Chapter 174 Thick Skin [VIP]

Chapter Summary: I already guessed it, so I have no interest in being a tool.

He Zhiyue picked up his suit jacket from the sofa and put it on. Just as he was picking up his overcoat, he heard a loud noise coming from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, the heavy office door was pushed open, and Liu Rui clumsily squeezed in.

Luke, who followed behind, couldn't stop him and reported helplessly, "President He, Teacher Liu said she has something to discuss with you and insists on seeing you."

He Zhiyue looked at Liu Rui and frowned slightly.

"Teacher Liu, I have to leave soon and don't have time to meet with guests."

A charming smile spread across Liu Rui's face as she took two steps closer to He Zhiyue: "President He, I..."

His gaze fell on the small gift box in He Zhiyue's hand, and he paused, realizing it looked somewhat familiar.

The next second, Liu Rui remembered that the gift box she had seen Mu Zhi put into her bag in the parking lot was this very gift box.

So this was a gift from Mu Zhi?

Liu Rui's heart was in turmoil. At the same time, she was not very surprised by the possible relationship between Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue. She had just bumped into Mu Zhi at the door and had already had her suspicions.

At this moment, the glaring gift box was placed in front of him, and recalling the rumors that Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue had previously made headlines, it was indeed not just baseless speculation, but that the two of them really had a special relationship in private.

The joy Liu Rui felt upon seeing He Zhiyue vanished instantly; she felt her limbs stiff and cold, and her heart was filled with resentment.

She lost in terms of age and beauty, and now even her man has been easily won over by Mu Zhi.

Mu Zhi got all the good things by herself! It also made people think that Mu Zhi was very shrewd. She managed to take down the boss quietly without letting anyone in the company know.

When exactly did it start...?

Liu Rui's mind raced, her expression constantly shifting. Only when He Zhiyue asked, "What do you want?" did she snap out of her daze. Being an actress, she immediately suppressed any inappropriate emotions and quickly calmed down.

Liu Rui looked away from the gift box, looked up at He Zhiyue, and said that she had been thinking about something and had been distracted.

Liu Rui composed herself and explained her purpose for coming.

"Mr. He, I have something I'd like to discuss with you about work."

He Zhiyue: "Teacher Liu, I haven't been to the company for half a year. The new professional manager will start work in two days. If you need anything, you can contact him, or you can contact Director Ji."

“The new professional agent hasn’t started yet. Mr. He, you are still the boss of Lanxing Media. You can’t just ignore us, can you? Most of the company’s artists were signed by you personally.”

He Zhiyue raised her hand and glanced at her watch: "You only have 10 minutes."

Liu Rui nodded: "Okay."

The two of them came over to the sofa.

He Zhiyue first placed the gift in her hand to her side, then folded the coat draped over her arm and placed it next to the gift, seemingly casually, which conveniently covered the gift.

Liu Rui noticed that He Zhiyue handled the gift box with care when he put it down, his face showing a tenderness and appreciation she had never seen before, and her heart sank.

She originally came to see He Zhiyue to discuss her contract renewal with Lanxing Media.

It's already January, and her contract with Lanxing Media will expire at the end of this year. It was a six-year contract.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Liu Rui swallowed back the prepared speech.

"President He, from now on you'll be working at the He Group headquarters and no longer managing Lanxing Media? Are you handing over authority to professional managers?"

He Zhiyue pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Once the new general manager reports for duty, the company will send an email to all employees explaining the situation in detail."

During the past six months, while I was away from the company, everything operated smoothly. Going forward, Lanxing Media will continue its steady development.

This means that his absence will not affect the overall development of Lanxing Media.

He Zhiyue thought for a moment and added, "I have poured a lot of effort into Lanxing Media."

The implication is that he hasn't completely abandoned Lanxing Media. Ultimately, the professional managers he hired are paid by He Zhiyue, and He Zhiyue is still the boss.

Upon hearing this, Liu Rui felt both relieved and heavy-hearted.

She specifically inquired and found out that Mu Zhi had signed a 5-year contract with Lanxing Media, which would expire at the end of this year.

In the parking lot, Mu Zhi didn't respond to her probing.

However, given Mu Zhi's current status and importance in Lanxing Media, and the fact that the company's key film project is being prepared for her, it is clear that the company values ​​Mu Zhi more than anyone else.

Liu Rui looked at He Zhiyue's hand resting on his knee, occasionally tapping it lightly as a silent urging.

She braced herself and tentatively asked, "President He, I heard that the company is preparing a film project, and Mu Zhi is involved. It seems that Mu Zhi and the company will have a pleasant working relationship?"

He Zhiyue looked at Liu Rui with a cold gaze, "I reminded Teacher Liu before that she should focus on herself and not pay attention to other artists."

The so-called urgent and important matter you wanted to discuss with me is just inquiring about other artists in the company? Sorry, I don't have time for that.

After saying that, He Zhiyue stood up directly.

He had to rush to the airport, so he grabbed the gifts and clothes without even glancing at Liu Rui, and headed out the door.

Liu Rui had no idea that touching He Zhiyue's sore spot would provoke such strong resentment. She hurriedly stood up to try and explain, but He Zhiyue ignored her and disappeared through the door in the blink of an eye.

She hadn't even had a chance to find out where He Zhiyue's gift came from...

My meeting with Mu Zhi today was anything but pleasant.

Originally, he was supposed to talk to He Zhiyue about renewing his contract with the company, but a gift from Mu Zhi distracted him and ruined his meeting with He Zhiyue.

Liu Rui thought about the highly probable secret relationship between Mu Zhi and He Zhiyue, and her hatred for Mu Zhi intensified, feeling that Mu Zhi had taken away everything that should have belonged to her.

Mu Zhi was like a thorn in her flesh, as if it were embedded in her very bones; even if it meant breaking her bones, she had to remove it.

"If I'm not happy, you won't be happy either," Liu Rui said angrily.

The grand ceremony that evening.

On the red carpet, Mu Zhi made a grand entrance as the finale.

During a routine interview on the red carpet, the host, following the instructions on the stage card, proactively brought up Mu Zhi's new drama.

Red carpet host: "Zhizhi, tell us what you've been busy with lately? It seems like you've been busy promoting a movie, right?"

Mu Zhi: "Yes, I've been doing promotional tours for the movie 'Escape from the Game' recently. It will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I hope everyone can support it."

The red carpet host asked, "I've seen the special effects in this movie, and they're absolutely stunning. Besides the special effects, would you like to tell us about the highlights of this movie?"

Many popular celebrities came tonight, and the red carpet event took a long time, running a bit overtime.

The interview time for the artists who appeared later had to be shortened.

When it came to Mu Zhi, the red carpet host still had the leisure to ask her questions, as if cooperating with her to promote the movie to her heart's content, which was obviously a pre-arranged process.

The organizers treated Mu Zhi very well.

We entered the inner area.

Mu Zhi sat in the front row with well-known directors, middle-aged and older actresses, and business tycoons.

During the awards ceremony, she went on stage twice to accept the award.

The second award she received was related to film, and when Mu Zhi gave her acceptance speech, she promoted the film "Escape from the Game," which will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Remember that you came here tonight with a propaganda mission.

Tonight, Mu Zhi wasn't the only one using the event to promote her film. The director of a patriotic film released during the Spring Festival, who was seated one seat away from Mu Zhi, also took the opportunity to promote his film while accepting his award.

The competition among films during the Spring Festival season is fierce, and all of them face great pressure in terms of promotion.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be flying directly to the city where the roadshow will be held to meet up with the main creative team. After receiving the award, Mu Zhi was also nearing the end of the awards ceremony, so she left early.

As Mu Zhi and her team were leaving, an actress came over to say hello.

Mu Zhi took a closer look and recognized her as Chi Yue, who had been using her to create buzz a few months ago.

"Hello, Teacher Mu."

Seeing Chi Yue smiling warmly at her as if she were a close friend, Mu Zhi couldn't figure out what the other woman was up to, so she simply nodded and said, "Hello, Teacher Chi Yue."

Chi Yue, holding her phone, asked, "Teacher Mu, would it be convenient to exchange contact information?"

Mu Zhi: "...Sorry, my phone is dead. Maybe next time."

Although it's true that you shouldn't hit someone who's smiling, and even if the teams are fighting offline, it's best to be amicable online, Mu Zhi felt that Chi Yue's smile was too fake, so she didn't bother to cooperate and left with her team.

On the way to the parking lot.

Minmin whispered to Muzhi the purpose of Chi Yue's "show of goodwill".

"Chi Yue's comedy film wrapped up filming in early December after four months of shooting. During the filming period, she participated in some brand events, but her offline popularity was average. She also bought trending topics for brand events, but the data was even more average and cannot be compared with her previous performance."

After all, he disappeared from the industry for two years. When he came back, the news only attracted a lot of attention at the beginning, and then the popularity dropped.

"Tonight is Chi Yue's first major event since her comeback. Sister Zhizhi, she used to put you down, but this time, whether it's walking the red carpet, the seating, or winning the pork award, she can't compare to you."

I guess she didn't want to be dragged down by you, so she changed her approach and tried to create a buzz about their friendship.

If Mu Zhi and Chi Yue exchanged contact information, it would definitely be a trending topic tonight. After putting down Mu Zhi, Chi Yue now wants to stick close to Mu Zhi and have a #BeautySticking# moment.

Who cares about losing face if it can generate buzz and discussion?

Mu Zhi had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, so she had no interest in being a tool.

When we got to the parking lot, another shameless person showed up.

Ji Peng, the talent agent director of Shengyu Media.

"Teacher Mu, we meet again."

In the past two years, Ji Peng would appear to greet Mu Zhi at almost every grand event she attended, asking when she would be free to have a meal with him.

Despite repeated rejections, I persisted in inviting them again.

Ji Peng extended another invitation: "Professor Mu, when are you free? Our boss would like to meet with you. Let's arrange a time after the New Year?"

This time it's a little different; Ji Peng has been replaced by the CEO of Shengyu Media.

Knowing that this year is Mu Zhi's last year at Lanxing Media, I wanted to show my utmost sincerity and have a talk with her.

Mu Zhi did not directly refuse: "Let's talk about it after the New Year."

This year, when she has some free time, she should really think about whether she will stay or leave after her contract with Lanxing Media expires.

The next morning, Mu Zhi and her team flew to Hezhou for a roadshow.

Just as the creative teams of the film scheduled for release during the Spring Festival were busy flying around major cities across the country, carrying out promotional roadshows in full swing.

Two films have announced their withdrawal from release.

Mu Zhi returned to the hotel at 11 pm after finishing her roadshow; she hadn't had a chance to check her phone all day.

Upon returning, I received a call from my agent mentioning the withdrawal of other films from release schedules.

Ji Binghe used two idioms to describe it: deserting in the face of battle or retreating bravely from the rapids.

Mu Zhi has been too busy lately and hasn't had time to pay close attention to other films in the Spring Festival lineup.

I learned this from Ji Binghe.

"Up to January, a total of 10 films were scheduled for the Spring Festival season. Now, 2 have been withdrawn, leaving 8. These include 1 patriotic film, 3 comedies, 1 action film, 2 animated films, and 1 romance film."

The two films that were withdrawn were a suspense film and a science fiction film.

"I understand that the sci-fi films that were pulled from the release schedule seem to have had subpar special effects, and they probably felt they would be at a disadvantage if they were to compete with 'Escape from the Game.' In addition, marketing expenses during the Spring Festival season are really expensive, so choosing another release date is a wise choice."

This is a good thing for our film; it means one less competitor in the same genre.

We've now entered a crucial promotional period. All the films scheduled for the Spring Festival are busy with roadshows, and no more films will be withdrawn or added to the lineup.

End the call with the agent.

Mu Zhi asked Minmin curiously about how optimistic netizens were about the Spring Festival movies.

According to the screenshots sent by Minmin, such as the number of people who want to see the 8 movies on the ticketing software, the popularity of the forum discussion posts, the popularity ranking of the upcoming movies, and the promotion of the short video platform, the main ones are patriotic movies, one comedy film and one animated film that is released every year, plus "Escape from the Game". These four are the most anticipated and have the highest popularity.

The box office performance of the eight films will be revealed once pre-sales begin, providing a preliminary picture of the first round of competition.