Chapter 375: Changing Jobs and Showing One's Hand

Lu Shuxian returned to the KTV and smiled apologetically at the other leaders: "Mingzhu isn't feeling well, so she won't be coming over."

The president of Century Entertainment still cared about the health of this cash cow and asked with concern:

"I haven't seen Mingzhu at the company for a while, and she hasn't been taking many jobs lately. Since she's not feeling well, has she been to the hospital?"

Lu Shuxian nodded repeatedly and said with a straight face: "I've already taken her to the hospital. It's the same old thing—physical discomfort caused by overwork. She just needs plenty of rest."

Another newcomer suddenly said: "Sister Mingzhu is getting on in years, isn't she? She can't handle the grind like she used to."

As if opening the floodgates, other newcomers also chimed in: "She's not even 30 yet, that should be fine, right?"

"With so many artists flooding in now, even though she's under 30, there are fewer and fewer roles suitable for her. It's not like she can be nearly 30 and still play a seventeen or eighteen-year-old minor, right? Even if she could act it, the audience wouldn't buy it."

"I remember Sister Mingzhu said she wasn't acting anymore and wanted to develop in singing and dancing. Oh, I think she said that publicly on 'Leisurely Slow Life'."

"Singing and dancing?" Some people seemed to have heard a tall tale, their voices rising.

"She's always feeling unwell just running ordinary errands, how can she transition to singing and dancing?"

"The intensity of singing and dancing is much higher than that of variety shows. You have to spend two or three hours practicing dance every day, and to pull off a qualified stage performance, practicing for over ten hours a day is common. How could her body handle that?"

"She'd be better off acting. If she finds a decent crew, at least she could have a nine-to-five schedule and weekends off."

The president of Century Entertainment suddenly spoke up: "Hmm, what you're saying makes sense. Shuxian."

"Yes!" Lu Shuxian looked up and found the president looking at her. Amidst the lively KTV atmosphere, the president's face held no smile.

He said: "Why don't you communicate more with Mingzhu and have her continue on the variety show route? If she really doesn't want to participate in variety shows, then have her transition to being an actress."

"Her good sister Jin Li transitioned to acting and is doing quite well, isn't she? She's thriving now; whatever project she takes on is a guaranteed hit."

Lu Shuxian's heart skipped a beat, but she maintained her expression and said: "Alright, President, I'll go communicate with Mingzhu in a bit."

No one else said anything more; everyone was fighting for the microphone to sing, but Lu Shuxian just sat quietly in her seat, watching.

In the past, Qiguan Mingzhu would also come to company gatherings and be the object of everyone's flattery; everyone would be fawning over her.

She was Qiguan Mingzhu's manager, the one who communicated with her the most, and they had the best relationship in the company.

Before, every time they attended these events, even the president wouldn't dare raise his voice at her.

But she didn't know when it started, everything had changed.

Lu Shuxian only stayed for half an hour before she couldn't take it anymore and got up to go to the parking lot.

Getting into the car, she entered the navigation for Qiguan Mingzhu's apartment, then thought of something and called Qiguan Mingzhu.

The ringing went on for a long time, but no one answered.

Lu Shuxian frowned; a manager's keen intuition told her that Qiguan Mingzhu had been acting very strange lately.

She opened WeChat, wanting to send a message to Qiguan Mingzhu, when suddenly the latest news from the blog popped up—

【Qiguan Mingzhu and Jin Li gather in private; sisterly bond remains strong!】

【Qiguan Mingzhu and Jin Li go to visit a Daoist temple again! They're even worshipping the God of Wealth! Do celebrities have money anxiety too?】

【Qiguan Mingzhu is on vacation recently, frequently going out with Jin Li!】

Seeing these news items, Lu Shuxian pursed her lips tightly and couldn't help but click the 'X' on each one.

Qiguan Mingzhu is resting?

How come she didn't know!

She kept telling her she wasn't feeling well, but it turns out she was running off to hang out with Jin Li?

Work is clearly more important than leisure. She's about to become irrelevant; working hard to maintain her presence on variety shows is the big deal!

Lu Shuxian was very angry, feeling that Qiguan Mingzhu had gone astray and didn't understand her current situation at all.

Even though this had nothing to do with Jin Li, whenever she saw Jin Li's face, she found her detestable.

Originally, since she couldn't get through to Mingzhu, she wanted to go somewhere else, but Lu Shuxian suddenly changed her mind and decided to go to Qiguan Mingzhu's apartment to wait for her to appear!

She hadn't seen Qiguan Mingzhu for a long time, and they needed to have a good talk.

On the other side, after Jin Li and Pearl discovered they had been photographed, they left the Daoist temple in a hurry.

When they got into the car, Jin Li asked Pearl: "Did you worship just now?"

Qiguan Mingzhu nodded: "I did, I did. I even asked the God of Wealth to bless me with a smooth job change, to have my wishes come true, and to bring in wealth every day."

Chen Qin, sitting in the front passenger seat, turned around and asked: "Sister Jin Li, Sister Pearl, are you going to eat now or returning to the apartment?"

Jin Li said: "Let's go eat first. I finished the filming for Duomi, and as soon as I came out, you dragged me to worship; I haven't eaten anything yet."

Qiguan Mingzhu waved her hand and gave an address: "Go here, my treat!"

Jin Li smiled and said okay.

After eating, Chen Qin first took Qiguan Mingzhu back to her apartment, then took Sister Jin Li back to her apartment.

When the driver, Xiao Cheng, drove into the underground garage, Lu Shuxian was leaning against a pillar in the parking lot. Qiguan Mingzhu in the car saw her manager at a glance.

Jin Li saw her too, and suddenly thinking of something, asked: "You haven't told your manager about wanting to change jobs yet, have you?"

Qiguan Mingzhu shook her head and said calmly: "I haven't. I can't tell her. We don't work well together, and I won't be taking her with me when I change jobs. Once she knows, the company will know too; it can't be hidden for long."

Jin Li said worriedly: "But you haven't appeared at the company lately, and there's been no response to the contract renewal; they'll guess it sooner or later."

Qiguan Mingzhu said very calmly: "Let's hide it for as long as we can."

"Alright, don't worry about me, I have my own judgment." She turned to comfort Jin Li, "Since Lu Shuxian is waiting here, I'll go down first. You hurry back, don't stay here."

Jin Li looked at her exceptionally calm expression, understood something, and said solemnly: "I understand. If you need any help, don't hesitate to call me."

After Qiguan Mingzhu got out of the car, Xiao Cheng reversed the car and left the underground garage.

When they reached the surface, Chen Qin turned to look at Jin Li and asked cautiously: "Why do I feel like Sister Pearl's state of mind just now was a bit off?"

Jin Li asked back: "What state do you think she's in?"

Chen Qin thought for a moment, "Although it's not good to say this, I feel like the tone and expression she used just now had a sense of hopelessness, like she doesn't care about anything anymore—'whatever, let it explode'."

A flash of deep meaning crossed Jin Li's eyes, "Your guess is quite accurate."

Chen Qin was startled: "Ah, no, is Sister Pearl really going to do something desperate?"

Jin Li was speechless: "... You're overthinking it. She's someone who values her life so much; she's just truly given up on Century Entertainment."

She thought to herself, with Lu Shuxian coming to find her today, Pearl would probably show her hand.

There was no point in continuing to hide the job change. In a few days, both Lu Shuxian and Century Entertainment would guess Qiguan Mingzhu's intentions.

Otherwise, for a first-tier star with decent popularity, the company had been talking about contract renewal for half a year, but the star always beat around the bush, dragging it out until there were only three months left on the final contract.

Even the most obtuse company and manager would understand what the star meant.

Out of caution, Jin Li still called Sui Lingfang, asking her to keep an eye on public opinion, estimating that a wave of black material against Qiguan Mingzhu was coming.

Sui Lingfang had just finished working overtime and returned home, and immediately said: "OK, I'll have Zou Da focus on it! Don't worry, the PR department at Chenxi Entertainment is quite capable."

Jin Li didn't deny that.

She was able to make a comeback last year and stay popular until now, certainly due to her high public recognition and good reputation with the public, but it was also because the company's PR was done well, guiding the comments to be mostly positive and uplifting.

"You're back." Lu Shuxian saw Qiguan Mingzhu getting out of the car and said this with a flat expression.

Qiguan Mingzhu's expression was also flat. She said "Hmm" and didn't say anything more.

Lu Shuxian walked back to the apartment with her. The atmosphere was quiet. Lu Shuxian twisted her body uncomfortably, her brows furrowed, feeling that Qiguan Mingzhu was very strange today.

She took the initiative to break the deadlock and said: "I came to see how your health is. Before, you told me you weren't feeling well and went to see a doctor. The doctor told you to rest well and told me not to arrange any jobs for you recently, so I did as told."

"But you were in the mood to go worship at a Daoist temple with Jin Li tonight; your health must have recovered, right? Can you take on jobs now? I have three variety shows on hand that specifically requested you."

Speaking of this, Lu Shuxian emphasized: "They are all very good first or second-tier variety shows, not third-tier, and the variety show activities aren't intense; I picked the ones you like."

Qiguan Mingzhu suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at Lu Shuxian. That glance had an inexplicable look in it, making Lu Shuxian feel a bit creeped out.

Qiguan Mingzhu turned her head back, continued walking forward, and said lightly: "So you knew what kind of jobs I like to run, and you also knew that the miscellaneous third and fourth-tier variety shows you stuffed me with before were very bad."

Lu Shuxian was choked for words and played the emotional card: "Mingzhu, I had no choice. Those jobs were all assigned by the president for you to take; I was just following his instructions."

Qiguan Mingzhu walked steadily and said without looking back: "Don't push everything onto the president. Last time you accepted a third-tier variety show that was temporarily inserted for me, saying the company arranged it and there was no way to refuse. I specifically called the president to talk about it."

Lu Shuxian paused and said loudly: "You even went to find the president? What did he tell you?"

Qiguan Mingzhu didn't stop walking: "The president told me that he generally doesn't ask about my specific jobs, only the general direction. That job wasn't arranged by him, but by you."

Lu Shuxian felt the shame of being exposed, but soon she became righteous again.

"Anyway, you didn't end up participating in that variety show, and you didn't lose anything. Before, it was all my work error; I didn't understand what you really wanted to participate in. I will correct it in the future."

Qiguan Mingzhu's expression remained unchanged: "I've heard this kind of talk from you hundreds of times. Every time you make a mistake, you say that. I don't know if you really don't know or if you're deliberately playing dumb."

Lu Shuxian took a deep breath and didn't discuss this issue with her.

"Then take some time to look at these three jobs. My suggestion is to take all three. These three jobs are all high-quality; I went and carefully selected them."

At this time, they waited for the elevator. When getting into the elevator, Qiguan Mingzhu didn't speak.

After walking out of the elevator and arriving at her door, she turned around and said: "Sister Lu, I'm not feeling well and don't want to participate in any jobs recently. Besides, I've been recording 'Leisurely Slow Life' all along; relying on this variety show to maintain my exposure is enough."

Lu Shuxian looked at her seriously. That bad premonition in her heart grew stronger. News she saw at night, netizens' comments in the comment section, Qiguan Mingzhu's recent refusal to run jobs, not appearing at the company... flashed through her mind rapidly.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit her, and she said in shock: "Are you going to change jobs!"

When this thought arose, other facts frantically went to corroborate it.

Lu Shuxian changed from her initial suspicion to certainty, "You want to change jobs. You've been in contact with Jin Li recently. Did she promise you any benefits to make you change jobs to Chenxi Entertainment?"

Qiguan Mingzhu didn't speak.

This attitude of neither denying nor admitting was tacit consent!

Lu Shuxian stared at her coldly: "Qiguan Mingzhu, the company has cultivated you for so many years; it's impossible for them to let you go. If you have any dissatisfaction, you can bring it up, and we will try our best to meet your requirements."

Qiguan Mingzhu said calmly: "Are you begging for peace and trying to keep me, or are you treating me like an enemy? I don't see an attitude of goodwill from the company from you, only threats."

Lu Shuxian accused her angrily: "You were the one who found a new place first; you changed jobs behind our backs!"

Qiguan Mingzhu: "I signed a contract with Century Entertainment, not a deed of sale. It's not illegal for me to want to change jobs."

Seeing her determined attitude, Lu Shuxian suddenly thought of the president's attitude toward Qiguan Mingzhu and softened her tone, saying nicely:

"Mingzhu, my attitude was bad just now. I will communicate this matter with the company and guarantee you a better contract treatment. Everything can be discussed."

Qiguan Mingzhu said softly: "I've been talking to you very calmly all along, but you've lost your temper several times instead."

Lu Shuxian only cared about herself and didn't listen to her inner voice at all, wallowing in self-pity there: "If you change jobs, what will I do? I'm one with you. If you run away, I definitely won't be able to keep this job."

"You can't be so selfish and only think about yourself. I still have two children to raise; they just started elementary school. You also know my family situation—my parents, one paralyzed in bed and one with diabetes. Hiring a caregiver every month is a significant expense..."

"But." Qiguan Mingzhu interrupted her and said very calmly: "Sister Lu, this is your family, not mine. I know you're having a hard time, but I've also been working hard to run jobs before so you could get more commission."

"You were the one who introduced me to Century Entertainment, and you were the one running errands for my contract. I know you got quite a bit of referral fees from the third and fourth-tier jobs you accepted for me, but I didn't say anything. I've repaid the favor for nearly five years; I should have repaid it long ago, right?"

She laughed at herself: "That's your family, not mine. Why should the pressure you bear be pressed onto me? I'm also a person, and I'll get tired too." ===== CHAPTER 376 =====