Whether it was a coincidence or not, the first person to enter the meeting room was none other than "Big Bowl." Since the company had central heating, it wasn't cold, and he wore only a single shirt. At thirty-five years old, Big Bowl stood around 165 cm tall—compared to Chu Zhi, who was 180 cm, even with his hair styled upward, he still looked short.
His face wasn't particularly big either, so why the nickname "Big Bowl"? Chu Zhi didn't ask about the origin of the moniker and instead got straight to the point, discussing career planning.
"Let's skip the small talk. I'd like to ask, if it were you, Big Bowl, how would you design my career path?" Chu Zhi said.
Big Bowl rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and replied, "Teacher Chu, your albums are free. Given the production quality, I'd allocate around three million for promotion."
"The cost isn't high. Holding one or two concerts a year would easily make up for it."
"I'd focus on monetization through variety shows and TV dramas. Right now, there's a trend of adapting web novels into dramas, often featuring roles like 'the most handsome man in the eight wastelands of Shenzhou' or 'the god of three realms.' These roles don't require acting skills. Teacher Chu, your looks are tailor-made for such characters. I've seen your long-haired ancient-style makeup look."
Whether it was due to excitement or something else, Big Bowl's words came out a bit incoherent, and his tone was rather assertive, frequently using subjective phrases like "I would."
"My ancient-style look?" Chu Zhi was pretty sure the original owner of this body had never ventured into acting—so where did this ancient-style look come from?
Big Bowl opened an app called "Private Connoisseur," the official platform of Esquire magazine.
In the fashion world, China had a hierarchy of magazines: five major and two minor women's publications, plus two major and three minor men's publications—twelve in total. These were platforms celebrities fought tooth and nail to appear in.
Esquire was one of the two major men's magazines. Given Chu Zhi's height and looks, even among top-tier celebrities, his fashion resources were exceptionally rich. He had been named Esquire's "Man of the Year" in 2018, featuring a photoshoot where he wore an Italian-style white suit with subtle Chinese-inspired patterns on the lapels, paired with half-up, half-down ancient-style hair and makeup.
It was ancient-style makeup, not ancient costume. Chu Zhi realized he had misheard earlier.
It was this annual cover that left a deep impression on Big Bowl. If Chu Zhi could look so striking in a mismatched suit, how much more breathtaking would he be in traditional Hanfu costumes for a drama? Big Bowl was convinced Chu Zhi could become a triple-threat superstar spanning music, film, and television.
But Chu Zhi had zero interest in entering the acting world. With no acting skills whatsoever, he internally asked the system and confirmed there were no blind boxes related to acting. If he couldn't act, why force it? His stance was straightforward.
As for taking acting classes? Sorry, Chu Zhi had no time for that. He hadn't even made much progress in vocal training, let alone branching out into other fields.
Big Bowl continued to elaborate on his plans. According to his projections, if things went smoothly, Chu Zhi could earn three to four hundred million a year while working eleven months annually.
"Three to four hundred million? That's chump change!" On Earth, livestream seller VY evaded taxes worth 643 million in a single year. How could a top-tier celebrity, backed by a powerhouse like Taiyang Chuanhe and platforms like Douyin, earn less than some internet celebrity?
"I understand your plan, Big Bowl. Now, one last question: If I wanted to do something harmful to myself, what would you do?" Chu Zhi asked.
"Of course, I'd do everything to stop you! Why would anyone do something harmful? Are you out of your mind?" The assertive Big Bowl nearly blurted out his thoughts but held back. After all, there were plenty of brainless celebrities who ignored their agents' advice.
"Stay calm. This is an interview," Big Bowl reminded himself.
Since it was an interview, he needed to say what the "boss" wanted to hear. After a few seconds of contemplation, Big Bowl replied, "I'd do my best to advise against it. But if it's something you absolutely must do, I'd ensure proper damage control."
"Thanks for your time, Big Bowl." Chu Zhi stood up and shook his hand—a universal workplace gesture signaling the end of the interview. The candidate would be notified later.
"No." Chu Zhi rejected him outright. On paper, Big Bowl seemed better than he was in person.
Wait—why had his Personality Coin balance suddenly jumped to eight?
While waiting for the next agent in the meeting room, Chu Zhi noticed his assets had surged by a third. If this was a system bug, he needed to exploit it a few more times.
After half a minute of investigation, Chu Zhi was disappointed. The increase came from completing the [Reject Three Industry Invitations] task—one from Koguchi Yoshihiro, one from Gu Nanxi, and one from Wang Jinji, adding up to three. At the time, Chu Zhi had been distracted and hadn't noticed.
He glanced at the [I Love Carbs] achievement. One more day of overeating carbs, and he'd earn another four Personality Coins. So exhilarating—it feels like life is about to reach its peak!
Taiyang Chuanhe Break Room – Three People Waiting
"Things are getting interesting… Well, not really. The first one talked for half an hour. What chance do the rest of us have?" Niu Niu (a.k.a. "Brave Cow") sighed internally. Though she acted indifferent, she had still gone home and analyzed many celebrity branding cases. Her attitude might seem laid-back, but her actions weren't.
Niu Jiangxue observed the other two recommended top agents. Their expressions resembled someone who had just bought a new lipstick only for a kid to snap it in half.
"Sister Li, you're up next. Good luck." Big Bowl, confident he had impressed Chu Zhi, walked past the break room with a self-assured expression.
Xiao Ma and Sister Li entered the meeting room one after another. Among the four shortlisted agents, three were women.
In the talent management industry, women tended to rise faster. Whether in this parallel world or on Earth, most famous agents were women—Wang Jinhua, Chen Jiaying, Yang Tianzhen, etc. While this world lacked similar statistics, Earth had published a "Top 100 Most Powerful Agents in Entertainment" list, where fewer than thirty were men.
"Brave Cow, fear no hardship!" Niu Jiangxue was the last to enter the meeting room.
Chu Zhi glanced at her. "Huh? Wasn't she the one who came with the Artist Department manager to greet me earlier?" He immediately deduced that Niu Jiangxue and Manager Du had some connection.
Of course, if Niu Jiangxue's profile photo hadn't been so heavily edited—making her look completely different from her real self—Chu Zhi would've noticed this earlier.
"Hello, Brother Nine. I'm Niu Jiangxue. You can call me Xiao Xue or Jiangxue—just not Xiao Niu." At twenty-eight, she was technically five or six years older than Chu Zhi.
"Then I'll call you Sister Niu," Chu Zhi said. "So, Sister Niu, if you were to become my agent, how would you plan my career path?"
Using "sister" or "brother" was a sign of respect, but Niu Jiangxue would've preferred he called her Jiangxue.
"Maintain the status quo—but reveal some flaws," Niu Jiangxue blurted out, then quickly clarified: "Brother Nine, you're kind, positive, and gentle to everyone. Your personality is perfect, but perfection often feels unreal or even makes people want to tear it down. Later on, I think you should show some 'flaws'—in quotation marks."
"In industry terms, it's called the 'dumb beauty' strategy," Niu Jiangxue added.
Dumb beauty—like crazy beauty—was a term Chu Zhi found hard to accept. Why describe a man as a "beauty"? But he understood her point. It made sense, something he hadn't considered before.
"And then?" Chu Zhi nodded.
"For monetization, I'd turn you into a brand," Niu Jiangxue said. "Collaborate with the company to launch a clothing line. You're already popular in the fashion world."
"You write your own songs, so maintaining your popularity won't be an issue. That's why I said 'maintain the status quo.'"
"Make occasional variety show appearances to attract fans, produce good work, and your personal brand will sell."
Niu Jiangxue backed her claims with data: "Wu Tang and Su Yiwu have their own clothing brands. A simple T-shirt sells for 700-800 RMB, and accessories go for 7,000-8,000 RMB. The profit margins are huge, and they're doing well. I don't know exact numbers, but based on surface-level data, they sell around 130,000 pieces monthly, with an average unit price over 800 RMB. Monthly revenue exceeds 10 million."
Personal brand. The moment Niu Jiangxue mentioned revenue and profits, the capitalist DNA in Chu Zhi's veins stirred.
"Elaborate," Chu Zhi said.
Unfamiliar with fan culture, he had assumed personal brands were more of a Western celebrity thing. But in reality, many domestic stars had their own brands—like Kris Wu's A.C.E, Chen He's TIANC.BRAND, Zheng Kai's Dueplay, Hannah Quinlivan's, Wilber Pan's, and the more well-known Xu Jiao's hanfu brand, Zhiyu Ji.
Opportunity favors the prepared. Niu Jiangxue had solid data to back her pitch. The only part Chu Zhi disliked was collaborating with Taiyang Chuanhe for his personal brand—everything else was on point.
Chu Zhi asked, "One last question: If I wanted to do something harmful to myself, what would you do?"
"I'd do everything in my power to stop you. No matter your reasons, as your agent, it's my job," Niu Jiangxue answered instantly.
"What if I don't listen?" Chu Zhi pressed.
"Whether you listen or not is up to you. But if I didn't try to stop you, I wouldn't be doing my job professionally," she said.
"Sister Niu, I'll be in your care from now on." Chu Zhi stood up and shook her hand.