Chapter 38 President Wen's marital relationship is strained. My husband came to pick me up after he finished work…
It was in the corridor, during the part where Zhu Qingzhi spoke sarcastically to Xiao Tang. Clearly, it was posted by some related whistleblower, but from a different IP address and a different anonymous account.
Without any supporting pictures or videos, only vivid textual descriptions, the surrounding environment at the time of the incident was obscured and downplayed, so the public was unaware that there were only four people present.
But Zhu Qingzhi knew that she spoke very softly at the time, so the surveillance cameras definitely couldn't capture it. In addition, no one else was around. Therefore, the person behind this entry must be someone from Mingyuan's side.
Once the hashtag went viral, Haitang first addressed LR's official Weibo account, hoping the brand would value the quality of its spokesperson and replace the spokesperson if necessary. She also appealed in the comments section of the hashtag, "If the brand does not replace the spokesperson, we hope everyone will not buy from this brand."
They also attacked Moli's official Weibo account, but their wording was much more cautious. They only dared to strongly urge the brand to give Xiao Tang, the Asia-Pacific brand ambassador, the "treatment and respect she deserves," without daring to mention the word "termination of contract," for fear of offending the high-end luxury brand.
In contrast, the comments under Xiao Tang's studio post were much more intense, mainly divided into two camps:
First, they felt that Mingyuan wasn't paying enough attention to Xiaotang and hoped the team could give Xiaotang more importance.
Secondly, they felt that Xiao Tang was not being treated well at Moli and hoped that the team would stand up for themselves and fight for their legal rights.
But neither of these scenarios is something Xiao Tang's team wants to see.
In fact, Xiao Tang's agent, Huang Shan, was even more distressed than Dani about the online controversy, because once this matter spread, Xiao Tang's dirty trick of attempting to seize the photography studio would soon be exposed.
Their team had been holding back until today, when they decided to use the "Zhu Qingzhi putting down Moli" comment to portray Xiao Tang as a victim in front of the public. This way, even if the matter was fully exposed, they could minimize the impact by creating a time gap.
After all, most netizens have limited patience and curiosity when it comes to gossip, so throwing out the first conclusion is the best public relations approach.
Who knew the fans wouldn't buy it? Although they didn't dare to directly threaten Moli, their massive "appeal" was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the brand, clearly a form of coercion.
It should be noted that Xiao Tang relied on the financial resources of General Manager Zhao of Mingyuan to get through to the top levels, without any contact or probation period, and successfully squeezed out Zhu Qingzhi to become the spokesperson for Moli Greater China.
However, the two parties only signed a one-year contract, which clearly stated that Xiao Tang's treatment would not be very good. This can be seen as the brand indirectly indicating that the one-year period she signed the contract was a period of evaluation for the brand.
Now that fans have directly exposed this, Huang Shan will have to spend time and effort negotiating with the brand, otherwise losing the endorsement would be really embarrassing.
"Have you managed to contact CEO Zhao yet?" Huang Shan pinched her brow, looked at the comments under the studio's Weibo post, then exited to check the trending topic, wishing she could bang her head against a wall right then and there.
"Mr. Zhao's phone is off, we still can't reach him." Assistant He Qiu was so busy that she didn't forget to leave a message for Mr. Zhao every half hour.
Xiao Zhao is the CEO of Mingyuan, a figurehead who occasionally causes trouble for the higher-ups. Xiao Tang was someone he brought into the circle and specifically asked Mingyuan to cultivate. For this reason, Xiao Tang's affairs, big or small, all need to be reported to him.
In the past, simply informing them would have sufficed, but Moli's endorsement was facilitated by General Manager Zhao, so now that something has gone wrong, he naturally needs to step in.
He Qiu handed the organized documents to Huang Shan, then glanced at the time: "General Manager Zhao is usually at the Xisha Club at noon, how about I go and try my luck?"
"I'll go." Huang Shan threw the documents on the table, got up and walked out. "You can convert the documents into electronic format and send them to my phone later."
Upon reaching the door, she didn't forget to remind him, "Remind Xiao Tang again, no matter how the public opinion develops, make her insist that she knows nothing."
*
I'm too afraid to speak anymore. The city is full of traps; I want to go back to the countryside.
When Dawn sent the message, it was already noon. Dani had just come out of FTYL and picked up Zhu Qingzhi to go to LR's headquarters building in Beijing.
When Zhu Qingzhi saw this message, she was speechless. It was such a lame joke, but one shouldn't have too high expectations of a foreigner.
She leaned back in the passenger seat and started jokingly: "You've been back for so many days, are you still jet-lagged?"
[My dear, I worked until midnight last night! All to do post-production work for you!]
"Why are you going against the sun?" She successfully diverted Dawn's attention, but didn't dare smile in front of Dani. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway."
Less than thirty seconds later, he sent another message, quoting her: "What does this mean?"
Before she could reply, the car had come to a complete stop, and Dani pulled her out of the car. Zhu Qingzhi stumbled as she was pulled, making a final struggle: "Do I really want to go with you?"
"Director Yang said that LR specifically requests a meeting with the artist." Dani released her hand, pressing her two index fingers on either side of Zhu Qingzhi's cheeks, lifting them upwards to make the corners of her mouth curve into a kind and lovely arc. "Keep it up! Be a mascot!"
The two were led to the reception room, where President Zhou Shicheng was already waiting.
As soon as Dani arrived, she greeted him: "Hello, Mr. Zhou. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting and to have caused you trouble."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhou Shicheng cut to the chase: "Is there any evidence to support the online rumors?" He didn't inquire about the veracity of the matter, only asking if there was any evidence against him, which meant that he didn't actually care whether the matter was true or false.
Dani answered fluently: "I just came from FTYL. There was no surveillance or recording."
Zhou Shicheng nodded, then tapped his pen lightly on the table, and his assistant handed him a document.
"Public opinion is currently very unfavorable to you, but it hasn't reached the point where it can affect our cooperation." He spoke slowly and deliberately, his gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses unreadable. "However, we hope to have an open and frank discussion about how things will develop. We've also spoken with Moli, and headquarters' message is very clear." He gestured to the document.
Dani took the thick stack of documents; the first one was a screenshot of an email from LR headquarters. This was an internal LR matter, and since the other party was showing sincerity, she couldn't delve into it too deeply, only glancing at the key conclusions.
Zhou Shicheng suddenly raised an eyebrow and glanced towards the door: "Director Yang is not available today?"
He was in his thirties, with a meticulously combed back hairstyle, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, a plain white shirt, no tie, and an exquisite gold openwork cufflink twirling in his left hand. His pointed-toe thin-soled leather shoes tapped the ground casually. He exuded an air of elite sophistication, yet also carried a hint of nonchalant casualness.
“Director Yang is still handling other matters, so he asked me to contact you.” Dani gently pushed Zhu Qingzhi forward. “He said LR specifically requested Qingzhi to come over. Is there anything they would like to know?”
She found it rather strange. She originally thought that LR wanted to understand the situation with Zhu Qingzhi in person, but in reality, LR didn't seem to care about the facts. So what was the point of having Zhu Qingzhi come over?
But Zhu Qingzhi knew exactly what was going on. Yang Qing was afraid that she would lose control again and rush to the sixth floor to catch people. He guessed that the people on the sixth floor would only dare to run away after she left.
Zhou Shicheng pushed up his glasses and smiled, "Miss Zhu, the TRUE LOVE series of wedding jewelry really suits you very well."
Was he implying that she and LR were a good match? But Zhou Shicheng's expression and tone made Zhu Qingzhi think of more than just that: "President Zhou knows me...brother?"
"We've met a few times." Zhou Shicheng said noncommittally, then pushed his chair back and stood up gracefully. "Comparatively, Wen Qi and I have a better relationship."
A subtle, malicious smile played on his lips. Before Zhu Qingzhi could investigate further, he gestured for his assistant to bring over two heavy jewelry boxes bearing the LR logo from the high platform behind him.
"Since you're already here, don't go back empty-handed."
The boxes were opened one after another, and the "TRUE LOVE" series of high-end couple jewelry worn by Zhu Qingzhi in the photoshoot lay quietly on the black velvet. The dazzling diamonds reflected a charming light, which was projected onto the wall in a colorful way, like a small world in a kaleidoscope, so luxurious that it was breathtaking.
"It also saves me the trouble of sending someone to deliver it to President Wen again," he added, speaking as naturally as if discussing a routine official matter.
Dani gasped. So the mysterious person who ordered this jewelry set was Wen Qi?
This news was trending on social media for several days, pushing Zhu Qingzhi's commercial value to a new level. Was he using this method to support her?
Dani was inexplicably fed a mouthful of dog food that smelled of money. The price of these two sets of jewelry was at least 200 million! She swallowed and poked Zhu Qingzhi's arm, and said sincerely, "President Wen really supports you."
Zhu Qingzhi found it strange. It seemed that Zhou Shicheng had prepared this set of jewelry long ago, so it was very deliberate for him to guide her to open up and shift the topic to Wen Qi.
However, Zhu Qingzhi didn't bother to guess what he was thinking. She closed the box and said indifferently, "I didn't drive, so it's inconvenient."
Almost as soon as she opened her mouth, Zhou Shicheng dialed a number, casually placing the phone to his ear. The office fell eerily silent as soon as Zhu Qingzhi finished speaking.
He waited a few seconds with interest before hearing the indifferent reply from the other end: "Boring."
Zhou Shicheng hadn't put the call on speakerphone, and the volume was turned down to the lowest setting, so Zhu Qingzhi didn't know who he was calling. She pulled up a chair furthest from him, sat down, and took out her phone to open her chat with Wen Qi: [Are you and Zhou Shicheng very close?]
At this moment, Zhou Shicheng's thoughtful voice reached my ears: "Mr. Wen and his wife, are you having marital problems?"
The typing indicator on the phone chat window disappeared. Zhu Qingzhi looked up and her eyes met his. Zhou Shicheng's thin lips were slightly pursed, but his gloating was obvious.
"They keep things quite separate, you don't even want to touch the marital property." Zhou Shicheng sighed, his eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally at Zhu Qingzhi. "Should I send someone over later, or to your company?"
"Are you busy? Not at the office? Then could you please find someone to receive it for you?"
The phone vibrated, and a message from Wen Qi popped up: [Ignore it.]
...Zhu Qingzhi closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, the hesitation in her eyes had vanished. Clutching her phone, she walked a few steps to Zhou Shicheng, and to Dani's astonishment, took the phone from his ear and held it to her own.
Her voice was clear, steady, and even carried a hint of undeniable intimacy: "Honey, come pick me up when you're done."
-----------------------
Author's note: Kiyoshi [rolls eyes]: Boring.
Wen Qi [starry-eyed]: [bursting into tears]
Zhou Shicheng [smirking]: Oh, oh.
Dani [eating melon]: Wow.
Author [Dog Head Holding Rose]: Whatever you want, we'll do it.
Hope you enjoy watching!
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