novelraw Chapter 604 - 451: Another Game of Wits (Part 7)
Chapter 604 - 451: Another Game of Wits (Part 7)
Chapter 604: Chapter 451: Another Game of Wits (Part 7)
"I actually understand why you’re reluctant; let’s just pretend I was speaking off the cuff earlier. With your personality, if you hadn’t been in debt, I guess you wouldn’t have wanted to enter the entertainment industry to become a celebrity."
Zhou Yun spent the night in silence, not knowing when she fell asleep.
The next day, they checked out and returned to Shanghai with Zhou Lan.
However, after landing, Zhou Yun couldn’t go straight back to her apartment to rest. Zhou Lan had lined up several "fast-food jobs" for her, all of which had sought her out because of her surge in popularity the day before.
One of them was a brand promoter, which only required her to post a promotional advertisement on Weibo, but the advertisement needed to include a photo of her with the recommended product.
Zhou Yun arrived at the shooting location, where the product team was all ready, just waiting for her to show up.
The product was a household appliance, a new one at that, desperately needing to establish brand recognition—perfect timing as it coincided with Zhou Yun’s trending status.
A brand promoter isn’t an endorser, just a promotional title, but one promotion could earn her a seven-figure sum.
The entertainment circle is such a place: when there’s no buzz, you’re scratching around, unseen, in utter poverty; once the buzz starts, opportunities come from every direction, even pigs might fly.
Makeup, changing clothes, memorizing ad lines, shooting...
It took three hours to finish the photo shoot.
And it wasn’t over yet. An hour later, she still had to go to a live streamer’s room, again for product promotion, this time for a fast-selling snack.
Zhou Yun followed Zhou Lan in a hurried transfer, only grabbing a sandwich on the road.
Zhou Lan was responding to messages the entire time. Only when they neared the live streamer’s company did she manage to finish, putting down her phone with a long sigh of relief, glanced back at Zhou Yun with an expression mixed with joy and helplessness, and smiled, "These past two days it’s been like the whole world is suddenly looking for you."
Zhou Yun smiled and shook her head lightly, "It’s just temporary popularity."
"You’re calmer than most," Zhou Lan nodded, "Certainly less worrisome than many newcomers."
"Sister Lan, why haven’t you taken on any other artists?" Zhou Yun suddenly asked.
Other agents in the company all had more than one artist under their wing. Even if Zhou Lan was new to the business, in terms of benefits, the same level of newcomers, five artists would definitely earn more than one.
"I don’t have extra resources at hand, and I can barely support you, let alone a few more, which would just mean wasting time and energy without any point," Zhou Lan explained, "I know many agents like to sign several and let them claw their way up to see who can break out, but my mentor who brought me into the industry is an old hand, who values the traditional agency relationship more, and I prefer that method as well. Maybe after you become famous and can give back, then I’d consider taking on several more without neglecting them."
Zhou Yun said, "Yesterday at the show, Sister Ying mentioned that her agent has been with her since her debut, and they’ve been working together for over twenty years."
"The era when Chen Quanying debuted is different from now. Back then, the entire entertainment market was just starting to develop, everyone was feeling their way across the river, but now there’s a mature system in place, and agents need to operate under the company’s direction, more like nannies managing artists for the firm," Zhou Lan expressed, "I don’t want to be just a nanny."
"Hmm."
"I took an interest in you when I first saw you because you were not like other newcomers," Zhou Lan smiled faintly, "While others were busy hovering around the company’s big-time agents, you stood on the perimeter, calm and composed, and I thought, you must be someone with your own ideas, preferring to have some autonomy rather than being the puppet arranged by an agent."
"Ah? Sister Lan, you noticed? I thought you wanted to sign me because I don’t talk much and seem very obedient," Zhou Yun laughed.
"You’re clearly the most outstanding among all the newcomers. Do you think those big-time agents didn’t fight with me for you?" Zhou Lan chuckled lightly, "The times have changed. In the past, artists had to be unique, have their own personality, talent, to stand out. Now it’s the idol era; everything can be packaged, the key is you have to be obedient."
"Sister Lan, I’m not having a nightmare."
Coming out of the surveillance room, Zhou Yun immediately said to Zhou Lan.
She looked at Zhou Lan very seriously and earnestly, "Sister Lan, you have to believe me, I can tell whether I’m having a nightmare or not. Even if the rustling noise was a nightmare, the voice outside the door I really heard, it wasn’t an auditory hallucination, I’ve never had one before."