Don't Cross the Line

1. After a girl group survival show, eighteen-year-old Jiang Nanxue debuts in last place. On the night the group is formed, she and her fellow members are arranged to meet their new manager, Shi Yan.

Since entering the industry, Shi Yan has helped numerous actors and singers become stars. She's known as a top-tier manager, but taking on a girl group for the first time has stirred up a lot of discussion in the industry.

She's beautiful enough to rival any female star. With resources and connections at her fingertips, she's also decisive and efficient. Over the years, her artists have often pursued her or crossed the line to get ahead. Without exception, those artists ended up having their contracts terminated, often missing their chance to rise to fame.

A video from an annual gala has circulated widely online. Shi Yan, an influential figure, sat among the top stars in the audience, commanding everyone's attention.

After a rival set her up, the mischievous host on stage deliberately put her on the spot: "Manager Shi, you've spent years immersed in the world of fame and fortune. How have you managed to resist all the temptations around you? Is it true, as the rumors say, that you're asexual?"

As soon as the words fell, the camera cut to a breathtakingly beautiful face, utterly unruffled.

The woman wore a black strapless evening gown and lounged against the back of her chair, answering with effortless composure: "Work is work. Isn't it only right to keep my distance from the artists I manage? And besides, I do have a sexual orientation. I'm not asexual."

Shi Yan became an overnight sensation. The trending topic that night read: Shi Yan, peerless beauty and a clear-eyed woman of the world.

So on the night they first met their new manager, Jiang Nanxue and the other girls were warned not to try to climb the ranks by crossing any lines. That was Manager Shi's one taboo.

2. Later, backstage at a music gala, Jiang Nanxue cornered the by-the-book manager in a dressing room and kissed her until her lips were swollen and red.

The woman shoved her away in alarm. "Do you know what you're doing?"

The girl dropped her sweet and obedient facade, grinning with abandon. "I do. I've wanted to cross this line for a long time."

Later still, an entertainment reporter caught top manager Shi hurrying out of the hotel room where Jiang Nanxue was staying late at night. A red mark on her neck was clearly visible beneath her attempts to hide it.

The topic "Popular girl group member Jiang Nanxue trades her body to sleep with her manager in exchange for resources" exploded on the trending charts.

In the early hours of the next morning, Shi Yan broke with convention and came forward to confirm the story, doing something no one would have believed she was capable of.

@ShiYanV: Why isn't it me trading my body? And besides, I made the first move.

/

"From the day I met her, everyone warned me not to cross the line."

"But I did it anyway."

A clear-eyed woman falls for a young girl

Rising idol x top-tier manager / 17-year age gap

Synopsis written on May 8, 2023

Theme: Don't let the hardships and adversity in front of you defeat you.