My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

On the screen, the six words "Think it through yourself" lay alone in the dialog box.

Hanikezi sat cross-legged on the hotel's large bed, the pillow in her arms twisted out of shape from being gripped so tightly.

Before she could fully grasp the deeper meaning of those words, her phone screen suddenly changed.

Hongjie's video call invitation popped up.

Hanikezi took a deep breath, smoothed her messy hair, and pressed the answer button.

The video feed lit up.

Hongjie sat in her office at the headquarters of Xingyu Media, her desk piled high with documents, her eyes bloodshot from staying up all night.

"Sister Hong..." Hanikezi said softly, bracing herself for a scolding.

"That kid Chen Yi really knows how to get to the heart of capital." Sister Hong didn't get angry; her first words went straight to the point.

Hanikezi was stunned.

Sister Hong picked up a report and shoved it directly in front of the camera.

"Look carefully." Sister Hong spoke very quickly. "This is your data assessment for the last three months. Your business value has quadrupled."

Hanikezi leaned closer to the screen, looking at the densely packed growth curves.

"Where did this fourfold increase come from?" Sister Hong slammed the report back onto the table with a thud. "It's all because of the viewership of 'Five Ha'! It's all because of your and Chen Yi's on-screen couple!"

Hanikezi gritted her teeth and didn't dare to reply.

"Su Wan smashed three coffee cups in the conference room this morning," Sister Hong sneered. "She came back from Wall Street, boasting about being a master of capital operations, but she was utterly humiliated by Chen Yi, a young man who's not even twenty-three years old."

Sister Hong picked up the black coffee on the table and took a big gulp.

"Su Wan had a brilliant plan: to exhaust you with a high-intensity schedule and force Chen Yi to back down first. But what happened?" Sister Hong stared at the screen. "Last night, Chen Yi's comment on the beach, 'Take her home to meet my mom,' completely blew up the trending topics."

"This morning, Star Entertainment's PR department's online trolls were completely wiped out by passersby."

"Cartier, Bulgari, Armani. This morning, the Asia-Pacific heads of these three top luxury brands bypassed Su Wan and called my personal cell phone directly."

Sister Hong raised her voice.

"Their message boils down to one thing: if Yi Zi and her partner reunite, their endorsement fee will double, and they'll roll out promotional posters everywhere. If Xingyu dares to break up the pairing at this critical juncture, they'll immediately withdraw all cooperation offers."

Hanikezi was completely stunned.

"The board has spoken: anyone who tries to stop you two from making money together is fired. Su Wan's splitting strategy has completely collapsed," Sister Hong concluded.

Hanikezi blinked her big eyes, and her heart began to race.

Everything Chen Yi said came true.

"So, the company doesn't plan to break us up?" Hanikezi asked tentatively.

"Don't get too excited," Sister Hong said bluntly, pouring cold water on the idea. "Capital only bows to money, it will never bow to your love. Su Wan has no choice but to go with the flow of the market."

Half of the joy on Hanikezi's face faded.

"Don't think you can rest easy just because Su Wan has compromised." Sister Hong's tone was stern. "Su Wan is treating you two like a cash cow. She's not separating you now because you can earn more money together. But as long as you're still with Xingyu, your contract is in her hands."

"She will keep feeding you those poorly made historical dramas, using your popularity to promote newcomers at Star Entertainment and clean up Star Entertainment's mess. Every time you act in a bad drama, your reputation will drop by one point."

Sister Hong hit the nail on the head.

"Once you've lost all your heat, do you think Chen Yi will still protect you?"

Hanikezi suddenly looked up: "Chen Yi doesn't care about any of that! He said he would find me the best scripts!"

Sister Hong burst out laughing.

"Looking for scripts? Honey, you're too naive." Sister Hong shook her head. "You're carrying an S-level contract with Star Entertainment. Even if Su Wan reluctantly agrees to you working together to make money, she will never let go of her control over your acting career."

"Star Entertainment's legal department has a hundred ways to block any good resources you can get. And those terrible dramas Star Entertainment invests in themselves, you can't get rid of them no matter what. What makes Chen Yi think he can find you scripts? Will he pay your breach of contract penalties?"

Hanikezi said without hesitation, "He can afford it. But I won't let him pay. I can act well on my own."

Hongjie looked at the girl's defiant eyes on the screen and finally gave in.

"If I only saw you as a bargaining chip, I wouldn't have made this call today." Sister Hong sighed. "I've mentored you for three years; I've watched you get to where you are today step by step. Chen Yi is indeed capable, but he's protected you too much."

Sister Hong's expression turned extremely serious.

"You're a viral sensation now, but you know in your heart how much of this popularity you've earned yourself."

Hanikezi lowered her head.

"No representative works, no real talent. All your current fame is given to you by Chen Yi." Sister Hong's words were merciless. "Once you go public, what will your fans say? What will the general public think?"

"They'll say you're a bloodsucker who only knows how to throw herself at someone! They'll say you're not good enough for Chen Yi!"

Hanikezi gripped the edge of the pillow tightly with her fingers, her knuckles turning white.

"I'm here today to lay everything out in the sand," Sister Hong gave her ultimatum. "I don't care what you do in private. But you need my permission before you make it public."

Hanikezi's eyes gradually brightened.

"Sister Hong, you mean...?"

"What I mean is, as long as the paparazzi don't catch you two going in and out together with solid evidence, I'll turn a blind eye to how you text each other and play games in private," Sister Hong interrupted her. "But there's one deadline."

Sister Hong pointed at the screen.

"It must not be made public without authorization!"

"If the timing is wrong, your career will collapse. The backlash from your fans and the pressure from capital could devour you whole." Sister Hong stared at her. "Do you understand?"

Hanikezi stopped smiling and nodded solemnly.

"I understand, Sister Hong. I won't do anything reckless."

"Alright." Sister Hong rubbed her temples, her tone softening. "Your flight back to Beijing is tomorrow afternoon. Get a good night's sleep at the hotel this morning. Chen Yi's studio is very assertive in the upcoming business negotiations, and Su Wan is probably going to have a headache for a while."

The video call ended.

The screen went black.

The room was silent for two seconds.

"ah--!"

Hanikezi suddenly pounced on the bed, hugging the blanket and rolling around frantically.

They won't be sidelined! They won't be forcibly separated! Even their private contact is tacitly permitted!

She sat up, grabbed her phone, and tapped on the pinned black profile picture.

Fingers flew across the keyboard.

"Chen Yi!"

"Sister Hong has given her approval! She said that as long as it's not made public, she won't interfere in their private affairs!"

The message was sent successfully.

Hanikezi was holding her phone, her mouth stretched from ear to ear, and she followed up with a crazy spinning kitten emoji.

At the same time.

Sanya hotel penthouse suite.

Chen Yi sat on the sofa, looking at the message that popped up on his phone screen.

He curled his lips into a highly aggressive smile.

Star Entertainment's defenses have finally been breached.

"Brother." Xiao Fang pushed open the door and strode in. "Xingyu Entertainment sent an official email, withdrawing all previous lawsuits. Su Wan's secretary called again, wanting to invite you to dinner next week after you return to Beijing."

Chen Yi placed his phone face down on the table.

"Leave her hanging," Chen Yi said calmly. "She's the one in a hurry right now, not us."

Just then.

In his mind, the long-dormant ice-blue system panel suddenly popped up.

【Ding! 】

[The host's commercial value has been detected to have jumped to S+ level; the prerequisites for the second phase of the main quest have been met.]

[Top-tier script library access is now officially open.]

Chen Yi leaned back in his chair, a strong interest gleaming in his eyes.