Return to the City: The Strongest King

"Really? I just met him for the first time today. Did you get an autograph?"

"I didn't, but your Sister Yiyi and Sister Xianling did." Song Xiaodong replied.

"Oh man, why didn't they tell me!"

"He came to Minghe on the same flight as us."

"I see!"

Opening the door, Qin Huai and his beautiful agent were already waiting inside.

"Hello, I'm Xiao Yingying!" Xiao Yingying graciously extended her hand to Qin Huai.

"Hello, I'm Qin Huai, and this is my assistant, Zhu Wenhua."

"Hello, this is... my assistant, Song Xiaodong." Xiao Yingying mischievously glanced up at Song Xiaodong.

"Hello..." Qin Huai pretended not to recognize Song Xiaodong.

"Mr. Qin, haven't we met before?" Song Xiaodong deliberately asked.

Upon hearing that Song Xiaodong was just an assistant, Qin Huai recalled the incident on the plane. Suddenly, he was annoyed again—right when he was about to strike a pose on the aircraft stairs, he was slightly nudged by Song Xiaodong's report, almost causing him to fall. The two women he had his eyes on turned out to be his girlfriends. Initially, he thought Song Xiaodong came from a prominent background, but he was just a male assistant.

Thinking this way, it seemed reasonable for those two women to curry favor with Song Xiaodong. They were probably just third-tier celebrities looking to make their mark, needing to establish good relations with this male assistant.

"You look really familiar, but, I just can't quite recall." Qin Huai's smile was insincere.

"President Xiao, here's the thing, as you know, our Qin Huai is quite popular lately, just finishing filming two major series. This time, upon hearing that Director Zhang was here, we came to Minghe. I believe that for Director Zhang's show, Qin Huai is the only possible candidate for the lead, fitting in terms of temperament, image, and status. So, I wanted to give you all a heads-up." Zhu Wenhua spoke with great confidence.

"Here's the thing, Director Zhang is busy, so he entrusted us with the preliminary selection and auditions. Qin Huai is indeed very suitable for Director Zhang's show, but we must go through the selection and audition process." Xiao Yingying's response was equally strong.

"President Xiao, I forgot to tell you, Qin Huai has worked with Director Zhang a few times, and they have a good private relationship. In fact, the lead role for this show has already been internally decided as Qin Huai. Allocating a female lead for your company is already quite generous. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation. After all, for you, working with Director Zhang and our Qin Huai significantly boosts your company's star prominence. Such opportunities are rare, and I hope President Xiao can be sensible about mutual benefits." Zhu Wenhua's words were not nice at all.

"Agent Zhu, Director Zhang trusts me to handle the selection and preliminary round, so naturally, I must do it diligently. If Qin Huai is truly preselected, I will know after meeting with Director Zhang. However, if Director Zhang has other thoughts, my company's male stars are also very eager for this role." Xiao Yingying answered neither arrogantly nor submissively.

"Your company's male stars? Lin Youlun? Tao Shengzhe? Zhang Jia'ai? Don't kid yourself. Do a few web dramas make them bona fide stars? Haven't even reached the threshold, yet dreaming of entering the inner circle?" Zhu Wenhua's words were increasingly harsh.

"As long as Director Zhang hasn't confirmed the lead, I will let my people try their best." Xiao Yingying's attitude was resolute.

"Hmph, if you think you can compete with Qin Huai, go ahead and try!"

"Let's go, meet Director Zhang, I have some female stars under me to recommend as well." Zhu Wenhua was about to pull Qin Huai away.

"Mr. Qin, do you really not remember me?" Song Xiaodong blocked Qin Huai's way.

"A nobody pretending to be powerful, following a female boss, secretly sleeping with female celebrities, shameful." Qin Huai dodged away, leaving the meeting room with Zhu Wenhua.

"Why is he pretending not to know you?" Xiao Yingying asked.

"Hmph, by then he'll want to know me but it'll be too late!" Song Xiaodong snorted coldly.

"Secretly sleeping with female celebrities? What's he talking about?" Xiao Yingying asked.

"I don't know either, he probably mistook your Sister Yiyi and Sister Xianling for celebrities."

"Yeah, if those two were at my company, we'd definitely have hit it big already!" Xiao Yingying was again blinded by money.

"My wife isn't for others to see, let alone kiss and hug!" Song Xiaodong said.

"That Zhu Wenhua and our company are competitors. She has some popular male stars, and I have some popular female stars. Our artists often act together, all loving on screen, but off screen, it's all aggressive competition!" Xiao Yingying said.

"What does he mean by coming here?" Song Xiaodong asked.

"To intimidate me. After all, we secured the chance for auditions. If Qin Huai isn't predetermined, he'll have to audition." Xiao Yingying replied.

"Even stars have to audition?" Song Xiaodong was somewhat surprised.

"Of course, even stars have levels. Qin Huai might be hot now, but if he doesn't have new work for a while, he'll quickly be forgotten." Xiao Yingying said.

"Moreover, the entertainment industry has its hierarchy. Entertainment companies cozy up to actors, actors cozy up to directors, and directors cozy up to investors." Xiao Yingying added.

"Then you, running a company, are you at the bottom?" Song Xiaodong said.

"Of course, right now all my stars are small and inconspicuous, they still listen to me. But if by chance one becomes a big shot, the first thing they'll do is terminate their contract and go solo." Xiao Yingying said with some sadness.