34. The Bane Of Mr. Li's Life

Qi Le An didn’t have any pockets, he had to carry the gift bag in hand.

To Qi Le An’s surprise, Chen Shan didn’t ask him what that was, he simply asked, “So, how are we going to celebrate?”

“Hmm, I remember someone told me he was taking to the hot pot after the audition.” Qi Le An showed a playful smile.

Chen Shan laughed, “Haha, that someone is me.”

Once again, Qi Le An started to feel guilty for not trusting Chen Shan without reservation.

Chen Shan was so switched-on all the time, he respected the boundaries between them and never had he pried for information... ...

Soon the two arrived at Hidilao, the best hot pot restaurant. Chen Shan asked the receptionist for a private room, it was an experience for Qi Le An to see the way Chen Shan ordered. It seemed like he had forgotten he was ordering for just the two of them, Qi Le An kept reminding him, “Chen Ge, are you sure? I think this is more than enough for the two of us, plus we can always order more later.”

“We can always have them as a takeaway.” Chen Shan didn’t even raise his head.

The way hot pot was served was ideal for people to communicate, to get to know each other better. You needed to check the other guests which soup base they liked, and it took a little while to stew the ingredients in the soup base, so naturally, people would mingle more.

The two talked and laughed, Qi Le An got to be a boy and made jokes with Chen Shan that night and he deemed that a luxury.

“An, can you please wait for me in the car?” asked Chen Shan when he asked for the bill.

Qi Le An knew Chen Shan didn’t want Qi Le An to see how much the dinner cost or felt obliged, and Qi Le An appreciated that. But Qi Le An knew it was at least 400 Yuan, which was almost half of what he had in total.

Chen Shan drove Qi Le An back to his apartment and told him that they were going to Glory to read the contract draft and they would sign the contract the day after tomorrow if everything went well.

“Oh, sounds good.” it took Qi Le An a little while to reply.

The thing was he was surprised Chen Shan was taking him to read the draft, he was only told to sign his names here and there when he signed the contract for To Perish Demons.

Qi Le An opened the gift bag that Wei Chang Feng gave him, it was a rocking horse figurine made of crystal.

It was a pony with dark and sparkling eyes and a wagging tail, Qi Le An fondled it admiringly. Then he put it on the table, the pony started to rock backward and forwards like a roly-poly toy.

Qi Le An chuckled, he texted Wei Chang Feng asking him why would Wei Chang Feng think about him when he saw this crystal pony.

Qi Le An stared at the pony glistening under the light, he couldn’t help but imagine how Wei Chang Feng picked this present and wrapped it. But he averted his gaze soon and permitted himself a wry smile, ‘No way would he go pick a present for me, he just happened to see it, that’s all!’

Qi Le An and Chen Shan went to Glory to read the contract, Chen Shan swiped his access card and took Qi Le An to VP’s office.

VP cried bitterness on seeing the substantial shareholder’s son, it was not like Chen Shan always found fault with him, he just wished to stay at a respectful distance from Chen Shan.

With that being said, the VP greeted Chen Shan with a broad smile, “Hey, Little Shan, you are here.”

Chen Shan nodded and said, “I’m here to read the contract draft with Qi Le An.”

The smile on VP’a face vanished, he couldn’t help but Chen Shan in his heart. Only A-list superstars got to read the contract before they signed it, this Qi Le An... he wasn’t qualified.

But as sophisticated as the VP, he squinted his eyes and smiled at Qi Le An, “You are An, right? Director Chen speaks highly of you, young man! You are still a trainee, correct?”

Qi Le An nodded. He got the undertone completely, trainees were not allowed to read the contract or raise any objection.

Hearing that Chen Shan frowned, he didn’t like the VP’s tone either.

Soon the VP produced a contract from his drawer and handed it to Qi Le An, “Here it is, have a look.”

Qi Le An needed to be on set in early October and stayed on set for three months, they offered Qi Le An a handsome check as well, Qi Le An would get his remuneration through three installments. However, the account left on the contract wasn’t under Qi Le An’s name.

Chen Shan pointed it out, “This is Qi Le An’s name.”

The VP didn’t expect Chen Shan could be this outspoken, he gave a dry smile and said, “The company takes care of the trainees’ remuneration because they are still underage.”

“When exactly will An get his money?”

The VP gave another dry smile, “It depends on how long the procedure takes.”

Qi Le An sighed in his heart, he was still waiting for his remuneration for To Perish Demons.

Chen Shan cast a glimpse at Qi Le An, “What do you think?”

Qi Le An wasn’t sure whether the little of bit money he had in hand could suffice him before he got his paycheck, but he dared not voice his concern, he just nodded and said, “I think it’s good.”

The VP heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, he was glad that Qi Le An didn’t say anything stupid in front of Chen Shan, other, wise he would punish Qi Le An hard after Chen Shan left.

“All right then, thank you, Uncle Wang.”

“No worries at all, say hi to your father for me.” the VP beamed wa ith smile.

With that Chen Shan and Qi Le An left the VP’s office.

“An, what’s the title of your last drama?” Chen Shan asked Qi Le An when they were in the hallway.

“To Perish Demons. Why?”

“Have you got your remuneration?”

Qi Le An shook his head.

Chen Shan thought for a little while and walked towards the elevator, “Let’s go, I need to talk to that Mr. Li.”

In the meanwhile, Qi Le An was still standing transfixed in the hallway.

“An, come on now, what are you waiting for?”

With that Chen Shan dragged Qi Le An to Mr. Li’s office, a lot of trainees had seen that too, they had no idea why Chen Shan and Qi Le An were marching into Mr. Li’s office.

The hasty knocks had displeased Mr. Li who was sipping tea in his office, he opened the door reluctantly and frowned on seeing it was Chen Shan and Qi Le An.

Mr. Li was furious that Chen Shan had emerged out of nowhere to help Qi Le An out right after he had punished Qi Le An, all the trainees were laughing at him behind his back.

Mr. Li’s colleagues were giving him a hard time as well, they had been counting on Qi Le An’s commercial activities to get a fat cut and now Qi Le An was transferred to Film and Television Cooperation Department, they couldn’t have a finger in the pie any more.

“Mr. Li, I’m here for Qi Le An’s remuneration, the accounting department has already approved the request, I believe the money now is in the account.” Chen Shan kept a straight face.

Mr. Li dared not offend Chen Shan, he just said, “Really? I haven’t got the news.”

Chen Shan sneered, “Do you want to check it now, Mr. Li? Or do you want me to make a few calls and check it for you?”

Mr. Li’s heart sank as he heard that, he knew he would be in some deep trouble if Mr. Li called his contacts.

It was not fresh news that the teachers in Trainees Department embezzles the trainees’ salary, but no one had ever raised any objection. Mr. Li went too far this time to make Qi Le An beg him for money, he didn’t grant Qi Le An even one cent.

Mr. Li couldn’t afford to be exposed, his colleagues would hate him even more if the management audited their department due to him.

“Hehe, I will check it now.” Mr. Li smiled obsequiously.

“Sounds good.” with that Chen Shan dragged a chair for Qi Le An, “An, we will wait for Mr. Li right here.”

“Of course, of course, please have a seat, I will talk to the accountants now, see you soon.” Mr. Li smiled at Chen Shan and left his own office.

“Chen Ge, have you seen his face?” Qi Le An’s eyes sparkled.

Chen Shan shook his head and said, “An! You are a clever boy, but why are you like a sheep in front of this troll?”

“Don’t make fun of me, Chen Ge.”

Mr. Li came back ten minutes later, he exclaimed on entering the office, “Aiya, An, this is all my fault, hope you can forgive me.”

Qi Le An had no idea what happened to Mr. Li in the past ten minutes, Mr. Li was apologizing to him!

“Chen Shan is right, they have approved the request already, but it turns out I have entered your account number wrong, that’s why you haven’t got any money yet.”

Of course, Qi Le An knew that was an excuse, a lame excuse, but he just nodded and said, “Chen Ge, look, this is a misunderstanding.”

With that Qi Le An showed a cunning smile, Chen Shan knew Qi Le An dragged him into the conversation to get back on him for calling him a ‘sheep’.

Chen Shan replied, “An, just give your correct account number to Mr. Li already!”

“Yes, I am sending my number as a text message to Mr. Li right now.” Qi Le An and Chen Shan were having so much fun embarrassing Mr. Li.

“Hehe, I will talk to the accountants and correct your account number.” Mr. Li dashed out to avoid being made fun of.

Ding.

Qi Le An got a notification from his bank, he looked at the number on the screen and he almost jumped out of his skin! It looked like he had got his pay from all the commercial activities Mr. Li had arranged for him as well.

He didn’t have to worry about his next meal anymore!