When Cai Xiang heard this, her face instantly turned extremely ugly. It was obvious Rong Guang had hit her where it hurt the most.
She looked at Rong Guang, and a retort almost slipped out subconsciously—”How did you know?”
However, knowing that this matter absolutely could not be spoken of, Cai Xiang endured it again and again, grinding her teeth in anger, but ultimately, she didn’t dare say much more.
Rong Guang let out a soft laugh, patted the car window, and gave Cai Xiang a slow wave. “Sister Cai, bye~”
Cai Xiang stood there, expressionlessly watching the car spew a thick black cloud of exhaust in front of her. She bit her lip, tightened her grip on her bag, and turned to go upstairs.
In the office, the moment Cai Xiang walked in wearing her high heels, Chen Changping, who was at his wit’s end, hung up a call he had just answered and let out a low curse.
Cai Xiang’s steps faltered.
Then she gently closed the door, stood there for a moment, and glanced expressionlessly at the staff members outside, who all wore varied expressions. She said, “Brother Chen, what’s the situation now?”
Chen Changping walked behind his desk and threw himself violently into his chair, which let out a broken ‘creak’.
His face was etched with unconcealable exhaustion. He shook his head, almost too drained to speak.
After a moment, he closed his eyes and said, “Where’s Rong Guang? Weren’t you going down to get her? Is she here?”
The smile on Cai Xiang’s face froze. Before it could even fully form, it was forced back down.
She shook her head and said, “She came, but she didn’t come up at all. She just dropped a few harsh words and left. From the looks of it, she seems to have found a new backer and plans to completely tear off all pretenses and go against us.”
“Her?!” Chen Changping exclaimed. “Who does she think she is, daring to go against me? With her current status and popularity, we still haven’t heard anything from Universe. They were after Li Xuan. What company would even want her?”
Cai Xiang shook her head.
She really didn’t know.
But given Rong Guang’s attitude… if she didn’t have a powerful backer, she really might not have the confidence to act like that towards her.
“The company single-handedly invested in these two projects this year. Who would have thought that our number one sister would rather have a falling out with you and jump ship to Universe…” Cai Xiang cursed under her breath. “So all that noise Universe was making about signing Rong Guang was just a smokescreen. While our attention was diverted, they were secretly poaching Sister Xuan…”
At the mention of this, Chen Changping’s anger flared up.
He had a project for Li Xuan, and to show his sincerity, the contract was signed with Li Xuan’s name. Now, the show was about to air.
Who could have expected that Li Xuan would be poached by Universe at this very moment!
The company had suffered a complete and utter loss!
The penalty and breach of contract fees from her own contract didn’t even amount to a tenth of the project’s cost!
Even if Universe paid all of it for Li Xuan, they would still be making a huge profit!
What’s more, the young master of Universe was a loyal fan of Li Xuan. Once she was there, they would use the momentum from the current show to heavily promote her, and Star Cluster would only sink into a more terrible predicament.
Chen Changping was as furious as a caged beast. He paced a few circles, his eyes bloodshot, and said, “—Go and find out. After Tang Yuan came to the company to take over Rong Guang’s work, Rong Guang moved out. Just find out where she’s living now.”
Cai Xiang was taken aback. “Are you planning to…”
“Since she won’t come, I’ll pay her a visit myself.” Chen Changping sneered. “If the soft approach doesn’t work, then we’ll have to get rough.”
Cai Xiang’s lips twitched, as if she wanted to say something, but she held it back. In the end, she only asked in a low voice, “Should I prepare the medicine…”
“No need.” Chen Changping glanced at her and narrowed his eyes. “Last time when you brought Tang Shi over, you didn’t clean up your tracks properly. That girl found out and ruined everything for me. If she’s meeting me privately, how could she not have some precautions? You idiot.”
Cai Xiang’s face turned ashen from his scolding, the resentment in her eyes almost overflowing.
However, when she looked up, she walked over to him with a fawning smile, gently shaking Chen Changping’s arm and cooing, “Brother Chen, didn’t I already admit my mistake? You already forgave me, why bring it up again…”
Chen Changping grunted with a laugh, narrowed his eyes, and gave her lower back an extremely suggestive pinch before leading Cai Xiang into the break room.
Rong Guang was sitting in the car, lost in thought.
She thought carefully for a moment and said, “Yuanyuan, do you remember the company’s number one sister, Li Xuan?”
Although Star Cluster mainly made money by tricking kids into signing “indenture contracts” and collecting breach of contract fees, the fact that they had survived for so many years meant they still had a few presentable artists.
Although Li Xuan’s current fame and status would only place her as a second-tier actress by later standards, she was already the most famous artist Star Cluster could promote.
She had collaborated with several major directors, and all her projects were big productions. But whether she had run into some bad luck or something else, they all flopped without a sound.
Although they flopped, that was only relative to the investment cost and the team’s caliber. Compared to the average low-budget, poorly made production, those flopped dramas had at least given her a certain degree of fame, making her much better off than most who were active in the front lines relying on scandals without any works to their name.
But as far as Rong Guang knew, this number one sister had always been restless, eager to jump ship.
Because what Star Cluster was giving her could no longer satisfy her needs.
Everyone wants to move up.
Especially a veteran artist like Li Xuan, who had already changed companies three times.
When Tang Yuan heard Rong Guang mention Li Xuan, she thought for a moment before saying, “I have an impression. She’s been trying to break her contract with the company recently, thinking of moving to Universe. These past few days…”
At this point, Tang Yuan’s own eyes lit up, and she said eagerly, “Guangguang, do you have some inside information?!”
Rong Guang was so startled by her sudden head turn that she subconsciously grabbed the handle above. “Yuanyuan—watch the road! Keep both hands on the wheel!drive properly!”
Tang Yuan quickly corrected her posture and said, “I’m watching the road. We’re going so slow we’re almost slower than an electric scooter—go on.”
Seeing that she was listening, Rong Guang continued, “I don’t know anything for sure, most of it is just my guess. Li Xuan is Star Cluster’s most profitable artist. Before the new year, a big-budget drama was invested in her. It’s said to be a phenomenal work that Star Cluster gave her just to keep her. Because of this, she even signed another five-year contract with Star Cluster, and the penalty for early termination has already soared into the tens of millions.”
“Tens of millions.” Tang Yuan frowned. “But the investment in Li Xuan’s drama was more than ten million, wasn’t it?”
“Of course it was more.” Rong Guang analyzed calmly, “Li Xuan’s personal breach of contract fee is actually a small sum, but if she leaves, the entire Star Cluster will be without a flagship artist—besides Li Xuan, there’s only NO.1. At this point, it’s fine for NO.1 to announce their disbandment; the fans are already mentally prepared. But if the four of them go to different companies and turn around to have a falling out with Star Cluster, then Star Cluster will truly be dead and buried.”
As she said this, Rong Guang’s eyes curved into a smile. “So Chen Changping is already desperate. He won’t dare to actually do anything to me—and even if he did, Star Cluster is so swamped with Li Xuan’s contract termination that they wouldn’t have the time or energy to deal with me.”
Now, Tang Yuan’s eyes were practically filled with worship as she looked at Rong Guang.
At the fork in the road ahead, Tang Yuan pulled the car over to the side. Looking at the luxurious residential complex that was clearly home to the wealthy, she said, “Is this it—by the way. You’re still so young, how do you know so much? Huh? You’re making me feel a lot of pressure, you know…”
“This is it.” Rong Guang glanced over. “Let’s get out, Yuanyuan. We’ve arrived at our destination.”
Serenity Gardens.
This was where Chu Siyue’s family currently lived.
It was a very famous wealthy district in B City, with ridiculously high housing prices. It was once hailed as a ‘national treasure’ level residence in recent years. It was said that the people living inside were either rich or noble, and the property management fees they paid were more than an ordinary family’s annual salary.
Rong Guang couldn’t quite imagine how much money an ordinary family’s annual salary was, but as she looked at the residential area that showed no signs of desolation even in winter and was green everywhere, she was still a little dumbfounded.
Tang Yuan sighed and said, “Look at this patch of green, and then look at that patch of yellow next to it… This is the smell of money…”
“It’s not that exaggerated,” Rong Guang said with a laugh.
Beyond the residential area was a very luxurious commercial center. The green coverage was not high, but its advantage was its high usage rate and large crowds. It was lively but not noisy.
Moreover, the transportation and living systems around Serenity Gardens were all-encompassing. Whatever you wanted, a single phone call would have it delivered to your door in less than half an hour.
Thinking of this, Rong Guang paused and said to Tang Yuan, “But you were right about one thing. This is the smell of money.”
Tang Yuan met her gaze and couldn’t help but say, “When you become a top-tier star and successfully marry into a wealthy family, you’ll also be able to wake up every day in a house filled with the smell of money—so where are we going?”
The guard didn’t stop them.
In fact, he had already driven a patrol car from afar to pick them up and bring them into the complex, very enthusiastically helping them with their things.
This enthusiastic attitude made Tang Yuan a little uncomfortable, so nervous she didn’t know where to put her hands.
Rong Guang knew the procedure, but she was still not quite used to being… served like this. So she did what she could herself and didn’t let the security guard interfere too much.
When they finally reached their destination, Rong Guang saw the familiar doorplate and said, “We’re here.”
Tang Yuan followed Rong Guang’s gaze and looked at the sign: Chu Residence.
Did things like this, which clearly stated the family name and only existed on television, actually exist in real life…
Tang Yuan followed Rong Guang inside in a daze.
In the house was a very elegantly dressed middle-aged woman. The clothes she wore didn’t look like they were meant for a lot of work. Rong Guang had seen her many times in her previous life and knew she was the Chu family’s auntie, but this was, after all, the first time in this life…
She smiled and nodded a little reservedly.
Chu Siyue was on the upstairs balcony, enjoying the breeze. She was wearing very little, just a house robe, and it was unclear if she was cold or not.
When she looked down, she happened to see Rong Guang. Rong Guang squinted and looked up, just in time to see Chu Siyue press out the cigarette in her hand, pull her robe tighter around herself, and go into the house.
“You can just call me Auntie Yao.” Yao Han smiled warmly at Rong Guang and led them into the house. “Siyue said there would be guests today and asked me to prepare afternoon tea in advance. She has something to discuss with you in the small garden on the second floor. you can go straight up—the stairs on the right, turn right at the end.”
Rong Guang nodded and followed Tang Yuan upstairs, one after the other.
Tang Yuan looked at the floor, so clean it could reflect her face, and said, “A house this big, just mopping the floor and looking for fallen hair all day must be exhausting… Does Auntie Yao do all this by herself?”
“Of course not.” Rong Guang thought for a moment and said, “Auntie Yao is in charge of the family’s daily life and meals. Other things are handled by people from a housekeeping company. They’re all old aunties who have been doing it for over a decade.”
Tang Yuan looked at her and said in surprise, “How do you know so clearly?”
Rong Guang didn’t hesitate at all. “Do you think I spent the last six months on the set of The Eldest Princess for nothing? I heard it from Teacher Chu.”
Tang Yuan nodded. “I forgot about that—by the way, we came in such a hurry, I didn’t even have time to ask you, why is Chu Siyue looking for you?”
Rong Guang stood at the entrance to the small garden, grinned at Tang Yuan, and said, “To poach me.”
Tang Yuan stared blankly. “Huh?”
However, Rong Guang didn’t give her a chance to ask any more questions and had already stepped into the small garden first.
The moment she entered, Rong Guang couldn’t help but let out a breath.
It’s good to be rich.
This garden used an electronic glass roof. When needed, a panel could be raised to block the sun and rain. When not needed, it could block the wind in winter without keeping the sun out. And because the whole house had underfloor heating, it was warm and cozy as soon as you entered.
Flowers and plants were grown everywhere. Rong Guang still couldn’t recognize all of them, only knowing that many were Chu Feiliang’s favorites—easy to care for, useful, and common household plants. In her past life, Chu Feiliang had introduced them to her one by one.
When Chu Siyue saw her arrive, she didn’t exchange many pleasantries. She raised a hand, pointed to the seat in front of her, and said, “You’re here? Sit.”
Rong Guang didn’t stand on ceremony with her and sat down generously.
Chu Siyue was a little surprised, and her gaze towards Rong Guang finally gained a trace of warmth.
On the table was a thin booklet. Without even opening the cover, Rong Guang knew what was written on it.
But in her past life… this situation had never occurred.
She never joined Big Dipper in the end.
One reason was that her career path in her previous life had some overlap with Chu Feiliang’s. If they were in the same company, even though Chu Feiliang had already semi-retired and started living a retired life early, Rong Guang still didn’t want a day to come when they would have friction and suspicion over such completely unnecessary things.
In addition, her boss at the time had shown her great kindness and had never wronged her in any way, so Rong Guang had always stuck with her small, shabby company and had no intention of jumping ship.
Seeing that she didn’t move, Chu Siyue paused and said, “Aren’t you going to open it and take a look?”
Only then did Rong Guang reach out her hand, briefly browse the large characters on the first page, and then smile. “Actually, there’s no need to look—you didn’t just ask me to come over today to look at this contract, did you?”
Chu Siyue nodded.
Tang Yuan was Rong Guang’s manager and also a person from Star Cluster Entertainment. Many things were actually not appropriate to say in front of her.
Rong Guang said, “Yuanyuan is one of us.”
Chu Siyue glanced at her.
Rong Guang continued, “Sister… um… Hasn’t Teacher Chu mentioned it to you? Yuanyuan is very trustworthy.”
Tang Yuan nodded eagerly by a small margin.
Chu Siyue was surprised. For some reason, she seemed to see another little girl with sparkling eyes in Tang Yuan.
In a daze, she unconsciously asked the question, “What about that little one who’s always trailing behind you?”
“You mean Chacha?” Rong Guang blinked. “Chacha has final exams soon, but her grades have fallen too far behind, so Grandma is making her stay home to study.”
“Making her stay home to study?” Chu Siyue let out a soft laugh and suddenly said, “Tiantian was always very well-behaved when she was little. Being her older sister was a bit lonely.”
Hearing her mention Chu Feiliang, the topic between the three of them unconsciously became much closer.
Chu Feiliang’s nickname was Tiantian.
The reason was also very simple. On that day, the small vegetable garden that Grandma Chu had planted in her backyard had a great harvest. It just so happened that Chu Feiliang was born then, and when they returned, the whole family was beaming with joy, so the name was decided just like that.
Rong Guang smiled and said, “Teacher Chu’s grades are very good.”
At the mention of her only sister, the iciness on Chu Siyue’s face melted considerably.
She looked at Rong Guang and said, “Regarding this contract, and our future cooperation—if you have any questions, you can ask them all directly now.”
Rong Guang thought carefully for a moment and said preemptively, “I don’t know if you’re aware of the current internal situation at Star Cluster. It’s very chaotic. They’ve been holding onto my contract and refusing to terminate it because they want to use the popularity of The Eldest Princess as their final gamble, as well as the rumors of discord in NO.1, to stabilize their performance and capital for survival for at least the next year. At this time… if you choose to take me on, you might be taking on a… notorious mess.”
Chu Siyue smiled, a smile that had four parts of Chu Feiliang’s flavor.
Rong Guang was stunned for a moment, then heard Chu Siyue say, “Since I dare to take you, would I be afraid of that mess? Notorious, for you to use that word to describe yourself is really… not quite fitting.”
As she spoke, Chu Siyue sized up Rong Guang again, also a little lost in thought.
She didn’t know how her own grandmother raised her children. In the Chu family, there were only the two of them, two sisters who grew up relying on each other. Logically, with a relative to accompany them, their personalities should have been a bit warmer.
But who would have thought that she herself had been cold and aloof since she was young.
Even Chu Feiliang was increasingly heading in the direction of an ice mountain beauty, and after she retired from the industry for a few years and came back, her condition worsened. She was unwilling to talk to anyone, doing nothing all day long. Sometimes she would be in the garden, staring at a tree for a whole day.
Wake up to eat, sleep after eating.
If it weren’t for the fact that she could still feel a bit of the character’s joys and sorrows when filming, which could add a bit of human touch to her own life, and the fact that the crew was lively with many people, which could make her seem a bit more alive, Chu Siyue would have probably already forced her to the hospital for compulsory treatment.
On the contrary, there was this little girl in front of her, and her little sister with eyes as watery as black grapes.
She didn’t know how they were raised, but one was more sunny and lively than the other. It seemed they could get along with anyone, and anyone who saw them would like them.
Chu Siyue was a little dazed, suddenly realizing why Chu Feiliang had once been obsessed with watching Rong Guang’s stage performances.
Although she wasn’t very interested at the time, it seemed that in retrospect… she did indeed feel a sense of rhythm. From her, one could feel a vigorous and stubborn vitality and youth that couldn’t be stopped.
Rong Guang didn’t know what Chu Siyue was thinking. Seeing her looking down without speaking, seemingly in thought, she waited for her to finish.
After a while, Chu Siyue said, “For you to describe yourself that way is really a bit too self-deprecating.”
Rong Guang rubbed her nose in embarrassment, smiled, and couldn’t help but be a little clever. “I… I was actually just being modest.”
Chu Siyue was taken aback, then raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Then she crossed her arms with some amusement and said slowly, “It seems Tiantian was right. You really are a treasure.”
“What treasure? What little treasure?” A slightly deep female voice came from not far away. Rong Guang was stunned. She saw Chu Siyue’s expression change in an instant. She stood up, pulled her robe tighter, swept the cigarette butt off the table with her hand, and flicked it into the garden soil.
This series of actions was as smooth as flowing water. Rong Guang watched, dumbfounded, as Chu Siyue calmly wiped her hand on the lining of her clothes and, hearing the approaching footsteps, said to her nonchalantly, “What? Never seen that before?”
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