"Alright, since everyone here knows the purpose of our discussion today I won't say much. How about we skip to the main topic at hand?" Zhao Ya took a sip of coffee and asked. She saw that Li Lingmeng froze and hurriedly waved her hand,
"Of course you can continue eating while you listen."
"No, no, business comes first." Li Lingmeng waved her hand and pushed her waffle meal aside. Zhao Ya didn't say anything and picked up the leather briefcase Lin Youjia had put onto the table. She took out the contents inside and set it neatly on the table,
"As you can see in this photo, this is our newly launched product line. Here is a set of shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, some pants, a jacket, and two pairs of shoes. First we will be doing a photoshoot and then put it in our magazine. We'll save the commercial for last. I've seen you play basketball already so our plan just has you act naturally. We will find a few people to play with you and all you have to do is be yourself. Then from that, we'll pick out the parts we like and make a short video. Here is the prepared contract." Zhao Ya briefly went over the details of the job and then placed a page of terms and conditions in front of Wen Jiexi.
"If she plays basketball with other people, won't her face get blocked by the bodies?" Li Lingmeng asked, scratching her chin.
"That is inevitable, so we'll set up a 360 shooting set, with cameras on all sides. We also have a professional editing team so we'll definitely be able to capture everything." Lin Youjia explained.
"Can you tell me why you picked me of all people? Sorry, but based on your company's standards there should've been a lot of candidates jumping for the job. Why did you choose me? Even if you watched my game, that seems a bit far-fetched." Wen Jiexi lightly slid her hand over the contract.
"You have seen plenty of our sports advertisements, right? They all tend to be the same, with nothing new in them. Most of them are just close up of our products, which can't really capture the public's attention. This time, however, we hope to highlight our new line of products and bring out their distinguishing qualities. We think if we only do something simple like jogging, this goal cannot be achieved. So we thought it would be better if we do something more intense and give off a more stimulating and exciting feeling. For something like this, it undoubtedly requires some amazing physical strength and endurance. However, it's a pity that out of all of the candidates so far, they were either not clear about our goals or didn't have the physical endurance and strength we needed….we also feel pretty helpless about our situation." Zhao Ya clarified. Recalling it now, those horrific moments were truly too unbearable to watch.
"So it's like that…" Wen Jiexi nodded and then attentively looked through the contract in front of her. Line by line, each detail of the job and each condition was written out carefully.
"As for the schedule, because you are a student, we will like to do the shooting for the commercial during a holiday. As for the photoshoot, we would like to shoot on the weekdays when you have the time. We are hoping to finish the shoot within two weeks." Zhao Ya pointed at the schedule she was referring to in the contract.
"If you guys are short on time, I have time in the afternoon the day after tomorrow. Will doing a photoshoot during that time be okay?" Wen Jiexi thought about it and asked.
"Of course. The photoshoot for the magazine can be done in one afternoon, and then all that's left will be the commercial." Zhao Ya nodded. The sooner they could finish this, the better. After all, the deadline was approaching fast. And if they were unable to use Wen Jiexi, they will have to find another candidate.
"Then we can do it on this holiday." Wen Jiexi said straightforwardly, pointing at the date on her phone. She doesn't like dragging out conversations either because all it will do is cause everyone to feel exhausted. She looked through the contract one last time and then had Li Lingmeng take a glance at it. After making sure there were no problems, she signed her name at the bottom.
"Thank you for cooperating with us, Miss Wen." Zhao Ya put away the contract and then shook hands with Wen Jiexi, and left with Lin Youjia who was reluctant to leave her half-finished cheesecake behind.
Watching the door close behind the two, Wen Jiexi took a sip of her now cold milk and looked at a copy of the contract she had in her hand,
"There shouldn't be any problems with the contract, right?"
"You've already signed it so even if there is a problem, it's too late to change it. You can't regret your decision now." Li Lingmeng rolled her eyes and picked up her knife and fork to cut her waffle. She placed the cold waffle in her mouth and frowned, wondering if she should order another one.
"Your compensation is pretty generous. A total of 40,000 yuan. Usually, most people without any fame would get the same amount but remember that most are part of a company. After splitting it with their team and the company, usually, they wouldn't have much left. Yet, since you're only one person, hehe, you get to keep the 40,000 all to yourself." Saying so, she raised her eyebrow at Wen Jiexi, her thoughts written clearly on her face.
"Yes, yes, I know. I will definitely treat you to something good." Wen Jiexi laughed helplessly.
"Hehe, rest assured, Little Xi, I'll accompany you wherever you go. That way you can have someone looking out for you." Li Lingmeng ate a big mouthful of her waffle and thinking about the delicious meal she'll be treated to in the future, she couldn't help but think the waffle tasted better all of a sudden.
"Oh, right, almost forgot, but are you not going to tell your family about this?"
Perhaps it's because she was by Wen Jiexi's side the longest, all three members of the Wen family had their contacts saved in her phone. Whenever Wen Jiexi had an accident, she would immediately call Wen Jiexi's parents. If one counted the number of times she's called them, one would find that Li Lingmeng called Wen Jiexi's parents more often than her own.
Ah, also, the Wen family had a good set of genes that were passed down to both siblings. The first time Li Lingmeng saw Wen Jiexi's super handsome older brother she was stunned and then….and then there was nothing because that person was a major sis-con. As the saying goes, with the passage of time people's true personalities are revealed and this handsome guy was actually a sis-con. This revelation caused the young Li Lingming's heart to break into a million pieces and crumble into dust.
"This…I don't think there's anything dangerous about doing this, so I didn't want to say anything…" Wen Jiexi rubbed her nose and forced out a reason. She wanted to persuade Li Lingmeng but at the same time, she wanted to alleviate her guilty conscience.
Li Lingmeng rolled her eyes. Yes, there's nothing dangerous, but after the shooting is done it will cause a commotion in the Wen household. Do you think they won't find out? Please. They told you they are going to air it on the internet and on TV. Does your family not watch TV? You won't be able to hide it for long.
"Eh, it's up to you to decide. In the end, it's you who's going to be in the commercial, not me." Li Lingmeng waved a hand and ate the rest of her meal in two or three bites. She wiped her mouth and then burped,
"Alright, let's go. We should go home and continue our binge-watching of the goddess' films."After saying so, she didn't wait for Wen Jeixi to react and hooked an arm around Wen Jiexi's. They hurriedly paid their bill and ran back to the dorms.
When she returned to the dorms, Wen Jiexi was pushed into the bathroom. Soaking in the bathtub, Wen Jiexi laid their lazily,
"Jiexi, so your conversation earlier went well." Dango looked at Wen Jiexi excitedly.
"En."
"So that means Jiexi is going to be an actress. Oooooo, you humans are really good at creating movies and other interesting stories. So who are you going to play? Are you going to play the female lead?" Dango clenched its small arms into fists and shook them up and down vigorously.
"No…I'm not going to film a movie, I'm just filming a commercial…" Wen Jiexi looked at Dango with a wry smile. She didn't know if Dango understood that to play the female lead's part in a movie or drama, one had to go through lots of competitions and auditions. It was not as simple as filming a commercial.
"Huh? But didn't you say you were going to sign a contract? Doesn't that mean you're going to film a movie?" Dango was confused.
"I never said anything like that." Wen Jiex pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming. Did this fellow think contracts among humans were only about movies or dramas?
"Contracts come in many different forms and can be used for various agreements. Not everything is about filming."
"….Huh?" Dango tilted its head, half-understanding but not actually understanding and then said,
"In any case, Jiexi is going to shoot a movie!"
…..Is that your final conclusion?!!
"And, I will support you, Jiexi! I recently registered for an account on a human communication software called Weibo. [1] I've learned a lot of things, so whether it be fans or anything else that a support team does, just leave it to me!" Dango floated in the air, patting its body and said solemnly.
"Alright, alright." Wen Jiexi patted Dango's head. She couldn't bear to tell Dango that although she got this opportunity, she might not succeed. Plus, she hasn't decided if she wants to enter the entertainment circle or not. If she doesn't finish this commercial successfully and enter, then the treatment she will get in the future in this business will be completely different.
"Hehehe, you are my dear host after all. So, of course, I have to be thoughtful of you." Dango proudly raised its head and flew around Wen Jiexi before drifting away,
"I'm going to study and keep studying until I can become a professional fan!"
She watched as Dango disappeared through the door and then gently leaned her head against the tub, closing her eyes in quiet contemplation,
If I can use this commercial to get some fans, then it will be easier than going through auditions with a bunch of random strangers.
Because of what Su Chenyu had said to her before, she had researched the industry thoroughly. She understood that in the entertainment circle and in a company specifically there is a hierarchy. There's a hierarchy for resources, support, contracts, etc. Although each company had a different system, essentially, the higher up on the ladder you are, the better your resources.
An example was when a pretty-looking influencer that was dug up by an entertainment company signed a C-level contract the moment she entered the company. This made those who could only sign the worst E-class contracts grit their teeth in indignation as their eyes glowed green with envy. The specifics of the whole affair was unclear to Wen Jiexi, but following this logic, it seems that the more fans you have, the better your contract. So the number of fans you had was a very important issue.
It really was quite a headache for her. If she fails this job, it will be hard to get another one. Though, there are many other ways to attract fans like singing, writing poetry, making videos, streaming, etc. There were countless other ways, but Wen Jiexi couldn't find one that was suitable for her, which caused her to feel quite vexed.
"Little Xi, are you done bathing? Don't forget the drama starts at ten! You have to hurry up so I can wash too!"
Drip….
Wen Jiexi quickly stood up, putting her distressing thoughts behind her and drained the water. She wrapped a towel around herself and responded,
"I know. Wait a moment, I'm coming out."
T/N note:
[1] Weibo: It's a blogging website that is used in China.