Shang Yechu looked at the young and inexperienced Ji Juntao with great interest, finding him quite amusing. If this were the future CEO of Qingping Entertainment, Shang Yechu would probably have been skinned alive by now. But the current Ji Juntao seemed unable to hide his true abilities.
Ji Juntao was silent for a moment, then said, "You also think I have a lot of potential?"
Even Ji Juntao himself didn't believe this. What potential could be gleaned from a single email?
Shang Yechu knew that this reason was not very convincing, so she said, "The entertainment industry is a dirty place. If you don't want to do things you 'don't want to do,' you must have your own voice."
Ji Juntao understood: "With your current status, it's very difficult to gain a voice in a large company. But—"
Ji Juntao chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Entertainment is fine in Qingdao."
Qingping Entertainment is still in its infancy; calling it a fly-by-night entertainment company would be an understatement. It's basically just a small, licensed workshop. Although Shang Yechu has just barely reached the second-tier level, that's still a height that Qingping Entertainment can't even dream of.
It's foreseeable that for at least the next year or two, Qingping Entertainment will be almost entirely supported by Shang Yechu. Having signed such a patron, it's hard not to act like a subservient subordinate. Moreover, that's for fifteen years!
A five-year contract is very disadvantageous for entertainment companies. After all, the time it takes to invest resources to cultivate an artist with some popularity—even with extremely good luck—is only about three to five years. By then, the artist has just started to gain some recognition, and the company hasn't even reaped the benefits of that popularity yet, and the contract expires!
Traffic has gone to other companies; the entertainment industry doesn't have that much sentimentality. Small companies are like trampolines, free to jump around as they please without constraints. Top stars either become sweethearts of big companies or go solo and open their own studios, leaving the companies that poured resources into them in a mess, weeping over sunk costs that can't be recovered.
But things will be different in fifteen years...
Ji Juntao's heart pounded uncontrollably. Fifteen years—this showed that Ye Chu had confidence in her and Qingping Entertainment, believing that this small company with its mud walls and tiled roof could survive for fifteen years.
Or perhaps, Ye Chu had confidence in herself. She felt that Ye Chu's involvement would allow Qingping Entertainment to survive for another fifteen years!
Ji Juntao pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "I can indeed relinquish some of the power of discourse you desire. But it absolutely cannot be as much as you wrote."
This is a sign that the conversation is softening.
Shang Yechu picked up a pen and drew a line on the cover of the draft contract: "How far do you think I can go?"
Ji Juntao said slowly, "Your acting skills are very good, and you are also very good-looking. I have watched many of your plays and interviews, and I think you can go very far."
You can't make promises you can't keep. In this industry, no one can guarantee that anyone will become famous.
“But I want to say that I will go further than you can imagine.” Shang Yechu said slowly and deliberately, “Perhaps I can usher in a new era—taking you and your company to places never before seen.”
Shang Yechu's words were extremely arrogant and self-satisfied, with a hint of self-praise. However, Ji Juntao did not find them laughable.
"What a coincidence." Ji Juntao suddenly laughed. "My dream is also to lead my company to unprecedented heights. In this respect, our goals are aligned."
"Does this goal convince you?"
“Of course not.” Ji Juntao said without hesitation, “If you had a decent starring role, perhaps our conversation could continue.”
This is a common tactic for haggling, and Shang Yechu is very familiar with it. After all, the elderly people on the pedestrian street haggle every day.
Ji Juntao was certain that Shang Yechu wouldn't sign with a big company, so he couldn't help but want to take a gamble.
Shang Yechu unlocked her phone and pulled out a group photo. It was a picture of Zheng Bohan and Shang Yechu together. Zheng Bohan had a naturally serious expression, but couldn't hide his relaxed demeanor. Shang Yechu sat beside him, casually eating sunflower seeds.
Do you know him?
Ji Juntao was taken aback: "Zheng Bohan?"
This face is practically unrecognizable in the industry. Rumor has it that Xu Hanwen has started taking sleeping pills to help him sleep because of Zheng Bohan's situation. The other man's madness even infuriated Xu Guanjun, the CEO of Guanjun Century, who privately cursed him quite a few times.
Shang Yechu scrolled through a few more photos. The second photo was a picture of Su Ge and Shang Yechu together. In the picture, Shang Yechu was sternly correcting Su Ge's posture so that her death could be more romantic and tragic. Su Ge made a funny face at Shang Yechu, sticking out her tongue, which looked ridiculous.
In addition, there are photos of Shang Yechu watching Su Ge memorize her lines (it takes such a huge amount of effort to memorize those pitifully short two lines, leaving Shang Yechu exhausted), photos of Su Ge and Shang Yechu feeding each other cake, photos of Su Ge eating cabbage while Shang Yechu sits next to her eating roast duck, and photos of Su Ge sneaking a bite of roast duck from Shang Yechu's lunchbox when she's not looking...
There are many photos, and each one conveys the same message: we have a good relationship.
Ji Juntao certainly knew Su Ge. The well-known Crown Princess in the industry. He hadn't expected her to have such a good relationship with Shang Yechu.
Shang Yechu said unhurriedly, "You recognize all the people in the photo. But you may not know that I am Teacher Zheng's last disciple."
That's not entirely untrue. Zheng Bohan doesn't have the habit of taking on disciples, and he acknowledges that Shang Yechu's success as a student is entirely due to Shang Yechu's hard work. Given that it's unlikely anyone will work as hard as Shang Yechu in the future, calling him his last disciple seems... plausible.
This title immediately intimidated Ji Juntao. If it were the old Zheng Bohan, it wouldn't be a problem, but this was the Zheng Bohan of today!
With "The Tale of Clouds" in his hands, Zheng Bohan was treated to a grand welcome by Mai Zhenye when he visited Maita Films.
This is something you can't lie about, because it'll be exposed as soon as you expose it. Ji Juntao had no choice but to believe it.
Shang Yechu shamelessly capitalized on Zheng Bohan's popularity, and then started using Su Ge to glorify herself: "Su Ge and I are friends. She has said many times that if I am willing to join Meta Pictures, she can vouch for me and help me with many things."
Everyone in the industry knows how much Meta Pictures favors Su Ge. If Su Ge's connections are indeed involved, Shang Yechu would also have a certain degree of "say" within Meta Pictures.
Qingping Entertainment was upgraded overnight. After all, Shang Yechu had Meta Pictures as a backup plan, so he chose to try out this makeshift operation first. It was incredibly generous of Ji Juntao!
Ji Juntao's arrogance immediately deflated by half.
She truly wanted Shang Yechu. The first time Ji Juntao saw Shang Yechu's performance on television, she had a gut feeling that this girl was no ordinary person.
But what she wants is a little too much...
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