Li Mengjiao’s anger wasn’t directed at Xie Qian, but at Xu Mei and Young Master Cao.
She had initially thought the album’s delisting was just Manager Guan causing trouble, trying to force her to sign a contract. Though it was outrageous, Manager Guan was willing to harm his own company’s interests to do it, and Li Mengjiao had no way to counter him.
Now, after Xie Qian’s explanation, Li Mengjiao realized that Manager Guan’s company was entangled with other interests. Manager Guan was merely the public face of the company, and the decision to delist her album couldn’t have been his alone.
It dawned on Li Mengjiao that Young Master Cao must have played a role in this.
She had never even spoken to Young Master Cao. He would have to be out of his mind to target her for no reason—it could only be because of Xu Mei.
Because she was in Xu Mei’s way?!
Even Xie Qian had known about this for a while, yet Li Mengjiao only now pieced it together. She was angry at Xu Mei and Young Master Cao, but also at herself:
“Am I too stupid, so everyone keeps things from me?”
The establishment of Tianjiao Entertainment—she was the last to know.
The behind-the-scenes scheming of the album delisting and Yuan Fenghui’s resignation—she was still the last to know.
Li Mengjiao felt utterly useless!
Her cheeks flushed, her round eyes misty with frustration. Wen Ying smoothed things over, “We didn’t mean to hide anything from you. Whether you know about these things isn’t really important. Everyone’s energy is limited. Look, I’m a screenwriter, but I don’t meddle in production. Wang Shuang is learning to be a producer, but he doesn’t try to take the director’s job. Xie Qian… Xie Qian provides the funds but doesn’t interfere with filming. We all do what we’re good at, each with our own roles.”
Li Mengjiao was still a bit unconvinced. Wen Ying smiled, “You’re great at singing, and you’re learning to act. As long as you do your job well, our team will thrive. You don’t need to worry about the rest. If you tried to manage everything, wouldn’t that leave Teacher Yuan jobless?”
Yuan Fenghui had officially become Li Mengjiao’s manager.
Yuan Fenghui had planned two paths for Li Mengjiao—singer and actress—paths that would eventually converge to build her path to stardom!
Li Mengjiao, who had been fuming moments ago, felt her anger dissipate after Wen Ying’s words.
Wen Ying said they were a team.
So many people were helping her, working for her, and here she was throwing a tantrum. That wasn’t right.
But that didn’t mean she was over her grudge against Xu Mei and Young Master Cao.
Even if Xu Mei hadn’t directly asked for it, she must have known what Young Master Cao was doing!
“You’re right. I need to focus on acting,” Li Mengjiao said, suddenly brimming with energy, like she’d been injected with adrenaline.
This straightforward girl was incredibly easy to placate.
Xie Qian watched her dash off like a gust of wind, genuinely impressed by Wen Ying, “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”
Being friends with someone so naive meant the less naive one had to put in extra effort.
Wen Ying laughed, “Even if we weren’t friends, I’d have to keep a close eye on Li Mengjiao. I’ve invested money in this drama!”
Her 500,000 was her first pot of gold.
Whether she could buy a house in Shanghai by the end of the year, or how many she could buy, depended on how much that 500,000 could earn. Even if it wasn’t about friendship, for her own interests, Wen Ying couldn’t help but care about the production’s progress.
Her starting point wasn’t as high as Xie Qian’s. Xie Qian could lose three million without batting an eye, but if Wen Ying lost 500,000, she’d have to start saving from scratch. The “Shrimp King” project used to bring her cash flow, but now that a formal company had been established, early profits were being reinvested into development. Not only was there no dividend, but she might even need to chip in more!
Looking at Li Mengjiao’s retreating figure, Wen Ying felt like she’d forgotten something but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
…
The entertainment gossip Wen Ying had seen, Yuan Fenghui had definitely noticed too.
Yuan Fenghui didn’t care whether Tianjiao’s drama could air before Xu Mei’s, as long as it made the summer slot. Quality couldn’t be sacrificed just to rush for a deadline.
That’s what Yuan Fenghui thought at first, until she stumbled upon a piece of news.
Hunan Satellite TV was launching the second season of Super Girl.
Building on last year’s buzz, this year’s competition was already generating heat before it even started. Hunan Satellite TV had set a sky-high price for the naming rights, breaking the record for domestic TV program sponsorship fees.
Ultimately, a major domestic dairy company secured the naming rights!
The dairy group wasn’t spending all that money just to hear young girls sing—they wanted to leverage the competition’s popularity to promote their brand. Naming rights alone weren’t enough; they needed deeper involvement, tying their brand tightly to the 2005 Super Girl competition.
After preliminary negotiations, Hunan Satellite TV agreed to produce several promotional songs for the brand, with last year’s popular contestants as brand ambassadors. The start of the competition’s auditions would mark the official announcement of their mutually beneficial promotional plan!
Brand ambassador, huh.
Of the top three from the 2004 competition, they’d released albums and acted in dramas, but none had landed an endorsement deal yet.
The market hadn’t yet recognized the value of last year’s competition contestants.
Without releasing albums or acting in dramas, brands couldn’t gauge the contestants’ “worth”!
If Manager Guan hadn’t delisted Li Mengjiao’s album, according to Yuan Fenghui’s plan, Li Mengjiao would have been at the stage of shooting commercials by now. Unfortunately, Manager Guan had disrupted her rhythm.
But no matter, the opportunity had come again!
“This brand ambassador role—Li Mengjiao must take it,” Yuan Fenghui declared firmly to Li Zhentao.
Li Zhentao hesitated, “Hunan Satellite TV might not choose Jiaojiao.”
If Li Mengjiao had signed with Manager Guan’s company, her chances of landing the ambassador role would’ve been high. Among the top three, she had the strongest stage presence and the most passionate fanbase. It wasn’t Li Zhentao’s bias speaking—Li Mengjiao’s image was a great fit for the dairy group!
But now, after falling out with Manager Guan’s company over the contract, Manager Guan had even stopped selling her album. Why would he let Jiaojiao seize such a prime opportunity?
Even with Li Zhentao’s parental bias, he had to admit that Li Mengjiao’s popularity and public perception were at a low point.
…Unless Li Mengjiao’s drama aired now, regaining her popularity!
Yuan Fenghui rejected the idea.
“No, speeding up production for the ambassador role and airing in an unsuitable slot—what if Tianjiao can’t recoup production costs? Even if we rush to finish filming now, selling the broadcasting rights and getting audience feedback would take time. We can’t afford to wait!”
This year was different from last year.
Last year, Super Girl was a new show, and Hunan Satellite TV couldn’t predict its ratings, so they didn’t invest heavily.
This year, Super Girl’s momentum was bound to surpass last year’s. A bigger spectacle meant a longer timeline, and Yuan Fenghui believed the auditions would start early.
The dairy brand’s ambassador would be confirmed before the auditions.
Yuan Fenghui slapped the table, “Xu Mei didn’t rush back from Taiwan just to wrap up filming—she’s back for this ambassador role!”
