Actresses

Chapter 95 Confession

"What kind of empty promises is she making to you now?" Although she said that, He Yuran's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Actually, this industry has one unique characteristic: you never know when or who will suddenly make a comeback. Could it be... that Cheng Xiaotang has actually been doing something worthwhile all these years?

Li Luo'an frowned. "A few days after Cheng Xiaotang posted her first Weibo post, she asked me to meet her and said she wanted to meet you too. She has a movie with two female leads and wants us to act in it. But I refused, and I didn't even ask you about it because I didn't think you'd be interested. I didn't expect this to continue; she posted about the filing on Weibo. I hesitated for a long time, but I thought I should tell you. Was it wrong of me to refuse this for you without your consent?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. Even if they came to me about this, I wouldn't continue the discussion. If I liked the dramas she acted in and her eye for choosing roles, I wouldn't have terminated the contract in the first place." He Yuran was quite certain about this.

Li Luo'an smiled knowingly. "President Cheng does indeed have some issues with his judgment. He's good at picking actors, but he's really bad at choosing roles."

"Find me some pajamas, I'm so sleepy, I need to wash up first," He Yuran said listlessly.

"Okay, okay." Li Luoan seemed very compliant today, unlike the last time they met. She even went to get pajamas, disposable underwear, and a new bath towel with a friendly smile. "Tell me if you need anything. Use whatever toiletries you like, or don't use anything at all."

He Yuran stared at Li Luoan for a while, then suddenly laughed. "Why don't we shower together?"

"I already showered." Li Luoan rolled her eyes and turned to go into the bedroom.

He Yuran laughed so hard she almost fell over. "If I were any more lewd, I would have pounced on you by now. This isn't a rejection at all, okay?!"

"You rascal, I'll be waiting for you in bed." A voice drifted out from the bedroom.

He Yuran smiled as she entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She wondered, "Am I just old-fashioned, or has Li Luoan changed so much? Or perhaps, from a perspective I'd never considered, this is just Li Luoan's true personality? I just haven't shown it to her before. If she were truly so aloof and detached from the world, why would she invite a whole bunch of young people from all walks of life to her home for her birthday?"

After taking a shower to relieve the fatigue of the whole day, carefully drying her hair, and changing into her pajamas, He Yuran felt a sense of relaxation that she hadn't experienced in a long time.

Back in Li Luoan's bedroom, He Yuran instinctively started grinning slyly, "Don't you have a guest room? Are we really going to sleep together?"

Li Luoan was reading a book while wearing glasses. Hearing this, he glanced at her over his glasses. "You came to see me because you had something to say, right? If you're just here to sleep, then go to the living room."

"So, what if I come to you just to sleep?"

Li Luoan looked at her over his glasses again and pointed outside. "Then go to the living room now."

He Yuran climbed onto the bed with a grin, curled up on the half he had reserved for himself, and stretched out comfortably in a starfish shape. "Ah, this mattress is so comfortable. Did you change it overnight to welcome me?"

"Yes, the house was rented just yesterday," Li Luoan replied without changing his expression.

"I believe you now."

"If you believe me, then send the money. I've already paid a year's rent in advance, so I'll pay it off right away."

He Yuran took the phone, opened Li Luoan's WeChat, and was about to transfer money when Li Luoan saw that she was serious. She threw down the book she was holding and slammed the screen off He Yuran's phone. "What are you doing? Just because you have money doesn't mean you can do anything."

"Look, since you dare to act, let's act to the end."

"Okay, let's get down to business. Cheng Xiaotang and I had a long complaining session about you, and she even gave your manager a piece of her mind."

"Agent? You mean Jiahe?" He Yuran's lips moved, but she didn't mention that Shi Jiahe had already resigned. "What does this have to do with my agent?"

"Didn't you block Cheng Xiaotang on WeChat? She went around asking people to help her, eventually finding your agent, and then she said some really nasty things. She said things like, your career has been getting worse and worse these past few years, and it's all because of having an agent like that, and she's even preventing you from seeing her. Then your agent didn't hold back either, and blocked her too. It's kind of funny, her way of talking and doing things is definitely the same as yours."

"Cheng Xiaotang must have said something nice, otherwise, Jiahe wouldn't have acted like that, given her temperament."

Li Luoan shrugged, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"It's my own decision not to contact her, it has nothing to do with the agent. Doesn't Cheng Xiaotang, who works as an agent herself, understand? What can be greater than the will of the artist? Has she forgotten how she treated me back then? Besides, since she wanted to contact me, she started by cursing me no matter who it was. I won't work with her. No matter how good the dual female lead script is, I don't believe she can film it."

Li Luoan sighed. "But don't you think it's quite remarkable that she still insists on investing in and making movies? I really admire her for that. And she has this kind of relentless, never-give-up spirit, which I have much more energy for than I do. I really envy people like you who can take risks."

Sometimes, reckless actions only shorten your lifespan. It's better to keep a low profile and bide your time.

Li Luoan looked her up and down. "Oh, that doesn't sound like you. You're usually someone who always wants to show off."

"I haven't had much of a edge for a long time. And, since we're talking about my manager, I'll tell you about it..." He Yuran paused, "The reason you saw me wandering around today is because the place I went to is the same neighborhood where my manager lives. She's already resigned and moved to a friend's place. I couldn't get her back, so... you must be feeling quite melancholy."

"It feels like it all happened so suddenly."

"It was very sudden. But maybe she had been suppressing her feelings for me for a long time."

He Yuran wasn't afraid of losing face, and recounted the whole story in detail.

"I told my driver today that I'm confident I can bring Jiahe back. But I don't know what to do. But they say you should say auspicious things, that they will manifest. What if Jiahe comes to her senses and comes back? And Luo'an, I guess, the day I came to you, was it destined that all of this would happen? If I hadn't come to you, I wouldn't have met Song Lin, and if I hadn't gone to her, I wouldn't have met the master and learned about this."

"You're being superstitious again! Actually, this is the best opportunity to see the true nature of your relationship with your agent. Putting everything else aside, ask yourself two questions. First, do you think she's really lying to you? Second, people definitely need each other, so besides the fact that you feel you need her, what else can you give her? Think these questions through, and you'll have the answers."

"Do you know something?" He Yuran frowned. She propped her head up with her hand and turned to look in Li Luoan's direction.

"These are all human nature. Normal people would think about things this way. It's just that you, a big star, don't have this kind of mindset."

"Okay..." He Yuran sighed, unable to refute. "Regarding the first question, I don't think she was lying to me. She was probably just looking for an excuse to make me do something I should do, and something she wanted to do herself. The second question stumped me. She probably has no expectations of me anymore, and I can't give her what she wants. Today, my driver said to me while we were having dinner, 'Sis, you really have a terrible temper.' You know what? My driver has been with me for over two years, and this is the first time he's said something like that. Jiahe has been with me for over five years, inseparable, so she must have endured even more. So, honestly, can I change? It seems like I can't. Besides, I always feel like my temper is okay, so what's wrong with it? It's just that I always act spoiled. Is there a problem with me being a little coquettish with the girls at the studio?"

"That's why I say you're out of touch with reality! How could you two really be sisters? You're the one paying their salaries! You see everything they do. If you're happy, everything's fine; if you're unhappy, they might lose their jobs tomorrow. And no matter what you're communicating about, if you don't cooperate or don't do a good job, it's still their fault. That's why being a talent agent is so difficult, and you're easily scolded. The core reason is that public and private matters are mixed up, and there's no clear distinction between them. When it's time to talk about money, everyone talks about feelings; when it's time to talk about feelings, everyone talks about money. You know what? When I first got a talent agent, I was very happy, thinking that I could talk to Ms. Cheng about everything from now on. Later, I found out that she didn't..." They simply didn't have time for me. Even my then-manager completely disregarded me. Compared to you, I was in a different situation because there's a huge difference between being famous and not being famous. Actually, my demands weren't that strict; I just wanted everyone to be objective. But it's so difficult to be objective in our industry. Not many artists and their managers can treat each other completely equally. Because in the entertainment industry, whoever is famous has the power, and the artist's team revolves around the famous artist. Unfamous artists can only pray that one day they'll become wildly famous and sit in that position, surrounded by admirers. This happens every day. After seeing through all this, I decided I didn't want a team anymore. Eventually, I even stopped wanting to act. These are the reasons.”

"Wow, you have so many complaints."

Li Luoan snorted, "You're so sarcastic. I'm not talking to you anymore."

"No, I'm serious. I may have been too ignoring other people's feelings before, always thinking that my own affairs were the most important. But as you said, I'm the one who pays the salaries, so of course I have the right to be a little domineering. They have to put up with me for the sake of money, right? I'm not wrong, am I?"

Li Luoan took off his glasses and put them aside, then turned around and looked at He Yuran very seriously. "Look at you again, saying things like you have to put up with things for money. If that's your mentality, you have to be prepared that people might not serve you at any time, understand? Because most of it is about money, not about people being wholeheartedly willing to follow you."

He Yuran was getting a little exasperated. "...I was just being stubborn, wasn't I?"

"You're not just saying this; you really think it. Yes, you are indeed very emotional and not a bad person, but relationships require effort. They're much easier to destroy than to rebuild. Money simply can't buy what you need right now, Mr. He."

"Alright, alright, I know. Zhi Qiu has grown up now and is even starting to educate Zhi Xia."

"Alright, go to sleep. I'm exhausted. I was just worrying unnecessarily and brought this big troublesome person like you home."

"I know you're afraid of getting involved in this kind of thing, and I'm not really your friend, so I'm sorry to have caused you trouble. But it's also because you messaged me on WeChat first, otherwise I wouldn't have thought to contact you."

Li Luoan looked at her again, "Teacher He, are you sure? I have a feeling I can't escape."

When the two looked at each other, He Yuran suddenly laughed and said quietly, "You really understand me. I'm not teasing you anymore. Actually, I was planning to come find you tonight."