Magical Girl Heavy Dependence

Chapter 47, Dismissal

In Songlan's private lounge, there is a huge tropical fish tank that is three meters long. At this moment, the room's owner leans over the fish tank and uses magic to tease a small fish through the glass.

"Songlan, what do you think of what was mentioned at the press conference?" Assistant Gao Xiao stood in the center of the living room, her expression solemn.

Songlan did not answer. Under her magical pull, the little fish was as if it were being held in an invisible cage, unable to move no matter how much it struggled.

If Cheng Chen were here, he would definitely recognize it as the "Imprisonment Technique" array he had demonstrated before.

With just one encounter, she had completely mastered its usage and understood it thoroughly.

"Does Sister Xiao mean a joint operation with the municipal government to eradicate the monsters that have made a contract with 'Salary Master'? Or does she mean the company's promise to compensate audience members and fans who suffered losses at the concert?"

"Neither."

Seeing this, Gao Xiao pressed his brow in frustration.

"I can tolerate the company launching other magical girl idols and using your resources—it's part of the company's grand strategy; I can also tolerate the fact that the bottom-ranked student is being promoted—she's not one of my trainees. But I can't tolerate using your most important annual concert to benefit that bottom-ranked student."

Gao Xiao complained in frustration.

"Songlan, we can't open this door. Every time you back down, others will take advantage of you—if you agree to let that loser be a solo guest at the concert today, they'll come up with even more people tomorrow."

"Once the bottom line is crossed, all that's left is endless trouble. You can't squeeze in so many people with connections, so you might as well reject them all from the start and not give others anything to talk about."

Despite her earnest advice, Songlan continued to tease the little fish.

The lounge fell silent.

After a while, the top idol, seemingly having played to his heart's content, clapped his hands and straightened up from in front of the fish tank.

"During the last concert, Huiya held off a calamity beast outside the venue, minimizing the company's losses from the unexpected performance. The company should reward her for her contribution alone, and I don't see anything wrong with doing so. Besides, everything I have comes from the company, so how can I talk about 'benefiting' or 'losing' her?"

She turned around calmly.

"You're still too kind-hearted and think too simply about people's hearts."

Gao Xiao shook his head. "You clearly gave Huiya a free ticket, so why was she outside the arena instead of inside? Although that calamity beast was just a defective product resurrected by magic, it was still of a higher rank than her. How did she manage to defeat the calamity beast just before you arrived?"

"And then there's the Master of Salvation. Putting aside why a demon who fled two years ago would suddenly come back, what reason would he have to attack your concert? Moreover, from the start of the riot to its end, no one saw any trace of the Master of Salvation. Only the municipal government announced the results of the investigation."

"The announced result wasn't capture, but death. The Lord of the Salvation already possessed the strength of a fifth-tier 'Star Calamity.' Even if the CEO intervened, it would be impossible to defeat him so silently. Who could kill him so easily?"

She sighed, came up behind Songlan, and gently patted her back like a caring older sister.

Song Lan glanced sideways and then back, and Gao Xiao immediately withdrew his hand sheepishly.

She almost forgot that Songlan disliked physical contact from others.

Song Lan turned back to watch the little fish tearing at their food, and calmly asked, "Why couldn't it be someone even stronger than the CEO who intervened?"

"Where would you find a magical girl like this?"

"What if it's a demon?"

"If a demon stronger than the president really appeared in Yincheng, things would have been in chaos long ago."

Gao Xiao stubbornly denied it and explained her point of view.

"In my opinion, the attack is fake, it's just a publicity stunt." Her face was sinister, and she sneered intermittently. "This is the kind of publicity the company used to be best at. Cheng Chen has always wanted to debut his trainee, and he needs to generate popularity for that good-for-nothing."

"Didn't you notice something amiss last time? Huiya clearly caused such a huge mess, but he managed to turn the home invasion and kidnapping into a rescue mission, turning it all into a merit. This time it's just the same old trick. But Cheng Chen doesn't seem satisfied yet; he wants to use this incident to blackmail the company into giving him more power and resources."

"Songlan, you are the company's only star right now. He probably wants to use this kind of request to get close to you step by step, gradually erode and control our entire project team, and then completely gain a foothold in the company."

From Gao Xiao's perspective, it's not impossible to reach such a conclusion.

From her previous interview after saving someone to the popularity and discussion she gained at her concert, Huiya's continuous "hype" has given her popularity that is disproportionate to her abilities. Moreover, each incident seems to be perfectly timed, with others suffering losses while she benefits.

Song Lan turned her head to look over, her expression revealing neither joy nor anger: "The company did not inform us of this publicity arrangement."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a company."

Gao Xiao sneered, "Cheng Chen is a demon. He might have some private connections among demons and orchestrated this one-man show on his own."

"You have a lot of complaints about Vice President Cheng?"

Songlan asked casually.

"He is a demon."

Gao Xiao did not answer directly, but instead emphasized again: "The Demon is our natural enemy and is not trustworthy. Besides, I only have some doubts about what happened at the concert... Even if it has nothing to do with him, it is against the rules to send trainees to us to boost their resumes."

As she spoke, she vaguely sensed that Songlan was not on her side, so she changed her words to comfort her.

"Songlan, I'm your assistant, and everything I do is for your sake. The company is currently on a tightrope, and you are the last pillar. If even you fall, Yinfu Entertainment might really not be able to hold on and things could get even worse."

Gao Xiao offered this advice from the bottom of his heart.

She genuinely felt that she was doing this for the sake of Yinfu Entertainment and for the good of Songlan's future.

She had never had a disagreement with Songlan before.

Only this once.

She had to persuade Songlan to listen to her opinion.

At this moment, Gao Xiao was still worried when he heard a soft laugh.

"Is that so?"

Song Lan's lips curved slightly, her expression calm and indifferent. "Last time, Sister Xiao, you said that Cheng Chen was the president's weapon, right?"

Gao Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"If the vice president is just a pawn manipulated by Sister Fei, and your words and actions as her assistant represent my will—now that you had a big argument with Cheng Chen at the producer meeting, won't the other people in the company think that there's a conflict between Sister Fei and me?"

"this……"

Gao Xiao paused, speechless.

Songlan continued, "That's not good; it will cause unnecessary turmoil within the company."

"Songlan, don't worry too much, the president will understand. You haven't done anything, and everyone will support you, as long as..."

"Sister Xiao."

"Yes... I'm sorry." Gao Xiao lowered her head decisively.

"I understand your concerns, but I hope you understand that this is not just an entertainment company, but also a home for magical girls. There's no need for so much malicious speculation among people of the same kind. I'm willing to believe them, just as they're willing to believe me."

Gao Xiao was stunned, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Song Lan slowly walked past her: "You said in the meeting that Huiya is not yet qualified to perform on stage, which is indeed an impeccable reason. Therefore, if any of the three trainees under the vice president can reach the second level 'Light Bell' before my next concert, I will invite that person as a formal guest performer."

"What! That's absolutely unacceptable!"

At this moment, Gao Xiao subconsciously widened her eyes.

A hand landed on her shoulder. "As for you, Sister Xiao, perhaps you've been under too much work pressure lately. I'd like to give you a break so you can relax and recuperate." Songlan was still as warm and gentle as ever. "When you come back from your break, I'll have a lot of things I need your help with."

Gao Xiao felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

How could she not understand the implied meaning?

take a vacation?

Perhaps "dismissal" would be a more accurate description.

If I agree, it's hard to say when I can come back to work. Even if I am reinstated, I won't be qualified to continue being Songlan's full-time assistant.

But how can one refuse?

She hesitated, unsure of what she had done wrong.

Is Song Lan really going to kick Cheng Chen away just for her sake?

On what grounds?

How many times have they met? What reason could Songlan have to do this?

Gao Xiao suppressed the urge to question him and lowered her head: "I...I understand. I will communicate with the human resources department about this."

This is the last struggle.

She was talking about communicating, not accepting leave.

But Song Lan didn't care at all and nodded: "You can go out now."

Gao Xiao walked away, looking lost and dejected.

In her private lounge, Song Lan deactivated her transformation, revealing a girl with short, fluffy black hair and a dark green school uniform dress in the full-length mirror. Long hair partially obscured her face, and thick-rimmed glasses concealed her pearly eyes.

Even her height has shrunk considerably, making her look quite petite.

It is undeniable that Gao Xiao is a very capable assistant, but she takes herself too seriously and is influenced by factions and positions.

During the expansion of Yinfu Entertainment, too many people joined in, a large part of whom were magical girls who had graduated. Although they were still getting older, their minds had become fixed.

Money corrupted them, and they fought for power and profit, turning a simple workplace into a complicated one.

Talk about contributions? Talk about harm?

Don't you really know the current situation of this company?

Songlan shook her head, shaking off the resentment that had welled up inside her.

More importantly, Gao Xiao has been out of magic for too long.

On the day of the concert, Song Lan felt immense despair.

The black-robed demon ignored all the security arrangements and brazenly appeared on the stage.

She tried to resist and call for help, but it was all in vain.

Song Lan thought she was doomed, but when she woke up, she was in the dressing room backstage at the stadium.

Who saved her?

No one explained to her what had happened.

With Gao Xiao preoccupied with factional infighting, Jiang Fei treated the incident as a mere accident, even glossing over the city government's handling of the attack's organizer, Xin Zhu.

In my memory, I only vaguely heard that gentle, reassuring male voice.

Although she wasn't familiar with the voice, Songlan could only think of one person who could have heard it.

Someone she had never met before, and who was attending her concert for the first time.

Someone who had a motive to be there and a motive to save her.

A person rumored to be evil, ruthless, and so chilling that they send shivers down one's spine.

That person had only recently joined the company, and the exquisite binding array he casually constructed greatly benefited her.

"...Evil Lord".

The girl placed her palm on the surface of the full-length mirror.

One of the mysteries that had intrigued me before seems to have been solved.

……