Chinese Entertainment: Becoming a Superstar After a Breakup

"Shen Ze, I thought it was just a coincidence of names. I even asked Sister Yao, and it really is you. We'll be colleagues from now on, so please take care of me." After meeting Xiao Yuyu, the second artist to come to the company, besides Dilraba, was Huang Mengying, whom he knew.

Huang Mengying was very enthusiastic when she saw Shen Ze. They weren't exactly good friends, but in this vast world, it was fate that they were able to sign with the same company.

"Then I'll have to trouble you. You're a senior colleague in the company," Shen Ze said with a smile.

"Mengying, you're back! What are you chatting about that makes you so happy?" They had barely exchanged a few words when Dilireba appeared as if by her shadow, all smiles on her face. But Shen Ze knew she was doing it on purpose.

"I ran into an acquaintance. We acted together before. He's a junior from our school. By the way, I heard Shen Ze is your friend. Did you recommend him to the company?" Huang Mengying said.

"Yes, I've known him since before I went to university. He's looking for a company now, and I was thinking of helping him out," Dilraba said.

"I'm going in, don't leave. We'll go out for dinner later to welcome Shen Ze back." After chatting for a few minutes, Huang Mengying went into her office. Whenever she returned to the company, she always had something to do.

"Sure, it's so nice to chat with a beautiful girl," Dilraba said.

"If you cause trouble again, I'll spank you. You'll still talk back. If I don't say it with a smile, people will think I have a problem with it," Shen Ze said.

"Don't do anything reckless." Dilireba took two steps back, genuinely afraid he would hit her. It wasn't that she was jealous to this extent; it was just that she couldn't tolerate Shen Ze having any interaction with women—that wasn't crazy.

She was just reminding Shen Ze, and of course, she was also a little disgusted that Shen Ze was chatting so enthusiastically with a pretty girl, what if they developed feelings for each other?

"If you come to the company for a few more days, I guess we won't be able to keep our relationship a secret anymore. You're my friend, it's fine to come and help out for a day or two, but if you come for three or four days without anything going on, are you afraid people will start spreading rumors?" Shen Ze said.

Since he came to the company, Dilraba has been coming every day. She says she can't let the company find out, otherwise it will affect her work, but she also wants to be with Shen Ze. It's really something else.

"Are you scared?" Dilraba raised an eyebrow.

……

Days passed by, and summer vacation was approaching. After spending a few days in Beijing, Dilraba went to Hengdian to work.

Shen Ze had met almost all the artists in the company, and most of them had returned to the company, but he had never met Yang Mi, the biggest star.

This is normal, though. She's currently in Hong Kong recovering from childbirth. Shen Ze felt a little disappointed, since Yang Mi is considered one of the "85 Flowers" goddesses, so why did she have a baby?

He was pulled into the company's artist group by Zhao Ruoyao, and apart from Yang Mi and others he had never met, he added everyone he met to his WeChat.

In the past month, besides coming to the company, Shen Ze did another thing: he recorded a demo of "Fleet of Time" and submitted it directly. Now, the movie "Fleet of Time" is soliciting music, and Shen Ze also has a dream of becoming a singer.

However, after submitting the article, there was no further news. Shen Ze was a little curious. Had it simply disappeared without a trace? Could it have had a butterfly effect because it had passed through his hands?

He himself is not a great composer and is not famous, so this is very likely. As for the fact that "Fleet of Time" will definitely be a hit, well, nothing is guaranteed. If people could tell whether a work will be a hit or not, there wouldn't be so many bad movies.

He didn't have the money to go to a recording studio to record music, so he only made a basic demo, but that was enough. He wasn't worried about the music being stolen either, because after the music was extracted, there were special copyright protection measures in place. The system did everything, so he didn't have to worry about those things.

During this time, he was learning at the company and developing AI voice effects. He went to a karaoke bar once to try it out and felt that he was really good at it. Unfortunately, his girlfriend went to work while he was developing the voice effects, otherwise he would have surprised her. But he is ready to give her a surprise next time.

He answered the school's call and found Xin Yukun waiting for him in the cafeteria. They had arranged to meet today. Even after filming ended, their relationship hadn't broken down. Since he lived in Beijing, they could occasionally meet, but always in the cafeteria.

"Director, what's the good news? Why are you being so mysterious?" Shen Ze asked as soon as he sat down.

"Do you know about the FIRST International Film Festival? This is pure insider information, our film has been shortlisted," Xin Yukun said.

"That's great, Director. Logically, you should treat us to something like this, but why is it the cafeteria?" Shen Ze thought for a moment and realized that this film festival was a newly established one, a film festival for discovering new talents.

"Let's not be so worldly, nurtured by the campus atmosphere," Xin Yukun said.

He had no other reason for seeking out Shen Ze; he simply wanted to share his joy that Shen Ze had received three nominations in the main competition of the 8th FIRST International Film Festival: Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Artistic Contribution.

Although the nominations have not yet been announced, the film's director has already sent him an invitation to attend, which is something that has been happening for the past two days.

Shen Ze was a little envious. Why didn't he get a Best New Actor award? Otherwise, he could have gotten a nomination. But it didn't matter; it was a good thing.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. What was that name you mentioned last time? 'The Coffin in the Heart,' right? You won't have to pay copyright fees for using that name, will you?" Xin Yukun got down to business.

"Hey, Director, how about it? We still need to collect the patent fees. This meal is on you, I'm still a student," Shen Ze said. This was the real reason he came. He had actually mentioned it once before in our chat. When the movie was released, the title "The Coffin" might sound a bit scary, and people might think it was a ghost movie.

Xin Yukun really took it to heart. The movie was eventually released. After hearing Shen Ze's "The Coffin," he felt the title "The Coffin" was getting better and better, since the story of "Blood Coffin" was originally the inspiration for his movie.

He felt that Shen Ze understood him quite well, which was why the two of them had been in contact more often after returning to Beijing. Shen Ze knew that the movie had good reviews, while Xin Yukun was curious. Many people told him that the movie was good and would definitely be a success, but only Shen Ze spoke with particular sincerity.

How could he not be sincere? Judging the process by the result is inherently a shortcut. If things had followed the original timeline, Xin Yukun would have succeeded too. From Shen Ze's omniscient perspective, it's natural for him to want to befriend him.

Since we're all in a very low-income period, making friends is the cheapest thing to do right now. Xin Yukun isn't having an easy time either; I can feel the pressure he's under every time we meet.

Both he and Shen Ze knew that this movie was a turning point in his career. If it failed, his dream of becoming a director would be over, and no one would invest in it. If it succeeded, then there would be nothing more to say.

His strategy isn't to recoup costs through box office revenue; he hopes to sell his films at major film festivals, hoping someone will take a liking to them.