Chapter 430: Chapter 430: From now on, will you then treat me in a official and impersonal manner? (2nd update)
In Yin Qin’s office.

He was rather calm compared to Wu Wen’s emotional reaction, “The reason I let you continue to direct is precisely that I was afraid you would lose this opportunity. If we replace you with another director, and if they do a better job than you, that’s when you truly lose. I don’t want to waste everyone’s time. So here’s the thing, the complete revision of the “Hall of Heaven” is a fact. You can choose to resign, or you can choose to continue directing. There are benefits to both choices, it’s up to you.”

“Are you pushing me into a corner?” Wu Wen’s face was stormy.

“Yes, I am pushing you. I want you to prove everyone wrong.”

“Why should I believe you!” Wu Wen said, “Why should I trust you to risk my reputation for your so-called viewership rating of 2!”

“As I said, you have a choice. Looking at all the excellent directors in Yanshang Country, why am I fixated on you? Because I have seen many of your variety shows and I think they show potential. The reason you’re on the downhill is because you began to go with the flow. Variety shows should not follow trends. They are different from movies and dramas, they require innovation.” Yin Qin said, not making any decisions for him at that moment, “Think it over. Reply to me before 3 pm. If you want to continue, come and find me directly. I will communicate with the cast. If you don’t want to, we can cooperate next time.”

Beyond his words, you could sense Yin Qin’s sincerity and seeming indifference.

This man, the man who always seemed incapable of achieving anything, had made Wu Wen, an old hand at this game, somewhat on edge.

Nothing he could say at this time would be appropriate.

To refuse… he really didn’t want to refuse.

Or to negotiate… it seemed he had no grounds for negotiation.

He suppressed how he felt.

Yin Qin did not hurry him to leave, just calmly sat with him in his office. Despite having endless affairs to attend to, to the point that wasting even a second might be deemed a sin, he remained composed.

After a while…

“I do want to see if you can reach a viewership rating of 2 as you’ve boasted!” Wu Wen suddenly spoke.

Yin Qin’s eyebrows raised.

“Once I commit to something, I don’t back out halfway.”

“Then, let’s have a successful collaboration.” Yin Qin extended his hand.

Wu Wen did not delay, and directly reached out.

“I’ve arranged a meeting with the key cast at 3 pm today. I hope you can join us.”

“All right.” Wu Wen stood up, “I won’t bother you any longer, Chairman.”

“Take care.” Yin Qin nodded slightly.

Wu Wen left with his directing team.

Yin Qin checked off an item on his to-do list.

He had reached the point when completing one task meant crossing off one item on his list.

After all, there were so many things to do, he was afraid he might forget if he wasn’t careful.

At 3 pm.

The four selected actors, the male and female leads, and the supporting actors, each with their agents, appeared in Yin Qin’s meeting room.

Yin Qin addressed them directly, “You all should have heard by now, from now on, I am in charge of the casting for “Hall of Heaven”. Another piece of news that you might not know is that I am currently also the producer of the “Heaven’s Hall” TV series! Therefore, I basically have the final say on the “Hall of Heaven” project.”

“How is that possible?!” Su Zimei’s agent seemed rather agitated, “Our Zimei had invested in the group, she is one of the producers of “Heaven’s Hall”, we’ve never heard about the inclusion of other producers!”

“You might be misunderstanding, I’m not one of the producers, I am the only producer.”

“What do you mean!” The agent was somewhat incensed.

“The Brilliance Film and Television Company has already sold the entire production contract of the “Heaven’s Hall” TV series to me!”

“We signed a contract before!”

“I’m aware.” Yin Qin said, “But Brilliance Film and Television is currently drafting a contract violation application.”

“What do you mean!”

“It’s simple, they are breaching your contract to cooperate with me, and the contract breach compensation has been prepared for you!”

“Isn’t this a waste of our time? We’ve been dragged along for such a long time!” The selected lead male actor, Gu Changnan, chimed in with some frustration.

“Who says it isn’t? I thought there were problems with the project from the beginning, but the previous host, Weng Cheng, didn’t listen.”

“What do you want to say?” Everyone was looking at Yin Qin.

“The casting for “Heaven’s Hall” will continue, and you will all still participate. But it will no longer be the formality you anticipated. Starting from now, you will compete fairly with the other contestants. No one is a given, everything depends on ability!”

“That’s unacceptable!” The selected supporting male actor, Wu Qifeng, started to lose his temper, “We all bought our roles by investing in the project, and now you’re telling us that we have to compete with people who haven’t invested a dime on our own merits?!”

“You might just have missed what I just said a moment ago. I will compensate for the breach of contract, and I will double it. So not only did you not lose anything, but you also made a profit. You’re already getting a better deal than most!”

“Who cares about your petty gains? For the record, I disagree!” Wu Qifeng snapped.

“If you disagree you can choose to withdraw!”

“You!” Wu Qifeng fumed.

“Aren’t you afraid that I would expose the internal workings of your Milky Way Corporation?”

“Not at all, expose whatever you want to expose. When it comes out, your dirty tricks of buying roles by investing will also be exposed to everyone’s eyes. It doesn’t matter, at worst, the Milky Way Corporation loses some money. I, Yin Qin, may have limited capabilities, but I certainly don’t lack money, and can afford that loss! But what about all of you, have you considered your future in the entertainment industry? Who would dare to hire you?!”

Wu Qifeng turned pale with anger.

The others were too angry to respond.

Yin Qin looked at the dumbstruck group and smiled, “Why not compare fairly for once. Do you have so little confidence in your own acting skills? Why continue filming if you have such little confidence?! Starting from tomorrow, we’ve arranged professional acting coaches for each of you. Some of you are professionally trained actors, while some aren’t. Seize this opportunity to learn, and remember no success comes easily. Work hard everyone!”

Almost without needing their consensus, it just felt like a simple announcement.

All four of them were somewhat unwilling.

Yin Qin, of course, did not try to appease them.

What they needed the most right now was to adjust their minds and prepare for battle.

He stood up, “Director Wu, I’ve said almost everything I needed to say. Now it’s your turn to communicate with them properly. Thank you.”

Wu Wen nodded.

Yin Qin left.

Back at his desk, he checked off another item on his list.

It had to be admitted, seeing the tasks that he had recorded get crossed off one by one gave him a sense of achievement.

He took a deep breath, not giving himself a moment of rest.

Picked up the phone to dial.

The call was answered on the other side, “Yin Qin?”

“Baixin, do you have some free time? If you’re not busy, come to my office. I have something to discuss with you.”

“Business matter?”

“Yes, a business matter.”

“Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

Ji Baixing hung up the phone.

The words “I’ll wait for you” echoed in her ears.

If only that “I’ll wait for you” wasn’t about a business matter, that would be great.

Without hesitation, she laid down her work at hand and drove straight to the Milky Way.

She knocked on Yin Qin’s office door.

Yin Qin asked, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Coffee, please.” Ji Baixing responded.

Yin Qin turned to Wu Meili, “Can you make me a cup of Blue Mountain coffee?”

Ji Baixing looked at Yin Qin.

She was surprised that Yin Qin knew what kind of coffee she liked.

She felt a tad bit touched, yet a bit emotional.

She probably didn’t know how much Yin Qin had silently done for her.

“Would you be interested in taking charge of the costume design for the ‘Hall of Heaven’ casting variety show?” Yin Qin was straightforward.

Ji Baixing was taken aback.

She looked at Yin Qin, “You mean, let me design the costumes for the ‘Hall of Heaven’ contestants. What about Li Wenjun?”

“What about him?!”

“Wouldn’t it affect you? You’ve just taken office. Plus the relationship between Li Wenjun and your aunt, aren’t you afraid she’ll deliberately make things difficult for you?”

“I hope she makes things difficult.” Yin Qin smiled, “What I need most right now is news. The more, the better, regardless of whether it’s positive or negative.”

Ji Baixing pursed her lips.

She had thought that Yin Qin was just trying to help her vent her anger. After all, she believed that Yin Qin would be upset for her since Li Wenjun had stolen her design draft, but she realized that Yin Qin was more focused on generating publicity.

The ‘Hall of Heaven’ has been making quite the buzz recently.

Firstly, they suddenly announced a broadcast suspension, which caused quite a stir. Then, news broke out that Yin Qin and Weng Cheng had made a bet about 5% of the company’s shares. Yin Qin insisted that the ‘Hall of Heaven’ would achieve a viewership rating of 2.

Most people felt Yin Qin was digging his own grave, and they didn’t have high expectations for him. Some said it was blatantly set up by the Milky Way to attract attention nationwide. However, it must be said that Yin Qin’s news was indeed dominating headlines in the gossip news lately.

The ‘Hall of Heaven’ talent show had suddenly become widely known. It made the headline news for three consecutive days, not for the show itself, but because of its connections. As a result, everyone was aware of the show now. Once the show was known, out of curiosity, people would take a peek. This was Yin Qin’s marketing strategy.

“Of course, the decision is up to you.” Yin Qin saw that Ji Baixin hadn’t answered, probably assuming that she didn’t want to get caught up in all the drama.

Being someone who doesn’t like the deceit of high society, Ji Baixing naturally didn’t appreciate the calculated maneuvers of the business world. Yin Qin, therefore, wouldn’t force her to.

“Do you want me to take part?” Ji Baixing asked.

Yin Qin stared for a second, and then laughed. “It’s all up to you. I won’t force you.”

Ji Baixin gave a faint smile, “For once, I wish you’d force me.”

“Huh?” Yin Qin was taken aback.

Thinking that he must have heard her wrong.

Ji Baixing quickly laughed it off, saying, “Okay. Actually, I’m not all that kind-hearted either. I can’t stand to see Li Wenjun swagger around after hurting me like this.”

“Li Wenjun, I will deal with him properly for you!”

“Okay.” Ji Baixin nodded.

At this time, Wu Meili had brewed the coffee and placed it in front of Ji Baixing.

Ji Baixing said thank you.

Wu Meili nodded and left with a smile.

It was the first time that Wu Meili had seen Ji Baixing act this way.

The story between Ji Baixing and Yin Qin could fill an entire romance novel, but now it seemed like the two didn’t have much to do with each other. It was said that Yin Qin already had a son and his wife was Luo Xiaolang. She had caught a glimpse of Luo Xiaolang a few times before, during one of Yin Qin’s impromptu live streams, but from what she remembered, Luo Xiaolang wasn’t good-looking, certainly not as elegant, beautiful, and attractive as Ji Baixin.

No wonder.

Yin Qin couldn’t forget about Ji Baixing.

Inside the office.

Ji Baixing took a sip of the coffee and said, “I didn’t expect you to know that I like Blue Mountain.”

Yin Qin laughed nonchalantly. He had already accepted the situation, saying, “There are many things you wouldn’t expect.”

He was even familiar with all her hobbies and interests.

“Yes.” Unfortunately, she had missed those moments.

Yin Qin didn’t dwell on the past anymore. Although he still had some feelings left, he had already let go, or at least was learning to let go.

He said, “Here is the overall plan for the show and the list of all contestants. My requirements are quite high. I hope there is a theme for each episode, preferably designed in line with the script for their respective episodes.”

Yin Qin said this with a serious expression.

Ji Baixin was just looking at him.

Looking at Yin Qin who was unusually serious.

In the past, she always thought that he was a good-for-nothing. But when he showed his competence, she suddenly found herself not wanting him to be so serious about her.

She uttered, as though she couldn’t help herself, “Will you always be so serious with me from now on? Keeping everything strictly professional?”