It was Sister Ling after all. Niu Meiling smoothly resolved the awkward situation at hand: "It's fine. Since Mu Zi'ang has clearly stated that it must be Mofei, we should respect the creator's wishes! Besides, Mofei will be the one singing—good fortune stays within the family. That's still something to celebrate!"
"Ha, haha, right, Sister Ling is right." Jian Chuo gave an awkward laugh, then sat down.
"Chuo Jie!" Zhen Zhen couldn't contain herself. Seeing the prize slip from her grasp, she tugged anxiously at Jian Chuo's clothes.
But Jian Chuo had no mind to comfort her now.
Niu Meiling acted as if nothing had happened, waving her hand with authority to wrap things up. "Alright, regardless, your Sister Ling still means what she says. Starting today, the planning department, PR department—every department, listen up. Mobilize resources: recording, shooting the MV, and the pre-release hype. Mofei's new album must get moving!"
Mofei looked at Sister Ling, a slight thaw in her icy demeanor, and nodded gently.
But only she knew that this incident had already planted a seed of discord in her heart.
The Sister Ling who had felt so unfamiliar and chilling just now was no longer the person she remembered from before...
After the meeting adjourned, Mofei and Mo Xiaojuan walked in silence. Back in her office, Mo Xiaojuan smugly boasted to her cousin: "Sister, you have no idea how long I've been fed up with that Jian woman. Finally getting to slap her in the face today was so satisfying."
Mofei shook her head, sitting down wearily. "I never thought Sister Ling would side with them. I really didn't. So disappointing."
Mo Xiaojuan rolled her eyes. "Sister, why are you still so naive? Couldn't you tell Sister Ling was putting on an act? If she hadn't given the nod, would Jian Chuo have dared to blatantly steal our song? This might even be Sister Ling's doing!"
"No way?" Mofei frowned deeply, hesitating.
"How could it not be? Wasn't Jian Chuo here yesterday? Then at the meeting, this whole scene unfolds, with so many people piling on. If there's no dirty work behind it, I won't believe it!" Mo Xiaojuan waved her hands dismissively.
"And I specifically watched Sister Ling's expression. Hmph, that Niu Meiling never once looked surprised from start to finish. She clearly knew all along!" Mo Xiaojuan fumed.
"Well... no matter what, let's not dig into this any further. If we make a scene, we won't be able to stay friends later!" Mofei tugged at Mo Xiaojuan, trying to calm her.
"Who wants to be friends with her? Sister, let me tell you, if it weren't for Mu Zi'ang being alert, we'd have fallen into their trap!" Mo Xiaojuan said bitterly.
"Right, about those agreements you printed before the meeting—I forgot to ask. Did Mu Zi'ang tell you to do that? What happened?" Mofei asked curiously.
Mo Xiaojuan smugly pulled Mofei over to the computer and took out her phone to explain. "This morning, I got a text from an unknown number. It was Mu Zi'ang. He told me something was wrong and had me log into a new email account. He sent a message there with the authorization documents as attachments, plus a few screenshots..."
"Hmph! Look, someone used our email to send Mu Zi'ang a message, and the content was so cheesy! Later, I checked our email—the traces were cleaned up, but I bet it was someone from the company! Luckily, it was so cringey that Mu Zi'ang knew something was off and sent us the direct authorization." Mo Xiaojuan said triumphantly. "So I kept it hidden, waiting for that bitch Jian Chuo to show her hand, then slapped her hard!"
Mofei frowned as she studied the email. She was calmer and spotted a problem. "Xiaojuan, how did Mu Zi'ang know it might be Sister Ling and the others trying to take our song?"
"Huh?" Mo Xiaojuan hadn't considered that. Now that Mofei brought it up, she scratched her head. "Yeah, how did he know?"
"Maybe the email someone sent gave him enough to figure it out?" Mo Xiaojuan guessed.
"That email doesn't give much info." Mo Xiaojuan shook her head. "Oh, and that phone number—have you tried contacting Mu Zi'ang? Regardless, he helped us a lot. We should thank him properly!"
Mo Xiaojuan shrugged helplessly. "No luck. I tried calling back, but the phone was off. I tried several times."
"Why won't he answer?" Mofei frowned.
"No idea. That guy's so mysterious, like he's afraid we'll recognize him." Mo Xiaojuan pouted.
"Afraid?" Mofei seemed to catch a clue.
"Yeah! Chen Yijie has met him, but we've asked several times, and he still won't show his face!" Mo Xiaojuan snorted.
In that instant, Mofei felt like Conan, blurting out, "Or maybe it's because we know him?"
Mo Xiaojuan snickered. "Could he be someone from our company? Nah, that's too unlikely. Honestly, I'd rather believe he's too ugly to show his face."
Mofei was thrown off by her comment and playfully tapped her head. "Don't say that about him. He's still our benefactor."
While they were laughing and chatting, Niu Meiling's office was shrouded in gloom.
"Sister Ling, Mo Xiaojuan and Mofei are getting too big for their boots. You can't keep indulging them!" Jian Chuo complained. "Zhen Zhen's been crying to me for ages, saying she still wants to sing 'Cross the Ocean to See You.' She can't let it go!"
"Go talk to Mofei. If she agrees, I have no objection," Niu Meiling said coldly.
Jian Chuo knew how to read the room and laughed it off. "Of course not. I told her off, saying there's no such luck now. That bitch Mofei is so stingy—she won't even let others have the scraps."
Niu Meiling snorted.
"So, Sister Ling, are you really going to push Mofei's new album like this? If it takes off, next time she signs, it'll be a top-tier contract. What profit do we make?" Jian Chuo said cautiously.
Niu Meiling frowned but didn't respond.
"How about we just give her minimal resources? Whether she makes it or not is up to her fate," Jian Chuo urged. "Zhen Zhen's new album is coming up too. You should focus more on her. She's such a good kid—even if she gets famous, she won't forget her roots. Plus, her contract has four or five years left. Pushing her is what's best for the company!"
Niu Meiling gave Jian Chuo a deep look, seeing through her selfish motives.
Still, the logic wasn't wrong. From a return-on-investment perspective, letting Mofei, who was on a top-tier contract, rehash old material wasn't as good as grooming a new star...