All The Villain Wants Is Money - Chapter 5
@Xie Gu: “I’ve quit the entertainment industry to go home and inherit the family mine.”
“??? wtf”
“Xie Gu quit the industry???”
“Hey, can you focus on the important part here? Xie Gu’s family has a mine???”
“Little friend, do you have a lot of questions?”
“Little question mark, I have many friends.”
“I’m watching Banwen Entertainment’s press conference live. Zhang Shi is still hinting that Xie Gu is being kept.”
“Let me perform for everyone: The male rabbit thumps his feet, the female rabbit’s eyes are dazed.”
Amid the collective confusion, a side account stepped forward.
@ExtraActor: “Let me spill some tea as an insider. Xie Gu’s family really is rich. His dad made his fortune as a coal boss. That 1-million-yuan termination fee? He just casually paid it off.”
【?! Shocked.】
【I thought Xie Gu’s face was just a blessing from God. Given how bad his skills are, I assumed it was heaven balancing things out. Now that I know he’s rich, well, bad skills don’t even matter anymore.】
【I hereby declare Xie Gu as my husband. It’s not about the money; it’s about love.】
【Pfft! Before making any declarations, could you delete yesterday’s hate comments first?】
Red Comet had garnered a decent following when they were active. They were fairly popular compared to other boy bands, given that they were actively supported by Banwen Entertainment, which remained a major influence despite being past its prime. Despite being on the verge of disbandment, they still garnered a lot of attention from the masses. As a result, the news of Xie Gu leaving the industry quietly climbed the trending topics list.
#RCDisbandment, #XieGuQuitsIndustry, and #XieGusFamilyOwnsAMine all hovered at the bottom of the trending board, managing to gain a rare moment of traction. Unfortunately, it was meaningless now that the group had dissolved.
At the disbandment press conference, many reporters had been keeping an eye on the trending topics list. When news of Xie Gu’s retirement and inheritance climbed the charts, it immediately grabbed their attention. One journalist stood up and loudly asked Zhang Shi, “Zhang Shi, can you comment on why Xie Gu posted on Weibo that he’s returning home to inherit his family fortune?”
Zhang Shi froze.
In truth, he had no idea about Xie Gu’s family background. They didn’t interact much privately and Xie Gu had always come across as ignorant and inexperienced, which led Zhang Shi to assume he came from a poor family.
Even though Xie Gu had sent over a million yuan check to terminate his contract just two days ago, Zhang Shi instinctively believed he must have taken some shortcut.
Jealousy and malice festered in his heart, which was why he made those insinuations about Xie Gu. Of course, Wu Borang had tacitly approved this, though caution had stopped him from letting Zhang Shi openly drag Xie Gu down.
But now, the journalist’s direct question struck a nerve, and Zhang Shi blurted out, “That’s impossible… No, I mean, I don’t know the specifics. How could I just answer that?”
Unfortunately for him, the live-stream cameras had faithfully recorded every second of this response.
“Disgusting. He just can’t stand seeing his teammate do well, can he?”
“That expression is absolutely revolting.”
“Don’t say that about Shi Shi! He didn’t mean anything bad! Maybe Xie Gu kept it a secret, so Shi Shi is just surprised.”
“Exactly! If Shi Shi had ill intentions, he would’ve said something outright. He’s not the scheming type.”
“Ugh, the fans follow the idol. Just keep making excuses, why don’t you?”
The bullet barrage and comment section quickly turned into battlegrounds, with fans arguing to no end.
Meanwhile, Xie Gu had just gotten off the plane. He had turned off his Weibo earlier on and was currently listening to a report from the secretary sent by Xie Wentang.
His expression was calm, betraying no obvious emotion. It was impossible to tell if he was happy or unhappy. The secretary, who had been cautiously talking for a long time, was now starting to doubt whether the young master had understood any of it.
But since the boss had asked him to report, he couldn’t just stop midway.
Thus, the secretary kept talking till his mouth was parched. By the time they got into the car that had been specially sent to pick them up, the secretary was so thirsty he could no longer speak. He finally wrapped it up with a concluding statement, “That’s pretty much everything.”
Finishing his report, he immediately unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and gulped it down.
Xie Gu’s lips curled into a faint smile, still devoid of any obvious emotion. “Is that truly all of it?”
The secretary nodded, capping the bottle.
Xie Gu gave a small nod and said, “Got it. Wait a moment.”
He then answered a phone call. “Yu Qiao?”
The person on the other end said something, to which Xie Gu curtly acknowledged before saying, “You’ve found him, right? Book him on the next flight to Douliao City. I’ll cover the ticket. How long will he be here? Two or three days at most. Alright, perfect. Send me the flight details and I’ll arrange for someone to pick him up.”
The secretary, sitting nearby, could clearly hear what Xie Gu said. Though he understood every single word individually, he was lost on its meaning when they were strung together.
He knew the name Yu Qiao. It belonged to a lawyer who used to be Xie Gu’s high school classmate. Yu Qiao had always been the stereotypical straight-A student, a role model to the other children. There was a time when he and Xie Gu had been close, but they hadn’t kept in touch after that.
Why would the young master suddenly need to contact a lawyer?
Unable to hold back his curiosity, the secretary asked, “Young master, were you just talking to a lawyer?”
Xie Gu answered nonchalantly, “Mm.”
Yet, Xie Gu still refused to explain what exactly he intended to do. The secretary, unable to pry anything out of him, begrudgingly escorted him to the headquarters of the coal operation in Douliao. ‘Headquarters’ was a generous term—it was really just a simple and crude building erected near the mining site.
Xie Gu spent the entire afternoon poring over financial records and documents, meeting with several of the top managers on site. He even went so far as to smear coal dust on his face, blending in with the workers. He joined their conversations, joked around, and slapped his thigh while laughing heartily like one of the crew. His integration with the team was seamless.
By the time Yu Qiao and Jiang Caijie arrived, they couldn’t spot Xie Gu among the group of laborers at all.
It wasn’t until a coal-smudged man raised his hand and waved at them that Yu Qiao finally noticed Xie Gu.
Beside him, Jiang Caijie couldn’t help but ask doubtfully, “Are you sure this guy used to be a celebrity? And that he’s hiring me for an asset valuation?”
Judging by his current appearance, the only way he’d make it onto TV would be in a missing persons segment about a lost and intellectually challenged individual.