1266 Bad Hand!
Jennie thought there would be a lot of interacting events with the crowd, but she did not expect Lisa to drag her to the dance floor right away.
"Umm...your brother looks like he has something else to say...." Jennie glanced at the appalled Jisoo.
"Ignore him."
"Okay.
...
Under the large crystal ball, the man in the black suit was a fitting pair with the woman in the retro Oriental black dress as if they were a couple.
Surprisingly, Jennie seemed unfazed in front of such a charismatic person like Lisa...
As the saying went, the enemy of an enemy is a friend. A few female artistes whispered among each other. Although they were really envious, they did not really hold any ill intentions against Jennie...
"To be honest, from her outlook alone, I have no opinions about Jennie!"
"What an orchestra of beauty!"
"I'm so envious! I want to dance with the Boss too! Why aren't I as lucky as Jennie!"
One of the female artistes seemed like a fan of Jennie's. "Bro Jen wasn't really that lucky. She was ostracized by Choi Jisu's gang and could only take on small-budget projects. Now that she's become famous, everyone avoided her just because of a few words. I think she deserved it. If not, I'll be questioning my life if Choi Jisu could get her way!"
"Choi Jisu won't be controlling us anymore!" Someone else said.
Some people looked suspicious. "Even if the Boss didn't know anything about Choi Jisu, Jisoo should know how arrogant Choi Jisu was acting. I don't get why he was so lenient with her..."
"Maybe he's been unhappy about it for some time. If not, why did he recruit Jennie over to suppress her?!"
"Now, that's interesting. Since Choi Jisu lost her title as the "Lady Boss of the Manoban Corporation", can she beat Jennie?"
A slightly more experienced female artist analyzed, "Even if we factor out Lisa, Choi Jisu has a solid foundation in the industry, so it's not easy for Jennie to replace her! But she's still young and has a lot of potential. Now that Lisa has helped her out personally...we wouldn't know what could happen in the future!"
...
The rumors between Choi Jisu and Lisa had been cleared. After Lisa danced with Jennie, it meant that people no longer had to avoid Jennie anymore!
All the photographers aimed their camera on Jennie. The people who had taken photos of Jennie just now are glad that they did. Those who were afraid of Choi Jisu and had not taken any photos earlier started regretting it, so they seized the chance and took more shots now...
...
At midnight, at Platinum Palace, no.6.
The chat group was chiming non-stop. Mino ignored all of it as he knew they must be discussing the anniversary tonight.
The screen flashed with a big "GAME OVER", Mino threw away his controller angrily, then he lay down on the floor mat behind him.
Notifications still kept popping up on his phone annoyingly.
Finally, Mino opened the chat group. The latest message was a video, and Mino tapped on it.
In the video, right in the center of the dance floor, under the mesmerizing lighting, Jennie was waltzing with Lisa. It looked just like they were in a movie...
Mino was miffed. He tossed his phone away and he slapped his hand hard. "Bad hand! Bad hand!"
He had already avoided the celebration this much, yet it was all futile...
1267 Fateful Match
After they finished the dance, Lisa made a short speech then passed the floor back to Jisoo and Yi Xudong.
"...a notable mention from last month, 'Dream Chaser' became a big hit. Jennie is the real unexpected winner of the industry this time..." When he was making the concluding speech, his cold and ignorant attitude towards Jennie was nowhere to be seen. He even specially mentioned her achievements in "Dream Chaser" and gave her a lot of encouragement as if he had become a totally different person.
If possible, of course, he wanted Glory World to produce more high-quality artists.
Glory World Entertainment was fairly new, but they had caught up very quickly. Their overall level of artists was very high, and they had a lot of amazing new recruits as well. Their sales numbers had been leading the charts compared to other companies, and they even surpassed the top company in the industry, Starlight Entertainment, but...they lacked charismatic and influential top artists.
Starlight Media was the oldest in the industry. They had the classic and well-known Song Qiumin, Ding Shan, and Liu Yan. Although most of them were not active in the industry anymore, they helped to build the foundation of Starlight. Even the newer generation artists like Krystal, Li Yueling, and Fan Luo were doing pretty well too...
Speedy Multimedia produced the dozen award winners, Song Hye-Kyo, and had several best actors and actresses of the year award holders. Even the newly started Sunset Multimedia had a young best actress of the year achiever, Meng Shiyi.
Ever since Leng Manyun left Glory World Entertainment, they had a lot of new artists, but none of them were influential enough to represent the company on their own. There were several instances when some of them received foreign awards before, but they were all best female supporting characters...
As for Jennie, Yi Xudong did not expect much from her. Because she was too pretty, it would be very difficult for her to get awards. None of the prominent award holders were chosen because of their looks. Having a slightly normal face would actually increase the chance of getting recognition, so the beautiful female artistes would need to make themselves look uglier on purpose to stand a chance. That was the unsaid rule within the community...
Take Choi Jisu for example. She would never take on any jobs that would tamper with her image. After she had reached where she was at the moment, she would not really advance any further. The reason anyone was interested in Choi Jisu was because of Lisa...
...
At midnight, after the anniversary celebrations, Lisa and Jennie went back to the Platinum Palace one after another.
The moment Jennie reached home, she was welcomed with a passionate warm hug.
"Is Little Treasure asleep?"
"Mmm."
"You completed everything you had to?" Jennie looked at the man's tired face. He had rushed to the dinner right after he landed, probably having sped up his schedule and working overtime.
"Mmm." Lisa was busy kissing her and probably did not really hear what she just said. He was focused on her lips...
She did not have the time to remove her makeup.
Oddly, her regal look seemed like she was a cute little girl in his arms.
Jennie felt a little itchy, so she pushed him away.
"Right, Lisa, I've been wanting to ask you just now. When you picked the number, did Jisoo do any tricks to it? Or did you?"
The man looked at her solemnly. "Nope, it's you."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Jennie was confused.
"I picked your number."
Jennie opened her eyes wide. "What!? No way! Are you for real?"
"It's real."
"So, you guys were planning to do something, but you picked my number instead? It's fate! My dear, we're a fateful match indeed!"
"Mmm."
1268 Something Major Happened!
The next morning, all the entertainment tabloids in the newspapers and magazines as well as the Internet headlines all featured the shocking news from Glory World Entertainment's anniversary celebration!
Choi Jisu's public relations team had to work overtime and find ways to stop the flow of information through media, yet their efforts were to no avail. Without Lisa backing her up, Choi Jisu was just another artiste in the entertainment industry...
Even a more famous artist's life and death were within the control of the media.
Furthermore, with last night's situation, Lisa had made it clear that he had intentionally clarified the rumors. All of them would obviously fight to be on his good side.
Early this morning, at the pantry in the Manoban Corporation, Ye Ying had arrived a little late today. After she put down her bag, she took her mug to the pantry and immediately heard excited chatter.
"What's with the excitement today?"
When they saw Ye Ying, someone immediately gripped her excitedly and said mysteriously,
"Director Ye, you still don't know!? Something major has happened!"
"What? What happened?" Ye Ying asked.
One of the secretaries replied, "Yesterday, at Glory World Entertainment's anniversary celebration, our Boss publicly announced that he already has a girlfriend! In fact, they've been dating for a long time, and their relationship is going steady too!"
"What?" Ye Ying was so shocked that her hand shook and the coffee in her mug sloshed violently.
She questioned, "The Boss really went public with Choi Jisu?"
When they heard Ye Ying's words, everyone in the pantry spurt out in laughter. "What!? The exact opposite! The Boss publicly turned Choi Jisu down and said he didn't know her at all. He even said that he wouldn't have such bad taste!"
Ye Ying was even more bewildered now. She was stunned for a long time before reacting, "W-What!? If it's not Choi Jisu...then who is it?"
"I don't know, the Boss is keeping it a tight secret. He didn't reveal anything, but we do know that the Boss really pampers her. Last night, we were attacked by huge displays of affection! You can see for yourself!" One of the secretaries passed a newspaper to Ye Ying.
Ye Ying quickly put down her mug and impatiently flipped through it.
All the media did not dare to reveal too much of Lisa's news. They did not even attempt to put a single picture, but they did describe last night's events vividly as if it was a novella. There were many twists and turns like a roller coaster...
"Who are you?", "Should I know you?", "Is my taste that bad?" Just three of these sentences were enough for one to imagine the strong presence that man had last night...
Whoa!
She had been carefully serving Choi Jisu all along but the woman had been bragging and swindling about nothing from the start?
When she finished reading it, Ye Ying almost puked blood. At the same time, she was incredibly grateful that Jisoo had told her not to rush into signing the contract with Choi Jisu.
After she put down the newspaper, Ye Ying walked swiftly back to the office in her high heels and immediately called Jennie's manager, Ling Zhizhi.
Earlier in the tabloids, even with Choi Jisu stealing the show, Jennie still managed to garner most of the reports.
Even though there were no pictures in the report, it had substantially mentioned how Choi Jisu tried to rig the lucky draw, yet was rejected by Lisa on the spot before he picked Jennie for the dance...
This dance was not just a simple dance. It further clarified Lisa's attitude towards her.
"Hello, is this Jennie's manager, Ms. Ling? Hello, I'm the Creative Director of the Manoban Corporation, Ye Ying. Our corporation is going to shoot a commercial soon, and we'd like to invite Jennie over for an audition..."
After she successfully communicated the audition details to Ling Zhizhi, Ye Ying felt refreshed and energetic.
At that moment, her phone rang.
It was Zhao Meixin.
1269 Fell From Pedestal
"Hello, Director Ye?"
"Ms. Zhao, you're calling pretty early. Is there anything you need?"
"Well, I just wanted to ask when our Choi Jisu should sign the renewal of her contract. Also, Biqin's commercial! It's been many days. Logically, it should be time to sign the contract."
When Ye Ying heard this, she sneered. This Zhao Meixin! How dare she mention this!?
She was the Creative Director of the Manoban Corporation headquarters. Everyone in the circle was courteous to her, except for Zhao Meixin who used her position to bully others, even going overboard with requests in their time of collaboration. Now that she knew Choi Jisu was not even the Big Boss's woman, she did not need to care to be courteous.
"Huh, Ms. Zhao, I'm very sorry. The double endorsement fees previously requested was really just too outrageous, and Ms. Choi's influence for our products during her endorsement hasn't been that fantastic, so we've already decided to use other artists. As for Liang Biqin...Ms. Zhao, you know well enough about the online reviews Liang Biqin received for her movie. How could we let a rat's feces ruin the pot of porridge if we've made huge investments in this ad? It's best to have some self-awareness!"
After she kept it in for so long, she could finally release it all in one breath. Ye Ying had really not given any face to Zhao Meixin.
"You..." On the other end of the phone, Zhao Meixin was about to explode, but she probably remembered that times were different now, so she suppressed her anger and said, "Director Ye, what do you mean? Haven't we already discussed these things earlier? Yet, now you want to go back on your words?"
It was best if she did not mention it, but now that she did, Ye Ying was more offended. "Without my Boss's name, you fully know yourself how much your artist is worth! Our Manoban Corporation is not a rubbish hub!" Ye Ying finished and hung up.
...
At a certain high-end villa in Imperial, for the entire night, Choi Jisu, Zhao Meixin, and Liang Biqin did not sleep a wink. Since the night before, they had been coming up with plans and making calls, but the situation had still progressed to such a dire stage.
Zhao Meixin was worried that any delay would bring trouble. The moment it was working hours, she called Ye Ying to talk about the contract, but she never expected this response...
She thought that only Biqin's commercial gig would not hold up at most, but it never occurred to her that even Choi Jisu's contract renewal was a lost cause.
"How's it?" Choi Jisu asked.
Zhao Meixin looked gloomy as she responded, "That god damned Ye Ying! She's taking advantage of the situation. Not only did we lose Biqin's commercial, even your contract won't be signed..."
"How could this be!? Those people are too much!" Liang Biqin was exasperated.
Choi Jisu clenched her fists hard. In just one night, everything had turned upside down. All those who used to fawn over her were beginning to avoid her.
Ever since she had risen to fame, she was carefully treated everywhere no matter where she went, but now that she had fallen from her pedestal, how could she bear this grief?
Then again, she had forgotten that all of this was never hers to begin with.
When she saw that Choi Jisu looked increasingly upset, Zhao Meixin pinched the space between her brows and said, "Choi Jisu, don't be too sad. Even without Lisa, you're still Glory World Entertainment's A-lister..."
"Huh, A-lister." Choi Jisu sneered.
What A-lister? Now, she was just a joke in Glory World Entertainment and the entire entertainment industry!
Zhao Meixin knew that without Lisa's halo, their loss was huge. The entertainment industry had strong competition, and Choi Jisu was not young.
Without any backup, she could be replaced if she was not careful.
No! She had made it to her position with hard work and she would not allow everything to be over just like that!
Zhao Meixin cleared her throat and softened her tone as she leaned closer to Choi Jisu and advised, "Choi Jisu, we must move on. The situation's already like this. The most important thing is to quickly think of a resolution. I've just helped you set a dinner appointment. It's with Rong Xin Real Estate's boss..."
1270 Who Else Are You Remaining Your Chastity For?
Who would have thought that before Zhao Meixin could finish, Choi Jisu flew into a terrible rage?
"Zhao Meixin! What do you mean?! Are you treating me like those women who sell themselves in the entertainment industry?!"
As soon as Choi Jisu finished, Liang Biqin instantly looked upset.
What did she mean by "women who sell themselves"? Before this, she had slept with the director and investors many times to maintain her relationship with them. Was she just a woman who sold herself in her eyes while Choi Jisu remained pure herself?
Zhao Meixin was upset but she suppressed her emotions and continued, "Choi Jisu, look at you. Hasn't the entertainment industry always been like this? You've been in it for so long. Don't you understand? I've just gotten news that the commercial has gone to Jennie. Even the endorsement might be taken away by her. Yang Hyunsuk's latest production has also booked her to be the female lead. If you still don't open up, you'll soon be stepped on by her, then you'd really be done for!"
Choi Jisu bit her lip as her expression darkened. "No, I will not entertain that disgusting old man!"
From Lisa to Sun Zhanpeng, that 50-odd-year-old man with a huge belly and perverted appetite...she could not take it!
Liang Biqin could not help but mutter, "Cousin, Lisa's already dissociated himself from you publicly. Who else are you remaining your chastity for?"
"You! How dare you!?" Choi Jisu slapped her.
Now, even Liang Biqin dared to speak to her like that.
Liang Biqin looked miserable as she held her face in shame. She roared back, "Am I wrong? That's what happened! Why can I do it but you can't!? Do you think you're still that high-up lady boss of the Manoban Corporation!? Lisa doesn't even fancy you, yet you still pretend to be all virtuous. Do you expect all of us to die with you?"
She had previously been treating her cousin like the queen, being her little minion, but now she did not even dare to leave her house. All of the fantasized glory and wealth were all gone!
"Stop fighting!" Zhao Meixin frowned. "Choi Jisu, Biqin's words don't sound pleasant, but she's just telling the truth. CEO Sun obviously can't compare to Lisa, but how many in the circle can get to such a high position at a young age like Lisa did?"
Choi Jisu felt her body tremble as her eyes were bloodshot. She said coldly, "Who said that I must personally sleep with him to get on Sun Zhanpeng's good side?"
"You're saying.." Zhao Meixin was muttering to herself.
"Didn't we hear that Sun Zhanpeng was interested in Jennie too?" Choi Jisu said with a sinister tone.
"I heard about that too. At a charity banquet, Sun Zhanpeng had gone up against another tycoon for Jennie!" When she said this, she thought about the rich fan that had spent $ 100 million to curry her favor and Zhao Meixin was a little envious.
If Choi Jisu had Jennie's looks, it was possible to get close to any bigwigs! Even seducing Lisa would be very likely.
Unfortunately...
Liang Biqin was attracted by this idea as well.
"Cousin, you're saying...send Jennie to Sun Zhanpeng? But Jennie is very cunning. I've never heard her have any relationships with any tycoons despite being in the industry for a while now. She's probably waiting on a good offer for solid support. It's not that easy..."
Zhao Meixin shook her head while something flashed in her eyes. "Not necessarily!"
Now that Choi Jisu's popularity had hit rock bottom, even if they looked for Sun Zhanpeng now, he might not buy the deal, and might even take them lightly.
If they could figure out a way to help Sun Zhanpeng get Jennie, it would double the effect...
Zhao Meixin's head started to be full of ideas.
Coincidentally, there was a great opportunity happening soon! This would determine whether they could make a comeback or not!
In Choi Jisu's current situation, she needed to get stable backup as soon as possible.