192 Stepping Stone
After being scolded by Xiang Lei, the publicity girl cried and shrank back into the backseat. She lowered her head and did not speak. She thought to herself that she was unwilling to do this f*cking job.
Xiang Lei didn’t care about her reaction at all. He gritted his teeth and said, “What happened today won’t pass so easily.”
Ji Jun dared to steal his things. Even though he couldn’t snatch it back, that didn’t mean that he would let Ji Jun off. Xiang Lei’s face darkened as he instructed Xie Yi, “Get someone to release the news that I’ve accepted the Kangaroo Platform’s “Light of eSports” variety show.”
Xie Yi frowned in confusion. “What are you trying to do?”
“Hmph, when the fans announce this matter to the entire world, we’ll send a specious message. We’ll say that we’re busy and don’t have time to take on new programs. Then, we’ll look for the big fans to guide the fans and say that the production team looked for us, but we didn’t have time, so we rejected them.”
Xie Yi’s brows relaxed. “This way, when the production team officially announces Ji Jun, I’m afraid many people will think that he’s picking up your rejects.”
“Isn’t he picking up my rejects?” Xiang Lei snorted.
What he didn’t say was that things were far from that. Many fans knew that he was good at games. When Ji Jun went on the show, if he didn’t perform well, the fans would unconsciously compare Ji Jun to him.
If they manipulated it again and directed this anger to the eSports fans, Ji Jun would have to bear the backlash of public opinion.
Wasn’t Ji Jun popular? Wasn’t he more capable than him? In that case, he could be his stepping stone.
When the publicity girl in the back seat heard their plan, her mouth moved. She wanted to say that this was very inappropriate. There was no need for them to go against the production team and Ji Jun just for a job.
However, when she thought about how Xiang Lei didn’t believe her and wanted to chase her away, these things had nothing to do with her. She simply shut her mouth and pretended not to hear anything.
Xie Yi acted very quickly. That night, Ji Jun’s manager, Lin Zi, saw the relevant information. He still did not know about the conflict between the production team and Xiang Lei, so he was at a loss. “Where did this Xiang Lei come from?”
Every project, including movies, television dramas, variety shows, and so on, had a main direction of publicity. It was either targeted at artists, the plot, or specific matters.
On the other hand, the main direction of publicity for variety shows was the artists. The specific details of how far the production team wanted to go for publicity and how cooperative the artistes were would usually be clearly marked on the contract.
Ji Jun joined the show. According to his status, he naturally existed as the male lead. Although Ji Jun’s team did not have many requirements in terms of publicity, the production team had already promised that they would use Ji Jun as the main publicity point for the show.
But now, the production team had yet to announce it to the public, yet Xiang Lei had jumped out first. This matter was a little strange. Could it be that there was a problem with the production team and they wanted to use this opportunity to promote Xiang Lei?
It was no wonder that Lin Zi would make such a guess. After all, the ranking competition live-stream had yet to begin, so Ji Jun had yet to obtain the specific guest list. Moreover, Xiang Lei’s popular drama was broadcasted on Kangaroo Platform. Perhaps, his company had reached an agreement with Kangaroo Platform to promote him next.
Lin Zi narrowed his eyes. “If that’s the case, then we’re not in a hurry to sign this contract.”
Some production teams would resort to all sorts of methods in order to promote the people they liked. Hence, it was not uncommon to see dual contracts in the industry. If they were careless and let Ji Jun become a stepping stone for the production team and Xiang Lei, it would be their incompetence.
Fortunately, when the production team saw this news, they were even more anxious than them.
Ou Cheng was afraid that Ji Jun would be angry, so he called Lin Zi directly and explained to him, “Previously, Teacher Ji said that he had no slot in his schedule, so we contacted Xiang Lei. In the end, the negotiations between the two sides fell through and there was no follow-up at all. He’s probably doing this now because he’s angry and wants to ride on the popularity.”
Lin Zi confirmed with him again. “Are you sure he won’t participate in the show later?”
Ou Cheng patted his chest and promised, “I’m sure, and I’m sure.” With Xiang Lei’s arrogant and trouble-making attitude, he was unwilling to work with such a person. Moreover, they now had Ji Jun. Who cared about Xiang Lei?
Looking at Ou Cheng’s attitude, he did not seem to be lying. Lin Zi said, “Add another clause to the contract.”
“Alright, alright, we’ll add it in.” Although adding one more clause would not cause any losses to Ou Cheng, it had complicated the matter that was already negotiated. It was inevitable that he felt a little depressed. Xiang Lei, this troublemaker, was only causing trouble for him.