I originally thought these guys would at least give me a round of applause or a smile to show some welcome, even if they weren’t throwing me a big celebration.
After all, I am the head director and head planner!
But what I didn’t expect was that, as the person with the highest administrative rank in this project team, the only thing greeting me from the moment I walked in was cold stares—not a single trace of excitement!
Chen Ke’s face was starting to feel a bit embarrassed.
These guys were just too, too thoughtless!
A bunch of grown men treating a young girl like this—don’t they have any shame?
An awkward tension instantly filled the entire meeting room.
Chen Ke was genuinely worried that if Qin Yunxuan couldn’t handle this and ran out crying, how would he explain it to Director Zhao?
And if this got out, given Qin Yunxuan’s current popularity, her fans wouldn’t care about the details—they would definitely stand up for her.
“Please, please, don’t do anything rash!” Chen Ke silently prayed.
“Minister Chen!” Qin Lang finally spoke.
There was no grievance or anger in his voice—just calmness.
This caught Chen Ke off guard.
This young girl Qin Yunxuan actually had quite a bit of depth.
“Director Qin, what is it?”
“Aren’t you going to introduce everyone to me?” Qin Lang said with a smile. “For the time being, they’re technically my team, right? I should at least get to know everyone.”
Chen Ke gave a dry laugh. “Right, Director Qin is right. Um… everyone, be proactive and introduce yourselves!”
But no one volunteered, making the atmosphere even more awkward.
Still, Qin Lang showed no other expression—he just looked at Chen Ke with a faint, knowing smile.
As long as I don’t feel awkward, everyone else is the one who feels awkward!
This sentence perfectly described the current scene. The more uncooperative the people below were, the more awkward Chen Ke felt.
“Ahem, ahem!”
With no other choice, he had to steel himself and introduce everyone one by one.
“Zhao Yu, your assistant director. He’s an experienced assistant director at the station and knows the show’s procedures very well.”
Zhao Yu stood up and nodded slightly at Qin Yunxuan.
Qin Yunxuan responded in kind. Both of their expressions remained calm.
“Zhang Yun, associate head planner and also your assistant. If there’s anything you don’t understand about filming or planning, just leave it to these two. I’m sure they’ll handle things beautifully.”
“Of course, if they do a poor job, come straight to me!” After a moment’s thought, Chen Ke added a veiled threat to the two clueless guys.
Qin Lang gave a faint smile. “Alright, then I’ll have to ask Minister Chen to bear with me when the time comes.”
“Wu Yuan, Old Wu, lighting technician. Very experienced!”
“Qin Chuan, sound engineer, with fifteen years of experience under his belt!”
“Zhao Li, Sun Lei, camera operators. They’re also veterans of the station…”
…
It took a full ten minutes for Chen Ke to finish introducing everyone.
Qin Lang nodded slightly. “Now I know who everyone is, but you might not know me yet, so let me introduce myself.”
“I am Qin Yunxuan, an original singer from Starlight Entertainment. Right now, I’m a contestant on ‘I Am a Singer,’ and next, I will be the head director and head planner of ‘The Poetry Conference of Nine Provinces.'”
Qin Lang said calmly, “To be honest, I don’t know the first thing about directing or planning. But unfortunately, after Director Zhao’s enthusiastic invitation, I had no choice but to accept this task.”
The others furrowed their brows slightly. This young girl wasn’t simple.
She was clearly using the director’s name to keep them in check.
She was invited by the director himself—disrespecting her meant disrespecting the director?
“However, I’m also very aware that I can’t accomplish this task alone. So I’ll be relying on everyone’s help for many things.”
“But I’m not a dictator either. If you have any opinions about me, feel free to speak up now. As long as it’s constructive, I’ll listen with an open mind.”
With that, Qin Lang pulled a stack of papers from his bag. “What I’m about to say may involve confidential information about ‘The Poetry Conference of Nine Provinces,’ so… I’ve prepared some confidentiality agreements. I hope everyone can sign them before we officially begin preparations.”
Suddenly, a wave of reactions erupted from the previously silent crowd.
They looked as if they had been insulted—faces flushed red, eyes blazing with anger.
These people were the backbone of Jiuyang Television, and confidentiality was already part of their professional ethics.
Qin Lang’s move clearly showed a lack of trust in their character and a disregard for their professional integrity.
How could they tolerate that?
“This is way too much! How can she do something like this?”
“Exactly! One would rather die than be humiliated! How could Qin Yunxuan insult us like this?”
“Right, this Qin Yunxuan is absolutely over the line!”
…
Their righteous indignation caught Qin Lang off guard. Were these guys made of gunpowder or something?
Even Chen Ke’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. He thought his team’s behavior was already bad enough, but he didn’t expect Qin Yunxuan to be no pushover either.
Qin Lang was a bit confused. Why were these guys acting like he’d stepped on their toes? Wasn’t this standard procedure?
But watching their faces turn red and listening to their disjointed complaints, he suddenly understood.
Confidentiality was the most basic professional ethic in this line of work.
His move had essentially shown distrust in their professional ethics—no wonder they reacted like cats with their tails stepped on.
But then… a smile appeared on Qin Lang’s face.
A reaction, any reaction, was better than the cold indifference from earlier.
“You’re feeling angry, aren’t you?” Qin Lang said loudly. “You think I’ve trampled on your professional ethics? Disrespected your pride? Shown that I don’t trust you?”
“You know that, and you still ask?” Sun Lei, one of the camera operators, said coldly.
Qin Lang spread his hands and said, “I honestly don’t get it. What do you have to be angry about? You say I don’t trust you? That’s rich… it’s not like you really trust me, either!”
The room fell silent—they had no comeback.
The words were harsh, but they also made a lot of sense.
“See? You can distrust others and give them the cold shoulder, but when someone treats you the same way, you act like you’re the victim. Don’t you think that’s a bit too hypocritical?”
“Besides… speaking of professional ethics, do you really think your behavior so far qualifies as ethical?”
Qin Lang said slowly, “Cooperation is built on trust. Since neither side trusts the other, how can we even talk about working together? How about this—I’ll make a decision here on Minister Chen’s behalf.”
“If any of you think I can’t pull off this show, that I lack the ability, or that you’re too good for my team, you can leave right now. I promise that Minister Chen won’t hold you accountable in any way.”
“Cooperation is like dating—it requires mutual consent. But I must remind you of one thing: if you walk out of this meeting room, then from now on, you’ll have nothing to do with ‘The Poetry Conference of Nine Provinces.'”
“And any future achievements this show earns will also have nothing to do with you. Think carefully about that.”
