I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Yingzi's expression shifted: "Is he going to give up on me?"

“That person doesn’t mean to abandon you,” Secretary Gao said, emphasizing the word “that person”. “That person just means that you should take a break for a while, not appear in front of the media, and not show your face in public and embarrass yourself.”

Upon hearing the words "shameful," Yingzi suddenly felt incredibly small.

After thinking for a moment, Yingzi raised her head and said, "Actually, I can still sing, I can still earn money, and I can still make amends, as long as I earn money for that person..."

Although Secretary Gao did not lose her temper, Ruan Qingzhu clearly felt that the atmosphere had become more oppressive.

Yingzi's voice grew softer and softer.

Secretary Gao waited until she stopped speaking before slowly saying:

"Do you understand? You're an idiot, so you shouldn't think anymore. No matter how much you think, it will only make that person laugh."

"You make money, but the money you make is less than a tenth of what that person spent on you. Do you understand what that person wants? It's an ecosystem... Forget it, with your intelligence, you wouldn't understand anything."

Ruan Qingzhu held her breath.

Yingzi, who was always proud, was told to her face without any mercy that she was a fool.

...She suddenly regretted sitting there.

Seeing Yingzi's embarrassing state, she wondered if she would be the next to suffer.

“You’re an idiot,” Secretary Gao continued. “Do you know that what you said earlier was already very taboo?”

Yingzi looked up and said, "I'm just criticizing from a musical perspective..."

"Not that sentence," Secretary Gao finally waved his hand impatiently and said, "It's the sentence you said about farmers."

Yingzi gave a soft "Oh".

She also knew that because of her words, the "person" behind her had gone to great lengths to help her suppress the problem.

She regrets it now.

“This is a very taboo statement, do you understand?” Secretary Gao said. “To some people, your words are tantamount to directly insulting them, insulting their ancestors, do you understand?”

Yingzi blushed.

“Don’t show up,” Secretary Gao held up a finger to indicate a number, “7 years. You don’t need to appear in the public eye for 7 years.”

Yingzi's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

"My voice is at its peak right now. If I take a break, my career might suffer..."

Secretary Gao said curtly, "This is not a discussion with you."

"..." Yingzi dared not speak anymore.

“Seven years is the forgetting cycle of the internet,” Secretary Gao said. “Anything will be forgotten after seven years, and then you can repackage your image.”

Yingzi was filled with unease.

Perhaps not wanting to make the atmosphere too tense, Secretary Gao softened her tone slightly and said:

"Did you know that the Lu family and the Qin family are planning a marriage alliance recently?"

Yingzi gasped, while Ruan Qingzhu perked up her ears.

"The Qin family, is it the Qin family from Hongtu Group?" Yingzi pricked up her ears.

"Yes." Secretary Gao nodded. "The Qin family also intends to enter the entertainment industry. Given the Lu family's status in the entertainment industry, once the two sides are related by marriage, the Lu family's name combined with the Qin family's money will completely change the landscape of the entertainment industry."

Yingzi stared at him with wide eyes, unable to imagine what the future held.

"Forget about the mainland faction and the Shanghai faction, they're all gone," Secretary Gao declared eloquently. "Everything must revolve around the company."

Yingzi remained silent.

She felt like she had stepped into thin air.

Having run her own "reception room" for so long, she just wants to establish herself as the "leader of the Lu faction".

But Secretary Gao's casual remark just now shattered all her hopes.

She looked into Secretary Gao's eyes and found that his dark eyes were scrutinizing her.

It was as if he had seen through all her thoughts.

She suddenly realized whether the sentence she had just heard was a casual conversation or a warning.

“I’ve seen the company’s plans,” Secretary Gao said with a nostalgic expression. “It’s a truly grand blueprint, beyond your imagination.”

"What does the plan say?" Yingzi chimed in at the opportune moment.

Secretary Gao glanced at her and said, "What I can tell you is that we mass-produce idols."

"Mass-produced...idols?"

Yingzi's eyes widened slightly. In her worldview, idols and great figures were still synonymous, and she couldn't understand the meaning of the phrase "mass-produced idols" when put together.

Secretary Gao said, "There are large-scale packaging groups, a lot of competition among them, everything depends on the competition, and the winner takes all."

Yingzi suddenly panicked.

She worries that after a seven-year "rest," she might not be able to compete with anyone.

Secretary Gao noticed her panic and said with a smile, "Don't worry, you will have a place in this kind of ecosystem in the future. Your role will be that of a mentor and senior, so you won't have to compete with the younger generation."

"Once you arrive, the company calls the shots. An artist's image and persona are entirely determined by the company's arrangements and packaging, a streamlined process, differentiated competition, and the ability to appeal to all audiences."

"And in the even more distant future, the entire entertainment industry will be completely decentralized, forming idol zones for different audience groups, scattered like stars across the sky. Each idol group will capture a portion of the audience, striving to capture all consumer power in one fell swoop."

"Japan and South Korea are already doing this. If we don't follow suit quickly, we'll fall behind..."

After he finished speaking, he paused and took a sip of water.

During this period of silence, neither Yingzi nor Ruan Qingzhu spoke.

Secretary Gao talked about many things that the two of them had never heard of before.

These words were a bit too much information for them to process.

Secretary Gao turned to look at Ruan Qingzhu and said:

"As for Miss Ruan, it depends on your plans for the future. My suggestion is to switch to film and television and become a dual-threat artist. We have some film and television resources that we can provide for you."

Ruan Qingzhu nodded timidly.

After saying that, Secretary Gao did not linger and drove away.

Yingzi and Ruan Qingzhu stood at the door and watched his car disappear completely into the night before returning inside.

"Secretary Gao, who exactly is he?" Ruan Qingzhu asked in a low voice.

Yingzi glanced at her and said, "Did you hear what they said about the Lu family?"

"heard it."

"He is the secretary of the Lu family."

Ruan Qingzhu covered her mouth.

It turned out to be that person's secretary.

No wonder Yingzi treated him with such utmost respect.

Yingzi asked her, "Are you really going to switch to film and television?"

Ruan Qingzhu lowered her head: "I haven't decided yet."

"Switching to film and television is also fine." Yingzi walked into the house. "You have good looks."

Ruan Qingzhu lowered her head and followed silently behind her.

She knew that Yingzi had ulterior motives for saying that.

According to Secretary Gao, the entertainment industry will undergo a major transformation in the future, and if she can survive until then, she will definitely be a "mentor senior".

Yingzi has already started thinking about the future.

However, she is not a woman who is good at hiding her thoughts on her face.

But Ruan Qingzhu is.

Behind Yingzi, she glanced at the record player in the reception room, which was playing Jiang Xinhai's new album, and a bitter smile appeared on her face.

Even if I manage to hold on, what can I do?

How can we possibly compete with such a prodigy?

She was really tired.

……

Chen Ya did not attend the year-end music awards ceremony; only Jiang Xinhai went to receive the award.

Music awards are coming up in quick succession these days: the Golden Microphone Awards ceremony just finished last week, and the most prestigious Golden Melody Awards are just a week away.

At the Golden Microphone Awards, Jiang Xinhai's album "Encounter" swept the awards for Best Newcomer, Best Female Vocalist, Best Song of the Year, Best Album of the Year, Best Lyricist, and Best Composer.

Throughout the entire awards ceremony, all we saw was her going on stage to receive an award; everyone else got nothing.

The entire awards ceremony was so sour; many singers looked at Jiang Xinhai with watery eyes, as if they had been soaked in lemonade.

So the winner of the grand prize at this ceremony wasn't Jiang Xinhai, but the person who won "Best Male Singer".

He was overjoyed at that moment, because he was a man and incredibly lucky; otherwise, he would never have won the award.

There was nothing that could be done about it. Before this award, there was a smaller award called "Music Awards," which gave two awards to Ruan Qingzhu's new album, resulting in a collective boycott by the public.

Fans launched a massive and furious attack, so much so that the cultural authorities took notice and ordered an investigation into whether there was any foul play behind the award.

Nothing was found out, but after that, the "Music Festival" award became synonymous with a sham award, and it eventually disappeared altogether.

Today's "music gala" was no exception; everyone just watched Jiang Xinhai go on stage to receive his award.

After the show ended, Jiang Xinhai finally managed to break through the crowd and was leaving backstage when he unexpectedly ran into Ruan Qingzhu.

Ruan Qingzhu wasn't bad-looking, but compared to Jiang Xinhai, she was far inferior. Today, she was wearing a white dress, which made her look exceptionally pure and innocent.

"Xinhai, congratulations." Ruan Qingzhu said to her with a smile.

Jiang Xinhai nodded, somewhat suspicious of the other party's intentions.

"And please also give my regards to Teacher Zhichi," Ruan Qingzhu said with a smile, not taking it seriously. "Why isn't he here?"

"I don't know, they just won't come no matter what," Jiang Xinhai said. "Is there something wrong?"

“Nothing else.” Ruan Qingzhu lowered her head, rummaged through her bag for a while, and then took out a glove. “Didn’t Teacher Zhichi resign from the company? He left a pair of gloves at the company, and I’ve been trying to return them to him, but I haven’t been able to find him.”

Jiang Xinhai thought for a moment, then held out his hand and said, "Then give it to me. I'll pass it on for you."

Ruan Qingzhu blinked and asked in a low voice, "Are you dating him?"

====

I recommend the book "Ancient God Theater".

Chapter 148: It's almost certain that he's no longer creating (Part 2)

"Are you dating him?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xinhai's breathing became uneven.

Ruan Qingzhu covered her mouth and laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Ruan Qingzhu whispered. "Anyway, congratulations to you two."

Jiang Xinhai remained wary and said, "Thank you for your congratulations. But we're not dating."

Ruan Qingzhu covered her mouth and laughed, then handed over the gloves.

Jiang Xinhai reached out his hand, but she pulled it back.

“Did you know?” Ruan Qingzhu said, “Yingzi is retiring from the music scene.”

"Ok?"

“She plans to keep a low profile for many years before making a comeback,” Ruan Qingzhu said. “There is no one standing in your way anymore; you are the best candidate to become the new queen of pop.”

Why are you telling me this?

"I'm also planning to retire." Ruan Qingzhu's smile was somewhat desolate.