Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, starting with the strategy of 95 flowers to counterattack

Chapter 121 New Company, Signing Artist Yang Chaoyue

In the film set's rest area, Gu Yang, sipping coffee, pulled Shen Wei into a corner. "Old Shen, I'm planning to start a new company, specializing in girl groups!"

Shen Wei almost choked on his lunchbox: "Girl group?"

In an instant, he was so excited that his whole body trembled!

"Great idea! I fully support it, bro! Girl groups are awesome!" He said, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth. "But why the sudden urge to form a girl group?"

"You don't understand!" Gu Yang gave him a disdainful look. "Talent shows are so popular now, we can train our own girl group and then just put them on the show."

"Do we have anyone with us?"

Suddenly, he understood.

"Oh, I get it. You bastard, you're definitely after Zhang Jingyi and want to promote her, right?"

"You don't need to be in a girl group, do you? She's studying acting! Or did she take a fancy to that girl who studies dance?"

"You're really a newborn, aren't you? You're so small, yet you don't even spare me!"

"Fuck you," Gu Yang kicked him and lowered his voice, "There's a small company in Shanghai called Wenlan Culture that signed a trainee named Yang Chaoyue."

"I saw this girl on my last live stream. She's pretty good-looking and quite popular with viewers. Go and bring her over here!"

? ? ? ? ?

"This???" Shen Wei frowned. "They signed a contract, how can they just dig it up like that?"

“That’s just a small company, they don’t even have a million in their accounts.” Gu Yang popped a mint into his mouth. “Take the contract with you and buy it out directly.”

"What if they keep pressing the issue?"

“Then I’ll have Penguin put some pressure on them.” Gu Yang wiped the rain off his face. “Didn’t they want to participate in ‘Produce 101’ recently? Give us their spots, or don’t participate!”

"I understand!" Shen Wei looked at him with a complicated expression.

That kid deserves to succeed.

He's really going to great lengths to pick up girls!

"You won't sign with our company? You'll start a new one?"

"Yes, let's call it Galaxy Entertainment!"

In an old office building in the MH district of Shanghai, the walls of Wenlan Culture's practice room are peeling, and the central air conditioner is making a strange "buzzing" sound.

Yang Chaoyue, wrapped in a faded gray thin coat, squatted in the corner tying the laces of her dance shoes.

Her hair was tied haphazardly into a ponytail, with a few stray strands hanging down beside her reddened cheeks, and beads of sweat from her dance practice still clinging to her eyelashes.

The faded black leggings were pilling at the knees, and the white dance shoes on her feet were cracked at the edges, barely held together with transparent tape.

She was sprawled on the sweat-stained floor, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the hem of her practice clothes: "We've been practicing for three months, and we haven't even had a commercial performance opportunity. Is the company just taking advantage of us?"

"Shh!" Wang Manjun, her groupmate, quickly covered her mouth and glanced warily at the door. "Are you out of your mind? Someone complained on Weibo last month and got their food allowance cut off for half a month."

Yang Chaoyue pouted, grabbed a plastic water cup from the corner and gulped down a mouthful: "So what if it stops? I can just go back to the sewing factory and work on the sewing machine. You don't know, I'm super fast at making zippers! The foreman said I can do the work of two skilled workers in a day!"

"You really are pushing yourself too hard," Wang Manjun said, her heart pounding as she looked at her bruised knees. "I heard you're working at a hot pot restaurant tonight?"

"I can't not go! There's hardly any income here!" Yang Chaoyue suddenly laughed. "I was so sleepy at work yesterday that I almost dumped the hot pot on a customer's head."

The other trainees gathered around, and someone asked softly, "Why aren't you continuing your studies?"

"We don't have the money to pay the bills anymore," Yang Chaoyue said calmly, as if she were talking about someone else's problem.

“My dad supports the whole family on his own. I started working after graduating from junior high school. I did everything: handing out flyers, working as a waiter, working on an assembly line… Later, I heard that being a trainee could earn money, so I came here. And then…”

She looked up at the mottled ceiling and said, "We can barely afford instant noodles anymore."

"Then why don't you go back to your hometown?"

Yang Chaoyue sat up straight cross-legged, her nose red from the cold but showing a stubbornness: "I am the hope of the whole village!"

"Before leaving, I told my dad I wanted to be a big star. Now I'm slinking back home. How embarrassing!"

She suddenly pulled half a hard, dry steamed bun from her canvas bag, broke off a small piece, and popped it into her mouth. "Just hang in there a little longer, maybe one day we'll get through this!"

Just then, a heated argument suddenly came from the direction of the office.

The boss's roar pierced through the thin partition: "Impossible! Yang Chaoyue is someone we're grooming as a key talent!"

A strange voice, mixed with the sound of a table being slammed, came from behind: "We'll pay the penalty for breach of contract. Your company is almost unable to pay its utility bills, isn't it? Are you planning to keep her around like she's food?"

"Bullshit! Get out of here!"

"I heard you're thinking of applying to Tencent's 'Produce Camp'? If you're willing to transfer your spots, Mr. Gu can help you coordinate a few. Otherwise..."

The intermittent arguments in the office instantly silenced the practice room.

Yang Chaoyue gripped the steamed bun tightly, her nails digging deep into her palm.

Wang Manjun moved closer to her and lowered her voice: "Chaochao, it seems... someone is trying to poach you?"

"Dig me???" Yang Chaoyue suddenly looked up, knocking over a plastic water cup at her feet. She stared at her friend's reddened earlobes, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly. "This! How is this possible? I sing off-key, I'm always a beat behind when I dance, and last time the teacher called me a 'wooden stump.'"

She bit her lip, her voice trembling, "Could it be a scam? What if it's a trick to get me to pay a penalty for breach of contract...? I don't have any money, my dad is waiting for me to send money to repair the house..."

A loud thud echoed in the distance, startling her. Wang Manjun draped a blanket over her, but it couldn't cover her heaving back. "Don't be afraid," she said. "If we can really get out of this hellhole..."

“But what if it’s even worse outside?” Yang Chaoyue gripped the edge of the blanket. “At least here, I know what I have to do every day… Will the outside world be even harder?”

"That makes sense! Could it be that some big boss has taken a liking to you and wants to keep you as a mistress?"

"Huh???" Yang Chaoyue was taken aback. "What if I don't want to go?"

"So be it, you signed a contract! What if someone buys your contract?"

"Then I'll see if the boss is handsome or not. If he's not, I'll sneak away! If he is..."

The two girls were whispering to each other when the door to the training room opened.

When Shen Wei pushed the door open, he saw Yang Chaoyue hurriedly stuffing the steamed bun into her bag.

He looked the poorly dressed girl up and down. Her nose was red from the cold, her hair was still covered with dust from the practice room walls, and her eyelashes were covered with beads of sweat. Yet, when they made eye contact, she stubbornly raised her chin.

"Yang Chaoyue, pack your things and come with me." Shen Wei handed her the termination contract. "We've paid your penalty for breach of contract. From now on, you'll be a trainee at Xinghe Entertainment!"

Yang Chaoyue stared at the logo on the contract, her throat tightening: "Really? Your company... provides meals and accommodation?"

"Food and lodging included?"

Shen Wei was stunned by her simple wish: "The base salary will be tripled, and there will be monthly subsidies for physical fitness and vocal performance. As for accommodation, the new dormitory is not yet ready, so you can stay in the Xinghe Media employee dormitory for now."

“Star River Media,” Yang Chaoyue murmured repeatedly.

Why is it so familiar?

Having failed to impress, Shen Wei gave her a speechless look. "Do you know who your boss is? Gu Yang, he personally requested to sign you!"

"Teacher Gu Yang?" Yang Chaoyue looked up abruptly, her head hitting the railing.

Wang Manjun gasped in shock, but she seemed oblivious to the pain, her eyes wide with disbelief. "It's that super handsome Gu Yang? Why..."

Shen Wei was taken aback. Why was the little girl's perspective so strange?
Don't most people first marvel at Gu Yang's identity as a director, boss, and famous actor?
Why was her first reaction "super handsome"?
Are these young girls really that superficial?
Can being handsome put food on the table?
"Because you're special." Shen Wei pushed the contract in front of her, tapped the signature line with his pen, and said, "Sign your name, girl."

"Your life is about to take off."

The other trainees in the practice room gathered around, some envious, some jealous.

Yang Chaoyue's fingers trembled slightly as she gripped the contract, and she vaguely recalled the roaring sounds of the electronics factory's assembly line.

Now, the gears of fate are turning in an unexpected direction, and even her worn-out canvas shoes are about to set foot on new land.

Mountain City, the hotel where the film crew of "Better Days" stayed

The damp mist seeped into the hotel windows, condensing into fine water droplets on the glass.

Zhou Ye knelt on the carpet, pointing at the takeout menu with a wide grin, "20 skewers of butter, 20 each of beef and lamb skewers, what vegetables do you want?"

Her bun swayed back and forth with her movements, and the hair tie was almost coming loose!
"How about a few more bowls of crayfish?" Her eyes lit up as she turned to look at the sofa.

Zhang Jingyi curled up on the sofa peeling oranges. "Is it really okay to eat late-night snacks? Aren't you afraid Director Gu will come and scold us for not paying attention to our figures?"

Zhang Yifan sat on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs back and forth, staring at the barbecue pictures on his phone and swallowing hard, muttering softly, "Just once, it's okay."

"Watch me!" Zhou Ye slapped her phone on her lap, straightened her back in front of her two sisters, and quickly dialed a number.

As soon as the call connected, she yelled, "Xiaoyangzi, you have 10 minutes to buy a few cases of beer and bring them to my room! I'm very busy right now, that's all!"

Before the person on the other end of the phone could yell at her, she slammed the call down, turned off her phone, raised her eyebrows, and said, "Okay, all done!"

Zhang Jingyi almost dropped the orange in her hand, and Zhang Yifan's eyes widened. The two looked at each other, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

Ten minutes later, Gu Yang, with a dark expression, carried two cases of beer into the room.

"Well, these little girls have even learned to drink alcohol?"

Zhou Ye jumped up from the carpet: "Tch, what's so hard about that! Do you dare drink with us?"

She grabbed a bottle of beer and snapped the cap open with her teeth, her movements surprisingly practiced.

Zhang Jingyi tilted her head, put the peeled orange segment into her mouth, and smiled with her eyes crinkling: "That's right, Teacher Gu~ aren't you afraid of making a fool of yourself if you get drunk?"

Zhang Yifan sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees, and said softly, "Teacher Gu, you can't outdrink us?"

Gu Yang's temples throbbed from the three blows, and all thoughts of staying up all night on the set of "Better Days" and the announcement at six o'clock tomorrow morning were thrown to the back of his mind.

He pulled over a chair, straddled it, grabbed a beer bottle, and smashed it against Zhou Ye's head: "Today I'll show you what it means to fight three heroes like Lu Bu!"

The temperature inside the room rose instantly, and beer foam burst open, mingling with the aroma of grilled skewers.

Zhou Ye slapped his thigh and shouted "cheating!" Zhang Jingyi laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, and Zhang Yifan secretly refilled Gu Yang's empty glass with wine.

The night fog of the mountain city clung to the glass windows, turning the laughter and chatter in this small space into a more intense atmosphere of life than beer.

The four of them were all a little tipsy.
(End of this chapter)