Chapter 79
Jiang Juyou's work focus had shifted to the film and television department recently, and this move was quickly reported outside the circle.
Sometimes she was curious about who was so loose-lipped, leaking information to the outside every day.
Jiang Juyou had just begun separating the business, but rumors outside already claimed that Random Entertainment was splitting internally, and Cheng Yuan was preparing to take away the film and television department staff. When Jiang Juyou browsed forums in her spare time, she was speechless at these comments.
The day after tomorrow would be the second public performance. To avoid stealing the show's spotlight, Jiang Juyou deliberately chose to make an official announcement on Friday -
"Headline: Gossip theorists are going wild, Random Entertainment is making big moves again!"
"Just now!"
"Random Entertainment officially announced its long-form video platform called Random iWatch, saying it will launch in September next year. They're currently recruiting 500 internal testers for each of the two systems, who will become lifetime free users."
"Then someone dug up that Random Entertainment has spun off its film and television department and variety show department into subsidiaries, one called Random Film, one called Random Culture, and another called Random Production."
"Key point: Random Entertainment has acquired three more buildings, currently under construction, to be put into use next year..."
Comments section:
"Jiang Juyou's net worth..."
"The key point isn't the buildings, but whether they're hiring again? Do I have a chance this time?"
"Is this because big capital won't play with her, so she's working hard to become capital herself?"
"Making an app isn't that simple, they must have started long ago."
"People say 'I feel like I own a brick in the company,' but I really can't say that... Random Entertainment has so much real estate, I'm at most a grain of sand."
"Then I'm a drop of water in the cement mix."
"Hadn't anyone dug up before that they also had real estate?"
"It's newly acquired, some companies went bankrupt and left unfinished buildings, Random Entertainment took them over."
"Really curious how much money Random Entertainment has in the bank, feels like they can't spend it all."
"Isn't Random Entertainment going public yet, haven't any companies approached them?"
"So these decisions were made under the influence of hangover medicine..."
"Who was spreading rumors about Random Entertainment's internal split before? The news was half true and half false."
This time Random Entertainment didn't make it to the top of the hot search, but it became a hot topic on various forums. Every step of its growth was witnessed by the public, even rapid growth in a short time. Apart from those who disliked Random Entertainment, others all had a strange sense of nurturing it.
But as Random Entertainment stood higher and higher, people became more curious about its source of funding, after all, it was unlikely to be Jiang Juyou, as she had already been thoroughly investigated by everyone.
With this curiosity, the slightly weakened popularity of the show was lifted again, and the click-through rate rose that very night.
During this period, the songs that fans had been tirelessly promoting also gained some popularity. After such a long time of promotion, it only made some waves when Random Entertainment's internal changes were announced, making it hard not to overthink.
But the fans busy with promotion had no time to think deeply, everyone was busy marveling that their efforts finally had some response.
The responses were:
Group A's song was covered by a blogger. The good news was it went viral, ranking first in short videos; the bad news was, it was the blogger's cover that went viral.
Group B's song was popular among fan circles. Although it was mainly Hip-hop and rap, due to its catchy chorus and dance moves, it could often be seen in offline random dance events lately, even as a group dance by everyone. There were also quite a few cover dances on short video platforms.
As for Group C's song - it flopped silently. Apart from surpassing 500,000 favorites on music apps, there were no other ripples, as if everyone was listening to this song quietly. It received constant praise, but no one shared it.
"Group name: Crazy Zuma Gathering Place"
"What's the reason for this? We were the first to break 500,000 favorites, but there's not a ripple online."
"Don't know why, even our promotional data doesn't look good."
"Could it be that the company is preventing it from blowing up?"
"I feel like the winners have already been decided internally, and the others are just there to make up the numbers. Group A has the best results, could they be the predetermined winners?"
"There's still the final 7 out of 5 selection, who will Group A eliminate?"
"Didn't Qiao Heming from Group A say his dad is the CEO of some group?"
"Ah... Could it be the kind of situation where whoever can bring resources to the company gets to debut?"
"What about Chen Wu then?"
"If the toxic solo stans spent their energy on promoting the music instead of fighting every day, we would have gone viral long ago. With the way Pei Luming and Ye Xing's fans are fighting, we should at least be a purple star by now."
"I see the data on the alphabet site is pretty good, the promotion is also strong, even my sister who doesn't follow celebrities has come across it."
"Of course our data is good on our home turf, the alphabet site. Deadlock Entertainment even gave them the exclusive. If it wasn't good there, I'd really explode."
"Please, this believer is willing to trade a lifetime of singlehood for Group C to debut, preferably with Hangover Medicine changing his mind at the final performance and adding two more people to debut."
Every time the show's popularity rises, fans online would beg Jiang Juyou to add two more people. Jiang Juyou, who had become a frequent flyer this month, had been surrounded by trainees' fans several times, asking her why she couldn't choose seven people.
Jiang Juyou was also troubled, because not only did she have to hear these words outside, but she also had to hear them when she returned to the company.
The usually neatly dressed Jiang Juyou now looked dejected. The monthly trainee selection meeting would last for hours, with staff on both sides of the long table getting so excited they almost came to blows. Amidst this clamor, Jiang Juyou still had to extract useful information herself.
Snacks and milk tea were laid out on the long table. While the staff ate and bickered, Jiang Juyou painfully tucked her hair behind her ears, took a deep breath, sat up straight and said, "To be honest..."
As soon as she spoke, everyone looked towards the head of the table.
"Among these twenty-one people, the only one I can confirm right now is Gao Xiayu. If Group C wins in the end, then the first one to be selected will be Gao Xiayu."
Mentioning Gao Xiayu's name twice in one sentence was enough to show Jiang Juyou's seriousness and emphasis.
The staff member responsible for Gao Xiayu secretly clenched her fist under the table, her heart so joyful she wanted to transform into a monkey and swing over to Jiang's side right now.
It's worth noting that if the trainee they're in charge of is ultimately selected, there's a bonus of 30,000 yuan per person. Jiang's few sentences just now meant that her 30,000 was as good as in the bag.
"Phew..." She took a few deep breaths, suppressing her glee, and continued to look at Jiang with a pretense of composure.
Jiang Juyou crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair, speaking slowly and deliberately: "As for the others, I actually haven't seen any irreplaceability in them."
"Yes, Ye Xing is good-looking, but is the industry lacking in good-looking people? Does being good-looking guarantee popularity? Can his skills support a solo album? Will anyone other than fans listen to his solo album? Can he act? Will his acting be recognized by the public?"
This series of questions came like a big wave, dousing the fire in those people.
"The current Ye Xing can't do these things, and I can't see if he'll be able to do them in the future," Jiang Juyou rolled up her sleeves, scanning the people in the meeting room. "But I can see Gao Xiayu's future. You've all watched the show, you've seen how he coordinates the team, how he motivates himself, and how he stabilizes his emotions under high pressure."
"Tell me, wouldn't a person like this succeed at anything?" She tilted her head as she spoke, curious about the staff's answer. "Do you think there are any other trainees besides Gao Xiayu who can achieve this level?"
At this point, the meeting room fell completely silent.
According to Jiang Juyou's requirements, the members that everyone had confidence in before now became uncertain factors.
"What I want are fully-formed artists, artists who can handle resources given to them after debut, not artists who can only rely on fans for support after debut. Did I invest over a million in each person over the past year just for them to continue growing after debut?"
Gao Xiayu may not be the most attractive in appearance, nor the best in skills, but he is the one who best meets Jiang Juyou's requirements.
He's good at singing, dancing, and rapping, has his own unique understanding of artistic concepts, can support a solo album, and has the literary foundation to quickly understand and express concepts.
This can equally apply to acting, because ultimately, acting is about how deeply you understand the character. Those without brains will only perform according to the script, unable to comprehend the character or the script itself.
These two points alone are enough to support Gao Xiayu's activities after his debut.
As for the rest--
That was truly a hard choice.
Jiang Juyou turned her neck, showing signs of fatigue, her hairstyle even a bit disheveled. After stretching her body a bit, Jiang Juyou said, "As I said before, look for the irreplaceability in trainees, and whether their strengths can support their activities after debut. If not, then pass."
After speaking, Jiang Juyou picked up her phone and stood up, stretching lazily while checking her watch. "I'm exhausted. You all should go pack up too, there's only twenty minutes left before we clock out."
"Thank you for your hard work, Director Jiang--"
Scattered voices responded, seeming as if they were tired too.
But the most exhausted was still Jiang Juyou.
After going upstairs, she collapsed on the sofa, completely abandoning her authoritative image from earlier. She kicked off her shoes to the side, "...I should buy a massage chair for the office."
"What brand do you want? I can buy it for you with my secret stash," the system's voice chimed in at the right moment, its content making Jiang Juyou laugh.
Jiang Juyou on the sofa tugged at the corner of her mouth, "Secret stash, huh? Then where did all the money you were supposed to earn go?"
The system's voice lost its previous excitement, suddenly becoming quiet, "It was taken by my production company."
"..."
Jiang Juyou also fell silent at this moment.
This was the first time she heard the system talk about itself.
She had felt before that it seemed to have its own story, unlike those in novels that wholeheartedly serve the protagonist. It seemed to have its own thoughts, its own emotions.
Jiang Juyou: Girls, who understands? I've encountered an electronic puppy!