Interest

After the late-night snack, Su Yan drove them home.

As soon as they got inside, Qin Qingyan twisted Yan Yue’s hands behind her back and pressed her against the door.

“You’re hiding something from me,” she said with certainty.

Yan Yue met her gaze with a smile and said nothing.

Qin Qingyan stared into those eyes and went dazed for a moment. She blinked, pressed her lips together, then let go of Yan Yue’s hands and walked off without looking back.

Damn it. Beauty trap.

Yan Yue was genuinely surprised; she had even wanted to praise Qin Qingyan for being clever. Before she could say a word, though, the other woman had already left.

After drinking a glass of water, Qin Qingyan finally calmed down and decided that Yan Yue probably had some unavoidable reason. That was why, whenever Qin Qingyan asked what she was hiding, Yan Yue would either keep quiet or change the subject.

When Yan Yue sat down, Qin Qingyan changed her approach and coaxed her patiently. “So, you are hiding something from me?”

Yan Yue thought for a moment. “Not exactly.”

That was no different from not answering at all.

Qin Qingyan asked again, “Then you can’t tell me?”

“No. It’s just that the matter isn’t certain yet, so telling you wouldn’t mean much. It might be better if you didn’t know.”

That only made Qin Qingyan even more curious.

Just when Yan Yue thought she was about to ask again, Qin Qingyan suddenly stood up. “I’m going to take a shower. You can watch TV by yourself.”

The next morning, Su Yan came to pick Qin Qingyan up for the film crew, and Yan Yue got in too, hitching a ride to the company.

“Su Su, come pick me up again tonight,” Yan Yue said.

Su Yan didn’t quite understand what Yan Yue was after, but she still agreed.

Qin Qingyan remembered that yesterday Yan Yue had said she was too tired from work to drive. Was it the same today?

“Still not done with work?” Qin Qingyan asked.

“It’s done,” Yan Yue said.

“Then why aren’t you driving?”

“My car’s broken,” Yan Yue said calmly. “I’ll need to ride with you two for the next few days.”

Su Yan said, “No big deal.”

Then she looked at Qin Qingyan, who was probably secretly delighted inside.

“How many people from Yuguang Media are in your film crew?” Yan Yue asked.

“Two,” Qin Qingyan said. “Why are you asking about them?”

Yan Yue smiled. “Someone asked me whether this company was worth investing in. I wanted to hear your opinion; what are their actors like as people?”

Qin Qingyan frowned. Shouldn’t Yan Yue already know? Why ask again? Su Yan also thought it strange; she remembered Yan Yue clearly knowing the answer already.

Qin Qingyan said, “Mixed. If it’s an investment, maybe it could work. A company with no principles can usually still make money.”

Yan Yue nodded. “That does seem workable. I just don’t know what price Yuguang Media is asking.”

“What price?” Su Yan didn’t understand.

“For example, if there are ten cakes, how much are they willing to give up?” Yan Yue said, resting her chin in her hand.

Qin Qingyan vaguely sensed something and followed Yan Yue’s lead. “How much do your friends want?”

“Five.”

“A 50/50 profit share?” Su Yan was surprised.

“Mm. After all, neither side loses. It’s just that...”

“Just what?” Qin Qingyan asked.

“My friend has always only been willing to split seventy-thirty, and they never do anything that doesn’t make money. But this time, because of some special reason, they have to sign with Yuguang Media no matter what. On that basis, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to make the deal happen,” Yan Yue said.

Su Yan said, “So what? Yuguang Media doesn’t know that anyway. We’re in the open; they’re in the dark. No need to be afraid.”

Yan Yue smiled. “True.”

Her gaze shifted to Qin Qingyan. Qin Qingyan felt that Yan Yue now looked just like an old fox and turned her eyes away, refusing to engage.

At the president’s office, Zeng Nian looked at the documents in her hand, gave a cold laugh, and tossed them onto the desk.

The assistant beside her didn’t dare make a sound and stood there obediently.

“You think my money has nowhere to go, is that it? So brazen about it; how is that any different from robbery?”

The assistant said carefully, “The other side said that if we want to cooperate, we have to do it their way; and no matter the outcome afterward, they’ll compensate our losses.”

Zeng Nian steadied herself, looked through the contract again, and picked up a pen. She paused at the signature line.

“President Zeng, this cooperation is beneficial to us either way. Why are you... hesitating for so long?” the assistant asked.

Zeng Nian snorted and signed without another word. The assistant immediately stepped forward, took the contract, and withdrew.

In the office, Zeng Nian pressed her fingers to her temples, then rose and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over most of the city.

What was money worth? What did a loss matter? In truth, what she cared about had always been that one person.

Yuguang Media had caused Yu Shuran plenty of trouble before; only because Zeng Nian had stepped in were things finally settled. She had never claimed to be a clean person, but compared with Yuguang Media, she was nothing.

And now she was actually going to cooperate with them. Just thinking about it made Zeng Nian feel sick with disgust.

She drove to the film crew and spotted Yu Shuran from afar, but didn’t dare go closer. Given the stalemate between them now, if Yu Shuran found out she had also reached a cooperation with Yuguang Media, then in Yu Shuran’s eyes she would probably seem even more unsightly, even more shameless.

Someone recognized Zeng Nian and hurried over to tell the director. The director quickly came forward to greet her.

Everyone’s eyes turned to her at once. Zeng Nian immediately looked at Yu Shuran. This wasn’t her intention; she had only wanted to come see her.

“President Zeng, you’re here. Why didn’t you say so in advance? I was busy just now and didn’t even see you.”

Zeng Nian saw Yu Shuran look away and continue reciting her lines, and her heart couldn’t help sinking.

“Whether I come or not isn’t important. What matters is that Director Liu, if you keep leaving your post whenever you feel like it, it’ll make me think this investment isn’t worth it,” Zeng Nian said.

Director Liu’s smile stiffened. He hurriedly agreed.

Zeng Nian looked at Yu Shuran one more time, then got in the car and left.

Inside Yuguang Media, Yang Zhuting looked at the man in front of her, angry but unable to speak.

“I only care about results! You think you can take Qin Qingyan down with just a few photos? You’re too naive,” the man said.

Yang Zhuting said, “I worked so hard to get those photos. Besides, there was never much to dig up on Qin Qingyan in the first place. That isn’t my fault.”

“If there’s nothing, then make something. You’ve been at the company for so many years, Zhuting; I thought you’d at least be different from those women,” the man said.

Yang Zhuting gave a soft huff and said nothing.

Once he had calmed down, the man tapped his fingers on the desk. “Still, this counts as an unexpected gain.”

“What gain?”

“Heh; that’s not something you need to know.”

Not long after Yang Zhuting left, Zeng Nian arrived with her assistant at the foot of Yuguang Media’s building. The receptionist had been waiting for them and led them to the conference room.

In the conference room, Yuguang Media’s senior executives sat in a row. When they saw them, they all stood up together.

Lin Yu extended his hand with a warm smile. “President Zeng, long time no see.”

Zeng Nian ignored his hand and sat down directly, crossing one leg over the other. “Polite talk is just a waste of time for me. Let’s get straight to the cooperation.”

Lin Yu wasn’t angry. He still looked relaxed and smiling as he withdrew his hand and sat across from Zeng Nian. Only then did the other directors sit down.

“President Zeng is refreshingly straightforward. All right, then please take a look at the contract first. If there’s no problem, we can sign today.”

Zeng Nian picked it up and flipped through it casually, her brow arching. Then she tossed it onto the table and looked at Lin Yu.

“I said before that my minimum is 50%. Fair exchange and mutual benefit are the only way there’s a future, don’t you think?”

Lin Yu said, “In the entertainment industry, aside from Huanfeng Century, the rest of the companies are declining. Since President Zeng wants to get into this circle and share a piece of the pie, of course you have to give more.”

Zeng Nian sneered. Before the exchange had even properly begun, they had already named a one-percent offer. This wasn’t cooperation; they might as well have written robbery on their faces.

The assistant beside Zeng Nian also looked shocked and glanced at her in confusion. Clearly, the other side had told her to lower their expectations and negotiate with Yuguang Media at 50%, and it had already been agreed that Yuguang Media would accept.

But now they would only give up 10%, and it didn’t look as though they intended to budge.

The assistant leaned closer to Zeng Nian. “The contract over there has already been signed; we have to sign with Yuguang Media according to their requirements. But 10% is really too little.”

Several of Yuguang Media’s executives exchanged glances, already sure of victory.

“Director Lin, I came sincerely to cooperate with you, but your attitude doesn’t seem very willing,” Zeng Nian said.

“Not at all,” Lin Yu said with a smile. “If we weren’t willing, would all the directors have come here? But President Zeng, you should know how profitable the entertainment industry has been these past few years. There are more people than ever wanting to get in, and some are even willing to throw money at it just to enter. So 10% is already our greatest sincerity.”

The other directors all nodded in agreement.

Zeng Nian tapped her arm with her fingers, saying nothing about whether she would sign or not. Lin Yu knew he needed to add another dose.

He gave a small gesture, and the director beside him took several photos out of the document envelope and placed them on the table, pushing them over.

“Take a look at this, President Zeng. These are all my company’s artists, and now they’ve all made it into the top tier of the entertainment industry. Of course, this is only part of it.”

Zeng Nian glanced over them; they were all just stills of actors. But she understood that this wasn’t what Lin Yu wanted her to see. In the photos, behind the prominent actors, Yu Shuran and Qin Qingyan were standing in a corner, smiling at each other.

Lin Yu waited patiently for Zeng Nian’s answer.

Zeng Nian gave a cold laugh, took the contract, signed it, and set down the pen before leaving.

The whole room was incredulous; Zeng Nian had actually signed this blatantly money-losing contract.

“Director Lin, how were you so sure President Zeng would sign?”

Lin Yu said, “Zeng Nian has had Yu Shuran on her mind for a long time. Even after two years without contact, she still didn’t forget to help her. Yu Shuran signed a betting agreement and needs projects to film; Yuguang Media just happens not to lack resources. Zeng Nian is trying to help her in secret. Women are full of empty feelings, but in this world, money is the best thing there is.”

“With Zeng Nian joining us, we can finally catch our breath. Huanfeng Century has Yan Group backing it and wants to dominate everything. They probably never imagined that we’d actually survive this and turn the tables.”

Lin Yu smiled too. What he wanted was far more than this. After this period of suppression from Yan Group, he understood that only by standing at the very top could one truly do whatever one pleased.

In the elevator, the assistant hurriedly asked Zeng Nian, “They wanted us to sign at 50/50, but now it’s only 10%; I’m afraid they may not necessarily make up the losses.”

“They will,” Zeng Nian said. “10% is their real target.”

The assistant fell silent in surprise, then understood that he wasn’t in Zeng Nian’s position; naturally, some things were not his to know.