The talent managers from Startrack Entertainment Company were reporting their work to Jing Zeqian.
"You're saying Wen Qingyan is planning to accept that variety show again?" Hadn't he refused before?
Jing Zeqian looked up at Wen Qingyan's manager, his gaze inquisitive.
The manager seemed a bit nervous and quickly smiled, trying to cover for Wen Qingyan, "Yes, but I thought since he's been filming movies for the past few years without much rest, I persuaded him to give it a try. Especially knowing that you'll be there too, so he finally agreed."
Jing Zeqian glanced at him, then continued listening to the next person's report.
The manager couldn't tell if Jing Zeqian believed his explanation, but he had done his best to cover for Wen Qingyan.
Jing Zeqian, however, found it strange that the company's artists were behaving unusually lately.
First, there was Jiang Miaomiao, who usually prioritized scripts and production teams, but had started accepting jobs with high popularity but low quality.
Recently, she had been arranging work through her manager, and while Jing Zeqian knew she was busy with work, he wasn't clear on the specifics.
Then there was Wen Qingyan, who had never accepted a variety show before, but was now taking part in a family-oriented one.
Wait, he remembered that Wen Qingyan was an only child, wasn't he?
Jing Zeqian looked up at the manager again and asked, "Who is Wen Qingyan planning to bring to the show?"
The manager tensed up internally but smiled and said, "He's bringing his cousin."
Bringing a cousin for a variety show?
Jing Zeqian frowned and clicked his tongue. What were these people thinking lately? But he didn't ask further, as Wen Qingyan and Jiang Miaomiao were quite different cases.
Jiang Miaomiao was someone he had mentored, and in the beginning, he used to review and approve her scripts and work.
So even now, Jing Zeqian instinctively cared about Jiang Miaomiao's work.
Wen Qingyan, on the other hand, was already an established A-list actor before joining the company.
Over the years, Wen Qingyan had been very clear about his career path, so Jing Zeqian hadn't paid much attention to the work he accepted.
The manager glanced discreetly at Jing Zeqian, who was now listening to others' reports.
The manager finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had probably passed this hurdle.
...
That night, the programmers at Weibo were working overtime because the platform had "crashed" again.
At 8 PM, a family variety show's official account posted a video, officially announcing the show's guests.
Jing Zeyou, Jing Zeqian, Wen Qingyan... The variety show quickly became a trending topic.
[Am I blind? I never thought I'd see Wen Qingyan on a variety show in my lifetime?!]
[It's really Wen Qingyan?! I thought the show was just teasing us!]
[Jing You's brother is coming out too? The Hengjing CEO?!]
[That's Wen Qingyan we're talking about! I'll definitely be glued to my screen!]
[So the Film Emperor Wen is really doing a variety show?!]
[Sister? Is Jing You referring to that fake heiress?]
[They seem to have a pretty good relationship from the looks of it.]
[It's just for show, probably because the public opinion has affected Hengjing, so they're doing this variety show to improve their image.]
[Affected Hengjing? Are you drunk or still sleeping? Do you think Hengjing is some small workshop you've seen before?]
[I won't comment on the rest, but just the fact that Hengjing's CEO is participating means this show is already a big win!]
With the variety show set to start live broadcasting in a few days, the Jing family had no time to read netizens' comments.
Jing Zeyou was arranging company matters for when he'd be away, trying to resolve as much work as possible for the next few days.
Jing Zeqian was coordinating with the variety show team. Not only would his family members participate, but artists from his company would also be there, so some details needed to be clarified.
Meanwhile, Jing Zejun and Jing Yi were busy helping Lin Ruiqing and her husband pack their things, as they were ready to set off on their trip.
Just after seeing them off, the director and his team arrived the next day.
"Miss Jing, hello!" Director Xu seemed a bit nervous.
He had started feeling uneasy the moment he stepped into the Jing family's estate. Even though he had filmed in many celebrities' homes before, he was still shocked upon entering the Jing residence.
What amazed him wasn't the size of the villa, but the vastness of the courtyard. He and his team had walked for a full ten minutes! Especially considering this was in the prime area of North river!
As they entered, they went through various security checks. Not just him, but the team behind him was also treading carefully.
"Director Xu."
Jing Zejun stepped forward to greet the director.
Director Xu then noticed Jing Yi behind her. If Jing Zejun could be described as gentle, Jing Yi leaned more towards the sweet type.
With her crescent-moon shaped eyes, she smiled at him as she greeted, "Director Xu."
"Hello, hello! Nice to meet you, Miss Jing Yi!" It was the Jing Yi who had been at the center of recent discussions.
After some small talk, the camera crew behind them started setting up the filming equipment.
Jing Zejun looked at Uncle Li standing behind her, and he stepped forward with a polite smile.
"May I accompany them?"
"Of course! Of course!"
Director Xu nodded quickly. He knew that families like the Jings would be more conscious about such matters.
Seeing Uncle Li following the crew, Director Xu then looked at Aunt Wang, who was bringing in tea and snacks.
He hesitated a bit, "It's like this, Miss Jing. Since this is a family variety show, although we didn't specify that families can't have housekeepers who cook, it would be better if you could cook by yourselves..."
"Director Xu, please just call me Zejun. As for Aunt Wang..." Jing Zejun turned to look at Jing Yi.
Jing Zejun understood the director's point. If Aunt Wang helped with cooking, they would miss out on a lot of filming material. But Jing Yi loved Aunt Wang's cooking the most...
She looked at Jing Yi, wanting to ask for her opinion.
Although Jing Yi was a bit reluctant, she didn't want to make things difficult for the production team. She nodded slightly, and only then did Jing Zejun indicate that they wouldn't rely on Aunt Wang during the recording period.
Director Xu noticed the eye contact between the two and was a bit surprised. It seemed the outside world's speculations were somewhat off the mark.
"Is there anything else you'd like to instruct, Miss... Zejun?"
After all, this was the Jing family's home. Even if he wasn't familiar with Hengjing, he knew about Startrack. If there were any taboos, this variety show might not just fail to become popular, it might not even see the light of day.
"There is one thing."
Director Xu sat up straight, his nerves on edge.
"My eldest brother might still have some matters to attend to at the company, so his screen time might not be very long these few days."
Director Xu quickly said, "That's no problem! Of course, Mr. Jing's schedule takes priority!"
Let alone short screen time, even if Jing Zeyou only appeared once briefly, he would be overwhelmed with gratitude. How could he dare to have any other thoughts?
Jing Zejun smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Director Xu with this."
"...Is that the only point?"
Director Xu was slightly stunned. He had prepared to take notes on several pages of instructions, but there was only this one point?!
He knew that when he went to film other celebrities, there were always more than just one point.
The Jing family was indeed more easy-going than he had imagined.
