"However, after calming down and thinking it over carefully, I can probably guess the official's intentions."
After joking around with Liu Rulan, Xiao He rested his chin on his hand, his expression becoming more serious.
"Recently, the authorities have been gradually loosening policies to support the diversified development of cultural and entertainment works."
He recalled the National Day movie releases from some time ago, reminding Liu Rulan: "Sister Liu, you must have heard some rumors too, right? That movie starring He Jinnian, Mr. He, where the main villain escaped punishment, sparked quite a discussion among the public. Thinking about it now, there were actually signs of this all along, and now it's just further confirmation of the authorities' stance."
"Now that you mention it, I do remember." Liu Rulan recalled, "There have indeed been such rumors recently, and I've heard many people are already submitting scripts they've been holding onto. I imagine these scripts will gradually flow into the market soon."
The original scripts that were shelved were all stuck in the review process for various content reasons. This led to situations in previous years where scripts could be written but not filmed, constantly suppressing the vitality of original screenplays, which ultimately turned into a frenzy of IP adaptations.
However, IP adaptations weren't smooth sailing either - having plots fragmented by deletions and endings turning into a mess were also unavoidable situations.
They just never expected the authorities to be so determined this time, actually stepping in personally to comment on Xiao He's matter. Once everyone calms down and carefully studies this article, they'll surely understand the official's true intentions.
The authorities were simply using this incident to send a signal, indicating their upcoming stance, reassuring everyone to create freely, to further develop different characters and stories within reasonable boundaries, enriching the substance and content of cultural entertainment.
So, this was purely Xiao He and "Starry Radiance" getting lucky, happening to catch the official trend.
What incredible luck this was! Winning without even trying!
Liu Rulan let out a long sigh, looking at Xiao He with a distant gaze: "Indeed, you're the easiest client I've ever managed."
Xiao He chuckled: "Just luck, pure luck!"
"With the authorities stepping in to define the situation this time, Su Shengxi is truly finished." Liu Rulan sighed, "This time we don't have to worry about that Song Yuanqi guy pretending compliance while actually resisting."
Even without an official ban, a soft ban was mostly unavoidable.
This felt truly satisfying.
As they were speaking, Liu Rulan pulled out her vibrating phone.
Sure enough, it was Song Yuanqi calling back.
— He probably hung up the phone, saw this news, and then came back to chat with Liu Rulan for a bit, reinforcing his position.
"I need to take another call." Liu Rulan gestured to Xiao He, "There will likely be a dinner gathering tonight, so prepare yourself."
"Okay."
So Liu Rulan went to take the call again.
Xiao He sat back down in his seat.
Looking at the anonymous email on his computer screen, Xiao He thought for a moment, then deleted everything.
Originally, he had been ready to directly release Su Shengxi's scandalous materials to various media marketing accounts, but what Sister Liu said earlier made a lot of sense.
No matter what, it's a fact that Su Shengxi participated in "Starry Radiance," and he did contribute to the project—of course, whether that contribution was helpful or detrimental is another matter.
And besides him, there were many others who had invested their efforts.
Such an excellent work shouldn't be destroyed because of one Su Shengxi.
Xiao He decided to follow Liu Rulan's advice and wait to see how things develop.
After all, no matter what, Su Shengxi's good days were probably over—
Jiaxing Entertainment.
Tian Heng stood outside the office, sweat covering his face. He kept checking the time on his wristwatch while anxiously peering into the room, unconsciously rubbing his sleeves back and forth, his entire body radiating anxiety and unease.
At that moment, a sharp-looking secretary walked out from inside.
"Secretary Zhou—"
Tian Heng quickly grabbed her, forcing a smile on his face: "I wonder if President Song has time now? I've encountered a bit of trouble—"
Secretary Zhou adjusted her glasses, looking Tian Heng up and down arrogantly: "You're Su Shengxi's agent?"
Tian Heng quickly nodded: "That's me."
"President Song is busy right now, so don't disturb him. I'll take you to handle the agency contract change procedures."
As she spoke, Secretary Zhou started walking forward.
"Ah? Hey, Secretary Zhou, wait, what did you mean just now?"
Tian Heng was stunned, immediately grabbing Secretary Zhou who was about to leave.
"We were doing just fine, why are we suddenly handling this procedure?"
Secretary Zhou had to stop.
She glanced at Tian Heng and eventually said a bit more: "Su Shengxi's current situation is very problematic. Through Jiaxing Entertainment's internal resolution, the company will indefinitely shelve Su Shengxi going forward. As his agent, you won't need to continue handling his matters anymore. We'll arrange other artists for you later, so don't worry."
"Ah? What?"
Tian Heng's heart sank, immediately intercepting Secretary Zhou again, asking persistently: "Is this President Song's decision?"
Secretary Zhou had to stop again, though her tone carried more impatience: "This is the unanimous decision of all internal shareholders."
"All internal—"
Tian Heng's gaze became vacant, his voice almost floating: "Why? Su Shengxi is our Jiaxing Entertainment's cash cow, how can they just abandon him like that—"
Secretary Zhou said with pity: "That was before."
Before, Su Shengxi was indeed Jiaxing Entertainment's cash cow, which was why the company specifically assigned him to Liu Rulan. But later, Su Shengxi kept having negative news, Liu Rulan left Jiaxing, and since then, Su Shengxi's status within the company had quietly changed.
Tian Heng thought he had snatched a prized possession from Liu Rulan, but in reality, it was something others didn't want.
What others don't want is garbage.
Tian Heng had just picked up garbage, yet he felt smug in front of Liu Rulan, even going so far as to provoke her—truly laughable.
Hearing Secretary Zhou's words, Tian Heng seemed to finally lose all his strength, stepping back abruptly and leaning vacantly against the wall.
If you asked who he was most jealous of in the entire company back then, it was definitely Liu Rulan.
Before joining Jiaxing Entertainment, he had heard of Liu Rlan—everyone said she was great at nurturing newcomers, but he had always scoffed at that.
—From beginning to end, he always thought it was just Liu Rulan's good luck!
A random martial arts double she signed ended up going international, a random extra she picked up became an Award-Winning Actor, and she even benefited from misfortune by taking over top idol Su Shengxi.
What made Liu Rulan so special?
Later, after racking his brains to seize the agent position for Su Shengxi, Tian Heng thought he could finally hold his head high, but in the end—
In the end, all of this was just drawing water with a bamboo basket—all in vain.
Hehe.
Tian Heng laughed self-mockingly.
He had even transferred his other artists to others specifically to focus on managing Su Shengxi.
And now, with Su Shengxi fallen, and no promising newcomers in the company recently, everyone else was holding tightly to their artists, unlikely to spare any for him.
Moreover, from a certain perspective, the former top idol Su Shengxi was destroyed in his hands.
To others, it looked like Su Shengxi had no issues under Liu Rulan's management, but once he came under Tian Heng's care, he directly fell from top idol status to being shelved by the company...
The company probably wouldn't treat him very well either...
Suddenly, Tian Heng seemed to remember something, pulling out his phone with trembling hands to call that person from back then, but then paused abruptly.
That person had said they would only cover for him once.
And that one time had already been used up because of that crazy woman Liu Rulan's retaliation... So it was true after all? Liu Rulan promised she wouldn't retaliate against him, but in reality, she had already dug a pit for him...
Tian Heng walked back to the studio in a daze. Su Shengxi anxiously grabbed Tian Heng's hand, his voice full of panic: "Brother Tian, what's going on? The assistant just notified me to suspend all appearances! What are President Song's plans? Don't tell me we really have to make way for that Xiao He?"
Tian Heng looked at the long-since nominal "top idol" before him, his vacant gaze sweeping over the already empty work area beside them. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly under Su Shengxi's anxious stare: "We're finished."
Su Shengxi's star path had ended, and his agent career had ended too...