A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 16 Flattered
In the morning, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear.

A teahouse in Taipei.

"I noticed you used to enjoy drinking tea. How about ordering a pot of our local Taiwanese oolong tea?"

"Okay, I can do that."

"Oolong tea it is, everything else the usual. Thanks!"

We quickly finished ordering, and once the door to the small private room was closed, it was quite quiet. It was on the third floor, by the window, offering both a panoramic view of the bustling street below and the opportunity to close the window for a peaceful and quiet chat.

Chen Shuhua seemed to have taken the time to dress up today, appearing much more refined and elegant than during our previous two meetings, yet her beauty and charm were still evident in her understated elegance.

She wasn't exactly the innocent type; she had a very classic Eastern face and an excellent figure. At this time, she was slightly thinner, which meant she had successfully lost weight and controlled her weight very well, so she looked very innocent. If she were a little heavier, her face would be rounder, and she would definitely have the air of a matriarch.

Good girl.

However... I subtly inquired with Xue Zhongding, and I was shocked to learn that Chen Shuhua was actually born in 1958!
I'm officially 38 years old this year!
During their previous meetings, Lin Jianlu had always felt that she was around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She guessed that she had become a sensation at the end of the 1980s, so she simply deduced that she was actually probably over thirty.

But I still didn't expect her to be thirty-eight!
They really don't look alike at all!

Thirty-eight! No joke. If this were in the countryside, where early marriage and childbirth are common, her child would be as old as Lin Jianlu by now—however, the truth is almost 100% clear: this girl has never even been in a relationship. This isn't just known to Lao Xue; almost everyone in Taiwan knows it.

She was a child star; she became famous at the age of 8, the kind of famous throughout Taiwan.

In her early twenties, she reportedly fell for a young singer, who seemed to reciprocate her feelings. However, before things could develop into a romantic relationship, her mother intervened. She resisted, and the conflict between mother and daughter was said to be quite significant, known to many in the industry. Her mother confronted the young singer, stating bluntly that he was not good enough for her daughter. The young man, likely quite young at the time, was deeply hurt and soon went abroad, his whereabouts unknown to this day. Thus, this budding romance was nipped in the bud.

Chen Shuhua has always been a bit of a mama's boy. She has entrusted almost all of her work, performances, and business collaborations to her mother. She only resisted a little when she was young, and then she gave up.

Perhaps it's because while being controlled is certainly uncomfortable, being taken care of by her own mother, and not having to worry about anything except singing, has a comfortable side to her!

Later, as she approached thirty, her mother thought she had earned a lot of money and approved that Chen Shuhua could semi-retire, date, get married, and have children, because she had enough money to live happily with her future family for the rest of her life. As luck would have it, she switched to Rolling Stone when she was thirty.

When she first arrived at Rock Records, she got Li's "When Dreams Awaken". Her voice was clear and mellow, not like Su Rui's rock-level big voice, but she sang with a special flavor. She was already famous, but when she got "When Dreams Awaken", she soared to the sky!
This is the first Taiwanese album to sell over a million copies locally!
It can be said that although she had been famous for twenty years before she turned thirty and had never been bad at making money, she did not earn as much as she did from that one record or her income in that year!

What happened next was even more incredible: Luo Dayou's "Rolling Red Dust" was given to her as well!
Next up was Li Zongsheng's "Laughing at the World"...

It's no exaggeration to say that from 1988 to 1993, she was absolutely unstoppable. In terms of influence, she even surpassed veteran divas like Su Rui, Qi Yu, Tsai Chin, and Xu Xiaofeng, and was enough to rival Anita Mui across the river. She was an undisputed super diva!
In fact, when it comes to overall record sales, two of her albums sold over a million copies. The album "Tell You, Listen to You," which includes "When Dreams Awaken," sold over 240 million copies worldwide, surpassing even Anita Mui's sales!
So, even disregarding how someone at her level should find a good guy to date, and ignoring whether she's even busy enough to date, just considering her own situation—being alone all the way into her late thirties—she probably has given up on the idea of ​​love altogether…

In short, this older single woman has remained single all this time.

Lin Jianlu had already sensed something during their previous gathering and chat, but now, talking to her alone, the feeling was even more pronounced. It seemed that this girl was a bit dull in other areas besides music.

A kind of naive stupidity.

Let's talk about music, let's talk about R&B.

Everyone is very happy.

They had lunch at a teahouse, and Lin Jianlu's appetite once again astonished and amazed her. "When I got back, I told my mom that that A-Lu could eat four whole plates of roasted meat in one meal. I even showed my mom the size of the plates, but she just wouldn't believe me. She said, 'How could anyone have such a big stomach...'"

…………

"Hello? Sister Aijia? Oh, I just got back to the hotel..."

A beautiful morning and a wonderful lunch put Lin Jianlu in a good mood. Just as she returned to the hotel, she received a call from Zhang Aijia.

This time she got straight to the point, "You're not planning to sign with me, but you're not planning to sign with Lao Ge either, right? You're doing me a favor, and you're doing her a favor too? So who are you planning to sign with?"

Uh... you guys even exchange messages with each other?!
A little awkward.

That's a rather aggressive way of putting it! "I can't help it, Sister Aijia, how am I supposed to choose? I'm a newcomer from the mainland, I don't want to offend anyone, I'd rather not hire an agent!"

On the other end of the phone, Sylvia Chang burst into laughter.

In fact, she had already realized what was going on before Lin Jianlu even hung up the phone that morning, but Lin Jianlu's actions left her with no choice but to remain silent. That was how things were supposed to be; both sides politely declined, but two favors were still given, so no one was offended. Lin Jianlu handled everything perfectly, balancing things out without offending anyone.

However, what he could not have foreseen was that things did not develop as he had planned at all!

Before noon, the matter had already fallen apart on both sides. Neither of them were petty or narrow-minded; they were common acquaintances in the business world, had no conflicts with each other, and even often cooperated. After feeling disappointed for only a few minutes after losing Lin Jianlu, Ge Fuhong called Zhang Aijia to congratulate her on acquiring a rising star and frankly stated that if Lin Jianlu needed any help in the future, Zhang Aijia should just ask.

Then, since both sides were seasoned veterans, the communication was quickly established.

After understanding Lin Jianlu's actions, the two seasoned veterans were amazed—a young man who was only twenty years old had such considerations and shrewdness. Not only did he not disappoint the two women who were also eliminated, but he also became more and more eager to secure Lin Jianlu's management contract!

They were already famous, and now they're about to become even more famous!

But now it seems that this is only the beginning!

Able to write and sing, and good-looking—just those three qualities alone are enough to ensure a decade of good fortune for this young man, as long as he doesn't do anything utterly despicable. But then, we have to add the extra requirement of high emotional intelligence and maturity beyond his years!

Goodness, now there's no losing!

So, these two people of their stature conveyed their meaning to each other in just a few words and quickly reached an agreement. At noon, while Lin Jianlu was making Chen Shuhua laugh in the private room, Zhang Aijia's phone call had already come into the hotel room.

This is the third phone call.

"I won't make things difficult for you, Lu. Here's what we've discussed. We really think highly of you. How about this: if you don't mind, we can both be your agents. We don't have a joint agent system here, but it's very common in Hollywood."

"what?"

"What's so surprising? We all have high hopes for your future, so of course we're all willing to work for you! Specifically, I'll be in charge in Taiwan, and she'll be in charge in Hong Kong. As for Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea, I admit I can't compete with her business there, so she'll be in charge there too. Of course, she'll still be your agent in Taiwan, and I'll be in charge in Hong Kong as well. Basically, whoever is in charge gets 70% of the commission, and we'll split the public affairs 50/50. Same old rule, we'll only charge you 10% together. How about it? Want to work together?"

"I'm a little... flattered."

"Haha! Well, we've discussed it too. You're casting Ah Ying as the female lead in 'Fairy Tale,' so you'll need a director, right? How about I direct it?"

"That...of course! That would be perfect!"

If the budget is sufficient to shoot music videos for "Fairy Tale," "Ten Years," and "Flower Field Mistake," then it won't be like before, where Lin Jianlu simply tells Gu Changwei what shots she needs based on her intuition. Instead, a director will be needed to take charge of the production and filming.

Sylvia Chang is a versatile talent who can write, direct, act, and sing. She is knowledgeable in both music and film. Moreover, her previous film made her protégé Rene Liu famous. What more could she ask for than having her direct a music video for herself?

This is because she volunteered herself; otherwise, Lin Jianlu would have been too embarrassed to make the invitation.

A music video? Is it worth getting Sylvia Chang to agree to that?

"Well, as for 'Ten Years,' I won't interfere. From what Lao Ge said, as long as you're willing to sign your agency contract with us, she seems to be planning to find Wang Jing or Wang Jiawei to direct for you. If you have no objections, I'll go to your hotel after I hang up the phone. You can call her, and she'll come over too. She'll probably bring a stack of photos for you to choose from. The three of us can sit down and have a good chat."

"it is good!"

***
Just to clarify, there are many typos in the text. If they are nouns or names, please don't point them out.

For example, I didn't want to change Magic Rock to Grinding Rock, but the editor specifically requested it. As for other names, there's no need to explain them further.

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(End of this chapter)