Chapter 172 Blizzard
Even after the night shoot ended, Xia Mian still felt guilty and went to find Ji Cen in his dressing room. He had already contacted the most famous private hospital in the vicinity; the medical facilities there were excellent, the doctors were highly qualified, and the privacy was strong, so it shouldn't cause any trouble for Ji Cen.
Ji Cen laughed in exasperation: "Xia, sit here for a while. I need to remove my makeup. After I remove it, take a look. If there's a problem, I'll go to the hospital with you, okay?"
“Okay,” Xia Mian nodded, “If this isn’t resolved, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
To put his mind at ease, Ji Cen quickly called his assistant to help him remove his makeup. Jiang Chun passed by and saw the two people inside chatting and laughing, looking surprised: "You two know each other? The weather station has issued a blizzard warning, hurry back to the hotel."
Ji Cen didn't reply to the previous sentence, but only said, "Is it safe for you to walk by yourself? Wait for us, we'll go back together."
Jiang Chun, a former child star, had been in the industry for so long that she instantly understood something. She waved to them and said, "I'm not waiting for you two stinky men. I need to go back and catch up on my sleep. Bye-bye."
After saying that, he walked away gracefully.
Ji Cen turned to Xia Mian and pouted, "I filmed an advertisement all night yesterday, and today I traveled to Yunshan non-stop. I only slept for a while on the way, and I'm super, super sleepy."
Xia Mian: "I'm fine. I've been unemployed at home lately and getting plenty of sleep."
“I wish I were unemployed like you,” Ji Cen said with a jealous expression. “Your partner treats you so well. If I were you, I wouldn’t want to go out and work.”
Xia Mian sensed something was amiss. His marriage to Zhou Pingchuan had caused a sensation online, so it was normal for Ji Cen to know about his marital status. But how did Ji Cen know that Zhou Pingchuan was good to him?
Even in casual conversation, you shouldn't say things like that. After all, every family has its own problems, and you might accidentally touch a sore spot with your words—for example, telling a female celebrity who has been abused that her husband treats her well could easily lead to resentment.
Being careful with your words and actions is quite important in this circle.
Xia Mian had a sudden thought: perhaps... Ji Cen knows Zhou Pingchuan?
"You're done removing your makeup, go wipe your face." At this moment, the assistant reminded Ji Cen that he had finished removing his makeup and handed him two face towels.
Ji Cen started wiping his face and applying skincare products. Xia Mian wanted to ask him, but seeing that he was busy, she didn't ask.
After removing her makeup, Xia Mian looked at Ji Cen from all angles for a long time and indeed did not see any whip marks on his face. She breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Are you relieved now? Come on, I think it's really going to snow," Ji Cen said.
"Okay. Brother Cen, where did you park your car?"
"Parking lot C, it's so cold I don't want to walk an inch further. Xia, can I hitch a ride with you?"
Parking lot C was the furthest from the film set entrance, and Xia Mian, who wanted to get information from him anyway, readily agreed without saying anything.
As the year draws to a close, the weather is getting colder and colder, reaching the depths of winter. Unlike the north where the cold can cause headaches, the damp, chilly winds mixed with snowflakes in Yunshan are still quite unbearable.
The driver had already warmed up the car and was waiting at the exit of the film studio. The two of them, disregarding their image, crouched down and jumped into the car with a heavy sense of unease.
"That's why I said I really want to stay home and stay unemployed like you. It's so cold, I don't want to go out at all!" Ji Cen's teeth were chattering from the cold.
Xia Mian was wondering how to start the conversation when the other person took the initiative, so he followed up with, "Where are you from?"
“I grew up in Los Angeles, and later returned to China to film movies, so I rarely come to the north.”
“No wonder, the climate in Los Angeles is indeed pleasant, like spring all year round,” Xia Mian paused, “Actually, staying at home isn’t so great either. My partner is very busy with work, and we only see each other a few times a day.”
"It's normal to be busy with work, as long as you're good to me, that's enough."
"Being nice to me? Have I?" Xia Mian feigned doubt.
"Of course. In order for me to come and save the day, Sister Dan turned down two variety shows, both of which were prime-time slots on established satellite TV channels. Variety shows are the most profitable, you should know that."
Xia Mian didn't recognize her: "Sister Dan is..."
"Lü Dan, my studio's consultant, and also a senior executive at Changhai Century, don't you know her?"
When the name "Lü Dan" was mentioned, Xia Mian had a vague recollection of her, but couldn't remember who she was. However, when Changhai Century was mentioned, his memory instantly returned.
After terminating his contract with Yuantong Media, he was contacted by two major talent agencies at the same time. One is Oriental Entertainment, which he is now signed with, and the other is Changhai Century.
The woman who was in charge of liaising with him at Changhai Century was named Lü Dan.
“I remember now,” Xia Mian said, “she once offered to sign me.”
“Sign you? Impossible! It’s not that you’re bad, but Sister Dan retired from being an agent a long time ago. Now she’s a senior executive and shareholder of Changhai Century, in charge of publicity and distribution. How could she personally sign artists? She’s an advisor in my studio, and she’s also holding shares on behalf of Changhai Century.”
Xia Mian frowned. Although it had been a long time, he still vividly remembered the woman handing him a blank contract and telling him to make any demands he wanted. He also clearly remembered that the business card the woman gave him was labeled Lü Dan.
Ji Cen: "Oh, I see. It must have been Jay Chou who asked Sister Dan to contact you. Once you sign a contract, you'll be under Sister Dan's name, and other agents definitely won't dare to bully you or steal your resources. This is a kind of indirect protection, which is very beneficial to you."
Xia Mian frowned even more deeply—how did Zhou Pingchuan and Changhai Century get involved again?
Seeing his reaction, Ji Cen slapped his forehead, his face full of disbelief: "Xia, you don't know that Changhai Century is a Kepler company, do you?"
Xia Mian: "...I don't know."
"So you didn't know that Jay Chou personally called me?"
aestivation:"…………"
Because of her exceptional talent, Ji Cen entered the industry by accident and has never signed with a management company—nor does she need to. Her face and acting skills are her trademarks.
But everything has two sides. His small team was fine with doing odd jobs, but not so good at public relations. After running for a while, the shortcomings gradually became apparent.
On one occasion, Ji Cen's TV series clashed with those of a male actor of the same type. In order to compete for market share, the rival spent a lot of money to falsely accuse him of being arrogant and bullying.
His rivals were famous early on, had many die-hard fans, and their management companies were highly skilled. His team was besieged layer by layer and had no way to defend themselves.
During his darkest time, Changhai Century stepped in to help him.
After the matter was resolved, he signed an agency operation agreement with Shengshi Changhai. Shengshi Changhai would be fully responsible for his resources, publicity and public relations, but would not restrict his freedom. The price was 50% of the studio's shares - these shares were held by Lü Dan on his behalf.
Over the years, Shengshi Changhai has kept its promise, not interfering in his life, not taking on roles for him, giving him enough freedom, and protecting his creative talent.
This is the first time that Sister Dan has directly canceled a variety show that was already in the process of going through the procedures, and strongly demanded that he come to save the day.
It was also the first time that someone he had only heard of from Sister Dan but had never met, and who never got involved in the company's entertainment sector, personally called him to invite him to participate in "The Legend of the Dragon".
Hearing Ji Cen's words, Xia Mian looked at the blizzard swirling in the wind outside and touched her chest.
There was a wall he had built himself.
Now that the storm has passed, the surging winds seem capable of tearing everything apart, overturning everything, and sweeping everything away.
Even the sturdy city walls began to loosen slowly.
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