26: Your confidence frightens me.

Many people were secretly paying attention to the matter of Shen Lian breaking his contract with Xingtu Entertainment.

The haters celebrated in advance, calling Shen Lian a homeless dog.

Xingtu finally understood as well; Shen Lian was being serious.

A certain high-level executive at Xingtu even put out word that anyone who took Shen Lian in from now on would be disrespecting him.

Media companies smaller than Xingtu naturally gave him face, but Star Opening was backed by Hengtai, so they didn't care at all.

So, when Shen Lian reclaimed his account, changed his Social Media Platform password, cleared all previous information, and then tagged Star Opening Entertainment to express his hope for a happy future cooperation, a bunch of people were dumbfounded.

Star Opening shared Shen Lian's post, accompanied by a handshake emoji.

["Holy shit... no wonder Shen Lian didn't say a word. Turns out he was waiting for this?"]

["To be honest, the recent Shen Lian has really amazed me. He's always silent and doesn't make a sound, then he holds it in until he does something big."]

["Is Star Opening blind? They must be really starving to take in any kind of artist."]

In the past, the number of likes on such comments would naturally soar. The Original Host's reputation was poor, but with Shen Lian's two recent turnarounds, his follower count had increased by forty thousand. Although it didn't look like much at first glance, the tide was gradually shifting.

["Just started following him. Go Shen Lian, I've got high hopes for you."]

["I'll like whoever I want to like. Don't come looking for trouble in front of me."]

Zheng Ge held his phone, his face a picture of confusion and disbelief.

He knew very well whose property Star Opening was. Back when his career wasn't going well, Chu Yilan had offered an olive branch, specifically pointing towards Star Opening, but he had refused, instead feeling exceptionally grateful for Zhou Tangsi's arrangements.

Did Chu Yilan not know Shen Lian was joining Star Opening, or... Zheng Ge pursed his lips and thought for a moment before opening the chat window with Chu Yilan.

The messages had stopped five months ago. Chu Yilan was a man of few words, but he always answered when asked. Thinking of this, Zheng Ge breathed a sigh of relief and typed: ["Brother Yilan, Shen Lian went to Star Opening. Did you know?"]

["The other party is not your friend. Please add them as a friend first..."]

A string of bright red characters thoroughly froze Zheng Ge's fingertips.

Chu Yilan deleted him?!

Zheng Ge's eyes widened.

Even if Zheng Ge didn't like Chu Yilan, he was still accustomed to enjoying the privileges brought by the halo of Master Chu.

It was just that he didn't realize it himself.

After having breakfast with Chu Yilan that morning, Shen Lian took a taxi to Star Opening and finally met his new Agent, Hu Kailan.

Hu Kailan was nearly forty and slightly plump, but he dressed fashionably and kept a circle of short, dense stubble. He appeared somewhat serious when not speaking, and his gaze was very sharp.

At first sight of Shen Lian, Hu Kailan admitted from the bottom of his heart that he was stunned.

With such good conditions, how did he manage to play such a good hand of cards so poorly at Xingtu before?

Hu Kailan sat down across from Shen Lian and got straight to the point. Contract terms, work matters, and related compensation—all of these needed to be discussed.

Shen Lian had a backer. Although Hu Kailan didn't know who it was yet, he knew such a person existed, so he was prepared for Shen Lian to be picky. To his surprise, this man complied with all arrangements. Whatever he said was fine, and only at the very end did Shen Lian make a small request. "Brother Hu, I had a young assistant at Xingtu who followed me. Now that I'm gone, no one is looking after her. Do you think I could bring her over?"

Jiang You had just called him two days ago. She understood that since Shen Lian was leaving and the company also saw the situation clearly, they were not being polite to her at all as a Young Girl on probation. In particular, Wu Cheng's assistant had caused her trouble many times, making Jiang You cry out of frustration.

Jiang You didn't say anything at first, but Shen Lian heard something was wrong in her tone and questioned her repeatedly until she finally broke down.

To this, Shen Lian said only one thing: "Wait for my news."

Jiang You felt uneasy, not knowing if Shen Lian was serious or just saying it in passing.

Hu Kailan frowned slightly. "Generally, we don't do things like poaching people so overtly."

["It's not poaching,"] Shen Lian explained. ["She's a newcomer still on probation. Since I left, Xingtu has been taking their anger out on her, hinting for her to leave."]

Seeing Shen Lian's firm attitude, Hu Kailan asked, "Is she trustworthy?"

"Trustworthy."

["Alright then,"] Hu Kailan said. ["It's not difficult. Bring her over later for me to see. I'll give her a few instructions and have a word with the HR department."]

Hu Kailan was a gold-medal Agent at Star Opening, and he had a lot of decision-making power when it came to matters like assistants.

Shen Lian gave a sincere smile. "Thanks, Brother."

Hu Kailan waved his hand. "Continuing on, my point is that relying on variety shows won't work. Look at Li Jiabo; that's how his reputation was ruined. I don't plan on having you develop as a cosplayer either. Conveniently, I have a script on hand."

Shen Lian's eyes lit up, and he didn't hesitate for a second. "I'll take it!"

Hu Kailan laughed at this. "It's a historical drama with fight scenes. The director is the famously fierce 'Iron Tiger' Dai Tong. He'll eat people alive if they don't film well!"

Shen Lian: "I'm exactly the kind of person who loves directors who eat people!"

Hu Kailan's smile deepened. "Then I'll tell you one more piece of news."

"Go ahead."

"The male lead for this script has already been decided."

An ominous premonition surged in Shen Lian's heart.

Hu Kailan: "Zheng Ge."

Wonderful, Shen Lian thought.

The fated entanglement between the cannon fodder and the protagonist shou was clearly aimed at making the Original Host a stepping stone. Otherwise, how else could this ill-fated relationship be explained?

But although Shen Lian was annoyed, he wasn't afraid.

"I'll take it."

Compared to his future, Zheng Ge was nothing.

Hu Kailan truly looked at Shen Lian in a new light now.

If Shen Lian hadn't come to Star Opening and didn't have Hu Kailan, this script wouldn't have fallen to him; he would only be able to go on variety shows to build some presence. Hu Kailan had also been hesitating; if Shen Lian had shown even a bit of uncooperativeness, he would have made other plans.

But from the moment he walked in until now, Hu Kailan felt very relaxed because Shen Lian's mind was clear, and his choices were all things Hu Kailan liked.

To be honest, Shen Lian didn't seem like a washed-up celebrity hated by the entire internet; he was more like a battle-hardened veteran.

This obvious contrast made Hu Kailan inexplicably expectant, feeling that Shen Lian could bring him some surprises.

["Should I hire a few professional teachers to guide you recently?"] Hu Kailan felt a bit of a headache when he thought of the practical issues. ["Otherwise, your acting skills..."]

["I'm fine,"] Shen Lian interrupted. ["It's a supporting role anyway; I can handle it."]

Hu Kailan: "... Your confidence is making me scared."

After leaving Star Opening, Shen Lian contacted Jiang You.

Jiang You picked up almost instantly. Hearing Shen Lian's answer, Jiang You screamed with excitement, asking repeatedly, "Really, Brother Shen? Really?"

["Really,"] Shen Lian said with a smile. ["Pack your bags and come to Star Opening. I'll take you to live the good life."]

["Okay, Brother, boohoo!"] Jiang You was moved to tears. ["I'll follow you through thick and thin, no matter what!"]

In fact, Jiang You was a newcomer and wasn't that handy to use, but her heart was clean, which Shen Lian saw very clearly. Compared to someone whose background was unknown, Jiang You had even blurted out where her ancestral graves were buried to Shen Lian. Shen Lian felt that teaching her wouldn't be much effort, and most importantly, it gave him peace of mind.

And so, the matter of changing jobs was settled.

Shen Lian bought some flowers and went home in a good mood.