Chapter 547: The Snake Swallowing Elephant Plan (3)

“Rest assured, Chairman Qi. Temasek’s capabilities will not disappoint you.”

“Good. President Jin, you can book your flight to Milan. I’ll be here for the next few days.”

“Milan?”

“I’ll have someone pick you up when you arrive. I forgot to mention, Misha is my company.”

“Chairman Qi, are you sure you’re not joking?”

“Do I look like I have time to joke?”

“Hehe, my mistake. Wait for me, I’m booking my flight right now.”

Jin Ying hung up and immediately called her direct superior.

After reporting her itinerary, she immediately started packing.

By the time she rushed to the airport, it was just eight o’clock.

Even though Jin Ying had booked the earliest available flight, it would still take a full day before she could see Qi Sheng.

The thought of a deal worth tens of billions of US dollars made Jin Ying’s heart race with anxiety.

If she could actually pull this off, the bonus alone would be enough to set her up for life.

…

After hanging up, Qi Sheng started discussing backup plans with Shen Wan.

If the deal with Temasek fell through, he would prioritize acquiring several other luxury brands to flesh out Misha’s portfolio.

‘Having only Prada and Tiffany is frankly embarrassing.’

Valentino, Zegna, and Ferragamo were all on Shen Wan’s list of potential acquisitions.

The market value of these three brands wasn’t prohibitively high.

Even acquiring all of them wouldn’t break the bank.

They chatted until evening, by which time Gu Pan and the others had finally finished their photoshoot.

The photographer from their entourage was still busy editing the photos.

The three actresses excitedly began to tour the Prada Headquarters.

This was the kind of treatment they only received because they were with Qi Sheng.

Otherwise, a top-tier luxury brand like Prada wouldn’t give this group of minor Chinese starlets the time of day.

Jiang Shuying was the only one with any real name recognition.

Mao Xiaotong was just an ordinary, third-tier actress.

And Gu Pan was just a rookie, even less famous than Mao Xiaotong.

Once *Thirty Years Old* started to air and became a hit, the situation would surely be completely reversed.

That evening, Qi Sheng and his party had a wonderful dinner at a renowned local Italian restaurant.

Women have a natural weakness for the elegant ambiance of Italian restaurants.

Qi Sheng, Shen Wan, and Zhou Jiecheng savored their red wine.

Their conversation was filled with professional design jargon.

Even if Gu Pan and the other women wanted to chime in, they couldn’t follow the conversation at all.

Whenever Qi Sheng offered a few words, they watched Shen Wan and Zhou Jiecheng react with shock and fall into deep thought.

It wasn’t just Gu Pan who wore a proud expression.

Jiang Shuying and Mao Xiaotong couldn’t help but wear the exact same look.

After all, they had “fought in the trenches” together, making them something like sisters-in-arms.

…

After dinner, they returned to their accommodations at the Armani Hotel.

Although Shen Wan had specially booked two of the largest Milan Suites, the three women, each with her own agenda, showed no intention of sleeping separately.

Gu Pan glared angrily at Jiang Shuying and Mao Xiaotong.

It was one thing for these two women to go to the chairman’s office “seeking advancement” back at the company.

But to come all the way to Milan and still try to steal her man…

Gu Pan’s anger meter was maxing out; she was on the verge of starting a catfight with them.

“We have to adjust to the jet lag anyway. Let’s watch the premiere of *Thirty Years Old* together in a bit.”

Qi Sheng said, trying to smooth things over, and was the first to enter the suite.

“Hmph!”

Gu Pan shot the two “old women” a glare and hurried after him.

“Sister Shuying, is this really okay?”

Mao Xiaotong was embarrassed and hesitant to go inside.

“What’s not okay about it? If you hadn’t ‘performed’ so well yesterday, do you think he would’ve brought you to Milan for Fashion Week?”

Jiang Shuying said, smiling slyly at Mao Xiaotong.

“We agreed to advance together. You can’t hold me back now.”

“Are you really satisfied with just being a ‘Friend of the Brand’ for Miu Miu?”

“Don’t you want to take it a step further and become a full-fledged spokesperson, like me?”

“I…”

Mao Xiaotong agonized for a few seconds before silently apologizing to Gu Pan in her heart.

‘I have no choice. I can’t compete with your youth and beauty.’

‘All I can do is cast aside my pride and suck up to a man.’

“Now that’s more like it!”

Jiang Shuying took Mao Xiaotong’s arm, a triumphant smile on her face.

As a fellow actress, she knew Mao Xiaotong all too well.

Dangle the right bait, and there was no doubt she would bite.

‘This is what happens when you get older. Otherwise, why would I even need to rope in Mao Xiaotong?’

‘Besides, I’m doing this for Gu Pan’s own good.’

‘Does she really think she can handle a man like Qi Sheng all by herself?’

‘Even if Gu Pan managed to keep Qi Sheng for the first half of the night, he’d still be sneaking over to their room for a “snack” later.’

‘So, for Gu Pan’s own good, Jiang Shuying planned to sacrifice herself and Mao Xiaotong to help shoulder the “burden” a few times.’

‘If she got lucky, she might even be able to secure her status with a child.’

‘With Qi Sheng’s fortune, the child support alone would start at a billion.’

Just the thought of it made Jiang Shuying unable to stop a wide grin from spreading across her face.

Having a child is usually a devastating blow to an actress’s career.

Only a few serious, critically acclaimed actresses could manage to retain their core fanbase.

An actress like her, who had gotten famous by marketing her looks, would be finished the moment such news got out.

But if she could get pregnant with Qi Sheng’s child, then who gave a damn about being an actress?

Even if she couldn’t marry into the family, she’d at least be taken care of in the lap of luxury for the rest of her life.

Seeing that Qi Sheng had no intention of kicking Jiang Shuying and the others out, Gu Pan gave up on the idea of trying to get rid of them.

Although she was unhappy about it, Gu Pan knew you had to handle Qi Sheng with a gentle touch.

‘Besides, no matter what these two women do…’

‘Their place in Qi Sheng’s heart isn’t even one-ten-thousandth of mine.’

‘At worst, it’s just like he ordered a couple of high-class escorts.’

Seeing Gu Pan suddenly break into a silly smile, Qi Sheng touched her smooth forehead.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine!”

Gu Pan rolled her eyes at Qi Sheng. “You’re getting off easy.”

“Come to terms with it?”

Qi Sheng wrapped an arm around Gu Pan’s soft waist and said with a smile, “They aren’t like you girls.”

“I know. That’s why I’m happy!”

Gu Pan knew exactly what Qi Sheng meant.

Her man had no real feelings for them whatsoever.

Qi Sheng provided resources, and they provided their bodies.

It was a perfectly logical arrangement.

But she and the others were different. They held a real place in Qi Sheng’s heart.

For starters, she always had first pick of the company’s film, television, and commercial opportunities.

What other actress at the company could even dream of such treatment?

Qi Sheng was quite pleased to see Gu Pan come around so quickly.

He’d just been scrolling through his phone, and there were quite a few actresses back home trying to ride his coattails.

As a semi-official host of sorts, he could invite a few of these actresses onto his yacht for some “fun.”

Shouldn’t they show their appreciation in return?