weddingnovel Chapter 5 Zhou Yuji
Chapter 5 Zhou Yuji
the next day.
At 10:30 a.m., Wang Bo appeared at the entrance of Yuji Entertainment, carrying soy milk and fried dough sticks he had bought downstairs.
The company is located on the seventh floor of an old office building, with a total area of no more than 200 square meters, and the decoration style remains the minimalist industrial style that was popular five years ago.
The receptionist was watching a drama with her headphones on when she saw Wang Bo come in. She lazily raised her eyelids and said, "President Zhou hasn't arrived yet."
"I know." Wang Bo walked in naturally.
Pushing open the door to the less than ten-square-meter "artist lounge," Wang Bo placed breakfast on the table.
There was a guitar, several sheet music books, and various trinkets left behind by the original owner in the room.
He picked up the guitar and strummed a few chords; the pitch was pretty good.
"Choosing 'Encounter' as the song for the provincial stage isn't suitable, but we need to finish the complete arrangement of 'Encounter' first to practice," Wang Bo muttered to himself. "Primary piano, with string support, and drums in the second verse..."
Just as I was pondering this, the crisp sound of high heels clicking on the floor came from outside, growing louder as the receptionist's voice suddenly brightened: "Good morning, Mr. Zhou!"
"Good morning, Xiaoling, you look great today!" A lazy yet magnetic female voice rang out. "Make me a cup of coffee, the usual, double sugar."
Wang Bo put down his guitar, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the room.
Then he froze.
At the end of the corridor, Zhou Yuji casually tossed her Chanel handbag onto the front desk and reached out to tuck her long, wavy hair behind her shoulder.
Today she wore a burgundy halter dress with a slit that went up to above her knees, revealing her fair and straight calves.
She casually draped a beige knitted cardigan over her shoulders, but didn't wear it properly, leaving it loosely hanging down her shoulders to reveal her delicate collarbones and shoulder line.
Zhou Yuji's appearance is the kind of beauty that is extremely aggressive—bright features, upturned eyes, a high nose bridge, and alluring lips.
But her temperament is strangely a mixture of languor and nonchalance, like a pampered cat that might sneak out of the house at any moment.
"Wang Bo?" Zhou Yuji turned her head and saw him, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, you've come at the perfect time, I was just looking for you."
She walked steadily in her seven-centimeter stilettos towards Wang Bo.
As he got closer, Wang Bo smelled a faint perfume on her. The top notes were citrus, the middle notes were jasmine, and the base notes... Before he could figure it out, Zhou Yuji had already grabbed his arm.
"Come, come, let's talk in my office." Without waiting for a reply, she pulled Wang Bo into the largest office. "How was our meeting yesterday? Did Xiaoxiao give you any trouble?"
The office door was pushed open, and the scene inside left Wang Bo speechless once again.
The 50-square-meter space is exquisitely decorated, but it's a complete mess right now.
A few clothes were piled on the sofa, various fashion magazines were scattered on the coffee table, and the desk was the worst disaster area—files, cosmetics, half a bottle of red wine, and an open box of chocolates.
"Don't mind it, it's a bit messy, but there's order in the chaos." Zhou Yuji kicked off her high heels without any regard for her image, walked barefoot behind the desk, and threw herself into the large boss's chair. "Sit down, what are you standing for?"
Wang Bo sat down in the relatively clean and uncluttered chair opposite him, and carefully began, "President Zhou, regarding yesterday's meeting with Miss Su..."
"Just call me Sister Zhou, no need for 'General Manager' or anything like that." Zhou Yuji waved her hand, took out a pack of women's cigarettes from the drawer, thought for a moment, then put it back. "So, did Xiaoxiao give you a hard time?"
Wang Bo decided to get straight to the point: "Ms. Su gave me an opportunity, an invitation to perform at the provincial university's centennial celebration. She said if I perform well, her company wants to sign me."
After he finished speaking, he carefully observed Zhou Yuji's expression.
The expected anger, disappointment, and even surprise did not materialize. Zhou Yuji simply raised an eyebrow and then smiled.
"I knew it!" She slammed her hand on the table, nearly knocking over the half-empty bottle of red wine. "Xiaoxiao has a good eye! She figured you were a rising star so quickly!"
Wang Bo was a little confused: "Sister Zhou, aren't you angry? She's trying to poach artists from your company."
"Angry? I'm overjoyed!" Zhou Yuji stood up and walked barefoot on the soft carpet. "Wang Bo, let me tell you the truth, Yuji Entertainment is going out of business."
Wang Bo was stunned.
Zhou Yuji turned around, placed her hands on the desk, leaned forward, and looked at Wang Bo seriously: "I'm not joking, it's true. I've calculated it, at the current rate of spending money, we can only last for three more months at most. The lease expires next month, and I've decided not to renew it."
Wang Bo opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"Don't make that face." Zhou Yuji sat back down in her chair, crossed her legs, revealing her fair calves. "As for starting a company, I initially did it out of curiosity. I thought the entertainment industry was glamorous, so I just invested some money and played around. But what happened? Signing artists requires going against your conscience, doing projects requires market research, and you have to deal with all sorts of people... It's exhausting."
She sighed, but there was little regret in her sigh; it sounded more like relief: "So, I wholeheartedly support Xiaoxiao's offer to poach you. Her company may be small, but at least she's running it seriously. You'll have a much brighter future working for her than with me."
Wang Bo was silent for a few seconds, then said sincerely, "Sister Zhou, thank you for being so frank. Actually, I should have told you immediately when Miss Su gave me the invitation yesterday, since I'm still an artist under Yuji Entertainment."
Zhou Yuji's eyes crinkled into a smile: "So you came all this way to see me today just to talk about this?"
"Yes." Wang Bo nodded. "And also... I'd like to apply to use the company's recording studio to prepare songs for the provincial university's centennial celebration."
"A recording studio?" Zhou Yuji thought for a moment, "Oh right, we do have a recording studio, it's in the basement, I almost forgot about it."
She picked up the intercom: "Xiaoling, tell Lao Chen to tidy up the recording studio and find the key. Yes, right now."
After hanging up the phone, she looked at Wang Bo: "Use it as you like. Just tell Lao Chen what equipment you need. He's not top-notch, but he's good at handling those things. Need any musicians? I can get you a few..."
"Not for now," Wang Bo said. "I'll make a demo myself first. If you need live instrument recording, then I'll trouble you."
"Okay." Zhou Yuji readily agreed. "If there's anything else you need, just let me know. I'll help you as much as I can before I close down."
Looking at her carefree demeanor, Wang Bo couldn't help but ask, "Sister Zhou, are you really just going to close the company like this? Don't you think it's a pity? After all, you've been running it for three years."
"I lost money for two and a half out of three years, what's there to regret?" Zhou Yuji laughed. "Wang Bo, do you know where the money for my company came from? It was left to me by my father. Before he passed away, he told me: 'Yuji, your personality is not suitable for business, but I still left you some money. If you want to start a business, go for it. If you lose money, consider it a lesson learned, just don't lose it all.'"
She spun around in her boss's chair, her tone relaxed: "So you see, these past three years... I really am not suited for business. Now I've learned my lesson, it's time to enjoy myself."
Wang Bo was defeated by her logic: "So what do you plan to do next?"
"Traveling around the world!" Zhou Yuji's eyes lit up. "I've even planned the route. First, I'll go to Europe, then fly to South America, then go to Africa to see the Great Migration... My first stop will be the Western Regions, since it's the perfect season now."
She pulled a thick travel guide out of the drawer and showed it to Wang Bo. It was covered with all sorts of notes and stickers.
"But Sister Zhou," Wang Bo still found it a bit absurd, "do you really have absolutely no attachment to the entertainment industry? Don't you want to achieve anything more?"