Chapter 151 Black Face

Lu Yanhe looked over with Chen Ziyan.

Her short, red hair, shimmering in the sunlight, instantly reminded Lu Yanhe of her name.

He Yingzi.

Chen Ziyan's rival.

However, the last time I saw her, she was alone, but today she was with someone else.

He was a boy about the same age as Lu Yanhe, with a refined appearance, like a student.

Chen Ziyan's gaze lingered on the boy for a moment, a mocking smile appearing on her lips.

"Surely not? They're looking for people who look exactly like me."

That boy looks a bit like Tu Song.

Lu Yanhe glanced at him curiously, but the boy silently looked away, seemingly not wanting to have any interaction with him.

That's arrogant enough.

He Yingzi smiled and said, "What are you talking about? Xiao Lang is Lang Kequn's son. You want to find someone who looks like you? How can you even say that?"

Chen Ziyan was taken aback, and her gaze towards the boy next to He Yingzi changed slightly.

Lu Yanhe was wondering, who is Lang Kequn?

Anyway, he wasn't a big star or a famous person, so he had no recollection of the name.

"Is this the new recruit you'll be mentoring?"

“Lang Kequn asked me to mentor him, how could I refuse?” He Yingzi said. “Besides, Lang has such good talent, it would be a pity if he didn’t debut.”

"Is that so? Then we'll wait and see." Chen Ziyan said, then looked away and left with Lu Yanhe.

Although Chen Ziyan's face was expressionless and showed no emotion, Lu Yanhe still noticed that she closed the car door with more force than before.

It seems that Chen Ziyan really dislikes He Yingzi.

Lu Yanhe silently sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.

After a while, Chen Ziyan suddenly remembered something, glanced at Lu Yanhe who remained silent, and asked, "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment, "Who is Lang Kequn?"

Chen Ziyan laughed and said, "He's a rock singer who debuted more than 20 years ago. He later retired, but he has deep connections with many people in the entertainment industry. He Yingzi was the manager for many of his friends. They're all in the same circle."

"Oh." Lu Yanhe nodded. It seems that young man also has connections.

"I think his name is Lang Xia, I remember." Chen Ziyan suddenly said, "There are quite a few second-generation people like this in the circle. You will meet many of them in the future. They may not be doing very well themselves, but thanks to the network of connections and relationships built by their parents, they can live quite well. They can even form a circle. As long as one or two people in this circle succeed, it doesn't matter if the others are just doing so-so. They can act as brokers, and then the circle will grow bigger and bigger, excluding those who are different."

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

“Just be careful with these people. Don’t offend them if you can avoid it. This industry is so big, and many of them are like frogs in a well. They think their circle is the only big thing, but they don’t know that there are always bigger worlds out there. There’s no need to fawn over these people,” Chen Ziyan said. “With me here, you don’t need to curry favor with others to get resources. Just focus on improving your acting skills and professional abilities. I’ll take care of everything else for you.”

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Ziyan was speechless.

-

On Sunday evening, Li Zhibai and Yan Liang returned.

Both of them looked exhausted.

After they tidied up a bit, Lu Yanhe told them that he was moving out.

Li Zhibai's first reaction was: "Why are you moving out? Aren't you still at the company?"

Lu Yanhe said, "After all, we've changed agents. I'm still living here, so Zhou Pingan will have his opinions."

Li Zhibai: "If he has any complaints, let him have them. This is a dormitory rented for us by the company, not by him."

Lu Yanhe said, "That's true, but if I insist on staying here, it would seem too shameless and unnecessary. Besides, I'm not moving to another place; I'll stay in this building and live with Tu Song."

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang's reactions improved somewhat after that.

If we're still in this building, everyone will still be very close to each other.

"Besides, I'm going to move to the school area after this summer vacation, otherwise it will be inconvenient," Lu Yanhe said. "Come visit me when you have time."

Li Zhibai grumbled, "Sigh, the children have grown up and are ready to leave the nest."

Lu Yanhe: "..."

"Are you free tomorrow?" Li Zhibai suddenly asked.

"I have to go to class at the company during the day. Sister Ziyan arranged an acting class for me. What's wrong?"

Li Zhibai said, "Chen Biqiu invited me to dinner tomorrow night. I'm planning to go with Yan Liang. If you're free, you can come along too."

"Chen Biqiu? Why did he suddenly invite you to dinner?" Lu Yanhe asked, somewhat surprised.

"Who knows? But after I got him drunk last time, he seemed to be a bit warmer to me, and he often helped me find program opportunities," Li Zhibai said. "Maybe he felt that I was toasting him a lot, so he had a good impression of me and thought I respected him?"

Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang were both speechless.

What the heck?

However, it's hard to refute this statement, because it's quite possible that what Li Zhibai said is true.

Lu Yanhe said, "I don't know when tomorrow's performance class will end. If it ends early, I'll go."

Chen Biqiu is the program producer.

For Lu Yanhe at his current level, a good program is a crucial resource.

Li Zhibai took the initiative to ask Lu Yanhe to go with him whenever he had time, which was actually for this purpose.

Getting to know a seasoned program producer like Chen Biqiu is very helpful for artists like them who are on the rise.

The main reason is that becoming famous is now a mystery; there's no fixed path to follow, and success depends on sheer volume. It's about seeing which one can make a splash.

Therefore, the same applies to recording programs. Recording top variety shows and popular programs is certainly good, but it's not something anyone can do just because they want to. They can only do a lot of recordings, hoping that one or two of them will bring them good popularity, so that their recordings won't be in vain.

However, nowadays, even if a variety show isn't a huge hit, but just a small one, it's still something an artist of Lu Yanhe's caliber needs to seriously strive for.

Which agency doesn't sign new talent? After a year or two of training, they'll all gain some recognition.

Lu Yanhe didn't say he was that famous—his peak popularity had passed several months ago, and with his exam preparations, he had long since faded into obscurity. The "Heroic Act" banner only gave him a prestigious title, but it couldn't give him sustained public attention.

Therefore, Lu Yanhe also needs to appear on variety shows.

Filming can take anywhere from six months to several years. With the crew starting in July, it would be great if the show could be released next year.

Before that, Lu Yanhe still needed to eat.

-

After Lu Yanhe's live-streamed exchange with Liu Jiazhen and Mingyin, Chen Ziyan, together with Jiangyin Publishing House, did a promotional event for the event, highlighting that a total of 20,000 books were sold during the live stream, with a total sales value of over one million yuan.

This figure did not cause a particularly large sensation, but it did attract the attention of the publishing industry.

The focus is on the number 20,000.

Liu Jiazhen and Mingyin are not well-known authors; they are newcomers. Yet, they were able to sell 20,000 books in a single live stream, which is clearly due to the promotional efforts of the streamer.

But this isn't one of those legendary livestreamers with exceptional sales power. Can a minor celebrity really have such a huge appeal?

Chen Ziyan's intention in promoting this news was to proactively draw the publishing industry's attention to Lu Yanhe, to encourage them to understand Lu Yanhe's unique characteristics, and thus to cultivate an industry image of Lu Yanhe as "a lover of reading," "of good character," and "an outstanding artist."

Although Lu Yanhe is not particularly famous, his fans are very loyal, which makes him a solid figure and makes film and television companies and video platforms more willing to invest in him.

-

On Monday morning, Zhou Ping'an was listening to entertainment news on the radio when he happened to hear this news about Lu Yanhe.

He scoffed at the news.

Twenty thousand copies, with a total sales value of over one million yuan... How dare they advertise this?

Even a third-tier celebrity could earn far more than that from a single live stream.

Zhou Ping'an knew, of course, that this was not a regular live-streaming sales event by Lu Yanhe. The event that afternoon only featured two books, "Nineteen Years of Criminal Records" and "Star Orbit," which are among the hardest-to-sell items right now. Considering Lu Yanhe's current fame and popularity, this result was actually quite good.

But how could he possibly think of Lu Yanhe in a positive light?

This amount of sales revenue is nothing to brag about; there's really nothing left to brag about.

Zhou Pingan drove to the parking lot downstairs from the company and happened to run into Chen Ziyan, who was also parking her car.

Without any hesitation, they reversed into the parking space and took the last spot in the row.

Zhou Ping'an was furious, but he had no choice but to look for another parking space.

Could he possibly go and fight Chen Ziyan for a parking space?

Even when Vice President Ma angrily went to cause trouble for Chen Ziyan, he couldn't resolve the situation.

Zhou Pingan found a parking space, parked his car, and headed towards the elevator.

As it turned out, there were two people standing at the elevator door waiting for the elevator.

Zhou Ping'an heard his name before he even got close.

"I heard that Lu Yanhe has been spotted by Chen Ziyan and has now signed with her. So, of the three new artists Chen Ziyan is managing, two were transferred from Zhou Ping'an."

"Yes, but Lu Yanhe and Tu Song were always quiet and didn't become famous when they were in Fengzhi. How did they gain Chen Ziyan's favor?"

"Who knows? Everyone knows that anyone who gets Chen Ziyan's attention is bound to become famous."

“Zhou Ping’an must be regretting it to death, since all those people left through his hands,” another person said.

Just then, the elevator arrived.

The two people in front of them went in, and when they turned around, they saw Zhou Ping'an standing behind them.

Zhou Ping'an's face was so dark it looked like ink was about to drip, and they were all dumbfounded.

When did this person appear out of nowhere?!

-

Zhou Ping'an knew that many people at Xingyu Entertainment shared this view, but this was the first time he had ever heard others discuss it so directly.

Zhou Ping'an was very angry, but people can say whatever they want without caring about him.

Tu Song was one thing, but he and Vice President Ma had wanted to get rid of Lu Yanhe for a long time. Why did they keep making a fuss until now? It was all to make sure the contract termination was done quietly, without attracting attention or being questioned.

But Chen Ziyan turned around and signed Lu Yanhe back to the company, and the very next day after she officially signed the termination agreement with Lu Yanhe!

This is a complete slap in the face to him!

Now, everyone in the company knows that Lu Yanhe has been chosen by Chen Ziyan, but not many people know that Lu Yanhe had previously terminated his contract with the company. Everyone just assumes that Lu Yanhe transferred from Zhou Ping'an's team to Chen Ziyan's team.

Zhou Ping'an was thinking that if everyone knew about the contract termination, there would probably be even more people mocking him—they didn't know that his decision to terminate the contract with Lu Yanhe wasn't because they thought Lu Yanhe had no future, but simply because Chen Ziyan had taken a liking to the person he had given up on.

-

That morning, Lu Yanhe enjoyed the treatment that artists managed by top agents receive.

He was picked up by a private car, and as soon as he entered the company, everyone's expressions changed, and their attitude towards him changed drastically, even becoming somewhat warm, as if they had placed their bets on him in advance.

Lu Yanhe knew what was going on with these changes.

He's just here for an acting class; he doesn't have any other plans.

But the way everyone was looking at him made him feel like he had won some big prize and was "returning home in triumph".

He arrived at the rehearsal room, where Chen Ziyan was talking to someone.

"He's here." Chen Ziyan said to the man in front of her when she saw Lu Yanhe come in. "Old Zhang, I'm entrusting this kid to you. I've shown you his audition clips, and you should be able to tell that he has good aptitude for acting. How far he can go depends on how solid his foundation is. His strength is that he's willing to work hard and put in the effort, but acting isn't something that can be achieved just by hard work and effort. I need your help to make sure he doesn't become too realistic in his acting."

The man she called Old Zhang was wearing a fisherman's hat and loose-fitting clothes in a predominantly black and gray color scheme. He looked to be in his early thirties.

"Okay." Zhang Ming nodded and smiled.

He is slender, and his smile gives people a refreshing feeling.

Lu Yanhe walked over and called out, "Sister Ziyan."

Chen Ziyan said, "Zhang Ming is a teacher in the Performance Department of Beijing Arts University."

Lu Yanhe's eyes lit up as he looked at the slender man in front of him with surprise. He immediately bowed politely and said, "Hello, Teacher Zhang."

Although he knew it was an acting class, Lu Yanhe never dared to imagine that the acting teacher Chen Ziyan had invited for him would actually be from Beijing Art Academy.

Beijing Arts University is the highest institution of performing arts.

Lu Yanhe currently lacks both a foundation and a mentor.

Chen Ziyan said, "Teacher Zhang is an old friend of mine. In the first few classes, he will explain to you what acting is. In the afternoon, another teacher will come to help you familiarize yourself with the script and rehearse in advance."

Lu Yanhe then realized that Zhang Ming was not actually his acting teacher who was in charge of rehearsals.

Zhang Ming and Chen Ziyan were worried that Lu Yanhe might look down on Zhang Ming because Zhang Ming taught theory, so they added: "Acting is not a technical skill, although many people treat it as one. The better the actor, the less they care about the word 'acting skills' and the more they emphasize the character and the character's state. You need to understand the difference between these two things, and you need to understand what good acting is. First, you need to have a concept. Once you have this foundation, your future path will not go astray."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Sister Ziyan, I will listen carefully in class, don't worry."

Chen Ziyan nodded and said, "Then I'll go back to the office first. Lao Zhang, I've found a restaurant for lunch later, let's have lunch together. It's been a long time since we ate together."

Zhang Ming nodded.

Chen Ziyan patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder and left.

Lu Yanhe was still a little nervous in front of Zhang Ming.

Because it was the first time we met, and she was a teacher.

Zhang Ming, with his rich experience, immediately noticed Lu Yanhe's nervousness.

This made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, as a performance teacher at Beijing Arts University, I actually do quite a lot of these kinds of side jobs.

Zhang Ming doesn't accept requests from just anyone. But he couldn't refuse Chen Ziyan's request, so he had no choice but to accept it.

Zhang Ming accepted the offer, but he was also worried about encountering someone who was difficult to understand.

Lu Yanhe is another idol artist who debuted very early. Most of these artists have a problem: because they get used to the camera early and have an image designed for them by their company early, they fall into a certain camera mode too early. Simply put, they lose their true selves.

Being true to oneself is precisely the most important thing for a new actor.

When Zhang Ming saw Lu Yanhe's audition footage, his eyes lit up. He could tell that this kid was talented and knew how to act.

But he was also worried that the child was not of good character and would not be able to learn humbly.

In many people's minds, newcomers and young people are humble learners. Especially in many literary and entertainment novels, many newcomers immediately know their place and would never act disrespectfully in front of teachers or seniors. They are so well-behaved that it seems that they have no rebellious, arrogant, or proud nature at all.

In reality, many young people, when they meet those big shots and bigwigs, will only show some respect and politeness on the surface. But to truly be humble and subservient from the bottom of their hearts is just a pipe dream.

Zhang Ming was also worried that Lu Yanhe had this problem.

The fact that he gets nervous shows that he's not the kind of young person who doesn't care about his studies or his career.

Zhang Ming said with a smile, "Sit down, there are no seats here, we can just sit on the floor."

Lu Yanhe sat down on the ground with Zhang Ming.

The huge rehearsal room felt empty with only the two of them inside.

Zhang Ming said, "Your appearance is quite good. You have a typical tall and handsome face with regular features, which gives you a great advantage. You can try to handle any role. However, you still need to focus on what path you take in the future. No matter what path you take, you must remember one thing: acting is always the foundation of your livelihood. Nothing can affect the quality of your acting."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"Why do many directors dislike surgically enhanced faces? Is it because surgically enhanced faces are unattractive? No, it's because they look unnatural," Zhang Ming said. "Then why should actors' faces be natural? Have you considered this question?"

Bonus chapter is here!

(End of this chapter)