not want him gone right under her nose.

Cosmos Entertainment was no competition to the Fu family since the company was only established last year. It had not even been a year since. What advantage did Cosmos Entertainment have over the influential family sitting on the top of the pyramid?

“Ms. Fu, don’t waste your breath if you’re trying to win me over.” Shen Xi went straight to the point. “I belong to Cosmos Entertainment. I will not leave Cosmos Entertainment.”

“I see you’re frank.” Fu Junqiu was taken aback by Mr. Cloud Seven’s bluntness, but all was good. It was what the doctor ordered. “Please reconsider. The Fu family can offer you nothing but the best. Think about the places you could go.”

She could guarantee that no one in the world could put a better offer on the table than the Fu family. Sure, Cosmos Entertainment might be developing at a fast pace and showed room for growth.

Not to brag but Cosmos Entertainment was only a toddler against the Fu family.

Jiang Yin was thrown into a tizzy since the poaching was happening before her eyes! Was she dead? What could she say when the young lady of the Fu family was making the move in front of her in all fairness instead of behind her back?

“I don’t have to reconsider.” Shen Xi got up. “We have nothing to talk about if this is what you want to tell me. Please excuse me.”

Lo and behold, the door to the dining room opened. Fu Qingli emerged with his good looks and made-to-measure black suit that brought out an air of distant gentry about him. He commanded the room like a king granting an audience to his people.

Following his appearance, silence befell the room and tension began to rise.

While Shen Xi was turning around, she knocked over a glass and it shattered on the floor. The shards of glass happened to cut her open ankle and caused blood to spill.

Meanwhile, a brief cry ensued with a subtle sharp gasp coming from the mahogany wardrobe located in the suite for diners to hang their coats in.

1