Chapter 459 People are in high spirits when good things happen.

That evening, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi had dinner at a newly opened restaurant.

The restaurant sent a special invitation to "Jump Up" to come and taste their work.

On the social media platforms of "Jump Up," there are food reviewers who have a significant influence and frequently receive invitations from restaurants.

Halfway through their meal, Chen Siqi's gaze fell upon the scene at the doorway, and she suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi said, "I saw Yujiang."

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe instinctively turned around to look.

"Don't look back," Chen Siqi stopped Lu Yanhe. "She has plans with someone else."

Who did she meet up with?

“Yin Xincheng,” Chen Siqi said.

Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised. "Really?"

Yin Xincheng is a male actor in "Friends". He and Yin Xincheng just met on the show "Young Days".

Chen Siqi nodded: "There are others too, probably their assistants, but I'm not sure if it's Yin Xincheng. He was wearing sunglasses and a hat, so I'm not sure."

Lu Yanhe: "I'll take a look later."

“However, how could Yu Jiang still be in the mood to go out for dinner at this time? The movie ‘Flowers on the Stars’ is going to be released this Friday,” Chen Siqi said.

Qixi Festival is just around the corner.

It happens to be this Friday.

Lu Yanhe asked, "How are the pre-sales for 'Flowers on the Stars' going?"

"It's alright, it's currently in first place on Friday," Chen Siqi said. "However, 'Exploding Needle' is doing very well at the box office, it's hard to say whether 'Flowers on the Stars' can take the top spot at the box office that day."

Because of the excellent pre-release promotion, "Flowers on the Stars" is currently performing quite well in terms of various metrics.

"Is Yu Jiang planning to cast Yin Xincheng in a movie?" Chen Siqi asked curiously.

Lu Yanhe: "That's also possible. After she opened that Love Like a God Film and Television Company, it seems that she has produced several projects, including a film project with Lang Xia."

"After all, her novels have a large readership, and now 'Flowers on the Stars' is performing very well. I heard that Ruyi Pictures wants to sign another cooperation framework agreement with her to further deepen the cooperation."

"Really? So they're going to be bound together?" Lu Yanhe asked, somewhat surprised.

Chen Siqi: "I don't know if we're bound together, but if Yu Jiang really wants to focus on film and television production, I might have a lot of dealings with her in the future."

Yu Jiang's projects are all about youth romance. This is exactly the kind of area Chen Siqi wants to get involved in. "Jump Up" is positioned as an artsy magazine, with one or two youth romance stories in each issue. The entries received for the "Power Accumulation Project" are mostly short films with a youth campus background, partly because such short films are easier to shoot.

Lu Yanhe said, "The tracks are different."

Chen Siqi said, "There will always be areas of overlap. The homogenization of content providers is becoming more and more serious."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Siqi suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, weren't you talking to me about film and television production before? Although you can't become fat overnight, you can cultivate it slowly. This 'Accumulation Plan,' if there really is someone who has the mindset of a director but doesn't have much experience, do you want to sign them and find an opportunity for them to learn and accumulate experience on the set?"

Lu Yanhe exclaimed in surprise.

Chen Siqi: What do you think?

Lu Yanhe said, "I'm thinking, once we sign someone, will we be able to give him the opportunity to be a director in the future? Once we sign someone, we have to be responsible for him. I don't want to be like Xingyu, which is like raising a hornet's nest, signing so many trainees every year, and who will grow up and who won't, it all depends on luck."

Chen Siqi said, "Of course we can't guarantee 100% that he will definitely have the opportunity to become an actor in the future, but at least we've opened this door for him, haven't we? You need people like this, and others need such opportunities. Being around you means they have the opportunity to join top-notch production teams and see how top-notch production teams operate. And putting aside other things, some of the stories in my 'Jump Up' project are also going to be developed into short films. Even if we don't find directors we've trained ourselves, we'll train directors from outside."

"No one else can turn a magazine into a theater," Lu Yanhe couldn't help but exclaim. "Once you succeed, I reckon all the major film and television companies will start their own magazines."

Chen Siqi: "To be honest, why doesn't the film and television industry, such a money-burning industry, collaborate with magazines that publish short stories? Leaving aside literary and artistic value, whether a story resonates with readers and whether they like it can be tested in written form. Especially in the film industry, with its small scale, adapting novels is inherently difficult and unrealistic. The best source of stories for adaptation is still short and medium-length stories. But now, apart from a few purely literary magazines that rely on government funding, there's no environment for publishing short and medium-length stories. Currently, only our magazine, *Jump Up*, still publishes some short and medium-length stories that aren't so purely literary. Oh, *Star!* counts too, but it publishes almost entirely youth campus romance stories, completely geared towards young girls. Even works by authors like Mingyin, who mainly write about coming-of-age stories, probably wouldn't get published in *Star!*."

Lu Yanhe asked, "With such a consistent style in the stories published in Star!", what's the audience like?"

"It's not bad. It has indeed attracted many girls to become their regular readers. After all, apart from Star!", there is no other place that provides them with a concentrated selection of romance novels for young women," Chen Siqi said. "Online novels are all too long, and there are still some readers who prefer to read short stories."

Lu Yanhe suddenly understood and nodded.

Indeed, with such a large population in China, no matter what field you are in, as long as you do well, you can attract a group of supporters.

Star! may seem to have chosen a very narrow path in its style, but in doing so, it has created a unique brand that has gradually attracted people who are interested in this type of novel.

Chen Siqi took a sip of lemon juice and suddenly let out a soft "hmm".

"What's wrong?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi said, "Yu Jiang is coming this way."

Lu Yanhe frowned slightly.

Are they here to see us?

Chen Siqi: "It should be, she was looking at me."

Lu Yanhe: "Why did she come to us on her own initiative?"

"Who knows?" Chen Siqi asked. "Should we even acknowledge her?"

"Can we just ignore it?" Lu Yanhe asked.

“It seems a bit much for us to ignore it in public,” Chen Siqi thought for a moment. “I really can’t understand this woman’s thought process.”

Lu Yanhe: "Shall we leave?"

"We haven't finished eating yet, why are you leaving? It makes us look like we're afraid of her." Chen Siqi rolled her eyes at Lu Yanhe, then in the next second, she changed her expression in a flash, smiling at Yu Jiang who had walked up to them. "Oh, Teacher Yu, what a coincidence that we meet here."

Lu Yanhe didn't know how to describe Chen Siqi in his eyes at this moment, and he was afraid that if Chen Siqi found out, she would beat him up.

Yu Jiang smiled, looked at Chen Siqi, and said, "I heard that your 'Power Accumulation Plan' isn't going very smoothly?"

Chen Siqi feigned surprise. "Who said that? Who's misleading you and sending you ammunition? Good heavens, Teacher Yu, you don't believe it, and you're going to attack us again, mocking us, right? Sigh, why do you always have no trust in us? Why are you so easily fooled, and then repeatedly proven wrong?"

Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.

Chen Siqi's aggressive demeanor in front of Yu Jiang was completely like that of a hedgehog, making no attempt to hide it.

Lu Yanhe immediately looked at Yu Jiang.

Yu Jiang took a deep breath and swallowed his anger before saying, "I didn't come here today to argue with you."

Chen Siqi: That's really strange. Besides arguing, what else could you possibly want from us?

Yu Jiang said, "The movie 'Flowers on the Stars' will be released this Friday, and we are planning a special screening event on Thursday night. We would like to invite you to attend."

Chen Siqi's expression fell. "What?"

Yu Jiang: "We have indeed had a lot of unpleasantness in the past, but I think that's all in the past. From now on, I will no longer regard you as my enemies. How about we shake hands and make peace?"

"Give me a break," Chen Siqi said bluntly. "Is there something wrong with you? You're the one who started the trouble, the one who fired the first shot, the one who kept nagging and picking fights. Now you suddenly come here out of nowhere and say we should shake hands and make peace. Do you think I'd believe that? Besides, you think you can just shake hands and make peace like that? Are all the things you did and said before just wiped clean?"

Yu Jiang tried to hold back for a while, but finally couldn't take it anymore and her face turned ugly. She said, "Chen Siqi, don't push your luck."

"You've shown your true colors." Chen Siqi smiled brightly. "What were you pretending to be all high and mighty for?"

Yu Jiang's cheeks turned very red.

She glared angrily at Chen Siqi, then turned and left.

Chen Siqi's smile immediately vanished, replaced by a look of sullenness.

"What nonsense! Why come here and say all this? Do you think I'm stupid? That I'll happily shake hands with her and make peace right away?" Chen Siqi rolled her eyes.

Lu Yanhe gave a puzzled "Hmm?"

"What?" Chen Siqi looked at him.

"Yin Xincheng is gone," Lu Yanhe said. "Wasn't he just here a moment ago?"

Chen Siqi and Lu Yanhe watched as Yu Jiang returned to her seat.

"You went to the restroom, didn't you?" Chen Siqi said.

However, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi did not see Yin Xincheng again until they finished eating together.

-

"He refused?"

Yu Jiang looked at his assistant, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

The assistant nodded.

“This is a movie! He turned down the lead role in a movie?” Yu Jiang said. “He was just one of the six main actors in Friends. Besides me, who else could give him the lead role?”

The assistant said, "Yin Xincheng said he has taken on another drama, 'Blossoming Scenery,' and I checked, and it's true. This drama will start filming next March and will take seven months to film, which coincides with our filming schedule."

Yu Jiang: "Our schedules clashed."

It's common for actors to have conflicting schedules, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

She frowned and thought for a moment, "Then who else? We've already contacted all the top male celebrities, who else is possible?"

The assistant suggested, "Actually, Ma Zhiyuan hasn't asked yet. I heard he's in contact with Longyan Film Industry. They have a project there, and it seems they're planning to cast Ma Zhiyuan as the second male lead."

Yu Jiang's brows furrowed even deeper.

"How can we sell movie tickets if we cast a scumbag like Ma Zhiyuan as our male lead?"

The assistant said, "But he still has a group of die-hard fans."

“No way,” Yu Jiang said. “This isn’t a TV series. Movies are watched by audiences who have to pay for tickets to go to the cinema. Who knows what the market price is now?”

"Well—we've already contacted all the top male stars, and no one is suitable," the assistant asked. "Or perhaps we could change our approach and find a popular female star to carry the lead role, and cast a newcomer for the male lead?"

Yu Jiang: "That won't work. Over 80% of my movie's audience is female. It's no use casting female stars as the female lead. Who wants to see female stars having campus romances with other people?"

The assistant sighed silently.

If it weren't for the fact that your relationship with Lu Yanhe had so soured, why would so many people reject you?

"Perhaps things will change after 'Flowers on the Stars' is released." The assistant gave up on offering suggestions and instead said, "After everyone sees the success of your film, they might change their minds."

Yujiang currently has no movies released.

If "Flowers on the Stars" grosses over 100 million yuan, there will definitely be male actors in the industry who will be interested in the male lead of Yu Jiang's new film.

If Yu Jiang hadn't insisted on finding a popular male actor with a large fan base to play the male lead, the cast of this movie wouldn't have been so difficult to assemble.

Because the budget for the film's salary needs to be reserved for the male lead, the actress for the female lead can only be a newcomer or a young actress who has just debuted.

Yu Jiang, as producer, was very strict about production costs. Take "Flowers on the Stars" for example: Lang Xia's salary was two million, while the combined salaries of everyone else were less than two million. The total production cost was only ten million, while the marketing and distribution costs reached nearly twenty million, bringing the total to around thirty million. In fact, if "Flowers on the Stars" hadn't received such good reviews at the Jose Film Festival, prompting Ruyi Pictures and Yu Jiang's Airu Tianshen Company to increase their marketing budgets, its cost would have been between ten and twenty million—thus, the initial target price for the film was only around forty to sixty million.

Compared to the current online discussions that claiming hundreds of millions in box office revenue equates to a flop, in reality, most films in this industry, even with inflated costs, only need to reach a target box office figure of roughly the same amount to make a profit.

There aren't that many films that are truly made to be blockbusters from the outset. Even a top-tier film company might only produce one or two such films a year at most. Most of the time, films that are touted as having a budget of 70 or 80 million actually only have a production cost of 20 or 30 million, or even less. On one hand, there's a widespread exaggeration in the industry to create the impression that the film was made with a huge investment and is worth the money to see in theaters. On the other hand, many film companies also include non-film production expenses in the film's cost, inflating the budget so they can both cover a lot of expenses and pass these losses on to investors through the settlement process.

Why do many film companies report losses in their financial reports? Are they really losing money? The economic issues involved are worth studying thoroughly by master's and doctoral students, and could even lead to a thesis.

But I digress. Let's get back to the point.

Even if a film like "Flowers on the Stars" features a top-tier female lead, its target audience is limited by its genre. Having both leads who are A-list stars won't necessarily expand the film's appeal. Therefore, Yu Jiang's strategy for his films is quite simple: have a popular actor as the main star to give the film star power and prevent it from going unnoticed in the media and online. The rest of the budget should be used for publicity and marketing—how to pique the interest of casual viewers in youth romance films and get them to the cinema. This is the key to truly increasing box office revenue.

Celebrities are merely a publicity tool for theater managers, investors, and the media.

Unable to find a male lead for his new film, Yu Jiang had to temporarily abandon the project.

We can only wait for "Flowers on the Stars" to be released.

-

Movies that choose to be released during the Qixi Festival are generally not blockbusters; they are most likely aiming for the box office revenue of Qixi Festival.

On Qixi Festival, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi did not go to the cinema, but instead went to a mountain hotel to cool off and relax.

However, even though they went to the mountains, they were still kept informed about the situation in the film market.

This year's Qixi Festival film season saw the most attention focused on "Flowers on the Stars," followed by "You Who Go Against the Current," starring talented actor Zhang Ding and art-house film goddess Qin Sangwen, and the animated film "Magpie Bridge," adapted from the traditional Chinese myth of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

Pre-sales for "Flowers on the Stars" are far ahead with 37 million.

On Qixi Festival, the old film "Exploding Needle" topped the box office charts, followed by "Flowers on the Stars" in second place, "You Who Go Against the Current" in third place, and "Magpie Bridge" in fourth.

Lu Yanhe lay on a bamboo chair by the stream, enjoying the cool air.

Chen Siqi sat on a rock by the stream, her legs dangling directly into the water, gently swaying.

"The film 'Flowers on the Stars' has grossed over 50 million yuan."

It was 2 p.m. when Chen Siqi spoke to Lu Yanhe on her phone.

Lu Yanhe hummed in agreement.

Chen Siqi asked, "Do you think 'Flowers on the Stars' will gross over 100 million?"

"With such a large-scale publicity campaign, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect less than 100 million," Lu Yanhe said.

“I didn’t expect this movie to be so profitable,” Chen Siqi said. “It’s said that Icefield Video spent 12 million to buy the online streaming rights for this movie for five years.”

Lu Yanhe did a quick mental calculation.

"For a film that grossed over 100 million yuan and generated a lot of buzz, this price isn't high," he said. "It seems that 'Flowers on the Stars' has already started to make a profit."

“Yes,” Chen Siqi said. “This film has sold the broadcasting rights to more than a dozen countries and regions in Asia. Its screening at the Jose Film Festival was a very good move.”

“Yes,” Lu Yanhe said. “However, it’s a pity that the male lead died in the end, which is a tragic ending. Otherwise, with such success, perhaps a sequel could have been developed.”

Chen Siqi: "Why can't we develop a sequel when the male lead dies? The sequel could be about the female lead meeting a guy who looks exactly like the male lead, and the two of them start a new story. That would be just as good as making a movie."

Lu Yanhe: "So melodramatic."

“It’s a commercial film after all, so Ruyi Pictures certainly wouldn’t let go of such a money-making opportunity,” Chen Siqi said. “Basically, as long as a film does well at the box office and is profitable, Ruyi Pictures will develop a sequel. The mixed reviews don’t affect their style.”

"I can't stand it, not every movie is suitable for a sequel."

“Who says otherwise?” Chen Siqi said. “By the way, the ‘Burning Fire’ series you signed with Longyan Film Industry is a three-part series, right?”

"I don't know if it will only be made into three films, but I only signed a contract for three," Lu Yanhe said.

Chen Siqi: "You basically haven't joined any film crews this year. In 'Love Letter,' although you are nominally the male lead, you actually have very few scenes."

“I consciously wanted to take a break. Last year I kept joining different productions, constantly getting into one character and then another, which was a bit tiring,” Lu Yanhe said. “Also, the scripts I received this year weren’t very moving. Since there weren’t any suitable scripts, I simply stopped forcing myself.”

Chen Siqi asked, "Haven't you received any suitable scripts?"

In Chen Siqi's opinion, the best scripts on the market right now must have all been reviewed by Lu Yanhe first.

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "I haven't seen anything good. Even Sister Ziyan says so."

Chen Siqi asked with some doubt: "Have you become more picky? Surely not?"

-

"Mrs. Huang just called me. She said you've been cast as the female lead in Liu Bige's new film."

The agent said happily to Ji Miao.

As a leading figure among today's young actresses, Ji Miao, who won the Best Supporting Actress award at a young age, has always had a smooth career in film.

Ji Miao was not surprised that she won the role.

It would be surprising if she didn't win.

Ji Miao said, "It would be great if Lu Yanhe was still the male lead in this movie."

The agent was surprised that Ji Miao would suddenly say that.

“Lu Yanhe? He probably wouldn’t take this kind of movie, even if the director is Liu Bige,” the agent said. “He almost always takes on serious dramas or art films, and it seems like he’s never taken on a light comedy like this. 'Friends' doesn’t count. He was the screenwriter himself, and it’s obvious that he didn’t play the most central role. He gave that role to Yan Liang. It feels like he wrote the script entirely to promote his friend.”

Ji Miao sighed, nodded, and said, "That's true."

The agent glanced at her and said, "In the entire entertainment industry, only Lu Yanhe takes on roles like that."

Ji Miao said, "I wonder if there will ever be a day when I can take on roles like him."

The agent said, "Your position is not yet secure. Many people are eyeing your spot. Moreover, so many newcomers have emerged in the entertainment industry in recent years. This time, you will be competing with Wang Jing, the actress who acted with Lu Yanhe in 'Late Spring.' It is said that many people support her for the role. If you don't secure your position, no one knows when someone will overtake you."

Ji Miao nodded.

“You’ve read the script, and if you act well, it will definitely be a likable and good role, and it might even become your signature role in the future,” the agent said. “Audiences love this kind of character with a very distinct personality, a sense of contrast, and a cuteness in her neuroticism. You can portray her very well.”

"Li Zhibai had never acted in a movie before."

"He has indeed never acted in a movie before; this is his first time," the agent said. "However, you don't need to question his abilities. Whether it's his acting skills, popularity, or past achievements, they are all very impressive."

Ji Miao: "I didn't question him. Of course I know he's very good. I just have some regrets. If Lu Yanhe had starred in it, maybe this movie could have made it to an international film festival."

Agent: "There's no point in going around in circles. This kind of film is destined not to be nominated for the main competition. At most, it's just a publicity stunt."

“Even just getting some publicity is fine. Look at ‘Flowers on the Stars,’ it got a lot of publicity at the Jose Film Festival, and it was very worthwhile,” Ji Miao said.

Agent: "I heard that Yu Jiang is preparing a new movie, 'Flowers on the Stars,' which did well at the box office. Why don't we take the initiative to contact him and see if you are suitable for the female lead?"

“Forget it, if I go and act in those melodramatic movies of hers, all the fame I’ve worked so hard to build will probably be gone in an instant,” Ji Miao said. “Didn’t you see how many people online are criticizing how melodramatic ‘Flowers on the Stars’ is?”

"Let those people online criticize it. The fact that this melodramatic movie is selling so well only proves one thing: casual viewers who don't often speak out online are very interested in this movie and just like it. 'You Who Go Against the Current' has received very good reviews. It got an 8.1 rating on Yemai.com within half a day of its release, but its box office is not even half as high as 'Flowers on the Stars'."

Ji Miao: "The publicity for 'You Who Go Against the Current' was not as good as that for 'Flowers on the Stars'. If it weren't for the fact that Zhang Ding and Qin Sangwen were the main actors, probably not many people would know about this movie. 'Flowers on the Stars' practically handed out posters to everyone's doorstep."

-

The final box office report for the Qixi Festival period has been released. "The Flower on the Stars" topped the daily box office chart with a first-day gross of 87.56 million yuan thanks to its comeback during prime time.

The old film "Popcorn Needle" ranked second with 68.12 million.

"You Who Go Against the Current" ranked third with 42 million views.

The animated film "Magpie Bridge" flopped, ranking fourth with 13 million yuan.

On Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), the box office exceeded 200 million yuan, a mediocre performance that left some in the industry somewhat disappointed.

But this doesn't stop us from celebrating the success of "Flowers on the Stars".

It's obvious this movie is going to gross over 100 million. Even if there are a lot of voices online criticizing it for being melodramatic, it won't affect its ability to make money.

Yu Jiang happily released the first day's battle report poster, and at the same time announced another new film of his.

Yu Jiang has quite a few film projects in the pipeline. She has another collaboration with Lang Xia, and she's also preparing another one. Now that "Flowers on the Stars" is performing so well at the box office, her other projects will definitely see faster progress.

People are in high spirits when they have good news.

That night, Yu Jiang argued with netizens who criticized her movie for being melodramatic on Weibo until 2 a.m., and then logged off Weibo with satisfaction.

There are still many congratulatory messages on WeChat that I haven't replied to.

She was too lazy to look at it anymore; she'd deal with it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)