Chapter 858

"That's only for A-list actors, right? I know that Hollywood superstars here often have over a dozen people serving them, with each person responsible for different business sectors—an agency team where some are responsible for scripts, others for media, each doing their own job."

"Yes, but even the smallest actors here have agents. The biggest difference from back home is that in China, you either sign with a company or you have your own resources and go it alone," Jiang Yuqian said. "But in Hollywood, for many actors, you don't have a company signing you at the starting stage; you just sign with a specific agent who is responsible for your work. As long as you want to act, you must have an agent; otherwise, you have no channels to access any projects, including audition opportunities. A very complete operating system has been established here; the communication between actors and producers must run through this massive agent system."

Li Zhibai: "So, in other words, you mean the order here is more complete?"

"Exactly—the order is complete, but it's not orderly," Jiang Yuqian laughed. "You used the perfect word. Precisely because every part has already established a complete order, it is very difficult for you as an individual to become a miracle who rises overnight on luck alone in such a massive environment. What you can rely on, what you can attach yourself to, are these systems that have already established rules and regulations. In this situation, what can you give? You can continue to persist in your dreams, stick to your principles, run to auditions, meet casting directors, perform in small theaters, and leave a good impression on the casting directors. But there are too many people competing; if you aren't that kind of overnight-sensation genius, if you don't have outstanding, memorable beauty, and you don't pay something, you will always just be a scrap of this agent-casting director-audition system. What would you do?"

Jiang Yuqian smiled helplessly.

"The actors here, famous or not, all have to audition. It seems fair, but just like the PR during awards season, outside the order, there are always blurry gray areas. I used to think the system here was mature and worth learning from back home, but now I feel it's not quite like that. Many battlefields aren't on the actors; they reach the agents and PR. In other words, actors can't even fight this battle themselves; they can only rely on these generals."

Jiang Yuqian's gaze remained on Sydney Weiss.

"So, batch after batch of actors want to emerge, batch after batch of actors want to hold onto their positions, and batch after batch of actors want to advance further. Step by step, you know there are many traps, you know that temptation and danger coexist, but you have no choice but to keep moving forward."

"Isn't it said that there are all kinds of American Dreams here?" Li Zhibai said. "Those American Dreams of people who venture into Hollywood alone, relying on their own charm and talent to win people over, seize opportunities, soar to success, and become famous overnight—are they all fake?"

"No, of course there are real, lucky American Dreams. But my feeling is that the foundation for these various American Dreams to exist is that the movers and shakers behind the scenes periodically need to use a case study to prove their own ability, strength, and power. It's not that stars automatically pop up; it's that those star-makers need to push some stars out," Jiang Yuqian said.

"You sound so pessimistic." Li Zhibai looked at Jiang Yuqian with concern and asked, "Are you a bit tired?"

Jiang Yuqian shook her head: "No, I just happened to be talking about this with you, and I had to get it off my chest. No one can share what I've experienced over these past few years, and it's hard to expect anyone to understand my feelings. I find myself falling into doubts about my persistence more and more easily, including why I even want to be an actor in the first place, and what I'm going to pursue next. As my understanding of this environment deepens, I find it easier to feel disillusioned. Someone like Sydney Weiss, who is so clear-headed and determined, actually makes me feel envious, even if the methods she uses are repulsive to me."

Li Zhibai nodded earnestly.

"I understand what you're saying."

"Do you really understand?"

"Yeah," Li Zhibai said. "I didn't quite understand before, but later, Yan He also went through this kind of struggle and deep reflection, until I also went through a period of self-questioning. I used to tell Yan He that he was always thinking about problems that weren't really problems. Later, I realized that concrete pursuits like fame, fortune, and ideals bring us practical troubles; only the problems that aren't really problems are the ones that truly hold us back."

He asked in Jiang Yuqian's ear: "Do you know what I was trapped by for a while?"

Jiang Yuqian shook her head.

"I clearly came to be a star because I loved performing on stage, loved singing and dancing," Li Zhibai said. "When I first started as an actor, I was still balancing my idol work, releasing songs, and putting on stage shows. Later, gradually, acting work took over as the backbone, and then later, I worked entirely as an actor. Many times when I saw good performance stages, I asked myself, what happened? Why did I suddenly give it up?"

"Why did you give it up?"

"It wasn't giving it up; it's just that for a year or two, Yan He gave me several scripts, and I was also encouraged to be a producer, so my time was completely occupied by acting," Li Zhibai smiled. "As I kept doing it, I forgot to set aside time for stage performance. As I kept doing it, I realized that my work on the acting path was something my team was more familiar with and better at. As I kept doing it, I realized that I hoped to do the job of an actor better so I could help Yan He and help my family."

"But what about yourself?" Jiang Yuqian frowned.

"Right, that's what I often asked myself for a while: you've considered so many others, why haven't you thought about yourself?" Li Zhibai said. "Until later, when I privately went to find my previous dance instructor and contacted the song-writing team I was familiar with, I suddenly realized that it wasn't that I gave up the singing and dancing stage I liked for them, but rather that compared to the stage, I hoped more that my existence would be of real, tangible help to the people around me. I don't want there to be a day when they need me and I can't provide what they need. Being able to provide what they need when they need it for the people I truly care about is when I feel the most proud and honored. And then, those obsessions and struggles that trapped me could no longer trap me."

Jiang Yuqian: "You mean, I actually haven't thought clearly about what I truly want?"

"Your career has risen too fast these past few years, and the people and environments you've come into contact with have changed too quickly. It's not that you haven't thought clearly about what you want; it's that you haven't had the time to think about these things, yet when you occasionally think about them, you suddenly find there are many blanks, and you become lost," Li Zhibai laughed. "Yan He told me that you wanted to chase awards before, but later you gave up that goal and decided to wholeheartedly become a superstar. In the face of this goal, the achievements you've made in the last two years have been very effective, but you've discovered that to go further, it's not just about the difficulty—you can't see the space."

Jiang Yuqian's expression paused.

"Because in Hollywood, all superstars are award winners; this is a place where commerce and honor are most intensely intertwined," Li Zhibai said. "You told me so much just now; I don't know if you realized it yourself? The meaning you wanted to express in your subconscious includes both your resistance to the Hollywood system and your discomfort as a Chinese actor unable to adapt to this system. You even have a bit of an intention to back out. You also said you envied Sydney's firm and clear goals, but isn't that just you wavering on your own goals?"

Jiang Yuqian opened her mouth, and after a long time, she said: "... I have never thought about it that way, but what you say seems to be correct."

The time during the commercial break of the live television broadcast is a good time for everyone on site to socialize.

Lu Yanhe only had the opportunity to meet and take photos with the cast of *Friends* at this time.

"The latest episode of this season of *Friends* has already exceeded 15 million viewers in 24 hours on Maxine," Yin Xincheng said excitedly. "It's still breaking records."

"I just ran into someone who told me that the American TV version of *Friends* seems to be ending," Zhan Yun also said.

"Ending?" Lu Yanhe immediately showed a look of surprise. "No way, right?"

The American version has only filmed three seasons so far, all things considered.

"It's said that the leads are demanding a raise, but Maxine won't agree, and the negotiations have reached a stalemate," Zhan Yun explained.

"The viewership for the American version isn't that high, so if they demand a raise, Maxine probably really finds it hard to agree," Lu Yanhe said. "If one gets a raise, all six of them follow, and the pressure is too great."

As for their *Friends*, ever since it was rebooted on Yuehu TV, the salaries for the six of them appearing in the show have been the same. Of course, Lu Yanhe also has screenwriter and producer fees as well as profit sharing, which are calculated separately.

At that time, Lu Yanhe made it clear to the others that for this show, everyone would be on a base salary plus profit-sharing model, because this show would become more and more popular, but the pressure brought by six people getting a raise together would be very great. To ensure this series could continue to be made normally, the income of the six leads would mainly be realized through profit sharing.

Since then, no one has received a raise each season. Of course, the returns brought to the actors each season have been very generous, although not as exaggerated as the original *Friends*.

Now, seeing the American version of *Friends* fall into a production stalemate because the leads' salaries couldn't be negotiated, Yan Liang thought back to Lu Yanhe's approach at the time and only felt that Lu Yanhe truly had foresight.

After *Friends* was filmed season after season, it actually became more and more popular, which exceeded the expectations of everyone except Lu Yanhe.

Before *Friends*, there really hadn't been a TV series that could be filmed for so long and for so long.

Chinese TV series don't have the tradition of seasonal dramas like American TV; there are shows that have been running for ten or even twenty years.

And the six of them gathered together were like mascots; people nearby saw them and took the initiative to come over for photos, including several top seeds for this year's awards season, as well as A-list stars at the Best Actor and Best Actress level.

Upon chatting, they turned out to be viewers of *Friends*.

In Europe and America, the audience scale for sitcoms is very large. However, it was truly beyond their expectations that so many big names were watching this show.

Some even said: "If there's a role later that invites me to guest star, I would be very happy to."

People were saying this on their own initiative.

They had also come to the United States many times to participate in promotional activities, meeting all kinds of people, including occasions like the Golden Globe Awards, and this wasn't even their first time at the Golden Globes.

However, this was the first time they had encountered such enthusiasm as they were seeing now.

Lu Yanhe didn't know why this was. Could it be that Maxine had done a massive amount of publicity and promotion in Europe and America over the past year? That wasn't impossible.

After all, the American version of *Friends* they made themselves didn't take off, and now it's stuck in production difficulties because the actors are demanding a raise. Meanwhile, their *Friends* shows no signs of declining in popularity, despite some criticisms that the plot has become melodramatic—

But this show's direction has been melodramatic since the first season.

Fans who truly like this show have actually had their tolerance for this aspect trained since the first season.

People who fall into the sitcom trap aren't really following the plot anymore.

"Sis, if Chen Laoshi wins the Golden Globe for Best Actor tonight, can we post a Weibo to congratulate him?"

Back in China, Ning Yao received an invitation from Zhang Yuezhen tonight to go to her house to watch the live broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony together.

It wasn't just her; other people in the company also received invitations, totaling over a dozen people, half of whom were artists personally signed by Zhang Yuezhen.

Zhang Yuezhen smiled and glanced at Ning Yao, saying: "What's wrong? Do you actually think Chen Laoshi has a chance to win an award tonight?"

*Seventeen Layers: Reboot* isn't some massive hit show, nor was it produced by a European or American company, so it's basically out of the running for an award.

Ning Yao saying this was a bit of "self-indulgence."

However, she hugged Zhang Yuezhen's arm with an intimate gesture and said coquettishly: "With you here, Sis, even if Chen Laoshi can't win this time, he will win next time. There will always be a day he wins an award. What I want to ask is, can we bask in Chen Laoshi's glory when he wins?"

Zhang Yuezhen looked at Ning Yao with doting, smiling eyes.

"If you want to bask in the glory, could I even stop you?" After Zhang Yuezhen finished this sentence, she looked at the others. "However, compared to you basking in Chen Laoshi's glory, I hope more to see you standing on that podium in the future."

Everyone suddenly quieted down, looking at Zhang Yuezhen, somewhat at a loss.

As if completely unaware of the change in atmosphere, Zhang Yuezhen continued to smile and said in a sincere tone: "You were all selected by me to join the company, and I have high hopes for you."

Ning Yao was the first to speak, saying full of energy: "Okay, Sis, I will definitely work hard and strive to be nominated in three years and win an award in five!"

Zhang Yuezhen immediately laughed.

"That's the kind of ambition you should have!" Zhang Yuezhen encouraged.

"What's wrong with her today?" After leaving Zhang Yuezhen's house, Li Hailu, who was also signed to Zhang Yuezhen's company, drove Ning Yao back. As soon as they pulled out of the residential complex, he couldn't wait to complain: "She used to lecture us in every way, telling us to know our place and not to have too much ambition. Today, she suddenly wants us to have ambition."

Li Hailu's tone was laced with sarcasm.

Ning Yao was sitting in the passenger seat.

She was looking down at her phone.

"Who knows, maybe she had a fight with Chen Pinhe," Ning Yao said. "For this Golden Globe ceremony, she broke her usual routine and didn't go along, but instead organized a party for us at home."

"The people who appeared here tonight are also very interesting; they are all people she dug up herself," Li Hailu said. "Do you think Zhang Zong might have had a falling out with Chen Laoshi?"

"What are you thinking? How is that possible?" Ning Yao denied this without looking up. "You don't understand how much Zhang Zong loves Chen Laoshi."

Li Hailu shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not as valued by her as you are, being able to be by her side every day, so how would I understand? I was just guessing. However, I still think this isn't her usual style. She used to never allow anyone to have even the slightest thought of overstepping, especially when she would always put Chen Pinhe on a pedestal in every word. Don't you find it strange?"

"Does it matter?" Ning Yao countered.

"What?"

"Strange or not, the signal she sent out tonight is very clear: she will be heavily promoting us next," Ning Yao finally raised her head and said: "For us, this is a good thing, isn't that enough? Whether she had a falling out with Chen Pinhe or if it's because of something else, it doesn't matter to us." Li Hailu: "If you put it that way, I guess so."

"I told you before, if you say some nice things in front of Zhang Zong and lower your posture, she will tilt some resources toward you. She cares very much about whether we truly respect her and listen to her. As long as she thinks you listen to her, she will be willing to give you resources and promote you," Ning Yao said. "You always say that men and women are different, that what I can say, you can't, and what I can do, you can't easily do. I didn't know before, but after tonight, He Ting and the others will definitely show something."

Li Hailu: "By the way, is the third female lead in *Seventeen Layers: Reboot* going to be left for you?"

"That was the plan, but Meng Li proposed that she hopes the new third female lead role can be left for her cousin," Ning Yao sighed. "Otherwise, she doesn't want to return as a lead. I heard that Director Jiang Lan of the Beijing Station has already compromised."

Upon hearing this, Li Hailu frowned.

"She actually does this kind of thing."

"Yeah," Ning Yao sounded not very angry or disappointed, quite indifferent.

Li Hailu asked: "Aren't you angry?"

"I've already been angry; now the die is cast," Ning Yao said. "Previously, because Meng Li didn't get normal promotion, she had already decided to quit the series. Now that there's suddenly room for maneuver, it's not surprising that the Beijing Station would agree to her request."

"This show is so popular, she actually thought about quitting?"

"No matter how popular a show is, if it doesn't add much to her, why should she waste time continuing to act in it? She's not like us; she's not lacking in fame or good projects."

Li Hailu: "Speaking of which, when I first signed with this company, I thought I could bask in a bit of Chen Pinhe's glory, but in the end, I didn't bask in anything."

Ning Yao glanced at him.

"Then do you know that He Ting got a pretty good role in *Seventeen Layers: Reboot*?"

Li Hailu was stunned.

oco

Ning Yao lowered her head; that was all she would say.

After Meng Li took a photo with Jiang Yuqian with an intimate posture, she turned her head and glanced at Li Zhibai.

Li Zhibai's eyes were looking the other way, ignoring her completely.

Meng Li curled her lips.

She said to Jiang Yuqian: "Are you staying in the United States, or going back to China?"

Jiang Yuqian said: "Of course I'm going back to China. *Love is Not Blind* is about to be released, and there's so much promotional work to do, plus roadshows."

Meng Li: "You're actually still running roadshows one by one?"

Jiang Yuqian nodded.

"Because the release date was set late, if we want to increase the screening rate, we need to run more roadshows. This is what they already promised the theater chains."

"You're already an international superstar, why are you still so willing to work hard," Meng Li didn't understand. "When I sign a contract now, the number of roadshow stops must be signed in. I don't want to run all over the country with them; five stops at most, no more."

Jiang Yuqian smiled noncommittally and didn't say anything else.

But Meng Li hadn't left yet.

Jiang Yuqian couldn't help but think, did she have something else she wanted to say?

However, Meng Li didn't say anything else.

At this time, the car to pick her up arrived.

Jiang Yuqian said to Meng Li: "Then I'll be going."

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked: "Where are you staying? Do you need me to drop you off?"

Meng Li shook her head and said no.

Only then did Jiang Yuqian get into the car.

Through the car window, Jiang Yuqian saw Meng Li turn to face Li Zhibai and say something to him.

But what exactly was said, Jiang Yuqian couldn't read lips.

Li Zhibai looked at Meng Li with an incredulous expression.

Two seconds earlier, Meng Li had actually said to him: "Can you take me back to the hotel?"

Perhaps because the expression on his face was too incredulous, Meng Li added another sentence upon seeing it.

"The car they arranged for me, for some reason, told me it would take half an hour to arrive," Meng Li spread her hands and said, "I don't mean anything else by it."

Li Zhibai's gaze landed on her face once again. This time, his eyes clearly and unmistakably expressed what he hadn't expressed just now—

Distance.

He even took a step back directly.

Not saying a single word.

Meng Li immediately bit her lip.

"What do you mean?" Meng Li looked at Li Zhibai pitifully, with even a hint of humiliated moisture in her eyes, "Are you really so unwilling to deal with me now?"

Li Zhibai turned around directly and walked a few steps to the side.

Throughout the whole process, he really didn't say a single word to Meng Li, using his actions to show his attitude.

——Stay away from me.

Li Zhibai would never forget the period of time he was pestered by Meng Li.

Completely a lunatic.

This was the final impression Meng Li left on Li Zhibai.

Therefore, if you can't afford to provoke them, you can afford to hide. This was Li Zhibai's strategy for dealing with Meng Li. Almost all of Li Zhibai's contracts had a clause—

Do not share the stage with Meng Li, do not cooperate with Meng Li.

Everyone in the industry knew it.

Five minutes later, the car to pick up Li Zhibai arrived.

Li Zhibai quickly got into the car. As soon as he got in, he immediately sent a message to Jiang Yuqian: That's not nice, you actually ditched me and ran!

Jiang Yuqian: What's wrong?

Li Zhibai: She wanted me to take her back to the hotel.

Jiang Yuqian:? What's the situation? I specifically asked her if she needed a ride before I got in the car.

Li Zhibai: How would I know what the situation is? Anyway, it's not a good situation. Speechless.

Jiang Yuqian: You're very popular with the ladies tonight.

Li Zhibai: Stop it.

Jiang Yuqian: But isn't Meng Li with Wu Zhouyou? Why is she hitting on you again?

Li Zhibai: She's just a psycho; don't use a normal person's way of thinking to guess her.

Jiang Yuqian: Then why are you still standing with her?

Li Zhibai: Of course I sent you the message after I got in the car. Who knows if she would suddenly lean over to look at my phone.

Subsequently, Li Zhibai mentioned this matter in the three-person group.

Lu Yanhe looked at the messages in the group; Li Zhibai had sent over a dozen in one breath. After reading them, Lu Yanhe didn't even know what to reply for a moment.

He never thought that one day, Meng Li would come looking for Li Zhibai again.

Yan Liang suddenly replied, saying: Are you sure you haven't been targeted again? I heard from people on the *Gold Rush* crew that she and Wu Zhouyou have been having unpleasantness lately.

Wu Zhouyou is the director of *Gold Rush*. Yan Liang has known him for a long time, and they have many mutual acquaintances.

Lu Yanhe was puzzled and asked: You mean, Meng Li suddenly looking for Old Li tonight was to provoke Wu Zhouyou?

Yan Liang: I don't know what Meng Li is thinking. It's also possible she wants to ease the relationship? For the spin-off movie of *Gold Rush*, Meng Li originally wanted to play the female lead, but after Old Li joined, one of the conditions he proposed was not to cooperate with Meng Li. In order to keep Old Li, Meng Li was out.

Lu Yanhe was even more puzzled and asked: Since Meng Li is Wu Zhouyou's girlfriend, wouldn't Wu Zhouyou try his best to protect Meng Li?

Yan Liang: Wu Zhouyou doesn't have much say in this movie. Plus, the female lead role is quite instrumental; anyone can play it. But Li Zhibai's role is one of the true dual leads, and its weight in the movie is much heavier. Plus... if Li Zhibai is willing to act, the investors and producers will definitely prioritize his wishes.

Lu Yanhe: Meng Li wouldn't suddenly want to make peace with Li Zhibai because of this, right?

Li Zhibai suddenly popped up: She is definitely not here to make peace.

Yan Liang: How do you know? Did you talk to her?

Li Zhibai: I didn't say a word to her, but who tries to make peace by asking someone to take them back to the hotel the moment they approach? What kind of peace-making is that?

Lu Yanhe: It is indeed a bit strange.

Yan Liang: Why don't you just call her and ask, ask her what she's thinking.

Li Zhibai was very disgusted: If you don't have any ideas, don't offer them. Don't offer bad ones; it's nauseating.

Lu Yanhe curled the corners of his mouth.