This Girl Forced to Become an Entertainment Company Boss

"Congratulations."

The voice of Cong Lixia rang out, and upon hearing this, Jiang Juyou couldn't help but smile, her joy evident. She congratulated him in return, "Same to you."

After all, he was also indirectly the boss of Random Entertainment.

Standing in front of her office, Jiang Juyou suddenly looked up, wanting to go downstairs for a moment, but her gaze caught the cold emptiness of her office. In the past, her office was always cluttered with books, as Jiang Juyou had come into this role somewhat unprepared and had to learn on the job. Besides books, there were also many items for entertaining guests, and the company’s executives had all sat on the sofa in the front.

Now, however, her office was as clean as a showroom, returning to the way it had been when she first arrived.

Jiang Juyou stared at the office for a moment, a brief pause, but she quickly regained her composure.

Cong Lixia noticed her momentary hesitation and kept his eyes on her as Jiang Juyou gathered her things and prepared to head downstairs. She then shared her recent plans with him, as she usually did.

"I’ll be leaving once the album recording is done. I’ll go there early to get used to the language environment, and the follow-up work will have to be done online," she said, wearing headphones, making it seem to outsiders as if she was on a call.

Jiang Juyou waved to a few assistants at the door, "I’m heading to the recording studio downstairs. You can leave when it’s time. Bye!"

"Bye, Producer Jiang!"

Only Jiang Juyou could hear Cong Lixia’s voice as he continued, "Even if they speak too fast, it’s fine. I can be your translator."

Jiang Juyou chuckled at his biased remark, "Thank you…"

The elevator descended to the music production area.

This place was like a maze, with multiple pathways and countless small cubicles where music producers worked. Walking further into the center, there was a sunken lounge area with a circle of sofas, and the snack shelf next to it was always fully stocked.

Jiang Juyou grabbed a bottle of oolong tea from the drink fridge and then entered the recording studio.

"Oh! Hello, Producer Jiang," Pei Luming stood up from the sofa to greet her, and the producer and engineer sitting at the computer also turned to nod at her.

Jiang Juyou nodded in response and pulled up a chair to sit in front of the computer. "Where are we at with the recording?"

"Yao Shuo just has a few more harmonies left," the producer said, pointing to Yao Shuo inside.

The person inside couldn’t hear the outside noise. Yao Shuo was wearing headphones, looking at the lyrics in his hand and humming along to the melody.

"We can start… oh! Hello, Producer Jiang!" He finally noticed Jiang Juyou sitting outside.

Jiang Juyou raised her hand in greeting and then pressed the controller, saying, "Just continue as you were." She then signaled the engineer to play the music.

"Well… let’s start from Pei Luming’s part. I’ll listen first," Yao Shuo adjusted the lyric sheet and marked a few things with his pencil.

Jiang Juyou turned to Pei Luming and asked, "Are you done recording?"

"I’m done, but there are some parts I want to tweak, so I’ll go back in after Yao Shuo comes out," Pei Luming replied.

Jiang Juyou nodded and turned back.

The song being recorded now was for the first family album, which was also preparation for their performance at Coachella. Each group had a new song, and apart from that, the rest of the tracks were English versions of their most popular and widely loved hits.

After the winter camp concert, John had expressed interest in inviting them to perform at the music festival, but the negotiations over the past few days had been about the performance duration and time slot.

In the end, the organizers gave them a seventy-minute slot.

This seventy minutes couldn’t be evenly distributed among all the groups, so some would have more time than others. The three limited-time groups would each have seven minutes, while the remaining four groups, except for Timetrain, would only have three and a half songs each. The remaining sixteen minutes were all for Timetrain.

As soon as the agreement was reached, the performance department began working on stage designs for each group. The duration and song selection had already been decided, but now they needed to adjust based on the final time allocation.

They had initially planned for sixty minutes, but the negotiations had resulted in an extra ten minutes.

Jiang Juyou stayed in the recording studio until late into the night, ordering takeout round after round, sending one group off and welcoming another.

Recording was just the beginning of the preparations—

In addition to recording, the company had also hired a equipment manufacturing company to customize in-ear monitors and microphones based on their needs, aiming to have the custom mics ready before they left for the U.S.

It had been a long time since Jiang Juyou had been so deeply involved in a project, and she was starting to feel the strain.

Besides the various operation teams and the performance department, there was also a dedicated group handling communication with the organizers. Jiang Juyou had been working with them over the past few days to confirm the sound equipment.

"Honestly, when we were there last time, the sound wasn’t great, but everyone was so caught up in the atmosphere that they didn’t notice. But when you watch the livestream, those flaws become really obvious."

The stage they were going to perform on was the largest at the music festival, and because it had a roof, there might be echoes, which could be better than the sound just dispersing outward.

But whether it was due to the microphones or the live broadcast, they had watched several performances recently where the microphone volume was too low, which really affected the experience.

"Did we get the sound equipment data from the venue?"

"Yes, we did."

"It’s not as good as ours, but it’s standard for music festivals. I think the issue lies with the sound recording and broadcasting."

"That’s something we can’t control."

Jiang Juyou had been pulling all-nighters, juggling both the music festival preparations and the first family album.

They had spent a whole week just discussing the album’s packaging design.

In the meeting room, Jiang Juyou’s eyes were slightly swollen, and the trash bin under her feet was filled with crumpled paper. The combination of late nights and the sudden drop in temperature had led to a wave of colds sweeping through the company. Those with fevers had been sent home to rest, leaving only those with runny noses and sneezes to continue the meetings.

The table was covered with various packaging designs, which served as their inspiration. The designers were waiting for the project lead to finalize the concept before they could start working.

Lin Jie sneezed and said in a stuffy voice, "So, are we going with the ‘photocard hell’ idea this time?"

"We’re back to square one. Maybe you should decide on the price first, and then figure out what to include," someone else said, exasperated.

"Photocard hell might annoy the fans."

"I still think using these butter cookie tin boxes is a better idea. They’re reusable, spacious, and we don’t have to worry about leaving room for other items."

"But the cost is too high."

Jiang Juyou, sitting there, rubbed her temples, remaining silent.

Lin Jie noticed she wasn’t feeling well and said, "Boss, maybe you should go home and rest. You’ve been pulling all-nighters for days now."

"Yeah, we’re just sneezing, but you look like you’re on the verge of collapsing."

"Watch your mouth…"

"Oops, sorry!"

Jiang Juyou chuckled and straightened up from the sofa, saying, "I’m just a bit congested, but otherwise I’m fine… I think Qingqing’s suggestion is good. Let’s go with the butter cookie tin."

She picked up the box on the table, "A square one would work… about the size of an A4 sheet."

"Did you hear that? The boss likes my idea!" Qingqing perked up and leaned forward, "We can design the outer packaging based on each group, making seven versions. As for the photocards, we could just include the full set."

"With such high costs, are we really going to include the full set? Do you think this company is a charity?"

"…Then how about randomizing them?"

"There are over forty idols. Randomizing would take forever!"

"Great, we’re back to the same argument again!"

Jiang Juyou sighed at their bickering, rubbing her temples before making a decision. "Alright, let’s go with Qingqing’s suggestion. We’ll make seven versions, each following the group’s theme. As for the photo cards… let’s randomize them. Ten cards per set, encouraging fans to trade with each other."

"Let’s add a calendar inside, since it’s almost New Year," Jiang Juyou added, thinking aloud. "Two sets of photo cards—one tech-themed and one cookie-themed. And include two card sleeves for the cookie set."

"What about the pricing?" someone asked.

"Let them handle the pricing based on the production cost. We’ll see what the final cost comes to," Jiang Juyou replied, glancing at the time. "It’s already 6 PM. Alright, everyone, head home and get some rest. We’ve been pulling all-nighters for days now."

The girls in the room began packing up their things. Qingqing grabbed her bag and called in a subordinate to clean up the table.

As Jiang Juyou stepped out, she put on her headphones and rubbed her temples again. Lin Jie, noticing her exhaustion, offered, "Let me drive you home."

"...Sure, thank you," Jiang Juyou said, handing her the car keys from her bag.

The two made their way to the parking lot on the second floor, where Jiang Wangran was still working out in the gym. Lin Jie glanced at him briefly before focusing on the car.

Jiang Juyou closed her eyes as soon as she got into the passenger seat, while Lin Jie quietly set up the navigation and started the car. Jiang Juyou drifted off to sleep, lulled by the soothing voice of Cong Lixia reading an article through her headphones.

The drive home felt like a blink of an eye to Jiang Juyou, who was completely unconscious the entire time.

"Boss, we’re here," Lin Jie said softly.

"Hmm…" Jiang Juyou stirred awake, the sound of birds chirping in her headphones slowly bringing her back to reality.

Lin Jie teased, "You must’ve been really tired."

Ever since Jiang Juyou stepped back from micromanaging project details, her workload had lightened, and she spent less time at the office, allowing her more time to rest. But these past few days felt like the early days of the company, when Jiang Juyou couldn’t rest without being involved in every detail. She had been juggling multiple projects simultaneously, her brain nearly at capacity.

After unbuckling her seatbelt, Jiang Juyou stretched her shoulders and said, "Thanks. You should head back now; it’s rush hour."

"Alright, see you tomorrow, boss," Lin Jie replied, getting out of the car.

---

The house was empty when Jiang Juyou arrived. She turned on the lights, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed onto the sofa.

Cong Lixia wasn’t sure if she wanted to rest there or sleep, so she didn’t disturb her.

A little while later, the front door opened, and Jiang Liuxing walked in.

Cong Lixia groaned internally. Jiang Juyou’s younger sister was known for being loud, and she worried she’d wake Jiang Juyou. But to her surprise, Jiang Liuxing noticed her sister on the sofa and immediately softened her movements. She tiptoed over, crouched down to take a closer look, and then made a decision, heading to the bathroom.

Jiang Liuxing returned with a basin of warm water, a face towel, and some makeup remover.

She was so careful not to wake her sister that even the way she brushed Jiang Juyou’s hair was gentle.

"...Hmm?" Jiang Juyou opened her eyes slightly and looked at her sister.

Jiang Liuxing whispered, "Go back to sleep. I’ll help you remove your makeup."

"Thank you…"

Just as Jiang Juyou closed her eyes, she remembered something. "...Where have you been lately? I haven’t seen you at home."

"How would you know? You’re never home either."

"Big sister mentioned it. She said she hadn’t seen you in days."

"She’s back?"

"..."

Jiang Liuxing paused, studying her sister’s face before continuing softly, "I went to the UK. Your house is ready, but it’s empty. I went over to arrange the furniture and had your books shipped there… Oh, and I’ve already set them up for you!"

She thought Jiang Juyou had fallen asleep, but then her sister suddenly smiled and said, "Thank you."

Jiang Liuxing, usually rebellious and carefree, blushed slightly. "...So, can I come with you to the UK?"

"No."

"..." Jiang Liuxing’s hand froze mid-motion.

At that moment, Jiang Tang returned from the grocery store, carrying two large bags. She hurriedly called out, "Quick, help me with these!"

Cong Lixia immediately activated the noise-canceling mode for Jiang Juyou, blocking out the commotion.

Jiang Liuxing also whispered, "Sister, keep it down. Second sister is sleeping!"

"Oh, sorry… Why is she sleeping on the sofa? What are you doing there?" Jiang Tang’s movements became gentler as she carried the bags to the dining table.

Jiang Liuxing held up the makeup remover. "Helping her take off her makeup."

"Wow, the sun must be rising from the west… You’re trying to convince her to take you to the UK, aren’t you?"

Caught off guard, Jiang Liuxing stayed silent.

"Tell your sister to go sleep in her room. I bought ingredients for hotpot. Once everything’s ready, she can join us," Jiang Tang said, unpacking the groceries.

Jiang Liuxing poked Jiang Juyou. "Sister, big sister says you should go sleep in your room."

Jiang Juyou didn’t budge.

"She’s out cold," Jiang Liuxing told Jiang Tang.

Jiang Tang glanced over. "Then leave her be. Come help me instead… and turn off the living room lights."

"Okay…" Jiang Liuxing got up.

In the noise-canceling silence, Jiang Juyou slept for over an hour before the smell of hotpot finally woke her.

Seeing her sitting up, Jiang Tang smiled. "Perfect timing. I was just about to call you."

"Hotpot?" Jiang Juyou yawned and stretched.

"Yeah, go wash your hands. It’s almost ready," Jiang Tang said, setting the bowls on the table.

---

Lately, everyone at the company had been swamped with work, and they all knew why.

Aside from the ongoing projects, the main reason was that Jiang Juyou was leaving for the UK after spring. All the current projects needed to be wrapped up or pushed forward to give her a satisfactory report before her departure.

The idols could sense the busy atmosphere and had also heard that Jiang Juyou would be leaving after the Spring Festival.

They started planning.

"Should we prepare a surprise for her?"

"A farewell party?"

"But isn’t she only going for a year? She’ll be back next year."

"Even if it’s just six months, we should still do something! Aren’t you one of her protégés?"

The members of Timetrain huddled together, brainstorming ideas.

"It can’t just be us. It’ll look bad if one group does a better job than the others."

"Right. I’ll send them a message."

"What about the girl group?"

"Pei Luming can handle that."

"Why me?"

"Isn’t Pei Zhiping your sister?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

"..."

Late at night, when most people were asleep, the groups gathered after finishing their practice sessions.

Jiang Wangran and Chi Qiao arrived carrying several takeout bags, earning cheers from the others.

Pei Zhiping nudged Pei Luming. "Are you sure your intel’s correct? We heard she’s leaving before the Spring Festival."

"What? Before the festival?" Pei Luming turned to Gao Xiayu.

Gao Xiayu reassured them, "We asked Lin Jie. She said it’s after the Spring Festival."

"That’s a relief."

Meanwhile, Han Lemi was sketching something on her iPad. When she finished, she showed it to the group. "...What do you think?"

The idea was a collaborative effort from their group, with Si Yanyu explaining, "We’re thinking of surprising her at the Galaxy venue."

Galaxy was where Random Entertainment had started, the stage where all their groups had debuted. The significance of the venue was clear—it held immense importance for both the idols and Jiang Juyou.

“The idea we came up with is to write handwritten letters and take group photos. We’ll compile the letters into a booklet for Jiang Juyou, and the big screen can display our photos with her, reminiscing about the past... I can’t, I’m about to cry.” Si Yanyu’s eyes reddened as she spoke.

Across from her, Jiang Wangran, who was eating, raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she was crying. He was now unsure whether to continue eating or not.

Xia Simiao was flipping through a photo album, looking for pictures of herself with Jiang Juyou. As she browsed, she said, “I think this one is nice.”

“Since we’re at the Galaxy venue, shouldn’t we also put on a performance or something?” Pei Luming suggested, though it was a rather foolish idea.

Yao Shuo countered him, shoving a salad into his mouth, “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I think reading handwritten letters is just as cringe,” Pei Luming retorted.

“The handwritten letters are meant to be compiled into a booklet for Jiang Juyou to take with her! Weren’t you listening?” Ye Xing couldn’t help but interject.

Pei Zhiping, sitting beside him, shot him a sharp glare.

Pei Luming: “...”

“Everyone, go through your photo albums and see if you have any photos with Jiang Juyou. Just skip the overly commercial ones,” Yu Dan assigned the task to everyone.

-

At home, Jiang Juyou, while enjoying hotpot, kept an eye on her phone. She remembered that the lineup for the music festival was supposed to be announced around this time.

Sure enough, as soon as she opened her phone, she saw numerous messages informing her that the announcement had been made.

Jiang Juyou put down her chopsticks and opened Weibo to check, telling her sister, “Our music festival lineup has been announced.”

“What music festival? The second season of Midsummer Night?” Jiang Liuxing asked, opening her phone to check. Just as she was about to search for “Midsummer Music Festival,” she saw a trending hashtag pop up: #RandomEntertainmentTakesOverCoachella#

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!” Jiang Liuxing jumped up, screaming with her phone in hand.

Jiang Tang, sitting beside her, nearly had her soul scared out of her. She clutched her chest while swatting Jiang Liuxing’s backside, “Why are you shouting so loudly? It’s so late!”

Remembering her role as a marketing account, Jiang Liuxing quickly messaged her team and started gathering material to make a video.

Jiang Tang watched her rush into her room and asked, “Aren’t you eating anymore?”

“No!”

Jiang Tang glanced at Jiang Juyou, who was busy sending messages, and guessed she wouldn’t be eating either.

-

The night, which should have been quiet, was instead buzzing with activity on the internet.

Trending hashtags kept popping up one after another, with marketing accounts and music bloggers all sharing the news.

“Title: Gossip Discussion / A Rare Sight… Random Entertainment’s Entire Roster is Going to Coachella.”

“That trending topic scared the sleep right out of me. I let out a sharp scream and jumped out of bed!”

“Who else gets it? I really want to open the window and shout, ‘Random Entertainment, this is what you deserve!!!’”

Comments:

“This is a historic moment for the Chinese entertainment industry…”

“They’re not the first Asian artists to perform there, nor the first Chinese ones.”

“Wow, the comment above makes it sound like anyone can just perform at this festival.”

“This is really something, the entire roster is going.”

“I didn’t see where it’s mentioned?”

“Reply: Second group, third row!”

“Witnessing history, leaving my mark here.”

“OP, I’ll scream for you! Ahhhhh, I’m so excited! Random Entertainment is really carrying the whole company!”

“So the rumor about the founder attending their concert wasn’t fake after all.”

“…Actually, I’m a bit worried. They don’t have many fans abroad. Won’t they get mocked for going like this?”

“Whether they go or not, haters will talk. So they might as well go. Hahahaha, more stages to watch! Stage fans are thrilled!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already seen travel agencies offering Coachella packages.”

The next day was when the real celebration began. Many fans who woke up to the news were genuinely excited, pushing the hashtag back up the trending list.

International fans were especially surprised. While many groups have performed at international music festivals before, it’s unheard of for an entire roster to go like Random Entertainment is doing.

It’s common to see groups struggling to move forward while dragging their companies behind them. A company like Random Entertainment, with its abundant resources and financial backing, is a rare sight.

“No wonder Chinese fans always direct their complaints at the management team…”

“Do they have separate management teams?”

“Last time, I saw fans of Equals3 complaining that the management team was wasting the company’s budget. Now I get it.”

“The resources are so good; fans don’t have to worry. It’s such a blessing.”

“I’m so jealous. I wonder when Random Entertainment will open a Korean branch and sign my favorite artist.”

“This is so great. If only they’d add online fan sign events too. I can’t go to China; my visa won’t come through.”

“I’m actually going to Coachella! Ahhhhh!”

The news of Random Entertainment’s entire roster heading to Coachella became the focus of media coverage. Recent magazine interviews also revolved around what they’d prepare for the festival.

Only international events like this can capture the attention of non-fans. With Random Entertainment dominating the news lately, it’s impossible not to know about them.

A few weeks after the Coachella announcement, Random Entertainment announced the release of their first family album.

The announcement was made in the morning, and the sales link went live in the afternoon, with the album set to hit major music platforms the following week.

It was clear they’d been waiting for the right moment to announce it.

“But still… the odds of pulling my favorite from 44 cards with 10 chances are so slim!”

“Wait, are the cookie cards limited edition?”

“Only orders with the number 4 in them get cookie cards… Random Entertainment, you really need to chill.”

“The box is so pretty!”

“This is Random Entertainment’s most expensive album yet.”

“$179… I’d rather it came in a paper box.”

These were the reactions before fans received the physical album. But once it arrived, those who bought it had a complete change of heart—

“Holy crap! You’re missing out if you didn’t buy this!”

“It’s on sale for two weeks only. Hurry up and buy it if you haven’t! There are still so many cookie cards left to pull!”

“I hereby declare that the Random Entertainment card king has arrived—the cookie card!”

“It’s so sweet, so fragrant, so beautiful! Mom is crying; my baby is so adorable!”

“It really smells like butter cookies! So tempting, I want to take a bite!”

“Little piggy, now Mom really wants to eat you up!”

“This is so magical!”

The cookie cards are scented, but what’s even more fascinating is their thickness. You can bend them slightly, and they make a crisp sound like a cookie, but they don’t break. When you bend them back, they return to their original shape.

The back of the card is designed to look like a cookie, complete with patterns, and it’s where the scent comes from. To match the cookie concept, the card photos are mostly in brown tones.

While the other merchandise didn’t attract much attention, the cookie cards completely won over the fans.

International fans were equally obsessed.

But Random Entertainment didn’t release the family album for sales or profit; it was to promote the music.

“Neon Light” followed up with a family version, aiming to keep it on the charts longer.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The song had already entered the Billboard Top 100, and the company naturally hoped it would climb even higher.

The rest of the tracks were mostly English versions of their previous hits, leading many to speculate about their Coachella setlist.

In any case, curiosity and anticipation were already at an all-time high.