Chapter 435 223: I'll Be Your Sponsor (2)

"Xiaobai, I'll go with you."

Gu Pan instinctively became wary, feeling uneasy about letting her go in alone.

"But..."

Dong Bai hesitated, feeling it might not be appropriate to bring Gu Pan in with her.

"Miss Dong, your friend can come in as well."

The receptionist remembered Chairman Qi's instructions. Seeing Gu Pan's stunningly beautiful face, she instantly had a few guesses.

"Okay, thank you."

Gu Pan was also a little surprised. She hadn't expected this company to be so accommodating.

Following the receptionist, they arrived in front of an office with a "Chairman" nameplate on the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

"Come in."

Listening to the voice coming from inside the office.

Gu Pan found it a bit familiar but couldn't quite recall where she had heard it before.

"Chairman Qi, Miss Dong Bai has arrived."

The receptionist led the two young beauties into the office and spoke respectfully to the man who was looking down at his documents.

"Mm, I know."

The receptionist exited the office, pulling the door closed behind her.

Qi Sheng looked up, a mischievous glint in his smile.

"You..."

Gu Pan was dumbfounded, pointing at Qi Sheng in disbelief.

'What the hell?'

'The chairman of the company my best friend wants to join...'

'...is actually Qi Sheng, the guy who was at our school trying to pick up girls yesterday?'

Qi Sheng didn't pay much attention to Gu Pan. This girl's favorability score was harder to raise.

Dong Bai, on the other hand... this girl's favorability had shot up by 10 points.

[Dong Bai Favorability +10. Current Favorability: 75 (Smitten)]

"Chair... Chairman Qi, hello."

Dong Bai awkwardly changed how she addressed him.

After all, they were in a company setting, so she had to be mindful of their respective positions.

Qi Sheng smiled and pointed to the sofa in the reception area.

"Have a seat. No need to be so formal."

The original secretaries had, of course, all been taken away by Wang Ning.

So Qi Sheng had to do the honors himself, pouring a glass of water for each of the two women.

"Did you do this on purpose?"

Gu Pan, thinking in terms of conspiracy theories, suspected Qi Sheng of having malicious intentions.

He probably saw Dong Bai's resume and then went to the Beijing Film Academy to "coincidentally" run into them.

"You have quite an imagination. When I open a film production company in the future, you can come work as a screenwriter."

Qi Sheng shook his head in amusement, in no rush to "conquer" Gu Pan.

Although Dong Bai's looks were a notch below Gu Pan's...

...she was still a top-tier beauty in her own right.

Among his group of girlfriends, she would rank very highly.

What's more, she was a brand-new, "never-been-driven" baby-faced loli.

With Qi Sheng's personality, it would be stranger if he *did* pass up on Dong Bai.

"Hmph. We'll talk after you actually open a film production company."

Gu Pan pouted, looking at her best friend who was both surprised and delighted.

She suddenly had a premonition that she wouldn't be able to break up this pair of lovebirds.

"Xiaobai, I can call you that, right?"

"Of course, you can."

Dong Bai had thought she would see Qi Sheng again soon.

But she never imagined it would be like something out of a TV drama.

The boss of the company where she was interning turned out to be Qi Sheng.

Girls, as a species, are naturally prone to fantasizing.

And the "overbearing CEO falls in love with me" storyline is one that never goes out of style.

Qi Sheng fit this trope perfectly.

Naturally, Dong Bai couldn't control herself, and her favorability toward him kept increasing.

In just that short time, her favorability had quietly climbed to 80 points.

Going from "Smitten" to "Intimate" was a completely different level of significance.

This meant that Dong Bai was now ready to accept a confession from Qi Sheng.

"Regarding your internship, I've already made the arrangements. Director Sun will personally supervise you."

"Your internship period is only one month. Regardless of your performance, you'll be converted to a full-time employee immediately afterward."

Qi Sheng wasn't worried about Dong Bai performing poorly.

After all, he could modify her abilities at any time.

"Thank you, Chairman Qi."

"No need to be so distant. Just call me what you did before."

Qi Sheng smiled and waved his hand, preferring to hear Dong Bai sweetly call him Brother Sheng.

"Mm... Thank you, Brother Sheng."

Dong Bai was terribly shy, her cheeks feeling hot enough to cook an egg.

Hearing Qi Sheng's request, she couldn't help but feel a secret thrill of joy.

"So sappy."

Gu Pan rubbed her slender, pale arms in disgust.

They were practically shoving their sickeningly sweet affection down her throat.

"Alright then. Why don't you go report to the design department first? I'd like to have a word with Miss Gu."

Seeing that things with Dong Bai were stable, Qi Sheng decided to begin his "conquest" of Gu Pan.

"Okay, okay. I'll go report in then."

Dong Bai was a little reluctant to leave, but she obediently left the office.

"Hmph. Don't get any ideas about me. I've read the 'How to Guard Against Scumbags' manual, so your tricks won't work on me."

Gu Pan warily crossed her arms over her chest, not realizing this pose was all the more alluring.

"I heard from Xiaobai that you're a performance major. How come I haven't seen you in any signature roles?"

Gu Pan lifted her chin, her expression a mix of pride and petulance.

"Hmph. I would never sleep with those pot-bellied middle-aged men just for resources."

"So, you've remained a total nobody in the entertainment industry?"

"Hey! Do you even know how to talk? This is ridiculous. I'm leaving."

Gu Pan fumed, about to get up and leave.

"Do you know how much I spent in total to acquire this company?"

Qi Sheng said in a placid tone, "A total of 1.8 billion. I personally contributed 800 million of that."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Gu Pan couldn't help but stop in her tracks, somewhat shaken by Qi Sheng's financial power.

"I'm telling you this for a reason."

"If you want to get famous, you need someone willing to back you."

"And I have the power to make you famous."

Qi Sheng smiled as he looked at Gu Pan.

She was wearing a cinched-waist, tube-top mesh dress with a small jacket draped over her shoulders.

Even a simple outfit looked like haute couture on her.

This woman was truly beautiful!

Her face and figure were both top-tier.

If he didn't conquer her, Qi Sheng knew he would regret it immensely.

"Hmph, you're just as lecherous as the rest of them! I won't give in for the sake of resources!"

Gu Pan snorted coldly, and her impression of Qi Sheng worsened yet again.

[Gu Pan Favorability -20. Current Favorability: 10 (Neutral)]

Seeing the system notification, Qi Sheng wasn't the least bit flustered.

"So, are you planning to give up your career as an actress?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing much. I plan to acquire a few movie theater chains in the future. I imagine the entertainment companies in the industry will all want to give me face."

"I doubt anyone would offend a theater chain owner like me just for some actress."

"You..."

Gu Pan looked at Qi Sheng, furious. "You're going too far! I haven't even offended you, what right do you have to treat me like this?"

"I'm giving you two choices: either let me make you a star, or be blacklisted by me."

"You can't be naive enough to think that female stars in the entertainment industry don't have sponsors backing them, can you?"

"Even if there are, it's only one or two top-tier stars, a tiny few. Do you think you have that kind of standing right now?"

Qi Sheng watched Gu Pan with a calm and unhurried air.

Her little expressions were particularly amusing.

From furious to hesitant, then to conflicted, and finally to unwilling.

She had worked so hard for so long, and she was on the verge of fame.

To be blacklisted by the entire entertainment industry just for refusing Qi Sheng...

That wasn't an outcome she wanted.

As for the truth of Qi Sheng's words, she didn't really doubt them.

Before coming, she had gotten a general idea about Pop Mart from Dong Bai.

It had a market value of over a billion, yet it had been suddenly acquired.

A man like Qi Sheng, who could drop over a billion...

...was absolutely a terrifying existence that no company in the entertainment industry would want to provoke.

No matter how confident Gu Pan was in her own beauty, she didn't think any company would be willing to act on her behalf...

...and offend a super-rich tycoon with Qi Sheng's kind of fortune.

There were only two paths laid out before her.

Either become Qi Sheng's woman.

Or, leave the acting profession for good.

But how could she be resigned to giving it all up when fame was so close?

After a long moment, Gu Pan finally walked toward Qi Sheng, her head hanging low.

But her body was extremely stiff, completely unsure of what to do.

Qi Sheng looked at Gu Pan, her eyes welling with tears, and felt not a shred of guilt.

'Wasn't he doing this to protect Gu Pan?'

'With him as her sole sponsor, he could guarantee she'd become the hottest female star in the industry!'

'Unlike other actresses who had to sleep around everywhere just to get famous.'

Gu Pan's aura was a mix of delicate charm and ethereal grace.

Her pair of "peach blossom eyes" seemed to spark with electricity when she looked at someone.

Filled with tears, they took on a different quality.

Pitiful and lovely, they more easily stirred a man's desire to both protect and conquer.

Whether Gu Pan was intentionally putting on an act or was genuinely aggrieved—none of that was important.

Qi Sheng casually pulled Gu Pan into his arms.

He lowered his head slightly and buried his face in the side of her neck.

Gu Pan went limp in his arms with a soft gasp, feeling the cool wetness on her neck.

Every light bite and slow suckle sent a shiver through her body.

When Qi Sheng had had his fill of kissing Gu Pan's snow-white neck, he pinched her delicate, fair chin.

He pressed his lips to her soft, tender ones, brazenly plundering every inch of their delicate sweetness.

"Mmph..."

Gu Pan closed her eyes, her small hands resting limply on the man's shoulders as a string of tears slid from the corner of her eye.

'She had thought Qi Sheng was here for Dong Bai.'

'She never expected the bastard would be greedy enough to go for a double kill.'

'If she had known this would be the outcome, she never would have walked right into his trap.'

'Not only was her best friend a lost cause, but she'd also thrown her own life away.'