CH 24.3

Excluding various factors, Su Chengyang was still relatively happy with this hot pot meal.

As for the online criticisms of her, Xiao Lu was clearly more affected than her. She would occasionally check her Weibo on her phone and barely touched the hot pot.

She looked at Su Chengyang on the other side, eating carefree, and couldn’t help but sigh, “Su Chengyang, why aren’t you taking this seriously at all?”

Su Chengyang was chewing on something and was about to answer when she suddenly remembered what Lin Yu had said about “You can’t speak while you eat”. She swallowed what was in her mouth before saying, “This is nothing, I’ve been scolded much worse before.”

Su Chengyang had once played a villainous role, extremely ruthless, and almost all of the main characters died in her hands. She deceived their bodies, minds, and money, and caused the main character’s family to be ruined. When the drama was broadcast, Su Chengyang’s character name was trending for three whole days. After she was recognized outside, children would cry when they saw her. At first, she felt uncomfortable, but she did not suffer any substantial harm because of it.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lu fell silent.

In the eyes of the other three, they didn’t know that Su Chengyang had played other roles before. They thought that when she said “once”, she was referring to the time when she was framed by Yang Xiuyi.

Indeed, the current uproar was not as severe as when Su Chengyang was heavily scolded during the time when Yang Xiuyi’s relationship had been officially announced.

Assistant Xu laughed and said, “Chengyang is right, we can take this opportunity to advertise for free, it’s a blessing in disguise.”

Lin Yu said, “The others are secondary, the main concern is Ms. Shang’s side.”

“Right,” Xiao Lu nodded in agreement. “Shang Xingyu retweeted your Weibo post. Although she didn’t mention anything about the illustrations, she congratulated you on signing with Starlight Entertainment. By doing this, she undoubtedly claimed the words of the water army and intentionally guided the fans.”

Su Chengyang paused for a moment. “I…”

“Let’s talk about it when we get back to the company,” Lin Yu interrupted her.

“Oh.”

Su Chengyang lowered her head and continued to eat her own food.

Half an hour later, the four of them drove back to the company.

The receptionist anxiously looked around at the entrance. When she saw the four of them, she let out a sigh of relief. “General Manager Lin, you finally came back! President Lu is furious in his office and he’s been waiting for you.”

“I see,” Lin Yu nodded to the receptionist and then led Su Chengyang and the other two around the lobby and into the elevator.

After signing with the company, Su Chengyang had never met this President Lu. She heard from the receptionist that he was furious, which made her feel a little uneasy. After all, this misunderstanding was caused by her.

Now she was an artist recruited by Lin Yu, and because his company had already severed ties with Yang Xiuyi, Su Chengyang was a little worried that it might implicate Lin Yu.

“Manager Lin,” Su Chengyang hesitated and called out anxiously in the elevator.

Lin Yu turned around with a calm expression. “What’s wrong?”

Su Chengyang asked, “Will it affect you guys?”

“It will,” Lin Yu replied bluntly.

“In that case, should I go by myself?” Su Chengyang suggested.

The situation was already urgent, and they had even finished their meal outside before returning. If they went in like this, it might get Lin Yu scolded. Su Chengyang couldn’t imagine such a scene.

Lin Yu turned his head and said, “You are the artist I signed, no matter what happens to you, it’s related to me. You don’t need to feel burdened.”

Su Chengyang was stunned for a moment and didn’t say anything else. “Oh…”

After leaving the elevator, the four of them arrived at President Lu’s office.

Lin Yu turned to Xiao Lu and Assistant Xu said, “You two wait outside for a moment.”

“Alright, Manager Lin.”

Afterwards, Lin Yu knocked on the glass door, and Su Chengyang stood quietly behind him, seeing a sign hanging on the glass door that read “Executive President Lu Zhen.”

“Come in!”

Although it was only two words, Su Chengyang could already hear the suppressed anger in them. She couldn’t help but clench her fists and pinch her palms with her fingertips. Su Chengyang had never been scolded by a superior before.

Lin Yu put his hand on the door handle and turned to look at Su Chengyang, seemingly sensing her nervousness and fear. He whispered comfortingly, “Don’t be nervous.”

“En,” Su Chengyang reluctantly nodded.

The next moment, Lin Yu pushed open the office door.

In front of them was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, similar to Lin Yu’s office. There was a desk in the middle, and various books and materials were placed against the wall. The sofa and coffee table were placed by the window, creating a meeting area.

A man stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the mottled light outside. His shoulders trembled slightly, as if he was trying to control his anger.

Su Chengyang didn’t dare to look at him and followed behind Lin Yu into the office.

“President Lu,” Lin Yu calmly called out.

The man by the window gradually turned around, but Su Chengyang still didn’t dare to look up.

“You’ve come back so quickly,”

Lu Zhen said with a strange tone.

“Yes…” Su Chengyang walked up to Lin Yu’s side and subconsciously wanted to apologize.

“Hmm, it seems like this matter is quite urgent.”

Su Chengyang hadn’t even finished saying a word when he heard Lin Yu’s calm voice.

She keenly felt that something was wrong. They were delayed by their dinner and should be responsible for the delay, so why could Lin Yu speak so confidently?

She quietly raised her head and looked towards the man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.

He was wearing a well-tailored black suit, appeared to be in his thirties, slightly shorter than Lin Yu, and had a mature and stable temperament.

He suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, “After I hung up, I realized that the chairman had instructed us before that dining time is highly valued abroad, and it’s after work now. I thought I might have disturbed you.”

Lin Yu smiled and shook his head. “This isn’t Italy, I don’t have so many rules. You can contact me anytime if you have any questions.”

“Okay.”

Lu Zhen looked at Su Chengyang again.

“Hello, President Lu, I’m Su Chengyang,” Su Chengyang shouted bravely.

Lu Zhen looked at Su Chengyang, his gaze suddenly becoming serious. “What’s the matter with you? Did you draw the illustrations that were circulated on Weibo before?”

He was referring to Su Chengyang’s illustrations that she drew for only 3,800 yuan.

Su Chengyang felt embarrassed and nodded. “President Lu, it was indeed me.”

She regretted being too greedy for the small amount of money.

“If that’s the case, couldn’t you have been more careful when you posted on Weibo? You are a public figure now, and because of Yang Xiuyi incident, do you know how many pairs of eyes are watching you on the internet?”

“Sorry, I’ll pay attention next time,” Su Chengyang lowered her head in shame.

At this point, it was useless to blame Su Chengyang.

Lu Zhen gave her a stern look and asked, “You didn’t draw these illustrations with a hidden meaning, did you? I don’t think you’re stupid enough to do that.”

Su Chengyang shook her head honestly. “No, I didn’t.”

“Then what’s the reason? There must be a reason, right?”

At this point, Su Chengyang looked at Lin Yu, unsure if she should speak.

“To be honest, if the reason is reasonable, there’s still room for redemption in this matter.”

Su Chengyang wanted to go back and beat herself up for being so greedy.

“The reason is, when we were recording the program, a mouse stole the ham sausage that I had hidden.”

After saying that, Su Chengyang looked at Lu Zhen cautiously and asked, “President Lu, do you think this reason is acceptable?”

Lu Zhen’s expression stiffened, and he looked at Su Chengyang without any emotion, asking in response, “Do you believe in the reasons you just gave?”

Su Chengyang shook his head honestly.

Lu Zhen continued, “It’s better to just make up a reason.”

Then he turned to Lin Yu and said, “Let’s take down the hot search first, and delay the release of the program’s promotional video for a few days, until the storm of this matter has passed.”

Lin Yu said, “The program has already been scheduled and will be aired in three days. The copyright is in the hands of Cat&Dog Video.”

In other words, the airing time is basically unchangeable.

Lu Zhen frowned with distress upon hearing this, “What should we do then? The program cannot be promoted without publicity, but releasing the promotional video now would only add fuel to the fire.”

Lin Yu suggested, “Su Chengyang and I were thinking of using this opportunity to do some free promotion for the program. We can hire a few marketing studios to issue a press release stating that her illustrations are related to the content of the program.”

Su Chengyang nodded in agreement and added, “On the night before I left, the cameras in the room were not removed. The program team should have the entire process of me drawing this series of illustrations. It really has nothing to do with Ms. Shang.”

Lu Zhen’s understanding of Lin Yu wasn’t just based on the few months they worked together. Before that, he had heard a lot about him from the chairman, and he absolutely trusted Lin Yu’s abilities and judgment.

Despite this, he still hesitated a bit. “The credibility of the marketing accounts is not high. I’m worried that it won’t work and will even affect the reality show. And, as for Ms. Shang’s side…”

“Try it to know. This is currently the most secure and efficient solution. As for Ms. Shang’s side, tonight I will have the program team edit the original footage, and tomorrow I will take Chengyang to apologize in person,” Lin Yu said confidently.

Upon hearing the second half, Lu Zhen was a little surprised. “You will personally take Chengyang there?”

“No need, I and Xiao Lu will go. I know how to handle it,” Su Chengyang interjected.

“If I don’t go, Shang Xingyu probably won’t see you,” Lin Yu added.

Su Chengyang was confused. “Why?”

“She doesn’t usually do anything unnecessary like this. She probably just wants to meet me,” Lin Yu explained.

Su Chengyang was taken aback.

“President Lu, I’ll handle this,” Lin Yu said to Lu Zhen.

Lu Zhen nodded and said, “Okay, you can always come to me if you need any help.”

After leaving Lu Zhen’s office, Lin Yu saw that it was getting late outside the window. He instructed Su Chengyang to go back first, and as soon as the program group made an announcement, she should immediately repost it. As for other matters, she didn’t need to worry about them. The next morning at 10 am, she would meet with Assistant Xu to go and find Shang Xingyu.

After saying that, He and Assistant Xu returned to the office.

Su Chengyang and Xiao Lu were sitting in the car on the way back. She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Xiao Lu, does Manager Lin know Ms. Shang?”

Looking ahead, Xiao Lu replied naturally, “Are you talking about Shang Xingyu? Yes, they know each other and are quite familiar.”

“But wasn’t Manager Lin abroad before?” Su Chengyang asked.

Xiao Lu said, “It seems like they met each other abroad.”

“Oh.” Su Chengyang leaned back in her seat.

Xiao Lu asked, “What’s wrong?”

Su Chengyang said, “I was planning to apologize to Ms. Shang myself, but Manager Lin said that if he doesn’t go, Ms. Shang might not see me.”

“Are you reluctant to trouble my cousin brother?”

“Well, Manager Lin did nothing wrong. I don’t want him to apologize to others because of me.”

“It’s okay, my little Chengyang. You did nothing wrong. Just trust my cousin brother since he treats his artists very well.”

Hearing this, Su Chengyang was a little curious, “Did Manager Lin have other artists before?”

Xiao Lu nodded, “Yes, when my cousin brother was still a student, he worked part-time and took care of an Italian actor. Later, I don’t know what happened, my cousin brother suddenly resigned from that company. At that time, my cousin brother helped her with a movie, and she even won a prestigious award for that film. Later, I asked my cousin brother why he quit, and he said there was no need to stay there. My cousin brother likes taking care of artists, and he probably thought that shaping an artist is like sculpting a work of art. So, I think the reason he resigned was probably because of that female artist.”

Su Chengyang smiled and didn’t say anything after hearing this.

Xiao Lu glanced at her and smiled, “Actually, I heard that the artist was pursuing my cousin brother. My cousin brother always separates his work from his personal life, so he quit. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Su Chengyang paused for a moment and nodded, “It’s possible.”

“After all, my cousin brother is so excellent, don’t you think so?”

Su Chengyang hung her head and replied, “Manager Lin is really excellent.”