"Sister Lan, I'm not having a nightmare."
As soon as she stepped out of the surveillance room, Zhou Yun immediately said to Zhou Lan.
She looked at Zhou Lan very seriously and earnestly, saying, "Sister Lan, you have to believe me, I can tell whether I am dreaming or not, even if the rustling noise was a nightmare, but the voice at the door, I truly heard it, it wasn't an illusion, I've never had auditory hallucinations."
Zhou Lan patted Zhou Yun's shoulder in a comforting manner and said, "I believe you, it is very possible that the hotel hid this incident to avoid trouble."
"They must be lying." Zhou Yun stated resolutely.
Zhou Lan said, "How about I stay with you tonight? We're going back tomorrow anyway."
Zhou Yun understood the implicit meaning in Zhou Lan's words.
Leaving tomorrow, without any substantial impact, it's better not to stir up trouble whatever happened.
Zhou Yun nodded, "Okay."
Yet, after such an incident, Zhou Yun found herself unable to sleep.
The panic she had just experienced was brief, but it was as if it had been seared into her heart and couldn't heal immediately, leaving her with lingering fear.
After a while, Zhou Lan's voice suddenly came from the darkness.
"Xiao Yun, if you're willing, you don't have to start a scandal with Song Chi to get good resources."
Zhou Yun heard Zhou Lan's words but remained silent.
She knew what Zhou Lan was talking about and knew it was true.
When she first signed with the company, Zhou Yun thought that by working steadily, she would gradually become popular and make money. However, the entertainment industry is a dream factory, but the dreams aren't meant for those within the industry. Zhou Yun was told she was beautiful by everybody around her, but there were too many beautiful people in the entertainment industry, and without exposure, without marketing, even a brief popularity due to good looks was as fleeting as a nocturnal bloom. To keep the fame going, a pretty face wasn't enough.
Many so-called supreme beauties became just a passing topic of conversation after meals, a spectacle for the moment that quickly faded away.
There was a senior executive at the company who was interested in her, initiating a subdued but persistent pursuit.
Zhou Lan knew about this and had mentioned it to Zhou Yun; just dating would exchange for vigorously promoted resources which, from a business standpoint, was a good deal. Not just in the entertainment industry, but in all job markets, whether male or female, such deals were not unheard of. A mutually beneficial arrangement, parting ways after two or three years.
But Zhou Yun had never agreed. She could cling to Zhou Lan's arm and act coquettishly, saying she wasn't willing, but she didn't want to force herself to cling to a man's arm just to shake some tempting candy from his hands. At the end of the day, Zhou Yun had a line in her heart she could not cross, not yielding an inch.
Zhou Lan sighed softly.
"Actually, I understand why you're unwilling. Let's pretend I never mentioned it. With your personality, if it weren't for the debt, you probably wouldn't have thought about becoming a celebrity in the entertainment industry."
Zhou Yun remained silent throughout the night, not knowing when she had fallen asleep.
The next day, they checked out and headed back to Shanghai with Zhou Lan.
Once they landed, Zhou Yun couldn't go straight to her apartment to rest. Zhou Lan had arranged several "quick jobs" for her, all seeking her out due to her popularity the day before.
One of them involved being a brand ambassador, only requiring a promotional post on Weibo, but the advertisement needed a picture of her with the recommended product.
When Zhou Yun arrived at the shooting location, the product team was ready, just waiting for her boost.
The product was a household appliance, a new release that desperately needed to increase its brand recognition, coincidentally hitting it off with Zhou Yun's trending popularity.
Being a brand ambassador wasn't the same as being an endorser; it was just a title for promotion, but a single promotion could earn a seven-figure sum.
The entertainment industry is a place where, before the wind picks up, you scrape by without seeing sun or moon, obscure and impoverished. But once the wind starts blowing, it comes from all directions, and even a pig can be blown into the sky.
Make-up, changing clothes, memorizing advertisement lines, taking photos…
One photoshoot took three hours to complete.
And that wasn't all; an hour later, she had to go to a broadcaster's live show, again for product promotion, this time for a fast-selling snack product.
Zhou Yun hurriedly followed Zhou Lan, grabbing a quick bite of bread on the way.
Zhou Lan kept replying to messages. As they neared the broadcaster's company, she finished sending messages, put away her phone, took a deep breath, looked back at Zhou Yun with a smile both happy and helpless, saying, "These two days, suddenly you're so busy it's like the whole world is looking for you."
Zhou Yun chuckled and shook her head, "It's just a brief moment of heat."
"You're calmer than many others." Zhou Lan nodded, "That makes you easier to manage than many newcomers."
"Sister Lan, why haven't you taken on other artists?" Zhou Yun suddenly asked.
Other agents in the company managed more than one artist. Even though Zhou Lan hadn't been in the business for long, from an efficiency perspective, managing five newcomers would obviously be more profitable than just one.
"I don't have the extra resources; I can barely support one, let alone a few more. It would be nothing but a waste of time and energy," Zhou Lan said, "I know many agents like to sign a few and see who makes it by their own fate, but my mentor, who brought me into the business, is old-school and values the traditional kind of agent-artist relationship. I prefer this method myself. When you become famous and can support me, then I might take on a few more, without hindering them."
Zhou Yun said, "Yesterday, at the show, Sister Ying mentioned her agent has been with her since her debut, already for over twenty years."
"The era when Chen Quanying debuted was different from now. Back then the whole entertainment market was just starting to develop, and everyone was feeling their way, but now there's a set system in place, agents are more like nannies representing the company to manage artists," Zhou Lan said, "I don't want to be just a nanny."
"Um."
"It was because you were different from the other newcomers that I chose to take you on," Zhou Lan smiled faintly, "While everyone else was fawning over the company's senior agents, you stood outside the crowd, calm and composed. I thought you must be someone with your own ideas, someone who would rather have some autonomy than be a puppet at the mercy of an agent."
"Oh? Sister Lan, you noticed? I thought you wanted to sign me because I don't talk much and seemed obedient," Zhou Yun smiled.
"You had the best potential of all the newcomers; do you think those senior agents didn't fight me for you?" Zhou Lan chuckled, "Times have changed; in the past, an artist had to be unique, have their own personality, talent, to stand out. Now it's the idol era, everything can be packaged, provided you are obedient."