Chapter 110: Still Hoping We Can Find Our Rhythm

Ji Ya also had a business meeting scheduled for tomorrow with the American branch and was planning to finish the discussion quickly so she could catch her flight.

“You and Ah Yu—have you thought of a way to solve the problem?”

Su Xiaolin frowned. Ever since she had joined the company, she had been the president’s assistant, keeping everything in perfect order. She had not expected an artist to be the one to give her such a headache.

She had learned the job of agent on the fly, and by rights, what Lin Yu was asking for was not excessive at all.

He could have simply refused to cooperate, but instead he threw a fit and demanded to terminate the contract. It was maddening.

“President Ji, to be frank, an undisciplined artist can damage the company’s reputation.”

Su Xiaolin thought only of the company’s interests. Lin Yu’s temperament was truly difficult to manage. In the entertainment industry, nothing mattered more than reputation, and there was always the fear that if things continued like this, it would cause serious harm.

“If we end the contract now, we won’t have to face future risks, and we’ll still be able to collect a sizable penalty fee.”

Ji Ya frowned. She had personally signed him in. Terminate the contract? Setting aside the blow to her pride, the key issue was that Lin Yu had such strong creative talent and considerable ability. He should be managed by the same standards as the other artists.

To lose such a gifted man?

In her heart, Ji Ya had already reached her answer.

After a brief thought, she patted the sofa, signaling for Su Xiaolin to sit beside her, and said gravely, “I don’t agree with terminating the contract. What I’m considering more is keeping him. Of course, you’ll need to change your rules.”

“Change the rules?”

Su Xiaolin frowned. She followed the company’s rules to the letter. Was she supposed to break them for a newcomer?

“I know you’re a meticulous person, but for now, I suggest that from here on out, you only need to manage his public work, travel, and related matters.”

“As for the rest of his private life, since those are personal issues, ask less and interfere less whenever possible.”

Su Xiaolin looked stunned. Not inquire about his private life? Well, yes and no… President Ji, if you do this, won’t it look like you’re favoring Lin Yu far too much? How are you supposed to explain that to everyone else at the company?

Oh, right. She was the boss with the power to decide life and death over people’s careers. If someone refused to obey, she could simply cut them loose. Why would she need to explain anything?

But for the other artists, this would hardly seem fair…

This was going too far!

And yet, was there really such a thing as fairness in this world?

In her heart, Su Xiaolin had already denied the answer to that question.

“President Ji, I’m still curious about one thing.”

“Go on.”

“Why are you showing Lin Yu such special favor? Is it just because… he’s better than the others?”

Ji Ya smiled. “Which kind of better do you mean?”

“His exceptional martial arts skills, and his astonishing ability as an original songwriter.”

Ji Ya looked at Su Xiaolin, but did not rush to answer.

After a moment of thought, she said, “That way, your workload will be lighter, and you can still come back now and then to help me out.”

Help the female CEO out? And be able to return and spend time with Ji Ya from time to time? That was excellent. There was no reason to refuse.

“I agree, President Ji.”

If she could persuade her, that would naturally be best. Ji Ya was busy to begin with and had very little free time, so she was not particularly worried that Su Xiaolin would refuse. What concerned her was that Lin Yu wanted to terminate the contract. To balance the two of them, she had to find a point that both would find comfortable.

As expected of a female CEO—no matter how thorny the problem, under her handling it seemed to settle into peace.

With Su Xiaolin’s side resolved, it was time to speak to the other main character. Su Xiaolin hurried along after her, wondering whether she ought to apologize to him.

After all, they would still have to work together in the future, and Lin Yu had acted this morning as though the matter was already behind him. As a person, there was no need to be so petty.

And besides… hadn’t she just suggested to Ji Ya that she agree to end the contract? Had she perhaps been too narrow-minded?

She tapped her own forehead. Ji Ya usually taught her to keep a calm mindset and broaden her perspective, and yet she had forgotten all of it. She had simply been too flustered to think straight.

While they were talking, they had already arrived outside Lin Yu’s hotel room.

Su Xiaolin knocked lightly, but there was no response.

She frowned. “Xiao Yu, are you up yet?”

She exchanged a puzzled glance with Ji Ya, and the atmosphere turned a little awkward.

This… by normal reasoning, he should have been resting in the room. After the morning shoot ended and the two of them separated, he had not seemed unhappy at all. How had he suddenly started throwing a tantrum again?

Was he ignoring them?

Or was he… sleeping too deeply?

Or perhaps… was he still upset after all, simply pretending to be magnanimous?

Ji Ya lifted her hand, preparing to knock herself. If an agent could not get through, surely the boss should be able to.

“Miss Ji!”

“Oh my God! It really is Miss Ji!”

“Goodness! Am I dreaming?! This is so unreal!”

The hotel staff passing by were thrilled beyond measure. The one at the front clutched both hands to their chest, practically on the verge of fainting.

As the aloof and beautiful CEO, Ji Ya usually only appeared on television, radiant and untouchable. To ordinary people, she was like a celestial being. Now that a heavenly beauty had descended to the mortal world, who could not be excited?

The hotel manager came to greet Ji Ya. Upon hearing that they were looking for someone, he immediately checked the surveillance footage and discovered that around six in the evening, Lin Yu had already taken a taxi from the hotel entrance and left. He had not been in the room at all.

“So where did he go?”

The same huge question mark appeared simultaneously in both women’s minds.

Su Xiaolin’s face filled with shock, her eyes widening.

Could it be… he ran away?!

After saying he wanted to terminate the contract, afraid of shouldering a heavy penalty, he decided to pack up and flee?

The hotel manager, worried that the hotel would be blamed if the person had disappeared, quickly brought the room key card and led the two of them to check the room.

That was a relief. Lin Yu’s belongings were still there, not a single item missing, and the room was clean and tidy. The manager could not help but marvel.

“It’s rare to see an artist keep a hotel room this clean.”

Even ordinary guests rarely left a room this neat. A hotel was a hotel; even if it was a mess, the staff would clean it up anyway. Yet Lin Yu’s room looked as though no one had ever stayed in it. Even the blanket had been folded with perfect precision. In this respect alone, it was clear that Lin Yu was an artist of high moral character.

That instantly won over quite a few of the hotel employees.

His luggage was still here, but the person had gone out. As his agent, Su Xiaolin had failed to keep track of his schedule, and that was a serious problem. Without Ji Ya needing to remind her, she immediately turned and went out to make a call.

When Ji Ya came out after her, she saw Su Xiaolin with a tightly furrowed brow, clearly at a loss.

“He didn’t answer the phone.”

Ji Ya frowned.

...

At the music festival venue.

Lin Yu followed the pulsing rhythm of the speakers, leaping and cheering, utterly unable to hear the ringtone from his phone inside his backpack.

Modern young people had already fallen in love with short videos, and the influencers who lived behind their screens were not often encountered in person. At a live event, the atmosphere naturally surged wave after wave.

Though, from a professional standpoint, most of the songs were little more than sugary pop fluff, the internet pushed them so quickly and so widely, and some old songs from long past years had even been covered. Even if they were not from the same era, they were still familiar enough to be hummed along to by heart.