Chapter 858: Chapter 358: Piles of Top Influencers

In the rehearsal room, six young men were sweating buckets as they practiced their dance moves.

Su Huai instantly recognized three of them–Xiao Zhan, Hou Minghao, Wang Anyu.

He couldn’t recall the names of the remaining three, but their faces were definitely familiar.

And that meant they were all male celebrities who would go on to make their mark in the entertainment industry, not mere unknowns.

Alex, you’ve really got skills, but you’ve also got to have a screw loose.

Su Huai shook his head and pushed the door open, stepping into the rehearsal room.

Alex clapped his hands to signal everyone to stop. The six young men looked at Su Huai, baffled, their eyes betraying awe and admiration mixed with the apprehension of facing a strong competitor.

It wasn’t until Alex and Susan hurried over to respectfully greet him with a “Mr. Su” that they widened their eyes in shock, completely stunned.

The boy standing before them, so dazzlingly handsome even without makeup, was actually the big boss of the company?!

They had only gathered at headquarters a few days prior but had already heard plenty of legends about Mr. Su.

Top-tier heir, superstar talent agent, founder of viral fame…

Who would’ve thought he’d be so young?

“Come here, everyone. Let me introduce the company’s Chief Strategy Consultant and major shareholder, Mr. Su Huai.”

Susan motioned for them to bow, but Su Huai quickly waved it off: “We’re all family here; don’t bother with the formalities.”

Awkwardly but earnestly, they greeted him with a polite “Hello, Mr. Su.”

Alex chimed in enthusiastically, “Doesn’t our Mr. Su look more like a superstar himself? You should definitely observe him closely–how he acts and carries himself. When you get the chance to play a domineering CEO or something like that, just imitate him outright, and I guarantee you’ll nail it.”

“Alright, drop the bootlicking. Introduce me to everyone.”

Su Huai scrutinized them one by one and couldn’t help but marvel at how magical this felt.

Xiao Zhan, Tan Jianci, Hou Minghao, Wang Anyu, Deng Wei, Chen Zheyuan.

Each of them had remarkably distinct and striking good looks–a solid 90 out of 100.

You have to understand, a man scoring 90 is much rarer than a woman because men generally don’t take meticulous care of their appearance. They tend to live rough and their skin isn’t naturally as good.

And yet, Alex managed to snatch up six of them with just ten million yuan!

After chatting briefly with them, Susan led the six back to practicing their dance routine while Alex pulled Su Huai aside for a report.

“How did you manage to recruit so many good-looking guys with just that little money?”

Su Huai’s curiosity was piqued.

At the mention of this, Alex became extremely proud and started bragging in earnest.

“Xiao Zhan’s boy group flopped hard. The members they were pushing–Peng Chuyue and two others from Jiacheng–barely made any waves. Long Danni seemed to dismiss Xiao Zhan, either because he’s older now or for some other reason. She didn’t pay much attention to him; all he got was the resources for a low-budget web drama. But I think he and Yan Xujia have potential. Unfortunately, Long Danni didn’t want to let go of Yan Xujia…”

Who is Yan Xujia?

Su Huai wracked his brain for any recollection of the name but could only faintly remember it, without picturing the face.

But that wasn’t important–having Xiao Zhan alone was worth more than the whole group combined.

“So, how did you convince Long Danni to release them?”

Sister Long’s judgment was baffling–her talent scouting was always spot-on, yet her follow-up guidance often went off-track. Still, she was a competent entertainment circle capitalist, and the notion of her breaking up a group to let someone go seemed almost unbelievable.

Alex gloated, “I promised her two A+-grade web dramas with second male lead roles, so it didn’t cost a penny!”

Pfft!

Su Huai was floored: “Where did we get web drama investments?”

“We bought them, of course!” Alex shot Su Huai a puzzled look. “Didn’t you approve ten million yuan for me?”

Su Huai was even more shocked: “Don’t tell me you used that ten million to invest in web dramas?”

“Of course!” Alex answered righteously. “How else should I play it? Dumping the money straight into contract termination fees with an artist management agency? That alone would cost several million for Xiao Zhan–and there’s no guarantee they’d agree.”

Alright, alright, you’re impressively bold!

Su Huai realized he’d seriously underestimated Alex. This guy was born for the entertainment business.

But…

“And how exactly did you convince the producers?”

Alex grinned and explained animatedly, “I used Yu’s name to approach a bunch of web movie and web drama investors. I told them Yuji was interested in starring, and if the script was good and production solid, she might give them the chance for her debut as the lead actress. That got me access to project auditions and complete scripts in preparation stages.

Afterward, I picked out a few promising scripts, preferably from production companies who were strapped for cash, and said–what if there’s no fitting role for Yuji in your scripts?

Fine, we’ll invest less money and settle for getting the second male and female leads. Yuji can pop in for a cameo…

Easy-peasy, smooth sailing!

As of now, we’ve secured the male and female leads for at least five projects, along with confirmed second leads and primary supporting roles in three productions.

Later, I’ll use these resources as trade bait with people like Long Danni, offering them the roles in exchange for the talents I want…”

Holy crap!

Alex, turns out sticking you as Artistic Director seriously underutilizes your talents.

Su Huai was awestruck, finally understanding how the entertainment industry actually operated.

“So, you managed everything like this?”

“Not exactly. Each company has different resource needs.”

Alex shook his head and continued showcasing his audacious strategies.

“When it came to Deng Wei, he was pretty easy. He’s from Beijing Dance Academy’s dance performance program. At first, I was aiming for a guy named Wang Yibo, but Lehua operates differently from Wajijiwa–they don’t let talents go.

I spent ages trying to negotiate for Wang Yibo but didn’t succeed. Thinking our boy group lacked a dance specialist, I toured Beijing Dance Academy and Central Academy of Drama until Deng Wei caught my eye.

Tan Jianci was also a member of a boy group before, and he’s a decent fit. He’s transitioning into acting now, though–his height is an issue, and he’s not young anymore. His company doesn’t focus much on him, but I felt he had a certain appeal.”