Chapter 44: Useless at Everything, but First-Class at Shifting Blame

"Exactly! That's just how it is!"

Sui Lingfang said, "If even my artist could think of this problem, surely you wouldn't fail to see it, would you?"

Zou Da gave a bitter laugh over the phone. "I thought of it. Of course I did. But there are others in the company who think LP is a golden goose and are scrambling to promote her!"

"But having said that," he shifted his tone, "it's not easy for us to reject LP directly. We need to find a way to turn her down; otherwise, making things too tense wouldn't be good."

Sui Lingfang glanced at Jin Li, thought for a moment, and said, "How about this: push everything onto me. Just say you contacted Jin Li, but couldn't reach me, and Jin Li couldn't reach me either. Say this was entirely my decision to act unilaterally and has nothing to do with the company."

Zou Da considered it. "Alright."

After he hung up, Jin Li said, "Sister Fang, wouldn't that be too much for you—"

Sui Lingfang shook her head to interrupt. "No, don't overthink it. This is part of a manager's duty—to step up and take the fall for the star at critical moments. Besides, even if you push it onto me, LP might still come after you. Come to think of it, I'm the one who dragged you into this. I remember you originally wanted to keep things quiet."

Jin Li smiled. Since Sui Lingfang was being sincere, she might as well lay her cards on the table.

"It's come to this; let's not go around assigning blame to each other. It's true I wanted to keep the peace, but I also saw you snap at her with my own eyes, so I've implicitly accepted your actions. If I truly didn't want you to offend LP, I would have told you to retract those words the moment you sent them, and I certainly wouldn't have let you upload the recording. Sister Fang, whether to be a good person or a villain is up to me. Don't always take all the responsibility on yourself. Besides, you handled that confrontation well; I found it quite satisfying. If we dare to snap at LP, then no star will dare to give me attitude when I attend future events."

As Jin Li spoke, her small face tilted up slightly, brimming with pride. However, because she was so sweet-looking, it lacked any real lethality and instead came across as mere coquettishness.

Sui Lingfang was amused by her expression.

"Fine, fine, fine. Let's each take a step back. Hurry up and get ready; we're heading to the Taoist temple."

***

On the other side, at LP Company.

After finishing the ribbon-cutting event, Lian Baozhi and Lyu Shanjie rushed back to the company without pause. There was another brand event scheduled for the afternoon, but she canceled it directly.

Her team gathered for a meeting to discuss how to mitigate the impact of this incident.

Someone suggested, "The issue can be made large or small. We just need Sister Shan to take the blame and shoulder everything so it doesn't affect Sister Baozhi."

Another person added, "I'm inclined toward that method as well."

Lyu Shanjie's heart sank slightly, but she remained calm on the surface.

She said, "Let's first see how the company's higher-ups negotiate with Chenxi Entertainment. If we can get Chenxi Entertainment to issue a statement saying this was all a misunderstanding, then nothing will happen."

The rest of the team left the meeting room, leaving only Lian Baozhi and Lyu Shanjie. Lian Baozhi could no longer suppress her temper and exploded

"How can you be so careless? Didn't I tell you to be cautious with those things in the future?"

Lyu Shanjie thought to herself that with this kind of tactic—delaying someone's schedule—no matter how cautious one was, there would always be leverage left behind, whether it was a recorded call or exposed WeChat messages. A year ago, she had advised Lian Baozhi to stop using such methods, but she simply wouldn't listen.

Now that things had finally gone wrong, while Lyu Shanjie felt uneasy, she also felt a sense of relief. It was better that things had broken out; some methods could only be used once. In the industry, top-tier competition was usually conducted openly; even when people threw mud, it was through online smear campaigns. This kind of blatant sabotage of an artist's schedule was actually quite rare.

Lyu Shanjie said, "Baozhi, let's not use these methods anymore. Even if it wasn't Jin Li this time, it would have been Zhang Li, Luo Li, or Xu Li. We can't build a career using this set of tricks."

Lian Baozhi's face darkened. "Are you blaming me for only knowing how to play petty tricks?"

Lyu Shanjie replied, "I didn't say that. I'm just stating the facts."

Lian Baozhi took a deep breath and spoke after a long pause, "Since this method doesn't work, then you should come up with another one for me. You were the one who taught me these tricks in the first place. Shanjie, if Chenxi Entertainment refuses to clarify, you'll have to—"

She gave her a mock look of concern.

Lyu Shanjie looked her straight in the eye and said very calmly, "I will take the fall for you. It won't affect you."

Lian Baozhi felt a slight sense of relief, but she maintained a regretful expression. "Sister Shan, I don't want to do this either, but even if the company handles it, the procedure will be the same. You'll be suspended for a few months, and then you can come back as my manager."

"Suspended?" Lyu Shanjie was stunned.

Lian Baozhi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Yes. I am a top-tier star, and my reputation is extremely important. I cannot work with a manager who has a tarnished name." She paused. "Once the matter has cooled down for a while, you can come back."

Lyu Shanjie fell silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. However, she knew that she likely wouldn't be returning to LP.

***

At the same time, Jin Li and Sui Lingfang got into the car to head to the Taoist temple. Sui Lingfang's phone received a new notification.

She opened it and said, "Lyu Shanjie has posted an apology letter on her blog."

Jin Li took out her phone. Gu Cheng had just asked her in the group chat if she wanted to study. She replied [Going to the Taoist temple], then rushed to the blog to witness Lyu Shanjie's apology.

The car belonged to their own company, and Sui Lingfang's assistant was acting as the driver, so they were all on the same side.

After reading it, Sui Lingfang wasn't angry at Lyu Shanjie anymore; instead, she remarked with emotion, "Big companies are so efficient. This apology letter was probably prepared long ago."

The letter stated that everything Lyu Shanjie did was without Lian Baozhi's knowledge, and that using her power to suppress other stars was entirely Lyu Shanjie's personal behavior. LP Company would issue her a three-month suspension.

Jin Li asked curiously, "Is a three-month suspension very serious?"

Sui Lingfang replied, "It's not that severe; a suspension isn't a firing. But for her, it's likely quite serious. Artists care deeply about their reputation in this industry, and so do managers. Given such a massive blunder, even if she returns to LP in three months, I doubt any star would be willing to let her manage them."

Jin Li asked, "What about Lian Baozhi?"

Sui Lingfang's expression was indifferent. "Even married couples fly apart when disaster strikes; let alone a manager and an artist. I heard people say that Lian Baozhi has privately complained to other stars that Lyu Shanjie doesn't provide good resources. Taking this opportunity, Lian Baozhi will definitely replace her to secure a manager with an excellent track record."

Jin Li thought to herself that the schemes and battles in the entertainment industry were comparable to the novels she used to read aimlessly in the Heavenly Realm. One successful general is built upon ten thousand dead soldiers; once you take one wrong step, it is very difficult to ever turn things around.

***

Meanwhile, in the WeChat group.

Seeing that Jin Li was going to the Taoist temple, Gu Cheng thought of her winning the lottery and sent her a private message asking if she was going to the temple of the God of Wealth.

Jin Li: [Yes]

Gu Cheng: [Is it convenient to add one more person? I want to pray to the God of Wealth too.]

Jin Li: [???]

Jin Li replied with heavy sincerity: [You'd be better off praying to yourself.]

[With the money-making ability of your group, Sanyue Tian, you're practically the God of Wealth yourselves.]

Gu Cheng was speechless. The logic was so sound he didn't know how to argue.