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墨書 Inktalez
In the following week, Qiu Ruolan was filled with great unease, especially when she was alone; this unease became a drum that beat loudly in her ears, growing louder until it drowned out the sound of her own heartbeat.
Ever since meeting Autumn Wind at the watch shop, her heart had been suspended in mid-air. She had called Qiu Mowen countless times, asking about all her curiosities regarding Liu Jian: Who was he? What did he do for a living? When did he start seeing Autumn Wind? What were his parents' backgrounds?
But Qiu Mowen always replied with the same line, "Go ask Wang Shaowu; he's one of his subordinates!"
Every time this phrase twisted its way into Qiu Ruolan's ears, she couldn't help but be stunned for a long while, her hands trembling as she held the phone without saying a word.
Finally, when Qiu Mowen teased her with this line again, Qiu Ruolan couldn't hold back any longer—at that moment, she was alone in the Dressing Room waiting for the next recording.
She clenched her fists and pounded on the Vanity Table, roaring, "It's precisely because I don't have the courage to ask Wang Shaowu that I wanted to get some information from you! Why are you acting so profound and composed... Do you want me to find out about my daughter's social life from outsiders?"
At this point, she paused slightly, took a deep breath, and continued, "I'll give you one second to think. Are you going to tell me now or should I come over there and take care of you myself..."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door along with a girl's voice asking if she could come in. Qiu Ruolan immediately suppressed her emotions and lowered her voice, saying, "We'll talk later; I'll call you back!"
She hung up the phone and called out loudly, "Come in!"
The door swung open immediately, revealing Qiu Ruolan's newly appointed manager—a short and plump girl.
The girl glanced up at Qiu Ruolan and quickly assessed her emotional state through her flushed face. She gently placed a stack of papers on the table in front of Qiu Ruolan and said softly, "Sister Sally, here is the script for the upcoming recording!"
Qiu Ruolan carefully examined this girl who looked to be about the same age as Autumn Wind—round face, short neck, and short hair—she resembled a little doll. Qiu Ruolan felt a sense of familiarity but couldn't recall where she had seen her before.
She nodded slightly at the girl and then propped up her left arm with her left hand resting lightly on her forehead.
Her right hand holding the phone reached out to the table; it paused briefly in mid-air before gently placing the phone beside the script.
Next, she picked up the script and laid it across her lap, flipping through it gently.
A few seconds later, she suddenly realized that her new agent was still standing behind her, so she lowered her hand from her forehead and gently pointed to the seat next to her. "What are you standing there for? Come sit down, don't be so stiff!"
Hearing Qiu Ruolan say this, the girl nervously moved in front of the stool and then lightly placed half of her bottom on it, stammering, "Sister Sally, hello, I... I'm Liu Jiajia. From now on... we will start our official collaboration!"
Seeing the girl so nervous, Qiu Ruolan couldn't help but laugh. "Is this your first time being an agent?"
Liu Jiajia quickly replied in a nervous tone, "Yes, this is my first time being an agent!"
"Oh... a newcomer!" Qiu Ruolan said, then continued flipping through the script thoughtfully without further comment.
The relationship between an artist and an agent is a profound subject. A good agent can help you soar to great heights, while a bad agent can not only lead you into a pit but also make you pay for the damages when you try to escape after losing everything.
For newcomers, agents need to be respectful, obedient, and grateful. However, for stars like Qiu Ruolan who have deep qualifications, high status, and great fame, it's quite the opposite; agents would do anything to please her. For instance, when Qiu Ruolan takes on a twenty-million-dollar advertisement, her agent's one percent commission amounts to two hundred thousand.
In just one year, with two income-generating projects plus hosting gigs and events, it’s not difficult for an agent to easily earn three million. Ever since Qiu Ruolan's former agent Arei announced plans to settle in Canada, countless veteran agents have been eyeing this lucrative opportunity.
Qiu Ruolan thought to herself why the company would assign her such a young girl as an agent.
With that in mind, Qiu Ruolan set down the script in her hand and picked up her coffee cup, gently swirling it. She didn't look up at Liu Jiajia but kept her eyes fixed on the coffee as it swirled in circles. "How were you chosen to be my agent?"
"Me? I... um... Liu Qingyuan is my dad!" Liu Jiajia said nervously with wide eyes, rubbing her hands together continuously as she stammered in response to Qiu Ruolan's question.
"Oh, I see..." Upon hearing Liu Jiajia's answer, Qiu Ruolan slightly bit her lip and suddenly lost the urge to drink coffee. She looked up at Liu Jiajia again and gently set the cup down on the table.
In the entertainment industry, there are two types of "playboy" male stars. One type mingles with various beauties until they are over forty and then settles down to marry and have children; the other type marries early with children already in tow but deliberately hides this fact while still energetically entangling themselves with various female stars.
Currently enjoying life is Yao Guanghao from the first category, while Liu Jiajia's father Liu Qingyuan is a typical representative of the latter category.
Liu Qingyuan is a senior from the same agency as Qiu Ruolan. Since his debut, Liu Qingyuan has been packaged by the company as a romantic young master. However, he was already married before his debut, but due to promotional reasons, he never reported his marriage to the company.
When the company discovered this, Liu Qingyuan was already a father of four children. His fame no longer allowed him to make this public, so the matter of Liu Qingyuan's marriage and children was kept under wraps for over a decade.
Liu Qingyuan's career path is quite similar to Qiu Ruolan's; he later transitioned into hosting. However, he wasn't as fortunate as Qiu Ruolan. A few years ago, during a hosting gig, he made an offhand joke that offended his biggest competitor, who was known as the "king of the hosting industry" at that time.
As a result, the competitor went all out and exposed Liu Qingyuan's marriage and children, along with details about his relationship with a certain female star in the industry, making it public without reservation.
This incident became one of the most sensational scandals of that year, and the feud between Liu Qingyuan and his competitor continues to this day.
It was also from that time that people came to know Liu Qingyuan's family members—Yuan Sao and his four children.
Qiu Ruolan had seen his family portrait in a magazine. Liu Jiajia is Liu Qingyuan's second daughter and bears a striking resemblance to him, which is why Qiu Ruolan always felt that Liu Jiajia looked familiar.
It seems that for Liu Jiajia to become Qiu Ruolan's manager among so many people, Liu Qingyuan must have frequently interacted with the company's higher-ups!
Thinking of this, Qiu Ruolan smiled lightly and asked, "Did your dad oppose you becoming a manager?"
After pondering for a moment, she felt that this question did not fully express her intent, so she added, "What I mean is, does your father have any objections to you getting involved in the entertainment industry?"
Liu Jiajia gently shook her head. "No! He has always supported our freedom to develop!"
After finishing her sentence, Liu Jiajia slightly tilted her head and looked sincerely at Qiu Ruolan. Qiu Ruolan did not respond immediately, and the entire dressing room fell silent once again.
The silence was so profound that one could almost hear hair falling to the ground. This kind of silence was terrifying for Liu Jiajia. She took a deep breath and looked at Qiu Ruolan with utmost sincerity but suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of distrust and skepticism in Qiu Ruolan's attitude. This gaze made her feel very uncomfortable.
Noticing that there was more to Qiu Ruolan's words than met the eye, Liu Jiajia abruptly jumped up from her seat. The sudden movement startled Qiu Ruolan, who instinctively pressed her hand against her chest. By then, Liu Jiajia was already standing straight in front of her.
Liu Jiajia took a deep breath, her tone urgent but her attitude very firm: “Sister Sally, you must believe me, I will help you advance your career!”
“Uh... uh!” Qiu Ruolan was startled by Liu Jiajia's actions, and after regaining her composure, her mind went blank. Hearing Liu Jiajia say this, she responded perfunctorily.
“Sister Sally... it's true that this is my first time as a manager, but before I took on this job, I did a comprehensive study on you, and I have also created a detailed analysis and plan based on your work over the past two years…”
“Is that so?” By this time, Qiu Ruolan had slowly regained her calm. She adjusted to a comfortable position and said, “Let’s hear it!”
Noticing a hint of interest in Qiu Ruolan's eyes, Liu Jiajia naturally took this as encouragement and continued: “In the past two years, Sister Sally's focus has been primarily in Taiwan, mainly on hosting. You haven't released any albums or taken on any acting contracts. In my view, this is not beneficial for your career!”
“Now various goddesses are rising rapidly, and most of the established ones like you have already expanded into the mainland market, yet you still choose to stay in Taiwan. This is truly hard to understand!”
“Moreover, a goddess should maintain an appropriate sense of mystery. Your current hosting format is continuous; with such exposure, I really cannot comprehend!” Liu Jiajia paused slightly, realizing she might have overstepped and quickly added: “I don’t mean to say that Sister Alei is bad; I know it was your initiative to host! I believe you must have your own plans, but this isn’t the best career strategy!”
Hearing Liu Jiajia's lengthy discourse, especially the phrase “have your own plans,” made Qiu Ruolan smile. She indeed had her own arrangements; she wanted to stay in Taipei and be able to see Autumn Wind often to improve their mother-daughter relationship.
Looking back now, it seemed that all her efforts over the past two years were in vain; she didn’t even know about Autumn Wind dating someone.
She smiled with a hint of self-deprecation and picked up her coffee again, only to find it had gone cold. As she placed the cup back on the table, she politely asked Liu Jiajia: “So what should I do to manage my career?”
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