005

Ben said he wanted to take his cousin to broaden his horizons, but his cousin was not willing to indulge him.

"I'm busy, bro."

"Every time I ask you, you're busy... Are you afraid of tarnishing your elite image by hanging out with me?"

   Alexander sighed, "I am genuinely busy. After finishing the tasks at hand, I have to travel abroad."

"Aunt is cool. Did you convince her to take her girlfriend abroad? Which country are they going to?"

"It's not for leisure; it's a business trip."

...

...

This is getting boring.

Ben was thinking that it was just right. He heard that because of Jasmine's personal qualities, the production team was preparing to change the script. This drama was planned to air during the summer season, and time was tight. Jasmine probably wouldn't want to go out at this moment due to contacting her grandmother. It would be better to wait until everyone was available after a while.

He couldn't just wait around, so Ben seized the opportunity to get close to the production team. First, he used the name of the main investor to change a luxury nanny car for the second female lead, knowing that their filming schedule was long and arduous. He even arranged for snack and coffee carts to be brought over.

Ben had invested in many dramas, and there was a big hit last year. He had never been so involved before. 

This unusual behavior this time made it hard not to think of Jasmine. 

Just as things calmed down for a few days, someone from the production team inquired about her relationship with Ben again, saying they benefited from being in the same group as her.

Jasmine had been studying the script recently, and upon hearing this, she suddenly realized that Ben's eagerness to please might mean he had something to discuss with her. Could he be missing his grandmother after the last phone call was unsatisfactory?

When Ben leisurely strolled over to the production team, Jasmine pulled him aside, picked up her phone, and dialed his grandmother, handing the phone directly to Ben.

Ben: ...

W-what a pleasant surprise.

Last time, he was too stunned to properly greet her on the phone. But this time, as soon as the call connected, Ben showered his beloved grandmother with comprehensive care. However, she was not moved at all and scolded him as an unfilial grandson.

"I was good to you when I was alive. How have each of you treated me? Especially you, Ben! I loved you the most, but I never saw you pay me any attention."

Ben refused to bear this blame and immediately protested, "Out of all our family members, I'm the one who figures out how to contact grandma. Isn't that showing my concern? During ancestor worship and your birthday, I knelt the longest. I burned the most money for you, all in large denominations. Isn't that filial piety?"

The old lady snorted coldly, "You only think of me when it's time to worship ancestors or for my birthday. My neighbor pays more attention to me on regular days. You can't even bear to set up an altar for me. You're diligent in bowing to the God of Wealth, but you forget about this old lady."

Ben: ...

How can it be said?

In this era, how many families still worship their ancestors at home? 

Perhaps those with a long historical legacy might, but the Lu family was not like that. Look at the current prosperity of the Ben's family; their ancestors were poor farmers. It was only in the last thirty years that the two brothers, Ben's father and uncle, became successful.

They lacked depth in these aspects, thinking that their annual ancestor worship was decent enough, not realizing it was insufficient?

The old lady was well aware of the family affairs, and she wasn't truly considering her descendants unfilial; she was just being sarcastic about the neighbor.

Ben understood and immediately apologized without much explanation, promising to set up the altar as soon as he returned and asking about her current preferences in food.

But she couldn't decide right away.

And Ben offered to set it up and let her taste it first. She could then inform him during their next call, and he would remember it for her.

"Or I can go back and look at the options, you can taste them all and let me know which one you like when we talk on the phone next time, I'll make a note of it for you."

"Ben, my dear grandson, you're the best to your grandmother."

Ben refrained from arguing with his family because he wanted to win over his grandmother first. Once she was completely on his side, he would invite Jasmine to visit his home and introduce her to the family.

He succeeded.

The old lady then asked about Jasmine, "What about that girl last time? Is she not your girlfriend? Tell me which one is your girlfriend."

...

...

Ben solemnly introduced Jasmine's identity, explaining that he was still young and asked his grandmother to urge his cousin.

"But Alexander has to be by your side. What can I say if he's not here?"

"Next time, I'll let you talk to my dad and my grandpa."

"Don't mention your grandpa. When we got married, he said he would be good to me for a lifetime and never leave. Look now, I've been living alone for a long time without seeing his shadow."

Ben felt overwhelmed. 

Can he say these things? 

How should he respond? 

Ben was troubled. Just as he was worrying, his grandmother said, "You need to make that old man a bit anxious. I also have a market down here. If he doesn't think about me, I'll find someone else." 

Ben finally regretted his impulsive behavior. 

His grandmother meant for him to tell the old man to pay more attention and be a little anxious in daily life. But how should he say this? Should he run back and tell grandpa that he's already eighty, almost there, tidy up and go down, your wife has been alone for three years, she misses you... 

If he says this, won't he be beaten half to death and kicked out of the house? 

The phone call had already been hung up, but Jasmine was deep in thought, holding onto his phone. Jasmine asked suspiciously, "What's wrong? You hung up the phone and fell into deep thought." 

Ben handed her the phone with a troubled expression and sadly said, "Grandma envies the offerings next door, she wants me to set up a table and place her memorial tablet." 

"You can do it, you even started a coffee cart and you still care about this?" 

"Is it just about the offerings? She, she, she, she said she misses my grandpa." 

... 

... 

Indeed... Jasmine patted Ben's shoulder and suggested that he carefully convey Grandma's longing to Grandpa. If he doesn't say anything, later when they contact the old lady and ask why he doesn't think of her, he will blame you for not bringing it up. 

Without revealing too much, after Jasmine said this, Ben really thought it was possible! 

He couldn't stay on the set any longer; he had to drive back home. 

Though he left, he left behind a photo taken secretly. The picture showed Ben and the second female lead of the crew in an intimate conversation, taken by an unknown person and posted online. 

Normally, this would have led to a lot of mocking and criticism from netizens towards Jasmine and Ben for creating publicity. 

But the situation took a different turn. 

It wasn't that the netizens suddenly became kind, it was mainly because before they could start criticizing, several rich second-generation individuals circled the photo and told the media not to talk nonsense; they would not agree to this relationship! 

—? 

—?? 

—What's going on? 

—Is Jasmine not only close to the Ben's family but also to these families? 

—Are paparazzi all idiots? Can't they be more efficient? Who will come out and clarify this woman's background? We need certainty, not suspicion. Who is she? 

... 

Jasmine didn't have any projects yet but was already known by many people, which naturally attracted the attention of entertainment companies. Several companies, big and small, contacted her through the crew to promote their own companies and express interest in signing her to make her popular. 

Among them was Starlight Entertainment, in which Ben had a stake. 

Jasmine was unsure, so she contacted Ben at WeChat, asking if it was necessary to sign with an agency just for acting in a drama. 

Ben sent her a voice message, saying it depended on her plans. If she just wanted to experience acting without diving deep into the entertainment industry, signing with a company could be troublesome. But if she found acting and variety shows interesting and wanted to explore more, signing with a company would be more convenient. 

Ben asked for her thoughts. 

[I find it interesting, and I don't have anything else to do, so I plan to experience more.] 

—Then how about I find you an agent? Having a reliable agent can save you a lot of trouble. 

Jasmine agreed and entrusted this matter to Ben. The next day, a competent woman in her thirties came with a drafted talent agent contract for Jasmine to review. After discussing and understanding each other, they were both satisfied but negotiated a few terms in the contract before signing it. 

The agent's last name was Chen, and the artists she represented called her Sister Chen. After signing the contract, she asked Jasmine for her thoughts and they agreed to start with the role of The All-Round Girlfriend , and then decide on the next project after its broadcast. They weren't in a rush to create buzz; it's not fun to create hype without any work.

Sister Chen also arranged an assistant for her. With the assistant in place, there was less need for Jasmine to take action. Someone else took care of miscellaneous matters for her, so she only needed to study scripts and refine her acting skills. 

The opening of the drama "All-Round Girlfriend" was very difficult. It went through cast changes and script revisions before turning things around with a new script. After that, the filming went smoothly, and the progress was rapid. 

By early July, Jasmine had completed filming, and Sister Chen instructed her to rest and take care of herself while waiting for the next steps. If the drama could successfully air, as the second female lead, she would need to prepare for promotional activities with the production team. 

Jasmine didn't understand much about the entertainment industry. She asked Sister Chen and learned that completing the filming was just the beginning. The next steps involved passing censorship, obtaining distribution permits, and then contacting major television stations to see if they were interested in buying the drama. The drama needed to be purchased by a regional TV station to be aired nationally. 

"Your production has positive energy, it should pass the review easily, but it might be challenging to get on TV. The leads don't have particularly outstanding track records, the investment isn't very high either. It feels like an online drama to me. It might end up being directly scheduled for online streaming."

Jasmine asked, "Is there a big difference between airing on TV and online?" 

Sister Chen explained the challenges of getting a drama to air on television and the hierarchy within the entertainment industry. 

"Why else would they go to such lengths to get on TV? It's different when you shoot a show for TV compared to a web series. Those who make movies look down on TV dramas, those who make TV dramas look down on web series -- that's the hierarchy in the industry. Web series can also go viral, but they're always considered slightly inferior. "

"This show has investment from Ben, let's see if his connections are enough. It's a tough sell relying solely on the director and lead actors."

Jasmine, who wasn't concerned about fame or money, she didn't even expect to become popular, and didn't really care. After listening to some popular science information, she just casually remarked on her social media, saying that after finishing filming she thought the drama would be broadcast soon, only to realize that airing it was not easy at all! 

Within ten minutes of posting this, it was taken over by a group of wealthy second-generation individuals.

- Sister, let me introduce you to a TV station.

- What's so difficult about that? (⑅˃◡˂⑅)