"Mr. Zhang had a habit of marking things; if I guessed right, he marked your name in red, which means... he’s considering you as the substitute for the last undecided program!"
"Really?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Xiaoxiao hadn’t yet reacted, but Hua Suisui and Endme looked shocked.
Wang Xiaoxiao felt a huge surge of joy; she couldn’t wait and stood up hurriedly, grabbing Peach’s arm. Excitedly, she asked, "Peach, are you... are you for real?"
"What I saw can’t be wrong, but I’m not sure if that’s what Mr. Zhang is thinking; it’s just my guess... seeing you so down, I had to give you some good news!"
Peach giggled as she spoke.
"Xiaoxiao, I think it’s highly likely. Mr. Zhang is such an organized person; since he marked your name, he must have this inclination."
Hua Suisui was genuinely happy for Wang Xiaoxiao since she had long given up on the Wuyou Night and didn’t think she stood a chance at any program.
"I think so too. In the backup list, Xiaoxiao, you’re one of the amazingly talented ones. After all, you are a genuine singer..."
Endme also smiled as he spoke.
Hearing her good friends say this, Wang Xiaoxiao suddenly gained more confidence. Under the impact of this unexpected good news, she suddenly became radiant.
"Ah, my makeup is ruined, no way, no way, can’t talk to you guys anymore. I have to fix my makeup..."
Seeing herself in the mirror, Wang Xiaoxiao let out a surprised cry and quickly got busy again.
...
At 5 PM, Wuyou Media’s closed-door meeting began on time in the large conference room on the fifteenth floor.
On the surface, the atmosphere seemed as relaxed as ever. The management wasn’t sitting on the podium, just in relatively front seats.
No one was late, including the major influencers of Wuyou Media. Except for a few celebrities from outside the industry who could only arrive the next day, everyone else with fans in the tens of millions or thirty million was fully present.
Although there wasn’t any formal seating arrangement, this was the time when one could best see a person’s actual status.
Artists like Lin Dantong, Extra Sister, Sisi N, and Spicy Z sat directly in the front row, chatting and laughing with the management.
Those a bit lower, like "Xinyao," a popular streamer, or "My Yu Meng," a million-follower influencer living off their past glory, sat a bit forward in the middle.
Then further back, except for "Miss Xiao Cheng," who ignored strange looks and sat a little in front, everyone else naturally sat in rows based on the number of their fans.
Because this closed-door meeting was also by targeted invitation, those with less than three or four million fans, except in a few special tracks, had no right to attend. Therefore, Hua Suisui, Endme, Wang Xiaoxiao, and Peach were basically at the back.
Originally, Endme and Hua Suisui could sit a bit more forward, but given the saying, "Sisters forever," they stayed with Wang Xiaoxiao here...
With the addition of some influencer agents, the meeting room still had a scale of over a hundred people.
The host of the meeting was Zheng Shifeng, the vice president responsible for planning the evening party, a middle-aged man with a bit of balding and a beer belly, but his demeanor was decent.
Once the company CEO, Zhang Shihao, sat amidst the applause of the crowd, Zheng Shifeng stood up, came to the center of the front row, and smiled at everyone,
"Welcome, everyone, for gathering here today to attend the company’s internal closed-door meeting. Entrusted by Mr. Zhang, I am responsible for hosting this meeting..."
Zheng Shifeng spoke eloquently, hosting each agenda item in an orderly manner.
The early agenda items flew by quickly, mainly confirming the event’s process, broadcasting matters, and whether the supporting publicity had kept up, among others.
Only when confirming the final sponsor list did Zheng Shifeng hesitate for a moment and then smiled at Zhang Shihao,
"Mr. Zhang, do we need to keep a booth for now?"
"Why reserve it?"
Zhang Shihao asked back with a slight smile.
"But isn’t Brioni still in the negotiation stage, in case..."
"No what-ifs, we stopped considering collaborating with Brioni."
Zhang Shihao interrupted him directly. His tone was flat, yet it had an indisputable air.
Zheng Shifeng was taken aback. He only just realized the call from Wu Nala wasn’t fabricated. He had thought the deal was certain, but it was genuinely off...
And it all began because of a new supervisor whom he had never met.
"But..."
Zheng Shifeng eagerly tried to say more.
"No buts. Let’s move on to the next agenda item."
Zhang Shihao maintained his usual flat tone.
Facing Zhang Shihao’s smile, Zheng Shifeng felt a shock in his heart. Yet, at this moment, he had no time to consider what went wrong, and biting the bullet, he adjusted his mindset and continued hosting the meeting.
Quickly, the agenda reached its last item. Only at this point did many of the previously inattentive influencers in the back straighten up and focus.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the last agenda item is about the performance lineup for tomorrow night’s Wuyou Night. Besides needing to tweak some program sequences, most importantly, there is one substitute spot yet to be confirmed. Now, we intend to adopt the form of executive nomination and live voting to..."