Manager Guan wasn’t joking.
Li Mengjiao’s album had been selling best in the Rongcheng region, with record stores prominently displaying and recommending it. Some local die-hard fans bought multiple copies, and some even pooled money to clear out entire store shelves.
When one record store tried to restock, they were told there was no inventory available.
Running out of stock is common, and in such cases, the distributor would typically speed up production, prioritizing orders by size or timing, with a delivery estimate of a week or two. But for Li Mengjiao’s album, there was no stock and no estimated delivery time—without inventory to sell, the sales gap naturally widened. In the latest weekly sales stats, Li Mengjiao had fallen behind both Xu Mei and Zhang Yangning.
Corrupt music critics were ecstatic, claiming the market validated their analysis: Li Mengjiao’s early album sales were propped up by fans, but now their wallets were empty, and her sales were naturally sliding.
“This is just the beginning!”
The critics proclaimed with conviction.
Yuan Fenghui ignored the critics’ nonsense and Manager Guan’s petty tactics, focusing instead on speeding up the production of Tianjiao Film’s first project.
By the time Wen Ying learned of this, Yuan Fenghui had already fallen out with Manager Guan. Li Zhentao invited Wen Ying to the company, where Wang Shuang was also present.
Wang Shuang secretly shared some details: somehow, Yuan Fenghui had negotiated with Li Zhentao, and Tianjiao Film’s shareholders had changed, adding Yuan Fenghui alongside Li Zhentao, Wang Jun, and Qin Xianming.
“Yuan-laoshi’s resignation letter was sent to Manager Guan, and Station Chief Duan immediately invited her to join,” Wang Shuang marveled.
Professor Fang and Yuan Fenghui were rivals, sparring countless times through Xu Mei and Li Mengjiao’s albums, but Station Chief Duan, Professor Fang’s husband, wanted to poach Yuan Fenghui. The industry’s relationships were that complicated!
“Yuan-laoshi definitely didn’t agree.”
“…Of course not, how could Yuan-laoshi work with Professor Fang?”
Wang Shuang thought Wen Ying was stating the obvious, but Wen Ying laughed, “You dummy, Yuan-laoshi didn’t refuse because of Professor Fang, but because Station Chief Duan couldn’t offer the resources she wanted!”
Since Yuan Fenghui had burned bridges with Manager Guan, she was betting everything on Li Mengjiao.
What could Station Chief Duan offer Li Mengjiao?
His resources were mostly in Rongcheng, Li Mengjiao’s home base. With her album being throttled by Manager Guan, she didn’t need to retreat to Rongcheng’s market but to break through his blockade, reclaim Hunan, and expand nationwide… At this thought, Wen Ying’s heart skipped a beat!
Right now, Li Mengjiao essentially had no debut album.
Even if the album was high quality, even if Yuan Fenghui and Li Mengjiao poured their hearts into it, even if Wen Ying contributed by writing the MV script, it was still Manager Guan’s company’s “product.”
Manager Guan was willing to forgo profits to force Yuan Fenghui and Li Mengjiao to submit. What would Yuan Fenghui do?
She resigned!
Yuan Fenghui couldn’t keep promoting Li Mengjiao’s debut album.
Li Mengjiao had made huge concessions signing a single-album contract, taking a tiny cut while the company pocketed the lion’s share. The better the album sold, the more Manager Guan earned, so with Yuan Fenghui’s temperament, why would she spend her own money on promotion just to benefit him?
If Manager Guan gave up, Yuan Fenghui gave up too—let’s see who could outlast whom!
But Yuan Fenghui hadn’t given up on Li Mengjiao. She couldn’t stand the critics smearing her or tolerate Xu Mei, from the same talent show, overshadowing her.
Yuan Fenghui was finding a new path for Li Mengjiao.
Another way to break Manager Guan’s “blockade.”
Wen Ying had just pieced together the twists and turns when Li Zhentao walked in, Yuan Fenghui following.
“Uncle Li, Teacher Yuan.”
“Wen Ying, we’re troubling you again.”
Li Zhentao pointed to Yuan Fenghui, “Let Yuan-laoshi explain.”
Yuan Fenghui placed a folder on the table, confirming Wen Ying’s guess:
“I want Mengjiao to star in Zhang’s script as the female lead. The production team and male co-star will be hired from Taiwan. Not only will Mengjiao play the lead, she’ll also record the soundtrack!”
As expected!
Spurred by the setback, Yuan Fenghui was finally taking the path she excelled at.
“Idol drama female lead + soundtrack” was a dual role of acting and singing. If the drama took off, the soundtrack would too, and with both successful, the female lead had no reason not to shine!
“But…”
“No buts. I know you’re going to say the script isn’t suitable for Mengjiao, so I had Mr. Li invite you. Zhang has agreed to revise the script with you to make it fit Mengjiao. The rest is our responsibility. Trust me, I want Mengjiao to succeed even more than you do, and not just a flash-in-the-pan success. I won’t be shortsighted about her career path!”
Yuan Fenghui was forceful, leaving Wen Ying no chance to refuse.
In this office, all four people had Li Mengjiao’s best interests at heart, their goals aligned, so there was no need to argue.
Wen Ying had watched the variety show that angered Yuan Fenghui, alerted by Li Mengjiao herself. The naive girl had worked hard filming it, eager to show off to friends since the show was popular among young viewers, featuring either big stars or rising talents.
But when it aired, Li Mengjiao was stunned.
—What was that?!
She wasn’t upset about losing to Xu Mei in album sales, but this show infuriated her.
Yuan Fenghui was angry, Li Mengjiao was angry, and Wen Ying couldn’t help but be angry too.
Yuan Fenghui had resigned from Manager Guan’s company and rejected Station Chief Duan’s offer. If she was willing to bet everything, Wen Ying had no reason to hesitate.
“Alright, I’ll revise it!”
Yuan Fenghui had expected Wen Ying to argue and had prepared a slew of reasons, but Wen Ying agreed readily.
Yuan Fenghui stared at Wen Ying, then gave her first smile since resigning, “Screenwriter Wen, we’ll have more chances to work together.”
This was the first time Yuan Fenghui formally called her “Screenwriter Wen.”
Revising the script was Li Zhentao’s request, and he insisted Wen Ying be involved.
With Wen Ying’s quick agreement, Yuan Fenghui could finally dive into production preparations.
Yuan Fenghui left with the files, Wang Shuang eagerly following to offer help.
“Teacher Yuan, if there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Alright, come to my office and grab a contact list. Call them to confirm their schedules.”
They walked off, chatting, leaving Wen Ying and Li Zhentao alone in the office.
“Teacher Yuan is really in a hurry, and frankly, I can’t swallow this either. If Jiaojiao weren’t the female lead, the filming would be delayed. The Taiwan actress Yuan planned to hire isn’t available…”
Li Zhentao explained.
Wen Ying asked about the Taiwan actress Yuan Fenghui had intended to cast, confirming it was the one from her memory.
Another butterfly effect.
In Wen Ying’s memory, Zhang’s drama aired in 2007, but now it was starting two years early, and the original female lead had no filming availability.
Wen Ying asked if the male lead was chosen, and Li Zhentao said they were still in talks.
This wouldn’t do. If the butterfly’s wings fluttered again, could the drama still be a hit?
Wen Ying quickly suggested a name, “Uncle Li, can you ask Teacher Yuan to consider him for the male lead?”
Li Zhentao wasn’t familiar with Taiwan’s entertainment industry. If not for his daughter Li Mengjiao pursuing this path, he might never have touched the industry. He hadn’t heard of the Taiwan actor Wen Ying mentioned but noted the name to recommend to Yuan Fenghui.
When Yuan Fenghui heard the name, she couldn’t place it.
Had she fallen so out of touch with Taiwan after just a few months?
After asking old friends in Taiwan, she dug up info on the person Wen Ying mentioned.
What actor? He was just a minor male model.
In 2005’s Taiwan entertainment scene, models trying to transition to acting were a dime a dozen, and Wen Ying’s pick hadn’t crossed that gap yet.
With Li Mengjiao as a newcomer, Yuan Fenghui planned to cast a well-known Taiwan male star to boost her.
If they used Wen Ying’s model, two nobodies—were they aiming for a rookie mutual aid project?!
Yuan Fenghui didn’t agree.
Wen Ying didn’t push. Over a few days, she and Zhang discussed online and revised a new script.
This script disrupted Yuan Fenghui’s plans. The agent of the male star she wanted was unhappy, feeling their popular client would be relegated to supporting a mainland newcomer. If the drama flopped, it’d be a waste of their star power. They’d act, but only for an extra 2 million in pay.
2 million?
Pfft, they might as well rob a bank!
Yuan Fenghui had only been away from Taiwan for months; industry rates couldn’t have spiked that much. They were exploiting Tianjiao’s urgency. So, she dug up Wen Ying’s suggested male model again, called his modeling agency, and asked him to come to Rongcheng for an audition.
