After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 32

Unexpectedly, even Shen Junfu could see it. Shu Yueqing subconsciously touched her face. “It’s nothing, just a bit of insomnia these past few days. Did you call for a specific reason?”

“Nothing major, I just wanted to talk to Mom. I’ve basically been able to handle my coursework at school recently, and I’m starting to prepare to handle some investment operations myself.”

Hearing Shu Yueqing say this, Shen Junfu felt relieved.

In the past, Shu Yueqing occasionally had periods of insomnia—for instance, when she was obsessed with clearing a game level or a small challenge. This was a common memory from Shen Junfu’s childhood. With Shu Yueqing’s inherently competitive nature, she wouldn’t stop until she succeeded, and she had even stayed up all night several times for a game of Go.

Although many years had passed and Shu Yueqing rarely acted this way anymore, it wasn’t surprising to Shen Junfu if she had encountered an interesting challenge once again.

“That’s a good thing. How much startup capital do you need?”

When Shu Yueqing was Shen Junfu’s age, she had already begun taking over the family business, so she didn’t think Shen Junfu was being reckless at all.

“No need, my own money is enough.” Shen Junfu just wanted to share the news with Shu Yueqing. Over the years, Shu Yueqing had always been very generous with her; that money was more than enough to complete her initial investments.

“Alright then, take care of yourself. When are you coming back?” Shu Yueqing trusted Shen Junfu’s judgment.

“The time isn’t certain yet; I’ll have to wait until it’s finalized to say.” Shen Junfu lied to Shu Yueqing with a smile. In reality, her return date was already set, but she wanted to give Shu Yueqing a surprise and didn’t plan to mention it ahead of time.

Shu Yueqing suspected nothing. “Alright, we’ll talk then.”

The two chatted for a while longer before ending the video call.

After hanging up, Shu Yueqing stared blankly at the computer screen. Seeing Shen Junfu made her inevitably think of Huo Qingzhuo again, and then of her “taking advantage of someone in a precarious position.” She closed her eyes, unable to bear the thought.

Huo Qingzhuo’s campus life didn’t last long either. Less than a month after enrollment, notice came from Lao Jiu. It wasn’t that Lao Jiu’s production—the one that only had an outline—was ready, but rather that a manager had been arranged for Huo Qingzhuo.

Lao Jiu was a tough character who pursued perfection in everything. Naturally, the manager he prepared for Huo Qingzhuo couldn’t be substandard. Rumor had it they were poached from another company with a massive salary. Huo Qingzhuo had no reason to doubt this, especially after seeing the person’s full head of white hair.

“Hello, my name is Huo Qingzhuo.”

Huo Qingzhuo had learned about the person in front of her even before she started acting. Known in the industry as the “Godmother of Managers,” Xu Lan was currently the premier gold-standard manager in the entertainment industry. The number of first-tier and super-tier stars she had handled was countless; more than half of the entertainment industry had some connection to her, let alone her resources—there was absolutely no need to worry.

However, news suggested she was retiring this year. After all, having been in the industry for over fifty years, Xu Lan was now in her seventies and had long reached retirement age.

Xu Lan didn’t seem to have any objections to Huo Qingzhuo. After the two signed the agreement very smoothly, Xu Lan left first, reportedly having other matters to attend to.

“How did you manage to pull Xu Lan over? I felt like I could have just found any manager, and isn’t she supposed to be retiring?”

As soon as Xu Lan left, Huo Qingzhuo couldn’t help but ask Lao Jiu.

“Yeah, she’s about to retire, which is why she’ll only be managing you from now on,” Lao Jiu replied, looking down at his phone. “Actually, it’s nothing much. She’s my great-aunt; she has to look after me to some extent. I really had no other choice, so I had to ask the elder to work a bit harder.”

Huo Qingzhuo: “…” Impressive.

What else could be said? Others start businesses relying on friends; Lao Jiu goes out relying on relatives. Last time he grabbed his nephew to be the male lead, and this time he dragged his great-aunt in to be a manager. It made Huo Qingzhuo wonder how many more of these “good relatives” Lao Jiu had.

Regardless, the matter of the manager was finally settled. Huo Qingzhuo had assumed Xu Lan would finish handing over her previous work before looking after her, but she didn’t expect the other party to be so efficient.

The day after signing the agreement, Huo Qingzhuo received a document from Xu Lan. In just one day, Xu Lan had already mapped out a rough development plan for her.

Although Xu Lan had produced many top-tier “idols,” she didn’t plan for Huo Qingzhuo to take that path. The plan for Huo Qingzhuo was entirely step-by-step, solid and steady, aiming for various “acting powerhouse” awards. Even the proportion of variety shows was kept to a minimum.

Just as Huo Qingzhuo finished reading the document, Xu Lan’s call came through.

“Finished the document? Any thoughts?” On the other end, Xu Lan’s voice was crisp and professional, business-like, cold, but efficient.

Huo Qingzhuo liked this working attitude. “I’ve finished it. Teacher Xu’s arrangements coincide with my own thoughts. I have no objections.”

“Mm,” the tone on the other end softened slightly. “You have very few works. I’ve only seen Jiu Xuan. Your acting is very mature; it’s an immersive performance, yet you can snap out of it quickly. Your emotional control is in place. You are a rare talent. It would be a waste of your potential to go down the ‘idol’ route. Being a serious actor requires you to stay grounded, be steady, and endure the grind. Can you do it?”

“I can,” Huo Qingzhuo replied immediately, having plenty of confidence in her own patience.

“Good. I’ve recorded this; if you regret it later, it counts as a breach of contract.” Xu Lan’s tone became even warmer than before.

Huo Qingzhuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Alright, if I regret it, it’s a breach of contract.”

“Mm. I see you’re quite a bit younger than Lao Jiu. From now on, just follow him and call me Grandma Xu. Calling me ‘Teacher’ is too distant.” This was proof that Xu Lan had already accepted Huo Qingzhuo.

Huo Qingzhuo naturally welcomed this and agreed.

“By the way, if you want to go further, you can’t just act in Lao Jiu’s little plays. I will make reasonable arrangements on my end. It might be quite busy, and there might even be back-to-back film sets. Be mentally prepared.” Having just taken over, Xu Lan was already preparing to schedule Huo Qingzhuo’s itinerary.

“Grandma Xu can make the arrangements.”

In any case, since Xu Lan was Lao Jiu’s great-aunt, if this was Xu Lan’s decision, Lao Jiu probably wouldn’t dare to object. It was basically a non-issue.

After preparing the video-class software on her computer and getting ready to leave campus, Huo Qingzhuo received notice to join a film set the next day.

However, Huo Qingzhuo wasn’t the lead this time but a guest star with very few scenes. By the time she joined, the crew was already halfway through filming.

This was an ancient Xianxia drama. Both leads were long-established, possessing both talent and popularity. Furthermore, the production’s investment was famously “inhumanly” lavish—a large-scale joint production. Being able to show one’s face in such a drama was a rare opportunity.

With Xu Lan’s support, Huo Qingzhuo’s original nanny van had been upgraded. Just as Xu Lan arrived with Huo Qingzhuo at the set, the director personally came out to meet them.

“Sister Xu, Sister Xu, thank you for taking the trouble to make the trip.” The director opened the car door for Xu Lan with a face full of smiles to welcome her.

“No need to be so polite. I’ve brought the person to save the day; just don’t think she’s too young.”

Xu Lan stepped out of the car. The director was polite, and Xu Lan reciprocated. He was a quite famous big-name director, and the two had collaborated more than once. Their relationship was good, which was why Xu Lan felt comfortable putting Huo Qingzhuo into such a major production right away.

Huo Qingzhuo stepped out from the other side of the car and greeted the director.

“I definitely trust Sister Xu’s eye. Come, I’ll take you into the set to have a look first.”

The director had also heard of Huo Qingzhuo. After all, Jiu Xuan had been very popular recently, and Huo Qingzhuo’s acting had garnered a lot of attention.

There were essentially no issues, and the matter was settled. The role Huo Qingzhuo was to play was a “Grandmaster” who had been imprisoned in a forbidden area for many years. Her appearance had to be young and exquisitely beautiful, but her mindset had to be steady. After all, while her appearance didn’t age in the forbidden area, time had truly passed.

They had seen many young actors who had youth, vitality, and beauty, but they simply couldn’t portray that feeling of being trapped for years—of being dead inside and old-souled.

After a screen test, Huo Qingzhuo successfully joined the crew. Because this “Grandmaster” didn’t have many scenes and served mainly as a “cheat code” character, her parts could basically be filmed within a week.

“No way, is this how a world of privilege works? An 18-year-old newcomer who just debuted and only acted in one small-budget web drama actually got this role? I don’t believe there isn’t some shady business. Do you guys believe it?”

“Of course not. But didn’t you see? The one who led her in just now was Xu Lan. Shuimu Entertainment is really something else when it comes to pushing people. They paired her with Xu Lan as a manager right away and got her into this kind of big production. Pushing her so high, aren’t they afraid she’ll fall and die?”

“Yeah, even the male and female leads, with their big reputations, had to audition to get in, right? Having Xu Lan as a manager is great; she was just internally decided, no audition needed.”

“Who is the CEO of Shuimu Entertainment? If anyone says Huo Qingzhuo has no relationship with that CEO now, I won’t believe it.”

” I never believed it. What ‘good luck’? It’s all just PR whitewashing.”

…

Ever since Xu Lan brought Huo Qingzhuo in that morning, all sorts of rumors and speculations had been flying around the entire set.

The female lead of the drama, Wei Yingying, sat in the temporary lounge. Listening to the clear discussions coming from behind the wall—which wasn’t soundproof—her expression turned sour.

Wei Yingying’s image assistant stood by, trembling with fear, becoming increasingly careful while styling Wei Yingying’s hair.

When the sound of footsteps outside indicated that the gossiping group had walked away, Wei Yingying slammed her phone onto the table. “What is going on? Didn’t the company say before that Xu Lan was preparing to retire and wouldn’t take on anyone else? Why is she taking on this newcomer, Huo Qingzhuo, who appeared out of nowhere?”

“Teacher Wei, the company did ask Teacher Xu Lan before, and she indeed refused. Now this…” The head assistant walked over with a cup of tea to comfort Wei Yingying, but was interrupted halfway.

“Are you saying I’m not even as good as a newcomer who just acted in some trashy web drama? Xu Lan took a liking to her but didn’t take a liking to me?”

The head assistant’s sentence reignited Wei Yingying’s anger. With a swipe of her hand, she sent the cup flying.

With a crisp sound, the teacup shattered into pieces on the floor. Tea spilled everywhere, startling the several assistants.

Just then, a knock came from the door. “Teacher Wei, it’s time to prepare for the next scene. Are you ready?”

Wei Yingying shot a fierce glare at the head assistant and took a deep breath. A gentle smile replaced her expression as she opened the door and walked out. “Ready. It’s just that my assistant was clumsy and broke a cup, which delayed us a bit.”

“It’s fine, it was just an accident. Let’s go, Teacher Wei.” The person who came was also a shrewd individual who had seen many such scenes. Even if they guessed something, they acted as if nothing had happened and naturally led Wei Yingying outside.