novelnext Chapter 94 The Price of Victory
Chapter 94 The Price of Victory
Chapter 94 The Price of Victory
The solid wood door to the conference room closed gently behind Li Xiuman, making a dull echo.
Kim Min-young stood up without a word, tucked her laptop under her arm, and swept her cold gaze over Kang Yeon and Lim Choong-ah. Her lips moved, but she said nothing. She turned and strode out.
Two people from the Ministry of Justice followed closely behind, with Kim Sung-hoon bringing up the rear.
As he passed Jiang Yan, his once fairly decent face was now contorted beyond recognition, his eyes swirling with resentment.
His lips moved several times, as if he were about to say something tough, but he only managed to squeeze out a hoarse, cold snort through his teeth, clenched his fists, and practically fled in panic.
Ahn Jung-hwan was the last to stand up.
He walked over to Jiang Yan, patted him heavily on the shoulder, and let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head before following him out.
The door was gently closed.
In an instant, only three people remained in the huge conference room.
Jiang Yan, Lin Yoona, and Kenzie.
Kenzie remained motionless.
She remained seated, her gaze fixed on the open spiral notebook in front of her.
The paper was filled with detailed notes of today's meeting, and at the bottom line, the words "Girls' Generation's contract renewal is ahead of schedule" were written in black pen.
These words were repeatedly scribbled over by her pen tip, the thick black ink already soaking through the back of the paper.
"Jiang Yan, do you know what this means?"
Jiang Yan was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Yes, teacher, I understand."
Kenzie looked up, and his eyes, which were always cold and distant, were now filled with worry and a hint of heartache that he could not hide.
"Then you should also understand that when Lee Soo-man said 'you won,' it was never a compliment."
Jiang Yan did not respond.
He knew better than anyone that this victory came at the cost of his entire future at SM Entertainment.
Kenzie stood up, closed her notebook, and stuffed it into her canvas bag. She walked up to Jiang Yan and stood there, the height difference forcing her to look up at him slightly.
"The setback Kim Sung-hoon suffered, the loss of face for the film and television department, the losses caused by the shelving of 'ReaI,' and the humiliation of the entire company's management being cornered by you—all these debts will be recorded one by one."
She reached out and gently tapped Jiang Yan's chest with her fingertips.
"But they won't hold Girls' Generation responsible. They're SM's cash cow, their golden brand, and they can't be touched."
"It won't be held against Lim Yoona. She's the face of the national girl group, the darling of GG Entertainment, and can't be touched."
"Only you can do it."
"You're a newcomer, a parachuted-in employee, an outsider with no roots in SM. From the moment you got involved in Girls' Generation's contract renewal, even I couldn't protect you anymore. Do you understand?"
"Teacher, I have let you down."
Jiang Yan bowed deeply to her, his back bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
Kenzie looked at him, opened his mouth, but in the end just sighed and patted him on the shoulder.
She turned and nodded slightly to Lim Yoona, then turned and walked towards the conference room door.
Just as the door was about to close, her voice came through the crack: "Jiang Yan, you are the most talented producer I have ever met. So, leave SM. I will help you."
A soft "thump" sound.
The door was closed completely.
"Thanks----"
Jiang Yanzhi stood up and exhaled a heavy breath.
He looked up at the gray sky outside the window, where leaden clouds hung low, as if it could rain at any moment.
An indescribable heaviness, like a boulder, pressed down on his heart.
Just then, he felt his clothes being gently tugged.
Jiang Yan frowned and turned his head away.
Yoona lowered her head, her slender fingers tightly gripping the hem of his shirt, and whispered, "I'm sorry—it's me—"
"You don't need to apologize to me."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yan gently interrupted him.
"This is a collaboration between us. As a newcomer who has been with the company for less than a month, I wouldn't have gotten this far without your help. As for the consequences, I've already thought them through and I can bear them."
"But in the future—I hope you can take good care of Min-jung for me. She's young and timid. I'm afraid that after I leave, someone will bully her."
Lin Yoona stared at him blankly, her doe eyes filled with tears for the first time when facing Jiang Yan.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something.
I want to say sorry, I want to say that I didn't mean to hide it from you, and I want to ask why you didn't scold me.
But she couldn't say anything.
Because she suddenly realized that Jiang Yan knew everything from beginning to end.
He knew he was using him, knew the cost of doing so, and knew that regardless of the success or failure of the negotiation, he would be the one pushed out to take the fall.
He knew everything, but he still came.
"Jiang Yan————"
Yoona's voice trembled slightly. She blinked hard, forcing back the tears that welled up in her eyes.
Then, taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and gave him a light but firm punch on the chest.
"Hey, you phra bah!"
Jiang Yan clutched his chest, the sad expression on his face still lingering, when he was completely stunned by her blow.
"you----"
"What do you mean, 'you'?"
Yoona stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes were still red, and the tip of her nose had a cute pink tinge.
"If Kenzie unnie can help you get out of your job, why can't I?"
As she spoke, she took a black USB drive out of her jeans pocket and put it into Jiang Yan's hand.
"Here are two songs that I've recorded. You can write out the lyrics and music yourself, and tell me when you're done. I'll tell you what to do next."
"Alright, I'm leaving now. Taeyeon and the others are still waiting for me at the dorm to report on today's results. Don't stay at the company today, go home and get some rest."
After saying that, she turned around, opened the door, and ran out like a gust of wind.
The crisp sound of high heels clicking on the floor gradually faded away in the empty corridor until it disappeared completely.
Jiang Yan stood in the empty conference room, looking at the door that had closed again, and then looked down at the small USB drive in his hand.
After a long while, he smiled, a smile that was somewhat bitter and helpless, but more than anything, it was a sense of relief.
To be honest, he really didn't want to leave SM.
Here are Choi Jin-ri, Kim Jong-un whom he worries about, his talent which he hasn't had a chance to showcase yet, and Kenzie, the first teacher who truly recognized him.
But things didn't go as planned.
Some roads, once embarked upon, offer no turning back.
Lin Xiaolu floated to his side, looked at the smile on his face, and cautiously asked, "Are you... alright?"
"Hmm." Jiang Yan put the USB drive in his pocket, turned and walked towards the door. "Much better than before."
"She prepared an escape route for you, so you're not angry anymore?" Lin Xiaolu tilted her head, floating beside him, curiously observing his expression. "She used you! She pushed you to the front to take the fall, making you resented by the entire company's management. They'll definitely find a chance to get revenge on you later!"
Jiang Yan pushed open the meeting room door and walked into the empty corridor.
"She did take advantage of me, but more than that, I think you should reflect on yourself."
"Huh?" Lin Xiaolu was stunned.
"Even if I have a puppy, it knows to wag its tail and thank me. What about you?"
Jiang Yan glanced at her sideways. "Knowing exactly what she was planning, she still chose to keep it from me. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have been sold out and would have had to help her count the money."
"Didn't I tell you that last night? Besides, I'm not a puppy, and you haven't raised me."
"Fine." Jiang Yan nodded expressionlessly. "Then I'll go home and cut that silver-blue thread between us. From now on, you can be your own wandering ghost and stop following me. I get annoyed just seeing you."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaolu immediately deflated.
She stopped arguing and quickly floated to the front of Jiang Yan, put her hands together and raised them above her head, looking at him pitifully like a primary school student who had done something wrong.
"I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have kept it from you. I promise I won't do it again. Please don't send me away, okay?"
Jiang Yan ignored her, walked past her expressionlessly, and continued walking forward.
"Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan!" Lin Xiaolu chased after him, shouting loudly.
Seeing that he still ignored her, she paced anxiously, and in her haste, blurted out, "Kang Yeon Oppa."
Jiang Yan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Lin Xiaolu couldn't stop in time and passed right through his back. She quickly floated back, leaned close to him, observed his expression, and whispered, "You—you're not angry anymore?"
"Who said that?" Jiang Yan suppressed the slight upturn of his lips. "I just remembered that you patted my shoulder no less than twenty times with your broken hand in the conference room just now. I haven't settled that score with you yet."
"I was just cheering you on!" Lin Xiaolu immediately retorted.
"Oh, then I'll cut the string when I get home, and you can go cheer for others."
"9
"Hey! Jiang Yan, you stingy little devil! Are you never going to stop?!"
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