Princess Syndrome - Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Report
August? September? October?
Where had she heard it—that Ji Zhiyi's birthday was in the second half of the year? Six months to choose from, how could she guess?
No, that's not right.
Why was she trying to guess Ji Zhiyi's birthday anyway?
Was she planning to do Ji Zhiyi's nails or something?
That person would definitely look at her like she was crazy. Su Lingyue shook her head. The assistant, thinking she was dissatisfied, said, "Don't like it? I have others."
Su Lingyue held her hand: "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
The assistant didn't mind: "Well, Assistant Su, just let me know when you want to change it, and I'll do it for you."
Su Lingyue smiled in agreement, then suddenly asked, "What color represents June?"
The assistant said, "Let me see..."
Su Lingyue glanced at her phone, seeing a chart-like explanation that corresponded to some Eight Characters information. It was quite complex. She asked the assistant, "Could you send that to me?"
The assistant said, "Sure! Are you interested in studying this too, Assistant Su?"
She wasn't.
Not at all.
Su Lingyue smiled: "Just a bit curious."
The assistant began explaining enthusiastically. Yang Zhizhi rolled her eyes and coughed. Su Lingyue said, "I'll consult you about it next time."
"Okay!" The assistant beamed, looking delighted.
Yang Zhizhi took a sip of ice water when her phone rang. Being close by, Su Lingyue saw Zhou Yan's name flash on the screen. She remained quiet as Yang Zhizhi answered the call.
Zhou Yan's attitude was much more eager than before, perhaps because he'd heard about Su Lingyue coming to the film set. Yang Zhizhi smiled, glancing at Su Lingyue before stepping outside.
She said, "Mr. Zhou, there's no need to be so rushed."
It was Zhou Yan wanting to confirm the contract signing time.
Zhou Yan hadn't been in a hurry originally. Having finally negotiated the termination agreement with Lin Fei and signed it, logically, negotiating with Yang Zhizhi wasn't an urgent matter. After all, even if they didn't work with Yang Zhizhi, there were other artists available.
But then Lin Fei had mentioned something on Weibo after terminating her contract.
A mere mention wouldn't normally be a big deal, but at this crucial moment, it certainly was.
Yesterday, rumors spread that she was terminating her contract with Su Qi, reaching the trending topics. Just as that died down, today brought another wave, combining with yesterday's momentum to instantly trend again.
Now everyone was mocking Su Qi for kicking someone while they were down, saying that despite the three-year contract, they were ready to abandon Lin Fei now that she had no more value to them.
What's more, some marketing account revealed that Su Qi was currently negotiating endorsement deals with Yang Zhizhi.
[Oh, so it's a case of new love making you forget the old, huh? Squeeze every last drop from our Fei Fei and then kick her away?]
[Whoever buys Su Qi shoes, I'll laugh at them for life! Trash!]
[Yes, yes, yes, Lin Fei has no influence anymore, so Su Qi should abandon her. But Yang Zhizhi's fans should take note—tomorrow it might be your idol getting drained dry and kicked aside!]
[Finally, the contract's terminated! We can finally release all this pent-up anger! Before, we held back for Fei Fei's sake, endured silently, bought your shoes—how did you treat our Fei Fei? Do you have any conscience? [Image][Image][Image][Image][Image]]
This last post directly shared Lin Fei's Weibo—it was from her fan support group.
In Zhou Yan's view, what he'd considered the most contemptible and weakest expired celebrity fan club had actually compiled evidence of Su Qi exploiting Lin Fei, with explanatory text overlaid on the images that was shocking to see.
If this situation wasn't handled well, Su Qi would certainly be cursed to death. Zhou Yan hadn't really cared about these netizens before, thinking their cursing wouldn't amount to much, but when he had his assistant try to contact other celebrities, without exception, the response was that they needed to think about it.
They couldn't even get a meeting.
Su Qi wasn't a small company—previously, many celebrities had actively sought to endorse Su Qi's products. How had it fallen to this state? Zhou Yan couldn't believe it. He personally made calls to arrange meetings, only to be told they were either busy or filming.
Only then did he realize the consequences of Lin Fei's Weibo post.
He regretted not considering the impact of public opinion earlier.
So Yang Zhizhi went from being the first choice.
To being the only choice.
If they could just sign Yang Zhizhi, they could use her fans' help to generate positive reviews. Su Qi could still get through this crisis. That's why he was anxious to settle things with Yang Zhizhi, especially after hearing that Su Lingyue was back on set.
Yang Zhizhi listened to Zhou Yan paint grand pictures of the future. She wasn't new to the industry and wouldn't blindly believe him. Instead, she said she needed to discuss it with Sister Lin. Zhou Yan said, "I've already invited Ms. Lin. We'll wait for you at Haotai tonight."
Although displeased, Yang Zhizhi maintained her patience and said, "Alright, Mr. Zhou."
After hanging up, her expression turned cold.
Instead of returning to the shade tent, she prepared to call Sister Lin. Before she could dial, she received a Weibo notification.
She clicked it.
It was Lin Fei's Weibo.
After reading it, she frowned.
Su Lingyue was sitting in the tent when she saw Yang Zhizhi finish her call. She received a message from Ji Zhiyi: [You can come back now.]
She finished her milk tea, stood up, and said goodbye to Yang Zhizhi, who seemed distracted. The assistant noticed something was off and asked, "Zhizhi, what's wrong?"
Yang Zhizhi said, "Nothing." Then she looked at Su Lingyue: "You're heading back?"
Su Lingyue said, "There are some matters at the company. Yang Zhizhi, if you have any questions about the contract, feel free to contact me anytime."
Yang Zhizhi gave her a long look.
She nodded: "Okay."
Su Lingyue left the set.
Yang Zhizhi watched her leave, looked at the can of water in front of her, grabbed it tightly, and asked her assistant, "Lin Fei and Su Qi terminated their contract?"
The assistant said, "Yes, apparently. Yesterday when we went to Su Qi, I heard Lin Fei went there right after and discussed termination."
What a coincidence.
One right after the other.
Yang Zhizhi took a deep breath, then laughed.
The assistant was a bit scared by her laugh and asked more quietly, "Zhizhi, what's wrong?"
What's wrong?
Yang Zhizhi squeezed the can, making a harsh sound. She had been used.
Ji Zhiyi, oh Ji Zhiyi.
She truly was a fox.
She had naively thought Ji Zhiyi wanted to connect with Baoshun through her and her brother, but it turned out the trap was set with Lin Fei. Who could have guessed she'd take such a roundabout route, planting a bomb beside Lin Fei? Thinking of Zhou Yan's panicked tone, she wanted to laugh.
Stupid.
Utterly stupid.
Though she wasn't much smarter herself—what had been an advantage was now a disadvantage.
There was no way she could sign with Su Qi now. With the public's current negative impression of Su Qi, taking over from them would be like holding a hot potato. Not to mention the fans and netizens—if Lin Fei made a comeback in the future, this grudge would be set in stone.
Ji Zhiyi must have known that during her career's upward trajectory, she absolutely wouldn't allow something like this to happen, becoming a target for others to attack.
How despicable.
Even knowing how despicable she was, she still had to go beg her.
Sister Lin was the type who only cared about profit. As long as the money was right, nothing else mattered. With so many artists under her management, how could she truly care about her welfare? She only brought her out to be a cash cow—how could she pass up this opportunity for a bidding war?
If Yilin withdrew.
Then without a doubt.
Su Qi would be the highest bidder, and Sister Lin would definitely sell her to Su Qi.
Unless another company offered more.
But Yilin had already raised the starting price by two to three million. Other companies weren't like Su Qi, waiting to weather this storm—how could they possibly pay double the price for her endorsement?
Ji Zhiyi's series of moves.
She had completely lost her initiative.
Now it wasn't Yilin begging for her cooperation.
Instead, she had to beg Yilin for cooperation.
After understanding everything, Yang Zhizhi lifted the can, really wanting to smash it down. After a few seconds, she turned to her assistant and said, "Help me contact President Ji. Tell her I'd like to treat her to dinner."
The assistant was confused: "Huh?"
She didn't dare ask more, just nodded: "Okay."
Ji Zhiyi wasn't surprised when she received Yang Zhizhi's message. She put down her phone and looked at Su Lingyue's chat window. After she had sent that message, Su Lingyue had replied with just "OK," not a single word more.
Her finger hovered over the screen, wanting to type something, then stopped. Finally, she put the phone aside.
Su Lingyue was driving. When she arrived at the Yilin factory, she remembered Wu Meiyan and wondered if she had gone back. She stopped at the entrance and called Wu Meiyan.
Wu Meiyan hadn't left the factory yet and was looking at samples. She was surprised to receive Su Lingyue's call, and only then learned she was at the door. She said, "Wait for me a bit, I'll be done in ten minutes."
Su Lingyue said, "Okay."
She parked the car in the roadside parking area and lowered the window. Hot air rushed in, making her quickly close it again. With the air conditioning blowing on her face, Su Lingyue reclined her seat and browsed Weibo.
The hot topics were all about Lin Fei.
Scrolling down, several topics were about Lin Fei and Su Qi, all criticizing Su Qi—mentions, comments, topic discussions, digging up past incidents of Su Qi exploiting Lin Fei, even mocking Su Qi's recent new products.
The public reaction was stronger than she had imagined.
Thanks to yesterday's warm-up.
Ji Zhiyi was quite capable.
Su Lingyue thought.
Then she thought about Xie Lan's matter, wondering what Ji Zhiyi would do.
Would she believe her investigation and withdraw Xie Lan's draft?
Though she knew she shouldn't have such expectations, Su Lingyue's heart still harbored this hope. She even felt her heart skip a beat because of this hope. A knock on the window startled her. She turned to see Wu Meiyan standing outside. She lowered the window: "Secretary Wu."
Wu Meiyan smiled and sat in the passenger seat, saying, "You finished over there?"
Su Lingyue said, "Just finished."
Wu Meiyan said, "I just finished too." She looked a bit tired and rubbed her eyes. Su Lingyue started the engine and left the Yilin factory. After getting on the main road, Wu Meiyan said, "Lin Fei and Su Qi terminated their contract?"
Su Lingyue said, "Mm."
"I just heard people inside talking about it." Wu Meiyan said. They not only discussed the contract termination but also said many things attacking Su Qi. Remembering that Su Lingyue was still Su Qi's young lady after all, she carefully said, "Assistant Su, you..."
"I'm fine," Su Lingyue tilted her head, her expression calm and indifferent, her tone without emotional fluctuation, saying, "It's good."
Wu Meiyan: ...
It was good indeed.
Su Qi hadn't treated her well anyway.
Wu Meiyan kept quiet.
At the company, she finally found other topics to discuss, but Su Lingyue didn't seem very interested, just agreeing occasionally. After getting out of the car, Wu Meiyan let out a sigh. Chatting with Su Lingyue was much more tiring than chatting with Ji Zhiyi.
They entered the elevator together. Wu Meiyan received a call from Secretary Zhang. Wu Meiyan said into the phone, "I know, I'll be there soon. I'll come find you after I report to President Ji."
Still need to report to Ji Zhiyi?
Then shouldn't she also report the situation to Ji Zhiyi?
Su Lingyue bit her lip. After Wu Meiyan hung up, they walked out of the elevator together. When they reached the secretary's office, she saw Ji Zhiyi standing beside Secretary Li, giving some instructions. Secretary Li nodded while taking notes. Ji Zhiyi heard footsteps and turned around.
Su Lingyue and Wu Meiyan stood at the door.
She said to Secretary Li, "That's all, send it over first."
Secretary Li said, "Yes, President Ji."
Su Lingyue watched her stare steadily at herself and Wu Meiyan, somehow thinking of Wu Meiyan's mention of reporting.
Who would Ji Zhiyi have report first?
She clutched the edge of her bag, hearing Ji Zhiyi say, "Assistant Su, come in."
Su Lingyue held her breath for two seconds before saying, "Oh."
Listening carefully.
In that simple sound.
There was a hint of pleasure.
Lingyue relishing her victory in a nonexistent competition 🤣
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