In September, the National Film Academy started its new semester, and by this time "Palace City" had completed shooting, scheduled to premiere at the end of the month on Banana TV. With the main actors of the drama frequently appearing on various variety shows, Ye Qiu, lacking in fame, only had a brief appearance on a major indoor game show on Banana TV.
In October, Ye Qiu returned to her rural hometown for a visit, arranging for a more professional caregiver for her grandmother. During this period, she was approached by two small entertainment companies, but she rejected them both.
By now, due to the popularity of "Palace City," Ye Qiu's name began to be mentioned frequently online.
Princess Xuan is a beautiful and flamboyant woman who loved the wrong person. Believing that the Emperor, who she thought loved her deeply, only saw her as a substitute for the Noble Consort. She was like a firework, brilliant in an instant but extinguishing just as quickly.
Ye Qiu portrayed such an innocent, glamorous, and flamboyant character very well, so when Princess Xuan's character was killed off, many people felt regret, and a netizen even edited all her scenes into a short video and uploaded it to Weibo. The high-quality, aesthetically pleasing video was shared tens of thousands of times.
Thanks to the official "Palace City" Weibo account's repost, Ye Qiu's Weibo also gained a modest following of nearly a hundred thousand fans, experiencing a small burst of popularity.
Afterward, major film and television companies and studios began to contact her one after another. Ye Qiu took some time to choose and ultimately selected Yamei International Entertainment, a rival of her previous life's Starshine Company.
Starshine is a well-established entertainment company with vast resources but also intense competition among its artists, including top movie stars, popular young idols, and fresh-faced talents. Lesser-known minor stars struggle to get appropriate roles, and the contracts are long with a low profit share for the artists.
Yamei International Entertainment, on the other hand, has grown rapidly in recent years. The mixed-race owner is said to have a powerful family backing and isn't short of funds, with considerable international influence, enabling Yamei to compete with Starshine within a mere decade.
Also, their contracts are more reasonable—the more famous you become, the larger the share you receive. Whether you're a minor artist or a big star, everyone can choose their roles. Whether you become popular or not all depends on you.
Most importantly, the company culture is healthy; they never force you to attend certain social events, although it's a different story if you choose to participate willingly.
In her previous life, it was because she couldn't stand Starshine's culture and wanted to transfer to Yamei that she was vulnerable when Du Siqi and Lin Fei plotted against her. Starshine was indifferent, leaving her isolated and defenseless, and before she could sign with Yamei, her face was ruined.
After carefully reviewing the contract terms, Ye Qiu did not hesitate and signed her name.
The agent assigned to her by the company was a woman in her thirties named Yang Tao, which gave Ye Qiu quite a surprise as she was also the agent for "Palace City's" male lead and celebrated actor Bo Rong. Did the company have high hopes for her?
Yang Tao wasn't tall but dressed professionally and was efficient in her work.
"I've seen your performance in 'Palace City.' To be honest, it's very good," Yang Tao was very satisfied with Ye Qiu, having noticed her during the drama's shooting.
To her surprise, the young woman across her had not only scored the top marks in both the written and performance exams at the National Film Academy within a few months but was also strikingly beautiful with recognizable features and exceptional acting talent. Yang Tao, having been in the industry for many years, found no fault in Ye Qiu's performance in "Palace City" even after watching it several times.
That's why she had volunteered to be Ye Qiu's agent when the company signed her—based on her years of experience, Yang Tao believed that as long as Ye Qiu didn't sabotage herself, stardom was inevitable.
"Thank you, I am honored to have you as my agent," Ye Qiu reached out proactively for a handshake with Yang Tao: "Please take good care of me in the days to come."
Showcasing intelligence and calmness, Yang Tao's eyes brightened, feeling that she had indeed discovered a treasure.
"Your acting skills are excellent. In my opinion, staying in school for long-term study won't benefit you that much. I've selected a few roles before coming here; you can take a look," she said.
Ye Qiu took the scripts and started reading them closely.
One was for the lead role in a campus idol drama—a naive and sweet character in a cliché Cinderella story with a rich second generation, which had high chances of getting on air. However, Ye Qiu ruled it out at first glance.
The second was a historical epic drama based on real events, where she would play the fourth female lead, a Princess favored at first but later fell victim to witchcraft accusations and sentenced to death.
The third was a movie starring her newly-acclaimed senior Bo Rong, set in the last century, where she would portray a wealthy young lady who falls into disgrace after being dishonored by enemy soldiers.
Torn between the last two choices, Ye Qiu eventually decided to play the Princess.
Seeing the script that Ye Qiu had chosen, Yang Tao smiled: "It's a coincidence; the one I favored for you is also this one."
"I thought you would ask me to take the role opposite my senior brother," Ye Qiu shrugged.
"Your senior brother's script is indeed good, but as you're just starting your university studies and stepping into the entertainment industry, I think the Princess role suits you better," Yang Tao reasoned.
"I am glad we see eye to eye," Ye Qiu nodded. An agent is extremely important for an artist, just like in her previous life, how she was utterly ruined because her agent Du Siqi harbored ill intentions.
"However, this role isn't in our pocket just yet. 'Emperor Xiang' is organized and planned by the state broadcaster, and we've only secured the priority for auditioning. Whether you can truly secure this role is still up to you," Yang Tao took a sip of water and continued, "But I believe in you. In the current entertainment industry, I haven't seen any actors your age who can match you in acting and beauty."
"I also trust Sister Yang's judgment; otherwise, I wouldn't have signed with you," Ye Qiu jested without modesty.
The entertainment industry doesn't fear a lack of talent but a lack of emotional intelligence, because you never know when a misstep in conversation may offend someone and attract negative attention.
Clearly, both parties were pleased with their meeting today.
Ye Qiu then moved out of her apartment and into the more private company-provided one. Sister Yang also arranged an assistant for her, a freshly graduated college girl named Ji Qing. Although young, Ji Qing was systematic in handling matters, didn't talk more than necessary, and would consult Ye Qiu on decisions she was unsure of, without belittling her for being younger.
Ye Qiu had thought she would have to travel to the Capital for the "Emperor Xiang" auditions, but to accelerate the process, the crew came directly to the film city to select actors while shooting at the same time.
At the audition, Ye Qiu also met one of the culprits from her past life who left her with nothing and disfigured, Du Siqi.
Currently, Du Siqi was still an obscure junior agent at Starshine; coincidentally, the artist he brought was also auditioning for the Princess role.