Chapter 140: An Old Fox Playing Both Sides
Nænagae Yijili was originally a trainee Jiang Shu found in Japan. She had already been brought to Seoul along with Xiaocaomei and Nako, but who would have thought that a wild card would appear halfway through and she would be taken by S.M.
The key was that he couldn't say anything about the reason she was taken.
This was also the reason Jiang Shu invited Li Xiuman over.
"That works, one for one," Li Xiuman said with a smile, looking at Jiang Shu and offering his condition.
He wasn't interested in Nænagae Yijili initially, but since she was brought over from Japan by DM Entertainment and was his girlfriend's niece, he became interested.
As the saying goes, it doesn't matter if you don't understand; if someone who does understand thinks it's good, then it's good.
He didn't understand DM Entertainment's recruitment logic, but couldn't he just poach her directly?
He couldn't reach out to other trainees, but Nænagae Yijili was fair game.
"Alright," Jiang Shu agreed readily.
This time, it was Li Xiuman's turn to be surprised. He agreed so readily?
Could it be that his niece possessed some trait he hadn't discovered?
"Let me see the trainee's information," Li Xiuman said to Jiang Shu, his thoughts flickering.
Jiang Shu was also very straightforward. He directly pulled up the trainee information in front of Li Xiuman and printed it on the spot.
Soon, a stack of data sheets was printed and placed in front of Li Xiuman.
"So few?" Li Xiuman raised an eyebrow, picking up the trainee forms and browsing through them.
But he quickly noticed something was amiss.
"Where's Kim Minju?"
"Not for sale," Jiang Shu said calmly.
"Where's Ahn Yujin?"
"Not for sale."
"Where are those trainees you recruited at the audition?"
"They're preparing to debut."
Li Xiuman looked up at Jiang Shu.
"Where's Miyawaki Sakura, whom you just brought back from Japan?"
"Not for sale."
Li Xiuman laughed in exasperation. So this guy didn't bring over all the trainee information at all.
"Is this your attitude towards friendship?"
"Chairman Li is asking for too much," Jiang Shu said with a faint smile. "These trainees you mentioned are all pre-debut members of our company's new girl group. How could they be traded away so easily?"
"I can give you a piece of news, a piece of news that concerns IVE's survival. How about you offer a real trainee in exchange?" Li Xiuman suggested.
Jiang Shu didn't pay attention to the news about IVE's survival that Li Xiuman mentioned. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman's pursuit of trainees seemed a bit too urgent?
"Didn't Chairman Li just debut NCT? Why does he still need female trainees?" Jiang Shu asked with a smile.
Li Xiuman's eyes flickered. Such keen perception, did he notice already?
"No comment."
Jiang Shu didn't mind being stonewalled.
"I don't need news about IVE. Chairman Li, please don't set your sights on our exclusive trainees. Tell me your real conditions."
Li Xiuman frowned.
"No room for negotiation?"
Jiang Shu shook his head.
"No room for negotiation."
These trainees were his foundation. If they weren't in his hands, that would be one thing, but now that they were, he wouldn't let a single one go.
【It seems these trainees are more important than I imagined.】 Li Xiuman lowered his head in thought.
【Nænagae Yijili is of no use to me. Instead of keeping her, it's better to give her to Jiang Shu, but giving her away for free feels like a loss.】
【YG targeting IVE is generally beneficial to us, but the premise is that IVE, which Jiang Shu produced, truly was a stroke of luck as Yang Hyun-suk said. If IVE is gone and he produces a new girl group, how will we handle it then?】
【Red Velvet seems to have a very good start. Should I invest in them?】
Li Xiuman's eyes flickered.
Now he had two options before him.
One, cooperate with YG to suppress IVE, or even destroy IVE.
Two, refuse to cooperate, side with DM Entertainment, and invest in their future.
In just a moment, Li Xiuman made his decision.
Only children make choices. He would play both sides!
"I can give you Nænagae Yijili, but I need a promise from Chairman Jiang."
"What promise?" Jiang Shu asked, confused by Li Xiuman's meaning.
"Cooperate with our S.M to create another girl group."
Jiang Shu frowned.
"We can debut groups ourselves. Why should we cooperate with you?"
"Don't you think that your company's many girl groups are blocking a lot of people's paths?" Li Xiuman said with a chuckle.
"If we cooperate, S.M can share a lot of the pressure for DM Entertainment."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Shu asked, looking at Li Xiuman with a "bewildered" expression.
"Chairman Jiang will understand later," Li Xiuman smiled mysteriously, not answering.
【Old fox!】
Jiang Shu cursed silently in his heart.
Li Xiuman obviously wanted to invest in DM Entertainment, but he didn't want to openly take sides, so he only subtly hinted at it. If DM Entertainment really ran into trouble, he wouldn't lose anything.
And if DM Entertainment didn't run into trouble or pulled through, he could use this as an opportunity to cooperate with DM Entertainment.
He was really calculating.
However...
Jiang Shu thought of the things Li Xiuman was secretly doing in S.M, and his heart stirred.
"I can agree, but I need a seat on the S.M board of directors."
This time, it was Li Xiuman's turn to be stunned.
"A board seat?"
"That's right." Jiang Shu smiled slightly. "I've longed for S.M for a long time."
"Just a board seat?" Li Xiuman asked.
"Just a board seat."
Becoming a board member and having a say on the board are two different things. A transparent member of the board is also considered to have a board seat.
"Alright, as long as the collaborative girl group you produce is valuable enough," Li Xiuman agreed, but he didn't speak too definitively, leaving himself plenty of room.
Jiang Shu didn't care about this. He didn't plan to infiltrate S.M now. With an old fox like Li Xiuman around, it would be difficult for him to openly do anything to S.M, but...
Li Xiuman wouldn't be there forever.
"Pleasure working with you," Jiang Shu said with a smile, extending his right hand.
"Pleasure working with you." Seeing Jiang Shu's expression, Li Xiuman couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Was Jiang Shu truly unaware of what YG was doing?
Never mind, it wasn't important. He was just an observer and wouldn't get involved until the situation reached a fever pitch. Let them fight. He would only step in to reap the benefits when the situation was completely clear.
"So, when will Nænagae Yijili's trainee contract be sent over?"
"If Chairman Jiang wishes, it can be today," Li Xiuman said, looking at Jiang Shu.
"Then please have Chairman Li expedite it."
"Alright." Li Xiuman nodded, paused, and then spoke again.
"What kind of group is ITZY...?"
Jiang Shu smiled slightly at the question.
"A unique group."
What a useless answer.
Li Xiuman stood up.
"Chairman Jiang, I'll take my leave."
