Chapter 336 Don't Dream of the Future (7,000-word update!)

"Lu Yanhe is going to start a strategic cooperation with Aurora Video? What's going on? Mr. Ma, why are you keeping this kind of news so tightly under wraps?"

"Mr. Ma, I was wondering why I hadn't been able to get back to you for so long after I contacted you to schedule a time with Lu Yanhe. Turns out you had already contacted Northern Lights. Why didn't you say so earlier? We have several projects waiting for Lu Yanhe's schedule. Aren't you deliberately dragging us out?"

"Mr. Ma, what kind of major collaboration is Lu Yanhe and Northern Lights doing? Is it a sitcom? Or something else? Brother, is there any chance for me to get a piece of the pie? Just tell me what you need."

...

Since the news broke, Ma Zhongquan's phone has been ringing non-stop.

Ma Zhongquan grew increasingly angry as he listened, becoming furious and enraged.

Because he didn't know more about this than anyone else.

He only learned about Lu Yanhe's major collaboration with Aurora Video through the news.

The use of the word "major" in the news indicates something more than just a simple project collaboration. This is a consensus within the industry. There must be something more structured or long-term involved.

This made Ma Zhongquan even more determined to get Lu Yanhe out of Chen Ziyan's hands—he was in charge of artist management at Xingyu, which meant he was the company's most powerful vice president.

In this situation, Chen Ziyan's existence is a major obstacle to his power. Lu Yanhe's strategic position in the entertainment industry now surpasses that of Ma Zhiyuan, Li Zhibai, and others who are more famous and have more fans. This often leaves Ma Zhongquan with a blank area that others care about but he cannot control when negotiating with other companies, namely Lu Yanhe.

When Ma Zhongquan reaches a certain level and discusses business with others, it's rarely a simple matter of collaborating on one or two projects. Instead, it involves more comprehensive and broader cooperation.

Such collaborations often involve a great deal of exchange of benefits.

Right now, who wouldn't want to trade for Lu Yanhe?

And that's how the problem arose.

-

In fact, many people had this premonition long ago. Although Lu Yanhe was not as popular as those top celebrities, they could vaguely sense something very different from other artists from the different people's attitudes towards him, the events he attended, and the media's evaluation of him.

How should I describe this? It's like how people's attitude towards Lu Yanhe is more like their attitude towards a creator.

In the world of film, in the eyes of the public, no matter how famous a director is, he can never surpass a star. However, everyone knows that the director is the "creator" of the film. No matter how famous an actor is or how well he performs, he is not considered the "creator" of a film, but only the creator of a character.

Lu Yanhe is now seen by many as a creator of a complete work, rather than simply a creator of a character.

Because of this, Lu Yanhe's position in the entertainment industry has become somewhat complicated and ambiguous since the airing of the drama "Friends".

Of course, it is a good, positive kind of "complexity and ambiguity".

-

This matter actually made Yu Jiang very unhappy.

Despite Yu Jiang's repeated setbacks and numerous embarrassing moments in his online attacks against Lu Yanhe, Yu Jiang's efforts to retaliate against Lu Yanhe have not been successful.

Because her novels have a large and loyal fan base, and the film and television adaptations of her novels have achieved great success, accumulating a wealth of adapted works, even if Lu Yanhe's fans are unhappy with her, it doesn't affect her continued popularity and comfortable life in her circle.

This time, Yu Jiang also came to the Jose Film Festival.

As the international film festival with the largest number of Chinese filmmakers, many film companies announce their major moves at this festival.

Because this place has enough influence and media coverage, announcing their "big moves" here is the most prestigious option.

Yu Jiang's visit this time also indicates a major plan.

Her own company, "Love Like a God Culture Co., Ltd.", will collaborate with Ruyi Pictures to adapt three films based on her novels.

Previously, Yu Jiang's novels were all adapted into TV series or web series, but never into movies.

This time, it was Ruyi who took the initiative to approach Yujiang to cooperate.

Every year, there are one or two blockbuster movies in the youth romance genre.

The cost is very low, but the returns are miraculous.

Ruyi Films has always wanted to focus on this area, so they approached Yu Jiang.

Putting everything else aside, Yu Jiang's novels are certainly very popular.

As a result, Yu Jiang and Ru Yi were about to hold a press conference to announce the news, and then news spread that Lu Yanhe was going to have a strategic cooperation with Aurora Video.

In an instant, all attention was drawn to them.

Yu Jiang couldn't help but wonder if Lu Yanhe had done this on purpose.

Perhaps Lu Yanhe knew about her collaboration with Ruyi Pictures, so he deliberately released this news at this time to attract everyone's attention!

No matter how much Yu Jiang dislikes Lu Yanhe, or how arrogant and conceited he is, he would never believe that his influence is greater than Lu Yanhe's.

The more this happened, the angrier Yu Jiang became.

However, the press conference that has already been scheduled must be held as planned, no matter what.

After using the restroom, Yu Jiang returned to the waiting room.

As I walked to the door, I suddenly heard people inside talking about Lu Yanhe.

Yu Jiang paused in his steps.

"...What conditions did Northern Lights pay to secure so many cooperation projects from Lu Yanhe? We had already put up a 10 million yuan advance payment, but we still couldn't get Lu Yanhe's new film."

The moment Yu Jiang heard the words "ten million," his heart skipped a beat.

She collaborated with Ruyi Pictures, and the total adaptation licensing fee for the three films was only ten million!

Yu Jiang was furious.

Why is Lu Yanhe entitled to a ten million yuan advance payment?

He only wrote a sitcom called "Friends," and he's never written a screenplay before. How could he possibly get ten million dollars in one go?!

Yu Jiang was unaware that the ten million yuan advance payment that Ruyi Pictures mentioned at the time was an advance payment for Lu Yanhe's "lead actor + screenwriter" fees.

At this point, Yu Jiang assumed that Lu Yanhe could earn a ten million yuan advance just for being a screenwriter.

"Which platform doesn't want to cooperate with Lu Yanhe now? I heard that Bingyuan Video even offered the lead roles of three S+ dramas to Lu Yanhe to discuss cooperation."

"Three dramas? Are they crazy? If something happens to Lu Yanhe, three big dramas could bankrupt them."

"Haha, that's what we all say."

"We're collaborating with Yu Jiang on the development of three films this time, and we don't know how these three films will turn out."

"It's purely for development, to promote our own new talents. The stories Yu Jiang writes are all about youthful pain, love, breakups, and the like. Some people like that, but there's a limit to what's available. The main reason is that Ruyi wants to develop a few youth romance films so that we can exchange some of the resources we need with other companies."

"Why haven't we developed this type of drama before? Actually, there are hits in this genre every year."

"Our boss doesn't like it. Our boss's favorite genre is suspense and crime dramas, you know that. Besides, which of the directors our company has signed can direct a youth romance drama?"

"So, does what you're saying mean that our company doesn't really value these films we've collaborated on with Yu Jiang?"

"It's not that we don't value it, but it's certainly not the direction our company prioritizes; it's more of an exploration."

Outside the door, Yu Jiang listened to the words of the people inside and felt very uncomfortable.

-

The news that Yu Jiang and Ruyi Pictures announced three film adaptation plans did not attract much attention in the end.

After all, there were no actors, no other information. Only Yu Jiang's fans were paying attention.

When the Northern Lights video held a press conference at the Jose Film Festival, people in the domestic film and television industry paid attention to it.

At this point, everyone wanted to know what Lu Yanhe's collaboration plan was with Aurora Video, given that he had just released "Friends," a show that had saved traditional television ratings.

Lu Yanhe and Lin Desheng from the Northern Lights video went on stage together.

This time, President Lin personally came forward to announce the matter.

"Our Northern Lights Video will establish a strategic partnership with Lu Yanhe's Linghe Film and Television Production Company, forming a framework cooperation."

"What I can share with you right now is that our Northern Lights Video will invest in the comedy film 'Lost in Thailand,' written by Lu Yanhe and starring Jia Long."

"Secondly, we are jointly developing the period sitcom 'My Own Swordsman,' written by Lu Yanhe."

"Third, we will invite top directors and screenwriters to tailor-make an S+ level drama for Lu Yanhe."

"Fourth, we will also participate in the film project that Director Wang Zhong announced a couple of days ago, in which he will continue to work with Lu Yanhe."

Four collaboration announcements dominated headlines in the Chinese film and television industry that day.

Many media outlets at the scene were stunned.

Someone asked directly: "Lu Yanhe is the screenwriter for four projects, and several of them are projects in which he is responsible for writing scripts. Is Lu Yanhe able to write all of these scripts?"

Lin Desheng smiled and said, "Of the projects we just mentioned, Lu Yanhe has already finished writing the scripts for the two film projects and they have entered the pre-production stage. As for 'My Own Swordsman,' it is also currently being written, and we expect to start filming next year. If all goes well, it will be available to everyone next year."

Another reporter asked, "Yan He, with so many projects, are you able to manage them all?"

Lu Yanhe said, "I don't participate in every project as an actor, so it's okay."

The reporters were shocked and asked, "Aren't you going to act?"

Lu Yanhe said, "Well, we will find the most suitable actors for each project. It doesn't necessarily have to be me. For example, Jia Long was in 'Lost in Thailand,' and I and director Wang Zhong... Oh, I haven't talked about this publicly yet. I won't say anything now. Everyone, look forward to it. He is also a very talented actor."

The media present were incredulous.

Domestically, a pre-prepared trending topic appeared on various platforms: Lu Yanhe officially announced four new works in one go!

-

Strangely, the news about Lu Yanhe's girlfriend was overshadowed by news about Lu Yanhe's work.

Generally speaking, people are more interested in things like love, and even more so in gossip.

One person's comment was the most interesting: "Isn't it said that you can only have one of love and career? Why does Lu Yanhe have both?"

The number of likes is exceptionally high.

That evening, after communicating with Chen Ziyan, Lu Yanhe decided to write a long article to give a serious response.

Lu Yanhe carefully wrote a first draft, and Chen Ziyan helped him revise and adjust it word by word before posting it on Lu Yanhe's personal social media account.

Lu Yanhe said about his girlfriend: "She is Chen Siqi, my high school classmate, and she is also co-editing the magazine 'Jump Up' with me. I like her very much, and she likes me very much too. I hesitated for a long time about whether to go public. The hesitation was not because I wanted to hide it from you, but because I didn't want too much attention to affect the little time we have left to spend together. But after thinking about it for a long time, I thought that at least everyone should know that I am not single. I didn't expect that everyone would find clues so quickly, so after discussing it with her, I simply admitted it. When two people are together, they will definitely experience a lot of things. This is something that belongs to the two of us. There will be arguments and happiness in the future. We will not make any further comments. This relationship is for ourselves, not for everyone else. Please understand."

Lu Yanhe talked about his screenwriting work: "After the college entrance examination, I started creating my own stories. I was very lucky because I am an actor, so I have many shortcuts. For example, I got the approval of Teacher Jia Long for 'Lost in Thailand' almost a year ago and reached a cooperation agreement. Now, I have finally found like-minded partners to develop this movie together. As for continuing to work with Director Wang Zhong on 'Rouge,' it is thanks to my acquaintance with him on 'Three Mountains.' He knew that I was writing a script and, out of concern for a junior, offered to help me read and revise the script, which led to this collaboration. As for 'My Own Swordsman,' it is because I am no longer involved in the sequel to 'Friends,' but I really like sitcoms. I still have many stories to tell and many feelings to express to everyone, so this story came about. In addition to these, there are actually many more stories on the way, including a comedy film story starring Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, and a thriller game story written for Teacher Jiang Jun and Sister Yuqian. These are all stories I have accumulated over the years, and I will promote, develop, and share them with everyone in the future."

Lu Yanhe spoke about his identity as an actor: "Besides writing my own scripts, I still love being an actor. The recently finished filming 'Late Spring' was a role that truly immersed me in; I completely let go of myself while filming it. Next, I will continue to collaborate with director Chen Lingling on a new project, this time with more scenes with Zeng Qiao. There are also other projects I'm currently working on. I love this industry, and although I haven't been in it for very long, the future is long, and I will have more and more works to share with everyone."

-

This long article is Lu Yanhe's summary of his progress at this stage.

Everyone who read this long article was utterly shocked.

Even Huang Kairen messaged Lu Yanhe: "With so many projects coming up, you probably won't have time to take on any new projects for the next five years, right?"

Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, and said no.

Huang Kairen said, "With so many projects of yours, why haven't you continued to work with me? We had already agreed that you would tailor-make another film for us."

Lu Yanhe said, "I'm thinking about it, Brother Huang. Besides, you're so busy right now, you don't have time to work with me, do you?"

Huang Kairen said, "No matter how busy I am, I'm not as busy as you. Do you know that once you published this long article, the entire entertainment industry was shaken? How many people are envious of your upcoming projects? I think more and more people will be looking for you in the future."

Lu Yanhe: "Actually, Brother Huang, even if you hadn't called me, I would have called you anyway. There is a movie I'd like to talk to you about."

"Huh?" Huang Kairen was taken aback.

Lu Yanhe said, "It's the movie I collaborated on with director Wang Zhong."

"Oh?" Huang Kairen was somewhat surprised. "You've got a role for me?"

Lu Yanhe said, "Yes, there is a role that I think is very suitable for you, but the director wants to talk to you in person."

Huang Kairen: "Sure, you can arrange the time, no problem."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Aren't you going to look at the script?"

Huang Kairen said, "Whether I read the script or not, I definitely have to meet him. I really want to work with Director Wang Zhong. Xiao Lu, I've never acted in a movie by such a great director before."

Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Huang Kairen say that.

"good."

He was genuinely worried that Huang Kairen would think that Director Wang Zhong's films were art films and wouldn't want to act in them.

When choosing a role, no A-list actor simply chooses a famous director; there are too many factors to consider.

-

With the release of the Northern Lights video, Lu Yanhe's work at this year's Jose Film Festival was complete.

He had to catch a flight back to China that very day.

Because I have class the next day.

As a result, many media reporters were waiting for him at the airport.

Everyone found out about his trip back to China.

Many media outlets have questions they want to ask him.

This includes romantic relationships and subsequent works.

Chen Ziyan had foreseen this and arranged for four bodyguards to wait for him in the arrival hall.

After Lu Yanhe came out, he was immediately protected by bodyguards.

The media swarmed around him, wanting to interview Lu Yanhe.

Various problems.

Lu Yanhe led everyone to a less crowded area before slowing down and saying, "I really won't respond to anything about my relationship anymore. Please don't ask me anymore. I won't answer anything."

Lu Yanhe spoke several times with a smile, but when everyone saw that Lu Yanhe really wouldn't say another word, they gave up and started asking other questions.

Lu Yanhe was bothered for a while, but after answering a few questions, he got into his car and left.

-

Chen Ziyan said to Lu Yanhe, "This is crazy. I really didn't expect it. Almost all the media came today, even CCTV's entertainment channel."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Could it be that the collaboration with the Northern Lights video project has such a significant impact?"

Chen Ziyan thought for a moment and said, "Judging from the current situation, the impact is indeed quite significant. You probably don't even know how many calls I've received. My phone is currently on silent. If I take it out now, you'll see a call coming in within three minutes. This time, you announced too many projects at once, so it's inevitable that it will attract attention. Who wouldn't be interested, especially the actors? You used to be their competitor, but now you've become a resource. So many people want to curry favor with you and get involved in your projects."

After a pause, Chen Ziyan brought up Ma Zhongquan's matter.

“Even Ma Zhongquan can’t sit still now. He wants to take back control of your management affairs. I’ve argued with him twice already.”

Lu Yanhe looked at Chen Ziyan in disbelief.

"ah?"

At that moment, his "Huh?" was utterly incomprehensible.

Incredible.

In Lu Yanhe's understanding, Ma Zhongquan should never have any contact with him again.

It was he who instructed Zhou Pingan to drive him out of the entertainment industry back then.

Now they want to take back control of his brokerage affairs? How is that possible?

What makes him think he would agree?

Is he still the same person who could be manipulated at will?

Lu Yanhe said coldly, "Tell them to stop dreaming."

-

"How are you now? Has anyone been harassing you?" After returning to the dormitory, Lu Yanhe made a video call to Chen Siqi and asked.

Chen Siqi said, "It's okay. I've been staying with Bai Yu the whole time. These past two days, my classmates at school have been giving me strange looks, but no reporters have managed to sneak in, and I haven't gone out much."

Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.

His biggest fear in going public with his relationship with Chen Siqi was that it would affect Chen Siqi's life.

Chen Siqi said, "Your next film won't start until August, right?"

“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said, “I had no plans to film anything before that.”

Chen Siqi said, "A few of us discussed it and wanted to launch a 'Jump Up' campaign to enter schools. You would be in charge of several universities and middle schools in Yuming. Is that okay? I think such an activity can further expand the influence of our magazine. I want to arrange for all the writers of 'Jump Up' to join in, which will of course also increase their influence among students."

Lu Yanhe said, "I can do it."

“Okay, Linyu will be in charge of the specific planning and arrangements on Yuming’s side, but with you joining, more people will pay attention to this matter. One is on-campus promotion, and the other is online promotion, a two-pronged approach.” Chen Siqi said, “The sales of ‘Jump Up’ are very stable now, but there is no upward trend anymore. It’s a bit fixed. We must further open up the situation, otherwise, it’s really a case of stagnation or regression, there’s no way around it.”

Lu Yanhe agreed.

He added, "However, our magazine 'Jump Up' has always targeted the youth market, and now we've only focused on students. It seems that we haven't done any targeted advertising for young people in their twenties and thirties."

"We're simply too busy to keep up," Chen Siqi said. "We haven't even captured much of the student market yet. It looks thriving, and everyone knows about the magazine 'Jump Up,' but it's actually just a small group of people. Most people aren't interested in reading magazines at all. I want to use this campus outreach program to get people to actually pick up our magazine and flip through it. Only in this way can we further expand our reach. People who actively read magazines have basically known about our magazine in the last two years."

Lu Yanhe hummed in agreement.

After he hung up the phone, he heard Mao Jiayang exclaim, "Your girlfriend is really amazing."

"ah?"

Mao Jiayang immediately said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but your voices just reached my ears."

Lu Yanhe smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing."

If it's a phone call that he can't let others hear, he won't make it in his dorm room.

Mao Jiayang said, "I think it's really amazing that at a time like this, she still has all her attention focused on her work and thinking about how to promote 'Jump Up'."

Lu Yanhe said, "Yes, I called her because I was worried that she was being harassed by the media, but I didn't expect that she was fine at all."

He was somewhat sullen.

Mao Jiayang: "By the way, Yan He, didn't you go to Shangjing before? What's the desert like there? Is it worth going?"

Lu Yanhe nodded: "There were very few people. My friends and I spent two days in the desert. It sounds cliché, but that's the feeling. I felt my soul was purified. What's up? Do you want to go too?"

"I'm going there to help Xiaoxiao with his filming, and I wanted to ask you about the situation there," Mao Jiayang said. "I've never been to the desert before, so I don't know if there's anything I should be careful about."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "I'll make a list for you later. However, I'm not a professional, so you'll probably have to find a local guide. Do you want me to recommend our previous guide to you?"

“Okay.” Mao Jiayang nodded immediately.

"Where's Xiao Jing?" Lu Yanhe asked. "It feels like I haven't seen him for a long time."

Mao Jiayang said, "He's busy applying to go to the UK for an exchange program. He wants to go to the UK for a year."

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

-

Currently, among his roommates, Mao Jiayang and Lu Yanhe have the best relationship, while Zhou Mukai has many opportunities to interact with him because they are in the same college and both work as part-time editors for "Jump Up". The person he contacts the least is actually Xiao Jing.

Lu Yanhe had wondered before if he hadn't been communicating with Xiao Jing enough.

However, the connections between people are just like that; they can't be forced together.

There was nothing wrong with him and Xiao Jing; they had a good relationship, just weren't very familiar with each other.

Xiao Jing is actually preparing to go to the UK for an exchange program.

Actually, among them, everyone except him planned to pursue postgraduate studies.

Lu Yanhe even thought that all of them might be able to complete their doctoral degrees.

On the one hand, their families are not in a hurry for them to go out to work and earn money; on the other hand, everyone seems to be very interested in their major and wants to learn more about it.

Lu Yanhe couldn't help but wonder if completing an undergraduate degree would be enough for him.

Or perhaps I should pursue further studies and get a master's degree.

Does he need to pursue a graduate degree?

From a practical point of view, it is indeed unnecessary.

However, Lu Yanhe thoroughly enjoys reading.

Pursuing a master's degree actually offers much more freedom. There's no need to rush to finish the course within a few years, allowing for greater flexibility and time management.

I'm almost finished with my second year of university, and it seems like it's time to start thinking about this.

In another year, the eligibility for postgraduate recommendation will be announced.

Based on Lu Yanhe's current grades, it seems he can still secure a place in a postgraduate program without taking the entrance exam.

He needs to make a decision as soon as possible: either accept it or give it up.

Just then, Zhou Ping'an suddenly contacted him and asked to meet.

(End of this chapter)