Shen Tong racked her brains to build connections, inquiring about TV shows and movies, but she was constantly rejected. She knew she was still too young in this industry, without a strong network, connections, or relationships. She had just entered the field and hadn't had time to build good relationships. Although she tried her best to manage her relationships with everyone, her social circle was still too narrow. Previously, she had Liang Xiaoyuan's help, but now she didn't even want to think about him, let alone see him. Shen Tong avoided any potential meetings if possible.
Suddenly, she thought of someone.
Xia Zixuan.
He was the company's general manager, and his word was law. He surely had an extensive network of connections. He wouldn't sit by and watch the company's artists fail to become famous. He must have a way. Thinking of this, Shen Tong almost jumped up. She wanted to rush into Xia Zixuan's office immediately, but she still needed to make some preparations.
"Sister Lan, hello. I'd like to see the general manager. Is he in?" Shen Tong politely asked Secretary Lan, who was in front of the general manager's office.
"Yes, he's in. Do you need me to notify him?" Lan asked.
"Yes, thank you, Sister Lan," Shen Tong said with a smile.
"Hello, General Manager. Shen Tong says she has something to discuss with you. Should I let her in?" Secretary Lan paused for a moment, listening to the general manager's instructions while Shen Tong watched nervously.
"Alright, got it," Secretary Lan hung up the phone and looked up at Shen Tong, "The general manager says to discuss it after work today."
Shen Tong returned disappointedly, but having hope was better than having none.
After work, when most people had left the company, Shen Tong went upstairs. At the elevator, she saw Xia Zixuan coming out, and they got into the elevator together.
"I heard you wanted to see me?" Xia Zixuan said coldly, gloomy as if always calculating something.
"Yes, General Manager. What I wanted to say was..." Shen Tong was interrupted before she could finish.
"Whatever it is, we'll discuss it after dinner," Xia Zixuan said impatiently. "I'm not in the mood right now."
Shen Tong's heart was racing, thinking, "You could have just told me to come find you after dinner. Why make me come after work? What exactly do you want?" But she politely said, "Then I'll come find you after I've had dinner."
As she was about to step out of the elevator, Xia Zixuan suddenly grabbed her hand and forcefully pushed her against the cold metal elevator wall. He placed his arms on either side of her, his angular face like ice, his angry eyes ready to explode. He slowly said, "Is it so difficult to have dinner with me?" Shen Tong was stunned, unable to react for a while, staring dumbfounded at the imposing man before her.
The elevator chimed, indicating they had reached their floor. This also startled Shen Tong awake. She quickly tried to push away Xia Zixuan's hands, attempting to break free from his constraint. With an inviolable expression, she raised her voice and said, "General Manager, this is a company. Please mind your behavior."
Xia Zixuan leaned in closer, his face getting nearer and nearer to Shen Tong's. She could feel his warm breath on her face, his pores clearly visible, his thick eyelashes as sharp as their owner. Shen Tong thought, "He's not going to kiss me, is he? Maybe I should just accept it, since I need to ask him for a favor anyway." But her actions completely contradicted her thoughts. She unconsciously raised her right hand, ready to slap Xia Zixuan.
Xia Zixuan deftly dodged and concluded, "You look better without glasses."
The scene Liang Xiaoyuan saw in the elevator was Xia Zixuan with his hands on either side of the elevator, a woman's graceful figure barely visible, the atmosphere very intimate. He initially wanted to let the doors close and take the next elevator, but what happened next was beyond his expectations. Xia Zixuan jumped away, and he was shocked to discover the woman was — Shen Tong. His heart was suddenly struck by a violent storm. He couldn't believe Shen Tong would do such a thing for her artists to become famous, and the situation wasn't like that anyway but Liang Xiaoyuan could no longer think calmly.
He stared at Shen Tong in shock. Shen Tong saw him and felt uneasy, but she remained composed, turning her head to stare at the air in front of her. Xia Zixuan gave a cold laugh and said nothing more.
The atmosphere was extremely awkward, but fortunately, the elevator doors closed quickly, cutting off all lines of sight.
Shen Tong's heart was racing, but she was still angry about the previous incident. Xia Zixuan's face was inscrutable, his thoughts unknown.
"We're here. Let's go," Xia Zixuan said as he strode out of the elevator. "Where shall we eat?"
Shen Tong snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Anywhere is fine."
"Hurry up and choose," Xia Zixuan said impatiently.
Shen Tong glanced around and said, "Let's go to that Western restaurant in front."
The two walked to the Western restaurant and sat down to order.
"General Manager, what I wanted to talk to you about is..." Shen Tong said quickly.
"We'll talk after dinner," Xia Zixuan said coldly, fixing his icy gaze on Shen Tong.
Shen Tong was filled with anger, but remembering she needed to ask him for a favor, she held it in.
Strangely, after Shen Tong stopped talking, Xia Zixuan didn't speak either. The two just ate dinner quietly, with only occasional glances from Xia Zixuan that made Shen Tong uncomfortable. After finishing the meal, neither made a move to leave. Shen Tong stared blankly outside, while Xia Zixuan elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin. He slowly began, "What did you want to say?"
Shen Tong quickly turned her head and said, "General Manager, I wanted to talk to you about the two artists I'm managing. Because I don't have enough connections, and the company isn't providing support, they're already on a downward trend. This won't bring any profit to the company, but instead will cause losses." Shen Tong spoke eloquently, explaining the reasons why the two artists weren't becoming famous, laying the groundwork for her request.
But Xia Zixuan's words completely defeated her, "The company has never been merciful to freeloaders, those who can't bring any profit."
Shen Tong thought for a moment and said, "But they're both excellent prospects, especially Su Xiao. His looks are very appealing. With some polish, I believe he could become a big star and bring huge profits to the company. It would be a shame to give up now."
"Of course you'd praise your own artists like that, but others might not see it the same way," Xia Zixuan said mercilessly.
"But as I said before, success and risk coexist. The TV drama they starred in is about to air. I believe it will definitely bring some returns," Shen Tong said earnestly.
"Oh? After saying all this, what do you want?" Xia Zixuan asked pointedly, leaning back on the sofa and staring at her with sharp eyes.
Shen Tong met his gaze unflinchingly and said, "I want the General Manager to lend me his connections."
"That's simple enough, but I'm a capitalist. I don't do business without benefits," Xia Zixuan said, looking fiercely at Shen Tong.
"I guarantee I'll make one of them famous and create profits for the company," Shen Tong said firmly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe in empty promises," Xia Zixuan said, standing up to leave.
Hearing this, Shen Tong collapsed onto the sofa as if all her energy had been drained. She didn't know who else she could rely on. Without connections, one couldn't survive in the entertainment industry. She had fallen out with Liang Xiaoyuan, and now Xia Zixuan had rejected her request. She had almost reached a dead end. She had promised Su Xiao she would help him release an album, but now it seemed impossible.
She almost regretted arguing with Liang Xiaoyuan. After all, it was Chen Xiaoyong who had been wrong in that incident. But whenever it came to Xie Sangyan's matters, she became particularly stubborn. Her pride had led her to hurt Liang Xiaoyuan and Xie Sangyan. At least she could have relied on him before, but now Liang Xiaoyuan probably hated her, and he had even seen that scene with Xia Zixuan. Shen Tong let out a cry of despair and finally buried her face in her arms on the table, as if only this could give her a sense of security.
Liang Xiaoyuan felt like he had gone mad. When he saw Shen Tong and Xia Zixuan disappear from his sight, he instinctively ran to the stairwell and rushed down at rocket speed. He saw them coming out of the elevator, and before he could catch his breath, he inexplicably followed them all the way to the Western restaurant. He watched their every move from a distance, observing them eat dinner in silence. Finally, when Xia Zixuan angrily left the table, leaving Shen Tong alone lost in thought, her expression so sorrowful she looked like she might cry, and finally burying her face in her arms.
Liang Xiaoyuan was very concerned, frowning as he watched her. Suddenly inspired, he called over a nearby waiter and whispered a few words.
The waiter nodded repeatedly, saying, "Alright, alright."
"Excuse me, miss. I'm sorry to disturb you," the waiter said with a smile, waiting for Shen Tong to look up. Shen Tong kept her head down, ignoring him. He continued, "Miss?"
Shen Tong heard the voice but didn't want to look up at first, thinking it was someone trying to strike up a conversation. When she realized it was a waiter, she slowly raised her head and asked, "What is it?"
The waiter's face was full of joy as he said, "Congratulations, you've won a prize! Today you're our restaurant's 100,000th customer. Congratulations, you can eat at our restaurant for free for a month."
Shen Tong's face was full of disbelief. She repeated her question, "Won a prize?"
"Yes," the waiter confirmed.
Shen Tong's first reaction was that it was impossible, feeling it was somewhat absurd. She thought, if the restaurant had made a mistake, wouldn't she be taking advantage? But there's no such thing as a free lunch, right? Then she thought again, why not take advantage if she could? She asked, "I can come eat for free for a whole month? Dinner? Breakfast? Lunch?"
The waiter kindly replied, "All of them. Please come this way to register your name and phone number."
Shen Tong's gloomy mood improved slightly because of this. She followed the waiter to fill out the information, then went to the restroom to wash her face and clear her head.
"Hey, that guy is really thoughtful, seeing that the woman was in a bad mood and coming up with this idea," someone said outside.
Shen Tong's face darkened. Indeed, the bathroom was the perfect place to hear gossip. She thought about waiting for them to leave before coming out.
"Yeah! That woman is so lucky!" another person said excitedly.
"Mm-hmm, if a man did something like this for me, I'd marry him!" the first woman said excitedly.