CHAPTER 392: CHAPTER 228 COERCING THE FEMALE CELEBRITY

After Cai Zhixin hung up the phone, he exchanged a look with Tao Yaoyang.

"It seems he isn’t very interested in Zhang Yuxi," Cai Zhixin speculated.

Tao Yaoyang puffed on his cigar, shaking his head, "No, if he weren’t interested, he wouldn’t have changed his mind."

"It’s probably because of his adopted sister. He said his adopted sister is a fan of Zhang Yuxi, so he changed his mind to accept the invitation."

"Hmm, it seems that he takes this adopted sister to heart, even more so than his so-called girlfriend."

Talking about this, Tao Yaoyang felt a slight regret. He had felt a stir in his heart upon seeing Wu Mengting back then. Wu Mengting was just too outstanding in both looks and temperament, even someone as well-versed in matters of love as himself couldn’t help but inquire probing about her relationship with Chen Feng.

Wu Mengting claimed to be Chen Feng’s adopted sister but lived together, which was suspect. Who would believe their relationship was merely that of adopted siblings?

At the time, he didn’t understand the "background" of Chen Feng, leading to this situation. He wasn’t sure if Chen Feng cared about this matter, which made him slightly worried, and even more determined to do Chen Feng a big favor.

Thinking about this, Tao Yaoyang immediately picked up the phone, found a number, and dialed it.

Before long, the call was connected, and a woman’s voice came through, "Hello, Chairman Tao, is there anything I can do for you?"

The woman was Zhang Yuxi’s agent, Sister Hua, who had long saved his number considering he was the third-largest shareholder in their entertainment company.

Tao Yaoyang said directly, "Bring Yuxi here to see me. I have something to discuss with you at my villa, where you came last time."

"Ah, well, we’ve already booked plane tickets to Beijing, and Yuxi is scheduled to appear on a TV program in the evening," Sister Hua said with some difficulty.

"Cancel it. Yuxi needs to stay here for at least two more days. I have matters planned for her," Tao Yaoyang said indisputably.

"Chairman Tao, Yuxi’s schedule is quite tight these days. She just finished a concert, and her popularity and traffic are very high and should be followed up with appearances to increase exposure and recognition..."

"Enough." Tao Yaoyang interrupted her, "You must come as soon as you can. You know my ways. I won’t let Yuxi suffer. I have something very important for her to do. If she handles it well, I won’t let her down, and it will be of great benefit to her too. That’s it, I’ll wait for you."

After speaking, Tao Yaoyang hung up the phone directly.

Sister Hua held the phone dazedly for a while, eventually sighed, put the phone down, walked to the bedroom door, and gently knocked. After hearing Yuxi’s "come in" from inside, she opened the door and entered.

In the bedroom, Zhang Yuxi was lying on the bed in a bathrobe, her face covered with a mask.

"What’s up?" Zhang Yuxi glanced at Sister Hua and asked.

"Chairman Tao wants us to go over to his place," Sister Hua said a bit helplessly, "He said there is something important for you to do, and if you manage it well, you will not be let down."

"Tao Yaoyang? That hypocrite, what’s he up to now? Another sleepover?" Zhang Yuxi said angrily, sitting straight up from the bed.

Sister Hua sighed, "There’s no other way. Although Tao Yaoyang is only the third largest shareholder in our company, even the company chairman often has to defer to him. He is a very influential person. Besides... last time... although he wasn’t very nice, he did keep his word. Afterward, you were cast as the female lead in that costume drama, and your status and recognition increased significantly."

"I’m not afraid of him," Zhang Yuxi said angrily, "Last time I had no choice, he took advantage of me. But now I don’t want to kowtow to him anymore. The contract with the company will expire in less than a year, and I’m definitely leaving this broken company then. Sister Hua, you’ll come with me, I’ll start a studio and let you manage it fully, even give you shares."

"My dear," Sister Hua said bitterly, "Although you’ve just squeezed into the first tier, your fame and influence are still somewhat inflated, not solid. After all, you’ve only debuted for over three years, the foundation is too shallow. You need the company’s resources to continually accumulate your fame."

"So you’re saying I should go?" Zhang Yuxi said discontentedly.

Sister Hua looked helpless, "You don’t know how formidable Chairman Tao is. He is indeed a hypocrite, seemingly very gentlemanly and somewhat handsome, but in reality, he is insidiously ruthless. Before you, there was an artist who offended him, and he was very miserable, utterly disgraced. Including our company’s former top artist Zhou Peipei, do you think she was not coerced and manipulated by him? Sometimes in this circle, we have no choice but to compromise."

"Was Sister Pei also coerced by him?" Zhang Yuxi said in shock.

"What did you expect?" Sister Hua patiently explained, "Zhou Peipei was like his half-mistress, called upon at will. People say privately she held some leverage against him and had no choice but to obey. Later, as she aged, Chairman Tao released her, letting her regain freedom. To a certain extent, Chairman Tao was a bit sentimental and righteous, rumour has it he even gifted her a villa as severance."

"Can that be called sentimental and righteous?" Zhang Yuxi refuted immediately, "He wasted Sister Pei’s time, otherwise she might have found a rich husband and married by now. But now she’s over thirty, her fame has waned, and her romantic prospects are stagnant."

Sister Hua earnestly advised, "I know the incident last time left a grudge in your heart against him. But you should understand, that’s how our circle works. Especially for female artists, some things are inevitable. It’s best to avoid or resist, of course. But if you can’t, or resist without effect, then we can only choose to comply unless you want to exit this fame and fortune stage."

Zhang Yuxi was no longer a novice in the entertainment world, and she understood these truths Sister Hua mentioned, but the fact that she couldn’t exert control or resist left her quite frustrated.

Outwardly, she was a glamorous star, a goddess in countless fans’ eyes, but essentially she was just another ordinary person with little autonomy over her life.

"Damn it!" Zhang Yuxi tore the mask off her face and threw it to the ground fiercely, her chest heaving, her face dark, finally speaking coldly after a while, "What exactly does he want me to do? If it’s to sleep over, I... I won’t agree. Other things can be considered."

Sister Hua quickly replied, "He did say it was important. Given how he spoke, it should not be what you’re worried about. It might be some other task, like attending private events or something similar."

Zhang Yuxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If it’s just that, going over isn’t a big deal. Just worried it’s not. Can you guarantee?"

Sister Hua said bitterly, "How can I guarantee such a thing? I did mention you’re busy lately, but he was adamant you stay here for two or three days, I couldn’t refuse it outright. He’s really not someone we can reject. I think we should just go over first. It seems urgent, what he needs you to do, so we shouldn’t delay. You better get dressed."