Chapter 417 – The Story of the Female Cat
“That night, you didn’t reject me…” Ju Jie jingled his car keys, humming a little tune as he walked into the company from the lobby in a good mood.
“Brother Jie, what are you singing?” The girl at the front desk leaned coquettishly against the counter and asked.
“Ah, haha, I’ve been working on writing a new song recently, just singing nonsense, nonsense!” Ju Jie knew that the song wasn’t officially his yet, so he just laughed it off.
Ju Jie arrived at his office and pushed the door open. Du Lun was sitting at his own small desk, using the computer. When he saw Ju Jie appear, Du Lun nonchalantly closed a website with a chart and stood up.
“A’Jie, why did it take you so long to get back to work? Do you know that a star’s popularity needs to be maintained? You haven’t participated in any shows or activities this month. Who knows how many people have forgotten about you!” Du Lun complained.
“Alright, alright, stop nagging like an old man the moment I walk in. And before this, you were calling me every day—it’s so annoying!” Ju Jie felt that Du Lun was getting more and more talkative. Wasn’t he supposed to be good at reading the room?
Du Lun smiled and closed his mouth.
“Let me tell you something, I haven’t just been wasting time these past few days. I’ve been working on something big, do you understand? If I pull this off, I’ll be a big star!” Ju Jie said proudly.
Du Lun’s curiosity was piqued, and he asked doubtfully, “What big thing?”
“I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else!” Ju Jie trusted Du Lun quite a bit. After all, it was Du Lun who had suggested buying songs from Yang Yi in the first place. He continued enthusiastically, “Sister Mo Fei is planning not to renew her contract!”
“Not renewing?” Du Lun was surprised at first, but then a hint of joy appeared on his face. “Really? If Mo Fei doesn’t renew, then you’ll be the biggest star in the company!”
Currently, Ju Jie was indeed second only to Mo Fei. Zhenzhen also had some fame, but compared to Ju Jie, she was still a bit behind. After all, who hadn’t heard of the song “Sidechick”?
Du Lun thought even further. For example, after Mo Fei left, Tianmei would focus on cultivating Ju Jie, and for female singers, they would focus on cultivating Zhenzhen. With more resources for Ju Jie, Du Lun would naturally benefit more! Moreover, he has a good relationship with Zhenzhen—They were originally trainees at Tianmei during the same period and often exchanged information. If Zhenzhen could rise up, he would also benefit.
“Hehe, of course! But it’s not just that. Big Sister Mo Fei isn’t renewing because she wants to open her own studio. As long as I help convince my aunt to let her leave peacefully, Mu Li’ang will write songs for me! Even better than ‘Sidechick’!” Ju Jie said proudly.
Du Lun paused for a moment and asked, “What’s the connection between those two things?”
“Hey, you don’t know. It was actually Brother Mu Li’ang who approached me about this in the first place!” Ju Jie found his previous kidnapping incident embarrassing, so he hadn’t told Du Lun. “He and Mo Fei want to open their own studio and make their own money. It’s no big deal!”
Ju Jie accidentally let slip1TN: For those who don’t know what this means, like me. “Let slip” means to unintentionally say something that you didn’t mean to revealbut didn’t mention the relationship between Mu Li’ang and Mo Fei. But Du Lun’s focus wasn’t on that.
“I remember Mo Fei’s contract only has four months left. She could just leave when it expires! Why did he have to come to you?” Du Lun asked puzzledly.
“That’s because Big Sister Mo Fei is a sentimental person. She wants to part ways amicably with our company, so he wants me to help persuade my aunt to accept this fact.” Ju Jie waved his hand and said happily, “It doesn’t matter why. Anyway, if I handle this matter well, Brother Mu Li’ang promised to write me two songs!”
“So, I’ve been calling my dad these past few days, asking him to help me plead with my aunt!” Ju Jie explained.
Family comes first2
. His son wanting to become a big star was far more important than some outsider leaving! So, Ju Jie’s father agreed, but since he hadn’t returned from Australia yet, they had to wait a few more days. Once he was back, he would sit down with Niu Meiling and have a proper talk.
“By the way, Du Lun, is my aunt here today? I want to test the waters with her first.” Ju Jie’s real purpose for returning to the company today wasn’t to get back to work.
……
At this moment, Niu Meiling and Jian Chuo were chatting in the office.
“Sister Ling, is there really no chance to salvage the situation?” Jian Chuo asked cautiously, looking at the furious Niu Meiling.
“Salvage what? You know Mo Fei’s personality. Once she’s made up her mind, who can change it? Back when she had a child and wanted to leave the entertainment industry, didn’t I try to persuade her? Did she listen?” Niu Meiling slapped the book on her desk and pointed outside.
“But if we really do this, won’t it mean completely falling out?” Jian Chuo glanced at the USB drive on the desk and said with some concern.
“It’s not about falling out. As long as you and I don’t say anything, who would know it was us who leaked it?” Niu Meiling snorted. “I just want to vent my anger and teach her a lesson. The company has cultivated her for more than ten years, and now that her wings are strong, she just flies away. It’s infuriating!”
“You mean, we give this information to the reporters without telling anyone it was us?” Jian Chuo had a moment of realization.
Jian Chuo knew quite a few people in the media. Whenever Niu Meiling couldn’t personally handle the dirty work, Jian Chuo took care of it.
“Yes, if others bring it up, we’ll say it has nothing to do with us, and it’s that Mr. Kou who didn’t keep his word!” Niu Meiling instructed, “Of course, if no one mentions it, we’ll both pretend we don’t know.”
Jian Chuo nodded and said with a smile, “I naturally understand that. But, Sister Ling, what’s the point of doing this? You can’t make her change her mind, nor can you warn others who are also itching to leave after seeing Mo Fei go. Is this really just to vent your anger?”
“Hmph, of course, it’s not just about venting my anger. Didn’t she say she wanted to go solo and thought she was so great that she didn’t need the company’s support. Then let her try! When she runs into trouble and has no one to handle PR for her, let’s see how she deals with it! I want her to understand that the world isn’t as naive as she thinks!” Niu Meiling said with a hint of pride.
“I see now, Sister Ling. This is killing two birds with one stone! On the surface, we’re acting all nice to her, but behind the scenes, we’re setting her up. When she can’t handle it, she’ll have no choice but to come back to us,” Jian Chuo flattered and said.
“Exactly!”
“But what if she refuses to admit her mistake and doesn’t come back?” Jian Chuo asked.
“What can we do? What else can we do?” Niu Meiling’s expression darkened again. “Just act like she never existed. Do you think the world will stop turning just because Tianmei lost her?”
Jian Chuo quickly nodded, not daring to provoke Niu Meiling’s bad mood at this moment. “Then, Sister Ling, I’ll go handle it now!”
“Wait!” Niu Meiling regained some of her rationality. She waved Jian Chuo over and said, “Don’t rush. Keep the material for now. Wait until Mo Fei finishes her last two concerts before leaking it. She just talked to me about this, and if you do it now, anyone with half a brain will know it was us!”
Jian Chuo smiled wryly and nodded. After all, she was just following orders. Whatever Sister Ling wanted, she would do.
Coming out of Niu Meiling’s office, Jian Chuo saw Ju Jie walking over excitedly.
“Hey, Manager Jian, is my aunt inside?” Ju Jie asked.
Jian Chuo hesitated as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself. She shook her head and said, “She’s in there. Go and see her.”
With that, Jian Chuo left.
Ju Jie then entered Niu Meiling’s office and closed the door behind him.
“You’re back?” Niu Meiling’s expression wasn’t good, but she still forced a smile when facing Ju Jie.
Ju Jie didn’t notice this. He said with a smile, “Auntie, I want to tell you something.”
“What is it?” Niu Meiling’s expression softened slightly.
“It’s like this, I encountered a particularly troublesome situation and wanted to ask for your opinion!” Ju Jie had already worked out what to say. “I have a friend who has a cat. He’s had it since it was a kitten, raised it for years, and they had a very good relationship. But then, out of nowhere, a male cat came along and just took his cat away without a word! That female cat, she just left, which made her owner very sad and angry…”
Niu Meiling’s gaze became sharp, and she stared intently at Ju Jie.
“But here’s the interesting part. That female cat actually still cares about her owner in her heart. Even though she’s leaving, she doesn’t want her owner to be too sad. So, she wants to be well-behaved and hopes that when she comes back to play in the future, she can still joke and laugh with her owner…” Ju Jie continued on his own, “Hey, Auntie, do you think this female cat deserves pity? Can her owner forgive her?”
After he finished speaking, he looked at Niu Meiling expectantly, thinking his story was seamless.
However, Niu Meiling gritted her teeth and asked word by word, “Who? Who told you that Mo Fei is leaving?”
TN: If you like my translations support me in ko-fi: Here.
<Previous | Table of Content | Next(teaser)>
