Chapter 41 Cannon Fodder Assistant 6: The Dismissal Scene Turns into a Talent Snatching Scene?! ...

"When you meet the big boss, you don't need to say anything except to greet him. Leave everything to me. After I pin the whole blame on Qin Yanyun, you can come out and make a token apology. The main thing is to let the big boss see your attitude. Even if your salary or bonus is deducted later, don't be resentful. I will make it up to you through Qin Yanyun."

As Zhang Ge spoke, he paused, then added, "Our main purpose in going there now is to calm the big boss down and get him to retract his decision to fire you."

Li Qingran naturally had no objections to Brother Zhang's plan; he was simply curious about the big boss.

Why did he fire me?

"Does the person in charge of Jingyue Entertainment need a reason to fire someone?"

Brother Zhang turned to Li Qingran, shrugged, and then sighed:

"The main problem is that you've only been working for a short time and aren't yet familiar with the various rules of the workplace. Take this incident for example. Of the three people involved in the public opinion, Chu Yu isn't from our company, so we can't control him. Qin Yanyun is currently a pillar of the company, so it's impossible for us to reduce his popularity in order to eliminate the impact of public opinion on the company. So, tell me, besides removing the trending topic and replacing it with other news, is there any more convenient way to make this matter disappear from the public eye more quickly and effectively?"

Li Qingran pursed her lips.

Brother Zhang continued, "The fastest and most convenient way is to reduce the exposure of the person with the least influence among the three to the lowest possible level."

“As long as he doesn’t show up, after a while, the public will naturally forget about him, and the incident that started with him will also be sealed away in the old stories on the internet.”

Brother Zhang said, "It's true that the internet has a memory, but as long as no one mentions it, the internet's memory updates very quickly."

Li Qingran nodded in understanding, "So that's why the big boss wants to fire me?"

"That's part of the reason," Brother Zhang said, turning the steering wheel to the right and looking straight ahead.

"But more than that, it's because he dislikes trouble; while solving problems, he also enjoys dealing with the people who create them."

Brother Zhang turned his head and glanced at Li Qingran, saying, "For bosses like them who make millions every minute, they have too many people at their disposal, and there are plenty of people outside who want to join the company. So when someone makes a mistake, their first thought is not to give that person time to correct their mistake, but to fire them directly, not giving them a second chance to make the same mistake."

Li Qingran: "..."

He looked down at his hands, clasped together on his lap, his thumbs rubbing against each other, his long, thick eyelashes trembling slightly, as if he had been startled by Zhang Ge's words.

But in reality, Li Qingran just wanted to confirm with 888 the identity of this big boss in the original storyline.

[He's considered one of the bigger villains in this little world. He created a lot of obstacles in Qin Yanyun and Chu Yu's love story. After all, the two companies are competitors, and as a capitalist, he certainly doesn't want his artists to slip out of his control and run off with artists from another company.]

Li Qingran nodded to indicate that she understood, then thought for a moment and asked another question, "So, is he considered a main character?"

"Of course it counts!" 888 said, then gossiped with Li Qingran again.

[Furthermore, based on some information the main system gave me beforehand, this big boss is a bit of a psychopath. He has an extremely strong desire for control and particularly dislikes any mistakes made in the development of people or things he has arranged. This makes him feel very uncomfortable, especially if things continue to deteriorate. He might take extreme measures to readjust the people or things that went wrong to the direction he wants them to go.]

In the original storyline, Qin Yanyun's idea of ​​leaving the entertainment industry after falling in love with Chu Yu ruined the big boss's plans for his future development. This caused the boss to become extremely disgusted with Qin Yanyun's relationship with Chu Yu and wanted to sabotage it. As a result, Qin Yanyun's idea of ​​leaving the industry became even more intense. This vicious cycle eventually led to the big boss taking action against Chu Yu.

This was the biggest online backlash Chu Yu ever suffered in the story. Not only did his career plummet, but even his family members abandoned him. However, it was during this process that Qin Yanyun's unwavering support led to a qualitative leap in their relationship.

If Li Qingran's role as cannon fodder was to make Chu Yu and Qin Yanyun realize their feelings for each other, then the big boss's role was to make their feelings for each other even stronger.

After all, the two main characters in a novel always have to go through one or two hardships together to highlight their firm determination to choose each other.

Li Qingran blinked, said nothing more, but a thoughtful expression flashed across her face.

Seeing this, 888 didn't say anything more. On the one hand, it knew only so much, and on the other hand, it often played the role of an observer. Unless necessary, it wouldn't try to make its presence known when the host didn't need it.

After all, 888 isn't the kind of system with a strong sense of mission.

After a brief exchange, Yi Renyi fell silent. Zhang Ge, seeing that Li Qingran remained silent, assumed he was still worried about meeting the big boss later and spoke up:

"Don't worry, I won't let him fire you so easily."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran turned to look at Brother Zhang, who remained focused on driving, his eyes fixed straight ahead. He didn't look back at Li Qingran, but simply said softly:

"The only mistake you made was not going back to the dressing room right after buying the ice cream. You stood outside for a while and did nothing. Everything else was Qin Yanyun's own fault. If we're talking about who was at fault, he was the one who made the bigger mistake."

Li Qingran: "But Brother Zhang, didn't you just say that the boss doesn't care about right or wrong when he does things, he only cares about who is more convenient to deal with the problem?"

"That's true," Zhang said, turning to smile at Li Qingran.

"But if you haven't done anything wrong, what reason does he have to fire you? Bosses need to be reasonable too."

Li Qingran blinked twice.

Brother Zhang turned his head and continued, "So you don't need to worry, I will put all the blame on Qin Yanyun."

Li Qingran: "???"

Did Qin Yanyun agree?

"Whether Qin Yanyun agrees or not is irrelevant. Anyway, he didn't come along. He can say whatever he wants, and it's up to me to decide what he says."

Zhang Ge had anticipated Li Qingran's question, and before he could hesitate to ask, he proactively explained:

"Besides, even if he knew, he wouldn't object."

after all……

Zhang couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the well-behaved boy sitting in the passenger seat. The latter noticed his gaze and looked up at him with a smile.

In the night when the moon was hidden, the surrounding lights were all created by the interplay of neon lights on both sides of the road. The mesmerizing colors made everything around them hazy, even making the smile on Li Qingran's face seem unreal.

It's really hard not to fall in love when you see that face all the time.

But the problem is—

Brother Zhang gripped the steering wheel tightly. He tried to restrain himself, but ultimately couldn't.

"Xiao Li, can I ask you a question?"

Li Qingran blinked and replied obediently, "Of course, Brother Zhang, go ahead and ask."

"You..." Zhang Ge hesitated for a moment before continuing, "What do you think of your Brother Qin?"

Qin Yanyun, consider this my apology for shifting the blame onto you!

Thinking this, Brother Zhang became even more curious about the answer in Li Qingran's mind.

If he didn't need to drive, Brother Zhang would have liked to hold Li Qingran's hands, look him in the eye, and then solemnly and seriously get his true evaluation of Qin Yanyun from him.

However, despite Zhang Ge's seriousness about this issue, he ultimately only received one sentence from Li Qingran.

"Brother Qin? Brother Qin is a really nice guy."

Brother Zhang: "..."

Does this count as giving Qin Yanyun a "friend zone" card?

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, a thoughtful expression on his face, but finally decided to try again for Qin Yanyun.

"Is it okay if there are only people around?"

"Um……"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran lowered her head and began to think seriously. After a moment, she replied:

"Brother Qin is excellent. He has good acting skills and is handsome. As an actor, he is very dedicated and willing to learn to improve himself. Although his temper is a bit unpredictable, he gets angry quickly but also calms down quickly. He is very generous to me and Brother Xiaowen and usually cares about and takes care of us. He is a very gentle person at heart."

"and you--"

Upon hearing this, Brother Zhang immediately wanted to ask Li Qingran if she would fall for someone like Qin Yanyun. However, before he could even utter two words, the phone he was using for navigation started vibrating. The next second, a call related to another artist under Brother Zhang's management popped up.

"Tsk!"

Brother Zhang was clearly getting impatient, but since that person was still under his jurisdiction and had some connections, Brother Zhang had no choice but to answer the call, frowning as he said coldly:

"What's wrong?"

The assistant on the other end nervously told Brother Zhang everything that had happened.

It's not entirely the artist's fault, but the main responsibility definitely lies with him; otherwise, the assistant wouldn't have been so distraught that he called him.

Zhang Ge also gained a new understanding of the extent of the trouble the other party had caused. After getting a general idea of ​​what had happened, before his assistant could even finish speaking, his tone had already turned stern.

"He's the second male lead, can't he just stick to his own scenes?! He even went so far as to discuss with the director about adding more scenes for himself and reducing the male lead's scenes. Putting aside where he got the nerve, does he even understand the script?!"

"This can only be described as him being brainless. So, you—"

Zhang was halfway through his sentence when he heard the shouting on the other end of the phone. After thinking for a moment, he sighed helplessly and said:

"Never mind, I'll go there now. You just said that the agent over there has arrived, right?"

"Yes... actually, they didn't arrive right now. Their sugar daddy just happened to come to visit the set today..."

That's a good relationship!

When two people with powerful backgrounds clash, it comes down to who has the stronger background.

Zhang was speechless. He could only park the car in front of Jingyue Entertainment and say to Li Qingran:

"You go up to our office and wait there. I'll go take care of his business over there and try to be back within an hour. Then I'll take you to see the big boss."

Is this okay?

Li Qingran asked worriedly, "Wouldn't it be inappropriate to make the big boss wait for us?"

Won't this make the big boss even angrier?

"No way!" Brother Zhang unbuckled his seatbelt, rolled his eyes, and said.

"Who told that ancestor to happen to be our big boss's younger brother?"

Otherwise, why would a top agent like him, with so many award-winning actors and actresses under his wing, need to manage a greenhorn who's always causing trouble?

Zhang Ge got angry just thinking about it, and immediately became even more annoyed with the big boss.

Seriously, not only do they cause him trouble all the time, but now they're even firing his subordinates!

Brother Zhang decided to tell the big boss about his brother's trouble-making later, so that he would have more confidence when he took Li Qingran upstairs to apologize.

Without hesitation, Brother Zhang immediately pulled out his phone to call the big boss, while simultaneously reassuring Li Qingran, who had gotten out of the car with him:

"It's okay, don't worry, you go up first, I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay." Li Qingran nodded obediently, pursed her lips, and then said:

"Thank you so much, Brother Zhang."

"Hey, you're making things awkward by saying this to me!"

Brother Zhang waved his hand with a smile, "I'm not just doing this for you. After all, even if Qin Yanyun is willing to part with such a useful assistant, I'm not willing to let him go."

It's worth noting that when Li Qingran first joined the company, in addition to working with Qin Yanyun on a daily basis, she also used her spare time to help him organize various accumulated documents, set up a program to help him process work more quickly, and usually helped him with various trivial tasks. She would even occasionally help him follow up on the work of other artists when he was busy, even though those times were during his rest time.

This not only greatly improved Zhang Ge's work efficiency, but also gave him more time to slack off.

Therefore, just because Li Qingran helped him slack off, Brother Zhang would not allow the big boss to fire her.

Brother Zhang smiled and waved to Li Qingran, telling him to go upstairs and wait for him.

Li Qingran watched Zhang Ge's car disappear into the traffic before turning around and walking towards the company.

He rarely comes here, preferring to stay in Qin Yanyun's studio, so he's not very familiar with the facilities in the lobby. In addition, Jingyue recently undertook a major renovation, so Li Qingran spent a lot of time just looking for the elevator.

[I might not even have time to warm my butt on the sofa before Brother Zhang tells me to come down and get him.]

When Li Qingran pressed the elevator button, she even had the leisure to make a joke with 888.

He didn't seem particularly worried about being fired.

The main reason was that his worries were useless. If the other party insisted on firing him, as a powerless and powerless worker, Li Qingran could only accept it.

It's just unknown whether this big boss will agree to let him go with Qin Yanyun to film first, and then leave the company after completing the storyline.

If possible, he can forgo the N+1 compensation.

Li Qingran pondered what she would say if Brother Zhang failed to win him over.

Just then, the elevator doors opened with a "ding." Li Qingran, head down, instinctively stepped inside, but unexpectedly, she was stopped by someone inside as soon as she took a step.

Hey! What are you doing up here?!

?

Is this question for real?

What are we doing up here? Of course, we're taking the elevator upstairs! What else can we do but press the elevator buttons?

Li Qingran looked up blankly, and then her eyes met those of one of the only two people in the elevator.

The other person was dressed in a sharp suit, with a pale face, dark eyebrows and eyes, and exuded the aura of a superior looking down on the world.

Li Qingran blinked and honestly said, "I want to go upstairs."

The man who exchanged a glance with Li Qingran remained silent upon hearing this, but the man standing next to him frowned and said:

"This is the president's private elevator. Please take the employee elevator."

"Oh, okay."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran immediately took a step back, a quick apologetic smile appearing on her face.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been to the company in a long time, so I'm not very familiar with it. I'll just—"

"No."

Before Li Qingran had fully exited the elevator, the silent man suddenly spoke:

"Come in, let's go up together."

The man who had been chasing Li Qingran paused for a moment upon hearing this, but he was clearly a perceptive person. Without asking the silent man why, he reached out and pressed the closing elevator door, saying to Li Qingran:

"Come in."

“But…” Li Qingran hesitated and looked at the silent man, but the latter had already looked away and stopped looking at him.

It was the same man who had initially urged him to get down who spoke up again, calling out:

"What do you mean 'but'? Come in quickly, don't waste President Qin's time."

"Oh well."

Helpless, Li Qingran could only retract her leg that was pulling back and step forward into the elevator.

After regaining her footing, she didn't forget to thank the silent man:

"Thank you, Mr. Qin."

The man didn't reply until his assistant asked Li Qingran which floor she was going to, at which point he spoke again:

"Just bring him directly to my office."

"???"

"!!!"

Li Qingran and her assistant both looked at Qin Zechuan at the same time.

Both of them stared wide-eyed, but unlike the doubt in Li Qingran's eyes, the assistant was simply shocked.

No, what's going on?! Is this still the same President Qin he knows, the one who only cares about work and has no interest in men or women?

They made him take their own private elevator and brought him directly back to his office?

What are they trying to do?

Even an old tree doesn't need to bloom so vigorously!

At the very least, shouldn't we ask the boy's opinion?

The assistant's mind raced, and his gaze unconsciously fell on Li Qingran.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the assistant seemed to understand why his boss had instantly become so enthusiastic after just one glance at the other person.

The boy standing quietly in the corner of the elevator was wearing a black casual suit. Under the elevator's overhead lighting, his face was not only flawless, but his facial features were even more defined.

Her peach blossom eyes were slightly upturned, and even when she looked at the other person with shock and confusion, there seemed to be a hint of affection in her eyes.

Is this a newcomer just signed by some agent? Looking like this, she'll probably cause a huge stir in the entertainment industry as soon as she debuts. No wonder her boss wants to bring her into the office immediately…

"Strike first, strike hard!" The assistant said, understanding.

On the other side, Qin Zechuan, almost the instant his assistant's gaze became suggestive, immediately frowned and retorted:

"Why are you all staring at me? Aren't you Qin Yanyun's assistant? Didn't Zhang Cheng say he was going to bring you to see me? Where is he?"

"Brother Zhang had an urgent matter to attend to, so he sent me up first. He'll come back and bring me to see you after he's finished," Li Qingran said honestly.

Qin Zechuan sneered upon hearing this, "So, you mean I should wait for him? You..."

His gaze swept over Li Qingran's face for a moment, then abruptly returned to his own. His voice suddenly lowered for some reason, as if he were suppressing some kind of anger, or perhaps hiding some other emotion.

Qin Zechuan coughed twice before continuing:

“I don’t have that much time to wait for him. Go up and explain the situation to me yourself.”

"But Brother Zhang said—"

"Is he the boss or am I?" Qin Zechuan interrupted Li Qingran before he could finish speaking.

“You need to understand who is paying your salary. Besides, the final decision-making power in this matter rests with me, and it has no direct connection with Zhang Cheng. Why do you insist on waiting for him to come?”

Li Qingran: "..."

That's because it's easier for Zhang Cheng to shift the blame to Qin Yanyun, while it's harder for him to do so!

However, since the big boss had said so, Li Qingran was afraid that if he continued to refuse, the other party would not even take away his chance to speak and would directly kick him out of the gate of Jingyue Entertainment.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Li Qingran slowly nodded.

"I'll do as you say, Mr. Qin."

The corners of the man's mouth turned up almost imperceptibly.

The assistant, still in a state of panic and self-blame for having guessed her boss's thoughts wrong, didn't notice, nor did Li Qingran, who was fretting about what to say next.

Needless to say, Brother Zhang, who was far away at the film and television base dealing with the mess, was even more affected.

After quickly resolving the trouble caused by his little rascal, Brother Zhang, who was rushing to his car, took out his phone, ready to call Li Qingran to tell her that he was going back, when he finally saw the message that had been sent to him half an hour earlier.

One of them came from Li Qingran.

"Brother Zhang, the big boss said he's not planning to fire me."

The other one came from his boss, whom he both loved and hated.

"Get ready and have Li Qingran come work for me."

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Author's Note: Brother Zhang: No way?! After all that fuss, my house was robbed?! [Cracking][Cracking][Cracking]

P.S.: Don't forget, everyone, there's a red envelope giveaway in this chapter! [heart emoji] [heart emoji] [heart emoji]