Heavenly Dog's agent Old Tian, oh no, it's former agent Old Tian, has mingled in the entertainment industry for many years, and has quite a good network in the behind-the-scenes teams of celebrities.
So, Qi Hao Studio's recruitment process isn't like an ordinary company's public hiring.
Even when they recruit fresh graduates who have just left school, they do it only after the main framework is built.
Initially, they only hire the core members.
The next day, Qi Hao got up a bit late—mainly because he was beaten up too badly.
He stumbled sleepily into the living room and heard Old Tian talking to someone on the phone.
"No way, didn't he lose his job at the beginning of the year? How come he still hasn't found one?"
"Haha, I know, I know his issues, but still, he shouldn't be unable to find work."
"Hasn't spent all his money... Damn, that's a strong reason."
"Then has he run out of money now?"
"Thanks, help me ask him, tell him that I and Qi Hao are planning to set up a studio, and if he's interested, coming here would make him a founding member."
Old Tian hung up the phone and saw Qi Hao, but he didn't show him any good face.
He still remembered last night's incident.
Especially when discussing the ownership of Ao Bai, Qi Hao's capitalist face of not giving an inch left Old Tian feeling wounded.
"Who were you talking to?" Qi Hao asked curiously.
"A public relations expert."
After all, it was business, so Old Tian had to force himself to take the right attitude; he's professional at work.
Moreover, even after he finalized candidates, he still had to let Qi Hao review them.
Qi Hao held veto power over personnel decisions in the studio, and if he felt someone wasn't suitable, it didn't matter how capable they were.
"A public relations expert sounds good, does he have any problems?"
Qi Hao had some self-awareness about his situation, knowing he needed an awesome person in public relations to help solve issues.
"Have you heard of An Yu?" Old Tian asked back.
"An Yu? MT? Zhanqi Laiden?" Qi Hao rattled off several cues, all pointing to this special figure in the PR world.
The reason he's called MT is that he especially likes provoking others, holding aggro like a pro.
And whether it's teammates or enemies, all the animosity is directed at him.
For this reason, An Yu once changed jobs three times in a single year.
Not because he wasn't competent, but because he got into fights at the company—sometimes with colleagues, sometimes even with bosses.
A normal workplace is usually about sucking up and bullying down.
But not for him; he remarkably treated everyone with equal disdain, regardless of whether they were colleagues or bosses.
Like one time, when a boss was selling a dream to the team, asking everyone to weather through tough times with the company.
He just bluntly asked, when thinking of employees during hard times, did they consider sharing profits when making money?
Oh boy, the boss crumbled on the spot.
And when a colleague made a mistake and started crying coquettishly, others went to comfort her, but he immediately said, stop dreaming about chasing stars with paid leave all the time, you wouldn't make such a blunder even an idiot wouldn't.
Because of your idol, we lost over a million here.
The female colleague burst into louder sobs.
Other colleagues criticized An Yu, but this guy remained unfazed, and immediately used his ultimate move to mock everyone:
"Why so excited? When urinating, look yourself in the mirror, do you really think you stand a chance? They don't see you at all, apart from taking your treats and gifts and giving you the illusion that you have a chance, think about what you've really gained..."
Though what he said was quite reasonable, it was just too real.
And the scope of his mockery was so wide that even the bootlicking boss who was married got included, so with everyone's concerted efforts, An Yu was once again kicked out of the company.
Qi Hao knew about this person simply because he also loves to mock.
But since he's a public figure, he can't openly mock, so he somewhat admires An Yu for living freely and truly.
"Stand up to pedal? You're really dirty!"
Hitachi is called stand up to pedal, then what's your name for screwing the sky?
"People ask his English name, he said it himself, it wasn't me who named him, he's indeed quite capable, but the problem is he's like a ticking time bomb, capable of easily collapsing a team."
Qi Hao didn't think Old Tian could manage "Zhanqi Laiden."
"Let's use him first and see, give him a six-month probation period, if he doesn't pass it, then let him go."
"Have you recruited anyone else?" Qi Hao was most concerned about the agent.
"Not so fast, still need to look around and have meetings, so you should watch yourself lately." Old Tian didn't want to see Qi Hao right now.
Besides, he's not even the agent anymore, why should he keep running around?
"I'm going to attend Zhu Yuanyuan's baby's one hundredth day banquet, I can go by myself." Qi Hao picked up his army coat and Lei Feng hat.
Zhu Yuanyuan is the female lead in "Heavenly Dog," with whom he collaborated, one of the rare female stars who collaborated with him but never had any rumors.
The main thing is Zhu Yuanyuan is already married.
She even had a daughter recently, and now it's exactly one hundred days.
"How much gift money are you bringing?" Old Tian hastily called out to Qi Hao.
"Fifty thousand." Qi Hao took out the red envelope from his pocket and weighed it. He rarely attended such weddings and appeared particularly cautious.
"Listen to me, don't give that much, just two thousand will do!"
Old Tian sighed. He only felt his head starting to ache again. He said he would let Qi Hao fend for himself, but in reality, he couldn't just leave him be.
You're going to a banquet, not to provoke anyone.
Be careful not to end up not only missing the meal but also being taught a "lesson" and becoming one of the main courses of the banquet.
"Why?" Qi Hao was confused.
Now that he had started his own studio, there were many expenses, but he wasn't so short on cash that he'd miss fifty thousand, right?
These days, ordinary people might give thirty to fifty at most for a gift.
But it's different for celebrities.
As high-income earners, if you don't hand over ten thousand or so, you might even be called stingy.
"Then let me ask you a question, when did Zhu Yuanyuan get pregnant?"
"Probably... during filming, damn, Old Tian, what do you mean? Zhu Yuanyuan and I are completely innocent; her husband was nearly always on set while we were filming."
Qi Hao was a bit angry.
You can look down on my profession, but you can't insult my character.
Moreover, since you're like family, the hurt is doubled.
"You think Xin Baiqing just stayed on set the whole time without his own career? Nope, it's because you're notorious. He was worried you'd flirt with his wife on set, but he ended up with a bigger issue."
Old Tian really wanted to pry open Qi Hao's head and see what's inside.
You'd call him dumb, but he often shows smarts.
If you say he's smart, you can still faintly see the shadow of a college student in those eyes unspoiled by knowledge.
"The two of them were classmates, they get along well." Qi Hao protested.
"I can't be bothered with you. If you're really not afraid of being mobbed, just go hand a million to Xin Baiqing and tell him you'll take care of the kid."
"Damn, you're so vicious."
Qi Hao took off his coat—wearing a coat in a heated room makes one hot—and started repackaging the envelope.
Just as Old Tian suggested, he only packed two thousand.
"Remember not to speak out of turn, don't act too familiar with Zhu Yuanyuan, communicate more with her husband... and don't try to clarify anything to her husband; just treat it like a normal conversation, you're quite good at that, aren't you?"
The former manager nagged on like a mother hen.
If he didn't have a lot of calls to make today and had to go check on some office spaces for rent, he really wouldn't feel safe letting Qi Hao go alone.
"I know," Qi Hao put his clothes back on, asking while dressing, "Old Tian, am I a bit silly, maybe a bit naive?"
"Sometimes..." Old Tian waited until Qi Hao left and then quietly added.
More than just a bit.
Zhu Yuanyuan's family's little princess's hundred-day banquet wasn't small, but not many celebrities were invited.
The only reason Qi Hao was invited, besides work relations, was because Zhu Yuanyuan and her husband owed Qi Hao for the favor during the promotion period of "Heavenly Dog."
Back then, when "Heavenly Dog" was about to be released, Zhu Yuanyuan was already quite far along in her pregnancy.
Attending promotions while pregnant was risky.
So Qi Hao volunteered to take on the responsibility of independent promotions, almost doubling his normal promotional workload.
With his popularity and effort, "Heavenly Dog," an art film, didn't end up losing money.
Perhaps thanks to Old Tian's reminder, Qi Hao was very low-key throughout the banquet, even developing a strong sense of inferiority.
I'm too unclean!
However, Zhu Yuanyuan's husband, Xin Baiqing, didn't give Qi Hao a hard time and even enthusiastically handed his daughter over to him.
"The nose and mouth are like mine, the eyes and eyebrows like her mom's... Beautiful, right?"
"Beautiful, she's so cute, blowing bubbles..." Qi Hao cautiously cradled this cute baby from someone else's family, and his heart completely melted.
"If you like it, you should have one soon. With your looks, find a prettier wife, and your baby would definitely be beautiful." Xin Baiqing, observing Qi Hao's slightly clumsy yet somewhat proper way of holding the baby, finally felt at ease.
"It's not that easy to find the right person." Qi Hao reluctantly handed the baby back.
He truly loved babies very much.
To be precise, he loved anything cute, whether it's cats, dogs, or human babies.
"Want me to introduce someone?" Xin Baiqing asked with a smile.
"Better not, I just started a studio and have no time for a relationship..."
Besides, he's being monitored by a system that loves to electrocute.
He's often forced to do inexplicable things according to the system's requests.
Wait, this sounds a bit strange.
Old Tian's collection of folders seems to have similar plots...