Everyone knew that the President went into a rage just after Shi Sheng and Co. left. No one knew what they had talked about, all they knew was that the company had dissolved the contract with Shi Sheng. Even Tang Yin had resigned.
Xia Man drove while Shi Sheng sat in the passenger’s seat and Tang Yin sat in the back.
Even now he was still in a stunned state. He hadn’t said a single word since entering the CEO’s office and had instead listened to his artist and Xia Man team up to deal with Xi Mo. Not only had the contract been dissolved, even he had been ‘dug’[1] away?
“I’ve already picked out the company address. All the funds are in place and ready.” Shi Sheng ignored what Tang Yin was going through mentally as she lowered her head to quickly type in some words on her notebook. “All that’s left are the artists.”
“En, we’ll have to invite a professional for this.” Xia Man was sighing inwardly. A month ago, she had handed over the assets she had inherited from her mother to Shi Sheng. Just the liquid cash alone was a hefty sum. When added to the fixed assets as well as some hard[2] assets, it amounted to $50 million.
That was $50 million, not $5 million. Back then she herself wasn’t sure why she believed Jiang Wan. She had clearly spoken in such an exaggerated and careless manner but her expression had been too sincere… sincere to the point of making others subconsciously want to believe her.
But when she saw how many folds her assets had multiplied by a month later, all that was left was stunned shock. ‘This money-making speed… is simply godly!’
“I’m leaving some of the liquid assets. After all, we’ll need a lot of funds in the future. I’ll need to earn more. For the early stages, $50 million should be enough.”
Xia Man had no objections. After all, though she had contributed the start-up capital, it would have been impossible if she had wanted to make it increase by a few folds.
“Wait, wait a second…” Tang Yin finally reacted. “You guys want to open a company?”
“Yep, the company is already registered.” Shi Sheng turned to look at Tang Yin. “You’re in charge of all the matters relating to our company’s artists. I want the sort of… pretty and cute kind. The ones that can be stared at for hours even if they don’t do anything.”
Xia Man “…” ‘How is that an artist? That’s actually a national treasure, right?’
Tang Yin “…” ‘What has she been up to in the past month?! Are all artists nowadays this indecipherable? Those words in the elevator just now were all a set up just for this moment, right? They definitely were!
…Why do I keep feeling like I’ve boarded a pirate ship[3]?’
With Tang Yin joining in, some of the problems that had been overlooked by the two were pointed out, avoiding the process of trial-and-error. Tang Yin had received the same education as a child born of a rich family so he was able to catch quite a lot of problems. However, Tang Yin discovered that his artist wasn’t any worse than he was at this.
As her agent, he had naturally researched her ancestry to the 18th generation[4] but in the materials he had on her, she hadn’t even gone to University, so how did she know all these?
Even if he held doubts, Shi Sheng had no intention of telling him. If he asked, she’d just say she was a natural talent. And when the company really started, he was simply too busy and had no time to continue investigating this matter in greater depth.
……
Shi Sheng had recently been worked to the point she probably couldn’t remember the four cardinal directions anymore. After much effort, she finally managed to squeeze some time out to relax. She exited the private room she was in, and having drunk quite a bit, she was a bit dizzy. She patted her face as she made her way towards the restrooms.
The path to the restrooms required one to walk through a long, curved corridor. Just as Shi Sheng was about to go over, her eyes caught a familiar silhouette.
The man was wearing an inky-black workout outfit. Both his hands were stuck in his pockets. Since he was facing away from Shi Sheng, she couldn’t see what expression he had on right now.
A woman wearing an exquisite slim skirt which showed off her curves was standing in front of him. Her fair neck and a shoulder were exposed. She raised her head to look at the man, loving admiration written all over her face. Shi Sheng didn’t announce her presence, instead, she leaned against the wall and watched them.
“Big brother Qingyun, you’ve already been back for so long, why haven’t you gone home yet? Grandpa really misses you. I… I miss you too.” Tang Yan’s voice was full of bashfulness. Where was the domineeringness now?
“Why should I go?”
Lu Qingyun’s face was full of smiles, making that already handsome face of his even better looking. His ink-like eyes sparkled as they reflected light. His image was clearly that of a noble and elegant young master but somehow, he seemed full of spite and animosity.
“We…” Tang Yan was a bit stumped about what to do, but she gritted her teeth. “We have an engagement.”
“Engagement?” Lu Qingyun’s pure voice was exceptionally clear in the silent corridor. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who didn’t admit to this engagement back then. Why are you trying to get back with me now[5]?”
Tang Yan’s expression changed as her pupils contracted. However, she calmed down quickly. “Big brother Qingyun, I can explain.”
“Don’t.” Lu Qingyun’s eyes had curved into crescents by now. He opened his lips and spoke, “There’s no need to.”
It was like someone had hit the pause button on Tang Yan. Even though she was wearing makeup, her face appeared to have an ashen pallor. She stared at Lu Qingyun in a daze. In her eyes was regret, unwillingness, as well as loving admiration. All sorts of complicated feelings were mixed together.
Lu Qingyun didn’t even look at her as he turned to walk towards Shi Sheng. He didn’t seem surprised to see her, as if he had already known she’d be there.
Shi Sheng remained leaning against the wall, her posture very casual and languid. Seeing him, she gave a superficial smile and spoke, “Patr- Mr Lu, what a coincidence. I guess the saying that two people who are fated to be together will meet even if they are miles apart[6] is true. It seems like our destinies are intertwined, won’t you consider keeping me?”
Lu Qingyun’s smiling gaze travelled down her face and slowly landed on her chest. Ripples formed in his eyes but one could tell he was feeling contempt.
Shi Sheng followed Lu Qingyun’s gaze before her expression darkened. ‘This bitch is scorning my chest again? Come on, it’s at least a B-cup, right? Ah pei! Pervert! Looking at my chest the moment you come up to me!’
“Big brother Qingyun…” Tang Yan caught up from behind. She blanked out a bit when she saw Shi Sheng but it quickly changed into a look of jealous hatred. “Jiang Wan, why are you here?”
‘Was she speaking with big brother Qingyun just now? How did big brother Qingyun get to know her?’ In these few seconds, Tang Yan’s mind was already churning.
Shi Sheng looked at her. “My legs are on my body so I can go anywhere I like.”
This woman actually had such a relationship with Lu Qingyun. It hadn’t been mentioned in the story.
Though, now that she thought about it, Tang Yan hadn’t even shown up more than a couple of times in the story. ‘Have I activated side-story mode?’
Tang Yan probably wanted to curse at her right now but refrained from doing so because Lu Qingyun was present. She could only angrily warn her off, “Jiang Wan, I’m telling you, don’t pester big brother Qingyun. He’s not someone your type can fantasize about.”
“Uh, I’m not fantasizing.” Shi Sheng spoke very sincerely, “I just want him to keep me.”
‘I’m not that shallow! Especially not if it’s Lu Qingyun this scumbag…’
Shi Sheng suddenly felt a chill which interrupted her inner cursing. She looked up to see Lu Qingyun’s smiling eyes. Those eyes that seemed as warm and gentle as water were, in truth, full of ill-intent. ‘I(bbb) didn’t… seem to have said anything though?’
“You-” Tang Yan pointed at Shi Sheng, her face reddened, whether from rage or shame we do not know. “How can you be so shameless?”
‘You already want big brother Qingyun to keep you and you call that not fantasizing?!’
‘You still dare to look at big brother Qingyun! You despicable bitch, I’ll make you pay!’Madness flashed in Tang Yan’s eyes. ‘Big brother Qingyun is mine, no one can take him from me!’
[1] This means scouted/poached. I only left it in because it had the single apostrophes around that word in the raws.
[2] Gold/jewellery etc. Basically, stuff that’ll be likely to retain its value over a long period of time.
[3] Figure of speech for entering a venture of dubious merit.
[4] Not literal in this case. I think. It means he researched her background thoroughly.
[5] This sounded harsher in the raws. He was nearly outright accusing her of being a gold-digger, though for status instead of money.
[6] I actually took some liberties here. In the original it was that if there was fate then two people will meet even if they are separated by a thousand li, or 500km.