59: Source of Danger

Li Xiuwu spoke with Zhou Xiaowen and returned to the hotel first.

"Auntie, you and Xixi should go rest first," Li Xiuwu said to Liu Yifei and her mother.

"Mhm," Liu Xiaoli nodded, glancing at Lin Qian who had been following them.

"What's the situation?"

"Although there's no clear evidence, those people should be the paparazzi hired by Tangren."

"I discussed it with President Wang after contacting him. He told me to sell some photos of you and Miss Liu to these paparazzi."

Lin Qian took out a stack of photos and placed them on the table. "These are backups of the photos we sold to them."

Li Xiuwu picked up the photos and flipped through them. Some were of him and Liu Yifei, or him and Shu Chang acting close and playing around, while others were of other people from the production crew.

The most explosive one was likely a photo of a supporting actor standing at the Assistant Director's door.

"How did Tangren react?" Li Xiuwu picked out the photos involving him, Liu Yifei, and Shu Chang.

"No reaction," Lin Qian said.

"President Wang analyzed that the recent media arguments prevented their plan from being effective, and we even used them for promotion. Tangren—or rather, Cai Yinong—might wait until our TV series is about to air before leaking these photos," Lin Qian explained.

Li Xiuwu nodded with satisfaction. With all sorts of predictions made and Lin Qian and Wang Cheng handling things, there shouldn't be any issues with Cai Yinong.

"Is there anything else?" Li Xiuwu asked, seeing that Lin Qian hadn't moved.

"Some things happened at the company," Lin Qian said, observing Li Xiuwu's expression.

"Tell me."

"President Wang withheld Producer Xu's funding, and Producer Xu is very angry." Lin Qian recounted the events.

Originally, the company was managed by Xu Muyang, who spent money without limits. A lot of money was spent planning and producing Phoenix Legend's album.

After Wang Cheng took office, he first withheld Xu Muyang's funds to audit whether his expenses were reasonable.

"Were Xu Muyang's expenses reasonable?" Li Xiuwu asked after hearing Lin Qian's account.

"Most of the funds were reasonable, though a small portion couldn't be specifically traced. Additionally, Wang Cheng believes Xu Muyang's production costs are too high."

According to Wang Cheng, the group Phoenix Legend has only released one popular song, yet the production quality requirements for the album are too high.

There was no need to aim for the quality of a Heavenly King.

As Lin Qian spoke, he watched Li Xiuwu's expression to discern his thoughts.

Li Xiuwu didn't mind spending more for high-quality requirements. If Phoenix Legend's album was high quality, then so be it.

"Is there a resolution?"

"Producer Xu's album has entered post-production. Although he's dissatisfied, he hasn't continued to argue. I heard from President Xu that he is very confident in the album. Once it's released and makes money, he'll be self-sufficient and no longer restricted by Wang Cheng."

"Haha," Li Xiuwu laughed after hearing this.

Xu Muyang's mindset sounded a bit like he was throwing a tantrum, but it was true that he lacked the ability to manage a company.

"I'm returning to Beijing in a couple of days. If there's anything left to do here, wrap it up and come with me," Li Xiuwu told Lin Qian.

"Alright, I'll head out then," Lin Qian nodded and stood up.

Li Xiuwu watched him leave the room, feeling a bit impressed. This Lin Qian was truly a professional secretarial talent.

He could take care of things whether Li Xiuwu paid attention to them or not. Even while in Hengdian, he could clearly grasp internal company matters back in Shenzhen.

After the Wrap party, Zhou Xiaowen and the others still needed to organize the filming footage. Li Xiuwu bid them farewell and returned to Beijing.

Upon exiting the airport, Red Star House had arranged a Nanny van to pick them up.

"President Liu, Miss, where are we going?" The Red Star House driver looked at Liu Xiaoli.

"To the Courtyard House," Liu Xiaoli said.

The driver glanced at Li Xiuwu, started the car, and drove toward the Courtyard House.

"Meow, meow." As soon as they arrived at the Courtyard House, Little Lion inside the Pet carrier began scratching the box.

"Little Lion misses home too." Liu Yifei opened the carrier, and Little Lion lunged out, stretched, and took a deep breath.

Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli did the same, taking deep breaths and raising their hands to stretch.

"Taking a breath of the Courtyard House's air makes my whole body feel comfortable," Liu Yifei said.

"With such a wonderful place to enjoy, I just had to go to the set with you two. Having you two around is my suffering," Liu Xiaoli complained, which also showed her reliance on the Courtyard House.

After living there for a while, it truly was relaxing.

Liu Yifei curled her lip and pulled her luggage toward her room.

"Next time we film, Auntie won't need to come along. I can take good care of Xixi," Li Xiuwu said, patting his chest.

"Hehe, I believe you," Liu Xiaoli chuckled and said.

She believed Li Xiuwu could take care of her daughter, but when there was no external danger, Li Xiuwu himself was the greatest danger.

Even though she accepted Li Xiuwu, she would only let go once the age was appropriate.

Lin Qian looked around the Courtyard House. It was already December, and most of the flowers in the West Courtyard had withered, yet the air was surprisingly fresh.

In December Beijing, with sandstorms, smog, and off-the-charts PM levels, the air in this Courtyard House was so fresh it didn't seem like it was in Beijing at all.

Chirp, chirp. A flock of birds chirped on the walls and branches, welcoming Li Xiuwu home.

"Hello there, did you miss me?" Li Xiuwu greeted the little birds.

Lin Qian was surprised again; he actually saw migratory birds like Swallows and Little Egrets.

These birds should have migrated south long ago, yet they were still living in the courtyard.

During dinner, Liu Yifei asked Li Xiuwu suggestively, "When are you going back to school to end your leave? Do you want to rest for a few days?"

"End my leave?" Li Xiuwu saw Liu Yifei's expectant look and Liu Xiaoli's stern gaze.

He immediately understood that Liu Yifei was being lazy and didn't want to go to class.

"I have some things to handle here in Beijing, so I'm not sure when I'll go back to class." Having been away for several months, he should go check on the company here in Beijing.

A look of joy immediately appeared on Liu Yifei's face. "Mom, I'll go back to class when Li Xiuwu does."

"Xiuwu has things to do, what about you?" Liu Xiaoli disagreed; children should go to class.

"I have things to do too," Liu Yifei said petulantly.

"What things? Tell me about them." Liu Xiaoli looked at her, leaving Liu Yifei tongue-tied.

She quickly reacted, turned to Li Xiuwu, and mimicked her mother's manner, questioning him, "What things do you have? Tell me about them."

Li Xiuwu looked at the mother and daughter speechlessly; he felt like taking his bowl and hiding away.

"I'm talking about you, why are you dragging Xiuwu into this?" Liu Xiaoli guessed some of the connections between Li Xiuwu and Golden Culture, understanding that he truly had things to do.

"Why is it that he can skip going back to class without a reason, but I have to go?" Liu Yifei resisted going to school.

The mother and daughter stared at each other, and Li Xiuwu felt a storm brewing.