C8 Capitalist Society

Who else could it be? Of course, it was Gu Yuan's current boss, Shi Pei.

In the two seconds it took Gu Yuan to swallow that sweet and sour strawberry, Shi Pei sent her ten rockets. Those ten rockets were worth nearly $1,500.

Before Gu Yuan could even say thank you, a message popped up on her phone. It was from Shi Pei.

Shi Pei: Gu Yuan, shut down the live stream right now!

Gu Yuan rolled her eyes in secret. He'd already sidelined her, and now he wouldn't even let her make a little extra cash? Typical corporate greed—no wonder he can't find a wife.

Without hesitation, Gu Yuan blocked him, not wanting to deal with him at all.

Shi Pei stared at the glaring red exclamation mark on his screen, grinding his teeth in frustration. "Get Qiao Xi in here!"

Qiao Xi was haggling with a butcher at the market when he got the call from Secretary Li. Nervously clutching the pork he managed to get for a discount, he walked into Shi Pei's office, his legs trembling slightly.

Shi Pei glared at Qiao Xi with a face like thunder, barely restraining himself from throwing the files on the desk at him and giving him a good dressing down. He was shaking with anger, wondering why he ever agreed to let Qiao Xi sign that deal, which ended up ruining one of his agents.

Qiao Xi felt a shiver run down his spine under the intense gaze of Shi Pai. He cleared his throat, bent slightly, and flashed a fawning smile at Shi Pai, trying to hide the pork he was holding behind his back. "Mr. Shi, I didn't come prepared today. You know my artist has been sidelined by you. I was just keeping this pork for myself..."

Before he could finish, Shi Pai, unable to control his irritation, grabbed something nearby and hurled it at Qiao Xi. "You useless thing!"

Having learned to anticipate Shi Pai's outbursts, Qiao Xi instinctively dodged, his expression twisted with a mix of shock and relief. After a few seconds, he patted his chest as if he'd narrowly escaped disaster. "Mr. Shi, are you trying to kill me? You owe me for emotional distress!"

"Compensate you, my foot! What's Gu Yuan up to lately? She's a celebrity, not an influencer. Why is she doing live streams? Get her to the office right now!" Shi Pai stood with his hands on his hips, clearly fuming.

Qiao Xi scoffed internally, disgusted by Shi Pai's capitalist mindset that only saw profit. When sidelining people, he conveniently forgot Gu Yuan was a star, but when the company's interests were at stake, he twisted everything to his advantage. Frustrated, Qiao Xi couldn't help but retort, "Aren't you the big boss? Call her yourself!"

Shi Pai took a deep breath, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "Are you going to call her or not?"

"Compensation for emotional distress!" Qiao Xi was a person of principles.

"You really think I can't handle you, huh..." Shi Pai started to say, but Qiao Xi cut him off, "Do you believe I can make it impossible for you to survive in this industry?"

"Oh, Mr. Shi, can't you come up with something new? You always say the same thing. Anyway, our Gu Yuan has already been sidelined by your company. We might as well go down together." Qiao Xi had a defiant look, ready to face the consequences. He had been with Shi Entertainment for at least eight or nine years, managing no fewer than a dozen artists, including some top stars. He had plenty of dirt on Shi Entertainment. Otherwise, why would Shi Pai tolerate them acting out in front of him? All he did was suspend their activities and unilaterally put them on ice.

Shi Pai forced a smile, took a card from his suit pocket, and placed it on the table, almost through gritted teeth, "Is this enough for you?"