President Ji’s Cat - Chapter 15

“Can you… let go of me now?”

From the lobby all the way into the elevator, and now watching the floor indicator approach her stop, President Ji showed no intention of releasing her grip. Fu Sixue finally had to speak up.

Just as the interview ended, President Ji had quite generously demonstrated the scene from that night. First, she took off her own blazer and draped it over Fu Sixue’s shoulders. Then, she took her hand and led her away without looking back.

With her hand held firmly and the scent of Ji Chufeng’s crisp, cool perfume lingering on the blazer—almost as if she were being encircled in the other woman’s arms—Fu Sixue felt a wave of unease.

Hearing her, Ji Chufeng looked down at their interlaced fingers. Instead of letting go, she lightly brushed her thumb against Fu Sixue’s palm. The sensation made Fu Sixue’s hand tremble, and she instinctively tried to pull back.

Predicting the escape, Ji Chufeng gripped tighter and turned to her. “Teacher Fu.”

The “Teacher Fu” from earlier had been for the benefit of the outsiders. Hearing Ji Chufeng use it now in private gave Fu Sixue an indescribable sense of nuance.

She didn’t respond, so Ji Chufeng continued, “Since I helped you solve this mess, don’t you think you should treat me to dinner?”

“…” Fu Sixue’s brow furrowed. She suddenly couldn’t fathom what this woman was truly after. She didn’t agree immediately, asking instead, “Is President Ji really lacking for a meal?”

“Is Teacher Fu really lacking for the cost of one?”

“…”

Well played. Checkmate.

Seeing the floor arrival was imminent and worried about being seen, Fu Sixue tried once more to retract her hand, but she couldn’t break free despite several tugs.

She saw Ji Chufeng smiling at her, pressing for an answer: “Is that a yes?”

It seemed that if she didn’t agree, the hand wouldn’t be released. Fu Sixue sighed internally and compromised.

“When?”

She wasn’t short on money for a meal. If it were just a dinner with an ordinary person, she wouldn’t be so conflicted. But President Ji was anything but ordinary—setting aside her status as the boss, their one-night encounter was enough to make Fu Sixue hesitate.

However… President Ji was clearly different from other bosses. The previous person in charge would never have stepped out personally to clear her name; they would have just let the PR department muddy the waters until the incident became yet another “permanent stain” on her reputation.

The elevator arrived. Just before the doors opened, Ji Chufeng finally let go.

Fu Sixue turned to her, seemingly following up on their conversation.

“Tonight won’t work. We’ll set a time later.”

Before the doors fully closed, Fu Sixue saw her wave her phone with a bright, radiant smile. It was so radiant that she barely looked like “President Ji” anymore.

Fu Sixue took two steps forward before realizing she was still wearing Ji Chufeng’s blazer. She touched the lapel of the suit.

Forget it.

She took the blazer off, draped it over her arm, and decided to have her assistant return it later.

Once the elevator doors were completely sealed, the bright smile on Ji Chufeng’s face vanished instantly. Her brown eyes stared unblinkingly at her reflection in the elevator mirror.

She had realized a problem.

Regarding Fu Sixue’s affairs, the reporters always seemed a bit too fanatical. Given Fu Sixue’s current professional standing, it shouldn’t warrant such a massive blockade of press. Yet every time a negative story broke, it hit the trending topics at a speed that made one suspicious.

There was likely more to this than she had initially thought.

She detoured to the Public Relations department. The PR manager hurried over the moment he saw her. “President Ji…”

“Skip the pleasantries,” Ji Chufeng raised a hand. “What’s the status on the trending topic source?”

“Still checking. It’s quite troublesome,” the manager replied. “The earliest post on Weibo was a repost from a marketing account. The source was a forum, but that forum account was a fresh registration and has already been deleted.”

She took a sip of tea, extremely dissatisfied with the efficiency. “Internet posts require real-name registration now. Why haven’t you contacted the forum administrators for the data?”

“Ah?” The manager froze. He had thought of that, but why hadn’t he done it? Because it didn’t seem worth the massive effort for a “has-been” like Fu Sixue, and the forum might not cooperate anyway. “User data is confidential. The administrators might not be willing to give it to us…”

“Then buy the forum.”

Ji Chufeng’s casual remark left the manager petrified.

“If you can’t find out who it is, don’t bother coming in to work anymore.”

Ji Chufeng hadn’t expected to hit such a tough bone right at the start of her takeover. Things were becoming interesting; she was quite keen to see if the Ji family’s influence could truly shake up the entertainment industry.

Leaving the PR department, the elevator doors opened to reveal Shen Tang. Shen Tang looked like she had just returned. Seeing the boss, she gave a polite greeting.

Standing side-by-side in the elevator, Ji Chufeng met her eyes in the mirror.

“You heard about Fu Sixue?”

“I did,” Shen Tang nodded. “Since you’ve already handled it, there was nothing for me to do. I just went and secured a gig for her.”

Ji Chufeng’s interest was piqued. She raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“It’s a high-popularity variety show that young people love. Not as a permanent guest, but appearing there just to show her face can bring in a lot of traffic, attract some casual fans, and the pay is decent.”

Ji Chufeng nodded. Fu Sixue hadn’t had any good news for a long time; a sudden massive comeback might cause backlash, so this was a good start.

“The deal is still being negotiated, but if all goes well, we can sign within two days.”

Shen Tang appeared much more reliable than the previous management. Ji Chufeng felt a bit more at ease.

Returning to her office, she found several large courier boxes piled up, taking up so much space they blocked half the light from the floor-to-ceiling window.

“What is this pile doing here?” Ji Chufeng asked as she walked in, clearly displeased. When did her office become a warehouse?

“President Ji, these are things you bought.”

“…I bought them?” She didn’t recall buying anything this large recently. She wasn’t so idle that she’d buy things just to take up space.

“Your name is on the labels. The front desk didn’t know where to put them, so they had them brought up,” An Yi explained.

It wasn’t until Ji Chufeng saw the sender’s company on the shipping label that she finally remembered. She had bought these out of boredom.

She had seen the “Double 11” shopping festival on Weibo and noticed the discounts. Following the trend, she downloaded the app, but after browsing, she found nothing she needed. Just as she was about to close it, a push notification appeared.

The brand looked familiar. When she saw Fu Sixue’s promotional photo, she remembered: this was the “unlucky merchant” that had been flooded with negative reviews by anti-fans because they didn’t terminate Fu Sixue’s contract.

She had seen the comments from those brainless trolls. She couldn’t let the brand Fu Sixue endorsed lose face! If she did, who would dare hire her for endorsements in the future?

With a wave of her hand, President Ji had essentially cleared out the entire store. To this day, she couldn’t remember exactly how much she had spent or what she had bought.

She took a photo of the pile of boxes, intending to post a buyer’s review. Since the app required confirming receipt to leave a review, she followed the prompts step-by-step.

After attaching the photo, she thought for a moment and typed into the review box: [Supporting my Goddess’s endorsement]

Six simple words. The love of a wealthy woman was just that simple and pure.

After reviewing, she broke open one of the boxes and pulled out a few products. The bottles were heavy and felt high-quality.

She looked at An Yi. “Have you used this brand? How is it?”

An Yi shook her head. “I haven’t, but I’ve seen good reviews online.”

Ji Chufeng looked at the pile. Used to five-figure skincare, this price point was far too modest for her. “Then give it a try. Take the rest downstairs and distribute them among the staff.”

“Understood.”

While waiting for people to come up and move the boxes, Ji Chufeng noticed a hydrating spray. She remembered seeing this exact bottle on Fu Sixue’s vanity in her lounge. She opened one and tested it on her hand and neck. It absorbed quickly and felt refreshing.

She kept a few bottles for herself.

“Wait, give some to Fu Sixue first. Ask her what she wants and take a few of each. Distribute the rest after that.”

“…” An Yi looked at the boss, who had already sat back down in her chair to work. “Understood.”

Internally, she couldn’t stop shaking her head.

President Ji, oh President Ji… surely you haven’t fallen this fast?

The person in question had no idea what her secretary was thinking. She was currently staring at Fu Sixue’s contact card on her phone, debating what message to send her.