Chapter Seventy-Six: Meeting at the Airport

Tang Zhichu finished ironing the clothes and folded them neatly. Cradling the stack in her arms, she pushed open the kitchen door from the service balcony and happened upon Jiang Lan, who was wearing an apron and washing dishes.

Tang Zhichu paused in surprise. Jiang Lan was dressed in her own clothes—a pair of deep blue shorts that reached her knees, revealing shapely, fair calves, and a plaid shirt that was slightly stretched across her chest.

"You're awake?"

"Mm."

"I'll do the dishes. Here are your clothes," Tang Zhichu said, approaching.

Jiang Lan shook her head, her ears turning red without her realizing. She replied softly, "It's fine. Just help me put them in the bedroom. I'll finish this soon."

Tang Zhichu nodded and brushed past Jiang Lan as she left the kitchen. Only then did Jiang Lan's tense posture relax; she exhaled and muttered, "I'm doomed. I don't want to go to work anymore."

Half an hour later, both women had changed and headed out together.

In the underground garage, Tang Zhichu handed Jiang Lan her bag. Jiang Lan took it but went straight to the front passenger seat, prompting Tang Zhichu to look at her in confusion.

With a hint of mischief, Jiang Lan said, "Aren't you picking someone up from the airport? You should drive. But you have to drop me at the office first."

On their way down, Tang Zhichu had mentioned her plans. Su Qingzhu had lent Tang Zhichu someone, who would arrive today.

Tang Zhichu considered that Wang Jun's car purchase was still pending, so there was indeed a pressing need.

Without hesitation, Tang Zhichu got into the car from the other side, which made Jiang Lan's smile deepen.

Once Tang Zhichu started the car, Jiang Lan reminded her, "Take good care—this is my beloved car."

Tang Zhichu nodded and started the engine.

After dropping Jiang Lan off at her company, Tang Zhichu checked the time—half past nine. There was enough time.

The appointment was for eleven. The road was a bit congested, so she reached the airport at ten fifty, just on time.

At the arrivals gate, Tang Zhichu met the person Su Qingzhu had arranged—a slightly plump young woman, about the same height as Zhou Yun.

She wore a long-sleeved chiffon blouse and a simple long skirt, exuding not the aura of a career woman but rather a certain girlish charm.

Given that she was recommended by Su Qingzhu, Tang Zhichu did not underestimate her. "Hello, my surname is Tang..."

"I know—Tang Zhichu. Sister Zhu told me about you. My name is Luo Jia, but you can call me Jia. Let's get straight to business," the young woman said, turning to leave, only to look back when she saw Tang Zhichu hadn’t followed.

Catching the puzzled look, Tang Zhichu hurried after her.

In the car, Luo Jia took the back seat. Glancing at her through the rearview mirror, Tang Zhichu noted her professional demeanor.

"Would you like to grab something to eat first?" Tang Zhichu offered.

Luo Jia shook her head. "No, let's get down to business. I’ve reviewed some information on Refraction Culture—Huang Zejun's company. It’s relatively mature, but I suggest you hold a majority stake through a company entity, at least in name, so it doesn't look like you're directly running it."

Tang Zhichu nodded, understanding her point. If he was going to enter the entertainment industry, being publicly known as the owner of a small influencer company was hardly ideal.

"I’ve considered that and prepared the documents. I'll set up an investment company first."

"Good. Send me the documents. After negotiations with Refraction, sign an agency agreement with me and I’ll handle everything for you."

Tang Zhichu was a bit surprised—how efficient! The difference of working with a professional was evident.

Refraction Culture was in the university district of Yuzhou. At first, Tang Zhichu wondered why the company was set up there, given it wasn't the city center.

But after arriving, he understood—the streets were full of young, attractive people.

For a typical influencer company, this was indeed fertile ground.

Refraction Culture occupied the eighth floor of a commercial building, renting the entire floor.

Tang Zhichu had called Huang Zejun earlier that morning, so when they parked, Huang was already waiting.

Tang Zhichu got out, intending to open the door for Luo Jia, but she had already stepped out herself.

Huang Zejun greeted them with a cheerful smile. "You've changed—now you even have an assistant."

Tang Zhichu shook his head. "Don’t be ridiculous. Let me introduce you. This is Luo Jia, from the DY Content Department."

"Hello, my name is... What? From the DY Content Department?" Huang Zejun’s smile froze.

He had dealt with DY many times. He’d never met anyone from the Content Department, not even from Operations—only ever by phone.

With a polite smile, Luo Jia handed him her business card: "Hello, I am Luo Jia, assistant to Ms. Su Qingzhu, General Manager of the Content and Music Division at DY."

Huang Zejun felt his mind reel. He was familiar with DY's management structure. The Content and Music Division was DY’s top department, as DY was focused on music-based short videos, and this was a key area, especially during their expansion phase.

He had heard of Su Qingzhu—absolutely core management, a pivotal figure far beyond his reach, which meant immense influence.

So why send her assistant here?

"Nice to meet you, I’ve heard of Ms. Su. I’m Huang Zejun. Zhichu—no, President Tang—didn't inform me beforehand. Apologies for the oversight." He hurriedly took the business card from Luo Jia.

He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye—not because he doubted her identity, but because it all felt unreal.

Refraction Culture was only a mid-level influencer company on Douyin, never in contact with people of this caliber. He looked at Tang Zhichu as if to ask, "What are you up to?"

Tang Zhichu simply smiled, letting surprise do the talking.

Huang Zejun led them upstairs to the meeting room.

Luo Jia immediately demonstrated her professionalism. Rather than opening with business negotiations, she began by analyzing the current state of influencer companies on DY.

The wild growth phase was over—now the industry faced a bottleneck, requiring more cunning strategies for incubation.

Currently, everyone was focused on building traffic pools: for example, when a video was released, everyone in a company would produce similar content, cross-promoting followers within the pool. The strong grew stronger, the rest could still benefit from the spillover, and there were even collaboration strategies.

In short, she started with a broad overview, throwing Huang Zejun off balance.

From his perspective, having someone from DY explain all this—what was going on? Was something big brewing?

He kept glancing at Tang Zhichu, wondering where he'd found such a connection.

After a round of discussion, Luo Jia introduced Tang Zhichu’s relationship with DY.

"Here’s the situation: Today, I’m here on behalf of President Tang. He is an important pilot case for our team, testing breakthroughs beyond the usual circles. Maybe that’s not how President Tang would put it, but I’m being direct. When we learned President Tang wanted to set up an MCN, Ms. Su took it very seriously and sent me here."

Huang Zejun nodded in understanding.

From there, everything proceeded smoothly. With Luo Jia present, Tang Zhichu began stating his terms directly without further need for her intervention.