“En?” Qi Jun was surprised, “Just like that.”
“She doesn’t want me to be too cruel.” Song Mian recalled how she said she was scared of that look while they were in the car yesterday.
“Just give her a small punishment; that will stop her from going further. Let them make enemies out of Eric.” Song Mian put down the glass of water.
Qi Jun looked at him, taking a piece of a clean towel and went out to wipe away the sweat of Yun Xiangxiang, who had stopped running.
“The man of steel always yields to his Lois Lane…” Qi Jun sighed and looked at Li Xiangling’s room, which was opposite where he stood.
He wondered when he would have the chance to show his love.
He thought of how Li Xiangling ignored his pursuits and just took him as a stranger whom she only knew the name of.
Qi Jun felt powerless. He never thought the day would come where he — Young Master Qi — would fail.
“CX called and said they want to ask you for dinner as a sign of apology.” He Wei came over with a phone in his hand.
Yun Xiangxiang looked at Song Mian. “Should I go?”
CX was Eric’s compensation for her; she didn’t expect to get abducted when she was on the way to its ad shoot.
They were victims of Faye’s plan this time. Eric got CX’s endorsement for Yun Xiangxiang by exchanging some terms.
Eric’s daughter bought out their crew to help her steal Yun Xiangxiang’s emergency phone, and she even used their company’s name to harm Yun Xiangxiang.
This was their management’s fault, but all kinds of people existed in a company. Just because they were responsible didn’t mean they were unforgivable.
Not to mention she had already signed the contract. Yes, she could use this as an excuse to void the contract, but she had already announced it to her fans.
If she suddenly stopped endorsing CX, she would have to explain it to her fans. She couldn’t tell them the truth, but she didn’t want to lie either.
“Let’s go and see how they are going to settle this. I’ll go with you.” Song Mian knew Yun Xiangxiang didn’t want to void the contract either.
It wasn’t about money; Yun Xiangxiang would be the one who gets the compensation. They also had evidence of CX’s shady maneuvers.
Yun Xiangxiang didn’t want to tell the public why she canceled the contract since it would attract unwanted attention to the issue.
“Let’s go and take a look, Brother Wei.” She wanted to work amicably with CX if she could.
With He Wei and Song Mian there, Ai Li and Song Qian stayed behind. Song Meng wanted to see how CX looked like, but she had to be by the injured Li Xiangling’s side.
They would be going back in a few days, so she wanted to make a bit more money when they still had the time.
CX was sincere in their apologies, as the headquarter’s CFO was the one who welcomed Yun Xiangxiang. He was a middle-aged French Chinese in a formal suit. The man didn’t even have a strand of gray hair, so anyone would believe it if he said he was thirty-something.
“I am Chen Bin.” Chen Bin talked in Mandarin, presumably as an attempt to draw them closer.
“Hello, Mr. Chen.” He Wei shook hands with him first.
Yun Xiangxiang extended her hand politely. “Hello.”
Chen Bin saw Song Mian, but he didn’t know who Song Mian was. “This is…”
“My boyfriend.” Yun Xiangxiang introduced, “He’s a Song.”
Chen Bin’s gaze sharpened for a moment. As one of the top decision-makers in the company, he knew why this happened.
Even they didn’t expect a no-name actress like Yun Xiangxiang to have such a strong backer.
They didn’t know what kind of existence Yun Xiangxiang’s boyfriend was. All they knew was that even the Cardicra Family was scared of him.
“Hello, Mr. Song. It’s a pleasure meeting you.” Chen Bin wasn’t enthusiastic, but he was still polite.
Song Mian shook hands with him, and Chen Bin showed them to their seats.
“Chinese cuisine here is magnificent. I think you must be missing the taste of home after being here so long, right?” A waiter served their dishes once Chen Bin sat down, and Chen Bin started talking to Yun Xiangxiang easily.
She had to admit that Chen Bin was correct. After France’s novelty wore off, she did miss the taste of Chinese cuisine.
Her friends could still taste Chinese cuisine, as they were in the winery. On the other hand, she only had French food to eat since she had to go around with Milles for filming.
“Thank you, Mr. Chen. I do miss it,” said Yun Xiangxiang sincerely.
“Thank you, Mr. Chen.” He Wei nodded. “Since Mr. Chen is quite sincere, I’ll cut to the chase.”
Chen Bin nodded and took a document from his secretary before handing it to He Wei. “We deeply regret the harm that befell Miss Yun Xiangxiang during her collaboration with us due to our employees’ betrayal of their work ethics.”
“This is negligence on our part, and we know we can’t put the blame on anyone else. But please, Mr. He, Mr. Song, Miss Yun, please believe that the top management does not know about this. We would never work with those who wish to harm Miss Yun even if it’s profitable.”
Chen Bin didn’t say much, but he was earnest; at least Yun Xiangxiang could feel it. He Wei scanned through the document.
He pointed out the key points to Yun Xiangxiang so she wouldn’t waste her time. CX was offering a lot in terms of compensation.
They changed the endorsement region from China to Asia; the contract went from two years to four, and the pay increased by ten percent.
This was an excellent compensation for the harm Yun Xiangxiang had received because of their employee. They were sincere in wanting to resolve this dispute.
He Wei gave her a questioning look. He thought it was fine, but since CX made the first offer, he felt they could still ask for more.
Yun Xiangxiang knew He Wei was asking her to bargain, but she disliked bargaining.
She thought it was enough, and it was fine as long as CX was sincere. She smiled and nodded at He Wei.
Chen Bin observed their interaction, and he was already thinking of the terms they would propose, and how he should bargain.
He was surprised that Yun Xiangxiang would nod, and He Wei closed the document. “We accept.”
That unhesitant decision made even an experienced business exec like Chen Bin raise his eyebrows, but he reacted accordingly.
He smiled as he toasted He Wei and Yun Xiangxiang. “Here’s to a great collaboration.”
Yun Xiangxiang and He Wei raised their glasses and toasted him. “To a great collaboration.”
Yun Xiangxiang told him, “Mr. Chen, I need to be in China by the twentieth for another film, so I hope you can quickly settle the ad shoot.”
“Alright, I guarantee that you can go back in a week, Miss Yun.” This was nothing, so Chen Bin nodded.
They enjoyed the food after the business talk was over. It was authentic Chinese cuisine, but it tasted different because of the ingredients.
It was a new experience. Chen Bin didn’t talk about business; instead, he spoke about China. He didn’t try to speak with Song Mian either, so they had a friendly chat.
Chen Bin sent them into the car and sent them off personally.
“Do you want to know if they are here as mediators?”