8、My reality

Afternoon, Ginza Building A, sixteenth floor.

Yang Yuran stood outside the Zhou Family Entertainment Company's dance studio, admiring her brothers' supple and powerful dance moves through the glass window, feeling as if she were in heaven.

"How do you feel? Willing to take them on?"

Zhou Yuanyuan, seeing Yang Yuran's engrossed expression, figured success was almost certain and asked out of formality.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. The boys have good figures, and they know how to showcase their assets. As long as they avoid serious missteps, they'll definitely be able to build a solid base of loyal fans."

Yang Yuran offered praise before Zhou Yuanyuan could finalize her judgement, quickly adding her own decision.

"I've checked their fan count and the establishment of their fan clubs. They debuted over a year ago and, on average, each member has over a million fans. Also, the activity level of the twelve fan groups stays around 95%, proving that their current manager is doing a very successful job. They're not right for me, though. Let's look at another group."

Zhou Yuanyuan almost choked on her breath, bluntly bursting out, "Do you think you're at a karaoke bar choosing hosts? Not satisfied with this batch, you can just get another."

"I'm not joking. The younger boys are fine, but it's not suitable for them to change managers now. For me, it's too simple and lacks challenge. Give me someone who meets the criteria but hasn't seen results yet for me to manage."

As Yang Yuran spoke, she didn't give Zhou Yuanyuan a direct look, her eyes intently fixed on the dance studio inside as if each extra glance was a gain.

"If everything is good, why won't you take them on? Give me a reason that holds up."

Zhou Yuanyuan couldn't quite fathom Yang Yuran's inner thoughts, and had a sense that Yang Yuran had changed a lot since returning to the country. She could feel Yang Yuran's appreciation for the boy band she had selected but could also sense Yang Yuran's refusal was not just a tactical retreat—it was annoying, having to second-guess each other like this.

"I want to accumulate more experience and not take shortcuts. Plus, I'll only really care about the little brothers I bring up myself, who will be utterly loyal to me."

Yang Yuran explained sincerely, without any pretense of politeness. After meeting with Zhou's father just before, she was even more certain of her choice. Zhou's father, doting on his darling daughter, readily agreed to Yang Yuran joining the company.

However, when it came to setting Yang Yuran's position, Zhou's father offered her the deputy director of human resources, and only after Zhou Yuanyuan's insistence on her being an agent did he relent.

The position of deputy director of human resources isn't particularly high or low, essentially a fixed post for those with connections. The job mostly involves smoothing out relationships between department heads and regular demands, and keeping an eye on company team-building activities and the like.

When Zhou's father was willing to offer a place, the tolerance for errors was indeed very high, turning a blind eye to many things. But when his mood changed, just pinpointing one or two instances of her inaction would be enough to fire her.

The saying goes 'no business without deceit,' and Zhou's father was no exception. If she really took on the role of deputy director of human resources, her future development would all depend on the stability of her relationship with Zhou Yuanyuan, or even Zhou Yuanyuan's mood.

She trusted Zhou Yuanyuan, but she couldn't always be someone's playmate, right? Against letting others dictate her fate, she needed to cultivate the strength to fulfill her desires.

Zhou Yuanyuan, unable to persuade her, had her father's secretary at her side reorganize a batch of idol resumes.

Chief Secretary Lin Zitong was highly efficient, and within half an hour, had organized the types of talent Yang Yuran was interested in.

Yang Yuran quickly looked through the introductions of the younger male candidates, first deleting the popular boys that Zhou Yuanyuan had hidden among them and carefully examining the resumes of the seven who remained.

Among the seven, six were in a group, leaving one named He Qian alone on the outside. He was fairly good-looking, with big eyes, single eyelids, a very thin and short upper lip—a common appearance for a boy from the north. Such looks were indeed quite ordinary in the entertainment industry, nothing compared to the dancing brothers she just saw, let alone Qin Muyu's almost otherworldly charm.

The image of Qin Muyu's profoundly sculpted features automatically surfaced in her mind, especially that engaging mole on the right side of his nose—it was incredibly tempting!

Shaking her head to clear these impure thoughts, she reminded herself that a friend's husband was off-limits, not to mention the man her best friend liked.

Turning her attention back to He Qian's resume, she noticed that he had previously been a member of the group of six. He had a strong talent for imitation and had gained a bit of popularity when he performed with the group on a classic film and television variety show.

Later, due to his inability to fit in and his refusal to comply with the company's plans, he was kicked out of the group. The company, considering his age of 21 and that he was soon past the golden age for idol development, decided to put him in a semi-shelved position.

He was occasionally given small variety shows to stay busy, providing him with space and time to transition and continue his training if he became popular. Otherwise, if he didn't become a hit, they would drag it out until the end of his contract and then promptly let him go.

"Refusing to comply with the company's arrangements," Yang Yuran read out the reason for He Qian being kicked out of the group with a meaningful tone.

Zhou Yuanyuan, picking up on Yang Yuran's offbeat intonation, straightened her face and clarified, "You know that my dad's Jiade Media tends to respect the choices of artists and doesn't encourage nor completely prevent unspoken rules because there are many grey areas in this industry. Some artists want to rise quickly and choose this path voluntarily."

Yang Yuran's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a mischievous and alluring smile as she let out a long "Oh," and asked softly, "I didn't say anything, what are you nervous about?"

"Cut it out, we've known each other since we were kids, don't play the coy fox with me. He Qian is a stubborn and willful mule; I advise you to drop the idea of working with him."

Zhou Yuanyuan rolled her eyes, but her curiosity was piqued even more by her patient friend, who began to reveal the whole story, "Jiade mainly fosters idol-type artists, and we have a partner company that focuses on cultivating the film and TV industry's talents. You should know this company; it's called Asna Media. Despite the foreign name, it's actually a domestic entertainment company with domestic owners."

While listening, Yang Yuran continued to read through the group of six's resumes, casually asking, "So He Qian was the leader in the group of six before?"

"Yeah, he's the most experienced. Don't interrupt me; let me finish. The second in command at Asna is a woman, even more lecherous than you, who particularly likes fresh young boys. It stands to reason that she wouldn't be interested in He Qian; after all, he's 21. But that stubborn mule He Qian is not only obstinate; he also loves to meddle. The old lecher wanted to quietly favor one of his group members, and the young boy was willing, aiming to coyly get more resources. What happened next still infuriates me every time I think about it; do you know what that piece of work He Qian did?"

Zhou Yuanyuan clenched her fists and thumped them on the table repeatedly, waiting a few seconds for Yang Yuran to respond before launching into a tirade of her own.

"The celebration dinner for the variety show ended, and the old lecher and the young boy were heading to the hotel when He Qian insisted on joining them. The old lecher called me, and I tried to persuade He Qian to come back to the company instead. I never imagined that by saying he'd 'be back later,' he meant after he had secretly ruined their affair. The old lecher had her moment interrupted and claimed it caused her an indelible psychological trauma, demanding a hefty sum for mental therapy from my dad."

Zhou Yuanyuan vividly conjured the image of an old lothario helplessly worn out, truly a pitiable sight, though it was her father who was the even more unfortunate victim.

Yang Yuran couldn't help but laugh, closing the resumes of the other six and lightly tapping on the photo on He Qian's cover page, using an innocent tone to lay a trap.

"Come on, bring him over; I want to meet him. I'll help Uncle Zhou get some payback."