14. Discovered another advantage of the stubborn little donkey.

Looking at He Qian's awkward manner, Yang Yuran could roughly guess the content of the pledge.

She didn't immediately respond, pausing for a moment. As He Qian's cheeks turned faintly red with waiting and he couldn't help but sneak a glance at her, she blinked her fox-like eyes, revealing an innocent and puzzled look as she gently asked, as if coddling a wounded little animal.

"What pledge? Tell me about it."

Hearing her warm tone, He Qian's tense state eased a bit, and he mustered the courage to say, "You must not force me or anyone in the team to take part in that kind of activity."

"What activity?"

Yang Yuran was in a teasing mood, forcing her honest and straightforward brother to speak out about the knot in his heart.

He Qian's face turned red, his eyes involuntarily darting toward Zhou Yuanyuan, who was waiting to see the excitement.

Zhou Yuanyuan, both publicly and privately, would not leave; she packed away her playful demeanor, adopted the boss's stance, and rebuked, "People who are stars can't be coy. If you're shy even facing us, how can you act normally in front of the camera?"

After scolding him, she considered that He Qian had rarely opened up and didn't want her few words to make him revert back to being a stone in a latrine pit.

Muttering 'trouble' under her breath, she joked with Yang Yuran, "This kid probably hasn't seen a soul-stirring beauty like you before, his male hormones running wild. He usually performs quite well on variety shows, though."

He Qian momentarily forgot to hide his astonishment and asked in a trembling voice, "You and President Zhou have seen the variety shows I appeared on?"

Yang Yuran shot Zhou Yuanyuan a suggestive look, signaling what a good opportunity it was to take hold of.

Zhou Yuanyuan was very familiar with her dad's methods of dealing with budding artists, and, following suit based on the videos she and Yang Yuran had looked up yesterday, she smoothly replied.

"Of course, especially your reenactment of the scumbag from last year's hit movie 'The Third Breakup'—it really infuriated me and my dad."

She would have to discuss this with her dad later to avoid any discrepancies or slip-ups in what they say.

From her observations, her dad probably didn't value He Qian very much; this morning, it was only at her strong insistence that her dad agreed to send Lin Zitong ahead to give Yang Yuran face.

Considering that Lin Zitong could also see how Yang Yuran handled problems, her dad had agreed to it.

Even if her dad didn't value him, she couldn't let Yang Yuran down. If Yang Yuran had decided to promote this person again, she, as a representative of the company's higher-ups, should offer the same level of recognition.

Catching sight of the thumbs-up Yang Yuran gave from under the table, Zhou Yuanyuan took the opportunity to heap more praise on He Qian.

No longer restrained, He Qian looked at Yang Yuran and slowly revealed the inner demon that had troubled him for a year, "If you can promise not to force me and the team members into sexual transactions, I am willing to follow you. No matter how poor the results you lead us to, I won't leave the team."

The moment the last sentence came out, the smiles on Yang Yuran's and Zhou Yuanyuan's faces couldn't be maintained. The level of defeatism in his statement was akin to an ancient general declaring before battle, 'I know this is a lost cause, I don't plan to come back alive.'

At first listen, it sounded heroic, but in reality, it undermined the morale of his teammates, conceding defeat before even starting to fight.

Yang Yuran tapped Zhou Yuanyuan's leg under the table, stopping her from releasing her anger, and took the time to patiently guide He Qian through his mental block.

"Some things sound unpleasant when spoken, and some things look ugly when revealed. But if we don't talk about it, you're always in the dark. Today, I am taking the risk of the team possibly disbanding right after it was formed, just to tell you a fact."

Yang Yuran took out the resume Lin Zitong had last compiled from the drawer and flipped to the page about the boy, Chen Tianmai, who had been harassed.

Her finger lightly tapped on the other person's photo, commenting, "Chen Tianmai has a cute look and understands the style he should pursue in his career. What a pity, his star path was ruined by you."

"Was it really I who ruined him?" He Qian asked, emotions bursting forth to reveal long-suppressed grievances, "Or was it that I extended a helping hand, only to be bitten in return?"

"In fact, Chen Tianmai had already been hooking up with Asna's Shen Gu," she explained. "He willingly traded himself for opportunities; why bother meddling in it? In this industry, you need to learn to mind your own business and not play the role of a justice enforcer."

Yang Yuran spoke painstakingly, likewise considering the concerns of Zhou Yuanyuan, who was afraid that He Qian wouldn't be able to withstand the truth, offering him several words of comfort as well.

Looking at He Qian again, he scoffed with a mocking 'heh,' and bitterly chastised himself, "Right, I meddled too much, it was I who was too naive, I was so foolish to be angered. He said he didn't like her, cursed her for being an old woman who bullied people with her money, and even right before they entered the hotel, Chen Tianmai was still sending me messages asking for help."

As this new version of the story was revealed, Yang Yuran wasn't surprised and continued calmly, "You said you received his call for help; based on this situation, I presume you still have the messages of him cursing Shen Gu before he was coerced. With your phone, you could easily prove your innocence. It's a shame you ended up in such a state."

"I did have them, but..."

He Qian began to respond eagerly, but halfway through, both he and Yang Yuran spoke in unison, revealing the unmistakable conclusion.

"I've lost my phone."

Yang Yuran said this with a meaningful look towards Zhou Yuanyuan, who had a sudden realization and pointed to herself, asking, "Do you mean to say that right after the incident happened, my dad was the first to confiscate He Qian's phone?"

If she hadn't been sure that Yang Yuran didn't have He Qian's contact details, she might have really thought they were playing a rehearsed trick to deceive her.

"Exactly," Yang Yuran sighed deeply, "otherwise, there's no need for your father to sideline Chen Tianmai and the others while only partially doing so to He Qian."

Zhou Yuanyuan felt a surge of pride and swayed her body with delight, exclaiming, "Old Zhou is still quite good, huh."

"Mhm."

Yang Yuran responded faintly, swallowing the bitterness in her heart. Old Zhou may be good to his daughter and those around her, but he was average at best with her. The fact that Old Zhou had Lin Zitong deliver the materials on Chen Tianmai and He Qian together showed he was always testing her, weighing whether she was worth keeping around for the long term.

Lucky for her, she was cautious and learned about everyone's situation from multiple angles, which is why she didn't choose the visually appealing Chen Tianmai and his group.

The legal team of Jiade swiftly drafted a new agreement, and Yang Yuran added an additional clause at the end of the agreement: if the group members volunteer to participate in certain special activities or events, others should not interfere.

The headstrong donkey He Qian stared at a line of the text, nearly frowning so hard his brows turned into a 'chuan' character. He gripped the pen fiercely, almost tearing through the 4K paper as he signed his name.

For lunch, Yang Yuran treated everyone to a meal to celebrate the establishment of the team and welcomed its first member.

After lunch, Zhou Yuanyuan went back to the company and she went home to catch up on some sleep, preparing for the evening's main event. Just before parting, He Qian whispered to her.

"To be honest, I know Zhou Yuanyuan hasn't really watched my variety show. She even got the name wrong. But the fact that she approached me kindly at least proves she's willing to support the newly formed boy band."

Yang Yuran chuckled dryly and nudged He Qian. She had long known this scoundrel was good at acting, and now she discovered another strength of his—his ability to endure was also quite formidable.

Once home, she felt more at ease seeing Mrs. Yang was still there. She lay in bed and dozed off for half an hour, then changed into jeans and a cartoon T-shirt, casually tying her hair into a ponytail, and headed to the address Zhou Yuanyuan had given her.

——The Huang Dynasty bar in Binjiang District.