Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, while every household was having their New Year's Eve dinner, Wu Qiuyan was alone in her luxury apartment in Shanghai, watching the Spring Festival Gala and drinking red wine by herself.

She was a concubine, so she wasn't allowed to spend the New Year at other people's homes, nor did she dare to go back to her hometown for the New Year, because she was afraid that her master's family wouldn't be able to find her when they needed her.

An ordinary person who wants to live a life of luxury in the glitz and glamour of Shanghai, a cosmopolitan metropolis, has to endure hardships that are unimaginable to others.

Fortunately, the Spring Festival Gala playing on TV offered her some solace.

The superstars who are the center of attention on screen have to put on a smiling face and dare not say a word against it, no matter how you manipulate them in private. Isn't that what I'm pursuing?

It was past midnight when the Spring Festival Gala ended, and the hosts on TV started counting down in unison. Wu Qiuyan felt bored, so she turned off the TV. She was hungry.

Holding the takeout order from her neighborhood, Wu Qiuyan took out her phone and called each number one by one. Either the other party didn't answer or said they were closed for the day. In a fit of anger, Wu Qiuyan hung up the phone and went to the kitchen to cook noodles for herself.

The water had just boiled, and before the noodles were even put into the pot, Wu Qiuyan suddenly realized that the soy sauce was gone.

Wu Qiuyan slammed the pot lid to the ground, losing all control of her emotions. She covered her face and slowly sat down on the ground.

How did life end up like this...?

I cooked noodles anyway, omitting the soy sauce since I didn't have any, just adding some salt for seasoning, and made myself a fried egg. The bowl of noodles was simply placed on the coffee table, and just as I was about to take a bite, the doorbell rang.

Wu Qiuyan's eyes lit up immediately; she knew he wouldn't forget her this year.

Barefoot, she ran to open the door, only to find a familiar woman's face standing there. Wu Qiuyan's enthusiasm was immediately extinguished: "Why are you here during the New Year? Shouldn't you be at home with your family?"

Ruan Qingzhou is an artist under Wu Qiuyan, and can be considered a third-tier actress. Her entry into the entertainment industry is largely due to her relationship with Wu Qiuyan.

She and Wu Qiuyan were childhood friends. She used to run a clothing business, but the business was doing really badly a few years ago, so she came to Wu Qiuyan for help. Wu Qiuyan gave her some of her spare resources, and over time, she actually managed to support a third-tier actress.

"I knew you wouldn't be coming home for Chinese New Year, so I brought you dumplings. Thanks to you, my family was able to move to Shanghai this year. I haven't properly thanked you yet."

Entering the house with Wu Qiuyan, Ruan Qingzhou placed the dumplings on the coffee table and then took out several condiments from them: "Try them quickly, they're made by my mom, they taste just like the ones at home."

Wu Qiuyan picked up a dumpling, dipped it in soy sauce and vinegar, and nodded: "Mmm, delicious."

Ruan Qingzhou took off her outer trousers, sat down next to Wu Qiuyan, and asked curiously, "Why are you wearing stockings at home? Do you have varicose veins?"

Wu Qiuyan turned her head, expressionless: "He likes it."

"oh..."

Ruan Qingzhou fell silent. She knew who "he" Wu Qiuyan was talking about was, and that she herself had become a third-tier celebrity thanks to "him".

"Would he come to be with you at this time of year in previous years?"

Wu Qiuyan had nothing to hide from her childhood friend: "Sometimes he might come by during the day when business is good, but if business is bad, he won't even call."

"You and he don't need to talk about feelings, everyone just gets what they need. But your performance this year isn't good, is it? You have several top-tier performers making money for you, and now you've promoted a new second-tier performer."

Ruan Qingzhou also spoke frankly about their relationship. In the adult world, there's nothing to hide about such things.

Wu Qiuyan was also a little surprised: "I also think I've done alright this year. If I had to say what mistakes I made..."

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously exclaimed, "Wang Xiaozhou!"

As childhood friends and besties, Wu Qiuyan and Ruan Qingzhou had talked about Wang Xiaozhou. They both agreed that this young writer wouldn't cause any trouble.

Unexpectedly, the duo's collaboration grew bigger and bigger, leaving behind classic performances on The Voice of China and recently stirring up trouble on Singer.

"Wang Xiaozhou has indeed grown too fast. He has been strategizing behind the scenes, helping Meng Ziyi climb up step by step. Now she can even challenge the singers on stage. It's really a loss that she was able to successfully challenge them."

"But didn't we already provide a solution? When that negative news about Meng Ziyi came out, didn't she lose hundreds of thousands of followers? Is that person really that petty?"

Wu Qiuyan shook her head: "It's not that we're petty, but we did lose money on the Wang Xiaozhou issue."

Back when the first episode of The Voice of China aired, if I had raised the contract level slightly, he might have agreed to sign it.

But now, no matter how badly we smear Meng Ziyi, we can't make any money off her anymore. Not to mention, the company Meng Ziyi is signed to will retaliate, and my top-tier singer has lost a lot of fans too.

Ruan Qingzhou frowned: "So we can't do anything about a small-time singer like her? And Wang Xiaozhou, who works behind the scenes, is so arrogant, can't we blacklist him?"

Wu Qiuyan finished the last bite of the dumpling and laughed: "Do you think Xingcan Entertainment has a monopoly on the entertainment industry, and can just blacklist whoever it wants?"

It's just that we can't make money off him anymore. No problem, there are plenty of other ways to make up for it. When we have a business deal with Ganwei in the future, my first request will be to sideline Meng Ziyi and blacklist Wang Xiaozhou.

As I said before, the entertainment industry pie is only so big, and there are only so many A-list stars and so many commercial endorsements. If you want to make a living at this level, fierce competition is inevitable.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingzhou stopped asking about Wang Xiaozhou and instead probed Wu Qiuyan for details: "Does our company have any major dramas airing this year?"

Wu Qiuyan glanced at Ruan Qingzhou, knowing what she was thinking, and didn't hide it: "The company has them, but I don't have these resources under my control anymore. The company gave me a lot of support for the short drama I filmed before the New Year. I can't make any new moves before this drama is finished."

"oh..."

Ruan Qingzhou drawled, "If the short drama is successful, your influence in the next TV series will increase significantly, right?"

Wu Qiuyan nodded.

Ruan Qingzhou then asked, "When will this short drama be released? Will you make a lot of money?"

Wu Qiuyan laughed and said, "On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, during the Spring Festival season, Director Lao Tu personally directed this short drama. You can see how confident the company is in this project."

If this attempt succeeds, I... might no longer be just a simple agent.

Ruan Qingzhou understood the situation and stopped talking about work with Wu Qiuyan, instead engaging in casual conversation to build rapport.

"He likes these kinds of socks? Why doesn't he wear black stockings? Purple ones are so much more vibrant."

He said purple has a certain charm.

"Is there a certain charm to tearing it?"

"Tch, doesn't yours tear up?"

......