Chapter 281: An Additional Assistant
With the training hours at a 10% discount, Xu Youyou was initially only able to exchange for 100 training hours. Now, she was able to exchange for 1,000 training hours.
With twelve months of learning time, Xu Youyou thought she would be rushed and overwhelmed by the tasks she needed to complete due to the discounts she’d received from the “loot” missions.
However, unexpectedly, she did not receive any system tasks for twelve consecutive months.
Instead, Lu Jingyao and Xie Ran spent those twelve months successfully bringing down the Star Diamond Group.
Before Lu Jingyao’s rise, Star Diamond Group was the leading capital force in the country, involved in almost every industry. No one had expected that such a massive entity would collapse so easily.
Although the group hadn’t completely fallen apart, Chai Wei and his son had fled abroad due to a broken capital chain and massive debt.
While the Star Diamond Group was still operational, it was essentially in a “near-death” state.
Xie Ran had successfully avenged his grudge, and during this period, he walked with a renewed sense of confidence.
The fall of Star Diamond was like the fall of a whale—instantly nourishing countless smaller companies, some of which even made leaps in their business status.
Of course, the biggest winners were Lu Jingyao and Xu Youyou.
Lu Jingyao took advantage of the situation to absorb many of Star Diamond’s business lines, while Xie Ran helped Xu Youyou’s entertainment company complete the acquisition of Star Diamond’s major cinema chains.
Currently, Youyou Entertainment had not changed its name, but in just two years, it became the largest integrated film and television company in the entertainment industry. The company’s business included short dramas, long dramas, movies, and it had signed and cultivated top-tier celebrities. It even had its own domestic and international film and television platforms.
The novel website Xu Youyou casually purchased in the past had created a top-tier IP, and it had now become one of the leading websites in the country.
Xu Youyou’s success was somewhat mismatched with her orphan background, leading many people online to begin investigating her rise to success.
The more they dug, the more they marveled at her extraordinary vision.
No matter what random people or things came into her hands, they immediately became brilliant.
“Xu Youyou’s vision is truly unparalleled. She casually signs a celebrity chef, and the person immediately wins an international award; she casually supports a female student, and soon she becomes a pop diva… I really think she’s the chosen one, everything she touches turns to success, it’s like the heavens are feeding her.”
This was a common comment about Xu Youyou, and it was quickly accepted and shared by many.
“Just the fact that she found the complete version of Dream of the Red Chamber and successfully adapted it into a TV series makes me want to be her fan for life!” A senior Red Studies enthusiast declared their admiration for Xu Youyou.
Xu Youyou looked at the trending news about herself online but didn’t respond to the public.
She no longer needed to rely on Song Zhibai to trend; she had her own following and was as influential as any top celebrity. Last month, when she and Lu Jingyao went abroad to watch the Olympics, her street photos went viral, even surpassing female celebrities, making her a true wildcard in the industry.
All of this ultimately stemmed from the successful adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber.
When she first planned to shoot this series, even though her film and television team had already completed many successful projects, many people still doubted whether she genuinely wanted to make this classic piece.
Not only did people in China question her, but even many overseas Chinese nationals called her company.
This skepticism stemmed from the fact that, when the character stills were taken for the show, the styling team had not finalized the designs. The initial character photos were not spectacular, and when they leaked online, they received many criticisms.
The entire team persisted through the harsh criticism and continued filming the show.
Fortunately, whether it was the presentation of the content, the performance of the characters, or the inserted songs, everything fit the show perfectly.
If Song Zhibai’s urban romance drama from last year was the best drama in the past decade, the newly completed and aired Dream of the Red Chamber was undoubtedly the drama of the past thirty years.
The highest viewership rate reached 35%, which, in an era of declining TV ratings and booming online platforms, was an almost unbelievable miracle.
But Xu Youyou’s team achieved it.
For every criticism before the airing, there were hundreds or thousands of praises after the broadcast, because the story was complete and every plot hole in the first eighty chapters, left by Cao Xueqin, was perfectly filled.
The actresses who played the roles may not have been the most beautiful, but they were undoubtedly the most fitting for their characters.
As a top-tier ensemble drama, the show not only generated massive viewership but also created over twenty future first- and second-tier actors.
The twelve beauties of Jinling all rose in status—unknown before the broadcast, and became overnight sensations after it aired.
There were even fans who joked that Song Zhibai was probably the most disadvantaged actor in the show, considering he had already been a top-tier celebrity before participating, and after playing a supporting role, although it added to his resume, his follower count on Weibo didn’t increase as much as the other lesser-known actors.
The young girl, Ye Yang, who was responsible for singing the opening and ending songs, was a top-level singer whom Xu Youyou had discovered from a second-hand market. Before this, Ye Yang had already sung for several of the company’s works’ soundtracks and had become popular with a song that spread all over the country.
But it was only after singing the opening and ending songs for Dream of the Red Chamber that she was truly recognized by the industry as a top-tier singer, able to stand toe-to-toe with veteran first-line artists.
“Boss, even though you treat me extremely well, I haven’t been doing much work, yet I’m receiving a higher salary than other colleagues. I really feel guilty… I think I should resign…”
Xu Youyou received a call from Liu Xiangyi and immediately jumped out of bed in a hurry, interrupting her: “Don’t quit! I have an important task I need you to take on!”
Liu Xiangyi had worked in Xu Youyou’s company for a year, and every day she had been passively slacking off—not because she was lazy by nature, but because Xie Ran had perfectly executed Xu Youyou’s instructions: not letting Liu Xiangyi work too hard.
Because of Xie Ran’s extraordinary attitude toward Liu Xiangyi, people in the company couldn’t help but suspect that Liu Xiangyi had an extraordinary background. No one dared to provoke her.
The colleagues were kind, the work was light, and she could also get close to her idols. In such a perfect work environment, Liu Xiangyi had increasingly felt guilty. She felt like she had taken advantage of Xu Youyou for a year and couldn’t stand the inner turmoil, so she finally decided to resign.
“Boss, I don’t have much ability. I’m really afraid I’ll hold back your big plans,” Liu Xiangyi said.
Xu Youyou thought about it and realized that, given Liu Xiangyi’s unique qualities, she was willing to keep her close and protect her forever.
Over the past year, the company had been running smoothly, and Xu Youyou believed that, besides her company’s high-quality projects, Liu Xiangyi’s special qualities must have played a role too.
“I’ll have the driver pick you up. Things are getting busier around here, and Sister Xu can’t manage everything alone. I’m counting on you to come help,” Xu Youyou said.
