A stack of documents was forcefully thrown to the ground with a "thud."
"Tell me, what is this all about?" Ji, the CEO, drummed his fingers on the desk, glaring at the agent in the Huayi office.
The agent picked up the papers, including an inconspicuous newspaper. Jiang Hua's report was featured on it.
The headline read: "Entertainment Circle Idol Re-employed, Trending on Platform."
The agent quickly explained, "Mr. Ji, don't worry. It's just a small newspaper with low circulation. Who even reads newspapers these days?"
"Jiang Hua can't make a comeback. How much can he earn from opera singing?"
The agent carefully placed the documents on the desk and continued, "Jiang Hua can't re-enter the entertainment circle. He won't make much of a splash."
Ji furrowed his brow, feeling uneasy. It was just a trending topic; they could suppress it quickly.
"Is Wang Kai's album ready? Take advantage of the movie's popularity to release the new album and capitalize on the fans."
"We've collected 10 songs. We'll record when he's free."
Ji slammed the table, "He films during the day. Doesn't he have time to record at night? If we wait for him to be free, that guy will just go chasing girls."
"Get the album out within a month."
The agent wiped his sweat and nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Su Mengxue was also troubled. She had lost some performance opportunities recently. Wang Kai was filming and unreachable. It was a financial loss.
Feeling annoyed, she opened Douyin and saw Jiang Hua trending, which irritated her even more.
Xu Lin, sitting beside her, said, "Mengxue, ignore Jiang Hua. There's no future in opera singing."
"I'm angry that he left without saying goodbye. We haven't even broken up yet."
Xu Lin smiled, "Forget it. He's not good enough for you, you know."
But Su Mengxue was still upset. The last time Jiang Hua came, he didn't even look at her properly.
...
On the third day, during work hours, Jiang Hua jogged to the Butterfly Theater.
From today, he needed to be disciplined. People online were saying he had gotten chubbier and cuter.
Jiang Hua thought he was cute too, but shouldn't men be described as handsome?
So he started running to the theater.
But as soon as he reached the theater entrance, he was surrounded by a group of people.
"Ah, ah, ah, Jiang Hua is here!"
What was going on? He was suddenly encircled by a group of girls.
Jiang Hua was stunned. Was this what it felt like to be famous? It was terrifying.
Fortunately, some people from the art troupe saw him and quickly escorted him into the theater.
Teacher Mao said incredulously, "Jiang Hua, I didn't expect you to be our Little Hundred Flowers' most popular member now. You really are a former idol."
Jiang Hua was also at a loss: "I don't know either. I wasn't this popular before. I'm not a traffic-generating celebrity."
Yunxiao, standing nearby, stuck out her tongue and said nervously, "Wow, that was scary. These fans are too crazy. Jiang Hua, is the entertainment circle always like this?"
Jiang Hua smiled indulgently, "It shouldn't be. Most fans are very rational. Besides, I've never really been famous, so I don't know."
Today was finally Jiang Hua's turn to perform with Group B.
As Jiang Hua prepared to take the vertical flute on stage, Teacher Mao quickly stopped him.
"The pipa teacher is resting today. You play the pipa instead."
Jiang Hua shrugged, indifferent. He was skilled with his hands.
He changed into a long robe, picked up the pipa, and walked to the elevated platform beside the stage.
As soon as he sat down, the young girls in the audience started screaming.
"Jiang Hua, Jiang Hua, look here!"
Damn, they weren't going to let him be. He just wanted to work quietly.
But they had paid for tickets, so he could only smile and nod to the audience.
Another wave of screams erupted. Jiang Hua frowned slightly; these people were too noisy.
The vertical flute player next to him leaned over and said,
"Little Jiang, you're the art troupe's top star now."
This depressed Jiang Hua. What top star? He was just a comrade.
As the performance began, the audience finally quieted down, no longer shouting. This made Jiang Hua breathe a sigh of relief.
Honestly, every time he watched this play, he had a different feeling.
Haha, was that Yunxiao? She looked completely different from her everyday self.
Her portrayal of Jin Xiangyu was captivating, vulgar but not coquettish, alluring but not seductive.
Who would have thought that in real life, she was a chatterbox who loved eating but never gained weight?
Next was Teacher Cai Ming playing the role of the Qianhu (Captain). It was hilarious.
They had performed once before, so they had some experience.
But when it came to Jiang Hua's pipa solo, chaos erupted.
The hall erupted in screams again, which greatly affected other audience members. It seemed he needed to open a Douyin account.
He needed to advise these crazy fans not to bring fan circle behavior here; this was the opera circle.
If they liked it, they should come watch the opera. If not, they shouldn't disturb others.
It was a small incident, but Jiang Hua handled it calmly.
The curtain slowly opened, and next was the entrance of Jia Ting, the heartthrob of Dongchang.
Wow, this surprised Jiang Hua. He had never seen Chen Lijun in stage makeup before.
He had only seen her rehearse in the practice room. She was a strong girl with a lot of drive.
With the stage makeup on, she looked completely different. A handsome young man, simply amazing. Jiang Hua considered himself handsome.
To lose in handsomeness to a girl, it seemed his weight loss plan needed to be implemented soon.
Being handsome was a lifelong pursuit.
Junjun had the potential to be a hit, and Yunxiao was also excellent. The two of them as a CP should have good market potential.
This body was really top-tier; it would be a waste not to cherish it.
"What's wrong?" A Yue Opera voice interrupted the progress of the play.
"The knife broke," someone said.
Jiang Hua looked down and saw that the Qianhu's prop knife had broken. This could turn into a joke.
He immediately began a pipa solo. The lighting technician was very cooperative, turning off the stage lights and focusing a spotlight on Jiang Hua.
The entire performance hall began to quietly appreciate the music.
Teacher Mao sighed in relief below. Opera fans were very tolerant, but such a basic mistake was still not good.
After a short while, the lighting technician quickly shifted the lights back to the stage.
The performance continued, and Jiang Hua also breathed a sigh of relief. The show went on.
From then on, everyone steadied their nerves, and the performance was a success.
However, after it ended, during the audience appreciation segment, Jiang Hua had originally planned to leave the platform.
He was going to go backstage to relax a bit.
The art troupe didn't just have one play; there were many traditional operas and many long-time audience members.
There was another performance today, but Jiang Hua wasn't in it. He was still a newcomer.
But as soon as Jiang Hua stood up, the audience started clamoring.
"Ah ah ah, Jiang Hua, Jiang Hua!"
This left Jiang Hua at a loss. The actors had worked hard, and he had just played on stage. He didn't deserve these screams.
Jiang Hua waved his hand and then obediently sat back down in his chair.
The actors began to take their curtain calls.
Only after the audience had left did Jiang Hua finally walk backstage.
"Haha, big star, you're now an accessible top celebrity!"
Yunxiao tugged at Jiang Hua's sleeve, teasing him. His embarrassed look just now was really amusing.
....