Chapter Fifteen: Acquiring Ruby Entertainment!

Hearing Xu Qingran’s words, Xu Zhongshan, Xu Chengyang, and the others were all slightly taken aback. They knew that Sun Ling, along with Xu Qingran and the rest, had always looked down on Xiao Chen. No one had expected Xu Qingran to stand by Xiao Chen this time.

The moment Sun Ling and Xu Qianran heard this, their expressions changed drastically. “Qingran, are you out of your mind? Xiao Chen is making a mess, and you’re going along with him?” Xu Qianran chimed in hurriedly, “She’s right, sis! If you lose, you won’t even have your department manager position anymore. Our whole family relies on you. If you have to start over as a regular employee, what will happen to us?”

A flicker of struggle crossed Xu Qingran’s face. Seeing her like this, Xiao Chen’s heart ached. The burdens she carried were too heavy, and it was his fault for not sharing the load before, leaving her so exhausted.

“Qingran, trust me. I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world,” Xiao Chen promised silently to himself.

Then he turned to the old madam and said, “Qingran has agreed. That should be enough, right?”

Xu Zhongshan and Xu Chengyang also looked to the old lady.

“Who said Qingran agreed—” Sun Ling began, but the old lady waved her hand, cutting her off. “Alright, since Zhongshan and Chengyang both agree, I’ll give Qingran another chance.”

“In a while, Chengyang will go negotiate cooperation with Red Jade Entertainment,” the old lady announced. Sun Ling dared not protest further, glaring venomously at Xiao Chen instead.

The old lady then turned to Xu Chengyang, smiling. “Chengyang, don’t let your grandmother down.”

Xu Chengyang quickly replied, “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m confident I can handle this small matter. Otherwise, wouldn’t that make me look useless?”

As he spoke, he cast Xu Qingran a glance, clearly hinting at her incompetence.

Two hours later, the gathering ended and everyone went their separate ways.

As soon as they stepped out of the hotel, Sun Ling and Xu Qianran fixed Xiao Chen with a murderous glare. “You useless wretch, do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“If Qingran loses her position as department manager, who will support our family? You?”

They nearly shouted, spittle flying into Xiao Chen’s face.

Even Xu Qingran grew nervous. She had only agreed out of impulse, and now, thinking it over, she realized how risky it was. Never mind whether Xu Chengyang could succeed—she herself wasn’t at all confident about securing this cooperation. The last negotiation had already left the other side very dissatisfied.

“Qingran won’t lose!” Xiao Chen said firmly.

“Ha! Who do you think you are? Just because you say Qingran won’t lose, she won’t?” Sun Ling sneered. “Did you not notice Xu Chengyang has the second young master of the Fang family helping him? And who does our Qingran have? You, the failure?”

Xu Qianran’s eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered something. “Sis, why don’t you ask Yichen for help? He has such wide connections in Linzhou—he might have a solution.”

Sun Ling’s eyes brightened as well. “That’s right, how could I forget about Yichen? Qingran, go ask him for help. It’ll be a sure thing.”

Xu Qingran wavered for a moment, then shook her head. “Yichen and I aren’t exactly close. It wouldn’t be right to ask him for help out of the blue.”

Xu Qianran was immediately displeased. “Not close? Yichen likes you! When he heard you’d been kidnapped, he didn’t hesitate to pay five million for your ransom. If you ask for his help, he’ll be happy to oblige.”

She didn’t care about Xiao Chen’s feelings at all, saying this right in front of him.

Sun Ling nodded, glancing at Xiao Chen. “Exactly. If you ask me, you should just divorce this loser. Yichen is such a good man.”

“If you married him, our family would finally have some support.”

“Mom…” Xu Qingran sounded annoyed.

“Fine, fine, I won’t say any more. I just don’t understand—if you don’t even like this useless man, why not divorce him?” Sun Ling shot Xiao Chen a cold glare. “But listen, this time, no matter what, you must ask Yichen for help.”

“This concerns our whole family’s future. You have to go.”

Xu Qingran nodded at last. “Alright, I’ll try to contact him and see.”

Xiao Chen wanted to speak, but he knew his words carried no weight with them. Whether he spoke or not made no difference.

If he did say anything, it would only earn him another scolding from Sun Ling, so he swallowed his words.

After they got home, Xu Qingran arranged to meet Jiang Yichen for afternoon tea.

Xiao Chen knew Xu Qingran was upright and self-respecting, so he wasn’t worried, just a bit uncomfortable.

But who could he blame? If he had performed better all along, Sun Ling and Xu Qingran wouldn’t look down on him so much.

Only by changing their opinion of him, little by little, could he gain more influence in their eyes. That way, when Xu Qingran encountered difficulties in the future, she wouldn’t have to rely on others—especially other men.

Xiao Chen returned to his room and took out the business card Zhou Wangtian had given him the day before. He dialed the number.

The call was quickly answered by a strong, elderly voice. “Hello, who is this?”

“This is Xiao Chen,” he replied without hesitation.

There was a brief pause, then Zhou Wangtian’s voice turned delighted. “Ah, Mr. Xiao! What can I do for you?”

“Whatever you need, I’ll do my utmost to help.”

Zhou Wangtian had always wanted to befriend Xiao Chen, and now that Xiao Chen was reaching out, he was glad to have Xiao Chen owe him a favor.

“I accept your family’s offer. Red Jade Entertainment—I’ll take it,” Xiao Chen said directly.

By accepting the Zhou family’s gift, Xiao Chen knew he couldn’t stand idly by if they ever needed help. But he felt no qualms about taking Red Jade Entertainment.

His friendship was worth far more than a mere Red Jade Entertainment—especially to someone like Zhou Wangtian.

Sure enough, Zhou Wangtian was overjoyed. “Excellent! I’ll have the equity transfer agreement sent to your home right away.”

“No need to come to my house—just pick a place and I’ll go there.” Xiao Chen didn’t want Sun Ling to find out about his identity.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain. If his secret identity were exposed, it would bring endless trouble.