If Gu Sinian could have resolved this matter himself, the Weibo trending search wouldn’t still be active. If Pei Su were willing or able to solve it, the trending search wouldn’t be there either. The fact that it remained pinned to the top could only mean one thing: Gu Sinian was powerless to stop it, and Pei Su either didn’t want to help or couldn’t.
But that didn’t mean Jiang Chiyu couldn’t intervene.
Hengfa’s entertainment division was small, consisting of only one minor company that relied entirely on Gu Sinian to stay afloat. If she could poach him, Hengfa’s entertainment sector would become little more than a hollow shell. What use was an entertainment company made up entirely of rookies? Not a single one of them could carry a show.
As for how Jiang Chiyu knew that Gu Sinian was the only pillar of Hengfa? The comment section on his Weibo had told her everything.
Anti-fans and former fans who had turned on him after his “downfall” were willing to say anything. What she had seen was likely a post from a hater:
Don’t Eat Cilantro: “The boss of Hengfa really knows how to pick ’em. Feeling like his entertainment company was about to kick the bucket, he spent a fortune poaching a ‘pillar’ from another company, thinking it would save them. Who would’ve thought that not long after, that pillar would become a tainted artist? [Clapping Emoji]”
Reading a paragraph like that, it was hard for Jiang Chiyu not to know.
The moment Jiang Chiyu spoke, she saw a brief flash of vacancy in Gu Sinian’s eyes. Then, as if resigning himself to fate, he lowered his gaze and turned to rest his hands on the balcony railing.
“I don’t know whose handiwork this is. The liquidated damages are astronomical. I’m covering 80%, and the company is handling the rest. Once the termination contracts with the brands are signed, I’ll be leaving Hengfa—and I’ll have to pay them a penalty as well.”
Hearing that last part, Jiang Chiyu’s eyes widened slightly. “You have to pay Hengfa too? How much?”
“Hengfa spent forty million to sign me to a two-year contract. Since I’ve only been with the company for a little over a year before this happened, I have to pay them twenty million according to the contract.”
Hearing that Pei Su could recoup twenty million made Jiang Chiyu feel more uncomfortable than anyone. She frowned. “How much of the brand damages is Hengfa covering for you?”
She wanted to know if Hengfa was actually turning a profit or taking a loss.
“Over twenty million,” Gu Sinian answered without hesitation.
So, they were paying over twenty million to the brands, but getting twenty million back from Gu Sinian? That meant Hengfa was barely taking a loss at all.
But if that were the case, why did Chen Mo say Pei Su might not even be able to scrounge up ten million in liquid capital?
Wait. An event this massive would surely tank Hengfa’s stock price. If the stock plummeted because of this, it wasn’t impossible that Pei Su was burning through his own cash to buy back shares and fill the gap.
Jiang Chiyu suddenly realized that if Hengfa’s 20% share of the damages was already over twenty million, that meant Gu Sinian’s total liquidated damages were nearly a hundred million!
Damn, is this guy really that rich?
Adding in the twenty million for Hengfa… he was essentially dropping a “small goal” of a hundred million just like that.
“I want to clarify your needs first. Do you only want to prove your innocence?”
“Should I have other needs?”
“If you still want to keep those endorsements, I’ll have to move faster. If you’re not interested in continuing to work with those brands, I can take my time. There’s no rush.”
“I don’t want to continue with them, but I need to prove my innocence as soon as possible.”
“Alright. Now, let me ask you one last time: are you certain you didn’t solicit a prostitute? If you’re sure, are there any other skeletons in your closet that someone could catch you on? I’ll handle them all at once.”
Jiang Chiyu spoke with such natural ease, as if she already knew she could resolve the situation successfully.
“I’m certain,” Gu Sinian said firmly. “I haven’t done anything wrong. But if it’s another case of someone twisting a photo to create a narrative out of thin air, I can’t give you a definitive answer.”
At that, he twitched the corner of his mouth into a grimace of a smile.
“Good. Now, here are my conditions: I’ll solve this for you, and you stay at Global for one year. No salary, but your endorsement and appearance fees will be set at the highest standard. During this period, you don’t have to worry about a single one of those messy trending topics. As long as you didn’t do it, I can protect you.”
As Jiang Chiyu spoke, she radiated confidence. Gu Sinian noticed it too, because the terms she was offering were not something a mere manager could promise.
She hadn’t discussed it with anyone or sought anyone’s permission; she said exactly what she was thinking, purely according to her own will. This could only be someone from the company’s high-level management.
But Gu Sinian had never heard his friend mention such a high-ranking executive at Global. So, where was she from? The head office? Hengchuang?
Could she be the newly appointed director of Hengchuang?
Gu Sinian’s eyes widened, hiding his shock. He didn’t answer immediately. Jiang Chiyu assumed he was thinking and didn’t rush him.
“If you can actually do it, I’ll work for you for free for two years.”
After tens of seconds of silence, Gu Sinian spoke each word with conviction, his gaze burning with intensity.
This development was honestly something Jiang Chiyu hadn’t expected. In fact, she had wanted to say two years originally, but knowing Pei Su had spent forty million just to sign him, she hadn’t dared to ask for that much.
Once this storm passed, Gu Sinian’s popularity would undoubtedly reach a new level. If she tried to poach him then, it might cost her more than twenty million. But what did he just say?
As long as she helped settle it, he would work for her for free for two years?
Global belonged to Hengchuang, and Hengchuang belonged to her. Gu Sinian saving money for Global was effectively saving money for her… which meant that money would end up in her pocket.
Suddenly, she was very motivated.
Forty million. She had to help him with this, no matter what.
“Then I’ll have my assistant draft a contract for you. You can sign it after you’ve reviewed it. It will mainly be about the mutual promises we just made.”
Words were fleeting; she needed to be cautious. This wasn’t just for her benefit, but for Gu Sinian’s as well.
Gu Sinian agreed. Looking at the new chat window on his WeChat and Jiang Chiyu’s receding figure, he gripped his phone tightly.
Should I trust this person? Did I do the right thing?
He had made a mistake. Because the moment Jiang Chiyu left, she immediately went to find Chen Mo.
“You know about the situation with Pei Su’s artist, right?”
Jiang Chiyu got straight to the point, without any beating around the bush.
Though he didn’t know why she was suddenly mentioning Gu Sinian again, Chen Mo answered, “It’s the work of his former agency.”
With just that one sentence, Jiang Chiyu knew she had made the right bet. Chen Mo’s reaction in the car earlier had been a bit off. As Pei Jinnian’s assistant, his channels for information were vast, especially concerning Pei Su. Jiang Chiyu had dared to talk big in front of Gu Sinian because she suspected as much.
“Which company is Gu Sinian’s former agency?”
Jiang Chiyu was asking so many questions that Chen Mo couldn’t help but let his mind wander toward some wild conclusions. “Do you have a thing for him?”
Before the words could even settle, Pei Jinnian, far away in a foreign country, raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.