Divorce Application - Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Turmoil
Lan Qi took a phone call and came back with a sour look on her face.
“A veteran employee at the studio is planning to resign,” Lan Qi said.
Liu Sinan understood immediately. “They all know I’m divorced and think I can’t keep the studio afloat anymore.”
Lan Qi was silent and didn’t respond.
Over the years, Liu Sinan had relied on Li Jinping for her career, both intentionally and unintentionally. At least half of the studio’s contracts were secured because of Li Jinping’s business value.
Li Jinping was an internationally renowned jewelry designer and a powerful industrialist.
She was involved in countless industries and had accumulated a terrifying amount of wealth. Anyone associated with her received preferential treatment.
“Let’s go to the studio,” Liu Sinan said, wiping her face and heading to the restroom to get ready.
When she emerged, looking polished and vibrant as she had in the past, Lan Qi was momentarily stunned.
“I thought you wouldn’t be willing to leave the house,” Lan Qi said.
Liu Sinan shook her head. Her voice was incredibly hoarse from not speaking for days. “I can’t be so willful. The entire studio is depending on me to make a living. Let’s go.”
Lan Qi drove the studio car to pick her up. Midway, she couldn’t help but say, “From what I’ve heard, over half of our clients want to terminate their contracts with us.”
“I recall that the contracts didn’t state that I had to be Li Jinping’s wife during the contract period,” Liu Sinan said, looking out the window, her profile appearing delicate and blurred in the light.
“They didn’t,” Lan Qi replied. “But there’s a clause stating that if your commercial value undergoes a sudden change, leading to a re-evaluation by the entire industry, they have the right to terminate the contract. And… with the trending topics, if the kiss was real, they would probably sue for your image damaging their brand’s reputation.”
Lan Qi looked at the person in the rearview mirror, feeling a mix of emotions.
Seven years ago, Li Jinping had approached her with generous benefits and resources, asking her to manage Liu Sinan’s studio.
She had thought Li Jinping wanted to turn Liu Sinan into an international superstar and maximize her commercial value. But to her surprise, Li Jinping never offered any opinions on Liu Sinan’s work.
For seven years, Liu Sinan only took on the jobs she was willing to do. If she wasn’t willing, a suggestion was made once, and no one dared to bring it up a second time.
Li Jinping had used her abundant resources, connections, and wealth to create a pressure-free world for Liu Sinan.
Lan Qi had assumed that Liu Sinan had become useless under Li Jinping’s care, unmotivated and unreliable. But she never expected Liu Sinan to bounce back so quickly after the divorce.
Perhaps she had held some prejudices against Liu Sinan over the years.
The two of them soon arrived at their destination.
Liu Sinan’s studio was on the top floor of the Juran Entertainment building. On their way, they passed by many people, but not a single one came up to greet Liu Sinan.
However, many agents would see Lan Qi and greet her with a “Sister Lan.”
As the two of them entered the elevator and ascended, Lan Qi heard Liu Sinan say “sorry.”
Lan Qi thought she had misheard, hearing Liu Sinan apologize twice in one day.
Liu Sinan looked at her, and there was no trace of insincerity in her beautiful eyes. “You were once the most brilliant agent at Juran Entertainment. I held you back.”
Lan Qi was silent for a moment, then shook her head. “I willingly made that deal with President Li back then. It’s not a matter of holding me back.”
“I know everything she did for me,” Liu Sinan said, closing her eyes with difficulty. “Even the most capable person by my side came to help me because of her.”
The elevator doors opened with a “ding.”
A flicker of confusion and fear appeared in Liu Sinan’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
She muttered, “I don’t seem to have any leverage to keep them. But I have to keep them.”
She couldn’t become a woman who couldn’t survive without Li Jinping. She wanted to work hard and get back on her feet, at least standing, standing in front of Li Jinping.
Not just for Li Jinping, but for herself as well.
The studio employees fell into an eerie silence as Liu Sinan walked in, all of them looking at her in unison.
Meeting so many gazes—some questioning, some disdainful, some worried, some curious—
Liu Sinan looked around. Her cool demeanor wasn’t overshadowed by her subtle makeup, and her sharp features, a result of not eating for days, gave her an edge. She spoke in a professional, calm, and steady tone. “I assume everyone is aware of my divorce from Li Jinping. Our divorce was mutual. From now on, I am me, and she is she. I will no longer leverage her influence, and she will no longer protect me.”
“I know what most of you are thinking. It’s no different from those clients: to re-evaluate my commercial value to decide if I’m worth choosing.”
“But unlike those clients, we are all colleagues who have fought side-by-side for years. I have never been ambiguous or perfunctory, so I hope everyone can honestly express their thoughts and make their own choices.”
Liu Sinan’s gaze never wavered. “I can promise that everyone here will not have their salaries or wages reduced. The studio’s annual income will be higher than in previous years, maybe even double. There’s no need to worry about year-end bonuses or other benefits.”
At this, everyone’s expressions clearly showed their thoughts.
Some were moved, some were wavering, some were doubtful, and some were dismissive.
A senior employee raised his hand and spoke. “Ms. Liu, I want to ask if the things on the trending topics are true and how we can get through this difficult time.”
Lan Qi immediately spoke up. “Of course they’re fake. I’ve already received the original video, and we can completely clarify the content of the trending topic. These scattered trending topics are not a threat. They are clearly some media outlets trying to capitalize on the situation. As long as there’s no major force behind it, we can use the evidence we have to handle the PR.”
The person frowned in thought and finally nodded. “Alright, then. I’m willing to stay.”
With Lan Qi and him taking the lead, many others also expressed their willingness to stay, but there were still many who chose to leave.
Liu Sinan didn’t stop them. She immediately had someone print out resignation forms. “I won’t stop anyone who wants to leave and find a better life elsewhere. But,” Liu Sinan paused here, her eyes nonchalantly sweeping over their faces, “according to the non-disclosure agreement, if I find that any of my private information has been exposed, I will ask you all to cooperate with a police investigation.”
She stacked a pile of resignation forms neatly, signed them quickly, without any hesitation.
Afterward, she issued several orders.
“Sue the media outlet that first published the news about the kiss. All subsequent reposts will be included in the lawsuit.”
“Compile a list of all the charities I’ve supported under my own name over the years.”
“Also, the photos from my fundraising trip to Africa, the pictures with the children in the impoverished mountainous regions, the three zero-pay indie films about the voiceless that I’ve shot over seven years, and the hundreds of charity runway shows. Create a collection of pictures and get them all trending.”
Lan Qi hesitated. “Will suing so many media outlets create more enemies?”
Liu Sinan coughed and said quietly, “Right now, anyone can step on me. The ones who aren’t are just waiting to see if Li Jinping has really abandoned me. I must take a strong stance from the very beginning to get even a small foothold in this storm of public opinion.”
The studio suddenly became a hive of activity, and everyone started working on their assigned tasks.
Someone from the business department brought over a stack of documents. “These are the contract termination requests from clients and your upcoming schedule, Ms. Liu.”
Liu Sinan looked through them one by one, putting the mutual terminations in one pile, the lawsuit-based terminations in another, and the ones with no termination requests in a third.
“Send me a copy of all ongoing projects that I can take on.”
“Also, immediately contact the magazine for the cover shoot this afternoon,” Liu Sinan paused. “The public’s focus is on me right now. The magazine won’t pass up such a hot-selling opportunity, but we need to pay attention to their theme and content. We must approve the final photos and they can’t be used to make me look bad.”