"Has anyone called 120?"

"I did, but it will take at least ten minutes for 120 to arrive. This girl has lost so much blood; she probably won't hold on."

"How pitiful, she's so young."

"... Hey, why do I feel like she looks a bit familiar?"

"She's pretty; could she be some celebrity?"

"How is that possible? What celebrity walks on the street without anyone around? She probably just danced as a backup for some evening show..."

...

This was the last sentence Jiang Ye heard before she died.

Jiang Ye died.

She died in a car accident at the age of twenty-eight.

Jiang Ye was an artist.

Or rather, an idol.

At eighteen, she signed a ten-year contract with a garbage company.

From then on, she was bound by the contract, wasting ten years in that company with nothing to show for it.

This year, her contract finally expired.

But being an idol is an industry that relies on youth.

Every year, new and beautiful young idols emerge endlessly.

Even if she had great skills, no company was willing to sign a nearly thirty-year-old artist.

Jiang Ye sent out countless resumes, but they all vanished without a trace.

Just half an hour ago, she had received a call for an interview.

For Jiang Ye, this felt like her last lifeline.

However, just as she hurried to the interview, she was unfortunately taken away from life by a drunk driver.

The last sentence she heard before her death was the lament of a passerby.

Indeed.

Jiang Ye thought, her ten years in the entertainment industry had about the same presence as a backup dancer at a large evening gala.

Jiang Ye fell into darkness with a sense of unwillingness.

The memories of her life flashed by like a revolving lantern.

These chaotic and complex fragments of memory quickly gathered in her mind, shrinking until they coalesced into a single point.

Jiang Ye suddenly opened her eyes and regained her awareness.

She found herself sitting at a table, holding a signature pen, the pen tip resting on a contract in front of her, about to sign on the line for the other party.

"What's wrong, Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Ye suddenly looked up at the person in front of her and blurted out, "Peng... Peng Peng?"

The man across from her immediately stiffened.

He muttered under his breath, this girl is a bit rude.

Just a second ago, she was calling him Manager Peng, and now she was using his name directly.

However, Jiang Ye didn't have time to care about him.

She quickly looked down at the contract in front of her.

... This is the contract between her and Haishang Entertainment.

It was also the cause of her tragic life over the past ten years.

For ten years, she had thought about suing to nullify the contract countless times and had read this contract many times; she couldn't possibly be mistaken.

Jiang Ye instantly felt a chill in her palms, and the pen tip, due to a moment of shock, drew a horizontal line on the paper.

She quickly capped the pen.

Jiang Ye thought in a daze.

It seemed like... she had been reborn?

Reborn back to the age of eighteen.

And it just happened to be the moment she was deceived by that damn scout to sign the contract.

Seeing her hesitate, Peng Peng urged, "Miss Jiang, hurry up and sign. Our company has nothing else, but we treat our artists well."

"Look at your qualifications; if you come to our company, we will do everything we can to make you famous."

Jiang Ye raised her eyes to look at him.

For some reason, Peng Peng felt a bit guilty under her gaze. "What's wrong, Miss Jiang? Do you have any questions?"

Jiang Ye said, "I want to take another look at the contract."

She flipped through the contract.

Sure enough.

This contract was full of traps.

Not to mention the ten-year indentured servitude.

Although it included food and lodging, it didn't specify a base salary, only a so-called commission-of which Jiang Ye had certainly never seen a cent.

It didn't clarify the artist's development plan, didn't specify how many training courses would be provided for the artist, and didn't clearly state any promises made to the artist.

This so-called scout named Peng Peng had boasted endlessly when he tricked her into signing.

But not a single word was written in black and white in the contract.

Only the breach of contract fee was clearly stated.

Once breached, it would be calculated as a multiple of the years, multiplied by all their expenses on the artist.

Of course, the specifics of those so-called expenses were still up to them to say.

Jiang Ye sneered inwardly.

In her previous life, she was ruined by this breach of contract fee.

This so-called entertainment company was actually a scam that made money by signing contracts and collecting breach fees from artists.

Unfortunately, the Jiang Ye of ten years ago was new to society and couldn't see that this contract was full of traps.

It left her in such a predicament.

Jiang Ye sighed inwardly.

"Miss Jiang, are you done looking?"

"I'm done."

Jiang Ye looked up and said, "Sorry, but I won't sign."

"???"

Peng Peng's smile froze. "What did you say?"

Jiang Ye firmly repeated, "I won't sign."

No kidding.

It was this contract that led her to ruin in her previous life.

Of course, she wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

"Miss Jiang, we were just getting along so well a moment ago."

What's going on?

Just now, this Jiang Ye seemed quite timid and easy to fool.

How did she suddenly seem like a different person?

Peng Peng scrutinized her with suspicion, guessing that her sudden change of heart was likely due to dissatisfaction with the contract's content, so he continued to reassure her, "If you're unhappy with any part of the contract, we can negotiate."

"Let me tell you the truth."

Peng Peng lowered his voice deliberately and said, "This is already our company's A-level contract."

"For other new trainees, I usually give them C-level contracts. We only give an A-level contract to someone with your qualifications; ordinary newcomers don't get this treatment."

Jiang Ye: "..."

I don't believe you at all.

She was well aware.

Haishang Entertainment had used this excuse to trick seven or eight girls in one year, then pretended to screen a batch before sending them to two different talent shows.

The one she went to was called Shining 101.

This show was extremely exploitative.

Not only did the competition rules copy other shows, but all the camera time also had to be bought with money from the company.

Among the four-person team sent by Haishang Entertainment, one was directly the daughter of a company executive.

Although she had nothing in terms of singing, dancing, or looks, Haishang's only budget for camera time was entirely spent on her.

This led to Jiang Ye's individual footage during her initial rating not exceeding thirty seconds.

In the next episode, while her camera time did increase, it was used to highlight her teammates through bad editing.

Later, after airing for less than three episodes, Shining 101 was completely silenced due to various manipulations and bad editing.

As a bottom-tier contestant in this disastrous show, Jiang Ye made no waves at all.

Returning to her original company, Haishang Entertainment had half-hidden her, just waiting for her to propose to nullify the contract.

The trainees who started at the same time as her gradually paid to leave.

But Jiang Ye had no money, so she could only endure.

Of course, with Haishang Entertainment's business model, it was bound to crash sooner or later.

This company had no connections or resources, and everyone from the CEO down to the agents were a bunch of scammers.

As expected, three years later, it fell into a crisis and was taken over by a new company.

However, because Jiang Ye's contract had not been terminated, she was transferred to the new company like a piece of merchandise.

The new entertainment company was not in the idol business.

They took in a few artists from Haishang Entertainment, had no extra resources for them, but didn't want to let them go free, so it was still like this-those who could pay the breach fee left, while those who couldn't were left to waste time.

Now, Jiang Ye didn't even have the company dormitory that provided food and lodging. According to the contract, she couldn't take on other performances or entertainment work outside, so she could only do some odd jobs to make a living.

Until the day the contract expired.

This was everything that happened to Jiang Ye in her previous life.

These issues couldn't be resolved just by adding a few clauses to the contract.

However, Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow and asked with apparent interest, "So can I directly say what I find unreasonable about this contract?"

"Go ahead."

Peng Peng said with feigned politeness, "I'll try to relay it to our superiors."

"But you know, this isn't something I can decide alone."

"Okay, then I'll be straightforward."

Jiang Ye said, "First, there's no base salary written in this contract."

"Although I'm still a trainee, I think the company should at least cover my basic living expenses, right?"

She counted on her fingers and smiled, "So I'll make a concession; at least 50,000 a month, how does that sound?"

Peng Peng: "???"

"Also, the contract states that the commission is split 80-20."

"I think this clause is also very unfair to me."

Peng Peng, holding onto his patience, asked, "What do you think is appropriate?"

Since this was just a game for her, Jiang Ye spoke nonsense: "I'm not asking for much, just 80-20. I get the 80, and you get the 20."

Peng Peng: "?"

He scanned her from head to toe, chuckling with a hint of ridicule, "Miss Jiang, you don't seem to understand the market in the entertainment industry very well."

"Since you put it that way."

Jiang Ye showed a regretful expression, "Then there's nothing more to discuss."

"Miss Jiang."

Peng Peng called out to her as she stood to leave, "Think it over; even if you leave us, you won't find an entertainment company that offers you this rate."

He paused, his tone softening, "If you ask around, you'll know that what our company offers is already quite generous."

"If you have regrets, you can call me anytime; we'll always welcome you back."

Jiang Ye paused for a moment.

Peng Peng thought she was reconsidering.

Jiang Ye seemed to remember something and nodded, "You're right, I almost forgot. I still have your contact information."

In front of Peng Peng, she took out her phone and completely deleted his contact information.

Then, she looked up and smiled politely, "Now you can rest assured; I definitely won't waste your time again."

Peng Peng: "..."

As Jiang Ye left, she heard Peng Peng shouting behind her that she would definitely not find a better company than theirs.

Jiang Ye didn't look back, sneering inwardly.

Of course, she wouldn't seek out a company willing to give her an 80-20 split.

If such a company really existed, she would think the scout or the CEO was lacking common sense, or that it was just a scam company worse than Haishang.

She just wanted to get rid of Haishang Entertainment.

Having quickly resolved her entanglement with Haishang Entertainment, Jiang Ye returned to her own apartment.

After digesting the fact of her rebirth, she recalled several important points from her previous life.

In her previous life, she signed with Haishang Entertainment this year.

Later, she participated in a talent show, not only running as a companion but also being edited poorly within the limited footage, serving as a tool for the company's royalty.

Later, because of Haishang Entertainment's obstruction, she missed the opportunity to take the artist entrance exam the following year, wasting her time and not succeeding.

By the time she realized that Haishang Entertainment was essentially a scam company, it was already too late.

Fortunately.

Everything had started over.

The biggest cause of her previous misfortune had already said goodbye to her.

Jiang Ye took a deep breath and looked up at the full-length mirror in her room.

The reflection looked just like her at eighteen.

This year was when she was at her best-youthful and vibrant, her features lively, and her face full of collagen.

She clearly, clearly was very suited to stand on stage.

Since heaven had given her this opportunity.

She must seize it.

The artist entrance exam could come later.

Right now, she had to hurry and sign up for this year's soon-to-be-popular girl group talent show as an individual trainee.

This year, there were three competing girl group shows, with so many participants that people joked that there were more idols than show fans.

However, she knew that only one of these three shows would stand out.

Jiang Ye quickly sent her information to the recruitment email for Chasing Light Girls.

Throughout her nearly ten years of being almost hidden away in her previous life.

She had practiced singing and dancing every single day, just waiting for an opportunity.

She hadn't waited in her previous life.

But she would definitely succeed in this life.

•••

The next day.

Jiang Ye received an email response from the program team.

【We regret to inform you that you do not meet the recruitment requirements for our program's trainees.】

Jiang Ye: "..."

Not even a chance for an interview.

What a terrible program team.