Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Xiao Yi had just gotten off the plane when he received Dumei's message that said to drop by at the company for a visit .
Xiao Yi proceeded to head to the company first . When he saw Wu Henggu standing in the corridor talking to another person, he greeted Wu Henggu, but Wu Henggu stared blankly ahead .
The spring festival film was released, the viewer ratings broke 2%, and Wu Henggu became famous in an instant . On Weibo, Tianya, etc, everyone was talking about him . Xiao Yi thought, Wu Henggu had finally gotten his big break, he had used to be picked on by fans of Luzhou and Li Changzheng everyday . In the end, Luzhou's fate had become his, if not for Luzhou's fall causing him to be almost crippled, Wu Henggu would still be playing his supporting role at this moment .
Xiao Yi thought Wu Henggu did not see him, so he greeted him with a smile .
Xiao Yi: "Younger brother Wu!"
Wu Henggu squinted at him, his face had an expression of 'who is this' on it . Xiao Yi felt irritated instantly, he was raging in his heart What are you so arrogant for!
"Xiao Yi . " Lin Yao had heard his voice, he opened the door and ushered him in .
Xiao Yi pulled his luggage in . Dumei was in the middle of a phone call, she saw that Xiao Yi had entered, and ended the call in two to three sentences .
"Luzhou has terminated his contract with the company, and has gone to Canada for recuperation . " Dumei said .
Xiao Yi did not expect that he would be terminated in the middle of the contract one day . He was really stunned in front of Dumei, and did not speak a single word for half a day . If life was a movie, there would be a scene like this, the camera would zoom into Xiao Yi's face, and it would be accompanied by a voiceover of Dumei .
His expression went from shocked to blank, the tears came out all at once, and only one sentence rang repeatedly through his mind —— How could this be? How could this be . . . . . . .
He subconsciously thought Dumei was joking with him, but no . Dumei's voice went momentarily distant and yet at times near, and that made Xiao Yi felt as if the entire world had completely abandoned him .
"Before Luzhou left, he said to let you stay in the company for career development . You have signed a contract for 3 years as a personal assistant previously, and you have been with him for one and a half years now . I will give you a salary increment of 20,000 yuan, for the remaining one and a half years, you will just have to follow the company's arrangements . . . . if you want to stay, we will talk about the details later . "
"Let me have his house keys for safekeeping . . . . . "
" . . . . . . . "
The office quieted down . Xiao Yi got up and pushed the door to leave, and passed by Wu Henggu, who was talking to his manager impatiently . He opened the door to the emergency exit, sat on the stairs, rubbed his eyes with both hands and choked silently .
After a while, Lin Yao pushed the door and came in . He patted his shoulder and said: "Okay, I know you can't bear to leave Luzhou, but no matter what work has to continue, right?"
Xiao Yi cried till he trembled all over . He was mentally unprepared . Luzhou simply left, and was gone when Xiao Yi came back .
In the afternoon, Lin Yao took Xiao Yi away to move houses .
And after Xiao Yi left, Luzhou came over from the office next door, and Dumei was in the midst of drafting the contract .
Dumei said: "I still hope that you'll stay in the company . "
"Let's see later . " Luzhou solemnly said .
Dumei asked: "You really plan to go to Canada?"
"No . " Luzhou answered, "I will just stay at home, take a break and relax . There are many things to settle that I need to take time to think clearly for . After so many years of acting, I climbed up in one breath, I'm too tired . "
Luzhou wanted to sign, but Dumei said: " Wait, I know you have thought things through, but I have a few more words to say to you, Luzhou, you better reconsider again . "
Luzhou paused for a moment, but he did not change his mind, and with a swish, he wrote his signature . He said: "Where's my house key?"
Dumei handed the key to him and said: "If you can't act, you can also be a production supervisor or producer, what can't you do? The company is short of people . You have been with crews for so many years and have acted in countless shows, even if you become a director, no one would dare to say anything about you . "
"I only want to act, and only know how to act . " Luzhou kept the key . He leaned on the swivel chair, sighed, and said: "Thank you President Du, when I was in poverty, you were the one to hold me up . "
"Your hard work over the years . " Dumei said, "I can see that you have also helped the company a lot . "
"Yes . " Luzhou thought for a while then said, "Let's part on good terms, let's do it like this first . "
Dumei continued to say: "Remember to come back anytime once you have adjusted your mentality, don't forget that this is only letting you go on a long sick leave . "
Luzhou nodded, and said: "Goodbye President Du, call me anytime if you encounter any problems . I will try to help if I can . For Xiao Yi's affairs, please spare some effort, that kid is good, he is talented . "
"Alright . " Dumei said .
Xiao Yi moved to a newly rented house . This was a shared house, there were two other newcomers signed by the company other than Xiao Yi, and they were both much younger than him .
With red eyes, Xiao Yi carried his luggage, and the things that had been thrown in the company's warehouse for more than a year were shipped over . Even the large Luzhou doll was not forgotten, it had been sent to the warehouse in advance .
Xiao Yi moved into the largest master bedroom in the three bedroom and one living room apartment . One of the two roommates was called oo and the other was xx . Xiao Yi was completely not in the mood to know what their names were, after Lin Yao had finished the introductions, Xiao Yi had let that information in from one ear and immediately out from the other .
Xiao Yi went and locked himself in the room until he was too hungry and came out with a pale face . oo xx were sitting side by side on the sofa watching television, they hurriedly greeted Xiao Yi, and after Xiao Yi was done with his perfunctory greetings, he remembered that these two people were the ones who were previously said to be blind and deaf by Luzhou .
"Teacher Xiao . . . . . " oo said, "Are you preparing for a transfer in the company?"
"Yes . " Xiao Yi said, "Luzhou went to Canada for recuperation, I have a year and a half of contract, so the company is rearranging my position . "
Xiao Yi took a glance at the television, it was showing a rerun of the drama that Wu Henggu and Li Changzheng acted in . Wu Henggu was very young, very handsome, looked extremely clean, and carried an aura of youthful frankness and temperament . It was completely different from Luzhou's mature and experienced aura .
The other xx asked: "Is Teacher Lu's body alright?"
Xiao Yi thought that these two must have read a lot of the gossips, and knew that he could not continue acting, so what was the use in asking this? Nodding his head, he answered: "He should be fine after recuperation . "
Wu Henggu and Li Changzheng acted well together . The first time Xiao Yi saw Wu Henggu and Luzhou act together, he already knew Wu Henggu was different from the other newcomers, he could cooperate with the seniors . In a scene, all the lines were delivered and emotions were conveyed, he was very cooperative and would pay attention to the others' reactions unlike Luzhou, who could carry the entire scene and make it walk around him . Luzhou's control was strong, while Wu Henggu's coordination was also strong .
Luzhu was the master controller in tv dramas, while Wu Henggu was the architect of a scene .
"Senior Wu Henggu can act with a film emperor . " oo said, "This opportunity is too rare . "
Xiao Yi nodded, he looked at Wu Henggu for a short while, then asked: "Can I change the channel?"
"Feel free to . " The two newcomers immediately answered .
Xiao Yi changed a few channels but did not find Luzhou's drama, in the end he went back to the same channel and continued watching . The script should have been impromptuly edited by the scriptwriter, originally Luzhou and Li Changzheng both had equal role weightage, but now it was Wu Henggu cooperating with Li Changzheng . However, it was still a dual male lead type of drama . Xiao Yi had a hunch, Wu Henggu was 23 this year, if he continued acting in niche roles until he reached 30, he could at least stay popular for seven years .
Dumei signed him on for ten years, she was indeed visionary .
In the entertainment circle, fengshui turns around, after someone's performance it'll be another's turn to shine .
The takeaway arrived, after Xiao Yi finished it, he went back to the room again and browsed through the dramas that Luzhou had acted in before . He found the very first movie he had acted in . In the ending, Zhang Shun stood on the bow of the boat, slowly getting further away, with reeds silently floating all over the sky .
Luzhou just left, and did not even leave a phone number behind . Xiao Yi wanted to call him, but Dumei did not have Luzhou's phone number .
"You can get in touch with him when you become popular . " Dumei said .
Xiao Yi: " . . . . . . . "
Dumei said: "Tell me your thoughts Xiao Yi, your current situation gives me a headache . . . . . "
Xiao Yi said: "In my remaining one and a half years, I will try my best to do what I can for the company, but I may . . . . not renew the contract . "
Lin Yao said: "Luzhou also mentioned it previously, your family asked you to return to save some more money and then head back to your hometown to get married, right?"
"Right . . . . . " Xiao Yi replied, "No, I have my own goals, but I won't jump over to a rival company or something . President Du can rest assure that when it happens, I may not be doing this line of work anymore . "
Dumei remained silent, but Lin Yao suddenly laughed .
Xiao Yi did not tell them that he wanted to finish work, then after completing the remaining time left on the contract, he would go to Canada to find Luzhou . You could always find someone if you really wanted to, and perhaps by that time, Luzhou would no longer be the male god of many people, but he would always be his male god .
After he found Luzhou, Xiao Yi would tell him his exact thoughts, just like chasing his girlfriend before, he would leave it to fate .
"Laugh . . . . what are you laughing about?" Xiao Yi looked at Lin Yao strangely .
Lin Yao said: "I still remember the day when you came to the company for the first time . "
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"Right . " Dumei said, "You've changed a lot . At first, I wanted Luzhou to bring you around because I felt that you could learn from each other, and now it has really changed you . "
"Is that so?" Xiao Yi also realized that when he had moved out of that tiny rental house a year and a half ago, he hardly knew what he was going to do, and his future was also uncertain .
Perhaps this was the power of love, it allowed people to gather motivation, and then with the disillusionment and failure that came with that love, everything would disappear along with it . He would go back to being a fan, and pursue another illusory love object, then end up with disillusionment and failure again . . . . .
Xiao Yi thought to himself, When I was a student, I was also a male god to many people .
Xiao Yi thought for a while, then said: "Do you need me to be a manager to handle newcomers? Or do something creative . . . .
Dumei thought about it: "Manager . . . . . "
Dumei was obviously a little uncertain . Lin Yao said: "Xiao Yi, would you like to do the company a favor and participate in a talent show? You have participated in auditions before . I heard from Luzhou previously that you had even passed an audition, but was eliminated in the regional competition . "
"Help the company?" Xiao Yi said .
"I had a meal with the person in charge of the program last week . " Lin Yao said, "This season, the director wants to skip the auditions and directly begin with the mixed competition . We have a cooperative relationship with Juhua and Qunxing, so now that the company is gradually on the right track, we want to promote a few newcomers . "
"You want me to bring them to the talent show, is that it?" Xiao Yi said .
Dumei said: "Forget it, Lin Yao . "
Lin Yao then continued: "Let you join the talent show . "
Xiao Yi said: "But I do not want to mix in the entertainment circle . . . . . . "
Lin Yao said: "When it reaches the semi-finals, we will let the program team arrange for you to face off against other competitors from our company, and we'll decide when that time comes . . . . . you can exit the competition then . "
Xiao Yi said: "Sure . "
Xiao Yi turned to face Dumei and said: "Sure, of course . But I don't know if I can make it to the semi-finals . "
Dumei said: "Really?"
"Of course . " Xiao Yi said, "I have been asked this before, but I will have to sign a ten-years contract if I wanted to enter the finals, and also pay a sponsorship fee of 500,000 yuan . . . . . "
Dumei misunderstood Xiao Yi's meaning, and said: "You don't have to pay, this the company will manage . "
"Alright . " Xiao Yi answered .
Lin Yao said: "But if you withdraw from the competition, you must listen to the company's arrangements, and will not be able to mix in the entertainment industry nor sign on at other companies . It will be fine to sing occasionally, but you cannot participate in public commercial performances . If you want to participate, you will have to sign a contract through the company first . "
"No problem . " Xiao Yi said .
Xiao Yi never intended to fight over these terms . After following Luzhou for so long, he gradually felt that the entertainment industry didn't hold much meaning, whatever it was, in the end it would be about money . Selling albums was for money, attending events was for money, everything was about money . All the personal elements of a celebrity would be converted into viewer ratings, box office sales and etc .
Lin Yao then set out to make the arrangements . Dumei asked Xiao Yi to head back to rest, and to adjust his state . In a few days he has to meet the newcomers, and those from the same company would go to the competition together .
When Xiao Yi returned home, he hugged the Luzhou doll, touched it on the head, and carefully placed a kiss on its lips . He held its hand up, and then realised the ring was gone .
Xiao Yi searched for a long time, and suspected that it might have dropped off somewhere, or maybe Luzhou did not notice the ring when he brought it over . Although the ring was expensive, he could only let the matter go .
"Zhou Ge . . . . . " Xiao Yi turned over, trapping the doll's long legs between his own, letting it press on him, and muttered to himself, "Why did you leave without saying anything? Were you afraid that I would pester you?"
At the same time, Luzhou let out a sneeze at home .
The phone rang . Luzhou picked it up and said: "I don't want to go out these days . "
"The rumors outside said you weren't gonna act anymore . " Zheng Xiaocong said, "It can't be real right . "
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Luzhou said: "Don't mention this anymore, annoying . "
Zheng Xiaocong said: "I had someone investigate about that accident previously . You know, about how you fell . "
Luzhou replied: "Spill . "
"Someone wanted to sabotage Sister Li* . " Zheng Xiaocong said, "You guess who wanted to sabotage him?"
*Sister Li mentioned here is Li Changzheng
Luzhou did not speak . Zheng Xiaocong continued to say: "Your company's Wu Henggu's manager used to be from Huile Corporation, Li Changzheng jumped ship from Huile in the past, and had completely fallen out with them . "
"Fuck . " Luzhou said, "It was Wu Henggu that fellow who did it?"
"Not sure who . " Zheng Xiaocong said, "I guess Wu Henggu's guts aren't that big . On the contrary his manager can kill two birds with one stone . He could have disabled Li Changzheng, and allowed Wu Henggu to be Zhan Zhao's replacement . Li Changzheng's company wouldn't be able to find a replacement, they didn't even sign any newcomer, even their investments ain't much, it all depended on Sister Li to support . If Li Changzheng fell, the manager would have just asked his previous contacts from Huile to reach out to Li Ye for a talk . Wu Henggu might be able to take the lead role, pit against Li Changzheng, and benefit the whole show . "
"This son of a bitch really did in Lao Zi!" Luzhou said, "Career and love, all gone in a night!"
Zheng Xiaocong said: "Let me get someone to recommend you, change a company . I don't think Dumei is good, you're already thirty plus, and she's always letting you take on those youth idol dramas . "
"Let's discuss this later . " Luzhou said, "My mom and Dumei are friends, it has been so many years and she is my elder . She still takes good care of me . There are pros and cons, without her, I might not have gotten famous . "
Zheng Xiaocong then asked: "Did your family's little rabbit follow you?"
Luzhou: "No, I asked Dumei to help him arrange his future developments, to let him go out and venture . "
"Come out to play?" Zheng Xiaocong said .
Luzhou: "After a few days . I'm not in the mood recently . "
Luzhou hung up the call . He sat quietly in the house, and felt as if Xiao Yi would come down from upstairs and ask "Zhou Ge do you eat fruits", or "do you want to browse Taobao", or just wiggle weirdly around from the floor to the sofa like a bug, then sing a few songs loudly .
Luzhou smiled, shook his head, sighed, and then picked up his phone . He browsed through WeChat, his circle of friends already knew about his termination of contract with Dumei, they sent messages to comfort him, and to ask if he had any plans for the future . Luzhou did not reply, he leaned on the sofa that was facing the French windows and looked out . The floor-to-ceiling windows were like a big screen, and Madonna's presumptuous voice was playing on the music player, while the heavy snow fell outside the window .
Luzhou thought for a while, then answered another call .
"Do you have tickets for Beautiful Voices*?" Luzhou asked .
*The program/competition arranged for Xiao Yi to enter .
"Well . "
"I will pass you one million, let's see the situation when the time comes . "
"Tickets my ass! It's sponsorship fees!"
"It's settled, I'm not going to the preliminary rounds, let's see his performance, then go to the finals and watch . Don't tell him . "
Xiao Yi sat in the company, listening to the songs played through the surround speakers, and finally decided on a song .
"Hello, Teacher Xiao . " A newcomer entered, and nodded his head in Xiao Yi's direction .
Lin Yao introduced: "Xiao Yi, this is Hu Jinbao . "
Xiao Yi: " . . . . . . . "
Lin Yao: "Jinbao, this is Xiao Yi . Jinbao's stage name is called Jing Lu . Xiao Yi, come, you guys get to know each other . "
Xiao Yi thought Fuck the situation has also changed too quickly, Lin Yao are you really not teasing me on purpose .
Jing Lu was very young, and looked as if he had not finished college yet . Xiao Yi shook hands with him, his mind filled with the image of a smiling god of wealth holding a big gold ingot, and asked: "Have you graduated?"
"Didn't manage to . " Jing Lu said, "I dropped out . "
Xiao Yi nodded, and did not continue questioning . Lin Yao faced Jing Lu and said: "Xiao Yi is responsible for taking you through the preliminary and regional finals . After entering the semi-finals, the company will assign you a new manager to take over . Work hard . "
Jing Lu was just like any other newcomer, he was cautious and terrified, and when facing Lin Yao he would call him President Lin . When Lin Yao left, Xiao Yi said: "Don't need to be too polite to me . "
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"Okay . . . . okay . " Jing Lu said .
Xiao Yi poured him some tea and asked: "Have you chosen your song?"
Jing Lu had not chosen, so Xiao Yi played the songs, and chose along with him . Xiao Yi's decision had already been made, but Jing Lu eventually still could not decide .
"In the past you felt . " Xiao Yi said, "Your most favourite song, or the song you can sing the best . "
Jing Lu had some slight hesitation, and did not answer Xiao Yi . Xiao Yi spoke again: "Let's put it this way, the people in singing auditions like to show off their skills nowadays . Hitting high pitches, doing a playful voice, each one of them pursues individuality more than the previous . If you sing well, you can try, if not, then you can move people with emotions . "
"I understand . " Jing Lu chose a song . Xiao Yi went to find the music sheets and made an appointment with Jing Lu to practice singing at 7am every morning in the company .
During that period, Xiao Yi went to Dumei to get his schedule . The competition was about to start in April . Xiao Yi had been with Luzhou for more than a year and was already familiar with these matters, he knew how to arrange everything . While accompanying Jing Lu, he also took the opportunity to practise singing, but felt that he had not sung in a long time, and was a little inadequate .
"We can form a Camel & Rabbit Legend group or something . " Xiao Yi smiled and said to Jing Lu . Jing Lu was a tad irritable, everytime when he did not want to sing or felt tired, Xiao Yi would encourage him in this manner .
At the end of March, Xiao Yi and Jing Lu went to the program team's meeting which was held in Beijing . Basically, those who could pass and those who would be eliminated had already been predetermined, the competitors knew this very clearly in their hearts, they were just there to show their faces .
"Let's talk about you two, who's going first?" The director said .
Xiao Yi faced the producer, the director, the program planner and the program head and greeted them . Xiao Yi was almost certain of the roles these people had, and said: "President Du asked me to participate, by the way, come Jing Lu, say hello to the teachers . "
"Hello teachers . " Jing Lu hurriedly said .
Everyone laughed . Xiao Yi knew that as long as he did not appear too arrogant when dealing with them, even though his personality was rather mild, then for most of the time things would not be made difficult for him .
"Tell me your story . " the producer said, "You have to record a section in advance, it will be broadcasted before your appearance on stage, you should know the flow of the program . "
"Okay . " Xiao Yi thought for a while and said, "I graduated from the composition department of a music academy, and after stepping out into the society, I worked in Sina for a while doing video and mv pre-processing . Later on, I signed at Huaxing through a friend's recommendation, and served as Teacher Luzhou's personal assistant for one and a half years . . . . . "
The director had not read through Xiao Yi's profile before, and got a shock when he heard that line, and said: "You are Luzhou's assistant?"
"Yes . " Xiao Yi said .
"Such a big shot . " The program head laughed, "A few days ago Ning Yaqing's agent and I were just talking about you . "
Xiao Yi immediately said: "Accompanying the prince to study . . . . . this time my purpose is to accompany Jing Lu, President Du also said so . "
"Yes . " The producer said, "How to record this promotional video . . . . this is going to be more troublesome . Do you have any good ideas?"
Xiao Yi said: "Can't you go according to my self introduction?"
No one spoke . Xiao Yi pondered for a while and said: "Is there an issue because of Zhou Ge?"
"Yes . " The producer said, "Your President Du specially greeted us, and said it's best not to mention him . "
Xiao Yi said: "Alright, then . . . . . cut away the part about Zhou Ge, and just state that I am working in a company . That should do it . "
"This is a job for an ordinary person's voice . " The director said, "The style for this entire program requires a kind of . . . . . "
"Very ordinary person . " Xiao Yi said, "The song of life, it is filled with the sounds of trouble in the big city . "
"Exactly!" The producer laughed, "You can understand, and when you will go up on stage, the content you present cannot be a repeat of the others . For example, saying you love to sing, or you're pursuing your dream, these would have been said by the other competitors . "
Xiao Yi said: "Then I hope to sing, but I am willing to be ordinary . Compared to standing on the front stage, I prefer to be behind the scenes instead . "
"Then the audience will ask, since this is the case, then what are you doing in this competition?" The director said .
Everyone laughed .
Xiao Yi laughed at himself, and looked at Jing Lu . Jing Lu was a little touched, but Xiao Yi patted him on the shoulder, and said to the director: "I came to the competition because I want to say a few words in front of the camera, to fulfill my wish, and treat it like a confession to my lover . "
"This is acceptable . " The director said, "When the time comes just follow this plot, let your mentors arrange . "
The producer said: "For this, you have to relay this matter in advance, and cannot over exaggerate it . Can I ask who is the target of your confession?"
Xiao Yi smiled and said: "I won't speak nonsense, and will not directly state the target . Besides, if it is too overboard, it can just be cut out from the program recording . Come, Jing Lu, it's your turn . "
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