Chapter 153 I've been your big brother for three years
Lu Yanhe rested for more than ten minutes before packing up his things, coming out of the rehearsal room, and going to find Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.
The two of them are also taking classes at the company, in the rehearsal room on another floor.
He walked through the corridor with his schoolbag on his back, waiting for the elevator, when suddenly, MX and his group came together.
"Please make way! We're in a hurry!" MX's agent Lin Suyang led the way, shouting as he came over. He looked so hurried, it was unclear where he was going.
Besides Lu Yanhe, there were other people from the company at the elevator door.
He followed the others and moved aside.
Lin Suyang and a few others were standing at the elevator door. When they saw Lu Yanhe out of the corner of their eyes, they were stunned.
As Star Entertainment's agent, he certainly knew about Lu Yanhe's recent changes.
The person that Chen Ziyan has taken a fancy to.
Lin Suyang took another look and said nothing.
However, when MX's Ma Zhiyuan saw Lu Yanhe, his face immediately became stern, as if Lu Yanhe owed him a lot of money, and he looked disdainful.
Lu Yanhe and Ma Zhiyuan haven't seen each other since the last conflict in the restaurant.
Now seeing Ma Zhiyuan, Lu Yanhe could only say "haha" in his heart.
"MX is really popular right now." Lu Yanhe heard someone whisper behind him, "It seems like they got another endorsement."
"Well, I got the endorsement for that snack brand that's been going viral lately. What's it called? I'm a little busy with snacks."
"That seems to be the name."
In the company, the measure of an artist’s popularity is how much business he has.
There are various factors that contribute to the acquisition of film and television resources, but business is real. If brands believe that you can sell products, more brands will come to you. If they believe that your ability to sell products is not good, fewer brands will come to you.
MX got into the elevator first, and no one else got in this elevator.
Lu Yanhe waited until the next elevator before getting on.
-
Lu Yanhe came to the rehearsal room where Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were, and saw Zhou Pingan at the door.
Zhou Ping'an also saw him.
The two people's eyes met, and for a moment, all kinds of complexities were beyond words.
In the end, Zhou Ping'an looked away, pretending not to see Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe did not step forward to greet them, but stood there silently, waiting for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang to come out.
After a while, Li Zhibai and Yan Liang came out.
Zhou Pingan held them back and said, "Stop getting involved with Lu Yanhe. He's got a big shot now, so he might not be willing to play with you."
Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were speechless.
When Lu Yanhe heard Zhou Ping'an's words, he pursed his lips silently. Not wanting to embarrass Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, he pretended not to hear.
Seeing that Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were silent, Zhou Pingan continued, "Don't think I'm trying to sow discord. You're all the same age, and there will be all kinds of competition in the future."
Li Zhibai listened impatiently and said, "Yan Liang, Cheng Hai, and I are of the same age. We will inevitably compete with each other in the future. Shouldn't we go together?"
Li Zhibai has never been very respectful to Zhou Ping'an, and Zhou Ping'an can't do anything about him.
Zhou Pingan was confronted by him and said, "How is it the same? You are all artists I coach. You can support each other."
Li Zhibai said, "We can also follow Lao Lu."
He tutted his words and waved his hand impatiently, "We have an appointment tonight, let's go."
He called Yan Liang to leave.
Zhou Pingan: "Who did you meet?"
Li Zhibai: "Why do you still care who we have an appointment with?"
Zhou Pingan: "..."
He was a little angry, but he couldn't show it to Li Zhibai.
His family has a background and he is famous, but he doesn't rely on Zhou Pingan for anything. What else can Zhou Pingan say?
Cheng Hai came out only after everyone left.
Zhou Pingan asked: "Do you know who they are meeting tonight?"
Cheng Hai said, "Chen Biqiu."
Zhou Ping'an: "Chen Biqiu? So they didn't invite you to join them?"
Zhou Ping'an was annoyed. "How could Li Zhibai be like this? Can't he tell the difference between near and far? Lu Yanhe has already changed his agent, but he still called him. How could you not call him?"
Cheng Hai looked at him silently and said, "He called me, but it wasn't you who asked me to have dinner with you tonight, so I didn't go with them."
Zhou Ping'an was stunned for a moment, then realized that he came here to pick up Cheng Hai.
"..." Zhou Pingan continued, "Why didn't he tell me earlier?! Why didn't he call me?!"
Cheng Hai didn't say anything.
speechless.
-
Li Zhibai drove and took Yan Liang and Lu Yanhe to the restaurant.
"Zhou Ping'an's mind is really smaller than the tip of a needle." Li Zhibai complained, "Why are you acting so high and mighty in front of me? Damn it, I can call anyone I want. Chen Biqiu was calling me, not him."
Lu Yanhe: "Zhou Ping'an has been petty for a long time, there's no need to be angry."
Li Zhibai: "A grown man, yet so petty and trying to sow discord, how fucking disgusting."
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang smiled at each other.
They had lived under the same roof with Li Zhibai for three years and knew that Li Zhibai was most annoyed by this flaw of Zhou Ping'an.
When Lu Yanhe was still under Zhou Ping'an, Zhou Ping'an often told them not to get close to other people, because they were all competitors, not friends, etc.
Whenever they have a good relationship with someone, Zhou Ping'an will pop up and emphasize the "competitor theory".
Lu Yanhe said, "Zhou Ping'an said these things probably because he was afraid that you wouldn't trust him and would trust someone else."
"He doesn't even look at his own behavior. I'm speechless. Who can trust him?" Li Zhibai said, "If he hadn't been my agent from the beginning, I really wouldn't want to bother with him."
Lu Yanhe: "Just bear with it for now. It's hard to find a better agent than him in the company, and they may not be willing to hire him. We all work under the same company, so it's easy to offend people."
"Who said it wasn't? Otherwise, he would have left long ago." Li Zhibai complained.
After leaving the Fengzhi group, Lu Yanhe looked back at them and felt that Zhou Pingan, as an agent, was indeed not doing his job well.
Li Zhibai and Cheng Haiquan were living off their past success, while Yan Liang, Tu Song and others gradually became obsolete and disappeared.
It is one thing that they don’t have a stage to perform, but can’t they be allowed to transform earlier?
Judging from the audition scene of "The Golden Age", everyone has a lot of acting talent, and he didn't give anyone the opportunity to act.
They are all recording programs and doing commercial performances.
No wonder everyone’s popularity is declining and the heat is getting lower and lower.
However, among the three people Zhou Ping'an currently leads, Cheng Hai and Yan Liang have no background and have no channels to change their agents. The only one who can do it is Li Zhibai.
For Li Zhibai, it doesn't make much difference whether he changes his agent or not.
The bottleneck for further development of his acting career is his own laziness, not the incompetence of his agent.
In terms of popularity alone, his popularity is not low at all.
Otherwise, Chen Biqiu would not have taken the initiative to ask him out for dinner.
-
"Oh, Zhibai, long time no see, you look even more handsome." Chen Bijiu greeted Li Zhibai enthusiastically as soon as they met and patted him on the shoulder.
It was so warm and friendly, as if the two of them were really good friends.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang knew that the two had a grudge against each other in the beginning. Because of Chen Biqiu's editing, Li Zhibai was chased and scolded by fans of another artist for a long time.
Li Zhibai saw a woman in a white T-shirt next to Chen Biqiu and took a closer look at her.
"Let me introduce you to Li Zhenzhen, the program producer. She just returned from Korea," Chen Biqiu said. "You used to be my assistant director. This time, you're back to make a program. They want to invite you to be a regular, so they asked me to make the connection."
Li Zhibai looked at Li Zhenzhen, "Hello, PD Li."
Li Zhenzhen smiled and looked at Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang beside Li Zhibai.
"Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang, two of my teammates, but our group has disbanded." Li Zhibai also introduced them, "We live together, so we came to eat together."
Chen Biqiu looked at Lu Yanhe, smiled, and said, "I know. You've won the "Brave and Righteous" banner twice and are a "Mainstream Light." I heard you were preparing for the college entrance exam, so we invited you to participate in our program, but you declined."
Lu Yanhe said, "Now that the exams are over, I hope the two directors will take good care of me if there's a chance."
Chen Biqiu nodded.
"My current agent is Chen Ziyan. If you have any job offers, please contact her," said Lu Yanhe.
Chen Biqiu opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"You changed your agent? It's not Zhou Pingan anymore?"
"Yeah." Lu Yanhe nodded and pointed at Li Zhibai and Yan Liang. "Their agent is still Zhou Ping'an. I've changed my agent."
Chen Biqiu was surprised after hearing what Lu Yanhe said.
On the one hand, Chen Biqiu was surprised that Lu Yanhe had changed his agent, and on the other hand, he was surprised that Lu Yanhe's agent had been replaced by Chen Ziyan.
At first, he just thought the name sounded familiar, but he soon realized, wasn't this the famous legendary agent?!
Chen Biqiu had heard that Chen Ziyan had returned to bring in a new person, but he didn't know who it was.
Variety shows are about immediate returns, and they are not like platforms that place bets in advance on a particular artist and ask that person to shoot several dramas, which are then stockpiled and slowly released online. As long as one of them becomes a hit, the others will also make a lot of money.
Therefore, he did not ask who the new person Chen Ziyan brought was.
A few people exchanged greetings and sat down.
After some conversation, Lu Yanhe realized that tonight's dinner was mainly to connect Li Zhenzhen's new program with Li Zhibai.
After clarifying the situation, Li Zhibai said, "Director Chen, of course I'm very willing to join this program, but whether or not I can join a program is not up to me. I still need Zhou Ping'an's approval."
"Of course I'll get his approval," Chen Biqiu said with a smile. "It's mainly you. Zhenzhen specifically asked me to ask you out because she wanted to talk to you face to face about the theme of this show. You know, there are all kinds of program formats and themes on the market now. Everyone is hyping up all kinds of concepts when preparing a program, but whether a program is good or not doesn't just rely on a concept. The show must be good. Zhenzhen has high expectations for this program. Every resident guest is carefully selected by her. She must see it in person to confirm your true personality in private, rather than just creating a persona for the show."
Li Zhenzhen nodded and continued, "I hope that the celebrities and guests can show their true selves on the show. The more authentic something is, the more likely it is to be effective. Fake things always lack a bit of interest."
Li Zhibai looked at her curiously and asked, "What do you want to know about me?"
"This is not something that can be explained in a few words. Have you been working these days? If you are OK with it, I would like to spend a few days with you to see what you are like in daily life. Only by understanding your personality in depth can I know whether you are suitable to appear on our show." Li Zhenzhen said seriously.
Li Zhibai is very popular now, and most programs need to pay a lot of money to invite him. Li Zhenzhen's new program is not a flagship program series, but they still have to judge whether he is suitable for this program. His first reaction was "Are you serious?", and he felt a little unhappy in his heart, but Li Zhenzhen's expression looked too pure. She didn't look down on him or have prejudice against him. She showed a pure stubbornness, and Li Zhibai's aversion slowly receded.
Li Zhibai said, "I'm taking a break these two days and I don't have any work. If you want to come with me, it's just to watch me eat, drink and have fun with Lao Lu and Yan Liang."
"That's fine." Li Zhenzhen nodded, "I just wanted to see your true self."
It was strange that a director of a variety show could be so serious. Li Zhibai and others found it strange.
Chen Biqiu laughed and explained, "Zhenzhen has always been this picky, but she's very talented. She wrote a lot of my program copy, and it's received numerous positive reviews. She's back from further studies in Korea, and she's planning to direct a variety show themed around young people living together and slowing down. There are actually quite a few of these types of shows popping up in China, but most of them are just pseudo-slow shows, still incorporating a lot of traditional variety show elements without really slowing down."
Li Zhenzhen nodded and said, "I want to invite seven young people to participate in this program and live together. Living together will include room allocation, preparing three meals a day, daily leisure and entertainment, and chatting about various topics. In fact, we will also invite some of our friends to come to this program and participate in the cohabitation life. Through this kind of social interaction, we can explore the current young people's understanding of life."
Listening to Li Zhenzhen speak, you can feel that she is a person who should be sensitive and observant in life.
To be precise, she even has some humanistic ideals in making the show.
Chen Biqiu is definitely not like that.
He is a typical variety show director who shoots the show based on what the audience likes to watch.
Li Zhibai scratched his head and said, "Why do I feel like this show is quite artistic? It's not my style."
"The show's style is a slower variety show, with a humanistic and warm atmosphere. But I actually hope to feature people of all personalities," Li Zhenzhen said. "You can think of it this way: through the cohabitation of the seven of you, the audience is observing young people's lifestyles and attitudes. This is also a show where the audience observes you."
Li Zhibai thought for a moment and said, "It's fine with me, but Zhou Ping'an might not agree, right? Every time I record a show, he always asks the showrunners to provide a script and absolutely won't allow any negative content to appear. If I appear on this show, I'll probably expose a lot of my flaws, and he definitely won't be able to accept that."
"Can you accept it?" Li Zhenzhen suddenly asked.
Li Zhibai shrugged his shoulders. "I don't care. I never like to be a perfect person."
Li Zhenzhen said, "Then let's work together to overcome the problem with your agent, okay?"
"Well, I don't know if I want to be on this show yet," Li Zhibai said bluntly. "It doesn't sound like it would be a good fit for me."
Li Zhenzhen looked at Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang and suddenly asked, "So you and these two are living together, right?"
"Living together? I... well, it's just living in the same house. Why use such a disgusting word?" Li Zhibai complained, "Aren't these words used to describe relationships between men and women?"
Li Zhenzhen laughed.
"That's not the real point. Actually, this show is about the same thing. It's just that the people you're living with are six different people," Li Zhenzhen said. "Honestly, it's hard to find someone as genuine as you in the entertainment industry these days. Many people pretend to be straightforward, but they're actually just impolite. I don't want to cast artists I don't like on this show. I hope it can last a long time, like a variety show version of Friends, meeting once a year. Everyone gets to know each other through this show when they were young, and then witness each other's growth and development. This includes Yan Liang and Lu Yanhe. As your good friends, they can also participate in the recording of the show, visiting you and staying at your house. The key is, are you willing to spend so much time trying out a new show format?"
Li Zhibai took a deep breath.
"You're putting so much pressure on me, right? Does that mean I won't want to do this show anymore, but I'll still be tied to it?"
"Everything comes together and everything ends together. I just put forward my vision for the show. If you want to leave later, that's fine too," Li Zhenzhen said. "Many established and well-known series have had regular guests leave after a certain season. I really don't want to see that happen, but if that day comes, I certainly hope it's an amicable parting. Actually, you don't need to worry about that. We're only discussing the first season."
Li Zhibai said, "I need to think about it. To be honest, the theme of this show doesn't really appeal to me. Living with a bunch of strangers is too much trouble for me."
Li Zhenzhen and Chen Biqiu looked at each other.
Neither of them continued to persuade.
After dinner, they said goodbye to Li Zhenzhen and Chen Biqiu.
-
After saying goodbye, Li Zhenzhen and Chen Bijiu did not leave immediately, but went to a nearby bar.
"Li Zhibai doesn't seem very interested," Chen Biqiu said. "What do you think?"
Li Zhenzhen pondered for a moment and said, "I really like Li Zhibai's personality. I still hope to have him as a permanent guest, but I really can't invite him. There is no other way. I can only look at other people."
Chen Biqiu: "At first I thought he wouldn't be happy to be observed by you for a few days. He has a bad temper. And as you know, he comes from a wealthy family, has no shortage of resources, and is very popular. He is a bit proud and doesn't listen to others. Don't be fooled by his constant claim that Zhou Ping'an is the boss. In fact, if he doesn't want to do something, Zhou Ping'an can't force him to do it."
"It's because of this personality that I feel the show needs someone like him," Li Zhenzhen said. "Brother Qiu, you know, the production budget for this kind of show isn't high, and I don't necessarily want to make a huge hit. I'm just very interested in this topic and have always wanted to do a show like this. But if the guests don't make me want to film, I won't be able to put 100% of my passion into this show."
"You have to remember that you're just a variety show director, not an auteur-type director. Even if you were an auteur-type director, you still have to be responsible to the investors," Chen Biqiu advised. "If the show really doesn't take off and doesn't accumulate a certain fan base, it definitely won't be able to be serialized. For you, Li Zhibai's personality is a very suitable artist, but for me, he's a popular artist who's paid for by investors, brands, and platforms. His participation is the reason the show has financial backers."
Li Zhenzhen nodded, "I know."
Chen Biqiu: "Among the seven guests you're planning to invite, Li Zhibai ranks first in popularity. If you can't invite him, you must invite someone of equal popularity. Otherwise, your show may not be able to start filming."
"But if the guests are not suitable, no matter how popular they are, the show will not be effective and there will be no chemistry."
"I believe in your judgment, but you have to know that if you don't have popular artists, you can't even shoot your show, so what's the point of talking about effects and chemical reactions?" Chen Biqiu said.
Li Zhenzhen was silent.
Chen Biqiu: "Didn't Li Zhibai refuse you to stay with him and observe him these past few days? You can contact him and observe him first. He has a bad temper and is not well-educated. He might not understand you even if you talk to him about your ideals and your understanding of the program. It's better to play the emotional card and let him get to know you. Then he won't feel embarrassed to refuse you."
Li Zhenzhen: “…”
She really didn't like having to use this method.
But Chen Biqiu is her guide in the variety show industry, and she has always trusted him.
If he hadn't acted as a matchmaker and appointed her as the producer of this show, her show wouldn't have gotten the green light to be prepared.
Do you really want to do this?
Li Zhenzhen was in a dilemma.
-
"Li Zhenzhen doesn't look like a variety show director, but more like a recent college graduate."
On this side, Li Zhibai also commented on Li Zhenzhen.
"I've only seen such strong idealism in recent female college graduates. This is the first time someone has talked to me about a program, sharing so many ideas and themes," Li Zhibai said. "Others brag to me about how much investment this program has, how much attention the platform attaches to it, how much investment resources will be poured into it, how stellar the guest lineup is, and how popular it will be when it airs. But tonight, she spent the entire evening talking about young people's attitudes and lifestyles, saying she wants to use this program to help more people understand young people. Oh my god, I don't even understand it myself."
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang laughed at the same time.
"But I think this program is quite interesting. It's not hard and you can make money easily," said Yan Liang.
Li Zhibai was about to say "I'm not short of money" but swallowed it back.
"Well, the main reason is that this program sounds a bit weird and dangerous. I am usually lazy and irritable. Recording this kind of program will reveal my true nature too much. I will probably be chased and scolded by people online." He was also worried.
"You just said you were okay with exposing your flaws on the show."
"How could I admit that in front of them?" Li Zhi confidently admitted that he had lied. "She was just interesting. Who wants to expose their shortcomings?"
He thought of something and added, "If I were to record a show like this with you guys, I'd be a little more willing to do that. But recording with some strangers? I'm not interested."
Just as he finished speaking, his cell phone suddenly rang.
"Oh, it's Li Zhenzhen."
They just exchanged contact information with each other.
Li Zhibai answered the phone.
"PD Li, is there anything else?"
Li Zhenzhen said, "Zhibai, how about I come over tomorrow and try to get to know you for a few days? I'll observe your true self and you can get to know me better. I'm really sincere about inviting you to this show. Regardless of your final decision, let's get to know each other first. Is that okay with you?"
Li Zhibai frowned subconsciously and wanted to refuse.
But the other person spoke so sincerely that he felt too embarrassed to say no.
"Uh, okay? But there's really nothing much for me to know. I'm just a really lazy person."
Li Zhenzhen: "Look, you're the only person I know who dares to admit to someone he's just a lazy person when he first meets them."
Li Zhibai reacted for a long time to the relationship between "people and people".
"Okay, then come if you want."
After hanging up the phone, Li Zhibai felt very strange.
"I've already told her I don't want to record anymore, why is she still pestering me?"
-
High popularity is an artist’s trump card.
When an artist becomes famous, it’s as if he or she is carrying a “pass” wherever he or she goes.
Li Zhibai received all kinds of warm treatment, and Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang were already used to it.
In fact, they also benefited a lot from it.
Just like this time, I got to know Chen Biqiu and Li Zhenzhen, and also added their contact information.
Li Zhibai was sought after by them and was invited to their show, but Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang were not as popular, so they were "cold-treated". This is really normal.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang were both used to it and understood it.
Lu Yanhe was about to move out, but Li Zhibai said, "Since Li Zhenzhen wants to observe my true life, you shouldn't leave for the next two days. If you leave, I still need to adapt to your living environment."
Lu Yanhe was speechless and said, "I'm leaving. How will that affect you? Do you need to adapt to it?"
Li Zhibai snorted and said, "How heartless! I've been your big brother for three years, and I've always taken good care of you."
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang chuckled at the same time.