Luo Tao seemed to already know Ji Ling’s usual way of doing things—if he showed up, it definitely meant he had some new ideas about operations again.
“Man, I think I’m losing out here.” Luo Tao had his assistant pour tea for the both of them. He looked at Ji Ling sitting across from him and said.
“How so?” Ji Ling raised an eyebrow.
“I’m just a shareholder, but you come to me with everything. I’m more dedicated than a full-time manager. Shouldn’t you be paying me a salary or something?” Luo Tao said.
Ji Ling smiled and said, “You’re the one who insisted on being involved in the management.”
“Yeah, but that’s only because I didn’t trust you back then. What if you blew all my money?”
“So what, you trust me now?” Ji Ling caught the slip in his words right away.
Luo Tao laughed. “You’re just fishing for confirmation, aren’t you? Honestly, I don’t even need to get involved. Every time you come to me, you already know what you’re gonna do. You’re just not that familiar with the entertainment industry yet, so you want me to walk you through the rules. But once you get the hang of this circle, it won’t matter if I’m here or not.”
Ji Ling smiled.
Luo Tao was right.
After all, this was his first time stepping into this industry—it’s normal to be a bit clueless. Having Luo Tao around was definitely helpful.
“So, what kind of info do you need from me this time?” Luo Tao was always pretty open about things, and he never seemed bothered by Ji Ling treating him like some sort of advisor.
Ji Ling said, “I’ve realized that when it comes to this entertainment marketing thing, the bigger the IP, the harder it is to handle the whole package.”
Luo Tao nodded. “Yep. Once your business gets deeper into it, you’ll need to pick a direction. Either focus on brand integration and do content marketing, or specialize in promotional planning and provide publicity services. It’s tough for one company to handle both. Even if you somehow manage it, major investors and film producers won’t want to put all their eggs in one basket and let you take over everything.”
Ji Ling asked, “Which direction do you think I should take?”
Luo Tao replied, “Didn’t you already decide? You told me you wanted to move downstream.”
Ji Ling admitted, “Yeah, I still want to go down the path of publicity and promotion.”
What Ji Ling didn’t tell Luo Tao was that he started with product placements simply because he didn’t know much about the entertainment business. So he had to start with something he was already familiar with. At least he knew his way around the ad industry, so he took on a lot of placement projects.
But now that he was slowly getting a grip on the industry, sticking with product placement would just tie him closer to ad companies. What he really wanted was to dive into media and publicity.
After all, so many big groups were setting up their own cultural companies—wasn’t it all just to get a piece of the entertainment pie?
Getting into film and publicity meant more direct contact with theaters and the general entertainment crowd, which would be a huge plus for expanding business later on.
Since people already believed the Yan family was using him to break into the entertainment industry, he might as well ride that wave and push forward with it.
“Wow, every time you get that scheming look on your face, it creeps me out a little,” Luo Tao said when Ji Ling stayed quiet, knowing he was deep in thought.
Ji Ling chuckled, “I’m not scheming—I’m planning.”
Luo Tao sighed, “Has anyone ever told you you’re a total workaholic? Always thinking about the next move. I used to think my brother was scary when it came to work, but you might be even more intense than him.”
Ji Ling smiled and said, “I still don’t think it’s enough.”
When it came to facing Yan Yixuan, his younger brother, or even Luo Tao himself—it just wasn’t enough.
He wanted more say. He wanted to be on equal footing with them.
But Luo Tao didn’t get what he was thinking. He just said, “You’re doing great already. Lately, more and more people have been asking me about you. A lot of folks want to work with you.”
Ji Ling immediately asked, “Yeah? Who?”
Luo Tao laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t jump right back into work so fast. Take it easy. You just got back from out of town and came straight here—can’t you rest a bit?” Then he leaned in with a sly grin and said in a low voice, “Like maybe go fall in love or something?”
“…” Where did that come from?
“Want me to introduce someone?”
For the first time, Ji Ling made a run for it—escaped from Tiansheng Entertainment.
You could say his chat with Luo Tao was half update, half consultation. Now that they’d laid out the company’s next moves and things were on track again, like Luo Tao said, he could afford to relax a bit.
It was almost dinner time, and Ji Ling figured it was finally time to keep his promise. So he gave Yan Yixuan a call.
Yan Yixuan picked up right away.
“Where are you?” Ji Ling asked.
“Where else? At the office,” Yan Yixuan snapped, his tone sharp, like he was holding back some anger. Ji Ling hadn’t expected that and asked, “What’s wrong? Still busy?”
Yan Yixuan seemed to calm down a bit. “No, I’m fine. Just got out of a meeting.”
Ji Ling followed up, “Then would Young Master Yan be kind enough to join me for dinner?”
Yan Yixuan finally laughed, sounding way more relaxed. “Boss Ji’s dinner invite is hard to get. You promised ages ago, and now you finally remembered?”
Ji Ling saw that Yan Yixuan was back to teasing him again and figured his mood had improved, so he said, “Hey, I don’t dare ask Young Master Yan out to dinner unless I’ve made enough money first.”
“I’m at the office. Come pick me up,” Yan Yixuan cut him off, not in the mood to argue and just gave a direct order.
Ji Ling laughed when he heard that.
He wondered if Yan Yixuan had noticed—he used to always bring a driver when picking Ji Ling up. But lately, he’d gotten used to letting Ji Ling come get him instead.
Ji Ling drove to the Yan building and, like last time, waited in front of the private elevator for Yan Yixuan.
But Yan Yixuan didn’t show up for a long while. Ji Ling started thinking maybe he should just go up and find him.
With that thought, he got up and walked to the elevator, ready to call Yan Yixuan to let him in.
And that’s when he saw them.
Yan Yixuan.
And Yan Yili.
The two of them stepped out of the elevator one after the other. Yan Yixuan looked pissed, cold as ice, walking ahead. Yan Yili had a deep frown and followed behind in a rush.
“Hey,” Yan Yili called out.
Yan Yixuan turned around, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Mr. Yan Yili, if you have anything to say, please do it during work hours. I’m off the clock now.”
Yan Yili, now that he’d managed to stop him, walked up and said, “Just now in the meeting—”
Yan Yixuan cut him off impatiently. “Everything related to the meeting has already been decided. If you have more to say, write a proposal and hand it in to the board.”
Yan Yili didn’t even get to finish before that. Now he was clearly annoyed and snapped, “Yan Yixuan, you can make your arguments sound all proper, but anyone with eyes can see that the best option is to do a joint development on that land. You’re the only one dead set against it. If you keep pushing your way, the company’s gonna take a hit!”
Yan Yixuan was already on edge. The angrier he got, the colder his face became. His voice dropped low, cold enough to send chills down someone’s spine. “That was the result of a management meeting. Not just my decision.”
“There might be more of your people on the board, but that doesn’t mean they actually think you’re right,” Yan Yili shot back, his tone sharp. “Don’t let your personal feelings toward me cloud your judgment on company matters!”
Yan Yixuan looked at him like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, so mad he actually let out a laugh. “Yan Yili, you think way too highly of yourself. You think I’m just trying to go against you? Everything I do is for the company. I have my own views, and I don’t need you to question them.”
The two of them stood right by the elevator exit, arguing. There weren’t many cars parked near the executive elevator, but they didn’t bother lowering their voices. People further away were already starting to look over.
Yan Yili realized there was no point saying more. After a pause, he said with a cold pride, “Yan Yixuan, I hope you really are thinking of the big picture like you say. There’s a limit to being willful. Don’t turn the company into a casualty of your personality.”
That line crossed the line—it wasn’t just two executives clashing anymore. It sounded more like a personal rebuke between family members.
Thinking about Yan Yili’s background, the whole thing felt almost unreal.
Clearly, Yan Yixuan realized the same thing. What Yan Yili just said had pushed him to the edge. He spun around and pointed straight at him. “Yan Yili, watch your mouth. Remember your place!”
Yan Yili’s face changed instantly. He let out a cold laugh. “My place? I’ve never thought there was anything wrong with my place. But you—you’re not going to be the young master forever!”
He was tall and broad, and right now he was absolutely fuming. Just standing there, he gave off this heavy, overbearing pressure.
Yan Yixuan slowly lowered the hand he’d raised, his face like ice, fists clenched so tight the knuckles went white.
“So what if he’s the young master? The old man’s gone. Who do you think is holding this whole family together if not him?”
Ji Ling suddenly cut in, walking right between them and snapping the tension like a twig.
It was only now that Yan Yili seemed to notice Ji Ling was there. He looked a bit surprised. But Yan Yixuan didn’t move, didn’t even glance at Ji Ling.
Ji Ling greeted Yan Yili casually, “Mr. Yan Yili, why don’t you join us for dinner? Talking it out over a meal’s gotta be better than putting on a show for the staff in the parking lot, right?”
His words were like a bucket of cold water thrown over both of them—snapping them right out of it.
This was still the office. Two high-level executives yelling at each other? Totally out of line.
Yan Yili didn’t answer Ji Ling. He just looked at Yan Yixuan and said, “You even brought him into the office. I hope you know where to draw the line.”
Then he brushed past Yan Yixuan and stormed off.
As he walked away, he glanced at Ji Ling again. Their eyes met briefly—and in Yan Yili’s gaze, Ji Ling could see that same arrogant, condescending look again.
Ji Ling waited until he was gone before stepping up to Yan Yixuan.
Yan Yixuan’s face was still dark as night, his whole body giving off that icy ‘don’t come near me’ energy.
Ji Ling had seen them argue before, but that had always been quiet—little jabs, subtle digs.
This time, though, they had really gone at it—loud and heated. And the reason? A decision about the company.
It seemed like not only were their personal relationships strained, but they were also clashing over business matters.
And from the looks of it, this conflict wasn’t dying down anytime soon.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
