Let Me Meet You chapter 51

Rumors

Another half hour passed, and the missing guest judge was still unreachable. Frustrated, the director finally announced that they wouldn’t wait any longer and decided to start filming. 

The absence of one guest judge didn’t disrupt the production, but the long delay left the other two judges visibly annoyed, making their attitude toward the trainees less friendly. The atmosphere on set became tense.

“Now he remembers to call?,” the assistant director muttered sarcastically as the session paused for a shortened break. He handed his phone to the main director, who stormed off while shouting, “Something happened? What do you mean something happened…?”

The director’s words were loud enough for those nearby to hear, causing a ripple of reactions.

“Alright, let’s keep filming,” the assistant director quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Thanks for your patience, everyone. Let’s stay focused. Action!”

…..

By the time filming wrapped at 3 p.m., rumors about Qin Zhenchen’s “incident” had already begun to spread. Some vague posts had surfaced on social media but were quickly buried under other trending topics.

—

“Ge, is it true?” Back in the dressing room, Yang Xu hesitantly approached Li Xuan, looking anxious. “They’re saying something happened to Qin Zhenchen.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know!” Yang Xu stared blankly at him. Li Xuan hummed indifferently, picking up a knife and an apple from the table.

“Ge!” Yang Xu called out again.

“Speak.” Li Xuan looked up, peeling the fruit as he spoke.

Yang Xu hesitated but finally steeled himself. “If anything happens, just say it was me. I’ll take the blame! I’ve had it with him anyway; I’ve wanted to slap him for ages.”

Li Xuan watched him for a few seconds before breaking into laughter, his shoulders shaking. “Idiot. What are you confessing to? You don’t know anything, and neither do I. What would you even be confessing to?”

“Stop laughing, Ge,” Yang Xu’s eyes reddened as he whispered, “You won’t get into trouble, will you?”

“Of course not,” Li Xuan replied, feeling a tinge of pity for him. Casually, he stabbed the knife into the apple, splitting it in half. Taking a crisp bite, he said, “No one will get into trouble. It’s already over and has nothing to do with anyone.”

“Either way, I won’t say a word,” Yang Xu emphasized again.

“There was never anything to say in the first place.” The brief warmth lasted less than half a minute. Li Xuan’s patience was limited. Watching Yang Xu’s teary demeanor irritated him. Finishing the apple in two bites, he threw the core into the trash and said, “Stop sniveling like you’re mourning him. If you can’t hold those tears back in three seconds, I’ll help you straighten up.”

Yang Xu sniffed, then said, “I’ll go get your food.”

“Okay. Check if Li Xuan is around too.”

The guest meals were catered from a nearby five-star hotel, offering a varied five-dish-and-soup menu each day. Yang Xu returned with the food, saying he hadn’t found him. Li Xuan had already tried calling Sheng Min earlier, but the line was busy. Frowning, he instructed Yang Xu to eat first. Just as he sat down, Zhang Zhihua walked in.

“Yang Xu, step out for a moment,” Zhang Zhihua ordered.

Yang Xu, emboldened by Li Xuan’s firm stance lately, didn’t budge and waited for Li Xuan’s signal instead.

Li Xuan handed him two meal trays and said, “Step out for now.”

“There are boxed lunches outside—”

“Hey!” Li Xuan snapped. Yang Xu grabbed the food and left.

The aroma of the food wafted through the room as Li Xuan calmly unwrapped his chopsticks. “I thought you were supposed to be negotiating the endorsement contract for the next season today. Why are you here? Got it sorted?”

Zhang Zhihua’s face scrunched up in frustration. “Forget about that! I—”

A loud slap of chopsticks on the table interrupted him. Li Xuan turned to him with a cold glare. “Don’t get aggressive with me. I asked if it’s sorted.”

“Y-yes, it’s sorted,” Zhang Zhihua stammered, flinching under Li Xuan’s stern gaze. Hesitating for a moment, he finally relented, “The endorsement fee didn’t increase, but they agreed to extend the sideline products to a full line. The announcement will be made next week, and the promotional plan will be sent over tonight.”

Li Xuan scrutinized him for a moment without comment. Zhang Zhihua, unnerved, quickly added, “The terms are already quite good. I even had my sister step in to help negotiate. You know how big brands are…”

“I didn’t say I was dissatisfied. Good job. Your professional growth lately has been commendable. Keep it up, and we can work together longer.” Li Xuan smiled faintly. “Now that you’ve calmed down, tell me why you’re here.”

“Did you hear about Qin Zhengchen?” Zhang Zhihua blurted, seizing the opportunity.

“I did,” Li Xuan replied, picking off the cilantro from the fish in golden broth. Seeing Zhang Zhihua’s expression shift, he added, “I heard about it.”

The strong aroma of pickled peppers from the fish made Zhang Zhihua’s chest tighten. He double-checked that the door was shut before asking, “You ‘heard’ about it? That’s all?”

“What else did you expect?” Li Xuan picked out a piece of white fish.

“Was it… was it you?” Zhang Zhihua swallowed nervously, finally voicing his suspicion.

Li Xuan raised an eyebrow. “Me? What exactly did I do? Did he die?”

“No, but he was attacked,” Zhang Zhihua said, sweating profusely as he spilled everything he’d heard. “His arms and legs were broken. He got slashed twice on the neck. Blood everywhere… It’s horrific!”

Li Xuan knew it wasn’t as bad as described. Rumors tend to grow exaggerated over time.

“His manager is saying he got hurt at the gym, crushed by a barbell. Not serious, they claim. But who’d believe that? I used my connections to check with the hospital. The real situation is gruesome! This wasn’t an accident—it was a beating!”

“How would you know? Have you ever been hit by a barbell? Maybe he’s just that unlucky,” Li Xuan said, biting into the fish. “Who’s to say he didn’t just happen to get hurt this badly?”

“Unlucky, my ass.” Zhang Zhihua was on edge, his teeth clenching. “Was it you? Don’t eat right now, for god’s sake. How are you so calm?”

“If I don’t eat, will you record for me? What does this have to do with me? His manager already said it was a barbell accident. If you insist I’m responsible, show me some proof. Otherwise, are you just trying to flaunt your ability to talk nonsense? Stop overreacting.”

Zhang Zhihua paced back and forth nervously. “Don’t play games with me. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard about it. Just tell me—was it related to you or not?”

“Fine,” Li Xuan said nonchalantly. “It was me.”

“You?!” Zhang Zhihua’s eyes bulged as he approached Li Xuan. “How could you have done that?”

“Exactly. How could I? You’re the one who keeps insisting,” Li Xuan said with a shrug.

“Don’t joke around with me!” Zhang Zhihua pleaded, on the verge of losing his mind. “Was it or wasn’t it?”

“Where’s your brain?” Li Xuan’s playful smile vanished. “If there were evidence, don’t you think someone would’ve already come after me? And if they don’t know who did it, wouldn’t they have called the cops instead of making up a barbell story?”

Zhang Zhihua’s mind raced. “So they must know who did it and are covering for them?”

“Where was he found?” Li Xuan continued to ask.

“I heard it was in a privately-built villa in the suburbs.”

“Who found him?”

“His manager.”

“Have you been to that villa?”

Zhang Zhihua was thoroughly confused by the erratic questioning: “How could I have been there?”

“Exactly, neither have I.” Li Xuan picked up another piece of greens with his chopsticks. “So who went there? Why would Qin Zhengchen, who had a recording scheduled today, go to the suburbs? Was he attacked and then casually dumped somewhere? But didn’t his manager also know about it?”

Zhang Zhihua paused, recalling that the villa was near a river, a well-known fishing spot in N City. The vice president of a video platform Qin Zhengchen had recently gotten close to was known for being an avid fisherman.

“Are you saying… his sponsor did it? So they’re covering it up?” Zhang Zhihua suddenly understood, his tone laced with disdain. “Could it be that they were just looking for some thrill and went too far?”

This line of reasoning hadn’t occurred to Li Xuan, but he didn’t care. He lowered his head and sipped the matsutake soup, savoring the flavor. “Who knows? We’re eating. Don’t disgust me with these filthy things.”