CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 367 - 359: Taking People Away

Outside the window, the iron gate opened.

Zhang Zijing woke up at this moment as well.

She was about to ask Ye Yuwei what was going on when her phone started ringing.

"Hello! President Zheng... Okay, I’ll come down immediately."

It was the vice president of my company, telling me to go downstairs right away. Zhang Zijing looked completely puzzled.

Ye Yuwei, however, had a vague sense of what might be happening but still kept a faintly surprised expression on her face: "Coming this early for what?"

"I don’t know either, but I have a bad feeling about this." Zhang Zijing glanced at her anxiously.

"Go check it out!" Ye Yuwei didn’t say much more, as talking too much would only complicate things.

When they went downstairs together, they saw that others were coming down too.

Meng Meixuan and Wu Zixuan looked pale as ghosts, while Yang Ni had reddened eyes, seemingly on the verge of tears.

With one look, Ye Yuwei noticed that all four companies had sent their representatives here.

"Zijing, come with me."

"President Zheng, where are we going?"

"The company needs you to return; there’s an issue that requires your attention."

Zhang Zijing knew the other party was lying, but it wasn’t appropriate to probe further.

The same excuse was echoed by other companies.

But amidst all of it, Meng Meixuan was particularly bold; she straight-up asked, "What issue requires me to return to the company? I have a scheduled appearance today. Have you discussed it with the organizers here?"

"Meixuan, you are under Yuehua’s management. Your contract is still with us, so you must comply with the company’s arrangement."

Meng Meixuan’s face flushed alternately red and white, clearly filled with internal conflict and struggle.

Wu Zixuan, however, remained silent, standing there with her head bowed.

"Meixuan, don’t go with them." No one expected Lv Fangxin to step forward and speak out.

"Miss Lv, mind your words. Meng Meixuan is our Yuehua artist."

"So what if she’s your artist? She’s my sister; she’s one of our group at Tianou. I’m talking to her. Do I need you to reprimand me?"

Lv Fangxin’s retort left the other party speechless. Though furious, they didn’t dare retaliate, knowing it could escalate into something major.

"Meixuan, if you don’t leave, you know what the consequences will be."

Lv Fangxin was about to argue further, but Lai Ruoxuan pulled her back. Unlike Fangxin, she understood the bigger picture better.

Meng Meixuan took a deep look at Lv Fangxin, as if truly understanding the latter for the first time today.

"I’ll discuss this with Mr. Zhou." Ye Yuwei finally spoke.

Beside her, Zhang Zijing immediately broke into tears. She guessed her company must have completely severed ties with Penguin.

Ye Yuwei reached out to comfort her briefly, her expression becoming exceedingly grave.

"I want to take my belongings," Yang Ni said with reddened eyes.

"No, you must leave immediately." Her company’s representatives showed no leniency.

In the suffocating atmosphere of suppression, uncertainty, and despair, they had no choice but to leave under their original companies’ directives.

"Sob sob! Sob sob! Why do they have to drag everyone away? We’re supposed to be a team."

As Lv Fangxin sobbed, Duan Yuxin, who had already been tearful, couldn’t hold back anymore.

Even Li Zimeng, who had always been like a transparent presence, finally broke into tears too.

"What the hell is going on? What is their company trying to do?" Jiang Mengqi shouted tearfully.

"Everyone, calm down first. I’ll call Mr. Zhou. Penguin formed us into a group; they wouldn’t dissolve us that easily." Ye Yuwei’s words did manage to soothe the remaining members’ emotions somewhat.

Three hours later.

Zhou Dan arrived at the villa. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

She comforted everyone one by one, urging them not to overthink. Those with scheduled activities should proceed, while the rest could stay back in the villa to rest.

"Yuwei, you’ve been doing great. I still have some things to handle; stay here and take good care of everyone."

"Understood, Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Dan smiled lightly, patted Ye Yuwei on the shoulder, and turned to leave.

"Sister Yezi, our group isn’t just going to end like this, right?" Lv Fangxin asked, her tear-streaked face still pained.

The group was seated on the living room sofa, clearly overwhelmed by today’s events.

"Everyone, remain calm. Things won’t escalate to their worst possible outcome. Think about Penguin’s immense stature as a company." Ye Yuwei’s tone was solemn.

"Penguin may be powerful, but they still have to abide by the law. I’m not sure how the contracts were signed, but if it’s not a full-management agreement, things could get complicated." Lai Ruoxuan displayed a maturity and level-headedness that contrasted sharply with her appearance.

This remark made Duan Yuxin and Ye Yuwei reassess the so-called "cute but capable lady."

"Don’t look at me like that. I was a team leader for years, okay? I even learned specifically about contracts and related matters," Lai Ruoxuan said with a smile.

"If that’s the case, then our group is practically dead in the water." Jiang Mengqi remarked.

"Why would it mean that?" Lv Fangxin asked curiously.

"If it’s not a full-management agreement, then the artists’ companies can demand they return to work for their respective organizations. These companies usually prioritize their own interests over the success of the group. To them, the group is just a tool for solidifying and expanding their fanbase." Lai Ruoxuan explained.

"Yezi, what’s your opinion?" Jiang Mengqi looked toward Ye Yuwei.

"Qiqi is absolutely right. Our companies all want their artists to showcase themselves within the group, boost the reputation, and then leverage that to land individual gigs." Ye Yuwei replied.

"Don’t we have to share a portion of our earnings with Penguin?"

Lv Fangxin’s question almost made everyone laugh; she clearly wasn’t well-versed in such matters.

"Of course not. If we did, our companies wouldn’t be taking us away now."

After saying that, Ye Yuwei felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

"If they proceed like this, it would ruin us. Our companies only care about profit."

Li Zimeng, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

"True! But we’re powerless. Our contracts are still with our original companies." Lai Ruoxuan said, her face showing an expression of resignation.

"Fu Xiaoyu hasn’t returned either. She left for Deep City on an external assignment two days ago, and she was supposed to come back today—I even checked her flight schedule." Lv Fangxin frowned.

"I’ll call her and ask." Ye Yuwei said, taking out her phone to make the call, but no one answered. The same was true for the others, including Meng Meixuan.

Clearly, their companies had disconnected their communications.

"It seems Sister Xiaoyu was also taken back by her original company." Lv Fangxin clenched her fist against the sofa, visibly upset due to her relationship with Fu Xiaoyu.

"Everyone, rest for now. There’s no point in worrying ourselves to death right now."

After a few words of comfort, Ye Yuwei returned to her room.

Knock knock.

"Fangxin, why aren’t you resting?"

"Sister Yezi, I can’t calm down. I’m worried my boss might take me away too."

Ye Yuwei chuckled upon hearing that: "What would your boss take you back for?"

"To make money off me!"

"With your company’s capabilities, even if you went back, your popularity would fade within three months. How much money could they realistically make from you?" Ye Yuwei looked directly into Lv Fangxin’s eyes.

"No... No way he’d sell me off, right?"

Hearing Fangxin’s fears, Ye Yuwei couldn’t help but laugh harder: "That’s even less likely. If your boss wants to transfer you to another company, he’d need your consent first."

"Sister Yezi, you wouldn’t just sell me off casually, right?"

Ye Yuwei pondered briefly before replying slowly:

"Unless he sells the company itself; your artist contract would go along with the sale."

"But given he’s got someone as valuable as you, why would he sell the company randomly?"

"Even if he did, it would fetch an astronomical price."

"In Huaxia, how many companies have the resources to take that on?"

"And even if they did acquire it, could they recover the investment they made in you?"

"Don’t forget you’re tied to Penguin’s contract. If someone angers Penguin, they might end up in lengthy lawsuits for a year or two, and everything would crash. Unless... Penguin itself buys your company."

As Lv Fangxin mulled it over, clarity suddenly dawned.

On paper, Lv Fangxin arguably had the highest market value among them. Yet Zhou Dan hadn’t bothered saying much to her during this visit.

This was unusual; typically, such invaluable assets would receive special attention.

There could be only one possibility: Lv Fangxin’s company had already reached an agreement with Penguin.

Penguin evidently wasn’t concerned about Yuehua causing trouble.

In this group, Duan Yuxin and Li Ziting were royalty, while Lai Ruoxuan was Penguin’s own favored daughter.

Jiang Mengqi’s company lacked strength; having debuted last, her popularity was poor, and there was no point in opposing Penguin.

Securing resources from Penguin was what they truly desired.

As such, if Penguin decided to retaliate, it could replace the departed members with ungrouped trainees, leaving those who left to slowly rot in obscurity.

Penguin wouldn’t hesitate to blacklist them industry-wide while suing them externally.

If that turned out to be the case, then perhaps the situation might soon reverse in their favor.