Chen Ziyan and He Heng sat in the last row of the conference room.
They are both agents and have known each other for a long time. When He Heng was able to help Jiang Yuqian become a top female star, Chen Ziyan also helped a lot. The two have a good relationship.
However, as agents, their faces are rarely familiar to the young artists in the company. After all, they rarely meet, and when they do, they don’t pay attention to their appearance.
"Are these young people signed by the company still following the same aesthetic standards? Are they all going to debut in a boy band?" Chen Ziyan thought back to the faces she had seen that afternoon. "Out of hundreds of people, the ones who left the best impression on me are still the ones who debuted three years ago."
"Those guys were genuine idols who were chosen through competition. Later, the talent show was cancelled, and they all became trainees," He Heng said with some regret. "But they weren't very lucky. Their popularity started to decline after their debut. There was still no stage for boy groups in China, so it was difficult to maintain their popularity. These kids were very young and had few opportunities to act. A year ago, MX suddenly appeared, and their ambitions fell even further."
Chen Ziyan: "MX is a standard boy band style. Is there a market for it?"
"Online variety shows and music festivals are doing much better now than they were three years ago. Three years ago, when Fengzhi debuted, they didn't have many stages, but as soon as MX debuted, they had mature stages and programs that allowed them to maintain exposure and increase their popularity." He Heng said, "It's fate."
"Not necessarily. Feng Zhi and the other kids all have certain qualities. As long as they grasp them properly, they might become famous. Especially since they had auditions today. None of them have ever studied acting, but they all acted well. Especially the last one, whose name is Lu Yanhe, right?"
Chen Ziyan's eyes fell on the boy in front of her right who was reading a book with his head down.
"To be honest, it was Yu Qian who originally recommended him to Director Luo for this audition. But then Vice President Ma and Zhou Ping'an discussed it with Director Luo, and it turned into today's open audition format." He Heng sighed again with regret, "I don't know how this kid offended them."
Chen Ziyan nodded and said nothing more.
"Sister Yan, are you really planning to bring a few more people with you this time?"
"Yeah." Chen Ziyan nodded. "I've been resting for half a year, and I'm bored."
"I wonder which newcomer is so lucky to win your favor." He Heng laughed and said.
-
Dozens of people waited until 6:30 in the evening before Zhou Ping'an came.
"Everyone please disperse. The results will not be announced today."
For a moment, everyone was outraged.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Yeah, we've been waiting here all afternoon."
"We've been waiting for so long in vain!"
…
Zhou Ping'an didn't bother to pay attention to the complaints of these young people. He just left after saying that.
Li Zhibai cursed, stood up, and said, "Let's go, why are you still sitting here?"
Lu Yanhe put away the book.
"Let's have dinner together before going back?" Li Zhibai suggested.
Cheng Hai shook his head: "I have a date tonight, so I won't be eating with you guys."
"Hey, who did you make a date with? A woman?" Li Zhibai asked immediately.
Cheng Hai said helplessly: "Don't talk nonsense, don't let Zhou Pingan hear it, it will cause a lot of trouble."
Cheng Hai left, Tu Song was no longer around, and it was just the three of them left.
Li Zhibai drove them directly to a restaurant.
But it happened to be the evening rush hour, and the traffic was stuck in a terrible state, which was very depressing.
Li Zhibai's fingers tapped on the steering wheel, and the clicking sound continued in a certain rhythm.
"But why didn't the results come out on the spot?" Li Zhibai suddenly asked.
Yan Liang shook his head. "I don't know. Perhaps there's no consensus."
"Why would we need a unified opinion? Isn't this matter solely up to Director Luo?" Li Zhibai said. "Besides, judging by his performance today, who could be better than Old Lu?"
Yan Liang glanced at Lu Yanhe, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Could it be that Brother Ping'an is obstructing us?"
"How could he have the ability to obstruct Director Luo? He is so bossy in front of us, but in front of Director Luo, he is just a small agent." Li Zhibai said.
Lu Yanhe looked out the window at the stagnant traffic and said, "Who knows what's going on here? Don't speculate. If there's no result today, there will be in two days."
-
"Director Luo, thank you for your hard work today."
Vice President Ma stood up with Luo Yuzhong, smiling. "We've booked a private room near the company. How about we have a quick meal together later?"
Luo Yuzhong waved his hand and said, "I've been interviewing all afternoon. I'm exhausted. I'm getting old and my energy isn't what it used to be. I won't eat. Mr. Ma, let me go back and rest first. We'll get together again when we have time."
Vice President Ma sighed and said, "It's precisely because you've been so exhausted and worried that we've taken so long. After dinner, there's a massage and foot bath. That shop is incredible. You've worked so hard to give our children so many valuable suggestions. We can't let you go back so exhausted. That would be considered inconsiderate of us."
Luo Yuzhong turned around and glanced at Jiang Yuqian.
Jiang Yuqian understood, smiled slightly, and said, "Boss Ma, Director Luo's wife has urged him several times, asking him when he will be back, but Director Luo is embarrassed to say."
"Oh? So it's your wife who's urging you to go home?" Vice President Ma said immediately with a smile, "Where is your home? I'll arrange a car to pick up your wife and have dinner with us."
Luo Yuzhong: "Okay, Mr. Ma, thank you for your kindness. I appreciate it, but it's really inconvenient today. We will definitely have a chance to get together next time."
He patted Vice President Ma's hand and said, "You've worked hard today. Go to bed early. I'm leaving now."
Vice President Ma wanted to keep him, but Jiang Yuqian calmly stopped him. She sighed and said, "Okay, President Ma, Director Luo is really tired today. Please don't force him. We'll have plenty of opportunities to have dinner together later. I'll go see Director Luo off first."
After saying that, Jiang Yuqian quickly caught up with Luo Yuzhong.
She accompanied Luo Yuzhong into the elevator.
In the elevator, there were only them and their assistants.
Luo Yuzhong sighed and said, "Your boss Ma is really difficult to deal with."
"He got his current position by doing this," Jiang Yuqian asked. "Director Luo, are you satisfied today?"
Luo Yuzhong laughed twice and said, "Little girl, don't you see it? Why do you even need to ask?"
Jiang Yuqian said, "I'm worried that your expectations are too high. I'm not even sure if I can audition for your role myself, let alone theirs."
"Oh, don't say that. Everyone around me is very happy that you're the lead actor," Luo Yuzhong said with a smile. "They all say that I can finally escape the situation of being critically acclaimed but not commercially successful."
"No way, it's because I filmed with you that I finally made a movie that was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful." Jiang Yuqian said with a smile.