Wen Ruan's public statement made a good first move.
Seeing the amazing data below, Nacy was thrilled. It was nearly 11 o'clock now, she asked the other staff to go home and rest, and stayed to go over the data and talk to Wen Ruan. "The public statement was at 8 o'clock, and now it's been three hours. The number of fans has reached 200,000."
"Although this Weibo's fans aren't particularly numerous, for a newcomer, it's already a great start."
The more she spoke, the happier she became. Lifting her head, she placed her hand on Wen Ruan's shoulder and patted it gently, smiling at her. "Xiao Ruan, you've done great."
Wen Ruan didn't understand much about the entertainment industry, especially not the fan circle, but she could tell that Nacy was genuinely pleased. This joyful mood infected her, making her involuntarily bend her eyebrows to smile.
However—
Shaking her head softly, she said in a soft voice, "It's not because of me. It's all thanks to you and the other colleagues in the company."
Wen Ruan wasn't being modest.
From the widespread negativity before to the subsequent publicity, she hadn't actually done anything. It was all Nacy and her colleagues who had worked tirelessly to prepare. She was a very clear-minded person; she had no real involvement in this splendid reversal.
"Nacy, thank you." Looking at her, Wen Ruan suddenly expressed her thanks sincerely.
She was very clear. If this battle hadn't been won, she wouldn't be the only one losing face.
As a top-tier agent in the entertainment industry, Nacy held Ji Yan, this ace. In the past few years, she hadn't brought in any new artists, so suddenly bringing in a newcomer without any previous works, many people were watching.
If today's comeback hadn't been successful, Nacy would have faced more pressure than her.
If she couldn't make it in this line, there was a chance for her to leave. She could do other things outside the industry, but Nacy couldn't. She was genuinely helping her with her own future.
Thinking about this, Wen Ruan's heart suddenly softened even more.
She was the kind of person who wasn’t very easy to approach.
Perhaps because she had been hurt too much, she had become increasingly timid and cautious.
Before the family went bankrupt, she had many friends, and wherever she went, there would be a group of people around her, male and female. But since the family's bankruptcy, those people had started to distance themselves from her. Even worse, her so-called good friends used to like to ridicule her behind her back.
Ridiculing her for clinging to the Lin family, saying she had no shame.
Ridiculing her, like a phoenix with missing feathers, not even as good as a chicken.
She had cried, been heartbroken, to the point where in the days that followed, she didn't want to meet new friends or need any friends.
No hope meant no disappointment.
So, throughout these years, her only friend was Jixi.
But now—
After going through this group effort, she suddenly felt like it was okay to open up a bit more, no need to worry about everything, no need to hesitate because of fear of being hurt.
Wen Ruan's smile became brighter, her eyes clearer. She looked at Nacy and sincerely said, "Really, thank you very much."
Thanking her for bringing her into this kind of circle, for her guidance and support, there were many, many thanks that couldn't be said enough.
Outside the French windows, there was a bustling crowd, but the office was quiet. The 18th floor location was excellent; the noise from outside couldn't be heard.
Nacy held the data in her hands, looked at Wen Ruan's smiling face, and her cold heart softened in this moment. She couldn't help but smile. Her eyes were rarely gentle, and her expression was very soft. She reached out and stroked Wen Ruan's head, speaking softly like an older sister, "There's no need for thank you's. We're family."
Moreover—"
Nacy put down the data in her hands and said with a smile, "If you hadn't submitted such a good answer sheet today, even if I and the company wanted to help you, it would have been useless."
All the other preparations were in vain, only her own results were real.
Those three sets of promotional photos, the different softness in front of the three lenses, were the best answer she could give herself and the outside world.
"A lot of industry insiders have already asked me about you just now. I'm afraid it won't be long before someone extends an olive branch to us," she paused here, then began to encourage, "Xiao Ruan, you have to believe in yourself. You are great and good, and worthy of being liked."
Soft Wen didn't know if she really deserved to be liked by others.
But she would try to believe in herself first, like herself, and encourage herself. So she nodded and smiled and said, "Okay."
When Nacy heard her response, her smile on her face spread a little more. She didn't mention these things again and continued to talk about business with others. She was very serious when she worked, and her expression became much more serious at the moment, "However, this is just the first battle. If you want the public to remember you for a long time, there is still a lot we need to do."
In this circle, good works will eventually be forgotten.
This matter.
Soft Wen also knew.
So when Nacy looked at her and said "In the future, we might be very hard," she just smiled and shook her head, "It's okay, you arrange it for me, I'm not afraid of hardship."
Since she decided to take this path well, she naturally wasn't afraid of hardship.
"Okay, then I'll start arranging your schedule tomorrow." Nacy nodded in satisfaction, looked at the time, it was already late. She stood up and said to others, "Let's go, it's too late today. I'll take you back. It's a good time to talk about work on the way."
Soft Wen did not refuse, smiled and said thank you to the person.
The two walked downstairs together. At this point, there were not many people left in the company. Even the trainees who had been practicing had returned to the dormitory. When waiting for the elevator, Nacy and Soft Wen talked about other things. "This time, things might not be resolved so easily with Su Lanlan."
This time, the wind has turned.
Soft Wen's popularity has soared, and she has received numerous compliments. But Su Lanlan's situation is different. In the video call, her voice was clear and her words were clear.
Even a fool could tell what was going on.
In addition, Ji Yan suddenly returned from country T, and when everyone connected the dots, they could have a general idea of the matter—Su Lanlan contacted Ji Yan, and told him the "truth" about Soft Wen's leg injury. Ji Yan was so angry that he went directly to the company to make trouble for Soft Wen, but he didn't expect Soft Wen to be so tough, she called directly and publicly humiliated Su Lanlan.
So the point of this matter is that Su Lanlan pretended to be innocent and schemed against Ji Yan, originally wanting to use Ji Yan to make Soft Wen completely disappear from this circle, but unexpectedly it backfired.
This has stirred up a lot of anger from various parties.
Apart from soft Wen's fans, the most angry were Ji Yan's fans. They never liked Su Lanlan to begin with. If it weren't for the old relationship between Ji Yan and Su Lanlan, they didn't know what to do to this woman who had always been attached to Ji Yan.
Thinking about how their beloved Ji Yan defended Su Lanlan like this, coming back from country T overnight, with dark circles and red bloodshot eyes in the airport photos, they felt heartache. Su Lanlan not only didn't show gratitude, but also dared to play tricks!
They were so humiliated today, who was to blame?
Su Lanlan!
So what should they do?
Of course, they would scold her, confront her, and criticize her! Let her know the fighting power of their fans!
And besides them, there were also many bystanders. These bystanders mostly didn't take sides, just watched the drama. But even if they just watched the drama, when they had nothing else to do, many of them had sincerely cursed Soft Wen. Unexpectedly, right after cursing Soft Wen, the situation turned around.
This was truly embarrassing.
Originally, they had good intentions to criticize, but they ended up in this situation, as if they had offered genuine kindness to a dog and then been bitten. So this group of bystanders also began to switch to attacking Su Lanlan.
They had cursed Soft Wen before, but now they were attacking Su Lanlan with even more intensity.
Su Lanlan had been in the industry for two years and had always had a good reputation.
But because of her resources and her character, many people in the industry didn't like her. After the original video was released, besides the bystanders and the fans, Nacy also hired many water army to target Su Lanlan, and many other people in the industry also didn't hesitate to throw stones at her.
Now there are several hot searches on Weibo, and many hot topics like #Shocking White Lotus#, #When will Su Lanlan stop using Ji Yan?#, #When will Su Lanlan be able to be beautiful alone?#, #The so-called goddess is bullying the little transparent.#
This was the so-called backlash of retribution.
Su Lanlan originally wanted to target Soft Wen through Ji Yan, but now she has ended up in this situation.
However—
Nacy's expression still appeared somewhat solemn. "Su Lanlan has been in the industry for so long, with a large fan base, and with the backing of the Su family. Even if she's been attacked so horribly this time, I'm afraid it won't matter."
"It's actually you," her voice lowered, and her tone was also tinged with concern, "You have a good reputation now, but your fan base is still a bit small. Su Lanlan's side is quiet for now, but she must be keeping an eye on you privately. Be careful in what you do in the future."
Otherwise, if you are being watched by such a group of mad dogs, you might as well die.
Soft Wen nodded, her expression also became much more serious, "I understand." She understood Su Lanlan's temperament better than anyone else, and naturally would be more careful.
Nacy believed in Soft Wen's character and seeing that she was already on guard, she didn't say more.
The elevator had arrived. The two got in, and she pressed the button for the first basement floor. She then remembered something and turned to look at Soft Wen. But this time, her expression became more hesitant, and her voice also became hesitant, "Xiao Ruan, there's another thing."
She was still thinking about how to bring it up.
But Soft Wen had already smiled and said, "You want to talk about Ji Yan? It's okay, it's not his fault, and I don't blame him."
Near or distant.
Su Lanlan was close, and she was distant. There was nothing to blame here, and besides, Ji Yan had helped her tonight, so consider it even.
The more considerate Soft Wen was, the more Nacy wanted to sigh. They were both her family, the heart of both sides. She felt heartache for whomever she talked to. It was a good thing that Soft Wen was not at odds with Ji Yan, otherwise she wouldn't know how to deal with the relationship between these two in the future.
When the elevator was going down.
Nacy spoke about Ji Yan, "In fact, Ji Yan, this child, is not as cold-hearted as he appears on the surface. When I first entered the entertainment industry, I was clueless and didn't know anything. Except for a manager's qualification certificate, I was full of ambition and hope."
Listening to her talk about the old days.
Wen Rou also remained silent and listened earnestly.
“At that time, before I joined The First Entertainment, I was just a manager at a small agency. Unlike now, where artists come to you to be chosen, at that time, what could I do? No ability, no connections, no resources, no one wanted to work with me."
Obviously, it was a long time ago.
But when Nacy talked about it, it felt like yesterday, especially warm, "I encountered several setbacks at that time, and my enthusiasm gradually waned. My family kept urging me to go home and take the civil service exam. I thought, maybe I'm not cut out for this."
"Just when I was ready to pack up and go back to my hometown, Ji Yan appeared."
"He was just a high school student at that time, with a disdainful face when he came to me," Nacy turned to Wen Rou and asked, "Guess what he said to me at that time?"
Wen Rou: "What?"
Nacy smiled, "He said, 'I’m with you.' With those three words, we started to fight side by side."
"We had nothing at that time. He didn't want to rely on his family, so he didn't ask for the resources his family offered. I went to seek resources for him, running around, and he dedicated himself to dancing and singing seriously for more than ten hours a day, until his legs were nearly disabled and his voice was hoarse."
"Later, he debuted, joined a group, and went solo, using seven years to make many people remember him."
"During those seven years, countless top managers reached out to him, offering him opportunities to leave me, to go higher, but he stayed. I asked him, why did he choose me, why didn't he leave?"
"He said," Nacy had a scene in her mind.
It was the Ji Yan from a few years ago, the cynical teenager, looking at her indifferently, "What 'why'? It's all the same everywhere, and besides," he looked down on the world, "even without them, I could still reach that position."
The Ji Yan in Wen Rou's memory has always been icy, not close to anyone, not pleased with anyone, as if he was naturally full of disgust for everything and everyone.
She never thought she'd hear such a different version of Ji Yan from Nacy today.
Nacy also snapped back to reality, seeing Wen Rou still looking dazed, and said with a smile, "Surprised, aren't you?"
Wen Rou nodded, "Quite unexpected."
The elevator had arrived.
Nacy and Wen Rou walked out, and Nacy added, "I don’t know how to say it about the matter between Ji Yan and Su Lanlan. He seems to be naturally tolerant towards Su Lanlan," shaking her head with a very helpless tone, "But this child is not that bad. I hope you two can get along well."
Wen Rou remained silent.
She had no ill will towards Ji Yan, as long as he didn't cause trouble for her because of Su Lanlan, she would naturally get along well with him.
Not hearing Wen Rou's reply, Nacy didn't say anything more.
As the two walked towards the parking lot, they saw Xu Zhi, who was leaning on a car making a call. It was too far to hear, but they could see the helplessness on his face as he hung up the phone.
It was somewhat surprising.
"Leaving so late, is everything settled?" This question was for Nacy.
Xu Zhi was not in formal wear today, very casual, and had not worn his gold-rimmed glasses. He had naturally charming eyes, which looked very enchanting. Normally, wearing glasses could conceal that, but without any cover, when those eyes stared at someone, any woman would probably be unable to resist being moved.
However, it seemed that this skill was ineffective on Nacy and Wen Rou.
Nacy disapproved of Xu Zhi and just nodded towards him and said, "Settled," then fell silent.
Wen Rou did have something to ask someone. After thinking for a moment, she turned and said softly to Nacy, "Nacy, you go ahead, I'll be right there."
"Okay," Nacy nodded and went straight to the car, ignoring Xu Zhi.
Once she left, Wen Rou came over and stood in front of Xu Zhi, hesitating how to start a conversation.
Seeing her, Xu Zhi suddenly laughed, fiddling with his phone, speaking casually, "Guess who called me just now?"
Wen Rou was taken aback, thought of his expression just now, and asked without hesitation, "Ji Xi?"
Xu Zhi nodded and said helplessly, "For your sake, your good sister has scolded me a lot, but ..." He paused suddenly, staring at her for a moment, then smiled, "What surprised me was that someone unexpectedly called me for your sake."
Thinking about today's call—
The man's voice on the other end of the phone was heavy, as if suppressing great anger, "Is this how you manage your company? If you can't handle your people, I'll do it." He had known Lin Qinghan for so many years, when did he ever see this side of him?
It seemed that
Xu Zhi's eyes slightly narrowed, his face with a smile, there seemed to be good drama awaiting in the future.
Now that things had been said, there was no need for Wen Rou to ask further. She lowered her head, feeling a bit complicated, a feeling that couldn't be expressed. Although she had guessed it for a while, hearing the answer from Xu Zhi, she really didn't know what to say.
Nacy drove over and parked not far from her. Hearing the engine, she returned to her senses, saying to Xu Zhi, "Thanks, Brother Zhi, I'm leaving now."
After saying that...
She turned and got on the car under the gaze of Xuzhi.
Xuzhi watched her leaving figure, raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything more, opened the car door and got in.
He didn't tell anyone about Lin Qinghan's recent strangeness and the worry and anger in the phone call just now. He didn't want this girl to be fooled, hearing a few good words and turning back.
What's the point of this?
He was still waiting to see Lin Qinghan's joke.
After all.
Being able to see Lin Qinghan's joke is about as rare as a thousand-year-old iron tree blooming.
Rare.
***
Inside the car.
Nacy looked at the puzzled expression on Wensoft's face and asked, "What's wrong?"
Wen Rou hesitated for a moment and told Nacy about the matter. After speaking, she lowered her eyes, leaned against the car, unconsciously fiddling with the seatbelt, and spoke softly, "I just find it strange. When I was with him before, he didn't care about anything, why did he start to do these things for me after we separated."
She would rather Lin Qinghan continue to be the way he used to be.
Cold.
Then she wouldn't have to overthink.
Although Nacy had heard about Wen Rou and Lin Qinghan's affairs, she hesitated and could only say, "It's not good to judge other people's relationships. What matters is what you think."
What does she think?
Wen Rou looked at the scenery outside the car window. She also didn't know. It had been a while since she separated from Lin Qinghan, and she tried to keep herself busy so that she wouldn't have leisure time to overthink.
But when the midnight dreams came back, she couldn't help but think of him. She had liked Lin Qinghan for so many years, it's not something she could just put aside.
"Then..."
Nacy hesitated, "Do you want to go back?"
Upon hearing this, Wensoft immediately reacted. She shook her head, with a firm tone, "No." She didn't know what's gotten into Lin Qinghan now, whether it was just idle or for Lin Grandpa.
Or really wanting to make it up to her.
It didn't mean that just because he suddenly became better, she had to choose to go back.
It took her a lot of courage and effort to divorce Lin Qinghan. She had only slowly adapted to her current life. Now that Lin Qinghan suddenly cared for her, doing things for her...
She was both unsettled and overthinking.
But if she went back and Lin Qinghan returned to his old self, what would she do?
She couldn't bear a second blow like that.
"Since you've made up your mind, there's no need to keep struggling." Nacy comforted her with a smile, "Let him do his thing, and you do yours, that's it."
Wen Rou remained silent for a while before speaking, "I understand." She held her phone, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, then opened WeChat and went to Lin Qinghan's contact list. For the first time since the divorce, she took the initiative to contact him.
The content in the chat box was just two polite words, "Thank you."