Chapter 71 Xiao Liu remained silent, merely...
When Li Lanxi saw Jiang Shu glance at Kim Chae-won and then fall into thought, she assumed Jiang Shu was doing it on purpose, waiting for her to speak first.
After about a minute of silence, Li Lanxi finally couldn't hold back and spoke.
"Chairman Jiang, I want to know if our Chaewon can debut after coming to DM Entertainment?"
Li Lanxi's words pulled Jiang Shu's attention back. He looked at Li Lanxi, replayed her words in his mind, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he spoke.
"I want to know why Ms. Li would ask such a question? You should know that a company raises trainees precisely to select debut members. If not for debut, why would they keep these trainees?"
"I've spoken with S.M, YG, and JYP, and they are only willing to give Chaewon C-level or B-level treatment, which is not a debut-level," Li Lanxi explained.
Jiang Shu suddenly understood.
Thinking about it, Li Lanxi was an established figure in the industry. How could she not let her daughter try out for the Three Greats? But the conditions offered by the Three Greats undoubtedly revealed their attitude.
"You want to come, I welcome you, but if you want to debut, your daughter's skills are not enough."
Li Lanxi, of course, couldn't be satisfied with such an attitude. And while DM Entertainment was far from the Three Greats, Li Lanxi didn't have a better choice, so she wanted a promise from Jiang Shu.
For others, this promise would be impossible to give. After all, the selection of debut members isn't easily finalized. A Chairman can indeed have the final say, but acting unilaterally could potentially affect the future development of a girl group. Generally, they wouldn't parachute in someone with connections.
Of course, it's not like such situations never happen.
But such a thing was no big deal for Jiang Shu.
"One to two years," Jiang Shu gave his answer.
Li Lanxi was stunned.
"What does Chairman Jiang mean by that?"
"One to two years, Kim Chae-won can debut."
Kim Chae-won's mouth slightly agape, she looked at Jiang Shu in shock.
Li Lanxi, besides being shocked, also suspected Jiang Shu was tricking her.
"As far as I know, DM Entertainment just launched IVE and is about to collaborate with S.M to launch a new girl group. Even if there are plans to launch another girl group within one or two years, the members must have already been decided, right?" Li Lanxi said suspiciously.
"Just add her in, that's all," Jiang Shu said indifferently.
Li Lanxi's mouth twitched. Could it really be that simple?
"I've given my condition, now it's up to Ms. Li how to choose," Jiang Shu said with a chuckle.
Li Lanxi still felt Jiang Shu was trying to fool her, but...
She turned her head to look at her daughter, whose eyes were full of excitement, and smiled helplessly.
"Then... Chaewon is in Chairman Jiang's hands."
Jiang Shu smiled and extended his right hand.
"Ms. Li, please rest assured."
Li Lanxi reached out and shook Jiang Shu's hand.
"Xiao Liu." Jiang Shu turned to look at Liu Zhimin, but found he could only see the reclined office chair, not Liu Zhimin herself.
"Huh?"
Immediately after, Liu Zhimin's small head popped out from under the desk.
"Come here." Jiang Shu waved at Liu Zhimin.
"Oh." Liu Zhimin stood up from the chair and walked towards the two.
Kim Chae-won silently watched Liu Zhimin approach, then lowered her gaze to her own chest.
Damn.
"This must be Karina, one of IVE's twin stars," Li Lanxi said, smiling as she looked at Liu Zhimin.
When she came in, she had seen Liu Zhimin sitting on the desk, so she naturally understood that the relationship between this girl, who looked as alluring as a snake, and Jiang Shu was probably not simple.
"This is Li Lanxi, a senior figure in the industry," Jiang Shu introduced Liu Zhimin.
"Hello, Senior," Liu Zhimin greeted Li Lanxi.
"Ah, hello." Li Lanxi nodded with a smile. "In the future, we'll have to trouble Karina to take good care of our Chaewon."
Saying that, Li Lanxi patted Kim Chae-won, who was standing beside her.
Kim Chae-won stood up and bowed to Liu Zhimin.
"Hello, Senior Karina."
Liu Zhimin looked at Kim Chae-won's small face, scrutinized it carefully, then looked at Li Lanxi.
"No problem, I'll cover her."
Li Lanxi was amused by Liu Zhimin's words. This somewhat alluring girl, did she really speak with such a 'street' vibe?
"Xiao Liu is quite the boss in our company. With her looking after Chaewon, Ms. Li can rest assured," Jiang Shu said with a smile, teasing Liu Zhimin.
After all, she and Zhang Yuanying were two individuals who flaunted themselves as 'royalty' to everyone, taking pride in it rather than being ashamed.
"Then... when do we sign the contract?" Li Lanxi asked.
"Anytime, but our company will be changing office locations soon, so Chaewon doesn't need to rush over," Jiang Shu explained.
The company's relocation would happen within half a month or so. The leased building was already renovated, so how long could it take to set up office facilities and change the building's signage?
"Oh, I see." Li Lanxi nodded in surprise. "Alright then, let's sign the contract first, and I'll send Chaewon over after the company moves."
"No problem." Jiang Shu nodded with a smile, then reached out and patted Liu Zhimin. "Call Choi Ji-yeon in."
"Oh." Liu Zhimin scurried to the door and called Choi Ji-yeon over.
"Choi Ji-yeon, please take Ms. Li and Chaewon to sign the contract."
"Yes." Choi Ji-yeon bowed to Jiang Shu, then gestured for the two to follow. After Li Lanxi and Kim Chae-won left, Liu Zhimin finally spoke.
"How do I need to take care of her?"
Jiang Shu turned to look at Liu Zhimin, seeing her small face filled with seriousness, and couldn't help but laugh.
"I was just saying that, you don't need to take care of her, just make sure there's no bullying," Jiang Shu said casually.
"Oh, you're tricking them," Liu Zhimin said, suddenly understanding.
"Don't be so blunt." Jiang Shu raised his hand and pinched Liu Zhimin's small face, and his eyes immediately lit up. The texture was quite amazing.
Liu Zhimin looked expressionlessly at Jiang Shu, who was pinching her face and pulling it from side to side.
Seeing that she didn't resist, Jiang Shu became more presumptuous. His other hand also climbed onto Liu Zhimin's face, pinching and molding her small face into various shapes.
Jiang Shu only let go after playing for almost a minute.
"Is my face that fun to play with?" Liu Zhimin asked, touching her face in confusion.
"Because you're fun," Jiang Shu said with a smirk, his lips curved into a smile.
"What's so fun about me?" Liu Zhimin paused suddenly at this point, then looked at Jiang Shu with a gaze that was somewhat suspicious, yet also somewhat surprised.
Jiang Shu was a little bewildered by her gaze and couldn't help but ask.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Liu Zhimin remained silent, merely staring at Jiang Shu.
Jiang Shu felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze.
Just as Jiang Shu was about to speak, Liu Zhimin's voice reached his ears.
"You like me?"
Thanks to Minji for the 100 Qidian coin character reward for Zhang Yuanying!
Thanks to Tian Shangxing Wu Siyou for the 100 Qidian coin reward!