“Ji Li?” Sun Yong repeated the name, his eyes filled with satisfaction. “I haven’t been at the company for the past three months. The new people dug up by the company look good.”
“I will listen to the company’s arrangements. Just put him under my hands.” Sun Yong was crafty and he recognized the merits of Ji Li’s face with one glance.
There was a competition between the company’s agents. Rather than letting a good seedling like Ji Li become a weapon for others to make money, it was better to hold Ji Li tightly in his own hands.
Even if it was rotten, it should rot in his hands. Ji Li stood silently, his eyes gloomy. He had always been disgusted with agents like Sun Yong who would take the ‘depraved side door.’
Wang Qiuhui seemed to perceive something and he told Sun Yong, “You should go to He Ling first in case he makes any mistakes with his extreme temperament. I have to talk to Ji Li.”
Sun Yong’s brow furrowed as he thought about that ancestor He. His eyes moved back and forth between the two people and he changed his previous words.
“Okay. Ask Ji Li to add my WeChat later and I will find time to talk to him about future works.” Based on his words, he already regarded Ji Li as an artist under his own hands. Sun Yong finished and left quickly.
Ji Li waited until his figure disappeared completely before looking at Wang Qiuhui. “Group Leader Wang, I don’t want Sun Yong as my agent.”
“Oh?” Wang Qiuhui blew out a thin puff of smoke and looked at him with a smile.
“Come in and talk.” The door of the office was closed again. Wang Qiuhui leaned against the table and brushed away dust with his fingers. “You should know that a newcomer can’t choose. You must unconditionally obey the company’s arrangements.”
Ji Li heard the warning and calmly replied, “I know but my agent just can’t be Sun Yong.”
“Ji Li, to tell you the truth, the company’s artist department is very optimistic about the potential of your face. Letting Sun Yong take you is out of the best consideration for you.” Wang Qiuhui analyzed it seriously.
The company’s agent resources were limited. Apart from the already famous stars who could have a separate agency team, the rest of the newcomers needed to squeeze under several agents on average. There was competition for resources among them.
“Sun Yong just signed He Ling some time ago and the resources that will come with it won’t be small. He Ling and you are around the same age and the external conditions are similar. The roles he can play, you can play as well.”
“You won’t have such good resources following other agents.” Wang Qiuhui concealed some facts and tried to persuade this person. “Sun Yong has some means and there are no newcomers he has looked after who haven’t risen to the top.”
Understanding flashed through Ji Li’s eyes as he saw through it without saying anything. The reason an old fox like Sun Yong specialized in newcomers was simply because they were easy to control.
Furthermore, what would the means be? In the entertainment industry, there was a lot of ‘mutual consent’ to climb up in the entertainment industry.
Pay with the body to get resources. Combined with some hype means and it was easy to rise. In the book, the original owner followed this way.
Wang Qiuhui couldn’t see through Ji Li’s emotions for a while and his tone sank. “Why? You still don’t want to?”
“No, but I have no choice right?” Ji Li was honest. “Indeed, you have no choice compared to He Ling.” Wang Qiuhui spoke bluntly, cutting off any path of retreat.
As a powerless newcomer, Ji Li knew better than anyone that he had no bargaining chip to negotiate with the company except for his face. The original owner’s first few film and television resources were won for him by the company and Sun Yong.
If he blatantly defied the company’s decision now, his road in the future would be even harder.
“I see,” Ji Li replied. He had ambition and strength but he also understood the truth that ‘an egg can’t touch a stone.’
The original owner in the book was completely eliminated from the entertainment industry due to his poor acting skills and had to go on a path of no return.
Meanwhile, Ji Li was different. He was a film emperor who had won a trophy. He just needed to choose good scripts and he would accumulate a lot sooner or later. It wasn’t too late to find a good agent once he had some capital.
As for Sun Yong? The other party wanted to lead him by the nose but it was impossible.
“You’ve thought well.” Wang Qiuhui secretly sighed with relief and assured him, “Don’t worry, as long as you make some splashes, I will discuss it with Director Song Lan and assign you a separate agent.”
Ji Li didn’t care about these things and asked in a straightforward manner, “Will my next film or television work be arranged by Sun Yong?”
“Yes, any suitable resources that the company has will be pushed to you through him.” Ji Li nodded and left the office with no attachment.
Wang Qiuhui extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray and stared at Ji Li’s back with a deep smile. He originally thought this young man was a soft persimmon easily squeezed by others.
Unexpectedly, he had strong opinions. Wang Qiuhui just hoped that this pride could last long in this circle where crooks were mixed with honest people.
***
Ji Li found a lounge and searched for He Ling’s information on the mobile phone. He was under the same agent as the other person so he should understand this person.
Soon, He Ling’s photos and information popped up. He Ling had an ordinary, handsome look. He might stand out among passersby but he seemed ordinary in the crowd of handsome people in the entertainment industry. His advantage lay in the fact that his face was very malleable.
He appeared in an idol audition show last year. Compared with his appearance in his private life, every stage make-up gave people a different and surprising feeling. Cute, handsome, sunny, evil… the completely different make-up attributes could be supported on He Ling’s body and there was no sense of disharmony.
He relied on the modeling of several stages to suck up a bunch of the show fans but ended up just missing out on the debut. At that time, he made the Weibo hot search and the cruel abuse made him gain a wave of die-hard fans.
It was a pity that He Ling’s original company was a small workshop and he completely missed out on the post-show hot period.
Instead, they frantically received advertisements for him to make the fans spend money. The entertainment industry was updated very quickly, let alone an idol from an audition show like He Ling. In just one year, he already lost a lot of popularity.
Four months ago, he terminated his contract with his original company and was recruited to Dream Media by Sun Yong. He Ling didn’t take the road of singing and dancing again.
Instead, he picked the role of first male lead of a young idol Internet drama. He just finished filming half a month ago and was probably looking for a new film or television resource.
Footsteps were heard at the door. Ji Li looked up and saw Sun Yong walking in with a black briefcase. He sat on the opposite side and spoke unceremoniously and bluntly, “You are very lucky that the company placed you in my hands.” As he spoke, Sun Yong looked at Ji Li’s appearance again.
He had looked after many newcomers and it was rare to be able to attract eyes like this with plain make-up. It was completely unreasonable if this face didn’t become popular in the entertainment industry.
Sun Yong might be thinking this way in his heart but he deliberately emphasized, “You should know that our company has several film and television stars that I have brought out during their newcomer period. As long as you listen to me obediently, I promise to help you gain a firm foothold in the entertainment industry within three years.”
Ji Li smiled in a perfunctory manner and asked, “What resources do I have next?” Sun Yong hadn’t expected Ji Li to be so direct. He took out two scripts from his briefcase. “You can choose between the second male lead of a costume drama or the first or second male lead of a youth drama.”
In fact, these two scripts were leftover. The reason Sun Yong gave the choice to Ji Li was to establish his image of authority in the other person’s heart.
As a newcomer who just debuted and wasn’t well-known, he could choose the script himself on the first day under Sun Yong.
Who wouldn’t be excited about this? Who wouldn’t feel lucky to have such a good agent?
Sun Yong leaned back in the chair and observed the young man’s expression, only to be greatly disappointed.
There were no ripples in Ji Li’s calm eyes. He took the two scripts on the table and said, “Yes, I will take a look.”
“……”
That was it? There were no words of gratitude? Ji Li didn’t think he was a very resourceful agent?
“Yes, take a look. The costume drama has our company’s investment and the production team is a bit better.” Sun Yong concealed his frustration while secretly calculating it in his heart.
Forget it, introverted people were better to control. Give Ji Li these supporting role resources first.
If Ji Li couldn’t be raised well then it wasn’t too late to ‘sell’ him. Sun Yong looked at Ji Li who cherished words like it was gold.
He was just about to say something when an urgent voice was heard from the door. “Brother Yong, Young Master He is at the studio and quarreling with the staff. He is angrily looking for you.”
The person who came was He Ling’s assistant. He had been scolded by He Ling for no reason and now he was crying from anger. Sun Yong frowned and couldn’t help his scolding words.
“That little ancestor, what type of young master temper does he have? I am his agent but do I have to coax him every day?” Even so, he stood up.
He Ling’s temper might be poor but Sun Yong could make a lot of profit from him. Sun Yong temporarily didn’t want to let go of this money tree.
“Ji Li, look at it for yourself and give me an answer within two days.” Sun Yong scribbled something casually.
Ji Li responded indifferently and waited for the people to leave before picking up the ancient costume script on the table. Ji Li read the outline of the characters on the first page before reading a few pages of the script content.
It was the second male lead who was a common tool man in costume dramas. He clearly met the heroine first and did gentle things for her, but he finally lost the heroine to the male protagonist who had the protagonist’s aura.
The ancient online dramas had the same routines and the plot was brainless and illogical. It took several years for a hugely popular drama to appear.
If it didn’t become popular, the second male lead would be reduced to the sidekick of the main protagonist. Ji Li shook his head to veto it and closed the script.
He could guess that these scripts were left over by He Ling due to poor quality or because the investment was too small. If it was switched to any other newcomer who just debuted, they would be happy as long as there was a job and take the script happily.
However, Ji Li had his own attitude toward his career. Before things were really desperate, he was unwilling to lower his pursuit of good scripts and roles.
The original owner played too many of these ancient dramas and his acting skills were wasted. He couldn’t rise up.
Ji Li rubbed between his eyebrows and picked up the other script. It had the theme of youthful secret love. According to Sun Yong, this film was a small-cost investment.
Ji Li didn’t have much hope but he still opened the script carefully, only to be unknowingly fascinated. It wasn’t until the sky outside the window was completely dark that Ji Li read the last line of the script’s final monologue.
“I am like a lobbyist out of time, trying to make them whole in each round of reincarnation.” Ji Li sighed and rubbed his sore eyes.
He turned back to the character summary column at the beginning and his eyes quietly fell on the last character’s name. Xiang Suian, third male lead.