If you’re doing outdoor activities, generally you have to put on a thick down jacket to withstand the bitter cold.

But right now, outside the first-floor lobby of YG Entertainment, aside from the front row of men and women who were clearly from management, all looking very bundled up with wool overcoats over their suits, the dozen or so young men and women behind them were all in thin outfits. Some of the girls were even just wearing short skirts, their pale thighs wrapped only in a thin layer of pantyhose, shivering in the icy wind...

In a corner a bit closer to the entrance, Jin Zhixiu and Lisa were also only in dresses. Even though they’d timed it so they came out at the last minute, just one or two minutes standing in the cold wind was already enough to freeze the two girls half to death. They had no choice but to huddle together, relying on each other’s body heat.

"Lisa, you’re really going all out. The skirt is one thing, but you even put on a camisole..."

Jin Zhixiu glanced at Lisa’s outfit beside her, her eyes carrying a hint of oddness.

Lisa had a little knit sweater draped over her shoulders, but the fabric was so thin it obviously did nothing against the cold wind. Under the sweater was a camisole shaped like a butterfly overall.

The fabric on the front was cut into a butterfly, its wings spreading to both sides, but the real magic was in the overall design. The wings only extended into two straps that wrapped all the way around her back.

The sides were completely hollow, and there was no other fabric on the back at all... in short, it was a camisole somewhere between underwear and a top.

It wasn’t too obvious because Lisa had that sweater over it, but Jin Zhixiu, who had seen the full look of this piece, knew that once the sweater came off, you could basically see her smooth bare back and even part of that fresh, tender "bamboo shoot" flesh...

Lisa’s face was flushed red from the cold wind, so it was hard to tell if she was blushing because of Jin Zhixiu’s comment. She just glanced at Jin Zhixiu’s bare legs under that golden short skirt.

"But Jisoo, you’re standing here with your legs completely bare, not even wearing pantyhose."

"I was just in the practice room, and when I got the notice there was no time to change. And I’m actually not that cold..."

Jin Zhixiu explained.

Lisa took one look at Jin Zhixiu’s hands clasped tightly together, chose to just let out a "heh-heh" and didn’t call her out.

After all, she herself was harboring the exact same thought, gritting her teeth to dress this sexy in such freezing weather.

Several days had already passed, but Lisa still couldn’t forget the impact of that night... Zhou Wang, who had just been pushed onto the hot search by their scheming yesterday, had actually become Chairman of YG Entertainment overnight!

Lisa didn’t really understand business and had no idea how this magic trick worked. She got along well with President Jin, but judging from President Jin’s reaction, the other side was clearly just as dumbfounded.

Then from President Jin’s mouth she found out that apparently even Vice President An Qixian hadn’t gotten any prior hint. Don’t be fooled by how composed Chairman An looked when he made the announcement, because just ten minutes earlier, when he got the call from the board while in the car, he’d nearly driven straight into a ditch...

Their original manager, Sister Chen, and the former head of PR had, without question, become the scapegoats for this incident, and disappeared from the company that very night without a trace.

Those people might have lost their jobs, but at least that wrapped up the matter for them. As long as Chairman Zhou didn’t insist on pursuing it to the bitter end, once they accepted this outcome they could at least sleep a little easier...

But the four girls of BlackPink were clearly in a different position.

You couldn’t say the whole public opinion incident was entirely their idea, but without their voices, the hype would never have reached such an exaggerated level.

Sister Chen could pat her butt and walk away; they couldn’t.

Never mind the binding clauses in their contracts with YG Entertainment, signed way back in their trainee days. Even without contractual shackles, given YG Entertainment’s influence in Korea and the powerful background of the "Jiulong Gang" behind it, if Zhou Wang, now Chairman of YG Entertainment, really wanted to come down on them, it would only take a single offhand remark...

In the eyes of fans, they were internationally renowned Superstars basking in the spotlight, but having clawed their way up from the very bottom of Korea’s entertainment industry, they were all too clear that in the eyes of real Financial Tycoons, they were nothing.

Especially Lisa. Among the four members, she came from the most ordinary background, with nothing even remotely resembling a comfortable family environment, which made her cherish everything she’d gained now that much more.

This ultra-sexy camisole was something she’d painstakingly picked out and ordered online in the last couple of days. There was no other hidden agenda; she just wanted, in this new encounter with Zhou Wang, to leave the best possible impression on him...

Jin Zhixiu glanced again toward the lobby behind them and said worriedly, "What did Jenny and Rose say to you? Are they really not even going to show up for the welcome ceremony?"

That night, after the initial shock, the four girls’ reactions had been completely different.

Lisa was panic-stricken; Jin Zhixiu, on the other hand, after the shock, actually felt a bit of Shi Ran. She came from an upper-middle-class family in Korea, and since her parents had some ties to the entertainment world, she’d always been protected comparatively well. She was the most naive of the four, so at the time she’d actually felt a bit guilty, thinking they’d wrongfully accused Zhou Wang...

As for Jenny and Rose, while they were a little scared at first too, once they calmed down, they had no intention of bowing their heads to Zhou Wang.

"Have you ever seen Jenny bow to anyone?"

Lisa spoke with a hint of complexity now, unable to hide the sourness and jealousy in her eyes. "With a mother like that, she never has to endure even the slightest grievance."

Jin Zhenni’s family background was indeed the best among the four girls in BlackPink, to the point where "good" didn’t even begin to cover it.

Jenny’s mother was one of the shareholders of CJ Group, and CJ Group, which spun off from Samsung Group, was currently one of Korea’s biggest comprehensive Financial Tycoon conglomerates. Its businesses spanned food and dining, biotech, entertainment and media, logistics and retail, etc.

Jenny’s father ran a medical institution, his pedigree equally impressive.

So Jenny’s family was bona fide Financial Tycoon class in Korea, and it was exactly this background that had made Jenny the proudest of the four girls from the very start.

With her personality, never mind that she didn’t think she’d done anything wrong— even if she had, she still wouldn’t bow her head to Zhou Wang.

That much, Jin Zhixiu could understand. After a sigh, she asked in puzzlement, "Then what about Rose? How does she dare to go up against Chairman Zhou too?"

"Rose didn’t spell it out, but I think she’s planning to ask Vice President Park for help..."

Lisa pursed her lips and said in a lowered voice.

"Ask Chairman Park?"

Jin Zhixiu was startled, and before she could press further, the sound of walkie-talkies came from the front. The mid-to-upper management of YG Entertainment straightened up immediately and began applauding.

Jin Zhixiu looked up to see a neat line of cars slowly driving through YG Entertainment’s gate. She knew that meant Zhou Wang had arrived, so she had to shut her mouth at once, gently separate from Lisa, stand up straight, and join the crowd in smiling and clapping.

The Genesis at the very front rolled to a stop at the entrance. The doors of the Range Rover behind it opened, and President Jin and Chairman An quickly got out, jogging over to open the Genesis’s door.

Wearing a casual suit that still couldn’t hide his good looks, Zhou Wang climbed out of the back seat of the Genesis and was immediately surrounded by YG Entertainment’s enthusiastic executives. They practically lined up to come forward one by one to bow and shake his hand.

With Zhou Wang’s limited Korean, he could only make out that each of them was using a bunch of honorifics in their greetings. Fortunately, he didn’t need to respond in kind— just keep a faint smile and nod... Sura, walking behind him, would remember each of their titles and positions for him.

After meeting the company’s management, the next in line were YG Entertainment’s celebrities.

At the very front was Dong Yongpei, the former lead vocalist of Bigbang, the Korean Wave Emperor. Behind him were Jeon So-mi, Jiang Dongyuan, Lee Jeong-jae and other top YG Entertainment stars, as well as a whole bunch of faces Zhou Wang couldn’t put names to, though some looked familiar— probably people he’d seen in dramas.

By now, Zhou Wang had learned a bit about how to handle subordinates. So when dealing with YG Entertainment’s management, he kept a relatively aloof demeanor; but facing these stars who looked glamorous yet were essentially just salaried workers, he beamed, acting like someone easy to get along with.

Only, when it was finally BlackPink’s turn to shake his hand— after President Jin’s introduction— Zhou Wang couldn’t help but furrow his brows, the smile on his face slowly fading.

"Just two of you?"