The online controversy surrounding the “withdrawal” was all within Wanming Media’s expectations, and the public relations strategy for this incident was being executed in an orderly manner.
The statement Qi Yang posted on his personal account was indeed written by himself, but it had been reviewed by his manager before publication.
The manager felt Qi Yang didn’t need to be so explicit, nor did he need to take all the responsibility upon himself.
But in Qi Yang’s view, the company had helped him handle the withdrawal matter, helped him change his unreliable manager, helped him take down negative trending topics, and minimized the negative impact of the withdrawal as much as possible. All he had to do was bear the online criticism. That was already a very good deal.
“Doing this will make you lose a lot of fans. It’s not worth it,” the manager said, scrolling through the surge of negative posts under the #QiYang# tag. There were various insults, conspiracy theories, and Photoshopped bad photos emerging endlessly, all unsightly.
“Originally, your withdrawal already made fans both angry and dissatisfied. Even though we hinted and comforted them in advance, they couldn’t withstand the incitement of public opinion.”
He sighed. “But after all, they are your fans. Their hearts are definitely on your side. If you had said less, or been more vague, the criticism would probably be at least half as much.”
Qi Yang lowered his head to browse the script in his hands and replied, “The people I’ve wronged the most by withdrawing are the fans. I withdrew voluntarily. They also have the right to know the truth.”
The manager rubbed his temples. “But it wasn’t you who voluntarily entered the competition… Never mind, let’s not talk about that. Have you considered that the fans might not want to know this ‘truth’? By posting this statement, you’re actively handing knives to the black fans. The fans are angry at you, but they still have to hold back their anger to fight with the black fans. I feel exhausted for them.”
Qi Yang looked up at him. “Didn’t you also agree to let me post it? What are you saying now?”
The manager looked at the handsome face with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and silently switched his phone to the camera page: “Me agreeing is one thing. Whether it’s worth it for you to act this way is another. What I mean is… you can be more tactful in the future. Don’t be as straightforward as you were this time in everything. Leave some room for the fans to maneuver.”
“Click.”
The shutter clicked. The manager looked at his phone screen in satisfaction. The young man’s profile as he focused on the script looked very handsome. “Alright, don’t worry about this. I’ll use my account to subtly inform the fans of your upcoming filming schedule. I’ll also post some daily photos. We’ll see if the material can be cut into a vlog.”
He stopped halfway through flipping through his photo album, suddenly remembering something. “Oh, right. I saw you followed a few “NS” trainees with your account. Who were they… Quentin, Wen Xinyi, Cui Yan. Those three, right?”
The manager looked puzzled. “What’s this move? Why only follow those three? When I watched the show, I didn’t think you were particularly close with them. Do you know netizens are saying your follows are ‘face-picky’? Counting you, it’s exactly the ‘Four Visuals of NS’.”
Qi Yang was silent for two seconds. “…Four Visuals?”
“You didn’t know?” The manager raised an eyebrow. “Oh, right. You haven’t touched your phone in so long. You probably don’t know how popular ‘NS’ is right now. Do you regret withdrawing?”
Qi Yang was unmoved. “No regrets.”
His withdrawal had nothing to do with whether the show was popular. In fact, he was very glad “NS” became popular.
If “NS” hadn’t been popular, the company wouldn’t have noticed him, a small actor participating in a boy group survival show, and no one would have negotiated his withdrawal with the production team.
Through this period of communication, the manager had gained a preliminary understanding of Qi Yang’s personality. He knew the real reason Qi Yang withdrew, so his previous words were merely teasing.
He laughed and said, “The ‘Four Visuals’, as the name suggests, are the four best-looking people on your show. But there are two theories online. Some say it’s four, some say it’s five. Cheng Shaozhi, who dances very well, is also counted among them. But you’re not familiar with him, so it’s normal not to follow him.”
Qi Yang nodded, then tilted his head in confusion. “Why are there four best-looking people?”
The manager didn’t understand the question. “What’s wrong with four? The Four Great Classical Novels, the Four Top Celebrities, the Four Heavenly Kings… Netizens like to group things in fours. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Qi Yang said, “Isn’t Quentin the best-looking?”
The manager: “…”
The manager stared at Qi Yang, silently updating his assessment of Qi Yang’s personality in his mind. This kid was even more straightforward than he had imagined. Why hadn’t this come through in the show? Was he not good at showing it? Or did “NS” not give him much screen time?
“I thought only Quentin’s fans would say things like that.” He wiped his face. “It’s fine to say that here, but don’t say it to others in the future. There are so many trainees on the show. The fans picking the ‘Four Visuals’ is already offensive enough. If you pick only one, wouldn’t that be like praising one thing while maliciously disparaging another? It’s not like there aren’t any handsome people on your ‘NS’.”
Because he had received sudden notice to take over Qi Yang, Yao Xin had also crammed urgently, catching up on all episodes of both “Po Jun Xing” and “Next Stage,” especially the latter’s related trending topics. Yao Xin was very familiar with them.
During his time observing the infighting within the “NS” fandom, the person who left the deepest impression on him was Quentin. This kind of artist, who attracts attention naturally and repeatedly gains popularity through their stage performances, makes it hard for people in his line of work not to be drawn to them.
Imagine, if some lucky person could sign Quentin, wouldn’t that be like a one-pull gold card, an SSR-level card, the kind that can compete without needing resources fed to them!
However, Qi Yang was also an SR-level potential card. Yao Xin couldn’t figure out why someone would put an actor card in the singing and dancing category. Had someone’s brain been eaten by zombies?
Although the industry doesn’t lack good-looking actors, nor actors with excellent acting skills, satisfying both is rare. And having a good personality on top of that is even rarer.
So, as soon as Yao Xin picked Qi Yang up from the “NS” filming base and urgently dealt with the withdrawal statement and other arrangements, he immediately threw the scripts he had collected these days to Qi Yang, telling him to read them carefully and pick out the ones he was interested in to prepare for auditions.
He looked at the young man carefully reading the script and was about to introduce some information about the corresponding film crews when the office door was suddenly knocked on.
He raised his voice and said, “Come in…”
The person who pushed the door open was a tall, slender man. He was wearing a down jacket reaching his knees and a thin scarf, with half his face covered. He wore a pair of thin-framed glasses over his eyes. The eyes behind the lenses were calm and reserved, but his brow bone and nose bridge were particularly tall and straight.
This outfit was very understated. Walking through the company, he wouldn’t draw attention. But Yao Xin, who was sitting in the office, couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” the moment he saw the man’s attire.
“Yo, what’s with this outfit? Aren’t you usually quite particular?”
He remembered that whenever this person came to the company, he would wear a suit, his hair would be meticulously combed, the scent of woody cologne seemingly permeating from every hair, and the sound of his leather shoe heels hitting the ground as he walked was very rhythmic.
How to put it? In the eyes of others, he was certainly handsome and had a strong aura. But in the eyes of acquaintances, it still felt strange having known him for so many years. It wasn’t that he was no longer handsome, it was just… it always gave people the feeling that the male lead of a CEO novel had walked into reality.
There was a kind of glamour that felt out of place with reality.
Yao Xin patted the sofa and greeted the man, “Come, don’t be shy, sit anywhere. President Jin is not working today? He actually has time to come find me.”
Jin Sui walked over. “I’m not busy lately. I just came by to take a look.”
“That’s right. With the size of our company, you should have become a hands off boss long ago. Why bother coming to the company like you’re clocking in every day? Did you hire all those people just to eat and be idle?”
Jin Sui didn’t answer this question. He pressed the sofa armrest, smoothed his down jacket, and sat down slowly and methodically, crossing his legs, his left hand resting on his thigh, his right hand rubbing the watch face.
That subtle feeling of a novel CEO broke through the confines of the down jacket and rushed towards Yao Xin’s eyes.
Yao Xin tugged at the corner of his mouth and chuckled, “Sometimes I suspect you’ve bound a ‘domineering CEO System’, and whenever you do something that doesn’t fit the CEO image, the system shocks you.”
Jin Sui looked at him, his eyes slightly curving, the lenses reflecting a clean light, making his temperament even calmer and more refined. “Maybe?”
Yao Xin: “…That joke is quite funny. So why did you come find me? What can’t be said on the phone?”
Jin Sui was silent for a moment, as if pondering something, then slowly said, “Is your work going smoothly lately? Has anyone from the Yao family contacted you?”
…The most frightening thing is a friend’s sudden concern, especially a friend who has never cared about others before.
Yao Xin looked at him strangely. “It’s going very smoothly. The new artist I took over is honest and easy to handle. See, he’s been sitting there reading scripts for two hours. As for the Yao family… what would they contact me for? To send resources to my artist or dig up dirt? Who even remembers a small fry like me?”
Unlike Jin Sui, who was one of only two children of the Jin family patriarch, his father was like a wild stallion, producing a bunch of offspring. The mistresses fought from morning till night. His mother, on the other hand, was very laid back. She had returned to her hometown years ago and stopped caring about his father’s affairs.
Yao Xin also inherited his mother’s laid back attitude. He never thought about entering the family business to act out some grand drama of “nine sons contending for the throne”.
After graduating from university, he followed Jin Sui to start a film and television company. Unexpectedly, within two years, Wanming Media became the industry leader.
Yao Xin only wanted to collect the money and not manage affairs. He arranged his work clearly early on, then quietly hid himself within his own company as an unremarkable ordinary manager.
He didn’t know why Jin Sui had entered the film and television industry, but on his side, he was very interested in the celebrity feuds and fan wars in the entertainment circle.
He was curious about why celebrities could receive so much love from people. He also wanted to try, as an manager, to personally cultivate a very popular top celebrity. Unfortunately, his career luck was probably exhausted during Wanming Media’s rise. Over the years, all the artists he signed had been lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.
It didn’t matter. Eating melons was also very interesting. At least eating melons in the entertainment circle was much livelier than at home.
If Jin Sui hadn’t suddenly brought up the Yao family, Yao Xin would have forgotten when he last contacted his father. Maybe it was during the New Year?
Sigh, the New Year is coming soon again. He had to go home again…so annoying. He’d rather use that time to watch xx TV station’s New Year’s Eve gala. He wondered how many of his artists this year would receive invitations to the gala. There should be at least one, right!
“You took over a new artist?” Jin Sui followed Yao Xin’s gaze to look at the young man sitting on the other sofa. “This is?”
Yao Xin waved his hand. “Qi Yang. Our company’s unlucky guy. He was screwed over by his previous manager. You probably don’t know him.”
Qi Yang had already judged Jin Sui’s identity from their conversation and had silently been surprised by his new manager’s hidden identity.
Upon hearing his name, he put down the script and politely nodded to Jin Sui. “President Jin.”
Jin Sui nodded in response. “I recognize him. I watched that show. I’m still watching it.”
Yao Xin narrowed his eyes, realizing something from this statement. “You watch talent shows? Really? Who do you vote for?”
Jin Sui thought for a moment. “Mainly Quentin.”
Yao Xin stared at him for a few seconds. Not detecting anything wrong from his attitude, he said, “Quentin, huh… good taste. He’s really popular right now. Unfortunately, he’s not an artist of our company. I wonder about the small company he’s signed with now. I’ve never even heard of it.”
Hearing that Quentin had signed with a company, Qi Yang subconsciously turned his head to look at Yao Xin.
The latter didn’t notice his gaze and was still gossiping habitually. “I remember it’s called Ideal Entertainment. Probably opened for him by his family. Sigh, it would be such a shame if a potential SSR card like him gets held back by a small family operation. Galaxy Entertainment, which collaborates with ‘NS’, isn’t very reliable either. Money isn’t everything. It still depends on whether other people in the circle are willing to play with them.”
Jin Sui hummed in agreement. “I remember Qi Yang and Quentin have a good relationship.”
Upon hearing this, Yao Xin touched his chin. “You mean have Qi Yang act as a mediator to try and sign Quentin? It’s not impossible. But could Quentin switch to acting in the future? His face is too mixed-race looking. That would greatly limit his acting range, right?”
Qi Yang frowned, unable to help but say, “Quentin probably won’t become an actor. He really likes music.”
After a pause, he added quietly, “And my relationship with him isn’t good enough to make him change companies.”
Yao Xin’s tone was regretful. “That’s true. That kid is a musical genius. He sings well, writes songs well, and can dance too. Spending two years as an idol and then switching to singer is the most suitable path for him… Whether it’s Xinda or BKL, they’re both more suitable for him than us.”
“It doesn’t matter. There might be opportunities to collaborate in the future.” Jin Sui spoke at the right time. “By the way, I recently received a good film script. It’s Director Nie’s new work, planned to start shooting at the end of the year. There’s a supporting role that should be quite suitable for Qi Yang.”
Yao Xin was quite surprised. In all his years as an manager, he had never used his position as the second largest shareholder of Wanming to obtain resources. He didn’t have a strong career drive, mainly focusing on experiencing life. Since it was about experience, naturally there was no need to use cheats.
He didn’t use cheats himself, but he wouldn’t go so far as to refuse a gift delivered to his doorstep by a friend. “Alright, send it to me. When does it start? Where’s it filmed?”
Jin Sui said, “Within half a month. I hear it’s in the northwest. They need to go to the desert for location shooting.”
“Wow, so urgent? What about the time for auditions?” Yao Xin lowered his head to fiddle with his phone. “And the northwest, it’s quite far.”
“You don’t need to worry about the audition. This is a film invested by Wanming. The role can be given directly to Qi Yang.”
Jin Sui looked at Qi Yang. “You’re still young now. Your acting skills are good, and your appearance is good too. Yao Xin will take good care of you. The company will also give you the treatment you deserve.”
Qi Yang’s heart skipped a beat. His first reaction to these words was that company’s big boss was drawing a pie. Then, under the gaze of those eyes, his inner thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
They were very oppressive eyes. He felt as if the secrets in his heart had nowhere to hide in front of this person.
He replied cautiously, “I understand. I will work hard.”
Jin Sui’s expression didn’t change, making it impossible to tell if he was satisfied with Qi Yang’s answer. “Do what you’re supposed to do. Put matters of the heart on hold for a while. The path for you in the entertainment industry can go further. Cherish your future.”
Yao Xin always felt these words were a bit strange, but Jin Sui usually did pay close attention to the development of the company’s artists and was also very good at planning roles and scripts for different actors. Wanming’s artists rarely had conflicts with the company. Even when it came time to terminate contracts, it was often an amicable parting.
Yes, this was the weight of the most humane film and television company recognized in the industry, and the big boss with the best reputation.
Thinking this, there wasn’t really anything wrong with Jin Sui giving Qi Yang a few extra reminders. After all, even Yao Xin could see that Qi Yang was an SR card. There was no reason Jin Sui couldn’t see it.
So Yao Xin also looked at Qi Yang with a smile and thoughtfully accepted on Qi Yang’s behalf. “Don’t worry. This kid can give up the popularity of ‘NS’ for acting, doesn’t shirk responsibility, and isn’t afraid of being scolded by fans. He looks like an honest person at first glance. He’ll be fine in the future.”
But Qi Yang no longer had the mind to think about how to politely respond to the expectations of his boss and manager.
The moment he heard Jin Sui’s words, he froze completely, staring blankly at Jin Sui, his face tensing unconsciously.
What… did he mean?
He saw through him?
