119: Pressure Zone - 4 (Bonus Chapter)

Liu Fangli looked at the excitement and longing on the girls' faces and smiled inwardly. He turned his gaze back to Ye Cheng, who hadn't spoken much.

"By the way, that beauty is called... Ye Cheng, right? Student Ye Cheng?"

Sheng Jin quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, President Liu. You can just call her Cheng Cheng."

Liu Fangli nodded with a smile, his eyes burning as he looked at Ye Cheng. "I think with Student Ye Cheng's physical appearance and temperament, if she joined our Tianying, she could get the highest-tier evaluation and a three-hundred-thousand-yuan base salary guarantee. It wouldn't be a problem at all!"

He paused and slowly repeated, "Three hundred thousand, after tax."

Ye Cheng's finger paused on her phone screen. She instantly understood the old man's scheme.

Hah, no wonder he could offer 'three hundred thousand a month.' After all that talk, he was just trying to get something for nothing!

He was using the company's resources and the base salary contract as bait while acting as the middleman. If it worked, he’d get credit for the recommendation and a long-term mistress for free. If it didn't... well, he’d already had his fun, and he could just move on to the next one.

Ye Cheng looked up with an expressionless face and simply said, "Oh. Thanks, but I'm not interested in becoming an influencer."

Liu Fangli let out a surprised "Oh?" as if he hadn't expected her to refuse so bluntly. "Is Student Ye Cheng unfamiliar with our Tianying, or do you have some concerns?"

"President Liu, it's not that Ye Cheng doesn't understand. She believes that 'love is enough'!"

Jin Lulu sneered, her tone dripping with envy. "She pursues pure love and looks down on these worldly things! She just wants to stay with her boyfriend and live a simple life, right, Cheng Cheng?"

"'Love is enough'?"

Wang Jincheng shook his head with a smile, speaking like an experienced elder. "That's easy to say, but for a girl, she ultimately needs her own career and foundation to stand firm in the future and live the life she truly wants. Just like Xiao Jin—once she graduates, I plan to arrange for her to enter my company and start learning from a basic management position."

"Old Wang is right!"

Liu Fangli immediately gave a thumbs up in deep agreement. "A girl must have an independent career and financial base. That's where dignity and confidence come from."

He looked at Ye Cheng again, speaking earnestly. "I truly feel that Student Ye Cheng is exceptional and would have no problem getting the top-tier base salary. It's just..."

Liu Fangli changed the subject, turning to Jiang Ye with a look of feigned difficulty.

"Little Jiang, you might have to feel a bit aggrieved. Our company has clear regulations for talents signed to base salary contracts, especially high-level ones. They need to maintain a single image during the contract period; this is for the sake of the company's investment and the talent's development. But I think for the sake of Student Ye Cheng's better future, a sensible young man like you should be able to understand and support her, right?"

"Of course, this doesn't mean you'll be completely cut off."

He paused and casually made another empty promise. "Once Student Ye Cheng has established herself in the company and accumulated enough fans and influence, you can still continue your relationship! Even during this process, as long as you're low-key and maintain normal contact, it's fine. It just might not be as convenient to meet up."

Jin Lulu looked at Ye Cheng's expressionless face and snorted, her tone even more sour.

"President Liu, she might not even appreciate your painstaking efforts! She probably thinks you're ruining her 'fairytale love'~"

"Lulu, don't say that."

Sheng Jin played the 'good cop' from the side, advising softly, "Cheng Cheng might just not have figured it out yet, thinking that feelings are more important than anything else. And I can see that Jiang Ye is also a sensible person with foresight. He wouldn't stop Cheng Cheng from such a life-changing opportunity just because of a temporary separation, right? After all, true gold isn't afraid of the furnace; real feelings can withstand the test of time. When Cheng Cheng becomes a big influencer later on and grandly announces her relationship, wouldn't that be a beautiful story?"

"Exactly! Student Sheng Jin is absolutely right!"

Liu Fangli clapped and laughed. "Little Jiang, don't have any second thoughts. You have to believe that your relationship can withstand the test. A temporary separation is for a better future! When the time comes, you'll have both a successful career and love. It'll be a beautiful tale when word gets out!"

After speaking, he picked up his wine glass, took a leisurely sip, and sneered inwardly.

He had seen plenty of relationships between young people; they were incredibly fragile.

As long as they were apart for a while and lacked common ground and time together, even the best relationship would slowly fade. Suspicion and conflict would naturally follow.

What? Not interested?

Heh, she was just young, impulsive, and hadn't thought it through yet.

He would plant the seed now. Later, whenever a problem arose between her and this kid, or when she felt the pressure of reality, she would naturally remember this seemingly more 'respectable' path laid out before her today.

Ye Cheng looked at the sanctimonious Liu Fangli across from her, as well as Wang Jincheng, Zhao Qian, Jin Lulu, and Sheng Jin, who were all playing along. She completely understood what Jiang Ye had meant earlier.

Today's gathering was completely different from the usual scenes where sisters compared bags and makeup.

This was a blatant 'Pressure Game,' using career, future, and real-world pressure to package their intentions. It made it so you couldn't even vent your anger; if you argued back, you'd seem immature and ungrateful.

Ye Cheng could only think of two ways to break this situation.

Either her own level was high enough to crush them directly, but she and Jiang Ye clearly didn't have that.

Or... she snorted inwardly.

To hell with 'levels.' Who did they think they were dealing with?

If I'm unhappy, I'm going to curse them out!

At worst, I'll take them down with me and we'll all look bad! I can't let them treat us like fools.

Just as Ye Cheng took a deep breath, with words like 'bastard,' 'creep,' and 'bitch' rising to her throat, ready to trigger a full-on 'map cannon' mode, Jiang Ye suddenly chuckled beside her. He put down his chopsticks and gently patted the back of her hand.

Ye Cheng looked at him in confusion, and then her eyes lit up slightly.

Oh! Right, right, right!

This kind of 'dirty work' was more suitable for a man!

Once the 'three-word mantra' came out, it would definitely dominate the room!

A scene already appeared in her mind: him slamming the table, various curses pouring out of his mouth, and then, amidst the chaos, taking her hand and walking away coolly.

Although it would be messy, unrefined, and they’d be looked down upon, that kind of reckless romance and the thrill of a 'nobody' protecting their love... seemed okay?

Ye Cheng looked at Jiang Ye with anticipation, secretly wondering if those three words would start with an 'I' or end with a 'you.'

However, the scene she expected didn't happen.

Jiang Ye just unhurriedly picked up a napkin and elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth.

Then, under the gaze of everyone present, the right corner of his mouth twitched repeatedly, slowly curling upward until it settled into a 'wicked and arrogant' crooked-mouth expression.

Immediately after, Jiang Ye softly uttered a sentence, with three parts disdain, three parts coldness, and four parts indifference:

"Tianying Entertainment, three hundred thousand base salary? Making my girlfriend stay single? ...Heh."

Total silence.

???

Looking at his affected, cringey expression, everyone was stunned. They all tilted their heads in unison, looking completely bewildered.

Ye Cheng's eyes widened, and her mind went blank.

Wait... Buddy?

You're actually doing the 'crooked mouth' thing?!

I wanted you to curse at them!

If you wanted to play dirty, I'd have gone all the way with you!

But... I can't handle you playing it this cringey!