Actresses

Chapter 49 Signing the Contract

"Sigh..." Jiang Fan was still clearly hesitant, and looked up at He Yuran. "Ranran, I didn't know I would be so flustered. It seems like my confidence is shaky. The audition just now made me feel more at ease, at least I contacted the other party myself according to the normal procedure. But asking my mentor to find someone I know like this makes me feel so guilty."

"Oh, what are you feeling guilty about? In this industry, who doesn't need to ask for favors? Besides, who doesn't know each other? Everyone needs connections. Just make your call without worry, I'm here for you," He Yuran comforted her, her words tumbling out incoherently.

In fact, He Yuran's mind was also in turmoil, because she was now experiencing the same feeling.

Just like when she was observing the audition, she was now part of the situation and couldn't help but feel a sense of shared vulnerability. She seemed to foresee herself experiencing the same sense of unease someday.

However, she must not show sympathy now, but must appear carefree enough to support her fragile yet strong old classmate.

He Yuran patiently patted Jiang Fan's shoulder, comforting him for a while. The former top student finally made up his mind and laboriously pressed the call button—even though the button didn't actually exist, just a circle on the phone screen. Yet, it felt like a tiny barrier, making everyone hesitate to proceed.

As they listened to the beeping sounds from the speakerphone, time seemed to drag on endlessly, and both of them began to feel nervous.

After about seven or eight rings, someone finally answered. A middle-aged man's voice said, "Who is it?"

The tone was not very friendly.

Seeing that Jiang Fan didn't speak immediately, He Yuran quickly chimed in, "Hello Yueming, Teacher Chen should have already spoken to you. This is Jiang Fan. I wanted to ask you about your role in your new drama. When can we meet and discuss it in detail?"

"Uh, wait a minute." After saying that, the voice on the microphone went quieter, indicating he had walked away. He then called out something to the side, before returning to the microphone a moment later. "We're scouting locations here, so we can't go back for a while. Your role isn't important; we can talk about it after filming starts. There's no need to rush."

Jiang Fan suddenly grabbed He Yuran, "Then... what if I fly over there?"

He Yuran raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, "Is it really necessary? A role that doesn't even come with a salary, and I still have to pay for the plane ticket?"

The other person paused for a moment, then said, "If you're in such a hurry to see me, it's not impossible."

Jiang Fan hurriedly replied, "Yes, Teacher Chen said you were very busy, so I thought I could go over."

"Yes, we are indeed very busy, extremely busy, and we have to communicate with so many actors every day. When you called just now, I was a little confused, wondering who it was. By the way, are you the actor or their agent? The voice I heard just now didn't sound like yours."

He Yuran thought to himself, "That old guy is pretty sharp."

"It's me," Jiang Fan said.

"Sigh, you guys had my dad contact me, which puts me in a difficult position. The old man can't really get involved in my affairs now. How can I listen to him on such a big project? But he keeps emphasizing that I should watch your performance, so I thought I'd let's talk about it for now. But I can't guarantee anything, so I have to say this upfront," Yueming said.

"No problem! We're just meeting. I flew there voluntarily."

He Yuran mouthed to Jiang Fan, "It's really unnecessary to repeatedly confirm this and issue a disclaimer."

But Jiang Fan didn't understand what she was saying at all.

After chatting for a while, Yueming gave him a specific address. Jiang Fan said he would let him know the time after he booked the tickets. After chatting for a few more minutes, he hung up the phone.

Seeing Jiang Fan let out a long sigh of relief, He Yuran immediately slumped down.

Jiang Fan, who had always been so dignified, has now become so humble and pathetic.

To be honest, seeing Jiang Fan today didn't make He Yuran any more motivated; she didn't even feel that her spirit could have influenced him in the slightest. However, another thought that popped into her mind began to stir her thoughts, making it impossible for her to ignore what was happening in front of her.

He Yuran considered for a moment and then asked, "Alright, if you really want to go, I won't stop you. Do you have any staff members right now?"

Jiang Fan hesitated for a moment. "There's a young woman who used to be the executive agent for my team. Later, I stopped acting much, so the team disbanded, and she went to manage other artists. Now, her PR team helps me with some things online, but for offline meetings and business discussions, I have to handle everything myself. Then I compile the information and data and give it to them, like this."

"So what about your income? Do you have a company that can receive payments and issue invoices?"

Jiang Fan smiled awkwardly: "Ranran, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but I don't have much income right now. The company my friend works for helps me with some payments, including taxes, but the last payment was over two years ago."

"Sigh, that definitely won't work. You don't have anyone with you. Here, I'll send someone with you." He Yuran suddenly slapped his thigh. "I'll go with you! You wait here, I'll have my people book the plane tickets, give me your ID number."

"Huh?" Seeing He Yuran's increasingly outrageous statements, Jiang Fan's eyes widened to an unusually large circle for someone of her stature. "Ranran! How could I let you do this yourself? This is my own business..."

"Fan, what do you mean 'your business' and 'my business'? You'll be my collaborator in the future, and who knows, I might even sign you to my studio. Right? It's not a bad thing for us to work out a bit beforehand. Yes, it's settled! I'll sign you!" He Yuran clapped his hands. "I'll cover your round-trip airfare and accommodation this time, since I still have an income. You can save your money for raising the kids. Whether this trip works out or not, it'll be our first business trip together."

Jiang Fan was on the verge of tears.

This isn't about airfare or accommodation; nobody's short of money for airfare. The key is the sentiment behind it.

"Ranran, I really don't know what to say right now..."

"If you don't know what to say, then don't say anything. You should quickly think of how to tell that kid that the cooperation is over, and that your business will be transferred to me from now on, so don't look for anyone else."

Jiang Fan was a little embarrassed. "Actually, there's not much need to say hello, because I don't trouble them with many things throughout the year. But you're right, I'll still have a more formal conversation with them."

"Okay, to put your mind at ease, let's go to the company now, shall we? You can come with me to see my little corner of the business, and the people in my company. I'll introduce you to them one by one." He Yuran pulled Jiang Fan and got up to walk towards the entrance of Si De Park.

As they walked, He Yuran didn't notice that Jiang Fan's emotions had changed in such a short time.

She heard a voice behind her say, "Wait a minute."

He Yuran stopped upon hearing the sound, somewhat puzzled: "What?"

Jiang Fan took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm himself down, and paused for a moment before saying, "I felt my heart was pounding really hard just now. Sigh... I don't know why."

"Oh, are you experiencing low blood sugar? Why don't you go rest for a bit?"

He Yuran helped Jiang Fan walk towards a bench nearby when Jiang Fan reached out and gripped her wrist tightly. He Yuran was taken aback, not expecting the seemingly gentle and refined Jiang Fan to have such a strong grip, almost squeezing her wrist until it stopped flowing.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Ranran..." Jiang Fan held his forehead with one hand, closed his eyes tightly, and shook his head repeatedly. "I never imagined that so many years after graduation, we would still... still..."

The following words were drowned out by a sob.

He Yuran couldn't help but open her mouth wide. In all the years she had known Jiang Fan, this was the first time she had ever seen him shed tears.

Jiang Fan never used to cry; it was always He Yuran and her group of poor students who cried because they couldn't memorize the words, got low scores, and couldn't finish their homework.

At the time, everyone thought that a girl like Jiang Fan, with her dignified appearance and quiet personality, perfectly fit the era's aesthetic standards. She was a chosen one, destined for stardom, and would be invincible without a care in the world. But He Yuran never imagined that she, with her vibrant energy, would become one of the first newcomers in her class to make a name for herself in the film and television industry, even enjoying a period of immense success. After that, she and Jiang Fan no longer shared intimate moments, and the distance between them grew ever wider, until today.

He Yuran wanted to offer more words of comfort, but felt powerless to do so. So she slowly reached out and pulled Jiang Fan into her arms. Jiang Fan lowered his head, burying his face in her shoulder.

Although she couldn't hear any sound, He Yuran felt water stains spreading on her shoulder.

"Alright, enough crying? If we just stand here like this, people will think we're having a twilight romance. Why don't we go cry in the car?" He Yuran patted Jiang Fan gently again.

"Don't cry, don't cry! You're a mother now, how come you're not as good as a child? Our Mi Tuan doesn't cry much." Jiang Fan let go of He Yu Ran and looked down to find tissues in her bag.

He Yuran thought for a moment, then took out her phone and took a picture of Jiang Fan.

Hearing the sound of the camera shutter, Jiang Fan panicked for a moment, "Ranran, what are you doing?"

He Yuran chuckled. "Keep it as promotional material. During the promotional period, I'll have to find an excuse to bring up our stroll in Si De Park. And I can also show it to Jiang Mi Tuan. Her mother is always such a gentle person, but I made her cry with just a few words, hahaha."

"You're such a child, when are you going to change? Sometimes you're not even as mature as rice dough." Jiang Fan was amused this time. "No wonder she likes you, you've always been so cute."

"Alright, enough with the mutual flattery. Let's go, shall we? I'll call Xiao Zhao over." He Yuran said as he walked out, taking out his phone to make a call.

"What you just said... is this really appropriate? Won't it cause you too much trouble?" Jiang Fan was still deep in thought.

He Yuran waved his hand. "Don't worry, the people in my studio are just sitting around doing nothing anyway. Look at me, I don't have anything productive to do all day. Having you around is just like having another pair of chopsticks. Besides, I'll be even happier when you start making money."

"But I can't really say I'm getting any pay right now."

"Don't worry, don't we people in this line of work understand? A lot of things are about maneuvering, right? It's all about human effort."

He Yuran rambled on for a while, finally managing to calm Jiang Fan down. Afterwards, the two met up with Xiao Zhao, and the car drove directly to He Yuran's studio.

Upon entering, He Yuran glanced at Shi Jiahe's workstation; as expected, she wasn't there yet. She was probably still chatting with Wei Ning about her girlfriends. But that was alright; she could tell her about Jiang Fan later.

Sister Jun doesn't usually come to the company. When Ding Yi, Xuan Xuan, and Dan Zai saw someone come in, they all turned their attention to the person behind the boss.

Danzi and Xuanxuan were both too young and looked at Jiang Fan with confusion, not recognizing him. Ding Yi frowned for a moment, then suddenly stood up, a look of surprise on his face. He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't utter the name. He was probably afraid of calling the wrong person.

He Yuran walked to the center of the room and clapped her hands. "Come on, let me introduce the studio's new signed actor—"

Ding Yi immediately took the lead, displaying the demeanor of a most senior employee. "Oh, welcome, welcome! Is this lady Teacher Jiang Fan?"

At this moment, He Yuran felt particularly proud.

Although she hadn't given any prior notice, Ding Yi certainly didn't disappoint her. As the person who had been with her the longest, he made the boss look exceptionally good at this moment.

Jiang Fan was a little flustered. "Oh, hello! Hello everyone!"

"I've seen your movies. That one... is called..." Ding paused, the character's name on the tip of her tongue but she didn't say it, "I liked that period costume look, it was especially elegant and beautiful."

"That's right!" He Yuran clapped her hands excitedly again. "That's it! Grand! That's the perfect summary and positioning! In short, from today onwards, Fan is our studio's second signed artist!"