Chapter 308 – Manager

I unexpectedly received a call from Su Qiao as I was carrying my egg back home.
Strange, how did she get my phone number? Although she did give me her phone number, I never gave mine to her. Did she get it from Auntie Ren?
Just like before, the first things that came out of Su Qiao’s mouth were words of gratitude.
However, she did make some progress and began to call me ‘Xiao Ye’ instead of ‘Mr. Ye’.
After she confirmed I was free, Su Qiao began chatting with me. I quietly listened to her while protecting the egg in my pocket, it’s not like I had anything better to do.
Su Qiao told me two things which were both good news for her.
First, the role of the blood prince’s maid she played in the ‘Magic Cauldron’ had more lines than martial arts scenes, but since she had a background in acrobatics, she played her martial arts scenes to its fullest and performed better than people who actually knew martial arts.
Naturally, the director praised her and discussed with the screenwriters to expand the depth of her role. Basically, it would be giving her more scenes and upping her role in the show.
She went from a minor character in season one, to a ‘recurring character’ who may appear over three seasons. Su Qiao still couldn’t believe her eyes even when a new contract with a huge increase in pay was placed right in front of her.
Afterward, a reporter from a TV station interviewed her and invited her to be a guest on the series ‘Little People, Big Dreams’, so she could tell the audience her journey which started as a background character.
For an actor, being able to go on TV and increase their popularity is a great opportunity. But according to Su Qiao, there was another reporter called Zhao Yao who wasn’t really friendly. Zhao Yao kept chatting around to see if Su Qiao only got her role due to the ‘unspoken rules’.
Damn, wasn’t this the same reporter who wrote the story about how Auntie Ren became a call girl after MMA because she couldn’t make a living? You can’t go around creating rumors (TN: creating rumors is Zao Yao) simply because you’re name is Zhao Yao…
But to be honest, Su Qiao did indeed have thoughts about performing ‘unspoken rules’, but I don’t have any power in the crew. At most, I could only ask Ai Mi to not give you any trouble.
Besides, I still don’t know who gave you the role as the blood prince’s maid. Perhaps it was Auntie Ren? I guess it’s possible she did a good thing but doesn’t want to admit it…
The second thing was that she was suddenly signed on by a Taiwanese management company.
Her manager was a thirty-six-year-old man with the surname of Fu who was affiliated with ‘Tianmu Starlight Ltd Co’. Although it was an unknown company, there were rumors that say it was started by an experienced insider of the industry. It has a lot of capital and backings and will make some huge movements in Southeast Asia in the upcoming years.
Happiness came too quickly and Su Qiao signed the contract which exceeded twenty-six pages without much consideration.
I have some slight understanding of management companies due to my past interest in the film and television industry. It sounds like Su Qiao signed a fully binding contract with the company and became one of their actors. Basically, it means you have to give a share of your earnings to the company for all activities, including advertisements. That alone makes it not as good as a stand-alone contract.
But you can’t really blame Su Qiao because she was too desperate to make her mark in the world of performing arts.
The length of the contract was ten years. During those ten years, she can’t date, can’t get married, and can’t get sick for personal reasons. You have zero personal freedom.
In contrast, the company provided a base salary to Su Qiao, which could be considered as good. Furthermore, they guarantee they would do their utmost to provide work immediately after her job at the ‘Magic Cauldron’ ends.
Overall, I guess it’s a good thing. I congratulated her over the phone while I carefully avoided a cyclist to avoid breaking my egg.
The funny part was Su Qiao actually said her manager was interested in me and asked if I wanted to meet him.
Do I even have any talent worth being discovered by a management company? Do they want me to play the villain again? If I wanted to play a villain, Director Cao has a role waiting for me. I would never sign a contract where I would sign away my life.
“But Xiao Ye, Mr. Fu is very interested in you.”
Su Qiao urged me.
“No, it’s okay.” I said, “They’re a brand new company, so they shouldn’t get too greedy and sign too many people at once. Besides, I already played too many villain roles recently, they should look for someone else.”
Even when Su Qiao says they guarantee they would only give me positive roles, I still don’t believe good things simply fall from the sky. Instead, I recommended Su Qiao to look up the company’s qualifications to make sure they aren’t frauds. It would be terrible if they use the contract to force their actors to film AVs.
Seeing she couldn’t change my mind, Su Qiao changed the topic. She asked if I was still living alone and if I had anyone cooking for me.
“Huh? How did you know I lived alone?”
“Um… I accidentally overheard a conversation between the martial arts director and Xiao Qin. I actually have a few dishes I excel at, so I can come over to cook for you as thanks if that’s okay.”
Uh… that would be unnecessary. My house is pretty far from the film city and the crew is pretty busy all the time. It was also hard for you to find a place to rent, so why would you travel such a far distance to cook for me?
I told her that her good intentions were enough, but I had no set rules on meals, I might not even go home straight away after school. I let her know she should spend her free time at home resting to avoid getting sick. Otherwise, it would void the clause on her contract where it states she can’t get sick because of personal reasons.
Su Qiao was disappointed she couldn’t convince me to meet with Mr. Fu or use her cooking to express her thanks. But she still respectfully said farewell and also told me we should talk some more if I’m heading to film city today.
I’m not sure if I am heading to film city today. If I go to the film city, then I can see Ai Mi, and Ai Mi’s panties…
Damn, don’t twist your thoughts. Why did I already decide I’m going to make money selling her underwear? Am I really not going to earn twenty thousand dollars through normal means anymore?
When I passed some stalls, I asked for the price of eggs. The vendor told me it was nine dollars per kilo, it was cheaper because of the bird flu going around.
Oh, so that means it won’t cost more if I break my egg at Film City.