This director is so innocent.

Chapter 148 Yingbao and the Old Charlatan

The moonlight was bright, and the north wind was howling.

Zhao Liying, wrapped up, walked down the street.

Suddenly, she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw that it was Su Jin, which she found hard to believe.

She turned her head and looked around, seeing that she was the only one nearby. Then she pointed to herself, and seeing Su Jin nod, she walked over.

"Director." Zhao Liying lowered her head slightly, as if she dared not look at Su Jin.

Su Jin nodded slightly, looked her over, and then asked, "Are you an artist under Huayi Brothers?"

"Hmm." Although Zhao Liying didn't know what Su Jin wanted to do, she still answered truthfully.

"With whom?" Su Jin pressed.

"An agent?" Zhao Liying asked.

"right."

"I don't have an agent, only an artist manager named Guo Hongbo."

Upon hearing this, Su Jin knew that Zhao Liying was easy to recruit.

Huayi's internal artist management is now operating on a customized model.

The celebrities are divided into several groups, each led by a head agent who takes on jobs and defines their own roles.

The company makes a certain investment and recovers the corresponding profits.

The most famous one is Zong Shuai's group, which has well-known artists such as Zhang Hanyu, Deng Chao, and Wang Baoqiang under its management. Unfortunately, they are completely controlled by Liu Tao, the co-president of the agency department.

For newcomers like Zhao Liying who are not valued, the approach is centralized management with a hands-off approach. They are given a few minor supporting roles, and once they stand out, they are given special training.

Guo Hongbo was the agent for Pingxi Wang, Jia Nailiang, and Du Jiaozhu of the Backstabbing Cult. He was later fired by Huayi for privately managing artists.

The reason is that he brought an artist with him without permission, and that artist is Jia Nailiang.

"Privately managing an artist" means that when an artist's contract expires and is not renewed, the agent manages the artist privately, providing them with resources, and the artist also pays the agent.

After being dismissed, Guo Hongbo also posted on Weibo mocking Da Wang for spending 3.77 million yuan to buy Van Gogh's "Daisy and Poppy".

Du, the "Master of the Arts," also posted on Weibo, subtly criticizing Guo Hongbo's incompetence.

"A manager who is mentored by a good artist is not necessarily truly capable. Blind confidence and arrogance will only lead to a harder fall."

He posted this Weibo post because the role of Wu Qian in Feng Xiaogang's "Mr. Six" was originally his, but Huayi Brothers gave it to Wu Qian.

"How many years have you been signed with Huayi?" Su Jin asked.

"Ah!" Zhao Liying's red lips parted slightly as she looked at Su Jin in confusion.

"Tell me, how many years have you been signed with Huayi?" Su Jin asked patiently, repeating herself.

"Five years." Zhao Liying asked uncertainly, "Director, are you trying to poach me?"

"Yes, do you want to switch jobs to my company?" Su Jin asked directly.

Zhao Liying was stunned for a long time upon hearing this.

Although she had some idea of what Su Jin was thinking, she still found it hard to believe when it was confirmed.

She was very aware of her appearance; she wasn't glamorous, glamorous, or sophisticated enough. She was more of a cute, girl-next-door type, which wasn't what directors liked.

Recruiting her from the past would be a losing proposition.

So, why did Su Jin want to poach her?

Zhao Liying frowned and thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, so she directly asked the person involved, "Director, why do you want to poach me?"

Su Jin was taken aback. She hadn't expected that after thinking for so long, Zhao Liying would ask about this instead of resources.

"Because you have the potential to become a big star."

Zhao Liying stared wide-eyed, her eyes filled with shock.

What did she hear?

Big star?

To be honest, if Feng Kuzi hadn't said she could never become a big star, and she hadn't been holding a grudge, she would have just given up and lived a life of leisure.

Could it be that Su Jin has eaten too much fine chaff and wants to recruit her in so that he can taste her coarse chaff?

Thinking of this, her face flushed. If Su Jin wanted to take advantage of her, it wasn't impossible—

After all, Su Jin is so beautiful, so it's not a loss for me.

Seeing the change in Zhao Liying's expression, Su Jin frowned slightly. What had Zhao Liying thought of that made her face turn as red as a monkey's bottom?

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ah!" Zhao Liying snapped out of her daze and quickly waved her hand, "No—nothing."

Su Jin didn't press the issue further, and asked again, "Do you want to switch jobs to my company?"

"I'd like to, but I have a penalty for breach of contract, and it's quite high," Zhao Liying replied softly, seemingly a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry about the penalty for breach of contract, the company will pay it for you." After Su Jin finished speaking, she turned to Xiao Ying and said, "Xiao Ying, contact Zhao Shan and ask her to sign Zhao Liying."

"Yes, boss," Xiaoying said respectfully.

"Tell Zhao Liying about the company matters. I'll go back to the hotel first, and come find me when you're done."

"Okay, boss."

"Take care, Director." Zhao Liying smiled brightly, bowed slightly, and waved goodbye to Su Jin.

After Ah Jiao's ordeal, she did participate in some activities.

Before the Spring Festival, CCTV held a charity performance entitled "Gathering Every Bit of Love" at the Beijing Grand Theater to celebrate the snow disaster in southern China, and Ah Jiao participated in it.

This event raised over 5000 million yuan in donations from businesses, celebrities, and audiences.

In comparison, the "2008 Spring Festival Film Concert" held by the Movie Channel at the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater was rather laughable.

Hundreds of artists participated in the event, mostly from the Huayi School of Performing Arts, and a total of 52 yuan was raised in donations.

While every donation, however small, is a gesture of kindness, it's astonishing that some people earn hundreds of millions or even millions a year yet only donate tens of thousands. How can they even be so shameless as to donate?

The production team of "Assembly" donated 10 yuan, and Huayi donated 10 yuan.

The Feng couple donated 50,000 yuan, while others donated anywhere from a few thousand to 50,000 yuan, and some didn't donate at all.

It's no different from how those celebrities later tried to crash the Bazaar charity gala.

With Su Jin, and the excellent works such as "The Coffin in the Mountain", "Sheep Without a Shepherd" and "W: Two Worlds" preceding it, this donation amount immediately soared to the top five on Weibo's trending topics after being reported by the media.

Many people are mocking them, and those with extreme personalities are even going so far as to buy things from their Weibo accounts.

Those who don't have Weibo go to the official website to hurl insults.

As for the top trending topic, it's obviously the event itself.

Since the incident broke out, it has never left the trending topics list because the whistleblower has been releasing information every day.

Hong Kong Island is also engaging in various questionable practices and has arrested quite a few suspects, but to no avail.

That "Qina" must have really disliked the incident and was very dissatisfied, so he threatened Ah Jiao, saying that if she made a comeback, he would release the video.

Ah Jiao refused to believe it and attended a fan meeting, after which the indecent video was uploaded.

Su Jin felt great sympathy for Ah Jiao, who had suffered an undeserved misfortune.

On a side note, from variety shows and interviews, you can tell that Ah Jiao is a very simple person, doesn't like to talk, and is a bit introverted.

It's truly remarkable that she was able to recover from such a major event. If it were any other introverted young woman, she would have been forgotten in the entertainment industry.

Asa was quite surprised by Su Jin's arrival: "Su Sheng, what brings you here?"

"Sheng" means "sir" or "master". This is how people in Lingnan and Hong Kong Island address men.

"I heard Ah Jiao is here, so I came to see her. Where is Ah Jiao?" Su Jin said shamelessly.

"She's inside." Asa turned and walked a few steps quickly, calling out towards the inner room, "Ah Jiao, Su Sheng has come to see you."

Su Jin was quite surprised when she saw Ah Jiao's appearance.

Ah Jiao's hair was disheveled, and her skin was dull, looking like a rose that had lost its moisture, all wilted and lifeless.

Moreover, she looked very dull, and her eyes were lifeless.

If Su Jin hadn't known that she had made a comeback later, she would have suspected that she was prepared to live out her remaining years.

"Su Sheng." Ah Jiao forced a smile, stood up and greeted Su Jin.

"Sit down, sit down—don't stand."

After the three of them sat down, Su Jin didn't know how to comfort A Jiao, and it just felt like rubbing salt into her wounds.

Ah Jiao is really pitiful!

She was supposed to go for reshoots of "Mei Lanfang" a couple of days ago, but she has now been notified that she doesn't need to go for the reshoots, and her scenes may be completely cut.

As we learned, all of their scenes were cut.

The film "The Mermaid," starring Liu Zhenwei, was released indefinitely until July 2010 when it was finally shown in Hong Kong. It was not shown in mainland China.

Her previous participation in a "snow disaster performance" organized by TVB was met with a boycott from the audience, and TVB received more than 1900 complaint letters.

GG, the brand ambassador, terminated her contract and demanded compensation from her.

Actually, Ah Jiao is a very silly and naive person.

In a 2010 media interview, she said that her favorite person was Mr. Chen. Which current boyfriend could stand that statement?

Anyway, Ah Jiao's current boyfriend, Mak Chun-lung, couldn't stand it and broke up with her directly.

Su Jin thought for a moment and finally said, "Ah Jiao, no matter what, you must take good care of your health and never do anything foolish."

As for the rumors and gossip, don't pay them any mind. Once this period passes, the rumors will naturally subside, and then I'll see if I have any suitable roles for you.

Hearing this, a hint of emotion flashed in Ah Jiao's eyes, but she still couldn't be happy. She forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Mr. Su."

"No need to thank me, you get some rest, I'll be going now," Su Jin said as she stood up.

At this moment, Asa, who had been sitting next to her, also stood up and said to Su Jin, "Su Sheng, let me see you off!"

Su Jin nodded in agreement.

So the two of them left the room together, leaving Ah Jiao alone, sitting there quietly, heartbroken.

In the corridor, Su Jin took out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it.

When Asa saw this, he asked Su Jin for one and started smoking it by himself.

Neither of them spoke; they were both smoking.

After finishing her cigarette, Su Jin said, "Ah Jiao, keep an eye on her and don't let her do anything foolish."

Asa gave a soft "hmm," then suddenly said, "My partnership with Ah Jiao might have to be broken up."

"Are you worried that she'll drag you down?" Su Jin asked.

"No, it was the boss's decision," Asa explained. "He took Ah Jiao to Thailand to see the White Dragon King. The White Dragon King kept a lock of Ah Jiao's hair and made Ah Jiao change her name. He also wanted to disband the Twins duo, saying that only in this way could things turn around."

"Old Yang believed it?" As soon as Su Jin said it, she knew she had said something pointless.

Since Asa has said that, he must have already made a decision.

The White Dragon King was a charlatan, but he was very famous in Southeast Asia, comparable to Wang Lin.

He was said to have been a motorcycle repairman in his early years. One night, he dreamed of the White Dragon King and claimed to be the reincarnation of the White Dragon King. He stopped repairing motorcycles and devoted himself to fortune telling.

His fame in Southeast Asia is inseparable from one person: Thai-Chinese tycoon Huang Chuangshan.

He is the general agent for Puma in mainland China and Thailand, and also the owner of the Hong Kong Island Jingyan Football Club.

One is a business tycoon with extensive connections, but he is impulsive and unpredictable by nature and needs a reassurance; the other is a rural shaman with many years of experience as a "rural psychologist".

The two hit it off immediately and then began a campaign to create a god-like figure.

Huang Chuangshan has lived in Hong Kong for many years and is very familiar with the Hong Kong and Taiwan film and entertainment industries, and has a lot of connections.

He consciously collects business and entertainment information, knowing which land is valuable, which movie is about to start filming, the star power of which movie, and how it will affect the careers of celebrities, etc.

He shared the information he had gathered with the White Dragon King, who then used it to guide wealthy merchants and celebrities who came seeking answers.

Many people seek guidance from the White Dragon King, including Lin Baixin of the Lixin Group, Lin Jianyue of the Media Asia Group, Lao Yangtou, Liang Chaowei, Liu Tianwang, Zeng Zhiwei, Tan Yonglin, Richie Jen, and Luo Zhixiang.

It can be said that it has captured all the Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

Old Yang was a devout believer, regarding the White Dragon King as a god.

The White Dragon King said that when signing artists, you should sign those from single-parent families and those born in the Year of the Monkey, so that they can have long-lasting success. Old Yang strictly followed his advice and signed Joey Yung, Charlene Choi, Gillian Chung, and Nicholas Tse.

All four of them come from single-parent families and were born in the Year of the Monkey.

Xie Biwang had previously caused a car accident while driving under the influence and tried to find someone to take the blame, but when this was discovered, Old Yang took Xie Biwang to get some advice.

When Ah Jiao encountered this ordeal, Old Yang thought of the White Dragon King again. It is said that he was refused entry three times before he was finally allowed to see the White Dragon King.

The solution is to cut off a lock of hair, change Ah Jiao's name, change "Tong" to "Tong", and split up the Twins duo.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese celebrities are known for their feudal superstitions, and mainland Chinese celebrities are no less so.

Many actresses will stop at nothing to become famous.

Some people go to Thailand specifically to ask for the protection of "little ghosts" (infant corpses), while others use corpse oil to make lipstick and apply it to their lips, claiming it will keep them red.

"Do you believe in the White Dragon King?" Su Jin asked curiously.

"I don't know. I've never met the White Dragon King, but I've heard from seniors in the field that he's very effective."

After Asa finished speaking, he asked in return, "Do you believe me?"

Su Jin shook her head and said firmly, "I don't believe you, I believe in myself."

It's better to believe in the "Great God of River Cracking" than to believe in an old charlatan like him.

At least it can determine whether I can still exist.

Asa smiled but didn't say anything more.

"Go keep Ah Jiao company! I'm going back to my room to rest," Su Jin said.

Asa glanced at her Vacheron Constantin watch. It was a little past nine o'clock, still early, so she said, "I'll go back to your room with you."

"There's no need to do something like this at a time like this!"

"It's been a long time since I've done this."

"I don't mind, so why do you?"