"Don't forget, you still owe me a meal." As they parted, Fang Xing Zhi left her with those words before walking away.
Xiang QingWei was stunned for quite some time.
She had thought that after their meal yesterday, since Fang Xing Zhi hadn't contacted her again and his demeanor today was polite yet distant, it was clear he had no intention of furthering their relationship. She assumed his comment about waiting for her call was just a courtesy, but now this sudden statement left her puzzled.
Xiang QingWei's usually sharp analytical skills seemed to falter when it came to Fang Xing Zhi.
However, she quickly put this out of her mind.
She soon met up with the assistant Xiao Yang, who had come to pick her up, and they headed to the hotel where Tao Yuner was staying.
Tao Yuner was an artist Xiang QingWei had signed under her wing last year.
Tao Yuner, born in '95 and 24 years old this year, might sound young, but for a female actress, it's not particularly so. An actress's prime starts as early as fifteen or sixteen, with fresh faces emerging every year. Now, the new generation of post-2000s actresses were already eagerly vying for their place in the industry.
Tao Yuner had her moment of glory too. Discovered by a talent scout while shopping at a supermarket at fifteen, she starred in her first movie and then won the Golden Lion Award for Best Actress.
At 15, she was the youngest Golden Lion Award-winning actress in history.
Her fame was unrivaled for a time.
Countless media and fans chased after her, and she quickly lost her way amidst the glamour.
After that movie, she received numerous film offers.
Yet, she always managed to pick the worst scripts and deliver the most lackluster performances.
The saying "peaking at debut" couldn't be more apt for Tao Yuner.
The spirited girl who burst onto the scene faded just as quickly within three years, like a night-blooming cereus wilting at dawn.
Last year, at twenty-three, the only noteworthy work she had was her debut film.
On Douban, her debut scored a 9.0, while the average rating for all her works was a mere 4.3.
Some believed Tao Yuner had used up all her talent in that first movie.
Others thought she had ground away her spark in a series of flops.
The year before last, she finally terminated her contract with her agency. Without any acting gigs for nearly a year, she frequented various variety shows. Unfortunately, she lacked a knack for them and was particularly delicate. Once, after losing a challenge to another guest, she cried on the spot, embarrassing the other guest and inviting a wave of criticism online after the episode aired.
She even got into arguments with netizens on Weibo, which became a laughing stock.
Later, a fan messaged her privately, expressing sadness at seeing her current state and disappointment that she hadn't returned to acting after leaving her previous company. The fan said they could no longer support her journey.
After reading this message, Tao Yuner cried all night. The next day, with eyes swollen like walnuts, she resolved to "turn over a new leaf and start anew."
She declined many variety show offers and began reaching out to different agencies.
It wasn't that no agencies wanted to sign her, but after discussions, they all planned to position her as a variety show personality.
Tao Yuner couldn't accept that.
In desperation, she approached Xiang QingWei's company—one of the largest in the industry, boasting over twenty active agents and hundreds of artists. No matter how the entertainment industry shook up, it stood firm.
Yet of those twenty-plus agents, none were willing to take her on.
Mainly because Tao Yuner's expectations and asking price were high, and her public favorability had plummeted to such lows that she had become a joke, nobody wanted to deal with the mess.
In the end, it was Fu Yanbai who tossed Tao Yuner's profile to Xiang QingWei: "See if you can handle it."
Xiang QingWei only glanced at Tao Yuner's name before bluntly asking, "A relation?"
Fu Yanbai casually replied, "A daughter of an old friend."
Xiang QingWei said no more and took the profile with her.
It took Xiang QingWei three days to review Tao Yuner's representative works, both good and bad, and watch a few episodes of variety shows she guest-starred in. After thoroughly scouring Tao Yuner's Weibo, she found the time to invite Tao Yuner to a private meeting at an exclusive club.
After three hours alone in a private room with Xiang QingWei, Tao Yuner emerged wearing large sunglasses, hiding swollen eyes as big as walnuts.
Tao Yuner later felt that Xiang QingWei had wasted her talent by not becoming a pyramid scheme leader. That day, Tao Yuner had barely spoken a few words before being persuaded, then subtly brainwashed during their three-hour talk, crying the entire time. Under Xiang QingWei's coaxing, she signed an unfair contract.
"I have only one requirement of you: no matter what happens, you must listen to me. If you can do that, I will help you get what you want."
Reflecting on it, Tao Yuner felt that there was something almost magical in Xiang QingWei's gaze when she said those words, compelling her to trust her implicitly and sign the contract on the spot.
Whenever Tao Yuner had objections to Xiang QingWei's arrangements, Xiang QingWei would silence her with her own words, leaving her with grievances she couldn't express.
But Xiang QingWei indeed had the ability.
Tao Yuner couldn't have imagined last year that in just one year, she would undergo such a dramatic transformation—from having no roles to choose from to now having over a dozen scripts awaiting her decision. Previously, searching her name on Weibo would only bring up mockery, but now, nine out of ten posts praised her cuteness and converted haters to fans.
Thus, she felt choosing Xiang QingWei as her agent was the best decision she had ever made.
Well, in fact, it was Xiang QingWei who had chosen her.
In just one year, Xiang QingWei had revitalized Tao Yuner's career, bringing her back into the public eye with a brand-new image.
Tao Yuner's case also earned Xiang QingWei recognition within the industry.
The first thing Xiang QingWei did after taking over Tao Yuner was to take control of her Weibo account and delete all its content.
Tao Yuner had a bit of a spat with Xiang QingWei over this matter but was quickly subdued.
Then, Xiang QingWei suspended all of Tao Yuner’s work, instructing her to stay at home and watch the movies and TV series clips she had acted in, arranged by rating from highest to lowest.
Xiang QingWei even had someone compile all the TV series clips Tao Yuner had appeared in.
Initially, Tao Yuner refused. Honestly, she had tried watching her own movies and TV dramas before but always felt incredibly embarrassed, so she rarely watched her own films.
Except for her debut work, her pride and joy, which she would secretly watch at home whenever she felt down.
So, when Xiang QingWei made her watch those films with an average rating of just over 4, she showed strong resistance.
On the first day she was forced to watch, she even threw up.
That was the first time she realized how "ruthless" Xiang QingWei could be.
After throwing up, Xiang QingWei had her rinse her mouth and then pushed her back onto the sofa to continue watching.
She watched for three whole days.
At first, she was so embarrassed and ashamed that she almost tore through her slippers.
She had always thought the criticism from netizens was unfair. Although the films were bad, her acting wasn't!
But after watching non-stop for three days, she had to admit that her acting was indeed terrible.
She suddenly realized.
She had always been living in her own world.
And Xiang QingWei had pushed her into the real world.
She had never understood why she ended up in such a state.
Now she finally understood.
Understanding is the beginning of change, and Xiang QingWei wanted her to understand and then change.
Xiang QingWei used her connections to send Tao Yuner to Yuncheng Film Academy, then took her to visit a retired film academy teacher, a legend in the industry. Teacher Tu's classes always had one or two students who became known for their acting. She was famously good at training people.
Xiang QingWei first tried using her connections but was rejected, so she took Tao Yuner for a visit.
After persistently visiting for half a month, Teacher Tu was finally moved by Xiang QingWei's determination.
Teacher Tu's exact words were that she had never met someone as persuasive and annoying as Xiang QingWei.
She agreed to Xiang QingWei's request out of annoyance.
In reality, it was because Xiang QingWei slipped a letter through her door every day. One day, out of boredom and curiosity, Teacher Tu finally read Xiang QingWei's handwritten letter and agreed to take Tao Yuner under her wing.
It definitely wasn't because Xiang QingWei managed to acquire a precious manuscript from a deceased literary figure for her!
After Teacher Tu agreed to train Tao Yuner, Xiang QingWei left her at the school for three whole months, not checking in at all.
But because teacher Tu liked cherries, a box of cherries was delivered every day.
Teacher Tu called Xiang QingWei to say she couldn't finish them all.
Xiang QingWei suggested on the phone, "If you can't finish them, let your neighbors help you out."
Teacher Tu had no reply, but as the saying goes, "One who takes the gift cannot refuse the giver." She took teaching Tao Yuner even more seriously.
While Tao Yuner was left in the academy enduring rigorous training, thinking Xiang QingWei had forgotten about her, Xiang QingWei showed up with a script.
Only then did she realize that Xiang QingWei hadn't been idle these three months. She had spent a significant amount of money and three months polishing a script, tailoring a web series for her!
Although she had never acted in web series before, thinking they were beneath her, after being "trained" by Teacher Tu for three months, her passion for acting was at an all-time high, and she no longer despised web series. She eagerly devoured the script.
Tao Yuner adored the script!
She read it with such enthusiasm, forgetting to sleep and eat, sometimes laughing foolishly, sometimes rolling on the bed.
Although she had some reservations about the "washed-up actress" character setup for the female lead, her love for the script outweighed everything else. She excitedly agreed to act in it.
"Whether you're willing or not, you're going to act in it. But of course, it's best that you're willing," Xiang QingWei said "gently."
On the first day of the official shooting, Xiang QingWei had Tao Yuner post a Weibo. She took a picture of the script's cover, uploaded it, and captioned it with a single phrase: "Starting anew."
After the message was released, it was met with a wave of mockery. Essentially, it boiled down to Tao Yuner having fallen so low as to start filming such low-budget web dramas, with a male lead who was barely known, ranking at the eighteenth tier of actors.
This time, Tao Yuner made up her mind not to pay attention to those rumors and cut off all contact with the outside world, immersing herself completely in the production crew. She was determined to prove everyone wrong.
This low-budget web drama was not expected to succeed by anyone before its release, primarily due to the lack of appeal from both the male and female leads. The male lead had only ever played supporting roles before. Although his acting was decent, he was tall, had single eyelids and long legs, and possessed a unique charisma, he didn't fit the traditional aesthetic preferences of the audience. And the female lead, even more so.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, this seemingly unremarkable low-budget web drama exploded in popularity, becoming a massive hit just six episodes into its release!
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The entire book has been translated, with a total of 414K words and more than 1,200 pages.
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