Let Me Meet You chapter 48
To this point
On the way to the hospital, Sheng Min had completely passed out.
The doctor diagnosed a crushed fracture of his right ankle, extensive bruising, and multiple soft tissue contusions. Traces of a sedative were found in his system. On the way there, Yang Xu had already imagined the worst-case scenario, but luckily, Sheng Min’s body showed no signs of being violated.
After two days of unconsciousness, Sheng Min finally woke up. The first thing he asked was about the elderly woman who had helped him call Yang Xu—whether she was okay and if he had scared her.
He didn’t mention anything else.
It wasn’t a minor injury, and with things having reached this point, Yang Xu had no choice but to inform Zhang Zhihua. Upon hearing the news, Zhang Zhihua had equally been at a loss, but he did the only smart thing of his career. Instead of consulting the head of the artist agency, he went directly to his sister, the wife of the company’s chairman. She had co-founded the entertainment company with her husband, and it was she who had signed Sheng Min when he was young.
Zhang Shan acted quickly, suppressing the situation. She took care of the hospital arrangements, issued a public announcement stating that Sheng Min had injured himself during dance practice and needed to rest for a while, and handled several urgent matters for him. However, even in front of Zhang Shan, Sheng Min still wouldn’t speak a word.
They knew something must have happened; Sheng Min couldn’t have just injured himself for no reason. But he refused to say anything. As a public figure, he couldn’t rashly call the police to report it either. Zhang Shan privately had someone check the hotel’s surveillance footage, only to be told that all the cameras were off for maintenance that day. The situation briefly stalled until a week later when the owner of a real estate company came forward.
That hotel was one of his properties. Furthermore, he was an investor in the TV drama that Qin Zhengchen was currently filming—Qin Zhengchen had gotten the role through underhanded means through him.
This man had a preference for young people with delicate looks and wasn’t particularly satisfied with Qin Zhengchen. He just wanted a change in taste. During the time he was keeping Qin Zhengchen, out of boredom, he had come across some old promotional material from their group’s activities and had taken note of Sheng Min.
He then had someone make connections, asking about Sheng Min, but of course, Sheng Min wasn’t willing to cooperate. He also hinted to the company, but Zhang Shan had always been against forcing anyone; if they were willing, it was fine, but if not, she wouldn’t push. Sheng Min’s career was doing well at the time, and there was no need for such risks.
The more something is unattainable, the more tempting it becomes.
This man became increasingly obsessed and even mentioned it several times in front of Qin Zhengchen, saying, “Your group member Sheng Min doesn’t have much fame, but with quite the temper. I want to meet him, even just to be friends.”
At that time, Qin Zhengchen knew he would soon be discarded. But he hadn’t yet secured his next connection and wanted to make a quick profit before being abandoned. What he knew, though, was that he was no longer enough on his own to get what he wanted. When the real estate mogul brought up Sheng Min again, Qin Zhengchen had an idea and made a deal with him.
Sheng Min had no idea about any of this. One day, he received a call from Qin Zhengchen, saying he had returned to N City and asked if they could meet. Sheng Min initially refused, but Qin Zhengchen complained about how badly his work was going. He spoke in a sorrowful tone, saying he had offended people, his current drama was about to finish, and no new work was coming his way. He feared he would be unemployed for a long time and felt desperate. He regretted not listening to Sheng Min’s advice and wanted someone to talk to, but he had no other friends in the industry except Sheng Min.
He spoke vaguely, crying pitifully, and hung up halfway through. When Sheng Min couldn’t reach him after calling back, worried he might do something foolish, he went to meet him in the end.
What awaited him was a sedative and an attempted sexual assault.
Sheng Min was unwilling, receiving several heavy slaps across his face. His chin was forcibly held, and he was forced to take the drug. His neck was grabbed, and he was pressed onto the bed. He struggled the whole time, but the person on top of him tried to tie him with a rope. Sheng Min waited for the person to turn around, desperately reaching for the glass cup that had fallen onto the carpet, and smashed it over the person’s head. Taking advantage of the pain, he crawled up, threw open the balcony door, climbed over the railing, and without hesitation, jumped down from the building.
Below was a grassy area. It wasn’t so high up that he would die, but he heard the sound of his ankle snapping, sending a sharp pain through him. Sheng Min dared not stop, dragging his broken right leg, forcing himself to run forward. The hotel was built on a mountainside, with trees forming a natural barrier. Someone was chasing him from behind, and with nowhere to hide, Sheng Min gritted his teeth and slid down the mountain slope. Thorny bushes constantly scraped his clothes and skin, and there were moments when Sheng Min thought he was probably already dead.
Fortunately, at the bottom of the mountain, a farmer woman who had been working found him.
She didn’t know Sheng Min, nor had she heard of him. At first, she was about to call an ambulance when she saw a person rolling down the hillside, covered in blood. But after Sheng Min pleaded with her, she called Yang Xu instead, as he had asked.
After Sheng Min escaped, the real estate businessman couldn’t find him. All he saw was blood and assumed he had died. It wasn’t until the next day that he learned Sheng Min had been hospitalized. He was somewhat relieved. This man had kept many men and women, but it was the first time he had tried to force himself on someone. He had liked Sheng Min’s face, and when Qin Zhengchen encouraged him, he thought that once he had his way with Sheng Min, what could he do? In their industry, the dirty business was all behind the scenes; on the surface, everyone still cared about their image.
Blinded by lust, he didn’t think much further. Moreover, back then, Sheng Min had not yet solidified his career, unlike now. He was just a small star, so he thought it was no big deal. He never expected that Sheng Min was not as weak and easily manipulated as Qin Zhengchen had described, and Sheng Min jumped off the building.
He had a large business and had paid money to get people to boost his reputation. After coming to his senses, he didn’t want to make a scene. Waiting for a response from Sheng Min, he feared they would ask for too much, so he decided to take the initiative.
He said it in a way that sounded reasonable—he just wanted to get to know Sheng Min. They had been drinking, and things had gotten out of hand. He didn’t control himself and frightened Sheng Min. But it was also Sheng Min’s fault for being too agitated and jumping off the building for no reason.
In fact, everything he said implied that he hadn’t actually slept with Sheng Min. That Sheng Min’s injuries were all self-inflicted, and had nothing to do with him. Even if Sheng Min went to the police, what could they do? He wouldn’t get any criminal charges. At worst, he’d face some brief detention, but nothing serious.
He used both soft and hard tactics, coercing and tempting. He even sent over a bunch of supplements and said, to show his sincerity, he had recently invested in a fashion brand that needed an ambassador and thought Sheng Min would be a great fit. Yang Xu smashed all the supplements and threw them out. Sheng Min refused the deal. But what did it matter? They both knew this was all they could do.
Sheng Min was an artist on the rise. If the story got out, people would sympathize with him for a short time. But over time, sympathy would fade, and all anyone would remember was the gossip, the scandal, and the ambiguous elements.
Zhang Shan had asked him about it, saying the company wouldn’t accept any benefits offered by the other side. If Sheng Min really wanted justice, she wouldn’t stop him. But they both knew it was just a consolation. Sheng Min looked at the messages from his mother asking for money and said, “Jie, it’s fine, forget it.”
Later, Qin Zhengchen also came once, apologizing and playing the victim, crying about how difficult things were for him. Yang Xu got so angry that he rushed over to slap him. Sheng Min, lying in bed with his back turned, had simply stopped him, saying, “That’s enough.”
In the end, the matter was left unresolved. Sheng Min rested for three months. His leg hadn’t fully healed, but he returned to work. Zhang Shan secretly sabotaged several of Qin Zhengchen’s contracts as a small warning. But he still managed to find a new benefactor and continued to be active in the industry.
At the end of that year, the real estate businessman was arrested for bribery, with a huge sum involved, and sentenced to twenty years in prison. When Yang Xu heard the news, he went to the mountain to offer incense, thanking the heavens for their justice. Sheng Min had no reaction, as if he had already forgotten about the incident.
It seemed as though everything was over, except for the lingering effects of the drugs in his system. For the next six months, Sheng Min suffered from insomnia and palpitations, and at one point, he had lost so much weight that he weighed only 110 pounds at his height of 6 feet.