Chapter 111: The Solution

Shen Qian mumbled an explanation. “I—I just haven’t had the chance yet. I was going to go tell her today!”

The agent no longer believed a word she said. There was nothing he could do about it; after all, this was not the first time Shen Qian had pulled something like this.

In the past, Shen Qian had always relied on Zhou Zhaolin’s protection, so she had repeatedly done things the agent looked down on. He had not expected that even after being lectured so many times, she still had learned nothing.

Head aching, he said with clear irritation, “Do you even understand? If this endorsement is lost, the hard-earned value Zhou Zhaolin has only just recovered will fall right back down again.”

If this endorsement had been managed well, Zhou Zhaolin could already have moved into the next stage.

But now, all of that had become impossible.

“You’d better come up with a solution for me.”

“I—I’ll go find Jin Xi right now. I’m sure I can convince her!”

“Enough, enough. Just stay put for once. Going to see Jin Xi now is meaningless. The urgent thing is to think about how to solve this from another angle.”

Shen Qian could not help asking, “Another angle?”

The agent nodded. “Do you remember why you approached Jin Xi in the first place?”

Of course Shen Qian remembered.

She was younger, easier to fool, and came from a very good family.

“Given Zhou Zhaolin’s current situation, unless he finds someone even more powerful, it will be hard for him to climb any higher.”

The problem still lay in connections. Unless they found someone with a wider network, or someone who did not fear the Jin family at all.

“What are you saying?”

“I know someone who can get Zhou Zhaolin out of this mess. It just depends on whether Zhou Zhaolin is willing to agree.”

“Agree to what?” Zhou Zhaolin asked as he came in from outside.

“There’s a good way to deal with your current situation. Do you want to try it?”

Zhou Zhaolin was indeed a little curious. “What way?”

“Do you remember that woman I mentioned to you last time?”

Zhou Zhaolin immediately understood what method the agent meant. But he had no desire to cater to some old woman.

He rejected the idea at once. “No. It’s not that bad yet. I’ll think of something else.”

The agent’s face darkened too. “Do you have to wait until it’s beyond saving before you do anything about it? Another way? Then give me a plan. Let me hear it.”

Zhou Zhaolin naturally could not think of any other way. But ever since he became famous, women had always fawned over him. He had never had to lower himself to beg anyone for anything. He simply could not accept this reality.

The agent lost his temper. “If you don’t want to do it, then fine. Whatever happens later, you can figure it out yourself. I’m done dealing with it!”

He had so many artists under him. If not for Zhou Zhaolin’s handsome looks and the refined, gentle air around him that could easily fool people, the agent would never have wanted to take him on, not with all those scandals that could have ruined him outright.

Storming off in anger, the agent left. Shen Qian felt a flicker of panic at the sight.

“Zhaolin, is there really no better way to handle this?”

It was the first time she had ever seen the agent lose his temper so badly.

Zhou Zhaolin said gloomily, “Let me think. I know a lot of people. Surely there are a few who’d be willing to help me.”

Having been in show business for so long, Zhou Zhaolin had naturally come into contact with plenty of more capable people. In the past, he had always kept them dangling, neither too close nor too far. But now, that approach was obviously no longer working.

Unlike Shen Qian, Zhou Zhaolin knew very well how much Jin Xi had helped him. Otherwise, he would not have agreed so readily when Jin Xi said she wanted to marry him. He had simply never expected Gu Jing and Qin Miaoyu to appear out of nowhere and ruin everything.

At times, he even wondered whether Gu Jing had deliberately come to sabotage him, to get revenge for what happened years ago.

But although he had indeed been in the wrong, Gu Jing had not suffered all that much, had she? During their relationship, they had only held hands and hugged. The money Gu Jing had spent on him was not much to her either. So was it really necessary for her to go this far?

While grumbling in indignation, he sent messages to the few contacts in his phone with whom he had some, though not much, connection.

Because the endorsement had fallen through, and because the beloved on-screen pairing had suddenly and publicly distanced themselves from one another, Zhou Zhaolin’s reputation began to shift. Everyone started speculating about what he must have done to bring about such a situation.

At first, the agent still wanted to control the rumors, but seeing that Zhou Zhaolin looked as though he already had a plan, he did not want to interfere anymore.

With that energy, he might as well find a few new talents to cultivate, or see whether any of the people under him might be able to follow Zhou Zhaolin’s path.

Qin Miaoyu did not have much time afterward to pay attention to Zhou Zhaolin’s situation, because Jin Xi’s wedding required far more effort. Qin Miaoyu and Pei Yixue were both busy with that project, while Xu Xiaoqi was sent to handle the other matter.

Because the bridegroom had changed, the requirements for Jin Xi’s wedding commission were different as well.

Jin Xi’s current fiancé was a rather flamboyant man, so his most important requirement for the wedding was that it had to be magnificent, lavish, and dreamlike enough.

His exact words were: “Make sure Jin Xi has a wedding she will never forget for the rest of her life!”

To Jin Xi, it sounded like nothing more than a joke. But Qin Miaoyu and the others had taken part in designing many weddings, so they could easily see that the current fiancé was speaking his true feelings through a joke.

Qin Miaoyu was so busy with this project that she turned down several invitations from Lu Qianan.

When she had time on her hands before, she still had the energy to help Lu Qianan deal with his grandmother. But now she was so busy that her feet barely touched the ground. Every day when she got home, all she wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep, and she simply no longer had the time or energy for such things.

So when she suddenly saw Lu Qianan in her home, she nearly jumped in surprise.

“Why are you the one opening the door? Where’s Jingjing?”

Qin Miaoyu looked past Lu Qianan.

“She had an appointment with my uncle. I happened to be free, and she said you’ve been terribly busy lately and barely even have time to eat, so I came over to make you a meal.”

Qin Miaoyu changed her shoes and went inside. “There’s no need to go to all this trouble. I can just grab something simple. Go do your own thing.”

Lu Qianan’s lips curved into a smile. “It’s already been trouble. The food’s all made. I’m just waiting for you to eat it.”

Qin Miaoyu gave him a sidelong glance. “That was your idea, not mine asking you to do it.”

“Yes, it was my idea. Hurry up and sit at the table. I’ll bring the food out.”

When Lu Qianan set the dishes on the table, Qin Miaoyu, who had not felt hungry a moment ago, suddenly did. The aroma of the food drifted straight into her nose.

Seeing that Lu Qianan looked as though he was about to head back into the kitchen to do something else, she hurriedly said, “Stop working. Come sit down and eat.”

“You eat first. I’ll clean up the kitchen, or it’ll look too messy.”

Although Lu Qianan told her to eat first, Qin Miaoyu still waited for him to come out. Once he also sat down at the table, she eagerly picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the braised ribs.

After just one mouthful, Qin Miaoyu felt she had truly treated her stomach far too badly these past few days.