"Stop looking," Han Geng said, patting Chen Jing on the shoulder.
Chen Jing turned his face, smiled, and then raised an eyebrow as he looked at Han Geng. "Did you call this car?"
When the two of them came out of the airport, this car was already waiting, clearly here to pick up Han Geng.
Hearing this, Han Geng said awkwardly, "To be honest with you, I've decided to sign with Yuehua Entertainment, and this is their car."
Wenyuan nodded and said nothing more.
Seeing this, Han Geng felt even more embarrassed. After all, he had taken the initiative to ask Chen Jing to leave the group together, but now he had found a way out for himself while Chen Jing still had no destination. Even though neither of them lacked popularity, it still felt a bit unbrotherly.
"Why don't you join Yuehua with me?" Han Geng asked through gritted teeth.
Chen Jing shook his head directly. "I still need to think things through for myself."
Hearing this, Han Geng breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Yuehua Entertainment had just been established not long ago. Having him alone was enough; adding Chen Jing would make things a bit crowded.
Chen Jing then said, "Brother Han, drop me off at a hotel. I want to get settled first."
Having grown up in an orphanage, Chen Jing had no home to speak of, nor did he have the money to buy a place, so he could only stay in a hotel for the time being.
Hearing this, Han Geng didn't try to persuade him any further, lest he actually talk Chen Jing into joining Yuehua, which would be a mess.
Soon, the car stopped in front of a hotel.
"Wear a pair of sunglasses so you don't get recognized again," Han Geng said. "Let's stay in touch."
Wenyuan nodded, got out of the car, and said, "Goodbye, Brother Han!"
Not until Han Geng's car drove away did Chen Jing go into the hotel to check in.
Once inside the room, Chen Hao first took a shower, then ordered a large meal.
Afterward, he began to take stock of his net worth. Upon checking, Chen Jing realized that his current assets amounted to a mere 200,000 RMB!
You had to remember that Chen Jing had debuted back in 2008, and it was now nearly two years later. Moreover, he was the lead vocalist and visual of SJM, a group popular all across Asia, yet he only had 200,000 in his hands!
No wonder the four members had each resolutely returned home!
He could only blame the fact that the others offered far too much money!
This money was enough for Chen Jing to stay in a hotel for a while, but he still needed to make money first.
He had to buy a place to live first and have a home. In addition, he needed money to purchase intellectual property rights.
In this year of 2009, the concept of IP had not yet become prevalent, but Chen Jing knew how profitable those major hit IPs would be in the future.
At the same time, by holding these major hit IPs, Chen Jing himself would be able to star as the lead and rely on these blockbuster shows to maintain his status as a top-tier celebrity!
Speaking of IPs, what Chen Jing deeply regretted was that the phenomenal IP from his past life, Candle in the Tomb, had probably already been sold by the author while drunk. It felt like missing out on 100 million!
Fortunately, it was now late 2009, and there were still plenty of future blockbuster IPs waiting for Chen Hao to unearth.
As for making money, Chen Jing wasn't in a great rush. With his current popularity, people would probably come knocking on his door to hand him money.
When that time came, he would go buy the copyrights first. As for a house, he would wait until he had spare cash; after all, copyrights wait for no one—being even a step slow meant a massive loss.
Then Chen Jing thought that it would be best for him to establish another company and put all the copyrights he held into this company, while keeping the studio purely for managing his own agency affairs.
In the future, it was very likely that capital and giants would want to invest in Chen Jing's studio or sign a gambling agreement with him. This way, Chen Jing could operate purely under the name of the studio without affecting the company's copyrights.
That entire night was spent with Chen Jing planning his future.
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, Chen Jing rushed to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to register his studio and company.
It took him an entire morning to successfully register Fairy Tail Entertainment Co., Ltd. and Fairy Tail Studio.
Afterward, Chen Jing returned to the hotel for lunch.
While eating, Chen Jing opened his laptop and began browsing entertainment news.
"Han Geng and Chen Jing sue SM simultaneously, intending to terminate contracts with the company!" --- Reported by Sohu Entertainment
"The only two Chinese members of SJM file lawsuits; Han Geng and Chen Jing intend to go solo and leave the group!" --- Sina Entertainment
"Han Geng and Chen Jing return to China on the same day they sue SM; a thousand fans enthusiastically greet them at the airport!" --- NetEase Entertainment
...
Unsurprisingly, the news of Han Geng and Chen Jing suing SM quickly spread across the country.
At a time when the Korean Wave was sweeping through the mainland, Han Geng and Chen Jing, as the only two Chinese members of SJM, were already drawing immense attention—let alone the rare spectacle of artists suing their former agency.
At the same time, the photos of the two returning to China yesterday and being greeted by fans at the airport spread across the media and the internet, instantly making Han Geng and Chen Jing the focal point of media and public attention.
Chen Jing rather enjoyed this. After all, having been a lowly background extra in his past life, now that he had become a top-tier star, it still felt somewhat surreal.
However, Chen Jing was soon bombarded by a flurry of phone calls.
The calls fell mainly into three categories. The first category consisted of people looking to hire Chen Jing for endorsements, commercial performances, and event appearances.
Since Chen Jing hadn't signed with any agency after returning to China, these people had no choice but to contact Chen Jing directly.
Chen Jing was quite happy about this. Wasn't the money rolling right in?
The second category came from major entertainment companies, whose purpose naturally was to sign Chen Jing.
These entertainment companies were also quite prestigious, including Huayi, Enlight Media, Bona Film Group, Tianyu Media, Chengtian Entertainment, and top-tier manager Wang Jinhua.
It was evident that Chen Jing was indeed in high demand right now.
The third category comprised media outlets and portals hoping to interview Chen Jing.
Chen Jing didn't make any rash promises; he simply exchanged pleasantries and deflected gracefully while collecting everyone's contact information so he could carefully consider and choose later.
By the time Chen Jing finished all his phone calls, he realized it was already dark outside. He directly ordered another dinner while looking at the densely packed contact information he had recorded.
"Easy peasy. This isn't my past life anymore; I'm a top-tier star now. Just another routine operation, no need to make a fuss!" Chen Hao muttered to himself.
Despite saying that, Chen Jing still felt quite pleased while eating.
After finishing his meal, Chen Jing began to calculate.
Among these three types of calls, the most important one that urgently needed to be resolved for Chen Jing was management!
Once a manager or an agency was chosen, matters regarding endorsements, commercial performances, or interviews would all be handled by them.
After all, whether in his past life or the present, Chen Jing was merely an artist and didn't quite understand professional contracts and partnerships. He needed professionals to clear the mines for him to avoid stepping into traps.
Flipping back and forth through the managers and agencies he had recorded, Chen Jing continuously weighed the pros and cons.
Now that Chen Jing had established his own company and studio, he had his own plans for the future. Moreover, with a golden cheat code in his possession, it was impossible for Chen Jing to be bound by a large company.
Therefore, it would be best for Chen Jing to sign with a powerful, ace manager.
When speaking of ace managers, one had to mention Wang Jinhua, as she was known as the number one manager in the mainland.
However, Chen Jing was not entirely satisfied with Wang Jinhua. First, Wang Jinhua had already jumped ship twice, offending Huayi and Chengtian, which heavily tarnished her reputation.
Second, Wang Jinhua would eventually promote her own son in the future. If Chen Jing signed with her, even as an adopted son, he could never compare to her biological one!
Until he flipped to the name of a manager that made Chen Jing's eyes light up!