Zhou Yun couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the video.
"Sister Lan, your friend is really mean. Isn’t this like slapping Xu Siyao’s face right in front of netizens?"
"She deserves it!" Zhou Lan scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "During a live event, why didn’t she think about the impact her words could have on you if they weren’t handled properly?"
Zhou Yun said, "I have this feeling that this video is going to hit the trending searches."
"All the better," Zhou Lan replied. "Let everyone see her ugly true colors."
Zhou Yun said, "President He probably wouldn’t want Xu Siyao to get into such trouble, especially since she’s the up-and-coming starlet under his promotion."
"Saying she’s a starlet, her being promoted is her business, but she absolutely shouldn’t have messed with you and done such a thing. If we don’t teach her a harsh lesson, she’ll dare to do this again in the future."
No sooner had Zhou Lan finished speaking than her phone rang.
Zhou Lan sneered and answered the call, putting it on speaker.
"President He, you were looking for me?"
He Yong’s obviously annoyed voice sounded from the phone: "Zhou Lan, is that video online your doing?"
Zhou Lan straightforwardly admitted, "Yes, it is."
"Why would you do such a thing? Xu Siyao is also an artist of the company. Aren’t you smearing the company’s reputation?" He Yong accused.
"President He, please get your facts straight. She was the one who deliberately pointed the finger at Zhou Yun. Why don’t you ask her if her brain got knocked by something or got eaten by some beast? How can she be faultless saying those words?" Zhou Lan was also full of anger.
Before this, Zhou Lan had never directly confronted He Yong this fiercely.
He Yong was stunned as well.
Zhou Lan’s reaction was bigger than he had imagined, leaving He Yong unsure of how to respond for a moment.
He Yong wasn’t truly angry. He knew that the video was a mess Xu Siyao had brought upon herself, but he still wanted to try and minimize the damage to Xu Siyao. After all, he had high hopes for her and didn’t want to see her ruined. So, He Yong’s plan was to take the initiative to find fault with Zhou Lan and force her to take the video down.
But with Zhou Lan’s strong reaction, He Yong didn’t dare to continue with a hard stance.
Ever since he witnessed Zhou Lan scolding Zhou Yun, He Yong realized that Zhou Lan was no longer the little employee he could control.
"It’s not like that, Zhou Lan. If this video continues to circulate, Xu Siyao’s career could be ruined. She’s young and made a mistake. She should be punished, but we shouldn’t cut off the girl’s path," He Yong’s tone softened a bit. "Think about it, Xu Siyao is also the second lead in ’Eighth Heartbeat.’ If she gets too much negative press, given the current film and television policy environment, the show might even be affected."
"That would be great. I really wouldn’t want ’Eighth Heartbeat’ to air. It’s better to be dead and never see the light of day," Zhou Lan responded.
"You!" He Yong was rendered speechless by Zhou Lan’s retort, unable to say anything for a while. After a moment, he said, "Don’t be absurd. How could you affect the airing of ’Eighth Heartbeat’? Do you really want Zhou Yun’s first drama to become known as a suppressed show that can’t be aired? If this becomes a label on Zhou Yun, that’s not good. So many producers are superstitious."
"President He, I won’t beat around the bush with you. My friend put a lot of time and effort into making this video. They’ve just finished it and put it up, and now you want it deleted? Wouldn’t that be in vain? Moreover, the impact of this video on Xu Siyao isn’t as severe as you make it out to be. Nowadays, isn’t bad publicity still publicity? Look, in just one evening, the number of fans Xu Siyao gained is definitely more than she accumulated in the last half a year."
Zhou Yun sat by listening as Zhou Lan cleverly sparred with He Yong.
After a long back-and-forth, He Yong agreed to pay one hundred thousand yuan in service fees to Zhou Lan’s friend, provided the video be taken down by 11 p.m. that night.
"Will the company pay for this one hundred thousand yuan?" Zhou Yun asked curiously.
Zhou Lan laughed coldly. "You wish. This money will definitely be billed to Xu Siyao’s account. She’ll have to cough it up."
"Xu Siyao is probably going to cry from anger tonight."
"Who gives a damn," snorted Zhou Lan. "I can’t stand that arrogant little girl who thinks she’s so clever."
Zhou Yun laughed helplessly.
"From now on, definitely keep your distance from people like her and never have anything to do with them again," Zhou Lan said.
"That’s what I hoped for," Zhou Yun replied.
"Xiao Yun, I still have to give you a heads-up. ’Eighth Heartbeat’ obviously won’t have great reviews, and there might be a lot of people criticizing you for a poor performance. You should prepare yourself mentally."
Zhou Yun hadn’t expected Zhou Lan to suddenly bring this up.
"I’ve been ready for a while," she said with a smile.
"In the past, we didn’t have much choice, but we won’t let you take on such roles in the future."
"What about the workplace romance series the company has arranged for me?" Zhou Yun smiled wryly.
"To be fair, that series, in terms of both the script and director, is much better than ’Eighth Heartbeat.’" Zhou Lan said, "You can’t be too picky. It’s just a less serious genre, and you still need to act in it. As long as the production is good, the performance won’t be bad."
Zhou Lan suddenly smiled a little and said, "Let me tell you some good news."
"Hmm?" Zhou Yun asked. "What good news?"
"The male lead for this drama is likely to be a top-tier male celebrity," Zhou Lan said.
"For real?" Zhou Yun was somewhat surprised. She had thought it would be another production like ’Eighth Heartbeat.’
"You’re the hottest actress in the company now, of course, the company will upgrade your resources. Besides, the company still hopes this drama can make it to a satellite TV channel, so we need a male actor who is favored by the TV station to boost the show," Zhou Lan explained.
"Any idea who the male lead will be?" Zhou Yun asked.
"Not yet, the company is in talks with several male actors. It hasn’t been decided," Zhou Lan replied.
Zhou Yun yawned and said, "I’m sleepy."
"Hold off on that. There’s a premiere for the New Year’s film starring Shen Yao tomorrow, which you’re attending. I have to leave early in the morning, so you’ll have to go by yourself. Don’t forget to proactively chat during the dinner party afterward—he has a lot of say in who stars in his new film," Zhou Lan mentioned regarding Shen Yao’s new film in the works.
Zhou Yun nodded. "Got it. I’ll do my best to put myself out there."
Zhou Lan smiled, caressed Zhou Yun’s cheek, and said, "Just hang in there for a few more days, the New Year is coming. I haven’t scheduled any work for you during the holiday. You just have to cooperate with a few brand partners on Weibo. Other than that, the rest of the time is yours. You’ll finally get some rest."