Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

Chen Li put the USB drive into his backpack, a slight smile playing on his lips. A few lines of text popped up again on the system screen in his mind:

As a superstar, one needs not only good works to back up their career, but also reliable partners, and more importantly, the ability to recognize and utilize talent.

[Task: Prepare a new song for Zhou Shen and successfully promote it]

[Gain the "Eye of a Talent Scout": You can instantly recognize what kind of role and stage style suits any newcomer. This skill isn't limited to music production; it applies to performing arts projects as well. Choosing the right person is half the battle won.]

After reading the reward notification, Chen Li leaned back in his chair and unconsciously tapped the table twice with his fingers.

This skill came at just the right time.

The resources he now holds are no longer the empty shell they were a year ago.

The studio's revenue has exceeded seven million, and the core team includes:

With Yangyang Jin acting as the executive agent, Bai Mengyan in charge of overall coordination, and the newly recruited publicity staff and financial specialist working together, the framework is already in place.

Once his one-year contract with Fan Bingbing expires next June, he will be able to officially establish his own company.

This "eye of a talent scout" will undoubtedly become his most useful weapon in the next stage.

Whether it's choosing actors, singers, or selecting the right people for a role, this skill can help him avoid many detours.

......

"I'm out! I'm out! Mom and Dad, look, it's me!"

Tian Xiwei sat cross-legged on the sofa, hugging a plush pillow with a cartoon cat printed on it. Her big eyes were wide open, and the corners of her mouth were turned up in a crazy smile, revealing a pair of sweet dimples.

The first episode of "So Cute Us" is playing on the TV screen in the living room.

Huang Chengzi had just been covered in notes by Tan Song under the old locust tree, and angrily pounced on him to snatch the camera.

Tian Xiwei was so excited she almost jumped off the sofa, her bare feet slapping the floor.

"Sis, is that girl with the silly smile really you?"

Little sister Tian Xiyu peeked half her head out from the sofa armrest, her chubby little finger poking at the screen where Huang Chengzi was grinning and trying to grab the camera.

She squinted and carefully compared the girl on the screen with her face covered in notes with the older sister next to her, who was also grinning, then nodded solemnly:

"Exactly the same. Sis, what do you call this—a natural performance! You've perfectly portrayed a fool!"

"What do you mean by 'silly'? This is called innocent and cute, okay?!"

Tian Xiwei instantly bristled, turned her head, grabbed her sister's arm, and gave it a sharp pinch.

"Have you been doing too little homework lately? Your eyesight's failing you! I'm playing the school beauty!"

"School beauty? School beauty gets a bunch of notes stuck on her forehead?" Tian Xiyu yelped as she was pinched, then nimbly jumped off the sofa armrest, ran barefoot to the other side of the coffee table, and peeked out to continue the sarcastic remark.

"Mom, look at her—she's as fierce as a tigress at home, but acts so docile on TV. That director must have been fooled by her!"

"Tian Xiyu! You stop right there!"

The two girls chased each other around the coffee table twice, and a cushion flew out and hit the sofa. On the TV, Huang Chengzi was chasing Tan Song all over the place, while in the living room, Tian Xiyu was being chased all over the place by her sister.

Mother Tian came out of the kitchen carrying a fruit platter, skillfully setting it aside so the platter could be placed steadily on the table, clearly accustomed to such scenes.

"I must say, our Weiwei's acting was actually quite convincing!"

Father Tian leaned back on the sofa, watching his daughter glaring at Tan Song on the screen. His eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, his tone full of undisguised smugness.

"Of course, you should know whose daughter she is."

Mother Tian pushed the fruit plate towards her youngest daughter, her tone calm, but the proud smile on her lips was impossible to suppress.

"Right, right? Even Brother Chen Li... even Director Chen said so! He said my acting was very spirited."

Tian Xiwei let go of her sister, panting as she retied her disheveled ponytail, her chin held high.

"Director Chen? Is that the young man you've been talking about ever since you got back?"

The father keenly caught the key words, and the smile on his face slowly faded. He squinted at his daughter.

Why do I have such a bad feeling?

It seems like my own cabbage is being targeted by some unknown creature outside.

"Yes, yes! It's him! He's amazing. He's from the Performance Department at the Beijing Film Academy, and he's already a director at such a young age. He can even write his own screenplays and songs! You all said 'The Wind Rises' was great, right? He wrote it!"

Tian Xiwei's eyes lit up, and she hugged the cushion and snuggled back onto the sofa. The infatuated expression on her face made Tian Xiyu next to her purse her lips.

"Mom and Dad! I want to apply to the Beijing Film Academy; I want to be an actor!"

The living room fell silent instantly.

On the TV, Huang Chengzi was still arguing with Tan Song, but the atmosphere among the four people on the sofa seemed to have been paused.

Tian Xiyu looked at her mother's expression from the left and her father's eyes from the right, scratched her head, and was a little confused.

What is the Beijing Film Academy?

She only knew about electric grilling and had never heard of the Beijing Film Academy entrance exam.

"My dear son, this is a serious matter. We can't act impulsively just because we've filmed a movie."

Mother Tian spoke first, reaching out to hold her daughter's hand. Her tone was much more serious than when she was teasing her younger sister earlier.

"Let's not even talk about whether we can pass the exam or not. Even if we do pass and get into that circle, it's not an easy place to make it. I've heard it's incredibly complicated there. Without connections and influence, you can't even get a bit part just by looking at yourself."

"Yes, I've heard that people only get ahead because they have connections and influence. How could our family have those advantages? Your father is just an ordinary office worker, and your mother just runs a small business—" Mr. Tian chimed in, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Oh, Mom and Dad, you're overthinking it!"

Tian Xiwei tossed the cushion aside, straightened her back, patted her chest, and said confidently,

"Director Chen thinks highly of me and has already signed a letter of intent with me! He said that when his studio opens its own company, I will be the first one he signs. I will be working for his company from now on."

"Weiwei, you're still young, don't get fooled. The entertainment industry is so murky, those directors may say nice things—" Mother Tian still looked worried.

"Don't worry, Mom, Director Chen is a really nice person." Tian Xiwei waved her hand, her smile fading slightly and replaced with a serious expression.

"Last time, I was the subject of rumors on the school forum. They said I got the lead role through improper relationships, and the posts were incredibly nasty. When I was hiding in the bathroom crying, Director Chen was the first to come and help me. He helped me find a lawyer, secured the evidence, sent a lawyer's letter, and brought those people who spread the rumors to justice one by one—if it weren't for him, I wouldn't know what to do. He also told me that our Xiaotian is the strongest."

As she finished speaking, her voice gradually softened, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her fingers unconsciously twirled the ends of her hair.

The father and mother exchanged a glance, conveying a subtle meaning.

Mother Tian nodded gently. Father Tian placed his teacup on the coffee table, pondered for a moment, and then spoke in a slightly more relaxed tone:

"Now that you mention it, Director Chen does seem like a reliable person. The fact that he could help you with that kind of thing shows he's a good person. Alright, if you really have that ambition, your parents won't stop you."

"Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Mom!" Tian Xiwei jumped up from the sofa, hugged them one by one, and finally hugged Tian Xiyu, who was still eating an apple with a blank look on her face.

Tian Xiyu almost dropped her apple because of the tightness in her slits. She muttered, "Sister, don't strangle me to death! I haven't finished watching your silly show yet."

Tian Xiwei curled up back into the sofa, hugged the cushion to her chest, and smiled as she looked at herself on the screen as the ending theme song played.

On the rooftop, Huang Chengzi handed the earphones to Tan Song. The sunset slowly faded behind them, and the melody of "The Wind Rises" gently began to play.

She suddenly remembered the night they made a pinky promise in Chongqing. The streetlights on Guanyinqiao stretched their shadows very long. He hooked his little finger around hers and said, "Pinky promise, never to change for a hundred years."

Now she has actually played his leading role, they have actually made a pinky promise, and she has actually written her name on the letter of intent to sign a contract with the film and television company.

He kept all the promises she thought he was making to appease a child.

Well, anyway, he'll be my boss from now on, so it's only right that I invite him over for a meal sometime.

The last time he carried me on his back by the lake, I think I smelled a really nice scent on him. I wonder when we'll meet again.

As Tian Xiwei thought this, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she buried her face in the pillow, her ear tips turning a little red.