Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 112 The Professional Assistant Bai
After Han Jianu left, only Jiang Ye and Bai Lu remained in the courtyard.

It was already ten o'clock at night, and the courtyard was bathed in the quiet moonlight.

Fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky, landing softly on the gray-tiled eaves, and also covering the old pomegranate tree in the corner of the courtyard with a thin layer of white frost.

The charcoal fire still burned in the fireplace under the eaves, and the tea in the pot bubbled gently, the steam rising and bringing a touch of warmth.

Bai Lu lowered her head to tidy up the tea set, her fingers slightly clenched, and the teacups clinked together with a crisp sound.

Jiang Ye leaned back in the rattan chair, closed his eyes to rest, and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, as if he was thinking about something.

"Boss..." Bai Lu hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up, "Could I... find an acting assistant like Sister Meng?"

Jiang Ye opened his eyes and asked in confusion, "Acting assistant?"

"It's... the kind of intimate scenes where a body double is used." Bai Lu's voice trailed off, her ear tips turning slightly red.

Jiang Ye was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled: "What, isn't filming intimate scenes a perk for you?"

The egret panicked and blurted out, "No way! I'm not your boss!"

Jiang Ye's face darkened: "...What do you mean?"

Is this silly roe deer calling him a scumbag?

Bai Lu immediately realized she had said the wrong thing when she saw Jiang Ye's expression.

She knew his micro-expressions all too well; his eyebrows slightly furrowed and his lips tightened—these were signs that he was about to get angry.

But Assistant Bai has been with Jiang Ye for over a year, so his reputation is certainly not undeserved.

Without saying a word, she turned and ran into the kitchen. A moment later, she came out with a basin of hot water and placed it in front of Jiang Ye's feet: "Boss, soak your feet!"

Jiang Ye: "...?"

Before he could react, Bailu had already squatted down and started helping him take off his shoes and socks.

Jiang Ye instinctively tried to pull his leg back, but she pressed it down: "Don't move, the water's getting cold."

Jiang Ye: "..."

He looked down at the egret's fluffy head and didn't know what to say, so he just let her do as she pleased.

The water temperature was just right. Bai Lu moved another chair and sat behind him, gently placing her hands on his shoulders and saying ingratiatingly, "Boss, you've been working too hard lately. Let me give you a head massage."

Before Jiang Ye could react, the back of his head had already been pressed against something soft.

His body stiffened slightly.

Bai Lu's fingers were already pressed on his temples, kneading them with just the right amount of pressure, her voice light and airy: "I learned this technique from Sister Tian Tian, ​​does it feel good?"

Jiang Ye: "...It's alright."

He closed his eyes and unconsciously hummed twice.

Damn it...

No, it really feels good.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Bailu continued the previous topic: "Boss, about the stand-in... please agree to it. If not, I'll pay the salary myself."

Jiang Ye frowned slightly: "Why the sudden need for a stand-in?"

Bai Lu's fingers paused for a moment, and her voice lowered slightly: "The thought of filming intimate scenes with those male celebrities... makes me feel physically nauseous and uncomfortable."

? ? ? ? ?

Jiang Ye was also a little puzzled!

His head was resting on her chest, and he didn't notice anything wrong with her.

However, after a moment of silence, he relented: "Alright, I'll arrange it for you later."

Bai Lu's eyes lit up, and her grip tightened slightly: "Thank you, boss!"

Jiang Ye was taken aback. Oh no, he had agreed too quickly.

That silly roe deer has achieved its goal and is probably about to run away...

Sure enough, after pressing the button a couple of times, Bailu chuckled and withdrew, saying, "Then I'll head back now!"

Jiang Ye was speechless: "...Couldn't you just press the buttons before leaving?"

The egret had already hopped and skipped towards the door, then turned back and made a face at him: "Press it next time!"

Jiang Ye watched her retreating figure, sighed, looked down at his feet still soaking in the water, and smiled helplessly.

Actually, he had already considered the matter of using a body double.

Meng Ziyi has her own body double, and he had already started looking for one for Chen Duling.

It's not unreasonable for Bai Lu to bring this up today.

Otherwise, they all have them, even though there are special reasons, but it's not easy to say that to outsiders.

Other artists must feel somewhat resentful.

When the company recruits assistants for its female artists in the future, the first requirement will be that they are similar in appearance and height.

She can work as an assistant or as a stand-in.

They've all been provided; whether they use them or not is up to them. This will save us from future conflicts over such trivial matters.

He rubbed his temples, mentally planning his next move.

only……

He looked down at his feet, which were still soaking in the water, and recalled the sensation on the back of his head. He felt a strange sense of unease.

When did this little white roe deer learn this trick?

……

The egret returned to its room, closed the door, gently pressed its back against the door panel, and let out a long sigh.

The room wasn't big, but it was very cozy.

The light gray sheets were newly changed, and the duvet cover still carried a faint scent of laundry detergent.

These were all purchased by the company. I heard that the boss specifically instructed the administration department to replace them with new ones for all the artists.

She kicked off her slippers, stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet, walked to the bedside and sat down, her fingers unconsciously stroking the fabric of the sheets.

"The boss is really something... he even has to meddle in such trivial matters."

She muttered to herself, but she was secretly quite pleased.

A small nightlight sat on the bedside table, its warm yellow glow enveloping the room.

Bai Lu opened the drawer and pulled out a leather notebook from the bottom.

The notebook was a bit old, with slightly curled edges, clearly indicating that it had been frequently read.

She carefully opened it, and found it filled with all sorts of notes.

Jiang Ye's lifestyle habits!

Coffee: Americano, double espresso, less sugar!
(It's strange, he seems to drink more heartily every time he spits? This needs to be verified in future work.)
Shirts: Only custom-made; collars must be crisp, and cuffs must be large enough to hold a watch. Disliked foods: Fish, cilantro, and bonito flakes!

(But if it's a social occasion, I'll force myself to eat it.)
Habits when tired: Rubbing the center of the eyebrows
(Circle three times to the left and three times to the right, then let out a long sigh.)
Signs of impending anger: eyebrows slightly furrowed, corners of the mouth tightened, and the right ring finger unconsciously taps the table, the speed increasing...

(Although the eldest child gets angry easily, he's quite easy to appease.)
Bai Lu's fingers gently traced the words, which she had written down little by little after observing them since joining the company.

When she first became an assistant, she searched online for "how to become a qualified assistant". One workplace article said: "As a CEO's assistant, work ability is the foundation, but what can really help you gain a foothold is your understanding of the boss's lifestyle habits."

She thought it made a lot of sense, so she secretly kept this "Jiang Ye Observation Diary".

The reason she was able to guess at a glance that Jiang Ye had gone to see Chen Duling that night was because she knew him too well.

He is a complete workaholic.

Unless Sister Meng comes to the company, he basically never leaves work on time, always staying up late into the night, and sometimes even sleeping in the office.

For a time, Bailu even wondered if this man was not interested in women.
It wasn't until later that his relationship with Sister Meng was discovered...

Chen Duling, she accompanied Jiang Ye to meet her once.

Although the conversation was normal, Bailu just felt...something was off.

Furthermore, she was cast as the lead actress in this new movie, and her studio has also received investment from her own company…

"Tsk, a honey trap..."

Bai Lu closed her laptop, lay back on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The boss even sacrificed his looks to sign people!

She turned over, buried her face in the pillow, and sighed softly.

I wonder when I'll become a top-tier celebrity?
Then, she'll be able to share more of his burden, instead of just secretly remembering his preferences and massaging his head when he's tired, like she does now...

The glow of the nightlight gradually blurred, and the egret drifted off to sleep.

In the corner of the last page of the notebook, a girl quietly wrote a line of small words: One day, I will make him remember my habits too.

……

杭城
The glass curtain wall building on the banks of the Qiantang River gleamed in the New Year's Day morning light, and the red silk that had just been unveiled under the bronze logo of "Jianglan Fashion" on the 25th floor still shone with a festive luster.

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and as Zhou Ye stepped out in her white sneakers, the entire floor was filled with the scent of newly opened leather and cedar incense.

"Wow"

She tiptoed and twirled, her pleated skirt rippling in the breeze.

Today she specially styled her hair in pigtails, tied with cherry hair ties at the ends. Her cream-colored duffle coat made her face look even more radiant, like a girl straight out of a comic book.

"Put your jaw down." Zhou Qisi stepped out. "Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd just arrived in the city."

Zhou Ye immediately made a delicate gesture with her fingers and said in a soft voice, "Oh dear, now that you're working in such a heavenly abode, you mustn't look down on your younger sister for being so unsophisticated!"

“Zhou! Xiao! Ye!” Zhou Qisi was exasperated. “If you keep talking like Lin Daiyu, I’ll tell Mom and Dad that you stole my SK-II.”

The two sisters faced each other across the desk for three seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing at the same time.

Zhou Qisi reached out and ruffled his sister's bangs: "You brat, you go crazy as soon as you're on vacation?"

Zhou Ye then grabbed her sister's arm: "Who told you not to come home for six months!"

Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly lowered her voice, "Uncle Jiang sent you to the frontier? Such a remote department..."

"Has he fallen out of favor?"

"What nonsense! This is the Fashion Brand Strategy Department, the Blue Ocean Project personally planned by President Jiang."

"Do you know how many coats 'My Love from the Star' made popular? Do you know how many cheongsam manufacturers our company made popular with 'Sito'?"

Zhou Qisi flicked her forehead, his tone tinged with smugness.

She tried hard to recall what Jiang Ye had told her when she left, and then put it to use as she went.

"You think President Jiang just randomly set up a department or branch? There's a lot more to it than meets the eye."

"Think about it, when a show becomes popular, viewers follow the characters and the plot, and naturally they will pay attention to the clothes and jewelry in the show. That's ready-made traffic."

She picked up the design draft on the table and gestured: "President Jiang said that we will sell two types of products first."

"One type is items featured in the show, such as the female lead's everyday clothes, the male lead's accessories, and even the maid's hairpins. As long as something becomes popular in the show, viewers immediately want to get the same items. We apply for patents for the designs in advance, find factories to rush production, and put them on sale as soon as the show airs. We streamline the entire process from pre-sale to delivery. Just like the cheongsam in 'Si Teng,' viewers can see it while watching the show, click on the link, and buy it. The conversion rate is very fast."

“The other type is original IP derivatives,” she thought for a moment and then thought of Jiang Ye’s instructions. “President Jiang said that it’s not enough to just sell the same products; we have to delve deeper into the aesthetics of the drama. For example, the embroidery patterns and color matching logic in period dramas, and the workplace dressing styles in modern dramas, can be extracted and made into original designs, and then divided into fast fashion and light luxury lines.”

“Students buy affordable versions of the same items, while office workers buy designer collaborations, thus extending the value of the IP from the screen into real life.”

Zhou Ye blinked: "What are the benefits of doing this?"

"There are so many benefits," Zhou Qisi said, though he was just relaying a statement, he still felt quite pleased with himself. "First, you earn extra money. Film companies can't rely solely on box office revenue and copyright fees; selling clothing and merchandise provides real cash flow, and licensing fees and sales commissions are pure profit."

"Second, extend the life cycle of the IP. The popularity of a TV series may fade after it ends, but clothes and accessories can continue to sell and generate buzz through fashion bloggers and ordinary people, making the IP more popular for longer."

"Third, it connects with the audience's emotions. When the audience wears the same clothes and uses the same items, it means that their love for the characters becomes a daily routine, and their goodwill towards our company and future works will also be higher."

"Uncle Jiang is so amazing!"

"Of course! Little sister, aren't you thinking about taking the art exam? You can sign with our company when the time comes, and I'll protect you!"

"Really? Can I, too?"

"Sure, I'll get you special treatment from the boss!"

"Sister, you're amazing!" Zhou Ye's eyes lit up, and she leaned closer to ask, "So, sister, you've been promoted directly to general manager of a branch company? You're already handling things on your own so quickly?"

Zhou Qisi: "..."

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, lowered her voice and glared at her: "Don't shout! What will people think if they hear you? The person in charge of this company is someone else, I'm just in charge of the design."

"Who is it? Someone even more powerful than you?" Zhou Ye pried her hand away, her face full of curiosity.

As soon as he finished speaking, the glass door to the office was gently pushed open.

The woman who walked in looked to be around thirty years old. She was wearing a beige wool suit skirt with a pearl white silk shirt underneath, and a small black velvet bow tied at the neckline.

Her shoulder-length curly hair was meticulously styled, and her earrings were two round pearls that accentuated her fair skin. Her eyes held a gentle smile, and despite her sophisticated professional attire, she exuded a comfortable and approachable charm.

"What are you chatting about? It's so lively." The woman's voice was soft, and she paused when her gaze fell on Zhou Ye.

Zhou Qisi immediately stood up: "President Lin, you've arrived. This is my sister, Zhou Ye, who is here to visit me at the company today because she's off work."

Zhou Ye then realized that the person in front of her was the person in charge her sister had mentioned.

But it looks kind of familiar...

I feel like she looks a bit like someone, but I can't quite place who.

While she was still in a daze, Zhou Qisi whispered in her ear, "This is Ms. Lin Huahua, President Jiang's mother, and also the head of my branch."

Jiang Ye went to great lengths to open this branch company, even enlisting the help of his mother.

Anyway, he felt that since the Empress Dowager was so young and those beauty salons were basically not doing much, and his mother played mahjong all day, it would be better to give her some more responsibilities.

He also harbored a desire for his mother to succeed...
As for his father, forget about him; he's a fisherman with no ambition...

(End of this chapter)