Star dreams
Yang Jingshen had mulled over this change ever since he learned of it. Was it the presence of the monarchy that led to increased prestige in the world of art in this country? After all, having the imperial family as patrons instead of a government with the risk of changing hands once every few years was infinitely better, no?
Not only that, but he also learned that even some of the imperial family members had dabbled in various fields of entertaining arts, which would have been very much frowned upon if it was in the past.
But, the most remarkable among all of them would be a princess born in the latter parts of the last century who decided that she wanted to be an actress.
This had set up a storm not only in their country but all over the world because this person had been the daughter of the younger brother of the emperor at that time!
A direct imperial descendant becoming an entertainer!? Something unheard of!
This of course led to a heated debate on the prestige of artists which then proceeded to discuss the closeness of royalty to the commoners and had even stretched up to inspecting the rights of women. The culprit, that one particular princess had been totally unfazed and had gone on her merry way of making a name for herself in China's showbiz.
Hearing this absurd tale of epic proportion for the first time, Yang Jingshen remembered falling into momentary speechlessness. Let's put aside the fact that an imperial princess thought she wanted to be an actress, but how did the imperial family even agree with this thing in the first place?
Back to our original topic– So, Yang Jingshen had first thought that it had been because of the monarchy. After all, they can't have their own bury themselves inside the pile of shit that was the entertainment world and still allow others to point at it and call it stinky, no? Their imperial dignity wouldn't survive that.
After arriving at this logical conclusion, he finally started feeling quite complacent when his curiosity again got the better of him– he hadn't wanted to, but damn him and his inquisitiveness. In the end, he decided to take a peek at the art world of foreign countries. And what he saw had left him in a cold sweat.
Because, in those countries as well, industries like Hollywood and Bollywood and whatnot were thriving -just as in his own world- but that wasn't the end of it. It was a mega blast– an explosion of epic proportion. You simply can't call it thriving and stop at that.
After some surface comparison with these giants, the parallel industries in Yang Jingshen's original world would be left in the dust. The techniques, types of equipment used, the publicity and prestige, the artwork that had been produced– even the talents of the artists seemed miles ahead.
'This can't be due to that damned book right? Could this world have adjusted itself to suit its plot settings to give it the best of advantages? Then… this novel and its plot, aren't they more dangerous than they appear to be?"Yang Jingshen shivered slightly after getting off the taxi.
Something that totally changed the cultural settings of a whole world– if that kind of thing isn't scary, then what could be?
All in all, the result of this artificial boom had been that a large part of the populace trying to excel in some form of art. And, the entertainment industry being one of the easiest to thrive in -with the basic requirement being just looking good enough- it had been flooded with hundreds of thousands of prospective talents, each and every one of them trying to carve out a path for themselves in this glittery world.
Of course, insiders knew better than to just look at all that glamour covering the stinking gore inside, but how would the starry-eyed newbies who were each dreaming of becoming the next Jiang Wen or next Gong Li– Ah pardon him, for a moment there, he forgot that this world doesn't have these famous celebrity figures. That was his bad.
Anyway, just as hundreds of thousands of hopeful young blood would fight to make a place for themselves in this entertainment industry, so was another part of the society trying to make their mark in it as well– the talent agencies.
Just within the last few decades, tens of thousands of them had cropped up all over this country alone, which was saying quite something. But then again, only a few hundred or an even lesser amount of them could be considered as companies that were of value and would produce artists of real talents.
As for the rest– well, let's just say that humans were also quite skillful in deceptions and exploiting others disguised in form of hard work, eh?
But, even among those rare few reliable talent agencies located in the empire of China, there stood a few companies that could claim themselves as trailblazers in the industry and easily claimed the top positions without fail.
And, 'Star dreams entertainment', the company to which the original Feng Xi had been contracted, was one such giant… though not at the very top. But, no one would be fool enough to say that their presence wasn't felt in this circle.
***
Yang Jingshen stood in the foyer of the huge multi-story building as his toes started to slowly freeze in the incessantly blowing wind while he waited for Feng Xue to deal with the security. Seeing his slightly shivering form, his sister mouthed a 'sorry' but the security check was still not finished.
'Is there some trouble? Didn't they remove my ban already?'
Surprisingly, they hadn't been accosted by reporters at the company's main entrance, despite the fact that there seemed to be an influx of them hovering near the premises. But then again, it was probably because Feng Xi's scandal had long since cooled off and she was not a famous actress, to begin with. But…
'There's definitely something wrong.' Yang Jingshen unlocked his phone screen and clicked on the Weibo icon. 'There're too many reporters than should be present and security is alert as well. Also, there're lots of people coming into the company and it's way past the usual office opening hours.'
But before he could check the trending topics for any clues, a harried-looking Feng Xue reached him after finally getting the ok from the security. "Sorry darling, I thought it would be warmer by noon. Guess that winter is closer than we thought it to be."
She hastily crammed their Ids and some papers that looked like forms into her bag and flashed him a quick smile before starting to walk into the building. "They tightened the security. It's so troublesome ah!"
Finally reaching the interiors, Yang Jingshen heaved a sigh of relief as he felt the warmth slowly return to his frozen body. "What happened? Why did they take so long to check?"
Few people glanced their way and one or two showed signs of recognition when seeing him, but none appeared too interested. It really looked like the heat of his own scandal had definitely died down. But something else had happened, right?
Feng Xue glanced at him but kept walking without stopping. It was only after they reached an empty area on a side of the large foyer that she set down her bag on a countertop fixed to the walls, before answering his question.
"Looks like some scandal happened with Tang Qian. Supposedly, it's all over the news…"She had now pulled out a makeup set before proceeding to touch up his makeup.
"You don't know what happened?" Yang Jingshen tried to evade the brush and was rewarded with a knock on his head and a stern "Hold still!". Fortunately, a large artificial plant decoration blocked them from prying eyes and they were already inside the company so he was spared the embarrassment.
"Nah-uh. I was worrying over you coming here today and totally forgot to check any news." She finally finished and the makeup kit was closed with a neat click. "It was my fault… But this is not a bad thing at all."
Yang Jingshen forgot his indignation at the earlier admonishment from the other as they shared a conspiratory smile. Then he suddenly stopped smiling and straightened the creases on his sweater and pants before looking up and talking to his cousin in a serious and upright manner.
"Then, I should thank senior sister Tang Qian for helping an unknown artist like me in this way." ^_^
Feng Xue stared at him in surprise for a moment before she burst out laughing. "You naughty kid! Always looking for mischief."
Yang Jingshen grinned but declined to comment. What naughty? He was definitely a person who remembered gratitudes and grudges with clear separation. No need to praise him for his good manners ah!