Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 53 I'm Helping My Former Self

Looking at the two smudged lines at the corners of Dilraba's eyes, Chen Xiu inexplicably thought of Ulquiorra from "Bleach"...

Pulling her thoughts back from their wanderings, Chen Xiu asked Reba, "How many days off are you planning to take?"

"Aha?"

Reba stared blankly at Chen Xiu, somewhat unable to react.

Fortunately, Xiaolin, who had come along with her, tugged at her clothes in time.

"Sister Ba, I'll go get you and Brother Xiu a bottle of water. You two can chat."

"oh oh."

Reba blinked quickly and nodded, trying to recall her plan: "Um, I'd like to ask for two days off. I'll go back tomorrow and come back the day after..."

"no!"

Chen Xiu's resolute refusal caused her exotic face, still bearing a hint of baby fat, to instantly transform from bright to dull.

Before Reba could force a smile and say she was fine, Chen Xiu changed the subject again.

“You’re leaving too late tomorrow! It’s more than five hours to fly from Shanghai to your home. Add to that the time spent on security checks at both airports and on the road, and you’ll probably arrive at the hospital in the evening tomorrow.”

"What should I do?"

Reba pouted, looking at Chen Xiu with a wronged expression.

She wanted to ask for a longer leave, but Chen Mingzhang wouldn't even approve two days, let alone any longer.

Chen Xiu glanced at Reba, who was no longer pretending to be fine, and beckoned her to come closer to talk.

This action caused a flicker of hesitation in Reba's eyes, but she still clenched her fist on her thigh and brought her cheek and mouth close to Chen Xiu's face...

"Too close, step back a little."

Chen Xiu stared speechlessly at the exotic beauty who had offered herself up, wondering why she thought he was implying something.

Hearing Chen Xiu's words and seeing his forced eye-rolling expression, Reba pursed her lips awkwardly, and then her gaze towards Chen Xiu changed slightly.

"Oh, sorry."

Reba's fist clenched and unclenched again, and when she saw Chen Xiu take out her phone and put it on the table, she frowned in confusion.

Chen Xiu, who witnessed everything, didn't pay attention to Reba's wariness. It's normal for girls in the entertainment industry to be a little more cautious.

"It's 21:50 PM now. You and Xiaolin shouldn't go back to your room later. Just call a car to Hongqiao Airport, buy tickets for the last flight tonight to Chengdu, then sleep for a few hours at the airport hotel, and fly directly back to XJ early tomorrow morning."

"It only takes 3 hours to fly from Chengdu to XJ, so you can arrive at the hospital by noon and then take a flight back the day after tomorrow evening, which won't be too rushed."

Pointing to the flight information on the screen, Chen Xiu logically helped Reba plan her round-trip route.

The last flight to Chengdu today departs at 23:30. If I head to the airport now, I should be able to catch it.

Reba heard Chen Xiu's words clearly, and she also thought the travel plan was feasible.

However, "the director didn't grant me leave, so I can't leave..."

Reba's lips trembled slightly, her eyes glistening with tears as she stared at Chen Xiu.

Unbeknownst to her, she seemed to have already moved beyond the initial awkwardness between them and knew how to ask Chen Xiu for help.

Chen Xiu dismissed Reba's concerns, picked up her phone, found Wu Qiang's WeChat, and called him directly.

"Hey, Lao Wu, still drinking?"

"Oh, I understand. Don't worry, two days should be enough."

"Okay, I'll definitely be back the night after tomorrow. I won't make things difficult for you."

Throughout the entire call, Chen Xiu only said these three sentences.

Even without hearing the complete conversation, Reba could roughly guess the whole story from the messages "two days" and "I'll definitely be back the night after tomorrow," but she still wasn't sure. With a nervous yet expectant look in her eyes, Reba couldn't quite believe that Chen Xiu would use his resources for someone as unrelated as her, without even making any demands.

However, all of Reba's tension, doubt, and uncertainty vanished the moment Chen Xiu put down her phone and spoke her first words.

"Alright, the vacation has been arranged, you can go now!"

"Have...have you arrived?!"

Reba's eyes widened in disbelief, her heart still filled with a sense of unreality.

Her request for leave was severely criticized by Chen Mingzhang, but Chen Xiu only needed to make a phone call, and he made the call "for himself".

Having long been accustomed to the entertainment industry's mercenary nature and cold interpersonal relationships, and often being harassed by her seniors at the company, Dilraba couldn't understand why Chen Xiu would be willing to help her unconditionally.
Shouldn't people in the entertainment industry be life strategists, only making sacrifices if they see potential returns?
Why aren't you leaving yet?

Chen Xiu held her phone, looking at Reba with a puzzled expression. She wondered why Reba, who had seemed quite anxious just moments before, was now frozen in shock.

Reba, who had been woken up by the question, looked timid and embarrassed, and said, "I don't know how to thank you..."

"It's nothing. I was going to take a vacation anyway, but I just happened to run into your situation," Chen Xiu said honestly.

He did indeed take leave to visit his grandmother's grave. The crew was going to film scenes between Lei Yiming and Gao Wen, so he took a break, and Dilraba naturally took a break as well.

That's the truth, but Reba didn't hear it that way.

What a coincidence!
Could it be that he said that on purpose to tell me not to overthink it?
During her brief interaction with Chen Xiu, Dilraba has already demonstrated that she is a thoughtful and meticulous person.

This makes her more prone to filling in the gaps in her own imagination regarding certain events and statements...

Seeing that it was almost 22 p.m. and Reba was still standing there, Chen Xiu frowned and asked, "When you got home, did you not arrange for a car to pick you up from the airport?"

"Um, my dad can come pick me up..."

"Given your grandmother's condition, it would be more appropriate for your father to stay in the hospital, wouldn't it?"

"Then I can just take a taxi there."

Seeing that Reba was clearly in a hurry but kept getting confused, Chen Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and decided to see it through to the end.

"Give me Xiaolin's phone number, and then book your plane tickets now, confirm the landing time, and I'll arrange a pick-up and drop-off for you tomorrow morning."

"I don't remember Xiaolin's phone number, can I have mine?"

"Alright, go ahead and tell me."

"156..."

After noting down Reba's phone number and watching her buy the plane ticket, Chen Xiu used Didi's internal channels to book a business vehicle specifically for VIP reception for her.

Although Dilraba is still a newcomer and her status is below third tier, she is still a public figure, so taking a taxi home is not appropriate.

"OK, all done. Have a safe trip."

Chen Xiu got up from her chair, waved to Reba, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

Reba called out to Chen Xiu, twisting her fingers, and looked up at him with tear-streaked face: "Why would you help me? We're not even that close..."

"Hmm, good question. If I had to give an answer, I would say I'm actually helping my past self."

"My past self?"

Reba murmured, as if she had figured something out. Just as she was about to ask more questions, Chen Xiu interrupted her.

"Don't waste any more time. You can come back and say whatever you want to say. Now let's get to the airport!"

After saying that, he walked towards the elevator without looking back.

A silhouette was reflected in Reba's eyes.

　Results Announcement: I've successfully jumped from the first round of testing to the third round! Long-time readers should know what this means. To thank everyone for their continued support, I've decided to add extra chapters starting tomorrow, three chapters a day. I hope you'll continue to support me, thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)