Inside the spa room.
A faint fragrance lingered in the air.
Ye Qiu felt as though he were climbing a mountain, brimming with vigour, only to then plunge into the clouds, his heart soaring with exhilaration.
Utterly refreshing.
Qin Wan’s face was flushed as if ripe as an apple, her brows occasionally furrowing, soft murmurs escaping her lips.
…
Meanwhile.
At the Jiangzhou Hotel.
Room 8888, the Presidential Suite.
Jin Lingling had taken a shower, changed into fresh clothes, and was lounging on the sofa, scrolling through Weibo.
Several of her posts had shot up to the trending list.
One, in particular, had climbed to the second spot on the hot search, amassing over five million views and sparking widespread attention online.
It had been retweeted 50,000 times, garnered 110,000 comments, and racked up more than 700,000 likes.
Jin Lingling tapped into the comments and skimmed through them, all voices of support.
“Heart hurts for Lingling Jie, that spa owner is way out of line.”
“The culprit must be severely punished.”
“It’s a lawful society now, and someone dares to hit people—my goddess, no less? I’m heading over to tear that spa down tonight.”
“Lingling Jie, stay strong, we’ll always support you.”
Reading these, a smug smile curled on Jin Lingling’s lips.
“Hmph, just some spa owner, not even a rich heir, and she dares hit me? Watch me ruin you.”
Her thoughts turned to Lin Jingzhi, a mix of anger and jealousy flaring within her.
“Why? She’s just a nobody, how can she be that gorgeous?”
“Everyone says I’ve got a great figure, but that woman’s body is top-tier too.”
“If she entered the entertainment industry and went the sexy route, no one would pay attention to me anymore.”
“Good thing she’s not in showbiz.”
“That filthy wretch dared to hit me, this time I’ll make sure she loses a layer of skin.”
Then her mind shifted to Ye Qiu.
“That little punk, plain-looking as he is, how does he have two girlfriends?”
“And both of them are stunning—one all charm and grace, the other icy and aloof. How on earth did he snag them?”
“You bastard, just you wait.”
“I’m not done with you.”
Ding-dong!
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
This presidential suite was equipped with a full smart home system, when the bell chimed, the 100-inch laser TV in the living room flicked on automatically, displaying the scene outside the door like a surveillance feed.
A middle-aged woman with short hair and glasses stood there.
She carried a limited-edition Hermès bag.
It was Jin Lingling’s agent, Tian Fang.
“Open the door!”
Jin Lingling spoke to the TV, and with a “ding,” the door swung open.
Tian Fang hurried in from outside, saying, “Lingling, how’s the injury on your face?”
Jin Lingling replied, “I’ve iced it, it’s much better now. Fang Jie, what took you so long?”
“Traffic jam on the way.”
Tian Fang set down her bag and approached Jin Lingling, carefully inspecting the injury on her face.
“It’s fine, no big deal, I’ll take you to the hospital later for treatment, it’ll heal fast.”
Tian Fang sat on the sofa opposite Jin Lingling and got down to business, “Why would Boss Lin suddenly hit you?”
“How should I know? That Lin woman was like a lunatic, didn’t say a word, just started hitting me,” Jin Lingling said, sounding aggrieved, “Fang Jie, you’ve got to stand up for me.”
“You’re my artist, if you’re wronged, of course I’ll back you up, but Lingling, you need to tell me the full story, start to finish.”
“Fang Jie, after I got off the plane, I went to the spa, said I’d sign with them, and then that Lin woman hit me.”
“That’s it?” Tian Fang didn’t quite buy it.
Jin Lingling nodded, “That’s it.”
“I’ve talked to Boss Lin and Boss Qin before, we got along great, they’re straightforward people, why would they suddenly hit you?” Tian Fang’s expression darkened, “Lingling, you’re not telling me the truth.”
“Fang Jie, I’m telling the truth,” Jin Lingling protested.
Tian Fang’s face turned cold, “Lingling, if you don’t come clean, I won’t get involved, you can handle this yourself.”
Fear flickered in Jin Lingling’s eyes.
Agents might not be in the spotlight like celebrities, but they wielded immense power, as a star, you’d rather offend a financer than your agent.
A financer could be replaced, but cross your agent, and your career could be toast.
“Alright, fine, I’ll tell you the truth, I got to the spa and asked to renegotiate the endorsement fee.”
“They originally offered two years, twenty million, I bumped it up to forty million.”
“And I added a condition, that they help me deal with someone.”
“That guy hit me on the plane, I didn’t know he was Lin’s boyfriend.”
Jin Lingling continued, “Fang Jie, sure, raising the fee might’ve upset them, but them hitting me was still their fault, you’ve got to help me make them pay.”
Tian Fang’s expression soured, “Lingling, you’re such a fool!”
“Your usual endorsement fee is five million a year, even with decent clients, it tops out at eight million, this time Boss Lin and Boss Qin offered two years, twenty million, already a few million above market rate, how could you hike it last minute?”
“Two years, forty million, that’s a top-tier diva’s price.”
“Plus, after this blew up, you didn’t consult me and just posted on Weibo, that was reckless.”
“Now, even if I wanted to smooth things over with Boss Lin, they probably wouldn’t agree.”
Jin Lingling’s eyes widened, “Fang Jie, Lin hit me, why are you talking about smoothing things over? Whose agent are you, mine or theirs?”
“Of course I’m your agent, if you hadn’t posted on Weibo without checking with me, I could’ve talked to Boss Lin, maybe she’d have agreed to the forty million.”
“If we could trade a few slaps for tens of millions, that’d be worth it, and it’d bring the company a tidy profit too.”
“You’ve got to understand, the company didn’t train you for nothing.”
“Oh, I see, Fang Jie, don’t worry, you can still negotiate with them,” Jin Lingling said with a smile, “Before you got here, I pretended to be you and sent word to the spa, saying we could settle privately.”
“But I laid out a few conditions.”
“First, endorsement fee of two years, forty million;”
“Second, Lin Jingzhi has to apologise to me and pay two hundred million in compensation;”
“The third condition is I want both hands of Lin Jingzhi’s boyfriend.”
What?
Tian Fang’s eyes bulged, staring at Jin Lingling in disbelief.
At that moment, one thought dominated her mind: Jin Lingling had lost it!
