Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 320 A bolt from the blue, continued downfall! [2 updates]

Chapter 320: 320 A bolt from the blue, continued downfall! [2 updates]

"..."

Silence descended in an instant.

Qi Yunzhao’s brain buzzed, and his vision turned black.

At that moment, his thoughts ceased to function, and his limbs stiffened, rendered immobile.

In his blank mind, there remained only one thought—

How could it be... Ye Wanlan?

Ever since Ye Wanlan joined "Treasures of The Divine Land" as an amateur, netizens had been digging up all sorts of information about her, turning everything upside down.

She dropped out of school at fifteen to become a model and even spent two years with the second son of the Zhou Family as a body double for Miss Sheng.

A few months ago, perhaps having come to her senses, she returned to high school and resumed her studies.

Compared to her peers, Ye Wanlan’s life was filled with more twists and turns, but she was still just a high school student.

Qi Yunzhao, even after racking his brain, couldn’t associate the head of Shengshi Entertainment with Ye Wanlan.

How could Ye Wanlan possibly be...?!

However, there was no time left for him to ponder this question.

Facing the screen, Qi Yunzhao’s face turned deathly pale, unable to utter a word.

Because everything he had done to the junior artist had been seen by Ye Wanlan, and just yesterday, he had even provoked her publicly.

No wonder this time, when the scandal broke, Shengshi Entertainment had not stepped in to clean up his mess.

With the big boss giving the word, even if there were higher-ups willing to protect him, who would dare speak up?

If he had known beforehand that Ye Wanlan was the current power holder of Shengshi Entertainment, how could he have been so reckless?

Qi Yunzhao fled in a panic, his steps faltering, virtually tumbling and crawling out of Fang Qingli’s office.

"Sister Lan, after all the years you’ve been in the entertainment circle, how could you still be scared like this?" Fang Qingli shook her head, "What will happen when he sees the astronomical amount of compensation due? Will he be scared to death?"

Ye Wanlan asked, "Have all the relevant people been dealt with?"

"Taken care of," Fang Qingli said, "This time we made some big moves in the middle and upper management, and those with ulterior motives have also withdrawn quite a bit. However, one of the senior executives, who is Qi Yunzhao’s protector, has some connections with President Quan’s husband."

"No wonder," Ye Wanlan murmured thoughtfully, "As long as everything is settled, leave the rest to me."

Outside the office.

"Yunzhao!" The agent, seeing Qi Yunzhao’s face as white as paper, as if he had seen a ghost, hurriedly approached him, "What did President Quan say? What have you seen? What happened?"

Qi Yunzhao stared blankly at him, and after a long while, he finally spoke, "Ye Wanlan..."

"Ye Wanlan?" The agent leaned in, pressing further, "What does Ye Wanlan have to do with our company?"

"She, she she she..." Qi Yunzhao stuttered, "She’s the big boss."

"What?!" The agent’s eyes widened, doubting his own hearing, "Isn’t President Quan the big boss?"

Qi Yunzhao shook his head, no longer having the strength to say a second sentence.

He dragged his heavy steps outward, totally dispirited.

The agent followed behind, suddenly remembering something.

A few months prior, there had been word among the company’s high ranks that Shengshi Entertainment had a new person in power.

Yet, the company’s structure had not changed, and the new power holder had never appeared, so as time passed, he had pushed the matter to the back of his mind.

But Ye Wanlan?!

The agent’s heart also trembled, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

What exactly had they done?

They had the audacity to challenge the big boss to her face?

At that moment, all the thoughts in the agent’s mind were flooded with intense remorse.

However, he knew that the situation was completely beyond repair.

In less than two months, another top celebrity had fallen.

Meanwhile, Shengshi Entertainment had posted an announcement on their official Weibo, terminating their contract with Qi Yunzhao and exposing all the dirty dealings between him and several senior executives over the years.

Shengshi Entertainment dismissed these senior executives and issued an apology to fans across the internet, promising to fulfill the company’s responsibility in cultivating more genuine actors.

[Shengshi Entertainment must have changed bosses, right? These swift actions are like cutting through a tangled mess with a sharp knife!]

[Originally, Shengshi Entertainment could have continued to downplay this incident, since cultivating a top celebrity also cost quite a bit in terms of manpower and resources, but Shengshi Entertainment chose not to continue making dirty money with Qi Yunzhao.]

[I’ve always said, Qi Yunzhao lacks talent, is average in looks, doesn’t have presence in his acting, and his lines even require dubbing from voice actors during post-production. How did he become a top celebrity? So it was the capital backing him.]

[I hope Shengshi Entertainment will do as they promise, so we audience members will be able to see real actors in the entertainment circle.]

**

Elsewhere, in Hua City, the second largest city in Shenzhou apart from Yunjing.

Quan Zhaoning was handling some work affairs until the door to her office was knocked.

Without looking up, she said, "Come in."

The door opened, and a man dressed in a suit and leather shoes walked in.

Though he appeared to be only in his forties, his actual age was over fifty. Wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, he looked quite the scholar.

"Zhaoning, what exactly is going on with Shengshi Entertainment?" The man furrowed his brows tightly and asked, "Why make such a big fuss over such a trivial matter? The loss will surely be greater. This isn’t like your style!"

Quan Zhaoning raised her head and looked at the man before her with a calm gaze.

This was her childhood sweetheart, the husband with whom she had joined hands in marriage for twenty years, Geng Shilin.

Before Ye Wanlan exposed that Geng Shilin had been slowly poisoning her, she would have never suspected that Geng Shilin would lay a hand on her.

Who would have thought that the one sharing her bed would be the most poisonous?

"Are you here to ask about the relative of yours that got fired from Shengshi Entertainment?" Quan Zhaoning nodded slightly.

A barely perceptible stiffness crossed Geng Shilin’s face, and he said with resignation, "Zhaoning, I am considering what’s best for the Zhaoyan Group."

"If you’re considering what’s best for the Zhaoyan Group, then why not root out the cancer within the company directly? Why keep it around?" Quan Zhaoning countered, "You usually don’t care much about the entertainment industry."

Geng Shilin was left speechless by her question.

"Oh, and there’s one more thing," Quan Zhaoning said indifferently, "To ensure better cooperation with our business partners, I have already given away Shengshi Entertainment. You don’t need to ask me about Shengshi Entertainment anymore because it’s no longer my concern."

This statement startled Geng Shilin, "What? You’ve given away Shengshi Entertainment?"

Shengshi Entertainment was a big name, and he had also invested some effort in it. How could Quan Zhaoning just give it away?!

"What’s so surprising about that?" Quan Zhaoning stared at him, "Couldn’t I make that decision?"

Geng Shilin managed a strained smile, "It’s just that the revenue of Shengshi Entertainment made up a significant portion of Zhaoyan Group’s profits, I was just thinking, isn’t it a bit too generous of you to just give it away?"

"The subsidiaries under the Zhaoyan Group won’t miss one entertainment agency," Quan Zhaoning said coolly. "You’ve seen it yourself, there are too many issues for me to manage, and Shengshi Entertainment only promotes a bunch of what—besides—"

She paused, her tone turning harsher, "The entire Zhaoyan Group was built by my own hands. Even if I gave the whole group away, so what?"

Geng Shilin’s heart skipped a beat, he almost thought Quan Zhaoning might have discovered something.

But if she really knew about the slow poison he’d been administering, given her temperament, she would have confronted him by now.

He was overthinking it.

"Zhaoning, don’t be angry, that’s not what I meant," Geng Shilin soothed her, "I’m just worried about your health, how have you been feeling lately?"

Quan Zhaoning put down her pen and appeared to contemplate, "Recently, I’ve been feeling rather sleepy and quite fatigued."

"It’s probably because you’ve been busy with work, too tired," with his heart relieved, Geng Shilin said, "Let me get you a glass of water."

After he left, Quan Zhaoning’s expression turned utterly cold.

Ye Wanlan was indeed very prescient, correctly predicting that Geng Shilin would test her.

Without missing a word of what Ye Wanlan had instructed her to say, she dispelled Geng Shilin’s suspicions.

The net was cast, just waiting for the moment the fish entered, to catch them all in one swoop.

**

At dusk, in South City.

In the forest cabin, Bing He and Tie Ma were still helping with the farming, when the little house welcomed two uninvited guests.

"Elder Yan, hello, I am Sheng Yunyi introduced by Uncle Xu, just Yunyi will do," said Sheng Yunyi very politely with a smile toward Yan Tingyue, "This is Zhou Hechen, my fiancé as well."

"Hello," Zhou Hechen slightly lifted his chin, already lowering his stance as much as he could.

"Haven’t I already told Xu Yu that I don’t have time to cooperate with commercial companies?" Yan Tingyue frowned, "There’s no need for you to personally seek me out, I will not agree."

Softly, Sheng Yunyi said, "Elder Yan, we only wanted to invite you for a meal today. Zhou Corporation is definitely not one of those companies that only know to exploit the value of Kunqu culture, you could take a look at our proposal first."

Yan Tingyue still shook his head, "There’s nothing worth looking at, you may leave."

"Elder Yan!" Sheng Yunyi did not give up, and with a gentle smile said, "Is it difficult to repair this costume of yours? I happen to have learned a bit of embroidery, may I look at it for you?"

That remark indeed made Yan Tingyue halt, "You’ve learned a bit of embroidery?"

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Sheng Yunyi pressed on, "I’ve learned a bit, I—"

"Ah Lan is here," Yan Tingyue suddenly declared, "Sorry, my student has arrived, I really don’t have any time today."

Sheng Yunyi and Zhou Hechen exchanged glances, both noticing the shock in each other’s eyes.

As the leading inheritor of Kunqu opera and the former vice-president of the Yunjing Art Association, Yan Tingyue’s status in the cultural circle was incredibly high, with many powerful figures in the Capital Circle showing him great respect.

The fact that he had taken a disciple, how could it be that not a whisper of it had leaked out?

The wind stirred, and the wind chimes tinkled melodiously as footsteps approached, light and majestic.

Sheng Yunyi and Zhou Hechen turned their heads involuntarily.

The girl, wearing a hat, pushed aside the curtain and stepped in.