Forcing himself to focus, he got up and went to find Zhan Liang.
Some matters could only be handled by Zhou Shiyi personally, to avoid misunderstandings between the couple.
“Zhan Special Assistant, can you arrange for me to have a private word with President Zhou?”
Zhan Liang gestured toward the back door of the conference hall. “President Zhou just finished.”
Lù Chéng turned, and Zhou Shiyi was already leaving the conference area.
They went to another VIP room, where Zhou Shiyi motioned for him to speak freely.
Lù Chéng got straight to the point, “I intend to terminate my contract with the company. It’s going to be messy.”
He could already imagine the storm of scandal online.
Sister Cen wouldn’t let him leave easily.
“If I terminate, it might even implicate you and Zhong Yì.”
He paused. “Even if I don’t, it’s only a matter of time before it affects you. Sister Cen will expose my past relationship eventually.”
“She won’t do it herself, but will leak it to the paparazzi through someone. Then even you and Jiang Dong will find it hard to trace the source.”
“After all, Sister Cen isn’t the only one who knows about my first love; many of my high school classmates, even peers, know.”
“By the time I confront Sister Cen, I won’t have solid proof.”
Zhou Shiyi sipped his coffee. Sometimes, it really was difficult to trace the origin of online rumors.
His father-in-law had a hard time getting Sister Cen to shield his mother from negative news as well.
Lù Chéng said, “I’m limited in ability. If the scandal breaks out, I can’t handle the public relations.”
“Like Sister Cen said, revealing that first love has more positive than negative impact on him, but he doesn’t want Zhong Yì’s life disturbed.”
Zhou Shiyi looked at him. “Are you sure you want to terminate?”
“It’s decided.”
He couldn’t tolerate repaying hatred with hatred.
If his grandfather knew, he’d say Lù Chéng had wasted the past years.
“You have one of the best managers in the industry.”
Lù Chéng nodded in agreement.
Perhaps because Sister Cen was confident he wouldn’t terminate easily, she acted recklessly without considering his feelings.
Zhou Shiyi took another sip of coffee. He never imagined he’d calmly talk to Lù Chéng like this.
Swallowing his coffee, he asked, “After termination, do you plan to join Jì Fánxīng’s company?”
Lù Chéng didn’t hesitate, “Not considering Jì Dao’s.”
As for where to go, he hadn’t decided yet.
“You’ll have to tell Jì Dao that I can’t take that film. Hopefully, there’ll be a chance to collaborate later. I’ve seen several of her movies.”
Maybe in five or ten years, no one would care about the past, and there might be cooperation opportunities.
He believed Jì Fánxīng felt uncomfortable being bound by conditions to work with him.
Zhou Shiyi spoke frankly, “Going to Jì Fánxīng’s company will be more stable. You won’t have to worry about your former company sabotaging you.”
He paused. “Or I can introduce you to two other companies with backgrounds similar to hers. But since she appreciates you, I suggest you go there.”
Lù Chéng found it hard to believe Zhou Shiyi was offering to help him.
“Thank you, President Zhou.” But he repeated, “I’m not considering Jì Dao’s company for now.”
“Is it because of Zhong Yì?”
Lù Chéng said nothing.
“They’re both busy and only meet a few times a year,” Zhou Shiyi explained rarely. “Their personalities won’t cause friction over this. As long as I don’t mind, they won’t feel awkward.”
With that, everything was put to rest on his side.
He was willing to help Lù Chéng privately; after seven years, he had finally crossed that emotional hurdle.
Setting aside personal feelings, from a public standpoint, Kuncheng Motors’ management had evaluated Lù Chéng for almost a year before Zhou Shiyi took over.
His commercial value was unquestionable—even his father agreed.
He planned long-term cooperation and didn’t want messy issues to interfere.
Zhou Shiyi said, “I’m helping you purely for business. It’s a win-win. The series you endorse is very important to Kuncheng, and even more important to me.”
This was the first new model launched after he took over Kuncheng Motors.
President Du was counting on this car to capture the high-end market and reverse the doubts about Zhou Shiyi’s takeover.
If there was public controversy between the endorser and the boss and his wife, it would severely impact the brand.
Zhou Shiyi set down his coffee and stood, extending a hand. “There’ll be many offline events. I’m going to put you to work.”
“Of course,” Lù Chéng no longer insisted on refusing. This seemed best.
Just then, his assistant reminded him that the new car delivery segment was about to start, involving a surprise interaction with the owners.
“Alright, I’m on it.” Lù Chéng thanked Zhou Shiyi again and left with his assistant.
Zhou Shiyi gestured to Zhan Liang, “Have his manager come to me.” Then added, “Now.”
Sister Cen, who had just dozed off, was startled awake. She was slow to react and drank half a glass of cold water to revive herself before heading to another VIP room.
She thought Zhou Shiyi was going to discuss details about the offline events, so she smiled politely and asked, “President Zhou, what can I do for you?”
Zhou Shiyi said nothing, just stared at her over his coffee.
More than half a minute passed with no response.
His eyes were calm and unreadable, showing no trace of cooperation.
The room grew suffocatingly silent.
Faced with this silent scrutiny, Sister Cen suddenly felt unsettled.
She considered herself seasoned in the entertainment industry, able to stay calm in any storm, but in front of Zhou Shiyi, she was thrown off balance.
“President Zhou, what would you like to say?”
Zhou Shiyi finally spoke slowly, “I heard you want to expose my wife’s past relationship with Lù Chéng?”
Sister Cen was caught off guard, eyes wide with shock.
She forced a calm expression. “President Zhou, you must be joking. Why would I do that?”
Zhou Shiyi interrupted, “You won’t just do it—you’ll also fabricate all sorts of nonsense, mixing truth and lies.”
Sister Cen smiled and denied it vehemently, “President Zhou, there must be a misunderstanding. Someone must be trying to sabotage our cooperation.”
Forcing herself calm, she added, “Another artist under me, Feng Ming, was set up. His scandal still trends, no matter what we do. Lù Chéng is my own discovery.
How could I expose my own artist’s scandal? Give me some time, I’ll find out who’s behind this.”
Zhou Shiyi said, “No need to investigate. There is no misunderstanding. I can tell you right now, Lù Chéng told me.”
Sister Cen’s expression stiffened.
Zhou Shiyi calmly asked, “Do you feel wronged?”
Sister Cen opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a sound.
Her mind went blank, and for a moment, she didn’t know where she was.
Shiyi said, “As for why Feng Ming’s scandal won’t be removed—it’s because my father-in-law hasn’t agreed to take it down. How could you remove it?”
“Even if you ask Jì Fánxīng’s father for help, it won’t be removed.”
Sister Cen’s mental defenses completely collapsed as she stared blankly at him.
This man was terrifying. He gave no room to maneuver, exposing everything straight on and cornering her with nowhere to retreat.