Returning back from the system space, Lu Ze reached out and felt his quilt. It was light and soft and was far more comfortable than his old one. You indeed got what you paid for.
Getting off the bed, he washed his face and rinsed his mouth. At last, he finally managed to have the pleasure of a morning bath. It was indeed refreshing, providing him with a burst of energy. Then, he applied some shaving cream on his chin and cleaned all his facial hair with a razor. He was a hairy guy. His hair grew out quite fast, and the same applied to his beard.
The little cooker he'd bought could make two small plates of rice in one sitting, one of which he'd eaten yesterday. Reheating the rice, he added fried eggs and pickles to it.
After breakfast, he locked his door and entered the elevator. It was the morning rush for the working crowd, so the elevator basically stopped at every floor.
"Good morning, Big Brother Lu."
Lu Ze was standing in the innermost corner of the elevator, playing with his phone with his head down. Upon hearing the greeting, he didn't think that the person was addressing him. After all, how could he be lucky enough to meet an acquaintance in this strange place?
After a while, there was no response following the greeting, so he finally raised his head in puzzlement and discovered two girls looking in his direction.
"Oh, good morning. I'm sorry. I didn't think you were greeting me. Are you two also with the company?"
How could Lu Ze still not realize it? Although he'd not seen the trainees of the company with his own eyes, he knew that there were two males and two females. Seeing the two beautiful girls who didn't seem to be any older than 20 years old before his eyes, he'd no doubt that these two girls were trainees, especially after they greeted him.
"Right, Big Brother Lu. I'm Ye Meiqi, and she's Xuexue. We're both trainees in Qianshijia. We'll be under your care in the future, Big Brother Lu."
The two girls were candid and open. Of course, girls with a reserved nature wouldn't have been able to enter this circle. Moreover, they perhaps knew what grade contract Lu Ze had obtained, thus they were particularly polite to him.
"Oh, I'll be under your care. I'm merely a newcomer while you've got the experience. Remember to take care of me too."
At the first floor, the three headed to the company while talking and laughing. Lu Ze curiously asked a question, "Right, why are you two alone? Where are the two boys?"
"Them, huh? We've got to sign in at 9 a.m. Signing in at 8:59 a.m. is actually pretty good when it comes to them. They're really lazy, not hardworking like you at all, Big Brother Lu. Oh, yes, Big Brother Lu, have you had breakfast? Let me treat you to breakfast."
Xuexue was quite enthusiastic. She went to the bakery and ordered eight buns—four plain and four meat buns—before she was hurriedly declined by Lu Ze as he told them he'd already eaten.
On the way, Lu Ze curiously observed the two girls. After all, this was the first time he'd come in contact with artistes who were training in singing and dancing. Furthermore, they were girls. He then discovered that these girls were indeed suffering.
The buns were pretty small. Not to mention boys, even normal girls could wolf three or four down without a problem. However, these two only ate two buns and didn't even dare to touch the soya milk and had to drink freshly made lemon tea on their way to the office.
Moreover, they even had to eat while walking on the roadside. Looking at their natural demeanour, it already seemed to have become a habit of theirs. They had it worse even compared to the usual office ladies.
He didn't like the two girls much. Why were they training in the company instead of going to college? They were nowhere close enough for such questions. Moreover, this was their private matter and had nothing to do with Lu Ze.
They reached the office. The trainees had two days off in the week. At all other times, it was no different than being in an office. They had nine-to-five shifts and had to clock in and clock out upon their arrival and departure.
On the other hand, Lu Ze didn't have that many restrictions. In fact, if there was nothing, he didn't have to come to office at all. As long as he didn't cause trouble, nobody would come looking for him. After all, he was different from trainees, and the company was not giving him an allowance every month.
Lu Ze and the two girls bade farewell and went their separate ways. The former headed to the artiste management department where Gao Wanzhi hadn't arrived yet. The assistant poured Lu Ze a cup of coffee. A dozen minutes later, Gao Wanzhi arrived.
"Big Sister Gao."
"Hello. You're here early. Did you wait too long?"
"No, just a few minutes. I was just about to take out my phone when you arrived."
"Alright, your manager will be here in twenty minutes. She is a veteran in the industry and has her own connections as well. She's a professional. This much I can guarantee you."
The income of the manager relied on the contract between the artiste and the company and was usually about 10 to 30% of the artiste's overall revenue. If the company had the upper hand in the agreement, the money would be paid by the company. Meanwhile, if the artiste had the upper hand, the assistant's finances would be managed by the artiste.
As far as Lu Ze's contract was concerned, his share was only 30%, so the manager's finances would be handled by Qianshijia. Therefore, Gao Wanzhi didn't deem it necessary to inform him about the cut his manager would receive. After all, he had no direct connection with it.
"That's fine. It's just that I want to have some basic rights. When it comes to the roles I've to take up, the manager must consult it with me first. If I don't want to shoot, I hope the manager won't force me against my will."
This was important. Lu Ze had heard some news about extremely unreasonable managers. When working with big stars, they were fine, but when it came to newcomers, they would use their personal connections and force the newcomers to work according to their conditions. If such a thing happened to him, he would not be able to accept it. Therefore, he wished to give Gao Wanzhi a heads-up and let her know his bottom line.
"Rest assured. That's impossible. In a while, you'll have to sign a contract with your manager. At that time, all the clauses will be clearly stated."
Since this was the case, Lu Ze dropped his dissent. Taking the advantage of this free time, she handed over the contract to Lu Ze so that he could have a look at the contract first. Once again, there was a legal department employee who explained the clauses composed of complex sentences and mind-boggling structure into layman terms to Lu Ze.
Not long after that, a woman opened the glass door. Lu Ze turned his head and noticed that she seemed more or less the same age as Gao Wanzhi at probably around 35 years old. However, she was much more beautiful than Gan Wanzhi, and she also had a stunning figure. She was wearing sunglasses and a fancy yet non-exaggerated outfit. Her temperament also seemed pretty warm as her aura radiated off a kind of wiseness.
"Sorry, Wanzhi, I'm late. I was stuck in traffic for a bit."
Over a period of time, a manager would develop connections with many artistes. Even the company would rely on the manager's aid to promote artistes. Therefore, every manager was like a gem to the company and would treat them with offerings as if they were the great Buddha.
In other words, although Gao Wanzhi was the head of the artiste management department, her role was equivalent to the bridge between the artiste and the manager and not to supervise the manager. So, in reality, this Buddha-like person's status was a bit higher than Gao Wanshi's. Thus, she would naturally not use honorifics when addressing her.
"Big Sister Shen, you're too polite. It's nothing. Please have a sit. Oh, right, let me introduce your future partner. Lu Ze, can you greet Big Sister Shen?"
Lu Ze had seen her profile and already knew her name: Shen Jinghan. He reached out to shake hands and greeted, "Hello, Big Sister Shen, I'm Lu Ze."
"You're very polite. And you're quite tall, huh?"
Shen Jinghan put her bag down. When she took her sunglasses off, Lu Ze finally discovered that she was actually much older than Gao Wanzhi. No matter how well a woman took care of her skin, she couldn't conceal her wrinkles completely. As soon her glasses came off, her age was also revealed. She seemed like she was in her 40s.
She sipped her tea and let out a sigh. With a good-natured smile, she looked at Lu Ze and said, "Sigh…it's been quite a while since I worked with a newcomer. It's suddenly making me feel old. Oh, right, Lu Ze, how old is your mother?"
Lu Ze didn't understand why she would ask about his mother's age all of a sudden, but he still answered, "46."
"Then, she should have married early."
"Right. At that time, marriages were arranged quite early in the village. My mother married at 19 and had me the next year."
Shen Jinghan revealed a slightly helpless smile. She shrugged her shoulders slightly towards Gao Wanzhi and said, "See, even her mother is younger than me. Sigh…"
Turning her head to Lu Ze and sighing as if resigning herself to fate, she said, "Don't call me Big Sister. I'm too ashamed to accept that honorific. Just call me aunt. Even my daughter is just five years younger than you. Alright, let's proceed to the contract."
Shen Jinghan didn't bring any lawyer with her. She flipped through the contract by herself and was much faster than Lu Ze who was being guided by the legal department employee. She was done in about half an hour. Thereupon, she began chatting with Gao Wanzhi while waiting for Lu Ze to finish.
The contract was reasonable, so Lu Ze didn't see anything he wanted to change. The two gave their consent with a nod and signed the contract before handing it over to Gao Wanzhi who stamped the official seal on it, marking that the contract had come into effect.
"Alright, there is nothing else. Lu Ze, you can go and rest. If there is a job, I'll help you keep an eye on it. Let's exchange numbers, and you can wait for my updates."
Shen Jinghan took the lead, allowing Lu Ze to return. Gao Wanzhi didn't show any dissatisfaction though she still stopped the two.
'Big Sister Shen, Lu Ze, hold on for a moment. I've got an audition for you. It's Director Cheng Yuan's new piece. We'll get a slot and we must send Lu Ze to audition."
"Oh, there's already work as soon as I'm here. Alright, let me have a look at the script. Chen Yuan, huh? He's an old friend."
"This is very timely, isn't it? We just heard the news last week, but there was no actor. This time, we have Lu Ze."
Shen Jinghan and Gao Wanzhi sat down on the couch again, but Lu Ze's expression turned somewhat strange. "It's just my second day at the company, and there is already work waiting for me?"