"President Li, I'll transfer the penalty payment to your company later..." The middle-aged man was one of Huayi's people in charge. Though he was burning with anxiety, he remained composed. "I'm truly sorry I couldn't help you."
Regarding the endorsement invitation for Tao Wanqing, although no contract had been signed yet, Mingzhu Company had already paid part of the deposit.
Now that the partnership had fallen through, they naturally had to pay part of the breach-of-contract penalty.
"Let's not talk about that right now... I bear responsibility for what happened too." Li Ruobing spoke softly. "Let Miss Tao recover properly. If you need any help, remember to call me."
She was not merely putting him off.
Huayi's boss had a good personal relationship with Li Ruobing. There was no way she would keep chattering incessantly about that small penalty payment at a time like this.
"President Li..." The middle-aged man hesitated before lowering his voice. "Actually, someone came to see me early this morning and asked me to cancel Miss Tao's endorsement partnership with Mingzhu. I refused."
Li Ruobing's body stiffened.
"He came in a car from the Li Residence," the middle-aged man reminded her again.
Li Ruobing's brow twitched slightly, and a trace of fury gradually rose in her eyes.
"Qin Lan's people?"
"I can only tell you this much." The middle-aged man helplessly waved his hand. "As long as you understand."
"I understand." Li Ruobing took a deep breath. She already knew why Tao Wanqing had gotten into a car accident at such a critical moment. "Miss Tao was harmed because of Mingzhu. I'll cover all her expenses and losses."
The middle-aged man had made himself very clear. No matter how foolish Li Ruobing was, she could understand who had done this.
Just yesterday, Su Rui had turned the tide at the Board of Directors, spending three million to secure an Absolute Controlling Stake for Li Ruobing. Hu Guangyi had been driven out, and Qin Lan's plan to seize power through a puppet had failed. This morning, someone from the Li Residence had approached Huayi, wanting them to cut off their cooperation with Mingzhu.
After being refused, Tao Wanqing met with an accident while on her way to Mingzhu Company.
This... couldn't possibly be a string of coincidences, could it?
This was not an accident at all. It was a carefully planned attack!
Li Ruobing had expected Qin Lan to use underhanded tactics to stop her from fulfilling the agreement, but she had never expected her to be this ruthless!
More importantly, she did not know whether Li Guodong had a hand in this.
Had Qin Lan done this on her own, or had she acted on Li Guodong's orders?
If it was the former, she could still accept it. But if it was the latter...
"President Li, I'm not saying this to shirk responsibility, nor am I asking you for money." The middle-aged man explained earnestly, "When we chose to work with you, it was because we valued you as a person! Not your background, and not the Li family behind you!"
"Huayi is your friend."
The middle-aged man said quietly, "I'll contact a new spokesperson for you. Don't worry. We'll make sure the opening ceremony for the Qiantang New Store goes perfectly!"
A subtle change appeared in Li Ruobing's expression.
But after a moment of silence, she still looked up and waved her hand. "Uncle Wang, there's no need for Huayi to get involved in this. I'll handle it myself."
Did Li Ruobing have better celebrity connections than Huayi?
No.
She simply did not want Huayi to suffer the brutal consequences alongside her. As Uncle Wang had said, Huayi was Li Ruobing's friend. But precisely because of that, Li Ruobing could not continue dragging Huayi Company into this Great Vortex.
No matter how close she was to Huayi's people in charge, she could not bring personal ties into business.
Because of one endorsement, Tao Wanqing had suffered severe injuries and would be bedridden for months. For a popular female star, that was practically a bolt from the blue, and the production company would suffer enormous losses as well.
Huayi was not some deeply entrenched major family enterprise. It was also an outside company, and its influence in Tongzhou City was simply no match for the Li family.
Huayi could take a firm stance in this matter, but Li Ruobing could not accept his goodwill.
Precisely because they were friends, friends could not drag friends down.
"President Li, don't let this weigh on your mind..." Uncle Wang frowned, wanting to say more.
"Enough. We'll do it my way. This discussion is over." Li Ruobing directly cut President Wang off. "Uncle Wang, I still have something to do... Call me after Miss Tao wakes up. I'll come see her."
Seeing that Li Ruobing had made up her mind, Uncle Wang could only nod.
Meanwhile, Su Rui, who had been sitting silently in the corridor, stood up. He glanced at Tao Wanqing in the intensive care unit, smiled, and asked, "President Wang, who arranges your artists' schedules?"
"..." President Wang froze for a moment before replying, "Artists at Miss Tao's level all have dedicated staff. Their schedules are generally planned jointly by their assistants and the company."
"When Miss Tao got into the car accident today, which car was her assistant in?" Su Rui asked.
"The car in front," President Wang replied instinctively. Then he immediately realized something and sprang up with his eyes wide open. "You mean..."
"Yes. Why wasn't the assistant riding in the same car as the female star? And from Huayi to Mingzhu Company, they could have driven straight there along the main road through the city center. So why did the accident happen along a more remote suburban route?" Su Rui asked two questions in succession, then smiled at President Wang and said, "There's someone suspicious around Miss Tao. After setting out, they changed the route on their own... Can I assume that?"
President Wang's expression first turned thoughtful, then darkened.
When Tao Wanqing had been injured earlier, panic had overwhelmed him. But after hearing Su Rui's analysis, he immediately sensed something strange about the situation.
No matter how powerful the Li family was, they could not possibly monitor Tao Wanqing at all times.
Furthermore, Tao Wanqing had deliberately disguised herself before going out today. No one should have recognized her. The only explanation was that someone around her had leaked her whereabouts!
"Damn it..." President Wang ground his teeth, his breathing growing heavy as he pulled out his phone in front of Su Rui and Li Ruobing.
After a burst of busy signal.
"The call won't go through!" President Wang gritted his teeth and dialed another person in charge at the company.
This time, the call was answered very quickly.
"Hello, Ziteng, is Li Shan at the company?... No? After finishing her statement at the Public Security Bureau, she said she was going home to rest for a few days... Bullshit!" President Wang cursed crudely, fury nearly blazing from his eyes. "Listen to me. Take some people and block her downstairs at her home immediately. Have others guard the train station and airport too. We have to keep Li Shan in Tongzhou!"
"Fuck, that woman might be a spy! What happened to Little Tao was most likely something she and someone else plotted together!"
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