President Ji’s Cat - Chapter 23.2

It was just that he had no interest in being a star. He navigated social circles with ease; he knew people in the country’s largest magazine offices, not to mention agents from other companies and website managers. This network was exactly why Ji Chufeng wanted him.

“Hi,” Zhuang Qingzhou waved dismissively. “Working for anyone is still work. Since President Ji thinks highly of me, I’ll be your right-hand man from now on.”

Ji Chufeng nodded in satisfaction. Even if Zhuang Qingzhou had refused, she had other ways to poach him. His quick agreement saved her the breath.

“An artist from our company was supposed to sign with Ace vs. Bomb, but someone intercepted the deal right before the contract was signed.”

As soon as she finished, she heard him give an “Ah,” followed by several “Ohs.” He then slapped his thigh and said, “Was it Fengyu?”

“Yes,” Ji Chufeng nodded. “You knew?”

“To be honest, I have a friend who’s a staff member on the production team.” Zhuang Qingzhou tried to recall. “I had dinner with him a few days ago, and he mentioned it…”

“The producer actually wanted to sign her, but the order came from the top. They went with Fengyu’s person because they offered to do it for free.” He shook his head. “Evil capitalists.”

“Oh?” Ji Chufeng raised an eyebrow, spinning her pen in her hand, but didn’t say anything more.

Seeing this, Zhuang Qingzhou immediately asked, “What are your instructions, President Ji?” The newly appointed PR manager was very tactful.

Ji Chufeng thought for a moment and said thoughtfully, “It was originally our company’s contract. To have it suddenly snatched away… as the boss, I’m quite unhappy.”

“Understood!” Zhuang Qingzhou took the lead and proactively suggested, “How about this? I have a proposal.”

“Let’s not blame the production team; they’re pitiful enough. The main issue is Fengyu blatantly stealing the gig.”

“He’s a trainee, right? There’s always dirt to dig up before a debut. From what I know—’Club Prince,’ plastic surgery addict, kept as a third party… there’s an ocean of it. If you want to dig, it’s easy.”

Zhuang Qingzhou was clearly more flexible than the previous PR manager. The ideas he came up with could pierce the enemy’s wounds without being too unsightly.

President Ji expressed her satisfaction.

“Then go handle it.”

“You got it!” Zhuang Qingzhou stood up and looked at Ji Chufeng with a grin. “Long time no see. Shall we grab dinner tonight?”

“Coincidentally, I have business today. Next time.”

“Alright.” Zhuang Qingzhou didn’t look too disappointed. He pulled a rose from the inner pocket of his blazer. “Old classmate, it’s been a long time. Here’s a flower for you.”

Ji Chufeng looked at the rose in his hand but didn’t reach for it. A faint smile curled on her lips, mocking him: “Are you still using such old-fashioned tricks on girls?”

“…” The smile on Zhuang Qingzhou’s face froze for half a second. He clutched his heart and said, “That’s so hurtful. I saw it on the way here and thought it looked nice, so I picked it.”

“So it didn’t even cost you any money.” Ji Chufeng withdrew her gaze. “I don’t want cheap things.”

Her tone was three parts joking and seven parts sincere.

President Ji usually gave roses away; she had received them before, but she never accepted them. Flowers have a short shelf life, and she was too lazy to deal with them, so she simply didn’t take them. Furthermore, someone who could buy a whole field of roses naturally had no need for a single stem from others.

Zhuang Qingzhou was stunned for a moment. He studied her closely and then put the rose back in his pocket. “You’ve changed a lot.” When he said this, he felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy.

He thought she would like it. After all, when they were in school, Ji Chufeng loved those “love-hate” stories in romance novels, not to mention the romantic details.

Ji Chufeng simply replied flatly, “So have you.”

Exiting the office, Zhuang Qingzhou tucked away his casual smile and took the rose out again. The rose was blooming brilliantly, red as fire, clearly well-cared for. Unfortunately, the recipient didn’t want it, so the rose lost its meaning.

The rose was eventually thrown into the trash can by the elevator.

During this period, Ji Chufeng’s writing had been flowing very smoothly. The story she had been writing for years was finally nearing its end. Perhaps it was “pre-completion anxiety,” but she wasn’t sure how best to wrap up the tale.

It was a story about love, but to Ji Chufeng, love was something dispensable—something she didn’t even want to touch. Regarding her control over the characters, she couldn’t decide on an ending that fit them perfectly.

So, she set it aside for the moment.

Ace vs. Bomb was a weekly show. According to the original plan, the guest for this week’s episode should have been Fu Sixue, but Fengyu had intercepted it. The script for this episode was excellent; it was clear Fengyu intended to give the trainee a massive push. After some marketing, the handsome trainee had already gained a lot of fans.

The popularity that should have belonged to Fu Sixue had been stolen by Fengyu, and President Ji naturally wouldn’t let it go.

She finished a phone call in her office. It was from the hospital again. Over the past few days, Ji Shengjun’s condition had grown increasingly worse. After the doctors dropped several hints, Ji Chufeng remained completely unmoved.

She wasn’t a saint; she couldn’t forgive the foolish things he had done just because he was critically ill. He was the one who brought a mistress through the door right after the divorce while Grandpa was ill, ultimately driving Grandpa to his grave. He was the one who hurt her mother and neglected his daughter for years. Even if he tried to make amends, it was just fawning out of guilt while she was abroad. In all those years she was away, when did Ji Shengjun ever ask her to come back? Let alone go see her personally.

Now, because Ji Chengye wasn’t his biological son, he placed his hopes on her. She hadn’t forgotten that Ji Shengjun’s original will intended for Ji Chengye to inherit the estate and used equal shares to restrain her, nor had she forgotten how he called her an ungrateful wretch. Ji Chufeng considered herself no one’s substitute. It was all too late now.

“President Ji, Manager Zhang wants to see you. He’s already in the reception room.”

“Which Manager Zhang?”

“He’s from Fengyu.” An Yi paused. “Most likely about the trending topics from the last two days.”

“Oh.” Ji Chufeng raised an eyebrow. Hearing that, she knew exactly why he was here.

Just after the episode of Ace vs. Bomb aired and the trainee trended and gained popularity, “solid proof” from his ex-girlfriend followed. The ex-girlfriend knew him before his debut and they broke up shortly after. During their relationship, she had an abortion for him. He frequented entertainment venues and often spent her money while they were together. Once his popularity rose, he broke up with her using the excuse that the agency didn’t allow dating, while in reality, he was already flirting with other girls.

Initially, when this news broke, Fengyu suppressed it repeatedly, thinking they could hush it up. They didn’t expect other ex-girlfriends to step forward as well. Under the heavy evidence, the “rising star” became a “rat crossing the street”—and it only took three days.

This was Ji Chufeng’s doing. If she wanted to, she could have done it without leaving a trace, but she chose to leave a scent for Fengyu to follow.

The Fengyu representative was clearly here because of this.

“Should I see him?” An Yi asked.

“Does Fu Liwei think just anyone can see me?” Ji Chufeng rotated her chair to face the floor-to-ceiling glass. It was a cloudy day; the sunless afternoon looked somewhat somber.

Manager Zhang had been waiting in the reception room for nearly half an hour and was growing impatient. He was a prominent figure among Fengyu’s agents; even CEO Fu gave him some face. To have to waste so much time waiting here…

Just as he was cursing for the third time in his head, the door finally opened. Almost instantly, his impatient face was replaced with a smile. But the person he saw wasn’t President Ji.

“Manager Zhang, I’m sorry, our President Ji is very busy,” An Yi said tepidly, her polite tone sounding like a professional formality.

“Then…” He couldn’t leave empty-handed. Manager Zhang wanted to press further, but An Yi walked to the projector screen.

“However, President Ji has something to say to you.”

The screen was large. An Yi turned it on, and Ji Chufeng appeared. Because of the projector, the image was massive. Manager Zhang had to tilt his head slightly to see the person in the boss chair.

She sat with her legs crossed, expressionless, maintaining a patronizing attitude that felt even more oppressive than in her interview videos.

“President Ji—” Manager Zhang opened his mouth to speak, but the person on the screen raised a hand to stop him.

“If you want to see me, have your CEO Fu come personally.” As she spoke, her voice came through the speakers, an icy chill that seemed to sweep through the room.

Manager Zhang steadied himself. “That was the original plan, but CEO Fu has a very tight schedule. He specifically asked me to visit you…”

Before he could finish, the person on the screen let out a short laugh. “Tell him this for me: remember to make an appointment in advance. I don’t see just anyone.”

The video cut off.

Manager Zhang clearly hadn’t expected this President Ji to be so arrogant. He didn’t snap out of it until An Yi called his name.

“Well…” He looked at An Yi, finding a graceful exit for himself. “If President Ji is busy, I’ll make an appointment to visit another time.”

“No need,” An Yi interrupted flatly. “President Ji won’t see you. Tell your CEO Fu to come.”

“…”

Having been shut out, Manager Zhang exited Xingyao and looked back at the office building. Only then did he dare to voice his internal thoughts.

“Pah! A mere Xingyao thinks it has the right to demand CEO Fu come in person!”

He returned to Fengyu and reported the snub to Fu Liwei, though he naturally left out the part where Ji Chufeng demanded a personal visit and an appointment.

Fu Liwei only nodded, his sinister eyes sweeping across Manager Zhang’s face. “Go back to work.”

“Yes, sir.”

After he left, Fu Liwei’s gaze fell on his computer screen, which displayed Ji Chufeng’s Weibo profile. The certification listed her first as Chairman of the Ji Group, and only then as President of Xingyao Media.

Given Xingyao’s current size, he wouldn’t care about ten Xingyaos combined, but clearly, it was no longer the neglected, wild-growing company it once was. Ji Chufeng’s proactive provocation was a declaration of war. If he lacked even a bit of foresight, Fengyu would never have reached its current scale.

It seemed Fu Sixue was no longer someone he could control at will. No matter how fierce their private feud was, he couldn’t afford a public fallout with the Ji Group.

Not long after Manager Zhang left, President Ji received a gift from Fengyu’s CEO Fu. It was two bottles of expensive, gift-boxed red wine—a gesture of goodwill.

Ji Chufeng looked at the bottles and told An Yi, “Put them away.”

Open hostility with Fengyu was of no benefit to Xingyao right now. She had made her point. She believed that after this warning, Fu Liwei would behave.

The only issue was that finding a suitable assignment for Fu Sixue was proving… difficult.

Just as the President was at a loss, Shen Tang knocked on the office door. “President Ji, I just received a proposal for a collaboration. I’d like to discuss it with you.”

Through Shen Tang’s eyes, a poor resource would never be worth considering. Ji Chufeng’s eyes lit up. “Let’s hear it.”

Shen Tang liked this collaboration very much, but since President Ji kept a very close eye on Fu Sixue’s affairs, she didn’t make the decision alone. Ji Chufeng was truly over-invested in her.

It was a reality show launched by a major TV station called Sisters Riding the Current. As the name suggested, the guests were all women. The scope included female artists who had debuted years ago and were now facing a career bottleneck—not just actors, but singers and producers as well. The intent was for the “Sisters” to swim against the tide of being “has-beens” and break through their barriers.

Ji Chufeng had seen rumors about the show on Weibo before it was officially announced, but she had only glanced at it. She didn’t expect the producers to invite Fu Sixue. It fit Fu Sixue’s situation perfectly. It was like a pillow being delivered just as she was getting sleepy.

Ji Chufeng didn’t express her opinion first, asking Shen Tang instead, “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, President Ji, but in the domestic industry these past two years, the term ‘Sister’ (Jiejie) has become a trend.”

Ji Chufeng wasn’t very clear on it, only occasionally seeing fans call out to female stars as “Sister” on Weibo, but that didn’t stop them from discussing it.

“I think once this show airs, it will definitely be a hit. ‘Sister’ will become the keyword of the year. This show has much more buzz potential than Ace vs. Bomb. However,” Shen Tang paused, “reality shows need conflict to create topics. I’m a bit worried about malicious editing by the production team.”

To this, President Ji said dismissively, “Anything that can be solved with money isn’t a problem. Since it’s going to be a hit, the Ji Group will just sponsor it. No loss to us.”

“…” Ji Chufeng’s extravagance clearly exceeded Shen Tang’s expectations. She paused for a few seconds before replying, “Understood.”

“Also,” Shen Tang looked at her, bringing up the last and most important problem. “This survival-style show requires talent performances. Fu Sixue can’t dance. She’s sung tracks for dramas she starred in before, but she’s not a professional singer.”

Shen Tang was prepared to hear President Ji talk about lip-syncing or post-production tuning, but instead, she said:

“Then just have her learn.” Ji Chufeng found the concern odd. If she didn’t learn, was she supposed to go on stage and perform a comedy monologue?

“Uh, right.” Shen Tang’s expression flickered with surprise. Ji Chufeng asked directly, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Shen Tang shook her head. “I thought you’d tell me to have the production team handle it in post.”

Ji Chufeng scoffed, finding it funny. “Doing that would just turn her into a ‘vase’ (eye candy). Only real skills allow one to stand firm. Otherwise, even if she’s on stage, she’ll feel guilty.”

Besides, she figured Fu Sixue would probably bury her head and learn even without being told.

Ji Chufeng had just finished with Xingyao’s business when Xu Xiayun at the Ji Residence decided to cause trouble again.

Since the incident where Ji Shengjun cut her hand at the hospital, Ji Chufeng had loosened restrictions to allow them to visit. But who was Xu Xiayun? After being treated like that by him, she didn’t care to go anymore. She stayed at the residence, ignoring the world outside.

Ji Chengye had been fired and spent his days idling with his wealthy “friends,” thinking he would inherit the estate soon. Those friends fanned his ego, and he enjoyed the feeling of being worshiped.

Ji Chufeng was busy and didn’t care to manage them; after all, their days of enjoyment were numbered.

But this time, for some reason, Xu Xiayun decided the camphor tree in the front yard was in the way and wanted it cut down. The construction crew had arrived. Knowing the significance of that tree, the butler hurriedly called Ji Chufeng.

Ji Chufeng was in a meeting. Upon receiving the call, she ditched the room full of people and headed straight back to the Ji Residence.

When she arrived, the butler was blocking the crew, while Xu Xiayun was pressuring him.

“Old Chen, are you the master of the Ji house or am I? Do I need your permission to cut down a tree?”

“It’s not that, Madam. This tree has been at the Ji house for over twenty years. It can’t be cut!”

Xu Xiayun snapped, “You don’t want to stay at the Ji house anymore!”

“I think the person who doesn’t want to stay at the Ji house is you,” Ji Chufeng’s cold voice cut in.

Seeing her arrive, Xu Xiayun showed no sign of backing down. The wound on her hand had scabbed over and was threatening to scar. The more she thought about it, the unhappier she got, so she decided to vent her rage on that camphor tree.

She knew very well that the tree had been planted over twenty years ago by Ji Shengjun, his ex-wife, and their daughter. After two decades, the sapling had grown into a large, lush tree. Sometimes, Ji Shengjun would sit alone under its shade, silent and lost in thought.

She had hated the tree for a long time. She intended to wait until her son officially inherited the business to cut it, but her resentment flared up, and she decided to do it now regardless of her situation.

Thinking Ji Chufeng would try to stop her, she adopted her authority as stepmother. “This tree is too big. The branches are almost hanging over the wall, and it takes up too much space. As the mistress of this house, do I need to consult you, a daughter, to cut it down?”

Ji Chufeng laughed, crossing her arms and looking at her with a half-smile. “And if I don’t let you cut it, what then?”

That patronizing attitude again. Xu Xiayun had wanted to snap for a long time. She shouted, “I’m cutting it today! No one is going to stop me! Saw it!”

Ji Chufeng understood that Xu Xiayun wasn’t just cutting a tree; she was trying to trample on her face. Whether out of sentimentality or other emotions, she wouldn’t let her have her way today.

She looked at the construction crew. The leader was hesitant, clearly unsure about getting involved in a family matter.

“Well…”

“What are you standing around for!” Xu Xiayun barked. “Get to work!”

“If that tree gets a single saw mark today, I guarantee an identical wound will appear on your body.”

Ji Chufeng’s eyes were ominous. Xu Xiayun felt her skin crawl under that gaze, but with so many people watching, she shouted back, “What, you’re going to threaten me while your father isn’t here?! This is unfilial! If your father knew, it would kill him sooner or later, I—”

Xu Xiayun was about to say more when she saw Ji Chufeng walk toward the construction crew and take the electric chainsaw from the man’s hands.

She was stunned.

The chainsaw was quite heavy. Ji Chufeng held the handle and, without hesitation, flipped the switch. The blade spun rapidly. The piercing screech instantly drilled into everyone’s ears, sharp enough to tear eardrums. Combined with Ji Chufeng’s sinister expression, it was bone-chilling.

She wore a smile as enchanting as a poppy and said something truly terrifying.

“I’ve never sawed a person before. Do you want to be the first?”

Ji Chufeng walked toward her step by step. Xu Xiayun instinctively backed up, bumped into the butler, and collapsed onto the ground like a frightened rabbit. Her face drained of color, and she couldn’t even speak. She was terrified that the sharp blade would land on her in the next second.

She felt that Ji Chufeng might actually do it.

The screeching sound stopped abruptly. Ji Chufeng wore a look of disgust. So cowardly, yet you dare to act up in front of me.

The construction crew left. Xu Xiayun was helped up by servants, her legs still weak. Having been humiliated in front of so many people, her eyes were filled with even more resentment.

Ji Chufeng ignored the look, even finding the mood to tease her.

“You can complain to Ji Shengjun just like you used to, saying I don’t respect you as a ‘stepmother’.” She paused, then gave an “Ah,” smiling at her. “But this time, I really don’t respect you.”

The previous noise had caused Ji Chufeng to ignore the vibrating phone in her pocket. As they spoke, the butler returned after taking a call.

He shouted in a panic: “Something terrible has happened!”