Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Yu Keqing’s Scheme_1
Camphor Forest Villa, Building 66.
Looking at her own face in the makeup mirror, Ouyang Bingbing was scared stiff.
Her face, which had been as fresh and tender as an 18-year-old girl’s the night before, had aged by twenty or thirty years overnight, turning into the face of a woman in her forties or fifties.
How could this be?
This is impossible!
My face was fine, how could it have turned into this ghastly appearance?
Unable to believe what she was seeing, Ouyang Bingbing quickly grabbed the Youth-Keeping Cream and started applying it frantically.
Had she not applied it, it might have been better; after applying it, she immediately felt an intense burning sensation.
Her face swelled up, swelled like a pig’s head, an old sow’s head.
Hideously ugly!
At this moment, Ouyang Bingbing’s phone rang. It was her assistant, Ding Yuxin.
"Yuxin, what’s up?"
"Bingbing, Mrs. Yu from Huanmei Group wants to meet with you. The time is set for this morning at ten."
"Meet with me? Why does she suddenly want to meet with me?"
"Huanmei Group’s performance has declined, and they want to launch a new product. Mrs. Yu wants to talk to you personally about the advertising campaign for the new product launch."
"I understand."
After hanging up, Ouyang Bingbing felt desperate.
With her current face, how could she meet Yu Keqing?
And how could she continue to be the spokesperson for Huanmei Group?
But if Mrs. Yu requested a meeting, she couldn’t simply not go!
Huanmei Group.
Ouyang Bingbing walked into the president’s office.
Because her face had aged by twenty or thirty years and had also swollen.
Ouyang Bingbing wore a duckbill cap and put on a mask, covering her entire face, revealing only a pair of big eyes.
Huanmei Group had invited Ouyang Bingbing to be their spokesperson three years ago.
Mrs. Yu, the president, had only met Ouyang Bingbing once during the signing that year.
Afterward, it was the brand director who interfaced with Ouyang Bingbing.
Today, Mrs. Yu’s meeting with Ouyang Bingbing was because of what Qin Feng had said to her that day.
Originally, Mrs. Yu was skeptical about Qin Feng’s words.
But after seeing the way Ouyang Bingbing appeared, she believed him halfway.
If there hadn’t been a problem with her face, would Ouyang Bingbing have bundled up so tightly?
Before Ouyang Bingbing entered, the secretary had reported her arrival, so Mrs. Yu knew it was her.
But to get Ouyang Bingbing to show her face, she deliberately asked as if she didn’t know, "May I ask who you are?"
"Mrs. Yu, hello! I am Ouyang Bingbing."
"Wrapped up so tightly, I can’t be sure whether you are really Miss Ouyang or not?"
"I’ve had some allergies recently, so I have to wear the mask. I ask for your understanding, Mrs. Yu."
"Allergies?"
Mrs. Yu glanced at Ouyang Bingbing’s hand.
She wore silk gloves on her hands, but the wrists were exposed.
The skin is very loose and dull, with quite a lot of melanin deposits.
It looks like the hand of a woman in her forties or fifties.
If the skin on her hand is like this, could her face be any better?
Yu Keqing was certain that something must have gone wrong with Ouyang Bingbing’s face.
So, she laid her cards on the table.
"Miss Ouyang, Huanmei Group’s new product is about to launch, and we need to start shooting the advertisement for it tomorrow. I called you here today because I heard that there’s a problem with your face. So, please remove your hat, take off your mask, and let me see your face."
"Mrs. Yu, I’m sorry! I’m having an allergic reaction and I definitely won’t be able to shoot the advertisement tomorrow."
"You are the spokesperson for Huanmei Group, and now, when the company is about to launch a new product, you can’t shoot the advertisement? Huanmei Group pays you an endorsement fee of a hundred million yuan each year! We pay such a colossal sum for your endorsement, and you can’t shoot an advertisement for our company? Miss Ouyang, are you trying to breach the contract?"
"I didn’t intend to breach the contract, it’s an accident this time. With my face in this condition, I really can’t shoot an advertisement!"
"You say your face can’t shoot an advertisement, so it can’t be filmed? Without even letting me take a look at your face, how would I know whether you’re pretending to be a diva or not?"
"Fine! I’ll show you!"
Proving that she wasn’t pretending to be a diva, Ouyang Bingbing removed her hat and mask.
Yu Keqing had braced herself, but upon seeing Ouyang Bingbing’s face, she was immediately shocked.
After the shock, she was overjoyed.
The major shareholder of Huanmei Group, Sanrenhe Group, would take away large dividends every year.
The dividends were calculated not based on net profit, but on total revenue.
Previous performance was good, and dividends were distributed in this manner.
Although not much profit remained for Huanmei, at least some did, ensuring the group could operate normally.
This year, the group’s performance plummeted, and funds were extremely tight.
If we continue to distribute dividends in this manner, the company’s cash flow would instantly break.
Yu Keqing had contacted the Sanrenhe side, hoping to postpone this year’s dividend.
She proposed to wait until the group had weathered this storm and recovered performance, then make up the full amount later.
To her shock, Sanrenhe not only disagreed, but also demanded immediate dividends.
In the end, they even forcibly transferred the dividends out of Huanmei Group’s account.
The domineering behavior of the majority shareholder caused a three-billion-yuan shortfall in Huanmei’s cash flow.
If it couldn’t be filled, the break in cash flow would immediately bring the group’s operations to a halt.
Sanrenhe had already demonstrated with their actions that they didn’t care about the life or death of Huanmei Group.
Once the group stopped operating, Sanrenhe would certainly let Huanmei go bankrupt, then sell off its assets to recover their original investment.
Ouyang Bingbing had been the spokesperson for Huanmei Group for three years, and the endorsement fees paid to her totaled exactly three billion yuan.
Yu Keqing pulled out the endorsement contract she had prepared in advance from the drawer.
Pointing to the clause on the penalty for breach of contract, she said, "Miss Ouyang, according to the terms of our endorsement contract. Either party in breach must pay a penalty of ten billion yuan."
"Mrs. Yu, what do you mean?"
"The terms of the contract are clear. If tomorrow, Miss Ouyang cannot shoot the advertisement for the new product, then you will have breached the contract. Given the condition of your face, it definitely won’t be better by tomorrow. So, at this time tomorrow, you’ll need to pay Huanmei Group ten billion yuan as a penalty for breach of contract!"
"This was an accidental allergy, and it’ll get better in a few days. Mrs. Yu, aren’t you being a bit too inhumane?"
"I don’t mix sentiment with business, I only abide by contracts. These past three years, working with Miss Ouyang has been quite pleasant. Therefore, I can offer you another choice. Terminate your contract with Huanmei Group voluntarily and return the three billion yuan endorsement fee that we have already paid you in full. That way, we are even. You won’t have to pay the ten billion yuan penalty!"
"They say that Mrs. Yu devours people without spitting out the bones in the business arena. I didn’t believe it before, but now I do. You used me up, and now you want to drain me dry? Fine! I’ll terminate my contract with Huanmei Group! I’ll return the three billion yuan to you!"
Ouyang Bingbing had a temper. As soon as Yu Keqing took out the termination agreement, she immediately signed her name.
Then, she said coldly, "Mrs. Yu, I hope you won’t regret this!"
