Chapter 636: Chapter 636
On the other side, in the team dormitory of JY.
Li Zimu had just hung up the phone again, her brow deeply furrowed as she stared at the screen for a while before reopening her contacts list, intending to try calling Wen Ningning again.
Zhang Yingru had just ended her call as well, speaking with a grave expression, "Meng Wan is unwilling to help us."
Li Zimu stopped in her tracks, stunned, "How come? When you called her earlier, didn’t she sound very hesitant and say she would consider it?"
Zhang Yingru’s eyebrows were tightly knit. Just after a day, the once high-spirited agent now looked worried and somber, even her usually crisp shirt was wrinkled, which was unheard of before since Zhang Yingru always cared a lot about her appearance.
But now, during the critical moment of JY’s survival, she was too anxious to save the situation to care about appearances anymore.
"Yes, she picked up the phone half an hour ago, and the tone of her speech made me feel like she was willing to help. But half an hour later when I called again, I couldn’t get through to her at all. She must have blocked me."
Li Zimu’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Let me try calling one more time!"
Her phone screen was still on "Contact: Wen Ningning". Li Zimu hurriedly tried to exit, but in her flurry, she accidentally hit the "Call" button.
Since the call had already been made, Li Zimu suppressed the urgency in her heart and waited for the call to be completed.
She had expected to hear almost a minute of ringing as usual, but just a few seconds after the melodious music started, with a "beep," the call was connected!
Wen Ningning’s voice came through the phone, leaving both Li Zimu and Zhang Yingru somewhat disoriented.
"Hello? Why isn’t anyone speaking?"
Li Zimu and Zhang Yingru immediately snapped back to reality and hastily said—
"Wen Ningning, where are you?"
"Wen Ningning, I have some things I need to discuss with you."
Soon, a mocking voice came through from Wen Ningning’s end of the phone:
"Both of you have questions for me, so whose question should I answer? Or should I just hang up and answer neither to avoid the dilemma?"
Zhang Yingru stepped forward, took the phone from Li Zimu’s hand, and put it to her ear, saying, "Wen Ningning, I have something to discuss with you. Is it convenient for you to talk on your end?"
Seeing this, Li Zimu sat down and waited for the outcome of the conversation between Wen Ningning and Zhang Yingru.
Shortly after, Wen Ningning’s voice could be clearly heard in the room, as Zhang Yingru had turned on the speakerphone.
Zhang Yingru calmly said, "Let’s not beat around the bush, what do you need to come forward and clarify the negative news about JY?"
Wen Ningning laughed, the sound particularly grating in the quiet room, "Negative news? Heh, why wasn’t I aware that JY had any negative news."
After a pause, she continued, "Aren’t those all true news about JY, with no false ingredients? Why should there be any clarification?"
Zhang Yingru’s eyes narrowed slightly, her tone sharp, "Wen Ningning, if you want to go solo, we’ll let you. The breach of contract fee and everything else are negotiable. We’re all from the industry, we can’t avoid each other forever.
Even if you want to switch to another company, wouldn’t they be wary of you for carrying the burden of slandering your former Boss?"
Zhang Yingru’s tone softened slightly, "You’ve been with JY for six years as an aging team member, surely you don’t want to see JY disband, do you?"
"Let’s give each other a way out, so we can part on good terms," Sister Ying said. "If we run into each other in the industry, there might still be opportunities for cooperation. No one has committed any unforgivable sins here; there’s no need to make things too awkward."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time, and then Wen Ningning spoke faintly, "What you just said has moved me. We all work in the same industry, and unless it’s about interests, there’s no need to tear each other apart so ruthlessly.
"I don’t want to be enemies with JY either, so I won’t be making any statements hereafter. Once I’ve finished negotiating with the company, I’ll delete that Weibo post about leaving the group and publish a more formal announcement without any insinuations." For origınal chapters go to NoveI(F)ire.net
Wen Ningning promised not to stir up trouble online again, but Zhang Yingru didn’t feel much relieved.
With JY’s bad press at its peak, even if Wen Ningning tried to manipulate the situation further, JY wasn’t afraid anymore. After all, when there are so many negative stories, who would care about one more or one less?
What Zhang Yingru really wanted was for Wen Ningning, Meng Wan, and He Jinxia to come forward together to clarify the situation and vouch for JY, to tell everyone that claims of JY being unfeeling and cold-hearted were utterly baseless!
The negative news online all started from former members He Jinxia and Wen Ningning. Their comments gradually fermented into a major incident.
If these two who were at the center of the storm could issue clarifying statements, that would be more effective than JY running a hundred PR campaigns!
Zhang Yingru spoke calmly, "Name your price. How much do you want to make a clarifying statement?"
Wen Ningning laughed, "Sister Ying is indeed straightforward. Give me a million, and I’ll be willing to do it."
At this, Li Zimu’s eyes widened!
A million? Why didn’t she just rob a bank!
Even when JY was at its most popular, it would take a member three months to earn a million, and that was with almost daily appearances at high-quality events!
Now with JY’s reputation plummeting, where would they get a million from?
Zhang Yingru said decisively, "Impossible. The team simply can’t come up with a million. You were once a member of the team; you were there when we were at our peak, so you know how much JY earns in a year.
"I genuinely want to discuss a price with you. If you really want to negotiate, please give a reasonable offer."
Wen Ningning fell silent for a while, "Six hundred thousand."
Zhang Yingru replied, "Two hundred thousand. All you have to do is post one clarifying Weibo post. You won’t have to do anything else, and I can’t go any higher than this. You know the current situation JY is in is terrible. Even if I wanted to give you two hundred thousand, it would take some effort.
"If you don’t agree, then let’s not talk. JY is having a tough time but can still make some money. Your clarifying statement won’t enable JY to earn back this amount."
Zhang Yingru was bluffing Wen Ningning; she expected Wen Ningning would be unaware that JY might not survive this crisis and could potentially face disbandment, which gave her the leverage to haggle prices due to this information asymmetry.
If Wen Ningning knew this information, she would likely have jacked up her price, but fortunately, she was in the dark.
Over the phone, Wen Ningning chuckled, "Sister Ying, I was once under your management, so I’m well aware of your tactics. JY can definitely come up with two hundred thousand; you don’t have to play the victim with me.
"A fixed price of three hundred thousand. If you can come up with that, I’ll post a clarifying statement. We were once a team, and I don’t really want to see JY disband after six years."
This time, Zhang Yingru didn’t even blink as she agreed, "Done, deal!"
After hanging up the phone, Li Zimu looked up at Zhang Yingru with concern, "Sister Ying, JY’s current account has nowhere near three hundred thousand, at most just over two hundred thousand. How are we going to get this money?"
Zhang Yingru replied indifferently, "I’ve managed you guys for a few years and we’ve had our share of glory. I’ve saved up the commissions I earned from you all; I’ll cover the shortfall."
Li Zimu hesitated, "But..."
Zhang Yingru shook her head, "Don’t worry, after all, I’m a second-tier agent. Raising tens of thousands is not a problem. What matters is JY; if they can’t hold on through this crisis, they might truly have to face disbandment. Let’s get through this before talking about anything else."