Chapter 54 The Game: He needed to confirm his feelings.
After getting rid of Director Hu, Shi Yao packed her things, went to the lounge to say goodbye to Fang Xuran and Pei Zixuan, and then took a taxi back to the hotel.
Fang Xuran was very dissatisfied with Shi Yao's behavior of abandoning him again and urged her to return to the film set quickly, but Shi Yao brushed him off.
Before leaving, Pei Zixuan reminded Shi Yao of their promise that he was about to start producing an album.
Shi Yao was preoccupied with Ye Jingyu's matter. While talking to the two of them, her phone vibrated several times in her bag. She guessed that Ye Jingyu had probably sent her an address. She was in a real bind, but fortunately, she had already prepared the props for the album. She asked Pei Zixuan to set a date and let her know, and then hurriedly left the factory.
After she left, an eerie silence fell over the lounge. Fang Xuran and Pei Zixuan both had upcoming schedules; one had to go back to the film crew to catch up on work, and the other had to fly to another city to attend a brand event. Their assistants had already packed their things, but the two of them refused to move.
Fang Xuran sat for five minutes, then gestured for her assistants to leave. She then looked at Pei Zixuan thoughtfully and said, "Old Pei, don't you think Sister Shi Yao is hiding something from us? The way she was so anxious just now, it was like she had found a new client and couldn't wait to leave us behind."
Pei Zixuan looked up from the mirror, her face showing no surprise, and said, "Yes, she has indeed been found."
Fang Xuran was taken aback after hearing this, and pressed him for details: "What do you mean? You recommended clients to her? You think she doesn't have enough clients already?"
Pei Zixuan: "It wasn't my recommendation." He only gave a little help; it wasn't a direct recommendation.
Fang Xuran ignored the key words in Pei Zixuan's words and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you didn't push it."
After saying that, he looked a little aggrieved, lowered his head and looked at the patterns on the floor: "It was agreed that you would stay with us in the group for at least two months, but you were only there for the first week. After that, you were away every day."
Pei Zixuan gave him a cold look: "What, can't you see she can't act?"
Fang Xuran choked on her words and quickly shook her head: "What? I'm a professional, okay? How could I not act it out? I just... I just... she had already agreed, but then she stood me up. That's despicable, yes, despicable. I hate it when people stand me up."
Fang Xuran rambled on for a long time, as if trying to cover up his own shortcomings. Fortunately, Pei Zixuan didn't care what he was trying to say. He just sat there expressionless, waiting for Fang Xuran to finish before speaking:
"Oh, so you want to condemn her, block her, make her feel guilty towards you? Do you need my help?"
Fang Xuran was speechless again, glancing at him with a hint of exasperation, thinking to himself, "Why is this guy always arguing with me today?"
"I didn't mean that. Don't try to pin this on me. What's wrong with you today? You've been talking in such a sarcastic way. I haven't done anything to offend you. We're old friends and both her clients. I'm just sharing some work-related troubles with you. What's wrong with that? Don't you want her to focus on working for us?"
Pei Zixuan shrugged indifferently, his eyes indifferent: "I wasn't being sarcastic. Isn't this how I always talk?"
Fang Xuran listened in silence, unable to think of a rebuttal. Pei Zixuan was right; he had always spoken in this tone. But at this moment, he had no one else to share with, otherwise he wouldn't be putting up with this.
"As for whether she's busy or how many clients she has, I don't think that's our business. Anyway, the contract she signed with us isn't an ordinary one. As long as she does what she's supposed to do, that's fine. It's normal for her to have free time as she pleases," Pei Zixuan said calmly, leaning against the dressing table behind her.
"You only signed a contract with her. She also said that she might serve multiple different clients at the same time. Anyway, the results are guaranteed in terms of quality and quantity, so what is there to be dissatisfied about? You didn't sign her as a whole person. Do you expect her to work around you all the time?"
Fang Xuran paused upon hearing Pei Zixuan's words. Every word Pei Zixuan said was not what he wanted to hear, yet he couldn't refute any of them.
Indeed, Shi Yao did not breach the contract. She had discussed all possible scenarios when signing the contract, and the two had never even met during their first collaboration.
Whether or not they meet in person won't affect Shi Yao's work efficiency or results. She had indeed said before that she would serve multiple clients simultaneously, but...
"Don't you think you're a little too dependent on her?" Pei Zixuan stared at Fang Xuran across the sofa, her blunt and sharp words piercing his eardrums.
"Although I don't know why, I feel that you seem to be very dependent on her. Whenever you know that she is around, you will try to see her. If you can't see her, you will urge her to come to you. She can't really help you much with filming, but you insist on having her come to the set with you. Why?"
“I don’t know what type of business the contract you signed this time is, but I remember that her business scope doesn’t seem to include the option of having someone act as her personal agent. She just needs to do what’s required in the contract. Why do you insist on seeing her in person?”
Fang Xuran was speechless when asked the question. He wanted to say that Shi Yao had promised him, but Pei Zixuan was right. Shi Yao's job did not actually require her to be with the client all day long, as long as the final goal could be achieved.
After hearing Pei Zixuan's questioning, he realized that Shi Yao's initial agreement might have been just a polite gesture.
After a long silence, Fang Xuran finally spoke: "I..."
But Pei Zixuan interrupted again: "I think you should think carefully about how you really view Shi Yao, or rather, how you view your relationship with her."
After she finished speaking, the room fell completely silent. After a long while, Fang Xuran stammered as she spoke again, "Oh, I... I understand."
Pei Zixuan stood up, picked up his backpack, and prepared to leave. Before leaving, he turned around and took a deep look at Fang Xuran. Seeing that he was still keeping his head down, he reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
Fang Xuran looked up at this and said hesitantly, "Old Pei, I..."
Pei Zixuan seemed to realize what he wanted to say and said, "Wait until you've thought it through before you speak. There's no rush. I don't really want to hear it right now."
Fang Xuran was about to say something when he physically stopped her, so she could only shut up, look up at him with a frustrated expression, and change the subject: "Have you found out which trainee is her client?"
Pei Zixuan glanced at him: "Didn't you notice?"
Fang Xuran looked completely bewildered: "You figured it out? Was it that obvious?"
Pei Zixuan scoffed: "Otherwise what?"
Fang Xuran carefully recalled everyone he had met in the past three days. He also paid special attention to a few popular trainees, but he couldn't find any clues.
But seeing Pei Zixuan's disdainful and contemptuous expression, he got angry again: "Can't you just say it directly?"
Pei Zi's declaration is concise: "Promise."
Fang Xuran remembered the name and recognized the face, because this trainee was so good-looking that even someone as narcissistic as him couldn't deny his good looks.
Shi Yao's client is actually this person?!
"I think he's in your group, right?"
“Yes.” Pei Zixuan nodded, which is why he was able to recognize her so quickly. Although he had noticed the difference at first glance, it still took time to confirm. After three days of practice, he was completely certain that Yingxu was Shi Yao’s trainee client.
The reason is simple: every time Shi Yao goes to his practice room to film, this trainee can't help but peek. Although his movements are very discreet, Pei Zixuan's eyes are very sharp, not to mention that he is paying close attention to this person, so he always notices his little actions immediately.
After confirming the candidate, Pei Zixuan observed Xu and easily noticed that he was different from others, and also understood why he was Shi Yao's client.
He is indeed a promising talent. Even without any makeup or styling, he stands out among a group of trainees. He is ambitious, proactive, knows what he wants, and is highly self-disciplined.
Although Pei Zixuan's group consisted of popular trainees who were all very self-disciplined, Ying Xu was still the most outstanding among them. You could feel his self-discipline; he wasn't doing this to gain anyone's approval, but simply because he wanted to.
He always strives to do his best during practice, no matter how difficult the requirements are, and his final stage performance was indeed the best.
Even if someone like that isn't discovered in a talent show, their day of success isn't far off.
Pei Zixuan had investigated the relevant matters before Yingxu and knew that Yingxu suddenly ascended after the first round of auditions. He himself had experienced auditions and was very clear about the factors that determined the popularity of auditions. In any audition, the final debut group could basically be seen in the first round, and the difference in the result would not exceed two.
The popularity of a contestant is largely determined by the theme song. Occasionally, one or two promising talents may emerge during the first performance, but it's uncertain whether they can secure a debut spot. The second performance, which assesses the positions, may also produce a hidden gem, but the probability is much lower than in the first performance. The third performance is basically a battle for high-popularity trainees to solidify their popularity, not a battlefield for low-popularity contestants, and it's unlikely that anyone will suddenly rise to prominence.
Yingxu Yishun's and even his previous shots have been almost completely cut, with only some background shots and side profile shots. It's obvious that he's a contestant who didn't spend money on the game and doesn't have a big company backing him. Individual trainees are the easiest to manipulate; they can crush you by not giving you any screen time. That's why Yingxu's popularity has always been very low.
It wasn't until the release of that video, and the discovery that his acceptance speech was the only one that was deleted, that the fact that he was being treated specially was brought to the forefront, making people realize that this wasn't just a case of fans being overly sensitive and paranoid, but rather that the production team had really gone too far.
Pei Zixuan watched the video, and his first thought after watching it was that he was very envious.
He also had many fans who were very kind to him, which touched him deeply, and he worked very hard for them. However, Shi Yao's dedication far exceeded his expectations. She put in so much effort that even Pei Zixuan couldn't help but ask after seeing it:
Is this really just about getting the job done?
Having debuted as an idol through a talent show, Pei Zixuan is very clear about the ins and outs of how trainees' popularity skyrockets. Yingxu's rise to fame is definitely not just due to the impact of this video; there must have been a lot of groundwork laid beforehand.
So he searched on various platforms and finally found a popular post that a marketing account had copied. It was posted the day before the end of the first round of voting. It was a CP post and the post went viral, making many people aware of the name Yingxu and earning him the title of "Secretly in Love God of War". However, since the vote-stealing had ended, even though everyone thought he was pretty good, they couldn't vote for him and could only feel sorry for him.
But surprisingly, Ying Xu actually advanced, and not by blocking a spot. Pei Zixuan was a little confused about where the vote came from, but he felt that it was mostly related to Shi Yao.
She never fights a battle unprepared, and she always sets her goals very high. Since she has decided to take on this job, the final result will definitely be to achieve the top position.
The CP post was meant to set the stage, making people remember Yingxu beforehand. That way, when the video was released, everyone would remember who he was and want to speak up for him. So, the final video received unexpectedly good data, making the show go viral and forcing the production team to change the previous footage.
This is the first time in the entire history of the draft that such a thing has ever happened.
Pei Zixuan felt that it would be difficult to have a second chance like this.
The emergence of Promise broke the monopoly of debut spots between the program team and big companies, forcing the platform to realize its arrogance. Even if they didn't want any trainee to stand out, there were still people who could stand against them and defeat their ideas.
Pei Zixuan felt inexplicably relieved. Although this trainee was not him and he did not feel the feeling of a desperate counterattack and a comeback, he still couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement.
What he couldn't do, someone else did for him, and that's fine too.
He didn't know how Ying Xu got together with Shi Yao, but he had to admit that Ying Xu was indeed a very promising person who could bring unimaginable high returns, so it was no wonder that Shi Yao would choose him at this time.
But he was still a little curious. How did Shi Yao discover Ying Xu, who was so inconspicuous in the early stages?
Moreover, there are quite a few source videos, which is absolutely impossible to do without prior preparation.
Shi Yao has more and more secrets, and Pei Zixuan wants to unravel them but has no clue how. He wants to suppress his curiosity, but it is difficult for him to do so.
As for his friend's unusual behavior, he wasn't surprised.
Who can blame Shi Yao for always being so considerate?
It's not that Shi Yao is caring or attentive; quite the opposite, she's simply too lazy to care about such things, and her attitude towards clients is always... self-righteous.
Sometimes, a single sentence from her can leave people speechless, yet you can't get angry at her because she'll do everything you can and can't imagine.
She never holds back in her words, and she never falters in her actions—that's Shi Yao.
On the day Fang Xuran recommended Shi Yao to Pei Zixuan, he didn't really listen carefully. He knew that the other party took the initiative to explain how Shi Yao had resolved the public opinion crisis for him, describing the entire process, which piqued his interest.
He thought at the time that this person was a bit amazing. Her actions were as if she could foresee the future and make the right moves.
How could there be such an amazing person? So Pei Zixuan added her as a friend and told her about the troubles he was currently facing.
In fact, he didn't place his hopes on Shi Yao, nor did he expect this person he had never met to solve the problems that he found somewhat difficult.
His idea at the time was that as long as Shi Yao could help him a little, or cause some trouble for his company, he would take care of the rest.
But in the end, Shi Yao really took care of everything by herself, and the outcome was even better than he had expected.
He originally just wanted the company to give up on creating a romantic pairing, but in the end, Shi Yao directly helped him achieve his goal of terminating the contract and even caused the colleague who had always been at odds with him to have his career ruined. It was like he exceeded his goal by 300%.
Shi Yao always says he's too eager to transfer money, but she doesn't even look at how efficient she is or how well she completes the transactions.
After working with her once, Pei Zixuan suddenly understood Fang Xuran's state when she shared Shi Yao with him. At the time, he didn't understand why Fang Xuran was so excited about something. There are studios like this in the industry. Although their businesses don't completely overlap, Shi Yao is indeed quite special, but it's not like they've never seen anything like it before.
Moreover, Shi Yao herself used to be an artist, and it seems unreliable for her to suddenly cross over into this industry.
But after the collaboration, Pei Zixuan fully understood and began to think about when to collaborate with Shi Yao again.
After that, Fang Xuran would occasionally talk to him about Shi Yao. The reason given by the other party was that only he knew about this matter and he had no one else to share it with. However, Pei Zixuan always felt that Fang Xuran's thoughts were more than that.
When they met again at the audition, seeing Fang Xuran's attitude towards Shi Yao, Pei Zixuan was once again certain of his thoughts. He felt that Fang Xuran seemed to have developed a budding affection for Shi Yao. It sounded a bit strange, but that was how she reacted.
However, when the three of them met again on this collaborative stage, Pei Zixuan felt that Fang Xuran's feelings for Shi Yao were probably more than just a simple case of a fledgling's affection.
He didn't even dare to think about it any further, because he realized that those words seemed to be said to more than just Fang Xuran.
Shi Yao treats every client with the same responsibility, the same care, the same meticulous attention, and the same results that exceed expectations.
They didn't care at all either.
She never cares about what others think of her and does whatever she wants, but her outstanding professional skills make her irresistible.
Previously, Pei Zixuan would have cared about Shi Yao's attitude. After all, he had been an artist for so long, and the people around him were always very polite, and the fans were always very enthusiastic. Few people treated him like that. But after he found out that she treated everyone the same way, he didn't care anymore.
But there seems to be one exception: that trainee, Yingxu.
The fact that Ying Xu could become Shi Yao's client was full of suspicious points, but Pei Zixuan didn't know where to start investigating, and he felt it was very impolite, so he could only keep his head down and think about it.
Shi Yao's attentiveness and protectiveness towards Xu were very obvious. When Pei Zixuan first confronted Shi Yao, she was quite surprised. From her reaction, Pei Zixuan could deduce that she thought the trainee client wouldn't recognize her.
These two have never even officially met?!
However, Pei Zixuan knew from observing Yingxu that he knew Shi Yao's identity, but Shi Yao didn't know that he knew, and he seemed not to want Shi Yao to know either.
These two have never even revealed their true identities, yet they were able to cooperate, and Shi Yao was so dedicated, which is even more puzzling.
He once asked Shi Yao why she was so responsible, and Shi Yao said that she was a person who would not do anything without a profit, and everything she did was for the purpose of making money.
Her behavior perfectly matched this standard, so Pei Zixuan believed her.
But now it seems like that's not the case.
Pei Zixuan couldn't figure out the problem himself, so he simply passed it on to his friend. Fang Xuran was already troubled, so he might as well be even more troubled. It would be even better if he could figure out the answer for him.
He glanced down at Fang Xuran, who was deep in thought, and sensed that the other person probably couldn't figure it out.
Fang Xuran remained surprised after learning who the client was, his eyes somewhat glazed over, until Pei Zixuan snapped his fingers in front of him.
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
Fang Xuran snapped out of her daze and said somewhat blankly, "I'm wondering, how could it be him?"
No, perhaps it should be, it really was him, but how come he didn't recognize him at all before?
After obtaining the result, Fang Xuran tried to deduce it from the opposite perspective and found that it was actually very obvious, but he hadn't noticed it under his own nose.
Thinking of Yingxu's face, Fang Xuran suddenly recalled the answer to the question he had pestered Shi Yao to ask before.
"He's better looking than you."
Fang Xuran was quite angry at the time, thinking that Shi Yao was deliberately arguing with him to annoy him again, but now that the person and the face match up, he realized that Shi Yao really wasn't lying.
He felt a strange pang of sadness, but he didn't know how to express it.
"This kid's got pretty good luck." Fang Xuran managed to utter only this one sentence after holding it in for a long time.
Pei Zixuan, unusually, didn't argue, but nodded in agreement: "Indeed."
It's really lucky to have met Shi Yao so early in life and have her protecting me.
Fang Xuran would rather Pei Zixuan argue with him at this moment. The thought of this promise made him unhappy in every way. The more he thought about it, the more headache he got. He simply got up, picked up his bag, and said, "I'm going back to the film set."
Pei Zixuan reached out and pulled him: "Aren't you going to look at him? That trainee?"
Fang Xuran was speechless and rolled her eyes at him: "Why would I look at him?"
"Shi Yao isn't going back with you, most likely because of this guy. I heard they're having a fan meeting tomorrow, and a few days later, she even opened a fan site for him, so she's probably putting a lot of effort into it," Pei Zixuan said coolly from behind. "Of course, she's been here all this time, definitely for this guy too. How long has she been here? How many days off did she take from the film crew?"
Fang Xuran got angry again as she listened. She originally thought Shi Yao wasn't going back because of the new client, but now she felt it was probably because of the new client.
Shi Yao promised to treat everyone equally, but why doesn't that apply to this person?
"How long will the meeting last?" Fang Xuran asked abruptly.
Pei Zixuan asked in surprise, "What, you want to go?"
Fang Xuran neither denied nor admitted it: "Just tell me which day it is."
He really wanted to see what Shi Yao was like when she was working for someone else.
He needed to confirm his feelings.
Author's Note: I'm late again, sorry! I went out to dinner with my middle school teacher tonight, and it accidentally took me a little longer than expected.
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