Actresses

Chapter 38 Heart-to-Heart Talk

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "This isn't right. It looks like tonight's going to be a night of heart-to-heart talks."

"How could that be? Working here every day, you must be in a great mood."

"Stop saying all that. If you ask me, we shouldn't have rented such a big place. It's a complete waste of rent; we can't even use it. Wouldn't it have been better to find a more economical and practical office?" Sister Stone said. "Every day it's just to impress people and make our colleagues talk about how amazing the company is, but what's the reality of this industry? What's the point of putting on a show?"

Shi Jiahe didn't dare to interrupt.

This sounds like Emma Stone is criticizing her own artist. But while it's fine for her to criticize, she shouldn't chime in, because ultimately they're on the same side. It's okay for her to criticize He Yuran herself, but she feels uncomfortable when outsiders say negative things about He Yuran.

The two returned indoors from the garden. Although the entire work area was brightly lit, it was empty.

Shi Jiahe asked cautiously, "Have all your colleagues gone home?"

"Yes, we were supposed to have a meeting tonight, but Panpan stormed off halfway through, so we can't continue. I told everyone to go home and I'll handle things at the company."

After passing through a work area decorated with birdsong and fragrant flowers, Shi Jiahe entered the meeting room. It was very spacious, with all kinds of snacks on the table. Compared to He Yuran's studio, which was as simple as a rental apartment with white walls and white tables, Shi Jiahe even felt a sense of belonging here.

"I don't know if you've eaten?" Sister Stone asked with concern.

Shi Jiahe quickly waved her hand, "I've already eaten."

"Okay, let me know if there's anything else you'd like to eat. We have plenty of snacks and drinks from our company," Sister Stone said with a smile. "Where are you from? Did you finish your work for the day?"

"Yeah, I'm helping a girl from my hometown solve some urgent problems. She ran into an unreliable landlord and almost had her deposit withheld."

"You're such a good person. You're even willing to get involved in these things."

"The young lady is quite promising, and I don't want these things to affect her work and well-being." Shi Jiahe sat on the far end of the chair. "Actually, I feel really bad for you. If it weren't for the fact that the handover process takes a long time, and I had to help her pack and move, and everything had to be completed in one day, I originally wanted to come earlier. But I was still a little reluctant to leave in the evening, so I thought I'd ask you about the time."

"Even if you don't ask me out, I'll still ask you out." Stone walked over to her, pulled up a chair, and sat down. The two were very close.

"I'm guessing you just came from Sister Ran's place, right?" Sister Stone's voice was gentle, but her gaze was sharp.

Judgment is something that, once you have it, is hard to hide. It's obvious that Stone is fully aware of the dynamics of the people and things around her.

Shi Jiahe and Sister Shi looked at each other for a second, and then she gave up the idea of ​​hiding anything at all.

"Yes, I was delayed by things outside during the day, so I went to her house tonight and slid down on my knees to apologize."

Stone laughed loudly. "So you're living this kind of life too? Aren't we artists constantly trying to appease our artists, always getting angry about this or that?"

"It's not every day, but today is a special case."

"But I really do do this every day." Stone Sister's face hardened, her tone devoid of any hint of joking. "Especially after Panpan started dating that actor, she's like she's possessed, everything revolves around him. Our meeting today was actually about her joining the next production. We're waiting for a director to start filming."

When Stone Sister mentioned the name of a top TV series director, Shi Jiahe couldn't help but exclaim "Damn!"

"That actress must be one of you, right? Then you definitely have to go!"

Stone nodded. "A normal person would make that judgment, right? But then Panpan's boyfriend told her he'd met some big shot or investor who was preparing a big production, and said he'd take Panpan to meet him sometime. My question is, would you think this is plausible?"

Shi Jiahe laughed. "What era are we living in? There are still big shots in this industry? Anyone who calls themselves a big shot these days just proves they've been out of touch with the industry for a while now."

"That's right, and I've always felt that if something requires an artist to go to the authorities—especially if it requires a female artist like you to acknowledge a powerful figure—it's almost always a bad thing. Why can't we discuss this in a meeting room? Why specifically request that a female artist go alone and not bring any staff? Panpan and I argued about this today. She told my executive agent that I was trying to harm her. I said, 'Don't you have any basic judgment? Who would harm you?'"

"Oh, saying you're trying to harm her is a bit much..."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "It's fortunate that we argued behind closed doors. If we had been photographed outside, who knows how it would have escalated."

Outsiders, especially fans, often assume that managers must have immense love for their artists, but that's not the case. If it were just about love, the job wouldn't last long. The reality of the industry is that artists and managers typically have a love-hate relationship. And the deeper this love-hate dynamic, the longer the partnership can last.

"I'm used to it. No matter what outsiders say, she thinks it's for his own good. Every word her boyfriend says is from the heart. I told him, no matter who gives you advice on your career, it's not his place. To put it another way, if he really goes public with your relationship one day and some work comes along that we both want, we'll have to be selective about what we do with it. Let alone you being a female celebrity, even if you were just an ordinary female college student or a young girl, if your boyfriend wanted to take you to a drinking party to meet some big shots, I would immediately tell you to break up with him. But instead, you turn around and think I'm the one who's harming you."

"That's so inconsiderate. Zhuang Pan got angry with you over this?"

"Sigh, it's not just that." Sister Stone closed her eyes and propped her head up with her hand. "Didn't I tell her to break up with him today? She got angry with me, threw things, and stormed out."

"She loved him too deeply, maybe she couldn't accept it emotionally." Shi Jiahe barely managed to suppress a laugh.

"Spending even one more day with this guy is like being a ticking time bomb. Although I usually find fans annoying, there's one thing they're right about. Zhuang Pan, right now you should be focusing on your work. Especially since Panpan is so love-struck; she can't balance her career and relationships well. For others, dating is a natural thing, but not for her. Once she's in a relationship, she throws herself into it completely, thinking about this person all the time. How can I not be anxious?"

"Hearing you say that, I actually think she's quite cute."

"Cute my foot. Try managing it yourself, you'd be driven crazy every day. It's always the same four words: 'I don't want to join the group.' Sometimes I really think I'd rather quit my job and become a fan, at least I could complain about the studio. Now I'm caught in the middle."

Shi Jiahe sighed sincerely. "People are so different. Sister Ran wants to join a production but there aren't any suitable ones. Your Panpan, on the other hand, turns down acting opportunities."

"It's not that easy! Don't think that just because we have some online buzz, it's easy to get a role. As soon as there's the slightest hint of trouble, the fans start tearing each other apart. Sometimes it's the rival fandom, sometimes it's the male actor's side. There are always these kinds of issues before each production team even starts. Right now, things are still in the early stages, everyone's going over the contracts, and then this happens. The production team isn't going to sit idly by. After they noticed the rumors, they came to me and said, 'Did you leak information to the fans?' I said, 'How could I possibly leak this information before the contracts are even signed? Do you think I don't have enough obstacles already?' No matter what my stance is, I would never do such a thing. But often, what we try to keep secret is the first thing to be leaked. You never know which link in the chain went wrong. In short, we can never completely cover up the news. I know perfectly well that there are only a few links in the contract process. I can't possibly ask each of them, 'Did you leak the information?' I can't bring myself to ask that. So I can only suffer in silence. Contracts have been terminated for this reason before."

"But overall, we're getting more offers for roles. The choice is still yours."

"I don't deny that. But the troubles are far more numerous than you can imagine. Moreover, once the show ends, it's over; it doesn't stay. Yet, the production team will always give us a lot of promotional demands, and even if our artist team cooperates to the maximum extent, it's difficult for us to truly benefit from the promotion. They claim to have confirmed the trending topics with the platform, but I don't think any of these topics are actually clicked on by real viewers. If it's just to guarantee trending topics, then what's the point of what we're doing? Shouldn't promotion be about attracting viewers to watch? If it's just about letting fans manipulate data and boost trending topics, what's the point of the show's popularity?" It's pointless. It puts us in a dilemma – doing it or not doing it. Then there's the interaction with the male actor. If we get along well on set, we can promote together, but his fans are always attacking Panpan. Actually, we generally don't want to do any more joint promotional activities during the promotional period, but the production team won't agree. They give us a very long list of materials, a lot of things we need to film and coordinate for joint promotional activities. If you don't do them, you're considered unprofessional. While Panpan has the power to choose, she's far from being a top-tier celebrity who can choose everything, so we usually prioritize complying with their needs.

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "In the end, isn't it all because you initially rose to fame by relying on your fans? Now you're turning around and listing all these problems caused by your fans. I'm sorry, I can't sympathize with you."

"We're all agents, and I completely understand what you're saying, but we can only do our job. After all, artists have their own career paths. If her luck has run its course, to put it superstitiously, it's all predetermined," Shi Jiahe said calmly.

"I feel that Panpan should definitely not stop at what she has achieved so far. She has just reached a critical point. The reason I contacted you these past two days is that I hope you can do me a favor," said Sister Stone.

"Actually, I came to you because I need your help," Shi Jiahe said, going along with her.

"Your sister Ran is preparing a drama and wants to cast Panpan, right?"

Shi Jiahe feigned a wry smile and sighed. "I know the chances are slim. But I'm telling you very sincerely, it's not only tailor-made for you, but it's also definitely different from the roles you've taken on before. You don't need to worry about fans or whether the role is suitable. We just need to—"

"If you help me break up Panpan and her boyfriend, this isn't something we can't talk about," Sister Stone said, her eyes gleaming.