Actresses

Chapter 18 Internal Troubles

For ordinary staff in the film and television industry—even for highly successful agents and producers—one fundamental truth they must accept is that a significant amount of communication in their daily work often ends in vain. Shih Chia-ho, whether as a producer in her early years or now as an agent, has long accepted that eight out of ten things discussed never come to fruition.

However, this seemingly tacit understanding only circulates among those working behind the scenes. For artists, especially established ones, a different approach is needed to communicate this information simultaneously. Of course, this varies depending on the artist's level of fame: the more popular the artist, the more tactful yet direct the communication must be—literally. Otherwise, if the artist's lack of understanding leads to other problems, the agent will still bear the responsibility.

Shi Jiahe is about to tell He Yuran: Even if Jiang Fan is invited, it will be useless.

This requires tactfully building consensus, but also directly establishing awareness. For other team members, just thinking about it would be daunting, but Shi Jiahe manages to achieve her goals almost every time.

Even for minor tasks in the past, if there was no further progress, Shi Jiahe would try her best to appease He Yuran, let alone this time when He Yuran felt she had put in a lot of effort. For example, she had used her team to help with public relations for Jiang Fan. She had also personally visited him several times to ask for his help. This was unprecedented for He Yuran. Shi Jiahe even thought it was quite remarkable from the bottom of her heart. However, this industry has its own operating rules, and the final outcome will not be swayed by their feelings. So, to tell Sister Ran: all your efforts have been in vain is like detonating a time bomb.

Pampering celebrities is often the norm for staff in the entertainment industry.

Why do so many fans who have followed celebrities for years end up having their illusions shattered after entering the industry? It's because getting too close to the artists reveals that they often have expectations about things related to them that defy the industry's common sense. Although everyone in a team revolves around the artist, any project involves multiple teams collaborating, and the final result and interests are balanced among various parties. Only a very few can win big. Therefore, for the staff of an artist's team, a task that consumes enormous time and energy, and whose output is never seen and is unlikely to be visible, is to appease the artist's emotions and prevent them from doing things that violate public common sense. And this is commonplace, even happening daily in some top artist teams.

Shi Jiahe pondered Wei Ning's words: "How much of our work can actually be filmed?" Now, she couldn't help but shake her head, feeling a deeper resonance within herself. Wei Ning's words were indeed true.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't frustrated. But things never go smoothly. I still need to stay calm and do the necessary mental preparation.

Shi Jiahe took a taxi directly back to the company. As soon as she entered, she found the driver, Xiao Zhao, at his workstation. He stood up nervously when he saw her. Xiao Zhao rarely came to the company, as he was usually out on field trips, unless he needed to pick up artists from the studio.

Shi Jiahe asked curiously, "Is the boss in the company?"

Xiao Zhao shook his head. "The boss went out. After I dropped her off, she said I didn't need to wait today because it would probably be very late, and her friend's driver would take her directly tomorrow. So I went back to the company and parked my car in the underground garage. I plan to take the subway home in a bit."

Shi Jiahe said "Oh," wondering to herself where Ran-jie had gone without telling her. She was just about to call He Yuran when she suddenly glanced at Xiao Zhao and noticed that he looked flustered, a stark contrast to his usual lively yet composed demeanor.

Shi Jiahe stopped in her tracks.

Sure enough, Xiao Zhao stood up and said softly, "Sister Jiahe, can I chat with you for a while?"

Shi Jiahe's heart skipped a beat; she had a premonition that something was wrong, but she kept a straight face. "Okay, let's go to the conference room."

The two entered the small meeting room in the company, one after the other, and Shi Jiahe closed the door behind her. Since they were a very small agency, the so-called meeting room was just a table and a few office chairs. Colleagues usually came here to make phone calls or discuss important contracts.

"How was your outing with Ran-jie today?" Shi Jiahe decided to ask first.

Xiao Zhao gave a general account of He Yuran's sudden request to go out, as well as what he had seen.

"I waited downstairs for about an hour. When my sister came down again, she seemed to be in a very good mood. She even hugged Teacher Jiang Fan on the roadside."

"Oh, no wonder she told me on the phone that she had reached an agreement," Shi Jiahe muttered to herself.

"I don't know the specifics," Xiao Zhao said softly, sounding sullen.

Shi Jiahe pulled the chair closer to Xiao Zhao. "We haven't seen each other much lately; you've been keeping Ran-jie company. How have you been? If there's anything on your mind, you can tell me; it's okay."

"Jiahe, does our company have any plans to hire anyone?"

Xiao Zhao's sudden remark surprised Shi Jiahe somewhat.

"Not at the moment. I don't have much business right now, and our staff is already full. Do you have a friend you'd like to recommend?"

As Shi Jiahe spoke, she mentally calculated the time Xiao Zhao had been in the studio and his daily performance.

Xiao Zhao was referred by a friend in the industry and joined the company more than a year later than Shi Jiahe. At the time, because the previous driver had left, Shi Jiahe interviewed several people before finally choosing Xiao Zhao, mainly because he seemed honest and cooperative. Hiring a driver for a celebrity can be simple in some ways—after all, there are plenty of drivers—but it can also be difficult, especially for female celebrities. The driver needs to be observant, know how to protect the artist, and get along well with her; this even requires a certain amount of luck. Many celebrities use their drivers as assistants, but He Yuran didn't. In fact, she didn't even need many assistants; she simply didn't want to drive herself. Therefore, Xiao Zhao's job was only driving; he spent most of his time waiting in the car, occasionally running errands. His salary was slightly higher than the industry average.

"It's not my friend, it's just my own thought. Is it possible to try some other jobs, like getting involved in the boss's daily promotions or something?"

Shi Jiahe initially wanted to be direct, saying, "Xiao Zhao, your educational background might not be up to par; the studio doesn't hire anyone below a bachelor's degree." However, she didn't want to hurt Xiao Zhao's pride, so she hesitated. "Uh... I'm not that busy right now. The company has enough staff to keep things running smoothly. Besides, I'll be expanding into other areas soon, so there's no immediate need for more promotion. Why do you have this idea? Is there something wrong with your current job?"

Seeing that Xiao Zhao was silent with his head down, Shi Jiahe softened her tone even more.

"It's okay, you can talk to me. Ran-jie is Ran-jie, but I'm a staff member just like you. There's not much difference between us. Go ahead and say it."

"I feel like I've been doing this job for quite a while now. Recently, my family has been urging me to go back home to get married. My parents asked me, 'Why do you insist on going to Beijing? You don't have a car or a house, you're just a driver. Don't think that just because you're working alongside some celebrity, you're some kind of amazing person.'"

Shi Jiahe sighed. "It's quite normal for our work to be misunderstood by our families. It's normal for my career to be experiencing a little fluctuation right now. We just need to get through this year or two, and it'll be fine. Don't overthink things just because your family is pressuring you."

"Sister Jiahe, let me say something really naive, please don't laugh at me. I really wanted to find a job driving for celebrities, purely out of vanity. I thought that being around celebrities, especially big stars, would broaden my horizons and make me look good in the future. But Sister Ran hasn't had any public appearances for a long time, and if she does, she's out of town, so I don't have the chance to go. In the past year or so, she's basically only been to shopping malls, the airport, her home, or her company in Beijing. I feel pretty bored. Sister Ran and you are both very good to me, very, very good, but I'm not well-educated, all I know is driving, and I'm getting older. In our village, someone like me would have had two kids by now. No matter how many years I work, I can't earn as much money in Beijing as you guys do."

Shi Jiahe initially wanted to explain that she wasn't earning as much as Zhao thought, but then she thought better of it. Xiao Zhao had seen enough of the bizarre and shady side of the entertainment industry; even if she said something, Zhao wouldn't believe her. Let's get back to business. "Is it because I made you wait downstairs for Jiang Fan for hours today, and you're upset about that?"

"No, actually today was quite interesting. My sister even said to me, 'You've worked hard.' Although I don't know why."

"Really? You didn't say anything to Ran-jie, did you?"

"Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

"How about this, I'll talk to Sister Ran and then give you a raise starting this month, okay?" Shi Jiahe still has a say in the studio's staffing and compensation.

Xiao Zhao quickly waved his hand, "No need, no need, sister, I'm probably leaving soon. If that happens, you'll be the one in trouble later."

Shi Jiahe sighed inwardly after hearing this. It's hard to find a clever kid who's so perceptive yet not annoying. Sometimes being too perceptive can irritate bosses. Even worse, some people with ulterior motives collect celebrities' schedules and phone records, either to sell them or to blackmail them—that's even more terrifying. Shi Jiahe knew of a celebrity driver a few years ago who, upon leaving his job, extorted millions using the celebrity's private information.

"Wait a month! Let's increase your salary first, and then I promise you'll see a transformation in me, and feel more hopeful, okay?"

Xiao Zhao lowered his head. "...Okay, sis."

After chatting for a while, Xiao Zhao felt much better and then said goodbye and went home. Once Xiao Zhao left the meeting room, Shi Jiahe closed the door and immediately called He Yuran, silently urging him to answer quickly.

After the call was answered, a noisy background sound came through the receiver, and a distinctly loud drumbeat could be heard.

Shi Jiahe covered one ear and whispered into the receiver, "Ran-jie, where are you? Did you go out drinking? Why didn't you tell me? What if the paparazzi took pictures?"

"So what if they took the photos? Besides, I hadn't been drinking. I just came out to meet some friends and experience a bit of celebrity life."

"Oh, then I won't bother you anymore." Shi Jiahe's head was throbbing from the noise.

"Don't hang up! Come with me, I'll give you the address, it'll be more fun with more people. You can pick me up and take me home."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "I'm doomed. Looks like I'm going to be out of work again tonight."

She glanced at the address she received on her phone; it was in a well-known upscale villa area in Shunyi. She guessed it was some retired actress or wealthy woman visiting again, since He Yuran had some wealthy female friends. Although they hadn't been in contact as much lately, they used to interact quite frequently.

Shi Jiahe was too lazy to go back and change her clothes, so she replied, "Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

After hanging up the phone, she started sighing again.

Beset by internal and external troubles, Sister Ran really doesn't know how to worry. A life with ample escape routes, even without moving forward, still offers another kind of scenery, Shi Jiahe couldn't help but think with envy.