Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 89 A Year Later, Back to Tengda
Song Ci spent the entire morning at the library writing the outline for his new book, "Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei".

When brainstorming plot ideas, I would occasionally consult Shen Sisi, and she would always answer fluently and offer reasonable suggestions.

It gave Song Ci a refreshing and enlightening feeling, and I admired Ms. Shen even more. She truly deserves to be called a famous talented woman from Peking University.

Around 11 a.m., Shen Sisi, contrary to her usual behavior, declined the invitation she had always dreamed of to have lunch with Song Dynasty poetry and left the library in a carefree and unrestrained manner.

She was already quite satisfied with her day. Song Ci had talked to her more in one morning than she had in the past month, although they mostly discussed the novel's plot. It was a good start, and she had achieved her goal for the day.

Ever since the last birthday party, Shen Sisi has been hesitant. Song Ci and Liu Shishi's relationship is stable, and she wonders what she should do if she wants to continue the relationship. She has no experience in stealing someone else's boyfriend!

Young Shen, filled with the stirrings of first love, hesitated and felt lost, unsure whether her affection for Song Dynasty poetry would blossom and bear fruit.

However, she was still somewhat unwilling to give up, and couldn't help but compare herself to Liu Shishi.

In terms of appearance, Liu Shishi is the most beautiful girl at Beijing Dance Academy, while I am the most beautiful girl at Peking University. We are evenly matched, so it's a tie.

In terms of emotional foundation, he was a childhood sweetheart, and he was indeed slightly inferior. However, four years of university was enough time for him to gradually close the distance between himself and Song Ci.

Compared to Liu Shishi, her strength lies in cultural knowledge, and she is confident that she can outshine Liu Shishi, a dance student, by a wide margin.

Moreover, Song Ci's hobby was writing novels, so catering to his interests, I could chat with him about the plot and storyline.

After this comparison, Shen Sisi's confidence soared, and she felt that the advantage lay with her.

After much deliberation, Shen Sisi decided that she needed to showcase her strengths and advantages to Song Ci, allowing him to experience her unique charm.

Today's trial run proved effective, and it definitely garnered a lot of goodwill.

But too much of a good thing can be bad, and we must proceed step by step. That's why I suppressed my inner desire and declined Song Ci's invitation to have lunch together.

And you know what? Shen Sisi's strategy was indeed effective. It was the first time Song Ci had discussed the concept and plot of a novel with someone else.

In the past, when he was writing at home, Liu Shishi would stay by his side, but she would mostly be online playing games.

Shen Sisi's actions today did indeed give him a strange feeling of regarding her as a confidante.

Time flies like an arrow, and June, the beginning of summer, is about to pass. Song Ci will also successfully complete his first year of university studies.

During this period of leisure, Song Ci often strolled with Liu Shishi on the quiet and beautiful Peking University campus, or occasionally discussed the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty with Shen Sisi, which was fulfilling and satisfying.

The summer atmosphere in July was already so strong that it was almost palpable; the sun was scorching and brilliant, baking everything in its heat.

After the school's final exams, the summer vacation began. Song Ci shifted her focus from academics to her career, temporarily leaving campus to handle business at the group company every day.

Tengda Culture in Zhongao Building: After a year, Liu Shishi has returned to this place once again.

Today, Miss Liu, dressed in white, resembled a flower blooming in the morning light, pure and untouched by worldly dust, her demeanor exuding an increasingly gentle and graceful charm.

"Yuanyuan, it's been so long!" Overjoyed to be reunited with her friend, Liu Shishi hugged Jiang Yuanyuan tightly.

“Shishi.” Jiang Yuanyuan’s face was flushed. She was overjoyed to see Liu Shishi. Although the two often chatted online, they had not met for more than a month.

Releasing Jiang Yuanyuan's limp body, Liu Shishi smiled and greeted her former colleagues: "Hello everyone!"

The surrounding employees also greeted Liu Shishi. Everyone remembered that she was the cheerful girl who had interned in the department last summer, and they asked Liu Shishi curiously what brought her here today.

After exchanging a few polite words, Jiang Yuanyuan pulled up a chair and invited Liu Shishi to sit down next to her.

"Shishi, are you here for an audition too?"

She and Liu Shishi were good friends during their internships. Even after Liu Shishi left Tengda, the two kept in touch and occasionally went shopping or watched movies together. She was a loyal fan of Liu Shishi.

Jiang Yuanyuan knew that Miss Liu later entered the entertainment industry as an actress. Today, Tengda Culture is holding an audition for the movie "Nightclub", which is why she asked this question.

Liu Shishi nodded. Her boyfriend had asked her to come today for an audition for the role of Tang Xiaolian, just to go through the motions.

She looked up and around, but didn't see her former team leader, Sun Liping.

After all, he was my former boss. I wanted to say hello, but he was nowhere to be seen, and his former workstation was empty.

He asked in confusion, "Why haven't I seen Sister Ping?"

Jiang Yuanyuan curled her lip and said disdainfully, "He resigned! After General Manager Wang was promoted to the group, the new General Manager Zhang took charge of the work."

He dismissed a large number of employees who violated company rules. Sun Liping, with no hope of promotion and feeling dissatisfied with her job, voluntarily submitted her resignation.

After explaining Sun Liping's situation, Jiang Yuanyuan moved her chair closer to Liu Shishi and gently took her hand: "Shishi, aren't we good sisters?"

"Of course!" Liu Shishi nodded vigorously without the slightest hesitation.

Jiang Yuanyuan gazed at her best friend with her bright, dark eyes, then suddenly spoke up, pleading, her voice full of expectation: "Shishi, can I ask you for a favor?"

Liu Shishi didn't refuse and readily agreed: "Yuanyuan, as long as it's within my power, I'll help you."

Liu Shishi has always remembered the kindness of the young girl who first extended an olive branch to her during her internship last year, and cherishes this pure friendship.

Seeing Liu Shishi readily agree, Jiang Yuanyuan's eyes narrowed into slits with joy. "Shishi, after your TV series airs, you'll be a star! Don't stars all have assistants? Can I be your assistant?"

"An assistant?" Liu Shishi was a little confused. She had been in the industry for almost a year and was still a nobody in the entertainment circle. She hadn't had a single work broadcast yet. How could Tangren Media possibly provide her with an assistant?

Liu Shishi's delicate face scrunched up in distress. The company definitely wouldn't provide her with an assistant; with her current income, how could she possibly support someone?

Unsure why her good friend would have such thoughts, Liu Shishi tentatively asked, "Yuanyuan, are you unhappy at Tengda? Do you want to change jobs?"

Jiang Yuanyuan shook her head. The overall work atmosphere at Tengda Culture was relatively relaxed, and her boss, Li Feng, was a kind and understanding person, so she wasn't unhappy at work.

She is a native of old Beiping (Beijing), an only child, and her family was already well-off. With the compensation from the demolition for the Olympics, she is now even more wealthy. Jiang Yuanyuan, who has no financial pressure, just wants to do a job she likes.

She had always longed for the glamorous entertainment industry since she was a child, which is why she joined a film and television company like Tengda Culture.

Knowing that she had no chance of becoming an actress with her figure and appearance, she thought of becoming a celebrity assistant, which was a unique way of entering the industry.

She even applied for a transfer to the artist management department, hoping to become a personal assistant for several of Tengda's artists, but was rejected by her superiors, leaving her greatly disappointed. Liu Shishi, confused, explained her predicament: "Yuanyuan, it's not that I don't want to help you. You know, I'm just a nobody, how could I be qualified to have an assistant? You want to work for me, but I can't afford to support you!"

Seeing that there was a chance, Jiang Yuanyuan quickly said, "My family is not short of money. I can ask for no salary first. You can just take me with you when you are filming. I can do all the work that an assistant should do. I will definitely take good care of you, my future darling. Is that okay, Shishi?"

"I see." Liu Shishi was somewhat tempted upon hearing this. It would be better to have someone accompany her when she went to other places to film, rather than being all alone.

Jiang Yuanyuan shook Liu Shishi's arm and pleaded, "Shishi, I'm begging you!"

Since her best friend wouldn't even take her salary, Liu Shishi couldn't refuse and agreed, "Okay, okay, stop shaking me. I promise you, next time we go to the film set, you'll be my assistant!"

With her wish fulfilled, Jiang Yuanyuan beamed with joy, "Shishi, you're so kind!"

Seeing her friend follow her without regard for payment, Liu Shishi felt a little guilty and promised, "Yuanyuan, I don't have any money right now, but I will definitely make up for the wages I owe you when my salary increases in the future."

Jiang Yuanyuan doesn't care about her salary at all, but the interest she earns from the demolition compensation she received in the bank in a year exceeds the income of a white-collar worker.

She only wanted to be an assistant to experience the entertainment industry. She was very happy to see that Liu Shishi was willing to compensate her and trusted her friend even more. "Okay, I believe you. It's settled then. I'll resign in a few days."

Since it was a rare opportunity to visit Tengda Culture, Liu Shishi naturally wanted to pay a visit to her old friends. "Yuanyuan, you rest for a while, I'm going to see Sister Tiantian."

Knowing the way well, Liu Shishi arrived at Jiang Tiantian's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter!"

Upon hearing the sound, Liu Shishi pushed open the door and entered. There was someone in Jiang Tiantian's office. Upon closer inspection, she recognized him as an old acquaintance, Zhou Yu, the Human Resources Director of Tengda Culture.

"Sister Tiantian! Hello, President Zhou."

When Jiang Tiantian saw the person who came in, she pointed to the sofa in the office and said with a smile, "Please sit down and have a seat with Shishi for a while."

Zhou Yu was clearly in a bad mood and didn't say anything, only nodding slightly to Liu Shishi.

Recently, the company has been restructuring and laying off employees. As the head of human resources, she is caught in the middle, pleasing neither her superiors nor subordinates, and she looks visibly haggard.

Liu Shishi sat on the sofa and quietly observed Zhou Yu. She found that Zhou Yu was no longer the aloof person she remembered. Instead, she looked listless and had a worried expression.

When guests arrived, Jiang Tiantian got up to make tea for Liu Shishi while instructing Zhou Yu, "President Zhou, let's arrange the layoffs like this."

Zhou Yu sighed softly, "I understand, President Jiang. I won't disturb you and Shishi any longer. I'll head back to my office now."

After Zhou Yu left the office, Liu Shishi couldn't contain her curiosity: "What happened to Director Zhou? You look so haggard, and you even have dark circles under your eyes."

Jiang Tiantian served tea to Miss Liu and sat down next to her. "President Zhang has just taken office and has some tricky things to deal with that Zhou Yu needs to handle. Let's not talk about her. Are you here for an audition today?"

Miss Liu took a sip of tea and nodded slightly, "Mm!"

Jiang Tiantian joked, "You've already been chosen as the female lead for 'Nightclub,' haven't you?"

Seeing Liu Shishi holding her teacup and keeping her head down without saying a word, Jiang Tiantian pretended to be displeased and said, "What is there to hide between us?"

Liu Shishi nodded somewhat embarrassedly. Today's audition was just a formality. Since her debut, all the roles she had gotten were through connections, so she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

Jiang Tiantian glanced at her watch; with plenty of time, she decided to chat with Miss Liu for a while longer.

“The audition doesn’t start until 2 p.m., it’s not even 1 p.m. yet, so sit here and rest for a bit. After the audition, let’s go shopping at Oriental Plaza together. I saw a dress I liked last week, could you take a look at it today?”

When the topic turned to shopping for clothes, Liu Shishi became interested and chatted happily with Jiang Tiantian.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, the conversation turned to Song Ci again. Jiang Tiantian, seemingly casually but actually intentionally, inquired, "What has President Song been busy with lately? Why didn't he come with you today?"

Liu Shishi didn't think anything of it. "He's on summer vacation and has been spending all his time at Tengda Group writing code. He says he's busy leading a team to develop some new product."

Jiang Tiantian felt it was a pity that Song Ci was busy with a new project, so the time was not right for her to ask Liu Shishi to tell her what she wanted to say. She could only keep it to herself for the time being.

Next to Jiang Tiantian's office is Yu Xin's office.

At this moment, Yu Xin was also receiving a guest, actress Gao Yuanyuan. Today, she came to Tengda Culture Company alone without her assistant.

Gao Yuanyuan, bright and intelligent, stared at her former colleague who had moved on to a better job, a hint of expectation on her face.

"Mr. Yu, we've known each other for a long time. I won't beat around the bush. Can you help me get the role of Tang Xiaolian?"

Disturbed during his lunch break, Yu Xin, who was used to taking naps, felt a bit sleepy. Lazy as he sat in his comfortable executive chair, looking at his former employer's leading female artist, he slowly said:

“Yuanyuan, I really can’t help you. Zhang Zhao is very powerful in the company. ‘Nightclub’ is a project he personally oversees, and I can’t get involved at all. Moreover, I asked the company’s artist director to put in a probe, but he doesn’t plan to use any of the company’s artists. I don’t know what he’s up to.”

Gao Yuanyuan frowned and asked unwillingly, "You're also a senior executive at Tengda Culture, don't you have any ideas at all?"

Yu Xin spread his hands, his face full of helplessness: "I still have a solid foundation in the company, but circumstances are beyond my control, and there's really nothing I can do. If you want the female lead in 'Nightclub,' you'll have to audition for yourself for now."

Seeing Gao Yuanyuan's increasingly anxious expression, Yu Xin couldn't understand. "Nightclub is just a low-budget film. Is it worth your obsession? You shouldn't be short of film offers lately."

Gao Yuanyuan snorted irritably, "Low budget? You make it sound so easy! I can't even handle a low budget, how could I possibly get a big production!"

"Mr. Yu, don't underestimate low-budget films. Only a few movies are released nationwide each year. 'Nightclub' is produced by Tengda Culture and has a guarantee from Southern cinemas. No matter the budget, at least its screenings are guaranteed."

Yu Xin nodded in agreement. As Gao Yuanyuan said, the competition for films on the big screen is extremely fierce. Only about 30% of the films produced each year are successfully released, while the majority of films are waiting for release with no hope of success.

Seeing that Yu Xin's expression didn't seem fake and that he was truly powerless to help her, Gao Yuanyuan finally gave up her fantasies in frustration and prepared to honestly go to the audition later.

However, she was still unwilling to give up. Given the opportunity to play the female lead in a movie, Gao Yuanyuan naturally wanted to compete for it. No actor would not cherish the opportunity to appear on the big screen.

After "So Young", her career development has hit a bottleneck. In February of this year, the TV series "Qin Wang Li Shimin" starring her was broadcast, and in May, the drama film "Shanghai Dreams" starring her was shortlisted for the competition unit of the 58th Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately, these did not significantly boost her popularity. She needs to transform into a serious drama or make a breakthrough on the big screen.

Low cost means easy profits, which is perfect for actresses like her who want to change their career path.

Moreover, Tengda Culture has a cooperative relationship with her, and the company's vice president and top executive are both old acquaintances of hers. Naturally, they harbored ulterior motives and wanted to win over the female lead.

(End of this chapter)