Ling Cheng took an hour off this morning and arrived at the company a bit late. She walked into the company as usual, but the company wasn't as quiet as usual.
Everyone was whispering and gossiping. The last time this happened was when Gao Xiayu had a scandal. That incident occurred at dawn, and the company handled it swiftly, resolving everything while it was still dark and quiet. By the time they learned about it, it was already the next morning.
That morning was just like this one.
"What happened this time?" Ling Cheng asked, looking around after reaching her workstation, craning her neck to ask the person next to her.
"Check the internal software, there's a personnel change announcement," her colleague replied eagerly, waiting for Ling Cheng to read it so they could discuss.
Seeing so many people discussing it in the company, Ling Cheng thought there might be massive layoffs, but when she opened itβ
"Oh my god!"
Jiang Producer's assistant had been transferred to the Timetrain operations team as team leader, while the original team leader would lead a new operations team after returning from maternity leave.
At first glance, it seemed normal, but the issue lay in Lin Jie's identity.
"Jiang Producer's three assistants now control everything," the person next to her explained the shocking point.
Jiang Juyou had three assistants who, after working for some time, either requested transfers or were moved to other positions. Everyone thought they were being demoted, but now it seemed more like they were being groomed for higher positions.
Lin Jie's transfer to lead the Timetrain team meant that the leaders of AIchoTeam, Equals3Team, and now Timetrain were all former assistants of Jiang Juyou.
Everyone suddenly realized that Jiang Producer had been playing such a big chess game while they were all just fooling around.
"This must have been planned for a long time!"
"Now that's what you call career advancement!"
"Well, the remaining assistants are going to be hot commodities now. Watch people try to curry favor with them."
Random Entertainment was divided into the Performance Department, Film and Television Department, and Variety Show Department. The Performance Department was further split between singers and actors, with Jiang Juyou working in the Performance Department, responsible for idol groups.
Currently, the company had three established idol groups.
The personnel changes were just announced today, and the Timetrain Team members only learned about it from the notice.
The staff members exchanged glances, unable to suppress their smiles.
Zhang Quan had just stormed off in anger, leaving only them in the office area.
Everyone pretended to work diligently, though who knows what they were actually doing.
Three junior staff members were on their phones, glancing around after each message.
"We're finally going to be saved!!!"
"Hurrah!"
"I almost wanted to whistle when he left."
"The hard times are finally over!"
"It would be even better if he got fired."
"Getting fired is unlikely, he brings in so much business for the company, they'd never fire him."
"Sigh..."
"Let's just hope he gets transferred out of our team."
"Well, we can dream."
Lin Jie finished the handover with other assistants around noon, going down with the HR director.
They exchanged pleasantries along the way, and when they reached the Timetrain Team's office area, the junior staff who had been waiting couldn't contain their excitement.
They had all interacted with Lin Jie before. Her work style was similar to Jiang Producer's but even harder to deal with. She earned Jiang Producer's recognition through her extremely quick learning ability and problem-solving skills.
This kind of leader might keep them busy for a while, but it was better than Zhang Quan's tendency to throw angry fits.
There was competition between the three groups, and they didn't want to fall behind the other teams.
"Hello everyone, I'm Lin Jie. We've all met before, so I won't say much." She turned toward the conference room, "Let's have a meeting in the conference room."
The young women eagerly nodded.
They had never been so eager to work before.
-
Whatever happened inside Random Entertainment, the outside world remained unaware.
Timetrain's internal issues hadn't leaked out either. Their fan circles were still the same as before, fighting every few days and then jointly urging Random Entertainment to announce comeback news.
The Gao Xiayu scandal that was expected to shake the fan circles didn't generate much discussion due to how quickly it was handled. When the incident occurred in the early morning, Random Entertainment responded within three hours.
Being able to respond to online public opinion promptly at 3-4 AM, allowing fans to sleep peacefully, was already unique in the Chinese entertainment industry, not to mention the detailed response content.
Most people only learned about the incident when they woke up in the morning, and they didn't even see the scandal, only the clarification announcement.
At that time, people only marveled at Random Entertainment's speed and sympathized with the staff who had to work in the early hours, but as the year-end approached, paparazzi trying to meet their KPIs broke one big story after another.
While casual observers were enjoying the drama, only the artists' fans were anxious and sleepless.
"Title: Gossip Discussion/I used to mock Random Entertainment, now I realize I'm the fool..."
"My idol's team is handling this terribly. Have they lost their ability to speak or access the internet? Would it kill them to respond? Just tell us if they're dating or not!"
"Are you happy watching fans suffer?"
"Earlier, Random Entertainment's fans bragged about their textbook-level responses, and I said they hadn't experienced better... I'm really sorry, I was the one who hadn't experienced better."
"My idol's team is really going to be the death of me. I can't sleep these nights. The drama is about to air, and this scandal breaks out. What about the upcoming drama? Are they not going to take responsibility?"
"Ahhhhh! This is infuriating!"
Comments:
"There have been quite a few dating revelations lately..."
"Five couples have been exposed recently, and none have responded. It's hard to guess which one you're following."
"When the group was making fun of Random Entertainment family fans before, I wanted to say something. Have you ever seen a company in the Chinese entertainment industry respond within three hours and comfort fans? But there were too many mockers then, so I stayed quiet to avoid arguments."
"Random Entertainment did more than just respond... They also privately messaged accounts posting false information, demanding deletions and clarifications, threatening lawsuits if they didn't comply. Why else do you think things quieted down so quickly?"
"We shouldn't compare, it just makes people angry."
"My idol transferred to Random Entertainment's acting department after their contract expired, and you don't know how happy I am. They have dedicated consultation channels where you can check the team's future plans for artists. Only fan clubs can ask, but everyone can see the message records."
"I support Random Entertainment dominating the Chinese entertainment market. I'm about to die from my idol's team's stupidity."
"Clicked the thread just to see Random Entertainment crushing other teams in the industry [Like]"
"Being a fan under Random Entertainment is really enjoyable. Not only do idols have many activities, but actors also have dedicated behind-the-scenes content from their drama sets, updating with each episode during broadcast, with 20-30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage per episode."
"Recently, everyone whose original contracts expired has transferred to Random Entertainment, which shows how good their reputation is among artists."
"There's too much Random Entertainment praise in this thread."
"Random Entertainment has its own resources, enough to sustain itself internally."
"Why pretend to be naive in this thread? Even if the team doesn't respond, don't the artists have mouths? It's clearly the artists who don't want to go public, yet the staff gets blamed."
"I was wondering why this thread got so long, they're arguing again."
Compared to the recent panic in the Performance Department, the other two sectors were taking off.
And what made them take off was the Random iWatch platform that Jiang Juyou had led in developing.
The model of having to pay after completion if you don't follow updates has trained users to follow updates regularly. This situation also improved the data during broadcast periods, and with more viewers came more discussion.
When online big data detected this popularity, it would promote it heavily externally, creating a snowball effect in a positive direction.
Random iWatch didn't disappoint users' money either, with each uploaded work better than the last, occasionally producing works rated above 8.5.
Most productions have around thirty episodes, making it affordable even for those who subscribe to the entire series. Many users enjoy this format as it gives them the satisfaction of binge-watching.
Random Entertainment has its own film division, variety show department, and platform, making it naturally attractive to artists since they won't have to worry about finding work after joining.
In just one month after the new year, six artists transferred to Random Entertainment, including those who previously ran their own studios and have now embraced Random Entertainment.
The acting department currently has over forty artists, all known for being skilled performers. Many young actors seeking to transform their careers choose Random Entertainment specifically for this reason.
Joining Random Entertainment is like stepping through the gates of fortune, though not all fans are satisfied.
Chen Xi, who was among the first to join Random Entertainment, hasn't been working for a long time now, with no commercial appearances or film projects.
The company has been honest with fans, explaining that Chen Xi is experiencing psychological issues and is currently undergoing treatment.
The fan club has repeatedly inquired about Chen Xi's condition from the team, but the answers remain largely unchanged.
Recently, Random Entertainment opened a consultation channel on Galaxy where fans can inquire about artists' future career plans, with responses provided within two to three days.
The fan club asked again, and this time the response was somewhat different.
"Chen Xi Team [Consultation Channel]: Sister's condition is still not good. We're not rushing things, but she's eager to work. We've let her explore some opportunities, but her condition worsens after each meeting with production teams. Recently, we've noticed that sister is interested in behind-the-scenes production work. We'd like to know if everyone would accept it if sister chooses this path."
"..."
Reading these words, the fan club president couldn't hold back her tears.
Of course, they hope for Chen Xi's career to reach new heights, but they care more about her happiness and well-being.
If moving behind the scenes and away from the camera would make her feel better, they would support that too.
Their message exchange was seen by other fans, and the super topic was filled with concerns about Chen Xi's health. Despite crying themselves, they still tried to comfort other fans and encourage Chen Xi, who might be reading the super topic.
Jiang Juyou's fans, who were browsing around, also came to offer comfort, while secretly feeling envious.
At least these artists' fans had a consultation channel - they didn't even have that option.
Jiang Juyou's fans: We're worried you might work our hangover cure to death.
-