Just then, Ji Siyue suddenly received a call.
The ringing of the phone startled her so much that she almost dropped her phone.
This phone number had always been in her phone without being deleted. After seeing the name, she was a bit stunned.
After much thought, she still answered the call.
"Hello? Sister Fanghua?"
"It's me."
Hearing Liu Fanghua's voice again after two years, Ji Siyue still felt quite emotional inside.
This person used to be her friend and partner, but then something happened, so the relationship became a bit awkward.
"I saw your account on Weibo. You're back, right?"
Ji Siyue couldn't help but touch her head. "I said I wouldn't log in to that account again, but I forgot to change my online identity this time. I'll clarify this later. But why did you call?"
"I want you to come back to live - stream."
"But I don't even play games anymore. What am I going to live - stream? And we clearly agreed before..."
"Let's meet up sometime. I really have something to say to you."
Ji Siyue stopped.
The voice on the phone seemed extremely depressed and tired.
Liu Fanghua used to be so firm when making decisions. Why did she seem so exhausted now?
What on earth was going on?
With such doubts in mind, Ji Siyue went alone to the coffee shop they had agreed to meet at.
Coincidentally, this was the same coffee shop where Ji Siyue and Liu Fanghua had their first business negotiation five years ago, before signing the contract.
Five years had passed. The coffee shop looked a bit shabby and couldn't keep up with the times. However, being located next to the university town, it was still a popular dating spot for many campus couples.
Ji Siyue watched with interest as a couple at the next table was arguing.
"What's your relationship with that woman?"
"What relationship could we have? Don't misunderstand."
"But I clearly saw you touch her head, and she threw herself into your arms."
"There was a caterpillar on her head. She was scared, so I helped her get it off."
"But I feel like you're lying to me."
"We've been together for a week. When have I ever lied to you?"
"Okay... But you have to keep your distance from that person in the future, or I'll really get angry."
"Sure! I'll listen to you. Are we still having iced coffee with whipped cream today?"
"I'm on my period today. I can't have cold drinks. I told you about my period when we first got together. How could you forget?"
Listening to the couple arguing back and forth, Ji Siyue couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.
But thinking carefully, when she was in a relationship before, she never seemed to argue over small things.
That person always accommodated her. He remembered everything about her clearly and kept a proper distance from other women, leaving her with no reason to argue.
Except...
Alas.
No wonder he was not an ordinary person. He rarely argued, but once he did, it was almost always heading towards a breakup.
Later, it turned out that Ji Siyue's guess was right. They did break up.
"Dinglingling~"
The wind chime at the coffee - shop door rang, and the woman in a business suit walked in.
Ji Siyue slightly raised her hand, and the woman walked over.
"Long time no see, sister."
"Long time no see, Siyue. You've really changed a lot."
Ji Siyue smiled and waved to the approaching waiter, ordering a cup of coffee for herself. "Sister Fanghua, I actually have a job now, so I'm afraid I don't have time for live - streaming. But on the phone, you seemed to have something on your mind, so I want to ask what exactly happened."
Liu Fanghua waited until the coffee was served and cooled down. After gulping down the whole cup in one go, she said word by word, "The company is on the verge of bankruptcy."
It turned out that after Ji Siyue suddenly left for a far - away place, the most popular esports team in the industry disbanded on the spot, and the gaming competitions instantly lost a lot of popularity.
Due to the loss of popularity, the official had to take back some live - streaming licenses because of cost issues. Ji Siyue's former company was one of them.
Moreover, the live - streaming industry was getting more and more difficult. It was also greatly impacted. The most fatal thing was the loss of talent. Now there were hardly any outstanding live - streamers on the platform.
The long - term situation of having more expenses than income led to the company's impending bankruptcy.
Liu Fanghua had already arranged the severance pay. But after seeing the news of Ji Siyue's return, she decided to take a gamble and came to find her.
"Come to think of it, your company has been around for more than a decade. An entertainment company either makes it big or goes bankrupt. It seems that you were hit just when you were about to achieve great success..." Ji Siyue said with a sarcastic smile, lowering her head to drink the coffee. "And that blow was caused by me."
Liu Fanghua was silent for a while and then said, "I've been in this company for a long time. I'm really not willing to see it go bankrupt like this... I didn't really have high hopes. It's already great that you came out to listen to me. Thank you."
Ji Siyue fell silent too.
If the company had ended up like this because of someone else, she would surely say nothing. She had no nostalgia for this company at all.
But from a certain perspective, the company had become like this because of her...
Ji Siyue wanted to live freely and didn't want to owe anyone, not even a company with hundreds of employees.
Ji Siyue stood up and stopped Liu Fanghua who was about to leave.
"Give me two days to think it over. Before that, don't apply for bankruptcy for the company."
Liu Fanghua couldn't quite figure out what Ji Siyue meant, but Ji Siyue had already paid the bill and left first.
After leaving the coffee shop, Ji Siyue took out her phone and dialed a number that she hadn't been able to get through to for many days.
The phone number was registered in the United States.
"Hello? President Yang?"
"Didn't I say don't contact me if you're not coming back to the US?"
"I have something to ask you. Don't worry. I won't take up much of your time."
"Go ahead."
"I want to ask if our company has any plans to invest in the entertainment industry recently?"