Chapter 50: Tian Xiwei, I Have a Backer in the Entertainment Industry, You Know

The winter in Mountain City was sweltering and humid, and the old-fashioned air conditioner in the Tian family's living room was humming away.

Tian Xiwei sat cross-legged on the sofa, staring nervously at the computer. Tonight's episode of *Go Princess Go* featured her cameo appearance.

"Sis! Is that silly girl blown head over heels by the leaf blower you?"

Tian Xiyu, a fifth-grader, suddenly pointed at the TV and shrieked, spraying potato chip crumbs everywhere.

"Who are you calling a silly girl! That’s an imperial palace maid!"

Tian Xiwei hurled a throw pillow at her younger sister, furious.

What a little brat, completely lacking any sense of appreciation.

On the screen, the maid she played was being blown this way and that by the powerful wind of the blower, her skirt plastered across her face.

Mother Tian laughed so hard she slapped her thigh. "Oh, my darling, you did that somersault so standardly. It’s even more flamboyant than when your dad strained his back at the factory back in the day!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Father Tian had been in the middle of making tea, but at these words, his hand shook, spilling wolfberries all over half the table.

He squinted at the computer. "Little one, this... show you're acting in... is the crew a bit poor? Why does that crown prince's armor look like it's made of paper?"

"Oh, you guys don't understand!" Tian Xiwei stamped her feet in frustration. "This is called creativity! Brother Jiang Ye said, the poorer it is, the more buzz it gets!"

"Jiang Ye?" Father Tian keenly grasped the main point. "Is that the one you chatter about every day... the one from Beijing Film Academy?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Tian Xiwei suddenly straightened up, her eyes bright and sparkling. "Dad, Mom, I want to take the art exams later and apply for the Performance Department at Beijing Film Academy!"

The living room fell instantly silent.

Mother Tian's knitting needles paused mid-air, and Father Tian's wolfberry tea rippled in concentric circles.

"Little one," Mother Tian began cautiously, "being a star requires connections. Our family is just an ordinary household..."

"I do have backing!" Tian Xiwei said with absolute confidence. "The director of this show, Jiang Ye, is my classmate Lin Xiaoman's older brother! He's amazing, and right now the whole internet is talking about this drama!"

Father Tian stared at the computer screen, where the absurd plot of the crown prince's wife managing the inner court using Excel was playing out, and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Just this? Amazing? It's way worse than *My Fair Princess*..."

"Dad...!" Tian Xiwei rushed over to tug at his beard in exasperation. "This is innovation! Do you understand innovation or not?"

Father Tian pulled down his daughter's hand and sighed. "Then why on earth would he help you?"

"Because he's a m—"

Tian Xiwei bit her tongue hard, almost letting the word "boyfriend" slip out.

Quick-witted in her panic, she improvised: "A m—such a rare and visionary genius director! Lin Xiaoman said her brother loves helping newcomers!"

Mother Tian suddenly leaned in, looking suspiciously at her daughter's flushed face. "Little one, why are your ears so red?"

"The air conditioner! The AC is turned up too high!"

Tian Xiwei leaped up to adjust the temperature, silently cursing herself for almost blowing her cover.

Anyway, she had an agreement with Jiang Ye that he wouldn't date anyone until she got into Beijing Film Academy.

Although this was just a plan between her and Xiaoman, if this guy performed well enough, it wouldn't be completely out of the question to give him a chance...

No... she couldn't give him a chance; she had to stick to the plan.

This hateful guy only made 800 last time after working so hard, and even lost 1200...

She couldn't let it go!

She would swindle his money when the time came and then dump him!

Yeah, she'd swindle about 1500 out of him, gotta make at least a 300 profit!

Thinking of that scenario, she couldn't help but chuckle secretly.

"Sis, your smile looks so gross," Tian Xiwei interrupted suddenly. "Like a mouse that stole oil."

"Tian Xiwei! Did you fail your Chinese exam again at the end of the term? This is called 'a smile as charming as blooming flowers'!"

"Clearly, it looks like a smiling morning glory..."

Amidst the sisters' bickering, a scream from the maid played by Tian Xiwei came from the television.

She had been blown straight into the lotus pond by the leaf blower.

Amidst her family's bursting laughter, Tian Xiwei secretly peeked at her parents' expressions, her mental abacus clicking away furiously.

Hmm... Once she gets into Beijing Film Academy, she'll make Jiang Ye meet her parents...

Maybe she could use that money to buy gifts...

...

The next morning at 7:00 AM, the office of Jiangying Media was filled with the mixed scent of coffee and instant noodles.

Five college students were sprawled limply across their desks, dark circles hanging heavily under their eyes, yet their eyes flashed with an excited light.

Li Xiaocao wore a bird's nest of messy hair, her fingers still mechanically refreshing the data page. "The view count has broken 100 million..."

Her voice was as raspy as if it had been scrubbed with sandpaper.

"Bonus! Bonus! Bonus!" Wang Meng slumped in her chair, waving her fist feebly.

When Jiang Ye pushed the door open, this was the miserable sight that greeted him.

Not bad, truly fresh graduates straight out of campus, so easy to fool...

He raised an eyebrow and tossed several large bags of breakfast he was carrying onto the table. "All of you, get up and eat."

The employees slowly crept over like zombies. When they opened the plastic bags, they found that besides steamed buns and soy milk, each person had an extra thick red envelope.

"You've worked hard this week." Jiang Ye leaned against the edge of the table, his tone uncharacteristically gentle. "You're all getting a day off today, go back and sleep."

The office instantly erupted.

"Really?!"

"Long live President Jiang!"

"I can sleep until tomorrow morning right now!"

"Thanks for the boss's red envelope!"

Ten minutes later, the office was empty, with only Bailu still standing in her spot, unmoving.

"Boss," she frowned, "isn't this the most crucial moment for promotion? Why the sudden day off?"

As the boss's considerate assistant, she was worried sick...

Jiang Ye walked over to the window and pulled open the blinds.

The sunlight streamed in, illuminating his smiling profile.

"Xiaobu," he said leisurely, "how far do you think the promotion of a drama can go if we rely solely on just the few of us?"

Bailu blinked. "But before..."

"Before was building momentum, now is leveraging it."

Jiang Ye turned around and pointed at the empty office. "With our tiny headcount, we can't even afford to buy a Weibo trending search, let alone full-platform promotion."

He picked up the remote control, turned on the projector, and switched to the homepage of Penguin Video.

The recommendation spot for *Go Princess Go* had shifted from a small thumbnail to the full-screen focal image.

"See that?" Jiang Ye smiled. "The ones in a hurry right now aren't us, it's the platform. Once a drama hits big, they want to monetize it even more than we do."

Bailu suddenly understood. "So..."

"So let them stay busy." Jiang Ye stretched lazily. "Extra episodes, promotions, sponsorships... the platforms are much more professional at these than we are. We'll conserve our energy and wait until they've arranged everything..."

He paused meaningfully. "That's when it's truly time for us to get busy."

Looking at Jiang Ye's confident demeanor, Bailu suddenly felt that the man in front of her was as cunning as a fox.

The sunlight shone on his white shirt, outlining a dazzling silhouette.

"Then..." she asked softly, "am I getting the day off today too?"

Jiang Ye glanced at her. "You? No."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you have to accompany me to meet someone." Jiang Ye picked up his suit jacket. "The Copyright Cooperation Department Manager at Penguin Video requested coffee in two hours."