The newly registered account was as bare as it could be, with no profile picture—just the default gray silhouette on a white background. Qin Ran hesitated for a long time before deciding what to write in the friend request message. Would saying "I'm the boss of 99 Entertainment" sound too stiff? Would it scare her shijie? After much deliberation, she finally sent the simple message: "I'm the boss of 99 Entertainment."
Yu Shuman didn't always have her phone on her, so her response was delayed. By the time Qin Ran saw that her friend request had been accepted, she was sitting in class, secretly glancing at her phone while the teacher lectured. She quickly sent a polite but distant "Hello" from her small account.
The reply came swiftly: "Hello, Boss. I'm Yu Shuman, a newly signed artist at 99 Entertainment. You may not know my name, but I want to express my gratitude. On the day of the first public performance of Debut, Girls!, my agent, Ms. Yan Li, treated me and my friends to a meal at a restaurant, which cost 139,000 yuan in total. This amount is quite overwhelming for someone like me. Ms. Li said the company would cover the cost, but I know I can't possibly earn that much back with my current abilities. I deeply appreciate your recognition, but I'm afraid I can't repay such kindness yet. Your support makes me feel uneasy. Please, if possible, wait until I reach a level where I can truly deserve such help. Thank you again for your generosity."
The message came quickly, not as if she had typed it out on the spot but rather prepared it in advance, waiting for the moment when the boss would reach out so she could copy and paste it into the chat.
Yu Shuman's words were polite yet distant, clearly expressing her discomfort with the expensive meal she'd been treated to. Even though she was young and still inexperienced in the world, she was well aware of the weight of such a favor, making her feel anxious. She understood that as a new artist, she didn't deserve such treatment yet.
Moreover, Yu Shuman was self-aware. Beyond her looks, she didn't believe she had anything special, especially in an industry full of beautiful faces. Why should she receive such extraordinary treatment? If it wasn't for the boss's orders, Yan Li wouldn't have booked such an expensive restaurant. What could the boss possibly want from her? Her youth? Her face? It was hard not to think that way.
In the entertainment industry, gossip and rumors were rampant. Today, it might be about who got taken advantage of; tomorrow, it could be about some other scandal. It was hard for Yu Shuman not to let her thoughts wander in that direction. Her straightforward yet potentially offensive message might make the boss think she was either arrogant or overly cautious.
If the boss did have such intentions, they might feel insulted and think, "Who does she think she is?"
But Qin Ran only found her shijie endearing. She could easily imagine Yu Shuman's nervousness while drafting this message. Both asking Yan Li for the boss's contact information and sending this message were risks that could jeopardize her future.
Yu Shuman was just too direct—sometimes, to a fault.
Qin Ran held back a smile in class, trying to maintain a straight face. She couldn't afford to get caught by the teacher, who might call her out to answer a question. She replied with four simple words: "I'm a woman."
Those four words were enough to make Yu Shuman feel embarrassed to her core.
Qin Ran could imagine the shocked expression on Yu Shuman's face. After all, even though there were many successful women in the public eye, when it came to the wealthy and powerful, most people still assumed the boss was a man. If it was a woman, they would usually specify by saying "female boss."
It was perfectly normal for Yu Shuman to assume the boss was a man. It was simply the way society had been conditioned to think, given that the world had been a patriarchal society for centuries. Every time Qin Ran thought about this, she couldn't help but recall her past life. Before she transmigrated, she had taken over her family's business, but the board members, seeing she was a young woman, often showed their dissatisfaction, with some even mocking her, saying that the family's assets would eventually end up in someone else's hands.
They had a term for it, too: "eating the inheritance."
She hated that term and the people who used it, so she did as her parents had taught her—she cut off their outstretched claws, sending them back to their lairs to nurse their wounds. Those who still thought like they were living in the patriarchal societies of centuries past deserved nothing less than a harsh lesson.
But Yu Shuman's words, though potentially offensive, didn't make Qin Ran feel that way at all.
People are often extremely biased, and for Qin Ran, this bias was at its peak with Yu Shuman. Among her peers, Yu Shuman was mature and well-mannered, often praised as a good girl. But in the adult world, her level of emotional intelligence might come off as lacking, making her message potentially disastrous for her relationship with a boss who might have initially had a favorable impression of her.
Qin Ran sighed inwardly: her shijie still had a long way to go before reaching maturity. But that was okay—Qin Ran would always protect her, and she knew Yu Shuman had no ill intentions with her words.
After a while, Yu Shuman finally replied with three words: "I'm sorry."
Qin Ran responded generously: "It's okay."
She even considered typing that women could also have ulterior motives, thinking about how much she was attracted to Yu Shuman herself. But that would have been too forward, and she didn't dare to say it.
Yu Shuman, after organizing her thoughts, sent another long message, once again emphasizing that as a new artist, she didn't deserve such lavish treatment.
Qin Ran thought to herself, You haven't seen anything yet, but still reassured Yu Shuman, telling her that she saw great potential in her and that she was confident Yu Shuman would become a cash cow for 99 Entertainment. The investment would surely pay off in the future.
Qin Ran even used a bit of reverse psychology: "Don't you have any confidence in yourself?"
This tactic worked like a charm on Yu Shuman, just as Qin Ran expected. Shortly after, Yu Shuman replied with determination: "I won't let your investment go to waste. I'll definitely become famous, successful, and make lots of money."
After that, Yu Shuman said she needed to start practicing and ended the conversation. Qin Ran couldn't help but smile, only to be called out by the teacher to answer a question.
She had initially considered changing the profile picture on her small account, but upon reflection, she realized that changing it now might seem too deliberate. If she chose something too young-looking, it might come off as strange, especially after the conversation where Yu Shuman had already started picturing her as a middle-aged woman instead of a man.
So she left the profile picture as it was, continuing to chat with Yu Shuman with the default system avatar. However, she did change the profile picture on her "rich fan" account to a cute cat icon.
During this time, Qin Ran didn't quit her part-time job with the production team. After all, it was the best way to stay close to Yu Shuman and keep an eye on her progress. Yu Shuman had indeed been grouped with Ling Miaohan, but with Qin Ran's presence, she was confident that no matter the circumstances, Yu Shuman wouldn't end up as a stepping stone for Ling Miaohan.
During lunch, Yu Shuman brought her boxed meal over to find Qin Ran, and they sat together in a quiet corner to eat.
Now that the weather had turned colder, Yu Shuman had layered a thick coat over her dance outfit. After finishing her lunch, she didn't leave right away, staying to chat with Qin Ran.
She shared a recent incident that had her cringing with embarrassment, calling herself a fool. "If only I had asked Sister Li whether the boss was a man or a woman earlier, I wouldn't have made such a blunder. The boss must have a terrible impression of me now."
Not at all...
As Boss Qin Ran sat beside Yu Shuman, listening to her ramble on, she couldn't help but think that far from leaving a bad impression, Yu Shuman's words only made her more endearing. But she couldn't say that, so she instead comforted Yu Shuman with, "That's not necessarily true. The boss might think you're an honest girl who doesn't take shortcuts."
Despite Qin Ran's attempt at reassurance, Yu Shuman still sighed deeply. Qin Ran felt a bit helpless—she didn't like seeing her shijie down. She preferred the bright, optimistic version of her, full of energy and confidence. Some people are drawn to tragic beauty, reveling in the sight of something once beautiful slowly fading away, but Qin Ran preferred to see the sun shining brightly, proud and untamed.
It was precisely because she didn't want to see Yu Shuman lose her light that she chose to bind herself to her.
Just as she was about to say something else, she saw Yu Shuman suddenly slap her hands against her cheeks, making a loud "smack" sound. The abruptness of the action startled Qin Ran, leaving her momentarily speechless. Yu Shuman realized her action had been a bit too abrupt, quickly smiling to ease the tension. "Sorry for worrying you, shimei."
"But don't worry," Yu Shuman continued, "I won't let this get me down. Even if the boss has a bad impression of me now, it doesn't matter. I'll become the most profitable artist at 99 Entertainment, so even if the boss didn't like me at first, she'll have to in the end!" She lowered her hands, revealing a slightly flushed face, the result of her earlier self-inflicted slap.
The two of them sat in a quiet, unnoticed corner. The stairs beneath them were hard, and a closed door loomed behind. The lunch boxes they had just finished were perched on their laps. One was an inconspicuous student working part-time in the production team, and the other was a newly debuted artist with a small amount of fame.
The new artist declared her ambition to become the company's most profitable star, someone the boss couldn't ignore. The part-time student smiled, tilted her head, and assured her that she could do it.
This was Qin Ran and her brightest sun.