They said they wanted to give him a vacation, but in reality he only rested for three days. Three days later, Ran Ting urgently called Song JinXing back to the company.
With Zhong Ruanxing's rising popularity, Ran Ting's position in the company had also risen. Those interns who had entered the company with her were still assistants to veteran agents. Those who had mocked and ridiculed her back then saw her now with sour grapes and jealousy, no longer daring to spout nonsense in front of her.
Ran Ting did not care about the changing perspectives. Now all her thoughts were focused on her artist.
As soon as Song JinXing entered the office, she eagerly handed over several scripts to him: "Pick one! They are all big productions. I've already screened them once. No matter which one you choose to act in will be good. It mainly depends on your own preferences!"
Before Song JinXing could look at the scripts, she handed over several business cooperation offers, smiling so widely her eyes disappeared: "You can only pick one drama, but you can take all these business offers! Let me tell you, the products that have come looking for you to endorse them these past few days are practically endless. I heard even Wen Han is about to be angered to death by this, hahahaha!"
"Oh right, there are also variety shows. You previously said you didn't want to be on variety shows, so I didn't help you negotiate any. These all came looking for you on their own initiative. See if you want to go or not. If you do, then go. If not, I'll turn them down!"
Song JinXing's desk was soon piled high with documents.
Ran Ting eagerly waited for him to speak.
Song JinXing picked up the documents and glanced through them briefly, then suddenly asked an unrelated question: "Who are the investors behind these business deals and scripts?"
"Uh..." Ran Ting had not paid attention to this. After all, which artist cared about the backers when taking on jobs? But since her artist had spoken, she swiftly went to investigate, soon returning with the answer.
"It's Sh Shang Group."
Just as expected.
Song JinXing was not surprised at all. Zhong Ruanxing had long taught him some established rules in the entertainment industry. Zhong Ruanxing's popularity now was indeed much greater than before, but before the broadcast of "The Spy", she was still an actress without a representative work.
She had never been the female lead before, so she had no way to prove her ability to carry a drama to investors. The movie had not been released yet either, with no box office numbers to add weight.
Her current heat all came from the national buzz over the Song family's endorsement announcement and those circle-breaking drama stills.
There was indeed hype, but it was artificially inflated. In the eyes of investors, such hype could not be converted into her commercial ability. So in this situation, there might be a small amount of resources tilted her way, but never as much as now for her unlimited picking.
Anything out of the ordinary was suspicious. Considering Cheng Yaowen's behavior recently, Song JinXing had no trouble guessing he was the one pulling strings behind the scenes.
Throwing resources to curry favor?
Song JinXing sneered inwardly and pushed the pile of files containing ulterior motives back. "Refuse them all," he said lightly.
Ran Ting's eyes widened like copper bells. She said in disbelief, "Refuse...all of them?"
Song JinXing said, "From now on, thoroughly investigate the backers behind any resources that come my way. Refuse any related to Shuang Investment Group and the Chengs."
Ran Ting was stunned for a while, then suddenly understood something. Fury at the treasure under her care being coveted by villains rose in her eyes. She swiftly gathered the documents and said, "Got it, leave it to me! The company has some other invested projects. I'll go pick some suitable ones for you. Go back and rest first. I'll give you good news soon!"
Song JinXing nodded.
Soon, Cheng Yaowen received the news that Zhong Ruanxing's side had rejected all the resources he had sent over.
The assistant cautiously observed his boss's expression after finishing his report. Even he felt this actress was too unappreciative. So many good resources that other actresses scrambled for but couldn't obtain, and Young Master Cheng handed them over for her unlimited picking, yet she did not want them.
The assistant had thought his boss would be angry over the rejection to his face, but Cheng Yaowen unexpectedly showed no displeasure whatsoever upon the truthful report. Hearing it, he only arched a brow calmly.
Cheng Yaowen felt he had probably been played by this woman Zhong Ruanxing. He actually felt that if she had silently accepted, he would find that strange instead. Now that she had rejected him, it conversely made him feel he had not misjudged her.
However, the company had many issues lately, with problems cropping up in several bidding projects. Cheng Yaowen really could not spare any more attention for her at the moment. Hearing the news, he simply waved his hand. "Since she rejected, then forget it. Set this matter aside first."
The assistant acknowledged the order and was about to leave when Cheng Yaowen suddenly called him back. "Isn't there an auction on the yacht tonight?"
The assistant replied, "Yes, you were invited before."
Cheng Yaowen said, "You go and bid on a piece of jewelry for her."
The jewelry at the auction were usually priced in tens of millions. His boss was quite generous to this actress. The assistant suppressed his surprise and respectfully said, "Yes."
The auctions of high society were mostly for antiques, jade, and jewels. Deals of billions in one night were commonplace. Since Cheng Yaowen had not set a limit, the assistant bid without hesitation. Soon, a necklace auctioned off at 30 million entered his hands.
They moved in the same circles, so many recognized him as Cheng Yaowen's assistant. Naturally, he was here to bid on Cheng Yaowen's behalf.
But who was this expensive, 30 million necklace for? Cheng Shuang Group's young master intended to gift it to whom?
Speculation ran rife.
The next day, Cheng's mother dressed herself magnificently in pearls and gems and went to drink tea and arrange flowers with wealthy madams. As soon as she sat down, Madam Liu across from her stared at her neck.
Cheng's mother touched the pearl necklace at her throat, puzzled. "What is it? Does this necklace not match my outfit today?"
Madam Liu smiled and said, "No, I just heard your young master bid high at an auction last night and obtained a necklace for 30 million. I thought it was this one." Your young master is dating?
Cheng's mother's eyes instantly widened.
She did not know if her son was dating anyone, but she knew the 30 million necklace must not be for her.
For some reason, the actress she had seen at Wen Shuye's birthday banquet flashed through Cheng's mother's mind.
Her son had looked at that girl improperly back then! She had known that one was no good!
Cheng's mother had just sat down when she impatiently stood up again, leaving with a "Something came up, let's meet another day." The wealthy madams watched her receding back and smiled knowingly, their expressions disdainful.
"Wonder which girl is about to have bad luck again."
"Madam Cheng watches her son so closely, not even allowing a mosquito near him. Could it be she plans to marry her own son in the future?"
"She was also considered a wealthy family's precious daughter back then. How did she end up with such narrow horizons and petty mindset? I wonder if Cheng Zhiqian ever regretted the arranged marriage to bring her into the family."
