Chapter 631

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was August.

The schedules for celebrities remained very tight as they scrambled for opportunities to sprint toward their annual KPIs. There was still time in the "Golden September and Silver October" period; even if they couldn't land the covers of the famous "Big Four" magazines, getting an inside cover was still decent.

At the very worst, shooting a main cover for a second-tier magazine echelon could still barely pass as acceptable—at least it was a main cover.

But this year's battle for "Golden September and Silver October" was particularly fierce, because two of the major magazines had already reserved their September and October covers, and the candidates...

... were people that other celebrities wouldn't even think of competing against once they saw who they were.

Gu Cheng and Seeing Jin Li—how could those two be challenged?

Should they also announce to the outside world that they were going to participate in next year's college entrance exam?

After working hard for several years, they had long since forgotten the knowledge from school. Asking them to relearn it all was practically asking for their lives.

The most critical point was that relearning didn't mean they would be able to test well!

Many celebrities had never participated in the full college entrance exam, only the arts exam. If they were made to participate in the regular college entrance exam again, the result...

... was unknown to their agents, but at the very least, the celebrities themselves had no confidence.

If they didn't test well, they would be mocked, so it would be better not to test at all from the start.

In the track of academics, currently only Seeing Jin Li and Gu Cheng could break into it; no one could replace them.

While Seeing Jin Li and Gu Cheng's careers were in full swing, other celebrities were also developing steadily, such as Li Xunfang and Lian Baozhi.

Li Xunfang successfully landed the new drama "My Wife Wanwan," and Lian Baozhi's drama "Flowers Blooming on the Path" was also filming steadily.

In their spare time from filming, the two would take on variety shows, so they never disappeared from the public eye, and neither of them fell behind.

But against the backdrop of Seeing Jin Li's radiance, neither of them had any outstanding performances.

Among them, Li Xunfang was somewhat restless.

The filming of the "My Wife Wanwan" crew was not smooth sailing; it had been extremely difficult since the very beginning.

She felt that because the director had filmed a small hit drama three years ago, he was a bit arrogant and always stood by, looking down on her while instructing her on her acting.

He scolded her in front of many newcomers, causing her to lose all face.

Yet she couldn't lose her temper over it, because apart from "My Wife Wanwan," she hadn't received any other new dramas where she was the lead actress.

Unless she truly didn't intend to strive in her acting career and lowered her status to take on second or third female lead roles, she had to endure it.

Li Xunfang felt that her temper had improved a lot in this drama; at the very least, she hadn't blown up in his face, and no matter what the director said, she endured it.

There were several times when even the director felt he had gone too far, but Li Xunfang would secretly grit her teeth, smile, and say, "I will definitely pay attention next time."

This attitude made the director mutter to his friends in private, "Li Xunfang doesn't seem as difficult to deal with as I imagined!"

His friends asked one after another, "How so?"

The director said, "In my crew, her attitude is quite good. Although her acting is indeed a bit lacking, she is humble, willing to listen to what I say, and corrects it next time."

A friend said in disbelief, "Are you sure the Li Xunfang you're talking about is the one I know? It feels like she's a different person!"

The director said, "Heh, it's her! I think that under my step-by-step guidance, she can have a big breakthrough in this drama, and coupled with her popularity, she might just become a hit!"

The friend said, "You guys are going to compete against that drama 'Flowers Blooming on the Path' in the same period, right? Lian Baozhi's popularity is also very high and cannot be underestimated."

The director said bitterly, "Don't mention Lian Baozhi to me. If it weren't for her keeping the crew hanging, where would I need to rush to find a lead actress just before filming starts!"

He had a better candidate for the female lead in his heart, but unfortunately, the other party didn't have the schedule, and time was too tight; it was all too late.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Li Xunfang, who had a bad reputation in the circle. But fortunately, when working together, Li Xunfang wasn't arrogant or domineering, but very humble and eager to learn.

This made the director breathe a sigh of relief, and he did his best to teach her things.

The director indeed didn't know how to act, but the aesthetics in front of the lens meant that photography and acting were common to a certain extent.

If the feeling given to people by the lens is beautiful, then the filmed drama won't necessarily be bad.

Laughter is a kind of beauty, crying is a kind of beauty, and great joy and great sorrow are also a kind of beauty with great tension. This kind of beauty is different from the beauty of a model's hard photos.

And Lian Baozhi, who was envied by "My Wife Wanwan," was more like a fish in water in the new crew than Li Xunfang.

Unfortunately, being too popular is also a kind of trouble.

"Sister Baozhi, drink some water. The director specifically ordered me to buy this for you."

An assistant walked over, fawning over her.

Lian Baozhi glanced at the assistant, and the assistant stepped forward to take it. Lian Baozhi smiled and said, "Thank you, but you don't need to specifically buy things for me next time. Even if the director says so, you don't need to buy it."

The assistant said with a smile, "It's nothing, it's just some water and small snacks, it doesn't matter."

After this person left, Lian Baozhi's assistant spoke up, "This is already the umpteenth wave. Sister Baozhi, you reject her every time, but she doesn't take it to heart at all. She didn't even knock when she just came in."

Lian Baozhi sighed and said, "I don't know what's going on. I'm unusually popular in this crew, which gives me the illusion that I'm the hottest female celebrity right now."

There was one thing the assistant had kept in her heart for a long time. Hearing Lian Baozhi say this, a flash of hesitation crossed her face, and finally, she made up her mind and said cautiously:

"Sister Baozhi, do you feel that the director wants to pursue you? I see that he often doesn't hesitate to praise you in front of others, but he has never mentioned it in front of you."

Lian Baozhi was stunned, "Ah? He wants to pursue me? I don't feel it, and does he often praise me in front of others? I don't know anything about it."

The assistant shook the water she was holding and said helplessly, "The person who sent the water is a field assistant hired by the crew. They have so much to do every day, why bother sending you water personally?

And they send it almost every day, saying it's the director treating you to a drink. I think this intention is already very obvious."

Lian Baozhi was truly confused now. This was her first time facing a director's pursuit; was it always this subtle?

It was so obscure that rejecting it wouldn't work, and not rejecting it wouldn't work either. It was too difficult!

Besides Li Xunfang and Lian Baozhi, other celebrities were also exerting effort during this period, and Jian Liting was one of them.

During her recovery period, she wrote many letters. Some were meant for her fans, but some she only wanted to say to herself.

These letters recorded her mood while treating her depression at the time.

Now that the treatment had passed the most difficult stage, she could be like a normal person, standing in a crowd without being afraid to the point of trembling, palpitations, or chest pain.

In order to celebrate her success in fighting the illness and also to say goodbye to her past self, Jian Liting specifically combined her past feelings to write a letter, wanting to post it on her blog.

But this action was stopped by the company in time.

Originally, she had already written the article and scheduled it to be posted at midnight on her birthday the next day.

But the company had the passwords to all her public accounts. When checking them once, they discovered her scheduled article, deleted it all without her consent, and changed it to an ordinary blog post wishing herself a happy birthday.

Jian Liting checked her blog the next day and found that the scheduled post hadn't been sent on time, only then realizing that the company had tampered with it, so she went to find her agent.

The agent seemed to have known her intention long ago and said, "Liting, you've been in the company for many years, right?"

Jian Liting frowned and nodded.

The agent asked, "How do you think the company treats you?"

Jian Liting replied, "Quite well."

The agent said, "That's why I had someone delete that blog post. Do you know what kind of public opinion it would cause once it's posted?"

Jian Liting asked in confusion, "What does that have to do with the company? That happened when I was a minor, and I hadn't joined the company then."

During her student days, she had experienced severe school bullying, which was why she had a stress reaction to the plot while filming "Assassination," leading to the recurrence of her illness that had finally stabilized.

So much so that later on, she couldn't even film, and "Assassination" had to urgently change its lead.

To be honest, she didn't blame the production team for replacing her.

It was she who, after receiving the script, had always held a fluke mentality, feeling that she could challenge these plots and defeat the illness in her heart.

It was she who thought of herself as too strong and thought of depression as too fragile.

After the incident was exposed, the production team could have held her accountable for breach of contract because she hadn't told them the truth before filming started.

But the production team just replaced her and didn't hold her accountable for anything, nor did they make her pay compensation.

This made her breathe a sigh of relief.

But obviously, the company wasn't as optimistic as she thought.

During her recovery period, reducing her announcements was normal, and she was also grateful that the company could give her a period of rest.

But after she recovered and returned to the company, her announcements were still as few as ever. Jian Liting also realized that the company wanted to freeze her out.

Her contract with the company only had one year left, and Jian Liting knew that the company probably wouldn't renew it with her.

As she pondered, the agent's voice sounded, "Liting, we all know this was a long time ago, but you were sick last year and hospitalized for a long time, which has already caused dissatisfaction among many fans.

If you post this news, fans will only blame the company for not caring about your mental state. The company just signed a veteran first-tier artist recently and doesn't want to cause a stir at this juncture."

Jian Liting frowned and said, "I have always believed that this is my own business and has nothing to do with the company. If fans really blame you, I will publicly speak for the company."

The agent spread her hands and said helplessly, "Netizens only believe what they believe. Your explanation is no match for the speed at which they speculate and spread."

Jian Liting twitched the corner of her mouth, "Then what can I do now? I can't even post a simple thought, and I haven't had any announcements for two months.

As a first-tier artist, I don't have any announcements during the hottest summer break. Don't you think this is a very abnormal thing?"

The agent Yang Li paused, looked at Jian Liting silently, her expression full of helplessness.

"Liting, this is the company's decision, not something I can interfere with. Believe me, you have no announcements, and I am more heartbroken than you, but I can't change their decision."

At least she was a first-tier celebrity with a large fan base; as long as she was allowed to fight for announcements, she could make a fortune every day.

But the problem was that many senior executives in the company believed that Jian Liting's illness was a ticking time bomb that could easily explode suddenly, which would cause great risk to the company.

It wasn't like Jian Liting was the only artist the company could promote, so the senior executives gave the resources to younger and "healthier" celebrities.

Jian Liting was silent for a while and said, "Since I have been abandoned by the company, can I terminate the contract early? If I terminate it now, I can still have some popularity. If I wait until this time next year to terminate it, I'm afraid I'll fall back to the second or third tier."

Yang Li was also silent and said in a low voice, "Liting, you shouldn't ask me this question. Actually, even you know the answer in your heart, don't you?"

Companies are all profit-driven. If they let Jian Liting go now, what if she holds a grudge and writes a small essay on the internet while she still has some popularity?

If she waits until this time next year to terminate the contract, her popularity will be completely gone, and only then can the company safely let her go.

A self-deprecating look crossed Jian Liting's mouth, "When I was recovering, I didn't think the company would have this attitude. It was I who thought of myself as too important."

Yang Li didn't speak; after all, she was a person from the company.

Jian Liting thought for a while and said, "Then I won't post that article, just share some interesting things in my life. Is that okay?"

Yang Li said immediately, "Of course."

She paused and said obscurely, "But try not to post on public platforms like blogs. The company will review every post, and it might not necessarily pass."

Jian Liting understood. Yang Li specifically gave a reminder, which meant it definitely wouldn't pass.

The company really wanted to freeze her out completely and not give her any chance to turn things around!

Jian Liting thought of something and said, "Then I won't post on blogs, I can't take on business, and I don't have any variety show announcements. I won't have money to cover my current expenses.

The company can't really let me starve to death, right? If I'm financially strapped, then I won't care about the future. At worst, we'll go down together."

She was very calm when saying these words, and it didn't look convincing.

But Yang Li knew that Jian Liting was telling the truth; she understood the artist she was managing.

Yang Li said, "Some small announcements and stage play performances can be participated in."

Jian Liting asked, "Should you contact them for me, or should I contact them myself?"

Yang Li hesitated and told the truth, "Tomorrow I will be assigned to manage another first-tier artist, and I might not be able to take care of you here."

Jian Liting said decisively, "Okay, I'll find work myself. Then who will I connect with in the future?"

It was impossible for the company to let artists connect with work themselves; it was hard to take a cut that way. Who knew if the artist would secretly take announcements without telling the company and not go through the public account.

Since things had reached this point, Yang Li didn't hide it anymore; it just so happened that she had to notify her today anyway.

"Starting tomorrow, there will be a new agent to connect with you."

Jian Liting asked, "Just joined?"

Yang Li replied, "Yes, just joined."

A mocking look crossed Jian Liting's mouth again, "Oh, assigning a newbie rookie to me. How much does the company fear me becoming popular again!"

Yang Li didn't speak again, just remained silent.

Actually, she also felt that the company's arrangement was a bit excessive. Jian Liting was, after all, a first-tier artist once strongly promoted by the company, and she was just a little bit of popularity away from the position of a popular actress.

But the company abandoned her as soon as they said so, and also restricted all her opportunities, feeling like they couldn't wait to trample her to death.

The reason they didn't trample her to death completely was because of Jian Liting's illness; the company was afraid it would recur.

If Jian Liting's illness recurred and she went crazy exposing things, that would really be a very serious public relations crisis.