"Sorry Xiaoming, I was caught up yesterday and didn't really get the chance to call." Douglass Kirkland looked somewhat tired when Wu Xiaoming greeted him at the door: "You free? You want some breakfast? I'm buying."
"Umm - yeah, I could eat." Wu Xiaoming was not lying, he had fed Du Bai this morning, but there was not enough time to prepare food for both of them.
"Alright, I hope you like the brunch menu at that Mexican place we tried last time." Douglass Kirkland pointed at his car: "Let's go, c'mon."
For his Mexican brunch, he had a stone pot of very oily beef, and one long spring onion sticking out of it, and some tomato based soup. He actually didn't remember much about this place - probably a place frequented by the previous Wu Xiaoming. The food was still quite delicious, though.
"So, how are you doing? Your father and your brothers are both away, you're in the house alone." Douglass Kirkland asked as he finished his taco.
"Meh - I can spend some time on and with myself. " Wu Xiaoming shrugged.
"Then - if I may, you wouldn't miss the old apartment of yours?"
"Uh - no - I haven't thought about it for a while - "
"That's one thing I wanna mention to you - the owner of your old apartment has officially kicked you out. And - I have arranged for some people to pick up your stuff - lucky for us, there's no - uh - sensitive things in your belongings." Douglass Kirkland looked Wu Xiaoming right in the eyes: "Are you sure you're okay with this? We've convinced the people from management not to file a credit report - but you are basically barred from renting any property under their management - for three years."
Wu Xiaoming considered for a moment, then nodded at Douglass Kirkland: "Eh, thank you for handling that. I - I will find a place when I'm ready. But for now I think I will stay - for a while."
"Good, good." Douglass Kirkland let out a chuckle of relief: "And - did you hear anything about your show? Your paranormal investigation reality show?"
"No - not really." Wu Xiaoming's heart dropped, what if the entity that attacked Du Bai had already tried attacking others?
"Well, I did get some information from one of their people - the director had been tied up in meetings and negotiations with the studio, so unfortunately there was no major development on the release schedule of the first episode. " Douglass Kirkland shook his head: "Also, from what I heard, the test screening feedback was not great either. Which means, unfortunately, that your show is having a lot of trouble. They might push for a few more episodes, but I have to caution you - don't hold your breath for it to be something. I will continue to look for projects for you, but - you know how things are." His facial expression was sincere and serious, not a moment of broken eye contact.
"It's okay, it's okay." Wu Xiaoming sighed. Then after a brief moment of playing with the food on his plate, he asked: "What - um - what do you think about things like livestreaming or online video creation?"
"Umm - what do you mean?"
"I mean - I am actually kinda interested in this - this format. The paranormal investigation format. What if I just skip the middleman? What if I just do it by myself?"
Douglass Kirkland's mouth opened and shut a few times without making a sound, then he narrowed his eyes at Wu Xiaoming: "I mean - I haven't heard of anyone actually doing it and making it work. I guess - in that way you are basically doing things outside of the normal domain of business - "
"Which means I will be flying solo on that front, and it's a PR risk. I know." Wu Xiaoming nodded: "But - it's interesting, no?"
"Yes, very. But - " Douglass Kirkland scratched his jaw: "I suppose, not many celebrities have done that - not to a heavy extent, anyway. And you'll need to have certain training, PR training, mostly. So that you are still employable in the traditional business sense."
"That - that would be great. Thank - "
"Don't thank me yet - I am just saying this is what we need to do if you want to do it. I am not sure I am comfortable with you doing it yet."
"But - that's something you're willing to have an open mind about?" Wu Xiaoming chuckled.
"Well - I am, but that doesn't sound like something you'd like an agent for - "
"Manager - you can still be my agent-slash-manager, I think in those cases I still need a manager that will help me get brand deals, media appearances and PR - " Wu Xiaoming tried his best to recall what managers for content creators did in his previous world.
"Sure - I'll think about that." Douglass Kirkland smiled: "But just so you know - don't tell anyone about this yet. It's technically a conflict of interest - not in the legal sense, but you know - "
"I know, it's competing with the studios." Wu Xiaoming laid back and sighed: "Thank you again for keeping an open mind, Douglass."
Wu Xiaoming was not lying about his attempt to get into livestreaming. For his current situation, if he would like to visit haunted places, he would need a good reason to; and he would need to make a living somehow and not depend on his father and older brother - the logical plan would be: that he became a livestreamer/content creator to visit potentially haunted places, resolve the paranormal issues, then rinse and repeat. As for the business model and logistics, he still needed to figure that out.
Of course, all of this would be quite meaningless if he could not defeat whatever unclean being inhabiting the Sproutlinger Hotel soon. And by soon, he was thinking about maybe today, if not possible, tomorrow; Worst case scenario, within three or four days.
Shortly after Douglass dropped him off, someone else knocked on the door.
Wu Xiaoming opened the door while holding a mug of coffee - it was an old man in a tight, neatly fitted black suit, with a tall, muscular man in a pair of sunglasses behind him.
"Mr. Wu Xiaoming? " The old man asked, looking right into Wu Xiaoming's eyes from his half-moon glasses.
"Ye - yes?"
"My name is Elijah Erikson, I am the unfortunate owner of the Sproutlinger Hotel, may I come in?"
"Uh - uh - " Wu Xiaoming thought for a brief moment: "What is this about?"
"Well - " Elijah Erikson smiled and cleared his throat: "Would it put your mind at ease a little, that one of the business for which I am here, is to inform you that I have ordered the management not to press any charges against you, and that the Sproutlinger Hotel still welcomes you as a future guest?"
"Um - " Wu Xiaoming narrowed his eyes, then opened the door: "I guess you can come in, but - if you're about to discuss legal matters, then I'm afraid I need to ask for my lawyer to be present."
"Heheh, I understand your reservation." Elijah Erikson chuckled as he came in: "But you have my word, that you are not barred from the hotel, and the management will be seeking any kind of legal liability from you."
"Okay, do you want tea?" Wu Xiaoming asked as he led the old man and his bodyguard/assistance to the couch in the living room.
"No - thanks - I won't be long."
Wu Xiaoming still turned on the water boiler just in case the old man really wanted some tea.
"Thank you for willing to meet me." The old man seemed tired and stressed, but was finally able to relax for a brief moment when he sat down on the couch.
"Yeah - sure, thank you for coming - and - and for not being harsh on - "
"Don't worry about it." Elijah Erikson looked up at the window and the view outside, sighing: "You know, I can - I can somewhat understand your need to go there - and the other person's."
Wu Xiaoming narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, I know there was another person there last night. I'm the owner, remember?" Elijah Erikson chuckled: "It's not hard to figure out, even with all the security cameras dead, just need to check the guest list and see who left in a hurry. But, uh - I'm afraid I can't tell you who it was, but I know he and you must have shared some - uh - some similar interest and expertise."
Wu Xiaoming got the insinuation immediately: "So - uh - you know?"
"Of course I know!" The old man sighed and shook his head: "For a while now, unfortunately not soon enough, not in time. Probably ten, eleven years since I signed my name on the contract, to be exact."
"I - I'm sorry, sir, that sucked."
"Don't be, I'm a businessman, I've screwed over others too." Elijah Erikson chuckled: "But - this is still something that's been a pain on my side. Especially now. It's bound to happen some day, and last night was just - slightly sooner than expected."
"O-okay?" Wu Xiaoming was still not sure what the intention of the old man was.