Chapter 49: Pride Cannot Cure Poverty

Inside the conference room of Xinghai Corporation, the directors and heads of various departments gathered together once again.

Just as the netizens put it, Xinghai was currently walking on the edge of a cliff. If they could leap across, rising to prominence overnight was not a pipe dream; but if they failed to cross, while it might not lead to immediate bankruptcy, a severe blow to their vitality was guaranteed.

When a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a push.

In this era where entertainment companies were springing up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, falling behind by even a single step meant losing any chance of ever catching up to those in front.

Peng Jiaxin had worked painstakingly hard to pilot the company to its current state; she did not want this golden opportunity to turn into Xinghai's crisis.

"The release date of the song is drawing closer. This is ZJ's first collaboration with someone else since debuting, and countless people are currently waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."

Peng Jiaxin swept her gaze across the room.

"Everyone, I do not want any issues to originate from your departments."

The attendees chimed in one after another, assuring her that absolutely no problems would arise.

Peng Jiaxin had listened to the song herself and was not particularly worried about that front; as long as the preliminary promotion was handled properly, no major issues would occur. The primary pressure now lay on the anime production of *Emperor of Flame*.

Peng Jiaxin turned her gaze toward Wan Yongwang.

"Department Head Wan, when will the initial drafts for the main characters of *Emperor of Flame* be ready?"

Their scheduled appointment with Zijin was this weekend. If Zijin traveled thousands of miles to Suzhou only for them to have nothing to show for it, the fate of Wan Yongwang, the project lead, could easily be imagined. Whether Xinghai could double its market value depended entirely on this high-stakes gamble.

Peng Jiaxin remained silent, simply gazing quietly at Wan Yongwang.

Wan Yongwang was sweating profusely. In the past, he would not have panicked at all and would even have dared to issue a formal military pledge in front of Peng Jiaxin. But right now, he couldn't even get in touch with Chen Fan!

Without Chen Fan, that loyal dog, to anchor the bottom line, forget about initial drafts—if he managed to draw something resembling a human figure, it would mean his years sitting in the position of Art Department Head had not been in vain.

"Department Head Wan, President Peng is asking you a question."

Seated beside him, the head of the Second Art Group reminded him with a smiling expression.

As a colleague and a rival, he knew all too well just how utterly useless Wan Yongwang was. Not only was he completely clueless about drawing, but he also loved pointing fingers and bossing subordinates around.

Yet, somehow, during every performance review, this guy acted as if his vital meridians had miraculously opened up, always managing to produce eye-catching works that not only shielded him from suspicion by higher-ups but actually earned him heavy promotions.

Now that this fellow seemed to be running into some trouble, how could he, as a colleague, resist giving him a little "helping hand"?

Wan Yongwang was forced to stand up. In his panic, he blurted out a response:

"Can."

"?"

I asked you when they would be ready, and you reply with "Can"?

What is this, playing nonsense literature with me?

"Two days. I want to see the initial drafts. Department Head Cheng, the Second Group should stand by to take over the work at any moment."

"Understood, President Peng."

Seated beside Wan Yongwang, Cheng Mingzhe, the head of the Second Art Group, accepted the assignment with great delight.

Currently, Xinghai's primary business revolved around the collaborations with Zijin and ZJ. Once those two matters were settled, the atmosphere relaxed considerably. The various departments gave their reports one by one, and apart from Wan Yongwang's radio silence, the rest were all good news.

Even if there were minor hiccups, they were of the harmless variety, and a single word from Peng Jiaxin was enough to provide a solution.

This meeting lasted for nearly an hour.

Although Peng Jiaxin's expression remained expressionless as ever, everyone could tell that she was actually in a rather good mood.

"That is all for today. Meeting adjourned."

With those words, Peng Jiaxin rose first, followed closely by Assistant Ye carrying a stack of documents.

The moment the two of them left, the conference room instantly livened up.

Some went over to congratulate Cheng Mingzhe, while others approached Wan Yongwang with words that sounded like encouragement but carried sharp undertones of sarcasm.

Wan Yongwang had always held himself in high self-esteem, and on his climb upward, he had stopped at nothing, offending quite a few people in the process.

Consequently, now that he was in trouble, not a single person bothered to come over and comfort him.

With a complexion as dark as iron, Wan Yongwang returned to his office.

The second he stepped inside, he angrily swept everything off his desk in one violent motion.

A crashing and clattering sound echoed throughout the First Art Department, but the staff outside showed little reaction, as if they had long grown accustomed to it.

Only Lü Chunjiao let out a helpless sigh, stood up, and walked toward the office.

The moment she pushed the door open, she heard Wan Yongwang's roar of rage.

"A bunch of bastards who kick a man when he's down! Once I weather this storm, just you wait—I'll make sure you all pay."

Hurriedly closing the door, Lü Chunjiao squatted down to start clearing away the wreckage.

Her title was secretary, but the work she did extended far beyond the scope of a secretary's duties—such as cleaning up trash right now, pacifying Guo Yueer as usual, or serving as an outlet for Wan Yongwang's sexual frustrations in Guo Yueer's stead.

That's right, Lü Chunjiao had long since become Wan Yongwang's woman.

"Has Guo Yueer still not managed to contact that dead dog?"

Wan Yongwang looked at the curvaceous backside of Lü Chunjiao squatting on the floor, and the depression in his heart instantly dissipated quite a bit.

He sat down on the sofa, unbuckled his belt, and motioned for Lü Chunjiao to come over and handle this matter as well.

Lü Chunjiao's expression remained completely unchanged, as though she were thoroughly used to it. She got up, walked over to Wan Yongwang, and crouched down.

"Nope. Every day she cries to me, complaining that she still can't reach Chen Fan."

Wan Yongwang closed his eyes.

"Didn't that kid come looking for her just yesterday?"

"Mmm..."

"I'm not too clear about that."

Lü Chunjiao took money to do a job; words she shouldn't speak, she wouldn't utter a single one.

To be honest, though, even an outsider like her could clearly see that Chen Fan had long lost interest in Guo Yueer. Where on earth did those two get the confidence to keep believing that Chen Fan was still head-over-heels obsessed with Guo Yueer?

There was another matter, too. Although Xinghai's PR department had managed to scrub that video from the internet, Lü Chunjiao had actually seen it. She felt that the man in the video bore an eight-part resemblance to Chen Fan.

She had once intentionally or unintentionally brought this up to Wan Yongwang, but the man didn't care in the least, so Lü Chunjiao simply dropped it.

Within a few minutes, Lü Chunjiao finished attending to Wan Yongwang and resumed cleaning up the debris scattered across the floor.

Wan Yongwang sat on the sofa in satisfaction, completely disinclined to move a muscle.

"Tell Guo Yueer she has one more day. If she still can't find Chen Fan by tonight, both she and I are finished."

"Huh?"

"President Peng has issued an ultimatum. I only have two days left to complete the initial character designs for the male and female leads of *Emperor of Flame*. Tonight is the absolute deadline."

No matter how talented Chen Fan was, he still needed to be given some time to draw!

Taking a step back, even if Guo Yueer ultimately failed to contact Chen Fan, he would still need time to hire someone else to draw it.

As long as they could clear the hurdle with Zijin, whatever came next would be easy to handle.

"I understand."

"Alright, then hurry up and go. I'll give you a day off; leave the cleaning here to the janitorial staff."

"Understood."

Lü Chunjiao returned to her workstation, picked up her bag, and walked out.

She knew that many of her colleagues often looked at her with strange, judgmental eyes, but she couldn't care less.

Everyone was just trying to earn a living; who was any higher or nobler than anyone else?

Arrogant purity could never cure the poverty disease, my dear colleagues.