previous chapter ¦ TOC ¦ next chapter

Yang Kangding was the most senior agent under Yaxing Entertainment. After Gu Yaxing had deliberately handed over several key artists in the company to him, it was clear to see that, comparatively, he held an advantage in Gu Yaxing’s heart.

It could be said that in this company, except for his boss, Gu Yaxing, and his money maker, Hu Xiao, there was no one worthy of his attention.

When he arrived at the company in the morning, he was notified, to his surprise, that Gu Yaxing was waiting for him in the office. Hu Xiao had been in a bad mood all day because of the failed audition and when he was in a bad mood he was more rebellious.

Yang Kangding had been watching over him to ensure that he did not go to a bar to drink and at the same time he also had to pay careful attention to his words. Nothing about the audition could appear in their conversations as it would stimulate Hu Xiao and make him more depressed.

It was not an easy task to wait for Hu Xiao to adjust his mood. Every temple has a big demon and a shallow pond houses many tortoises. After being the “big bro” in the company for a long time Hu Xiao had a bad temper. Though this temper was hidden behind a gentle image, in front of his agent, Hu Xiao showed no patience. Because while there were many artists at his level in the entertainment circle only he had been signed by Yaxing Entertainment.

In the past, Su Shengbai was similarly a small artist in the company and in Yang Kangding’s view, Hu Xiao’s potential was no less than that of Su Shengbai, thus, he hoped that in the future Hu Xiao will succeed and take him along to taste the heavens.

“General Manager Gu.” Yang Kangding entered Gu Yaxing’s office and glanced at Gu Yaxing.

Gu Yaxing, who was on the phone behind his desk made a clear gesture for him to step aside.

“Ah, heh, of course, of course, You still have to take care of me.” Yang Kangding didn’t know who Gu Yaxing was talking to with such a humble attitude. “Thank you so much. I will prepare a table of drinks, when you have time, you must give me face and attend so I can express my thanks. Okay, you are busy, ok, goodbye. “

He hung up the phone, and the arc at the corner of his mouth immediately fell. Gu Yaxing had also been a star in his early years. At the peak of his career, he quarreled with his agency and left rapidly to open his own studio. Though his appearance was naturally first-class, it was a pity that the operating conditions of his studio were not so optimistic.

The studio had produced a few famous celebrities, but as these people become popular, they left, and only a few remained. Meanwhile, the company was unwilling to pay liquidated damages to poach people. This period where Yaxing Entertainment had been lacking in star power, had mellowed Gu Yaxing’s outlook and this obviously displeased attitude was rarely seen on his face.

Yang Kangding saw that Gu Yaxing’s anger was directed at him and he could not help but have a baffling ache in his balls[1]: “General Manager Gu, what is going on?”

Gu Yaxing’s voice was deep: “What kind of work did you do yesterday? Give me a report.”

Yang Kangding blinked. Pondering Gu Yaxing’s tone, he became even more puzzled. Could it be that he knew about Hu Xiao’s failed audition? But failed auditions are normal in the entertainment circle, he didn’t need to be so angry?

As the matter involved Hu Xiao, Yang Kangding immediately became serious. Hu Xiao’s interests and his were directly linked. He smiled, and carefully recounted all the work he did yesterday. When he mentioned the audition, he specifically described how impressive and famous the other actors were.

He wanted to minimize the effect of Hu Xiao’s failure, so after thinking it through, he added a sentence: “I can see that Ah Xiao is really working hard. Though he was working the day before, he nevertheless arrived at the audition an hour early. I had also clearly informed Luo Ding of the audition but he didn’t show up until late. In contrast, Hu Xiao’s diligent attitude towards work needs to be praised.”

Yang Kangding stared at Gu Yaxing’s expression carefully and hesitated to finish the last word. It was obvious that Gu Yaxing’s nose had twitched, so he became more and more worried.

Gu Yaxing nodded and fisted his hand on his forehead so that Yang Kangding could only hear his voice but could not see his expression: “One more thing, I previously notified you that the company will be choosing an artist to release a record in August. You must have planned something, right? Do you have anything to tell me? “

When Yang Kangding heard this topic, his prior sullen expression brightened, and his eyes narrowed. For a long time, Hu Xiao had not released an album. His idol drama had won him a lot of popularity but without excellent follow up work, this popularity will wear off. At this time, a huge record release, supported by good promotion, will undoubtedly fill this gap.

In order to win this opportunity for Hu Xiao, more than a month earlier, he had started to pay attention to protecting Hu Xiao’s voice, just waiting for Gu Yaxing to raise this topic.

“You can rest assured that to prepare for this, Hu Xiao’s current state …” Yang Kangding waved his hands exaggeratedly, an admiring look on his face, “Don’t mention how good it is! He has improved his singing skills very fast, his skill now absolutely cannot be compared to when he first debuted. Coupled with his popularity after his previous hit, I assure you that he will not let you down on this album!”

Gu Yaxing ignored Yang Kangding’s happiness, he let out a long sigh and put down his hand, his eyes, which were filled with complex emotions fell on Yang Kangding: “Xiao Yang, how many people are you representing now?”

Yang Kangding hesitated for a moment and replied uncertainly: “Four … four or five.”

“You have more than one artist with singing experience, right? I remember that Luo Ding was also a singer. Why didn’t you mention him and just spoke about Hu Xiao?”

“Luo Ding?” Yang Kangding had no idea why Gu Yaxing would mention that name, and unconsciously responded with some contempt, “Him? He can’t do it, where does he have the ability to compete with Hu Xiao?”

Moreover, he hadn’t liked Luo Ding from the beginning and in his eyes, with such a personality, the possibility of Luo Ding becoming popular was very small, as such a rare opportunity could not be wasted on him.

“So that’s how it is, huh” Gu Yaxing’s eyes sank, as he interpreted other meanings from Yang Kangding’s words.

He couldn’t help venting his anger. “Hu Xiao, Hu Xiao! How many times have you mentioned Hu Xiao’s name since you entered this office?” Have you forgotten that Luo Ding is also an artist under your management? What is the role of an agent? Tell me! Your task is to give everyone a chance instead of hoarding all the resources for one person! Luo Ding has no talent and cannot compete with Hu Xiao? What the hell do you know! You only know that Hu Xiao failed the audition, why did you not know that Luo Ding was selected? You trash agent! “

It is no wonder that Luo Ding, who had held a little bit of popularity died out so quickly and completely after Su Shengbai’s departure. With such an agent, it would be strange that he could get ahead!!!

Thinking of the scene, yesterday, where Gong liangguang, unprecedently asked him why he didn’t give an excellent seed like Luo Ding more resources, and then looking at Yang Kangding’s obliviousness about Luo Ding’s current status, Gu Yaxing hated that he could not give Yang Kangding a slap.

Yang Kangding froze in shock: “Luo Ding … What was Luo Ding chosen for?”

Gu Yaxing glared at him, and didn’t answer at all, but Yang Kangding face drained of all color after pondering over that statement: “Tang … Tang Zhuan? How is it possible! All those with skills were rejected, Luo Ding … Luo… How could he be selected? President Gu must have misremembered … “

Gu Yaxing snorted coldly: “Needless to say! I have made no mistakes! From today, Luo Ding is no longer your artist, he is directly under my management. Since you are in so much haste to make Hu Xiao your main source of income then let go of all your other artists except Hu Xiao, so you can concentrate on him better.”

The salary of the agent was directly linked to the income generated by his artists. The young artists represented by Yang Kangding brought him a fixed income, Thus, Yang Kangding’s income will undoubtedly shrink greatly from this. His complexion changed, and he anxiously wanted to explain, but Gu Yaxing did not give him a chance to speak and waved him out in annoyance.

Yang Kangding left the office calmly, still full of disbelief. He casually found a quiet corner, squatted down, lit a cigarette and smoked dazedly. It took him a while to recover, after which he picked up his cell phone to find Wu Fangyuan’s number.

Wu Fangyuan’s voice was soft: ” Yang ge?”

“… Xiao wu.” He used a polite attitude to address Wu Fangyuan, “Well … are you with Luo Ding?”

“Yes.”

“… So, does Luo Ding have a job now?”

“Yes!” Wu Fangyuan suddenly realized, “Oh sorry, Yang ge, Ah Ding secured the most recent job on his own, so I forgot to inform you because it has been so busy. Luo Ding has to test his makeup and shoot the MV for Pan Yiming’s new album. He will report to the drama crew next week, so he will also be very busy taking test photos and making preparations. He said that he had already informed General Manager Gu that he wants to push aside the other small programs we had previously arranged.”

He clearly was unaware that Gu Yaxing had changed Luo Ding’s agent. Yang Kangding dazedly listened to the other party’s undisguised excitement and he didn’t even recall hanging up the phone.

Wu Fangyuan continued talking until he heard a rhythmic beep and pouted: “Hanging up the phone before I finished talking, I probably made him angry again.”

At the side, Pan Yiming’s assistant, a young woman who looked to be about 25 or 26 years old said very politely: ” Wu gē, Luo gē’s makeup is almost done, after a while we will have to conduct a screen test, let’s go together to the dressing room to wait for him”

Wu Fangyuan waved his hands in surprise: “What Wu gē … don’t call me Wu gē, Liu jie you can just go ahead and call me Xiao Wu!” He had followed Luo Ding for so many years, but this was the first time that he had been shown so much respect!

How could Liu Yu dare call him Xiao Wu? In their assistant circles they all looked at the relationships of their leadership to determine their relative positions. In the relationship between Pan Yiming and Luo Ding, Luo Ding was obviously the stronger one. Although Liu Yu could not understand how this strange dynamic came to be, how could she not have this insight after all these years?

Wu Fangyuan enjoyed Liu Yu’s differential treatment with pride as well as with some panic. Of course, he understood that for Liu Yu to treat him with such care, it was entirely due to Luo Ding’s position. Nevertheless, he found a sense of pride in the accomplishment of others.

Because it was just a test shoot, there were not many people on set. Further, more scenes from the MV still had to be shot outdoors at a later date. Thus, Pan Yiming did not expect Luo Ding to get into character at this shoot. Today, Luo Ding’s main task was to try out the costumes and familiarize himself with the plot.

The door of the dressing room was closed tightly. Liu Yu took Wu Fangyuan to the scene and inquired from the staff at the entrance, only to learn that Pan Yiming had arrived shortly before and had entered dressing room.

This time around, Pan Yiming had paid a considerable price to invite this particular makeup artist. Though he was talented, he had a very bad temper and found it very annoying when he was interrupted in the middle of applying makeup.

Liu Yu debated whether or not to open the door and greet Pan Yiming. After considering it, she waited outside with Wu Fangyuan.

When the door lock clicked open, Liu Yu turned her head in the direction of the sound and saw two assistants of the makeup artist come out looking flushed.

Liu Yu froze, and then heard a loud girly scream from the makeup artist: “What do I do! I don’t want you to be seen by them! Oh!”

Liu Yu stiffened, and her face suddenly became odd. She then heard another male voice which was as clear as spring water: “Then should I remove the makeup?”

Liu Yu was curious, so she went up to the door to see what the fuss inside was about. Instead she suddenly bumped into Pan Yiming who was on her way out.

Pan Yiming’s state frightened Liu Yu, her face was full of bashfulness and barely restrained excitement. Her eyes were brighter than a wolf who had been starved for three days and her fists were squeezed tightly against her chest as she moved to make an exaggerated screaming sound.

“…” It was rare that Pan Yiming was so unrestrained in front of people. Liu Yu rushed to hug her, ” Pan jie, are you okay?”

Pan Yiming seemed to be called back to herself by the sudden movement and without making a sound she quickly restrained herself

“So handsome! So handsome!!!” She whispered into her fist while tightening the muscles in her face and smacking Liu Yu’s shoulder with a force that was not small, ” Handsome to death ah ah ah ah ah!!! Take me out of here, hurry up, I can’t hold back anymore!!! ”

There was a chuckle in the dressing room: “Pan jie, don’t laugh at me.”

Liu Yu raised her head reflexively and looked in the direction of the voice. She only felt as if she had been covered in a dark room, and then forced to go outside and look directly into the sky.

For the first time, she understood what it meant “to be blinded.”

T/N Note: Who else loved the tongue-lashing Gu Yaxing gave to Yang Kangding. Hehe!

[1] I translated this literally. Lol

previous chapter ¦ TOC ¦ next chapter

Please follow and like us: