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Jiang Yu sat in a chair in the company’s break room, holding an apple in his left hand as he took bites, while his right hand scrolled through Weibo, eagerly consuming gossip.

When he saw people criticizing Shen Qingran, his face lit up with joy, almost as if blooming into a flower. He was so delighted that he nearly gave the post a like.

“They’re roasting him so well. It’s rare to see Shen Qingran getting flamed like this,” Jiang Yu chuckled as he enjoyed the drama.

Ling Xia casually flipped her hair and instructed him, “Jiang Yu, I’m going to the conference room for a bit. Stay put and don’t get too close to the female artists in the company—be careful of getting secretly photographed and dragged into dating scandals.”

Jiang Yu nodded absentmindedly. “Got it.”

Seeing how engrossed he was in his gossip, Ling Xia gave him a few more warnings but ultimately decided to leave him be.

She was at the company today mainly to discuss resource allocation. She had to fight for better opportunities for Jiang Yu.

When Ling Xia entered the conference room, several other managers of different artists were already seated inside.

One of them, a woman with a short bob, shot Ling Xia a hostile look and sneered, “Of course, Manager Ling is such a big shot—keeping all of us waiting just for you.”

Ling Xia casually tossed her wavy, ash-blonde hair over her shoulder and elegantly took a seat. She looked at the woman with a lazy expression and said, “My apologies. My artist had his period, so we were a little late.”

“Ling Xia, why don’t you just say your artist went for an abor-tion?” The sarcasm in the woman’s voice was sharp. After all, everyone knew Ling Xia only managed Jiang Yu, so using a period as an excuse was clearly her not taking them seriously.

“An abortion? That’s something your artist, Xiao Hong, already set a prime example for. How would Jiang Yu even dare?” Ling Xia replied coolly.

Xiao Hong was an artist previously managed by Sister Pei. She had secretly gone to the hospital for an abortion after getting pregnant as a mistress, only to be caught and exposed by the legal wife, who brought reporters along. Her reputation had plummeted overnight, and her career was essentially ruined.

Hearing Ling Xia bring up such a sore topic, Sister Pei’s face darkened with anger.

Ling Xia, unfazed, examined her freshly done nails and continued, “Besides, I checked the time just now—I wasn’t late. The meeting was scheduled for 1 PM, wasn’t it? Or did I remember wrong?”

She deliberately turned to the other managers in the room.

The others quickly shook their heads and remained silent. Both Ling Xia and Sister Pei were top managers in the company, and none of them wanted to get involved in their conflict.

Ling Xia glanced at Sister Pei with a faint smile. “From what you’re saying, Sister Pei, you arrived early? That makes sense—I heard your artist hasn’t been very busy lately. Fewer jobs mean more free time, after all.”

“You—! Ling Xia, what’s that supposed to mean? No matter what, I’ve been in this industry longer than you. Do you have no respect for your seniors? Every time I say something, you talk back three times as much. Are you not taking me seriously at all?”

Sister Pei’s artist had suffered back-to-back failures at the box office recently. Two of their brand endorsement deals had also decided not to renew contracts.

Ling Xia, unfazed, crossed her legs elegantly and retorted, “Since when did this industry care about seniority? Isn’t it all about ability?”

She added with a smirk, “Besides, you said just now that everyone was waiting for me. Does that mean you don’t consider President Ji a person?”

At that moment, President Ji had just entered the room. Hearing his name mentioned, he glanced at the woman causing a scene with mild exasperation before proceeding to his seat.

As he took his seat, everyone else immediately stood up and greeted him respectfully.

President Ji started today’s meeting with the main agenda. “I’ve called everyone here for two main reasons. First, to discuss the recent resource allocations our company has secured. Second, to talk about acquiring the film and television rights from the novelist ‘Won’t Fly’ from Dian Niang.”

“Let’s start with the second point. The company is aiming to acquire the adaptation rights for ‘Deadly Me’ and ‘Nameless World’. As you all know, both of these novels were written by ‘Won’t Fly’, a platinum-ranked author on Dian Niang. Three years ago, the film rights for ‘Deadly Me’ were sold to Huancheng Media, and they spent two years producing a high-quality film. This suspenseful and mind-bending IP adaptation earned a box office revenue of 1.6 billion, making it the company’s most profitable project last year and achieving both commercial and critical success.”

This was a perfect case study.

Won’t Fly was already a highly popular author with a dedicated fan base. The success of the film adaptation only further boosted his reputation. More importantly, each of his subsequent novels kept improving, constantly reaching new heights.

“I heard that many companies have tried to buy the rights to his novels, but he refuses to sell. So far, he has only sold the rights to this one novel,” Sister Pei voiced her concern.

“From what I’ve gathered, this author is extremely protective of his work. His novels are quite complex, and he worries that buyers will make drastic changes during adaptation. That’s why offering a high price doesn’t work with him. The reason Huancheng Media was able to acquire the film rights back then was because they signed a special agreement. I recently found out the details of that agreement. If we can also…”

Inside the small meeting room, the group continued strategizing about how to secure the adaptation rights for Shi Fei’s two novels.

Meanwhile, outside in the lounge, Jiang Yu was happily watching the drama unfold between Shen Qingran and Shi Fei.

With his legs crossed, munching on an apple, he scrolled through the trending entertainment news posts. He knew these articles were exaggerating to stir controversy, but this time, he wasn’t worried.

Such tactics only worked on those without real talent. Others might not know the full picture, but he did.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure approaching but paid no attention. After all, this was a public lounge where other artists could also come in.

Sheng Shanshan walked in wearing an off-the-shoulder white dress. A flicker of delight flashed in her eyes when she spotted Jiang Yu. She had come over specifically because she saw him there.

She was a newly signed artist this year with little fame, and the company wasn’t giving her many opportunities. In the entertainment industry, if one wanted to rise to the top, they had to rely on themselves.

The lounge had a refrigerator, coffee machine, and other refreshments.

Sheng Shanshan walked past Jiang Yu, but he didn’t even lift his head, still fixated on his phone. Feeling unwilling to be ignored, she called out sweetly, “Brother Jiang, hello.”

“Mm,” Jiang Yu responded absentmindedly without looking up.

Unfazed, Sheng Shanshan grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the fridge and walked over to him. In a delicate voice, she asked, “Brother Jiang, I can’t open this bottle. Can you help me?”

“Which hand of mine looks free to you?” Jiang Yu said impatiently, holding an apple in one hand and his phone in the other.

Unfortunately, he didn’t even spare Sheng Shanshan a glance and added with obvious annoyance, “If you can’t open it, then don’t drink it. I’m busy.”

His blunt rejection made Sheng Shanshan’s face stiffen in embarrassment. Clenching her teeth, she deliberately took two steps closer and asked sweetly, “Brother Jiang, what are you looking at? You seem to be enjoying it a lot.”

Jiang Yu responded simply, “Weibo gossip.”

Sheng Shanshan leaned down slightly, angling herself so that if Jiang Yu just lifted his head, he would be able to see right through the gap in her top. She smiled, “What gossip? Let me take a look too.”

Jiang Yu instinctively looked up and immediately saw something he shouldn’t have. “What the f—!” He cursed aloud, swiftly twisting his flexible body—honed from years of dance practice—away from her. With a look of utter disgust, he grumbled, “What the hell is this eyesore? Damn, I need to see an eye doctor to cleanse my vision.”

“Brother Jiang—” Sheng Shanshan tried to move closer again, but Jiang Yu’s patience snapped. He barked, “tay away from me! We’re not familiar with each other. Either call me teacher Jiang Yu or Senior Jiang Yu, but don’t try to act close.”

Having been in the industry for years and reaching top-tier status, Jiang Yu was more than qualified to be addressed as a “senior” or “teacher” by newcomers like her.

After finishing his harsh words, he stormed out of the lounge with an ugly expression.

Several people outside the door had witnessed the entire scene. Some sneered in disdain, “Serves her right. Does she even know who Jiang Yu is? She thinks she can seduce just anyone.”

“Senior Jiang Yu has a reputation for being brutally honest. Back when he was a mentor on a talent show, someone tried to manipulate the results, and he called them out on the spot. And she dares to pull this stunt on him?”

“She must be so embarrassed now. Alright, show’s over. Nothing more to see here.”

Jiang Yu’s mood was completely ruined from having his gossip session interrupted. He escaped to a quiet balcony, hoping to get back to enjoying his online drama.

But when he glanced at his phone, he froze.

He had accidentally liked a post.

And not just any post—this one was from a notorious troll, clearly stirring up drama.

Even though he secretly agreed with what the troll was saying, he couldn’t be seen publicly endorsing it.

Panicked, he quickly unliked it.

He must have accidentally tapped it while dodging Sheng Shanshan earlier. But…it had already been two whole minutes since then.

Jiang Yu could already predict the outcome—his name would definitely be on the trending list within the hour.

Shit. When Sister Ling found out, she was going to kill him.

Thinking fast, he shoved his phone into his pocket and bolted for the elevators. Escape was the only option.

—

Meanwhile, in the conference room, Ling Xia received a message from her assistant, informing her about Jiang Yu’s unfortunate “like.”

Her expression darkened. The corner of her mouth twitched but she forced herself to maintain composure.

As soon as the meeting ended, she rushed out the door.

Sister Pei, who had also seen the trending news, quickly followed her, grinning maliciously. “Ling Xia, I saw the hot search. Your artist sure knows how to cause trouble. Every other day, you have to send out your PR team to clean up after him.”

Ling Xia shot back without missing a beat, “Do you think I need a PR team for something this minor? If you can’t even handle situations like this, no wonder all your artists are flops.”

She had no patience for arguments right now, so she didn’t bother being polite.

“Something’s already gone wrong, and you still have the mood to argue with me. If you ask me, Jiang Yu turning out like this is entirely your fault. Aside from singing, he hasn’t learned a single useful thing.”

Ling Xia scoffed, completely unfazed. “Our Jiang Yu is a singer first and foremost. As long as he sings well, what else do you want? Or do you expect him to be like your artist—bad at singing, bad at acting?”

She smirked and added, “Oh, almost forgot. Besides singing, our Jiang Yu also has a very handsome face.”

With that, she flicked her hair arrogantly and strutted off, her high heels clicking confidently against the floor. Her attitude screamed one thing—”Like manager, like artist.”

But the moment she stepped into an empty elevator, her smug expression completely disappeared.

Her anger was rising by the second. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists, her face dark with frustration—like someone owed her millions.

“Jiang Yu, you’re dead.”

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