Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 108 Agents Arrive and Fashion Resources Developed

Nanjing Yunying Low Flight Film and Television Culture Studio

The evening rain slanted against the French windows. Ni Ni stood in front of the window, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the rim of her coffee cup.

The office was quiet, with only the occasional hum of the printer.

Agent Chen Pu put the last document into his briefcase, the sound of the zipper jarring in the silence.

"Are you really leaving?" Ni Ni turned around, somewhat reluctant.

Chen Pu paused, looked up at her, and said, "Nini, all the formalities are done."

"Besides, with Wang Qing's assistance, you won't have to worry too much in the future."

"Sister Chen, Teacher Wang, I just..."

"Alright, no need to explain, I understand! We're all adults! Wang Qing has connections with her husband He Jiong and has close ties with Huayi, which will be helpful for your future career!"

"But I can't bear to part with you, sister!"

Chen sighed and reached out to straighten Ni Ni's slightly disheveled collar: "I've been with you for three years, and now that I'm leaving, there are some things I want to tell you. You can listen to as much as you want!"

She took a step back, her eyes turning serious: "I can understand why you and Feng Shaofeng were dating back then. I even took the initiative to leave his team to focus on training you."

"But you broke up only six months ago, and now you're with Jing Boran again."

Ni Ni frowned and interrupted, "This is my private matter."

"In the entertainment industry, there are no truly private matters." Chen Pu's voice suddenly rose. "Do you know how many eyes are watching you right now? You trained for more than half a year before debuting in 'The Flowers of War,' and the goodwill you built up with 'Fleet of Time'—it wasn't easy for you to get to where you are..."

"Sis, I don't want to talk about this!"

“Nini,” Chen Pu stroked her hair one last time, just like when they first met three years ago, “the audience loves Yu Mo’s pride, not her scandal-ridden gossip queen.”

"You take care of yourself!"

Chen Pu walked out of the office, and the glass door slowly closed behind him.

She stopped and looked back. Ni Ni was still standing in front of the French window, her back view thin and stubborn, blurred into a silhouette by the rain.

She was originally the publicity director of Feng Shaofeng's team. When the two were dating, they were on the same team.

She took over Ni Ni's publicity and resource coordination in 2013.

Ni Ni's access to many fashion resources was facilitated through Feng's connections!

They established their own independent studio in March of this year.

However, Ni Ni's breakup with Feng, coupled with the exposure of indecent photos on Tianya Forum and Ni Ni's new relationship with Jing Boran, made her want to give up.

This girl is so dramatic!

She was originally going to join Taiyang Chuanhe, and the founder, Yang Ming, had been trying to recruit her.

But in the last few days, she has had a better option.

……

Jiangying Media
When Chen Pu entered Jiang Ye's office, Jiang Ye was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window making a phone call. When he saw her come in, he pointed to the sofa in the reception area, indicating that she should wait a moment.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, falling on the open proposal on the coffee table.

Jiangying Media Artist Strategy Department Development Plan.

"Director Chen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Jiang Ye hung up the phone, sat down opposite her, and casually pushed a cup of tea over, "West Lake Longjing, have some."

Chen Pu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and got straight to the point: "President Jiang, regarding the permissions you mentioned on the phone earlier..."

Jiang Ye smiled, took a document from the drawer and handed it to her: "Director of Artist Strategy Department, directly responsible to me."

"We discussed the terms on the phone yesterday, and I'll give you a written review. The annual salary will be double what we agreed on with Taihe, plus a monthly team performance bonus that's directly linked to the artist's commercial value."

He paused, tapping the edge of the document with his fingertip. "The permissions are clearly stated in black and white: the rights to choose fashion projects for the artist, the rights to screen business collaborations, and the rights to appoint and dismiss team members are all yours. I won't interfere."

"But the right to choose film and television projects needs to be reported directly to me!"

Chen Pu flipped to the terms and conditions page and, sure enough, saw the words "the agent has the final decision-making power." She looked up and said, "Aren't you afraid I'll ruin your reputation?"

I believe in your abilities!

Jiang Ye leaned back in his chair and said, "The company now has three core artists: Meng Ziyi, Li Xian, and Bai Lu. From now on, they will all be under your management."

"Meng Ziyi is currently a top star, having broken into the A-list with 'Princess Promotion,' but she still lacks a blockbuster to solidify her status!"

“Li Xian is still stuck in second- or third-tier cities; he has potential but lacks precise planning.”

"Bai Lu is a newcomer, but the company recently gave her two low-budget leading roles!"

Chen Pu nodded. She had done her research on these artists: "Meng Ziyi's 'Love O2O' should be able to finish filming this year, right? This drama has a good IP foundation. As long as the reputation doesn't drop, she should be able to maintain her status as a top-tier star."

"She has a striking appearance and is naturally suited to the fashion industry. She can take advantage of the drama's popularity to launch a high-end business campaign." "Excellent!" Jiang Ye's tone was full of approval. "Your resources in the fashion industry can perfectly fill this gap in the company's resources."

“Li Xian has a very prominent tough guy image, but his sense of fashion hasn’t been fully developed. You could help him connect with some men’s business partners, such as watch and haute couture suit brands, to strengthen his image as a stylish man.”

"Personally, I feel that Bai Lu has a good sense of variety shows. My suggestion is that when she is doing both film and television variety shows, she can increase her popularity even faster by pairing it with luxury brand endorsements or magazine covers."

He suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, you can also take care of Chen Duling. Her cool and aloof temperament is actually very popular in the fashion industry."

Chen Pu was taken aback: "Chen Duling? Didn't she just start her own independent studio?"

“Our company also has shares in the studio, so they are considered artists within our system,” Jiang Ye explained. “It hasn’t been officially announced yet.”

Chen Pu's heart skipped a beat; this was an unexpected surprise.

She remembered Chen Duling; this girl became famous for her role in "The Left Ear" and had a cool and aloof appearance.

Her starting point was higher than many artists of the same period, and recently many large film and television companies were vying for her.

I never expected that their company would take it over; I don't know how the boss did it.

She thought for a moment and said, "In the fashion industry, I have several designer brands that are in need of spokespeople with this kind of temperament. But an independent studio means more autonomy, so I need to understand her plans first to avoid misallocation of resources."

"For example, whether she prefers to walk the haute couture runway or do commercial endorsements, we need to make precise connections."

“That’s why I came to you.” Jiang Ye leaned forward. “You’re good at accurately matching an artist’s qualities with resources, and fashion is your forte.”

Chen Pu was quickly calculating in her mind, after all, her income was based on a percentage of the commercial value of celebrities.

The artists in the new company all have great potential.

If Meng Ziyi can achieve another breakthrough with "Love O2O", coupled with high-end endorsements and a full slate of magazine covers, her commercial endorsement fees will increase several times over, making her an absolute ace in the business.

She wasn't familiar with Li Xian and Bai Lu, so she needed to observe them further.

Most importantly, there's Chen Duling. Her cool and aloof temperament makes her easy to be favored by the fashion industry. If she can use her connections to help her land a haute couture runway show or a mainstream magazine cover, and then combine that with film resources, she might be able to replicate or even surpass Ni Ni's meteoric rise to fame.

"President Jiang, Ni Ni is currently vying to become the brand ambassador for Gucci. Gucci's creative director, Alessandro Michele, has just taken office, and the brand's style has shifted to a romantic retro style."

"If Meng Ziyi's work becomes a huge hit, it might be worth considering!"

Jiang Ye tapped his fingertips lightly on the table. When he looked up after listening, his smile was full of admiration: "You're something else, bringing such a big pie to the table right after joining the company."

"If Meng Ziyi's drama becomes a hit, with her national popularity and your fashion resources, our company might be able to try to compete with top companies in the high-end business sector!"

Chen Pu felt a surge of warmth in his heart and leaned forward slightly: "President Jiang, I've poached the core members of Ni Ni's PR team. They're all veterans who worked with me on full-scale PR campaigns for SK-II and DFS. They understand fashion trends and, more importantly, how to link an artist's qualities with the brand's selling points. Their positions..."

"You can arrange it yourself."

Jiang Ye interrupted her before she could finish, his tone crisp and decisive, "You decide the team structure and salary levels. I only care about the results."

These words were like a spark igniting a fuse in Chen Pu's heart. Her clenched fingers tightened slightly, and the excitement in her eyes was almost impossible to hide.

The frustration of leaving the old team and the hesitation during the transition period all transformed into ambition that bursts forth from the ground at this moment.

She not only needs to help the new team gain a foothold, but also needs to make Jiang Ying's artist matrix break into the fashion industry.

As she turned and left the office, the sound of her high heels on the floor was louder than usual.

Jiang Ye watched her leave and breathed a sigh of relief.

We finally managed to recruit a talented person.

Most of the famous agents in the entertainment industry have now become bosses, and they are basically impossible to poach.

Moreover, he doesn't need it.

After all, his main job as an agent is to select film and television projects, and he is the best agent!

none of them……

What he needs now is publicity and fashion.

Chen Pu is a very good choice, although he is also a player who likes to take unconventional approaches.

She started her career in publicity and planning at Huayi Brothers, and has close personal relationships with Su Mang of Harper's Bazaar and Deng Wanying of Gucci Greater China, among others, enabling her to quickly mobilize core resources in the fashion industry.

Later, after becoming Ni Ni's agent, she spearheaded the "outshining press releases" strategy when Ni Ni faced a resource vacuum due to Zhang Yimou and Zhang Wei's reputation.

By publishing numerous articles comparing her red carpet looks, such as "outshining Baby and crushing Liu Shishi," Ni Ni generated buzz and quickly made headlines in the fashion world.

Although this strategy sparked controversy, it laid the foundation for Ni Ni to subsequently obtain high-end resources such as the global SK-II endorsement and cooperation with DFS Global Duty Free.

At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, she also used Ni Ni's Elie Saab nude gown, along with press releases comparing and contrasting them, to portray her as a red carpet textbook.

This strategy directly led to him appearing on 22 covers of 15 magazines in 2016, and achieving a "grand slam" by appearing on all five major magazines in 2017.

They also secured front-row seats at the four major fashion weeks and exclusive rights to use haute couture gowns for her.

It can be said that she is a typical mastermind behind the "visual survival" in the entertainment industry, and with "red carpet topic creation" and "high-end resource positioning" as the core, she successfully transformed Ni Ni from a "Mou Girl" into a fashion icon.

(End of this chapter)