A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

“Lin Yunan is not a good person.” Feng Kun said.

Xia Ling did not expect him to badmouth him. She was stunned for a moment before asking, “Then why are you recommending him to me?”

“Do you think that there are truly good people in this industry?” Feng Kun’s voice was still gentle as he spoke. “Everyone is merely doing what will benefit themselves the most. How are you able to tell if someone is genuinely being nice to you because they like you for who you are and not because they know that you will be a money-spinner for them? Or if they are eyeing your backer?

“Xiao Ling, you are a rarity in this circle. You have been well-protected, and your road to the top was way too smooth. You never experienced the dark side of the industry. Hence, when people are nice to you, you always treat them like friends. For instance, Chu Chen. One day, when things get tough, the one that suffers is only going to be you.”

“There are too many in the industry like Chu Chen, especially when they encounter someone like you that is of value to them. You’re able to bring them huge monetary returns, and naturally, they will all fawn over you and will even be willing to be more considerate than Chu Chen ever was. If you believe them easily, they can easily become a menace to you in the future.”

“I know… you’re not someone that can read people well, and I do not wish for you to become as cynical and cunning as all of them… That is something that you can only learn through pain and suffering. I only hope for you to be well.”

“Lin Yunan is not a good person, and I can tell you without a doubt that once you lose your value, he will be the first to abandon you. However, the difference between him and those hypocrites is that he doesn’t bother hiding the fact that he is money-minded. You will be able to tell outright what kind of person he is from the get-go, you will not be duped or misled along the way.”

Xia Ling did not speak for a long while. It was only when the waiter served the ice cream dessert that she said, “Your reasoning is… really unique.”

Feng Kun smiled. “Although he isn’t a good guy, he’s someone that has his boundaries. In this industry, boundaries are more important than kindness. Boundaries are something that only truly capable people are able to keep.”

“What do you mean?” Xia Ling always felt dumb when speaking to Feng Kun, in this life as well as her past life.

Feng Kun explained. “Lin Yunan will abandon someone of no value to him, but that’s purely because of material value. He will stop working with you and stop supporting you, and the worst case scenario is that he will use you to help another newbie make it big in the industry. However, he isn’t a horrible person and will not do anything to harm you. For instance, he will not spread rumors about you… he will not dupe you into sleeping with someone… Don’t look at me like that, Xiao Ling, these are things that happen all too often in this industry.” Feng Kun paused before continuing. “He will not be like Chu Chen and help Pei Ziheng even though you were imprisoned.”

Feng Kun’s final reason rendered Xia Ling speechless again.

She suddenly understood where Feng Kun was coming from. Perhaps she did not need a manager that was a “good person,” she needed a safe manager. And safe would be someone like Lin Yunan, who would not betray her at the most critical moments.

For him to abandon her when she lost her value?

The entertainment circle was like a battlefield, and it was survival of the fittest. If there came the day when she was unable to beat out the competition with her singing, she would gracefully take her leave from the stage and admit defeat. She merely hoped that it was truly because she was unable to match up to the competition in terms of talent and not because she was forced to leave for any other dark reason.

“Lin Yunan is an open book.” Feng Kun said. “He is just materialistic, but he isn’t sly and devious. Xiao Ling, you understand the difference, don’t you?”

Xia Ling nodded her head.

However, she was still rather unhappy. In the many years of her career, she was used to people like Chu Chen and Sister Mai Na who were friendly to her, even if it were on the surface. All of a sudden, Feng Kun was recommending someone that was clearly not going to be as friendly. She was afraid that she would not be able to get used to his style.

“Is there no one else better than him?” Xia Ling made a last-ditch attempt at getting out of the situation.

Feng Kun’s gaze had a tinge of a smile. “With consideration of your innocent nature… there really isn’t anyone else.” Xiao Ling was gullible and did not see the scheming that went beneath the surface. She would easily get fooled by the friendliness that others showed on the surface. Rather than her being fooled, it was better to be working with a brash person like Lin Yunan, who might not be the easiest kind of person to work with, but he was responsible and would not harm her.

Xia Ling pulled a face at Feng Kun before picking up the small dessert spoon and starting to eat the ice cream listlessly.

She trusted Feng Kun’s judgment and knew from all that Feng Kun revealed that Lin Yunan was from a professional management agency, and his company was of the size that Li Lei had suggested would be perfect for her.

She also trusted Li Lei’s judgment.

But…

Feng Kun could tell that she was struggling to come to terms with things and decided to help her along. “Even though it’s just going to be a relationship built on business, Lin Yunan is someone that will fight for the rights of his artistes, much more than some of the friendlier managers.”

“Hmm?” Xia Ling’s gaze lit up a little.

Seeing that she was interested in what he had to say, Feng Kun continued. “Do you remember that Li Er was once caught in a big fire?”

“Hmm… I think I do?” Xia Ling was not someone that was too concerned about gossip, but she vaguely remembered something along those lines in the depths of her memories.

“Yes, it was seven years ago.” Feng Kun said. “She was filming in a tourist location when the makeshift film set somehow caught fire. She was stuck inside, and the fire was burning so strongly that even the security guards did not dare run into the set to help her. It was Lin Yunan who paid no heed to the advice from the people around and rushed into the fire to save her. He used his body to protect her head and face, but he himself was burned badly. Li Er came out relatively unscathed, though she did lose consciousness from breathing in too much smoke.

“According to the people that were at the scene, if Lin Yunan did not protect Li Er with his body the way he did, Li Er would definitely have been burned. I’m telling you… if an artiste sustained burn injuries of that extent, it would be hard to recover completely. Lin Yunan risked his life to save Li Er and put himself in huge danger to protect Li Er’s face.

“He’s a responsible manager. He might be money-minded and intelligent, but as long as you are under his charge, he will do all he can to take care of and protect you.”

Xia Ling was moved after hearing this. For a manager to risk his own life to protect an artiste under his charge, what was being a little more money-minded? What more would you want from a manager?

“How should I find him?” She asked.

Feng Kun said, “He’s still a manager at Dongyue Culture and Entertainment and isn’t taking care of any artiste at the moment. He’s on a no-pay leave at the moment.” Perhaps this was the reason that Lin Yunan did not issue her an invitation to come under his charge.

“No-pay leave?”

“Seven years ago, Lin Yunan might have saved Li Er from the big fire, but he sustained burns in many areas of his body. He was in the ICU for more than two months.

“After experiencing that big fire and witnessing Li Yunan’s critical condition, Li Er came down with PTSD…” Feng Kun glanced over at Xia Ling and knew that she was not familiar with the acronyms. “In simpler terms, she was traumatized after the incident and was unable to walk out from her depression. Her depression was so severe that Li Er took her own life not too long after.

“When Lin Yunan was released from the ICU, he was met with the news of her suicide.

“This was a blow that was much worse to him than the physical burns that he sustained throughout his body… Ever since then, he has not managed any other artiste and wanted to leave Dongyue Culture and Entertainment.

“It was Dongyue Culture and Entertainment that did not want to let him, their head manager, to leave just like that. They put him on a no-pay leave until now, hoping that he would return to the entertainment circle one day.”