Chapter 184: From Now On, Call Me Boss Chen

Ren Yi, full name Beijing People's Art Theatre.

As the nation's first and most prestigious professional theatre company, at the dawn of the millennium, Ren Yi was undoubtedly the paradise many artistic performers aspired to join.

Chen Hao was no exception.

When she saw the majestic, unmistakable entrance of Ren Yi in the distance from Zhou Yi's car, a smile of delight instantly brightened her brow.

"I don't think I can drive in."

Zhou Yi, who had no special reverence for Ren Yi, turned the steering wheel, glanced at the guard at the administrative security post, slowed the car, and turned his head toward her.

"When will someone from your company come to pick you up?" Chen Hao, about to rummage through her bag, suddenly remembered something and looked up at him.

"If Qian Jiang is driving over, it should take another ten minutes or so."

Zhou Yi, wearing sunglasses, estimated the travel time: "If there's traffic, it might take even longer."

"Then come in with me—let me show you around my future workplace while we wait for your company's driver to arrive."

Without hesitation, Chen Hao smiled and arranged it, then pulled her official ID from her bag; as the car came to a complete stop, she rolled down the window and handed it to the guard: "Uncle, hello, I'm a newly admitted member of Ren Yi. My name is Chen Hao, here's my ID."

The elderly man, with streaks of gray at his temples, carefully inspected it, confirmed it was valid, then returned it to her and waved toward Zhou Yi still in the driver's seat: "And your ID, young man?"

"... Uncle, she's here for her first day of reporting—I'm just the driver who brought her."

"What kind of driver?"

"Sir, I—"

"Uncle, he's a friend who dropped me off. My place is far from the theatre, so I asked him to drive me."

Without even looking at Zhou Yi's expression, Chen Hao cut off his attempt to explain the moment she heard his shift in address, smiled, and used her irresistibly charming face to coax the guard into raising the gate.

Zhou Yi, who had just taken off his sunglasses to scan his face, had already opened his mouth to speak—but swallowed the words, and drove into the staff parking lot under Chen Hao's smiling gaze.

"That uncle looks about fifty or sixty—he wouldn't know you. You've still got work to do, big pop star."

After parking, Chen Hao stepped out from the passenger seat and teased: "Aim for the level of Liu Dehua and Leon Lai—where every old and young person in the country knows you."

Zhou Yi's current mainstream audience was still young people; even though "Goodbye" had expanded his middle-aged market, let alone elderly people already nearing retirement.

They might hum "Jiangnan" a little, but recognizing Zhou Yi? That would be pure fantasy.

"Is there any chance that before then, I'll already be financially free and quit singing, preparing to retire?" Zhou Yi handed her the keys, watching her walk while shoving them into her bag, and smirked.

"If you keep investing like this, I suspect we'll both go bankrupt before you even reach financial freedom."

Chen Hao, unusually smug, waved her ID in front of Zhou Yi: "Then I'll still have a state salary to live on—you'll be in trouble."

Zhou Yi laughed: "So you applied to Ren Yi just to secure a safety net meal, right? Then why invest with me?"

Maotai hadn't started its surge yet, NetEase kept falling below its floor, and a few other speculative stocks were still lying low—her lack of confidence in him was perfectly understandable.

"Most of my money comes from making money with you—we share fortune and hardship. Don't worry, as long as I've got a meal, you won't starve."

Chen Hao's eyes lit up like crescent moons: "But you're putting more and more money into investments—I think you should start a company, use a corporate account. That way, if losses get too big, you can recover faster."

"I don't have time to manage an investment company—everything's been handled by you already. Don't tell me you're planning to set up a shell company yourself."

"Don't underestimate me—I've learned from you for so long. Besides, I'll be free for at least a year—first year at Ren Yi, no outside acting jobs, just doing chores and practicing basics. I've got tons of time."

Leading Zhou Yi into the Ren Yi building, Chen Hao walked down the corridor with her hands behind her back, turning every few steps to gaze around the empty hall, beaming: "You'll be even bigger and busier next year—I'll reluctantly help you handle these things. When your big investments pay off, I'll earn a modest salary to help with household expenses—is that too much to ask?"

"It sounds like you're doing me a favor—how can I not pay you a high salary if you keep this up?" Zhou Yi fell into thought.

Though he knew he wasn't cut out for business, he still needed proper investments—someday, he'd be a Zhou Dong who could just lie back and relax.

Previously, his investments were scattered and haphazard; now that he had more money, consolidating them made sense.

Chen Hao, who had invested alongside him all these years, was trustworthy—they had developed a deep understanding after so many years of collaboration.

"Then it depends on how much you value my work ability."

Chen Hao silently cheered inside, her smile brightening further—so much so that she didn't notice several figures emerging from the far end of the corridor—

"Hey? Kids, don't walk backward in the lobby—watch where you're going!"

Chen Hao's back, turned as she chatted with Zhou Yi, was clearly seen; a voice both Zhou Yi and Chen Hao recognized instantly rang out.

Chen Hao turned, startled—three people came into view, instantly grounding her exuberant posture.

Song Dandan, He Bing, Feng Yuanzheng.

In one glance, Zhou Yi recognized all three.

"Hey? Aren't you that—Zhou Yi?"

As they drew closer and saw his face clearly, Song Dandan, who had just loudly warned them, now looked genuinely surprised.

She had indeed listened to Zhou Yi's songs—"Goodbye" was the only one she genuinely liked; "Jiangnan" was merely tolerable.

How did such a huge pop star end up at Ren Yi?

"It's me. Didn't expect Sister DanDan to know me. Sorry for disturbing you."

As the junior, Zhou Yi politely greeted the three middle-aged figures and introduced Chen Hao: "Chen Hao is here today to report in—I happened to drive her over."

"Chen Hao?"

As the only one among them who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, He Bing instinctively recalled the news from his teacher: this year, the academy had admitted a new promising talent—a girl named Chen Hao.

"Sister DanDan, Brother Bing, Brother Yuanzheng, hello—I'm Chen Hao, here to report today."

Recovering herself, Chen Hao introduced herself with poise; standing beside Zhou Yi, their appearance made the three seasoned veterans subtly blink.

Holy cow—the reigning pop prince himself drove her here to report?

What's your background?

The three, aware that the Central Academy had just resumed external admissions, exchanged silent, varied thoughts.

But uniformly, their view of Zhou Yi was positive.

Previously, Zhou Yi had stood up to Chow Yun-Fat in Hong Kong, sparking the first major anti-discrimination movement in the mainland entertainment industry—the biggest beneficiaries weren't mainland singers, but actors like them who could take on outside roles.

There was a huge gap between most mainland pop singers and those from Hong Kong and Taiwan—but actors? Not so much.

Though most Ren Yi graduates currently only acted in mainland dramas, no one could say whether they'd someday join a Hong Kong or Taiwanese production team.

"Now I understand. He Bing mentioned earlier that he'd have a junior sister joining the People's Art Theatre this year; today I finally got to see her."

Song Dandan, a seasoned veteran, smiled and drew closer to build rapport: "She's truly beautiful."

Chen Hao, who never expected Song Dandan to be so warm toward her, was momentarily at a loss, but after seeing Zhou Yi's reassuring glance, her thoughts gradually calmed, and she slowly realized the reason behind it.

"Did you deliberately send me to the People's Art Theatre?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and swapping contact information, Chen Hao watched Song Dandan and the other two depart before turning to face the man with a smile on his lips.

If it were merely about escorting someone, he seemingly had no need to accompany her all the way inside.

"I never expected to run into these three at the People's Art Theatre."

Zhou Yi was quite honest, yet he shrugged: "From the newcomers I've encountered, even in this artistic field, one inevitably faces some difficulties.

"Not long ago, I at least brought some face to the mainland entertainment industry in Hong Kong, so I should have some influence."

He had originally just intended to bring Chen Hao to the People's Art Theatre to make an appearance, and incidentally lend his support to Chen Hao as a newcomer.

As it turned out, the status of these three within the People's Art Theatre would one day surpass each other.

Setting aside Song Dandan and He Bing, Feng Yuanzheng would one day become the Dean of the People's Art Theatre. If Chen Hao stayed at the People's Art Theatre, then Feng would one day be her direct superior.

"Then should I properly thank you?"

Feeling warm inside, Chen Hao pretended to ponder before smiling and saying: "Like taking less salary?"

"How about working for me for free? Taking less salary sounds awkward, making me sound like Grandet."

"In the future, I'll be President Chen. Working for free sounds bad to say, after all, I'm your white glove; do you still want to catch a white wolf with an empty glove?"

Chen Hao's eyebrows curved, her smile exceptionally gentle: "I need to eat too."

Wanting to keep Zhou Yi, who loved to roam everywhere, simply waiting foolishly wouldn't work; this was the realization she had after finishing filming "The Pink Ladies."

She saw her own fate in Liu Ruoying.

But she didn't understand music very well; although she could sing, she certainly couldn't be a professional singer.

As for acting, Zhou Yi didn't understand it very well either.

Therefore, Chen Hao turned her attention to the backend investments she and Zhou Yi had been building together over the years.

Zhou Yi was responsible for conquering territory outside, while she was responsible for securing the rear base.

(End of this chapter)