Chapter 4: She was Extremely Blessed (Part 1)
It was morning rush hour. Jiang Bao got crowded on the bus until she started doubting her own life. Right now, she didn’t even have enough money to board a taxi.
It seemed as if she had opened Pandora’s box within which a fresh and different new experience awaited her each time. She was on the verge of collapse as every minute passed.
Jiang Bao had a driver’s license, as well as a pilot certificate. It was just that she normally didn’t drive, as she usually had a chauffeur to pick her up. The chauffeur also acted as her bodyguard. He was a reliable military veteran who did his job properly.
She got off the bus and frowned as she fixed her clothes. Then, she walked inside the enormous building in front of her, filled with mixed emotions.
Lin Can was one of the girl group’s third line-up[1]. As the company believed in the ‘human wave attack’ strategy[2], the company signed with many young girls. But most of them didn’t have a promising future.
The company had chosen seven people to release a new single this time. They even had to shoot for an MV as the company was focused on developing them.
Lin Can hadn’t joined for very long, but her face was enough to attract others, and her personality was easy to exploit. And so she was included in it.
Zhang Chuan thought that Lin Can should be arriving soon and waited in the third-floor corridor. He felt that Lin Can had been acting strange these past two days, so he had to pay close attention to her.
Was it really because she had lost her mind after drowning that her personality had changed?
Zhang Chuan was the acting manager of this unqualified girl group. But his primary task was to brainwash and press these naive girls to pursue their dreams, along with controlling them.[3]
As he was waiting for Jiang Bao to come closer, the words he had prepared beforehand to discipline her were suddenly stuck in his throat.
It was still the same face, but her aura had changed completely. It was as if she was a different person. The young girl who was once always submissive and pliant with his words had seemingly turned into a high and mighty queen.
Although Jiang Bao hadn’t grown up being the center of attention, and not everyone had fawned over her, she was still an arrogant character. She had taken over the management of her family’s hotel business after completing her undergraduate studies, and the bearing of a superior became even more apparent in her after only two to three years of taking over.
Therefore, she was used to giving orders, even if she had switched bodies.
Jiang Bao directly asked. “Have you recharged my phone bill?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Bao said in a flat voice, “Thank you. But I still need to ask you to lend me some money. When I go back, I’ll write a cheque to you.”
Zhang Chuan: “Then… then how much do you want?”
“Just give me however much you have.”
Zhang Chuan: “……”
It took him ten seconds to realize that he was assigned by the company to oppress and exploit this group of girls, and not do some charity work. He was delusional just now and actually thought she was his superior.
He was a bit frustrated at this and said, “What money? I don’t have it! You’re late for the rehearsal and you still dare not to rush inside!”
Jiang Bao faintly looked at him. “If you aren’t lending any, that’s fine. Please maintain this kind of attitude.”
After she spoke, she walked into the dance studio without a look back at the man whose face was filled with shock.
The other six members had already arrived. Before Lin Can joined the girl group, she was a relatively well-known catalog model, so she was valued by the company.
As she was usually a lone wolf and didn’t talk to anyone, she never got along well with this group of girls.
Jiang Bao didn’t have the intention to rehearse as she grabbed hold of a girl and asked, “Do you know what the Wi-Fi password is here?”
The girl was stunned for a moment before she spoke out a string of numbers.
Jiang Bao immediately took out the phone and connected it to the Wi-Fi. As long as she could contact Second Brother, she would be able to leave this place!
The app background showed that the installation was finished. Jiang Bao was filled with expectation as she entered her account information and password, and then clicked on the login button.
A sentence popped up on the phone page.
“Your IP address is offsite and the login has been frozen.”
Jiang Bao simply wanted to curse! She recalled that the international students once said that Skype wasn’t used much in mainland China. There were simply too many fixed-rule policies and it often gets frozen inexplicably.
That’s why everyone preferred WeChat.
Jiang Bao didn’t give up as she tried dialing Second Brother’s assistant, Alva’s phone, once again. This time, she would surely explain the severity of this matter to him.
A dull busy tone was ringing beside her ear. She instantly realized that Alva must’ve mistaken her for a strange person and blacklisted her.
Jiang Bao felt a bout of dizziness.
The dance instructor saw Lin Can frozen in place as if dumbstruck, and gave a warning. “Don’t you want to dance properly anymore? Don’t even dare to think you guys are stable enough. There’s only a week to practice for this dance. If you can’t do it, there are always others to replace you.”
Everyone was learning this dance choreography as they were about to perform at a ticketed show. However, only seven members will be included in the MV.
“This time’s overseas shooting is a rare opportunity. I hope you’ll all cherish it.”
Jiang Bao was originally contemplating what to do next when she immediately came back to her senses. An overseas shooting?
Yes! This was a perfect opportunity!
Lin Can’s ID wasn’t with her; let alone her passport or her own bank account. With her current background, she couldn’t even apply for a US Visa.
But if she was brought along by the company for a business trip, there won’t be a problem.
Jiang Bao regained her spirits as she began learning the dance seriously. She had a few years of dance foundation ingrained in her, and her memory was good, so she easily learned the dance fastest among the seven of them. Even the teacher gave her a few compliments.
When they were resting in the afternoon, Jiang Bao asked the dance instructor with enthusiasm. “If we’re going overseas for the shoot, I think the US and UK are good. The waterfalls in Oregon and the Grand Canyon are quite spectacular, going to Los Angeles is fine too. The Isle of Skye in the UK is excellent as well. If it gets into the shot, it’ll surely have widespread appeal.”
Her second brother was in America, while her fifth brother lived in England.
Although she was more inclined to seek her second brother for help, and she wasn’t close to her fifth brother, he had always sent her birthday gifts every year. So he was likely to lend her a hand. Her fifth brother was a pianist who had graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music. He was also the most chill[4] among her brothers.
Compared to those schoolmates who had only been passing acquaintances, she could trust some of her blood-related older brothers.
During the power struggle, her eldest and third brother had teamed up. They were also against Second Brother, to whom she was closest… So she couldn’t seek their help.
The dance mentor looked at Jiang Bao incredulously. “Are you crazy? The company doesn’t have so much money to go to England or America, and it’s even so far away. It will either be Vietnam’s Vinpearl Land or Thailand’s Ko Lipe.”
Jiang Bao: “What did you say?”
Footnote:
[1] The girl group went through member/line-up changes and Lin Can joined at the third member change.
[2] 人海战术: the human wave attack strategy is to have different members (mostly more than 10). As all have different personalities and appearances, the audience will be interested in at least one of the members and are most likely going to buy tickets to see their performances and support them.
[3] 罐鸡汤: To bombard one with positive, favorable, and/or inspirational stories… in other words BRAINWASH. (it’s what the manager did to the poor girls to press them into pursuing their dreams)
[4] 佛系/ ‘Buddha-like mindset’: In this case, the fifth brother pursued a tranquil and neutral life.
TL note: Some info about the places mentioned just now if you are curious. (╯✧▽✧)╯
Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is one of the many waterfalls famous in Oregon. For more info, visit https://www.planetware.com/oregon/top-rated-waterfalls-in-oregon-us-or-80.htm
Most of you might know the Grand Canyon but I’ll just share it anyway. (´ ∀ ` *)
The Isle of Skye
Vietnam’s Vinpearl Land Nha Trang / Vietnam’s ‘Disneyland’
Thailand’s Ko Lipe Island
