Chapter 124 : Chapter 124

Chapter 124: “The pampered kitty waited for her real dad to come home.”

Riding on the current wave of popularity, after officially becoming a partner with Wanshu Zu and publicly announcing their first joint project, (SUNSET), starring his artist Li Yamin, Netflix's stock price surged by 13.2% at the close on Friday.

The effect was already on par with the rise after Netflix's last financial report was announced.

“When the market reopens on Monday, the stock price will slowly fall back to a normal range.”

Wanshu Zu was not surprised.

Just like how the domestic entertainment industry heavily promotes traffic stars, it was just a short-term benefit that looked good, essentially a "short-term deviation."

Stars with inaccurate positioning and no hard power could at most cut the leeks two or three times.

Any more would be excessive, and the consequence of provoking the market would only be to be abandoned by the market.

But this did not prevent Wanshu Zu from becoming the most sought-after new money of the weekend.

He, along with Netflix's creative director, was interviewed by reporters from different fields such as finance and entertainment, and his schedule was packed.

Foreign media has always been good at fanning the flames.

When asked about his attitude towards cooperation with foreign streaming media platforms, Wanshu Zu was finally willing to show a humble side.

He first thanked Netflix for the proactive invitation and stated:

For the international market, Lishou Entertainment is still in its nascent stage.

The current focus of work is the (SUNSET) project, as well as the contact between Netflix and many copyright businesses in the mainland.

“What's surprising is that besides Wanshu Zu's partner, the powerful actor Li Yamin who has an extraordinary impression in the mainland, the other female lead of (SUNSET), Norah Li, is also an artist under Lishou Entertainment.”

“She has been active in the fashion circle before, and this is her first venture onto the big screen.”

“Under normal circumstances, the manager or boss has always been a behind-the-scenes role. This is the first time an actor has ridden on the coattails of their manager. It's enough to be included in the top ten marketing cases of the year. I believe the public relations industry will have a deeper appreciation for this.”

...

Looking at the news online, Wanshu Zu heard the boarding announcement.

Marcus Li enthusiastically helped him carry his small luggage.

After boarding the plane, he even snatched the flight attendant's job, constantly asking him if he was cold, thirsty, hungry, or if the light was too glaring.

“I was wondering why you kept mentioning Norah, so you were waiting for me here?”

Wanshu Zu glanced at him coldly, “I didn't even know she was an artist under me. When did she become an artist?”

Marcus Li smiled, looking very happy, and adapted well to his friend's cold words.

“Norah is signed with CAA, but she doesn't have an agent in the country. I don't believe you would give up on the domestic release of (SUNSET). She'll still be running around in the country—how could I be at ease handing her over to someone else, of course it can only be you.”

He was very fawning, handing Wanshu Zu a blanket he had asked the flight attendant for, “Don't worry, she's as obedient as I am, won't cause trouble, and she'll have an assistant from CAA with her after she joins the cast. You'll get a cut of the mainland agent fee for free.”

This was said both sincerely and insincerely.

CAA is one of the world's top talent agencies, mainly providing agency services for artists in the fields of entertainment, sports, and business.

It not only manages the career development of artists, but is also involved in projects in various fields such as film, television, music, sports, and publishing.

Signed under CAA, of course Lishou Entertainment wouldn't have to do anything.

Even if the movie is introduced to the country and the main cast's team has to start publicity and distribution, CAA can arrange it well.

To put it bluntly, Marcus saw Wanshu Zu's current popularity and directly let his sister ride on it.

A good brother's popularity, it would be a waste not to ride on it.

Lishou Entertainment represents many foreign artists, and Wanshu Zu wouldn't inquire about them one by one.

There is a professional management team for that.

Strictly speaking, Norah was not under Wanshu Zu's management.

“When did she sign with Lishou?”

Wanshu Zu asked.

Marcus Li: “After you told me about your intention to cooperate with Netflix... almost half a year ago, right.”

Wanshu Zu: “When did you contact the media?”

Marcus Li: “Last night, after I discovered our bond is stronger than gold.”

Wanshu Zu smiled without smiling: “Alright, turn your ugly face back, I'm afraid I'll personally destroy your bond that's stronger than gold.”

Marcus Li did as he was told, but his mouth was still chattering: “I took advantage of you, but Norah didn't.”

“She can be ranked A in CAA's client group. Using her for resource exchange is a sure win, at least it can get your beloved Qiao Tian a feature in (Vogue)—on the premise that Qiao Tian has a work to act as a stepping stone.”

Norah, like her brother, was precociously mature.

While the young people in American high schools were still partying, choosing campus princesses, and competing in football games, she had already taken her dazzling SAT scores and gone to Italy to study fashion design.

Willing to spend money and with a teacher's recommendation, Norah returned to the United States after getting her credentials, and with CAA's packaging and operation, she was considered somewhat famous.

The saying that a different profession is like a different mountain does not apply in the entertainment industry.

Marcus was bent on being a lawyer, but that didn't stop him from participating in a mainland variety show back then and getting acquainted with senior barristers from major law firms in Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai.

If Norah really was an A-list client at CAA, and came from the high-threshold small circle of the fashion world, she could indeed be exchanged for quite cost-effective resources.

Overall, it was a gain for Wanshu Zu.

So Wanshu Zu only said it verbally and didn't really destroy his childhood friend's bond that was stronger than gold.

...

“Host, did Marcus Li forget something...”

In the sea of consciousness, the system said, “This way, his precious little sister will be under your name... competing with the second son of the Li family in the same cast.”

Chu Zu corrected the little yellow chicken's wording: “It's filming in the same cast.”

“I don't think there's a difference.”

There was no setting collection for Norah.

The little yellow chicken pulled out the few words about her from before.

“Little Norah tried to marry you early when she was still a baby, and did not change her pursuit before the age of twelve.”

“Now that she's an adult, she should have given up on her childhood dream and is doing very well on the road of striving for her career. It's absolutely no problem to call her a genius—and then she boarded your ship.”

“Why do you make me sound like a genius hunter.”

Chu Zu chuckled, “I estimate this matter was led by Marcus Li, it doesn't have much to do with her, and it's just in name only. I didn't sign her in the main text either.”

The little yellow chicken said dryly: “I'm talking about the second son of the Li family's thought process, host.”

Chu Zu: “Will his thought process appear in the main text?”

System: “No.”

Chu Zu: “Will competing in the same cast appear in the main text?”

System: “Probably not?”

Chu Zu said indifferently: “Then nothing happened, just do what needs to be done.”

The system thought for a while and delivered a heavy blow: “But Xiao Qiao loves to browse gossip, especially your gossip.”

“Shen Weidi is also worried about being kicked out and has been staring at you.”

“Streamer brother doesn't pay much extra attention to you, but his dream of being a self-media person is not dead, and his intensity of surfing the internet is extremely high. Your exposure has already surpassed the top domestic stars, it's impossible not to see it.”

The little yellow chicken brought out the main text and flipped through the pages.

Just the brief description took up many pages.

Unlike Qiao Tian who was stuck with a dog, the cat master that the streamer brother was responsible for either bared its teeth at him or ignored him—he was much more free than Qiao Tian.

Streamer brother's internet sensitivity is very high, and he is determined to be the pig standing in the wind.

Through Xiao Qiao's introduction, he learned about the (Manager Dog Training bot) and became the account's backend administrator.

The (Manager Dog Training bot) is a Weibo account spontaneously created by netizens.

Bot was originally controlled by a program, able to automatically publish content, interact with users, or complete specific functions.

As netizens' fun-seeking becomes wider, bot accounts operated by real people have also become a major feature of self-media.

The characteristic of a Bot is that it is very interesting, can interact with users, and form a highly cohesive community.

There are many similar bots on Weibo, all managed by MCN companies, which can quickly gain fans and then take on advertising to monetize.

Streamer brother didn't want to make money from it.

He knew he couldn't make money.

If he really took on advertising, because it involved Wanshu Zu, he would also be prone to legal risks.

But it could be written into his resume for his next job.

The (Manager Dog Training bot) already has about three million followers, all of whom are active, which is much more valuable than the many small traffic stars whose companies buy followers to keep up appearances.

System: “The current situation is, the three protagonists are all staring at you, host.”

“If Norah and the second son of the Li family really compete, once the report comes out with your name on it, the three of them can easily drag you into the main text as well.”

Chu Zu looked at things from a different angle than the little yellow chicken.

“Let's not worry about Norah and the second son of the Li family for now, I'm more concerned about this streamer.”

He said, “Xiao Qiao and Shen Weidi can be considered 'sequelae' of the casting couch incident, any development is reasonable, a transition to the next big plot.”

“But in the main text, the streamer and I have never had much of a relationship from beginning to end—it looks a lot like they're forcibly adding scenes for me.”

It was also the first time the little yellow chicken discovered that the world of a Long Aotian was so dangerous.

A Side character can be a Long Aotian, but if they become a Long Aotian with too many scenes in the main text... the readers would feel cheated, right.

Chu Zu made up his mind: “We must speed up the plot transition and let the streamer become Xiao Qiao's manager as soon as possible.”

“Help me adjust my schedule, find some time to go back to the country for a trip, I need to find the streamer to solve this matter.”

Little yellow chicken: “Okay!”

Shen Weidi has been on edge recently.

Qiao Tian terminated her contract with the company and faded out of sight.

Li Yamin flew abroad to join the cast of (SUNSET), and the internet basically stopped talking about the casting couch incident.

The news was overwhelmingly about Wanshu Zu.

Who he met, what cooperation he reached, the expansion of Lishou Entertainment's territory, and—

One Qiao Tian left, and another Norah Li came.

Shen Weidi was very concerned about this matter.

He knew all too well the reason for his fame over the years.

Wanshu Zu had practically let him step on Li Yamin to get to the top.

From the beginning when he participated in the S-class audition, the fact that he was Li Yamin's nephew was no secret.

Wanshu Zu had also built him into the image of the sole heir of the Li family, a young man who lacked neither money nor a future, who only temporarily left the family to learn from scratch as a newcomer because he liked the stage.

Wanshu Zu didn't need him to change his temper.

There were too many humble people, and they didn't leave an impression.

"A sharp-tongued, handsome rich second generation," this kind of persona was still quite novel in the entertainment circle at that time.

As long as he could stand out, the manager didn't care about the trouble he had to deal with.

What's more, with Li Yamin as a "pearl of a precedent," Shen Weidi's small disputes were not considered trouble.

After his successful debut, Shen Weidi had also leeched off his uncle's resources quite a bit.

Fashion magazines, commercial endorsements, and the scripts that were later stuffed to him, were more or less related to Li Yamin.

The general process can be summarized as:

Li Yamin causes trouble—Wanshu Zu ignores him—potential resources fall on Shen Weidi's head.

Shen Weidi had apparently become the victim—and beneficiary—in the non-violent confrontation between this pair of partners.

Li Yamin himself thought so too, and had even taunted Shen Weidi with this many times.

In fact, Li Yamin's resources were essentially Wanshu Zu's resources, and he could give them to whomever he wanted.

He could have handled this matter more appropriately, but there was no need to do so with the uncle and nephew.

Neither of them had a personality for false pleasantries.

Wanshu Zu was not a harmonizer; he was the one who controlled this relationship.

It was good that they argued.

Only when they argued would Li Yamin forget that Wanshu Zu still had a comfortable Qiao Tian under him.

Shen Weidi was very clear that the resources given to Qiao Tian seemed inconspicuous, but they were all carefully selected.

The crew relationships were harmonious.

If you pulled up the cast and crew list and climbed up, following the family and master-apprentice relationships, you could find that every single one was a formidable character.

As long as there was an opportunity and a suitable script, Wanshu Zu could push Qiao Tian up at any time.

Now that Qiao Tian had terminated her contract, Wanshu Zu's arrangements over the past few years had all gone to waste.

But the report said that Wanshu Zu had taken a fancy to Norah Li's talent at a glance and had high hopes for this cooperation.

Shen Weidi didn't know what Li Yamin's attitude was abroad, but he knew that his own situation was very unfavorable.

He couldn't always rely on picking up the leftovers.

When Wanshu Zu really stopped caring about Li Yamin, he would also lose his value in the manager's heart.

It's funny to say, Shen Weidi was considered to be doing well in the entertainment industry, but if he wanted to continue, he still had to watch his manager's mood.

One can only say that Wanshu Zu's arrangements were too cunning.

From the very beginning, he had highly bound Shen Weidi and Lishou Entertainment, and his persona was still the "Crown Prince."

It was impossible for Shen Weidi to break his contract and go to another company, no one would dare to take him.

Because his long-term high-quality resources all came from his manager, Shen Weidi also did not have the conditions to establish his own studio and go solo.

Wanshu Zu really had the people under him in a tight grip, with no room to move at all.

Li Yamin was like this, and so was Shen Weidi.

And the uncle and nephew couldn't even think of tearing their faces apart.

This option was not even in Li Yamin's choices, while for Shen Weidi it was because of that sentence back then—

(You will be seen by everyone, and valued by everyone.)

Wanshu Zu had basically fulfilled his promise, with the only two exceptions being: Li Yamin, and Wanshu Zu himself.

Shen Weidi thought for a long time and finally went to Gu An.

“I want to transform.”

As the executive manager, Gu An did not go abroad with Li Yamin, but only let the other managers of the team and three personal assistants go to serve the ancestor.

Hearing Shen Weidi's request, and confirming that he was not having another fit, Gu An put down his work and sighed.

Finding an empty conference room, Gu An, in his capacity as a senior manager, had a serious talk with Shen Weidi about things that should have been discussed in detail when he first entered the industry.

...

People commonly refer to the group engaged in entertainment-related professions as the "entertainment circle," and "entertainment" is of course the main focus.

Strength is one of the standards for measuring artists, and so are popularity and attention.

An actor with a solid foundation can return to the public eye with their next work even without exposure, because she/he has already been recognized by the public.

Her/His name is no longer a meaningless symbol, a label.

In the public's mind, they are a living human being, and then come the various traits they display.

Popularity and attention are another track.

To put it bluntly, this is a group that only fights for the moment.

They attract audiences with a flat and likable image, and it is difficult to transform after the image is fixed.

If people were initially attracted to "sweetness," she cannot be sexy.

If the public needs a "neighborly younger brother," he cannot be rebellious.

And the result of being labeled is that the replaceability is too strong.

In a film and television work, different actors will determine the different upper and lower limits of the entire drama.

Including movies and TV series adapted from the same script, even if the positioning of the two actors is similar and their to be skilled in types are similar, the works they complete will definitely carry a strong personal characteristic.

For traffic stars, it's the same no matter who is replaced.

After losing exposure, in just half a year, or a few months, the traffic will be replaced by other traffic with the same label.

So actors can fail.

Actors often fail.

Choosing the wrong script, the crew itself has problems, misplaced publicity... many factors can lead to the complete failure of a whole drama.

An actor can fail many times, until the public loses confidence in them.

A traffic star cannot fail, not even once.

“I can understand that you want to transform. We have been trying to gradually transition you to an actor over the years. This process will definitely not be too fast, and we also have to see the market feedback.”

Gu An said, “Now that Wanshu Zu is starting to work on new business, there are many more opportunities. If you have a clear career plan, you still have to wait for him to return to the country for a detailed discussion.”

Shen Weidi: “Do you really think I'm stupid? Telling me this nonsense?”

Gu An said unhurriedly: “This is my disclaimer, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to Wanshu Zu afterwards—I am also very happy that you are clear about your current situation, and I am just telling you that we have been trying to make a transition.”

Shen Weidi sneered: “I said I want to transform, and you don't even ask what I want to transform into. Trying, what kind of trying? The kind of trying that makes Li Yamin hold his breath in anger?”

Gu An thought for a while: “But the problem is, do you know what you want to do?”

Shen Weidi was only good at tense conversations and rarely lost out.

Only when communicating with Wanshu Zu would he be suppressed to the point where he couldn't get a word in, and his train of thought would also be led astray.

Gu An was personally trained by Wanshu Zu, and he also learned a few of the man's skills.

He was not overbearing, and his appearance and temperament could not reach Wanshu Zu's level, but he was very good at hitting sore spots.

—Do you know what you want to do?

Shen Weidi wanted to be seen by everyone.

How to be seen, this was decided by Wanshu Zu.

Shen Weidi had always been arranged for.

His family arranged for him to be a backup for Li Yamin's future children.

Wanshu Zu needed an artist who could attract money and at the same time be at loggerheads with Li Yamin.

Shen Weidi only knew that he couldn't continue like this, but when it came to what he really wanted to do...

He didn't know.

The conference room fell silent.

Suddenly, the notification sound of Gu An's mobile phone broke the silence.

He took out his mobile phone, briefly scrolled through it, and after reading the message, his brows furrowed, he pursed his lips, and his body also sat up a little straighter.

A staff member had sent a live stream link, and the live stream title was: (Cat Ancestor and the Working Filial Son).

Gu An clicked on the link.

The live stream was a bit laggy, and the sound entered the quiet conference room first.

A few sweet and soft kitten meows.

The screen refreshed at this moment and returned to normal.

The fixed camera position was low, and the screen only showed a clean floor with a cat scratching board and cat toys.

The cat scratching board looked very familiar, the cat toys looked very familiar, and even the floor tiles looked very familiar.

The bullet comments flew past quickly—

(Ahhhhhh so it's the manager's little cat that's been live streaming all this time!)

(Xi zai, what's wrong with you, are you treating us as outsiders? If the manager hadn't suddenly come home, how long were you going to hide it?)

(I've only ever seen the ancestor beat up Xi zai, this is the first time I've heard the ancestor's voice so soft, a real dad is different.)

(Can you move the camera a bit, I only saw the manager for a second, why did you move the camera so quickly!)

At this stage, there was only one person who would be directly referred to as the "manager."

Gu An remembered that Wanshu Zu had found someone to help take care of the cats and dogs he had adopted on a whim.

The person who came would usually go directly to the door, scoop cat litter, and play with the cat for a while.

He usually received regular updates on the cats and dogs, but Gu An hadn't paid much attention—the person helping to take care of the kitten was actually live streaming all this time?

Gu An was not sure about the situation.

A few seconds later, the camera shook violently a few times, as if it had been picked up by someone.

A face that had not been seen for several weeks appeared in the screen.

It was the man who had frequently appeared in the public eye in a suit recently.

At this moment, he was only wearing a shirt, the buttons were casually unbuttoned, and the cuffs were rolled up to reveal his strong forearms.

He was holding a pure black kitten with one hand.

The kitten was pawing at his shoulder and kicking its hind legs at his collar.

After a few tries, it simply stepped on the man's collarbone and desperately rubbed against his face.

In the screen that was about to be drowned by bullet comments, the man was facing the camera and said lightly: “You're live streaming?”

Off-screen, a voice trembled: “Ye-yes, I'm sorry...”

(Fuck, fuck, fuck)

(Wait, no one told me that seeing the handsome guy from the photos move would make my heart stop?!)

(This arm looks very good for hanging on, this collarbone looks very good for biting.)

(Ancestor, you've changed, Ancestor, you're not like this with Xi zai—!)

(I get it, this is called 'the pampered kitty waited for her real dad to come home.')

(Tough guy raises a kitten, good civilization!)

(Expressionless, took five hundred screenshots, hehe.)

(Xi zai: I fought against two ancestors!)

...

Gu An simply turned off the bullet comments and could finally confirm that this was indeed his boss who was supposed to be on a business trip.

The boss should be flying around with the legal counsel... he hadn't mentioned to anyone that he was suddenly coming home.

And... this homecoming was too dramatic!

The popularity of the live stream room was maxed out, breaking the record for pet live streams, and the platform and big data took the opportunity to push it out.

Who would have thought that the man who made countless media outlets eager to make a move would make his first appearance after returning to the country here!!

The camera was really too close.

Wanshu Zu didn't care about the angle at all when holding the camera, but even a death angle could clearly show the advantages of his facial features.

The kitten tilted its head back and meowed again, continuing to rub wildly.

A few strands of the man's meticulously styled hair were also messed up.

He squinted his eyes from being rubbed by the black cat's fluffy short fur, his scarlet pupils were mostly covered by his eyelashes.

He simply turned his head, letting the kitten lie on the side of his neck, and said to the person off-camera.

“It's not called Ancestor, it's called Little yellow chicken.”

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