Ye Shuning was indeed a dark horse, so much so that "Best Idol" was aiming to enter the international market. Her potential was unlimited.
But for Manager Sheng, she was merely a contestant with excellent potential. Sheng Entertainment was already a player in the international market. Basically, all the top A-listers in showbiz were with Sheng Entertainment. The main purpose of his visit today was to see Meng Fu. Of course, he was not here to see how talented Meng Fu was, but to find out whether she was easy to get along with and also to determine her future career path.
He had waited patiently for a long time. However, Meng Fu did not perform although she was scheduled to do so at 8 o'clock. He had watched Ye Shuning's performance instead. Although Manager Sheng was smiling, there was an obvious annoyance in his gaze.
As soon as he said this, the program planner, who had just broken into a smile, looked stiff again. He tilted his head. "Manager Sheng, are you saying that Ye Shuning is not the artist that you signed with?"
The smile on Manager Sheng's face gradually became more and more restrained. "Meng Fu is the one I signed with. Where is she?"
"It seems that something has happened. I'm sorry, Manager Sheng. I'll get someone to take care of this immediately." Seeing Manager Sheng's expression, the program planner immediately went looking for his crew members with his phone.
Xi Nancheng had just arrived beside him. He also felt that this was extremely absurd. Sheng Entertainment was such a huge company. Of all people, why did they sign Meng Fu?
The crew member in the baseball cap was sitting in a chair. When he heard news of Xi Nancheng chiding Meng Fu furiously backstage, he smiled.
He had only rested for a few minutes when his team leader rushed towards him furiously, holding a cell phone in his hand. "Where is Meng Fu? The program planner and the higher-ups have been waiting for a long time. Why is she missing?"
"Aren't they waiting for Miss Ye?" The crew member in the baseball cap stood up quickly.
The team leader glanced at him. "Go and explain to the program planner yourself."
The crew member's face turned pale. He didn't know what he did wrong. He followed the team leader. The rehearsal had been suspended. Three people - the program planner, Manager Sheng, and Xi Nancheng, were waiting for him.
Seeing the crew member trembling all over, Xi Nancheng frowned and spoke patiently on his behalf. "Manager Sheng, as far as I know, Meng Fu willfully left the rehearsal because of a mic."
He was most annoyed by arrogant, unimportant people in showbiz.
Manager Sheng didn't say a word. The program planner immediately tried to ease the atmosphere. He said to the crew member, "What happened? Can you explain this clearly?"
"Just before the rehearsal, the mic that I arranged for Ms. Ye was not working. Therefore, I passed Meng Fu's mic to Ms. Ye." The crew member explained the circumstances leading up to the event with a trembling voice.
Although it wasn't very detailed, everyone who was present was very smart. They could guess what happened. After explaining, a layer of sweat formed on the program planner's forehead.
He quickly glanced at Manager Sheng. Manager Sheng was actually smiling. He turned towards the program planner and said, "I'm sure you know how to deal with this?"
The planner wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Yes, I know. Manager Sheng."
"Okay." Manager Sheng nodded. Without glancing at Xi Nancheng, he headed backstage immediately. "Let's continue to discuss the contract."
After the two left, the crew member glanced at the team leader and stammered, "Team Leader, you have to help me…"
"Help you? Do you even know who that guy is? He is Sheng Entertainment's Manager Sheng. He can rock the entire showbiz with a stomp of his foot. You've made things difficult for an artist that he thinks highly of. His artist even left in anger because of what you did. Go home. If you're lucky, you can still continue working in other cities." The team leader looked at the crew member and shook his head slightly.
He knew the crew member did that to gain Ye Shuning's favor. This was common in the entertainment industry. Stars in the making with high popularity and strong backers were fawned over. It was very normal for crew members to curry favor with Ye Shuning. It was just that he did not expect Meng Fu to have Sheng Entertainment backing her.
At the thought of this, the team leader felt surprised and puzzled too. When Meng Fu had come to "Best Idol," he had not heard that she was with Sheng Entertainment. If she had really been signed by Sheng Entertainment, their Weibo would have long heard about it by now.
As he pondered this, the team leader returned via the same route that he had taken earlier. He even greeted Xi Nancheng when he passed by the latter. "Hello, Mentor Xi."
Xi Nancheng didn't respond to him. He was staring at the backstage, his amber-colored eyes filled with doubts.
**
Outside.
Meng Fu had just left and was waiting for a car with Zhao Fan. She saw Tang Ze holding his cell phone and coming toward her quickly.
Seeing Meng Fu, Tang Ze's head was somewhat in pain. "What exactly is going on? This is such a critical time. Why did you get upset and leave?"
"Mentor Tang, that crew member gave my mic to Ye Shuning. Since the entire program crew only had one extra mic…" Meng Fu removed her sunglasses and glanced at Tang Ze. "My boss told me to go back."
"Ye Shuning?" Tang Ze was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected such a story behind all of this.
This was not surprising to him, in the end. After all, there was still a gap between Ye Shuning and Meng Fu.
He opened his mouth, wanting to console Meng Fu. "This is how the entertainment industry works. Meng Fu, please bear with this for the time being. After you become famous, these things won't happen again."
"Don't worry, Mentor." Playing with the sunglasses in her hands, Meng Fu's words were concise and clear. "I won't joke with my own future."
It was very expensive.
"Mentor Tang, I'm going back to practice." Meng Fu bid farewell to Tang Ze when she saw the car arriving.
Tang Ze glanced at her. Seeing that she was calm and composed, he sighed. He did not speak further. He felt that Meng Fu was not as brainless as the rumors portrayed her to be, especially judging from her behavior over the past two days.
He watched her leave. Tang Ze's manager was behind him. He said goodbye to Meng Fu and Zhao Fan politely. Zhao Fan was pleasantly surprised and flattered by the attention. Tang Ze's manager had some status in showbiz. He actually greeted her?
"Isn't Tang Ze's manager notoriously famous for being proud?" Zhao Fan glanced at Meng Fu. "It's strange. He seems to be quite good to you."
Meng Fu glanced at her. "What are you staring at me for?"
**
At the same time.
In the Jiang family's old residence in T City.
Jiang Quan was managing the corporation's affairs in his study room and Yu Zhenling was carrying out her beauty routine in the bedroom. Jiang Xinran was painting in her painting room and Jiang Xinchen had just returned home from going out.
The butler was watching a television show downstairs.
"What's this?" Jiang Xinchen glanced at the television and frowned.
"Old Master told me to watch Ms. Meng's show and vote for her," the butler stood up and replied. "He said Ms. Meng has improved tremendously this time."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xinchen sneered. He took the remote control and switched off the television. "You don't need to listen to him. Improved tremendously? Sister got a C Level booth but I didn't hear him say she has improved greatly." Of course, the sister he was referring to was Jiang Xinran.
The butler smiled but said nothing. In fact, he did not wish to watch Meng Fu's show. If it weren't for Old Master Jiang's instructions, he wouldn't have watched it. After Jiang Xinchen switched off the television, he did not feel the need to turn it on again. He asked Jiang Xinchen what he would like to eat.
Before he could finish speaking, the phone in the living room rang. The butler went to answer the phone. When he heard what the person on the other end had to say, the butler's hand trembled and he exclaimed loudly, "What did you say?"