The barriers between circles are hard to break down. Just as arts students don't understand or take interest in scientific research, the frenzy of fan circles seems like a noise-cancelled world to outsiders. They know it's lively over there, but have no desire to join.
However, the emergence of Random Entertainment seemed to loosen this wall, allowing some of the sounds to filter through.
Even people who don't care about the entertainment industry now know which company is currently popular, that they've launched two well-received variety shows online, and can even vaguely recall the names and faces of some popular members.
All of this completely broke through the barriers after the third public performance. Group C's story arc, which could be called an extreme turning point, added to the stage's appeal. When the behind-the-scenes efforts were revealed, the lyrics they sang came to life.
In particular, Chen Wu and Gao Xiayu, the two protagonists, gained enormous popularity after the third public performance. The most direct manifestation was at the Galaxy-themed pop-up store, where their special merchandise was in a constant cycle of selling out and restocking daily.
A simple sell-out could even trend on social media, indicating the current scale of the fan circle.
With the label of trainees preceding them, the preparation work for TV dramas and films should have gone smoothly, but the reality was the opposite. It was slightly better than before, but not by much.
"I was too naive, taking the flattery at dinner parties at face value," Jiang Juyou sat at her desk, holding her head in her hands, looking at the documents on the table with distress.
The successful management of the trainees briefly made Jiang Juyou lose her self-awareness, thinking that people in the film and TV circle would give her face too, but in reality, even slightly more famous older actors could give her attitude.
The entertainment industry is deep, and the film and TV industry is even deeper. It's full of nepotism and connections. Some older actors with mediocre acting skills can always find roles, relying on the relationships they've built up over years of dinner parties.
Jiang Juyou had heard from Jiang Tang that when she was filming before, she worked with a well-known older actor. It was a big scene in the palace, where she was just a background character with no lines, while that older actor had quite a few lines. But he didn't even memorize his lines, and the staff had to hold up whiteboards behind the camera to prompt him.
Artists are ranked, and so are circles. Those producers and investors in the film and TV industry look down on Random Entertainment's background, thinking they can only produce small web dramas.
The film and TV department was still at a standstill.
The whole company had to rely on these trainees' fans to sustain it. Although they earned quite a bit each month, the expenses were also high. They had just invested in several films recently, spending over 200 million yuan. Jiang Juyou was anxious every day.
She was already very troubled, and Cong Lixia's side had to add to the mess.
Her hair messed up from running her hands through it, Jiang Juyou now looked extremely like someone in a drunken frenzy, her mental state in dire straits.
She held up her phone, looking at the content on it, completely baffled.
"Wait, these buildings don't even belong to Random Entertainment, why do I still have to pay to unlock them? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? I just spent 200 million yuan a few days ago, there's hardly any money left in the company account now."
There was a previous task about business separation, with the reward being a system upgrade. At the time, she didn't notice how the system had upgraded after completing the task and didn't pay attention to it afterwards. Today, she was told to open the building management page, informing her that several more unlocked buildings had been added, with a special offer today of a 9.9% discount for unlocking all of them.
Jiang Juyou stared at the gray buildings on the page: "..."
"Is your upgrade just about raising prices?" Jiang Juyou asked through gritted teeth.
Previously, unlocking a building only required 2 million yuan, now it needs 50 million.
Coincidentally, the films she invested in a few days ago also asked her for this price. At least investing in films had the possibility of returns, but what could she get from this? From renting buildings to buying them? A building she couldn't sell or trade?
Because all the previous buildings had been unlocked and upgrades were mostly done, Jiang Juyou hadn't opened this page to check for a long time. As a result, Cong Lixia had quietly created this mess for her.
But Cong Lixia subdued her with one sentence, "It can increase your net worth. You know, money can get you into circles you couldn't enter before."
"..." This indeed convinced Jiang Juyou, but— "Why did it increase so many times?"
50 million was just the minimum unlocking amount. There was another dormitory building that required 80 million to unlock. The small print in the description also noted that the unlocking amount was just for unlocking; if you wanted better interior decoration for the buildings, you'd have to spend more money.
Those online rumors not only fooled the netizens but also fooled her. Jiang Juyou naively thought they could really move into the new building in September.
Thinking of the online rumors, Jiang Juyou suddenly remembered something else she had forgotten. "Wasn't there supposed to be a filming base too?"
"That's for the next upgrade," Cong Lixia replied, with a hint of excitement in his voice.
Jiang Juyou understood. The next time, the unlocking amount would be in the hundreds of millions.
She swiped away the dialogue box that appeared in front of her, making Cong Lixia disappear from her sight, then carefully looked at these buildings waiting to be unlocked. The upgraded system had added a full board view, allowing her to see the location of the buildings on the map directly.
On a rectangular board, three buildings were lit up: Random Entertainment's current building, Galaxy Beijing venue, and Galaxy mall.
These three buildings were all on the left side of the board, facing west. The Galaxy venue's position was slightly more towards the center. The back door of the Galaxy venue, which used to be accessible by walking past Random Entertainment for a while, was now also sealed off, leaving only a passage for trucks to pass through.
Just a few dozen meters away from the Random Entertainment building was where the film and TV department would move in the future. It was taller than Random Entertainment, with 15 floors. Right next to it was the future home of the variety show department, which was only 10 floors but had the largest floor area. It was U-shaped, facing the northeast corner.
These two buildings were on the right side of the board, facing east.
As Jiang Juyou looked, she recalled the area they were currently in. It seemed to be a rectangular block, and she had seen those two buildings before. She remembered seeing them recruiting tenants before, and now she realized these must be the buildings that were acquired after being abandoned.
They had a Galaxy on their side, and there was a dormitory building on the other side. The dormitory was a twin tower, with the third floor connecting the two. It had a total of 16 floors, a mid-rise building, also in a central position, symmetrical to Galaxy.
Seeing this dormitory building, Jiang Juyou immediately thought of the trainees. The company now had over a hundred male and female trainees combined, and that's not even counting those 21 people.
Just renting apartments for these kids in Beijing was already a problem. Some of them were from out of town and had to frequently fly back and forth, with the company reimbursing their expenses. The farthest one was from Qinghai, and her parents felt it was too hard for her, so they even moved the whole family to Beijing.
This dormitory could be used as accommodation for trainees and some minor artists.
Jiang Juyou clicked to take a look. It was like a hive, with each room about 10 square meters, just enough to fit a bed, a desk, and a small wardrobe. Any more and there would be no room to stand.
Except for the first and third floors which couldn't be lived in, the rest of the floors added up to 140 rooms.
"...Let's change our business. I think running a hotel would work too," Jiang Juyou wasn't picky, she thought she could even live there herself.
Cong Lixia, who had been muted, immediately appeared upon hearing this, "No, I'm an entertainment company operation manual."
Cong Lixia sternly stopped her, because he felt Jiang Juyou wasn't joking.
Jiang Juyou, who wasn't listening, swiped away the dialogue box again and muted him. She stared at her phone, shaking her head and sighing, "If you had found someone else to bind with a few years earlier, with this treatment, I would have definitely fought for a C position debut for you to become a top star, and be a permanent fixture in your company."
The more she looked, the more she marveled at how times had changed. Now even dormitories were single rooms.
The dormitory building was a twin tower, allowing for separate male and female housing. There was an underground passage leading to the company's practice room. The first floor was a lobby, where Jiang Juyou planned to squeeze in a small supermarket. The third floor was a leisure space with a library and laundry room. Although the third floor appeared connected from the outside, it was actually impossible to pass through internally.
Jiang Juyou came again, pointing at it and saying, "If I had lived in this kind of student apartment in high school, I definitely would have gotten into a top university."
Cong Lixia appeared again and asked, "Is that similar to the online saying 'If I were born into a wealthy family, who knows how sunny, cheerful, confident, and smiley I would be'?"
"You surf the internet too?" Jiang Juyou lost her work-related tension and smiled at Cong Lixia.
As if looking at game strategies, Jiang Juyou had already begun to envision how amazing the company would become once these buildings were unlocked for random entertainment. Just thinking about it made her mood improve.
Cong Lixia was still on his previous topic. He said to Jiang Juyou, "You're already very rich now. You can raise yourself again from scratch."
After he finished speaking, Jiang Juyou seemed to have her emotions paused, stunned for a moment.
Cong Lixia thought she didn't understand the meaning of his words, so he explained, "That's what they say online. When you grow up, you raise yourself again from scratch, like raising a child, experiencing all the things you didn't get to experience when you were young."
"You're rich enough now. You don't have to hesitate like before."
"..."
Jiang Juyou dismissed the dialogue box in front of her, sinking into her own world. Even the phone in her hand could no longer attract her attention.
-
With the three-person collaboration finished, the trainees welcomed their first overseas tour in their lives, with Thailand as the first stop.
Usually, they would travel by private jet, but this time was different. Their flight information had been discovered online early on.
Today was the departure day. Fans carrying backpacks and cameras could be seen looking around everywhere in the airport. Some were holding bags with gifts for them.
The scene was so lively that many short video bloggers who loved to ride the trend had come, and live streamers holding up phones could be seen everywhere.
While lying at home scrolling through short videos, Jiang Juyou even came across a pushed live stream. The scene was packed with people, a sea of heads as far as the eye could see.
"Who's this? Oh, oh, oh, the fans in front say these are their luggage... Oh, luggage for the performance." The streamer pointed her phone at several vans in the distance. Four vans, dozens of suitcases, all their costumes and props, including several boxes of the makeup artist's equipment.
She stayed there, continuing to watch as she clicked in. The number of viewers in the live stream exceeded 100,000, and comments were scrolling by quickly. Jiang Juyou had to swipe to see the words clearly.
"When will they arrive?"
"Pray there are no sasaeng fans on the plane [please]"
"Does the airport look like there won't be fans following them?"
The safety of artists has always been the top priority. With the trainees having so many fans, including some crazy ones, Random Entertainment always chartered flights for them to avoid this. Only occasionally on international flights would they let them take commercial airlines.
She switched interfaces and sent a message to the management personnel on the trainees' side: "Pay extra attention to the trainees' safety later, and also take care of the fans' safety. Everyone came out happily, don't let anyone get hurt. If there are overly enthusiastic fans, directly find the on-site staff to handle it, don't intervene yourselves."
Jiang Juyou's flight was tomorrow, while the trainees were going two days in advance for rehearsals and to record some material, otherwise there wouldn't be enough content for the show.
At this time, the trainees in the car all looked sleepy, leaning on their chairs and sleeping deeply. Only Pei Luming was in an excited state; just thinking about being able to see fans up close made him very excited.
Sitting next to him, Gao Xiayu was a bit carsick. He couldn't sleep and kept holding his phone, occasionally picking it up to look, messaging someone.
They had been pulled up early to do makeup and styling, and only now got in the car. They were already exhausted, with Pei Luming being the anomaly.
The show was already in its later stages, with the final performance next month, so they needed to create momentum for the finale. Hence, the trainees' public overseas itinerary.
Fans were probably experiencing such close contact with them for the first time, and the number of people on site was enough to make one's scalp tingle. Looking at the crowd, Jiang Juyou worried about criticism from above.
The first to arrive at the airport scene were the staff. Guan Xiaoxiao led several people running back and forth, first liaising with the airport personnel. Because there were really too many people, they had to ensure the travel experience of other passengers, otherwise today would be the day for those haters to attack Random Entertainment and the trainees.
The fans on site were just waiting around randomly, as they weren't sure which exit the trainees would use. But when they saw staff members carrying barriers over, they immediately understood the meaning.
One by one, they quickly bowed their heads to spread the news, telling people at other entrances to come and gather here.
In this cold winter, Guan Xiaoxiao was sweating profusely. She helped set up the barriers, and only after ensuring the entry and exit of other passengers did she untie the megaphone on her body and call out to the fans outside, "Hello everyone, I'm a staff member from Random Entertainment. We understand your desire to see your idols—"
As soon as she said this opening sentence, everyone secretly thought it was bad news. Could it be they weren't coming this way?
The cold wind howled, and Guan Xiaoxiao pressed down on the hat on her head. Having just sweated inside, she didn't dare take it off. "But to ensure the travel of other passengers and everyone's safety, we have set up a safety zone. We hope everyone will stay in the designated area later and not push or crowd. You must ensure your own safety, understand?"
Girls are generally easy to talk to. After Guan Xiaoxiao's earnest speech, the fans behind the barriers responded in her sweet voice, "Okay~"
"Sister, when will they arrive?" someone suddenly asked as Guan Xiaoxiao was about to continue.
Guan Xiaoxiao said, "Soon! It's cold, right? Next time, don't come out. It's warmer inside."
Then she continued, "When they arrive later, we'll leave time for everyone to take photos, but please make sure to keep your distance from them after they enter. Also, be careful of the road when running, okay?"
Those fans imitated her again, "We heard—" and then giggled.
Some even teased Guan Xiaoxiao, "Sister, you're so cute!"
Guan Xiaoxiao: "..."
Even at 158cm, she had the heart of a mature woman.
She repeated the same words several times inside, making sure every fan heard, before coming out again to wait at the entrance, joining these fans in braving the cold wind.
During the meeting a couple of days ago, they had worried about the scene of fans sending them off, but no matter how they discussed it, the conclusion was always that the fans wouldn't obediently stay away. So they changed their plan in the end.
Since they couldn't prevent it, they could only maintain order at the scene. They had contacted the airport staff a few days in advance to explain the situation and hope for understanding. As for how to resolve this situation in the future, it would require further discussion.
Guan Xiaoxiao contacted her colleague on the bus, asking where they were. Upon learning they would arrive in about ten minutes, she turned to inform the other colleagues inside, then guarded her position, watching over the barriers.
She stood by the barrier, wearing no gloves, just gripping the barrier to prevent it from being pushed over. The icy touch instantly cut off the sensation in her fingertips, and pain immediately followed.
Guan Xiaoxiao shrank back, withdrawing her hand and changing to hook her arm around the barrier instead.
Seeing this, several nearby fans consciously stepped back a bit and told those behind them, "Don't push, okay? This barrier isn't stable, it could fall easily."
Liu Yue, who had anticipated this situation, was inside the hall, finding a spot far from the crowd to set up her small ladder, holding up her camera in preparation.
"My goodness, that equipment is professional enough."
Hearing these words, Liu Yue turned her head to look. Unexpectedly, the face was quite familiar, and the other person seemed to recognize her too, their expression visibly stunned for a moment.
"Are you... that person's sister?" Liu Yue remembered her, she often came to school looking for Jiang Juyou, as her sister.
Jiang Liuxing slowly lowered the camera in her hands, wanting to hide it behind her back, but as soon as she put it down, she realized she shouldn't feel guilty. Instead, it was the person above who had an unusual identity.
Hugging her camera, Jiang Liuxing nodded to Liu Yue, "Hello, big sister."
"Um... hello."
The awkwardness between the two of them was no less than that of southerners suddenly finding themselves in a bathhouse together. Running into an acquaintance while out chasing celebrities was already bad enough, but it was even worse when that acquaintance wasn't really that familiar.
Most crucially, they both had things that exposed them as fans.
Liu Yue's down jacket was merchandise from Ye Xing's pop-up store at Circlecenter, while Jiang Liuxing's beanie was Sang Mo's merchandise.
"Your sister..."
"My sister..."
They both started speaking at the same time, but Liu Yue yielded, letting the other go first.
Jiang Liuxing immediately pleaded, "My sister doesn't know I'm a fan of Sang Mo. Please, don't tell her!"
Liu Yue clicked her tongue and nodded, "...Alright."
They weren't very close to begin with, and now there was even less to talk about. Liu Yue was fine, but Jiang Liuxing was in agony.
If her sister found out she was a fan of Sang Mo, then she'd also discover that Jiang Liuxing spent every day editing videos to promote him, and even that the marketing money went to Random Entertainment.
Just thinking about it made Jiang Liuxing's vision go dark.
Just as she was closing her eyes and about to fall backwards, screams erupted from the entrance, causing nearby passengers to turn and look. It was only a brief outburst, quickly hushed as fans reminded each other to keep their voices down.
At the entrance, the trainees were disembarking in their group order, each group pausing for about ten seconds to let fans take photos before moving into the main hall.
Group C was the last to come down. All seven members were styled and wore nothing to cover their faces.
Sang Mo was the last to get off the bus. He wore an all-black coat with a lake blue beanie and scarf, which was wrapped once around his shoulders. His blue jeans complemented the blue accessories, giving him the look of a male lead from a Korean winter drama.
Due to the cold, his knuckles turned red within seconds of getting off. Sang Mo raised his hand to wave briefly before it was time for them to go inside. His eyes were full of curiosity as he kept looking at the fans on site.
There were fewer fans present than before, as some had already followed the first two groups inside. Those who remained were all fans of Group C. Looking at these young men, for the first time, they felt like they weren't just raising children.
"Damn, they're so big?"
"So tall! No one said 1.85 meters was this tall!"
"This isn't my son, this is clearly my husband."
"I can't handle this, I'll never be able to climb out of this hole."
"They smell so good... they all smell so good."
The handsome, well-dressed young men left the fans on site in a daze. Especially Sang Mo and Chi Qiao, who were like clothes hangers in their coats – one black, one smoke gray – constantly drawing the fans' gazes. Even fans of other groups couldn't help but look their way.
As the group drew closer, the differences in their physiques became apparent.
The trainees, who had seemed small in their imaginations, were a head taller than the fans. Their faces were much more delicate than on camera, and they all smelled nice.
"My God, how am I supposed to go back to school and face those ugly octopuses in my class?"
Someone said this, and Pei Luming turned around, his face full of curiosity.
Indeed, those who haven't debuted yet are so fresh. He was like a kitten or puppy just a few weeks old, melting everyone's hearts.
Fans: Time-stopping spell – please let time stop at this beautiful rookie period!
Artists are always most sincere and earnest during the period right after their debut.
