Chapter 161: The New World

Ever since that battle, whenever Ming Han walked down the school path, people would specifically run up to him.

"I heard people say there's an aura of evil in your eyes."

Ming Han was speechless. I am just trying to go to class, and you intercepted me just to say this?

"Oh! This boy has double eyelids, and his silkworm-like under-eye bags are so pretty," a girl commented after observing Ming Han's "evil" gaze.

Heh! Could you please show me some respect and stop treating me like a monkey in a zoo?

Class Nine had made Ming Han's reputation sound rather bizarre, and some people even went so far as to create online discussion posts about it.

Ming Han sighed to himself: The students simply still have too little homework!

Life in senior high school had now settled down, and Sister Fang had arranged everything properly over in the provincial capital.

Her phone call came through: You two little brats, come to the provincial capital this weekend.

Tianqi Entertainment Company was a nationally renowned comprehensive entertainment conglomerate. The company signed a massive roster of film and television artists, sports stars...

It had a fixed, systematic model for nurturing up-and-coming generations of talent.

Ming Han knew that a busy life was about to begin. Moreover, this kind of busyness would surely far surpass what he experienced in junior high.

Actually, this was a stroke of good fortune. With so many branch offices under Tianqi nurturing countless potential stars, not everyone got the opportunity to enter the headquarters.

...

The two of them took a car to the entrance of the headquarters on their own, and Sister Fang was already waiting for them there.

"A month apart, and you've both become even more handsome."

"Heh! You too, Sister Fang, you've put on weight in such a unique way."

Sister Fang was speechless. Is that how you compliment someone?

"Today, I'll show you around our headquarters and introduce you to some partners who will be closely involved with your future work."

There were numerous departments within the headquarters, each performing its own duties. A company with over ten thousand employees had to maintain a set of strict rules and regulations.

Sister Fang introduced them to the stylists and makeup artists one by one. Since they currently lacked any significant star power, they had to share makeup artists and stylists with many other artists of the same tier.

"Do you know Yuhang? When I used to watch Peking Opera, my biggest dream was to have my face painted like Lord Guan—heroic, martial, and domineering."

Yuhang chuckled coldly, "A red face makes you domineering?"

The makeup artist replied, "I certainly can't pull off makeup that exaggerated. All I can do is help cover up your pimples and brighten your skin tone."

"It seems your skills still need improvement then!" Ming Han remarked with a sigh.

The makeup artist was rendered speechless. Why on earth would I paint your face for Peking Opera? Can you please show me some respect?

However, after a brief period of getting along, Ming Han grew quite fond of these staff members.

Makeup artists and stylists within the company were divided into distinct tiers. For instance, top-tier basketball stars like Wu You had dedicated, exclusively assigned makeup artists and stylists who were nationally renowned elite professionals with annual salaries exceeding one million.

Meanwhile, the makeup artists and stylists assigned to them were merely entry-level personnel at the bottom of the company's hierarchy, earning just a few thousand yuan a month and getting wildly excited over an occasional year-end bonus.

The more Ming Han came into contact with the entertainment industry, the more shocking he found it. This was a great crucible of interests; some people stood at the pinnacle of fortune, where you couldn't even hire them for less than several million per project. Yet others ran around frantically day after day for a mere hundred yuan...

Everyone believed they would become the ones making millions in the future. They assumed that hard work would inevitably yield results. Little do they know that without making grand physical sacrifices or having a reliable fallback plan, the entertainment industry is nothing more than a bottomless abyss...

Ming Han took it all in stride. Anyway, he was a guy—surely the entertainment industry wouldn't be interested in his type, right?

By the very next day, he found out. The entertainment industry actually swung both ways without discrimination. A director came to the company to cast roles for a new project, and upon laying eyes on Ming Han, his gaze burned with intense passion, "How about trying out for the female lead in our new drama?"

Ming Han cursed him ten thousand times in his heart: "Female lead your foot!"

"No thanks, I'm not interested in acting."

The director looked at Ming Han with a look of regret and shook his head, "What a fine sapling! Look at these muscles, these shoulders—how full of a sense of security they are!"

Heh! What on earth do these physical traits have to do with being a female lead?

"Ming Han, this is my number. If you change your mind, be sure to contact me immediately," the director said, looking quite reluctant to part.

Even though Ming Han cursed this perverted director ten thousand times in his mind, he still calmly agreed to the director's shameless request.

Sister Fang felt rather awkward standing nearby, and afterward, she could only explain repeatedly, "In a big forest, you'll find all sorts of birds. Just get used to it!"

Heh! This particular species of bird was rare indeed...

That director had a considerable reputation, and yet no one dared to expose his peculiar hobbies. First, there was no concrete evidence, and second, everyone hoped to secure a role in his television dramas so they could achieve overnight stardom.

Compared to achieving fame, was personal dignity really that worthless?

The director had remained unmarried for many years, which consequently earned him a sterling reputation for keeping himself pure and untainted.

He supposedly sacrificed himself for the sake of art, preferring never to marry for the rest of his life.

Heh! In reality, women could no longer satisfy him. What he needed was sturdy, muscular young men!

Within the span of just two days, Ming Han interacted with a multitude of people.

Not only basketball stars, but also a large number of singers and film celebrities.

Even some senior executives of the company had brief encounters with Ming Han and Yuhang.

Each of them held shares in the company and possessed substantial fortunes.

Yuhang felt a bit dazed, "I shook hands with several multi-millionaires in a single day. It feels kind of surreal!"

Although to those senior executives, shaking hands was merely a formality and easily forgotten by bedtime, to Yuhang and Ming Han, it was a feat worthy of a grand write-up on their social media spaces.

It was something worth bragging about even after having children in the future.

With new junior disciples joining the company, naturally many people came by to celebrate and offer congratulations.

When a certain movie star arrived, Yuhang even reached out to pinch his cheek, "Holy crap, you were my childhood idol!"

The man looked somewhat awkward, "I wasn't even acting when you were a child!"

Yuhang shook his head, "Weren't you the voice actor for little pig Chris back then? That was my favorite character."

The actor forced a smile while cursing inwardly in his heart...

The day passed quickly. Ming Han met many people, exchanging numb greetings before turning away and forgetting them entirely.

Isn't this circle just about putting on a show for each other? Anyone who takes it too seriously looks like a fool.

Around evening time, a man arrived accompanied by an entourage of underlings.

He wasn't very tall, around one meter seventy-five, but he was dressed very trendily, wearing four or five rings on his hands and three gold chains around his neck.

"Are these two the members of the Polaris duo? It really is better to see you in person than to hear your legendary names!"

As soon as he approached, he gave Ming Han a massive bear hug, leaving Ming Han completely bewildered.

Who on earth was this enthusiastic fellow?

The makeup artist whispered, "That's Wu You!"

The biggest basketball star at Tianqi Entertainment Company, rumored to have a net income exceeding 70 million last year alone.

"Seeing the younger generation thriving and growing makes me truly happy," Wu You laughed heartily...

Who could possibly tell whether he was actually all that happy?