Despite her problems, Cindy was lucky to be dealing with the right people. With Yige's resources and connections, Cindy's compensation was more than adequate.
Using the guise that one of the investors was a Cindy fan, the girl gets many luxuries, not all new actresses could get.
"This is the script my team has put together for you to try."
Xiao Ling placed a pile of manuscripts on the table in front of Cindy. This time they changed their meeting headquarters to Yige's regular salon which was also owned by a relative.
Cindy skimmed the cover, "These genres are similar."
"Your current persona is only suitable for main roles in idol dramas, school dramas, or supporting roles in modern office dramas. My team has selected quality works and has links to Wang Media, that way you can enter directly without auditioning."
"Is that true?"
"As you said, our deal is too dangerous. I have to properly compensate you. Just choose as you like."
"Choose? Who said I would choose."
"Come on Miss Cindy, there's no way you can pick all of them."
Xiao Ling's statement made Cindy smile, "Why not? I'm the most unemployed member of Stardust, why should I be afraid to work now?"
"You're ambitious, I'll give you that… But I think you forget that your Flower Generals rating is good. A lot of programs will try to cast you, you better not be greedy."
"Senior, you are too optimistic with Starlight. The production crew may want me but Starlight won't let me attend it. They already gnashing their teeth because they have to cater to my insignificant self."
"Don't you have a commercial with Givenchy and photoshoot with Fashion Icons?"
"I fought for those."
Yige shook his head, "Starlight look down on you too much."
"Even if they try to treat me right I won't play nice with them."
"What a grudge."
"You should try to be a wallflower and treated like air for a year then we can talk again, Senior."
"Since you call me senior then I will give you a word of advice. Showbiz is politics, there is no eternal enemies or allies, only interest. In front of interest, even a company like Starlight will bow. So you better fix your mindset and be objective, don't act irrationally or with emotion. It won't do you good."
"Then, you can give me the top three pick and I will work on those."
Yige rolled his eyes. The girl in front of him was only a year younger than him but she just debuted, of course, she was eager to work. "Then these are my pick."
The eighteens was a drama about the youngster and their uphill battle at the age of eighteen. Her character was the second female lead named Vivian. She was a top student known to ace every subject at school, came from a wealthy family, and was blessed by a beautiful appearance. She was perfect except for the fact she was a manipulative person. The second male lead was the epitome of a bad boy, but actually a victim of an unfortunate past. They met at their psychiatrist's office and the perfect princess always tried to help him to make sure he never open his mouth about her 'defect' which resulted in their continuous interaction leading to helping each other.
"I like this one, Senior is indeed a senior."
"Vivian is perfect for you. You look small and soft but definitely calculative."
Cindy ignored his comment and read the second script, it was a web series adapted from a graphic novel.
The Dark Side followed an MBA fresh graduate Lilian Park, who witnessed a serial murder at a local university. In order to protect the only witnesses, two lieutenants from Division 13 of the local police station were dispatched. Mark Lee and Lucas Huang were sent to serve as bodyguards. Behind the contradicting attitude between the two men, Lilian felt familiar with the two of them.
Along with the witness protection program, Lilian found the truth about Division 13. They were a special squad specializing in investigating supernatural phenomena. From then on, Lilian's ordinary life turned upside down with the emergence of ghosts, shapeshifters, vampires, and all kinds of supernatural entities.
Amidst the dangers romance brew between the three of them, leaving Lilian with a hard decision to choose between the two while digging her family secret.
Cindy moved to the third script - Blinding Lights and continued reading. This time it was an urban drama focusing on a hardworking and career-oriented woman named Lyla.
He was sad and depressed because he had just been fired from where he had worked for 10 years so he decided to shake off his sadness by drinking at a bar.
The next day he wakes up in his hotel room with his clothes in disarray and a vague memory of what happened the night before. Thinking that she couldn't possibly do anything wrong Cindy immediately returned to her apartment and prepared for an important job interview.
Who knew that her new job would be as executive secretary of the man she spent the night with?
Of course, Lyla didn't know anything and worked perfectly, but somehow she always felt that her boss was always looking for faults in her. The boss's behavior irritated Lyla but her sister's credit card bill that disappeared somewhere forced Lyla to survive for a high salary.
After continued interaction, Lyla finally finds out that they once had a one-night stand. The romance that could begin is interrupted when their prospective fiancés come and try to attract the hearts of their respective matches.
.
.
.
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing." King just hid his smile knowingly, seated on the passenger seat beside her after the driver closed the door. He was not sure how long his artist and God Yi had been dating but they were quite affectionate. After the shock of finding out their secret a couple of months ago, King was relatively calmer whenever he met God Yi now. He also helped the lovebird to have some rendezvous just like today.
"Who else invited today?"
"Oh? It's Actor Luo, Teacher Lim, and Producer Ali."
"Do you think Your Heart Content will ask something out of the question draft?"
"They should be not, I mean this kind of variety show was scripted for a reason, right? So they won't make the guest uncomfortable," King paused. "But as the fan of the show, I must warn you. The MCs are relatively nice but the production team will create a hard game to make sure you have to answer something truthfully or do some dare. Not to mention the fans' request or question that you have no right to refuse."
"I see."
As soon as the van entered the valet of the tv station, they were immediately greeted by a large crowd. The fans were already waiting for the guests. They jostled regardless of the distance and kept chanting the name of their idol.
Some of the signboards had the names of Cindy and Arthur on them. Fans of Producer Ali and Teacher Lim are less prominent but Cindy can see some signboards bearing their names.
Cindy got out of the van with King's help and took off her sunglasses while bowing respectfully. She waved and did some poses for the photographers and fans.
"Cindy Li!"
"Sister Lin!"
"Lin Zhi!"
Shouts of her name escorted Cindy into the broadcasting building. Her portrayal of Lin Zhi the sister of Lian Cheng left a deep impression on the audience. They still hard to associate the girl with the black sleeveless top and khaki shorts with the girl who died miserably in the drama.
Stardust old-time fans were questioning their life decision on why they never realized Cindy's presence in the group. Their curiosity lead them to investigate the work Cindy had been doing while the other members started their solo work. They were surprised to find nothing. Apparently, after the group activity halted, she was the only one left in cold without any work. This aroused great dissatisfaction among the fans and directed their protest to Starlight.
In addition to the mass protests of fans to Starlight, the internet was also shocked by a picture of Cindy in casual clothes on her way to the shooting location of a popular talk show called Your Heart Content.
They complimented her well-proportioned body and healthy glowing skin. The public thought she was a model at first glance and found it hard to believe that she was an idol with the least screentime in her team. They also laugh at how Starlight made a fool of themself for not using her as the company's product brand ambassador or spokesperson.
Cindy was unaware of the storm brewing on the internet, she just finished changing her clothes to a white brunch dress and her make-up artist helped her retouch her make-up.
"Knock, knock. Delivery. May I come in?" Arthur's voice sounded behind the waiting room's door.
"No."
"But I'm your long-lost brother, Sister Lin."
Cindy sneered, "Just come in, Arthur."