Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 52 The Painful Hot Bar

"Asking for leave? What kind of leave are you asking for?"

"You want two more days? Not even one day!!"

"Come on, Lao Wu, let's keep drinking."

Hearing the reply from director Chen Mingzhang on the other end of the phone, Dilraba held her phone in one hand and covered her mouth with the other, her eyes brimming with tears. She was extremely sad, but she still dared not hang up the phone or cry out loud.

Only after Chen Mingzhang's voice completely disappeared on the other end of the phone did Reba finally let out a long-suppressed "whimper~" sound.

"Sister Ba, is it still not working?"

When Xiaolin asked that question, she already knew the answer.

But she also knew what it would mean for Reba to take leave to go back and see her grandmother one last time, so she still held onto that tiny bit of hope.

"Woo~"

Reba just kept crying and shaking her head, tears streaming down her face.

Upon receiving a negative answer, Xiaolin's brows furrowed tightly, her expression showing great distress.

"Sister Ba, didn't you go to Chen Xiu and ask him for help?"

"Hmph~, hmph~~, we're not related at all. I was too embarrassed to ask him for help when we had dinner last time, boohoo~. I was thinking of asking him out for drinks tonight and trying to get him to help me, but he's busy."

Reba hugged her shoulders, hunched her upper body, and leaned on her knees, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

She was raised by her maternal grandmother from a young age and ate her grandmother's cooking. Now the old lady is lying in the hospital ward, struggling to stay afloat. Hundreds of neighbors from the entire community have gone to visit her, but her own granddaughter can't go...

Thinking of this, Reba's tears, which she had just stopped, poured out again like water from a tap that had been turned on.

Seeing the sadness almost materialize, Xiaolin couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for her.

Having worked as Reba's assistant for over a year, Xiaolin felt Reba's genuine care and concern for her, which is why she always considered things for her.

The two were not only employer and employee, but also friends.

Seeing her friend in this state, Xiaolin felt distressed and was desperately trying to find a way to help Reba take leave.

After much thought, all the chaotic thoughts in her mind ultimately pointed to one person.

"Sister Ba, I'll go check the gym area. Chen Xiu has been going there regularly lately. If you run into him, you can try to beg him again."

Xiaolin shouted to Reba as if grasping at the last straw.

She knew that Reba and Chen Xiu weren't exactly friends, but given the current situation, she had to try even if there was only a tiny glimmer of hope.

Just as Xiaolin got up to leave, Reba, who had been crying with his head down, suddenly reached out and grabbed her clothes.

Xiaolin turned around and looked at her: "Sister Ba, you..."

"The director said it's no use, and coming back to him won't help. Could you boil some eggs for me to use as a hot compress? I have to film again tomorrow, and my eyes can't be swollen..."

Reba looked up with a face ashen, her makeup washed away by tears, leaving two black lines on her face, and her voice was as lifeless as a withered tree.

Xiaolin understood that she didn't want to make a useless attempt, but how would she know if something was useless if she didn't try it?
"I'll boil the eggs when I get back. You stay here and wait for me!"

Pushing aside Reba's hand, Xiaolin rushed straight out of the room with a burst of energy.

Watching her rush out, Reba wanted to stop her, and even raised her hand, but after two seconds of hesitation, she still didn't shout "Stop!"

Although she knew the chances were almost zero, she still held onto a sliver of hope.

What if?
"What did you say?"

After turning off the treadmill, Chen Xiu, standing on the track, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel and looked at Xiao Lin, who had suddenly appeared beside the treadmill, with a puzzled expression.

Taking off his headphones, Chen Xiu stepped off the treadmill. "I was wearing headphones while running, so I didn't hear what you said clearly." "Brother Xiu, I'd like to ask you for a favor. Could you come over there with me to talk to me?"

Xiaolin pointed to the rest area next to her, her lips pursed in a conflicted manner.

Generally speaking, an artist's assistant should not take the initiative to contact another artist, because most people in the entertainment industry don't even respect their own assistants, let alone other people's assistants.

However, Chen Xiu's demeanor on set during this period was far too mild.

He treats Tang Yan and Wu Qiang the same way he treats everyone else; there's no difference between the two. This is why Xiao Lin felt she could talk to Chen Xiu.

Judging from Reba's state just now, she already knew that going back to bring Reba down to find Chen Xiu was a dead end, and she had to step in herself to help!

After glancing at the hot bar assistant named Xiaolin, Chen Xiu nodded first and took the initiative to walk towards the rest area.

He had just finished his late-night snack and came back, so he went for a quick walk to digest his food and wait for news from Wu Qiang. He had nothing better to do, so he figured he might as well hear what Xiao Lin had to say.

After sitting down in the chair, Chen Xiu looked at Xiao Lin and asked, "What do you need me for?"

"Brother Xiu, actually, Sister Ba had something to do, her grandma..."

Xiaolin briefly recounted to Chen Xiu how Reba's grandmother was seriously ill, how Reba couldn't take time off to visit her, and how Reba was currently heartbroken.

Throughout the entire process, she carefully observed Chen Xiu's reactions.

As a result, Xiaolin noticed that Chen Xiu frowned quickly and subtly when she heard the phrases "Reba was raised by her maternal grandmother" and "Reba couldn't go back to visit her maternal grandmother."

She didn't know what it meant, and it was difficult to guess from Chen Xiu's unchanging expression.

Therefore, after explaining the situation, Xiaolin held her breath and waited anxiously for Chen Xiu's response.

After listening to Xiaolin's story, the first thought that came to Chen Xiu's mind was: How could it be such a coincidence?

He wasn't a fan of Dilraba in his previous life, so he didn't know much about this top star's family situation, and naturally, he didn't know much about her maternal grandmother's situation either.

However, Chen Xiu's situation of being raised by her grandmother since childhood is exactly the same as Reba's...

In his past life, he almost missed seeing his grandmother one last time because he was busy with auditions for a film crew, and he knew very well what that feeling was like.

Thinking about this, Chen Xiu asked to confirm, "Is what you said true?"

"It's true, it's true, Grandma Ba is now in the ICU..."

"My question is, was Dilraba really raised by her maternal grandmother when she was little?"

Chen Xiu corrected the question, saying that he had already determined the source of Reba's negative emotions from Xiaolin's account, and he knew it was true without asking.

"Really, really, this is true too."

"Could you please invite Reba here?"

"Should we let the barmaid come down?"

"Ah."

Chen Xiu glanced at her phone and continued, "Please ask her to come down as soon as possible. If she's crying, please don't waste time touching up her makeup."

"Um, I'll go find her now."

Although Chen Xiu did not give a definite answer as to whether he was willing to help Reba, Xiaolin still chose to believe him.

Watching Xiaolin jog towards the elevator, Chen Xiu sighed, and the memory of her past life of desperately rushing to catch a plane back to Shanghai flashed through her mind.

"Hurry up! It's very hard for the old man to hold on by his last breath..."

(End of this chapter)