This Girl Forced to Become an Entertainment Company Boss

"You're awake? Want something to eat?" Yao Shuo, who was the first to come up, asked.0

Gao Xiayu, sitting there, didn't look well. He shook his head and said, "We have a few hours before our performance. I want to talk to you about something."0

As soon as he said this, the three who had been joking around became serious, and looking at Pei Luming, he was already sitting formally.0

There were no staff members in the vehicle; they had probably been asked to leave earlier. The atmosphere wasn't good, and everyone's hearts skipped a beat.0

The three of them found places to sit, waiting for Gao Xiayu to speak.0

Sitting there, Gao Xiayu rubbed his palms against his pants, visibly tormented. He hadn't really slept during those two hours earlier, just wearing headphones, trying to calm himself down.0

The words Jiang Producer said last night kept echoing in his mind, and no matter how Gao Xiayu tried to justify it, he had to admit that Jiang Producer's words had hit the mark.0

While there was celebration outside, it was so quiet inside the vehicle that you could hear breathing.0

Gao Xiayu spoke up: "About what happened last night, the main responsibility lies with me..."0

"After Jiang Producer kept me behind, he pointed out my mistakes quite bluntly."0

He took a deep breath and said: "Allowing someone close to me to have feelings for me, without dealing with it or rejecting it, was a very wrong approach."0

These words were unknown to the four of them; all they knew was what the company had released in their clarification. As for what Jiang Producer had said to him after they left, the four of them had no idea.0

"I'm really sorry this happened before we go on stage." Gao Xiayu had been apologizing since last night, both to fans and to his teammates.0

Before this incident blew up, Gao Xiayu's upbringing had always made him believe there was nothing wrong with liking someone, and since his mother was friends with Chen Ya's mother, and they were classmates, breaking that unspoken understanding might make future relationships very awkward, so he had always pretended not to know.0

His mistake lay in the fact that his identity was different now; he was no longer an ordinary person but an artist admired by thousands of fans.0

Such handling of the situation would only end up hurting the fans.0

He had seen the consequences last night, with many fans being attacked because of him.0

They hadn't done anything wrong, yet they were being cursed at and ridiculed just for liking him.0

Gao Xiayu had felt guilty all night and deeply recognized his mistake.0

In the company's long-standing guidance, romance rumors and relationships were very troublesome matters for artists of their status.0

Gao Xiayu always educated his younger teammates to be careful about such things, but forgot to examine himself.0

When he left Jiang Producer's room last night, he couldn't forget the disappointment on his face.0

He deserved to be disappointed; looking back at his actions now, Gao Xiayu was thoroughly disappointed in himself.0

They could feel the company's emphasis on Timetrain, and he could feel Jiang Producer's support, but for such an incident to happen so shortly after their debut, Gao Xiayu felt he had really failed.0

"I'm really sorry..."0

Pei Luming, seeing his brother Xiayu like this, felt terrible and was about to offer comfort when the RV door suddenly opened, and their manager came up.0

The five of them looked toward the door, and their appearance made the manager pause.0

The manager came up and asked, "Are you having a meeting?"0

Gao Xiayu quickly wiped the tears from his face and stood up, saying, "Just telling them something."0

"That's perfect timing, I have something to tell you too. There's still time before you go on stage, let's have a quick meeting." After the manager came up, the five of them stood and made room for him to sit.0

Pei Luming saw the manager sit down and was about to sit too, but the manager suddenly said, "I didn't tell you to sit."0

At these words, all five stood straight, hands behind their backs and heads lowered.0

"Ye Xing, what's suddenly going on with you?" The manager had just received a message outside from Jiang Producer's assistant, saying Ye Xing wanted to study directing and asked to find him a teacher.0

Ye Xing, who was called out, raised his head, not understanding what this meant.0

"What's this about wanting to study directing?" the manager asked him.0

Ye Xing then understood the reason and explained, saying roughly the same things he had told Jiang Producer earlier.0

"You just do whatever comes to mind? Earlier when we asked if you wanted to pursue acting, you nodded and agreed, now you're saying you want to study directing. What, do you think the company has too much money for you to burn?"0

Ye Xing, being scolded, seemed at a loss, not understanding why the manager was saying this when Jiang Producer had agreed.0

The manager turned to look at Gao Xiayu, "Is this how you lead as team leader, can't even manage your members?"0

Gao Xiayu kept his head down and said, "I'm sorry."0

"And that incident of yours, going straight to Jiang Producer over our heads, aren't you ashamed?"0

"Where are your heads? How many times have we said to tell us about any situation?"0

"Your classmate likes you, and you couldn't tell at all?"0

The five of them usually had all their matters, big and small, managed by their manager, who even had to worry about their daily lives. Being the company's pillar, they rarely got scolded.0

But it seemed the less they were scolded, the more they took things for granted, even feeling entitled to the company's favoritism.0

To the manager's scolding, Gao Xiayu could only bow his head and repeatedly say, "I'm sorry."0

A phone buzzed, and the manager pulled it out to look, frowning. He stood up and said, "Come to my room after today's performance."0

Seeing him about to leave, the five quickly made way.0

As he left, the manager didn't forget to remind them, "Stay put today, don't wander around."0

"Understood," they quickly responded.0

After the manager left, they didn't feel relieved, and Gao Xiayu's brow furrowed even deeper.0

"Sit down, I still have some things to say." Gao Xiayu sat down and looked at Ye Xing, "What's going on with you, how did Jiang Producer suddenly agree?"0

He knew about Ye Xing wanting to study directing, as he had mentioned it before and sought advice from the members, but what was strange was how quickly Jiang Producer had agreed.0

Because they were facing college entrance exams and had to choose majors, the company had asked about their personal thoughts and held several meetings about their future paths, even Pei Luming, who had just entered high school, had already determined his future direction.0

They weren't immediately approved upon suggestion; even for Yao Shuo, who wanted to continue studying vocals in his matching major, the company had held several internal meetings.0

But Ye Xing's case was approved unusually quickly.0

It was as if...0

"Could it be that Jiang Producer has given up on us?" Yao Shuo suddenly came to this conclusion. Although it seemed far-fetched, the more they thought about it, the more possible it seemed.0

The matter started with Ye Xing, and now he felt quite uneasy.0

Pei Luming, observing everyone's expressions, quietly asked, "...Have we done anything lately to disappoint Jiang Producer?"0

But thinking about it, the only thing that seemed to have disappointed Jiang Producer was Gao Xiayu's incident.0

But Jiang Producer wouldn't have such a big change in thinking just because of this one incident.0

All five began to review, thinking back on recent company meetings and events that had happened to them.0

Gao Xiayu looked at the others; he probably understood why.0

"Remember when we were trainees?" he suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention back.0

Gao Xiayu said: "We agreed that the group would be our first priority..."0

During their trainee period, Jiang Producer constantly emphasized the importance of the group, teaching them to know how to be supporting players, making them understand that only when the group succeeded could individual development flourish.0

But things seemed different after their debut.0

Although they were reluctant to admit it, they had indeed lost themselves for a while. Their previous promises to prioritize the group were forgotten, especially recently when frequent meetings to discuss which universities to apply to and what majors to choose made them more concerned about their individual futures.0

"Everyone's been too focused on their personal futures lately. Ye Xing, have you thought about how you'll manage group activities if you pursue directing?" Gao Xiayu asked him.0

Ye Xing paused, "...I'll definitely prioritize group activities. I'll only try shooting my own works when our group activities become less frequent."0

Gao Xiayu had something else he wanted to say. Last night, Jiang Producer told him that he could see the varying degrees of closeness between the five members, which was something that needed to be corrected.0

He opened his mouth but ultimately didn't say anything, thinking he would just work harder himself to prevent the group's bonds from becoming too loose.0

He stood up, tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and said to them, "Really, we need to pull ourselves together. These things can't happen again in the future."0

But what's happened cannot be changed. Gao Xiayu knew he had lost Jiang Producer's trust, so from now on, he could only prove himself again and again to regain it.0

He patted Ye Xing and the others' shoulders, taking another deep breath, "I'm sorry, I affected everyone yesterday."0

"We were at fault too..." Yao Shuo added.0

"It's okay, as long as we've cleared things up. Everyone makes mistakes; what's important is recognizing them," Chi Qiao, who had been quiet until now, chimed in.0

Yao Shuo's words showed he suddenly realized how exhausted Gao Xiayu had been before this. If he were the leader, he definitely couldn't have done what Gao Xiayu did.0

It was Gao Xiayu who worked hard to maintain the group's atmosphere and kept them from making mistakes. The other four had taken his efforts for granted.0

A group can't be maintained by one person alone; the four of them had previously left everything to Gao Xiayu.0

The five of them leaned together, reminiscent of their debut night.0

"Let's get our spirits up, don't let it affect tonight's performance," Chi Qiao, who was in charge of the stage, said half-jokingly.0

Yao Shuo half-hugged Gao Xiayu, whispering, "Brother, you've worked hard too."0

Gao Xiayu, unable to hold back his tears, sniffled, "It's okay, the problem was really with me."0

Pei Luming pouted while leaning on Gao Xiayu's shoulder, "...Brother Xiayu."0

In contrast to their touching atmosphere, the three members of Equals3 who had just finished performing were still in an excited state, with even the introverted Chen Wu and Sang Mo unable to hide their excitement.0

Their work group set off small fireworks after the three came off stage, celebrating Equals3's successful first performance.0

Several sisters in charge of Equals were wiping their eyes, applauding from behind with the sentiment of watching their children grow up.0

The three of them hugged together, trying hard to hold back their tears.0

For Sang Mo and Chen Wu, this stage was incredibly challenging. Sang Mo's tears fell directly, but feeling embarrassed about being the only one crying, he kept trying to dodge the cameras.0

Jiang Wangran laughed and blocked Sang Mo in front of the camera, shouting loudly, "Sang Mo is crying! He's crying!"0

Seeing this, Chen Wu quickly wiped away his tears to avoid becoming Jiang Wangran's next target.0

Jiang Juyou, standing at the back, was also applauding for them, staying behind to avoid blocking their camera shots.0

It was Jiang Wangran who turned around and spotted Jiang Juyou, quickly shouting, "Teacher!"0

Discovered, Jiang Juyou came before the cameras surrounded by everyone. She smiled, "Today's stage was excellent, very surprising. Congratulations on your debut!"0

Equals3's debut date was today, and their album had been released on all major platforms at noon.0

The unexpected release actually brought more surprises, especially with their original songs performed today, which received enthusiastic responses from the audience.0

Perhaps because they were caught up in the moment, the three of them were really excited, with Sang Mo's flush of excitement still visible on his face.0

It was the hottest time of day, between three and four in the afternoon, and their body temperatures were scorching after jumping around on stage.0

Concerned about their stamina, Jiang Juyou didn't say much, just offered simple congratulations.0

The smile on her face was different from when she looked at Gao Xiayu and the others - it was genuinely happy.0

"After this is over, you can slowly enjoy the music festival, but don't wander around too much. There are a lot of people here today."0

"Alright, go rest quickly and eat something. I heard you performed on empty stomachs," Jiang Juyou waved, indicating they could disperse.0

It wasn't just the three of them who were hungry; the staff hadn't eaten either, worried about their performance, only breathing a sigh of relief after they left the stage.0

After saying goodbye to Jiang Juyou, the program team stopped the three for a brief interview, asking a few questions before letting them go.0

The three of them were still bouncing around like children as they left.0

Having just spoken with the four members of AIcho, and now watching these three leave, Jiang Juyou felt her frustration about Timetrain ease considerably.0

The young assistant beside her also looked satisfied, sighing, "Ah― youth!"0

"Come on, how old are you?"0

"Boss! I'm not that much younger than you!"0

"How old are you?"0

"Twenty-four!"0

"I'm already twenty-five, you know."0

Aliali: 674b6b12c4f3f33ac4a257b6

"Just twenty-five! Only a few months older!"0

The two bantered playfully, and Jiang Juyou lost her usual seriousness. After laughing, she sighed deeply, "...It's better once you understand."0

"We put those five on too high a pedestal before, protected them too much..." More importantly, they were the group Jiang Juyou had been watching since they were trainees, so naturally, they held a different weight in her heart.0

But once she changed her perspective and treated them as just one of the company's groups, without attaching so many titles, Jiang Juyou felt much better.0

It's not a problem if one group goes astray; she still had many other groups to look after.0

"But boss, are we just going to leave them alone like this?" The young assistant worried they might not realize their problems and become more complacent.0

Jiang Juyou shook her head, "Giving them the cold shoulder for a while will do. Those kids are good at reading the room. When they figure things out themselves, they'll come apologize to me."0

At this point, Jiang Juyou suddenly turned to her assistant, "Lin Jie, you graduated from a 985 university, right?"0

"Yes... what about it?" The young assistant blinked, not understanding the sudden question.0

Jiang Juyou just smiled, saying nothing more.0