Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 391 Wives and Concubines Compete for Favor
Thanks to Zhang Yan, the small screen in 1994 was much more lively than before, with many local stations trying to create variety shows that focused on entertainment.

Of course, skirting the edge is also a major feature this year.

However, in terms of long-term popularity, all variety shows and films had to give way to the first Jia-A League. Moreover, it wasn't just the live performances and broadcasts that were a hit; the print media coverage was also phenomenal.

This is also why Zhang Yan is so eager to ride the wave of popularity—if it were thirty years from now, he wouldn't even bother going for money.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan glanced back and saw that more than half of the girls who were peeking around quickly lowered their heads and looked down obediently, including the Ice and Snow Sisters.

This pleased Zhang Yan greatly. If he acted spoiled and arrogant in front of others, there would be no need to continue their close friendship in the future.

So he handed the mobile phone to the staff for safekeeping, but instead of rushing back to the audition, he asked Li Xue, "Did Chen Daoming send you?"

Li Xue had already spoken with Assistant Lin, so Zhang Yan shouldn't be unaware of it. The fact that he's asking now clearly indicates he wants a reason to speak with Zhang Yan alone.

Having figured this out, Li Xue nodded without hesitation, then hesitated, "Brother Chen said, said..."

"Come with me."

Seeing that she seemed hesitant to speak in public, Zhang Yan naturally led her into an empty office.

Everyone was curious about Li Xue's identity when they saw this, but when they heard that she was Chen Daoming's assistant, they didn't take it too seriously.

But Wang Luyao, who was protecting the dancers like a mother hen, vaguely sensed something was amiss, after all, she was too familiar with Zhang Yan.

What just happened seemed ordinary, but if you think about it carefully...

Then think about how Li Xue seemed to be particularly favored by Sister Hong recently, and even her sister benefited from it. This is not the kind of treatment a small celebrity assistant can get.

Could it be that I've unknowingly gained another sister?
Others might not make this connection, but Chen Hong was the one who pushed Wang Luyao to the top in the first place. Now that she's pregnant, what's so strange about her finding a newcomer to take her place?

This immediately heightened Wang Luyao's sense of crisis.

Although Zhang Yan already had women outside the company, they were all outside the company. But Li Xue clearly wanted to join the company to fulfill her dream.

Although Wang Luyao didn't think the other person could replace her, she knew that preparation was key to success, so she definitely needed to prepare a strategy in advance.

Thinking this, her gaze swept over the dancers around her, scrutinizing and critical, as if she were selecting fat pigs for slaughter.

Whatever the first wife can do, this concubine can do as well. Moreover, while the first wife is somewhat reserved, this concubine can personally take the lead in training apprentices.

in the office.

Zhang Yan was unaware that he had inadvertently stirred up the beginning of a power struggle among his wives and concubines.

His first words upon entering the room were: "Did President Chen convey my message to you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xue quickly and obediently replied, "President Chen instructed us not to reveal this information to Sister Tao Hong."

"anything else?"

"besides?"

Li Xue paused for a moment, trying hard to recall the conversation, before saying uncertainly, "President Chen also told us not to bother you unless necessary, and to contact her if we have any problems."

Zhang Yan nodded slightly before asking, "Speak, what brings you here?"

Confirming that she had guessed correctly, Li Xue felt a sinking feeling instead of joy.

She originally forbade the two of them from contacting General Manager Zhang casually, which was a tactic used by General Manager Chen to protect his own position and interests. However, she did not expect that this was actually General Manager Zhang's own idea.

This means that the status of the two sisters is much lower than expected; at best, they can only be considered as two puppets in President Chen's hands.

Li Xue felt a little bitter. It was probably because Zhang Yan had always seemed approachable when she met him before, which had led her to have unrealistic fantasies.

But now that I think about it, most of that gentleness was out of consideration for Tao Hong—while I and my sister obviously didn't have that kind of face, much less the right to compete with President Chen.

Thinking of this, Li Xue's attitude became even more respectful: "That's how it is. Niu Li, who played the second female lead Xiao Peng in 'A Messy Life,' has pretty good acting skills and is also a good friend of Sister Tao Hong. She wants to join us to realize her dream and hopes to participate in this audition."

"Tao Hong's good friend?" "She used to be on the synchronized swimming team too."

This is indeed a good reason to meet with Tao Hong after arriving in the capital tomorrow.

Zhang Yan thought for a moment and then asked, "How many more scenes does she have?"

"Her scenes have been mostly filmed, otherwise she wouldn't have dared to come to the audition."

Zhang Yan nodded, then led Li Xue out of the office and walked up to Niu Li, asking, "You know the candidates we've chosen this time, right?"

Niu Li nodded vigorously, not feeling that there was anything wrong with being a backup option. After all, if she weren't a backup, this good opportunity wouldn't have come her way for a new mainland actress.

Zhang Yan then asked, "Do you know that Rosamund Kwan is returning to Tianjin the day after tomorrow to officially start filming?"

"what?!"

Niu Li was stunned. The main person was coming back, so why look for a backup?
Zhang Yan noticed her confusion and calmly explained, "Miss Guan's condition shouldn't be too serious, but the production team is still worried about accidents, so they chose a backup candidate just in case. However, this backup candidate is unlikely to be officially cast."

Niu Li was indeed somewhat disappointed, but she had no intention of giving up. After all, it was a film crew starring Zhang Yimou and Gong Li, and she didn't want to miss it even if there was only a one percent chance.

So she nodded vigorously and said, "I know, but I still want to try."

"Then do your best. Besides the 'Xi Chu Ba Wang' crew, Director Xie Jin is also in it. Director Xie's new work, 'The Opium War,' is confirmed to be filmed in Tianjin. If you perform well enough, even if you are not selected for 'Xi Chu Ba Wang,' you may still be selected for the 'The Opium War' crew."

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, he turned around and returned to the audition venue.

Seeing Niu Li's undisguised joy, Wang Luyao frowned slightly. Although she already knew this information and had told all the dancers who participated in the audition.

But Yan Ge said so much to a newcomer...

Could it be that she was the one who really took the blame, instead of that Li Xue?
She stared at Niu Li for a while, and when Niu Li ran to the end of the line to start queuing, she stared at Li Xue for a while, and finally concluded that she was not a big threat for the time being.

In terms of looks and figure, she's not even comparable to Sister Hong, let alone herself—mainly in terms of physique.

Looking at Li Xiaoran and Wang Yan in the center of the group, Wang Luyao felt even more confident.

"You guys keep queuing, I'll go in and ask around, see how the people in front are doing."

So she left a comment and pushed open the door to enter the examination room.

At that moment, the person being interviewed was an actress from the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Her performance was not very good, as could be seen from the unconscious frown on Chen Hong's face.

In fact, Chen Hong was not very satisfied with the actresses in this year's class of Shanghai Theatre Academy. Her real favorite was Ning Jing from the modeling class, but ever since Ning Jing was dumped by Jiang Wen in a flash, she had a bit of a grudge against her because of her.

Ning Jing did not participate at all when Chen Hong was in charge of campus recruitment at the beginning of the year.

Fortunately, there are a couple of male actors who have figured it out, like that one who's good at playing shrewd and mercenary characters...

"Sister Hong."

Just then, Wang Luyao's voice suddenly came from beside me: "Are any of the people who have already been interviewed selected?"

"When Yuan Li auditioned, Director Xie Jin seemed to have sketched a few lines, but I don't know if he actually liked her or not," Chen Hong said, then suddenly changed the subject: "I heard there's someone with really fair skin in your dance troupe, did she come this time?"

Wang Luyao's heart skipped a beat. Afraid that Chen Hong would see through her intentions, she momentarily forgot to reply.

Chen Hong waited a moment and, hearing no response, turned and glanced at her with a playful look in her eyes: "What, are you still trying to hide it?"

Wang Luyao panicked even more and quickly forced a smile, saying, "How could that be? She has always wanted to switch careers to become an actress, and she might switch to Sister Chang's side in a while."

"Yeah."

Chen Hong nodded in agreement, saying, "Then let's see how she performs today."

(End of this chapter)