Actresses

Chapter 78 Shared Hatred

It was already afternoon when I left the boss's house and returned to the studio.

Once settled at her desk, Shi Jiahe finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her familiar little world was so comforting! She slowly turned on her computer, took a moment to clear her head, and gradually gathered her scattered thoughts into a working-appropriate state. Although being a salesperson didn't require being in the office every day, there was still a lot of paperwork to process, so she still needed to spend a significant amount of time quietly with her computer.

As she sipped her coffee, looked at her computer, and rubbed her temples, she saw Ding Yi across from her stand up, lean on the top edge of the table, and wink at her.

"Jiahe, why have you been so quiet since you got back? Don't you have anything to say?"

Shi Jiahe squinted and looked diagonally upwards.

Ding Yi added, "If the boss has any instructions, please let us know."

"It's nothing, I'll urge her to reply to the group message later," Shi Jiahe said calmly.

This was quite pretentious, and also carried a hidden meaning. It meant, "You guys can't get the boss to cooperate, so I'll have to step in. Just wait." Furthermore, the conversation that took place at the boss's house was glossed over; there was no need for everyone to know, especially Ding Yi.

Ding Yi shrugged. "Fine, with great power comes great responsibility. I'm not going to worry about it anymore." He then sat back down and said nothing more.

Although Shi Jiahe's eyes were fixed on the computer, she silently scoffed inwardly.

The first thing she did after sitting down was to go through her WeChat chat history. Ding Yi hadn't mentioned Song Lin's podcast interview in the group chat at all. So how did He Yuran find out about it? Obviously, Ding Yi had told the boss directly via WeChat—the other two kids definitely wouldn't have the guts, or maybe she just told him verbally; the form didn't matter, as long as she, the head agent, was bypassed. Moreover, Ding Yi had even refused on her own initiative. As a result, Shi Jiahe took the blame from the boss, so she was furious. And this temper was clearly not hidden; it was expressed very obviously.

The two children nearby usually remained silent when they heard this somewhat awkward conversation. But Shi Jiahe, listening to the clatter of the keyboard, knew perfectly well that they were chatting privately. However, she didn't care.

Actually, the atmosphere in the studio is generally harmonious, with occasional playful banter, which is a good thing; it keeps the ecosystem relatively balanced. If there are three or four more people, factionalism will inevitably emerge. Shi Jiahe doesn't want to put her energy into these internal matters; the return on investment is too low. Dealing with outsiders, though tiring with their backstabbing and intrigue, yields greater rewards. However, returning to the studio also has its advantages; she can establish authority anytime she wants, so she's currently in a state of near-complete relaxation.

At this point, the brain begins to work at high speed.

She started to think that Wei Ning was clearly unable to withstand Zhou Chun's pressure and was going to let Zhao Cai down. Should she arrange a private meeting with Zhao Cai? But the child hadn't greeted her or contacted her for several days. Had she already moved to a new place? But she shouldn't be so tactless! She should at least say hello and treat her to a meal in return. After all, taking Zhao Cai in was a huge favor.

Thinking about this, Shi Jiahe felt very unhappy again.

Why does everyone seem so half-hearted in their dealings with people? There's not a single one who's truly generous or loyal. Am I just setting my standards too high?

As she was lost in thought, she suddenly saw a message on Weibo, and her hand, which was hovering over the touchpad, stopped instinctively.

"Gossip: Popular actress hopes to star in serious drama 'xxx'"

Shi Jiahe was so shocked that she almost spat out her coffee.

I clicked to check the source of the message, and the first marketing account posted it around 1 PM. There wasn't any real evidence, just a casting call and a photo of Zhuang Pan. The comments section was already a mess, with some fans accepting the claims and others rejecting them, saying to just enjoy the gossip and focus on the upcoming dramas. Other fans were joking about where their favorite show had left, while others clarified that it was a fake post. It was all very chaotic.

Shi Jiahe wasn't interested in any of this, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Sister Stone had clearly promised her at noon that she would force the actors to act, and now the news was all over the internet—wasn't that just empty talk?

But after calming down and thinking about it, something didn't seem right.

The artists themselves aren't foolish enough to release this kind of news; it's 99% likely the production team did it. It's a beneficiary assumption, after all. If you're in the cast, then the news is true; if you're not, it still generates buzz for the show, so there's no downside. Given Chen Yueming's character, as the boss has mentioned before, he's capable of doing something like this.

Shi Jiahe was pondering whether to call Sister Shi, since it would seem like she was chasing after her, when Ding Yi across from her suddenly blurted out a question, like a thunderclap in the office.

"Cheng Xiaotang... added me on WeChat??"

The other people in the room all gasped in surprise.

Shi Jiahe looked up and asked, "Cheng Xiaotang? You mean the boss's ex-boss?"

"Yes, she found me through someone else. How strange, can't she just talk to the boss directly?" Ding Yi said.

Shi Jiahe casually replied, "The boss and she have been unfriended for a long time, and he wasn't planning to reply this time. Who knows what she wanted from me?"

"Should I pass or not?"

"Go ahead and approve it. She's not going to eat you."

Ding Yi didn't speak again. Shi Jiahe could sense that the other person first cast a meaningful glance at her, and then lowered his head again.

After a moment of silence, Ding Yi answered the phone with great enthusiasm, then got up and went to the small conference room, closed the door, and disappeared to talk about something. Shi Jiahe didn't care, thinking to herself, "So what if it's Cheng Xiaotang? I'll poach you quickly."

She had Stone Sister's chat page open on her computer and was editing a text message on WeChat when the conference room door opened again. Ding Yi walked out and called out to Shi Jiahe, "Jiahe, President Cheng is looking for you."

Shi Jiahe sighed helplessly.

What kind of strange people and things are these? Are they trying to poach me? But since they've come knocking, let's talk. So she got up and went to the small conference room, closed the door, and saw a hands-free phone on the table in front of her.

Ding Yi raised his chin and said, "President Cheng specifically asked for you."

Then he turned around, opened the door, and went out.

Shi Jiahe sat down slowly and cleared her throat. "Hello, I'm Shi Jiahe."

The woman on the phone seemed excessively excited, her voice immediately bursting with energy as she said, "Oh, you're Ranran's current manager, right? How about I call you Xiao Shi?"

"Just call me Jiahe. May I ask what brings you here?" Shi Jiahe thought coldly, "Why are you pretending to be so high and mighty?"

Her voice suddenly turned cold. "Was it your idea for He Yuran to not reply to my Weibo posts?"

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "That's consistent with the style of Weibo. People just start talking regardless of whether they know each other or not."

"Mr. Cheng, why don't you send her a private message and ask her? We're both agents, you should know better than me what the artists want to do and whether you can persuade them."

"Hey, talking to me like that, Xiao Shi, how old are you this year?"

"It has nothing to do with age, Mr. Cheng. We can't interfere with what you post online, but whether or not to reply is our sister's freedom."

"Xiao Shi, I suggest you, even if it's from a perspective that's good for He Yuran, at least have her reply to me on Weibo. That way, everyone can save face. Besides, I'm just giving her free publicity. Don't you understand this simple logic? What kind of manager are you?"

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "This person has really lost his mind. Luckily, the boss didn't reply. If he had, it would have been a huge embarrassment for him."

But before she could speak, Cheng Xiaotang's incessant pursuit escalated.

"I think He Yuran's career has been getting worse and worse in recent years, and it's definitely related to people like you around her. Do you know the biggest difference between a management company and an artist's studio? You, as an agent who works for an artist, will never understand! You can't treat an artist like your boss; you should be the one in charge, not serving them and doing everything according to their wishes. That won't do any good! He Yuran has even fallen so low that she has to rely on Li Luoan for publicity. What a mess! It breaks my heart to see her like this. Quickly ask her to add me back on WeChat. Only I can save her!"

Goodness, Mr. Cheng is getting a free masterclass in brokerage.

Shi Jiahe wasn't in a hurry to retort. After listening to the whole conversation, she said quietly, "Mr. Cheng is right, but I never do things like relaying messages. If you're so sincere about expressing your concern for her to my boss, then please tell her yourself. As for why she didn't hear it, that's none of my business. You said it yourself, I'm just an employee, so as an employee, I'm only fit to do my own job. It's not your place to assign me tasks. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "I haven't even said anything worse. Go away and cool off somewhere else. I haven't taken a single penny from you, so who gives you the right to lecture me?"

Moreover, her words were actually influenced by some worldly considerations. Cheng Xiaotang's career in the industry has clearly been declining in recent years; she doesn't have any decent projects, and there's virtually no chance of them ever crossing paths again. So, saying something harsh doesn't have any consequences. Besides, what normal producer doesn't focus on developing their projects and instead spends all their time jumping around online trying to ride the wave of trending topics? Even getting involved is considered low-class.

Sure enough, Cheng Xiaotang panicked, her temper nearly spiraling out of control. The way she spoke was as if a hand was reaching out from the receiver to grab Shi Jiahe by the neck.

"Don't think I can't find you! This industry is only so big; finding your company address is easy, finding your home is easy too! You won't speak like a human being in front of He Yuran. Then don't blame me for coming to your house to settle the score! If I can't live, you won't live either!"

After he said that, there was a burst of hysterical laughter, extremely sharp and chilling.

A chill ran down Shi Jiahe's spine as the security alarm went off, and she almost immediately hung up the phone.

Although the phone didn't ring again, and it was Ding Yi's phone, her heart was still pounding. The resistance she felt inside her body took a while to subside. But fear had begun to spread, as if someone really was blocking her doorstep.

If this person really starts going berserk now, that would be terrifying. In this industry, it's indeed very easy for insiders to find someone; who doesn't have thousands of people in their WeChat contacts? With all those connections, finding an address isn't difficult, is it?

Shi Jiahe became increasingly frightened as she thought about it, and she stood up and rushed back to the outer room.

"Ding Yi! Block all of Cheng Xiaotang's contact information and never reply again!" Shi Jiahe shouted in a panic.

Ding Yi took the phone, somewhat puzzled. "What were you talking about? Is it that serious? Fine, I'll block you then."

Compared to an outsider who clearly expressed a threatening intent, Shi Jiahe instantly forgot all the minor disagreement from before, and felt that Ding Yi in front of her was definitely one of her own.

She frowned, looking worried, and said, "Cheng Xiaotang feels we didn't do well in front of the boss, so she says she wants revenge. Do you think she's just saying that, or is she really going to do something?"

As she spoke, Shi Jiahe realized that her teeth were trembling, as if she was really scared.

But her wording was also clever; she used "we," which effectively brought Ding Yi to her side.

"Holy crap, really?" Ding Yi's expression turned serious. He grabbed Shi Jiahe and patted her back while saying worriedly, "I've heard she's acting a bit crazy lately, but it shouldn't be this bad, right? Should we ask around? Oh, and your phone's been ringing the whole time."

"Okay!" Shi Jiahe walked back to her workstation, picked up her phone and took a look.

It was a series of missed calls from Emma Stone.

Shi Jiahe's mind went blank; she felt that this was another piece of news she didn't want to hear.