Praising People
She was a mix of annoyed and amused, finding herself at a loss with her at the same time.
“Aren’t you avoiding me anymore?” she asked languidly, peeling shrimp shells for her.
The spacious room was filled with the aroma of late-night snacks, and the interaction between the two beautiful women was somewhat odd at the moment.
The stunningly attractive woman was methodically peeling shrimp, while the other woman, with her somewhat chilly demeanor, stared intently at her, her eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.
“When have I ever avoided you?” she wondered, genuinely clueless.
“Have I not?” He Ying glanced at her, or perhaps it wasn’t avoidance, but she tried as much as possible to steer clear of her.
“Not at all!” Jing Dan stated emphatically, refusing to admit to anything she hadn’t done!
He Ying placed the bowl with peeled shrimp in front of Jing Dan and said indifferently, “If you haven’t, then you haven’t. Why so agitated?”
Jing Dan: “…”
If it weren’t for your slander, how could she get agitated!
“Let’s hear it, why have you come this time?” He Ying looked at Jing Dan, who seemed not the least bit sleepy with food in front of her, and went silent for a moment.
So it turns out she’s less important than a bit of food? She could stay up for food, but couldn’t stay up a little later back then to send her off?
Holding a piece of meat with her chopsticks, Jing Dan spoke truthfully, “I’ve come to understand something from you.”
“Oh?”
“You know that I’m are currently operating an entertainment company, right? Ijust wanted to get a sense of what the situation is like here.”
The company has hired quite a few people, but it seems her aunt deliberately wants them to grow on their own—most of those hired are inexperienced youngsters, all depending on a few who have some clout in the industry to lead them.
He Ying: “…”
She couldn’t help but find it amusing. So, this person has come all this way just for this?
“You could have asked me these questions over the phone, no need to make the trip.”
At the time, she was puzzled why Hu Tu suddenly said she wanted to bring Jing Dan over for a set visit. After all, she hadn’t seen her take the initiative to come over and say she wanted to see her before.
“It’s clearer to talk face to face,” Jing Dan murmured quietly, while also wrestling internally with how to broach the topic of consultation fees. Should she ask how much He Ying charges? Is the fee like that of psychologists, calculated by the minute or hour?
He Ying: “…Alright, go ahead and ask.”
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A smirk played at the corner of He Ying’s lips; she was curious to see what sort of questions this kid might come up with.
“Hold on, before asking, there’s something I need to clear up,” Jing Dan said earnestly, taking out her phone and opening the stopwatch app. “What’s your charge here? How much per hour?”
He Ying: “……”
Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion. “What are you talking about? How much to charge, how much per hour?”
She wasn’t selling herself out, what’s all this talk about how much money?!
“Consultation fee!” Jing Dan stated earnestly.
He Ying stared at her expressionlessly, by now completely exasperated with her, yet also subdued by her bizarre way of thinking.
“Do you have a lot of money?”
“Mhm! I’ve never counted my fixed assets, but right now there’s cash amounting to 759 million in my accounts…”
“Stop, stop, stop!” He Ying hurriedly interrupted her, looking at her with an expression of disbelief, “Why are you even reporting the amounts?”
Can’t this person be a little shrewd? Telling someone you hardly know how much wealth you have?
Jing Dan looked at her puzzled, “I was worried you’d think I didn’t have enough money to pay your consultation fee.”
He Ying was left speechless…
Who raised such a fool?
Rich but simple-minded?
He Ying had to admit she felt a pang of jealousy. She worked diligently and earnestly just to barely keep the dance troupe running, and here this person was, with more money than she needed to worry about for a good while.
And to top it off, this person was naive!
He Ying smiled: “Got a lot of money, have you? Then it’s 100 thousand per hour.”
Jing Dan blinked, looking down at the pile of food before her that had cost only 500 yuan. He Ying’s consultation fee was actually 100 thousand? With 100 thousand… she could afford 200 meals!
“Hmm? Think about it, do you need it?” He Ying raised an eyebrow, seeming not too foolish after all, at least hesitating a bit. Otherwise, she’d be worried this girl might one day be swindled out of all her money.
Jing Dan gazed at He Ying’s beautiful and radiant face, pondering whether it was worth it.
She looked down again at the food on the table, and thought better of it. After all, the other had voluntarily invited her to eat earlier, so she shouldn’t be too calculative, right? Her aunt had also said that when interacting with them, she couldn’t be too stingy.
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“Alright,” she nodded.
He Ying: “……”
The stupid kid actually agreed.
“Are you ready then?” Jing Dan asked.
He Ying glanced at the finger Jing Dan had poised above her phone, where the screen clearly showed the start button of a timer.
“…Ready. Begin, and please make sure to count every second. Don’t cheat me out of a single penny.”
Taking penny-pinching to the extreme.
Jing Dan: “……”
This person is so stingy, huh? They’re really going to count it down to the second?
Yet, this per-second timing did add quite a bit of urgency; even her spirits were significantly lifted.
“Then I’ll begin,” Jing Dan said with solemn formality, sitting upright as she lightly touched the screen to start the timer.
“I’d like to ask you what you think is most needed in the entertainment industry today.”
“What’s most needed, huh,” He Ying drawled, “Let me think…”
He Ying was unhurried, her reaction leisurely to the point of no urgency.
But while she was in no rush, Jing Dan was the exact opposite. Every second of dilly-dallying meant another second’s worth of money spent! Yet, seeing He Ying’s relaxed demeanor, she didn’t dare to hurry her…
She had this premonition that if she were to rush He Ying, the next second, she’d probably be met with a smile and a cheeky order to take her phone and roll out the door…
He Ying, of course, was watching all of Jing Dan’s reactions clear as day, barely holding back laughter, thinking to herself that Jing Dan was like a clueless goose in a silent panic, yet unable to make a sound.
“Traffic, of course.”
“Think about it, do you still watch TV dramas and variety shows? Have you seen the lengths they go to for viewership?”
“At the end of the day, it’s all about traffic. With traffic comes popularity and higher viewing figures.”
Jing Dan recalled the TV dramas and variety shows she had watched before. Some of them would hype up romances between the male and female leads, while variety shows would employ creative editing to generate discussion and draw more people into the conversation.
“However, I don’t think this method is good.” Jing Dan frowned seriously and said, “When I watch dramas, I’m interested in the characters in the story, not the actors themselves, and I don’t like them hyping things outside of the drama. And those variety shows, wildly editing to push people into the spotlight is a very irresponsible behavior!”
She had often been annoyed by these tactics while watching dramas and variety shows in the past. Is it really necessary? Or is the human world too complicated for her, a panda, to understand?
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He Ying smiled at her, a gentle warmth gleaming in her eyes as she looked at Jing Dan, a temperature to her smile, “So, having you as a boss, they’re quite lucky.”
Jing Dan blinked slightly in surprise. So, was this a compliment?
Turns out, besides teasing people, she can also dole out compliments!
Her shock and bewilderment didn’t escape He Ying’s notice. With a smile still playing on her lips, she asked softly, “Do you find it unbelievable? That I would say something like this?”
Jing Dan felt a bit of a shiver internally from her smile and nodded.
He Ying: “……”
Who brought up this kid! To think she’s been let loose in society like this!
The author has something to say:
Later, with a smile, He Ying remarked, “Oh, turns out it’s one of my own.”