Chapter 15: Top Ten Scholars
"I'm already suffering enough, and you're still laughing!" Seeing Li Sishi's crescent-shaped eyes, Ling Chen looked aggrieved and dissatisfied. "Once you enter the industry, you'll understand that what I said is true..."
"You have so much confidence in me?" Li Sishi looked at him with a smile.
"I have confidence in my own judgment," Ling Chen said very seriously. "Do you believe that after this music video is released, a lot of so-called talent scouts will come looking for you?"
Before Li Sishi could reply, he continued on his own: "But you must keep your eyes open and see clearly, don't be fooled. If you really don't understand, you can call me and ask me. I have a mobile phone, so I can answer anytime..."
Seeing that he was still complaining about how he had taken the initiative to give out his phone number but then nothing came of it, Li Sishi smiled even more broadly: "Okay, okay, I understand. I'll definitely contact you when I have the chance."
“Then it’s settled!” Ling Chen emphasized, “As long as you contact me, I will answer the phone no matter how tired or sleepy I am.”
It's probably because after entering this circle, there are fewer and fewer people I can open up to. When I do meet one, I want to hold on to them.
The connection and fate between people are always so mysterious.
Of course, one thing is undeniable: the girl in front of me is truly pleasing to the eye and captivating. Just looking at her makes you want to cherish her, like seeing an extremely beautiful flower, and you subconsciously don't want to let her suffer from wind and rain.
Looking at Li Sishi sitting on the sofa, continuing to study the script diligently, Ling Chen thought to himself.
Sometimes, those who admire the scenery are unaware that they themselves, from another perspective, have become part of someone else's scenery.
Through the gap above the script, Li Sishi glanced up at Ling Chen, who was sitting by the window in front of her for the audition.
Young people in their early twenties are at the most vibrant and beautiful time of their lives. A ray of sunlight shines obliquely on the vase on the table by the window, and their clean and clear eyes reflect the sunlight and the blooming flowers, as if they can make even this hot and irritating summer day more lovely.
Soon after the three-day filming ended, Li Sishi decisively returned to her previous life, and apart from helping out at her uncle's "Good Luck Tea Restaurant", she basically didn't show her face anymore.
This actually boosted business for the tea restaurant.
Zhou Huichang, who is well-informed, once came home and laughed, saying that everyone was saying that there was a stunningly beautiful "Egg Tart Princess" at their family's tea restaurant...
"You haven't seen it before. Your aunt used to be called 'Egg' too."
"It's 'Ta Xi Shi'!" Upon hearing this nickname, Zhou Jiayun couldn't help but reminisce about the past.
Zhou Jiaxian, who was helping to wipe the table, froze: "Hey, why are you bringing up Xian Fengnian's affairs and letting these kids laugh at me!"
“Aunt, don’t be afraid of him. Tell me some gossip about my father and I’ll make you laugh!” Zhou Huiguang immediately “sold his father for personal gain” when he had the chance.
Before Zhou Huiguang could finish speaking, his mother, Liang Shao'e, came over and grabbed his ear, yelling, "You brat! All you do is bully your father!"
"Alright, alright, Guangzai is still young, he's just a kid, he's just a kid, he's just a kid, haha..." The neighbors next to him quickly chimed in.
"And he calls that 'childish talk'? He has his high school entrance exams next year and all he thinks about is playing video games all day long!" Liang Shao'e was even angrier.
"Auntie, I'll try my best to tutor Changchang and Guangzai. Please let him off this time." Seeing Liang Shao'e's expression, Li Sishi, who originally just wanted to watch the show, quickly came over to persuade her.
After much persuasion, Liang Shao'e was finally calmed down.
Li Sishi started chatting with the neighbors again, hoping to build a good rapport.
This group of elderly people are all influential figures in the neighborhood. Getting to know them a little would be helpful for her in the future—for example, if she wants to participate in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, they could help persuade Leung Siu-ngor and "campaign" for her, etc.
Although there are no public voting events yet, if a contestant is popular enough, TV stations will usually tacitly ensure their popularity is maintained until the final night in order to boost ratings.
Even though she was quite confident in herself, she had experienced the disastrous failure of being a hot favorite back then. Of course, she wanted to have an extra layer of protection so that she wouldn't be overconfident this time and end up failing even more miserably.
Thinking of this, Li Sishi's smile became even more endearing and sweet.
It's estimated that no one could have imagined that Li Sishi would choose the wrinkled, white-haired old man over a handsome young man without hesitation... Therefore, after not receiving a call from Li Sishi for many days, not only in the early hours of the morning, but even her agent Lei Jun admitted that he had never seen such a "unique" girl.
Most people would be thrilled to receive the phone number of a hotshot, and incredibly handsome, woman; but for Li Sishi, it was as if the phone number was never given at all…
"You mean...is it because she felt we were a bit too far apart, so..." They'd waited so long and still hadn't received the promised phone call. (The call was interrupted.)
In the early hours of the morning, while resting in the lounge, he suddenly realized why his friends had gradually drifted apart from him.
They had clearly agreed that no matter how the world changed, their friendship would never change. But when he finally managed to find time to contact them amidst his busy work, those who were once close and intimate became distant and indifferent.
It wasn't that there weren't people whose attitudes became more enthusiastic, but he didn't want to get to know those people better anymore.
“Sigh, that’s just how it is in our line of work. The higher you stand, the fewer people you have around you.” Lei Jun patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.
Actually, he was not only thinking about it in the early morning, but also quite concerned about it: when the MV was being filmed, Li Sishi was a little awkward the first time, but she immediately adjusted the second time. Her sense of camera presence was no less than that of someone with many filming experiences in the early morning, and she performed very naturally and smoothly. It was clear that she was born to do this job.
In this industry, good talent is just as rare as good resources. After filming the music video, Lei Jun, eager to get his hands on a model, contacted Luo Xuan, the manager who provided the model, hoping to obtain Li Sishi's contact information from him.
Rather than waiting for the single's music video to be produced and released before competing with others, he might as well take this opportunity to secure this promising talent early on. Although he was already extremely busy managing just one person in the early morning, there's never too much good talent. Even if he didn't have time to mentor them himself, he could still let his friends, apprentices, and others mentor them first.
Female and male artists generally don't have overlapping resources, so there's no need to worry about Li Sishi competing with Ling Chen for anything. On the contrary, if she's sensible and lucky enough, she and Ling Chen can even help each other out.
Unfortunately, when Lei Jun excitedly contacted Luo Xuan, the young man, he was told that Li Sishi was only a temporary replacement. Moreover, she was a student who had just finished her high school entrance exams and her family was very strict, so there were no plans to sign her to a long-term contract for the time being.
"When we were filming, she brought her cousin to visit the set, and you even signed a lot of autographs for her cousin! They were the kind of autographs with special notes that were specially given to her cousin!"
At this point, most agents in this industry treat their artists like their own children. Lei Jun's current appearance was just like that of a precious son he cherished and protected, who had been taken advantage of by a heartless and scumbag woman who then refused to acknowledge his relationship...
"Well, if she does well in school, it'll be good if she can find a good job in the future. After these past few days, I've come to understand quite a bit."
"Sigh, Leo, it's not that I didn't teach you well, it's just that most of the time, reading..."
"Academic performance is like cooking skills; the prettier a girl is, the less likely she is to be good at it..." Lei Jun said earnestly.
“Speaking doesn’t have to be so absolute; there are always exceptions to everything,” Ling Chen said.
"I hope so, but no matter how good her grades are, she won't be able to appear in newspapers, magazines, or on TV shows like you..." Lei Jun waved his hand.
Although one's fate is unpredictable, in Lei Jun's view, Li Sishi, who comes from a low-class squatter family and attends Band 3 Secondary School, is less likely to change her fate by relying on her academic achievements than by hoping to one day meet a rich young man.
After all, with such beauty and such a situation, if she doesn't enter the entertainment industry, the only way to change her fate is to get married, which is both the simplest and the most difficult.
In this era where poverty is mocked but prostitution is not, Lei Jun has seen too many young girls who, relying on their looks, attempt to marry into wealthy families and change their social standing. Among them, those with good grades strive to become secretaries in large companies, while those with poor grades work as waitresses in various Western restaurants and yacht clubs...
Cinderella stories of marrying into wealthy families are common, but unfortunately, the stories of those who did not succeed in marrying into wealthy families are rarely told.
"Anyway, everyone has their own destiny. Leo, I don't object to you dating, but please don't hide anything from me, otherwise my work will be in trouble, and it may also cause problems for your future." Lei Jun sighed and said.
"What are you talking about? I didn't mean that at all!" Ling Chen quickly clarified. "I don't have time to date, I don't even have enough time to rest!"
When he said the last sentence, his voice even carried a hint of grievance and pitifulness.
"That would be perfect." Seeing that his expression didn't seem fake, Lei Jun turned his attention back to him. "Also, don't always worry about resting with me. Others would love to be this busy. Don't take your good fortune for granted!"
"I understand..." Ling Chen covered his head and lowered his head.
"That's more like it. Okay, you can rest here for a bit. I've already asked someone to buy you breakfast. You've been recording all night, you need to eat something nutritious." Lei Jun waved his hand with satisfaction.
He nodded in the early morning, then casually put his two long legs on the small stool opposite him, and immediately fell asleep on his rest chair with his legs stretched out.
He didn't know how much time had passed—anyway, he felt he hadn't slept for long—before he was suddenly shaken awake by the person next to him.
"What's going on? Is there another announcement so soon?!" Ling Chen reflexively opened his eyes, almost jumping up in a panic.
“Alright, I understand why Ah May hasn’t contacted you…” Lei Jun said, shoving the newspaper in his hand directly at Ling Chen, who was completely bewildered.
"What... Beauty and intelligence combined? The top scorer in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations goes to Band 3 Secondary School?!" Ling Chen took the book in bewilderment and was immediately struck by the overly prominent headline and Li Sishi's face, which, though simple, was undeniably beautiful.
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