Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jiang Yu was genuinely taken aback for a moment. “So according to you, I should be thanking you on behalf of China’s entertainment industry?”

Zhao Yu waved her hand modestly. “Oh, that’s not necessary, hehe.”

Jiang Yu: “…………”

Jiang Yu had been busy with his beloved variety show career all these years and had never married. After his sister’s child was born, he’d treated Zhao Yu like his own daughter.

Zhao Yu had been pretty since childhood. Though her family wasn’t wealthy, she’d grown up surrounded by love and affection, and her family had always given her whatever she wanted.

Seeing her uncle’s complicated expression, Zhao Yu tugged at his pant leg and whined, “Uncle, look at me—I can’t do anything, I’m bad at everything. If I graduate with this dance major, I might not even find a job…”

Jiang Yu cut her off. “If you can’t do anything and you’re bad at everything, then how can you become a celebrity?”

Zhao Yu said with perfect confidence, “Because I’m pretty! I can rely on my looks!”

Jiang Yu laughed at his naive niece. “Being a celebrity isn’t just about being good-looking. Actors need acting skills, singers need vocal ability, even variety show guests need to be entertaining. Yu Yu, there are a lot of pretty people in this world—not everyone can become a star.”

Zhao Yu bit her lower lip and stared at her uncle. After a long silence, her eyes reddening, she finally blurted out, “I don’t care! I want to be a celebrity! If I don’t know how, I’ll learn! I’m going to be one!”

Her voice rose a little. Jiang Lei came out of the kitchen and scolded her, “How are you talking to your uncle? Jiang Yu, don’t mind her—she’s just enthusiastic for five minutes. She’ll forget about it in a few days.”

Zhao Yu felt both wronged and angry. “I’m not just enthusiastic for five minutes! I’m serious this time!”

Jiang Lei: “That’s exactly what you said last year when you wanted to learn fencing.”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

Jiang Lei: “And in your first year of high school, when you threw a fit about learning the guzheng, you gave your father and me the same guarantee. Did you even last two months?”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

Jiang Lei: “From childhood till now, have you ever stuck with anything for more than six months?”

Zhao Yu: “…………Stop.”

Jiang Lei shook her head in amusement. “Stop bothering your uncle. Let him go rest.”

Zhao Yu nodded glumly and finally fell silent.

Jiang Yu watched his dejected niece for a moment, smiled, and ruffled her hair. Once Jiang Lei was back in the kitchen, he lowered his voice and asked with a grin, “You really want to be a celebrity that badly?”

Zhao Yu nodded, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and said in a muffled voice, “Uncle, don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out on my own.”

Jiang Yu was amused. “What are you going to figure out?”

Zhao Yu looked up at him seriously and said, “Didn’t you say a celebrity can’t just be good-looking? I’ll go learn first. I want to be a singer-dancer—I’ll go get trained. Once I’ve learned, I’ll come back to you!”

For the first time, Jiang Yu saw such a determined light in his niece’s eyes.

He’d watched her grow up, and in some ways spoiled her even more than Jiang Lei and Zhao Kangning did.

Seeing her looking wronged and red-eyed but still gritting her teeth with resolve, he found it both hilarious and heartwarming. He glanced toward the kitchen and asked, “So how are you planning to learn? Where will you go?”

Zhao Yu said gloomily, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll figure it out.”

Jiang Yu chuckled and patted her head, saying nothing more.

After lunch, Zhao Yu went back to her room to play on her computer. In the afternoon, Jiang Yu walked over with his teacup and saw her searching for “trainee entertainment companies” on her browser, taking serious notes in a notebook.

Jiang Yu took a sip of tea. “Don’t bother with this one—it’s a shell company.”

Zhao Yu realized her uncle had been peeking from behind and yelped in embarrassment, slapping her hand over the screen. “No looking!”

Jiang Yu laughed and walked away.

That night, after Jiang Lei finished her yoga, Jiang Yu called her out to the balcony. “Sis, I think Yu Yu’s serious this time.”

Jiang Lei said, “She’s ‘serious’ every time. It just doesn’t last long. You know she’s a quitter.”

Jiang Yu shook his head with a smile and told her his thoughts.

Jiang Lei looked back inside and sighed. “Don’t indulge her.”

Jiang Yu said, “Better than her going off and doing something reckless. Let her try. Does she really think being a trainee is easy? It’s harder than being a celebrity. I’ll give her two months, max—she’ll be crying and begging to quit.”

They chatted for a bit, and in the end, Jiang Lei reluctantly gave in. “Fine. Let her get it out of her system. I just don’t want to cause you any trouble.”

Jiang Yu smiled. “It’s just a few words—no trouble. Alright, I’ll take her over tomorrow.”

The next day, Jiang Lei went out early to visit a friend in Beijing. Zhao Yu didn’t wake up until almost noon. Jiang Yu had ordered takeout and called from the dining table: “Wash up and come eat. We’re going out after.”

Zhao Yu said listlessly, “I don’t want to go out—it’s too hot outside.”

Jiang Yu didn’t explain. “Eat first.”

After the meal, he urged her to change. Zhao Yu reluctantly got dressed and was dragged out the door by her uncle.

It wasn’t until the car entered the bustling downtown area that Zhao Yu pressed her face to the window and asked, “Uncle, where are we going?”

Jiang Yu gave a mysterious smile. “You’ll see when we get there.”

The car finally stopped in front of a building. Zhao Yu stared blankly at the sign reading “Muyi Entertainment.”

Muyi Entertainment was a long-standing artist agency in the industry. Though not as big as giants like Huachang, Zhongxia, or Xingyao, it was still fairly strong—especially after launching a girl group this year that took off immediately, making them one of the better companies in the domestic industry when it came to trainee development.

The name came from the founder’s surname, Yang.

Zhao Yu had jotted Muyi Entertainment down in her notebook yesterday too, and even put a star next to it!

Why was her uncle bringing her here?!

Zhao Yu’s heart pounded. She heard her uncle make a call: “Lao Yang, I’m here. Are you at the office? Great, I’ll come up.”

After hanging up, Jiang Yu snapped his fingers in front of his dazed niece. “Let’s go.”

Zhao Yu guessed what was happening and her eyes lit up. She held her breath as she followed Jiang Yu into the elevator.

Muyi Entertainment’s current boss, Yang Jie, was Jiang Yu’s college classmate. They were close, and Jiang Yu’s variety shows often collaborated with Muyi’s artists.

As soon as Zhao Yu followed Jiang Yu into the office, the man across the room smiled and said, “So this is the niece you were talking about? With her looks, it really would be a shame not to debut.”

Zhao Yu was a little nervous. She greeted him politely and stayed close behind Jiang Yu.

The two old friends chatted for a while before finally getting to her. Jiang Yu smiled and said, “She’s been learning ballet since she was a kid and just got into folk dance this year. She’s got some foundation.”

Zhao Yu felt a little guilty at her uncle’s praise.

She’d always been lazy and inconsistent with her practice—her ballet wasn’t even half as good as Jiang Lei’s. Getting into folk dance was thanks to a last-minute cram session before the exam; all she really had to show for herself were the basics.

Yang Jie nodded happily. “Of course—you can tell from her figure, she’s got the look! Lao Jiang, don’t worry. Your niece is my niece. Leave her with me—she’ll be taken care of!”

He pulled a document from his drawer. “The contract’s ready. Take a look.”

Zhao Yu tensed up a little and tugged at Jiang Yu’s sleeve. “Uncle, what contract? Am I… am I debuting already?”

Both Jiang Yu and Yang Jie laughed. He took the contract, flipped through it, and explained to Zhao Yu as he read.

Muyi’s current trainee program was well-established, with professional dance and vocal instructors and dozens of signed trainees. But domestic trainee contracts were usually a minimum of five years.

If Zhao Yu wanted to learn, following a systematic training program was the way to go.

Given the relationship between Jiang Yu and Yang Jie, her contract was a special case—only one year long. It was essentially a “name-only” trainee contract at Muyi Entertainment, allowing her to use their training system without being bound to the company. Her schedule would also be relatively flexible since she still had classes to attend.

Of course, the contract wasn’t just a favor—Jiang Yu promised Yang Jie a spot for one of his new artists as a regular on his next variety show. Consider it a trade.

His niece had always been reckless. If he let her figure things out on her own, who knew what kind of trouble she’d get into? The entertainment industry was chaotic enough—how could Jiang Yu feel at ease?

It was better to go along with her wish and pave the way for her. How far she’d go was up to her.

Zhao Yu never expected her uncle to solve her problem overnight. Holding the contract, she was so excited her face turned red.

Before she signed, Jiang Yu warned her, “Read it carefully. It’s for one year—not a day less. Don’t pull your usual stunts and quit after two or three months.”

Zhao Yu declared firmly, “I won’t! I’ll work hard!”

She signed her name in one swift stroke. Looking at her messy signature at the bottom of the document, she nervously looked up and asked, “Do I need to start practicing my autograph now?”

That made both men laugh.

So before officially becoming a college student, Zhao Yu first became a trainee.

Carrying the three copies of her contract home, Zhao Yu felt lightheaded.

She read and reread the agreement, her heart racing.

She felt like she’d taken one step closer to him.

If the path to him required ten thousand steps, she’d finally taken the first one.

The remaining nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps were long, far, and difficult—but as long as he stood at the end of that road, she would walk toward him without wavering.

On the way home, Jiang Yu told her a lot about the industry rules—what was allowed and what wasn’t. Even as just a trainee, there were standards she had to follow.

Zhao Yu nodded along, then couldn’t help pulling out her phone and opening her message inbox. The last message exchange with Shen Junyi was from the day her exams ended.

She stared at those lines that had once devastated her, poked at the screen for a long time, typed a few words, hesitated, deleted them one by one, repeated this several times, and in the end sent nothing.

Never mind—she’d wait until she succeeded and reappear before him as a completely new person!

What “little sister from the neighborhood”—she was no little sister!

That evening, when Jiang Lei returned from her gathering, Zhao Yu excitedly showed her the contract.

Seeing her daughter so happy, Jiang Lei just smiled and patted her head, gently reminding her, “Your uncle called in favors to help you with this. You’re not allowed to throw fits and give up like before, understand?”

Zhao Yu clenched her fists with determination. “Just you wait and see!”