She looked at the girl before her, a deeper meaning flickering in her eyes.
As long as she could find a way to coax the girl into signing the contract, everything else would be easy.
In the Star of Art, the will of the Stars descended upon every covenant. Once a contract was signed, the magic of the stars would take effect, accompanying every word of the agreement. Those who violated a contract would be cursed by the Stars, losing all color from their lives.
This was the place in the world closest to the Stars.
"Miss Tang, looking at your profile, you were admitted to the Starry Art Academy, but according to the information registered by the school, you filed for a leave of absence?" Xu Xiaoyou asked.
"Yes," Tang Xin nodded.
Xu Xiaoyou said, "Is it convenient to tell me what personal reasons led to that?"
Tang Xin lowered her eyes. "It's nothing... it just wasn't what I originally thought it would be."
Seeing that the girl seemed somewhat resistant to the question, Xu Xiaoyou didn't press further.
"What did you do during the three years between leaving the Iris Orphanage and getting into the Starry Art Academy?"
"Um..." Tang Xin recalled, saying, "I worked as a kindergarten teacher for a while, then as a florist's apprentice, and a caregiver at a pet shop. Later, because of the 'Red Shoes' plague, quite a bit of time was delayed, so I had no choice but to go to a brick kiln to mold clay blanks."
"After that, about two months ago, I joined a band and worked as an underground idol for a while."
"But I've already left that band."
Xu Xiaoyou was thoughtful.
Red Shoes, also known as Red High Heels. In history, very few urban legends have been rated as world-class by the association; it was one of them, and the only one to reach that level in the last fifty years.
World-class—the association's definition of this level was very strict, requiring a unanimous assessment by the Supreme Council.
Once an urban legend was rated as world-class, it meant that the phenomenon could influence the landscape of the entire world and possessed the potential for infinite growth, capable of causing more than a million deaths. If left uncontrolled, it would further escalate into an apocalypse-class urban legend.
That crimson plague first appeared in the year 487 of the New Era Calendar and had nearly spiraled out of control several times, spreading to over a hundred hive cities. The most recent occurrence was in 529; it was small in scale and finally vanished in 530 after a year.
The characteristics of the Red High Heels were simple: the infected would grow a pair of red shoes on their feet and fall into mental madness.
They would descend into endless self-mutilation and be dominated by emotions of tyranny and a desire to harm others.
Looking at this trait alone, it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary urban legend, not particularly terrifying.
But the problem was...
It could spread through the air and through sight.
Xu Xiaoyou set aside her inner thoughts and continued the interview.
For the next ten minutes or so, she asked the girl many questions. Tang Xin gradually adjusted from her initial unease, her expression becoming natural as they chatted, answering every question fluently.
Xu Xiaoyou used a pen to record key information from their conversation on paper, adjusted her round-rimmed glasses, and a look of satisfaction appeared on her face.
Tang Xin breathed a sigh of relief.
She cheered herself on internally.
Her performance just now was pretty good; she hadn't said anything wrong.
She would definitely succeed!
How could Xu Xiaoyou not know what was going through her little head?
The girl was truly as naive as they come. Now, it was time for the final step.
She suddenly stood up, organizing the materials in her hand.
"You may head back for now, Miss Tang Xin."
"Keep an eye on your Curtain account's inbox for the next two days and wait for the company's notification."
Tang Xin froze, her mind going blank. She subconsciously stepped forward and grabbed the girl's hand.
"Was there something about me that made you dissatisfied?"
Realizing she had overstepped, Tang Xin didn't back down this time. She held the girl's hand even tighter, hardly believing this was something she was doing.
She didn't know if this would leave a bad impression, but she was truly unwilling to let such an opportunity slip away when the chance to realize her dream was right in front of her.
For media companies like this, they usually signed satisfactory artists on the spot. Telling someone to go home and wait for a notification usually meant they had been rejected.
Xu Xiaoyou gave a smile that was barely perceptible.
Everything was progressing exactly as she had predicted.
This interview had been tailor-made from the start, from choosing the interview location to the verbal and physical guidance, and finally to this tactic of playing hard to get.
She knew the flaws in the girl's personality—lack of confidence, weakness, always being passive in social interactions—yet she would never yield to the wind and snow. Deep in her heart, she harbored a strong sense of dissatisfaction that would explode if given an opening.
Like a flower in the dead of winter.
She turned around, looking at the blue-haired girl whose body was slightly trembling, as if Xu Xiaoyou merely raising her voice or furrowing her brow would be enough to collapse her shoulders.
She really is easy to bully, Xu Xiaoyou thought.
"To be honest, Miss Tang, this interview was my subjective wish. As for the company..."
"I won't let you down," Tang Xin suddenly said.
Xu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow.
Tang Xin looked up, her gaze unwavering.
"I won't let you down. I will train very hard; I will prove myself."
Xu Xiaoyou dithered, many thoughts crossing her mind.
She put on an act of contemplating for a long time before finally saying, "Well then, as long as Miss Tang signs this contract, I swear by the name of the Stars that I will persuade the company."
A heavy stone lifted from Tang Xin's heart. She sat back down in her chair, her mind still a bit messy, her thoughts scattered like tufts of cotton.
She had said a lot of things in the heat of the moment.
She scanned the contract. Just as mentioned on the Curtain, the company would provide her with one-on-one training, resource prioritization, and customized artist services, including regular concerts.
Ordinary media companies would have these benefits; they were considered the most basic guarantees for an artist.
It didn't seem like there were any particularly special promises?
Just as Tang Xin was thinking this, her gaze fell on the very last clause.
The company promises to make the signatory, Tang Xin, a star famous throughout the universe within five years.
Seeing this clause, Tang Xin's eyes widened slightly. She looked up and found Xu Xiaoyou watching her playfully.
She thought of Marilynn, that universal superstar, the Queen, the idol she looked up to and once considered an unreachable figure.
This person was promising her that in the future, she would stand at the same height as that woman?
This single clause alone was enough to elevate this contract under the witness of the Stars.
There was no true daylight in the Star of Art; it was a city perpetually under the starlight and snow. In its place were three rising radiant stars. They were not burning suns from across the void, but gazes from far beyond the interstellar space.
When they rose in the firmament, the light they emitted was enough to illuminate the sky.
Whenever a covenant was about to be signed, a shooting star would streak across the horizon.
And at this very moment,
The entire starry sky was shimmering!
"How about it? Interested?" Xu Xiaoyou asked with a smile.
"In the future I'm offering."
Right then, Tang Xin blinked.
She picked up the contract from the table, pointed to the first page, and her eyes curved into crescents like little moons.
"Wait, quite a few clauses in this contract of yours are rather vague. Like the artist benefits and the specific salary—why is it all glossed over with a revenue split?"
"This isn't a scam, is it?"
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