Chapter 375: Chapter 374: Xu Su, Are You Telling a Hell Joke?

But Shen Chen didn’t even turn his head, nor did he hear what Zhou Mochen and Xu Su were saying. He waved his hand impatiently at the manager. "Take them all out."

"Wait!" Xu Su called out, pointing to one of the girls. "Let her stay."

Shen Chen and the others all looked over. The woman Xu Su had asked to stay had a beautiful face, her long hair was tied up, and her figure was graceful and well-proportioned. She was indeed a beauty.

But... that was all there was to it.

They had seen plenty of beauties and didn’t find her particularly special.

Xu Su asked, "What’s your name?"

The woman replied in a soft, gentle voice, "My name is Lina. You can just call me Nana."

It was obviously a stage name. The real names of the girls who worked here were secrets, not to be shared lightly.

Xu Su didn’t care about such details. What she cared about was that this girl looked very familiar. If she remembered correctly, in her past life, she had seen this face in a TV series that had been a smash hit across the country.

It was a TV series that became a national phenomenon. After it aired, every single actor with a named role, from the leads to the supporting cast, shot to fame.

Netizens analyzed the plot frame-by-frame, and its popularity remained sky-high for years. Even Xu Su, who wasn’t one for binge-watching shows, had been forced to watch the entire series through clips on short-video sites.

And this woman named Nana in front of her seemed to be... the female lead?

Her real name was Li Na. The future A-list actress in China, the queen of television ratings for at least five years. Xu Su was something of a fan.

In her previous life, there had been some rumors about Li Na before she became famous, claiming she had once worked as an escort. But with no evidence, they were all dismissed as baseless gossip.

’So it wasn’t a rumor after all...’

Having figured it out, Xu Su looked at Shen Chen and said to Lina, "Why don’t you go sit next to him."

Shen Chen shot to his feet. "Xu Su!"

"I checked, she’s not wearing any perfume." Xu Su gave Shen Chen a friendly smile. "Don’t be so resistant. Just let her sit there for a bit. If it’s really a problem, then forget it."

"Susu picked her out for you, Ah Chen. Don’t disappoint her." Zhou Mochen wrapped an arm around Xu Su’s waist, then pointed to the seat next to Shen Chen with his other hand and said to Lina, "Sit there."

Seeing how the two of them had it all arranged, Shen Chen’s expression turned completely cold. "I’ve never seen someone forced to hire an escort before. Xu Su, is this some kind of kink you have?"

"I’m not telling you to sleep with her!" Xu Su explained awkwardly. "I’m really not! I just found her pleasant to look at and wanted to keep her around for a bit longer."

Xie Si was a bit confused. "Ah Chen, since when did you get so fussy? She’s just a woman. Is she going to eat you if she sits next to you? It’s not like you’re being asked to support her."

Shen Chen remained standing, his face stiff. Beside him, Jiang Baiyi said nothing, merely wearing a thoughtful expression.

In the end, Nana still sat down next to Shen Chen. They were very close. Xu Su watched from across the table, and seeing Shen Chen’s indifferent expression, she felt a pang of regret.

’Isn’t sending a woman to a man who can’t perform the same as rubbing salt in his wound?’

’What I did must have made him really uncomfortable...’

Sure enough, Nana received the same cold shoulder as the women Xie Si had sent over earlier.

Xie Si, however, after sizing her up from a close distance, got some ideas and started a conversation with her.

As they talked, Xie Si’s hands started to wander. Nana hadn’t even reacted yet when Xu Su became displeased. She slapped his hand sharply. "What do you think you’re doing?! Why are you getting handsy with Shen Chen’s woman!"

Before Xie Si could speak, Shen Chen let out a cold laugh. "What makes you think she’s my woman? Xu Su, is this some kind of sick joke?"

"..." Xu Su ignored Shen Chen’s snide sarcasm. She pulled Nana to sit beside her and warned Xie Si, "Even if she isn’t Shen Chen’s woman, you still can’t be getting handsy with her."

"What kind of logic is that?" Xie Si wasn’t angry, just raising an eyebrow. "Isn’t this her line of work? She’d probably be upset if I *didn’t* get handsy. Go on, ask her if you don’t believe me."

Any woman who could sit in their private room would use every trick in the book to please them. One night with them was worth half a year or even a full year of hard work.

In Xie Si’s eyes, the fact that he’d even taken an interest in this Lina was doing her a huge favor.

Xu Su ignored him and said directly, "Whatever. I like her, so don’t try anything funny."

She wasn’t about to ask. She could already imagine what Li Na would say. How could a girl working here dare to defy a customer’s wishes?

But as something of a fan, now that she’d run into her, she had to do *something*.

Xu Su did a quick mental calculation. The TV series was scheduled to be released in about two years. Based on that timeline, the script was probably already in preparation, and casting and filming would begin next year at the latest...

In other words, it wouldn’t be long before Li Na entered the entertainment industry.

In her past life, after the show became a hit, all sorts of behind-the-scenes stories about its filming came out.

For example, when filming first began, they couldn’t find any willing investors. Because it was a historical harem drama, it was difficult to incorporate product placements, so it couldn’t earn advertising revenue. The main cast were all newcomers at the time, so major investors and entertainment companies had low expectations for the script. A small investment was one thing, but a large sum was considered high-risk.

But the director of this show was a perfectionist, demanding the highest quality in everything from the costumes and makeup to the actresses’ jewelry. To achieve the desired effect, a substantial investment was necessary.

Even after the director sold his own house, it wasn’t enough. Filming only barely began after the entire cast and crew collectively took pay cuts, with some even working for free.

This made Xu Su suddenly think of the time difference between her two lives. She knew so much about things that hadn’t happened yet. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to do something with that knowledge? 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

For the rest of the card game, Xu Su was completely in a daze. She played whichever card Zhou Mochen pointed to, her mind consumed with thoughts of what she could invest in with her knowledge of the next few years.

She might not know much about other industries, but she definitely knew which film and television projects and popular variety shows were going to blow up in the future.

When the clock struck eleven, Zhou Mochen casually rose to his feet, pulling a dazed Xu Su up with him as he said goodbye to the others.

Before they left, Xu Su asked for Li Na’s contact information. Since nothing was set in stone, she didn’t make any promises, just saying she’d be in touch if something came up.

Zhou Mochen didn’t stop her at the time, but once they were in the car, he admonished her softly, "Don’t get involved with women in that line of work, understand?"

Xu Su knew that people in their circle never saw girls with a price tag as human beings. Even if Zhou Mochen himself never partook, it didn’t mean he respected these hostesses.

She didn’t know Li Na well and had no intention of defending her. She just told the truth. "I just like the look of her. I won’t get too involved."

Xu Su knew Li Na would become a huge star in the future, but right now, she was indeed an escort. It didn’t matter if it was for vanity, for fast money, or for some cliché reason like being from a poor family and needing to support a younger brother through school.