"She's the one who acted in 'Princess Xuanping' before. Oh, and she was recently nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Eagle Awards. She's probably the most talented actress among this batch of young actresses!"
"Yes, yes, she even claims to be 'the dream girl of all men in China,' pshaw!"
Hearing them say that, Chu Meibo did have a vague recollection of them; it seemed... they were her manager's former artists?
Chu Meibo raised an eyebrow, a smile of interest on her face: "This is interesting."
Chapter 53
When Xu Anqi returned to the company, her mood still hadn't calmed down; instead, she became increasingly depressed.
Assistant Pingping asked cautiously, "Anqi, let's touch up our makeup, we have a gig later..."
However, Xu Anqi's response was to sweep everything on the table onto the floor. Pingping was startled and immediately dared not speak again.
Just then, the door was pushed open, and a gentle female voice asked.
"What's wrong? Who made our little princess angry again?"
Pingping raised her head and stammered, "Sister Hua."
The woman who came was named Hua Rong, a top agent at Menghe Entertainment. She was fair-skinned and slightly plump, always smiling, and seemed to have a very good temper. However, those within Menghe knew very well just how terrifying this woman was.
She's no ordinary person; she rose from a celebrity assistant to Menghe's top agent in just five years.
Even someone as willful as Xu Anqi would temper her temper when facing her: "Sister Hua."
Hua Rong smiled as she picked up the things from the ground: "I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately. It's fine to vent your temper at the company, but you must control yourself when you're out in public, lest you ruin your fairy-like image."
Xu Anqi pursed her lips and reluctantly agreed.
Hua Rong didn't press her to find out why she was angry. She waved the script in her hand and casually changed the subject: "There are a few new scripts coming out recently. Do you want to take a look?"
Xu Anqi nodded, took the script, and sat down on the sofa to start reading.
Hua Rong sat opposite her, looking at her with a gentle expression, but the words she spoke were anything but warm: "Pingping, I think Anqi seems to have gained a little weight. Has she been lax in her weight management lately?"
Xu Anqi frowned: "Sister Hua..."
Hua Rong waved her hand: "You're about to attend Milan Fashion Week, which is related to your status in the fashion world. You don't want to be criticized for gaining weight, do you?"
"Also, I plan to secure a real high-end luxury endorsement for you this year. Only then will your position as a top-tier actress be truly secure. You can't let me down, you hear me?"
Xu Anqi responded softly, then lowered her head to flip through the script again.
Hua Rong didn't care about her impolite attitude. In her eyes, there were only two kinds of artists: those with value and those without. She would tolerate the former, like Xu Anqi, no matter how she acted, but she wouldn't even give the latter a second glance.
After a while, Xu Anqi finished flipping through the script, but her expression didn't improve: "Sister Hua, what kind of scripts are these! Why are they still idol dramas and period dramas? Don't you have any better scripts?"
Hua Rong patiently explained, "In TV dramas, these are considered good ones. As for movies, most of the roles offered to you are supporting roles, or low-budget comedies that aren't good for your career, so I turned them all down."
"It's happening again!" Xu Anqi stood up abruptly, saying impatiently, "Sister Hua, I've been with Menghe for three years, but in these three years, the company hasn't given me any decent resources at all. I'm still living off what I made three years ago! That's not what you promised me back then!"
A hint of displeasure flashed in Hua Rong's eyes, but she quickly regained her smile: "An Qi, that's not how it works. Over the past three years, I've been the one who single-handedly helped you rise to your current status as a popular young actress. Aren't all the endorsements and variety shows you have top-tier among actresses your age? You can't pretend you don't see that, can you?"
Xu Anqi was speechless for a moment.
"As for good scripts, they are not lacking. Director Li has a new script in hand. The script is good and has the potential to win awards."
Xu Anqi's eyes lit up, but Hua Rong just chuckled and said, "However, the story takes place in a rural area of Northeast China. All the actors have to spend a whole month in the countryside to truly experience rural life before filming begins. No makeup, no skincare, farming and feeding chickens during the day, sleeping on a heated brick bed at night, and the outhouse is the kind of mud outhouse with two planks. Can you endure that hardship?"
Xu Anqi's face immediately turned pale.
Hua Rong said earnestly, "Anqi, look at yourself now. You're so glamorous and make money so easily. You don't have to drink and laugh with investors for roles. You live in a big house, and seven or eight people surround you. So many people envy you. Don't take this for granted."
After Hua Rong's actions, she completely silenced Xu Anqi, telling her to rest in her room before leaving the lounge and returning to her office.
After a while, Pingping knocked on the door and came in.
Hua Rong, who was busy with her work, casually asked, "How's it going?"
“Anqi was still a little unhappy, but she has calmed down now.”
Hua Rong scoffed: "What on earth is she thinking? Why is she giving up her comfortable life as a little princess? What kind of bewitching drug did Shen Huai give her before?"
Something occurred to her, and she asked, "By the way, I felt she was acting strange today. What happened?"
Pingping hesitated for a moment before telling him about Xu Anqi's visit to Chu Meibo.
Hua Rong frowned: "Why would she go looking for trouble with a newbie? If the paparazzi find out, wouldn't she be using her as a stepping stone? -- Wait, Xu Anqi has a bad temper, but she never goes looking for trouble. What exactly is this newbie's identity?"
Pingping whispered, "I heard she's a new actor signed by Mr. Shen..."
"Shen Huai again?" Hua Rong frowned even more. "Find out the information so I can take a look."
Pingping immediately took out Chu Meibo's information, which included the video of Kui Ji that had previously gone viral on the hot search.
Hua Rong stared intently at the screen, then said with a complicated expression, "Where did Shen Huai find this person? If she were in my hands, I could make her the most popular female star in all of China!"
Hua Rong watched the video again before asking, "You met her today. What's her personality like?"
Pingping's expression twisted as she recalled what had happened.
"Doesn't seem too easy to deal with?" Hua Rong frowned slightly. "Okay, I understand. I'll try to meet him myself when I have time."
Pingping hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
"Sister Hua, what will happen to our Anqi if you sign her?"