Su Qinian immediately asked, "Who's her agent?"
"Ji Xian, a well - known agent of Joy Film and Media Co., Ltd. She has access to a wealth of resources. Lin Jinran is just one of the many artists under Ji Xian. Lin Jinran signed a seven - year contract with Joy back then, and the contract may be renewed at the end of this year." The secretary laid out all the information she had.
Su Qinian pondered for a moment. "Okay, I got it. Keep pushing this forward and try to poach Ji Xian. There's no way Ji Xian can turn down the resources we offer."
His well - defined fingers gently tapped on the table.
"Also, check into Ji Xian's background. See if there's anything fishy, especially something related to Lin Jinran."
After hanging up the phone, another call came in right away.
The director said obsequiously, "Mr. Su, you and Lin Jinran will be shooting for Aurora Magazine tomorrow morning. Most of the resources you've allocated are in place. But I..."
"Get to the point. No nonsense," Su Qinian said impatiently, rapping on the table.
The director was in a dilemma. "Well, someone called me, trying to coerce and bribe me into replacing Lin Jinran. They said as long as it's not her, anyone will do. Mr. Su, what do you think?"
Su Qinian's eyes turned cold. "Who?"
"The Lin Group from the imperial capital. I know these resources are from you, so I'm telling you this. They want to replace the female guest and hope we can find an excuse to get her out of the dating show. " The director gritted his teeth. "You know, in recent years, the Lin Group has been growing stronger and shows an inclination to enter the entertainment industry."
Are they suppressing Lin Jinran?
Many things seemed to be getting clearer. After meeting Lin Jinran, he watched the TV dramas she starred in. She had both acting skills and good looks, but somehow she never got popular. There must be some capital forces behind it.
The show had only been on air for one or two days, and the Lin Group was already eager to get Lin Jinran off the dating show.
Are they afraid she'll really become popular?
"Director, you know this live - broadcast is being watched by netizens. If we just replace her as they ask, it'll put you in a tough spot. Netizens have sharp eyes. The shooting tomorrow morning is well - known. We can't change the guest."
"Yes, Mr. Su, you know that. But they've offered a condition. If we find an excuse to get Lin Jinran off the dating show, they'll pay ten times the liquidated damages. That's tens of millions of yuan."
The offer was really tempting.
Maybe Lin Jinran herself didn't know she was worth so much.
Could the Lin Group just casually come up with that much money?
Su Qinian remembered that Lin Jinran had a bad relationship with her family. Even after all these years, it was still as bad as ever, almost to the point of mutual destruction...
Yes, mutual destruction!
Su Qinian's pupils shrank suddenly. It seemed like he had caught a glimpse of something. A series of her behaviors after he met her seemed to be connected.
But why was it like this?
There must be a reason.
"Do you have any evidence?" Su Qinian asked.
"No. Their people came to me in person and said it face - to - face. I didn't have time to record."
The other side had come prepared.
"Try to keep them calm. Remember to record if necessary..." Su Qinian's tone was steady as he emphasized what the director needed to do next. The director kept saying yes. After giving the instructions, Su Qinian hung up the phone again and paced around the room, lost in thought.
Lin Jinran's disappearance after the college entrance examination was extremely strange. She left everything in her rental house behind. He guessed she was taken away by her family, so he flew to the imperial capital to find her parents.
Lin Cheng and his wife said Lin Jinran wasn't there and hadn't come back. He sat in their living room for a whole day but didn't see her.
Filled with doubts, he staked out in the neighborhood for some time but never caught a glimpse of Lin Jinran.
Such a big person seemed to have vanished into thin air. But what about the messages she sent on WeChat? Was she avoiding him? Because of his abrupt confession?
Su Qinian stubbornly refused to believe it and searched aimlessly in the vast crowd. After half a year of searching, he slowly began to hate Lin Jinran. He hated her for leaving him without a word.
After searching for so long, one would surely develop an obsession. He hated Lin Jinran for her heartlessness and cruelty. But after finding her, all he wanted was for her to live a good life and be happy.
Now she was listless, like an insensible puppet.
He was angry again, angry at Lin Jinran's lifelessness. Who on earth had turned her into this? From what the director of "Crazy Crush" said, Su Qinian seemed to know. It was Lin Jinran's father, who had been suppressing her, afraid that she would become popular.
But why was Lin Cheng so afraid? Did he have something to hide?
Su Qinian immediately sent a message, asking his secretary to use all resources to thoroughly investigate if the Lin Group had evaded taxes and to dig into the dirty secrets behind Lin Cheng and Yang Jinzhi.
The long night was stretching on, and the moon was shining like a silk ribbon.
Su Qinian looked at the moon and murmured softly, "Ranran, when will you open your heart to me?"
When Lin Jinran woke up the next day, she saw her latest hidden task—before noon, tidy up the collar of any male guest.
Great, another mind - numbing task.
And the only guest she could complete this task with was Su Qinian.
The special car sent by Aurora was already waiting at the Crush Cottage. Lin Jinran tidied herself up a bit and then got in the car with Su Qinian to head to the shooting location.
"Hey, wait a second. Your collar is messed up. The back part isn't properly arranged," Lin Jinran said seriously, staring at Su Qinian's neat collar.
"Ah?" Su Qinian was slightly stunned but extremely cooperatively leaned his head over, obediently letting her tidy it up.
[The collar is messed up? Am I blind? Why can't I see it's messed up?]
[This is their little fun. It's called creating something out of nothing.]
[Why has Su Qinian suddenly become so cute? He's like a little puppy. He seems so cuddly.]
[Can this even count as completing the task? I'm dying of laughter. Su Qinian's hidden task today is to hug the female guest. I bet he'll do it when they're shooting the magazine cover.]
Lin Jinran stifled her laughter and tidied up his collar. Looking down at the boy's thick, black short hair, her palms itched. She wanted to ruffle his hair.
With the camera beside them filming, she calmly told him that she was done and then leaned against the car window to rest.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the Aurora shooting location. The chief editor of Aurora Fashion greeted them in person. Lin Jinran was flattered and always careful with her words and actions.
To abide by the confidentiality principle, the live - broadcast room for Lin Jinran and Su Qinian ended here.
The morning passed in a blink of an eye. The chief editor highly praised Lin Jinran for her good sense of the camera and strong explosive power during the magazine shooting and warmly invited her to be the cover guest for the next issue.
In the afternoon, the two originally planned to rush back to the Crush Cottage for the next activity, but the founder of Aurora came out and invited Lin Jinran to shoot jewelry in the afternoon.
With the director's approval, they stayed for the shooting.
It was not until evening that they rushed back to the Crush Cottage. He Jiao excitedly waved her hand. "Have you had dinner? If not, let's play a little game. The loser has to choose between truth or dare."