“Mine? What good news could I possibly have? I haven’t bought any lottery tickets recently,” Ning Ran replied lazily.
“As if you need to buy a lottery ticket. Youare the lottery ticket! We’re all waiting for you to win the lottery, so to speak. We’re gonna be rich!” Cheng Xiangyun exclaimed.
“Just what are you trying to say? Out with it! Stop dragging this on.”
“Keep your pants on, woman. This is great news that I have to say. Let me get in the right mood.”
“The heck? How long are you going to take to get in the mood? Are you going to tell me or not? If not, I’m heading off to sleep.” Ning Ran stood up.
“Aww, why you gotta spoil my fun? This truly is wonderful news! Like really, really great news!” Cheng Xiangyun pushed Ning Ran back down on the couch. “Sit down!”
Their banter really had helped to lift Ning Ran’s initial glum mood.
“Hurry up and tell me. It’s getting late and I really do need to sleep.”
“Do you remember Wang Xiaoou?”
“Do you even need to ask? She’s the manager Star Entertainment assigned to me; of course, I know who she is! What about her? Did she bully you?”
“No, no. Honestly, she didn’t. However, I was in a meeting with her today, and I have to say, no wonder she’s one of the best managers around. The way she does things is just so amazing! I really have a lot to learn from her.”
“Oh, have you been turned over to the dark side already? That’s not like you at all. I thought you would have felt threatened by her and expected you to complain about how annoying she was.”
“Nope. I’m not that petty. She really is a lot more experienced and knowledgeable than I am. I’m being honest when I say there are so many things I could learn from her.”
“Alright. So your wonderful news is that you were in a meeting with her and discovered how much you could learn from her? Is that it?”
“Of course not! The good news is the contents of our meeting.”
“What’s there to be happy about in a meeting? I hate sitting in meetings. They’re so damn boring.”
“Our meeting was a discussion about your future development.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’re going to be Star Entertainment’s newest artist. We were discussing how to build your image.”
“That sounds awesome! Am I going to be a star?”
“No, not just a star. You’re going to be a superstar!” Cheng Xiangyun answered excitedly.
“Hey, don’t make such jokes! I’m not a kid, you know. I’m well aware of the extent of my skills.” Despite her words, Ning Ran could feel elation sweeping through her.
“I’m being serious! It was only after working at Star Entertainment that I realized just how differently these large companies operate. It’s really easy for them to push out a new celebrity. They’ll lay down the steps for you; all you have to do is climb them all the way to the top! However, those celebrities that are forcefully pushed to the top usually don’t last long. That’s why the company is planning on building up your image first.”
“Okay. How are they going to do that though? Don’t tell me they want me to get a six-pack?” Ning Ran said with a smile.
“I’m being entirely serious here! Stop joking around.”
Ning Ran schooled her expression into a solemn look. “Alright, alright. Time to get serious.”
“Since you’re going to be their newest star, the company will use everything at their disposal to aid you. They’ve even got your first step planned out! Isn’t that great?”
“It is indeed!” Ning Ran nodded fervently.
“After you’re done with your current drama series, it’s time for you to enter the big screen! Your next job will be the female lead in a movie! What’s even more amazing is that you’ll be working with several other first-rate actors!”
By this point, Cheng Xiangyun could hardly contain her glee.
“A movie?”
“Yep! It’s a huge production too. OnceSound of Thunder 2 is released, you’re definitely going to be famous. That means your new movie will be a huge hit once it releases as well. From then onward, you’ll be focusing on movies only and refusing all TV series. Oh right, the movies will have to be huge productions too. Due to having worked overseas, your language skills and experiences there give you an edge. Thus, the company plans on working together with Hollywood on several blockbuster films. Eventually, you’ll be famous across the whole of Asia and then, the world!”
“Hold it! Aren’t you being a little too ambitious there?” Ning Ran chuckled.
“Nope! This is all actual planning. With Star Entertainment’s capabilities, it’s not an impossible dream!”
“Well, what you said only works withSound of Thunder 2 actually sells well. What if it’s a flop?”
“Nah, it’ll definitely be a huge success. The views and ratings are going to be off the charts,” Cheng Xiangyun stated confidently.
“Why are you so sure about that?”
“It’s not so much me as the company is confident that will be the case. Rumors have it that Mr. Chen has declared that the company uses all the resources at their disposal to advertise this movie. It needs to become the movie of the year.”
Her friend’s mood was contagious, and so Ning Ran was starting to feel excited as well.
“Am I really going to be working on films?”
“But of course!”
“So what’s the name of this movie?”
“Sound of Thunder: Movie Adaptation. Once theSound of Thunder TV series becomes well-known, we release a movie of it soon after. Riding on the success of the TV series, the box office sales for the movie is gonna be huge!”
Ning Ran blinked in surprise before shaking her head. “That’s no good.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that’s not a good idea. It doesn’t matter ifSound of Thunder 2 sells well or not, we shouldn’t release a movie adaptation of it so soon.”
“Why not?”
“If the TV series turns out to be a flop, the movie will suffer a negative backlash from that, and the box office sales would be horrible. But if the TV series does end up being well-received, the audience would have high expectations for the movie. Hence, it would be incredibly hard to live up to those expectations no matter how well we do the movie. Inevitably, they’ll be disappointed with the end product. Besides, if I only ever act in theSound of Thunder series of films, I would limit myself to a certain niche. Everyone would just assume that’s the extent of my acting abilities. How am I supposed to be a superstar if they think I can only act in these types of locally-produced dramas?”
Pausing, Ning Ran stared at the stunned Cheng Xiangyun and finished, “Isn’t that right?”
“Damn, that… actually sounds really reasonable!” Cheng Xiangyun uttered.
“It’s the truth.”
“Well, you should probably mention this to Mr. Chen then. At least the movie project hasn’t actually been fixed yet. Whatever the case, you’re going to be a superstar one day. There’s no doubt about that. Oh wow, seeing as I was your very first manager, I’ll be reaping the benefits as well once you become a celebrity! Just the thought of it has me giddy!”
“Hello, earth to Xiangyun? I’m not a celebrity just yet.”
“It’s only a matter of time! C’mon, let’s have a toast to your future stardom!”
Cheng Xiangyun happily raised her glass to clink it against Ning Ran’s.
“Okay then. I won’t forget about you even once I’m rich and famous!” Ning Ran announced.
“Hey, I’ll hold you to those words! You’re definitely going to be wealthy in the future. If you ever forget about me, I’m going to make a doll of you and stab you with a needle every single day! I’ll stab you a hundred, no, a thousand times each day!”
“Damn woman, is that really necessary? I would never expect that you were such a cruel and heartless person!”
“Of course it’s necessary! You’re going to look after me once you’re rich; you said so yourself!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t ever forget you. However, you need to strengthen your position in the company so that nobody can afford to fire you. Otherwise, we won’t be able to work together anymore!”
