Chapter 178 A Little Matter
After putting his suitcase away, Lu Yanhe turned to look at Chen Ziyan, wondering if she had any other plans.
At this moment, Chen Ziyan also hung up the phone.
She said, "I've made an appointment with Lei Shuangcheng, the producer of 'The Golden Era,' for dinner. We'll meet up later tonight. You can rest first, and I'll also go and get a room to rest. I've been driving for almost four hours, and my back and waist are aching."
Lu Yanhe immediately said, "Okay, Sister Ziyan, you should go and rest."
Chen Ziyan left.
Lu Yanhe was a little tired after such a long car ride, so he lay down on the bed for a while.
I just wanted to lie down for a while, but I ended up falling asleep.
-
Some people start taking a nap because they are tired, while others cannot fall asleep.
Why weren't those photos published online?
This question had been lingering in Lin Suyang's mind for several days.
Li Zhibai has already received the photos, and he has confirmed this with the depository.
Now that he had the photos, Lin Suyang couldn't understand why Li Zhibai wouldn't use them to retaliate against Ma Zhiyuan.
The two have been at odds for a long time, and with the laser pointer incident just now, based on Lin Suyang's understanding of Li Zhibai, once the latter gets the photos and learns that Ma Zhiyuan has a girlfriend he's secretly dating, he will definitely expose it immediately.
Where did things go wrong?
Lin Suyang was not idle during this time.
He talked to Qu Yousong, Wei Zhuoran, Jiang Bai, and Chen Jing one by one, about what happened after Ma Zhiyuan left MX.
Lin Suyang needed to stabilize morale and reassure everyone to stay in MX.
Ma Zhiyuan's departure is a good thing for MX. He wants everyone to believe that.
We cannot let this situation continue to escalate.
Lin Suyang opened his computer and clicked on a document about the future development of MX.
This document wasn't created in the last few days. It's been sitting on his computer ever since MX started its preparations, constantly being improved.
Lin Suyang was once full of ambition, wanting to make MX the most popular idol group, and he succeeded.
However, his documents can only clearly list the key tasks and plans for each stage, but cannot exhaust the changes in people.
For talent agencies, artists are the products they sell.
But for agents, this is a commodity that changes and has its own ideas. If you want to keep them in your hands and prevent them from escaping your grasp, you have to constantly improve yourself.
If he were Sun Wukong, you would have to cultivate yourself into the Buddha. That's the kind of relationship between an agent and an artist.
-
Lu Yanhe was awakened by the buzzing of his phone.
I checked the time and it was only four in the afternoon; I had only dozed off for less than an hour.
The afternoon sun was still dazzling, even through the white gauze curtains.
He got out of bed, sat on the edge of the bed, and picked up his phone.
The continuous vibrations were coming from the group of three people.
Li Zhibai: Has Lao Lu arrived yet?
Li Zhibai: So boring.
Yan Liang: What are you doing? Isn't there a brand event?
Li Zhibai: It's a brand event. I listened to those people talking about all sorts of random concepts and descriptions, and I thought it was all nonsense. I didn't want to listen.
Yan Liang: You are a brand ambassador, so please fulfill your job responsibilities properly.
Li Zhibai: I'm standing right here.
Yan Liang: And then you just kept looking down at your phone?
Li Zhibai: Anyway, no one is watching me right now. They're chatting, and I'm just wandering around here. They put up an exhibition today, showcasing their classic works from the past few decades.
Yan Liang: That sounds pretty high-class.
Li Zhibai: It does look quite high-end, but I really find it meaningless.
Lu Yanhe typed: What brand is this?
Li Zhibai: JP.
Lu Yanhe: Isn't this a jewelry company? When did you become its brand ambassador?
Li Zhibai: It was just announced today.
Lu Yanhe: I was wondering why I had no recollection of this, but don't jewelry brands usually collaborate with female celebrities? Why would they choose you?
Li Zhibai: How would I know? But there were quite a lot of fans at the scene.
Lu Yanhe: I understand.
Yan Liang: Isn't this great? Having business opportunities is a good thing.
Li Zhibai: That's true, it's always good to make money.
Lu Yanhe: I just arrived at the hotel and had just dozed off for a while when you guys woke me up.
Li Zhibai: How is the hotel environment?
Lu Yanhe said: It's alright, just a regular hotel room, nothing special.
Li Zhibai: Tsk tsk, it seems your crew didn't treat you very well. When I was filming "Take You to the End of the World," they gave me a luxury suite to stay in.
Lu Yanhe: How can I compare to you? I'm not some big shot.
Li Zhibai: "The Golden Era" is no small-scale production. Such a big production, if you're being stingy, you should be careful. It seems the producer isn't a generous person.
Lu Yanhe: Speaking of which, I'm having dinner with the producer tonight; Sister Ziyan invited him.
Li Zhibai: That's the biggest advantage of having a reliable agent. When you arrive in a new place, they'll take you to meet the locals first, and then you'll have someone to look after you on set.
Lu Yanhe: I'm a little nervous. I don't know what to say or how to react in this situation.
Yan Liang: When you don't know what to say, just laugh.
Li Zhibai: That's right. In general, I just make a brief appearance in these kinds of situations and leave everything else to Zhou Ping'an while I do my own thing.
Yan Liang: Like you right now, secretly playing on your phone at work?
Li Zhibai: You're even more involved than Zhou Pingan.
-
He had just typed that sentence when someone suddenly came up to him and started chatting.
"You look very handsome in that suit today. Is it a custom-made Lord Fost?" A woman in a blue dress approached, smiled slightly at Li Zhibai, and held a glass of champagne in her hand, her gaze fixed on Li Zhibai.
Li Zhibai knew her; she was Chen Zhu, a senior executive at JP Jewelry.
As the host just mentioned.
"Lord Fost?" Li Zhibai frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't know what brand this is. My manager borrowed it for me."
Chen Zhu laughed, somewhat surprised.
"So you didn't know that JP Jewelry, like Lord Fost, belongs to Huanjin Group and is actually one family?" Chen Zhu asked.
Li Zhibai shook his head hesitantly.
He was still puzzled, wondering why she had suddenly come to him and said all this.
"Do you know that your company is being negotiated for acquisition by Huan Jin?" Chen Zhu dropped a bombshell.
Li Zhibai was stunned.
-
At 6 PM, MX's official account posted a message that instantly went viral and became a trending topic:
To better promote Ma Zhiyuan's personal development, effective today, Ma Zhiyuan will be leaving the MX group to continue his entertainment career as a solo artist. We thank Ma Zhiyuan for his contributions to the MX group and wish him all the best.
This message was pushed to everyone's mobile phones by major apps as a headline news item.
To outsiders, this news came out of nowhere.
Many people didn't even believe it at first.
However, the account that posted the message is a genuine MX group verified account.
MX fans were stunned and couldn't recover for a long time.
Meanwhile, Ma Zhiyuan's die-hard fans started singing and dancing.
When Lu Yanhe received the message on his phone, Ma Zhiyuan's fans had already pushed the hashtag #CongratulationsMaZhiyuan# to sixth place on the trending topics list.
He didn't have time to think, because he had already followed Chen Ziyan to the restaurant.
"Oh my, Ziyan, it's been so long since we last met! Look at you, you're radiant!"
A man wearing a blue stand-up collar short-sleeved shirt was waiting for them at the restaurant entrance. He warmly hugged Chen Ziyan upon meeting her.
Lu Yanhe knew without even asking that this person was Lei Shuangcheng, the producer of "The Golden Era".
Lei Shuangcheng is 43 years old this year. He has worked with director Luo Yuzhong for nearly 15 years. He is the producer of every project of Luo Yuzhong and is also the person with whom Luo Yuzhong has the closest relationship and the most trust.
Lu Yanhe did not expect that Lei Shuangcheng and Chen Ziyan were also old acquaintances.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. With Chen Ziyan's experience, there are very few people in the entertainment industry that she doesn't know, except for this batch of newcomers.
The same "blooming" smile that Lu Yanhe had just seen on Chen Ziyan's face reappeared.
"You're over forty years old, and you still stare at other people's faces the moment you meet them. Be careful your sister-in-law gets jealous." Chen Ziyan's eyes were full of tenderness.
Lei Shuangcheng immediately said, "Your sister-in-law trusts me completely. She knows I have the desire but not the courage."
Chen Ziyan turned her head and beckoned to Lu Yanhe, saying, "Yanhe, come here and say hello to your Uncle Lei."
Uncle Lei?!
Lu Yanhe's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Although Chen Ziyan said that, Lu Yanhe certainly wouldn't dare to actually call Lei Shuangcheng "Uncle Lei".
"Hello, I am Lu Yanhe."
Lei Shuangcheng smiled and patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder, saying, "You're amazing, young man. You got such a high score on the college entrance exam. I'll have my kid learn from you later."
Lu Yanhe smiled and said no problem.
Chen Ziyan asked, "Have they arrived?"
Lei Shuangcheng said, "Not yet. You arranged to meet them at seven o'clock, how could they be here now?"
"I just wanted to chat with you first and catch up," Chen Ziyan glared at Lei Shuangcheng.
She turned to Lu Yanhe and said, "Yanhe, you go in first. Your Uncle Lei and I will have a cup of tea at the teahouse next door."
There is a teahouse next to this restaurant.
A place I specifically chose.
Lei Shuangcheng: "Stop, Uncle Lei, I'm not that old. Just call me Brother Lei."
Lu Yanhe readily agreed and called him Brother Lei.
Chen Ziyan pouted and said, "How old are you? Still calling yourself Brother Lei."
Lu Yanhe smiled in a harmless manner.
"How old am I? I'm just over forty," Lei Shuangcheng said. "Alright, Xiao Lu, you go in first. It's the Fengchun private room. We'll come over later."
Lu Yanhe nodded and went into the restaurant first.
-
“It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”
Lei Shuangcheng personally served Chen Ziyan a cup of tea that he had brewed.
“There are some things that you can’t escape no matter what you try to avoid.” Chen Ziyan shook her head. “So why leave this place where I’ve struggled for so many years? This place belongs to me, and I belong here.”
“You’re suited to be an agent, that’s been proven long ago. I don’t understand why you keep going through all that trouble, making someone successful, then taking a break as if you’ve accomplished something, only to come back in a year or two.” Lei Shuangcheng shook his head. “But are you sure you want to start managing newcomers again? It’ll probably take them another four or five years to go from entering the industry to reaching the top tier. Once they’re settled in a top-tier position, whether they can reach even higher positions is up to fate. Why don’t you continue managing the artists from back then?”
“Everyone already has their own established teams and staff, so why should I interfere?” Chen Ziyan said.
Lei Shuangcheng: "If you're willing to continue managing them, I think someone on their team would definitely be willing to let you continue as their agent. I heard that Shang Yongzhou is in talks with director Kim Ji-yeon about his new film; was that the connection you made?"
"How come you have such good information?" Chen Ziyan couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Lei Shuangcheng: "Shang Yongzhou himself said it was a pity that you broke up with him too early."
“He’s already a top male actor in the country, what’s there to regret?” Chen Ziyan shook her head. “Even if I kept mentoring him, things wouldn’t be any better than they are now.”
From a career development perspective, Shang Yongzhou has reached the peak of his career and will not rise to a higher position.
Lei Shuangcheng laughed.
"Isn't that your charm? Making a top-tier male actor always remember your kindness and unable to forget you." He said, "Lu Yanhe, Tu Song, Wen Minglan, do you know who among these three will ultimately end up together?"
Chen Ziyan shook her head, "No, it depends on how things develop on their own."
"I can tell you have a bit of a preference for Lu Yanhe."
“He just doesn’t have any support behind him, so I’ve been paying extra attention to him,” Chen Ziyan said. “He’s just a kid, and this is his first time acting, so please take extra care of him.”
"Do you even need to tell me? How could I not take care of your artist?" Lei Shuangcheng's tone was still somewhat annoyed by Chen Ziyan's distant manner.
Chen Ziyan: "Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I always automatically have the mindset of an old mother when it comes to young people."
"You really should find a suitable man to marry and become a real mother."
“I—” Chen Ziyan shook her head, “I’ll pass. My identity is not honorable, so I shouldn’t pass on such disgrace to the next generation.”
"What are you saying!" Lei Shuangcheng said angrily. "Who dares to say that your identity is not honorable! What the previous generation did has nothing to do with you! You are always like this, belittling yourself. There are clearly no shortage of men who are attracted to you."
Seeing that he was angry, Chen Ziyan smiled.
"Alright, I'm not going to say anything more. You yourself are the same. Once the project starts, you won't be able to come home for several months. You should think more about your sister-in-law and the children. Don't just think about giving them money. You can't support your wife and children without money, but you can't keep your wife and children just because you have money."
“I have a very close relationship with my wife and children,” Lei Shuangcheng said immediately. “Let me tell you, I’m not bragging, I’ve never met a more responsible man than me.”
Chen Ziyan: "I know, that's why I dared to ask you for help. Brother Lei, you're loyal, righteous, and good to your friends. Everyone in the industry knows that."
"What do you need my help with?" Lei Shuangcheng asked.
"Let's give Tu Song an OST for this drama to sing." Chen Ziyan smiled brightly and charmingly, but there was no hint of romantic interest between them. Instead, she was generous and frank.
Lei Shuangcheng readily nodded, "This is nothing, no problem."
(End of this chapter)
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