Chapter 1602 - 643: YG Banquet (Part 2)
The reason Zhou Wang dared to take some time to mess around with Xu Wenqian was, on one hand, because it was his welcome banquet, and he didn’t need to fully act as the host to greet the guests. On the other hand, it was because the banquet was held at the Shilla Hotel where he was staying.
The Shilla Hotel, ranked as the number one hotel in Korea, is naturally the first choice for high-end banquets. Without this status, top-tier celebrities in the circle wouldn’t pride themselves on holding their weddings here.
Therefore, for Zhou Wang, who is staying here, just going downstairs to the banquet hall means he doesn’t need to worry about being late.
The current time was around eight-thirty; the snowflakes were fluttering in the entirely darkened sky, and the official start time of the banquet was eight o’clock. Although it was already half an hour late, the guests attending were not expected to be many.
People with certain status would choose to arrive later to show their standing, so Zhou Wang entering the banquet hall at eight-thirty was perfectly timed.
As soon as Zhou Wang appeared in the banquet hall, apart from President Jin who was at the entrance greeting guests, the executives from YG Entertainment were suddenly reacting differently from a corner where they were chatting and laughing.
Gathered here were almost all the vice presidents and vice chairmen of YG Entertainment. Before Zhou Wang’s arrival, everyone mainly surrounded two men.
One was Vice President An Qixian, whom Zhou Wang had already interacted with, and was the lowest-ranked vice chairman on the board. Although he showed a humble attitude when Zhou Wang first arrived at YG Entertainment, afterward, he kept a neither close nor distant relationship with Zhou Wang, which was described by President Jin as a "fence-sitter."
The other man was burly, exhibiting a fierce demeanor despite wearing an expensive tailored suit. He spoke with a severe expression, and even without any overt display, he made the other YG Entertainment executives around him cautious.
He was Jiang Xin, the second-largest apparent shareholder in YG Entertainment and the representative of Nine Stars Group’s interests in YG Entertainment.
Besides, Vice President Park Jeongyun, who is the third-largest apparent shareholder of YG Entertainment and in terms of influence equals the second person in YG Entertainment, was nowhere to be seen.
The scheduled time for the banquet was eight o’clock, and although guests of certain status didn’t need to strictly adhere to this time, Park Jeongyun, as the vice president of YG Entertainment, was supposed to support the new president as one of the hosts but didn’t arrive on time, which meant something entirely different...
As a result of Park Jeongyun’s "lateness" or possible absence, the YG Entertainment executives had a mindset of watching the drama.
Now that Zhou Wang had appeared, they couldn’t help but observe the reactions of the two vice presidents.
Vice President An Qixian showcased a smile immediately, approaching at a slow pace, making the vice presidents secretly nod in acknowledgment.
"Indeed, Vice President An sits steadily like a fishing platform as always. His reserved attitude clearly waits for Chairman Zhou to draw him in..."
"However, it seems, judging from now, Chairman Zhou hasn’t offered any tempting terms to Vice President An so far!"
"These days, it seems we haven’t heard of Chairman Zhou making any moves; do you think he really doesn’t understand, or does he have no good strategy to change the situation..."
As YG Entertainment’s internal currents stir, the executives are keenly aware. They know that Zhou Wang, as a Huaxia person taking control of YG Entertainment, appears glorious on the surface, but actually, several vice chairmen and stakeholders behind the scenes may not necessarily be sold on him.
Among the numerous vice presidents present, apart from Vice President Li, who is closely aligned with President Jin and has chosen to stand on Zhou Wang’s side, others are actually still in a wait-and-see mode.
"Considering Chairman Zhou’s age, both causes are possible, alas, he might become the shortest-serving chairman in YG Entertainment’s history, or become a puppet..."
A veteran vice president commented.
Meanwhile, everyone’s gaze shifted to Vice President Jiang Xin.
Just as they suspected, with Zhou Wang’s arrival, Vice President An at least showed basic courtesy while Vice President Jiang Xin turned and left, completely ignoring Zhou Wang.
This made everyone click their tongues in wonder and adopt a watching mindset, not expecting that Park Jeongyun hadn’t arrived yet, and Jiang Xin had already decided to "discipline" Zhou Wang a little.
Even An Qixian slowed his pace a bit, thinking that, despite not being comparable to Jiang Xin as fellow vice presidents, Jiang Xin’s obvious disdain made him feel appearing too eager would lower his value?
Moreover, the vice presidents’ interpretation was not wrong: since Zhou Wang’s arrival, An Qixian had been waiting for Zhou Wang to reach out to him...
From An Qixian’s perspective, if you count Jennie’s mother, Han Suying, the four most influential people on the YG board, he was arguably the easiest to win over.
But after waiting several days, An Qixian not only wasn’t courted, but Zhou Wang hadn’t even initiated any contact with him.
Although An Qixian didn’t dare offend Zhou Wang, he also didn’t feel he needed to grovel excessively. Despite holding fewer shares and lacking the backing of giants like CJ Group, he wasn’t a mere pushover.
With this thought, to give Zhou Wang a little "hint," he imparted a more reserved smile on his face, seemingly planning to stop and wait for Zhou Wang to greet him first.
At this moment, amazed exclamations suddenly rose behind him, and as An Qixian grew puzzled, a powerful figure quickly brushed past him, heading towards Zhou Wang with a bright smile.
Never expected, Jiang Xin had returned swiftly, carrying two glasses of champagne in his hands... evidently, he had gone to grab a drink.
"Chairman, nice to meet you for the first time, I’m Jiang Xin, a straightforward man not versed in many courtesies, so let me toast you first... feel free, I’ll drink it all!"
Though the last six words were somewhat awkward, what truly amazed Zhou Wang was that Jiang Xin spoke them in Chinese, seemingly a phrase learned on the spot.
Yet, the intention to cater to Zhou Wang was very clear.
Zhou Wang laughed heartily and, without saying more, clinked glasses and consumed the drink with Jiang Xin... Although drinking such a large glass of champagne was a bit bloating, with Jiang Xin clearly showing submission, Zhou Wang certainly had to reciprocate this gesture of face-saving.
"?"
While they drank and laughed, An Qixian behind them was already bewildered.
What the heck!
Since when did Jiang Xin become so amicable with Zhou Wang... no, this wasn’t just amicable, this was a clear act of bowing to Zhou Wang.
With widened eyes, An Qixian couldn’t believe it.
Although Jiang Xin seldom intervened in YG Entertainment’s internal affairs, in An Qixian’s expectations, even if Zhou Wang gained his support, it should’ve been after Zhou Wang bowed first and offered some benefits... after all, coming from Jianghu, people like Jiang Xin value face.
But the current scene was entirely reverse of expectations.
Not only An Qixian, but all the vice presidents behind were also dumbfounded, looking bewildered.
At this moment, Zhou Wang, who had exchanged a few words with Jiang Xin, walked forward with Jiang Xin accompanying him, An Qixian hurriedly putting on what he believed to be the brightest smile, bent down, and stretched out his hands towards Zhou Wang.
Yet Zhou Wang completely ignored him, passed by directly, and shook hands in a formal greeting with the vice presidents rushing forward.
An Qixian stood rooted in place, filled with indescribable regret.
...
On the other side, at the entrance of the Shilla Hotel, as the taxi came to a steady stop, Cui Min’er and Sun Nana exited the vehicle one after another.
"It’s all because of the sudden snowfall, causing a traffic jam... Being late to such a banquet is not a good thing."
Sun Nana complained, then quickly grabbed Cui Min’er and jogged towards the banquet hall.
"Is that Lin Yun’er, that’s Lin Yun’er, right?"
After verifying their invitations at the security checkpoint, Cui Min’er, curiously glancing around, happened to look back and noticed a beautiful figure in a snow-white gown. She exclaimed in excitement.
"Yeah, that’s her... hey, Min’er, don’t shout out loud when we get inside, it’s quite embarrassing... not just Lin Yun’er, IU and Jang Yoon-young might also be here!"
Sun Nana puffed out her chest, speaking with pride.
Cui Min’er nodded repeatedly; on their way, Sun Nana had already told her that today was the welcome banquet for the new chairman of YG Entertainment, a high-level event...
With this in mind, Cui Min’er also composed herself.