Chapter 581 From Down-on-his-luck Assistant to Top Agent (37)

The first thing you see, in front of that huge mirror, is a large cake.

The cake was clearly handmade; setting aside the crooked frosting, there was even a sugar figurine on top of the red berry cake.

With her ponytail, glasses, and serious expression, Jin Shu recognized herself immediately.

Aray cheerfully linked arms with Jin Shu and pushed her in front of the cake.

"Boss! Happy birthday!!"

At this moment, Zhang Huan smiled and took out a beautifully packaged gift box from behind him, handing it to Jin Shu.

"Boss, we don't know what you like, but we hope you like it."

Jin Shu accepted the gift and opened the box amidst the expectant gazes of the three people.

The moment Jin Shu saw what was inside the box, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

A designer scarf, with her name embroidered on it.

Aray smiled and took out the scarf. Upon seeing this, Jin Shu slowly lowered her head and let Aray wrap the scarf around her.

"Boss, come on, blow out the candles and make a wish!"

Seeing that Jin Shu was silently staring at the cake, Aray lowered his head and whispered.

"I was looking for you that day, but you weren't in the office, and then I accidentally saw your ID card on the desk..."

"Yes, thank you."

Jin Shu stepped forward and looked at the numbered candles in front of her.

Twenty-four.

She's only twenty-four years old?

But for some reason, she always had a feeling of exhaustion, as if she had lived for a very, very long time.

Urged on by the three, Jin Shu closed her eyes, opened them three seconds later, and blew out the candle.

Aray asked with a grin.

"Boss, what did you wish for?!"

Before Jin Shu could speak, Lulu slapped her.

"If you say your wish out loud, it won't come true!"

"Yes, yes, yes, you can't say that!"

After the cake was cut, because the three of them strictly controlled their diet, even though it was Jin Shu's birthday cake, they could only eat three bites each. After that, no matter how much they wanted to eat, they had to put down their forks.

Jin Shu held a piece of cake, sat in front of the French windows, and watched the sunset outside, eating it bite by bite.

"Boss, can I talk to you?"

Lulu walked over and sat down carefully.

Jin Shu nodded and looked at her.

"What's up?"

"I want to apologize to you for today's performance... It was my fault. I messed up at the most crucial moment and almost ruined everyone's hard work over the past few days."

"Boss, punish me however you like, anything is fine with me."

Jin Shu smiled.

"People should allow themselves to make mistakes, and not let mistakes hold them back."

This is not a bad thing; for you, it is just a necessary test on your road to success.

"This is as normal as eating and sleeping, so why should I punish you?"

Looking at Jin Shu sitting in the twilight, Lulu couldn't help but let tears well up in her eyes.

This scene remained in her memory for many years, until Lulu stepped onto the world's biggest stage and became world-renowned.

At this moment, the name Jin Shu no longer simply represents her boss; it is a guiding light that will always be hanging in front of her when she encounters difficulties in the future.

That night, the official Weibo account of "NEXT" gained over three million followers.

These achievements did not make the three of them arrogant, because Jin Shu had told them more than once long ago that their goal was the world's biggest stage, and that all achievements were just to accumulate experience for that day to come.

The group's sudden rise to fame brought with it an increased workload, with countless media outlets vying for their first public interview with the group.

Jin Shu rejected them all.

Because a week later, following the music festival, the trio released their second album, "Startled Bird."

If the three singles performed at the music festival propelled the trio to the public's attention with a powerful debut, then the release of "Startled Bird" directly brought them their first moment of dazzling popularity on their debut stage.

This kind of girl group, which has emerged with its outstanding stage performances, fills the market gap for strong girl groups in China.

Moreover, with sales of 17 million, they proved to the world that the Chinese entertainment industry can also create a super girl group. As a result, in just one week, with the consecutive boost of two viral hits, the "NEXT" girl group gained 10 million fans across the internet, becoming the fastest-growing group artist in history.

The brokerage firm that launched the group saw its market value increase by nearly 100 million within just one month.

——

Jiang Huaizhi's first live-streamed slow-paced variety show since his debut has finally finished filming the first three episodes.

After adapting to life in the group, Jiang Huaizhi's personal charm was fully demonstrated in this slow-paced variety show.

He tried to mediate when his teammates were arguing.

He bandaged up his injured teammate.

Not only is he a first-rate cook, but he is also adept at planting, raising animals, supervising, and other life skills. Therefore, among his five teammates who have outstanding looks and far more fans than him, he is in no way inferior and has become one of the most popular celebrities.

During the month-long variety show recording, he gained seven million followers across the internet, becoming one of the most popular and talented artists online.

After the variety show recording ended, Jiang Huaizhi packed his luggage, said goodbye to all his teammates, and then turned around and left without waiting.

Before he got on the bus, someone called out to him from behind.

"Brother Jiang, hehe, could you bring me a few more of those tea bags your manager gave me?"

Jiang Huaiyi readily agreed upon hearing this.

Once he agreed, all the other teammates came.

"Brother Jiang, I want a few too! They're so useful! Not only do mosquitoes stop biting me, but other insects don't bite me either!"

"Brother Jiang, how about we upload a link?"

"Bro, has your agent ever considered adding another artist? Haha, just kidding, my contract is about to expire."

Away from the camera, everyone could speak freely and say whatever they wanted.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaizhi's smile immediately faded.

"I don't know, you'll have to ask around yourself. Alright, alright, I'll go back and ask for more, and I'll bring it to you next time."

After finally getting rid of these people, Jiang Huaizhi finally got on the bus.

Before getting on the bus, he noticed that Gu Xing had been alone the whole time.

Not only at this time, but in the past month, apart from the tasks assigned by the production team, Gu Xing has almost always been alone. Even Yin Xing, who was usually closest to him, gradually distanced herself from him after Gu Xing lost control of his emotions several times.

This resulted in Gu Xing spending most of his time outside the crowd and out of the camera's view.

Some people with personality flaws are not suitable to participate in this kind of life observation variety show.

In the three years since his debut, under Jin Shu's control, Gu Xing has never participated in this kind of variety show.

But now, his agency is disregarding his personality and has directly signed him up for this hugely popular S-level variety show.