Threatening words without a script
Jiang Songhe just sat on the hotel dining chair with his head tilted back and slept all night.
He woke up the next morning, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and vaguely remembered having a nightmare. As for the content of the dream, it was probably too terrifying and triggered some kind of protection mechanism, so he couldn't remember anything.
He picked up his phone from the ground, turned it on, and the screen was full of entertainment news notifications, nothing more than viral marketing related to "Yan Ge Xing". He had already reviewed the copy, so he didn't need to look closely to understand it.
Swipe up quickly with your thumb to scroll, then swipe left to delete, finally stopping on an unread WeChat message.
Songyun: I left breakfast at your door. Don't bother me after you finish eating. I want to be alone.
He rubbed his eyes with the thenar eminence before remembering to release his thumb. He got up, went to the entrance, and pushed open the door. Sure enough, a plate of hotel-provided breakfast buffet was placed awkwardly on the ground at the doorway. However, the presentation was so appalling that it rivaled the plate of dumplings he had made yesterday.
The "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob of the next room seemed to be highlighting Jiang Songyun's WeChat message in red. Jiang Songhe picked up her plate and went back to her room, feeling a mix of emotions.
The breakfast was already cold and probably dusty, making it difficult for Jiang Songhe to eat. So she opened Weibo to distract herself.
The real-time trending topics list has completely disappeared from the "TV King's Domestic Violence Scandal" list, replaced by terms such as "High-energy trailer for Yan Ge Xing", "Yan Ge Xing male lead", "Jiang Songyun's action scenes", "Lei Dachui deletes Weibo post", and "Shen Zongli gets caught in the crossfire".
After swallowing the last bite of the runny, fishy-smelling fried egg, Jiang Songhe accepted several friend requests, all from casting directors or assistant directors. Jiang Songhe couldn't help but sigh, realizing that in the past he had directly dealt with producers and directors, but now he had to communicate with intermediaries.
The casting team invariably asked the same formulaic questions: "Is Song Yun available?", "When is he available?", "Could you please send us an electronic copy of your application materials?", and so on.
Jiang Songhe patiently replied to each question, but left things unsaid: "I'm currently resting and focusing on my studies," "but I don't reject good projects," "I look forward to collaboration"...
One of the assistant directors asked bluntly, "I'm preparing for a period drama. Is Song Yun available for intimate scenes?"
Jiang Songhe was furious and unleashed a torrent of criticism in the chat box: "You just want the information to go through the motions, right? The age information isn't even on the cover? What kind of casting is this, so unprofessional? And since when has being able to accept intimate scenes become a criterion for casting?..."
After typing, I took a deep breath, then deleted everything and retyped: "Sorry, Song Yun is still a minor, so we are not considering it at the moment."
Assistant Director: "Oh, then we might have to wait for another opportunity to work together."
Jiang Songhe: "1"
Jiang Songhe did not accept any new friend requests. After clearing the few newly added chat boxes, he sent a WeChat message to "Producer Xu": "The post-production progress of Yan Ge Xing needs to be accelerated."
-
Although personally handling trivial matters was frustrating, Jiang Songhe believed that Jiang Songyun's acting career was generally on the right track. At the earliest, within six months, at the latest within a year, both Jiang Songyun and he would get back on track in all aspects according to his well-planned schedule.
As for being eliminated from the talent show, it was just an unexpected failure due to a deviation from the right path. In the end, it's just an interlude in life that will be forgotten with the passage of time. It's good that you can get back on track after experiencing it.
Jiang Songhe mentally completed his year-end report and began calculating when to buy a plane ticket back to China. In previous years, he would take Jiang Songyun to pay respects at his parents' graves every New Year's Day without fail. But today, he had a feeling of wanting to escape.
The ringing of his cell phone interrupted his wavering, and the first few digits of the caller ID showed an unfamiliar Man number.
Jiang Songhe didn't know anyone in Maner except Ni Haolang. He had Ni Haolang's phone number saved, and out of caution, he answered the phone without saying a word, waiting for the other party to speak first.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang," the person on the other end of the phone greeted him in a very familiar manner.
Hearing Jiang Songhe's only response of "Mmm," the person continued to explain the purpose of the call, seemingly unconcerned: "It's like this, representing the Star Show judging panel, I'd like to verify information about contestant Jiang Songyun's audition process in order to decide whether he advances or is eliminated..."
The man's English was not standard; his intonation kept rising and falling unexpectedly, and his punctuation was very abrupt, clearly a literal translation of English.
Jiang Songhe felt inexplicably irritated by the person's voice. Besides, there was no reason for the year-end performance review to be in vain. He had no patience to listen any longer and directly refused: "No need to verify, we choose to withdraw from the competition."
After a brief silence, a soft laugh came from the receiver, followed by the sound of papers turning over. The person seemed to be comparing the contents of the papers as they spoke: "I'm afraid you can't do that. You signed a pre-competition letter of intent, remember? You must reserve at least three months. If you enter the performance stage, that means the entire process from the preliminary rounds to the finals, and you must cooperate with the organizers' arrangements throughout. Otherwise, you will be in breach of contract."
I can understand the meaning, but it's complete nonsense.
Jiang Songhe shook his head after hearing this, thinking to himself, "Is she threatening me? Ciwen is trying to explain things he can't understand, and her halting and incoherent explanation is completely harmless."
I started imagining the scene on the other end of the phone again—a newbie in the workplace with a smattering of porcelain writing skills was suddenly pulled in to fill a quota. Because he was not familiar with the business, he couldn't even speak threateningly without a script, and could only rely on awkward laughter to pretend to be serious... In the end, he would be ruthlessly fired by his boss for not completing the task.
That makes perfect sense. If Jiang Songhe were in the position of a boss, he would do the same.
"I can see a 'yes' in the 'whether you're signed with a company' section. As artists, you should have at least a basic sense of contractual obligation..."
"You can't explain yourself if you can't persuade me, right?" Jiang Songhe asked, rubbing his Jingming acupoint.
"I beg your forgiveness?"
Although Jiang Songhe's English was only at a senior high school level, he could still guess that the novice meant "I beg your pardon (excuse me, what did you say)". The combination of his humble attitude and not understanding what he was saying was like a double buff, which made Jiang Songhe even more convinced of his guess.
"Give me an address." Communication was difficult, Jiang Songhe sighed, "I'll talk to your boss myself."
"……cool."
-
When Jiang Songhe left, he flipped the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob of the next room to the "Please Clean Immediately" side. He also ordered room service and turndown service for Jiang Songyun at the hotel front desk. As a result, someone would knock on Jiang Songyun's door every three or four hours to check if he was still safely in the room.
After leaving the hotel and getting into a taxi, Jiang Songhe recalled how he and his brother had been escorted out of Tangang yesterday by a burly man ordered by a cute girl with big eyes. Although the rookie had given them a less crowded underground parking lot as the meeting place, he still felt a little uncomfortable.
Today is the last day of the preliminary rounds of the Star Show competition. Outside vehicles can still enter the interior area of the TANG Building with their contestant passes.
Jiang Songhe was dropped off by the driver at the destination. Looking around, he did not find the contact person who looked like a rookie. He checked the time and realized that he had arrived ten minutes early.
No matter how advanced an underground parking lot is, it will always be stuffy, damp, and have a musty smell of exhaust fumes due to poor air circulation.
Ten minutes, neither long nor short.
It wasn't a long time, because Jiang Songhe had been her younger brother's agent for over ten years, and what she did most was wait.
It's not short, because ten minutes is enough for Jiang Songhe to be thoroughly marinated in moisture and stench from head to toe, inside and out.
Jiang Songhe began to feel that his unstable and useless sympathy was not enough to resist the torment brought on by the onset of his germaphobia. It didn't matter if the rookie was fired by his boss, but he would go back to the hotel to wash his hands, no, take a shower the next second.
The address was filled in on the ride-hailing app, and the elevator in the building came down.
Jiang Songhe had never wished so much that her date would be late.
Even though there were still ten or so floors left to go before he could back out, he didn't press the call button. When the car door opened with a "ding," he froze, his frustration spiraling upwards.
The two people who came out of the elevator were not newbies, but a white-haired guy and a black-haired guy. The black-haired guy looked familiar; he was the wicked contestant who had told Jiang Songyun where he was yesterday. The white-haired guy looked even more familiar; he was Janus, the top singer that Jiang Songyun "really, really likes".
The two of them happened to witness Jiang Songhe's varying degrees of embarrassment on the same day.
The meeting address was specified as "the main entrance of the elevator in the underground parking lot of the TANG Building," which resulted in a brief moment of staring blankly at each other.
“So…thanks for the cooperation. And congrats…” Janus seemed to have something to say to the evil player, and took the initiative to break the deadlock and change the course.
Jiang Songhe had no intention of eavesdropping, so he walked a little further away and glanced at the time again. Three minutes had passed since the time he had agreed with Cainiao, and the elevator was still stuck on the ground floor with no sign of picking anyone up or down. So, without hesitation, Jiang Songhe pressed the call button.
Another drawback of underground parking lots is the poor signal.
After watching the ride-hailing interface spin for quite a while, Jiang Songhe decided to get out of the car and call again, while also informing Cainiao that he had already left.
As he passed a parking space, he heard someone call "Mr. Jiang". Looking up, he saw Janus leisurely leaning against a black, boxy Vito, smiling at him.
Janus: "Get in the car."
Jiang Songhe: "No, I have something to do. Thank you."
Janus: "Isn't this your business? Are you waiting for someone else?"
Jiang Songhe: "...?"
Janus: "The person you're waiting for has arrived."
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