Against the Light - Chapter 55
Chapter 55: The Studio is Established
One month later.
Weibo, which had been quiet for a long time, once again exploded with a shocking piece of gossip.
Gu Xinran’s lawsuit against Ye Ting for plagiarizing her work was dismissed. The court ruled that it was merely “inspiration” and did not constitute plagiarism. Ye Ting’s side posted the verdict with great fanfare in response to the plagiarism accusations.
After a month, the gossip-loving netizens had long lost their initial passion. Ye Ting’s fans, however, emerged in droves, leaving supportive comments under her Weibo post. They expressed that they had been waiting for this moment for a long time and that Sister Ting had been wronged!
However, just as this topic climbed onto the hot search list, Light & Shadow Entertainment dropped a bombshell! They announced with great fanfare the official establishment of Gu Xinran’s personal studio—Heart Entertainment Studio!
Gu Xinran’s fans quickly flooded the comment sections of Light & Shadow, Heart Entertainment, and Gu Xinran’s personal Weibo. They expressed their gratitude for Light & Shadow’s support, hoped Heart Entertainment would grow quickly, and encouraged Xinran to keep up the good work and release more great projects!
The topic shot straight to the top of the hot search list and even spawned a series of related topics, like 【Heart Entertainment Studio Establishment Press Conference Live Stream】 and 【The President Gu You’ve All Been Waiting For Is Here】, pushing Ye Ting’s topic down past the twentieth spot.
The public, who had feasted on the juicy gossip of their feud a month ago, all commented that the two were now sworn enemies, even arranging their hot search topics to one-up each other.
Even Light & Shadow’s competitors were baffled. When a company’s artist establishes a studio, it usually means they are terminating their contract or have had a falling out and are going solo. But in this case, the company was personally helping to promote the studio, and there was no sign of them turning against each other. What on earth was Light & Shadow planning?
In the car, Qu Qi glanced sideways at Gu Xinran. The woman was dressed in a slim-fitting black women’s suit, sitting upright with her legs crossed and eyes closed in rest. She wore light makeup and had even gotten her hair specially styled that morning. Wavy curls cascaded over her shoulders, and from the side, her profile was exquisite and defined. With her arms crossed and a serious expression, she exuded an intangible aura of authority. She had way too much of a CEO vibe!
It made Qu Qi feel a little inadequate in comparison!
This woman, after becoming a boss, even her style of dress had changed. She insisted on wearing formal attire!
This was just a small studio. If it really took off in the future, who knew what kind of trouble this woman would stir up!
“President Qu, have you had your fill of looking?” Gu Xinran didn’t open her eyes, but she could feel Qu Qi watching her.
“No, no, no, don’t call me President~” Qu Qi’s face flushed at the title. Thinking about it, she really hadn’t doted on her for nothing.
Originally, the company’s head had disagreed with her establishing a studio. But then she proposed that Qu Qi could be the liaison between the studio and the company. Qu Qi was a long-time employee, so the company naturally trusted her, and Gu Xinran trusted her completely as well. Only then did the two sides reach an agreement: the company would not interfere with the studio’s operational model, which Gu Xinran would be solely responsible for. However, anything involving the company’s interests would be Qu Qi’s responsibility.
As a result, Qu Qi turned out to be the big winner, magnificently promoted to President Qu.
Before long, the car stopped at the entrance of the venue. A press conference was to be held here today to officially announce the studio’s establishment.
Fang Jinghai had already arrived early to set up the venue. She too had changed from her usual casual and laid-back style, rarely seen in formal wear. It was just that with her baby face, wearing a suit made her look like a child who had secretly put on her parents’ clothes—it was a bit jarring.
As the hottest female star of the moment, Gu Xinran’s every move was under intense scrutiny, let alone something like opening a studio.
They had originally only invited about twenty media outlets, but the entrance to the venue was swarmed by forty or fifty reporters. The moment Gu Xinran’s car arrived, it was surrounded three layers deep by them.
Fang Jinghai called over the security guards to hold back the reporters and quickly helped Gu Xinran out of the car. The group made their way into the venue together.
At ten o’clock in the morning sharp, the press conference began, with a live stream running concurrently.
Gu Xinran gracefully walked onto the stage and gave a slight bow to the audience. The reporters collectively gasped, stunned by her appearance.
The crew had heard long ago that Sister Ran was going to give everyone a surprise today. They had been waiting with their phones since early morning. When they saw Gu Xinran on stage, the group erupted.
“Ahhh, Sister Ran looks so handsome in a suit, so handsome!!”
“Such a cool sister vibe! I can’t take it, I really can’t!!”
“Ahhhhhh, I’m so here for this!!!”
“This woman can truly be cool or cute, dominant or submissive, awoooo!”
“…???”
“Thank you all for attending this press conference. I am Gu Xinran.” Gu Xinran’s tone was cool and clear, filled with confidence. She showed no stage fright and even habitually sought out the camera lenses.
“With the support of Light & Shadow Entertainment, my personal studio, Heart Entertainment Studio, is officially established today.”
Gu Xinran paused, and the audience broke into applause.
“The main business of Heart Entertainment Studio will be artist management, artist development, film and television performance, publicity and positioning, and so on. In our future work, we will be counting on everyone’s support. I hope all the seniors in the industry will guide us.” Gu Xinran bowed again, her attitude very humble.
Afterward, she made a splendid exit, and Qu Qi took the stage to elaborate on the studio’s main business operations.
Two hours later, the press conference ended. Qu Qi took a moment to check Weibo and saw that the response was quite good. The fans were unanimously supportive, which put them more at ease.
After the press conference, Gu Xinran hurried back to the film set.
On set, everyone cornered Gu Xinran in the dressing room.
“Sister Ran, when did you decide to start a studio? We never heard you mention it. It’s so sudden!”
“Yeah, we didn’t notice you making any moves recently. You were just filming as usual every day. How did this studio just pop up?”
Gu Xinran touched her forehead and gave a helpless smile, looking at the staff’s surprised faces.
“Sister Ran, has the studio signed any artists yet? What type of artists are you looking to sign?”
“Hey, hey, hey, why are you asking that? Thinking of jumping ship?” Yu Hua came out of the break room, saw this bunch slacking off again, and walked over rolling up her sleeves. Hearing that question, she was not pleased.
“Aiya, it’s just new and exciting! Sister Ran is the first artist I know who’s opened her own studio. I’m just curious!”
“We’ve signed one artist, and we’re in talks with another. You all know her. She’ll be stopping by to visit in a bit,” Gu Xinran said.
“The studio’s main focus is to cultivate artists with potential. The competition in many big companies right now is too fierce, and all sorts of tactics are used endlessly. Whoever has the stronger management team is the one who stands out. Most of the artists who successfully debut are packaged and manufactured, while many truly potential artists end up being buried.”
“Of course, this is just the main business for now. We’ll expand later on.”
“Hiss… being a boss really feels different. Why do I feel like Sister Ran even talks like a boss now?”
“Yeah, I can’t put my finger on what’s strange, but she just feels different!”
Gu Xinran smiled. “Alright, you guys, stop teasing me. Let’s get ready to work. Teacher Yu is going to start hitting people in a minute.”
The group noisily started their afternoon’s work.
During a break in filming, Fang Jinghai brought Lin Guo to visit the set.
“Yo, Hai’er, haven’t seen you in a few days. Why so mature all of a sudden?”
“Pfft.”
“Hey, don’t be like that. She’s not an intern assistant anymore. Show some respect! After all, she’s a full-fledged assistant now!”
“Hahaha—” The crowd burst into laughter.
“She’s more than just a full-fledged assistant now,” Gu Xinran said with a smile, beckoning her over.
“Huh?”
“She is now my manager, and also the second manager under Heart Entertainment Studio.” Gu Xinran thoughtfully straightened a wrinkle on her collar.
“What? A manager already?? And she’s a founding member of the studio??”
“Heh, impressive, right? Sister Ran said I did a good job, so she made my position permanent and promoted me!” Fang Jinghai had a smug little look on her face.
“Good heavens, even the value of a sea-view apartment doesn’t appreciate as fast as you!”
“Hahahaha—”
“Ahem, everyone, are you not seeing me?” Lin Guo was displeased, crossing her arms and huffing.
“We see you, we see you. You’ve been pretty free lately, huh? No filming?”
“Heh, I just jumped ship and got a new boss. The boss said to let me get familiar with things first, no rush to start work.” Lin Guo looked proud.
“???” The crowd was stunned. They looked at her smug expression, then at Gu Xinran. “Sister Ran, don’t tell me she’s the first artist you signed??”
“Bingo, you got it! From now on, I’m part of Heart Entertainment. Big brothers and sisters, please take good care of this little rookie, awoo~”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
“Hello everyone, I’m Lin Guo’s manager.”
“Sister Youyou??”
Jiang Youyou smiled. “Hello.”
“I’m Guozi’s assistant. I ask all you seniors to please take care of me.” Another very likable young girl popped out and greeted everyone.
“…Sister Ran, when other people poach talent, they hide them carefully for half a year and build up some hype before daring to announce it. But you… you took the whole pot? You brought over her entire management team???”
“Hey, I wasn’t poached. My contract just happened to expire, so I terminated it and came to Heart Entertainment.”
“Why? Le Tao treated you pretty well, didn’t they?”
“But working with Sister Ran gives me peace of mind. She’s someone who dares to rush onto the stage and confront a white lotus face-to-face, three times! Working under her, I definitely won’t be at a disadvantage. Even if someone bullies me, Sister Ran will fight back, right!”
Gu Xinran rolled her eyes at her.
“Besides, at Le Tao, I was just a cash cow, moved wherever I was needed. It’s different at Heart Entertainment. I can improve myself and learn a lot from Sister Ran.”
“You’re overthinking it. You’re a cash cow at Heart Entertainment, too,” Gu Xinran retorted with a smile.
“…”
After work that evening, Gu Xinran slipped into Yu Hua’s dressing room as usual.
Yu Hua glanced at her. Heh, that little suit really made her look sharp, quite the part.
Gu Xinran sat herself down properly on the sofa, waiting for Yilan’s call.
Yu Hua watched her for a moment. “What are you doing here?”
“Huh? Waiting for a call.”
“Don’t you young people love to be on Weibo? Haven’t you gone to see what’s new?” Yu Hua was completely baffled and tossed her own phone over.
Gu Xinran frowned, picked it up, and glanced at it. She froze.
Awooooooo!!!
Yilan started a Weibo account!!!!
Gu Xinran’s emotional control instantly shattered. She was exploding with joy!
Yu Hua was right beside her, cheek in hand, watching her with a smile. She really should take a picture of this silly grin and show it to those little rascals, see if they’d still be saying things like “Ahhh, Sister Ran is so handsome,” and “Awooo, Sister Ran is so cool and dominant.”
Gu Xinran took a deep breath to calm herself and looked at the selfie Yilan had posted on her Weibo. She was backlit by the sun, showing only half her face. Because of the backlighting, her features weren’t clear, but Gu Xinran could already picture Yilan’s expression perfectly! She was smiling sweetly, her hair dancing in the wind. Drop-dead gorgeous, ahhh!
Gu Xinran got a little carried away and, without thinking, typed a string of words in the comment section: “Ahhhhhh, drop-dead gorgeous!!” After typing it, she calmed down. Can’t send this. If I post it, netizens will definitely start calling for me and Yilan to get back together again.
Sigh.
She sighed inwardly. As she was about to delete it, her hand slipped and accidentally hit the send button.
The moment she hit send, she panicked. Just as she was about to delete the reply, she suddenly realized…
Yu Hua was watching her with a smile, but the smile suddenly froze. She’s been typing there for ages… she’s using my account, isn’t she?
“Er…” Gu Xinran looked up and forced a very strained smile at Yu Hua.
By the time she realized her mistake and wanted to delete the reply, netizens had already started tagging the account. The comments below were all…
【???】
【I never knew you were this kind of Teacher Yu??】
【Teacher, at your age, you still go ‘ahhhhhh’? Haha, so cute, I really want to see it!】
【Hahaha, Teacher Yu is trying so hard to prove she’s still young!】
【I’m sorry, I really can’t picture Teacher Yu holding her phone and going ahhhh—hahahahaha】
“…”
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