Entertainment Company Simulator [1998]

Starshine is a management and development game.

Here, players can freely choose their background, looks, and talents. Whether they want to become an idol, singer, actor, director, or something else, they can ultimately reach the top of the entertainment industry and shine like a star.

During breaks at work, overworked office worker Shang Qingwu often plays this game. One night, after working overtime until late, she sees a choice box appear before her, her head spinning and her vision blurred.

"Please choose your career: actor, singer, idol, screenwriter, director, model, agent. Countdown: 5, 4, 3..."

Shang Qingwu blinks, unable to believe this is real. She assumes she's hallucinating from working too much, but she's already working overtime into the early hours, so she doesn't care anymore. With a tap, she chooses the last option: agent.

The reason is simple: in this game, choosing to be an agent is the only way to become a boss and open a company.

Shang Qingwu has only been working for two years, but she's already gained thirty pounds. She can't go anywhere without eye drops, and her neck, wrists, and waist are covered in pain-relief patches. She can hear her own heartbeat when she works overtime past midnight, and her smartwatch keeps warning her that her stress levels are too high.

Shang Qingwu doesn't want to spend her whole life working for someone else. Naturally, she chooses to become a boss!

Then she's sent to 1998. Hong Kong's entertainment industry is nearing the end of its golden age, but it's still packed with superstars and has enormous influence. Meanwhile, Taiwan's entertainment industry is constantly releasing albums and shooting idol dramas, soon to shape a generation's memories of youth.

Compared to those, mainland China's entertainment industry is still in its infancy, an entirely untapped market.

Looking at her dramatically changed surroundings, Shang Qingwu realizes it's real. She pulls herself together and prepares to complete her first mission.

"Current mission: Sign an artist. Reward: 100,000 yuan."

She can't just pick anyone for her first artist. Shang Qingwu quickly thinks of someone: Ye Chen, an NPC from the original game who appears as an antagonist no matter whether the player chooses to become an actor, singer, model, or director.

He started as a model, then went into film, television, and music, before eventually becoming a director. No matter which path the protagonists take, they always run into Ye Chen as an obstacle. They have to surpass him to earn the title of superstar.

If it's really 1998, then according to the game's timeline, he hasn't entered the entertainment industry yet. Shang Qingwu is determined to sign him.

But when Shang Qingwu sets off full of confidence, she doesn't even get to finish saying, "Hello, I'm an agent, and I..." before she gets turned away.

Why didn't anyone tell her Ye Chen would be so difficult? Every time she reaches his character profile, it says he's nice and approachable!

Once Shang Qingwu finally manages to sign Ye Chen, she sees the real 100,000 yuan reward in her bank account and immediately resolves to sign more artists, start a company, and make a fortune!

After Shang Qingwu opens her first agency, the System tells her that the entertainment company storyline has been unlocked.

Within a few years, Shang Qingwu's agency becomes one of the country's top companies, with a dazzling roster of stars. It nearly monopolizes the idol market and even has its own film and television app and music app.

The production company releases hit TV series one after another, while its films top the annual box office and earn over ten billion worldwide, sweeping up the world's top awards.

Later, when people dig into Shang Qingwu's entertainment empire, they realize that everything they watch, listen to, and stan all comes from the same person!

2025.9.13

Theme: Have the courage to keep reaching higher