I'm here! This chapter is super sweet!
Chapter 30 CP30
Mooncake TV is currently planning a talent show called "Shining Star Path". The show will select the top eighteen from two hundred contestants to form the final debut group.
There have been quite a few talent shows in the Chinese entertainment industry in recent years, but in order to make money quickly, most shows choose to shorten the production time, resulting in shoddy content. These shows are constantly filled with attention-grabbing gimmicks and exposed behind-the-scenes manipulations, which has been criticized by the industry.
As a leader in the industry, Mooncake TV aims to create a meticulously crafted talent show brand, putting in a lot of effort in every aspect, from selecting program venues and conducting background checks on contestants to designing assessment stages. Moreover, the show's four permanent mentors are all veteran singing and dancing stars, each with an impressive resume—three former superstars and one former superstar.
Even with such a star-studded lineup, the production team was still not satisfied. The planner of "Shining Star" is surnamed Chen, a renowned top planner in the variety show industry. He announced that the show plans to select one person from current idols to serve as a guest mentor for three episodes and also to release the theme song.
This is considered a top-tier opportunity in the idol industry, and many talent agencies immediately sent in their artists' resumes.
However, Chen, the planner, was very picky in selecting people. Those with high influence and active fans did not have outstanding professional skills, while those with outstanding professional skills were not young and beautiful enough. If all three conditions were met, he was afraid that they would overshadow the main content, and the audience would watch the guest mentors instead of paying attention to the program content, which would put the cart before the horse.
The repeated rejections only proved the value of this resource, and the number of companies and artists coming to recommend themselves increased rather than decreased, keeping the production team extremely busy.
"Mr. Chen."
Chen, the planner who had just finished the morning meeting, was stopped by his assistant who was running up to him.
"The guest who made an appointment with you yesterday has been waiting for you for half an hour..."
Perhaps realizing that submitting resumes was ineffective, many companies opted to send representatives to interview Chen. He glanced at his watch.
Five minutes.
Investors from the Lu Group are reassessing the program's value, and Chen, the planner, is extremely busy and overwhelmed. His expression is clearly displeased.
“I met him in the meeting room five minutes later, and again, I only gave him five minutes.”
*
Unlike the previous times, Chen's client this time was a young woman whose eyes and brows were hidden behind sunglasses, making her look less like an entertainment company agent.
Upon seeing Chen, the planner, push open the door and enter, the woman quickly stood up, crisply handed over an artist's resume, and got straight to the point about her purpose.
She said she was the agent of Ms. Chen Fu under Xihe Film and Television. Ms. Chen was particularly interested in the program and hoped to further cooperate with Mooncake TV to serve as a guest mentor for the first three episodes of "Shining Star".
Planner Chen glanced through the resume in his hand, which provided a detailed introduction to Chen Fu in terms of strength, popularity, and commercial value. Recently, Chen Fu's comeback has been going very well. First, she has the lead role in a hit drama, and then she frequently appears at various galas, with her popularity soaring. She certainly meets the requirements of the program team.
But is Chen Fu able to dance on stage now?
Doubts prevented Chen from expressing his satisfaction. He nodded to the person in front of him, indicating that he understood.
"I have received your resume, but we may need to discuss the specific candidates further."
After saying this, Planner Chen was about to leave when someone behind him called him back.
"Judging from the overall quality of the artists, Chen Fu is indeed the best choice for the production team right now."
The woman's words were quite pertinent, but Planner Chen felt a surge of displeasure at being provoked: as a top variety show planner, he was fawned over by celebrities and entertainment company executives alike. Planner Chen never needed anyone's guidance in his choices, so he immediately spoke up, clearly annoyed.
"Whose choice is it, yours or mine? Do you understand, or do I?"
Perhaps because he had been in a high position for a long time, Planner Chen spoke and acted with a hint of arrogance. In today's popular terms, Planner Chen was a typical "paternalistic man".
Anyone would feel uncomfortable hearing such unsolicited criticism, as if a single word of advice wasn't enough. Planner Chen added with a cold snort.
"The program has a detailed set of criteria for selecting artists, and we have to compare different options."
A single glance from someone who has long held a high position is enough to send chills down one's spine. Sure enough, the harsh words caused the person in front of him to change his expression, and Chen, the planner, felt a surge of dominance.
"Well said."
The woman took off her sunglasses and pulled a business card from her handbag.
"I accept your suggestion. The investment in the program's title sponsorship is indeed debatable."
These words left Planner Chen speechless.
"After all, when choosing which programs to invest in, the brands under my management also need to compare prices from multiple sources."
After saying this, the woman turned and left. Planner Chen picked up the business card on the table, and the long list of job descriptions on it dazzled him.
The most important thing is the woman's name.
Her name is Lu Yu.
The deer in the Lu Group...
*
"You could have just sent your agent to do this. Why did you go yourself?"
After Lu Xiaomi visited Planner Chen, she was quickly chosen as the flight instructor for "Shining Star Path". Chen Fu was overjoyed to receive the offer, but after hearing about Lu Xiaomi's glorious deeds of using the endorsement to blackmail Planner Chen, her tone carried a hint of resentment.
Her exquisite stage makeup accentuated her alluring features, and under the dazzling lights of the dressing room, she appeared exceptionally radiant.
Lu Xiaomi smiled and said that Planner Chen was a particularly difficult person to deal with. If she didn't push him today, he might not give in for a long time.
Lu Xiaomi had things to do in the afternoon. She glanced at her watch, got up, and kissed Chen Fu on the cheek. The light touch didn't ruin Chen Fu's delicate makeup; instead, it made her even more alluring.
So Chen Fu was left alone in the huge dressing room. She was fiddling with her phone, feeling a little bored. There were still three or four hours before the show started recording, and she had already memorized the script.
While waiting, Chen Fu unexpectedly encountered an old friend. Xia Xia, dressed in a pale yellow dress, rushed over excitedly upon seeing Chen Fu. Perhaps because of the warm color of her clothes, Xia Xia looked particularly radiant and beautiful. Chen Fu remembered their first meeting. Back then, Xia Xia looked exactly the same as she did now, but her tightly furrowed brows hinted at a calculating expression. She hadn't been having an easy time then, so her words and actions carried a touch of obsequiousness.
A person's appearance can change depending on their circumstances, and Chen Fu had heard more or less about Xia Xia. After being reprimanded by Lu Yu, Wei Xi was dejected, and Xia Xia took the opportunity to volunteer. Seeing that several projects were about to fall into her hands, Ms. Sun had no choice but to give Xia Xia the resources as a last resort.
Unexpectedly, she seized the opportunity and is now a rising star.
Xiaxia was adept at reading people's expressions. Knowing that Chen Fu had been kind to her, she rushed over and hugged Chen Fu, acting coquettishly. She first said, "Sister Fu, I've missed you so much since I last saw you." Then, she pretended to be surprised and looked at Chen Fu's face in the mirror, and then smiled and said, "Sister Fu, you've become even more beautiful in just a few days."
Is there?
Following her words, Chen Fu looked at herself in the mirror and realized that she did indeed look prettier. Her brows, which had often furrowed due to her awkward situation, had relaxed, and her lips, which used to droop, were now constantly upturned.
The biggest change was in her eyes. Before, her eyes often held a depressed look, but now they were exceptionally bright, seemingly full of hope.
Yes, there is.
She is indeed developing in a positive direction. She is now successful in her career and has a happy love life, which is almost a foreseeable outcome. With Lu Yu by her side to protect her, she can reach the peak of her career with almost no effort. Moreover, Lu Yu loves her so much. This love seems to have no reason, but it is stronger than any other emotion that Chen Fu has seen in all these years.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror; her face was indeed flawless and radiant.
"Sister Fu, the artists are ready."
Little Bell peeked out from the doorway and called out. Chen Fu quickly stood up from her seat, with Xia Xia attentively by her side. There were many cameras on the way to the studio; the production team had instructed them to record every minute before the artists appeared.
The long corridor finally came to an end, as if emerging from darkness into light. Chen Fu was dazzled by the stage lights. Under the spotlight, she stood in the center of the stage, with dozens of cameras and envious trainees below.
At this moment, Chen Fu was indeed someone others could envy.
If her life were a novel, then if the story ended here, it would be a very good and fulfilling life.
*
After the recording ended, Chen, the planner, organized a dinner party, ostensibly to "get to know each other better." Chen Fu was very familiar with this phrase, which reminded her of the treacherous banquet during the filming of "Cultivation" and Ye Xin's difficult behavior at the banquet.
So she tried to refuse, but Chen, who had always hated being disobeyed, especially by a young woman, could only smile and tell Chen Fu to get some rest because of Lu Yu's relationship with her.
Before leaving, Xiaolingdang thoughtfully carried her handbag. She didn't have enough assistants, so her agent assigned her two more.
Chen Fu had a few drinks with Planner Chen today, and she felt vaguely unhappy. It wasn't because of drinking with Planner Chen, and she couldn't explain why she felt unhappy. When she left, the cold wind made her feel a sharp pain in her heart.
It was already quite cold in Weicheng in February. In the darkness, she saw a flickering red light.
The person smoking has long, curly hair and wears exaggerated earrings.
Eva turned around and said to Chen Fu, "Xiao Fu, I've been waiting for you for so long."
*
EVA is still the same as before.
Two years ago, when Chen Fu was first signed to Xihe, she was already very famous. She was the only female singer under Xihe and a well-known pop diva.
Not long after Chen Fu joined Xihe, she came to visit and extended an olive branch, saying that she admired Chen Fu very much and that she wanted to invite Chen Fu to be her guest performer as her tour concert was about to begin.
This opportunity was incredibly tempting for Chen Fu at the time, so she agreed almost without thinking. The preparations for the performance went smoothly, and Eva's concert was highly anticipated. Chen Fu could almost imagine that this opportunity would revive her career.
But what happened next shocked everyone. There was a problem with the stage at the concert, and Chen Fu lost her footing and fell from the stage, which was several meters high. She broke her right leg and may never be able to perform on stage again.
Everyone said it was Chen Fu's fault; she remembered the wrong position, which led to the accident.
But Chen Fu knew that the iron plate beneath her feet had come loose.
Eva finished her cigarette while Chen Fu remained silent.
"I'm very sorry about what happened back then."
Like a boulder thrown into a cold pool, Chen Fu's heart trembled violently.
"If you're still interested in the truth, I'm willing to tell you."
--------------------
Author's Note:
The gifts that fate bestows always come with a price tag attached—Stefan Zweig, *Marie Antoinette*
Chapter 31 CP31
After a short annual leave, a long work week ensued, and the mountain of work left Lu Xiaomi overwhelmed. She was now not only managing Xihe's affairs but also gradually taking on project follow-ups within the group. It was said that this was Lu Yu's father's idea; he felt that as his only daughter, Lu Yu shouldn't just be stuck working small-scale jobs at the entertainment company.
Lu Xiaomi was stumped by her cheap father's casual instructions. Lu Yu had returned to China after graduating from an economics program abroad. He was knowledgeable and had a relevant major, while Lu Xiaomi was just an ordinary college student majoring in liberal arts. She had to learn many of the established rules from scratch, and even the simplest tasks were difficult for her, causing her to complain endlessly.
As dawn broke, the meeting on her phone finally ended. Lu Xiaomi, draped in a cloth, stood by the window. She had stayed up all night again, sustained only by the coffee in her hand. The steam from the coffee created a blurry flower shape in front of the French windows. Lu Xiaomi leaned wearily against the window and casually wiped it away.
Outside the window, a pale blue shadow stretched across the river. The faint sound of a ship's horn echoed in her ears. Her breath was heavy with the stale air accumulated overnight. She was enjoying a rare moment of tranquility when, upon closing her eyes, she felt a sharp pain in her eye sockets. She raised her hand to her eye sockets, but the phone on the table suddenly rang.
The looping ringtone broke the silence in the office. Annoyed, Lu Xiaomi wanted to turn it off, but then she froze when she saw the contact. It was none other than Chen Fu's assistant, Xiao Lingdang.
"Mr. Lu, are you busy right now? I'm at Sister Fu's door, but she won't answer no matter how much I knock..."
The girl's anxious voice suddenly broke out. Little Bell spoke incoherently, and Lu Xiaomi had to ask her questions for a long time before she understood.
The girl said Chen Fu was fine last night. After finishing her work on "Shining Star," she got into her van and even said goodbye to her affectionately when she got home. This morning, when Xiao Lingdang went to pick her up, Chen Fu suddenly stopped responding. No matter how much she knocked, Chen Fu wouldn't answer, and dozens of phone calls went unanswered. Xiao Lingdang didn't have a key to Chen Fu's house, and seeing that she was about to miss her work, she became extremely anxious and had no choice but to call Lu Xiaomi.
Xiao Lingdang's words made Lu Xiaomi's heart skip a beat. Chen Fu was always dedicated to her work; even when sick, she rarely missed work, and she would never disappear without replying to messages or answering calls. Chen Fu's career had recently taken off, and she had suddenly received many work offers. Lu Xiaomi was worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the current workload and had specifically told her not to push herself too hard...