Meanwhile, after getting an earful from his daughter in front of the doctor, Wen Xiyue wasn’t the least bit upset. On the contrary, he bustled her straight to the company, eager to show her off to everyone.
Look at this. My daughter, Wen Xiyue’s daughter. As of today, she’s the new boss of Qingxin Entertainment.
Qingxin Entertainment occupied floors twelve through fifteen of an office building downtown. It wasn’t large by any measure. In the vast landscape of Huaguo’s entertainment industry, it barely qualified as a second-tier company.
When Wen Li walked through the front doors with her father, the girl at the front desk was on a call. She looked up, caught sight of Wen Li, and nearly dropped her phone on the desk.
“Mr. Wen, hello, Mr. Wen…” the girl stammered, her eyes fixed on Wen Li without blinking.
The whole way in, every employee they passed had their gaze pulled toward Wen Li. Some whispered behind their hands. Some pulled out their phones and pretended to text while sneaking glances. A few just stopped dead in their tracks and stared.
One thought ran through every head.
Where did Mr. Wen dig up this new artist?
If a face like that debuted, wouldn’t it just slaughter the whole industry?
“Who’s that? A new signing? My god, that face is unreal.”
“Where’d Mr. Wen find a treasure like that? With looks like those, she’d blow up overnight.”
“And her figure. And her presence. Since when can our company sign someone at this level?”
Wen Xiyue led his daughter straight into the main conference room and had his assistant call the agents in for a meeting.
Soon, four agents filed in one after another. Qingxin Entertainment didn’t have many artists, but it was a complete operation in miniature. Management, publicity, business affairs, all the departments were there.
The moment the agents walked in, they noticed Wen Li sitting beside Wen Xiyue. A flicker of awe passed through each of their gazes in turn, followed quickly by confusion.
“Everyone, let me introduce you.” Wen Xiyue stood and patted Wen Li on the shoulder. “This is my daughter, Wen Li. As of today, she is Qingxin Entertainment’s new general manager. All company affairs are hers to handle.”
A moment of silence fell over the room.
The agents exchanged looks, their shock and doubt barely hidden. Mr. Wen’s daughter? So young, barely into her twenties by the look of her. Just out of university, and she was supposed to run a company? Was Mr. Wen being too flippant about this?
The most senior of them, a man everyone called Brother Liu, spoke first. His tone was respectful enough, but there was a probing edge to his question. “Mr. Wen, the company is facing a few thorny problems right now. We’re short on funds, Zhou Ze is negotiating his contract termination, and two of our second-tier artists are wavering. Don’t you think it’s better if you make the call on these matters yourself?”
On the surface, he was asking Wen Xiyue for direction. In truth, he was politely voicing his lack of confidence in Wen Li.
The other agents didn’t speak, but their eyes said the same thing.
Wen Xiyue was about to respond when Wen Li spoke up first.
“If Zhou Ze wants to terminate, let him.”
Everyone froze.
Zhou Ze was currently Qingxin Entertainment’s only borderline top-tier male star. Things had been tense lately after a failed performance bet, but he was still the company’s pillar.
Let him go? What would be left of the company then?
Wen Li didn’t know what the agents were thinking, but she remembered clearly.
In about half a year, this idol-turned-actor would be exposed in a huge scandal for a secret marriage and a child. And the woman he’d secretly married was the most active fan leader in his fan club.
The moment that came out, Zhou Ze’s persona would collapse completely, his commercial value plummeting to nothing. Forget being top-tier. Whether he could even stay in the industry would be a question.
In her last life, the company had paid a steep price to keep Zhou Ze, only for the news to break and Zhou Ze to be finished. Wen Xiyue’s blood pressure had spiked, and Qingxin Entertainment had taken a heavy blow. It took a year or two to recover.
A time bomb like that. She wasn’t keeping it.
As for the two second-tier artists, Su Xiangwan and Cheng Yu, Wen Li had impressions of them too. Both had decent character and solid professional skills. In her last life, when the company was at its lowest, neither had kicked them while they were down. They’d just kept their heads down and filmed.
“Don’t go out of your way to keep Su Xiangwan and Cheng Yu,” Wen Li said. “Give them the resources they’re owed, and handle everything by the contract until it expires. As for the company’s funding, that’ll be resolved soon.”
The funding would be resolved soon?
The agents glanced at each other. The disbelief on their faces was plain, but with Wen Xiyue present, none of them said much.
Wen Xiyue, hearing this, couldn’t help looking puzzled.
Wen Li turned to him and lowered her voice, leaning in close to his ear. “Dad, don’t worry about the funding. Ji Zongting will take care of it soon.”
At those words, the knot in Wen Xiyue’s chest loosened at once. He still had some doubts about his daughter’s management abilities, but if Ji Zongting was willing to step in, the company’s troubles were as good as solved.
He nodded, satisfied, added a few more instructions, and took his leave with an easy mind.
The moment Wen Xiyue left, the atmosphere in the conference room turned subtle. The agents looked at one another, unsure how to treat this young Ms. Wen who had dropped out of the sky.
Wen Li didn’t mind. Without hurry, she turned to the assistant beside her. “Go bring me all the company’s current project files. I want to look through them one by one.”
Then she looked at the agents and smiled. “You should all stay too. I’d like to learn from you about how the company operates.”
They sat back down.
The assistant soon returned with a thick stack of folders, piling them in front of Wen Li like a small mountain. Wen Li’s expression didn’t change. She picked up the top one, opened it, and read page by page with care. Now and then, when she hit something she didn’t understand, she’d look up and ask a question. The questions were simple, but every one cut straight to the point.
The agents had been a little dismissive at first. Gradually, they didn’t dare be. They answered every question and their attitude sobered considerably.
Wen Li spent the whole day buried in the company. She read through every project file, pulled up the last three years of financial statements, and found time to meet with the heads of publicity and business affairs. By the end, she had a rough grasp of the company’s current operations.
By the time the workday ended, word of the new Ms. Wen’s sudden arrival had spread through the entire company.
At the same time, in a high-end apartment downtown.
Zhou Ze lounged on the sofa with his legs crossed, his phone wedged between his ear and shoulder. He scrolled his tablet idly while he talked.
“Right, the old man’s daughter. Dropped into the company today as general manager. A girl in her early twenties. Pretty enough, I’ll give her that. Run a company? Please.”
He snorted and complained to the friend on the other end of the line.
“Qingxin Entertainment is finished, if you ask me. Otherwise, why would Wen Xiyue push his own daughter out front? Trying to cure a dead horse.”
Whatever the voice on the other end said only made Zhou Ze laugh harder. “Of course I’m not staying. I already told Old Liu. When my contract’s up, I’m not renewing. Qingtian Pictures is offering me way better terms than Qingxin. A full percentage point more on the split, and they promised me the male lead in Chang’an Crossing.”
His voice was practically dripping with smugness as he went on. “That’s Director He Jianping’s new project. An S+ production, three hundred million in investment. Half the industry is circling that fat piece of meat. Miss this, and I’ll probably never get another shot like it.”