Merit point system

The world in the novel 'How to be a superstar' exhibited another peculiarity. It had this weird system going on where a group of well received and famous associations would comprehensively rate and rank all sorts of artwork and each and every single artist.

And, let's just say that this abnormal ranking system applied only and then only to this one particular field.

The first time he came to know of this peculiar arrangement, Yang Jingshen made a firm decision in his heart– to never get involved with any of the characters in that damned book, especially the important ones. Not if he can help it anyway. The best way to do this of course would be to leave this entertainment circle, which of course perfectly aligned with his personal wishes.

After all, this kind of inexplicable phenomenon– the further one kept their distance from it the better. Especially considering his special status in this world as a 'transmigrator'. In other words… an outsider entity.

Anyhow, the 'Merit system' was an example of one such evaluation system that was very much in use in the arts field at present.

It could be companies or art institutions or associations or anything else– but, if you look around, it was easy to see many such corporations related to arts using this particular setup, with 'Star dreams entertainment' being only one among them.

Just as the name suggested, it was based on the merits of an employee's achievements in his job. But, this doesn't end with simply gaining recognition from superiors and the organization. Instead, these merits were converted into points, which can then be exchanged for better resources within the company.

"Why not?" Yang Jingshen looked puzzeled. "I saw that there're no merit points in my account. But, there might be some in yours, right?"

"I–" Feng Xue nibbled her lips and glanced at her bewildered cousin. What should she do? Last few days, she had even kept debating with herself whether to let Feng Xi know about her inability to secure a script and most of all, the reasons for this failure.

'But, I can't keep hiding stuff forever. Things like what happened with that sleezebag Wang Zhou are bound to happen again and again. And, if I keep shielding little Xi too much, it'll only cause harm, especially since she's not very familiar with this circle at present.'

Feng Xue directly glanced at her still-ignorant cousin and lightly shook her head, looking as if she had come to a decision.

"It's not like that– I also don't have many points left in my account. Only nine."

"Nine!?"

"I- This last period, I used the rest to exchange for favors with some people in the company."

Yang Jingshen could see the determined set of her cousin's jaws and could vaguely guess what kind of favors she might have exchanged. But he still asked anyway. "What favors?" Slightly widening his eyes as if he had a sudden realization, "Are they… for me?"

"Mmm…"

A short silence ensued after this as both of them fell silent. But then remembering something else, Yang Jingshen suddenly asked another question. "Then what about your quarterly merit point allowance?"

But just as he asked this, he saw his cousin's expression turning weird for a moment before she looked out of the window, evading his gaze. Yang Jingshen narrowed his eyes. The other person was hiding something; she always does this when she has something she doesn't want to tell him.

But this time, he needed answers. "Sister, what is it?"

Feng Xue flinched and turned to look at her cousin, but what she saw stunned her momentarily. Because, at this moment, Feng Xi looked angry. Her sweet, obedient cousin looked angry! No– it wasn't just anger. It was– there was something more to it.

For a moment, she even thought that she saw a hint of loathing and distrust in those eyes. But when she blinked, that earlier feeling disappeared leaving her quite flabbergasted.

'That– did I see wrong?'

After a tense silence where they kept staring at each other for a minute or so, Feng Xue took a deep breath and finally dropped the bomb. "I was demoted– to an assistant agent."

Star dreams entertainment, as a top-level talent agency had a quite comprehensive promotion system. And, for agents, the starting level was trainees. Every year, the company would recruit prospective graduates and train them for a period of six months. Following this, depending on their performance, a few handfuls will be selected; most of them given temporary contracts and a few given permanent contracts.

And, in her recruitment batch, Feng Xue had been one of the two people who got a permanent contract!

Now, one might wonder how Yang Jingshen knew about this. It was simply because he had skimmed through his cousin's profile on the company's website. But, now hearing Feng Xue's confession, it was apparent that simply skimming through this information hadn't been enough.

'I made a mistake. I only checked the promotion details and thought she was a junior agent. They probably hadn't updated the new position details at the time I checked.'

After all, an assistant agent was the first and the lowest position an agent would receive in this company.

Yang Jingshen was staring at Feng Xue, who was, in turn, kept staring at her hands neatly folded on her lap, when a crinkling sound broke him out of his trance. Looking down he could see that he had squeezed the nearly empty potato chips bag in his hands.

Releasing his hold, he quietly put it back onto the coffee table before starting to contemplate his situation.

Earlier, he had been too complacent. He had known that it would be difficult for his cousin to get good scripts at the company, after how she behaved in manager Wang's office that day. This was because, after looking up the company website, he had realized that Wang Zhou was the section manager of Feng Xue. Would that kind of man, who was quite full of himself swallow such disrespect from his subordinate without any retaliation?

And that Zhu Jin– she had been of the same recruitment batch as his cousin, but unlike her, she had only been a temporary employee. But, what Yang Jingshen thought that day had been right– She really could fight.

Two years after she became an assistant agent, she had been promoted to a junior agent and got a permanent contract as well. Not only that, a few months ago, she had even managed to transfer herself to the section of a capable manager in the lower rungs of the company.

And now, many were predicting that she would even become a senior agent in no time at all. But, all of this was considering that it had only been four years since she started working under star dreams.

This was in huge contrast with Feng Xue, who had had a very bright start as a permanent employee. It was most probable that the company had some expectations of her. But, she stagnated as a junior assistant for three years and didn't even scout many artists. And whatever artists she had, they were of mediocre talent. It was a classic example of blowing up your chances.

That day after meeting Zhu Jin, it had become apparent to Yang Jingshen that there was deep enmity between the two women. No– it was more like agent Zhu was jealous of his cousin, despite having higher achievements than her, while his cousin, Feng Xue seemed to hate her to her bones. Or it was simply that they both hated each other?

Actually, this behavior of Zhu Jin didn't surprise him much. After all, there're always people who'd try to eliminate the signs of their past failures once they attain success.

'But, this cousin Feng Xue– I better be careful of her from now on as well.'

No matter how much she kept saying that she'd take care of him and would let him do whatever he wanted in the future, how can he easily believe her after learning of her demotion and that his predecessor had been the direct cause of it? If you tell him that Feng Xue won't hold a grudge in her heart towards her cousin, he won't believe it so much as a fart.

'Even parents can betray their child. What more of a mere cousin?'

But this time around, Yang Jingshen had to admit one thing. That he really had been too laid back. This was because he suddenly remembered a rule that was in place in Star dreams company.

According to it, an actor/actress had to earn a minimum amount of merit points within a year according to their level of ratings or either participate in a minimum stipulated amount of works or events.

Fortunately for him, this year, the original Feng Xi had already completed her quota. But, if he didn't get enough scripts or chances to participate in other programs like reality shows to fulfill next year's quota, he'd be in deep trouble.

'I can't afford the penalty fee and neither can Feng Xue. Even if she can, I shouldn't depend on her too much from now on.'

"Sister, I think we should buy a script using the merit points you have." If he doesn't try to get some work, he was afraid that he would become too much of a burden and that his cousin would consider him too troublesome.

"What!? But you know that they're that cheap because of their low quality, right?" Feng Xue looked astonished that he even entertained such a notion.

"Do we have any other choice?"

"..."

#####

A/N:

A bit of background information. Hope it wasn't too boring.