Chapter Eleven: Celestial Star Entertainment

In the artists' lounge of Starry Sky Entertainment, a tall, striking woman lounged casually on the sofa, her expression calm as she watched the live broadcast on her phone.

“Sister Zhou Lu, this Lin Xinrou is the top star that Hearttrace Entertainment is currently pushing. Will we really be all right if we step in now?”

As colleagues of Hearttrace, they naturally knew some inside information, but still didn’t dare to speak recklessly. No one expected Zhou Lu to make a move so directly.

Although Zhou Lu hadn’t made any comments, she had sent ten sets of gifts worth over five thousand each in Chen Nian’s live broadcast room. Wasn’t that indirect support for Chen Nian?

“Hearttrace isn’t worth a damn!” Zhou Lu said indifferently. “I know Lin Xinrou. There’s no way she wrote songs like ‘Sunny Day’ or ‘Elopement’ herself.”

“But that’s no reason for us to pick a side,” said her manager, Brother Lu, a bit helplessly.

To offend a rival of similar strength for the sake of an unknown singer—it didn’t seem wise to Brother Lu. But this national goddess always did the unexpected. As her manager, he was long used to it.

“Trust me. Maybe in a few years, you’ll realize this was the best decision I ever made in my life!” Zhou Lu said with a bright smile, her eyes filled with certainty.

Brother Lu pushed up his glasses and gave a resigned smile.

The arrival of the national goddess Zhou Lu immediately skyrocketed the attention on this previously lukewarm drama. The live broadcast room, which had only a few hundred viewers, instantly surged with over a hundred thousand online.

Meanwhile, in the Hearttrace Entertainment office, Lin Xinrou sat stunned, while her manager, Brother Wei, hurled objects and cursed in fury.

“Is she crazy? Without us as her peers, where would she get the title of national goddess? Can’t she just stay put instead of challenging Hearttrace Entertainment directly? Damn it!”

As a renowned gold-medal agent in the industry, Brother Wei simply couldn’t fathom what was wrong with Zhou Lu. He immediately grabbed his phone and dialed her.

Zhou Lu glanced at the caller ID and hung up without hesitation.

“What the hell? She dares snub me?” Brother Wei didn’t hesitate—he called again.

As a gold-medal agent, this was the first time an artist had hung up on him.

This time, the call was answered, but by Zhou Lu’s manager.

“Hello, Brother Wei, calling Zhou Lu so late—something urgent?”

“Why is it you? Where’s Zhou Lu?” Brother Wei frowned, his tone irritated.

“Never mind, talking to you is the same. We’re all in the same business—do you really need to offend Hearttrace Entertainment for an unknown amateur singer?”

“Heh, all we did was send some gifts in the broadcast. Does that count as offending you? You people at Hearttrace really like to meddle, don’t you?” Brother Lu, so laid-back with Zhou Lu, suddenly sounded forceful.

“Screw you! Don’t play dumb. That kid’s already on our blacklist, and you at Starry Sky are still supporting him? You’re clearly going against us!”

“Blacklist? What, does the entire entertainment industry belong to Hearttrace now? You blacklist whoever you want? If you’re so powerful, why don’t you go sign King Zhang? Damn!”

No longer pretending, Brother Lu unleashed a torrent of curses at Brother Wei and hung up.

He’d exaggerated a bit, but as a top entertainment company themselves, Starry Sky saw no reason to keep swallowing their pride in the face of Hearttrace’s aggression. If they retreated now, they might be suppressed for life.

“Brother Lu, you were amazing!” Zhou Lu smiled, half-reclined on the sofa, clapping for him.

“Heh.” Brother Lu smiled, “For the company, I’ll never back down.”

“You’ve already contacted Chen Nian privately, haven’t you?” As Zhou Lu’s manager, he knew she’d never act without absolute confidence.

Zhou Lu nodded calmly. “I’ve already reached out through the company. He agreed to collaborate on a song and will also join this season’s ‘The New Voice.’”

“‘The New Voice?’” Brother Lu frowned in puzzlement. “That’s the new show we launched this year specifically to beat Hearttrace’s ‘Who Is the Singer.’ Is it really worth letting an amateur on the show?”

“It is,” Zhou Lu nodded. “As long as we can form a connection with Chen Nian, it’s worth it.”

“You think this kid has that much potential?”

Zhou Lu smiled faintly. “A kindred spirit between a superstar and a future superstar.”

Elsewhere, Zhou Lu’s and Starry Sky’s sudden move completely disrupted Brother Wei’s original plans. As a top agent, he knew that after those three songs, Chen Nian was bound to explode in popularity. By then, many companies would offer him contracts. Hearttrace may be a leading company, but there was no guarantee they could sign him.

To sign Chen Nian at the lowest cost, the only way was to ruin his reputation.

In Brother Wei’s view, signing Chen Nian had been a sure thing—until Zhou Lu’s unexpected intervention handed Starry Sky a huge bargain.

What he didn’t know was that Starry Sky had indeed tried to sign Chen Nian, but was flatly rejected. In the end, Chen Nian only agreed to collaborate on a single song with Zhou Lu. If Brother Wei knew that Zhou Lu entered the fray for the price of just one song, he’d probably laugh himself to death.

He admitted that Chen Nian was talented, but to risk offending Hearttrace for a single song? Utter nonsense!

After the call, Brother Wei immediately turned to Lin Xinrou. “Chen Nian is Luo Xiaoyi’s personal assistant, isn’t he?”

Snapping out of her shock, Lin Xinrou nodded numbly.

“Contact Luo Xiaoyi right now—no matter what, you must stop Chen Nian from signing with Starry Sky!”

“Hurry up!” Seeing Lin Xinrou still dazed, Brother Wei roared.

“Oh—okay, okay.” Lin Xinrou finally took out her phone and dialed Luo Xiaoyi.

“Hello? What is it? If there’s nothing important, I’m hanging up!” Having seen Lin Xinrou’s true face, Luo Xiaoyi’s attitude had undergone a complete reversal.

Lin Xinrou was stunned by Luo Xiaoyi’s tone and for a moment, didn’t know what to say.

Brother Wei shook his head helplessly and snatched the phone.

“Hello, Xiaoyi, it’s me, Brother Wei.”

“What do you want?” Luo Xiaoyi knew the two were in league, so she wasn’t any friendlier with him.

“It’s like this—Chen Nian is your personal assistant, right? Can you ask him not to sign with Starry Sky Entertainment for now?”

“Chen Nian is signing with Starry Sky?” Luo Xiaoyi was surprised. That would explain why Zhou Lu had sided with Chen Nian.

“Damn that Chen Nian! He didn’t even discuss such an important matter with me!” Luo Xiaoyi cursed Chen Nian a thousand times in her heart.

“If Chen Nian is your personal assistant, there should be a contract with our company. If so, he can’t sign with another company, or he’ll be in breach of contract!”

“Sorry, although Chen Nian is my personal assistant, he has no connection whatsoever with Hearttrace Entertainment. If you don’t want him to sign with Starry Sky, go talk to him yourselves.”