Chapter 7

Liang Siyue ran out as soon as she received it, and no amount of calling could bring her back

Unfortunately, even a "losing product" is something that cannot be sought after but can only be encountered.

Each department has its own head, who maintains the normal operation of the company on a daily basis. Most decisions are made independently, with a small portion reported to Liu Yubai for final approval

Zhou Xun also saw her, paused for a moment, then smiled slightly and nodded imperceptibly.

When Chi Qiao and that cultural company reached the stage of negotiating the contract terms, the two of them took on another part-time job.

For this reason, although Chi Qiao strongly advised her, she still decided not to open a Weibo account. While accumulating likes on social media platforms also means being prepared to face negative feedback.

It may not be good to fall out in public, especially since we might need to collaborate in the future

Yuan Bei has taken an interest, "Who? Have they acted before? Bring them to me to have a look"

Liu Yubai: "I have indeed encountered a person who is not boring."

In a moment of impulse, I thought that if he had some sweets now, it might improve his mood, completely unaware that he might have brought some himself

Chi Qiao whispered, "Zhou Xun has such a good temper; if it were me, I would have lost my temper by now"

Chi Qiao stared at her for a moment, "If you really like him that much, then come sign a contract and debut with me. No matter how small our fame is, we will still be in the same industry. The closer you get to him, the most you will be criticized for riding on his coattails."

What Liu Yubai needs to focus on is actually the "loss-making goods" of each year

Zhou Xun is a person with a good temper, but he is also about to lose his patience. In the end, he had no choice but to call off the shooting and asked the actress if she needed a little time to get into character. He suggested that she could let him know when she was ready.

Later, Liang Siyue followed Chi Qiao to engage in similar part-time jobs a few more times, not for the sake of money, but purely out of interest

In contrast to her response, Chi Qiao actively expressed a desire to visit the company for an inspection and a face-to-face discussion

It is quite interesting to realize that while ensuring one's life operates on a safe track, one also has the opportunity to observe and interact with a variety of people

The two individuals arrived at the agreed time, only to discover that the online game in question was the one endorsed by Zhou Xun

She translated it rather unenthusiastically, stating that there is nothing particularly worth looking forward to just by looking at the photos, and suggested waiting to see the live presentation.

However, the storytelling face that both Yuan Bei and Liu Yu Bai can unanimously agree upon has still not been encountered this year

With such remarkable achievements in the past, Yuan Bei is qualified to make such a judgment

Liu Yubai is best known for his identity as a producer

This statement already carries the implication of public criticism, yet Zhou Xun's tone is gentle and somewhat playful, making the atmosphere entirely unawkward

Liang Siyue returned to the dressing room with chocolate in hand

Miss Liang is welcome to visit our company and have a face-to-face discussion

The Artist Management Department has also undergone segmentation, dividing into the Star Management Department and the Performing Arts Department, with distinct staff and operational philosophies in each of the two departments

Liang Siyue lowered her head and said, "Hmm." In fact, she was not disappointed; she was just annoyed with herself for not considering things thoroughly.

Liang Siyue wandered for a while, unable to find a way to approach, and it was not appropriate to directly call out Zhou Xun's name from the car. After some thought, she ultimately decided to return the way she came.

Yuan Bei is already seated in the conference room, with a stack of reference materials beside her

She learned from some materials about Zhou Xun that he has a great fondness for sweets and always carries some with him when he goes out to work

"It's in the bag, do you want it?"

Introduced by an intermediary with whom we have collaborated several times, we are to serve as extras for an advertisement of a certain online game. It is said that a certain celebrity will be present at the event, and the details of the shoot are confidential, with only the location and time disclosed to them.

Liu Yubai pondered for a moment and said, "Forget it. What we are doing is not a noble profession, so there is no need to draw everyone into the circle."

After signing, she smiled faintly, stood up, said "Sorry," and left the set

Zhou Xun's chauffeur-driven car is parked in the parking lot at the back, with security personnel standing guard nearby

To put it simply, the celebrity management department is responsible for nurturing stars and idols, and it has a complete set of stringent KPI assessment standards. The performing arts department operates serious actors and singers; among them, aside from a few stable deities who seem to be in a retirement state nowadays, there are also some newcomers referred to as "money-losing goods." The performing arts department does not sign many people, nor does it generate wealth like the celebrity management department, but it is indeed the foundation of the company's reputation and goodwill, as well as an immeasurable intangible asset. It seems that the deities who are now in a retirement state, along with some newcomers labeled as "money-losing goods," are present. The performing arts department does not sign many people, nor does it generate wealth like the celebrity management department, but it is indeed the foundation of the company's reputation and goodwill, as well as an immeasurable intangible asset.

Of course, Chi Qiao also received this invitation call

Then let's arrange to meet and take a look

Close the door, Yuan Bei smiled and said: "I don't know if it's because the children studying art nowadays come from affluent families, but they all have faces that have never experienced hardship. They are indeed good-looking, but they are also truly boring"

The two were quite self-aware about this, but they did not expect that other girls who came with them to be extras would take the opportunity to surround them directly.

As I participate more, work invitations come flying in like snowflakes

Zhou Xun did not return to the dressing room, wearing cumbersome ancient attire. He moved a stool and sat alone in the corner, appearing somewhat withdrawn.

... ... Hmm

Chi Qiao's expression was serious, "This is the behavior of a sasaeng fan. Do not do this again. If his fan club finds out, they will expose you on Weibo."

"Outside the circle." Liu Yubai lazily leaned against the back of the chair, reminiscing about what he had seen that night, as if recalling the process of stars extinguishing. "But there are still a pair of eyes that hold some interest; as for the acting, I estimate it is questionable."

Essentially, there are very few matters that require Liu Yubai to personally intervene, and the annual newcomer interviews are considered one of them

Liang Siyue watched the figure of him leaving with his assistant and suddenly asked, "Xiao Qiao, did you bring the chocolate"

Give it to me

Yuan Bei did not hear a response. Turning her head to take a look, she saw the boss leaning against the armrest of the chair with his arm, lost in thought.

She is not in this line of work, so why should she care about the likes and dislikes of strangers

Chi Qiao: "Are you pursuing Zhou Xun?"

The director then took the opportunity to call for a fifteen-minute break before resuming.

After a short while, the door to the makeup room opened. Liang Siyue saw Zhou Xun walk in through the mirror and immediately turned her head away

The film and television media company he controls, whose business encompasses the management of artists, book publishing, film and television production, as well as promotion and distribution of films and television dramas, is undoubtedly a colossal entity

In the past, Yuan Bei identified a new female lead for a film by the renowned director Mu Yongnian among the numerous girls auditioning in the vast sea of candidates, and she strongly recommended her. At that time, Mu Yongnian actually had another candidate in mind, but ultimately trusted her judgment. The film went on to make its mark in cinematic history, and the female lead, who was an amateur without formal training, directly won the Best Actress award at the Golden Reel Awards that year

Liang Siyue interrupted him directly before he could finish speaking: "I’m sorry, I have no intention of debuting..."

Of course, Assistant Molly secretly complained, "A guilty pleasure is more like it"

The filming task is not particularly difficult; the extras have no lines and only need to stand expressionlessly behind Zhou Xun, effectively portraying the role of "the fairy lord's maid".

Liang Siyue once again declined: "I believe I will not change my mind, so I will no longer waste your time"

"Don't come too often." Liang Siyue smiled

While going to the makeup room with Chi Qiao to apply makeup, we suddenly heard a commotion outside.

Liang Siyue could hardly conceal her feelings of anticipation

The phone number of a cultural company executive indicated an intention to sign her and form a girl idol group with several existing artists from the company, debuting collectively for performance activities. Of course, the company does not possess deep qualifications and does not intend to compete with industrialized standard idol groups; they plan to target a niche market

She grew up in a small county town, where the surrounding environment remained unchanged

Yuan Bei asked the six or seven children who came for the interview today to go back and wait for further notice

This balance was carefully maintained by her for as long as six months, and on a certain day off, she received a phone call

Chi Qiao nodded, resting her chin on her shoulder, "You said, if I go to ask him for an autograph now, would it be inappropriate?"

Yuan Bei, the head of the artist management department, once worked as a casting director and has an exceptional eye for talent. With her around, Liu Yubai does not need to worry at all; her presence on-site is purely out of interest

Zhou Xun's face was devoid of expression, yet she still took the pen to sign for them

Well... the person in charge said with some regret, "Then Miss Liang, please add me on WeChat."

It is more likely that her approach will be seen as an intrusion that cannot be refused, compelling one to muster the energy to cope with it

She carefully screens, not allowing the state of separation between her interests and life to be disrupted

Living a peaceful and ordinary life is not a bad thing at all

Liang Siyue was not surprised by Chi Qiao's reaction, but still felt a sense of loss, as she suddenly realized that if Chi Qiao chose to debut, their life trajectories would inevitably diverge in completely different directions.

This year's batch of interviewees possesses appealing appearances, physiques, and temperaments. Among them, a few will be signed into the celebrity management department, and with a vast array of resources invested, in two to three years, they will become another lucrative asset.

The individual who is endorsing alongside Zhou Xun is a young actress in the ascendant phase of her career, possessing weak dialogue skills and a lack of professionalism, often breaking into laughter during performances

This year, Liu Yubai specially cleared his schedule for the new recruits' interviews as usual

Chi Qiao returned to the dressing room, took out a chocolate from her bag, and handed it to Liang Siyue