Chapter 27 How could a repeat customer possibly resist ordering only once? ...

Fang Xuran: Sister, have you been busy lately?

[Fang Xuran: I might need to consult you about something again. Shall we have a voice call sometime?]

Shi Yao immediately sent a voice message, which startled Fang Xuran on the other end. Fang Xuran's tone was a little hesitant, but Shi Yao still understood the other party's intention.

Fang Xuran wanted her to help her choose a script.

It's quite a coincidence that the question was similar to the one Bai Wenning asked, except one had a choice and the other didn't.

"This is a single session, and I'll charge you for it." Shi Yao wouldn't go easy on a regular client. Choosing a script might seem easy, but it actually requires a good eye and is quite time-consuming and laborious.

Fang Xuran's voice sounded muffled: "I know... this time they will definitely transfer the money as soon as possible."

Shi Yao smiled slightly, then asked a few more questions and found that Fang Xuran and Bai Wenning did indeed have the same type of questions, just as she had predicted.

Fang Xuran also faced difficulties in transitioning to a new career path. However, unlike Bai Wenning, his situation was much better. He didn't have a string of flops. His output consisted of a mix of idol dramas and regular dramas, with varying degrees of success.

When I film other dramas, people support me, but when I film idol dramas, nobody watches them.

Fang Xuran is 21 years old this year, which is still very young. However, the competition among students born in 2000 has become fierce in the past two years. Starting with Cheng Muzhi, several other popular students have emerged one after another, attracting a lot of female fans. If Fang Xuran doesn't change her image, her career will be over soon.

After understanding the specifics, Shi Yao finally decided to meet Fang Xuran the next afternoon at the upscale teahouse downstairs in her apartment complex.

Shi Yao originally didn't want to arrange a meeting so close by, but Fang Xuran said that his place was also very close by, so Shi Yao reluctantly agreed.

Just as Fang Xuran's invitation was finalized, Bai Wenning sent another message. The girl sent dozens of selfies to Shi Yao in one go, asking her to help choose, which dazzled Shi Yao.

After struggling to find a few of the most satisfactory puzzles from a pile of match-3 games, Shi Yao urged Bai Wenning to find an assistant as soon as possible and to refuse the script the company was offering her.

Bai Wenning replied that she had already rejected the agent, and now the agent was ignoring her. Shi Yao told her not to worry about it, saying that her agency was like an inactive husband in a widowed marriage—incompetent but with a strong sense of pride, and that not causing trouble was the greatest contribution they could make.

Bai Wenning was amused and her few remaining faint anxieties were completely dispelled.

Shi Yao went to organize the proposals for the two clients. By the time she finished, it was already evening. She opened her phone to check Bai Wenning's business status and found that the other party had posted on Weibo three hours earlier.

The data response was very positive, with more comments and shares than her previous advertising posts.

Although Bai Wenning is not yet among the top-tier actresses, she has a considerable number of long-time fans who have long been accustomed to the inaction of her studio. Apart from airing dramas and participating in events, her Weibo account is practically useless.

It's not like they haven't clashed with the studio before, but they couldn't stand the other party playing dead, so in the end they could only let it go. Most of the fans with strong career ambitions left, leaving only the most loyal and die-hard fans who have been fans for a very long time.

When this promotional post suddenly appeared, longtime fans thought they were seeing things. They had to refresh the page several times to confirm that it was indeed Bai Wenning's account, and that it wasn't a photoshopped picture or an old photo.

These are freshly taken, piping hot selfies, and there are a full six of them!

Longtime fans were almost overjoyed to tears. Their favorite fandom, which had been dormant for years, had suddenly perked up and actually learned to engage in fan activities. They had to praise them, and praise them lavishly!

Fans are very good at making wild guesses. When they see industry staff paying attention to their idols, they can't help but imagine whether they will be invited to participate in an event. When they see brands interacting with fans, they can't help but speculate whether their idols will have new business opportunities.

Bai Wenning's longtime fans are no exception. She's been signed to this company for almost five years without any real business. Does this sudden surge in activity mean their idol is about to terminate her contract? Or is it that the company is finally taking Bai Wenning seriously and is willing to provide her with a professional team?

After their initial excitement, they all rushed to the studio's account, hoping to see if it would also start operating, but after waiting for several hours, nothing happened.

Okay, my guess was wrong. The company is still the same dead company, with only Bai Wenning standing there.

Fans showered Bai Wenning with praise under her post, while also leaving encouraging comments to urge her to keep up with her work, saying they loved watching her posts.

Bai Wenning was surprised by the enthusiastic interaction from her fans. She had always followed the company's arrangements. Her agent said that actors need to maintain a sense of mystery and try not to appear in the public eye too often, only showing their faces in dramas.

She thought it made a lot of sense, so she followed the arrangement and basically stopped posting on Weibo, unless it was for advertising or official announcements. She rarely posted about her personal life.

It now seems the company is talking complete nonsense. Shi Yao explained to her today that there is a ranking list in the Green Petal Melon group called the "Most Engaging" list. It is a list that counts the most engaging people among the three generations of young talents born between 1990 and 2000. Those who rank high generally have a good reputation because they are considered to value their fans.

The aloof image isn't in vogue these days, and besides, she's not some international movie star, there's nothing mysterious about her. Maintaining her fanbase and building a following is the top priority. There are so many celebrities in the industry; if you want to make a living off online traffic, you have to be charming and appealing to your fans. If you don't, they'll leave for places where they can be charmed.

Since you're chasing after someone, you might as well chase after someone who makes you happy.

Realizing how many opportunities she had missed to solidify her fan base, Bai Wenning gently bit her lip, her thoughts becoming even more intense. This company was nothing but a delay and a burden to her.

She opened her contacts, found a number, and dialed it with a determined look in her eyes.

She needs to find a suitable assistant as soon as possible to strengthen her "own people" team.

...

Shi Yao followed the waiter into the private room, where Fang Xuran was already seated. He was wearing a mint green tracksuit, revealing his slender and strong calves. His hair was slightly curly, and his doe eyes were round and bright. When he saw Shi Yao, his eyes lit up, and he was so happy that he almost jumped up.

"Sister, you've come!"

He was radiating happiness that was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Shi Yao sat down, puzzled, not understanding what the child was so happy about. She held out her right hand and waved it in front of the child's eyes: "Why are you so excited?"

Fang Xuran couldn't explain why he was so excited. Thinking about meeting Shi Yao today, he barely slept last night. The meeting time was set for noon, so he got up early in the morning and anxiously read the script for a long time before finally getting to the time of the meeting. He changed his clothes, grabbed his bag, and rushed out the door.

He actually lived quite far from here, in fact. He lived in a villa area outside the Fourth Ring Road, where there was good privacy and he didn't have to worry about paparazzi or stalkers. However, for Shi Yao's convenience, he chose to lie and say that he lived very close to this teahouse.

There's no other reason than to make things as convenient for Shi Yao as possible, so she doesn't have to run around for him.

He certainly didn't have any strange feelings for Shi Yao. According to Fang Xuran's own understanding, the reason he looked forward to meeting her so much, thought of her immediately whenever something happened, and didn't want her to be too troublesome was because of his respect for the strong.

Indeed, ever since he almost took the blame for something huge but was easily saved by Shi Yao's divine intervention, and even helped to eliminate a competitor, he has been filled with admiration for Shi Yao.

The other party was thousands of miles away from him at the time, yet he was able to accurately predict every step that would happen afterward, causing the person who framed him to lose more than he gained.

Even his experienced agent couldn't pull off such a tactic.

He had always been very curious about how Shi Yao had obtained evidence of Jiang Chuan's illegal landing and occupation of the designated spot in such a short time, and even anticipated the other party's counterattack, turning the tables on Jiang Chuan and making it impossible for him to recover.

But Shi Yao said it was an industry secret, and there was nothing he could do about his curiosity.

Regardless of how he did it, Fang Xuran was completely convinced by Shi Yao. In fact, he had been convinced for a long time, but his agent jumped out to refute and stop him, which made him a step too late and thus he lost 400,000.

Yes, he still remembers that 400,000.

Actually, it's not that he couldn't afford 400,000. If he had been charged 400,000 from the beginning, he would have paid without hesitation. It's just that the original price could have been 90,000, but he didn't appreciate it. When it rose to 100,000, he still didn't appreciate it, and it just skyrocketed to 400,000.

He lost a great discount because of his own hesitation; how could he not feel bad?

Before setting off today, Fang Xuran secretly decided that no matter what price Shi Yao asked for when they met, she would pay without hesitation.

He had come to a profound understanding of the meaning of the saying, "Hesitation is defeat."

Actually, after placing his last order, he had thought about consulting Shi Yao again about his career transition, but his agent temporarily stopped him. The agent said that she had prepared many high-quality scripts for him to read slowly and decide which one to choose. If he was not satisfied with any of them, he would consider finding outside help.

Since things had come to this point, Fang Xuran couldn't possibly refuse to give him face.

The agent said that the quality of this script is definitely top-notch. As long as the most suitable actress is chosen and she is fully committed during filming, she won't have to worry about transitioning to a new role.

Fang Xuran initially dismissed the idea, but after reading two or three scripts, he realized that his agent hadn't lied to him. The quality of this script was significantly better than the ones they had filmed before, indicating that the company had really invested heavily this time.

The agent proudly stated that he had gone to great lengths to secure the priority script selection from the company, which made Fang Xuran even more attentive.

What he didn't tell Fang Xuran was that the reason she was able to get this qualification was because Fang Xuran's cheating incident was resolved perfectly. Not only did it not affect her reputation at all, but it also killed off her potential rival Jiang Chuan with one stone. The company was very satisfied with this, and in order to express their consolation, they gave her the right to choose scripts first.

Fang Xuran spent several days looking at the scripts and picked out three that he was very interested in from the script library. He was really struggling with how to choose between these three.

The three books are of different genres, but the male protagonists are all quite outstanding. Fang Xuran is someone I love dearly, so I can't choose just one.

So, he thought of Shi Yao.

He remembered that Shi Yao's business scope included the option of developing a customized route consulting business, so he extended an invitation and finally decided to meet at this tea house.

The last time we met was on a variety show a year ago. In just one year, Shi Yao has undergone a complete transformation.

In less than a year, Shi Yao appeared on an interview shortly before announcing her retirement from the entertainment industry. She was still heavily made up and made surprising remarks. In such a short time, she seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.

That's amazing.

Fang Xuran wasn't curious about the reason for Shi Yao's major change. He had actually felt sorry for Shi Yao before, thinking that Cheng Muzhi was just so-so, why bother hanging on to that tree.

Now that he's finally sober, he's actually mostly happy.

Yes, I'm happy.

In fact, he and Shi Yao were old friends.

That's why he was so looking forward to meeting today.

Fang Xuran had a lot of random thoughts running through his mind, not knowing whether he was comforting himself or brainwashing himself. When he saw Shi Yao finally appear, the joy in his eyes seemed genuine, and he almost couldn't help but stand up.

Noticing the other person's confusion, Fang Xuran readily changed the subject, as if she hadn't heard, and greeted them on her own, "Sister Xiaoshi, you and I are dressed very similarly today."

Shi Yao is wearing the same baby blue casual suit she wore yesterday when she met Bai Wenning. Apart from both of them wearing suits and jackets, their outfits have absolutely nothing in common.

Shi Yao stared at him silently for a moment, then put her bag down and sat down.

Fang Xuran wasn't angry at being glared at; he just kept smiling. He had only intended to casually pick a topic to distract the other person. Once the other person was seated, he immediately placed the three scripts he had prepared on the table and pushed them in front of the other person.

"Sister, please help me choose. I really don't know which one to pick."

Shi Yao raised her eyes and glanced at him lightly, somewhat surprised that he trusted her so much and wasn't afraid of leaking secrets.

The titles of the three scripts clearly indicated their genres, and upon reading the descriptions, I was right.

One is a historical romance drama with a male protagonist solving cases, but also a significant romantic subplot, roughly 60/40 between plot and romance; another is a modern campus romance drama, focusing on romantic entanglements with negligible plot; and the last is a fantasy romance drama with a 50/50 split between plot and romance.

Fang Xuran was not exaggerating; all three scripts were of quite good quality and could easily outperform Bai Wenning's money-laundering fantasy drama from yesterday by dozens of rounds.

All three scripts emphasize emotions, differing only in their backgrounds and settings, as well as the slight variations in the proportion of romantic storylines.

Shi Yao quickly glanced through the three introductions. After a general overview, she concluded that the most suitable one for Fang Xuran was the historical detective drama. If he wanted to change his career path, he would definitely need to take on romantic roles, but he couldn't start with long stretches of emotional drama. Audiences simply wouldn't be used to that. Starting with a main plot idol drama with a high proportion of romance was a good choice.

But that wasn't her purpose today. After glancing at the introduction, Shi Yao closed the covers and, under Fang Xuran's bewildered gaze, took out the script she had brought and threw it in front of her.

"Take a look at this notebook. I think none of your three are as suitable for you as this one."

Fang Xuran took the script with a bewildered look on his face. He had only come today to consult Shi Yao for advice. He had been stuck on these three dramas for too long, and he trusted her judgment to help him choose the most suitable script.

Why didn't the other party choose any of them, and instead gave him a new one?

Fang Xuran's eyes widened as she glanced at the cover and was startled by the director's name. She pointed and whispered, "Is this the director Lu Jiang I know?"

Shi Yao nodded slightly: "Of course, is there another director in the industry named Lu Jiang?"

Fang Xuran's expression immediately became quite varied, as if she had been subjected to some huge shock.

This, this, this, this is Lu Jiang's drama?!

This is actually the script for the new drama by the renowned director Lu Jiang?!

Fang Xuran's mind went blank for a moment. He mechanically opened the cover, staring blankly at the synopsis, unable to concentrate on a single word.

His mind was filled with questions: How did Shi Yao know that Lu Jiang was going to start filming a new drama, and how did she even get the script and show it to him so he could choose?

This world is so surreal.

Indeed, Shi Yao is a woman not to be trifled with.

Her background and connections were even more terrifying than he had imagined.

Fang Xuran was suddenly relieved that he hadn't offended the other party. When he came to his senses, he found that Shi Yao was staring at him calmly as he stared blankly. He quickly put on a very well-behaved smile and obediently started reading the script.

After seeing this, he truly realized what a good script is. The three ancient and modern dramas he brought were simply not enough to watch; the synopsis alone was captivating enough.

This drama is an ensemble piece, with four young main characters and two older main characters, but it doesn't feel overwhelming.

Moreover, the main storyline is set in a developing era, with the romance only playing a small part and serving as a minor embellishment. However, this approach has firmly piqued his interest, making him eager to know what will happen next.

"The casting for this show will probably start this weekend, and there will be open auditions. If you want to participate, I can give you a spot for an early audition. You can see which role in the script you are more interested in."

Shi Yao casually dropped a bombshell, leaving Fang Xuran speechless once again.

Judging from Shi Yao's words, she probably has some control over casting; otherwise, how could she arrange auditions in advance and even choose the roles she wants to audition for?

This is Lu Jiang's team!

Fang Xuran had previously auditioned for Lu Jiang's group. They never gave him any materials to prepare beforehand, nor did they tell him the range of options. Although it was a movie audition, he asked around among experienced people and learned that Lu Jiang's temperament and personality were just like that. He liked to develop actors who were not yet polished, so he never revealed the questions to him during auditions and focused on the actors' on-the-spot performance.

Shi Yao actually managed to get her hands on the script for Lu Jiang's new drama ahead of time, and in a way that no one on the entire internet knew about.

That's truly terrifying.

"Any roles you're interested in? If not, I'll find you another script." Seeing that Fang Xuran hadn't answered for a long time, Shi Yao used the same words as yesterday.

Fang Xuran nodded repeatedly, then shook her head, seemingly unsure of what expression to make. She hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, I'm satisfied, extremely satisfied."

Just kidding, how could anyone be dissatisfied? Could anyone in the industry refuse such a golden opportunity as "Director Lu Jiang's new drama"?

However, he was still a bit conflicted. Both male leads, Xue Hao and Jiang Nanqiao, had their own highlights, and he was quite interested in both of them... but he couldn't choose both, so he was caught in a dilemma.

Fang Xuran once again cast a pleading look at Shi Yao.

Shi Yao did not disappoint him and offered a very thoughtful solution, saying generously, "If you can't choose, take the script back first, think about it carefully before choosing, or you can act it out in advance. Once you've decided on a role, tell me and I'll arrange an audition for you."

Fang Xuran was moved to tears. She looked at Shi Yao as if she were her second parents and said with great emotion, "Sister, how about I sign a long-term contract with you this time?"

Shi Yao glanced at him curiously. She was just about to make a sales pitch when Fang Xuran took the initiative to bring it up.

Based on her guess, the other party would not bring up the matter with her for at least a while, so the script seemed to have a lot of power.

“My career transition has always been a major problem, and it’s impossible to make it happen in a short time. Signing a one-time contract with you would be too opportunistic. If I join the team, we’ll have more time to work together in the future, which would be perfect for a long-term contract,” Fang Xuran said earnestly.

Shi Yao nodded and reminded him, "But you might not get into this group. I'm just giving you an audition opportunity. You know Director Lu Jiang's temper. Whether you can get the role depends on your final performance."

Fang Xuran nodded without hesitation: "I know, being able to audition in advance is enough, and besides..."

He suddenly leaned closer, his beautiful round eyes blinking at Shi Yao, and said with a hint of slyness, "Even if I don't pass here, I believe you can help me find a new good script, right?"

Shi Yao chuckled, pushed away that shameless face, and refused to answer the question.

Actually, her warning was just meant to scare her. The props drawn by the system belonged to her 100% of the time, which meant that if she wanted to, Fang Xuran could get the role even if she acted like a pile of shit.

Of course, this is unlikely to happen; she still needs to respect the colleagues the system assigned to her.

Although exchanging scripts was to serve customers, she still hoped that the play could achieve the best results. Who would complain about making more money?

Shi Yao was amazed by the system's magic, but she didn't want to just lie down and do nothing. Instead, she tried her best to cooperate with the other party's work.

The system was moved to tears in her mind, pulling at a small handkerchief that appeared out of nowhere: "Waaaah, host, I knew I hadn't misjudged you, waaaah!"

Shi Yao had already learned to skillfully mute the system's voice. She looked up and asked the other party, "If it's a long-term contract, your service level is medium difficulty, and the price is 150,000 per day. If it's a monthly package, it's 4.5 million. Can you accept that?"

Upon hearing the specific figures, Fang Xuran suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain and asked pitifully, "Isn't there a discount, sister?"

Shi Yao shook her head without hesitation: "Sorry, the discount is only for the first order. The first order for the long-term contract has already been placed, so there is no discount for your order."

Although the person who placed the order did so a day earlier than Fang Xuran.

Fang Xuran's expression immediately became even more miserable, and her curly hair drooped a little.

“However, you introduced me to new customers before, one gets a 10% discount and two get a 20% discount, so your order can get a 20% discount, which is 3.6 million.” Shi Yao suddenly changed the subject.

Fang Xuran's eyes lit up. 20% off! That's so generous!

He actually had the chance to take advantage of Shi Yao.

However, one of the two new customers is Pei Zixuan, and the other is...?

Fang Xuran didn't have time to think about it in detail. He was overjoyed to know that he could get a discount. He had originally thought that if there was no discount, he would just place a contract for a week to test the waters. Now that he knew there was a discount, he would have to set a longer contract period to make it more worthwhile.

Any longer than several months or half a year would not be appropriate. Fang Xuran was not yet at the level where she could spend eight figures without batting an eye, so she finally decided to sign a one-month contract.

He didn't get the answer, but he got an amazing cake. Although he inexplicably spent 3.6 million, when he left, Fang Xuran was beaming with silly joy.

"Host, you have repeat customers now." The system suddenly said out of the blue.

It remembers that at the beginning it was almost scared to death by Shi Yao's choice, thinking that its short and brand new life was about to end like this. But it didn't expect that Shi Yao's business would really grow bigger and stronger, just like her new WeChat name.

Not only did the speed of completing tasks increase dramatically and the health balance become healthier, but he also secured seven-figure orders for two consecutive days. His earning speed is even faster than pursuing his dream in the entertainment industry.

It is so happy.

Shi Yao chuckled lightly, unconvinced, and said, "With my service, how could he possibly resist ordering only once?"

The reason she was so insistent on providing excellent service was to ensure that all customers who placed orders would remember her fondly, thus increasing the likelihood of repeat customers.

The first order is usually a trial run, and the amount won't be too high, but the second and third orders are a different story.

Financial freedom is one step closer.

The system remained silent, pondering Shi Yao's words. At first glance, they seemed to make sense, but the more it thought about them, the more something seemed off.

Author's note: Congratulations to Sister Shi on securing her second long-term contract!

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 20:58:00 on June 15, 2024 and 20:56:37!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Summer Cool 100 bottles; Abubu 20 bottles; Yunyuyu 15 bottles; and Yitang 5 bottles;

Thank you so much for your support, I will continue to work hard!