Chapter 302 Both Make the List

Thanks to the consecutive broadcasts of Phoenix TV and Friends, Beijing TV far surpassed other traditional television stations in the fourth quarter.

With six episodes of "Friends" yet to air, and given the phenomenal ratings it achieves even with reruns, it's clear that it will be a strong start to the first quarter of next year.

It even boosted viewership on Beijing and Taiwan TV due to its exclusive broadcast on television, something no one expected.

Apart from Lu Yanhe, the other actors also rode the wave of popularity, appearing at various year-end galas and events, which greatly increased their popularity and boosted their market value.

At this time, Jingtai immediately approached Lu Yanhe, Yan Liang, and Wen Minglan with the contracts for the next two seasons.

When Yin Xincheng and the other two newcomers signed their contracts for the first season, they also signed preliminary agreements for the second and third seasons.

Only Yan Liang and Wen Minglan did not.

Now, Beijing and Taiwan are somewhat regretful, because the pay for Yan Liang and Wen Minglan is not just doubled, but a zero has to be added to the end, fulfilling the harsh words Lu Yanhe made to Zhou Ping'an.

But this isn't what Jingtai regrets most. What he regrets most is how he handled his relationship with Lu Yanhe.

The tangible benefits of "Friends" finally led them, after several months, to decide to bow down and apologize to Lu Yanhe.

Xu Bin specially brought generous gifts and met with Lu Yanhe with others to apologize to him and ask him to return to the production of the sequel to "Friends".

Lu Yanhe already knew who had been behind those past events, and Xu Bin, as the biggest driving force behind "Friends," probably hadn't put in his full effort into the show—Chen Ziyan had told Lu Yanhe that Xu Bin most likely only produced the show to project an image of "revitalizing the TV station," adding that to his resume, rather than truly treating it as a "revitalization project." However, Xu Bin certainly wouldn't intentionally sabotage the show.

Lu Yanhe shook his head directly and said, "Director Xu, I have decided to withdraw. Actually, I am already very honored to have gotten to know everyone through this drama and to have gained your favor. But I am too young and do not have enough ability to handle these complicated matters. Back then, the fate of 'Friends' was entirely on my shoulders. I realized that no matter what, this is not something I can bear now. So, no matter how successful it is, I will not continue to be tied to it."

As soon as Lu Yanhe said this, everyone else could feel his determination.

Including Xu Bin.

Xu Bin said, "Xiao Lu, your cooperation with Beijing TV actually started more or less from me. Whether it's 'The Seventeen Floors' or 'Friends,' it all started with me. In the past, some people deliberately sabotaged our cooperation, which was our oversight, but that won't happen again. The success of 'Friends' is hard to replicate, both for us and for yourself. Since such a huge success has appeared before us, why don't we see how we can put aside our differences? Make your requests and conditions, and I'll talk to the station for you."

Lu Yanhe smiled and looked at Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan laughed too, "Director Xu, what a coincidence. As soon as Xiao Lu said he would no longer participate in the sequels of 'Friends,' other TV stations and film and television companies had already approached him for cooperation. Xiao Lu has four movies, an S+ level TV series, and a new sitcom to work on. He also promised to make a new movie, so his schedule is not available."

The implication is that your act of extending a hand for reconciliation came too late.

Xu Bin's face was silent and gloomy.

Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe had reached a consensus before coming to have this meal.

They didn't have any deep-seated hatred for Xu Bin. Maintaining amicable relations on the surface was fine, but there was no need for them to feel indebted to him. Given the magnitude of Lu Yanhe's incident, even if Xu Bin had been negligent initially and didn't know who was behind it, he at least had the ability and influence to change the subsequent actions of the Beijing-Taiwan authorities. However, throughout the entire process, he remained silent, feigning indifference, allowing Lu Yanhe to be pushed into the limelight and ridiculed by everyone.

To put it bluntly, Chen Ziyan simply felt that Lu Yanhe hadn't reached the point where he could completely dislike even Xu Bin, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered coming to this meal. She was only attending to give him face.

But anything outside of this meal is off the table.

Just as Xu Bin was about to say something more, Chen Ziyan's phone suddenly rang.

She glanced at it, then immediately picked up her phone. "Excuse me, I need to take this call."

She picked up her phone and walked to the other side of the private room.

Lu Yanhe remained seated at the table, smiling as he looked at Hu Siwei and Bai Jingnian.

"Producer Hu, Director Bai, once the first season of Friends is finished filming, you'll immediately start preparing for the second season, right?"

Hu Siwei glanced at Xu Bin, smiled, and said, "Take a break first. These past few months have been so tiring that your bones feel like they're about to fall apart."

“That’s true.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “When are you planning to air ‘The Seventeenth Floor’?”

Hu Siwei said, "It is expected to be in the second half of next year, as the post-production will be quite difficult."

This project was led by Jiang Lan. Hu Siwei was placed there by Beijing TV to balance the factional power composition of the project. Although he was in charge of the title of producer, his power was much less than that of "Friends". He was just a figurehead in the later production and did not interfere much.

Hu Siwei said, "The Seventeen Floors is also planned to be made into a series."

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "I think so."

Hu Siwei asked, "Will you participate in the sequel to 'The Seventeen Floors'?"

Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know. 'The Seventeenth Floor' is better than 'Friends.' As long as it develops its story within the framework of this worldview, it can still attract people even if the cast is changed. The natural advantage of the subject matter is that maybe after 'The Seventeenth Floor' airs, when they develop a sequel, they will find that the salaries of our actors are too high and not worth it, so they might as well start from scratch."

Lu Yanhe's words were not without merit.

Chen Bige, Lu Yanhe, Li Yuefeng, and Shen Yue were already A-list stars before starring in this drama, and their salaries were already quite high. If "The Seventeen Floors" becomes a huge hit and a second season is developed, their salaries will increase accordingly, as will the salaries of the production team, including the director, and other actors. With higher production costs, the return on investment may not be able to meet the target of Beijing TV, and the risks will also increase dramatically.

Xu Bin looked at Lu Yanhe and said, "You just said that you're preparing another sitcom? Are you writing the script?"

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Yes."

Xu Bin asked, "We can still discuss cooperation on this project. This time, your project will receive support no less than that of 'The Seventeenth Floor'."

“Xu Tai.” Lu Yanhe smiled. “Although I’m young, I still have my pride. I just said I wouldn’t work with you on the sequel to Friends, and then I immediately started working with you on another sitcom. Isn’t that just a change of name without substance? It makes me look like I’m contradicting myself.”

Lu Yanhe's words couldn't have been more direct.

Xu Bin frowned slightly, about to say something, when Chen Ziyan walked over with a big smile and said, "Yan He, I have good news."

Everyone looked up at Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan walked behind Lu Yanhe's chair, put one hand on Lu Yanhe's shoulder, seemingly speaking to Lu Yanhe, but her eyes were looking at everyone at the table.

"I just received news that 'Three Mountains' has been shortlisted for the main competition at the Sittor Film Festival. The director would like to invite you to attend the festival with everyone."

Lu Yanhe looked up at Chen Ziyan with surprise.

The others also showed expressions of surprise.

Situr?

"Three Mountains"?

After saying this, Chen Ziyan sat down and said, "This is really good news. You're going to the Xituer Film Festival for your first movie role."

Lu Yanhe himself was also a little confused.

"What a pleasant surprise!"

Chen Ziyan previously mentioned that "Three Mountains" would be submitted to the Citur Film Festival. However, Chinese-language films have not achieved much success at the Citur Film Festival, which has made people hesitant to have high expectations for the festival.

"Congratulations!" Xu Bin was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained his smile and raised his glass. "This deserves a proper congratulation. Has the news been made public yet?"

Chen Ziyan shook her head and said, "Not yet. It should be officially announced in a couple of days. The director just received a call from the film festival committee."

The expressions of Xu Bin and the others as they looked at Lu Yanhe changed.

Is Lu Yanhe already one foot in the movie industry?

In today's film and television environment, with the development of streaming media, the status and commercial value of TV drama actors are no less than those of film actors. However, when it comes to reputation and industry recognition, film still has the upper hand.

After all, it has accumulated over so many years, and it is more representative of cultural influence than TV series.

From a global perspective, movies are more easily accepted in other markets than TV series.

This is a result of past industrial development, which has created an objective environment in which movies are considered superior to TV series.

For Lu Yanhe, there is a very crucial milestone in his acting career so far: winning the Golden Tripod Award for Best Supporting Actor.

After receiving the award, the industry's perception and attitude towards him changed, and he was now treated as an actor, not a popular star or idol.

This is crucial for Lu Yanhe's acting career.

Having a film selected for a top international film festival like the Cité International Film Festival will also be a milestone in Lu Yanhe's acting career.

This marks Lu Yanhe's first foray into the international arena in the performing arts.

-

Exam week came to an end with Lu Yanhe's final exam.

Last academic year, he put a lot of effort into his studies, but in the end he only ranked 29th in his major, which is in the middle position.

I don't know how I did on the exams this semester.

Fortunately, his current scores and rankings are no longer of much significance to him.

He doesn't need to rely on these grades and rankings to compete for anything.

Lu Yanhe has never applied for any honors, including those within the school.

On the one hand, it is considered that he spends a lot of time on non-academic matters, and his performing arts work takes up a lot of his energy. On the other hand, if he were to apply for those honors, it would be unfair to other students if his performing arts achievements and social influence were combined with them.

However, apart from him, the other three people in his dormitory are still top students, and they are still top students among the group of top students at Zhenhua University, all of them being in the top ten of their majors.

The day exam week ended happened to be the same day that the third episode of Friends aired.

The viewership rating stabilized at 1.398%, without any further significant increase or decrease, seemingly having reached its maximum potential.

Of course, achieving such ratings on Beijing and Taiwan TV is already a well-deserved hit, and no one dares to hope that the ratings can break 2.

In this day and age, a viewership rating exceeding 2 is an achievement unique to CCTV.

After the exam week ended, Lu Yanhe made a rare public appearance.

It was an event organized by a fashion magazine.

Lu Yanhe, as the spokesperson for Math, was invited by the editor-in-chief to attend.

Math is one of the sponsors of this event.

-

During this event, Lu Yanhe met many people, including Chen Bige, Jiang Yuqian, Huang Kairen, and Li Yuefeng…

All the celebrities who had collaborated with the company were present at this star-studded event.

After all, it's an event organized by a top domestic fashion magazine, held annually. The magazine needs celebrities to attend, and the celebrities also need to maintain a good relationship with the magazine.

Once a magazine reaches such a top position, it is no longer just a magazine. The resources it possesses are something that no celebrity, including Lu Yanhe, can look down upon.

The fashion industry is one of the sectors most integrated with the film and television industry.

It is also in turn influencing the film and television industry.

Lu Yanhe's presence clearly pleased the magazine, who treated him with the highest level of hospitality.

From pick-up and drop-off to accommodation, from styling to the order of appearance and seating, the magazine provided Lu Yanhe with the best possible experience.

This is because Lu Yanhe has become incredibly famous in the past six months—yet he hasn't made many public appearances, making his appearance tonight all the more rare and precious.

In layman's terms, Lu Yanhe was giving their magazine a lot of face.

He didn't go to any other people's events, but chose to come here!

Actually, Lu Yanhe hadn't considered all that—Chen Ziyan had, but hadn't told him. For Lu Yanhe, it simply meant his exam week was over, he had more free time, and could participate in activities. And coincidentally, this particular activity was the closest in terms of timing.

The six actors from "Friends" also made their first public appearance together since the show aired.

The group photo of the six of them became one of the most talked-about photos that night.

Lu Yanhe was popular before, but he found that it was different from the enthusiastic welcome he received tonight.

Almost every actor greeted him with genuine enthusiasm.

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and realized that it was because of his identity as a screenwriter.

As a screenwriter, he created a sitcom that was widely praised. His future screenwriting projects will definitely be projects that other actors pay close attention to and strive for.

Huang Kairen even asked him with a smile when the script he had promised to write would be ready.

Lu Yanhe said, "Preparations are underway."

Huang Kairen was somewhat surprised, "So fast?"

Lu Yanhe said, "Of course, but we have quite a few scripts currently being written, and ours is still in the process of being organized and prepared."

Huang Kairen nodded and said, "Then you'll be quick too. It's okay. My schedule is almost full for the next two years, so I won't be able to film anyway. No rush."

Lu Yanhe nodded with a smile.

Thanks to the successful transformation of his career with "The Golden Era," Huang Kairen now has a wider range of roles and more acting offers than before.

For male actors of his caliber, acting opportunities are usually booked a year in advance.

Lu Yanhe was actually in a similar situation—if Chen Ziyan hadn't stopped helping him get roles.

Huang Kai-yan asked again in a low voice, "You're really not going to participate in the sequel to Friends?"

Lu Yanhe nodded, "I won't participate."

Huang Kairen hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What's wrong, Brother Huang?" Lu Yanhe asked. "Nothing, just tell me what you want to say."

Huang Kairen sighed, "I want to tell you that sometimes you shouldn't act impulsively. Although we all know you've suffered a lot of injustice, the interests you can hold in your own hands are the most real. There's no need for you to single-handedly carry a huge hit drama only to find yourself left out when it comes time to share the spoils."

Huang Kairen was speaking from the bottom of his heart.

The fact that he could say such things to Lu Yanhe shows that he truly considers him a friend.

Lu Yanhe said, "Brother Huang, you might think I'm being too confident, but I really think this way. My own time is more valuable than a sequel to Friends."

Huang Kairen smiled in surprise.

Lu Yanhe said, "The dramas we star in in the future will definitely not be worse than 'Friends'."

Huang Kairen nodded. "Okay, if you put it that way, I'll definitely believe you. I'm waiting for you to carry me again, little genius."

Lu Yanhe hugged Huang Kairen.

There's no need to say more.

-

January 2nd.

A heavy snow suddenly struck in the middle of the night.

The blankets were thick and warm, and I didn't feel anything while sleeping.

But when Lu Yanhe woke up in the morning, he was pleasantly surprised to see that the whole world outside was covered in snow.

The school hasn't officially started its holiday yet, but many students have already left after the exam week ended, and my roommates have all gone home early. It will be very difficult to get tickets for the later exams.

Therefore, Lu Yanhe also returned to Ziyuan Bridge from the school dormitory.

However, he is the only one at Ziyuan Bridge now.

Both Li Zhibai and Yan Liang had very tight schedules and almost never returned.

Li Zhibai, in particular, received an invitation to the Spring Festival Gala in November to appear in a skit. When he didn't have other work commitments, he basically spent all his time rehearsing with the other actors.

Lu Yanhe went to brush his teeth and wash his face, and then cooked himself a bowl of dumplings.

I finally have some free time.

He sat down by the window with his bowl, watching the snow fall as he ate his dumplings.

Watching the snow fall seemingly endlessly, Lu Yanhe felt a unique sense of peace.

When he got to the last few dumplings, they went cold as soon as he took a bite. He snapped out of it, quickly sped up, and finished them off in no time.

The phone suddenly rang at that moment.

It's only 8 a.m., who would call at this hour?

Lu Yanhe went to get his phone and saw that it was Sister Ziyan calling.

"Sister Ziyan?"

"The Blue Ribbon Awards nominations are out, and you've been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Also, the main competition list for the Citium Film Festival has been announced." Chen Ziyan said cheerfully, "Congratulations on having two films nominated."

Lu Yanhe wasn't really surprised by either of the two nominees; one was highly likely to be nominated, and the other he already knew about.

Of course, I was still very happy.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Ziyan, for bringing me good news so early in the morning."

Chen Ziyan said, "I really wish I could bring you such good news every morning."

Lu Yanhe hung up the phone, breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the snow outside the window, and then saw a faint reflection on the glass. He noticed that the corners of his mouth were still turned up and hadn't come down.

(End of this chapter)