By the time they finished eating, it was already 7:30 p.m. Sister Li took Yu Shuman back to the filming base, and the rest of the classmates were transported back to school in a minibus arranged by the staff. Only Qin Ran stayed behind at the restaurant, sitting by the flowerbed outside, staring at the abalone recipe the restaurant had sent her.
When Yu Shuman left, she had already donned a mask and a baseball cap. In the chilly autumn night, she wore a baseball jacket, shorts, and sneakers. Without her glasses, her bright eyes sparkled under the brim of her hat. She waved goodbye to Qin Ran and the others before getting into Sister Li's car.
After Sister Li drove away with Yu Shuman, Qin Ran waited a long time before Assistant Wu's car finally arrived. Recognizing the license plate immediately, Qin Ran didn't wait for an invitation and headed straight to the car. Assistant Wu unlocked the doors, and Qin Ran quickly climbed into the passenger seat. Assistant Wu enjoyed her job, mainly because Qin Ran was low-maintenance and didn't often inconvenience her.
Except for times like this, when she suddenly had to play chauffeur.
Assistant Wu had been in the middle of discussing business with the president of 99 Entertainment when Qin Ran called, asking her to come to pick her up from the restaurant with no further explanation. Stepping on the gas, Assistant Wu had hurried over, only to find her boss waiting by the flowerbed, looking far from what one might expect of a big-time CEO.
Assistant Wu couldn't help but ask, "Boss, do you want me to get you a car and a driver?"
Qin Ran was scrolling through her phone. Although the production team had made the audience sign confidentiality agreements, some details had still leaked. The show's producers were prepared for this and used the leaks to buy trending topics for publicity. The extent to which someone trended indicated the strength of their backing. Qin Ran noticed several artists already trending, including Ling Miaohan.
Sister Li had asked Qin Ran whether they should push Yu Shuman into the spotlight as well, but Qin Ran declined. She didn't want to make short-sighted decisions and wanted to protect Yu Shuman.
There was no need to trend right now; early exposure might diminish the audience's interest in Yu Shuman later. Additionally, any current buzz would be overshadowed by the star power of the judges. With no footage of Yu Shuman and only a few polished "candid" photos to market her beauty, it wouldn't create much of a ripple.
The other companies viewed their artists as short-term investments, only valuable for a brief period. Qin Ran didn't want Yu Shuman to end up the same way, just another pawn in the industry. With so many people entering the entertainment world each year, how many left a lasting impression? Without proper management, she could quickly fade from memory.
After discussing this with Qin Ran, Sister Li understood her strategy and didn't push for trending topics anymore.
Qin Ran continued to scroll through the trending topics with interest, especially when she noticed water army accounts promoting Ling Miaohan. These accounts, operated by real people, along with various marketing accounts, were fervently praising Ling Miaohan's beauty. Some even went so far as to push the hashtag #BeautyRescuesC-Entertainment.
It was obvious that Pei Qi hadn't orchestrated this; he was too smart to push Ling Miaohan into such an obvious trap. This was undoubtedly the work of rival companies. Qin Ran didn't mind throwing more fuel on the fire to elevate Ling Miaohan even higher, making the eventual fall even harder.
Ignoring Assistant Wu's initial question, Qin Ran instead instructed her to boost Ling Miaohan's trending topic, fanning the flames further. Qin Ran was petty; she hadn't forgotten how Pei Qi had messed with the performance order, causing Yu Shuman's group to perform later and receive fewer votes than Ling Miaohan's. This was her way of settling the score.
Assistant Wu agreed to the task and repeated her earlier question about getting a car and driver for Qin Ran. Qin Ran frowned and said no.
Hiring a driver would be a waste of money. She already used public transportation to school, paying less than 50 yuan a month with her student card. For trips to the outskirts or the company, she just called on Sister Li or Assistant Wu, costing nothing. The more she thought about it, the more she inwardly scoffed at the suggestion, finding it unnecessary to spend money on a car, fuel, and a driver she would rarely use.
But thinking further, Qin Ran realized that she should get a nanny car and driver for Yu Shuman. Currently, Yu Shuman only had a manager and an assistant, a barebones team compared to what Sister Li had. Although Sister Li was focusing on Yu Shuman's career, she still managed other artists, which could lead to gaps in Yu Shuman's care.
After some thought, Qin Ran mentioned this idea to Assistant Wu. She couldn't see Assistant Wu's expression, but there was a long silence before she replied. Qin Ran guessed she must be somewhat exasperated. Assistant Wu's thoughts at that moment were probably along the lines of: Is it possible that if the boss doesn't have a car, the artist doesn't need one either?
But Qin Ran didn't care and pressed her for a response.
Finally, Assistant Wu, gripping the steering wheel tightly, replied coldly, "Understood." At that moment, Qin Ran felt that Assistant Wu exuded a coolness that outshone even Ling Miaohan—she was the true embodiment of icy elegance. Assistant Wu dropped Qin Ran off at the underground parking lot near her apartment, right by the elevator.
As soon as Qin Ran got out, Assistant Wu sped off. For a moment, Qin Ran wondered if Assistant Wu would have exploded if she'd stayed a second longer.
Unbothered, Qin Ran went upstairs, showered, and then settled on the couch with her laptop to research nanny cars. She hadn't looked into them before, but it wasn't too late now.
She searched for "celebrity nanny cars" and found that they were essentially luxury vans, though for some reason, the term "nanny car" had become popular in the entertainment industry. In China, the Toyota Alphard was a popular choice, with prices around one million yuan.
Of course, there were more expensive models, some costing up to two million yuan. But since Yu Shuman was still a newcomer, driving a two-million-yuan car would attract unwanted attention. After comparing options, Qin Ran decided that the Alphard was the best fit.
Even the Alphard was quite high-end—there weren't that many celebrities driving cars worth a million yuan, especially not those provided by their companies. Many top artists just used a Buick GL8. Even for commercial performances, companies would typically send a GL8 to pick up and drop off performers.
After some consideration, Qin Ran made her decision. The next morning, she called Assistant Wu, instructing her to order ten Alphards for the company, with one reserved exclusively for Yu Shuman. Assistant Wu didn't argue since Qin Ran was spending her own money. She simply acknowledged the request and quickly ended the call.
Feeling pleased, Qin Ran got up, grabbed her backpack, and headed to school.
On the way, she continued to check the trending topics. Overnight, the comments on Ling Miaohan's trending posts had taken a nosedive. Since Ling Miaohan was still an unknown, hashtags like "Rescuing C-Entertainment" and "C-Entertainment's No.1 Beauty" naturally drew a lot of attention.
At first, people were just curious to see what she looked like, and while some were indeed charmed by her appearance, many others were annoyed by the arrogance implied by such labels. Although C-Entertainment was struggling, it didn't need an unknown newcomer claiming to be its savior. Seeing these trending tags, people quickly became irritated.
The top comment read: Oh, who does she think she is, calling herself the No.1 Beauty and the savior of C-Entertainment? She should take a good look in the mirror. Can she even compete with the top actresses? Don't throw your back out making such bold claims—this is ridiculous.
There were others with even sharper tongues, including some that sounded well-meaning but were actually subtly insulting, suggesting that Ling Miaohan was disrespecting her seniors.
One of the top comments said: Yes, the entertainment industry has been struggling in recent years, but those who become famous are all stunningly beautiful. The audience can see that. This young woman is indeed pretty, but being too arrogant could offend the veterans. If she wants to make it in the industry, it's better to keep a low profile.
Pei Qi was obviously panicking, with his hired water army desperately trying to steer the conversation back to Ling Miaohan's positive qualities.
But the top comment quickly shot back: Focus on what, exactly? Does she even have any work out yet?
Qin Ran didn't have such sharp words herself, but she couldn't help liking all these comments.
This drama stayed on Weibo for a couple of days before Pei Qi managed to get all the trending topics related to Ling Miaohan taken down. Afterward, only a few trending topics about the judges, promoted by the show's production team, remained. Still, there were plenty of fans excited to see their favorite stars on the show.
Soon after the first performance, the first and second episodes of the show were released together. This was done to boost the show's viewership, as the first episode didn't have much going for it—mainly featuring preliminary auditions and lots of filler. The second episode, which introduced the judges, was the main draw for viewers. The first episode was more of a prelude, something to get the audience familiar with the contestants.
As soon as the episodes were available, Qin Ran set them to autoplay, skipping ahead to Yu Shuman's appearance. When Yu Shuman finally showed up, the show cut to her individual clips, including the three lines Qin Ran had insisted they keep.
Even though she had seen these clips many times before, Qin Ran couldn't help but smile as she watched Yu Shuman deliver her lines on screen.