Chapter 50
Chapter 50
In just one day and one night, Lan Xu went from being a complete stranger to Starry Sky Films to becoming an artist signed by Starry Sky Films with the president personally paying the breach of contract penalty.
Lan Xu quickly grabbed the storage disk and rushed into the kitchen. He first smashed the storage disk to pieces on the ground, then turned the stove to its highest setting, poured oil into a pot, lit the fire, and threw the shattered pieces of the storage disk in, burning them completely.
Perhaps relieved, Lan Xu no longer looked as unsettled as before when she came out of the kitchen.
He sat down in the empty seat, his gaze shifting between He Rui and Gu Yifan, and asked, "Mr. He, will I be working with Brother Gu from now on, or will I be assigned another agent?"
He Rui fiddled with his bangs: "Gu Yifan has other things to do, so I'll arrange for another agent to take care of you. Hand over your phone for the time being and don't worry about anything else. The third floor is also renovated and fully furnished. I'll have someone help you bring your instruments and luggage over in a bit. Just stay in your room and create. In half a month, go to Hong Kong to work as I've arranged."
Since they're demanding that we hand over our phones, there's bound to be a media storm.
Lan Xu, having several years of experience in the industry, immediately understood the meaning behind He Rui's words.
Once you hand it in, you can no longer contact anyone else.
Will this media storm, spearheaded by Starry Sky Films, drag Xu Wenjia into it and tear him apart?
He clenched his fist, admitting that He Rui was right to ask him to hand over his phone.
If he doesn't cut off contact with the outside world, his surging desire for revenge will eventually lead him to contact Xu Wenjia, and then... who knows what outrageous things he might say, and Xu Wenjia might record something and use it to threaten him again.
Lan Xu rubbed his face, took out his phone from his pocket, put it on the coffee table, quickly stood up, and hurriedly asked for the keys to leave: "I can't take it anymore. My dorm is on the third floor, right? I'm going to rest."
Lan Xu left, and He Rui and Gu Yifan also got up.
He Rui deliberately placed the tote bag he had brought with him into Jiang Mingyue's arms, and said with a sly smile, "Sister Jiang, we really owe Lan Xu's matter to you. If you hadn't handed over the MV contract negotiation to Yifan in the first place, we wouldn't have been able to get an artist who was about to become famous so smoothly. This is just a small token of our gratitude, don't be shy."
It really was from that time when she asked Gu Yifan for help that she started plotting against Lan Xu and Gigabyte Entertainment.
But I can't refuse the gift from my boss and future partner.
Jiang Mingyue forced a smile, said thank you, and took the bag.
He Rui patted the top of her head, and Jiang Mingyue couldn't help but flinch.
He Rui stared at Jiang Mingyue for a moment, then said "sorry" and left with the finance and legal staff.
Gu Yifan remained, still with his usual calm and meticulous demeanor, instructing Jiang Mingyue: "Don't worry, the company has already taken care of the TV stations and newspapers. This time, the focus of Lan Xu's gossip news will be on his transfer of his agency during this special period."
Jiang Mingyue asked astutely, "What about the tabloids?"
“We can’t stop the tabloids from writing whatever they want, but their content is all about grabbing attention and nobody will believe it. Let them write whatever they want; it’s good for the audience to get to know you in advance.”
Gu Yifan completely ignored the tabloids' nonsense and simply smiled, emphasizing the key points: "The producers of 'Healing Hearts for All' acknowledge the huge flaws in the script. To ensure the company doesn't withdraw its investment, they've decided to replace the screenwriter and start over with the project. Filming will be delayed by about a month, enough time for you to finish filming 'Children's Care.' How's your script reading going? You're scheduled for the audition the day after tomorrow."
When the audition was mentioned, Jiang Mingyue's focus shifted: "Thanks to Xiao Liu, I've figured out how to perform the parts I was confused about during the audition."
"Xiao Liu was helpful? Very good, she's a hardworking and good girl. You two should get along well." Gu Yifan's smile deepened, and he then instructed Jiang Mingyue that she could even use receipts to claim reimbursement from the company for her catering expenses before leaving.
A group of people came and went.
There wasn't time to prepare slippers for guests in the new house, and after being stepped on repeatedly, the floor got dirty again.
Jiang Mingyue asked Xiao Li and Xiao Liu to mop the floor together. After sharing hand cream with them and finishing her hand care routine, she told them to rest and went back to her bedroom. She then turned on her computer and started searching online using "Lan Xu" as the keyword.
Sure enough, posts about Lan Xu have become popular on the entertainment forums of portal websites.
Jiang Mingyue clicked into the post and found that the poster was also an honest person.
—No fluff, just pictures.
Lan Xu kept looking back as she rushed into the residential area with a panicked expression, and then appeared on the balcony with Xiao Li, looking pale as she drank water.
The sign read "Twenty minutes later" and then Gu Yifan drove into the residential area with He Rui in the passenger seat.
The bottom line is marked "one hour later." Gu Yifan is still driving, but this time, Lan Xu is also seen in the photo of them coming out of the building. He left with Gu Yifan and He Rui in the car.
When the photos were first posted, people were repeatedly asking in the thread what was going on with Lan Xu.
But soon, the onlookers no longer had any doubts.
While He Rui and Gu Yifan's identities were not widely publicized, they were by no means a secret. For a long time, Hong Kong entertainment news was filled with gossip about He Rui, the "two young masters of stars and movies"; and there were also countless photos of Gu Yifan accompanying his various artists to events.
Their identities were quickly revealed, and fans' reasonable speculation shifted to whether Lan Xu was going to change agencies.
[Gigabyte never really valued Lan Xu. He's been in the industry for two years, and only this year did they announce plans to cast him in an acting role. And what kind of rubbish was it? An idol drama! The second male lead!]
Yes, everyone else was already busy with various activities, but Lan Xu was completely focused on making music.
Don't talk nonsense, it's because Lan Xu wants to focus on making music!
[Upstairs, please give me a break. You might be able to fool casual viewers with these kinds of statements, but do you fans really believe them? If Lan Xu were so passionate about music, he wouldn't have gone into acting in idol dramas before.]
[I agree with the comment above. Although GIGABYTE's owner is in the entertainment industry, almost all of her artists come from music talent shows, and very few have made a name for themselves in film and television. The real issue is probably a lack of connections in the film and television world, making it difficult to arrange work. I checked, and He Rui, whom Lan Xu met today, is the second son of Hong Kong Star Film Group. His film just won an award overseas. If Lan Xu really intends to switch to Star Film Group, his future prospects will definitely be better than staying at GIGABYTE.]
[Isn't it possible that Lan Xu was chosen by Young Master He to star in his new film? Why is everyone guessing he switched jobs?]
[If that's really the case, Lan Xu wouldn't need to hide it. His expression clearly indicates something's wrong.]
[I just received some news, not guaranteed, but someone investigated Gu Yifan and discovered that the female artist he manages is Yin Manman. Several scenes from Yin Manman's previous drama, *Seven Stars in a Row*, were moved from Hengdian to Ningcheng for filming. There's a newcomer in her crew, you might have seen her in the news. [Image attached] This newcomer was secretly photographed by a coffee shop owner and posted on other forums. The post was very inappropriate, claiming she was playing the victim to raise money for her mother's medical treatment, but actually secretly selling herself to a wealthy man. [Image attached] This "man she met privately" is Gu Yifan. She's also in the first photo above [Image attached]. So I have a bold guess: is this young lady involved in something?]
The first image is a photo of Jiang Mingyue in full makeup next to Yin Manman, which only occupies a small part of the image and her figure is not fully visible.
The second set of pictures was from a news report at the time, featuring two photos of her thanking donors at the hospital and receiving donations at the school.
The third screenshot is a candid photo taken on a forum, and the focus in that screenshot is on Gu Yifan. Gu Yifan's shoes and watch were clearly priced, showing that the shop owner was really dedicated to spreading false rumors.
The last picture in the post is actually the first picture that sets the tone. This picture is actually a composite image, because Lan Xu didn't go upstairs with Jiang Mingyue, but in the photo they appear one after the other, at the extreme distance of a long-lens camera shot. Jiang Mingyue's figure is deliberately circled in red.
A heated discussion erupted in the following floors, with all sorts of speculations emerging. It wasn't until the next few dozen floors that some more serious speculations reappeared.
But Jiang Mingyue had already closed the webpage and knew the future direction of the publicity for this matter.
It's obvious that the reports on the portal websites were all rigged by Xingchen Film and Television. Lan Xu's change of agency will definitely be designed to reflect the "poor treatment by her former company."
—If the GIGABYTE boss doesn't want to suffer a devastating blow and be exposed for having a penchant for playing around with young, newly-entered men, then she can't refute the rumors that Starry Sky Films spent a large sum of money to "redeem" Lan Xu and that they had indeed mistreated him.
Jiang Mingyue was able to take this opportunity to naturally bring the influence of social news into the entertainment industry, and at the same time clear her name of any pre-debut rumors that might appear.
However, this entire marketing campaign couldn't possibly be arranged by Gu Yifan's agent alone, or rather, even if he wanted to, he couldn't afford the price.
"He Rui or Fu Xiachuan? It doesn't matter, I appreciate the good intentions. I will cooperate fully with the company's publicity efforts. Since I'm not involved now, I'll pretend I don't know anything and focus on preparing for tomorrow's 'Children's Care' segment."
Jiang Mingyue played on the computer for a while longer, and after confirming that the content reported by several portal websites and the comments and discussions below were largely the same, she turned off the computer with peace of mind, cleared her browsing history, and immersed herself in the "three-bedroom, one-living room" screen.
There's no point in thinking about it anymore. What she should be concerned about right now is thoroughly understanding the content of the TV series she's going to act in and giving a brilliant performance.
Let her see how "Qiao Xin" in "Children Have a Place to Be Raised" was portrayed in the past.
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