Part 13：sis, I’m not dreaming.
"sis, I'm not dreaming."
As soon as they left the surveillance room, Zoe spoke up, her voice serious.
She turned to Lan and said, "You need to believe me. I can tell the difference between a nightmare and reality. Even if the rustling sounds were a dream, I definitely heard a voice at the door. It wasn't my imagination. I've never had hallucinations before."
Lan patted Zoe's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I believe you. It's very likely the hotel is trying to cover this up to avoid the trouble."
"They're definitely lying," Zoe said firmly.
Lan nodded thoughtfully. "How about I stay with you tonight? We'll head back tomorrow." Zoe heard the implication in Lan's words.
If they left the next day, there wouldn't be any substantial consequences. No matter what happened, it was best not to make a bigger deal out of it.
Zoe nodded, "Okay."
But despite agreeing, Zoe couldn't sleep after everything that had happened.
The fear she'd felt earlier, though brief, left a lasting impression, like a brand on her mind, and it didn't fade easily. She was still rattled.
A while later, Lan's voice broke the silence in the dark.
"Zoe, if you wanted, you wouldn't even need to spread rumors with Song Chi to get good resources."
Zoe fell silent at Lan's words. She knew exactly what Lan was referring to, and she also knew Lan was right.
When Zoe first signed with the company, she thought that if she just worked hard and followed the rules, she'd slowly rise to fame and make money. But she quickly realized that the entertainment industry was a dream factory, but not for the people inside it.
Zoe was beautiful, everyone said so, but in the entertainment industry, there were countless beautiful faces. Without exposure or marketing, a brief burst of popularity was just a fleeting moment. To stay relevant, beauty alone wasn't enough. So many so-called "goddess-level" beauties became nothing more than passing trends.
There was an executive in her company who was interested in her, and he had been quietly pursuing her for a while. He wasn't overt about it, but his actions spoke clearly.
Lan knew about this and had told Zoe that dating someone could be a shortcut to the resources she wanted. From a business standpoint, it made sense. It wasn't just in entertainment; in any industry, this kind of thing wasn't uncommon.
"You scratch my back, I scratch yours," Lan had said. A few years would pass, the relationship would end, and both would move on.
But Zoe never agreed. She could cling to Lan's arm and act cute, claiming she didn't want to force herself into a relationship just to gain favors. At her core, Zoe had a line she refused to cross.
Lan sighed softly. "I understand why you don't want to. Let's just consider it a casual suggestion. With your character, if it weren't for the debt you owe, I don't think you'd even want to be in the entertainment industry."
Zoe didn't say anything. She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but the next morning, they checked out and headed back to Shanghai together.
However, after landing, Zoe couldn't go back to her apartment to rest just yet. Lan had lined up a few "quick jobs" for her, all thanks to the buzz from yesterday's trending topic.
One of the jobs was as a brand ambassador. All Zoe had to do was post an ad on Weibo, but to do that, she needed to take photos promoting the product.
When they arrived at the shoot, the product was already set up and waiting for Zoe. It was a home appliance, a new item that needed to be launched into the market, and they just so happened to catch the wave of Zoe's online heat.
Being a brand ambassador wasn't the same as being a spokesperson. It was just promotional work, but even so, a single promotion could bring in seven figures.
The entertainment industry was like that. When the winds weren't blowing, it felt like you were invisible, struggling to make a name for yourself. But once the winds picked up, everyone came rushing in. Even a pig could be made to look like it was flying.
The photoshoot took three hours, and it wasn't over yet. After an hour, they had to rush to a live streaming session with an influencer. The product this time was a snack food.
Zoe hurried from one location to the next with Lan, barely having time to eat more than a piece of bread on the way.
Lan was replying to messages the entire time. When they finally reached the company where the influencer's studio was, she put her phone down with a long sigh and turned to smile at Zoe, saying, "These past two days, it feels like the whole world is looking for you."
Zoe smiled faintly and shook her head. "It's just temporary heat."
"You're more composed than many others," Lan nodded. "You're definitely less of a hassle than most new artists."
"Lan, why don't you have other artists?" Zoe suddenly asked.
Other managers at the company usually had more than one artist. Even though Lan was still new in the industry, it was clear that managing more than one artist would be more profitable.
"I don't have extra resources," Lan said. "I can barely support you, so adding more artists wouldn't be worth the time and effort. I know a lot of managers like to sign more artists, hoping one of them will stand out, but my mentor, who brought me into this business, is old-school. He believes in the traditional manager-artist relationship, and I prefer that approach. When you make it big, I'll take on more artists. I wouldn't neglect them."
Zoe nodded, understanding.
"When I first decided to work with you, I knew you were different from the other newcomers," Lan said, smiling. "While everyone else was busy with the big-name managers, you were standing off to the side, calm and self-assured. I thought to myself, this girl knows what she wants. You're not the type to let your career be dictated by someone else. You want a bit of autonomy."
"Really? You saw that?" Zoe laughed. "I thought you just liked that I'm quiet and obedient."
Lan chuckled. "Your qualities are the most outstanding among all the new artists. Do you know why none of the big-name managers tried to poach you from me?"
Zoe looked curious. "Why?"
"Because times have changed. Back then, artists needed to be unique, talented, and stand out. But now it's the era of idols. Everything can be packaged. The key is whether you're obedient," Lan said with a smile.