Chapter 490 - 272: The Female Artists’ Devil’s Den

Xiangyi Flower City, one of Shanghai’s high-end residential communities.

The average price for a pre-owned home is around 70,000 yuan per square meter.

Jiang Shuying only bought a luxury home here after she became famous.

After showering, Jiang Shuying deliberately sprayed on some perfume and slipped into a pair of seductive black stockings.

She tried several angles before sending the most satisfying photo of her beautiful legs.

At first, Jiang Shuying was full of confidence.

Based on her understanding of men, Qi Sheng would be hooked soon enough.

But half an hour passed with no response from his end.

’Maybe he’s busy?’

Jiang Shuying comforted herself, making an excuse for Qi Sheng.

Another half an hour went by, and still, there was nothing.

Jiang Shuying couldn’t sit still any longer. She exposed her smooth, mature shoulders.

The straps of her purple slip dress seemed to be barely hanging on.

’I refuse to believe I can’t win you over!’

Jiang Shuying hit send and poured herself a glass of red wine.

But she finished the entire bottle of red wine, and still, there was no reply.

Jiang Shuying’s composure instantly began to crumble.

She had already negotiated her contract termination with Mengyang Culture and was planning to give Qi Sheng a surprise in the evening.

But in the end, she waited for a full three hours and didn’t receive a single reply.

Jiang Shuying sent a message to Mao Xiaotong, who replied almost instantly.

Mao Xiaotong: "Sister Shuying, what’s up?"

Jiang Shuying: "Nothing much. Chairman Qi isn’t with you?"

Mao Xiaotong: "How could he be? He’s probably with Panpan."

Jiang Shuying: "Oh, okay. I needed to talk to him about something, but he didn’t answer his phone, so I thought he might be with you."

Mao Xiaotong: "I wish! Chairman Qi is surrounded by beautiful women. How would he have time to notice me?"

Jiang Shuying: "Okay, I have to go. I’m getting a call."

After ending the chat with Mao Xiaotong, Jiang Shuying completely lost her enthusiasm.

Compared to Gu Pan, she didn’t have the slightest advantage.

...

It wasn’t until noon the next day that Qi Sheng finally replied to her message.

Qi Sheng: "Was too busy yesterday. What’s up?"

Jiang Shuying silently rolled her eyes. ’Probably busy "doting on" Gu Pan,’ she thought.

But she was about to sign with Universal Entertainment; she wouldn’t dare provoke the big boss who held her career in his hands.

Jiang Shuying: "It’s nothing. I’ve finished negotiating my contract termination with Mengyang Culture. Just as I thought, they’ll agree to release me as soon as they receive the 30 million."

Qi Sheng: "Alright. Come directly to Jingyao Qiantan T6 later. Universal Entertainment has already moved. This will be the company headquarters from now on."

Jiang Shuying: "Okay, I’ll head over and get familiar with the place."

Seeing no further reply from Qi Sheng, Jiang Shuying quickly started putting on her makeup.

Once a woman is over thirty, high-end skincare products are necessary to slow down aging.

She had a good foundation to begin with, and with the help of cosmetics, she transformed back into a dazzling superstar.

Jiang Shuying drove a white Maserati Quattroporte.

She left from her building’s underground garage and drove to the somewhat unfamiliar Qiantan area.

Following the GPS, she drove to the base of the Jingyao Qiantan T6 building.

Viewed from the side, the building’s exterior looked like an upward-pointing arrow.

At the very tip of the arrow was a huge sign with the words "Universal Entertainment."

Just looking at it was enough to see how stylish and grand it was.

"Ma’am, you can’t park here. Parking is in the underground garage."

Seeing Jiang Shuying about to park in front of the building, the young security guard on duty immediately came over to stop her.

"I’m here to see Chairman Qi. I have an appointment."

Jiang Shuying took off her sunglasses and smiled at the guard.

"Jiang Shuying?"

The guard was stunned for a moment, not expecting a major star to come to the company.

Even though Jiang Shuying was just a B-list actress,

in the eyes of an ordinary person, she was definitely a huge star.

"So, can I park here now?"

Jiang Shuying noticed many people looking over, so she put her sunglasses back on, not wanting to attract a crowd.

"Yes, of course."

The parking spots by the entrance were mostly for company executives.

They were only made available for occasional guests.

Given Jiang Shuying’s status, she was naturally allowed to park her car here.

Walking into the office building, she found the lobby was clean and tidy.

The security and cleaning staff were all methodically busy with their work.

Spotting the building directory, Jiang Shuying quickly located the chairman’s office on the top floor.

But the other floors piqued her interest as well.

The entire building had a total of 17 floors.

Excluding the top floor, which housed the chairman’s and general manager’s offices,

the other 16 floors contained every department a major film and television company would need.

This included, but was not limited to, the screenwriting department, directing department, talent management, public relations, marketing, and so on.

Even the cafeteria took up an entire floor.

The grand style of such a large company filled Jiang Shuying with confidence about her future prospects.

Compared to the sheer wealth of Universal Entertainment,

Lemon Film and Television’s headquarters, which occupied a meager single floor, seemed exceptionally petty and small-time.

Arriving on the 17th floor, Jiang Shuying had just stepped out of the elevator bay,

when she saw the 7.2-meter-long cantilevered reception desk and was momentarily stunned.

A beautiful receptionist, looking a little surprised, smiled at her and asked professionally,

"Do you have an appointment?"

Jiang Shuying had already taken off her sunglasses in the elevator.

She wasn’t the least bit surprised by the female receptionist’s reaction.

"I’m here to see Chairman Qi. Could you please inform him?"

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

The receptionist replied professionally, then asked with some anticipation, "Sister Shuying, could we take a photo together?"

"Of course. We’ll be one big family from now on."

Jiang Shuying readily agreed and, while taking a photo with the young receptionist, casually probed, "It looks like our company owns this whole building?"

"Uh... yes, I heard it cost 2 billion!"

The receptionist’s mind hadn’t quite caught up yet.

She was still reeling from Jiang Shuying’s use of "one big family" and "our company."

"Two billion?"

Having been famous for so many years, Jiang Shuying’s assets were certainly over a hundred million.

But hearing that Universal Entertainment had spent 2 billion on a building still made her heart race.

Compared to the sheer wealth of Universal Entertainment,

Lemon Film and Television seemed like a small, insignificant operation.

Could Lemon’s office spaces in the Capital City and Shanghai combined even match the size of two floors in Universal Entertainment’s building?

At Universal Entertainment, that might just be the office space for a single department.

"Sister Shuying, Chairman Qi will see you now."

The receptionist, having made the call, smiled and made an inviting gesture toward Jiang Shuying.

"This way, please."

Jiang Shuying followed the receptionist, walking across the high-end solid wood floors.

In the office areas on both sides, many people looked at her with curiosity.

Then, a hint of shock would cross their faces, and they would whisper to their colleagues.

A big company is a big company.

The office space per person here must be close to 20 square meters.

The conference rooms and AV rooms all used tempered glass, which was both beautiful and impressive.

At the door to the chairman’s office, the receptionist knocked.

"Come in."

Only then did the receptionist push the door open and step aside.

"Please go in, Sister Shuying. I’ll stay here."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

Jiang Shuying gave the receptionist a slight nod and walked into the chairman’s office.

The entire office floor was covered with high-end, light gray flooring.

The work area itself was covered with a dark gray carpet to reduce the noise of footsteps.

The large executive desk and boss’s chair were both a deep brown, looking very luxurious.

A potted green plant was placed as decoration.

The bookshelf behind the boss’s chair was also stylishly designed.

But because they had just moved in, it wasn’t yet filled with books and looked a bit empty.

"My office is decent, wouldn’t you say?"

Qi Sheng put down the documents in his hand and asked with a smile, looking at Jiang Shuying who was continuously sizing up the office.

"The design is excellent."

Jiang Shuying walked to the guest area and picked up a cushion from the sofa.

She then walked back to Qi Sheng’s desk and slowly leaned over.

She intimately wrapped her arms around Qi Sheng’s neck from behind, her seductive red lips brushing against his ear.

"Chairman Qi, I’m wearing pantyhose under my pants. Do you want to see?"

"Oh?"

Qi Sheng glanced at Jiang Shuying’s outfit, a little surprised.

Although Jiang Shuying had always been criticized as a "wooden beauty" with basically no acting skills,

she was one of the few female stars with an impeccable sense of style.

"I’m feeling a little hot. You don’t mind if I take off my jacket, do you?"

Jiang Shuying asked, but didn’t wait for Qi Sheng’s reply.

She took off her pearl-adorned, Chanel-style plush jacket, revealing a yellow turtleneck underneath.

"We’re in the office. What kind of behavior is this?"

Qi Sheng couldn’t help but let his hand travel down her jeans to investigate.

Whoa, she really was wearing pantyhose underneath!

’So sanctimonious!’

Jiang Shuying rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but glance at the transparent glass.

"No one can see us from the outside, right?"

"Don’t worry, my office has one-way glass. You can only see out from the inside; you can’t see in from the outside."

Back when Qi Sheng had Shengxuan Decoration start the work, he had them build him a special office.

As the chairman of Universal Entertainment,

there would surely be many female stars coming to his office to vie for resources.

And now, it was being put to good use!

Jiang Shuying placed the cushion under her knees.

With her jeans as a barrier, her knees didn’t hurt.

A certain someone stood her up yesterday, and today she still had to come over and diligently curry favor.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t angry.

But since she had decided to switch companies, whether or not she could please Qi Sheng...

...would directly determine if she could become an A-list actress in the future.

Compared to her financial prospects, what was a little frustration?

After half an hour of hard work, Jiang Shuying suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air.

Qi Sheng carried her to a very hidden "small" private room in the office.

It was called a small private room, but it was 100 square meters.

There was a sofa, a large bed, and even a luxurious bathtub in the bathroom.

It was big enough for three or four people to lie in without any problem.

When Jiang Shuying saw it, she couldn’t help but curse at Qi Sheng under her breath.

It didn’t take a genius to know this place would become a den of vice for Universal Entertainment’s female artists.

Any female star who wanted to get famous would probably have to come here for some "advanced studies."

But at that moment, she couldn’t be bothered to think about all that.

Her jeans had long been tossed to the floor.

Only the black stockings remained, making the man’s eyes grow redder with stimulation.

Soon, Jiang Shuying began to experience both pain and pleasure.

When it was over, a few tattered shreds of fabric clung to her fair, long legs.

Fortunately, the result was what she wanted.

It was just that when she left the chairman’s office,

Jiang Shuying was walking with a slight limp.

After being tormented by Qi Sheng for five or six hours, it was a testament to her endurance that she hadn’t fallen apart completely.

It was a good thing Lin Meishan had been waiting for her, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to sign the contract today.

Seeing Lin Meishan’s strange look, even a worldly female star like Jiang Shuying, who had seen it all,

couldn’t help but feel awkward and wish she could find a hole to crawl into.

Lin Meishan smiled and extended her hand. "Welcome to Universal Entertainment, Shuying. If you have an agent or assistants you’re used to working with, you can bring them over directly."

"My previous agent has always been President Zong from Mengyang Culture, but I do have an assistant I’ll bring over."

Jiang Shuying shook hands with Lin Meishan and began to carefully review the contract.

When she saw the profit split was 70-30 and that she was guaranteed the female lead in one A-list film or television drama each year,

plus several supporting roles in movies and even resources in the music industry, she was quite pleasantly surprised.

An A-list drama corresponds to a production budget between 150 and 250 million yuan.

Even on the three major platforms, it would be a project that receives priority promotion.

Not to mention, there were also film resources that were now within her reach.

’Thinking about it this way,’ she mused, ’those few hours of hard work in the chairman’s office weren’t in vain after all.’

"By the way, after the New Year, you and Panpan have a new drama. You two will be dual female leads."

"But Panpan will have top billing. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?"

Lin Meishan only dropped this bombshell after seeing Jiang Shuying sign her name.

"Dual female leads?"

Jiang Shuying actually didn’t have strong feelings about not getting top billing.

Since she had decided to switch companies, she was already prepared for this.

Universal Entertainment was a huge company; of course they wouldn’t coddle her the way Mengyang Culture did.

"The show’s working title is *Flowing Golden Years*, and the script will be sent to you soon."

"The production team is the same one from *My First Half of Life*."

Just hearing about the production team gave Jiang Shuying a premonition.

This drama was definitely going to be good.

Being a dual female lead with Gu Pan wasn’t really a slight to her.

With Gu Pan’s excellent qualities, it was only a matter of time before her status surpassed Jiang Shuying’s.