Chapter 240 - 240: Crying for Half a Night
Li Xiwu asked with a faint smile, “What if I insist on leaving?”
Pei Jingzhou smiled bitterly. “If you don’t want me, what should I do?”
Li Xiwu held her breath. “Even without me, you still…”
Pei Jingzhou smiled. “There won’t be anyone else.”
Li Xiwu pursed her lips. “Fourth Brother, it’s late. Go to sleep.”
Pei Jingzhou said, “Okay.”
That night, Li Xiwu clearly felt Pei Jingzhou’s uneasiness. He was a man who could devise strategies for everything except for her. This cherishment was not a pressure to Li Xiwu, but it made her feel a little hesitant.
The next day, Li Xiwu took Pei Jingzhou’s car to the company. When the car arrived at Hua Guan Media, Pei Jingzhou asked her, “What do you want to eat tonight?”
Li Xiwu didn’t give a perfunctory answer. Instead, she earnestly listed out the names of the dishes.
Pei Jingzhou noted it down and said, “Can we go back to Tan Hua Manor tonight?”
Li Xiwu had no objections. “Anything is fine.”
Pei Jingzhou hugged her and kissed her. Li Xiwu also responded.
A few minutes later, Li Xiwu entered the office with a bag of snacks. Yuanyuan arrived at the office very early. She knew that Miss Li was not filming today, so she had already cleaned the office before Miss Li arrived.
Li Xiwu had just finished cleaning when Yuanyuan walked in. She put down the rag and greeted, “Miss Li.”
Li Xiwu smiled and asked, “Why are you at the office today?”
Yuanyuan said, “Sister Weiling took two days off from the production team. I had nothing else to do, so I came to the company to find something to do.”
Li Xiwu nodded and passed the bag to Yuanyuan. “These are the handmade snacks I made in my spare time. They haven’t been opened yet. Take them and eat them. Give some to your colleagues who are close to you. Also, leave a jar of pork jerky. I’ll bring it up to President Qi later.”
Yuanyuan took it happily, “I’m so lucky!!”
Li Xiwu smiled and sat down behind her desk. She turned on her computer, logged into the computer version of WeChat, and began to work.
Yuanyuan opened a can of persimmon biscuits and walked to Li Xiwu’s desk. “Miss Li, is this persimmon biscuit the one you made in the video?”
Li Xiwu nodded in agreement.
Yuanyuan was very excited. “I’m really lucky.”
Li Xiwu looked up at Yuanyuan. “How is Weiling doing?”
Yuanyuan took out the persimmon biscuit and replied seriously, “It’s not very good. She’s quite dispirited. I did as you said and supervised her not to go online, but it was useless. She would still look at the criticisms online. Last night, she closed all the comments and private messages on Weibo. The anti-fans couldn’t scold her under her Weibo, so they went to scold her under the official Weibo account of the drama she had recently filmed. She should have cried for half the night last night. When I left this morning, her eyes were still swollen.”
Yuanyuan reported in detail.
Li Xiwu fell silent for a few seconds before asking, “Since she’s asked for leave, is the production team going to start work normally?”
Yuanyuan nodded. “Yes, they’re starting work normally. However, they’re only filming supporting roles. Qi Zishen didn’t go to the production team either. This drama has been plagued with problems since filming started. They had no choice but to delete the scenes of the third male lead, Chi Xu, and reshoot them. Now, the male and female leads are still in a bad scandal. Some of our investments have been withdrawn.”
Li Xiwu pursed her lips. “All the bad things happened together.”
Just as she finished speaking, the phone on the table buzzed. Li Xiwu took the phone and looked at the caller ID. It seemed to be within her expectations. She closed her eyes helplessly.
Yuanyuan craned her neck to see who the caller was. Before she could see it, she heard Miss Li say, “It’s the general manager of D Perfume Asia Pacific.” Yuanyuan was shocked. “It’s over. We can’t keep the D Perfume endorsement.”
Li Xiwu knew what was going on, so she was very calm. She composed herself and picked up the phone. “Manager Ren.”
Ren Jia’s voice was very friendly on the phone. “Miss Li, are you busy?”
Li Xiwu replied, “I’m not busy. Is Manager Ren going to talk about the endorsement?”
Ren Jia was already very polite. “Yes, I’m calling to talk about this matter. Other than the commercial value of the artist, D Perfume also values the artist’s private morals. For the sake of the brand’s future development in the country and the reputation problem, D Perfume has decided to unilaterally terminate its endorsement deal with Hua Guan Media’s artist Ji Weiling.”
Li Xiwu had already expected the outcome of this matter. The other party had already given her enough face and terminated the contract peacefully. There was no need to make things too ugly.
Li Xiwu naturally knew that there was no way to salvage the situation, so she also apologized politely, “I’m deeply sorry that this matter has caused trouble for D Perfume. I hope that we can work together again in the future.”
Ren Jia smiled faintly. “Miss Li, you’re a very good artist mentor. I’m also looking forward to our next collaboration.” The call ended.
Li Xiwu placed the phone back on the table.
Yuanyuan leaned over and asked carefully, “Did the endorsement fail?”
Li Xiwu said, “Mhm.”
Yuanyuan sighed, “It’s late, but it’s here.”
Li Xiwu said, “If she asks, tell her the truth. There’s no need to hide it. She’ll learn from her mistakes and grow up.”
Yuanyuan nodded. “Okay.”
Li Xiwu finished her work and went upstairs to meet Qi Jiangchi. When she knocked on the door and entered, Qi Jiangchi was on the phone. Li Xiwu placed the can of preserved pork on the table. Qi Jiangchi hurriedly ended the call and pointed at the two sealed cans on the table. “Did you bring these for me?”
Li Xiwu nodded. “Yes.”
Qi Jiangchi was obviously flattered. “I’m so lucky.” As he spoke, he took it over, opened the sealed can, and started eating.
Li Xiwu sat down. “I’m here to ask about the termination contract.”
Qi Jiangchi ate three pieces of pork jerky in one go. When he heard Li Xiwu’s words, he seemed to have expected it. “My wallet is bulging.” Li Xiwu smiled brightly. “Earning money is meant to be spent. Only by spending money can you have the motivation to earn money.”
Qi Jiangchi closed the sealed can and took out the signed termination contract from the drawer. “Pay the money to the finance department yourself. From tomorrow onwards, Ji Weiling will no longer be an artist of Hua Guan.”
Li Xiwu picked up the termination contract and casually said, “Qi Zishen has been through a lot of flowers and has been floating around for so many years without failing. If he fails one day…”
“Alright, alright, alright!” Qi Jiangchi interrupted Li Xiwu. “If he fails, our company’s annual net profit will be reduced by more than half.”
Li Xiwu: “I just mentioned it casually. President Qi is so nervous.”
Qi Jiangchi pulled a long face. “It can’t be helped. He’s now the cash cow of Hua Guan. The last person who could earn money for the company like Qi Zishen was Xie Wen, but I don’t think our company will have another Xie Wen. Even Miao Zhiyi can’t compare to her money-making power..”