Later that evening, Ning Ran and members of the Star Entertainment’s crew had a meeting.
This was Ning Ran’s first meeting with them but it was conducted under very awkward circumstances.
“I’m sorry that my personal problems have caused all of you trouble,” Ning Ran apologized while bowing deeply to everyone.
The core members of the crew had gloomy expressions on, especially the head of public relations, Kai Li.
She was one of the senior heads in Star Entertainment where she held the position of head of event planning on top of being the head of public relations. Therefore, she was extremely powerful and influential in the company.
Kai Li didn’t know Ning Ran on a personal level other than the fact the company planned to promote her to be their next star. The only thing she knew about Ning Ran was what she read online, which was mostly negative news.
Therefore, she was unhappy with the fact that Ning Ran was invited by the Deputy CEO to join the meeting.
“Ms. Ding, how long have you signed with the company?” Kai Li shot a glance at Ning Ran while crossing her legs.
“Not very long,” Ning Ran replied meekly.
“How much money have you made for the company?” Kai Li asked again.
“Nothing much so far…” Ning Ran again answered softly.
“She’s someone new who hasn’t done much for the company. And yet created a crisis because of her unresolved personal problems. Why doesn’t she solve them first instead of dragging all of us here for a meeting at this ungodly hour?” Kai Li fumed.
No one dared to answer her due to her status in the company.
As for Ning Ran, she was even more terrified as it was indeed her problem, although it wasn’t her doing.
“Ms. Ding, do you need us to resolve your personal matters for you next time? Why don’t we just move the office into your home? If you have a broken light bulb or a leak in the toilet, we can help fix them for you,” Kai Li mocked.
Despite how rude Kai Li was, Ning Ran chose to endure the humiliation.
“Ms. Ding, we are having a meeting now. If you don’t say anything, what’s the point of us being here?” Kai Li continued to press on.
Ning Ran sighed. “I can only say that I’m sorry. I too did not wish for this to happen.”
“Those are meaningless words,” Kai Li shot back.
“I know, but I…”
“We’re having this meeting because of your family problems. So stop beating around the bush and get to the point!” Kai Li cut Ning Ran off again.
After being pressured harshly, Ning Ran was lost for words and felt miserable.
“Kai Li, it’s not appropriate for you to speak in such a manner.” Wang Xiaoou who was silent throughout finally said something.
“Oh I forgot, you’re Ms. Ding’s manager, is that why you’re interceding on her behalf?” Kai Li shot back at Wang Xiaoou.
“Yes, I am her manager. An actress is also a human being. She has family, friends, and many other social relationships. When the problems from those relationships affect her job or reputation, it doesn’t automatically make them her fault,” Wang Xiaoou explained.
Ning Ran felt grateful to her. Wang Xiaoou was previously Luo Fei’s manager and Luo Fei was her rival.
Now that they had become partners at work, Ning Ran assumed that Wang Xiaoou would make her life difficult. But little did she expect that it wasn’t the case.
Instead, she was someone who was professional at work and didn’t let her own emotions affect her. All she did was focus on her responsibilities.
“If it’s not her problem, are you saying that it’s ours? Is it because we didn’t manage her family matters properly?” Kai Li rebutted.
“Kai Li, we are here to discuss how to resolve the problem and not to put the blame on her. What you’re doing isn’t constructive in any way.” Wang Xiaoou stared at Kai Li.
“It’s my fault, but I don’t have a good way to resolve it at the moment. Therefore, I have troubled everyone here. In the future, I will try my best to prevent something like that from happening again,” Ning Ran’s apologized humbly.
“Who signed her up?” Kai Li demanded while pointing at Ning Ran.
“The company is responsible for signing every single actress. All their contracts have the same company stamp. So what’s the point in asking something like that?” Wang Xiaoou challenged.
“Then who is responsible for digging her out of her hole? Of all the talented actresses out there, why did we sign someone with so much trouble?” Kai Li asked.
“Do you really want to know, Kai Li?” Wang Xiaoou glared at her.
“Yes, I do. I want to find out how bad our talent scouts are. Who referred her into the company?” Kai Li pressed on with her questions.
“It’s Mr. Chen,” Wang Xiaoou quipped.
Suddenly, the meeting room fell so silent that everyone could hear a pin drop.
Kai Li was also shocked.
For the last two months, she was in Hollywood for a working trip and had returned just recently. Hence, she hardly knew anything about Ning Ran.
In fact, other than a few core members of the management, not many in the company knew much about Ning Ran.
She had assumed Ning Ran was new and would be easy pickings. However, she didn’t expect Ning Ran to have been signed up by Nan Chen.
She herself had not met Nan Chen in person before as she only saw him from afar during the company’s annual meeting.
Deep down, she was tempted to ask if it was true but she didn’t dare to.
It was obvious to her that Wang Xiaoou wouldn’t dare lie about something like this.
Now, the atmosphere became awkward.
Given how proud Kai Li was, it was impossible for her to change her attitude straightaway.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t continue to insult Ning Ran as before. In the event she was pissed and complained to Nan Chen, it would be the end of Kai Li’s career.
Uh-oh, I’m afraid I have gone too far. How am I going to salvage this now?
Damn it! Why didn’t my assistant brief me about the newbie’s background before the meeting?
Holding that thought, she realized that her assistant wouldn’t have known that too.
This lady is impressive to have gotten involved directly with Nan Chen, the top man in Flower City.
“Since it was Mr. Chen who recommended you, you must really be talented,” Kai Li remarked awkwardly.
“Her acting skills are excellent. The reason Star Entertainment signed her up wasn’t because of Mr. Chen, it was based on her own merit. Besides, she’s standing right in front of us. I’m sure all the experienced folk in this room can easily see for themselves if she has any star power at all,” Wang Xiaoou added.
Ning Ran’s cheeks started to burn as she thought to herself, do I really look like a star? Why didn’t I notice it before?
“She is indeed gorgeous without being ostentatious. Her genial face and unique features make her suited for the big screen,” Kai Li commented.
Those words of hers weren’t just flattery, they were her sincere opinions.
After all, she had worked in the industry for a long time and had met many stars. Hence, she could easily determine who had the potential to make it big.
The reason she threw her weight around was that she was upset. The newbie was causing trouble before demonstrating any results.
Observing Ning Ran after she had calmed down, Kai Li knew that the reason Nan Chen recommended her was based on her strengths and capabilities.
“You have flattered me.” Ning Ran was embarrassed by Kai Li’s analysis.
“Alright, since it was Mr. Chen who signed you up, I can’t afford to offend you.” Waving her hands, Kai Li let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Not at all, I still have a lot to learn from you and hope that you will guide me.” Ning Ran reciprocated the respect Kai Li had just shown her.
After that, the tension within the meeting quickly dissipated.
“In that case, why don’t you explain to us what happened and tell us your opinion about the matter,” Kai Li requested.
“That man is my father. But, we have not lived together in a long time because there’s a lot of bad blood between us. We have many irreconcilable differences. I won’t go into the details but I haven’t betrayed him in any way. On the day he jumped into the lake, I had just given him five thousand…”
“Fine. In that case, we hope that you can convince your father to help us resolve this crisis. He can help us change the public’s perception on this matter,” Kai Li suggested.
“I’m afraid that would be difficult as he is trying to blackmail me,” Ning Ran replied.
“There’s always a way. Besides, this isn’t the first time we encountered such a situation. So, let us discuss and find a solution.”
“Alright, thank you.”
With that, everyone started to discuss ways to resolve the matter.
