Salted Fish is a Rebellious Person – Chapter 17

Xingshi didn’t wait for the company’s arrangements but instead received a call from his father first.

He glanced at the caller ID, took a sip of water, and pressed the answer button.

Director He spoke cautiously: “Sui Sui, I saw you on the trending searches.”

Xingshi listened to his tone and replied with a simple “hmm.”

Director He continued, “Are you a trainee?”

Xingshi gave another “hmm.”

Director He treaded carefully, “Are you tired from training?”

“It’s okay,” Xingshi replied nonchalantly.

“Make sure to rest well and don’t stay up late,” Director He advised.

“Yeah,” Xingshi replied again.

After a pause, Director He offered, “I’m coming to City Z for a roadshow this Saturday. Can I save a seat for you?”

“Okay,” Xingshi agreed.

Director He added, “If you want to bring your friends, just let me know in advance, and I’ll arrange it for you.”

The system reminded Xingshi to stick to his character setting, so he replied curtly, “Got it, hanging up.”

Director He quickly said yes, hung up, and stood there in a daze.

The assistant director, who had known Director He for years, knew his son was not easy to deal with. The fact that the boy ran off to be a trainee without even informing his father was surprising.

With their connections, if the boy wanted to enter the entertainment industry, why start as a trainee?

The assistant director walked over and asked, “What did he say?”

Director He remained silent.

The assistant director circled around to look at him and saw his confused expression. “What’s wrong?”

Director He still seemed in disbelief. “He didn’t snap at me or make sarcastic remarks. His tone was… normal.”

The assistant director blinked in surprise and guessed, “Could it be that he’s matured after spending time in society?”

Director He wasn’t entirely convinced but sat down with his phone and began scrolling through the trending searches.

The assistant next to him, captivated by Xing Shi’s face in the video, leaned over and asked, “Director He, is this your son?”

“Yeah,” Director He replied. “Handsome, right?”

“He’s so handsome! Can I get an autographed photo?” the assistant asked excitedly.

Director He, feeling relieved, said, “I’ll ask him for you.”

The assistant returned to his seat, satisfied, while Qi Changyi, sitting nearby, was scrolling through the trending searches.

The assistant showed him the video, and Qi Changyi nodded, watching Xing Shi’s close-up attentively. A faint smile appeared on his face.

This kid had actually entered the entertainment industry and even signed with his company. It seemed like fate was at work.

After lunch, Xingshi headed to the leisure area on the third floor.

He slumped onto the sofa, took out his phone, and relaxed.

The other trainees were walking around with noticeable confidence, beaming with joy.

Some joined him in the leisure area, while others went straight to the practice rooms. Regardless of where they were, most were glued to their phones, scrolling through Weibo and taking screenshots of comments praising them.

Although their performance at the school anniversary was decent, it wasn’t groundbreaking from an insider’s perspective.

Originally, they thought that even if someone uploaded a video online, it might get a few thousand views at best. After all, it was just an ordinary program with no fancy production or camera work. But unexpectedly, it went viral.

Of course, they knew the popularity wasn’t entirely due to the dance. It was the trainees’ visuals, especially Xingshi’s, that captivated the internet.

While they were envious of the attention, they also eagerly awaited the company’s next steps.

It didn’t take long before staff from the training, artist management, and public relations departments arrived.

The afternoon classes were canceled, and everyone was asked to register personal accounts on social media platforms.

They were also told to put on makeup, take profile pictures, and prepare to post their first updates.

The company’s official account planned to release a summary post on Weibo, as well as individual posts for the top five most popular trainees, making it easier for fans to find their favorites.

Everyone got busy immediately.

Xingshi had to re-dye his hair since the temporary color from the anniversary performance had washed out.

The hairstylist, admiring his features, suggested, “Come in for a bleach session in a couple of days. I’ll dye it beige gold or light pink—it’ll look amazing. This temporary dye doesn’t do light colors justice.”

Xingshi, not particularly attached to any hair color, agreed and then headed to the studio for his photo shoot.

When Fu Xiuning arrived, Xingshi had just finished taking his photos.

Spotting the boss, Xingshi greeted him with a smile: “Boss.”

Fu Xiuning nodded and glanced at his outfit and hairstyle. They were similar to what he wore at the anniversary performance, likely to help fans match the trainees with the viral video.

“What brings you here, boss?” Xingshi asked.

“I saw the trending searches and came to take a look,” Fu Xiuning replied.

“What’s next on the agenda?”

“Waiting to post on Weibo,” Xingshi said.

“Take a walk with me,” Fu Xiuning suggested.

The two found a quieter place amidst the chaos.

Fu Xiuning asked, “You’re on the trending searches. What do you think?”

Xingshi replied seriously, “I’m grateful for the company’s training.”

Fu Xiuning raised an eyebrow. “And the truth?”

“I have no idea,” Xingshi admitted.

“Have you thought about debuting while riding this wave of popularity?” Fu Xiuning pressed.

“No,” Xingshi said sincerely. “I’ve only been training for a short time. There’s still so much to learn. One shouldn’t get complacent or be swayed by fleeting glory.”

Fu Xiuning’s expression softened, and he was about to praise him when someone ran over.

It was Yu Yi, looking excited. “Xingshi!”

He suddenly noticed Fu Xiuning, stopped abruptly, greeted him politely, and then glanced at Xingshi.

“What’s up?” Xingshi asked, waving him over.

Yu Yi jogged over and shared the news enthusiastically: “I heard from the teacher that after the company posts on Weibo, my idol will retweet it!”

Knowing that Yu Yi’s idol was Qi Changyi, Xingshi congratulated him: “Not bad, you’ll be in the same frame as your idol.”

Yu Yi beamed. “Yeah!”

The system grew uneasy upon hearing Yu Yi’s excitement. “What’s meant to happen is finally happening. Do you think Qi Changyi will look at the long photos and scroll through them one by one?”

Xing Shi replied calmly, “It doesn’t matter if he does or doesn’t. I’m already on the trending search, and my dad already knows about it.”

The system sighed heavily. “True. This trending search really hit out of nowhere.”

Fu Xiuning caught onto their conversation, his gaze lingering thoughtfully on Xing Shi. When the conversation stopped, he turned to Yu Yi and asked, “Is your idol Qi Changyi?”

Yu Yi, standing straight in front of Fu Xiuning, didn’t dare act too casual. “Yes,” he replied honestly.

Fu Xiuning glanced at Xing Shi briefly, adopting the demeanor of a considerate boss. “Qi Changyi is coming to Z City for a roadshow this weekend. I’ll invite him to the company so you can meet him.”

Xing Shi: “…”
System: “…”

The silence was deafening, and Xing Shi inwardly gave an order to the system: “Check.”

The system quickly ran its search and came back with bad news. “It’s your dad’s movie. Qi Changyi is the lead actor!”

Fu Xiuning maintained his usual composed expression.

Perfect. Everything was falling into place.

He had been considering ways to uncover Xing Shi’s family connections lately. Originally, he planned to take Xing Shi to meet the production team during the roadshow. They were all people in the industry—if luck was on his side, someone might recognize Xing Shi. If not, it didn’t matter. Just meeting Qi Changyi might reveal clues about Xing Shi’s father.

But now there was no need for that.

Fu Xiuning’s suspicions were confirmed: Xing Shi’s father was none other than He Fengbo, a renowned director both domestically and internationally. Director He was a talented filmmaker whose works had won numerous awards and cultivated countless award-winning actors and actresses.

Just as the system once said, if Xing Shi wanted to, it wouldn’t take much for him to skyrocket to fame.

At the same time, this cleared up the connection between Xing Shi and Qi Changyi.

Qi Changyi’s aunt was Director He’s wife, making her Xing Shi’s stepmother.

The system was full of regret. “I should have dug deeper.”

The system’s operating procedure was to integrate with the host after entering the world, obtaining the host’s memories.

Unfortunately, the original owner of this body had no idea about the connection between his stepmother and Qi Changyi. If he had, he might not have signed with June Culture in the first place.

Xing Shi and the system only discovered the connection after sorting through the original owner’s personal relationships.

The system’s search function only activates when prompted or when the host needs specific information.

When Xing Shi had asked about Qi Changyi earlier, the system found out that Qi Changyi was incredibly busy and stopped tracking him after that. After all, a top-tier celebrity like Qi Changyi seemed unlikely to cross paths with an unknown trainee.

Xing Shi also didn’t bother looking into the details of his father’s new movie, as he had no plans to reveal to Director He that he was a trainee. He only wanted to meet him briefly during the roadshow. But now, the coincidence couldn’t be avoided.

“How could things line up like this?” The system was doubting its very existence. “Isn’t Yu Yi a super fan? Don’t Feng Zifan and the others like movies? Why didn’t anyone mention this earlier? Were they all too drained from rehearsals lately?”

Xing Shi thought back. “I think someone might have mentioned Director He’s new movie being released soon.”

The system muttered bitterly, “But no one said Qi Changyi was in it!”

Xing Shi shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We were bound to meet eventually.”

He added, “Tonight, remind me to remove ‘Director He’ and related terms from the blocked words on my platforms.”

If those terms hadn’t been blocked, he might have noticed something while scrolling through his phone earlier.

The system agreed and then asked, “Do you think your stepmother has ever mentioned you to Qi Changyi?”

Xing Shi replied nonchalantly, “I hope not.”

The original owner of the body didn’t have strong opinions about his stepmother. She met Director He after his mother passed away, and their relationship was legitimate.

The real issue was between Xing Shi and his father. The tensions between them had inevitably affected his stepmother too.

His stepmother valued family harmony. If Qi Changyi had heard about the situation from her, he might hold negative opinions of Xing Shi.

The system tried to comfort him. “It’s fine. If Qi Changyi gives you trouble, we still have President Fu to back you up.”

Xing Shi laughed lightly. “With a favorability of -6?”

The system remained optimistic. “Maybe when Qi Changyi tries to bully you, President Fu will feel protective and realize his feelings for you!”

Xing Shi ignored it, and Fu Xiuning acted as though he hadn’t heard anything.

Yu Yi, who felt out of place in their conversation, excused himself shortly after.

Fu Xiuning and Xing Shi chatted casually, staying in the quiet corner until the rest of the trainees finished filming. Then they parted ways.

The next morning, Monday, Xing Shi had classes.

He ran into Lin Kecheng at school.

Lin Kecheng had seen the previous day’s trending search and noticed that Xing Shi had opened a personal account that was quickly gaining followers.

Hoping to leverage the momentum, he suggested, “Let’s take a group photo. I’ll post it on Weibo saying I was one of the organizers for the school anniversary and then @ you. You can repost it.”

Xing Shi declined. “I can’t. The company controls our accounts, and we’re not allowed to post casually.”

Not wanting to entertain Lin Kecheng’s schemes further, he redirected the conversation. “Senior, I have a question.”

“Go ahead,” Lin Kecheng replied.

Xing Shi asked with apparent confusion, “If Fu Xiuning still hasn’t caved to you but your favorability score is much higher than mine, why hasn’t he hired you into the company? Is there something I don’t know about?”

He added bluntly, “We’re allies. If you’ve offended him but keep asking me to help you like this, you’re setting me up.”

Lin Kecheng nearly choked on his own frustration. You’re still at -8! What are you even saying?

He kept his tone calm. “…You’re overthinking it.”

“Then why?” Xing Shi pressed.

Lin Kecheng offered a vague explanation. “Every company has its plans. Maybe my style just doesn’t fit.”

“In that case, there’s no point in pushing for it,” Xing Shi concluded matter-of-factly.

Lin Kecheng: “…”

This is why I can’t stand fools.

Meanwhile, the system informed Lin Kecheng that Qi Changyi would arrive in Z City on Friday evening instead of Saturday.

Xing Shi, unaware of the rescheduled arrival, continued his routine—attending classes and training.

On Friday afternoon, he visited the stylist to dye his hair after bleaching it two days earlier.

Just as his hair was finished, Fu Xiuning’s message arrived: [Have you eaten?]

Xing Shi: [Not yet.]
Fu Xiuning: [Come to the parking lot. I’ll take you to pick someone up and have dinner together.]
Xing Shi: [Okay!]

Hurriedly, he thanked the stylist, left the building, and headed downstairs.

As soon as he exited the elevator, he spotted Fu Xiuning and called out cheerfully, “Boss~”

Fu Xiuning turned to look at him, his pupils shrinking slightly.

【Didi】
[Current Favorability Value: -4]