Confused, the employees trickled into the meeting room leisurely in pairs and groups. They were met by the sight of Li Chunhua standing at the front, arms crossed, her face cold as she watched them.
Their long-standing habits had instilled an instinctive fear of Sister Hua in them. Upon seeing her, they quickly hastened their pace to find seats.
Already irritated, Li Chunhua felt her anger swell as she watched them saunter in, one after another, without a care.
Once everyone was seated, Li Chunhua looked at the long conference table. Seeing only four or five people scattered sparsely around it, she could no longer restrain herself.
BANG! She slammed her hand on the table and asked sternly,
"Where is everyone else? Why are there so few people? Do you all still want to work here or not?!"
Silence answered her. It lingered until, finally, someone said in a low voice,
"Sister Hua... these are all who are left. The others have resigned..."
The person who spoke quickly lowered their head, but the expected scolding didn't come.
Upon hearing this, Li Chunhua's gaze turned vacant for a moment. She still remembered those busy days when dozens of people had bustled about, all for Xu Qingqiu's popularity.
She hadn't expected that, in the blink of an eye, only so few would remain.
At this thought, her anger seemed to dissipate without her realizing.
Just then, Xu Qingqiu rushed in, asking as soon as she entered,
"What's wrong, Sister Hua? What's got you so fired up?"
She had heard Sister Hua slam the table even before entering, which was why she had rushed over.
To her surprise, the meeting room was silent when she entered. Everyone was looking down, and Li Chunhua sat there dejectedly, seemingly lost in thought.
Hearing Xu Qingqiu's voice, Li Chunhua quickly snapped back to reality. Her face twitched, and she managed to squeeze out a forced smile.
She didn't want Xu Qingqiu to know too much about the company's affairs, as it might distract her. Right now, mastering that song was the most important thing.
"Qingqiu, you're here. Take a seat. An incident has come up that we need to deal with."
Seeing Li Chunhua's reluctance to speak, Xu Qingqiu didn't press further. She actually understood the company's situation but chose not to mention it.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's talk about it."
Gathering her thoughts, Li Chunhua returned to her usual commanding presence. Sitting across from Xu Qingqiu with her fingers interlaced on the table, she addressed them all, "Just now, Qingqiu's name started trending. I don't know if any of you saw it."
Hearing this, the remaining employees exchanged glances.
Normally, such matters were essential for the PR and operations teams to monitor; it would be impossible for them not to know.
The catch was, however, that everyone had spent the morning busy submitting resumes and looking for new jobs.
With the studio in such turmoil, who was actually doing their job properly?
Needless to say, just by looking at their expressions, it was clear they were likely unaware of the situation's full details.
Li Chunhua sighed inwardly and couldn't help but rub her temples, at a loss for words.
"Sister Hua? Why am I trending? Is it related to the company's issues?" Xu Qingqiu asked curiously, hearing it concerned her.
"No, it's like this..."
Since everyone seemed clueless and Xu Qingqiu had now asked, Li Chunhua relayed the information she had gathered online while waiting for them.
"So, you're saying that the news of Qin Xiao's night out with some young star went viral this morning, and then my account inexplicably liked it? The paparazzi discovered this and even wrote a dedicated article about it, is that right?"
Xu Qingqiu summarized what she'd heard, her expression one of utter disbelief. Even after Li Chunhua nodded to confirm that was indeed the case, she remained incredulous.
No, what in the world is going on?
Talk about being an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire!
She was already on bad terms with the company and, with all the recent issues, had been deliberately trying to keep a low profile.
So how did something like this still happen? Is this what they mean by 'the tree desires stillness, but the wind never ceases'?
It wasn't just Xu Qingqiu; all the employees present felt like they'd been royally screwed over.
Damn it! We just wanted to get through these next few days quietly, find better jobs, and jump ship! Who the hell is stirring up this kind of trouble for no reason?
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Alright, talk. Who has access to Qingqiu's personal account?"
Li Chunhua didn't have time for their guessing games or blame-shifting. She knocked on the table and asked bluntly.
After she asked, however, no one spoke. They all just looked at each other, each with an 'it's none of my business' expression.
Seeing their attitude, Li Chunhua's anger flared.
"Do you all think the company can't pay you, that it owes you? Are you all planning to jump ship and then sue for arbitration so you don't have to work in the meantime?"
"Have you forgotten? Back when we were at the studio, did Qingqiu ever treat any of you unfairly? Was there ever a holiday without red envelopes? And your year-end bonuses! Go ask around—which celebrity gives out bigger bonuses than she did?!"
"Besides, do you think the company *wants* to withhold your salaries? I know the company is at fault here, but we're doing our best to earn money. Isn't Qingqiu practicing her singing day and night precisely to earn enough to pay your salaries first?"
"But what about you? If you don't want to stay, you're free to leave. The salaries and compensation owed to you will absolutely be the first thing paid out the moment we have the money."
"But are you happy just coasting along here every day? Won't that money feel like it's burning a hole in your pocket when you finally get it? Can you live with your conscience?!"
Li Chunhua had clearly been holding this in for a long time. As her words poured out, everyone in the room lowered their heads, none daring to make a sound.
However, Xu Qingqiu couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"Sister Hua, that's enough. There's no need to be so harsh."
After speaking, she gave the others a pointed look, signaling them to leave.
Those who caught her glance hurriedly nudged their colleagues. Heads bowed, they silently filed out of the room.
The last person to leave paused at the door. He seemed to remember something, then turned back hesitantly and said,
"Um... Sister Hua, I seem to recall Chu Tian was responsible for Sister Qiu's account. I might be misremembering, but you could ask him."
Then, without looking back, he walked out.
This statement was like adding fuel to the fire. Li Chunhua, who had been barely containing her anger, completely exploded.
"Chu Tian!!!"
And, speak of the devil,
Chu Tian just happened to be strolling past the meeting room door, enjoying a popsicle. Hearing his name called, he paused, startled for a moment, then subconsciously pushed open the door and poked his head in, looking around curiously.
Who? Who's calling me?
He would have been better off not looking. Because when he did, he found himself staring right into Li Chunhua's furious, crimson eyes.
Li Chunhua was about to explode. She was a bundle of frustration and pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it.
She had just identified the culprit and was about to unleash her fury. But then she turned and saw the instigator himself casually poking his head into the meeting room—and to top it all off, the scoundrel was sucking on a popsicle, taking a leisurely bite now and then!
"You...! You're pushing it too far!!!"
"Chu Tian! Get your ass in here, now!"
What the—?! What's going on? I'm just eating a popsicle! Am I going to get yelled at for this too?
Seriously bad luck!