44: Why does it feel like a political review?

The sun slowly slanted westward, sinking below the horizon.

At 8 PM, Tang Chen, after a day of work, had just finished dinner and was driving home. "one meat and one vegetable" was playing in his car. He stopped at a traffic light, his gaze complex as he looked out the window.

He greatly admired Chen Fang. Since the first time he heard the song on a short video app on the evening of May 2nd, he had been curious about the singer. His pitch, tone, emotional expression, breath control, and rhythm were all impeccable.

But he never expected the singer to be Chen Fang, whose career had collapsed a month ago.

Kangjia Entertainment and He Xuantai were truly something. Because of his looks, they made him an idol, consumed his persona, and buried his musical talent, making him sing youthful and energetic songs to please fans.

It was truly like a pearl covered in dust.

The traffic light outside the car window changed from red to green. Tang Chen snorted, stepped on the accelerator, and continued driving, turning into the residential area.

To be honest, seeing Chen Fang, who clearly had talent, suffer so much criticism and abuse, he felt a little unbearable. If Chen Fang's character was fine, he would truly be willing to give him some stage opportunities.

As for signing him... having fame and strength, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. But Chen Fang's negative rumors weren't just a little bit; they had almost turned him into charcoal.

After hesitating for a while, Tang Chen parked the car in the garage, pulled out his phone, and called another agent, a colleague.

The call was quickly connected. "Sister, can you give me Zhao Jin's phone number? I want to ask her about something."

...

"Hiss—"

In the darkest room at the very end of the Qingtan Village guesthouse, only a faint blue light emanated from the bed, illuminating Zhao Jin's face.

She stared intently at the zombies on the tablet screen, while picking up a washed Sunshine Rose grape from the small basket in her arms, popping it into her mouth, and chewing.

This basket of Sunshine Rose grapes originally belonged to Chen Fang. She had exchanged three vouchers for optional flavored iced milk tea, ten fried chicken drumsticks, and Coke chicken wings for two catties of his grapes.

Therefore, Chen Fang was already ranked among the top three on her list of good people in the crew. After all, he was willing to exchange precious fruit for inedible forbidden items with her!

Although she was curious why Chen Fang exchanged for those chicken drumsticks and milk tea, she didn't ask too many questions, fearing he might regret it.

Zhao Jin stared at the screen. She was afraid of Chinese horror but not of Western zombies. In fact, after watching too many zombie movies, she was a bit numb.

The zombie makeup was really bad.

Sigh, she didn't want to play a pure high school girl. When could she play a zombie for once?

Zhao Jin calmly watched the zombie breaking through the window on the screen when suddenly, her phone rang with a dreamy, lovely ringtone like a fairy tale soundtrack.

Zhao Jin poked the zombie's face twice and pressed pause. She picked up her phone and saw "Company Agent Tang Chen" displayed on the screen.

When she joined the company, she saved many staff numbers, including those of various agents. Zhao Jin pressed the answer button, "Hello, Teacher Tang."

"Teacher Zhao, I'm sorry to bother you so late," Tang Chen greeted. "I want to ask you about something. Are you busy?"

Zhao Jin replied without thinking, casually making something up: "Not busy, I'm watching an online course, I can pause it anytime."

"As expected of a top student," Tang Chen praised. "I want to ask you about Chen Fang, who is participating in the same variety show as you. What do you think of him?"

Zhao Jin blinked.

Why did it feel like a political review?

"Which aspect specifically?"

"Just say whatever comes to mind."

Zhao Jin thought for a moment, "'one meat and one vegetable' is really well sung; the live version is much better than the short video version. Personally, I feel he has good character, he's just a bit sharp-tongued."

"Any signs of being a big shot?"

"No, he gets along quite well with the villagers."

Tang Chen asked five or six more questions, and Zhao Jin answered honestly.

"Okay, I understand. I've bothered you."

"Teacher Tang, you're too polite."

Zhao Jin looked at her phone, puzzled, then turned off the screen and tossed it aside. She poked the tablet screen twice and continued watching the show.

The reason she agreed to her agent to come to "the adventures" was not only to let the audience get to know her but also for a small personal goal. That is, from a young age, being a good student, a good child, and competing with others to be first had made her a bit tired, even a bit self-doubting.

What was the purpose of striving for others' evaluations? Was living to gain others' evaluations living for others? Or did she truly like being recognized, to the point of making it a life's pursuit?

It was a bit messy, so she came out to relax.

At least, how much more atmosphere is there here for watching shows? Continue!

On the other end of the phone, Tang Chen hung up, hesitated for a moment, then opened the car door and walked out of the garage.

Forget it, let's talk about it in a few days after Chen Fang finishes the variety show.

...

As night deepened, Chen Fang, with a look of utter despair, clattered away at his keyboard.

He was like an octopus now, able to slap eight at once!

Let a hater come and curse at him! With his current typing speed and quick wit, he could definitely curse the other person until they regretted being born, and regretted being born as well.

Clattering away until eleven o'clock, Chen Fang looked at the 120,000-word count in the bottom right corner of the document, leaned back, and let out a long sigh.

He was finally almost halfway done.

Next time he got a manuscript, he would just use voice typing at home!

Chen Fang stretched, then tidied up his desk.

Tomorrow morning, the show will welcome its second-to-last major event—visiting a Xiangxi cabin.

The live broadcast starts at nine, and the four of them will cook, eat, and chat with villager representatives. It's similar to the activities at Mushroom House.

The production team had been promoting it for over a week, emphasizing tranquility and healing, to dispel the accumulated grievances from a week of work that could feed ten Evil Sword Immortals.

So he had to go to bed early and wake up early.

Chen Fang quickly washed up, then, full of ambition, turned off the light, climbed into bed, and pulled up the covers.

Then, he took out his phone.

...

At the same time, in a luxurious villa in the Capital.

"Sister, will Chen Fang make a comeback?"

The woman glanced at him, not directly answering the question, "You've already gotten the roles and endorsements."

Qi Jun feigned pity, "But he's in the same lane as me. What if he makes a comeback?"

The woman turned over and picked up her phone, "I've been very busy lately; you need to know your limits."

Although she said that, her actions against Chen Fang were not just pillow talk, but also for market share.

In the past year, Chen Fang, relying on his loyal dog image, had raked in a lot of money for Jiakang, monopolizing top resources in variety shows, advertisements, international endorsements, and film and television projects within the same lane.

In March, an international cosmetics brand also chose Chen Fang over Qi Jun. A major IP costume drama role this month was also highly likely to fall into Chen Fang's hands.

In addition, she received news that there were problems with Jiakang's high-level management, which is why she went all out and sent people to spread rumors about Chen Fang.

But a loyal dog emphasizes loyalty. Even if he clarifies, conspiracy theorists will jump out and say it's Capital's packaging. Moreover, the idol market is rapidly updating. This month, Qi Jun and Sun Han, who came out of the new season's draft, have already divided his market.

Even if Chen Fang could clarify, it would be difficult for him to follow this path. He would probably just become a singer in the future.

She was already extremely busy lately. Why bother smashing a stone that wasn't in the way?

Eliminating an opponent means kicking them out. On a small scale, it means kicking them out of the same lane; on a larger scale, it means kicking them out of the entertainment industry; and even more severely, it means industry-wide bans. Even so, this person might escape abroad and make a comeback. Huaxia is not a martial arts world; it's impossible to completely eradicate someone.

Considering benefits, costs, and risks is what a businesswoman should do. After weighing everything, kicking him out of the same lane was the optimal choice.

Qi Jun smiled ingratiatingly, "I'm just worried he'll affect my ability to make money for you."

The woman rubbed her temples, glanced at Qi Jun, and showed a helpless expression, "Alright, then don't disappoint me."

She snorted and dialed her assistant's number, "Regarding Chen Fang's matter, follow up as the situation dictates. His online attention is a bit high right now, so act without leaving traces and be careful not to drag us down. If he's not in the same lane as Xiao Jun, then we don't need to worry about him for now."

"Okay, there's a major event for 'the adventures' tomorrow. I'll send someone to check on the situation."

"Mm, thank you for your hard work."

The woman hung up the phone.