Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

"Your brother wants to be your manager?" Jiang Lai sat opposite Zhang Ziyi, his brows furrowing subconsciously.

Zhang Ziyi nodded. "Yes."

"No!"

Jiang's swift and decisive actions surprised Zhang Ziyi.

Why?

"There's no reason why, it just won't work."

Jiang Lai certainly couldn't tell anyone about her brother Zhang Zinan's future misdeeds.

To give a few examples, when Zhang Ziyi was at the height of her fame, some media outlets wanted to interview her, but Zhang Zinan asked for 40 million yuan, which scared them away and made many media outlets have a poor impression of Zhang Ziyi.

Later, it was discovered that he praised his younger sister on the forum while relentlessly smearing other female celebrities. This kind of comparison and belittling naturally makes people disgusted.

The most classic example is the Ink-Splashing Incident. It only sparked public opinion, and the people behind the scenes were still figuring out how to escalate the situation. But Zhang Zinan did something else, shouting, "Don't underestimate the bond between me and my sister!" He personally sent threatening text messages to those involved in the incident, adding fuel to the fire.

The media exposure caused a huge uproar, and naturally, all the blame was placed on Zhang Ziyi.

Those behind the scenes were delighted. They didn't even need to lift a finger; various factions jumped out like sharks smelling blood, eager to kick someone when they were down. In the cutthroat entertainment industry, everyone will take the opportunity to step on you.

Although Zhang Ziyi's agent had already changed to Ji Lingling by this time, the other party's team was just as bad at handling public relations crises. They especially liked to speak out whenever there was controversy, and even when they did speak out, they did so poorly, making things worse and causing Zhang Ziyi's career to plummet.

Looking at the history of the entertainment industry, if it's just netizens or audiences criticizing you, that's not a big deal. What's most frightening is offending certain people. If you don't have a background or connections, even if you've climbed to the top of the industry, a single slap can leave you severely injured, if not dead. Some things can't be solved with money.

Getting back to the main point, none of these things happened, so Jiang Lai naturally couldn't explain why; he could only keep disagreeing.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Zhang Ziyi didn't say anything more. She was already a little hesitant, but now that Jiang Lai had made the decision for her, she felt relieved.

"Then let him continue working at the telecom company; it's a secure job, after all. But I do need an agent right now."

Jiang thought for a moment, then said, "I'll find one for you."

After saying that, he went out and called Sister Ying.

"Sister Ying, come over here for a moment and sign Zhang Ziyi in."

"Oh, are we signing her to be the boss's wife, or signing her to be an artist?"

Jiang Lai actually thought about it for a moment, "Signing an artist is risky. I'm afraid she'll get stubborn and overthink things because of her pride. We can talk about the boss lady's opinion later."

Yingjie was speechless. She hadn't expected you to be so serious.

"By the way, have Wang Jinghua manage Fan Bingbing and Zhang Jingchu who are signed under your name, and you only need to manage Zhang Ziyi."

"Alright, I've sold it to your family. It'll be there in a bit."

"Okay, Sister Ying, I'll give you a raise later."

Ying hung up immediately, unable to bear the capitalists' empty promises.

Not long after, Sister Ying arrived with the contract, and Zhang Ziyi was very surprised after reading it.

During this period, management contracts were generally split 50/50 between the artist and the company. If they didn't take 70%, they were considered to have a conscience. They also had to pay high breach of contract fees and impose unfair terms that required the artist to sell themselves for several years. They had no freedom at all. They could freeze their careers at any time and never be able to recover.

But Zhang Ziyi's commission rate in this contract is actually zero!

Furthermore, there are no penalties for breach of contract or a contract term, meaning Zhang Ziyi can leave whenever he wants.

She was puzzled, but when she flipped to the end of the contract and saw that the company was named Yibao, her face instantly turned red, and she understood everything.

After hastily signing his name, Zhang Ziyi handed the contract to Sister Ying.

"Ziyi, I'll definitely make you a superstar, and then I'll give this guy a good slap in the face."

Yingjie tapped the contract on the table and looked at Jiang Lai with disdain.

Zhang Ziyi didn't reply, still looking down at the words "Yibao," her face full of tenderness.

Yingjie glanced at it sideways, and thought, "Fine, I'm the outsider here."

Jiang Lai, meanwhile, was deep in thought with his arms crossed. He turned to Sister Ying and said, "You should go to the United States later. Ziyi's career should take an international focus from now on."

Yingjie's eyes lit up. Another company-funded trip? She nodded eagerly in agreement.

The three chatted for a while and were about to leave when Zhang Ziyi suddenly asked, "By the way, Sister Ying, does our company have any other signed artists?"

Jiang Lai was startled, but before he could stop her, Sister Ying blurted out, "Yes, there are Fan Bingbing and Zhang Jingchu. Fan Bingbing played Jin Suo in Huan Zhu Ge Ge, and Zhang Jingchu went to the same school as you."

Yingjie was still rambling on, but Zhang Ziyi's expression had already changed. She didn't know Fan Bingbing, but she did know Zhang Jingchu.

She smiled at Jiang Lai, a smile that made Jiang Lai feel uneasy. Coupled with the imposing aura that Zhang Ziyi had developed through martial arts training, Jiang Lai could only feel four words.

A smile that hides a dagger.

......

Three months.

It sounds like just three simple words, but when you actually experience it, you realize what it means for each day to feel like an eternity.

Girls came and went in batches to the training room. Li An's requirements were that they have good figures and their movements be clean and neat. It seemed simple, but in reality, it was a high-intensity training that lasted for more than ten hours every day. The girls would come and go, and then new girls would come.

In the end, only Zhang Ziyi was left.

It was only then that Li An began to accept her, feeling that Zhang Ziyi's ruthlessness was exactly the same as Yu Jiaolong in the story.

It's strange, though. Every time Zhang Jin makes Zhang Ziyi and Jiang Lai spar, this little girl goes overboard with her ruthlessness. She really goes all out with the wooden sword, whipping Jiang Lai until he screams in pain.

Seeing that Jiang Lai seemed to be enjoying himself, Li An didn't ask any further questions.

During these three months, Li An was not idle. He flew all over the country, from the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang to the sea of ​​clouds in Huangshan, from the bamboo forest in southern Sichuan to Cangyan Mountain in Hebei, scouting locations until his legs were sore.

After Li An returned, Jiang Lai listened to him muttering, "This is the kind of martial arts world I've always wanted!"

In May, Michelle Yeoh came to Beijing, and Chow Yun-fat was there to promote his movie "Anna and the King," which is expected to start filming soon.

When this Chinese "Bond girl" walked into the hotel lobby with her suitcase, Jiang Lai's first reaction was that this woman had a very strong aura, even though she was just wearing sportswear and had her hair in a high ponytail.

Yeung Tze-king smiled gently and greeted everyone in slightly broken Mandarin: "Hello everyone, I'm Yeung Tze-king, nice to meet you."

Zhang Ziyi instantly became a little fangirl.

Next, the crew added a new activity: teaching Yang Ziqiong to speak Mandarin.

Director Li An required that the entire filming be done using the original audio, without any post-production dubbing. Naturally, this meant speaking Mandarin, not Cantonese.

Yang Ziqiong's Mandarin was not very good at this time, so she would take time out of her training every day to find people to learn Mandarin from.

"Come on, how do you pronounce 'ganghu er' (肛湖儿女)?"

Lai Zai is Jiang Lai. After various names, Jiang Lai has acquired a new name, which is quite strange.

"Sister Qiong, it's not anus, it's river, Ji Yi Ang Jiang."

"Cut off an anus?"

"..."