Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 085

Chapter 85 ☆, Naming You After the Stars and the Sea.

A concept known as the “six degrees of separation” was widely circulated online.

This was used to describe that any two person’s relationship can typically be connected by six people. Two strangers could establish a connection through a network of six individuals.

Xin Xin used to think this rule only applied to countries with relatively small populations and very small social circles. As a country with 1.4 billion people, the social circles should not be so homogenous.

She categorized all such unverified experimental data as amateur science.

However, now, as she stood in the lobby of Xingyao Film and Television and encountered Xibei, the female celebrity she had heard of before and had met briefly, she not only believed in the Law of Six Degrees of Separation, but she even believed in metaphysics.

People you were destined to meet would eventually meet you.

Xibei clearly remembered Xin Xin as well; after only a glance from afar, her gaze fell upon Xin Xin.

Female celebrities were very good at speaking with their eyes. When they looked at someone with sparkling eyes, they were charming and alluring. When they looked at someone with disdain and disgust, you could clearly see their emotions.

Xin Xin could see that Zheng Zaochuan’s stepsister’s malice towards her was almost overflowing.

There were only two possibilities for harboring such hatred towards someone who was completely unrelated to you.

One was love turning into hate, and the other was hating everything about someone because of someone else.

Xin Xin could not immediately determine what kind of hatred Xibei harbored towards her.

Zhao Xi glanced at them briefly, following Xin Xin’s gaze, and quickly determined their relationship: “You two have a grudge?”

Xin Xin shook her head, concealing her emotions, and said calmly, “I don’t know her.”

The two got on the elevator.

Xin Xin first reached a cooperation agreement with Xingyao for this project. Coincidentally, she first contacted a labor service company to see if they needed financing. After talking with the company’s contact person, they were still not satisfied with the financing costs, so the two decided to have a working lunch. During the meal, they talked about a TV series, and the person from the labor service company mentioned that the series was going to be made into a movie.

They started discussing how making movies was an extremely expensive business, and the more they talked, the more they felt they clicked.

Suddenly, the contact person from the labor service company slapped his thigh and said, “Hey, here’s a contact number for you. I worked with them a while ago. I heard they are having some trouble with funding for this movie. Let me ask them and see if they are interested in financing it.”

Xin Xin was overjoyed and quickly agreed.

As a result, when the contact person from the labor service company communicated with the head of Xingyao’s marketing department, the other party was very interested. So after several rounds of negotiations, the project proposal was basically finalized.

Today, they were just waiting for Zhao Xi to meet with Xingyao’s boss so they could sign the contract.

The elevator stopped on the eleventh floor.

Xin Xin pressed the elevator button, and Zhao Xi had just stepped off the elevator when he saw a little girl waiting at the door.

He did not know if it was because it was an entertainment company, but all the employees he saw along the way were quite good-looking and very pleasing to the eye.

Xin Xin was in a good mood and asked, “Is Sha Sha busy?”

The little girl smiled and said, “He’s waiting for you.”

Sha Sha was the marketing director. Xin Xin led Zhao Xi through the workstations with ease, arriving at the marketing director’s office.

Before Xin Xin could knock on the door, the person inside came out. This person was at least 1.85 meters tall, and his attire was not exactly dazzling but rather androgynous. Upon seeing Xin Xin, he gave her a warm hug.

“Sweetie, whatever we talk about today, I’m going to treat you to ice cream.”

Xin Xin smiled and hugged him back, then introduced Zhao Xi to Sha Sha.

“This is Mr. Zhao, a senior securities firm expert. He only approves the best projects, guaranteeing you the lowest financing costs in the market.”

After Xin Xin finished speaking, she introduced him to Zhao Xi: “This is Mr. Sullivan, the marketing director of Xingyao. Everyone calls him Sha Sha. He’s super capable. Last year’s hit drama, Ximen Yuan, was his project.”

Zhao Xi smiled and shook hands with Sullivan, maintaining his good manners despite the latter’s exaggerated flirtatious advances.

Previously, Xin Xin had always called the other person Sha Sha, and Zhao Xi assumed it was “Sha Sha,” assuming the name belonged to a young woman. He never expected it to be a burly, beautiful man.

This perfectly fit the stereotype of entertainment companies: over 80% of the employees were gay.

After welcoming Zhao Xi and Xin Xin, Sullivan led them to the CEO’s office.

Xingyao was a relatively well-known entertainment company in China, and its CEO was a rather legendary woman. According to Xin Xin’s firsthand information, this female CEO was formerly a member of an idol group that was once popular, but she herself remained relatively unknown.

Fortunately, she caught the wave and made some money. While others were still trying to make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry, she quickly cut her losses, withdrew from the limelight, and founded an entertainment company.

After decades of development, it had grown from a few minor celebrities to a company of considerable size.

Xin Xin had visited Xingyao several times recently but had only met Sullivan. This was the first time she had met this female CEO, and she was secretly taken aback.

The female CEO’s face showed no signs of technology; she possessed a very natural beauty. Before coming today, she had searched for information about this CEO online. Compared to her glamorous and beautiful face in her youth, the current photos made her look like an ordinary middle-aged businesswoman.

But now that Xin Xin had met her, she did not find her gaudy at all. She was gentle and had a maturity that suited her age. She spoke slowly and gracefully.

“Hello, Mr. Zhao and Ms. Xin, I’m Yang Yulan. Thank you for coming all this way.”

Zhao Xi smiled warmly. “Ms. Yang, you’re too kind. It’s a perk for us to come to your company. It’s full of handsome men and beautiful women. We’ve been looking at them all the way here, and it’s a feast for the eyes.”

Sullivan made them coffee and said with a smile, “Ms. Yang, you see, I was telling the truth. Aren’t Mr. Zhao and Ms. Xin both incredibly beautiful? They must have chosen the wrong profession when they were young; otherwise, they should have come to our company.”

Yang Yulan smiled and said, “Yes, as soon as you came in, I felt that your company has a really high threshold for its employees’ appearance.”

Xin Xin quickly added a few flattering words: “I only realized how much the employees act like the bosses after meeting you. You have such a great presence; I’ve even heard your songs before.”

The group exchanged pleasantries, their conversations half-truths and half-joking, but they all seemed quite happy.

Yang Yulan was not a talkative person, but when she asked questions about project proposals, she was incisive and always managed to get to the heart of the matter, asking key business-related questions. Zhao Xi and Xin Xin did not dare to be evasive and focused entirely on answering her questions.

Xin Xin did not understand the cost of the film, but she felt that Xingyao was reliable, and after meeting Yang Yulan, she felt even more confident.

Yang Yulan had a particularly high leverage this time, but she was very confident as she introduced the film to them.

“The movie’s an extension of the TV series. Because the TV series itself is already very profitable and popular, it’s a sure-fire way to make money. I was originally planning to take out a loan from the bank, but coincidentally, my friend Sha Sha introduced me to Xin Xin, saying that you can do it at a better price than taking out a loan. I read your project proposal and thought it was feasible.”

Xin Xin smiled and said, “Don’t worry, our company’s strength is absolutely not a problem.”

As Zhao Xi watched Xin Xin chatting and laughing with others, he suddenly felt a momentary lapse of concentration. He recalled the early days when he took Xin Xin to discuss business; she would carry a small notebook, taking notes while others spoke and not knowing how to react when someone made a joke.

Now, she could easily prepare project proposals and handle other people’s questions flexibly, and while being professional in her work, she could also crack a joke from time to time, making the atmosphere of the conversation very relaxed.

Zhao Xi had mixed feelings, a sense of relief mixed with a reluctance that his child had grown up.

The project negotiations went very smoothly, and all the basic details were finalized.

Sullivan escorted Zhao Xi and Xin Xin down the elevator and said to Zhao Xi in a coquettish tone, “Mr. Zhao, I really envy you having such a capable subordinate. Our CEO Yang is quite strict, but look how nice she was to Xin Xin just now.”

Xin Xin smiled and said, “Am I really that good? That’s because you like me, so you have a biased view of me.”

Sullivan chuckled. “Who doesn’t love a little star? What’s your English name? Star?”

Xin Xin smiled and said, “It really is. One of my clients came up with it.”

Sullivan nodded. “This client must really like you to give you such a lovely name.”

Xin Xin made a face. “You guessed right; this client’s my boyfriend now.”

As Zhao Xi listened to their conversation, that one sentence struck him like a needle pricking a corner of his heart. Not fatal, but a sharp, piercing pain.

Sullivan exclaimed, “Wow, I’m so envious!” He then gave each of them an ice cream and went back inside. Before leaving, Xin Xin looked around the lobby but did not see Xibei.

She gave a wry smile, thinking to herself, “What a small world. I hope nothing unexpected happens.”

Zhao Xi asked her thoughtfully, “How do you know this Sullivan? This project’s not easy to expand. You’ve only been here a few days; how did you make contact? Teach me.”

Xin Xin then recounted how she met Sullivan and then said rather proudly, “I think it’s because I’m charming.”

Zhao Xi did not refute her rather narcissistic pride but only looked at her gently and agreed, “Mm.”

Xin Xin was prepared for Zhao Xi to laugh at her, but she did not expect him to be so serious and affirmative. Instead, she became uneasy and hurriedly changed the subject: “Sha Sha said I look like his wife when she was young.”

Zhao Xi gave her a strange look. “Is his wife a man or a woman?”

Xin Xin replied naturally, “It’s a woman.”

Zhao Xi gave a muffled “hmm,” then suddenly laughed, “You can’t judge a book by its cover. I thought he liked men.”

Xin Xin shook her head and explained seriously, “There’s nothing wrong with that. His situation’s a bit special. Apparently, he feels like a woman and likes men. His wife’s a woman, but she feels like a man. So they are both heterosexual, but not in a typical heterosexual way.”

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Xi concluded, “Everyone will eventually find the right partner.”

Because the project was progressing smoothly, Xin Xin was in a great mood. Thinking of Sha Sha’s discussion about “star,” she could not help but laugh. On her way back, she sent a message to Zheng Zaochuan to live-stream the whole process of the day.

Zheng Zaochuan said, “See? I told you this name was not bad. I named you after humanity’s stars and the sea, and you’re still not happy.”