After Sophie became a top celebrity, she started acting like a diva, clashing with fans, and getting cozy with her male co-star. I was supposed to be her secret lover and manager, yet I heard her tell others: “Charlie should thank himself for discovering me.” “Without me, he’d still be working on some assembly line, seemingly innocent but actually shrewd.” She forgot how I drank until I had a stomach ulcer to get her roles, forgot her vow to love me for a lifetime. It’s fine. If an artist doesn’t behave, I’ll just find a new one. While I was discussing Sophie’s new drama with Director Thomas, my assistant Sarah called me. “Charlie, there’s a problem with Sophie. It’s already trending.” I quickly checked my phone during the break. Seeing the trending news, my mind went blank. Sophie had gone and lashed out at fans again. The reason was that fans felt her new drama’s styling was too sloppy, different from the grand publicity. They said they would collectively demand an explanation from the production team. Sophie exploded at these comments. “You all mind your own business. I chose the styling team myself, and I think it’s beautiful!” Not satisfied with just that, she added another comment. “Stop guessing, I posted this myself. Go to sleep!” These two sentences solidly angered the fans. One fan club leader posted a long article saying they would unstan, and disbanded several fan groups. I sighed and called Sarah back. “Contact them, first take down the trending topic, then have the PR team come up with a plan.” Sarah said they were already implementing the contingency PR plan, but Sophie found out about it and wouldn’t let PR compromise. No amount of coaxing worked, so now things were at a standstill. I looked up and sighed, “I’ll head over once I’m done here.” Sophie had become a hot actress due to two dramas, and after winning Best Actress at the TV Golden Awards, she became an A-list star at just 25. As her star shone brighter, she grew more distant from me. Her temper got worse, she often wouldn’t answer my calls, and she started taking on jobs and commercial deals on her own, going through her own studio’s accounts. We were supposed to be secret lovers, but she deliberately avoided me. I’m not stupid, how could I not sense her distancing herself from me? Despite this, as soon as I finished the meeting, I drove straight to the set to find Sophie. Sarah saw me arrive and looked relieved, immediately leading me towards Sophie’s trailer. “It’s good you’re here, Charlie. Sophie listens to you the most.” I gave a bitter smile. Just as we were about to reach the trailer, Sarah got a phone call and walked to the side to answer it. I was about to open the door when I heard voices talking inside. “I heard your manager has only managed you as an artist.” “He doesn’t have much experience, huh.” It was a man’s voice. Then came Sophie’s pleasant voice. “Charlie just got lucky in discovering me.” “Without me, he’d just be a factory worker.” The man laughed. “He really is lucky, managing just one artist and she becomes a top star.” I felt a chill down my spine. In the industry, I had the title of golden manager, but I had also heard many people sourly say I was just lucky, managing only one artist who became a top female star. When others said this, I didn’t mind, because only Sophie and I knew the hardships we went through together. Back then, I had just started trying to make it in the entertainment industry, and Sophie had only played two small supporting roles in her two years in the business. To save money, we lived in a basement. I drank until I had a stomach ulcer to get her roles. She was suspended by wires for hours to perform well. I really never imagined that Sophie would talk about me like this behind my back. I yanked open the door.
The two people inside looked at the door in horror. The man was Jason, the male lead of this drama. A newly popular male star who had just become famous from one drama. Sophie looked displeased, frowning as she shouted at me, “What are you doing? Don’t you know how to knock?” Jason, on the other hand, looked a bit uneasy and quickly stood up. “Mr. Zhou, you two talk. I’ll go first.” He opened the door and hurriedly left. Sophie scrolled through her phone, not looking at me at all. “Sarah told me about the incident caused by you clashing with fans. First, follow the PR plan, take down the trending topic, don’t let it continue to have an impact.” She leaned back in her chair carelessly: “How is it me clashing with fans? Am I wrong? They’re always criticizing me, and now they’re collectively demanding an explanation from the production team. They think too highly of themselves.” “I, Sophie, have achieved my current success on my own, not because of these fans.” I suppressed my emotions, “You need to cherish your reputation. This incident does you no good.” “We should consider the fans’ suggestions when appropriate. To be honest, the styling for this drama really isn’t that good…” Sophie’s expression changed. She gave a cold laugh. “It’s just because I took on this drama myself that you’re unhappy, right? Now you’re even picking on the styling!” “Besides, I’ve reached this status now. Why should I still be constrained by fans?” “So what if it’s trending? It just adds some buzz for my new drama.” This drama was indeed taken on by Sophie. At the time, I didn’t agree to it because the production team was rather rough. But Sophie wanted to do it, especially after hearing the male lead was Jason. She directly signed the contract through her personal studio. Thinking of this, I also felt angry, “The fans are constraining you? When fans asked the company to set up a studio for you, how come you listened so obediently then, saying we should follow the fans’ suggestions? Now when fans give you styling suggestions, it becomes them constraining you?” That time when fans collectively demanded Sophie set up a personal studio, faced with Sophie’s pitiful little face, I agreed. Do you know what that means? It means Sophie can do whatever she wants. Because of our relationship, my company doesn’t even have a contract with her. “Shouldn’t I have set up a studio? Am I supposed to be your cash cow forever?” “Charlie, don’t imagine you can control me forever. You wouldn’t be where you are today without me.” These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over me, chilling me to the bone. What I thought was our struggle together, the efforts I made for her, in her eyes were just me using her as a cash cow, just me getting lucky. At this moment, Sophie’s phone rang. From the corner of my eye, I saw the contact name was William. A well-reputed manager in the industry. Sophie saw my expression but still answered the call. “Brother William…” After a brief conversation, Sophie hung up. “William wants me to join his Golden Harmony Media as a partner.” Sophie said, looking quite proud. Seeing that I didn’t speak, Sophie said arrogantly: “I haven’t agreed yet.” I looked at her, speechless for a moment. Yeah, from the moment she wanted to open a personal studio, she was probably preparing to leave me. What does she mean by not agreeing yet? Is it that they haven’t finalized the deal, or is she trying to get me to give her more benefits? “Well, think it over carefully then.” I turned and walked out. I ran into Sarah who was about to come in. Seeing her questioning expression, I said flatly, “Let her be.” “Don’t take down the trending topic either. She thinks it’s good publicity for this drama, so let it be.”
I immediately contacted Golden Harmony Media. William and I had some history. Because I had given him some resources before, he was still quite polite to me. “Mr. Zhou, please don’t blame me for poaching your talent.” “Sophie said she was planning to end her cooperation with you, said her current contract is with her studio, and told me not to contact you.” “Sophie actually reached out to me first. She’s so popular that I was really excited, so I offered to let her join Golden Harmony as a partner, negotiating to give her some luxury brand resources.” So Sophie had contacted Golden Harmony herself. I laughed. She wanted to set up a studio, I gave in. She wanted to take on roles herself, I gave in. Now she’s changing managers without a word to me. What does she take me for? I naively thought Sophie’s personal studio was just a name, but now it seems she had long planned to get rid of me. Like tossing away a used rag. Sophie hadn’t contacted me for several days, and I hadn’t contacted her either. I should be thinking about my next steps. One day, just as I arrived at the gym, I received a call from Sophie. “Charlie, I’ve been hit. Come quickly!” She said with a crying voice. My heart raced. Without thinking much, I rushed out wearing just my gym tank top. On the way, I called assistant Sarah, but couldn’t get through. I became even more anxious. When I reached the place she told me, I kicked open the room door and rushed in, “Sophie, where are you?” As a result, I was sprayed in the face with snow spray and confetti. A group of crew members from the drama swarmed over, letting out cheers. “Sophie won!” I saw Sophie standing in the middle, smiling. “What’s going on?” I stared at her and asked. “It’s like this, Mr. Zhou. Today is Sophie’s birthday celebration from the crew. We played a dare game, and Sophie and I competed. Sophie won this time.” Jason walked over with a big smile and said, “Mr. Zhou, you’re so good to Sophie, coming so quickly. But you probably don’t know, I taught Sophie some powerful self-defense moves, hands-on. No one would dare hit her.” I didn’t say anything, just looked at Sophie who was acting like nothing had happened. Under my burning gaze, she reluctantly said, “You won’t be angry, right?” Then she looked me up and down, her expression displeased, “What are you wearing? It’s embarrassing.” When she called, I was changing clothes at the gym, so I was wearing a sports tank top and shorts, with only one slipper on – the other had fallen off while running. And my face and body were covered in confetti and snow spray, looking both disheveled and ridiculous. It was already autumn outside, and I only realized how cold it was in these clothes. Faced with Sophie’s disdainful look, I felt even colder inside. I turned and left, ignoring the others’ calls to stay. Sarah chased after me, “Charlie, I’m sorry. Sophie wouldn’t let me answer your calls…” I waved my hand, “Go back.” I just wanted to get back to my car quickly. I hadn’t noticed earlier how far the entrance was. I walked quickly with my head down, enduring people’s strange looks. Just as I was about to reach the entrance, someone called out to me. “Mr. Zhou, wait a moment.” I turned back to look. It was a female actress with a cameo role in this drama. Her name was Anna, a little-known actress. With a manager’s keen eye, I had noticed her the first time I saw her. Her looks were quite distinctive, with beautiful eyes, but unfortunately she was signed to a small company and couldn’t get any decent roles. “Anna.” Her eyes lit up, “Mr. Zhou, you actually know me!” I didn’t say anything. She handed me a few bags, “These are clothes and shoes I bought for my brother, planning to mail to him today. Don’t mind, just put them on. It’s quite cold outside.” Seeing my slight hesitation, she smiled brightly: “My brother is about your height, you should be able to wear them. They’re not brand name clothes, don’t mind.” I took them and said thanks, then opened my phone, “Thank you, add me, I’ll transfer you the money when I get back.” Anna wasn’t a coy girl. She immediately took out her phone and added me. As I drove back, Sophie called. “Can’t you take a joke? You left right away, where does that leave my face?”
I took a deep breath, “Sophie, what do you think our relationship is now?” She hesitantly replied, “Just this kind of relationship, why are you asking?” “Are we manager and artist, or boyfriend and girlfriend? Whichever it is, your attitude towards me is very poor. Why?” Sophie was silent for a moment, then said, “Let’s just be friends for now.” “I only want to focus on my career right now, I don’t want love to take up too much time.” I laughed. She once vowed to love me for a lifetime. We had gone through thick and thin together, and even dreamed of retiring from the entertainment circle before we turned 35. Now our relationship could just be friends. “I understand what you mean. Then let’s end it here.” “I’ll have the lawyer quickly sort out our business entanglements.” I sensed Sophie was a bit surprised by my calmness. “Don’t regret it!” “I couldn’t be happier!” She hung up the phone. I felt a sense of lightness, but also felt a bit cold. As expected, I had caught a cold from the chill. People are more vulnerable when sick. I couldn’t help but think of my past with Sophie. Her round face, big eyes, a look that made people happy at first sight. I remember the first time I met her. I was knocking on the doors of various film and TV companies with the copyrights of a few unpopular novels I had bought, and happened to meet Sophie who was working as an extra. I told her, “Your eyes are big, and your smile is especially sweet. You’re particularly suited to act in sweet dramas.” She said she had no manager, no company, and could only work as an extra playing maids. I said I could be her manager. The two of us worked our way up together. Later, I used the copyright of a novel to exchange for a pretty good supporting role for her. Sophie thought it was all due to her own efforts, that I was riding on her coattails. In reality, I have a keen eye for scripts. The reason Sophie could become famous was because of the dramas I chose for her. She became famous because of me. Since that’s the case, why shouldn’t I go make someone else famous? Besides, I already have some resources now, it would be much easier than before.
I had the company post a recruitment notice for new artists. Quite a few people came for interviews. There were plenty of people who wanted to act and become famous. After all, I was also a well-known manager. I personally interviewed everyone who came. I was quite picky when it came to selecting people. Better to have no one than the wrong one. After interviewing an artist, I saw over a dozen missed calls on my phone. They were all from Sophie. Her voice was mixed with anger, “You’re recruiting new people?” I found it a bit funny. Isn’t that a silly question? How else would I continue working if I didn’t find new artists? These past few days, I had the lawyer divide up the interests with Sophie. The lawyer said every time he went to have Sophie sign, she was fuming, as if she had suffered a great loss. She didn’t lose out. If she had, she definitely wouldn’t have signed. So I didn’t understand. I hadn’t shortchanged her, she clearly wanted to separate from me too. Where was all this anger coming from?
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