43: Chapter 43 Scott's Backing

Scott never accompanied artists to record variety shows. He had been in Hollywood for over a decade, managing the careers of dozens of artists, and it had always been the artists themselves who went to record the programs.

At most, he would make a phone call to send his regards.

He had flown from Los Angeles to Changsha, and today he flew from Los Angeles to Chengdu, personally accompanying Chen Mo to record Running Man.

It wasn't because he didn't trust Chen Mo, but because he wanted everyone to see—

that the importance he placed on Chen Mo exceeded that of any other artist under his management.

This news would spread through the circle of agents faster than any press release.

Chen Mo didn't point it out, and Scott didn't say anything either.

As the two walked into the elevator, Scott just adjusted the collar of his coat and said, "The humidity in Chengdu is good for your throat."

The moment the elevator doors opened, the hallway was full of people.

Staff members were running around holding walkie-talkies, cameramen were carrying equipment and adjusting white balance, and the directing team was squatting in front of the monitors, repeatedly checking the blocking.

Makeup artists pushed rolling racks filled with clothes from one end of the hallway to the other, and the air was thick with the smells of hairspray, boxed lunches, and Red Bull.

When Chen Mo was led into the dressing room, the room was already full of people.

Deng Chao was sitting in front of the makeup mirror at the very back, his makeup already done, wearing a blue sports jacket, his hair combed meticulously.

Seeing Chen Mo enter, he took a glance in the mirror, then stood up and turned around.

His smile was broad, revealing two rows of neat teeth, and he walked over and extended his hand.

"Chen Mo! Finally met you in person!" Deng Chao's hand was dry and strong, and the handshake lasted about a second longer than a normal business handshake.

"I saved that photo from Paris. My wife said you're more handsome than me, and I said, 'Well, of course.'"

Chen Mo shook his hand and smiled, "Brother Chao."

"Don't call me Brother Chao, call me Old Deng," Deng Chao released his hand, looked him up and down, and said, "You're taller than in the photos."

Li Chen stood up from a chair nearby. He was wearing a black tracksuit, his shoulders were broad, and when he saw Chen Mo, he grinned.

"Chen Mo, I've had your song 'Believer' on loop in the gym for half a year." His voice was deeper than Deng Chao's.

His expression carried a kind of sincerity that said, "I'm not great with words, but you know what I mean."

"Big Black Bull," Chen Mo said.

Li Chen paused for a moment, then laughed out loud and asked, "You know my nickname?"

"I did my homework before coming."

Li Chen reached out and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder with enough force to seemingly drive him into the ground.

Chen Mo's shoulder dipped slightly, but he was already used to that kind of strength.

A flash of surprise crossed Li Chen's eyes, then he patted the back of his own hand and complimented him, "Not bad."

Zheng Kai, Chen He, Wang Zulan, and Bao Beier arrived one after another.

Zheng Kai was on the phone when he walked in, his voice very low. When he saw Chen Mo, he hung up.

He walked over, extended his hand, smiled professionally, and said, "Teacher Chen Mo, I've long admired you."

Chen Mo shook his hand and greeted him, "Brother Zheng Kai."

"Don't, just call me Xiao Kai."

Chen He walked in holding a bag of potato chips, eating as he walked. When he saw Chen Mo, the chip stopped in mid-air.

"Holy crap!"

"Hello."

"You actually managed to invite Chen Mo?" Chen He put the chips on the table, wiped his hands on his pants, and walked over to shake Chen Mo's hand.

"My wife is a fan of yours. She had 'Flowers' on loop for the entire month of February. I asked her if it was really necessary, and she said, 'What the hell do you know?'"

He paused, then admitted, "She was right. Then I listened to it once, and I've been looping it too."

Wang Zulan bounced in; he was the shortest, but his voice was the loudest.

"Chen Mo!!"

The whole dressing room heard it.

He rushed over, tilted his head back to look at Chen Mo for two seconds, then said, "You're too tall, I'm not standing next to you."

Bao Beier was the last to arrive. He stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, then walked in, extended his hand, and said, "Teacher Chen Mo, I'm Bao Beier. It's my first time recording Running Man, please take care of me."

His waist was slightly hunched.

Chen Mo shook his hand and said, "It's my first time too."

Bao Beier's expression relaxed a little, and he asked, "So, are you nervous?"

"Nervous."

"Really?"

"Really," Chen Mo said. "But when I'm nervous, I pretend not to be. After pretending for a while, I stop being nervous."

"Then I'll learn that too."

The door opened, and Baby walked in. She was wearing a pink sports jacket, her hair tied in a high ponytail, and her makeup was light.

She walked up to Chen Mo, stopped, and looked him up and down.

"Last time, I already thought you looked more handsome than on TV."

"Thank you."

"But it's not the usual kind of handsome," she tilted her head, "it's the kind where you just stand there, doing nothing, and people want to look at you twice."

"I've met many handsome guys, but you're different. That day in Paris, you were the focus."

Deng Chao chimed in from the side, "What about me?"

Baby didn't even turn her head and joked, "You're the kind of handsome that makes people want to laugh twice."

The dressing room erupted in laughter.

Before the laughter died down, the door opened again.

Fan Bingbing walked in. She was wearing a white long dress, her hair was dyed purple, and her makeup was as exquisite as a magazine cover.

Before she even entered, the air tightened, and everyone in the dressing room subconsciously straightened up a bit.

"Chen Mo!" She walked up to him and stopped, about an arm's length away. "You're younger than I imagined."

"You're a bit shorter than I imagined."

Fan Bingbing was the type with a strong aura; if you hadn't met her in person, you'd always assume she was about the same height as Taylor.

"You know, after I finished reading that interview in Time Magazine for the first time, I sent a WeChat message to Old Li."

She glanced sideways at Li Chen, who was pretending to look at his phone.

"I said, 'Niu Niu, when can you be on the cover of Time Magazine?' He said, 'Let me get on the cover of a fitness magazine first.'"

Li Chen's ears turned as red as a cooked shrimp, and the dressing room erupted in laughter again.

The door was pushed open for the last time.

Han Geng walked in, wearing a dark blue sports jacket, his hair combed neatly, looking as clean as if he had just stepped off a poster.

Seeing Chen Mo, he didn't hesitate and walked straight over to extend his hand.

"Han Geng!" The handshake was just right, not too long, not too short.

"Chen Mo."

"I heard your song 'L'Autre Rive' when I was filming in France," Han Geng said. "It was playing everywhere on the streets of Paris."

"The taxi I took, the driver was an old French guy. He turned the volume up to the max, humming along while driving, and then he asked me, 'Are you Chinese?' I said yes."

Han Geng was a bit excited and said admiringly, "He gave a thumbs up and said, 'L'Autre Rive, written by a Chinese person.' At that moment, I felt like you had won face for all Chinese musicians!"

Chen Mo looked at him and said sincerely, "Thank you."

"It's not a compliment," Han Geng's eyes were very serious, "it's truly impressive."

Deng Chao clapped his hands from the side.

"Alright, alright, everyone knows each other now. We're recording the show today, don't take it too seriously."

He glanced at Chen Mo, then at Han Geng and Fan Bingbing, pretending to be serious: "Especially you three, guests should act like guests, don't outshine us regulars."

Fan Bingbing laughed and said, "Brother Chao, that sentence of yours is digging a hole for yourself."

"I know, but I still have to say it."

A member of the directing team pushed the door open. He was a young man wearing glasses, holding a script in his hand.

He cleared his throat, and everyone quieted down.

"Today's theme is 'Saint Seiya.' You will all draw lots to be divided into two teams. Teacher Fan Bingbing and Baby will serve as the Athena goddesses for the two teams, while the other members will play the Saints, whose mission is to protect their goddess."

He opened the script.

"There are three rounds of games in total. The first round is capturing the flag in the mud pit, the second round is the acupressure mat relay, and the third round is ripping name tags."

Deng Chao raised his hand and said, thunderstruck, "Mud pit?"

"Mud pit."

"How deep?"

"Up to the waist."

The dressing room went quiet for a moment, and then everyone looked at their clothes simultaneously.

Just then, the dressing room door was pushed open a crack.

A middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses poked his head in. His gaze swept around the dressing room, finally landing on Scott, who was sitting on the sofa in the corner, seemingly devoid of presence.

Scott was holding a cup of tea, Chengdu tea, Zhuyeqing, the leaves slowly unfurling in the hot water.

Jessica was sitting next to him, the iPad screen lit up, displaying today's schedule.

Daniel was sitting in an even more secluded spot, refilling tissues into his backpack.

The middle-aged man walked in, adjusted his suit collar, and walked up to Scott.

"Mr. Braun?"

Scott looked up and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Han Geng's manager, surnamed Liu." He handed over a business card, presenting it with both hands.

"Han Geng previously developed his career in South Korea and has now returned to China. He has always admired Teacher Chen Mo's music, and our company is also looking for opportunities for international cooperation—"

The artists finally looked toward Scott in the corner, who hadn't said a word from the beginning, their mouths turning from "O" to "0".

What had they missed?!

Scott took the business card, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.

"Han Geng, I followed him when he was in Super Junior. His fan base in the Korean market is very solid. After returning to China, his transition to acting has also gone well."

Agent Liu said excitedly, "You've looked into him?"

"I look into all markets that might have a connection to Chen Mo." Scott lifted his teacup and took a sip, maintaining his usual rationality.

"The Chinese market, Korean market, Japanese market, Southeast Asian market—Chen Mo's music has no boundaries, and neither does my work."

Agent Liu nodded vigorously and took another business card out of his pocket.

"This is my personal contact information. If Teacher Chen Mo needs any cooperation from Han Geng, such as a feature or an MV, you can contact me at any time, Han Geng!"

Han Geng also walked over to greet Scott. He was a bit reserved, like a child asked by adults to perform during the New Year.

Scott took the second business card and said, "I will have Jessica follow up."

Less than two minutes after Agent Liu left, the dressing room door was pushed open again.

This time, a young woman in a gray suit walked in, short hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, carrying an unopened cup of coffee.

"Mr. Braun? I am from Fan Bingbing's studio, surnamed Chen." She placed the coffee on the coffee table in front of Scott.

"Fan Bingbing said that it must have been tiring for Mr. Braun to fly over from the United States. This is our local Chengdu coffee, it's different from Starbucks, please try it."

Fan Bingbing also walked over to greet Scott. She had noticed him as soon as she came in, but didn't speak because that would have been too obviously motivated.

Scott glanced at the cup of coffee and did not refuse.

"Fan Bingbing, one of the most commercially valuable actresses in China. I still remember that dragon robe she wore on the Cannes red carpet."

Agent Chen's smile was professional and restrained.

"Fan Bingbing has always wanted to expand into the international market, and she highly recognizes Teacher Chen Mo's international influence. If the two can cooperate on any project—movie theme songs, brand collaborations, fashion events—Fan Bingbing would be very happy to cooperate."

Scott nodded.

"Fan Bingbing and Chen Mo, two Chinese people who have been featured by Time Magazine. This combination is indeed imaginative."

Agent Chen's eyes lit up for a moment, but she did not continue to press.

A good agent knows when to advance and when to stop.

She stood up, bowed slightly to Scott, nodded to Jessica, and turned to walk out.

Jessica turned her head and whispered to Daniel, "That's the fourth one."

Scott looked at the cup of coffee, picked it up, and took a sip.

At the other end of the hallway, Deng Chao's agent, Old Zhou, was standing in a corner talking in a low voice to Li Chen's agent.

Old Zhou's voice was very low, but he spoke quickly.

"…He just told me that Braun came in person, flew from Los Angeles to Changsha, flew from Los Angeles to Chengdu, accompanying him the whole way. Do you know what this means?"

Li Chen's agent was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, surnamed Wu. She pushed up her glasses and analyzed rationally.

"Under Braun, when Bieber recorded SNL, he didn't accompany him in person. When Ariana went on her global tour, he only went to the first and last shows."

"Right." Old Zhou's voice was even lower. "But he accompanied Chen Mo to record Running Man, a Chinese variety show."

Both of them fell silent for a moment.

"The weight of Chen Mo in his heart is heavier than any artist under his management." After Agent Wu said this, she took her phone out of her pocket and sent a WeChat message to Li Chen.

The content was just one line: Be polite to Chen Mo, not just polite, but genuinely try to make friends with him; Braun values him very much.

When Li Chen received this WeChat message in the dressing room, he was sitting on a chair drinking water.

He looked down at the screen, then put the water down and looked up at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo was being pulled by Baby to take a selfie, looking at the camera expressionlessly, his left hand making a peace sign.

Li Chen put his phone back in his pocket and walked over to Chen Mo.

"I want to take one too!"