Chapter 387: Mu Wankqing and Azhu Several Years After

The next day, Jiang Xin, exhausted, intended to rest, but her agent stormed in.

“Jiang, big job coming your way.”

“Oh no, let me sleep a bit longer.”

Jiang Xin pulled the blanket over her head, ignoring him—but the agent yanked it back down.

“Stop sleeping—Feng Xiaogang wants you for a movie.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Xin, eyes still closed, snapped them open: “Who did you say?”

The agent glanced at the marks on her body, then pulled the blanket back over her.

“Get up first—I’ll tell you the details.”

Jiang Xin sighed and got up. The agent went to the living room, sighed at the mess from the party and classes, and silently began tidying up for her.

After a while, Jiang Xin dressed, her hair disheveled, and dragged the agent down to sit.

“Yan Langruo, what’s going on?”

Jiang Xin’s agent was Yan Langruo, formerly an actress herself, but she hadn’t made it, so she switched to behind-the-scenes work.

At the time, Jiang Xin met her on a set, they got along well, and she wasn’t satisfied with Hairen’s assigned agent—so they teamed up, bringing Yan onto her team.

Previously, Yan had just been an executive agent, almost like an assistant.

But after “In the Darkness” became a huge hit last year, Yan worked hard and helped Jiang Xin firmly secure the subsequent benefits, greatly boosting her status and fame.

Jiang Xin, already close to her personally, believed in her abilities and pushed hard for her to become her official agent.

Because of this, though they’d known each other only a short time, Jiang Xin trusted Yan completely—so much so that Yan had a key to her home, could come and go freely, and was utterly unfazed by her private life.

“You know ‘Non-Stop Love 2’?”

The agent cut straight to the point: Feng Xiaogang was making ‘Non-Stop Love 2,’ with Ge Daye and Shu Dazui reprising their lead roles.

But the new supporting leads were eyeing Sun Honglei and Jiang Xin, both of whom had exploded in popularity from “In the Darkness.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xin understood—this was already the fourth project considering pairing Sun and her.

“In the Darkness” had been wildly popular, not just boosting careers—it had made Sun Honglei one of the highest-paid TV actors, and Jiang Xin, though slightly behind, had seen her pay multiply several times over.

As a result, many projects wanted to ride the coattails.

LeTV had previously tried pairing them for “Battle at Shama Town,” but negotiations fell through—they only used Sun Honglei.

Other companies like Hairen and Yi’an had also considered it, but found no suitable fit—until Huayi stepped in first, with ‘Non-Stop Love 2,’ this blockbuster film.

Seeing Jiang Xin’s excitement, the agent cautioned: “Don’t get too optimistic—whether you’re chosen isn’t settled yet.”

Jiang Xin looked at her agent, puzzled.

“‘Non-Stop Love 2’ affects you, but it affects Huayi’s own artists too.”

Hu Jing, Yao Chen, Hu Ke, and Luo Haiqiong are all vying for it—and Huayi isn’t even sure whether to pick Sun Honglei or Zhang Hanyu.

“Sun Honglei is bigger, and he has old ties with Xinbaoyuan—but Zhang Hanyu has a close personal relationship with Feng, and he’s Huayi’s own man—it’s hard to say.”

“If Sun Honglei plays it, pairing him with you from ‘In the Darkness’ gives you a better shot—if Zhang Hanyu plays it, you’re probably out.”

Jiang Xin calmed down: “So my chances are slim?”

“Then you need to fight for it.”

The agent looked at Jiang Xin, still a bit dazed, and pointed to the kiss mark on her collar.

“Get that guy to call Huayi—half the effort, double the result.”

Jiang Xin was speechless: “Did you not sleep this morning? If it were Yi’an’s project, he could help—but why would Huayi listen to him? Everyone knows Feng Xiaogang got crushed by him—doesn’t he hold a grudge?”

“Still better than us just sitting here panicking.”

The agent said: “Even if Huayi doesn’t work out, at least you can talk to Sun Honglei—if he gets the role and strongly recommends you, you might still get it.”

‘Non-Stop Love’ isn’t just any film—it’s a major director’s hot project. Even as a supporting role, it could benefit you more than starring in one or two ordinary movies.

The agent sincerely hoped Jiang Xin would seize this opportunity.

Yi’an may be good, but many are watching—Jiang Xin might not win it, and filming for Huayi won’t block her from grabbing Yi’an’s resources later. Ten birds in the forest are worth less than one in hand—go after it.

“Let me think.”

Jiang Xin hesitated—she could ask Yan Li for help with Yi’an’s project, maybe even play a few games—but Huayi would likely require Yan Li to spend a favor, and that’s a different matter entirely.

“First, ask the company—they can at least lend a hand.”

Jiang Xin planned to start with Hairen, feel out the situation, and only then turn to Yan Li if needed. The agent agreed—it was sensible. If it worked, great; if not, both sides pushing would make it more secure.

They tidied up at home, then drove to Hairen to seek help from senior executives.

As soon as they entered the company, Jiang Xin ran into Li Xiaoran, who wore a mask and looked worn out. She nodded at Jiang Xin, then hurried away.

“Did she just greet me?”

Jiang Xin looked at her agent, puzzled. The agent was equally confused: “Probably.”

“Did she take the wrong pills?”

Jiang Xin couldn’t help mocking—outside rumors claimed she and Sun Li were fighting for top actress status, so everyone assumed they hated each other.

But in truth, their relationship wasn’t great, but not terrible either.

It was mainly professional conflict, no personal grudge—just incompatibility, not enmity. Otherwise, Jiang Xin would never have considered joining “Empresses in the Palace.”

Can you imagine Wang Ou playing a supporting role to Hu Siyan? She’d starve before doing it.

To some extent, their conflict was forced—partly competition over career resources, partly a power struggle between two factions.

Yes, Hairen’s artists were divided into factions.

Hairen’s artist management resembled the old Chengtian model—Chang Jihong led a group including Sun Li, Jiang Wenli, Liu Huohua, Wang Luodan, and others.

These were all her protégés; though their contracts were with Hairen, her influence was immense.

Now, Chang Jihong’s contract with Hairen was about to expire, and rumors said she might leave—many followers might follow her, repeating the past scandal when Wang Jinghua and Huayi split.

Of course, Hairen wasn’t foolish—they’d already prepared, signing artists outside Chang’s circle, like Jiang Xin, Guo Tao, Tong Lei, Zhao Zihui, Lian Yiming, and others.

So Hairen’s artists were roughly divided into Chang’s faction and non-Chang’s faction.

After “In the Darkness” made her famous, Jiang Xin became the face of the non-Chang faction, pushed forward to challenge Sun Li, the Chang faction’s representative.

If Sun Li, Wang Luodan, and others left Hairen with Chang Jihong, Jiang Xin would immediately become Hairen’s top actress.

If Jiang Xin and Sun Li’s conflict was purely professional, with little personal animosity, her conflict with Li Xiaoran was both personal and professional.

First, Jiang Xin’s rise threatened Li Xiaoran’s position in the company; second, their acting styles overlapped; third, both were blunt, straightforward personalities.

Well, okay—Jiang Xin was clueless and lacked restraint; Li Xiaoran wasn’t much better, and carried a touch of arrogance.

One was brainless, the other easily offended—they already disliked each other, and with added competition, they couldn’t stand being near each other.

Before her quarrel with Sun Li, Jiang Xin would still smile and chat with her, no matter how she truly felt.

But with Li Xiaoran, since Jiang Xin joined Hairen, they’d had minimal interaction after the beginning, then simply ignored each other, and later, even when they met, acted as if the other wasn’t there—sometimes, if the mood struck, they’d exchange sarcastic remarks.

So seeing Li Xiaoran’s friendly face out of nowhere, Jiang Xin felt deeply unsettled—she even suspected the woman was setting a trap.

The agent glanced around and whispered: “I heard she’s in trouble—something serious. Even Chang Zong and Liu Zong stepped in, but couldn’t fix it.”

Jiang Xin thought of company rumors: “Is it about her ex-boyfriend?”

She’d heard before that Li Xiaoran had a boyfriend who, after their breakup, kept harassing her, tormenting her—this had damaged her career over the past two years.

“Probably.”

The agent glanced at Jiang Xin and whispered: “Be careful—if your guy did that to you, with his power, you wouldn’t even be able to film.”

“Heh.”

Jiang Xin gave a bitter laugh: “I wish he’d harass me—but he’d probably forget I exist by tomorrow.”

Yan Li isn’t a man who can’t live without women—certainly not without her.

Other people’s problems were none of her business, let alone her enemy’s—just not gloating over it was more than enough decency.

She and her agent went to speak with Hairen’s executives, using “Empresses in the Palace” as leverage—if Hairen helped her land ‘Non-Stop Love 2,’ she’d play a supporting role for Sun Li.

This was, in a way, helping Sun Li raise her status—at a time when Chang Jihong was preparing to leave Hairen, it could become a small bargaining chip to keep Sun Li.

As for whether it would affect Jiang Xin’s future bid for Hairen’s top actress? Honestly, she didn’t care much.

Compared to being top actress, she valued real, tangible resources—and what Hairen could offer her was far less than what Yan Li could.

In fact, Jiang Xin still stayed with Hairen only because they said they were going public—seeing how Huayi’s stars had gotten rich, she wanted a taste of being a celebrity shareholder.

After negotiations, Jiang Xin was satisfied with Hairen’s executives’ response, so she took her leave.

As she walked out, she ran into a Hairen producer, who immediately grabbed her, refusing to let her go.

Jiang Xin sighed—this producer had a war-themed drama and desperately wanted her as lead.

She’d turned it down because better roles were available, and the character was too similar to Cuiping—she feared being typecast. But the producer wouldn’t give up.

“Don’t refuse right away—here’s the deal: I’ve invited an actor to dinner. You come too—just help me judge. We’ll chat about the script. If you still say no after, I’ll accept it and stop bothering you.”

This producer had once hired Jiang Xin before she became famous—they had a decent relationship. She couldn’t refuse too harshly, so she agreed.

The actor the producer invited was Qin Hailu.