Chapter 135 Good News
The next day, Liu Zhimin had a schedule in the morning, so she woke up early and returned to the dorm. The alarm clock also woke Jiang Shu, who couldn't fall back asleep after being disturbed, so he simply got up, ate something, and went to the company.
He hadn't been in his office for half an hour when Choi Ji-yeon came in.
"President Li was contacted by a Japan intermediary, and there's news about the Japan trainees you asked us to keep an eye on."
"Where is President Li?" Jiang Shu's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked.
"President Li just got on the plane. She should still be in the air right now and will arrive at the company around noon," Choi Ji-yeon replied.
The matter of the Japan trainees was an instruction personally given by Jiang Shu, and Li Duohui took it very seriously, going in person to negotiate with the Japan side.
"Good, I'll wait for her at the company." Jiang Shu nodded.
"There's also one more thing. Director Hyun-joo recommended a talent, also a professional in the visual creative field. Would you like Director Young-joo to review it, or would you like to do it yourself?"
"Bring the material, let me see."
Choi Ji-yeon, who was already prepared, stepped forward and handed the resume to Jiang Shu.
Kim Hye-soo, formerly Chief of JYP's Visual Creative Department, Vice Director of Cube Entertainment's Visual Creative Department…
"The resume is quite good." Jiang Shu quickly flipped through it. "Why does this name sound so familiar?"
"There's an actress also named Kim Hye-soo," Choi Ji-yeon explained.
Jiang Shu nodded. He didn't know any actress Kim Hye-soo, but he did know a Director Kim Hye-soo.
The Visual Creative Director of LESSERAFIM, Kim Hye-soo.
This Kim Hye-soo is very likely her.
Tsk, did he just poke Hybe's nest? And it seems that all his executives, besides him, are women now.
Damn, this isn't right, is it?
"Let Director Young-joo handle this matter. The maximum position... the Art Director position is still vacant, so let's make it that position." Jiang Shu handed Kim Hye-soo's material to Choi Ji-yeon and said.
"Okay." Choi Ji-yeon nodded.
Since Li Duohui could instantly become Vice President, an outsider directly becoming Art Director... it didn't seem so hard to accept anymore, did it?
And this was the maximum, so it was unlikely she would directly become Art Director.
"I'll go inform Director Young-joo and Director Hyun-joo," Choi Ji-yeon said with a bow.
Jiang Shu waved his hand.
Choi Ji-yeon exited the office, while Jiang Shu took out his iPad and continued to revise "DALLA DALLA."
...
Noon, first-floor cafeteria.
Li Duohui sat down opposite Jiang Shu with her tray.
Jiang Shu glanced at the palm-sized bowl of noodles on Li Duohui's tray and asked, "Is that enough to eat?"
"I've gained a bit of weight, so I need to watch my intake." Li Duohui said with a smile, "This trip to Japan was quite fruitful."
Seeing Li Duohui get straight to the point, Jiang Shu didn't waste words and adopted an attentive expression.
"I originally intended to just finalize the cooperation with the Japan intermediary and consider the mission accomplished, but I didn't expect that the Japan idol companies received news of my personal visit, and several companies specifically invited me to discuss cooperation."
"They want to cooperate with our company, using our debut system to debut their signed trainees, and co-manage the debuted group with us, while our company would be able to share some of their resources in Japan."
"Are they dreaming?" Jiang Shu scoffed, putting a piece of sweet braised pork into his mouth and chewing as he spoke.
"Yes, so I refused. Afterwards, they took a step back: all the trainees' overseas contracts would go to us, they would only retain the trainees' Japan market contracts, and most resources would be shared with us."
"They're trying to leverage external forces to raise their standing in the Japan market." Jiang Shu saw through their intentions. "But for such cooperation, the Three Greats would be their best choice, wouldn't they?"
"I asked, and their answer was that the Three Greats are too large in scale, and cooperating with them would make it easy for them to seize their Japan market. DM Entertainment is different; even though our development speed is fast, we are ultimately not the Three Greats, so they don't need to worry about us encroaching on their market in the short term," Li Duohui explained.
"That's honest." Jiang Shu chuckled. "You agreed?"
"I agreed." Li Duohui smiled and nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't refuse such a benefit that came knocking."
Jiang Shu had given her a lot of authority, and Li Duohui had the final say on trainee-level matters like this.
"Have the trainee's material been sent?"
"They're in my email. I'll send them to you after we finish eating."
"Are there any promising talents worth noting?" Jiang Shu asked casually.
"I haven't looked closely, but I briefly browsed and saw an idol who is very popular in Japan, so she's worth noting."
Li Duohui slurped some noodles, then continued.
"Born in '98, she debuted at the age of thirteen in '11. She's a member of a very popular idol group in Japan, HTK48 or AKB48, and her popularity seems to be seventh place? She's extremely popular in Japan. If she debuts in Korea, she'll bring her own popularity, which will make operations much easier."
The more Jiang Shu listened, the more something felt off.
Why did this experience sound more and more familiar?
"What's her name?"
"Sakura, Miyawaki Sakura."
Jiang Shu paused, his chopsticks still holding the braised pork.
Li Duohui noticed Jiang Shu's reaction and asked curiously.
"Do you know her?"
Oh, he knew her very well.
Ambitious Little Sakura, a steadfast top three in IZONE's popularity, whose support rate never dropped below the top three from beginning to end.
Although she was clearly suppressed after joining LESSERAFIM, her popularity remained high.
A definite popularity queen. Although she couldn't compare to Yuan Shen and Xiao Liu, those two cheaters, it was hard to ignore her existence when mentioning popular female artists of the fifth generation.
This wasn't just 'worth noting'; this was 'a must-have'!
"Is Miyawaki Sakura also on the exchange list?" Jiang Shu asked.
"Yes, do you need me to get her?" Li Duohui asked, seeing Jiang Shu's interest in Miyawaki Sakura.
"Not yet." Jiang Shu shook his head slightly. "There's no new girl group plan yet, so bringing her over would be useless."
IZONE was still missing a few members, so bringing Little Sakura over early would be pointless. It would be better to let her continue her activities in Japan to accumulate popularity.
"You've brought back good news this time!" Jiang Shu couldn't help but exclaim.
One Sakura was worth ten Japan trainees. No matter how many, quality was more powerful and useful than quantity.
He had originally planned to slowly negotiate with Little Sakura's company through the Japan intermediary, but who would have thought they would just send her directly?
His luck was really good.
Then... what about Nako and Little Strawberry? They wouldn't be on the list too, would they?
If the Japan trio were all there, IZONE would only be missing Choi Yena, that duck.
I'm about to go berserk, folks!
Thinking of twelve stars. fantasy fairy tale about to be activated, Jiang Shu's mouth couldn't help but curve into a crazy smile.