Chapter 1018: First Performance

"I just so happened to know them. These college juniors of mine are very talented," Han Xiuche replied. "That's why I should thank you instead for noticing their talents and guiding them."

Long Jie looked directly into Han Xiuche's eyes when her phone suddenly rang. It was an old acquaintance.

"Long Jie, thanks to the help you provided in the past, I was able to survive in the industry. I heard you've been trying to promote a group of new artists, so I immediately tried to contact you. The university is currently holding a music festival and I think your group should perform there."

"The top singer, Qin Qin will be making an appearance on the stage as well, so you could consider it as a free ride."

"What do you think?"

At a time like this, anyone willing to offer a helping hand could be considered as a true friend. So, Long Jie replied, "I will forever remember what you've done for me today."

"You're being too serious. I simply have a feeling that Tangning will return to Beijing, so I want to prepare a path for myself."

Long Jie understood the mutual benefit involved. Since this person helped her, she was going to remember them.

"Don't worry."

"OK, in that case, focus on training your new artists."

Han Xiuche listened to Long Jie's conversation on the phone and confirmed that S.A.J. would be making their debut performance. He never expected that his chance would arrive so casually.

It happened so soon...

Han Xiuche thought that Long Jie should, at least, enjoy the feelings of success that these four people created for her.

No, to be exact, he felt that she should enjoy it while she still could...

Afterwards, Long Jie notified S.A.J. of the arrangements she made and told them, "I know you've performed a lot during your university days. I've checked your stage presence and you are all fine. But, you are now leaving the university to face the entire entertainment industry. So, you need to have a serious attitude. If your first performance fails, you will be immediately destroyed."

After receiving Long Jie's guidance, the group viewed their performance seriously.

After all, this performance was their official debut!

"We understand. We will definitely give our all..." the group replied excitedly.

...

Meanwhile, far away in the US, Tangning heard from Mo Ting that Long Jie was trying to debut some newcomers. She was sincerely pleased with this news, "During the years that we spent at Tianyi, Long Jie did a lot to lay out a path for me. She's actually very capable..."

With the mention of Tianyi, Mo Ting looked at Tangning and did not say a word. After quite some time, he finally said, "She's still insisting that she doesn't need Lu Che's help."

"She'll be fine," Tangning replied as she comforted Yan Er in her arms.

"What about you? When are you planning to return to China?"

"Are you trying to say that Ma Weiwei is going overboard?" Tangning asked, "I've heard about the drama she caused in Beijing..."

"Ma Weiwei has never been of any concern to you. I am trying to ask you when you'll have the courage to face yourself?" Mo Ting received Yan Er from her arms and looked straight into Tangning's eyes. It was like he was trying to see through her. "I heard you made changes to 'The Ant Queen's' post production."

"I learned a lot during this time in the US. I've also gained an understanding of the difference between Chinese sci-fi and Western sci-fi. I don't think I have the ability to undertake the task on my own. Ting, Qiao Sen's wish was to create a sci-fi film that's on par with the Westerners, but, our creativity and quality is so basic..."

"Don't give yourself too much pressure, just do what you can. Besides, the East and the West have always had their differences; things that work for the West may not necessarily work for the East."

Tangning looked at Mo Ting as her gaze softened, "I won't disappoint you."

"By the way, you need to tell Lu Che to help Long Jie more..."

Tangning had high expectations for herself, so she also had high expectations for 'The Ant Queen'. Hence, she requested for the post production to be even more refined and detailed.

But, no matter what changes she made, she still maintained the original feel of the story. Even though two directors were involved, she wasn't about to waste Qiao Sen's efforts.

As a result, 'The Ant Queen' would not be seen by audiences until even later...

...

A few days later, the music festival was held at one of the top universities in the nation.

As a famous singer was to perform, the festival was very popular.

Not only students, but also people from the public would be squeezing into the 5000-people-capacity gymnasium.

The famous singer only had two songs and would be leaving right after her performance, so she didn't care that there were newcomers trying to leech off her popularity.

In order to perform while the audience was most focused, Long Jie arranged for her artists to perform right before the famous singer.

This was the best way to ensure the highest number of viewers.

Long Jie was pleased with her arrangements. After Xia Hanmo died and Tangning left, Superstar Media had become too weak to put up a fight. To revive it, was not an easy task to achieve. After all, so many big stars wanted to join Superstar Media in the past to become an artist under Tangning.

But, now...?

After a week of training, S.A.J. was well prepared. But, when they heard the cheers and screams from the stage, they were still nervous.

After all, this was not some kind of graduation ceremony with a few hundred people - it was a music festival with a few thousand people.

"You don't need to be nervous. I applied pressure to you guys before so you wouldn't waste time. But now, it's already too late to turn back. So, relax and give your all. As long as you do your best, even if the results aren't great, I won't blame you," Long Jie comforted.

"But, of course, I do hope that I receive calls tomorrow with job opportunities for all of you."

The group members controlled their breathing as they let go of their burdens...

"Go go! Good luck! It's almost your turn!"

Long Jie put all her hope on these four people...She assumed the results wouldn't be too bad. But, don't forget, Han Xiuche was lurking in the shadows.

He had led Long Jie one step at a time into his trap and was waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger.

Obviously, this was not the time to destroy Long Jie yet. At least, he wanted to let her enjoy the success of her hard work for a little bit. Otherwise, he would be too cruel, right?

Faced with such a huge platform, Long Jie waited patiently in the backstage.

Although S.A.J. were newcomers, they were young, hip and good looking. Plus, they could pull off extremely cool and difficult dance moves...

So, underneath the stage lights, the group successfully created a small wave of hype. Even though the audience didn't necessarily know who they were, they knew they were cool and had a lot of character...

For Long Jie, attracting attention was already halfway to success...

These four members were indeed talented...

However, Long Jie would not be feeling this way for long.