The Scandalous Actress Needs to Strive GL - Chapter 8

“Why would I say she was poisoned by someone?”

Because the CEO has been paying too much attention to the company’s third-tier artists lately no, more accurately, she’s been paying excessive attention to a certain third-tier female artist in the company.

Ever since Mu Qingchen took over the company, Yu Baishu started working as her assistant. Several years have passed in the blink of an eye, and she can be said to be the person at Mu’s Group who understands her best.

Originally, it was one thing to pull up the list of third-tier artists, and it was still acceptable to inexplicably visit the set of a small web drama. But suddenly adding investment was a bit much, especially combined with the noticeable, man made marks on Mu Qingchen’s neck twice.

Yu Baishu looked at the message on her phone, and the most important one was the one right in front of her: arranging a new agent for the artist Qiu Wan and dismissing the original agent.

Qiu Wan, yes, the answer is this woman.

She flipped through Qiu Wan’s file : Orphan, 24 years old, no social circle to speak of, only a heap of tabloid news, with most of the rumored partners being women. Her acting skills are mediocre, and her ability to survive in this industry relies entirely on an overly stunningly beautiful face.

As for resources, they were also very ordinary. No, Yu Baishu looked at the roles Qiu Wan had played. Almost every one was a “flower vase” role obtained through her own audition, with this time being the only exception.

The female third lead in the web drama ‘Grand Historian of Song Dynasty’ (Da Song Chang Shi), the Great Princess who lives in the female lead’s memory. In terms of image requirements, Qiu Wan was undoubtedly suitable, but there was a discrepancy in terms of personality and character setting.

Dignified, grand, a discerning mentor who recognized and nurtured talent? Could Qiu Wan’s acting skills handle it? The most crucial point was that this role had no audition. Generally, no audition means it was arranged by the company, decided internally by the production crew, or was due to the personal connections of the agent and artist, or else the investor.

Yu Baishu carefully went through the possibilities: excluding Qiu Wan’s own connections, excluding the agent’s connections (the production crew had even requested to terminate the contract a while ago, so that’s also ruled out), then there was only one possibility left.

The investor for this drama is Zhou Entertainment. Unlike Mu’s Group, which specializes in the performing arts, most of Zhou’s artists are popular singers, various boy bands and girl groups. This business strategy brings in money quickly but the heat also fades fast, so they have been helping their potentially good artists transition in the last two years.

The cost of an internal decision by Zhou’s Group must be considerable, so what did Qiu Wan rely on? Could it be that the person who truly used their connections was their CEO, but this seemed like too much of a roundabout way.

Yu Baishu pondered for a long time and selected one of the company’s star agents Jin Wen. Then, she thoughtfully reported the decision to her CEO before notifying the agent.

Jin Wen?

Mu Qingchen looked at the message and replied with a single word, “Mm.”

The next day at noon, Qiu Wan, who was notified of her agent change, looked at the imposing Jin Wen in front of her. She was shocked internally but tried her best to appear calm on the surface.

She was not the original person, yet she was the original person. After all, no one would look exactly the same, down to the slightest detail of their figure, and also possess the original person’s memories.

It was precisely because of this that she was shocked. Who was Jin Wen? The industry recognized iron willed agent, one of Mu’s Group’s stars. The artists under her only gain fame through strength, never actively creating scandals, and certainly never resorting to messy means like latching onto influential figures.

Qiu Wan silently reviewed the new contract and gained a new understanding of Jin Wen’s competence. She didn’t dwell on past issues, only considering how to effectively resolve them now and how to proceed in the future.

She had no objection to the new agent or the new contract. After all, the original person’s previous scandals were also a desperate measure for self-protection. Now that the company was willing to protect her and the agent could clear the obstacles, why not?

The key was this contract renewal period ten years! Did she even want to continue developing in the entertainment industry?

“I have some personal considerations, Sister Jin. Could you give me two days? I’ll give you an answer then.”

“Certainly. I’ll just call you by your name from now on, it’s easier. Just notify me directly when you’ve decided. My contact information is on the contract.”

Jin Wen looked at the woman in front of her with a slight surprise. She was 35 and had been working hard for over a decade, and she was confident in her judgment of people.

This was the first time someone had surprised her. Someone actually needed to consider accepting such generous terms in a new contract. She had thought this was just a “flower vase,” and it wouldn’t be impossible for her to go with that persona given her looks. She hadn’t expected a new challenge to be waiting for her.

Having been in this industry for so many years, Jin Wen never believed what others said about an artist. She had her own eyes and only trusted what she saw. So, she had arrived at the set early to observe Qiu Wan’s acting, and combined with this brief ten plus minutes of interaction, she now felt that the company’s decision might not be so bad after all; it might even be a small surprise.

Mu’s Group.

“Assistant Yu, have you finished reporting today’s work?”

Yu Baishu paused, mentally sorting through today’s tasks: “I’ve finished reporting.”

Mu Qingchen remained silent, her left index finger slowly tapping the desk. After a long while, she said with a cold face, “Was there any artist signing a new contract today?”

Yu Baishu paused again, then lowered her head to check the various messages in the enterprise WeChat: “They’ve all been reported.”

“No omissions?” Mu Qingchen raised an eyebrow, a slight hint of surprise in her eyes.

Yu Baishu nodded, just about to say no, when she suddenly understood the CEO’s unusual behavior. She then remembered her chat history with Jin Wen and said seriously, “I was momentarily careless and forgot to report one contract to President Mu.”

“Speak.” The finger tapping the desk stopped abruptly. Mu Qingchen looked up, and the simple word seemed to hide a lot of anticipation.

“Regarding Ms. Qiu Wan’s contract, it hasn’t been finalized yet. The agent said she needs to consider it.”

“Consider what?” It seemed she hadn’t expected the other party to need time to consider.

“It’s like this, CEO. Ms. Qiu’s current contract is due to expire in one year, and the new contract is for a ten-year renewal.” Yu Baishu tactfully brought up the contract’s specified term. Could she tell the people below the truth? This contract was personally reviewed and the duration personally decided by the CEO!

“Is ten years very long?” If she hadn’t felt it was too excessive, she would have wanted to sign for twenty years, or even longer. Mu Qingchen was startled by the thought that suddenly popped into her mind. Why would she have such a ridiculous notion?

Yu Baishu honestly kept silent. It wasn’t very long; it was very, very long. But she didn’t dare to say it. For a third-tier artist like Qiu Wan, the company’s longest contract was typically five years. Only those promising, high-quality artists would be signed for five years or more because there would be a certain investment in the first two years, and then they would start making a profit.

So what about Qiu Wan? What was the CEO thinking? A “flower vase” with no acting skills, only beauty. But how long could beauty maintain her popularity? How would the company invest and how would they profit?

Thinking of this, she subconsciously glanced at the person in front of her who was deep in thought and suddenly had a vague answer: perhaps the CEO didn’t care about the investment or whether they made a profit; she just wanted to keep this person.

Ah, their unattainable CEO has really been poisoned by someone, and it looks like the poisoning is quite deep. Yu Baishu internally wanted to cry but only hoped that Qiu Wan would turn over a new leaf after being managed by Jin Wen, or that the CEO could be cured of the poison soon.

Deep into the night, Mu Qingchen was uncharacteristically awake late. She leaned against a pillow on the bed, her eyes fixed on the phone in her hand. There were many new messages, but not a single one was from that woman.

Since deleting Qiu Wan from her friends list, she hadn’t received any messages. Didn’t that woman know to actively request to be added back as a friend?

If the other party’s attitude was sincere, she would definitely agree. Could it be that the woman hadn’t realized she had been deleted yet?

Now, for the sake of the new contract, and for the company’s interests, she had no choice but to put aside past grievances and contact that woman.

Mu Qingchen opened the bedside table and pulled out a sticky note from a book. The handwriting was neat but carried a hint of subtle unrestrainedness My phone number is…, my WeChat is… You have to take responsibility for me

She pursed her lips, looking at the last two words, ‘take responsibility,’ and then remembered the unsigned contract. Take responsibility? How ridiculous. Who should take responsibility for whom?

After searching for the account, she clicked ‘add.’ Mu Qingchen remembered that if she had unilaterally deleted the other party and then added them back, it would jump directly to the chat window, and the other party wouldn’t know.

Strangely, she suddenly felt a little nervous. She tapped her finger, but instead of jumping directly to the chat window, it showed: “Sent friend request!”

Astonishingly… that woman had actually deleted her! Saying ‘take responsibility she was indeed a scoundrel who didn’t want to take responsibility.

Mu Qingchen frowned at her phone, feeling both angry and frustrated. As the CEO of Mu’s Group, she had always been the passive one in social interactions. People who wanted to get close to her flocked to her; this was the first person to push her away.

Could it be that the other party still didn’t know her identity? She suddenly wanted to see the other party’s reaction after knowing her identity: would they hastily regret it, or would they seize the opportunity to stick to her like those other people?

But for some reason, she felt that neither of these possibilities seemed like something that woman would do.

Her mind was swirling with various possibilities, but her fingers made an honest move and clicked ‘send request.’

Mu Qingchen subconsciously sat up straight, staring blankly at her phone. She thought she would have to wait a long time, but to her surprise, the other party accepted one minute later.

• Qingchen?

Qiu Wan was browsing the trending topics when she suddenly received a verification message with that familiar profile picture. She hesitated for a minute, clicked ‘accept,’ and then knowingly called out the other party’s name.

Mu Qingchen eased her nervousness and quietly replied with a single word.

Qiu Wan smiled. She really was an arrogant person. If she was going to be so distant, she shouldn’t have actively added her back. She raised an eyebrow and replied with two words.

• What’s the matter?

Mu Qingchen’s finger paused. What was the matter? Why did she actively contact Qiu Wan? She suddenly forgot the reason she had planned beforehand, her mind went blank, and she didn’t know how to answer.

Ten minutes later, Qiu Wan looked at the constantly blinking “The other party is typing” in the chat box, and then nothing was sent. She chuckled softly and sent a voice message.

“Meet in person? Qingchen, come pick me up?”

The voice was soft and alluring, the tail end carrying a slight bubbly quality, causing the person who was still struggling to formulate a reply to momentarily hold her breath. Finally, she knew what to reply with.

And that was…

• Okay..