Chapter 70: Overwhelming Wealth Arrives at the Doorstep, A Pink Girl Group Reunion

The matter Luo Yi mentioned was actually their group variety show.

The March Sky boy group had already been together for two years.

Three years ago, the Pink Girl Group announced their disbandment, marking the end of an era of glory. Yet only a year later, the first year of talent shows arrived, and March Sky took up the baton from the Pink Girl Group to become the new generation's top-tier boy group.

By now, they had been a group for two years; according to the contract they originally signed, this was merely a limited-term group that would only exist for one year after debuting through the talent show.

The reason they could continue as a team was that all their members belonged to the same management company, allowing them to carry on activities as a group.

But they all knew that within the company, there were objections to their team appearing at events.

The group consisted of four members in total, and each member's popularity, if taken individually, was at the top-tier level.

The team was top-tier, and the individuals were also top-tier.

For the company to maximize profits, it would have to split the members up; having each act individually was the way to rake in the most money.

One year after the group's debut, the company had wanted to break them up right then and there.

Later, because the four of them were strongly unwilling to disband, they held several meetings with the company; Gu Cheng even threatened to "stop being a star" before they barely managed to renew for another two years.

Although this was only the first year of their renewed contract, everyone was increasingly feeling the company's determination.

It was likely that starting next year, their group activities would decrease while individual activities increased, marking a gradual transition from group to solo work.

This was not only to give them time to adapt, but also to give the fans time to adjust.

Under these circumstances, the four of them had discussed creating a group variety show.

It would serve as a memorial for their group and also as an explanation to their fans.

The group variety show that fans had been eagerly awaiting was, in fact, their silent farewell to those fans, something they could not bring themselves to say aloud.

Since they were making a variety show, they would naturally need to invite guests.

Just watching the four of them in their own group show would be somewhat boring, as they were already very familiar with one another.

They spent every day together while working; if they were also stuck together recording a commemorative group show, they feared they might grow tired of each other's sight.

So they discussed inviting one or two more permanent guests, and if necessary, they could also bring in several flying guests.

More people meant more liveliness!

Yan Xingdong glanced a few times at Jin Li on the screen and nodded involuntarily. "I mentioned it to Brother Guang, and he said we could give it a try; Sister Jin Li's reputation and image are both very good."

Chen Lin said, "As for the other guest, we could continue by inviting a senior from the former Pink Girl Group; let Sister Jin Li recommend one for us!"

He muttered, "Anyway, our group show will definitely generate huge traffic; it's better to benefit our own people than outsiders, and Sister Jin Li has always been good to us."

Luo Yi patted his head. "Have you forgotten that Tianding has several first-tier stars? If we're going to benefit anyone, it should be them?"

Tianding Entertainment was the company they had signed with.

Although its overall strength in the industry could not compare to LP, it was still a powerful first-tier company capable of competing with LP for certain resources.

Now that everyone spoke of the era of traffic, the mere existence of the March Sky boy group was enough to place Tianding Entertainment on the throne of traffic, something even LP could not match.

Chen Lin snorted and turned his head away.

"I'm not giving it to them. At the company's annual meeting, I heard those few first-tier stars gathering together to complain about us, saying we took up too many of the company's resources."

"But those brands specifically designated us for endorsements, and those production teams specifically demanded our participation, refusing to go through the company's channels; what does that have to do with us?"

"If they can't make it on their own, they blame the company for favoritism, without ever considering why the company doesn't favor them instead?"

Yan Xingdong lowered his face. "That's enough, Xiao Lin; say fewer words."

Luo Yi also said, "It's fine to say these things to us, but don't say them in front of outsiders."

Chen Lin whispered, "I'm not that stupid!"

Gu Cheng glanced at him. "With that mouth of yours that speaks without thinking, you're always a ticking time bomb; don't be too reckless outside, and say less."

He then shifted the topic back to the group variety show.

"I'll communicate with Sister Lizi over the next few days; if her health can withstand it, I will extend an invitation to her."

"But you all need to think this through: Sister Lizi's health is not good, so the intensity during recording cannot be too high; if some games are too strenuous, she won't participate in them."

Chen Lin replied without hesitation, "Of course! We're here to record a relaxing variety show, not some life-threatening program!"

On the other side, Jin Li's fan meeting was also coming to an end.

She had narrowly escaped the curse of the scratch cards, took a large group photo with her fans, and concluded this engagement.

As Jin Li got into the car, she noticed Sui Lingfang holding a pile of gifts in her hands.

Her own manager said with utter helplessness, "These were all given to you by fans; I called out many times that we wouldn't accept them, but they insisted on shoving them at me."

Jin Li took a few glances; from the packaging alone, one could not tell what had been gifted.

However, none of them should be particularly valuable items; Chenxi Entertainment had long issued a notice stating that artists under their label do not accept gifts worth more than twenty yuan.

Jin Li said cheerfully, "Since these are gifts for me, why didn't they give them to me in person?"

Sister Fang rolled her eyes. "Give them to you? Given your constitution where emotional excitement causes you to cough up blood?"

"How would they dare give them to you face-to-face? Even when meeting you, they stay several meters away, afraid you might stumble, get hurt, or faint right on the spot."

Not only was Sui Lingfang deeply impressed by Jin Li's live broadcast three years ago, but Jin Li's fans remembered it vividly as well.

It was common knowledge that Jin Li's health was poor.

Even though she appeared to be in decent health now, she still needed to be carefully nurtured.

Jin Li immediately opened a few of the gifts right there.

The first one: a scratch card.

The second one: five scratch cards.

The third one: a stack of scratch cards.

Jin Li stopped opening them, looking at these scratch cards speechless.

Devils, they were all devils!

Upon arriving near the apartment, she quickly got out of the car.

Sui Lingfang told her to take the gifts back, but Jin Li pretended not to hear and ran off at top speed.

Assistant Xiao Chen asked, "Young Lady Fang, how should we handle these gifts?"

Sui Lingfang said with a smile, "Throwing them away is out of the question; these all represent the fans' heartfelt intentions.

The company just cleared out a storage room specifically for keeping gifts fans give to Jin Li; we'll go back, unwrap them, and put them in there.

As for these scratch cards, since fans gave them, it wouldn't be right for us to scratch them on their behalf; whenever she comes to the company, she can casually scratch a few then."

At the apartment entrance.

Jin Li took out her key card, then suddenly spotted someone.

Her first reaction was that it was a sasa fan!

But that couldn't be right; the apartment's security was extremely strict. Without her permission, the elevator required a key card to access any floor, so non-residents simply couldn't get in.

Looking closely, the person's build and back view seemed somewhat familiar.

Hearing the noise, the person turned around, meeting Jin Li's gaze eye to eye.

"Mengmeng!"

"Jin Li!"

The two excitedly embraced, jumping up and down with joy.

After a while, Jin Li opened the door: "You came all this way to see me without telling me; you just gave me a scare—I thought I was being stalked by a fan."

Xi Mengze said sheepishly, "I just wanted to give you a surprise."

Jin Li retorted, "I'd say it was more of a shock."

Everyone from the Pink Girl Group had been to Jin Li's apartment.

They came once or twice every year, sometimes together, sometimes separately.

Everyone knew Jin Li was in poor health, so they made a point of coming to check on her.

Unfortunately, their usual schedules were packed with engagements, and since each member was signed to a company scattered across the length and breadth of the land, they couldn't gather often.

Xi Mengze had come this time specifically to ask Jin Li about Chenxi Entertainment.

"Last time you told me not to sign with Dynasty, saying there was something wrong with that company. Since then, Dynasty has approached me several times, each time more urgent than the last, even raising the signing bonus by ten million.

I'm not being self-deprecating, but a thirty-million signing bonus is enough to poach a top-tier star; why would they want me? And that's just the signing bonus, not even counting subsequent engagement fees."

Jin Li asked, "What revenue split from engagements did they offer you?"

Xi Mengze replied, "Thirty-seventy; seventy for me, thirty for them."

Jin Li smiled awkwardly: "With such a generous signing bonus, I half-expected them to propose a twenty-eighty split!"

Xi Mengze reached out and put Jin Li in a playful headlock.

It was just for show; the motion was incredibly gentle.

"Do you think everyone has Chenxi Entertainment's boldness? Chenxi lacks a flagship star, which is why they're determined to recruit you. Take my case: all Chenxi Entertainment offered was a forty-sixty split—sixty for me, forty for them."

The two laughed and joked for a while.

Jin Li turned to the matter at hand, her expression turning serious: "So, what's your decision?"

Xi Mengze pondered, "I wouldn't dare sign with Dynasty now. Ever since you said there was something wrong with them, the more I look at them, the more problematic they seem.

Besides Dynasty, several other companies have contacted me with offers similar to Chenxi Entertainment's. I came here specifically to ask you about Chenxi Entertainment."

Jin Li briefly shared her own impressions.

"Chenxi Entertainment is backed by Chenxi Investment, so they have plenty of money. President Xiao is a decisive man; tens of millions are no issue for him. What he hates most is failure, but he never puts pressure on his artists.

My agent treats me very well too; she manages several people and can't follow you around all the time."

Xi Mengze's eyes lit up. "That's exactly the kind of agent I like!"

"You have no idea; at my current company, it's as if I'm the only artist in the whole place. Every time I go to the office, I'm gawked at like a giant panda.

My agent is like a live-in nanny; whether I have engagements or not, she messages me every day to talk about work, wishing I'd turn into a workaholic like Qinglian!

Yet the engagements they book are terrible—either attending store opening ceremonies or various brand events, and even the variety shows are only second-tier.

They think I don't know that those events pay well, which is why they keep pushing me to accept them. I refused several times, but they went ahead and signed the contracts first, then told me afterward."

Jin Li hadn't experienced a single one of Xi Mengze's complaints.

Well, except for the part about the agent being like a nanny.

But for Jin Li, Sister Fang felt more like family.

After chatting a bit more with her and arranging to visit the company tomorrow, Jin Li, seeing she still had some time, immediately started her livestream study session.

Xi Mengze watched TV in the living room; feeling hungry, she rummaged through the fridge, found plenty of fruit, and made a fruit platter.

Jin Li's bedroom door wasn't fully closed; with a gentle push, Xi Mengze opened it.

Inside the room, the teacher's lecture echoed: "Therefore, we can conclude: a function in the form y = x^a (where a is a constant), that is, a function where the base is the independent variable, the power is the dependent variable, and the exponent is a constant, is called a power function.

When a takes different values, the domain of the power function varies as follows: if a is any real number, then the function's domain consists of all real numbers greater than zero..."

Xi Mengze hunched her shoulders and hissed—

This was the sanctified influence of knowledge!

Disturbing Jin Li's studies felt like it would invite divine retribution.

She quietly placed the fruit platter on the desk; Jin Li was looking down at a problem and didn't notice her.

Xi Mengze came quietly and left softly, taking not even a wisp of cloud with her.

The next day.

Xi Mengze's sudden visit stunned a large portion of Chenxi Entertainment's staff.

As a former member of the Pink Girl Group, every member was a walking treasure; Chenxi Entertainment did not overlook Xi Mengze just because she was only a second-tier star.

Jin Li felt her presence would hinder their communication, so she deliberately kept a low profile.

Inside the restroom.

Several third-tier female artists had gathered together, chatting about Xi Mengze.

"Is the company planning to poach Xi Mengze as well?"

"Sigh, yet another person snatching up announcements."

Hearing this, Jin Li was just about to push the door open and leave when another voice suddenly rang out:

"Heh, you give yourself far too much credit; do you really think you can snatch second-tier announcements from them?"

"Sigh, can't you just let me dream a little?"

"Anyway, I think this is a good thing; as the company's reputation rises, there will be more resources, and everyone will have a chance. Haven't you noticed that our number of announcements has increased by one or two this month?"

"That's true; I used to be a group fan of Pink Girls too. I hope the company can sign Xi Mengze; it would fulfill my dream of summoning the dragon once again."

Only after they left did Jin Li step out.

Chenxi Entertainment was merely a small company; previously, it couldn't even qualify as second-tier.

It was only recently, with her sudden explosion in popularity, that the company's reputation rose along with hers, leading the industry to classify it as second-tier.

Sister Fang had told her that the company was actually just a small third-tier operation; she estimated that those big-name companies felt too embarrassed to be outshone by a third-tier firm, so they had artificially elevated Chenxi's status.

Since someone was willing to boost their status, Chenxi Entertainment naturally accepted the honor without hesitation.

After being tacitly accepted as a second-tier company, their resources improved significantly, offering more opportunities to the other artists.

Because the promotion was so recent, the artists still maintained a laid-back attitude, and there was very little scheming or infighting.

After all, there needed to be resources available for them to fight over in the first place!

Heading to the common lounge, Jin Li ran into He Yixuan.

"Why are you here? Didn't you say this morning you were going to an audition?"

It was precisely because Sui Lingfang was taking He Yixuan to an audition that she could not host Xi Mengze, so Zou Da had taken over instead.

He Yixuan replied, "The audition was suddenly canceled, so I rushed back."

In her hand, she held a cup; it was a frosted transparent cup modeled after lava, featuring vertical textured stripes that felt wonderful to the touch.

He Yixuan occasionally rotated the cup, and Jin Li noticed that she hadn't poured any water into it.

She asked, "Is something on your mind?"

He Yixuan snapped back to reality and quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, it's just that I'm feeling a bit nervous about seeing Senior Xi Mengze later."

Jin Li smiled. "No need to be nervous; she's a very easygoing person."

Only after Jin Li left the lounge did He Yixuan set down the cup in her hand, lowering her anxious eyes as she leaned back against the sofa and let out a soft sigh.

What made her nervous wasn't Xi Mengze herself, but the possibility of the company signing Xi Mengze.

Before Jin Li's rise, the company's excellent resources had been prioritized for her, hoping she could advance further within the second tier.

Now that Jin Li had risen, her resources were better than before, yet she still couldn't secure some of the more substantial roles.

He Yixuan knew it was because her own fame was insufficient; substantial announcements wouldn't come to her, only to Jin Li.

But as long as Jin Li was willing to let slip even a little bit, she could seize the opportunity.

If Xi Mengze decided to sign with Chenxi, how would she ever have a chance to climb up to those announcements?

In terms of closeness and distance, Jin Li would naturally give priority to Xi Mengze.

He Yixuan felt a heavy shadow falling over her star path, yet these worries were something she could not share with anyone.

After touring all morning, Jin Li, Xi Mengze, Sui Lingfang, and Zou Da went out for a meal together, during which their phones vibrated incessantly.

[Pink Girls Group Chat]

Qinglian: [Knife image.jpg. You're having a meal together behind my back; pay up, compensate me for emotional distress @JinLi @XiMengze]

Zhenzhu: [I'm hurt. Keeping it from Qinglian is one thing since she's busy, but how could you hide it from me too? I've been in Nancheng recently!]

Tongtong: [I'm in Nancheng too...]

NANA: [I'm not in Nancheng; I'm in Dongcheng, but I have no activities this afternoon. Can I fly over to Nancheng???]

Qinglian: [?? What is going on with you guys?]

Qinglian: [Good heavens, so I'm the only one getting hurt, right? I'm still in a meeting at LP and won't be able to get out today!]

Jin Li looked up; Xi Mengze and the other two managers were chatting animatedly and hadn't noticed the activity in the group chat.

She lifted her teacup, took a small sip of water, and cleared her throat.

The others inevitably looked over.

Jin Li's eyes curved slightly as she offered a sweet smile. "Um... I might need your help this afternoon; three people want to come over."

Xi Mengze found this very strange. "Who is coming to see you?"

Suddenly, her expression turned peculiar.

Jin Li gave her a determined look. "Nana and the others are coming; except for Qinglian who is busy, they are all coming this afternoon."

Xi Mengze widened her eyes and said happily, "Wow, then we must definitely gather together!"

As for Zou Da and Sui Lingfang, they exchanged glances, each seeing the barely contained excitement in the other's eyes.

Oh my, has this overwhelming fortune finally come to Chenxi Entertainment!

While Jin Li was planning what to do for the Pink Girls' grand team-building event that afternoon, on the other side, a certain film and television drama crew was plunging into deep water and scorching fire.

Everyone in the crew, from top to bottom, was frantic; the director, lead actors, producers, and others were all posting on their social media circles looking for someone, waiting for a third female lead.

"We shouldn't have hired a newcomer to play the third female lead in the first place; she hasn't even started acting yet and she's already quitting, demanding breach of contract compensation... Do I lack that little bit of penalty money?"

The producer cursed under his breath while the director sat nearby, silently smoking.

With no one showing up for a day, venue fees were piling up daily; the salary for that third female lead wasn't even enough to cover a single day's venue expenses!

We shouldn't have chosen a newcomer just to save money in the first place!

"Director, can we still film today?" Qiu Qiwen walked over and asked personally.

The director shook his head with a grave expression: "We've rented the location for several days, and everyone must run scenes with the third female lead. If we can't find the third female lead for one day, we can't film for one day."

Qiu Qiwen frowned, flipped through the script, and suddenly paused.

This image of the third female lead...

...looks a bit like Jin Li.