Pei Zhiping rolled over, causing the blanket to rustle. Han Lemi, lying nearby, heard the sound of a phone unlocking and quickly turned around, eager to share the gossip she'd been holding in all evening.
"Timetrain got scolded badly yesterday," Han Lemi, who had clearly been awake for a while, said to Pei Zhiping while wrapped in her blanket.
Still booting up mentally, Pei Zhiping didn't catch her meaning and asked, "What?"
"Last night when I went to the stylist for fitting clothes, I passed by their manager's room. Really, I was just passing by, and I heard their manager scolding them inside."
"The scolding was fierce, the voice carried right through the door."
In truth, Han Lemi had probably passed by their manager's room seven or eight times.
The hotel's soundproofing wasn't particularly good, and even slightly raised voices could be heard clearly.
What made Han Lemi stop in her tracks was when the manager shouted, "Is Jiang Juyou your babysitter? Why do you keep running to her for everything?"
Perhaps because the five of them had been under Jiang Juyou's management since joining the company, they were used to reporting everything to her, but they'd forgotten that Random Entertainment was no longer the small workshop it once was.
Once or twice would have been fine, but doing it repeatedly was excessive, especially when Gao Xiayu and Ye Xing's matter directly caught their manager's attention.
A lecture was inevitable.
Han Lemi was quite excited, knowing that this was the company's most cherished group being scolded so harshly, "I saw someone crying when they came out."
"Could it have been Pei Luming who was crying?" Pei Zhiping looked over.
"I couldn't tell, they all look similar to me." They were all wearing hats and masks, and their builds were similar, so Han Lemi couldn't distinguish between them.
Timetrain being scolded meant something significant - it meant the company was truly changing.
Random Entertainment's staff teams were built around their groups, and although the three current groups had different styles, their resources were quite similar.
It all came down to appearing on shows and attending events - there was no distinction in terms of style for these activities.
Equals3 had officially debuted yesterday, and they would soon begin their debut promotions. It was certain that Timetrain's operations team would feel threatened.
Because the company's internal resources were limited.
"This just shows how childish men are, they can only see what's right in front of them," Han Lemi shared what she'd heard from the staff with Pei Zhiping, "I heard Ye Xing wants to study directing, and their manager is getting headaches over it."
This made Pei Zhiping laugh, "Their manager really has it tough."
Han Lemi sighed and glanced at her phone. Her phone wallpaper displayed large characters that read: "Stay clear-headed, remember who you are."
She was worried about getting carried away by fan praise after debut, so she set this wallpaper as a constant reminder to herself.
"Enough talk, I need to get up and reduce this swelling," Han Lemi crawled out of bed, preparing to wash up and head down to the gym for a walk.
Hearing this, Pei Zhiping also threw off her covers, "I'll join you."
The music festival would last two days, and they had another performance today. The first day had some minor issues since it was their first stage, but they had another performance today and needed to be in top form.
The program had a delay in airing, so audiences who couldn't attend the music festival in person would have to wait for this episode to air, but based on online feedback from the two-week festival, everyone said the live atmosphere was great.
The program's internet marketing was very successful. During those days, related content was everywhere on phones, from beauty and fashion to food, from travel routes to the camping environment in the park - all receiving positive reviews.
Take AIcho's team for example - all four members were quite career-driven, and many ideas reportedly came from them directly. Equals3 operated differently, with the three members taking the lead while staff executed their vision.
Timetrain's situation was complicated by their early over-reliance on Jiang Juyou. Now that she was less involved, the whole team seemed to lack direction.
Their proposed comeback plan was basically identical to the previous two, showing virtually no innovation.
They had the album ready, but the promotional strategy was lacking.
Jiang Juyou knew this wasn't about capability - the staff were simply caught between her and the artists, unsure how to proceed.
"Go back and ask them if they have any ideas about pre-comeback promotions. If there really aren't any good ideas, then their winter break comeback... we'll have to postpone it."
Jiang Juyou was just trying to scare them - with the album already produced, they couldn't possibly halt everything just because of uninspired promotional planning.
"...Actually, they did suggest some ideas, but we rejected them," a staff member said cautiously.
Jiang Juyou lifted her eyelids to look at her. "Such as?"
"They wanted to promote on university campuses, like guerrilla performances - suddenly appearing on college grounds to perform their comeback title track, then leaving right after."
Puzzled, Jiang Juyou tilted her head. "That sounds great, why reject it?"
"We were concerned about safety issues... and that schools might not approve."
Jiang Juyou responded directly: "If you're worried about safety, make contingency plans. As for school approval - how would you know without asking?"
"We had other concerns too. We worried there might not be enough fans at the schools, or the grounds might be empty. In such cases, the promotional effect wouldn't be good."
Hearing this, Jiang Juyou couldn't help but sigh internally - the operations team's style really matched the group members' personalities; all five tended to be pessimistic and overly cautious.
Jiang Juyou offered advice, "If you're worried about empty grounds... why not film it from a fan's perspective for official content? Think about how to execute that."
"We actually considered that too - making it into a show for pre-promotion, recording their preparation and the live reactions during the surprise performances as a group variety show."
"Isn't that perfect?" Jiang Juyou was confused again, wondering where all these hesitations came from.
Aliali: 674844dec4f3f33ac4766aee
"We discussed it with the variety department, but they're short-staffed recently. If we want to film, we might have to wait until after Spring Festival, which would defeat the promotional purpose."
Jiang Juyou responded firmly: "Don't worry about that - I'll talk to them. You focus on preparing the detailed plan."
"Thank you, Producer Jiang."
After two days of meetings, Jiang Juyou's legs were numb. While waiting for the elevator, she stretched, loosening up her muscles. Her young assistant Lin Jie also started wiggling around, commenting, "Boss, have you noticed how different the three operations teams' styles are?"
Jiang Juyou looked over as Lin Jie continued, "They're exactly like their groups' personalities. I've heard of pets resembling their owners, but who knew teams could be like this too?"
Jiang Juyou nodded with a smile, responding, "Mm, you're getting there too."
"Yay, I'm a pet!" Lin Jie gave a little cheer.
The next moment, Cong Lixia's voice rang out, "That's my role."
Jiang Juyou: "..."
Cong Lixia: No one's taking my position as the electronic pet!