Chapter 408: Side Story (2)
Although there were many who lauded the brand, there were also a fair number of people who claimed that Lieban's designs were just average. It wasn't all that unique, and it relied heavily on Shen Jingbin and Zhao Chengning to stand out. In fact, the Shen Group was basically putting the cart before the horse!
But regardless of whatever was said, Lieban's debut was a resounding success.
...
Recently, Xue Sijia's been feeling very depressed! She was oh so depressed!
Why?
Because, ever since the day she fell out with Shen Jingbin, she'd mysteriously received notices of her being removed from a number of productions. Representatives from a number of films that she was supposed to star in had also informed her that they'd be swapping her out for another actress.
More importantly, her manager was suddenly switched out as well. Her manager was changed without giving her any prior notice at all!
Her manager's replacement was a new recruit who lacked any experience or connections!
At this point, if she couldn't figure out why all of this was happening to her, she'd have spent all these years in the entertainment industry in vain!
Who could do such a thing to her? And, who would have the gall to do it?
Shen Jingbin was the very first person that came to her mind.
That's right, it was that woman. Apart from her, no one else would be able to pull such a thing off. Furthermore, didn't Shen Jingbin threaten her not long ago?!
She became increasingly sure of herself, the more she thought about it. At the same time, she became increasingly enraged. Shen Jingbin was far too despicable. How could she have resorted to such means!?
No. There was no way she was going to take this lying down!
After making up her mind, Xue Sijia rushed back to the office, intent on speaking with Long Dingtai. She was the apple of his eye, and he'd supported her the entire time; there was no way he'd sit back and watch this happen!
Little did she think that she'd be barred entry to the chairman's office when she'd previously had free reign to come and go as she pleased. The alluring secretary gave her a look of derision and stopped her at the door. "My apologies, Miss Xue, but Chairman Long is currently in a meeting, and he's given very specific instructions not to let you in," said the secretary curtly.
Xue Sijia glared daggers at the secretary who was barring her way. "Get out of my way!"
The secretary quailed under her piercing glare, but she recovered her flagging courage when she thought of what the Chairman had tasked her with. She puffed out her chest and said, "Please don't make things difficult for me, Miss Xue, I'm just doing as I'm told. Chairman Long said that you don't know your place, and you've been acting as you please, so you need to be taught a lesson. You...ah!"
Before she had the chance to finish, the secretary felt a surge of pain from the arm that she was using to bar Xue Sijia's way. It felt as if someone had broken it. When she looked over, she found that Xue Sijia really had broken her arm!
Ah, that's not right. In truth, Xue Sijia had only dislocated it, but the secretary didn't know that.
The secretary instantly lost whatever imposing presence she had. With an air of violence about her, Xue Sijia pushed open the door to Long Dinghai's office.
Surprisingly, apart from Long Dinghai himself, there were also two other people present.
The first was Yangshu, while the other was a young woman she didn't recognize but looked oddly familiar.
Long Dinghai turned to face Xue Sijia who'd come charging in, and his eyebrows creased in displeasure. "What're you doing here?! Get out!"
Acting as if she hadn't heard what he said, Xue Sijia shot a glance at Yangshu and the young woman before she walked straight up to Long Dinghai and said, "Chairman Long, I'd like to speak with you."
Long Dinghai went all out against her, not sparing even a single shred her of dignity. "Xue Sijia, you'd best get out of my office right this moment. Otherwise, I won't just change your manager, I'll stop promoting you altogether!"
"Chairman Long, I wanted to let you know that Shen Jingbin's been making things difficult for me due to my past history with her… Wait a minute, what did you say, Chairman Long?" Xue Sijia's speech was cut off my Long Dinghai, and she looked as if she'd heard a world-ending proclamation.
What did Long Dinghai just say?
"Chairman Long, did you just say that you were the one who swapped Yangshu out, and you'll stop promoting me as well?"
Long Dinghai was a mask of displeasure. "That's right, I did it. You've been getting cockier lately. If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll end up thinking the whole company belongs to you!"
"W-w-why would you do this to me?"
Long Dinghai gave a sniff of disdain. "Why? Didn't I tell you before not to provoke Shen Jingbin? But what did you do? Hm!? The photographer that the Shen family hired is someone I'd have to be careful around, but not only did you not take the chance to forge a relationship with him, you even made him look bad just so that you could make things difficult for Shen Jingbin. Now, he's going around saying that he'll never work with any artist under our banner! Do you have any idea how much losses you've incurred for the company!? Just the sight of you makes me feel like hitting you. So, you'd best. Get. Out. Of. My. Office. NOW!
With that, Long Dinghai picked up a folder and tossed it at Xue Sijia.
Xue Sijia was scared witless. She might be ballsy and unafraid of anyone else, but Long Dinghai was absolutely someone couldn't afford to upset. Seeing how angry he was, Xue Sijia quietly stood up and wordlessly left the office. There'd be time in the future to speak to him once again once he'd calmed down.
As was closing the door to the office, she suddenly realised why she felt that that woman looked familiar.
She bore a striking resemblance to Shen Jingbin.