Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

After transferring the money to Yang Chaoyue for a one-night stand, Bai Mengyan found a utility knife to open the package.

I recently moved from Changzhou to Hangzhou.

I'm moving my studio to a new location, possibly due to the increasing prevalence of smartphones or the rise in online shoppers during last year's Singles' Day shopping festival.

After the Chinese New Year, business orders in Hangzhou have increased.

Especially the e-commerce industrial parks in Xihu District and Binjiang District.

Both are Taobao models, but sometimes a day's shoot in Changzhou can earn 300 yuan, while half a day's shoot in Hangzhou can earn 500 yuan.

Opening the video platform, I saw the live stream link for the launch press conference of "Fighter of the Destiny," with a poster featuring Lu Han as the protagonist Chen Changsheng on the cover.

My finger hovered over the screen, but I didn't click on it.

Four years ago, Lu Han debuted with EXO and became a sensation across Asia. I had researched Lu Han's background and knew that he had trained hard under SM Entertainment and persevered to achieve his success.

I want to become an idol like Lu Han.

So four years ago, not long after graduation, I went to Shanghai with my mother to participate in the audition for trainees at SM Entertainment in South Korea, with a dream of becoming an idol.

He taught himself Korean and practiced singing and dancing diligently.

In the end, we found that everyone worked very hard.

Having no connections and an average appearance, he was ultimately eliminated.

I still remember on the train ride home, I folded my rejection letter into a paper airplane and threw it out the window, saying to my mother:
"If I can't be an idol, I'll be an actor."

In the end, he didn't become an actor.

She became a Taobao model.

The paper airplanes thrown in childhood eventually crashed into the mire of daily necessities.

Gradually accept your failures and acknowledge that you are actually quite ordinary.

When busy, I take nearly 10,000 photos a day and pose in thousands of ways within a few hours.

To meet the merchant's requirements, he once filmed for eight hours straight in 38-degree Celsius heat, wrapped in a down jacket, carrying his dream that was about to evaporate, and ended up suffering from heatstroke and being sent to the hospital.

She once stood barefoot in a thin gauze dress during the coldest winter months, which eventually led to arthritis.

Shooting out of season is a common occurrence.

Wearing a cotton-padded coat in the summer makes me dizzy and lightheaded, while wearing a short skirt in the winter makes my legs turn purple from the cold.

Once, during an outdoor shoot, a sudden downpour occurred. After filming wrapped, he developed a high fever of 39 degrees Celsius but was still required to continue working.

I've also encountered training fee scams.

That company promised that a training fee of 50,000 yuan could be exchanged for a million-yuan annual salary.

For someone whose monthly income was only a few thousand yuan at the time, it was almost a lifeline that changed his fate.

But her mother's words, "A company that really wants to make money wouldn't ask newcomers to pay upfront," woke her up and prevented her from falling into a pyramid scheme.

Unfortunately, when I participated in the SM Entertainment trainee selection, my parents saved up to pay for my dance training.

I haven't been able to earn that money to pay my parents back.

Open the refrigerator.

The most eye-catching things inside were bowls filled with leftover food from the previous day.

Take it out, heat it up, and eat it as is.

I am very clear that my life has no fairy tale script, only a history of blood, sweat and struggle.

I received a message from Yang Chaoyue: "[Mengyan, are you watching the live stream?]"
Bai Mengyan typed a reply: [“What’s the rush? There’s a delay in the live stream. I’ll see it later.”]
I found a utility knife on the coffee table and used it to cut open the cardboard packaging of the delivery chair.

Looking at the wooden planks, screws, backrest, and chair legs scattered on the floor, he frowned and said, "Why do I have to assemble a chair I bought online? It's such a hassle."

Chairs sold in bulk.

Just like the province of one's hometown.

Mingming and Chaoyue are both from the same province. Chaoyue's hometown is called Northern Jiangsu, while Mingming's hometown is called Southern Jiangsu.

Bulk.

Curled up on the sofa in his rented room, with a plaster on his knee, he clicked on the live stream link posted by Yang Chaoyue.

I was planning to send Yang Chaoyue a message of encouragement when she came on stage.

The high latency was discovered, and it had only just begun. Lu Han and Jiang Yang were on stage.

The intro to "Rose Boy" started playing on my phone.

"Lu Han's new song, composed by Jiang Yang?"

Listen, listen.

I saw the lyrics on the screen.

He gradually became stunned.

I remember going to a talent show in South Korea and being eliminated because they said I wasn't special enough.

Later, when I became a Taobao model, I would wear short sleeves in winter to shoot summer clothes, and my fingers would freeze until they were stiff. The sellers would still tell me to make my expression sweeter.

Not special enough, not sweet enough—after hearing these words so many times, I've even started to believe them myself.

But when you hear the words, "Being born a human being is not a sin, you don't need to apologize,"...

I remember last year when we were filming a short film, the director added a scene of people getting soaked in the rain.

I stood in the artificial rain and filmed again and again. My makeup was ruined and half of my false eyelashes fell off, but in the end, the final cut only showed a few seconds of footage.

After finishing work that day, I cried silently in front of the mirror in the dressing room, then wiped my face dry and apologized to the crew with a smile.

Think about it now.

It feels like I'm constantly apologizing to the world.

I'm sorry I'm not pretty enough, I'm sorry I'm not lucky enough, I'm sorry I let everyone down.

But Jiang Yang's song is saying something.

"Being born a human being is not a sin; you don't need to apologize."

Don't let anyone change you.

Suddenly I came to my senses.

She had come to send messages of encouragement to Yang Chaoyue, but instead clicked on Jiang Yang's Weibo.

I noticed that Jiang Yang's latest Weibo post was made before he went on stage.

The accompanying photo is a candid shot taken by Lu Han's assistant.

The scene shows Jiang Yang bending down to tune his guitar, with Lu Han standing behind him, one hand on his shoulder.

Both of them were wearing simple white T-shirts, with messy electrical wires in the background and sheet music in the corner.

The caption reads: [@LuHan, I never imagined that one day my song "Rose Boy" would be sung by you and heard by millions. I am infinitely grateful.]
The top-voted comment below is Lu Han's reply:

[Brother Jiang, I'm the one who should be thanking you. What you wrote wasn't just lyrics, but also the tears that countless people dared not shed. It's my good fortune to be able to sing this song.]
Then Guan Xiaotong's comment:
[Seeing Lu Han's performance on stage today suddenly brought tears to my eyes. The roses Jiang Yang described have truly blossomed in my heart. Thank you, Jiang Yang, for letting me witness all of this backstage and for giving me the courage to persevere.]
Next, Gulnazar replied: ["Jiang Yang, next time we go to karaoke, I want to sing this song of yours too. Xiao Tong said I sang the English part particularly well."]
This was followed by a knowing emoji.

Bai Mengyan edited the text and wrote a comment: [Who are you trying to make cry by writing such harsh words?]
Browsing through Jiang Yang's Weibo.

He discovered that Zhang Ruonan, who used to be a model just like him, had signed with Jiangyang Company and would be filming movies and TV series at any time, becoming an actress.

Jiang Yang is the boss.

He became sworn brothers with top celebrity Lu Han.

She has a close relationship with Gulnazar, who has been a hot topic on social media since her debut.

She even seems to have a very good personal relationship with child star Guan Xiaotong, whom she doesn't seem to have any connection with.

I recall Yang Chaoyue saying that her boss has a lot of connections and a powerful background, and gets gigs entirely through connections.

And so I remembered the actor's dream that had never been extinguished in my heart.

Can I get a job at Jiang Yang's company?

A thought like this popped into my head.

And I lack confidence.

Because I'm no longer the young girl who just graduated, having worked in the workplace for a while, I understand that many things depend on connections.

I have absolutely no connections in the entertainment industry.

"No, I have connections!"

Bai Mengyan suddenly sat up from the sofa: "Chao Yue said she's in charge of HR at her company, that's a really strong connection... Chao Yue's got my back!" (End of Chapter)