The appearance of the trending topic instantly shocked netizens.
"Who is Zhou Jiaxin? Why is everyone so excited? I'm completely confused."
"Heavens, are you that out of touch? You don't even know Zhou Jiaxin? She's the only one in our country to achieve both film and television awards, breaking records. You know, even filming abroad requires a long wait. She's currently in semi-retirement. I never thought I'd see my goddess on a variety show."
Fenghe Media.
Wang Qing scrolled through her phone, her expression growing darker with each flip.
She had always thought Chen Tianming was joking that day. With her popularity, if she just left for a few days, Chen Tianming's variety show wouldn't be able to continue. He'd have to come crawling back to her, begging her to return.
But she never expected Chen Tianming to find someone else so quickly, and moreover, someone with a higher status and greater fame than her. How dare Chen Tianming do this? She knew Fenghe was backing her. Was he not afraid of completely falling out with Fenghe?
The more she thought about it, the angrier Wang Qing became. She impatiently threw her phone onto the table.
As soon as Xu Jiajia entered, she saw Wang Qing pacing like an ant on a hot pan. A flicker of disdain crossed her eyes. "How many times have I told you, no matter the time or place, never show your true emotions. Why don't you listen?"
"I've been bullied this badly, and I'm not allowed to show it?" Wang Qing said impatiently. "I haven't even come to you yet, and this is the solution you came up with? They've directly turned around and found Zhou Jiaxin. What am I supposed to do?"
"Why the rush?" Xu Jiajia glanced at her and sat on the sofa. "Haste makes waste."
Wang Qing ran her fingers through her hair.
Easy for her to say. She was already 36, and after being married and having children for a while, a large portion of her active fans had already left. Coupled with the less-than-ideal performance of the last two episodes, she didn't dare to open her Weibo homepage.
Every time she logged in, she saw her fan count dwindling, which was more painful than death.
"I have a script here. You can take a look and try to get it," Xu Jiajia handed Wang Qing a file. "Barring any unexpected issues, we will be investing in it. Your fans will have no trouble returning then."
Upon hearing this, the anger on Wang Qing's face subsided a little. She stood up and took the script from the table.
She flipped it open.
"It's Chen Tianming again."
"You know as well as I do about the recent downturn in the film and television industry," Xu Jiajia opened her laptop. "The team has assessed it, and it's a good project. It's just that Chen Tianming hasn't released any news about starting production yet."
Wang Qing paused. "Then where did you get the script from?"
Xu Jiajia looked at her, and that familiar disdain reappeared in her eyes. She didn't know what her brother saw in Wang Qing. When they first started dating, she thought he was just playing around with Wang Qing, but she didn't expect her brother to be determined to marry Wang Qing.
Wang Qing was a boisterous person, and to put it bluntly, not very bright. Before she went on the variety show, Xu Jiajia had repeatedly warned her to speak less and do more. But she, like an idiot, eagerly became someone else's pawn and even pushed Fang Miaomiao down the slope.
If they hadn't managed to control the news in time, and if the Wen family hadn't been so indifferent to Fang Miaomiao, Wang Qing wouldn't have known how she died. Her brother had no choice but to suspend Wang Qing's finances for a while.
She thought Wang Qing would have learned her lesson, but no, she managed to get herself kicked off the show.
If it weren't for her brother and Wang Qing having Xu Bao'er together, she would have stopped caring about Wang Qing long ago. She was always more of a hindrance than a help.
"Don't ask about things that are none of your business," Xu Jiajia said after a moment of silence. "Also, don't mention the variety show 'Let's Travel Together' to me again. And stay away from Shen Jiani. Stay put for the time being, or don't blame me later."
Wang Qing paused, then grumbled with a hint of indignation, "Jiani is too pitiful. Her husband is abusive. You don't know, last night when we got into the car, Chen Cai kicked Shen Jiani several times right in front of us."
"That's their business," Xu Jiajia said, unfazed. "All you need to know is that your husband, my brother, treats you well."
"One more warning, don't go looking for Shen Jiani."
She already suspected that Chen Tianming was so eager to get rid of Wang Qing and Shen Jiani because someone was behind him. After all, their Fenghe had also invested in that variety show, yet Chen Tianming fearlessly issued a termination notice.
Unless, someone was backing him.
Xu Jiajia pondered for a long time, and the only family she could think of was the Wen family.
This was also why Xu Jiajia didn't want Wang Qing to approach Shen Jiani. She had a premonition that this matter wouldn't end so easily, so the best course of action for them now was to wait.
"Did you hear me?" Xu Jiajia asked impatiently again when she didn't get a response.
This was the first time Wang Qing had seen Xu Jiajia so fierce towards her. She nodded aggrievedly, "I heard you, why are you so fierce?"
"Stay at the company or at home and read scripts during this time," Xu Jiajia still couldn't help but urge. "Remember, don't cause any trouble for me, or don't blame me for being impolite."
With that, Xu Jiajia turned and left. She still had a meeting to attend regarding the variety show. She had no idea that just as she left the office, Wang Qing was called away by a phone call.
...
"We are deeply honored to have Senior Zhou Jiaxin join our variety show. Senior Zhou Jiaxin's presence truly brings glory to this program."
The courtyard was filled with applause.
Zhou Jiaxin smiled and shook her head. "As long as you don't find me old and think I'm holding you back."
"Nonsense, Senior Zhou is the most amazing. My idol is Senior Zhou."
"Yes, yes, Teacher Zhou, just standing here makes me feel incredibly motivated to work," Fang Miaomiao chimed in.
Zhou Jiaxin chuckled, shaking her head. "You kids have such sweet mouths."
After a brief period of laughter and conversation, Fang Yanhuan stood up.
"Alright, alright, we are all very excited about Teacher Zhou's arrival. To welcome Teacher Zhou and Chen Huan, the production team has come up with something new!"
"Director, is it really a seafood feast for 200 yuan?" Chen Huan rested his chin on his hand, gently tapping the table with the other.
Chen Tianming smiled without a word.
"The task is here," Fang Yanhuan waved a small slip of paper. "Would any of the little ones like to guess what our task is this afternoon?"
"Is it playing?" Wu Yueyuan raised her hand and asked softly.
"No," Fang Yanhuan shook her head with regret. "Little Yuan Yuan, what else do you think it might be?"
Wu Yueyuan looked up at Zhou Jiaxin.
Zhou Jiaxin patted Wu Yueyuan's head. "It's okay, darling. Just say out your answer and thoughts."
"Fishing?"
Fang Yanhuan shook her head again.
Wu Yueyuan drooped her head in distress.
"Sea foraging."
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice.
Unexpectedly, the person in question shrunk their neck and retreated behind Chen Huan.
Even more unexpectedly, Chen Huan directly pulled Ye Nan back. "Tsk, speak up. What are you hiding from?"
"Sea, sea foraging."