Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The next day.
It was a Sunday. At Zhang Ye's parents' house.
It was around 9 AM when the doorbell rang.
His mother snorted, "Who is it?"
His father said, "Just open the door and you'll know."
When the door opened, Zhang Ye's first uncle and his family were all standing outside. They were carrying quite a lot of things in their hands. Zhang Ye's other two cousins were here as well.
His first uncle smiled and said, "Sis, Brother-in-law."
His first aunt said, "Zeqing, you're here too?"
Wu Zeqing smiled and nodded. "I didn't go back home yesterday."
His father called to them, "Come, come on in."
"Why did you all bring so many things?" His mother glanced at what they were carrying. "We aren't lacking anything at home."
His first uncle said, "These are all food that Little Ye likes."
His second sister blinked, "Where's Brother?"
His third sister looked to the bedroom. "He better not still be sleeping!"
Wu Zeqing chuckled. "He's still in dreamland."
His mother shouted to the bedroom, "Little Ye, wake up. Your first uncle is here."
A sleepy voice came from Zhang Ye's room. "I know."
His eldest younger sister said, "Don't wake Brother up. He's going back to work tomorrow, so let him sleep a little longer."
His mother said, "It's fine. Oh yes, Dandan, did you get first place in yesterday's Most Beautiful School Belle competition? We turned in early after coming back from your grandma's place, so we didn't check on it."
When Zhang Ye's first aunt heard that, she got really excited and said, "She won, she won. She received more than 20 million votes in total."
His second sister also exclaimed excitedly, "My sis is now on fire. Her Weibo followers jumped to 500,000 overnight, and she even got reported about in the newspapers."
Zhang Ye's mother said very happily, "Where is it? Let me have a look."
She was handed some newspapers.
"The Most Beautiful School Belle selection comes to a conclusion!"
"Cao Dan wins the Most Beautiful School Belle award!"
"Many and B-list celebrities collectively helped her canvass for votes!"
"Whose sister is she? The mystery of Cao Dan's background!"
Although this news wasn't in the entertainment headlines, it was still reported about in a pretty good spot.
Zhang Ye's father said interested, "It was really reported about?"
Cao Dan said rather embarrassed, "It's all credit to Brother's influence."
At this moment, Zhang Ye's bedroom door opened. He came out yawning while still wearing his pajamas. After greeting his first uncle and aunt, he looked at his three cousins. "Hey, why is it you three again? Didn't we just see each other yesterday?"
His second sister giggled. "Sis needed to look for you regarding some business, so of course we had to tag along."
His third sister jumped in joy and said, "Brother, other than you, there's gonna be another big star emerging in our family."
"What big star?" Cao Dan rolled her eyes at them. "Stand aside."
Zhang Ye also saw the copies of newspapers and picked them up to have a look. He asked, "Look for me regarding some business?"
His first aunt spoke, "Little Ye, we just wanted to seek your advice about what we should do now. Look, Dandan will be graduating this year and will have to get a job soon. But she doesn't have any idea about what she wants to do. And now that she has won the Most Beautiful School Belle award, some entertainment companies came to approach her. We're not sure how they got her number either, but they said that they were looking to sign her so that she can carve out a career in the entertainment industry."
Zhang Ye asked, "Are the contract terms good?"
His first uncle scratched his head. "Like we'd know any of that."
"What are the companies called?" Zhang Ye asked.
His first uncle replied, "One of them is called Feng Nian? The other one is called Hua Hai Entertainment?"
Zhang Ye shook his head. "They're just small companies. It's better to not join them."
His first uncle said, "We didn't know what to do after discussing it for a long time, so we decided to come over to consult you. Do you think this is a viable opportunity? The issue is that such opportunities do not come by every day. If we just let it pass, we might end up regretting it. But you also know how Dandan is. She's not talented like you, so I'm fearful that she won't be able to survive in the industry."
Cao Dan looked at Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "If you're asking me, of course I would say no to my sister joining the entertainment circle. The waters here run too deep. I'm sure you all know how badly I've been scolded over the years. Dandan has a more reserved character, so I don't think she's suitable in this line of work. But it doesn't matter what I say, First Uncle and Aunt. We have to see what Dandan herself thinks. "
Cao Dan's lips did not move.
Zhang Ye's mother asked, "Dandan, what are your thoughts?"
Cao Dan stayed silent for a long time and finally said through clenched teeth, "I would like to join the entertainment industry."
Zhang Ye blinked. "You had better consider it carefully."
"Brother, I've already thought it through," Cao Dan said with conviction.
Zhang Ye's mother said with a smile, "Right, just do it if you've already thought it through. Even though the waters of the entertainment circle are deep, which industry's waters are not deep? No industry is easy to be in, so if Dandan wants to carve out a career in the entertainment circle, at least there's already your brother in it. You don't know how to scold people? Your brother does! You can't fight? Your brother knows how to!"
Zhang Ye was floored. "Thanks for you 'praise,' Mom."
Everyone laughed.
Cao Dan also covered her mouth and laughed.
His first aunt quickly said, "Little Ye, then you must guide your sister more often. If she intends to join an entertainment company, which one would be a good choice? How can she sign with them?"
His first uncle said, "Yeah, we don't know how to go about doing any of that."
Zhang Ye said, "Those companies that you mentioned earlier are just small companies that aren't well-known. If Dandan really wants to develop her career, let me think for a bit first." He pondered for a while. "I know Zhang Yuanqi rather well. She has part ownership of the company she's signed to and has quite a big say in it too, so Dandan can consider signing with them. If she goes there, Old Zhang should be able to help take care of her. As for the other entertainment companies, I haven't really dealt with them much, so I don't really know them well. So I can't—"
Wu Zeqing spoke up.
Old Wu took a sip of tea before interjecting, "You can also join any other company you wish."
Her words were very domineering.
Perhaps only Old Wu would dare to speak in such a way.
It was only at this moment that everyone remembered that there was still a leader from the SARFT in the house. Well, with the thorniest character in the entertainment circle, who would dare to provoke Zhang Ye? Meanwhile, Wu Zeqing was one of the top three leaders at the SARFT who oversaw the entertainment circle. With these two people backing her, would Cao Dan still have a hard time? Even if they did not bully anyone, at least they wouldn't be pushed around by the others. If she could still get bullied in such circumstances, then that would be a wonder!
His mother said happily, "Yeah, there's still your sister-in-law backing you."
Cao Dan quickly said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law!"
His second sister exclaimed, "Sister-in-law is almighty!"
Zhang Ye's first uncle and aunt were both overjoyed. "Zeqing, thank you so much."
With those words from Wu Zeqing, they were finally much more confident.
He had lost the opportunity to show off!
His wife had stolen his thunder!
Zhang Ye could only roll his eyes. But he switched his tone and said, "Actually, I still don't recommend Dandan to sign with a talent agency too soon. First, there will be more restrictions implemented on her. Second, there are also many artists-in-waiting at the larger agencies, so it won't be that easy for her to make a breakthrough. Don't think that several hundred thousand followers on Weibo are a lot. It really isn't that big a deal! Moreover, such popularity is only temporary. There's nothing set in stone yet since you don't have any works on your résumé. A celebrity still has to be capable in order to compete with the others. After the momentum of the Most Beautiful School Belle award dies down in another month or two, there's a possibility that no one will pay attention to you anymore. What then? How would you expect the talent agency to push your case? How would they promote you? Would there be any momentum? All of this is still unknown. Besides, with your current popularity, you still can't negotiate for a good contract."
Cao Dan humbly asked, "Then what should I do, Brother?"
Zhang Ye said, "I suggest that you get a little more famous first before signing with an agency. It's not exactly necessary for you to sign with one anyway. Didn't I also strike it out on my own?"
His first uncle and aunt didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "But Dandan isn't capable like you."
Zhang Ye laughed and said, "You still have me around, don't ya? That's right, what did Dandan major in at university?"
His mother said in a speechless manner, "You don't even know what your sister studied?"
Zhang Ye nervously said, "I forgot, I forgot."
Cao Dan said, "I'm a directing major."
Eh?
Directing?
He got an idea.
Zhang Ye confirmed again by asking, "Sis, let me ask you this again: Are you really serious about it?"
Cao Dan nodded firmly. "Brother, I'm truly serious about it."
Zhang Ye acknowledged, "Alright then, I'll write some screenplays for you later. Bring them back and read through them. If you think that you're up for it, give it a try."
Cao Dan's eyes widened. "What screenplays?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Something about some short funny videos."
His third sister said dismissively, "Would anyone even watch that?"
His second sister also said in a speechless manner, "Isn't this starting point a little too low? The other celebrities are all involved in singing and acting, but you want my sis to make funny videos? How long would she have to do that for before she can make a name for herself?"
Zhang Ye harrumphed. "What do you all know? Do you think that the screenplays I come up with would be average?"
His mother said, "Will it really work out?"
His father added, "You better not make a fool out of your sister."
Zhang Ye said annoyed, "Alright, just wait and see then."
His first uncle and aunt quickly said, "Little Ye, thanks for your help."
"Thank you, Brother," Cao Dan said, feeling touched.
Short videos?
Would that really work out?
Everyone was actually quite skeptical.
…
Noon.
Zhang Ye was very efficient. In just two hours, he finished everything.
He came up with drafts of more than 20 videos for a start.
Everyone was very interested in them and did not care about eating anymore. They all gathered around to read the drafts.
"This is?"
"A storyboard?"
"She'll be taking on multiple roles per video?"
"And they're all going to be so short?"
"Will this work?"
Zhang Ye looked at his eldest younger sister. "Can you shoot these?"
Cao Dan studied the screenplays intensely before saying, "I should be able to since there isn't really any technical difficulty in it, and the equipment required is quite basic. I can do the editing too since I learned that in school. I'm just afraid that I can't act the parts where I have to play multiple roles well. I'll have to go back and give it a try to find out."
Zhang Ye said, "Alright, I won't be able to help with that then."
"One more thing, Brother." Cao Dan said with a despondent look, "Do I really need to speak this line?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Of course, that's definitely necessary."
Cao Dan said, "It will appear in every video that I make?"
Zhang Ye said, "Yes, every one of them."
Blushing, Cao Dan recited it once, "My name is Cao Dan, a girl who embodies both beauty and talent?"
His third sister giggled, "Pfft!"
His second sister laughed, "Hahahaha!"
Cao Dan stared at them. "No laughing."
But the more she said that, the harder everyone at home laughed.
Zhang Ye also laughed out loud. "Say it more domineeringly and with a little more confidence."
Cao Dan cleared her throat and tried again. "My name is Cao Dan, a girl who embodies both beauty and talent!"
Yes.
This was Papi Jiang's 1 work from Zhang Ye's previous world and how she had embarked on her route to fame. He had brought that over here and wanted to see if his own sister could replicate it.
As for whether it would be a success?
As for how far Cao Dan could go from here?
Zhang Ye wasn't worried about that. The path had already been paved for her. All he could do was lead his sister into the industry. The rest of it would have to depend on Cao Dan herself.