Huayi Entertainment's Shanghai Branch.
Wei Yuan, the former leader of the boy band, had the strongest overall abilities and could write his own lyrics and compose his own music.
It was just that his image was a bit lacking, and his popularity had always been slightly lower than Jiang Hua's.
He had never accepted this. Wasn't Jiang Hua just a bit better-looking?
After going solo, he received strong support from the company and became the most successful star from the boy band.
Recently, the company had prepared a big-budget movie, and he had also landed an important role.
He came to the company early in the morning to practice. The company had specialized teachers to teach acting, and he attached great importance to this opportunity.
If he could seize it, his fame would increase significantly.
As soon as he entered the practice room, he saw a very familiar person, Su Mengxue.
Wasn't this woman Jiang Hua's girlfriend? He heard that they were even discussing marriage.
He was actually quite curious about Jiang Hua's recent situation. Achieving success without anyone to witness it was very lonely.
"Wei Ge!"
Su Mengxue called out sweetly and sat obediently to the side.
After a short while, Wang Kai walked in together with the teacher.
He was radiant and truly handsome. He was the company's recently favored newcomer, and they had spent a lot of money on him.
He smiled and nodded at Su Mengxue, then sat in the front.
"Alright, let's start the acting class."
The teacher hired by the company was very famous in the industry and had impressive skills.
Throughout the class, Wang Kai listened very attentively at first.
Halfway through, he couldn't sit still anymore and started fidgeting in his seat, looking quite tormented.
Wei Yuan, who was sitting behind him, was also quite affected.
He silently grumbled in his heart, "What does this guy have? Jiang Hua is no less handsome than him and even knows how to work hard."
Pah! Why was he thinking about Jiang Hua again? They weren't close.
He also didn't know how Jiang Hua had been doing recently. Out of the five members of their boy band, two had left the industry.
One went home to inherit the family business, leaving only the two of them.
While he was lost in thought, the teacher said, "Alright, everyone take a break."
Wang Kai immediately dashed out of the practice room as if he had received a great pardon and stood in the corridor to get some air.
Wei Yuan shook his head and walked over to Su Mengxue, asking in a low voice, "Mengxue, how has that kid Jiang Hua been lately?"
Su Mengxue was stunned for a moment. Jiang Hua?
She hadn't been in contact with him for over a week. He should still be alive, right?
This was Jiang Hua's former teammate. Who knew if their relationship was good or not? Moreover, Wei Yuan had good resources and might be able to help her.
Why did Su Mengxue latch onto Jiang Hua? It was for his hidden resources.
She had heard people say that the higher-ups had shelved Jiang Hua to tame him, but they would still promote him later.
However, now it seemed that Wang Kai had more potential.
She couldn't give up on Jiang Hua's side either. Wasn't a resource coming along now?
She put on a very sad expression and said, "Wei Ge, I can't get in touch with him. Can you help me contact him? I don't even know where he went."
"I miss him very much."
Wei Yuan was a bit dumbfounded. Could it be that Jiang Hua had given up on himself?
He was unhappy that Jiang Hua had higher popularity, but it was just a normal competitive relationship. After all, they had fought in the same trench together.
At this moment, Executive Ji walked in with a dark expression.
"Wei Yuan, do you have Jiang Hua's contact information? Contact him immediately."
Executive Ji's tone was unfriendly. It was very likely that Jiang Hua had caused trouble again.
When would Jiang Hua's temper improve?
"I have it. I'll contact him right away."
Executive Ji was the founder of the Shanghai branch and had a say in the headquarters as well.
He didn't dare offend him. He immediately took out his phone and called Jiang Hua, putting it on speaker.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
After a long time, Jiang Hua finally answered the call. There was even the sound of opera singing in the background.
Hey, this kid still had the leisure to listen to opera. It seemed he had worried about him for nothing.
"Hello, Old Wei, what's the matter?"
Jiang Hua's voice came through. Before Wei Yuan could speak, Executive Ji started roaring.
The entire practice room was filled with a stormy atmosphere.
"Jiang Hua, where the hell did you go? Come back immediately. Don't even think about getting your salary this month."
It took a while before a girl's voice came from the other end.
"Jiang Hua, why did you put your phone on the chair? Oh! It's still on a call."
This made Executive Ji furious. This guy must have gone out to flirt with girls again.
He shouldn't even think about getting next month's salary either. Deduct it all, deduct everything.
"Yunxiao, let's go eat."
"Okay, Qingqing, wait for me."
Damn, there were quite a few girls on the phone. This guy was doing pretty well.
Su Mengxue's face wasn't much better than Executive Ji's. She thought Jiang Hua had gone out to clear his mind, but she didn't expect him to go out and find girls.
Finally, before Executive Ji completely exploded, Jiang Hua's voice came through.
"I'll be back tomorrow."
Then he hung up the phone.
Executive Ji was almost angered to the point of spitting blood. This guy was too daring.
...
The next morning, the weather was sunny and cloudless.
However, what was going on with Huayi today? The entrance was cleaned spotlessly, and the air was even filled with the fragrance of flowers.
In the lobby, the head of the branch company was standing with a group of bigwigs and stars.
Even Executive Ji could only stand in the second row. No one knew what had gotten into the higher-ups.
The boss of the headquarters wanted to bring the leadership of the Hangzhou Tourism Bureau and the art troupe to inspect the company, saying that they wanted to promote cooperation between the entertainment industry and traditional opera.
The scene was filled with bigwigs. Even the two A-list actors from the Shanghai branch had shown up.
"I say, is this necessary?" Executive Ji muttered to the side. "Isn't it just a tourism bureau? Why make such a big fuss?"
"I don't know. The headquarters notified us in the middle of the night. We're just responsible for receiving them."
Since even the headquarters had spoken, they could only accept it. With even one of the bosses coming, they had to take it seriously.
The performance of the Shanghai branch had been very poor recently. It seemed that the higher-ups were dissatisfied.
"Difficult."
The bigwigs had worried expressions. Huayi was still the undisputed leader.
However, the pursuers were not to be underestimated either.
"It's fine as long as it's not the supervising department coming. It's just a formality."
Everyone comforted themselves in their hearts.
"They're here, they're here. The car is here."
It wasn't the boss's Rolls-Royce, just an ordinary shuttle bus.
This left everyone at a loss. The boss, who was so particular about face, didn't drive his own luxury car today.
Could it be that the boss didn't come? Then all their efforts to make a good impression and running around all morning would have been in vain.
Su Mengxue also curiously craned her neck. She had been busy since early morning today.
She was dressed to the nines, wanting to perform well in front of the leaders.
Wang Kai, as the company's newly signed artist who was about to be heavily promoted, was also standing here.
He had been complaining in his heart, but he didn't dare say anything out loud. Didn't he see the company's top stars standing obediently in the front?
The shuttle bus door opened, and the boss actually helped an old lady get off the bus together. Who was this person?
There was no impression of her, but judging from the boss's demeanor, this person had a significant background.
The people behind them were also unrecognizable. They should be the so-called art troupe.
Wait, who was that?
Jiang Hua got off the bus following the crowd.
Executive Ji, Su Mengxue, Wang Kai, Wei Yuan—everyone who knew Jiang Hua was dumbfounded.
Today, he was still wearing casual clothes, looking refined and cultured, with a lazy temperament.
"Holy shit, Jiang Hua!"
...