Married in a Daze - Chapter 145

Chapter 145

Shen Hao was indeed having a very tough time. It wasn't just him; his assistant was also running around like crazy, yet not daring to utter a single complaint in the face of his grim, fearsome expression.

When the assistant saw Shen Hao emerge from President He's office yet again, he knew he couldn't avoid a scolding. He had already prepared himself, hunching his shoulders to accept the berating. Unexpectedly, Shen Hao opened his mouth and said, "Get Meng Xin to come to my office!"

The assistant frowned and replied, "Understood."

As Shen Hao entered his office, the assistant swiftly called Meng Xin.

Meng Xin was waiting in her own office for the summons. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, she heard the internal line ring. The assistant answered and said, "Sister Meng, Director Shen is calling for you."

"Alright." Meng Xin responded softly. She turned and swept her gaze over her office once more. Jing Rui was the second company she had worked for. When she first joined, she was filled with lofty ambitions, wanting to showcase her abilities and become a well-known manager in the industry.

Now, she was indeed well-known, but in this manner.

She smiled slightly. The assistant looked at her somewhat puzzled. "Sister Meng?"

Meng Xin gave a slight nod and said to her assistant, "If I'm not at the company in the future, go to Old Deng's side."

The assistant's face paled for a moment. "Sister Meng, are you resigning?"

Meng Xin lowered her eyes. "Something like that."

Originally, she hadn't planned to leave. But she also knew that if she didn't leave this time, she probably wouldn't have good days ahead at the company. So she had prepared contact information for several other companies in her bag. Somehow, Zhenzhen saw it. With endless pestering, Zhenzhen said that without her, she would have no connections, no resources, no direction in her own circle, like a life without a guiding light. Even Lu Ruyun's attitude towards her seemed off.

Unable to withstand such a Qin Zhenzhen, she had finally nodded, saying she would consider joining Lu Ruyun's studio.

Now that Shen Hao had called her, even if he didn't say it, she knew it was probably because SP had contacted the company.

Sure enough, when Meng Xin entered Shen Hao's office, she heard his obsequious voice: "No, of course not. Assistant Li, surely you don't believe the rumors online. Zhenzhen will come forward very soon."

"Definitely, definitely."

Meng Xin walked in just as Shen Hao hung up the phone. His expression shifted, his face darkening. "Meng Xin, is Qin Zhenzhen still unreachable?"

"Mhm. Not at home. Lu Ruyun doesn't know where she went either."

It was just Qin Zhenzhen who couldn't be found, and Jian Mu's side also had absolutely no news. The current public opinion was like a snowball, rolling bigger and bigger. Many people had even protested to SP, who had previously collaborated with Qin Zhenzhen. SP had just called him, saying many netizens were demanding refunds for their pre-ordered issues. However, they had already all been printed. If this batch was refunded, it wouldn't just be a loss on these magazines; the damage to SP's sales would also have to be borne by Jing Rui.

He roughly calculated. Combined from both sides, it was at least twenty to thirty million. This loss, Jing Rui indeed didn't care about in the grand scheme. But because of the scandal involving Qin Zhenzhen and Jian Mu, many clients who were previously scrambling to sign her had all terminated their agreements. Most were only verbally agreed upon, the contracts hadn't been signed yet. Fortunately, the contracts hadn't been signed; otherwise, Jing Rui's compensation to them alone would be a bottomless pit.

So the originally insignificant twenty to thirty million also became the last straw.

President He had just given him a good dressing-down, asking why he still hadn't handled the matter. Although he wanted to defend himself, the more he explained, the more severely he was scolded, so he simply fell silent.

Bearing the anger in the office, bearing the shift from acting like a big shot to a lowly follower with SP, bearing the online criticism, the frustration of being unable to handle anything—now, seeing Meng Xin, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"She's not at home, so you won't go look? Even a dead person leaves a corpse! What, your own artist, and you don't even know where she is? Meng Xin, do you think this is acceptable?"

Meng Xin kept her head lowered the whole time, her long hair covering her features, making her expression and demeanor unclear. Seeing her standing there like a wooden stick, Shen Hao roared, "If you can't find her, you just do nothing?"

"Meng Xin, you are Qin Zhenzhen's manager now. When an artist makes a mistake, the manager bears joint responsibility. I order you to find Qin Zhenzhen for me by tomorrow at the latest. If you can't find her, you will bear all the company's losses!"

Meng Xin kept her eyes downcast. "Director Shen, you are right. When an artist makes a mistake, the manager bears joint responsibility. This matter with Qin Zhenzhen is indeed my failure in managing the artist properly. Therefore, I wish to resign to take responsibility. As for the company's losses, whatever portion should be borne by me, I will bear it alone."

Shen Hao paused for a few seconds upon hearing Meng Xin's words, his voice changing pitch from surprise. "Resign?"

"Meng Xin, you think I'll let you resign easily after dropping this mess?"

Meng Xin remained silent. Seeing her like this made Shen Hao angrier the more he looked, almost wanting to smash the desk. Fortunately, reason still prevailed. The assistant lightly knocked and hurried into the office, leaning close to Shen Hao's ear and whispering, "Director Shen, a call from Lanyi."

She held up the phone, looking at Shen Hao, her expression not good.

Shen Hao shot her a quick glance, then glared at Meng Xin before angrily snatching the phone.

"Hello, Director Yao..."

The conversation grew fainter as Shen Hao walked into the lounge, closing the door. Intermittent explanations followed: "Of course not, no, the company is trying to think of a solution..."

Meng Xin lifted her head, her eyes clear and bright. The assistant exchanged a look with her and whispered, "Are you really resigning?"

"The company won't be able to keep me." This call from Shen Hao was nothing less than a catalyst, prompting her to leave Jing Rui early. The assistant looked at her and sighed. "I thought you could turn danger into safety this time too."

Meng Xin gave a faint smile, raising her eyes to look at the assistant. "If you often walk by the river, your shoes are bound to get wet. Regarding the previous matters, thank you."

Several times when she couldn't reach Shen Hao, it was this assistant who mediated in between. Although he was just an assistant, being by Shen Hao's side gave him some influence. Meng Xin's affairs on several occasions had received his help, more or less.

Since she was leaving this time, Meng Xin naturally wanted to thank him.

The assistant shook his head. Before he could speak, he saw Shen Hao emerge from the lounge, his expression even uglier than when he had come out of President He's office earlier. He gave Meng Xin a deep look, didn't speak to her further, just shot her a cold glare before leading the assistant out of the room.

Meng Xin knew he was going to see President He.

She left Shen Hao's office. Inside the company, it was chaotic. Many people were on the phone, accompanied by hushed voices of apology. She walked past everyone and returned to her own office.

Her assistant was waiting for her and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her return. "Sister Meng, what did Director Shen say?"

Meng Xin glanced at her sidelong. "Wait for the news."

Without any surprises.

This afternoon, Shen Hao would probably tell her and Qin Zhenzhen to pack up and get lost.

The assistant scratched her head and said nothing.

In another office, President He was sitting in front of his computer. Shen Hao's face flushed red as he said, "President He, we can't delay any longer."

President He tapped his fingers on the keyboard, his expression slightly cold. "Shen Hao, I gave you time. Is this how you handle things?"

"Terminate Qin Zhenzhen's contract? Do you even know what you're saying?"

Shen Hao's face alternated between red and pale, his voice lowering a couple of notches. "I know."

"What about Jian Mu's side?" President He maintained his usual lofty demeanor, not losing his composure even in such a situation. Shen Hao opened his mouth. "There's absolutely no news from Jian Mu's side. His assistant says he's still writing songs. The team doesn't dare to issue a statement privately."

"Hmph! A fox!" President He snorted lightly.

The reason this scandal had blown up so much was entirely because of Jian Mu. If not for his new song, if not for his lack of active clarification afterwards, if not for his continued silence up to now.

This matter wouldn't have gotten this big.

And just at this critical juncture, Qin Zhenzhen had also disappeared.

President He pushed the keyboard away. "Arrange a meeting with Jian Mu. See what he wants."

Shen Hao's expression turned even more unpleasant. "Can't get a meeting, President He. I've tried. I can only get his assistant."

"What about Qin Zhenzhen?"

Shen Hao's face turned even uglier. "Can't find her, President He. I'm now wondering if Jian Mu's silence might be related to Qin Zhenzhen."

"Maybe... they're together right now?"

Upon hearing this, President He furrowed his brows. "What?"

Shen Hao clenched his fist. "I heard from someone that the assistant delivering meals to Jian Mu always brings two portions."

If the two were living together, that would be disastrous.

If they were photographed by reporters, or if the media found out, Qin Zhenzhen would be completely ruined.

Especially now with the SP and Lanyi compensation issues looming. The reason he wanted to terminate Qin Zhenzhen's contract was also based on this consideration. Currently, Qin Zhenzhen still belonged to Jing Rui. If something happened, SP and Lanyi would sue Jing Rui.

But if the contract was terminated.

They could shift all responsibility to Qin Zhenzhen. If SP and Lanyi wanted to sue, they'd sue Qin Zhenzhen. And for Qin Zhenzhen to make a comeback this time would be extremely difficult. Having an affair with Jian Mu—such a disgrace would be nailed to her forever. To become popular again would be an impossible task.

Rather than clinging to a useless artist and helping her pay huge compensations, it was better to strike first before they were sued, remove Qin Zhenzhen's name from Jing Rui, which could also be considered self-preservation.

President He pondered his words for a few minutes before asking, "Are you sure Qin Zhenzhen is at Jian Mu's place?"

After being scolded for two days, Shen Hao finally had a piece of information that could catch President He's ear. He immediately affirmed, "Ninety percent sure."

President He tapped his fingers on the desk, light tap after tap. Shen Hao's heart thumped along with it. Half an hour later, President He spoke in a slightly cold voice. "Go handle it."

"What about Qin Zhenzhen's side..."

President He waved his hand. "Leave it to you to handle."

Shen Hao instantly understood President He's meaning and nodded repeatedly. "Understood, President He."

Around 3:30 p.m., Meng Xin was called into the office again and came out with two sheets of paper.

Simultaneously, Jing Rui's official account issued a statement announcing the termination of their contract with their artist Qin Zhenzhen. This statement was quickly noticed by netizens as soon as it appeared, undoubtedly adding fuel to the current gossip fire, sending many anti-fans into even greater jubilation, claiming the company was giving up on Qin Zhenzhen.

Meanwhile, Qin Zhenzhen's fans organized to go and protest, arguing that with neither Qin Zhenzhen nor Jian Mu having made any statement, the company actually pulled such a stunt of kicking someone when they were down. Weren't they afraid of not being able to sign any artists in the future! It was unclear how they managed to stir up public opinion.

Originally, the netizens who had been opposing and arguing with these fans over the "affair scandal" this time actually sided with the fans, saying Jing Rui's action was unethical, condemning them from all sides.

By around 5 p.m., Jing Rui was forced to issue another announcement, stating that this contract termination was only because Qin Zhenzhen's contract had expired, not due to this incident, hoping netizens wouldn't confuse the two.

Qin Zhenzhen had been cut off from the internet these past two days, but even with just imagination, she could guess what the outside rumors must be like. She deliberately avoided thinking about those matters, leaving everything to Lu Ruyun to handle.

A little past 4 p.m., Meng Xin sent her a WeChat message. It didn't contain much, just two photos. After looking at them, she took them upstairs to show Lu Ruyun. Lu Ruyun pursed her lips into a smile. "I already know."

Qin Zhenzhen looked at her open computer screen and asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Lu Ruyun pointed at the computer with a light smile. "Finding water armies."

Qin Zhenzhen was slightly stunned, seeing that in no time, Jing Rui's official website was under attack. She frowned, but before she could speak, she heard Lu Ruyun making a phone call.

"Hello, Mr. Jian. You can hold the press conference now."

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next