"Otherwise? Otherwise what, Manager Ji? Are you telling me to get lost right now?"
Three men walked up, all wearing suits and ties, hands in their pockets. The man in the lead adjusted his sunglasses, glanced at Manager Ji standing in front of him, and spoke with a mocking tone.
"No, that's not what I meant, Rory. Why are you here?" Manager Ji forced a smile when she saw them, but inside she was already miserable, secretly resenting Queenie Tong for bringing in some random guy and causing her to say the wrong thing.
"Why are we here? Manager Ji, don't you know? About what we discussed earlier—have you thought it over? Tonight, let Serena Tong keep our Second Brother Su company. As long as Su is satisfied and relaxed, the price is negotiable."
The man lit a cigarette, took a drag, and while speaking, his gaze skipped past Manager Ji and landed on Serena Tong, who was on stage.
From this angle, only Serena Tong's profile was visible. Yet even in profile, she radiated breathtaking beauty—her fair skin, slender figure, and innate icy elegance were enough to drive these men crazy.
"Rory, that's really not possible. Serena is busy these days, and she's not feeling well," Manager Ji said with a forced smile, anxiety gnawing at her inside.
This Rory—nicknamed Rory "Hammer" Luo—was the manager of the Shanggrida Grand Hotel, which had shares owned by the Jinnan Su family.
Normally, this would be a case of minding one's own business, but lately Second Brother Su from the Su family has been in a foul mood, and plenty of people have been trying every trick to win his favor.
Rory "Hammer" Luo happened to catch Serena Tong holding a fan meeting at the hotel, so he jumped at the chance. In his eyes, if he could get Serena onto Second Brother Su's bed, he'd be able to stand tall in front of Su from then on.
"No time? That's not a problem. You can always make time. As for her not feeling well, that's not a problem either—as long as she shows up, that's enough." Rory 'Hammer' Luo sneered, then pointed toward Serena Tong. "Just name your price. Is a hundred thousand yuan per night enough? If not, two hundred thousand!"
"It's not about the money..." Manager Ji tried to say something more, her heart full of anxiety.
At fan meetings and celebrity events like this, the biggest worry is running into local thugs making threats. These unspoken rules are nearly impossible to avoid, and even the police rarely want to get involved.
"If it's not about the money, then there's no problem. It's settled, then. Manager Ji, you're a smart woman. You know exactly what kind of power Second Brother Su wields. If you offend him, you won't have a place to survive in all of Jinnan!" Rory Luo said coldly.
Manager Ji's face went pale, then flushed. Just as she was desperately thinking of what to do, her gaze swept the crowd and landed on Eric Yu.
Manager Ji instantly remembered that Eric Yu's father, Quentin Yu, was the president of the Capitalview City Chamber of Commerce. If she could get him to step in...
With that thought, Manager Ji couldn't worry about anything else. She hurried over, plastering a smile on her face as she approached Eric Yu.
"Eric, you're here too? Missing your Sister Serena already?" Manager Ji called out first, closing the distance.
Eric Yu, who'd just been left out by Serena Tong and was feeling awkward, turned at the sound of Manager Ji's voice. Seeing her greet him, he immediately brightened and introduced her to Lynn Chen beside him: "This is Manager Ji, Sister Serena's agent."
"These are my classmates."
As Eric Yu introduced everyone, Manager Ji looked around and smiled, "Hello, everyone."
Manager Ji had a powerful presence, making Mason He and the others visibly nervous, even Wendy Wen looked a bit tense.
Eric Yu was secretly thrilled that Manager Ji greeted him so warmly. Back when they were filming, everyone knew Serena Tong's agent was notoriously proud, always looking down her nose at people—even Eric rarely got a second glance.
Eric Yu hadn't expected Manager Ji to give him so much face today.
"Eric, your dad's the Chamber of Commerce president, right? He must know a lot of people in Capitalview?" Manager Ji cut straight to the point, not wasting time on small talk.
"He knows pretty much everyone in Capitalview. Manager Ji, are you in trouble? If you need help, just say the word." Eric Yu boasted, full of excitement, his voice loud and clear.
Recently at school, Eric Yu hadn't had much chance to show off. Ordinary students wouldn't mess with him—they all knew he was a celebrity, but not many knew about his father's status.
"So Eric's dad is the president of the Capitalview Chamber of Commerce!" Mason He exclaimed.
"No wonder Eric looks just like a rich young master from a powerful family," one of the girls said with envy.
Eric Yu listened to their words, smiling as he tried to play it down, but the pride in his eyes was obvious. He even glanced over at Lynn Chen.
But Lynn Chen seemed distracted the whole time, leaving Eric Yu feeling pretty annoyed.
"Good, if that's the case, I can relax. Those guys over there want Serena to go to a cocktail party tonight, but you know your Sister Serena never goes out at night—and she really hates these kinds of social events." Manager Ji glanced over at Rory Luo and his crew as she spoke.
They called it a party, but everyone knew what it really was behind the scenes.
Hearing this, Eric Yu's face darkened. He snorted coldly and looked over. "Don't worry, I'll go see who's got the guts to target Sister Serena!"
"Thanks, Eric." Hearing his promise, Manager Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief. She genuinely trusted him.
If this kind of thing happened in Oceanport City, at least the company could cover for them and they'd get through it somehow. But Jinnan wasn't within Serena Tong's agency's sphere of influence.
Eric Yu strode toward Rory 'Hammer' Luo, Mason He and the others following close behind.
Eric Yu wore an air of arrogance as he walked straight up to Rory Luo, reached the backstage area, and frowned, saying coldly, "Don't you know smoking isn't allowed here?"