Chapter 618 Turmoil and Schemes

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the scorching sun finally began to soften a bit.

Zhou Pingan drove to a bookstore about 15 kilometers from the company, parked in a temporary parking space on the side of the road, and got out.

A wave of heat swept over us.

Although it's only June, summer has already arrived.

Zhou Pingan pushed open the door of the book cafe and went inside, only to find seven or eight students gathered around the best-selling book display shelf by the entrance, discussing something animatedly.

He glanced over curiously and saw that they were holding the latest issue of "Jump Up" and discussing which authors were featured in this issue.

Zhou Ping'an: "..."

This magazine is now officially entering its sixth year.

Who could have imagined that a magazine that started as a fan-oriented publication could last so long and grow in influence? Now, it has transformed from a magazine into a media company, covering multiple channels of traditional and new media, and has even entered the fields of film and television production and publicity and marketing. It not only supports its collaborating artists but has also become a significant force in the entertainment industry.

Zhou Ping'an never admitted that he was envious.

The cost of producing a magazine is actually not high for many film and television companies. However, in recent years, many companies have followed suit, launching magazines or themed books to cultivate their own IP library. Unfortunately, the best author resources have basically been occupied by "Jump Up".

As the first magazine to venture into this market, "Jump Up" achieved a market share that other magazines could hardly match.

It now has a healthy ecosystem. For good authors, there is no reason not to choose "Jump Up": high royalties, a friendly copyright cooperation system, and a highly influential and high-selling magazine. If an article can be published in "Jump Up," the author certainly won't choose to publish it in another similar magazine—except for those top-tier serious literary magazines, which is a different story altogether.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Suyang, holding a cup of coffee, suddenly appeared behind him.

Zhou Ping'an snapped out of his reverie and said, "I'm thinking, if Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi join forces, they're probably going to build an empire. We agents are simply not in the same league as them."

Lin Suyang smiled coldly.

The two people looked at each other.

Even a week ago, neither of them had imagined that they could stand in front of each other and talk properly like this.

Even if they weren't exactly enemies, they were sworn enemies. Both Ma Zhiyuan and Li Zhibai were enough to ensure that they would never have anything to do with each other again in their lives.

But now, having chosen this place, they've decided to temporarily set aside their past prejudices and grudges—

Because they share common interests.

At Star Entertainment, if the company's current plan for separation is followed, the two agents will be the most affected.

It's fair to say that if the final division is done in this way, all the hard work they've put in over the years will suffer a major blow.

Zhou Pingan tentatively asked, "If you really had to choose, what would you choose?"

“We’re not considering that option right now. Neither MX nor Li Zhibai, no matter which agent they are, would be foolish enough to let go willingly,” Lin Suyang said immediately.

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized, uh, that he had inadvertently alluded to someone.

Zhou Ping'an, who had "voluntarily let go" of Li Zhibai, looked at Lin Suyang expressionlessly.

Lin Suyang instinctively wanted to apologize, but the words stuck in his throat.

There's nothing to apologize for; you deserve it.

He just smiled instead.

Zhou Ping'an: "If the company is determined to do this, what do you plan to do? Don't you regret it now? When Li Zhibai's contract expires, do you discuss with him about going solo?"

Lin Suyang countered Zhou Pingan's question: "And what about you? Don't you regret not discussing going solo with Yan Liang when his contract expired?"

Zhou Ping'an frowned.

“At this point, let’s stop repeating the same old things, shall we?” he said. “What do you plan to do now?”

Lin Suyang: "Of course, we should try to retain the artists we have. Artists can be assigned to different companies, but we should allow agents to manage artists across departments and companies. Especially agents like you and me."

Zhou Pingan nodded. "That makes sense. Do you have any ideas on how to persuade the company to agree to your idea?"

“Mr. Ma is definitely unwilling. He will only manage the idol artist part from now on. He definitely hopes that we will concentrate all our energy on the idol artist part,” Lin Suyang said. “If I also take care of Li Zhibai’s acting work, and you also take care of Yan Liang and Meng Li’s acting work, it will inevitably take up a lot of our energy, after all, they are our main clients.”

Zhou Ping'an nodded: "We can forget about President Ma. He won't help us with this."

"The company definitely hopes to use this move to divide the artists we have," Lin Suyang said.

"If the two of us join forces to oppose this decision, what are our chances of winning?"

"Our chances of winning depend on the extent to which the artists we have will stand on our side," Lin Suyang said frankly. "Our most powerful assets are artists like Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, MX, and Meng Li. If they can unite and insist on maintaining the status quo with us, then the company's top management will have to consider the consequences of our non-cooperation."

"How confident are you that you can get them to stand on your side?" Zhou Ping'an asked.

Lin Suyang stood in front of the bookshelf, keeping an eye on his surroundings through the gaps in the bookshelf, while glancing at Zhou Ping'an every now and then.

“They are even less willing than I am to change the current situation,” Lin Suyang said calmly and confidently.

Zhou Ping'an frowned slightly.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem on your end?"

“Meng Li is alright; she’s not familiar with Xingyu itself, so I basically handle all the company’s resources. She’s very dependent on me, but Yan Liang—”

Zhou Ping'an hesitated slightly.

Lin Suyang said, "If Yan Liang wanted to change agents, he would have done so long ago. You should have a serious talk with him. Without his support, Meng Li alone won't be enough. By the way, what about Cheng Hai?"

Zhou Pingan: "Cheng Hai will definitely stand on my side. I raised him up from the bottom, but he doesn't have much weight in the company's eyes."

“Then let’s create some buzz,” Lin Suyang said. “Spread the word that, with Lu Yanhe’s help, Cheng Hai is in talks with directors Luo Yuzhong and Wang Zhong about their new film, and is very likely to play the male lead.”

Zhou Ping'an: "..."

Lin Suyang: "Meng Li has only been with Xingyu for a short time. The company says it values ​​her opinions but doesn't really care about them. Unlike artists who have truly grown up in the company, their value is completely different in the eyes of the higher-ups. Cheng Hai has become popular again thanks to 'The Birth of an Actor,' and his momentum is very good. Such news is much more significant for him than for Meng Li."

Zhou Ping'an never expected Lin Suyang to come up with such a move.

But upon closer reflection, it does seem to make sense.

It is indeed feasible.

-

The internal struggles and turmoil within Xingyu no longer affect Lu Yanhe.

However, when Hong Qi, through Chen Ziyan, invited Lu Yanhe to the company for a meeting and suddenly proposed that he hoped to hire him as a senior consultant for the newly established "Woodpecker Entertainment Agency," Lu Yanhe realized, uh, that he had been dragged into this again.

This isn't the first company to approach him for this position.

Maxine, HP, Aurora Video, and Yuehu TV all offered him similar positions. However, at that time, they were more interested in solidifying their cooperative relationship with Lu Yanhe. They used such a position to establish a long-term connection and cooperation, and to provide him with a legitimate channel for receiving remuneration outside of projects.

But this time, Hong Qi hoped that Lu Yanhe could truly fulfill the duties of this position.

"Mr. Hong, thank you for your trust, but I'm already busy enough. I don't have time to be your consultant." Lu Yanhe refused without much hesitation.

Hong Qi: "I know you're busy, but don't worry, I definitely won't take up too much of your time. I have that much self-awareness, and I won't let you put the cart before the horse."

"So... what do you want me to do?"

“We’ll introduce scripts and projects that are suitable for the actors in our Woodpecker company,” Hong Qi said. “In the global entertainment industry, currently only you and your agent in China have the ability and resources to see the best projects.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe immediately shook his head, "President Hong, you're putting too much pressure on me."

“Absolutely not, don’t worry. We don’t have any targets or quantities that you need to complete. This is a cooperation agreement that is entirely in your favor,” Hong Qi said. “Even if you don’t recommend any of your works in the end, we can’t hold you accountable because there are no quantifiable tasks or responsibilities in this agreement, nor are there any breach of contract clauses.”

It can be said that this is indeed a very favorable cooperation agreement for Lu Yanhe.

However, Lu Yanhe still refused.

He disagreed with everything he said.

Later, Hong Qi became puzzled and asked, "Yan He, can you be honest with me? Why are you unwilling? Is it because you really don't want to have any more contact with Xingyu?"

“No.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “President Hong, to be honest, we receive one or two agreements like this almost every month, with consulting fees often reaching tens of millions, but I dare not accept a single one. I don’t want to be a middleman. That’s the bottom line I’m telling you. Recommending the right people to the right projects is perfectly reasonable, but once you start taking money to do this kind of thing, it’s like it becomes some kind of transaction.”

Hong Qi sighed.

He turned to look at Chen Ziyan, "Just as you said, Yan He simply refuses to accept it."

“I told you a long time ago.” Chen Ziyan smiled. “If Yan He wanted to do this kind of thing, he would have done it long ago. He has written so many scripts and produced so many movies and TV series. Apart from the roles that were decided on by his friends in the early stages, almost all of his roles were won through auditions. How could he possibly spend money to recommend actors for other film and television projects? Even if he did recommend them out of a good intention, the behavior itself is hard to explain and could easily be misunderstood.”

Hong Qi: "It seems that this idea really has to be abandoned."

Lu Yanhe said, "President Hong, Xingyu is making such a big move this time, splitting off Xingyu into a separate company called Woodpecker. Does that mean Li Zhibai and Yan Liang will both go to Woodpecker?"

“Li Zhibai and Yan Liang are both actors and still perform on stage. Since their commercial contracts can be signed separately, their acting contracts and music contracts can certainly be signed separately to two different companies,” Hong Qi said. “We are splitting into two companies simply to optimize internal resources, make adjustments and upgrades, and integrate resources from all aspects. It’s not about making artists give up one of their roles. The current economic climate is not good, and artists tend to be multi-talented. From the company’s perspective, the more an artist is involved in, the more money they can earn in that area.”

Hong Qi was straightforward and didn't bother with any of the empty talk or pretense with Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe nodded. "What about their agents?"

"Agent?" Hong Qi asked. "You mean Zhou Ping'an?"

“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “Yan Liang is both an actor and still working as an idol artist. If we’re going to put the different contracts into two companies, will Zhou Ping’an still be in charge of both?”

Hong Qi looked at Chen Ziyan with a smile and said, "Why is Yan He so perceptive now?"

Chen Ziyan: "You hit the nail on the head."

Lu Yanhe looked at them with some confusion.

Hong Qi said, "Different contracts should naturally be handled by different agents. In fact, for an artist of Yan Liang's level, different agents should be handling his different affairs to further refine his work. Everyone's ability and energy are limited, and their strengths are different. Just like some companies have rich business resources, while others have rich film and television resources. An artist like Yan Liang certainly deserves the best agents in each field to handle his work in each area."

Lu Yanhe smiled and asked, "In this way, the agent's authority is actually restricted."

"That's how it appears on the surface."

"Is it actually different?"

“Any artist definitely needs a top-notch agent who can coordinate resources from all aspects,” Hong Qi said. “Coordination is also a very important thing.”

"So you mean Zhou Ping'an can still oversee all of Yan Liang's work?" Lu Yanhe frowned in confusion. "Then what's the difference between this and the current situation?"

Hong Qi: "Is there no difference?"

Lu Yanhe fell silent and pondered for a while.

Is there no difference?

This question also lingered in his mind.

He looked at Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan gave him an encouraging look, signaling him to think about it seriously.

She added a suggestion: "With Xingyu undertaking such a sweeping reform, if they really want Zhou Ping'an and Lin Suyang to accept having a large piece of the pie taken from them, do you think they will accept it?"

"No." Lu Yanhe didn't even need to think before shaking his head and answering with those two words.

Chen Ziyan nodded.

Even with its vast resources and influence, Xingyu Entertainment cannot force Zhou Ping'an and Lin Suyang to accept this.

Otherwise, if they are pushed too far, the general may also have the power to rebel.

so what?

Divide and transform?

If you don't want to be the one sharing the cake, then you can only be the one sharing it.

The company certainly won't let you hold a knife easily, but it can create the illusion that you are.

You can continue to be your "general manager," but you must relinquish all authority to other agents.

At this point, the management team around a top artist is no longer just you alone.

Your connection with the artist is no longer an impenetrable fortress.

You think you have the knife to control your agents, but who knows if you've been controlled in return?

Lu Yanhe understood the crux of the matter and showed a look of shock.

This is a blatant conspiracy!

If you don't want your share of the pie to be taken away, fine, then decentralize your power and resources.

At this moment, Lu Yanhe really wanted to ask: Is Xingyu's major reform really for the purpose of further developing the idol artist business?

In recent years, the high-profile agents like Zhou Ping'an and Lin Suyang, who manage many heavyweight artists, have gradually threatened the senior management of Xingyu Company.

When Chen Ziyan suddenly set up a fire-making company, was it a preemptive move to prepare for the current situation?

Lu Yanhe looked at Chen Ziyan and Hong Qi in surprise, feeling like his brain wasn't quite up to the task.

-

"Of course, there's actually another point that Hong Qi himself didn't mention."

After meeting with Hong Qi, Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe got into the car together and went back.

Chen Ziyan added.

“Besides the problem of these big-name agents having too many artists concentrated in their hands, he's also starting to feel threatened by Ma Zhongquan and a few other executives,” Chen Ziyan said. “Hong Qi is just the CEO of Xingyu, not the real chairman. Although the person behind him hasn't really been involved much, Ma Zhongquan and several other executives have been eyeing Hong Qi's position. This move, under the guise of adjusting the company's structure, gave Ma Zhongquan a higher position, but in reality, it weakened his power. Zhou Ping'an, Ma Zhongquan's number one henchman, will either give up the Woodpecker business and become a pure idol artist agent, or refuse to let go and jump out from under Ma Zhongquan to become an independent agent. Nobody knows, but no matter what Zhou Ping'an chooses, the conflict between him and Ma Zhongquan will definitely be brewing. And once these agents, led by Zhou Ping'an, leave Ma Zhongquan's camp, even if Ma Zhongquan gains control of Xingyu, his actual power will be weakened, while Hong Qi will still be the controller of both companies, his position secure.”

Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.

"I never imagined that there were so many calculations behind the internal restructuring of Star Entertainment."

“Behind any major operation, there are always more than just grand schemes; everyone involved will have their own little schemes,” Chen Ziyan said. “After all, everyone looks out for themselves.”

Lu Yanhe gave Chen Ziyan a thumbs up.

"I give up."

-

I recommend the older book, "I Became the Scandalous Woman Overnight," which saw its initial subscriptions drop from 7 (single-digit) to over 1,000 per day. If you enjoyed "Choose Your Day to Become Famous," it's still worth reading.

(End of this chapter)