Chapter 23 - Chapter 23 Li Lidong’s Difficulty – 1

Chapter 23 Li Lidong’s Difficulty – 1

Translator: 549690339

Inside the reception room of Xinghai Media, a portly middle-aged man was sitting on the guest chair with his legs crossed, radiating arrogance.

This man was none other than the production director of “Beautiful People” magazine, Li Lidong.

In fact, “Beautiful People” magazine’s dissatisfaction with the artists of Xinghai Media was not due to considerations of the magazine’s production but rather Li Lidong’s intention to make things difficult for Xinghai Media.

Li Lidong had already figured out that, given the power of Xinghai Media, they could not possibly put forward an artist with A-list standards for this photo shoot.

As long as he could devalue Xinghai Media to nothing, his purpose for coming here would have been achieved.

At this moment, the door to the meeting room was suddenly pushed open.

Xu Yixue, followed by Ye Xiaoning and Cao Yuqin, briskly walked in.

Xu Yixue gave a slight nod to Li Lidong and then sat opposite him.

The instant he saw Xu Yixue, Li Lidong’s eyes lit up. To Li, Xu Yixue’s looks and figure were at least a nine out of ten, and combined with the air of a domineering female CEO’s arrogance and the calmness of someone unfazed by unexpected events, she was exceptionally charming.

Ordinary employees of Xinghai Media wouldn’t even dare to make eye contact with Xu Yixue during work hours.

Li Lidong’s eyes fervently followed Xu Yixue, and he couldn’t help admiring in his heart that the boss of Xinghai Media was just too beautiful. Even the artists he brought in for the audition were a level or two below Xu Yixue in terms of looks.

Becoming the CEO of a company at such a young age, she couldn’t have climbed up the ranks using her beauty, could she? Li Lidong harbored these dark thoughts and silently speculated.

“Ahem! Hello Director Li, I am the head of Xinghai Media, Xu Yixue.” Seeing Li Lidong’s fervent gaze, Xu Yixue couldn’t help but cough lightly to remind the sleazy uncle across from her.

“Oh, hahaha, my apologies. CEO Xu is young and talented, and also blessed with such natural beauty; it’s truly astonishing. I was quite rude just now. Please be magnanimous and forgive me,” Li Lidong finally remembered the purpose of his visit, and immediately reached out his pudgy arm, wanting to shake hands with Xu Yixue.

Xu Yixue slightly furrowed her brows. Li Lidong looked foolishly fat and kept staring at her with a lecherous expression. Xu Yixue really did not want to have any physical contact with him, but seeing his fatty hand already extended into the air over the desk, she pretended she wanted to shake it and accidentally knocked a pen holder on the table with her arm.

With a “clatter,” the pen holder tipped over on the desk, spilling several signature pens and fountain pens.

Ye Xiaoning immediately came over, and while helping Xu Yixue tidy up the pen holder, she said to Xu Yixue, “I’m so sorry, CEO Xu. I didn’t put the pen holder back in its original spot last time when I cleaned the desk. It’s all my fault.”

This was actually a performance between Ye Xiaoning and Xu Yixue, aimed at creating a diversion because Xu Yixue really didn’t want any physical contact with Li Lidong.

“Xiao Ning! Such errors must not happen again,” Xu Yixue reprimanded Ye Xiaoning in an apparent stern tone, and then apologetically said to Li Lidong, “I’ve made you laugh, Director Li. Xinghai Media was newly established and there are many aspects of the company’s management that still need to be improved.”

“It’s alright. Although Xinghai Media has just been established, its strength is not to be underestimated. I still see great potential in the development of Xinghai Media,” Li Lidong laughed off the tension with feigned admiration.

Following this little incident, the handshake crisis, Xu Yixue managed to bluff her way through.

Then they moved on to the main topic.

“Director Li, I heard from Deputy General Manager Cao that none of the artists Xinghai Media recommended to you passed the ‘Beauty’ audition. Are you dissatisfied with the people, or do you have any doubts concerning our Xinghai Media?” Xu Yixue asked openly.

“You misunderstand, President Xu,” Li Lidong said, his heart warming at the sight of Xu Yixue’s charming and beaming smile. He found himself unable to speak harshly and said with a touch of guilt, “Your company’s cooperation has been commendable, and the quality of the recommended artists is also very high. However, the theme for this issue of ‘Beauty’ is urban fashion style, and the artists recommended by Xinghai Media don’t quite fit the theme. If we force it, I’m afraid the result won’t be ideal, and it could prompt the industry to question the capabilities of Xinghai Media.”

Though Li Lidong indeed had the intention of making things difficult, he was truly capable, and the problems he pointed out were pointedly accurate. The overall quality of Xinghai Media’s artists was not top-notch, and the only artist they could truly boast about, Xu Xinxin, had more of a classical beauty, perfectly suited for period dramas but somewhat lacking when it came to modern urban fashion photography.

“Director Li, Xinghai Media sincerely hopes to cooperate with your company. Can’t we make a compromise?” Xu Yixue pressed.

“Well, it’s not that Xu Xinxin’s appearance is entirely unsuitable,” Li Lidong, swayed by Xu Yixue’s melodious voice opposite him, began to waver.

Cao Yuqin, watching this unfold beside them, was immediately frustrated. She thought to herself that Li Lidong was truly weak—seduced by just a few words from a beautiful woman, he had forgotten his own name. She had planned to use her strength to salvage the situation, but with Xu Yixue’s arrival, the tables had suddenly turned.

A message notification ‘ding’ sounded from Li Lidong’s phone. He checked the message and his expression suddenly changed.

“President Xu, Xu Xinxin’s look doesn’t really meet the standards of our magazine this time. I think it best to switch to another person. If Xinghai Media can find an artist of the same caliber as Xu Xinxin, who can also adapt to the urban fashion style shoot, then our photoshoot can proceed as planned. But if it’s really impossible to find someone, then I’ll have to apologize to you,” Li Lidong said with a business-like demeanor after setting down his phone and addressing Xu Yixue.

The person who had sent the message was the Envoy behind him—the message asked how his planned behavior was holding up, and that plan was to deliberately make things hard for Xinghai Media.

So, upon seeing the message, Li Lidong returned to his previous attitude of making things difficult for Xinghai Media.

Although Xu Yixue was beautiful, Li Lidong feared his master behind the scenes even more.

“Xu Xinxin is already the best artist we have at Xinghai. Where can we find another artist with her caliber and urban charisma? Director Li, don’t deliberately make things hard for us at Xinghai,” Cao Yuqin protested with some indignation.

She seemed to be complaining for the company, but her real hope was to exacerbate the conflict between Xu Yixue and Li Lidong.

Only when the snipe and clam fight does she stand to gain, like a fisherman reaping benefits from muddy waters.

“Director Li, please don’t be offended. Deputy General Manager Cao didn’t mean it,” Xu Yixue quickly said to Li Lidong, who seemed a little angry.

Then she gently brushed her hair and said, “Is it just a matter of finding a fashionable beauty for an audition? What Xinghai Media has no shortage of, is fashionable beauties.”