Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 75

by Little Panda

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Manager 12

Queen

Xin Lan took Qin Yuyan to the company, familiarizing her with the company environment and her office, then took her to meet Xu Fang.

Xin Lan took Qin Yuyan during the day, anyone with eyes could see, and before long this news had spread throughout the company.

Shen Yun was out running bookings [跑通告 | pǎo tōng gào | attending scheduled public appearances] at the time, took a moment to check her phone, and was confused by many greeting messages. After opening them to look, she wished she could reach through the internet and strangle those b*tches who were mocking her.

Shen Yun’s rise had been quick, her path to stardom smooth and unobstructed, making who knows how many people openly and secretly red-eyed [红眼 | hóng yǎn | envious]. When Shen Yun had any slight setback, there were plenty of people ready to mock her.

“Yun jie, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Qinqin was somewhat frightened seeing Shen Yun’s gloomy expression as she gripped her phone.

Recently, Yun jie’s temper hadn’t been good, often wearing a cold expression and getting angry at them over small things. Zhou Qinqin, Miaomiao, and the others had been scolded by Shen Yun no less than ten times these past few days.

Hearing her assistant’s question, Shen Yun gave her a sidelong glance and put down her phone.

She anxiously pinched her palm, trying to calm herself.

What’s done is done, though Qin Yuyan had debuted early and had some fame, she still couldn’t compare to her.

Someone came knocking, telling Shen Yun she could go to the recording site. Shen Yun touched up her makeup in the mirror and put on a smile.

After Shen Yun left, Zhou Qinqin hurriedly sent a message to Xin Lan, telling her that Shen Yun’s emotions were off.

Xin Lan replied with just “keep an eye on her,” and said nothing more.

Zhou Qinqin couldn’t guess any deeper meaning, so she just followed the literal meaning and kept watching carefully.

Before Xin Lan began busy work for Qin Yuyan, she first took her to meet the other two people under her management.

Having Qin Yuyan meet Cheng Zhi was secondary; the main thing was to have her and Shen Yun meet each other.

Didn’t Shen Yun want to be famous with all her heart? She would cultivate Qin Yuyan into an insurmountable mountain that Shen Yun could never climb over.

Although this could be considered using Qin Yuyan, when they signed the contract, it was a willing agreement between both parties.

It’s just that Xin Lan had changed the purpose from profit to something else.

Speaking of which, in the original plot, Shen Yun had treated Qin Yuyan as a golden thigh [金大腿 | jīn dà tuǐ | someone powerful to rely on for benefits], but now, she would likely become a mortal enemy.

It was somewhat amusing to think about.

However, if Shen Yun could still try to cling to Qin Yuyan in this situation, then that would truly be a unique personality.

Shen Yun finished her variety show appearance at eight in the evening. She hadn’t eaten dinner yet and was about to have Ah Kun drive her to a restaurant when Zhou Qinqin informed her that Xin Lan wanted her to go somewhere for dinner.

“It’s not another banquet or private gathering, is it? I can’t go like this.”

Shen Yun frowned, and Zhou Qinqin hurriedly shook her head.

“No, Lan jie said it’s just a gathering of people under her management, having dinner, getting to know each other.”

“Getting to know each other?”

Shen Yun emphasized the first two characters, her expression between a smile and not a smile, her eyes cold and frozen.

“Is she even worthy?”

Shen Yun let out a sneering laugh, her voice very light, dispersing in the wind.

Zhou Qinqin and Miaomiao pretended they hadn’t heard anything and followed Shen Yun into the car.

Xin Lan had already made reservations with Qin Yuyan, and Cheng Zhi was the second to arrive.

When Xin Lan saw him, she furrowed her brows.

The moment Cheng Zhi saw her frown, his heart skipped a beat.

“Jie, I really haven’t gained weight, I’ve been controlling my diet these days, and exercising well. Chuchu has been supervising me. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her later!”

Chuchu was Cheng Zhi’s assistant, also someone arranged by Xin Lan.

“Have you been staying up late these days?”

Cheng Zhi’s expression crumpled, and he nodded timidly.

“I don’t want to nag you, you know in your heart, if your skin gets pockmarked at this age, you can forget about facial product endorsements in the future.”

“I’ll definitely remember to use face masks from now on!”

Seeing Cheng Zhi’s manner, Qin Yuyan let out an amused sound beside them, whispering to Xin Lan that he seemed quite afraid of her.

Cheng Zhi’s behavior made it seem as if Xin Lan was a man-eating Great Demon King, so frightening, but in fact, Qin Yuyan found Xin Lan quite easy to get along with, not scary at all.

Xin Lan smiled at Qin Yuyan, glanced at Cheng Zhi, and withdrew her gaze.

Cheng Zhi was different from Shen Yun and Qin Yuyan. For him, she, or rather the original host, was very important.

The original host had been his talent scout [伯樂 | bó lè | person with an eye for talent, from the name of a legendary horse judge], without the original host, who knows where he would be struggling now.

The original host had picked up Cheng Zhi on the streets of the Neon Country [霓虹國 | ní hóng guó | Japan] a year ago. At that time, Cheng Zhi wasn’t the polished and glamorous figure he is now, but rather green and somewhat down-and-out [落拓 | luò tuō | dejected; unsuccessful].

Cheng Zhi was singing 《Beyond the Vast Sea and Sky》 [《海闊天空》| hǎi kuò tiān kōng | famous Cantonese song by Beyond] in Cantonese on the street. His voice wasn’t perfect, but in the busy foreign land, when the original host heard it, she was moved.

The music industry is different from the entertainment circle. For a good song to spread, it must be melodious and able to touch people’s hearts, and appearances aren’t the most important thing.

The original host handed Cheng Zhi her business card and expressed her thoughts. Cheng Zhi was truly simple-minded, without any guard up, and just followed the original host back to the country like that.

The original host later discovered that Cheng Zhi’s singing could only be considered average. Without talent or a good voice, it would be difficult to make it in the music industry. However, after cleaning up and changing his hairstyle and appearance, that big boy face was quite eye-catching, so the original host had Cheng Zhi enter the entertainment circle, hired teachers for him, and Cheng Zhi worked hard enough, following the original host’s words almost completely.

Except for hiding from the original host that he was in a relationship.

When the dishes were almost all served, Shen Yun pushed open the door and walked in.

She entered with particular style, wearing sunglasses and stepping in sparkling diamond high heels, looking elegant and beautiful.

She removed her sunglasses, revealing that palm-sized face with exquisite makeup, and curved her lips at Xin Lan and the others.

She was holding back anger in her heart, not just toward Xin Lan, but also toward Qin Yuyan.

She harbored hostility toward Qin Yuyan, and had originally planned to come directly for dinner, but still went back to change clothes and redo her makeup before coming, determined to outshine Qin Yuyan.

After entering and seeing Qin Yuyan wearing just a T-shirt, she knew she had won the comparison. Qin Yuyan was beautiful, but how could she compare to her?

“Well well, our big star has arrived.”

Cheng Zhi said with a smile. He had originally wanted to call Shen Yun “Yun jie,” but remembering Xin Lan telling him not to call everyone jie, he held it back. But Shen Yun was still his senior, and among the people here, he was at the bottom level.

Although his current popularity might be slightly higher than Qin Yuyan’s, she hadn’t even started yet, and moreover, she was the daughter of the Qin family. Cheng Zhi wasn’t that foolish, so he still spoke up first.

“Hello, Qin Yuyan.”

Qin Yuyan extended her hand toward Shen Yun, her fingers slender and fair, very beautiful. Shen Yun stared for a few seconds before grasping it.

Neither used any force, separating after just a touch.

Qin Yuyan looked at the beautifully dressed woman across from her, thinking this was Shen Yun, the person Xin Lan had been continuously promoting. In person, she was indeed thinner than she appeared on television.

Qin Yuyan naturally sensed Shen Yun’s faint hostility, but she just smiled and didn’t take it seriously.

Cheng Zhi silently watched the three beauties before him. Not to mention Great Demon King Xin Lan – even if she looked like a celestial immortal, Cheng Zhi wouldn’t dare take an extra glance.

Shen Yun and Qin Yuyan each had their own type of beauty. Shen Yun was more of the sweet type, while Qin Yuyan gave people a more noble and dignified feeling.

Although Shen Yun wore beautiful clothes and elegant makeup, while Qin Yuyan wore just a simple white shirt, Cheng Zhi felt Qin Yuyan looked better, more comfortable to look at.

Shen Yun was like someone who packed herself in a beautiful box trying hard to shine, many people were like this, including himself, but looking at Qin Yuyan and Xin Lan, you would feel they shone by themselves, not needing to rely on external things to make themselves sparkle.

“Meeting and having dinner together counts as getting to know each other. You’re all under my management, so get along well.”

Xin Lan’s words were said for appearance’s sake, not even changing her expression when speaking about getting along well, but the people sitting beside her naturally had their own thoughts.

Cheng Zhi was confused, but he also knew that Xin Lan didn’t seem to like Shen Yun much anymore. He didn’t know what had happened, but whatever it was had nothing to do with him – that was between the two of them. Cheng Zhi simply chose not to think about it; he would just do whatever Xin Lan said.

Qin Yuyan still remembered what Xin Lan had told her at the banquet that day.

She had said Shen Yun was destined not to shine, and that coldness when speaking had made her conclude that her relationship with Shen Yun must not be good, so she also knew Xin Lan’s words were just for show, and she had no real intention of “getting along well” with Shen Yun.

Shen Yun was coldly sneering inside – Xin Lan was making things unpleasant for her here, yet expecting her to hold it in. How could this work?

These days she had been worrying about her resource issues, yet Xin Lan acted as if nothing was wrong, still cultivating her career, and hadn’t even had a falling out with the other side.

It left Shen Yun unsure whether Xin Lan no longer cared about her, or still did.

With Shen Yun’s arrival today, Xin Lan’s purpose was achieved.

She didn’t need to provoke Shen Yun, she didn’t even need to speak to Shen Yun with a harsh tone.

Shen Yun was at an edge, wavering between continuing to curry favor with her or breaking free from her.

When Shen Yun tried to curry favor, she wouldn’t take the bait; when Shen Yun wanted to escape, she was destined to fail.

The meal wasn’t dull, as Cheng Zhi kept the atmosphere lively, Qin Yuyan occasionally exchanged words with Xin Lan, while Shen Yun just sat there somewhat silently.

She picked up a piece of shrimp and placed it in Xin Lan’s bowl.

The atmosphere paused at this, everyone looking at her.

“I remember you like the shrimp from the cashew shrimp dish the most, eat more.”

Shen Yun’s eyes curved like crescent moons, looking at Xin Lan with tender affection.

Xin Lan ate it without any psychological barrier – the original host indeed liked eating this. Shen Yun had a way with pursuing people, remembering all the little details.

Yet such a person was actually a scumbag who drove someone to death.

Qin Yuyan’s eyelid twitched for some unknown reason, feeling uncomfortable, so she also picked up a piece of fish and placed it in Xin Lan’s bowl.

“Ah Lan, this is quite delicious, try it.”

Shen Yun’s eyebrows furrowed at Qin Yuyan’s intimate form of address. She had never called Xin Lan that way, though she had used even more cloying names.

“She doesn’t like eating fish.”

Shen Yun said thus.

The original host indeed didn’t eat it – she ate shrimp but not fish, whether freshwater or seafish, whether steamed, fried, boiled, or braised, she didn’t like any of it.

But Xin Lan ate it.

She picked up that appetizing-looking piece of fish belly from the bowl, put it in her mouth to chew, and swallowed it.

Qin Yuyan had been somewhat frustrated, but seeing Xin Lan’s lack of rejection, she quietly sighed in relief.

“People’s preferences always change.”

Xin Lan met Shen Yun’s shocked gaze, her eyes full of deep meaning.

LP: Re-translated on February 17, 2025