Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 47: Clap Back

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Clap Back

Li Jing’s face paled, disbelieving.

"Keep bragging, but if she’s really just dieting, how did she have the time to shoot for ’L&G Charming Women’ magazine photos? I even went out and bought a copy this afternoon to look at; Jinxia’s photoshoot was really good!"

With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, and Luo You was the first to step out, followed closely by Li Jing.

In his ear, Li Jing prattled on, no matter what he said, he had only one central idea: to pry into what He Jinxia was doing.

As they approached the company’s front door, Luo You stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Li Jing, his voice cold as he said, "Do you really think I would give you a second chance to poach my artists?"

Li Jing was known for poaching people, a fact well-known to many second-tier celebrities’ agents in the company. Luo You had heard about it but hadn’t been on guard because he hadn’t fallen for Li Jing’s tricks yet.

Last time, Li Jing had used this sort of casual conversation, approaching him with enthusiasm and chatting about the situation with his artists. Luo You didn’t pay much attention and even shared a bit about his own artists with him. Then...

There was no "then."

The only second-tier star he had managed to promote, Zhu Ziming, was just like that, poached away.

At his side, Li Jing choked on his words, not expecting Luo You to be so blunt. He said somewhat awkwardly, "Hey, I was just making casual conversation—what’s the big deal?"

Luo You retorted without a hint of courtesy, "When you have an artist who can hit the trending searches in a minute, you’ll understand how I feel."

Li Jing’s expression changed slightly, and he said angrily, "Luo You, you—"

"Being able to trend doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll become popular, right, Li Jing?" a calm female voice came over, it was Zhang Yingru.

Zhang Yingru had arrived beside them at some point, followed by the JY girl group.

What a coincidence, today of all days he’d run into the two people he least got along with. Luo You couldn’t help but shake his head slightly, such is fate...

In his ear, the pretentious voice of Li Jing sounded, "Yeah, Sister Yingru, what’s so special about trending searches?"

Seeing that Li Jing was relentless, Luo You had no intention of continuing the argument and said, "Why don’t you get one of your artists on the trending searches first, then we can discuss this matter."

Li Jing suddenly fell silent, his complexion turning ugly.

Is it hard to trend?

It’s not, haven’t people in the industry always said you can buy a spot on the trending searches? You can make it happen with money.

But is it really that easy to create a trend?

It’s difficult.

If you get a trending search for an unknown male star, who’s going to click and read it?

No clicks, no discussion—the trend is like a thousand splashes in the sea, creating a few ripples before disappearing.

Creating a trend requires paying a price, and to maintain the heat of a trending search is an astronomical expense.

The Water Army and the W-blog management are not fools; any trending search that looks obviously fake won’t be accepted by the reputation watchdogs, and the platform won’t let it remain visible for long.

These days, even a counterfeit must seem authentic.

He Jinxia could create a trend because she inherently had the subject matter heating up. Once created, there were no worries about lack of clicks. But the artists under Li Jing... well, even if he buys a trending search, it’s likely to flop disastrously.

Seeing that he was silent, Luo You pushed the door open to leave, and that’s when Zhang Yingru spoke up, "JY has also been on the trending searches."

Luo You paused, and suddenly a phrase from He Jinxia flashed through his mind. Without the time to think, the words slipped out:

"Bringing up a fake trend that’s only due to rubbing off a big star’s fame, you shouldn’t flaunt that; isn’t it embarrassing?"

Zhang Yingru’s complexion instantly darkened, and Li Jing was even left gaping.

And there Luo You was, amidst their jealous or predatory stares, extending his hand to push the transparent glass door, which began to rotate. He stepped forward with a commanding presence and strutted away.

If someone were to interview Luo You and ask what he was thinking at that moment, he would undoubtedly tilt his head up slightly, retort with an aloof and indifferent expression, and utter a single word: "Awesome."

The instant Zhang Yingru spoke, a phrase He Jinxia had once said to him flashed through Luo You’s mind — "Fight, back, hard."

As it turned out, fighting back was healthier indeed~~

When Luo You rushed to the film set, he happened to arrive just as He Jinxia NG’d.

Having an NG during shooting was common, even a natural actor like Sheng Yan had NG moments, let alone He Jinxia who was less accustomed to modern drama.

But this scene was somewhat different; He Jinxia NG’d a total of five times, never quite finding the right feeling.

The scene being filmed was about the heroine Chen Xiaohui, who took a seven-day new year vacation to return home, only to face subtle and direct criticisms from relatives about her being single, mocking her for not being married off.

Chen Xiaohui wanted to speak up several times, but out of respect for family, she held her tongue.

It was this expression of "wanting to speak but refraining from doing so" that He Jinxia struggled with for a long time, never getting it quite right.

Dong Qiin suggested that the performance was either too flat or too distorted.

After replaying facial expressions several times in her mind and feeling like she had it nailed, He Jinxia attempted once again only to end in failure.

"Cut! Not good, Jinxia, come here!" Dong Qiin called out.

He Jinxia walked over, and Dong Qiin started discussing the scene with her.

"When you went for training before, didn’t you pretend to be a mute? You must have encountered situations where you desperately wanted to speak but couldn’t, right? Think about how you felt back then," Dong Qiin said patiently.

After careful consideration, He Jinxia eventually shook her head helplessly: "I can’t recall, I never had that kind of situation."

Dong Qiin was stunned: "What, didn’t you say before it was torturous not being able to speak?"

He Jinxia replied: "I felt suffocated and uncomfortable from not speaking, that was the torture for me."

Dong Qiin: "So your distress was purely because you hadn’t spoken for a while and felt stifled, not because you wanted to speak but couldn’t?"

Eagerly, He Jinxia nodded: "Exactly, you really understand me, director."

Dong Qiin: "..." No, I’d rather not understand you at all!!

She felt somewhat despairing inside. The two situations brought entirely different feelings; no wonder He Jinxia couldn’t get this scene right—she had never experienced it!

Unwilling to give up, Dong Qiin countered: "Haven’t you ever had a time when you wanted to say something but couldn’t?"

This time He Jinxia did nod: "I have."

Dong Qiin’s heart relaxed, and she subconsciously raised her hand to wipe sweat, but the very next second, He Jinxia’s voice came through: "I already acted it out, and you thought it was too bland."

Dong Qiin: "..." Indeed, she shouldn’t have relaxed so soon!

Reflecting on He Jinxia’s previous performances, Dong Qiin felt a bit of a headache. It wasn’t that He Jinxia couldn’t act out the expression, but it wasn’t the kind Dong Qiin had envisaged.

She felt that He Jinxia’s performance conveyed a feeling of suppressed silence, whereas the script’s Chen Xiaohui leaned more towards restraint.

Suppression and restraint might seem similar in their forms of expression, but upon closer inspection, they were different, especially under the magnifying lens of a movie screen, where the differences became even more apparent.

Just as Dong Qiin decided to give He Jinxia a break to properly adjust to the expression, Luo You, who had been listening, couldn’t help but interject: "Jinxia, I have a method."

The two women immediately turned their gaze towards Luo You.