CHAPTER 473: CHAPTER 372: SUDDEN EXPOSURE

The afternoon business event was mundane, and Zhou Yun breezed through it with practiced ease.

She was still thinking about Lew Qingqing’s predicament.

Especially when she saw Su Yan’s agent He Ting post on social media "Snagged two major endorsements!", her feelings became even more complicated.

This is a civilized society, but civilization doesn’t mean the law of the jungle is nonexistent.

Once Lew Qingqing got into trouble, her old rival Su Yan swiftly moved in for the endorsement grab.

Was Su Yan’s approach too much?

Unquestionably, it was over the top.

But what of it?

Did the endorsement rightfully belong to Lew Qingqing?

Should endorsements not be snatched away?

If they could be snatched away, does it not suggest that maybe in the eyes of the brand, Lew Qingqing was no longer fitting for the position of an endorser?

If she’s no longer fitting for that position, then why would the brand continue using this endorser?

Endorsements aren’t charity, I pay endorsement fees, you bring popularity, the essence is a mutually beneficial business cooperation.

Zhou Yun herself knew that if one day she got embroiled in a scandal, the endorsements tied to her would definitely make a swift exit.

There is no such thing as an eternal collaboration.

But still, she felt anger, or rather, she simply could not bear to acknowledge at the bottom of her heart that all of this was normal, was understandable.

Whether the logic holds is one thing, whether one is willing to accept this logic is another.

Zhou Yun said to Zhou Lan: "Sister Lan, don’t help me snatch Lew Qingqing’s endorsement. I don’t want to become someone like Su Yan."

"Rest assured, the path you’re treading is different from theirs, we disdain to kick someone while they’re down and snatch away their endorsements during such times," Zhou Lan said, "Only shallow people like He Ting can’t wait to act at this time, not taking into account how such actions are perceived within the circle. People like her, everyone has a measure of them in their minds. Even if Su Yan is very popular, when given a choice, people will not opt for someone like her for collaboration."

Zhou Yun sighed helplessly.

"Even so, there’s nothing I can do, Su Yan is still very popular, and there are still many who seek to cooperate with her," Zhou Yun shrugged her shoulders, "Perhaps the helplessness lies here, even if one day I can outshine her, stand higher than her, I still can’t make her truly taste the flavor of failure, can’t let her reap what she sows. She would still be able to live her life, act in her own plays."

In this circle, there’s never been such a thing as one person’s happiness alone.

A being more popular than B doesn’t mean B isn’t popular.

Zhou Yun rarely begrudged others’ success, but Su Yan and Xu Siyao were the only two she didn’t want to see thriving.

Just thinking about this, Zhou Lan’s phone suddenly rang.

She answered the call, didn’t talk for long, and hung up.

Zhou Lan turned back to look at Zhou Yun, a look of astonishment and disbelief on her face.

"What happened?" Zhou Yun inquired upon seeing this, "Does it involve me?"

Zhou Lan shook her head, saying, "It’s not about you."

"Then it’s nothing," Zhou Yun breathed a sigh of relief, "Whenever I see you with that expression, I’m worried I’ve gotten tangled into another scandal."

"I just got a message; Lew Qingqing has announced her pregnancy," Zhou Lan said.

Zhou Yun showed a surprised expression upon hearing this.

"When did that happen? Just now?"

Zhou Lan nodded, "She just made the announcement on Weibo."

"That drastic?" Zhou Yun quickly took out her phone and logged onto Weibo, only to be met with a network error message.

"What’s wrong with the mobile network?"

Zhou Lan and Zheng Xiaojue also tried and faced the same network issues.

"Weibo must be down," Zhou Lan stated matter-of-factly, "It seems Lew Qingqing’s pregnancy news has had a bigger impact than we initially thought. It’s quite alarming that it could cause Weibo to crash."

Zhou Yun opened her own WeChat Moments and scrolled through. Indeed, most posts were discussions about the matter within the circle.

Thanks to Moments, she also saw a screenshot of Lew Qingqing’s Weibo post.

Lew Qingqing announced directly on Weibo: A little life has arrived in my belly.

The photo accompanying it showed her hands covering her belly as she looked down with a smile.

In the Moments, many people were reacting: How did Lew Qingqing suddenly become pregnant? Whose child is it?

Frankly speaking, Zhou Yun was shocked.

She had never anticipated Lew Qingqing would make such a public declaration without any warning.

Zhou Lan’s voice sounded particularly calm but also carried a hint of ruthlessness: "Now, Lew Qingqing’s company must be fuming."

What type of artist do managing companies like the most?

If it were during those entertainment industry years when many orders were not yet established, perhaps companies would say they prefer artists with many fans who can make money.

But now, the companies would say they favor obedient and well-behaved artists.

In today’s environment, artists can cause scandals at any turn, and once a scandal breaks, not even heavy financial penalties can offset it. The more popular the artist, the more spectacular and violent the fallout when their career collapses, dragging down the company’s stock price along with it, resulting in tremendous losses.

Obedient and well-behaved artists, not to mention anything else, have the advantage of being hassle-free and safe; reducing project risks. At worst, it takes a bit more time and resources to gradually build their fame – there will always come a day of success.

Lew Qingqing was previously known as an obedient and positive image artist.

The characters she played were always pleasant, gentle, agile, even more sacred than a Goddess.

Privately, she may’ve been a bit of a handful at times, but she certainly had no issues of principle.

Dating was also fine, after all, if it wasn’t this person then it was that person. This wasn’t an era where artists couldn’t date, and her romances could even help her maintain exposure.

Who could’ve expected Lew Qingqing to suddenly announce her pregnancy out of the blue?

A moment of inspiration struck Zhou Yun’s mind; she remembered the content of that private message on Weibo, and Lew Qingqing’s reaction when she called her.

She suddenly wondered if this was Lew Qingqing’s own doing?

"Why would Lew Qingqing reveal her pregnancy herself?" Zheng Xiaojue was incomprehensibly perplexed, her face full of confusion as she looked to Zhou Lan for an answer.

Zhou Lan shook her head, "I haven’t figured it out either; revealing her pregnancy right now has caught everyone off guard."

But Zhou Yun had a rough idea of Lew Qingqing’s intention.

"To prevent her company from forcing her to abort the baby," Zhou Yun said calmly, "Perhaps if she didn’t do this, she wouldn’t be able to keep the child. Sister Lan, haven’t you said? Pregnancy is such that, unless one admits to it, there’s no evidence for others to prove it’s true. Later, if her company forced her to abort and then clarified saying the news of Lew Qingqing’s pregnancy was just rumors."