Chapter 3 – Little White Rabbit

This night, starting from 2AM in the morning, Bai Lang received three phone calls. One was from his older brother and two from his mother.

All of it was to tell him how deadly the underground money lender was and how Bai Li and the two old people were frightened to death. They had received several phone calls in the dead of the night with no one talking on the other end, and also people had been tailing them on their way out to buy groceries. For several nights past they had been so frightened they couldn’t sleep. As for Bai Lang who had a successful career, all he needed to do was to run by the bank tomorrow morning and borrow five million dollars to help Bai Li and save their family. It was this simple, no?

Bai Lang lowered his head listening to their calls, and in his heart he couldn’t help but recall the scenes from his previous life.

Because after this incident, Bai Li would continue to borrow money time and time again, and would time and time again ask him for help to repay it. Through this incident Bai Li came to understand that if he was in debt, then Bai Lang’s reputation would also suffer. So he knew that no matter what his younger brother Bai Lang would come to his aid, so he felt free to go out and do whatever he wanted.

All the way until eight years later when Bai Li had finally accumulated enough experience from this manner of using money, he was finally able to open two relatively successful restaurants in his hometown of T City, and became the so-called boss of a “chain” and made a minor name for himself. Then when the ugly rumors surrounding Bai Lang being gay was broken to the media, Bai Li was the first person to stand out and post on the two restaurant’s website that the Bai family had not taught this younger son well, that they wanted to apologize to society, as well as to completely cut off all ties with Bai Lang.

This notice was furiously reposted by all the paparazzi. Everyone said that even though there was no real evidence to support to rumors, Bai Lang’s own family had pretty much admitted it. Hence it was clear that Bai Lang really had some serious problems. So the previously unsubstantiated slanders became real in this fashion. For Bai Lang, who had painstakingly supported Bai Li and these two old people these past years, he was heartlessly stabbed in the back several times.

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However at that time Bai Lang still felt guilty towards his parents. Because he knew that the two old people who had grown up in a small regional town were very traditional thinking people. Homosexuality in their eyes was something that was disgusting and perverted. Actually when Bai Lang admitted his sexual orientation to his parents, the words they had spoken to him were even uglier than that which was being said outside by others.

However people’s hearts in reality were made of flesh and blood. If it was cut then of course it would hurt.

Bai Lang had been a good and obedient son for his entire life. He was a good younger brother. However all he had gotten in return was this kind of abandonment. Although he understood it logically, however Bai Lang did not want to repeat this kind of experience.

Especially Bai Li. When Bai Lang thought about letting Bai Li use him for money again, he really wanted to jump out of the window of the building.

The phone had still been held in his hand for too long and it was slightly hot. Bai Lang paused for a few seconds and then finally decided to dial a number.

In his previous life, he had never once before called this number voluntarily.

However it had always been saved inside his phone.

[Du–du–du—], then there was the sound of the call been connected. “Who is it!?”

The deep and husky voice sounded angry, it seemed like the person on the other end hadn’t even had time to open their eyes yet.

“It’s me, Bai Lang.” Bai Lang looked again at the digital clock. It was still August 23rd 20XX, 4AM in the morning.

“Does Mr Qiu have time to talk?”

***

“You have something on in the afternoon? Brother Lang, are you going somewhere ah?”

The young voice on the phone belonged to Bai Lang’s assistant Xiao Yang, Yang GuoZhong.

Bai Lang had previously considered Yang GuoZhong a faithful and loyal assistant who had helped him in many situations, even down to the details of selecting his lunch boxes and creating multiple accounts to help talk for him on the internet. Once Bai Lang had completely trusted him and had no guard against him at all.

However after the incident regarding the video of the yacht party, his assistant was suddenly changed from Xiao Yang to Er Hong, whose real name was Hong Hong. {T/N: “Er” means two, referring to the fact that Hong Hong name has 2 Hong’s. They are different characters but pronounced similarly.} It was not until then that Bai Lang knew that other than being his assistant, Xiao Yang had another job, and that was selling news about the private lives of stars to the paparazzi.

He clearly had such a friendly and happy face, with a liveliness that brightened the atmosphere everywhere. However in reality he was doing all he could to get close to the assistants of other famous stars, and through casual conversation he was trying to glean information that he could sell. Until that moment Bai Lang finally realized that the news about Bai Li’s debt was leaked most likely because Xiao Yang was by his side and overheard Bai Lang to Bai Li when the other person was yelling at him and begging for help.

Because after all when an underground money lender was trying to chase a debt, they would keep it secret  from the outside world. They obviously knew that Bai Li had Bai Lang behind him to help repay his debt, so the underground money lender would not do anything so stupid as to destroy Bai Lang’s fortune and also expose themselves in the process. {T/N: It’s underground because it’s illegal, hence the huge interest rate. A loan shark. Probably I should have used that term instead haha, but the Chinese “underground money manor” sounded more sinister lol.}

Originally Bai Lang had been suspicious that it was Qiu Qian who had leaked the news. After all Bai Lang had had no choice but to ask the company to lend him money. He had also received a phone call from Qiu Qian asking him if he wanted to reconsider the matter of being a kept lover. But now that Bai Lang thought about it, it was more likely that Qiu Qian only had a passing interest. But because of that, in this life, Bai Lang finally had the courage to make that  phone call last night.

Towards Xiao Yang’s question, Bai Lang only said vaguely, “I’m going to see the boss. I have some things to discuss with him.”

“The boss!? Big boss Qiu?!” The voice on the phone rose two octaves. “How come ah!? Is it a new drama or what? You should tell me these kind of things ah! Okay, is it tomorrow afternoon? I’ll take brother Lang there. Where are you meeting? I’ll take you brother Lang, you don’t have a car right?”

Bai Lang laughed. This type of question was probing him for information. The Bai Lang who had mingled in the entertainment world for ten years could already discern it. “Since we are having a discussion, where else could it be but at the company office? Is there something wrong with the company office that we have to go out and spend money?”

“Oh. It’s like that.” Xiao Yang’s voice fell slightly. “Then what time? I’ll go and pick you up?”

“There’s no need. These two days I won’t be turning my phone on. You should have a good rest. The advertisement shoot has been changed to the day after tomorrow.”

They were still filming “Partners for Life” {T/N: Remember it is a super long 6 month show, and they’re most likely filming and broadcasting at the same time}. However because the male lead had some conflicts in schedule, so they could only film a little, then rest a little. The director was so stressed his hair nearly went white however this let Bai Lang have quite a lot of free time, as well as time to do other jobs.

“Tomorrow as well? What are you doing? Are you meeting Mr Qiu again?” Xiao Yang asked inquisitively.

“Tomorrow I’m going home to see my family while I have some free time. When I get busy again I won’t get time.” Bai Lang pretty much only went home once every few months, so his reasoning made sense.

“Okay. Brother Lang, once you finish your talk with big boss Qiu, remember to tell me ah!” Xiao Yang didn’t want to give up. “I hope that brother Lang will get more roles in dramas and fly up to the sky! That way I can become the most important assistant on set, ahahaha!!”

Hearty laughter sounded from inside the phone. Bai Lang thought about how much sincerity there was in that laughter. “Okay. See you in two days.”

“Bye, brother Lang.”

***

Two hours later, Bai Lang sat respectfully on the sofa outside Qiu Qian’s office, waiting for him.

Total Entertainment was only a small subsidiary of the En Jiang Group, so Qiu Qian didn’t often appear here. If one wanted to see Qiu Qian then one had to make an appointment very early and come here to wait.

If one wanted to talk about the En Jiang Group behind Qiu Qian, everyone knew that it belonged to the Xindao’s Qiu Family. {T/N: Xindao is a place name, like Qingdao. It literally means “New Island”. The author’s following description makes me think of Macau/Hong Kong but it’s a made up place I’m sure.}

Speaking of Xindao, it was a place that only in the last ten years had been legitimized as a designated specialty gambling area. It was known for its nightlife, exportation business and entertainment business. However previous to that, it was a place where illegal gambling and black market exportation was rife.

The illegal activities coming from on the island was very serious and it was almost impossible to completely change its ways. Until one year when the government somehow saw the light and decided to just simply legalize its gambling and open its harbor. That way they could openly and legitimately police and regulate its activities.

The Qiu family had been doing business on Xindao for generations. At the time of the legalization they were already quite powerful. Once their business became legal they immediately began to spread their business properly and openly. They opened casino after casino, hotel after hotel, buying up bundles and bundles of land. After ten years of washing themselves clean, they could now be considered a very legitimate entertainment, hospitality and shipping company.

However the Qiu family still followed the old traditions and family business model. Their so-called “professional management model” was just a veneer, underneath it the regulations that they followed were a minority, and the ones that they flaunted was the majority. In actuality, all the power still lay in the family head. So of all the Qiu’s family’s enterprises, not one was listed on the stock market. They simply placed it under the umbrella company called “En Jiang Qiu Group”. In the business world no one dared to look down on them.

{T/N: So basically unlike most major corporations which are listed on the stock exchange and have a board of directors and are answerable to their shareholders, the En Jiang group is basically run in an old-school family business model where all the power lies with the head of the company who is also the head of the family. Think more mafia or yakuza style. Hope that makes sense. I tried to follow how the author wrote it, but not sure if the translation makes as much sense as the original.}

As for the Qiu family which originally came from Xindao, because they were involved in the shipping business, so from an early time they had expanded to all corners of the world. In the mainland, other than shipping, the Qiu family also was familiar with the hospitality business. Since unlike on Xindao, gambling was illegal on the mainland, so they turned their focus on entertainment venues, hotels and high-class clubs, as well as the related businesses of selling alcohol, cigars and luxury cars.

In the last couple of years, the Qiu family had taken steps to venture into the entertainment world and had created the not large but also not small “Total Entertainment” company. Originally insiders did not have much expectations of it. They felt that the entertainment world was too complex and its ocean too deep, just because you had money didn’t mean you would become successful. However within a few years, Total Entertainment had debuted a successful male idol group R-RED, as well as two winners of the “Golden Coil” trophy {T/N: A made-up singing award like the Grammys}. In addition they had signed the young movie emperor Su Quan who was developing overseas. These kind of showy successes had smashed the glasses of many insiders, causing them to realize that once you had both money and power, then no ocean was too deep for you to swim.

As for Qiu Qian, who in the rumors was the illegitimate son of the head of the Qiu family, in the beginning he was just a small-time shipping boss that worked at the docks and was often at sea, and the family did not place much importance on him. However for reasons people didn’t know, in the last few years he had suddenly become powerful, to the point where he behaved as though he was the successor of the family. Old man Qiu, the head of the family, really had in the last half year, started giving control of the family to the just over 30 year old Qiu Qian to manage. Especially the heart of the family, which was its shipping business, had caused Qiu Qian’s personal worth to skyrocket to over ten billion in one stroke.

However Qiu Qian’s outer appearance completely did not match with the appearance of a company big boss.

He had a tanned complexion, untamed half-long hair, and always wore a shirt that was never completely buttoned up. In front of his chest he always wore a thick and large gold chain. Even after he took over control of the company, he still looked like a shipping worker, it was only that he had changed his flower print shirt to a more high-quality silk shirt that’s all.

{T/N: If you guys want to get some idea of what Qiu Qian’s personal style is, just google the Taiwanese movie “Monga” and look at what Ethan Juan and Mark Chao are wearing lol. Basically like a yakuza or a thug.}

Even so, it couldn’t obscure Qiu Qian’s very strong and tall body, his handsome and deep-set features, as well as his unique personal charisma. Even though his style was crude, it gave him a sort of wild and untamed handsomeness. The year Qiu Qian took over “Total Entertainment”, he had been listed by a tabloid publication as the “number one most desired patron”. It was a fortunate coincidence that his name also contained the world “Qian” {T/N: Sounds like the character for money.}

It was unknown if it was because of this, however Qiu Qian loved to make this kind of joke.

Bai Lang waited quietly for a few minutes. In his heart he still had not fully made up his mind.

In his previous life’s ten years, Bai Lang had more or less heard stories about Qiu Qian’s methods. He looked strong and generous, decisive and practical, however he also had a vicious personality. He knew how to hide his intentions and motives, before pulling out a knife that could kill with one stroke. Towards his enemies, he was undoubtedly their greatest nightmare.

If not for the scene he had seen from his previous life, then Bai Lang would never have believed that he had been special in any way to Qiu Qian.

In Qiu Qian’s position, how many small stars would have enthusiastically warmed his bed. Bai Lang’s rejection really was something that was unimportant. He wasn’t the most talented or eye-catching person within the entertainment circle and Qiu Qian really never took his rejection much to heart. Bai Lang was clear in his heart even in his previous life that Qiu Qian had helped him in some small ways, however the motivation behind that should have been to play with him, so as to entertain himself by seeing the drama unfold.

But as for what Qiu Qian had done for him after he died, to Bai Lang it really was something completely out of his expectation.

Even from the perspective of a friend, someone that would mourn for him, then on his road of suffering and fighting, it seemed like there was at least one person that recognized it. After being rejected by so many people, Qiu Qian’s one act of kindness was etched deep inside Bai Lang’s heart.

However in his previous life Bai Lang had been a small star that resolutely refused to bow his head.

But this time he had voluntarily sent himself to Qiu Qian’s door. Bai Lang laughed mockingly to himself. Like this, would things between them still be same?

Outside the door there was a flurry of activity. He heard the sound of people enthusiastically welcoming their boss.

A few moments later the door was brusquely and roughly pushed open.

There was a cigar dangling from the corner of Qiu Qian’s mouth. His head was tilted and his eyes swept over Bai Lang with interest.

“Little white rabbit, you were looking for me?”

{T/N: The “Bai” in Bai Lang’s name translates to “white”. It’s also my surname too haha. This is the second story I’ve translated where the MC is surname Bai. It’s a coincidence I swear!}