Once upon a time, Xu Mei was invisible.
Pan Li, her former assistant, secretly tried to seduce Deputy Director Duan without considering what would happen to Xu Mei if the affair was exposed.
Fang Ping, her former agent, never properly planned Xu Mei’s career. When Xu Mei was scapegoated, Fang Ping showed none of the professionalism expected of an agent, venting her own emotions and leaving Xu Mei to struggle alone in a career crisis. What infuriated Xu Mei most was that the “scapegoat” stemmed from Fang Ping’s family scandals. Both professionally and personally, Fang Ping should have helped!
Not to mention Manager Guan and Yu Tianlin, who all chose to sacrifice Xu Mei’s interests because she was easy to talk to and bully.
Now, the tables had turned.
Pan Li, the ex-assistant who caused Xu Mei major trouble, was heavily pregnant and constantly hoping Xu Mei would keep offering advice.
Fang Ping, the ex-agent ousted by her husband and his mistress, was now calling Xu Mei. Was it to apologise or beg for help?
“Sis?”
Seeing Xu Mei staring blankly at her phone, the assistant softly prompted her.
Snapping back, Xu Mei glanced at the screen, a cold smile curling her lips. She tossed the phone back to the assistant, “Hold onto it. If those two call again, don’t answer or hang up. Let them keep calling.”
When Pan Li was caught cheating, she thought Deputy Director Duan and Fang Ping would divorce. Instead, the couple put on a show of reconciliation, and Pan Li became the one Duan abandoned.
Did Pan Li hate it?
She was furious.
A woman who loved shortcuts, greedy and wicked, Pan Li grew even more determined to leverage her pregnancy with Xu Mei’s subtle guidance.
From last year to this year, Pan Li spent months in hiding to protect her pregnancy, following Xu Mei’s advice.
Xu Mei encouraged her and even funded her, ensuring Pan Li wasn’t destitute while hiding. Pan Li, with Xu Mei’s help, stabilised her pregnancy until she was near delivery, finally playing her most threatening “trump card” against Deputy Director Duan.
In truth, Xu Mei had suggested Pan Li wait longer. A pregnant belly wasn’t as intimidating as holding a baby when confronting Duan.
But Pan Li was impatient, and Xu Mei wasn’t genuinely rooting for her success. After token persuasion, Xu Mei let Pan Li return to Chengdu.
Those months of help gave Pan Li a false sense of trust and dependence on Xu Mei.
Now, following Xu Mei’s advice, Pan Li had actually forced Deputy Director Duan to divorce!
Unable to reach Xu Mei, Pan Li might do something reckless.
Xu Mei was quite looking forward to Pan Li making a foolish move and blowing things up with Duan.
After all, Xu Mei wasn’t really aiming to make Pan Li a winner in life!
As for Fang Ping, whether she was seeking help or apologising, Xu Mei had no interest.
Duan’s affair was exposed last National Day holiday. Now it was Labour Day of the new year, over half a year later, and Fang Ping had never once reached out to Xu Mei!
If Xu Mei hadn’t navigated her crisis alone, Fang Ping would likely have forgotten her entirely. An apology after half a year? Chengdu and Hunan weren’t worlds apart like Earth and Mars. Fang Ping had countless chances to apologise but couldn’t spare a single call!
As Xu Mei finished instructing her assistant, the phone buzzed frantically in the assistant’s hand again.
The caller ID showed Fang Ping.
The assistant glanced at Xu Mei, who clearly wasn’t going to answer. The assistant tucked the phone back into the bag.
Xu Mei sent her tool, Cao Bo, away and returned to the company with Producer Yang.
Having personally witnessed Xu Mei’s popularity, Producer Yang stopped stalling and signed the contract with Manager Guan.
Manager Guan didn’t secure resources for Xu Mei; she found them herself. Any other boss might worry about losing an artist, but Guan was delighted, finding Xu Mei low-maintenance.
Guan felt no shame.
Without the company’s platform, how could Xu Mei have met Producer Yang?
The Baodao romance queen was collaborating with Hunan Satellite TV on a new drama, which is why they chose Xu Mei for the role.
No wonder Guan was so carefree; he was swamped managing this year’s talent show stars to rake in profits. This year’s show outshone last year’s, with even greater influence. Guan’s company had scooped up all the top contestants, each a cash cow working hard for little pay. Guan was grinning daily.
The money was too easy!
Releasing a few solo albums? Fans would buy them.
Not fast enough?
They could release EPs!
When it came to making money, Guan was quite proud.
As for the long-term development of his cash cows, who had time to think about that?
Guan’s company was closely tied to Hunan Satellite TV’s talent show, which churned out fresh talent annually. With a steady supply of new blood, Guan didn’t bother nurturing signed contestants.
Once their popularity faded and commercial value was drained, no problem—replace them with newbies!
So far, only Li Mengjiao had escaped Guan’s control… and maybe Zhang Yangning, to an extent.
Rumour had it Zhang Yangning had somehow offended Chinese pop diva Hu Man. At a dinner, Hu Man, tipsy, accused Zhang Yangning of disrespecting seniors, though she was vague on details, sparking endless speculation.
Then there was Huang Yongjuan, who was hired to produce Tianjiao’s soundtrack but abruptly paid to cancel the contract halfway. What happened?
Ask Huang Yongjuan, and he stayed tight-lipped!
Hu Man and Huang Yongjuan carried significant weight in the mainland music scene. Offending them spelled trouble for Zhang Yangning.
Thinking of the “traitor” Zhang Yangning getting her comeuppance, Guan’s mood doubled in joy.
Of course, a year later, Li Mengjiao was still thriving, the most popular from two seasons of the talent show, slightly dampening Guan’s spirits. *Hmph, no flower blooms forever. Even the hottest star fades eventually.* Once Li Mengjiao’s popularity waned, Guan would strike like thunder, ensuring she couldn’t recover, exacting revenge and sending a warning to other signed contestants!
Perhaps Tianjiao’s new drama was an opportunity.
Ditching the experienced Zhang Guangzhen for the bestselling author Wen Ying as the sole screenwriter was likely a bad move.
Targeted by Yu Tianlin from the project’s outset.
Hu Man’s “drunken truth” and Huang Yongjuan’s contract termination.
Tianjiao’s luck was running out.
Guan saw nothing wrong with Xu Mei securing her own resources. Since her suicide threat last year, Xu Mei had avoided extreme behaviour. Her daily soap opera antics in the entertainment pages involved Cao Bo and his family, not Guan. He felt no pain.
He didn’t consider that when an artist could secure top resources independently, did they still need a management company?
Liang Dan saw it but didn’t intervene. The “darkened” Xu Mei was no longer the naive, controllable girl. Liang Dan feared Xu Mei causing trouble if she stayed and quietly nudged her toward leaving.
Smart women clashed subtly, while men like Guan remained ordinary and overconfident.
Watching Guan shamelessly take credit for landing the key role in the romance queen’s drama, Xu Mei barely restrained herself from hurling her bag at him.
*Let Guan be smug for now. It’s not time to deal with him yet.*
Producer Yang and Guan had more business to discuss, so Xu Mei left Guan’s office alone, only to bump into Yu Tianlin.
For the first time, Yu Tianlin stopped and spoke to her, “Heard you signed with Producer Yang? Congrats! Starring in this drama, you’ll definitely blow up next year.”
