Hello Mr. King - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Agency’s Choice
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Song Meng didn’t have any defining features. Even though she wasn’t exactly ugly, she was not exactly beautiful either.
Despite Wei Shanshan’s remark, Song Meng, who had a carefree temper, knew that it wasn’t malicious. “Hey, don’t worry. I know my limits; I’m not gonna be an actress.”
She turned around and said, “Xiangxiang, I’ll be your assistant. You just work your way forward; I’ll take care of the rest! Just let me be by your side and ogle hotties in the background. It’s alright even if I’m not given any salary!” 7
Her words immediately amused everyone and drew them closer. They started talking about the script and voiced their thoughts about it.
Zhou Wei came in around one o’clock. He actually let everyone take a break during noon. Fang Nanyuan and the others didn’t leave because they wanted to check their scripts properly.
“Director Zhou, after this I’ll come in at 12.30 pm and go back to class at 2 pm. If you need me at night, I can come over at 9 pm,” Yun Xiangxiang took the initiative and informed Zhou Wei.
The film used simple makeup. Yun Xiangxiang basically went in front of the mirror without makeup. It was very convenient as she just needed to change her clothes and comb her hair. 2
“I was just about to tell you that you’ll have a few night scenes.” The main reason Zhou Wei gave those great terms to Yun Xiangxiang was because the four of them rarely appeared on screen together; except for the classroom scenes. However, there was a scene where Wei You would send Yang Qi back home. That one was important. “I’ll rearrange the schedule and concentrate on the shooting of your co-star scenes on weekends.”
With this, the progress of the shooting would increase greatly.
There was no filming session this afternoon. Zhou Wei wanted Yun Xiangxiang to register a Weibo account. With that, he could invite her into a group to let the four of them know each other better. He was not averse to praising Yun Xiangxiang’s acting skills as superb, and he let Yan Yi and the other pair communicate with her more. 3
Perhaps Zhou Wei had a knack for choosing people. The trio’s temperament was quite good. Yun Xiangxiang did not feel uncomfortable when she was dealing with them. Instead, because of the care given by Yun Xiangxiang, who was the youngest among the quartet, she gradually became the darling of the group.
To her surprise, Yun Xiangxiang noticed that although the trio’s acting wasn’t actually phenomenal, it was actually not bad for their age. This discovery was despite the fact that they did not have any scenes together yet, and Yun Xiangxiang had only came for an hour and a half in the afternoon.
As expected from the students of Huaying University.
Seemed like Zhou Wei was only interested in the right cast this time instead of the expensive ones.
There was a night scene after a couple of days. Since the scene would involve filming Yun Xiangxiang and her parents at home, Su Xiuling accompanied Yun Xiangxiang herself to the filming scene. 4
This led to them chatting with Wei Shanshan who had not left yet. They had quite a good conversation. Su Xiuling found out that they were only having boxed rice provided by the studio, and felt that it was too harsh on those youngsters. She invited them over to her place for lunch, since it was only one street across. If they couldn’t make it, then Yun Xiangxiang would bring it to them during noontime.
Since then, Wei Shanshan and the others came over to Yun Xiangxiang’s place to have lunch. However, every time they did, they would bring over things like vegetables and fruits. Su Xiuling knew that the kids did not want to eat for free, so she just let them be with one caveat: No giving of expensive items. 3
With this, the four people’s relationship had improved by leaps and bounds. They even made a group chat in private that was named Four Seasons Group. 1
[Wei Shanshan @ Yi Yan: Brother Yi, how’s Soaring Media that you signed with?]
[Yi Yan: Soaring Media’s resources are still fine. I signed up with them because they offered a five year contract.]
Agencies were very strict on their actors. Nobody would want to see the cash cow they raised go independent once they were able to. Usually, contracts lasted fifteen years. Ten years was basically the bare minimum. The ones that got contracts that lasted less than ten years must be special or even one in a million.
Five years could be considered as a schooling period for actors. Even if Yi Yan couldn’t get famous by twenty-seven, he could create his presence and understand the entertainment industry rules before coming back as an actor that concentrated on acting skills. It was normal for actors to start their path when they were twenty-seven before entering their prime after thirty. However, Wei Shanshan was a woman. If she failed to establish herself famous twenty and thirty, then it was basically impossible to become famous after that. 1
[Wei Shanshan: An agent from Brilliant Entertainment also contacted me today. They wanted me to sign a contract with them, but I’m a bit worried since they’re new. I have a senior recommending her company for me, saying she’ll take me under her wing.]
[Yi Yan: What company is it?]
[Wei Shanshan: The Era of Stars. ]
Yun Xiangxiang who just got out of the shower and was wiping her hair, picked up her phone: [Don’t even consider The Era of Stars.]
[Yi Yan: ???]
[Wei Wei: Why?]
Even Fang Nanyuan, who was always scarce with words, chimed in: [The Era of Stars is a giant that can go toe to toe with Huan Yu Century Entertainment. Both companies are fashion icons as well with an abundance of international resources. They both have connections to Hong Kong. Compared to the lofty stance of Huan Yu Century Entertainment, The Era of Stars is more down to earth.]
The Era of Stars and Huan Yu Century Entertainment had been at each other’s throats for a long time. They were the twin giants of the industry. Coincidentally, both He Zhen, who was in Huan Yu Century Entertainment, and Chen Yinghui, who was in The Era of Stars, had made a name for themselves in Hong Kong during their earlier years.
Both Chen Yinghui and He Zhen used to be in the mafia. The difference was that He Zhen had a line he would not cross even if he did have the ruthlessness of a capitalist and a mafia background, but Chen Yinghui did not.
He Zhen was willing to give up his shares to retain Li Man, who was Huan Yu Century Entertainment’s current pillar, but Chen Yinghui used dirty tricks to turn Yu Jinlin, who was The Era of Stars’ pillar into his lover.
She had bumped into a private meeting between Yu Jinlin and Chen Yinghui in her past life when she was still Hua Xiangrong. She knew that Yu Jinlin was unwilling judging from the flash of embarrassment and disgust in her eyes. Chen Yinghui certainly had Yu Jinlin’s weakness in his hands.
He Zhen might be cold-blooded and merciless, but he only valued talent when it came to the actors. Chen Yinghui’s private life was no secret. Even so, the actress had to be on Yu Jinlin’s level if he was to make a move himself. However, the inferiors followed the example of their superiors. Even if The Era of Stars had no major scandals breaking out now, Hua Xiangrong still wasn’t optimistic about it.
However, how was she going to explain this to Wei Shanshan? She was now Yun Xiangxiang, who had yet to even set foot in Beijing.
Yun Xiangxiang responded after ruminating for a while: [I’ve read a lot of pink news about the General Manager of The Era of Stars. Quite a few of them were done with the actresses under their agency. I feel that their company is a very disorderly place. If you’re concerned about resources, you should choose Huan Yu Century Entertainment.]
Wei Shanshan: [{Wronged JPG} I also want to enter Huan Yu Century Entertainment, but their agent is extremely strict in choosing their actors. It’s even stricter than a beauty pageant! It’s fine if I get chosen, but if I don’t, it’ll reduce my choices.]
This was true. Unless Huan Yu Century Entertainment sent out a private invitation, aspiring actors had to go through a rigorous interview process that was conducted every March. After all these years of management and admissions, they had accumulated a large pool of talent by now.
The auditions were followed by various media and companies to show fairness and openness. This was also disguised as publicity. Some of the auditionees became popular for a while just by joining one selection.
Even though there were still companies that would want the aspirants that Huan Yu Century Entertainment rejected, the chance for the actors to get chosen will be greatly reduced. For example, The Era of Stars would not want the actors that Huan Yu Century Entertainment rejected.
The big companies that followed after would be extremely choosy to retain their prestige. The contracts that were offered would be comparably unfair. Even if the actor managed to enter the company, they would be left aside for a while.
Huan Yu Century Entertainment had always been this arrogant, but this was what Yun Xiangxiang liked about it!
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