Chapter 41

Zhuang Jie quickly proposed to the boss that she terminate her agency relationship with Rong Yin. The reasons were ready-made: she currently had two hot traffic artists under her, and alone, she was stretched too thin to handle them all.

Thus, perfectly logically, she recommended Lu Zhi.

Who knows how many people in the company had their eyes on this cash cow. Hearing this news, they practically exploded. Without stopping, they swarmed into the boss’s office, comparing seniority and resources—every single one wanted to manage Rong Yin.

The boss of Splendid World Entertainment was surnamed Li, originally named Cuiwen. Now, only her stage name, Su Xi, was printed on her business cards. She was a thoroughbred businesswoman. Rumor had it her rise to fortune had something to do with reselling cell phones, but in any case, she’d accumulated a large sum of money riding the spring winds of the era when she was young. Now middle-aged, she’d begun to revive her own dreams and entered the entertainment industry.

Su Xi’s appearance was ordinary. Unable to personally realize her star dreams, she signed a whole bunch of good-looking kids. She hired many high-salary managers under her to manage them, and, referencing mature foreign idol training systems, established a set of KPI guidelines suited to domestic market conditions, making them execute according to rigid targets every day.

The company was Su Xi’s one-woman dictatorship. When she slapped down the contract Lu Zhi had negotiated for the Q&D brand’s three-quarter endorsement deal, everyone else instantly fell silent.

Splendid World Entertainment had always been jokingly called an idol-making machine by netizens—both hugely popular and spectacularly low-class. Virtually all its artists walked a path of black-red fame. So despite holding fistfuls of online variety show and web drama resources, low-end ads and endorsements stacked to the ceiling, anything with class or style was extremely scarce. Occasionally, if a manager had particularly strong connections in that area, they’d also be scared off by the controversial, mixed-bag artists.

Q&D was a clothing brand founded in France in the mid-last century, primarily targeting young women. Its style was simple and versatile. Though the clothes were only mid-tier, the brand was currently one of the world’s top ten casual wear brands. In previous years, its domestic spokespeople had all been currently popular film and television stars.

For a traffic star like Rong Yin to land a Q&D endorsement was absolutely already reaching far above her station.

“Provisional for now,” Su Xi quickly decided, settling the matter.

Rong Yin felt like she was dreaming, completely unable to believe that the mountain that had crushed her for years had been so easily shoved aside. And without a complete falling-out—both sides having preserved some face.

In the end, her forbearance and compromises these past few years had merely been out of consideration for those faint, illusory feelings of obligation.

Now, resolving it so silently—this was a true release.

Rong Yin hugged a soft, plush Big Face Cat Pillow, sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

Across from her, Lu Zhi wore white top and black pants. Her dark hair was tied into a simple low ponytail with a two-finger-wide dark red satin ribbon, revealing clear, fine features. Her brows and eyes were clean like a mountain spring no human had ever discovered.

On the coffee table was a big pile of original contracts, all signed for her by Zhuang Jie before. The farthest one was scheduled for the second half of next year.

Lu Zhi’s slender fingers flipped through them, picking and choosing. Based on her understanding of the plot, she first tossed aside scripts that likely wouldn’t ever get the chance to air. Then came web variety shows where she’d been MC, satellite variety shows where she’d been a screen filler, inexplicable mentor selection shows, product endorsements for unlicensed goods…

“These…” Rong Yin hesitated, pulling one from the thick stack and opening it to glance at it.

“Those I can terminate, I’ll terminate for you. If not, I’ll ask if someone else within the company can take them over,” Lu Zhi said evenly.

“Huh?” Rong Yin froze for a moment.

“What, still reluctant?”

“Of course not!” Rong Yin tossed the contract in her hand onto the coffee table. After a brief flash of surprise came the delight of realization: “Cancel them all, cancel them all. That’s great! I can finally rest properly for a while!”

Lu Zhi remained noncommittal. The ones actually usable were only a thin stack. Just three for filming: one was a modern workplace idol drama still a month from shooting, and two were films planned to start at year’s end. There were no scripts—just a few lines of summary. They’d mainly been signed just to lock Rong Yin in.

After thinking it over, she tossed aside the two film contracts too. In the end, only one modern workplace idol drama and one six-month milk endorsement contract remained.

For a star, halting work was the same as unemployment. Nervous yet thrilled, Rong Yin flicked the two documents, the corners of her lips flying upward. “Alright, that’s fine. For this year, let’s just go with this. We’ll talk about work next year.”

Lu Zhi smiled.

At that moment, the two of them were in the villa where Rong Yin lived. Rong Yin had been popular for so many years, but the money she actually received was not much compared to what she’d earned. Though this villa had been bought with Rong Yin’s money, the property rights were still under the company’s name. All usual maintenance and communication with property management were handled by company-assigned staff.

Lu Zhi got up and went to the bar to pour herself a glass of pure water.

“You want some?” Lu Zhi glanced back.

Rong Yin was wearing a one-piece yellow ducky pajama set, thin straps hanging over her fair, right-angled shoulders. Her hair was pinned up, no makeup, fine baby hairs fuzzing at her forehead and temples.

“Mhm.” Rong Yin nodded as if it were only natural, then asked, “The housekeeper and cleaner I’ve been using were all hired by Zhuang Jie. And Little Ma—are you going to hire new people for me?”

“All of that can be done,” Lu Zhi set the cup down on the black glass coffee table. “It’s up to you.”

Rong Yin chuckled. She finally had the feeling of a serf rising up and singing. With a sweep of her hand, she announced, “Then I’m replacing them all!”

Lu Zhi nodded. “Recruiting new people probably won’t be that fast. I’ll have the company’s HR follow up on it this afternoon. When there are suitable candidates, we’ll look at them together.”

“Great!” Rong Yin nodded repeatedly, picking up her phone, enthusiasm all over her face. “I’m firing Little Ma right now!”

Lu Zhi was curious. “You dislike her that much?”

Rong Yin didn’t even look up. “She’s Zhuang Jie’s cousin. A snitch. She reports everything. I go to the bathroom and she practically wants to hang on to me.”

As an outsider, Lu Zhi actually thought Little Ma was quite dedicated and responsible in her work. But she wasn’t Rong Yin—she couldn’t fully understand the frustration of being surveilled from every angle. So she let it be.

Rong Yin’s fingers flew, a burst of furious typing, and then she tossed her phone onto the sofa with immense satisfaction.

“Ah, I’m free.” Rong Yin tilted her head back against the sofa rest, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

Lu Zhi laughed despite herself, watching the girl sighing with her head thrown back, exposing every inch of her delicate, pure white throat. The snowy skin extended down to the collar of her soft cotton-linen pajamas. At home, she clearly wasn’t wearing underwear; the thin fabric draped lightly over a pair of gentle hills, faintly revealing their perfectly beautiful shape.

Lu Zhi averted her gaze and took a light sip of the pure water.

“So I can order delivery now, right? The kind with rice?” Rong Yin suddenly lifted her head, eyes bright as she looked at Lu Zhi.

“You can,” Lu Zhi nodded crisply, then added, “Tonight I’ve made plans to have hotpot with Mingming. If you’re interested, you can come too.”

“!!!” Rong Yin was almost moved to tears. She sat up, both hands braced on the coffee table, gazing intensely at Lu Zhi across from her. Her voice was full of deep emotion. “Sister, I absolutely adore you!”

Lu Zhi curved her lips, a smile in her eyes. Her gaze fell directly on the other’s glistening, rippling peach-blossom eyes. She stared until Rong Yin couldn’t help but blink her lashes slightly, then continued speaking. “I’ll arrange a new fitness coach and nutritionist for you. You really are too thin right now. You should be able to put on another five jin or so, and meanwhile work on your core strength and posture.”

Rong Yin immediately nodded like a pecking chicken, expressing her strong agreement.

“In daily life I won’t restrict you too much, but basic forbidden items like smoking, drinking, and nightclub partying—I trust I don’t need to emphasize them, right?”

Rong Yin sat like a model child, shaking her head to confirm. “I don’t smoke, and I don’t go clubbing.”

“For the second half of the year, your work won’t be heavy. I’ll arrange some classes for you—line practice, body language, acting techniques. For the modern drama shooting at the end of July, I’d like you to use your own voice.” Lu Zhi paused and looked at Rong Yin. “What’s your opinion?”

“I… I’m certainly willing.”

Lu Zhi nodded, her tone carrying a matter-of-fact flatness. “Then I’ll assume by default that you want to be a professional actress worthy of leaving a lasting mark in textbooks, not a star who rises by hype and scandal. Is that acceptable?”

“…Th… that’s acceptable.” Rong Yin pressed her lips, then uncertainly added, her voice faltering, “Ah… just don’t place your expectations too high. The textbook thing and all…”

“Then that will depend on your destiny. Because essentially, your own skill is still the most important prerequisite for achieving that goal.” Lu Zhi tapped the armrest of the sofa with her finger and continued. “As your agent, I can do my utmost to clear away every obstacle for you—socializing, resources, contracts. But you should know, these are all merely external forces serving you.”

“Even if, according to the so-called agency contract, you’re supposed to obey me. In reality,” Lu Zhi leaned forward slightly, her gaze resting long on Rong Yin’s earnest face. Her voice was cool and resonant, “I serve you.”

Rong Yin blinked, then blinked again. When Lu Zhi was serious, her fair face was calm, the color in her eyes so dark one couldn’t read any emotion. But it inexplicably made Rong Yin’s heart lift in suspense. Only after a long while did she give a slow “Oh.”

Lu Zhi was still watching her.

Rong Yin pressed her lips together, clenching a fist to declare, “I’ll work hard!”

Satisfied for the moment, Lu Zhi leaned back against the sofa again. Across from her, Rong Yin also let out a baffling sigh of relief, her somewhat stiff posture slowly relaxing.

“Next, let’s confirm your personal information. Although Zhuang Jie did a handover, I still need to verify with you again.”

Rong Yin nodded. “Alright.”

“Ever had a sugar daddy?”

“Of course not!” Rong Yin hadn’t expected her first question to be that, and immediately retorted.

“Ever done any deals?”

“No!” Rong Yin rolled her eyes at her, exasperated. “I’m a top-tier female star. Day in and day out acting in shit like that. You think if I’d done deals, I’d still be stuck in this mess?”

Lu Zhi smiled and moved to the next question. “Ever touched that stuff?”

Rong Yin froze, then once she caught on, smacked the pillow in her arms hard. “Of… course… not! What kind of person do you take me for?! In your eyes, am I just every vice there is? Can’t you ask some decent questions?!”

“Fine.” Lu Zhi laughed aloud, nodded, then asked, “Ever had a boyfriend?”

“…” Rong Yin paused for a second. “N… no.”

“No? Not even one?” Lu Zhi’s eyes held a smile as she watched her.

“None! So what?! Is that so strange?!” Rong Yin tried hard to bolster herself, chin lifted, small chest thrust out, eyes staring hard at Lu Zhi as if trying to overwhelm her. “I might not have dated before, but loads of people have chased me! I just couldn’t be bothered to look at them, that’s all!”

Lu Zhi tilted her head, believing her. “Not having had one is quite good too.”

Rong Yin huffed.

“What about a girlfriend?”

“…Huh?”

Lu Zhi’s elbow was propped on the back of the sofa, the side of her hand gently pressed against her temple. Her slightly lifted chin traced an elegant pale jawline. A pair of clear eyes carried a faint, hidden smile, yet her voice was perfectly calm as she repeated the question. “Ever had a girlfriend?”