Chapter 125
The venue was arranged with many round tables, and fans and audience members were seated on the second floor of the viewing stand. Upon entering, one could see numerous staff members bustling around the tables. Fans on the viewing stand took out their phones, zooming in on the tables below to check the nameplates.
There were dozens of tables, each draped with black cloth, adorned with bouquets and dinnerware. Jiang Liuxing used a telescope for a long time before finally locating Random Entertainment's table.
"Over in the right corner... can you see it?" Jiang Liuxing asked Zhou Keke with concern, pointing in the direction for her. Zhou Keke took a long time with the telescope before spotting the name "Chi Qiao."
She put down the telescope and sighed, "I'm exhausted; my eyes are about to go blind."
Random Entertainment had four tables, all on the far right, arranged in an S-shaped vertical line.
The audience was still entering, and the environment was noisy. Liu Yue, holding her bag, straightened up to glance at the opposite viewing stand and asked Jiang Liuxing, "Shall we move over there?"
"Come on, let's not bother," Jiang Liuxing quickly stopped her, knowing she was thinking of using her wealth to secure a better spot.
Backstage, Jiang Tang, holding her skirt, stood in the corridor, watching the constant flow of staff and other artists. Her heart was pounding as if it were about to explode.
Jiang Juyou, who had also come out, stood beside her, helping to adjust her hem. But when Jiang Tang grasped her wrist, Jiang Juyou suddenly felt a warm, moist sensation. She looked up at her sister and asked, "Are you nervous?"
"Of course, I am! How could I not be?" Jiang Tang gritted her teeth.
After joining the company, Jiang Tang had only starred in a few works, mostly supporting roles. It was only this year, with her leading role in the Random iWatch drama, that she made a small name for herself in the film industry. Before that, everyone thought she was a host, and when they saw her playing a maid, they were curious about her transition from hosting to acting.
With no standout works to her name, she had never attended such events. For Jiang Tang, who had only ever watched these events on her phone, today felt like a dream.
Jiang Juyou comforted her sister, "This is just the beginning. You'll be attending these every year, and you'll get tired of it for sure." She made a small joke to ease her sister's tension.
Jiang Tang wrinkled her nose again, "I won't get tired of it!"
Staff members came to guide them out. Timetrain and AIcho also received the notification and, after leaving the waiting room, ran into Cheng Yuan from the film department.
Her aura was much stronger than Jiang Tang's. Upon seeing them, she waved them over and introduced them to the artists around her, even remembering AIcho who arrived later, treating them all like the younger generation she was looking after.
As artists emerged one by one, the venue was re-energized. The audience shouted at each sighting, and when a few top-tier stars appeared, the noise was like an amplifier, nearly deafening.
Liu Yue had just relaxed her hands from covering her ears when another group of artists appeared at the exit. Jiang Liuxing beside her immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ahhhh Jiang Tang—"
The venue was ignited once more, not because of anything else, but because Jiang Juyou had appeared, followed by a long line of Random Entertainment artists. It felt like a school sports day, with fans acting as the ones cheering for their class, their faces red from shouting.
Liu Yue held her camera, pressing the shutter button, focusing on Jiang Juyou and Ye Xing, and reminding the overly excited Jiang Liuxing to take photos.
Zhou Keke, who didn't know how to use a camera, also quickly took photos of Chi Qiao with her phone. His black suit blended into the dim venue, only the silver accessories on his chest occasionally glinting in the light.
Even fans of other groups couldn't help but be briefly drawn to the five members of Timetrain.
Previously, seeing them only in group photos, coupled with their young and tender appearance, the sense of their height wasn't strong. But today, compared to other artists, they felt like they were from another dimension.
The surrounding female artists were dwarfed by them, even those in high heels.
After Random Entertainment's artists took their seats, the inner venue was clearly divided, and it was easy to distinguish which artists belonged to Random Entertainment.
Pei Zhiping and the other three didn't come out but were taken to the side of the stage to wait, as today's opening performance was theirs.
Jiang Juyou, now seated in the venue, was with Cheng Yuan, Jiang Tang, and Zhai Ke'er, the four of them chatting. Soon, others came over to greet them.
They were people Jiang Juyou had met once or twice at banquets, and she smiled and chatted with them about recent developments.
Those inside the venue might not have felt it, but the fans on the viewing stand could see clearly that many producers and crew members approached Jiang Juyou and Cheng Yuan's table upon entering, along with bosses from other companies who came over to greet them.
This felt—
"It's like starting with a small boat and fixing it up into a luxury cruise ship. It's really... really satisfying!"
"Who understands? It's truly satisfying. I can't forget the previous event where they belittled Jiang Juyou and treated her differently!"
"Supporting Jiang Juyou is a sure bet, very reassuring."
As Random Entertainment grew, Jiang Juyou's fanbase also expanded, thanks in part to Liu Yue's operation in the fan community. Only fans know how crucial those who follow the front lines and produce content are. Without them, the fan community would be a stagnant pool, bound to stink over time.
But with the fan photos from the station as output, the fan community's topics are updated daily. Today, they guess what Jiang Juyou is working on, and tomorrow, they speculate on Random Entertainment's future plans.
Most of Jiang Juyou's fans enjoy Random Entertainment as a company and the vicarious satisfaction of running a company.
Seeing Jiang Juyou surrounded, they dug up a photo from a previous event where she was isolated.
"@NeedADrinkingSolution: [Smile] The arena of fame and fortune."
Two photos were put together, the top one famous enough to have even trended on Weibo. The organizer had taken advantage of the buzz, blackening and isolating her in one go. Many passersby had spoken up for Jiang Juyou at the time, but the posts were eventually deleted.
Just a year later, the situation had changed.
The opening performance was by Random Entertainment's artists, the first award went to Random Entertainment's produced variety show, and the award presenters included Random Entertainment's artists. The mid-show performance that boosted live viewership was also by Random Entertainment's artists.
It was supposed to be an event summarizing and awarding works from the past year, but Random Entertainment turned it into their own anniversary celebration.
The audience on the viewing stand was busy watching Random Entertainment's tables all night, as they took home ten awards.
"Title: Gossip Discussion/Yang RPing's face is too ugly, it's hilarious."
"Remember last year when Yang RPing tried to pair up with Jiang Juyou for a CP, got a few posts deleted, and then went straight to copying, gaining heat, and belittling her? Copying and then calling the original bad."
"When the androids debuted, he used the nine shorties to belittle them, it's hilarious. The nine of them jumping could only hit Chi Qiao's knees, how dare they say they're girly."
"Random Entertainment tonight was the focal point of the entire venue, Yang RPing's face was so dark, it was so satisfying!"
Comment section:
"Yang RPing is...?"
"Reply: Yang RPing, always releasing articles tying him with Jiang Juyou, claiming they're both genius producers."
"Yuck, men stay away from Jiang Juyou."
"I say the Jasmine sisters shouldn't give them any attention. They didn't even know who they were, but every time they try to ride on Jiang Juyou's coattails, they get scolded back, making them popular."
"Tonight's stage was legendary, Love Group opening, androids in the middle, nine shorties closing, and when they performed, the comments were full of question marks and hahaha."
"Our group is almost becoming a Random Entertainment exclusive group, don't do this, my account is losing value."
"Thinking about the next two talent shows being operated by Random Entertainment, I feel very satisfied and happy."
"Today was very happy, if there's a preview, I'll be even happier!"
“The previews are usually released at noon, so if there's no release today at noon, then there won’t be one.”
“He’s really disgusting, I can’t understand how he still has fangirls.”
The online buzz was even livelier than the scene itself. Fans of Random Entertainment and Yang RPing’s fans have had a long-standing feud, and today, from Weibo to forums, they finally got a chance to vent their frustrations.
Just when everyone thought the day would pass without incident, Random Entertainment posted a Weibo at 10 PM sharp.
“@Timetrain: 《WORKHARD》MusicVideo…”
After releasing the preview for Chi Qiao yesterday, everyone thought there would be previews for other members today, but by noon, there was no news at all. Everyone was about to go to bed after scrolling through their phones, but then a sudden MV dropped.
The MV featured only Chi Qiao, with the storyline being an extension of yesterday’s preview, but the song was sung by all five members.
The fans who rushed over to watch the MV had only one question in their minds after watching it once—where are the others?
The hands of the fans from the other four members’ fandoms, who were ready to control the comments, suddenly stopped. They couldn’t understand what Random Entertainment was up to.
“Just praised your planning as top-notch, and now you’re getting cocky?”
Aliali: 673eba99c4f3f33ac4ee9836“…You’d better have five main tracks.”
“While there aren’t many people here yet, you should delete it and re-edit.”
“I thought I’d see the other four in suits…”
“From the finals to the MV, you’ve finally stopped pretending, huh? Chi Qiao is your main push, the chosen one, right?”
“I’d have already cursed at others, but I feel like Random Entertainment wouldn’t be that simple, let’s wait a bit more.”
“Why curse so early? Be careful there’s a solo MV for your member later.”
“So what exactly does this have to do with that game? Does anyone still remember the game?”
On Weibo and forums, posts were already being made at eight times the speed to condemn Random Entertainment’s shady moves, but some more rational fans checked the calendar and found that it was exactly six weeks since Timetrain’s official Weibo had previously announced the date.
“Given Random Entertainment’s habit of treating everyone equally, I bet on five solo MVs and one group MV.”
“…So what does this have to do with the unfamiliar country? I’m just a gamer, can someone explain to me? Are they releasing a new version? Hello?”