Official Career Storm
Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Miss Xu and Jiang Qi were both stunned by the scolding.

The two were accustomed to dealing with wealthy people and large companies.

No one had ever insulted them with such vulgar language to their faces.

In a moment, both of them were shaking with anger.

Song Guanchao said, "I invited you here today as a courtesy. Now, I’ll ask again, can you perform the day after tomorrow?"

Miss Xu, suppressing her fury, said tersely, "We can’t!"

"Got some spine," Song Guanchao said. "So you’re set on taking legal action, is that it?"

Miss Xu scoffed with disdain, "Just ten times the penalty fee, a mere 3 million. If you want to sue, then go ahead."

Grabbing her purse, she said to Jiang Qi, "Jiang, let’s go!"

Wu Yun looked anxiously at Song Guanchao. Though his earlier tirade had been satisfying to hear, they’d invited them here not to quarrel but to make a deal!

The two women walked to the door; Miss Xu’s hand was already on the doorknob, about to pull it open, when Song Guanchao’s calm voice rang out from behind.

"Miss Jiang is a local of Lingjiang, right?"

Their steps halted, and before Jiang Qi could speak, Miss Xu responded first, "Mr. Song, what do you mean by that? Are you threatening us? As far as I know, you’re just Secretary Wu’s driver, that’s all!"

"You seem quite informed about me, Miss Xu."

"Do you know that the leader of the inspection team this time is me, that very driver?"

"Do you know that the Vice Mayor of Lingjiang who was recently brought down was put away by Secretary Wu himself?"

Miss Xu’s eyes flickered.

Song Guanchao didn’t quibble with them on this point. He crushed out his cigarette and said, "Come to the commercial performance the day after tomorrow, and we’ll pretend none of this ever happened."

"If you don’t, Chengda Company will take legal action against you. Moreover, I will report this matter to the Cultural Bureau."

Without the Cultural Bureau’s approval, any concert or commercial performance is in violation of regulations.

With these words, Song Guanchao was bluntly telling them that once Jiang Qi’s name appeared on the list at the Cultural Bureau, she could forget about booking any commercial performance in Lingjiang in the future!

Knowing that Jiang Qi was a local of Lingjiang, Song Guanchao had already figured out his strategy.

If Jiang Qi was sensible and abided by the rules, he could overlook the prior incident completely.

To be honest, the penalty fee wasn’t much of a deterrent for the current Jiang Qi.

Given her fame, 3 million was nothing.

Invoking the Cultural Bureau was like pulling the rug out from under her feet.

It was coercion!

Of course, this still wasn’t his strongest card.

Song Guanchao had another killer move he hadn’t played yet.

Now it all depended on whether this young lady knew what was good for her or not.

He was also a bit puzzled in his heart.

Considering she had a manager, she shouldn’t have committed such an unseemly act of last-minute price hiking.

Once word got out about this sort of thing, it could ruin a reputation.

Of course, with her fame, there would still be people willing to hire her.

But who could guarantee they’d be popular forever?

Creating such tension with the organizers, there wouldn’t be a next time after this incident.

Turning a commercial performance into a one-off deal—her manager was truly "talented."

"Mr. Song, are you trying to pressure us with the Cultural Bureau?"

To Song Guanchao’s surprise, Miss Xu’s voice betrayed neither fear nor anger, only sarcasm.

Song Guanchao almost instantly guessed that they likely had connections at the Cultural Bureau.

This could explain their confidence.

"Heh." That was Jiang Qi laughing.

She took out her phone and dialed a number right in front of Song Guanchao, "Director Yang, someone’s threatening to report me to the Cultural Bureau."

Miss Xu watched Song Guanchao with a cold sneer.

"It’s Secretary Wu from the City Committee’s driver, he just now blew smoke at someone else and cursed them out."

"Mhm, mhm, I’m at the Yu Jing Pavilion, in room 666, and they’re waiting for you."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Qi turned back to the table and sat down, taking out a compact mirror to touch up her makeup.

Miss Xu, arms folded, looked at Song Guanchao with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile, her expression seeming to regard him as a dead man.

So what if he was the driver for the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee?

Even if it were a secretary, it would be the secretary for the deputy.

If it had been the secretary for the top official, she really wouldn’t have dared to let Jiang make this call.

But you, just a driver for the Deputy Secretary, what are you acting so haughty for?

Song Guanchao’s face was stern, sitting up straight.

To the two of them, this seemed like fear.

He wasn’t scared; he did this on purpose.

He worried that acting too relaxed would tip them off to something unusual, and they might slip away.

They didn’t have to wait too long before the door to the private room was pushed open.

A forty-something-year-old, pot-bellied, balding middle-aged man entered the room.

These past few days, Song Guanchao had also been cramming, getting to know all the main leaders of the various city bureaus.

This middle-aged fat man with dark circles under his eyes and cloudy eyeballs, clearly a man of excess, was Deputy Director Yang Yongqiang of the Cultural Bureau.

Deputy Director Yang came to Jiang Qi’s side, nonchalantly grasped her delicate shoulders, and began to grope them while saying, "Miss Jiang, what’s wrong? Who’s bullying you?"

Jiang Qi pouted, twisting her shoulders away from his touch.

"Oh, are you angry?"

Deputy Director Yang indulged her with a laugh, pulled out a chair to sit beside her, and reached for a cigarette to light it up, but Jiang Qi snapped, "No smoking!"

"Alright, alright, if Miss Jiang doesn’t like it, then I won’t smoke."

He put the cigarette back and finally looked toward Song Guanchao.

Wu Yun and Song Guanchao almost immediately concluded that these two were involved with each other.

The main thing was how blatant and unrestrained they were.

As a member of the Disciplinary Committee, Wu Yun was practically exploding with anger.

"Are you Secretary Wu’s driver?" Yang Yongqiang’s face turned serious, suddenly possessing the bearing and authority of a leader.

Song Guanchao did not respond but took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Yang Yongqiang scolded, "No smoking!"

Snap!

Song Guanchao lit the cigarette and took his time smoking it, puff after puff, focusing on Yang’s fat face as he did so.

A surge of anger rose in Yang Yongqiang’s heart.

As the deputy director, second in command of the Cultural Bureau, Yang Yongqiang hadn’t encountered someone this tactless in a long time.

If the other party had been Secretary Wu’s secretary, he might have endured it.

But a driver, upon meeting him, the Cultural Bureau’s second in command, did not even offer a greeting.

Instead, he did the opposite when told not to smoke.

Truly uneducated, with no respect for authority!

Yang Yongqiang frowned in disgust and asked, "What’s your name?"

Song Guanchao did not answer, instead saying, "Since Deputy Director Yang is here, I’ll just state my demands. Given Jiang Qi’s egregious breach of the commercial contract, I suggest that from now on, Jiang Qi should not be allowed to participate in any commercial activities in Lingjiang."

Before he had finished speaking, Jiang Qi chimed in, "Director Yang, my throat is uncomfortable, I can’t sing, but he insists on making me perform."

Yang Yongqiang, scowling, said, "As a singer, if your throat is uncomfortable, how can someone force you to sing?"

Wu Yun could no longer hold back and stood up abruptly, slamming her hand on the table, "She signed a contract and took the money, and now she’s asking for more money at the last minute, where’s the sense in that?"

"Yelling for what?" Yang Yongqiang rebuked, "Which unit are you from? What’s your name?"

"Wu Yun, a staffer assigned by the Disciplinary Committee to the City Committee Office!"

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦