On the day of the awards ceremony, it was Jiang Juyou who stole the spotlight from everyone.
The public, who had initially found the high-fashion gown battles rather dull, suddenly perked up upon seeing Jiang Juyou's trending hashtag.
After Random Entertainnt began to make its mark, nurous companies were eager to invest. The mont Jiang Juyou hinted at any expansion plans, countless investnt firms would co knocking with their offers.
In the latter half of the year, as Random Entertainnt gained international recognition, even more companies ca sniffing around.
At this ti, rumors began to circulate that Jiang Juyou was planning to study abroad, which likely ant she was either handing over the company to soone else or had already sold it.
The crowd, who had been busy critiquing the red carpet outfits of celebrities, quickly turned their attention to Jiang Juyou, eager to uncover the truth.
Most of the content posted by gossip accounts were screenshots from online forums, with the only piece of information being that she was heading to the UK for studies—nothing else of substance was revealed.
Even the employees of Random Entertainnt, working away in Beijing, were shocked. They had received no prior notice, not even the PR team knew about this developnt.
The outside world assud they were in the loop, privy to more information than the general public, but in reality, they weren’t much ahead of the netizens.
The news was so explosive that they could hardly focus on work, frantically asking each other if anyone had heard anything. The most targeted for inquiries were the assistants upstairs.
Aside from those who had accompanied Jiang Juyou on a business trip to Sanya, three assistants remained in the office, handling her various affairs.
The PR team’s phones were ringing off the hook, with everyone asking about the veracity of the news. They themselves were in the dark and could only promise to respond once they had confirmation.
Thus, the assistants left in the office beca the ones being bombarded.
“Is President Jiang answering calls?”
“No, Keke took it. I asked her to check.”
“Alright, once Keke gets back to you, inform the PR team directly.”
“Got it.”
At the awards ceremony venue, Jiang Juyou, dressed in a rare skirt with a white shirt and black blazer, was about to take the stage. The makeup artist had just finished touching up her look.
Keke, who had been standing behind Jiang Juyou, finished a phone call and tucked her phone away. She leaned in and whispered, “There are rumors online about you going abroad to study. The dia is asking for confirmation. Should the company respond?”
The makeup artist paused and stepped back. Jiang Juyou smiled at her and said, “It’s fine, it’s nothing major.”
She then straightened up and told her assistant, “No need to respond. This is a private matter and doesn’t need to be made public.”
After all, the company wasn’t listed, and there were no other shareholders. Her decision to study abroad wouldn’t have any significant impact.
Keke nodded and reached for her phone again. “Alright, I’ll let them know. You go ahead to the red carpet; I’ll catch up soon.”
The staff up front was already urging her on. Jiang Juyou adjusted her blazer and strode confidently in her heels toward the sponsor’s car.
Outside, the host, seeing her na on the display, imdiately began the introduction.
“Now arriving is—”
The car door opened, and Jiang Juyou, dressed impeccably, stepped out. The fans lining the red carpet erupted in cheers.
Her pencil skirt hugged her slightly angular figure, and the loosely tucked white shirt was neatly secured by the black blazer, adding an air of authority.
Her hair was slightly curled at the ends, and her lips were painted with a soft rose-colored lipstick that brightened her complexion, masking the fatigue from days of work.
Following the instructions, Jiang Juyou walked to the backdrop for photos.
The hosts, who had stepped aside earlier, returned with their cue cards. The first thing they said to her was, “Our producer Jiang is a rare guest at the ceremony. Many fans are here just for you. Let’s have Producer Jiang greet everyone.”
Taking the microphone, Jiang Juyou glanced at the host and then at the dia in front of her. She smiled and said, “Hello everyone, I’m Jiang Juyou.”
The host quickly moved to the interview segnt. “Many of the artists here today are presenting their own works, but Producer Jiang is in a league of her own—many of the artists here were nurtured by her.”
“So, Producer Jiang, would you like to share so of your future plans? While everyone is curious about the groups you’ve produced, they’re also interested in what’s next for you personally.”
The topic, already trending, had made its way to the live event.
“Just monts ago, there were rumors online about you going abroad to study. Producer Jiang, is this true?” the host asked.
Jiang Juyou had already glimpsed the note passed to the host by the production team.
She chuckled softly and picked up the microphone. “Yes, I’m considering studying abroad.”
“As expectations for Random Entertainnt grow, I’ve co to realize my own limitations. So, I’ve decided to take the plunge, to learn and refine myself, so that Random Entertainnt can deliver even more impressive results in the future.”
The host imdiately jumped in, “See, everyone? We were the first to ask!”
As she spoke, Jiang Juyou noticed the surprised expressions on the faces of the dia and fans in front of her.
She smiled and continued, “Random Entertainnt has been around for over four years now. This year, we’ve launched several new initiatives, aiming to present a fresh image and to promote our cultural and entertainnt industry to the world.”
“I’m quite ambitious and a bit greedy—I want to be a leader in the industry and for Random Entertainnt to stand out in the public’s mind.”
“That’s why I’ve made this decision to study.”
No one could understand the surge of emotions Jiang Juyou felt at that mont. In those few seconds, it was as if she had relived the past four years—every triumph and trial Random Entertainnt had faced flashed before her eyes.
When the company first started, she was clueless. For the first three months, she moved forward with nothing but a dream, unsure if her plans would work or how her strategies would be received by the market. She relied solely on sheer willpower to push through.
The sleepless nights when the first survival show gained so traction online; the blood, sweat, and tears she poured into forming the first group; the stress and exhaustion when internal managent issues arose; the resilience to carry on as if nothing had happened after a company overhaul.
She had made mistakes too, focusing too much on the first group, nearly causing them to crash and burn. What seed like a trivial scandal to the outside world—one that paled in comparison to the gossip about internal conflicts at Random Entertainnt—had been a wake-up call for her.
And now, here she was, a figure of capital, the one being pursued. Only Jiang Juyou knew what had truly transpired in these fleeting four years.
“Alright, let’s bid farewell for now. See you later!” the host said.
Jiang Juyou waved to a few familiar fans before turning to leave.
Her response only fueled the fire under the hashtag #JiangJuyouStudiesAbroad. Gossip accounts were quick to update, eager to capitalize on the buzz.
“So, she’s really going to study abroad?”
“Managent in the UK???”
“Another one for the UK master’s program—co on in!”
“What’s going to happen to the company while she’s away?”
“Stop playing house, you bystanders. It’s not like Jiang Juyou is the only employee. There are others to handle things. She’s already been hands-off for a while—she didn’t even get involved in the production of the new boy group.”
“Hey, whoever’s talking nonsense in the comnts, better hide your fan identity before Sister Poison Wine sees it. She’s been itching for a fight.”
“Wife—don’t go! I haven’t even gotten to et you at the airport yet! I haven’t received any of your snacks!”
“Poison Wine fans in the UK are going wild, hahaha. Does anyone know where she’s headed?”
“Hangover dicine, want to share an apartnt? Just bring yourself, no rent needed. My place has a maid and driver, no need for you to cook, and your transportation is covered. Please, co live with .”
“Am I the only one panicking? Without the hangover dicine, the five androids went crazy, and now they’re even further apart. Isn’t this going to completely fall apart?”
“I heard that Jiang Juyou is the main judge for this global audition. Those who pass the four interviews will get to et her. It seems like Random Entertainnt is really pushing to develop an international group.”
“Does the hangover dicine need a live-in auntie? I’m pretty good at making Chinese food.”
The trending topic was like a massive fan et-up, with fans from other companies joining in for fun, and Random Entertainnt fans wailing in despair. Only Jiang Juyou’s fans were worried about her eating poorly, sleeping badly, and getting robbed after she moves.
Overseas fans were a bit late to notice Jiang Juyou.
“OMG! Is she the company’s boss?”
“Holy Shit! She’s got two words written all over her: My Wife!”
“I always thought company CEOs looked like big gorillas with fat faces…”
“If she debuted, FLXT would be nothing. I’d just follow her!”
“Random Entertainnt really has high standards for looks. Even the boss has to be visual-level.”
“Hi, wife!”
“OMG! She’s only 26!”
“Random Entertainnt’s boss started from scratch. She worked at the company first, then bought it out. So inspiring.”
“Coming to study in the UK? Where? I really want to date her.”
“…Chinese fans say all the famous plans from Random Entertainnt are her ideas. She’s super popular in China.”
“With looks like that and brains too, it’s no wonder she’s popular. Even the boss is eye candy for Chinese fans.”
“I’m so jealous. How’s her English? If not, I can learn Chinese. I’m flexible.”
Floxetine also has its own small fanbase overseas. The unique album design and rare collectibles inside have attracted a wave of international fans to snatch them up.
Acrylic squares have beco their new currency of exchange, priced dozens of tis higher than photocards. This investnt frenzy has driven them wild, especially since Random Entertainnt’s albums are ti-limited but not quantity-limited. Once the sale period ends, there’s no way to buy them again, only to collect the squares.
This has caused the price of acrylic squares to never drop. The crazy price surge has even drawn the attention of overseas photocard collectors.
Today, Floxetine has a stage performance at the awards ceremony. Many overseas fans watching the livestream got into them because of the acrylic squares, thinking of it as an investnt, so they ca to check out the group’s performance.
And they were pleasantly surprised to find out how good-looking Floxetine’s boss is.
Tonight, Twitter exploded with topics, and Jiang Juyou’s na trended in several countries.
Jiang Juyou attended as an award presenter. After returning backstage, many artists ca up to greet her, and so industry insiders invited to the event also approached her to chat about recent developnts.
Having not attended such events in a long ti, Jiang Juyou suddenly felt how popular Random Entertainnt has beco in the industry.
Listening to them joke about how Jiang Juyou should let them know if she ever needs investnt, Jiang Juyou just smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll save a spot for you!”
“Hey! I like that. I’ll be waiting!”
“Hahaha, saving a spot for you? I’ll just take the whole share and leave you nothing.”
“Get out of here! You’re everywhere. She’s just being polite, and you’re taking it seriously.”
“You’re the one taking it seriously!”
In the past, Jiang Juyou always felt out of place at such events, but now she could comfortably stay.
She stood there, no longer on the periphery but at the center, with everyone flocking to her, flattering her.
Jiang Juyou was graceful and poised, occasionally responding to the jokes with a few words.
“Everyone, Ms. Jiang, it’s about to start. You can take your seats to watch the performance,” a staff mber reminded.
Jiang Juyou nodded and called out to the CEOs who used to look down on her and exclude her, “Mr. Chen, Mr. Zhao, let’s go. Mr. Han, it’s ti to enter. Sister He Fang, co on.”
“Let’s go!”
-
In China, aside from prestigious film and TV award ceremonies, most other events are heavily focused on marketing, aiming to promote this year’s shows and showcase their performance.
Random iWatch’s “Long · Ying Awards Ceremony” is quite honest. Although every production team is represented, not everyone gets an award.
The awards are divided into quarterly and annual categories, with distinctions between popularity and actual sales.
The most popular works and characters of each quarter and the entire year carry different weights.
Random iWatch doesn’t hide anything, displaying the actual sales of each drama clearly on the big screen. They tally the subscription revenue from the first two months of the show’s airing and base the awards on that. There’s also a popularity award determined by online fan voting.
The variety show departnt relies solely on voting.
Unlike awards that can manipulate code or inflate numbers, Random iWatch’s popularity awards are genuine. Each person can only vote once, and participants receive a free viewing voucher, allowing them to watch without subscribing.
The number of participants directly surpassed two million, with the annual popularity actor receiving over a hundred thousand votes.
This isn’t sothing that can be achieved by fans alone.
An awards ceremony that doesn’t treat the audience as fools suddenly made every award highly discussable, with everyone curious about who the winners would be.
The closing awards ceremony even set the record for the highest mont of popularity among this year’s events.
The popularity actor chosen by over a hundred thousand viewers and the annual actor selected by more than thirty judges both trended on social dia.
This ti, the trending topics weren’t about who wore which high-fashion gown or who had the best red carpet look, but the nas of the awards themselves.
“You guys are really tight-lipped. How co you didn’t ntion that watching the livestream gives you a month’s mbership?”
“…Watching for an hour gives you a month’s mbership, watching the entire thing gives you a viewing voucher. [Closes eyes] I’m heartbroken.”
“This is terrifying. Over 2.7 million actual participants? That many people?”
“Random iWatch’s daily active users are that high now?”
“What era are you living in? Random iWatch’s mbership count has already surpassed 100 million.”
“I’ve only been following the music departnt. I know nothing about Random Entertainnt’s other ventures.”
“Now actor fans are making spreadsheets to calculate the first-day subscription revenue. Random iWatch’s full subscription can be attributed to specific actors, whether it’s the lead actor, lead actress, or even supporting roles. It’s all about the data.”
“I thought Random Entertainnt only played tricks on idol fans. Turns out they didn’t spare actor fans either.”
“As a drama fan, let explain: you need to make spreadsheets for first-day subscription revenue, first-month subscription revenue, and new mberships. Random iWatch shows how many new users signed up specifically for a certain drama, even breaking it down by actor. Actor fans have been fighting over this for a while now.”
“The Chinese obsession with spreadsheets. I’ve been so confused by all the recent data battles. Now I get it.”
“Why are people worried about whether Random iWatch can make money after giving away millions of vouchers? Let put it this way: Random iWatch is the only profitable platform this year.”
“Random iWatch focuses more on modern dramas, most of which are revenue-sharing productions, and many are original scripts with low production costs.”
“People are actually worried about whether capitalists are making money…”
“Random Entertainnt bought two planes. Do you think they’re making money?”
An awards ceremony where not everyone wins can easily offend actors, and they might not co next ti. But since Random iWatch invited many project teams, actors who want opportunities have no choice but to attend.
It’s safe to say that Random Entertainnt has calculated everything, anticipating everyone’s thoughts.
Among all the year-end events and ceremonies, Random Entertainnt’s was the most successful, making other platforms green with envy.
In addition to the awards ceremony, Random Entertainnt’s artists also held fan etings and concerts throughout December.
It seems like all the money everyone earned by the end of the year was snatched up by Random Entertainnt, as tickets for other award ceremonies weren’t selling well.
The idol groups from the idol departnt still had year-end concerts to attend, aside from their own, they also had to participate in events on other platforms. They had to go for pre-recordings, and as the year-end approached, their schedules beca increasingly packed. Comrcial performances were piled up, and it felt like they were constantly on the go.
The five mbers of Titrain had just finished their own concert and were now rushing to Macau for rehearsals.
After packing their luggage, the five of them stayed in their respective rooms, waiting for the staff to complete the check-out process.
Yao Shuo, lying on the bed, looked exhausted, but when his phone rang, he still picked it up to check.
It was a voice ssage from their manager.
“We’re flying to Macau by plane, business class. The company’s plane has already picked up the groups that were farther away. When we fly to Bangkok later, we can take the company’s plane, and the sa goes for the return trip. You’ll be able to rest properly on the plane. For today, though, there might be fans on the flight, so everyone, pay attention to your image. Wear hats and masks to cover your faces.”
“Check-out is done. Everyone can head downstairs now.”
Not being able to take the company’s plane left the five of them a bit disappointed. The company’s plane had been in use since early December, but they had been busy shooting their MV and hadn’t had the chance to experience it. They’d heard from others that the company’s plane was extrely luxurious.
As soon as they stepped out, Yao Shuo bumped into Pei Luming.
“You okay?” Yao Shuo patted Pei Luming’s head, but Pei Luming was busy looking at his phone. He looked up with a hint of resentnt and handed his phone to his older brother. “Pei Zhiping and the others got to ride the company’s plane… They said the seats were super soft.”
The company had two planes—one that could seat 48 people and another that could seat 18. The smaller one was for the acting departnt, while the larger one was for the idol departnt.
In the photo, Pei Zhiping stood in the middle, flashing a peace sign. The surrounding seats were spaced far apart, each in its own little compartnt. From the photo, it didn’t seem like there were 48 seats.
“She said there’s a private room on the plane… That’s Jiang Juyou’s room. They’re flying to Macau with Jiang Juyou.”
Pei Luming said with envy, “I want to experience that too.”
They were constantly harassed by obsessive fans, and even when they were so tired on the plane that their heads were nodding, they didn’t dare sleep, afraid soone might sneak up and take photos of them.
Yao Shuo chuckled, “You’ll get to ride it soon enough.”
-
Fans from both dostic and international locations gathered in Macau. Although the official New Year’s concert was the next day, the streets were already crowded with people today.
Random Entertainnt’s New Year’s concert wasn’t just about the activities inside the venue; there were also events outside.
Tomorrow night, there would be a special New Year’s fireworks display for the fans outside the venue, and the countdown projection and sound system were already set up.
Random Entertainnt had also, for the first ti, authorized fan support activities. Today, the streets of Macau were filled with large screens and advertisent buses, creating a vibrant atmosphere for fans.
For Random Entertainnt’s first family concert, Jiang Juyou had to be there. She was present during the rehearsals, closely monitoring the stage positions of each group.
In between, she also had to keep an eye on the progress of the concert in Bangkok.
“Is the stage all set up?” Jiang Juyou was on the phone with the team there.
“Then let those groups rehearse first. Save the rehearsal ti at noon tomorrow for our side.”
“Have the setup team double-check everything, especially the microphones for each group.”
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
Lin Jie was the one sent by Jiang Juyou to oversee the scene in Bangkok. After hanging up the phone, Jiang Juyou glanced at Titrain, who were practicing their stage positions on the platform.
The once youthful faces in her mory had now matured, and their every move exuded the aura of seasoned artists.
She turned to the person beside her and said, “Let’s go, let’s take a look outside.”
Chinese fans: Let’s give the international fans a taste of our hangover cure!
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