Chapter 27
The trainees officially entered the compound to begin their practice, while on the other side, Jiang Juyou, who had been active in the entertainment circle for a long time, finally had the chance to enter the circle properly.
Previously, all her work had been self-contained within the circle, and apart from things in her own sphere, she had no contact with the outside world. But this time was different.
The agent who signed her was called Cheng Yuan, who had worked in this circle for over a decade and was a person whose entire body was filled with career ambition. Within a few days of joining the company, she had already brought in work. Because the company hadn't yet recruited agents for other business areas, she was now doing the work of five people.
Of course, Jiang Juyou was also brought along.
Cheng Yuan had found several film and TV drama auditions. She was to take Zhai Ke'er for screen tests, while Jiang Juyou needed to accompany Jiang Tang.
Saying "accompany" was actually more like letting Jiang Juyou gain some experience. Jiang Tang usually went to screen tests alone, so she didn't really need anyone to accompany her.
That day when this matter was brought up in the conference room, Jiang Tang had righteously said that she could go alone, but Cheng Yuan insisted that Jiang Juyou should go along, saying that only in this way could the actor perform well in the screen test.
Jiang Tang didn't say anything at the time, but she grumbled inwardly for quite a while.
Taking Jiang Juyou along, who knows who would be taking care of whom.
In mid-October, most of China had been raining for the past couple of days, and the temperature had dropped considerably. People had to wear thin jackets to go out, but this kind of weather was Jiang Juyou's favorite. She pulled her luggage behind her sister, and after getting off the car, she looked up and exclaimed, "The weather is so nice!"
Jiang Tang frowned as she looked at the overcast sky: "..."
Their main audition location this time was in Shanghai, and they were auditioning for minor roles with quite a few scenes, so they might need to stay here for a while.
They were staying at Jiang Juyou's "old" place.
Jiang Juyou led her sister forward a few steps, and Jiang Tang, following behind, took a look at the building in front of her and immediately understood. "We're staying in here?" she said, then sighed, "Well, it's fine. I'm not picky."
"Sis, don't say that. It's actually quite nice inside," Jiang Juyou said. The place she had brought her sister to was the Galexy World in Shanghai.
This venue was twice as large as the one in Beijing. It didn't have an enclosed square, but was street-facing, with a plaza much larger than the one in Beijing. Trees were planted in neat rows on the plaza, with street lamps and benches beside them.
Jiang Juyou led her sister across the plaza, around the venue, and came to the back door. As it was also her first time here, Jiang Juyou had to follow the map directions the whole way. Jiang Tang behind her was also very curious, so she asked, "Why does your company always give people the impression of being both poor and rich?"
"What do you mean 'your company'? You're part of our company now too!" Jiang Juyou corrected her, deliberately avoiding answering the question directly.
"Alright, alright, our company."
Random Entertainment was indeed very strange. If you say it's poor, it really is quite poor, so poor that it doesn't even have money to hire more staff. Not only that, but the office space has always been in the backstage area of the concert venue, with no decorations, just a few desks placed around.
But such a poor company has its own building, and not just that, but several concert venues as well. Anyone who saw this would have question marks popping up over their heads.
Jiang Juyou led her sister to where they were going to stay tonight. After opening the door and scanning the interior, she turned back to her sister and boasted, "How is it? The decor is nice, right?"
The concert venues needed to be unlocked one by one, but the configurations inside could be synchronized with one click. It just needed money, but after enabling one-click synchronization, whatever was in the Beijing venue would be here too, and it would even upgrade along with the Beijing venue.
Jiang Juyou had spent money on one-click synchronization before coming, and had even upgraded some areas, including her bedroom. The room's soundproofing and shower facilities had improved, and the Shanghai side was even more impressive because the venue was larger, so even the initial rooms were three-bedroom apartments.
It was more like a large hotel suite, with carpets in the living room and sofas. Dim lights lined the skirting boards, while the bedrooms were fully equipped with wardrobes and desks, and the bedding was already laid out. The bathroom had double sinks, and the space here was as large as her bedroom in Beijing.
Although Jiang Juyou had already seen it on the map guide, she was still pleasantly surprised when she entered. After the surprise wore off, she felt all kinds of speechless. If she had known earlier, she would have moved the company to Shanghai.
"Wow... Don't tell me you live in something like this in Beijing too?" Jiang Tang was even more shocked. She had never been to Jiang Juyou's place in Beijing, so she didn't know what it looked like.
But what she saw in front of her was too luxurious. This was Shanghai! To have such a place in the center of Shanghai!
"No, not really. The one in Beijing is just about the size of a living room," Jiang Juyou explained.
Jiang Tang raised her voice, "That's still not bad, and you don't have to spend your own money! It's great, your boss even provides you with accommodation. I guess that makes sense, since he's left the company for you to manage, he should at least ensure your food and lodging. But why live in a concert venue? Isn't that unsafe?"
Seeing her sister start to ramble, Jiang Juyou picked up the suitcase and pushed it towards the living room. "Oh come on! Sis, come help me. The sooner we unpack, the sooner we can go out to eat!"
"Coming!" Jiang Tang, who was still turning around in the bedroom, immediately came out.
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"Are you nervous?"
"Not really."
"But I'm so nervous."
"What are you nervous about?"
Jiang Tang looked at the person fidgeting in the passenger seat, with the words "speechless" practically written on her face.
Because they had screen tests during this period, Jiang Juyou had rented a car for convenience. It was originally agreed that she would drive and pick up her sister during this time, but this morning, because she was too nervous, she was kicked to the passenger seat by Jiang Tang.
Jiang Tang, holding the steering wheel, sighed. She had said earlier that she didn't need her...
"Sis, do you want some water?" Jiang Juyou took out a water bottle from her backpack.
"No."
"Then do you want something to eat, sis? You haven't eaten anything yet. Won't you have low blood sugar?" Jiang Juyou said as she dug out the bread she had just bought at the convenience store from her bag.
"No."
They were going to audition for this year's S+ historical drama project produced by Starriver Platform. They weren't sure which role it was for, but it definitely wasn't a lead role, because the list of lead actors, guest stars, and special appearances had already been released. For the remaining roles, it wasn't hard to guess that they would be subordinates or maids of the main characters.
Before coming, Jiang Juyou and her sister had read through the original work, looking for roles they could play while reading the plot. Although they wanted to play any of them, looking through it all, the possibility of playing those maid roles seemed higher.
While her sister was driving beside her, Jiang Juyou was bothering the system on her side. Although she didn't speak out loud, her facial expressions were quite rich.
"Don't you have any props that can boost popularity and make someone an overnight sensation?"
"No."
"Then how about props that increase luck and make the chances of getting cast higher?"
"No."
Jiang Juyou frowned. "How come you don't have anything? Don't you know how difficult it is to make progress in the entertainment industry without these two things?"
The novels she read weren't written like this. In those stories, either this person became an overnight sensation or that person exploded in popularity. Why was it so difficult when it came to her?
The usually taciturn system suddenly spoke up, "If there were such things, the company's operations wouldn't have fallen to you."
Jiang Juyou: "...You can just say it, why do you have to attack me personally."
Jiang Juyou waved her hand, refusing to communicate with the system. She was just about to find a comfortable position to close her eyes and take a nap when the navigation system spoke up the next second: "Approaching destination."
"..." She immediately sat up straight and tidied up her little backpack.
"It's on the 11th floor of Building B, room 11013." Jiang Juyou looked at the address on her phone, then took out a small mirror for her sister after she had parked the car.
Jiang Tang glanced at her sister who had finally made herself useful, "Thanks."
"Have some chocolate. You haven't eaten anything since last night, and you're not drinking water. It'll be trouble if you get low blood sugar later," she said as she dug out some food and handed it to her sister.
This time, the obedient Jiang Tang ate a piece of chocolate and drank some water. After checking that there was nothing unusual in her mouth, she started wiping her face with a wet wipe.
For screen tests, Jiang Tang usually went bare-faced, not applying anything, because sometimes when casting directors see an actor who fits the role, they might have the makeup artists quickly apply some makeup to see how they look.
Although the role she was auditioning for wasn't that high-profile yet, just in case, she always went to auditions with a bare face.
After thoroughly checking themselves from head to toe, they finally got out of the car. As they exited, they could see quite a few actors who had arrived by taxi, most of them coming alone. It was rare to see someone like Jiang Tang who brought an assistant.
When they entered the elevator, there were over a dozen people inside, but everyone was heading to the same floor. An awkward silence filled the air as no one spoke.
After leaving the elevator, they could see signs indicating which direction to go.
Jiang Juyou followed beside her sister, looking around curiously, feeling nervous once again. As they approached, a staff member came out and remarked upon seeing the group, "So many people."
"Please wait for a moment. Those wearing makeup, kindly remove it first. Those who have had nose jobs or facial fillers can leave now," the staff member announced. After this statement, a few people asked for directions to the restroom, presumably to remove their makeup, while the rest remained standing there.
Jiang Juyou scanned the crowd and noticed that some people's fillers were quite obvious. One person's nose job made them look almost like an Avatar character, yet they still didn't leave.
"Alright, you can come in now. The first three, please enter. The rest of you can come in together and wait inside," the staff member randomly selected three people, including Jiang Tang.
Jiang Juyou whispered "Good luck" to her sister, then followed the main group into the production team's studio. Inside, there were signs indicating different work areas, with some offices marked "No Entry."
The three selected individuals went into a distant office. Jiang Juyou waited outside, feeling as nervous as if she were the one called in. She kept drinking water and sighing constantly.
Inside, Jiang Tang heard a familiar greeting as soon as she entered.
"Oh, you're from the Beijing Film Academy... Only in your third year? Who's your teacher? Is He Chao still teaching there?"
But the question wasn't directed at her.
Jiang Tang thought to herself: This damn industry circle!
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