Chapter 488 I told you so (10,000-word update!)

“They came to me on their own initiative, but you didn’t. I assumed you weren’t interested, so of course I gave it to them.”

What Zheng Huai-ren didn't say was that before Icefield Video made its move, Zheng Huai-ren and his team hadn't considered adapting Lu Yan-he's film script into a web series. This was mainly because Lu Yan-he had previously collaborated with Aurora Video on series, where he directly provided the scripts; unlike Icefield Video, they didn't need to find a screenwriter for adaptation.

Zheng Huai-ren is getting a little anxious now.

Including "The Telephone," Bingyuan Video and Lu Yanhe will be collaborating on four dramas.

As Lu Yanhe's long-time collaborator on drama series, how could Aurora Video possibly stand by and watch?

What frustrated Zheng Huai-ren even more was why Bingyuan Video was able to buy the adaptation rights to four series in one go.

Do they have that much liquid capital?

What Zheng Huai-ren didn't know was that Lu Yanhe's collaboration with Bingyuan Video didn't involve expensive copyright fees; in the market, it was basically priced like a first-tier IP, far below the prices of top-tier IPs. Through this method, Lu Yanhe forwent the high short-term licensing fees and secured a share of the subsequent revenue from the series.

This differs from his collaboration model with Aurora Video.

-

With each licensing agreement signed, Linghe Film and Television, a shell company run by Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan, actually made tens of millions of yuan from the adaptation licensing business.

Because there was no legal counsel or accountant, these matters were handled by the people at Chen Ziyan's senior brokerage service company.

As Chen Ziyan went through the agreements, she clicked her tongue in amazement and said to Lu Qingzhen, "Look, I always thought I made money fast enough, but compared to Yan He, I still can't compete. With all these copyrights in his hands, it feels like he's lying on a mountain of gold."

These adaptation licensing agreements go beyond just adapting into TV series.

For example, "Rouge" has been licensed to stage play, audio drama, and comics, while "Lost in Thailand" has also been licensed to audio drama and comics, and has also launched a business cooperation with a travel agency.

Chen Ziyan said, "Linghe really can't continue operating as a shell company. At the very least, we need someone specifically to handle copyright matters."

Lu Qingzhen nodded and said, "That's true. Yan He's scripts are not only being adapted domestically, but I've also seen them being adapted by TVN."

Chen Ziyan: "Yes, things that are difficult for others seem to become very easy for Lu Yanhe. Look at our Chinese-language films and television dramas, how many of them are picked up and adapted by foreign film and television companies in a year? But with Yanhe, one after another."

Lu Qingzhen said, "I just didn't expect 'Rouge' to be so popular."

"Actually, there is a very important reason."

"Um?"

“It won an award at the Jose Film Festival, which is the only one of the four top international film festivals to receive the Audience Choice Award,” Chen Ziyan said. “At first, I thought Yan He was just lucky, but after looking at the films that have won awards at the Jose Film Festival in the past few years, I found that they are actually quite popular with producers from various countries. Not only are they vying for its distribution rights, but many companies are also vying for its adaptation rights.”

Lu Qingzhen: "Does this mean you highly regard the Jose Film Festival?"

"The main reason they recognize these films is because they've come from the Jose Film Festival and have achieved great commercial success," Chen Ziyan said. "That's probably why they approve of them."

Lu Qingzhen said, "Ziyan, have you considered that if Linghe unexpectedly succeeds in film and television copyright operation, you could actually do more than just manage Yanhe's copyright? As you said, there are thousands of films and television dramas produced in China every year. Because of Yanhe, many partners have proactively approached us. Why don't you also manage and operate some other excellent domestic film and television works or other IPs?"

Chen Ziyan: "Where would I get that much energy? I haven't even found anyone to do my own operations yet."

“Then go ahead and look for him. It’s not a question of whether or not to look for this person now; it’s that you’ve already decided to look for him. Once you find him, whether you’re doing copyright management for Yan He alone or doing more, it’s still the same thing,” Lu Qingzhen said. “Think about it, how big a network can you build? Various film and television production companies, broadcasting platforms, domestic and international IP projects—you’ll have all the resources at your fingertips. And think about it, what our high-end talent agency and artists want is the highest quality service that can help them break through in their careers, right?”

Lu Qingzhen's eyes gleamed.

In her vision, a vast empire had already been established.

Chen Ziyan fell into deep thought.

In fact, what Lu Qingzhen mentioned has already been subtly reflected in Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe wrote "Rouge" for Chen Bige, then gave the male lead to Huang Kairen. He wrote "Telephone" for Jiang Yuqian, then gave the other female lead to Wang Jing. He wrote "Squid Game" for Jiang Jun...

The "huge organization" that Lu Qingzhen mentioned has already begun to take shape.

The box office success of "Lost in Thailand" and the awards won by "Rouge" will only make Lu Yanhe more and more popular in the industry in the future.

In other words, if she really establishes a "copyright operation" network, she will, as Lu Qingzhen said, be able to directly control the most first-hand resources.

As an agent herself, she is well aware of the immense value of such resources to celebrities.

-

Shortly after the Fei Hong Award ceremony, the nomination list for the Ling Yun Award was also released.

Lu Yanhe received the same nomination as the Fei Hong Award.

This time, the nomination list for the Lingyun Award overlaps with that of the Feihong Award by a rate that is almost the highest in the past decade.

There are also differences. For example, "The Angry Crow" was not nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, and was criticized by the media for the Lingyun Awards looking down on animated films.

For example, the fact that "My Home I Haven't Been Returned To in a Long Time" lost its Best Actress nomination shocked everyone. Xu Yiren's fans and the film's viewers directly caused the Lingyun Awards to trend at number one on social media. Xu Yiren had to grit her teeth and come out to appease her fans, saying that she would try again next time if she didn't get a nomination this time.

The Lingyun Awards' judging style leans towards art films and literature. This year, the available spots were mostly given to these types of films. In particular, the nomination for Best Supporting Actor for "Happy Time," starring Ning Xiulian's boyfriend Gu Zhao, surprised many.

He belongs to the type of actor many people consider "unworthy of a nomination" because his role in the film was essentially just "selling sex appeal," with no real acting content.

Some people sarcastically remarked: "The Lingyun Awards must really love 'Happy Hour'. I bet if I just showed my face and said a few words in it, I could get a Best Supporting Actress nomination."

The internet is in an uproar.

Lu Yanhe, however, paid no attention to any of that.

After finishing some things on the "Telephone" project, he also had to help Li Zhibai with the TV series "Nineteen Years of Crime Records".

Many film and television companies aren't unwilling to do it. With Li Zhibai as the producer and lead actor, the hype is there, and it's not a high-risk project like a movie. Which film and television company wouldn't want to do it?

But doing it is one thing, getting better terms is another. They all cited the failure of the film version as an excuse, saying the risks were too high, and used this to pressure Li Zhibai into lowering his price.

Li Zhibai had never encountered anything like this before.

When he was an actor, people would agree to almost any condition as long as he was willing to act.

Once, he didn't want to act in a certain drama, but the other party kept pestering him. Li Zhibai then asked for an exorbitant price: 120 million yuan in salary plus a share of the post-production revenue—a completely unrealistic condition, but the other party gritted their teeth and agreed. This terrified Li Zhibai, who quickly sent Lin Suyang to resolve the issue.

Now, Li Zhibai is going to argue with them about a decimal point that might only involve a few million in revenue sharing in the end.

“From a business perspective, the person who was willing to pay you 120 million yuan in the past wasn’t stupid; they had calculated that they could still make their money back. But now they’re haggling over decimals because in a film project, each decimal point can be worth anywhere from a few hundred thousand to tens of millions,” Lu Yanhe said. “The reason they’re haggling with us for so long is because they’re confident in the ‘Nineteen Years of Crime Records’ project. Because of the film version’s failure, everyone has concerns and worries, and this is how they’re trying to lower the price and give them more profit margin. That’s normal.”

Li Zhibai said, "Sigh."

“But there’s nothing we can do about it. Every project has to go through this,” Lu Yanhe said. “It’s also quite interesting. I wasn’t in charge of negotiating these things before, but I would stand by and watch. You can learn a lot by observing everyone’s micro-expressions and language.”

Li Zhibai: "I think I need to find a collaborator who can help me get these things done. Now I finally understand why those big-name directors all have a regular producer they work with."

“Artists also need a logistics manager to help them deal with worldly troubles,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile.

"Correct answer."

-

It was 11 p.m.

Airport.

Chen Qin stood in the arrival hall, waiting for Lin Yu to come out.

Lin Yu went to France these past two days to attend a film forum, where she was invited as the chief film critic for "Jump Up".

She now focuses almost entirely on film reviews.

She enjoys this kind of work, and both "Jump Up" and Lu Yanhe need her to do this job.

Chen Qin waited for about fifteen minutes before Lin Yu came out.

Lin Yu smiled when she saw Chen Qin.

She hugged Chen Qin.

"Have you been waiting for me for a long time?" Lin Yu asked.

Chen Qin shook his head and said, "It won't be long, let's go."

He took the suitcase from Lin Yu and said, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something before going back?"

Lin Yu said, "I'm not hungry, but the school's curfew has already passed, so I'll have to stay in a hotel tonight."

Chen Qin asked, "Then why don't you just go home?"

They are all from Yuming.

My family is in Yuming.

Lin Yu said, "It's too late. If I tell my parents I'm going back today, they'll definitely wait for me to get back before they go to sleep. I don't want to bother them. Besides, I have class early tomorrow morning. If I go home, I'll have to get up at six o'clock tomorrow morning. I still want to sleep a little longer, so I simply booked a hotel near the school."

Chen Qin nodded.

"How's your graduation thesis coming along?" Linyu asked.

Chen Qin: "The first draft has been sent to the teacher, and we have arranged to meet in his office next Monday to discuss it."

Lin Yu: "I'm envious."

Chen Qin smiled and asked, "Are you going to France alone this time? Didn't you bring Li Bi with you?"

Previously, when Lin Yu went abroad, it was mostly for film festival activities, so she would team up with Li Bi.

Lin Yu: "This time it's not a film festival, it's just a film forum, so Li Bi won't have anything to do there."

"That's true." Chen Qin smiled.

Lin Yu asked, "By the way, have you thought it through? Do you want to officially join 'Jump Up'?"

In recent years, Chen Qin has been working for "Jump Up" in an "informal" way, but he has not had a formal position in "Jump Up" like Lin Yu and others.

It wasn't that Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi were unwilling to give him a formal position, but rather that Chen Qin himself hadn't thought it through.

He always thought he wouldn't join "Jump Up." Of course, there was another very important reason: Lin Yu was already on "Jump Up," and he felt it was better for the two of them not to work in the same place.

Chen Qin said, "Actually, Yan He called me yesterday."

"Hmm?" Linyu asked, "He's looking for you?"

“Yes.” Chen Qin nodded. “He invited me to join his company, not ‘Jump Up,’ but his film and television production company.”

Lin Yu suddenly realized.

"So what do you think?"

“I… this is certainly a good opportunity,” Chen Qin said. “He told me that his company originally didn’t plan to operate as a physical entity, but the situation has changed. Many of his projects are under this company, so he and his agent are planning to poach a few people from outside to run the company. He needs a trustworthy person to join the company.”

Lin Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Linghe is in the film and television production business. It mainly serves as the copyright holder for several of Yan He's films and scripts, and has a large amount of copyright operation business. You studied law, so your major was a good fit for you."

Chen Qin: "Yes, that's what I think too. Actually, he also said that he wants me to join, but he doesn't expect me to be able to take on any business in the company right away."

“He doesn’t want to be kept in the dark,” Lin Yu said. “In recent years, Yan He’s business has developed very quickly, which has also expanded his business empire. This is even the result of his conscious efforts to suppress it, otherwise the empire would be even larger. It’s good for you to go there. It is almost foreseeable that the company will occupy an absolutely core position in Yan He’s business empire in the future.”

Chen Qin: "Actually, I also wonder why he didn't find someone from your 'Jump Up' team. You guys have become stronger than me through the training you've received over the years with 'Jump Up'."

“How are we better than you? I’m in charge of film reviews, which is actually a very small circle. Xu Zijun is basically in charge of the overall content of ‘Jump Up’ magazine now. Bai Yu, besides doing editing work, also focuses on her own writing. It’s just the few of us. If any of us went there, we would have to start from scratch.” Lin Yu said, “Besides, I don’t think anyone would want to go there. Everyone is working in the field they like and are most interested in now, and the environment is good. Who would want to change?”

Chen Qin: "That's true."

Lin Yu leaned gently on Chen Qin's shoulder, "I'm a little sleepy."

Chen Qin adjusted his position to make Lin Yu more comfortable. "Then you can sleep for a while. I'll wake you up when we get there."

"Um."

Lin Yu closed her eyes.

Chen Qin looked out the car window at the fleeting night and scenery.

In the blink of an eye, many years have passed.

I'm about to graduate from university.

Chen Qin was quite surprised when he received Lu Yanhe's call yesterday.

Although they were all classmates at No. 13 Middle School, Chen Qin knew that unlike Lin Yu and Li Pengfei, his relationship with Lu Yanhe wasn't particularly close. The only reason they maintained contact was because of Lin Yu.

But it is precisely because of this that Chen Qin's pride prevents him from stubbornly staying in "Jump Up".

Chen Qin would always come to help whenever they needed his assistance, but he would always refuse if they asked him to stay.

He gave all sorts of reasons, but he couldn't lie to himself about the real reason.

Lu Yanhe frankly told him, "Chen Qin, I don't have many people I can trust, just your circle of friends. If you're willing to help me, it will solve my urgent problem."

Chen Qin believed that if Lu Yanhe truly needed anyone's help, everyone would be willing to assist him. The fact that Lu Yanhe called him directly, rather than relaying the message through Lin Yu, made Chen Qin very satisfied.

This made Chen Qin feel that Lu Yanhe really needed him, and that he was not giving him an opportunity because of Lin Yu.

Human self-esteem can be quite strange sometimes.

Chen Qin was well aware that his pride was too sensitive, which, in the words of many seasoned veterans, was not a good thing.

He knows it's wrong, but what can he do? That's just his personality, and it's not something he can change just by wanting to.

When you walk into a group of people who are more capable and better than you, you want to remain neither arrogant nor humble. Can you do it?

Linghe Film and Television Production Company.

Chen Qin had always known about this company. He had actually considered contacting Lu Yanhe before to ask if he needed anything from him. Chen Qin just felt that compared to his classmates, he was too mediocre, but he didn't belittle himself to the point of thinking he was incapable. After all, he had been admitted to a prestigious university through the proper college entrance examination.

Even if he didn't go to Yanhe, he could still go to a law firm and follow a well-trodden path. But if he's just doing odd jobs anyway, why can't he work for his classmate?

-

Linghe Film and Television Production Company has started recruiting.

As a shareholder of the company, Chen Ziyan personally met with five candidates for CEO.

Because it doesn't position itself as a conventional film and television production company, it can't hire CEOs like a typical film and television production company.

“Generally, at this level, their abilities and overall qualities are beyond question. We need to look at their philosophy and whether their values ​​match ours,” Chen Ziyan told Lu Yanhe. “Of these five people, Xu Tianming has the most impressive resume. He has experience as a senior executive at Longyan Film and Lighthouse Media, as well as project experience. He understands the business. However, according to the background check, he has a tough style and a very strong personality. Therefore, his relationship with colleagues has always been his weakness. His departure from Longyan Film and Lighthouse Media was basically related to interpersonal relationships and internal strife.”

"Chen Yin is a perfect match in terms of both ability and personality, no doubt about it. He is a rather cautious and conservative person. Our Linghe Film and Television is not in a stage of large-scale development right now. Both our funds and personnel are still in the initial stage. If we were to hire him, he would be very suitable to build the basic structure of the company and lay a solid foundation. However, his shortcomings are also obvious. He has worked his way up through the administrative line and has no project experience. This does not quite fit our positioning at Linghe."

...

Chen Ziyan introduced the situation of each of the five people to Lu Yanhe, highlighting their different strengths and weaknesses.

Lu Yanhe asked, "Then, Sister Ziyan, who is your top choice?"

“You’re the boss, you make the decisions,” Chen Ziyan said.

Lu Yanhe: "I'm the boss, and you're the boss's agent. You have to provide advice to the boss."

Chen Ziyan rolled her eyes at Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe chuckled to himself.

Chen Ziyan said, "Before I give my advice, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Lu Yanhe felt that Chen Ziyan was testing him.

In fact, Chen Ziyan has always had this style. From the first day she became his manager, she was not the kind of manager who treated artists like puppets. She was always consciously or unconsciously training his vision, thinking, and abilities, especially his judgment.

Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said, "I will eliminate Liu Zhiguang first. His past work experience is mainly in film and television production. He started as a production assistant and has spent almost the entire past 20 years on film crews. He has no management experience in a company. We don't have a basic company structure here. If he comes, he will not have the experience or ability to build this structure for the company."

Chen Ziyan nodded.

“In my opinion, Li Jing is also a very unsuitable candidate,” Lu Yanhe said. “Over the past fifteen years, he has changed companies seven times. Although his position has risen higher and higher, and his experience and representative achievements are outstanding, he is clearly a restless person who is always looking for stepping stones. Our small startup company doesn’t have much room for him to gild his resume. His purpose in coming here is not pure either. We have nothing here, just a name and very limited copyright resources. Given his past work experience, what would he do here? He is someone who likes to seek media publicity wherever he goes. He probably comes here to use these well-known copyright resources to further gild his resume, and then he’ll just leave.”

Chen Ziyan nodded again.

"Hmm, three people left—"

Lu Yanhe took a deep breath. “In terms of personal ability and qualities, I would lean towards Xu Tianming. Building Linghe from scratch is a huge undertaking. If this person doesn’t have the courage, ability, and sufficient experience, he can’t do it. As for his shortcomings and flaws, they’re not that bad. He’s not good at handling relationships with colleagues… Linghe doesn’t have any colleagues to handle these relationships with right now. The first thing he did when he came here was to help the company recruit people.”

Chen Ziyan smiled.

Lu Yanhe asked, "Is my choice the same as yours?"

Chen Ziyan said, "50%."

"Huh? 50%?" Lu Yanhe was taken aback.

Chen Ziyan said, "Xu Tianming, you have made it very clear, but a person who charges forward with great boldness also needs an adjutant who can do a good job in logistics and provide supplies. I want to talk to Chen Yin to see if we can have him cooperate with Xu Tianming and serve as Xu Tianming's deputy."

Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.

“People like Chen Yin are often easily overlooked. But his cautious and conservative personality allowed him to rise through the ranks of administration without any project experience or background, which speaks volumes about his ability,” Chen Ziyan said. “Conquering an empire is difficult, but maintaining it is equally difficult. Having these two work together is the best option I’ve seen so far.”

Lu Yanhe was enlightened.

Chen Ziyan asked, "By the way, has your classmate made up their mind yet?"

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Chen Qin has already agreed."

“OK, Xu Fanxing will also complete the handover this month and officially join Linghe,” Chen Ziyan said. “It’s not easy. This small, run-down company has managed to grow up.”

Lu Yanhe smiled at Chen Ziyan.

"I never dreamed of this."

-

"Sister Ziyan, Xu Fanxing was specially sent here, right? Since Linghe is your company, although she said that she and you each arranged for someone from your own side to join the company, the person she arranged is actually someone you know, and she's Ziju's sister."

Chen Siqi smiled at Lu Yanhe.

"Sister Ziyan is meticulous in everything she does."

Lu Yanhe sighed, "I wish she didn't treat me like an outsider. If I had treated her like an outsider, I wouldn't have given her 20% of the shares in the first place."

"At the time, no one expected that this company would generate such high value because of these copyright operations. In Sister Ziyan's eyes, she just got a great deal. Do you think that, given Sister Ziyan's personality, she would allow herself to take such a big advantage from you?"

“Then her high-end brokerage firm also gave me shares.”

“You invested money,” Chen Siqi said. “That’s a different matter.”

Lu Yanhe: "Why make such a clear distinction?"

“The people who truly love and care about you are those who don’t want to take advantage of you in ordinary times and who keep clear boundaries with you,” Chen Siqi said. “But it’s also these same people who won’t keep clear boundaries with you when it matters.”

Lu Yanhe laughed.

“I have to buy the copyright to that line and put it in the script,” he said.

Chen Siqi: "Okay, you can buy me an ice cream, and then I'll give you the authorization."

"It's already November, and you're still eating ice cream?" Lu Yanhe asked in surprise.

Chen Siqi: "Is it okay to eat one occasionally?"

Lu Yanhe: "You'll have a stomachache then."

Chen Siqi: "No way... but what should I do if I really want to eat ice cream right now?"

Lu Yanhe: "Then let's buy a small ball; eating a little should be fine."

Chen Siqi laughed.

...

About five meters away from them, Wang Biao, along with Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang, were following Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi.

“If Chen Siqi comes, let’s not get too close. Brother Lu spends almost all his time working. You missed the time when he was in class. Now that school is over, he doesn’t have to go back to school anymore. So, his life is basically just his friends Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, Li Pengfei, and his girlfriend Chen Siqi.”

“These people are the closest and most trusted people in Brother Lu’s life. They rarely see each other. When they do meet, we should try our best to let them enjoy a space where they are not disturbed. So, at this time, we should avoid appearing in their sight if possible.”

While explaining to Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang, Wang Biao said, "Both of you are top students who graduated from prestigious universities, but the job of an assistant is basically to help your employer solve any problems. I don't know if you two will feel a big gap between your expectations and reality."

Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang immediately shook their heads.

"Anyway, if you can't get used to it, go talk to Sister Ziyan and see what arrangements she makes. I'm just following orders," Wang Biao said. "But one thing, whether you can get used to it or not is your business, and whether you want to stay or not is also your business. But don't force yourself to do it while you can't accept it in your heart, which will cause problems at work and affect Brother Lu."

Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang nodded.

“You’re all older than me, so you definitely understand the importance of taking responsibility better than I do,” Wang Biao said with a smile. “If I make a mistake, Brother Lu will clean up my mess, but you’ve only just arrived. If you make a mistake, Brother Lu might not be willing to clean up your mess.”

Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang: "..."

“Of course, you two should do a good job. Brother Lu won’t treat you unfairly. You’ve been with him for so long, you should have your own judgment about what kind of person Brother Lu is.” After Wang Biao finished speaking, he suddenly realized something and added, “But don’t try to fool him just because he’s a good person. Let me make this clear: if I find out that you’re slacking off, I will go straight to Sister Ziyan and tell her. As for other things, I won’t allow you to affect Brother Lu.”

"Won't."

"We won't."

Both Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang have large heads.

Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang really had to put in a lot of effort to adjust their mindset towards a "senior" like Wang Biao.

Although she was almost eighteen but not quite, this "senior" was Lu Yanhe's first assistant, and her personality wasn't exactly gentle or easy to get along with. However, it wasn't that she was deliberately making things difficult for him.

His work ability gave Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang a sense of complete understanding. It wasn't that he was particularly capable, but rather that he knew everything about everything, from the smallest details to the most intricacies, and he had a clear idea of ​​how to solve any problem. This was a quality rarely seen in people his age.

On the other hand, he often said and did childish things, leaving Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang both amused and exasperated.

-

Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi went to see the newly released movie "Star Fate", a biographical film starring Yu Mengling.

In November, a traditionally slow month for film releases, the current fierce competition in the market is largely comprised of films nominated for and winning the Fei Hong Awards.

Films that had achieved great box office success, such as "The Angry Crow," "My Home Is Long Away," "Nine Yin," and "Rouge," were re-released in theaters after winning awards. After two days of box office earnings exceeding one million, the daily box office dropped to six figures.

Films like "The Seventh Chapter of a Floating Life" and "The Abyss" are now only making tens of thousands of yuan a day at the box office.

However, probably because "Happy Hour" has not yet been released on video websites, the film's box office actually earned over a million yuan a day for several days after the Fei Hong Awards results were announced.

"Road to Glory" has been persistently pursuing a preview screening route, and thanks to the popularity of the Fei Hong Awards, its average attendance per screening has increased slightly.

"Star Fate" is a rare new film.

Because Yu Mengling is the lead actress, it has garnered quite a bit of attention.

Lu Yanhe accompanied Chen Siqi to watch the movie. As soon as they left the theater, Chen Siqi whispered, "It was so mediocre."

"Yes, it's a pity about Yu Mengling's acting skills. Her performance was the most touching part of the whole film."

Chen Siqi said, "It seems that Yu Mengling has never acted in any particularly popular films."

"She has always been quite focused on acting in serious films," Lu Yanhe said.

The film "Fusang," for which Yu Mengling previously won Best Actress, was also an art film.

"However, she has hardly ever played supporting roles. I have seen her resume, and she was the lead in her very first film."

“I heard that her family is quite well-off. When she wanted to become an actress, her family asked many friends to help her make her career path smooth after graduation,” Chen Siqi said. “Because she has acted in low-budget art films, she has never been very well-known, but the industry seems to recognize her quite a bit.”

Lu Yanhe suddenly remembered what he had told Wang Jing about "different paths".

Everyone chose a path to take.

Yu Mengling chose to stick to her own standards.

Actually, it's pretty good.

Different paths lead to the same destination; it's just a matter of whether you can reach the end.

“It looks like we were just photographed,” Chen Siqi suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Lu Yanhe asked, "Where?"

“The black car across the street,” Chen Siqi said.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Let them take pictures."

That's the advantage of being open; you don't have to hide anything, so you can film whatever you want.

Chen Siqi sighed: "Yeah, it's a bit of a pity."

"What's a pity?"

“Our ‘accumulation plan’ has failed,” Chen Siqi said.

After months of intense effort, their director selection program had to be reluctantly acknowledged: aside from the two guaranteed spots from Aurora Video, they hadn't discovered any truly talented or promising directors during the event.

None of the short films met their standards.

"It's okay, failure is failure. Everyone fails sometimes," Lu Yanhe comforted Chen Siqi. "So, shall we still honor the reward we promised?"

“Yes, I’ll keep my word,” Chen Siqi said. “I can’t be a person who goes back on their word just because I didn’t like someone.”

The failure of the "Accumulation Plan" left Lu Yanhe somewhat disappointed. However, failure is the norm, and success is the exception. The fact that he had succeeded so many times was already an incredible miracle.

-

Chen Siqi only came back for two days this time.

Lu Yanhe dropped Chen Siqi off at the airport before asking, "After filming 'Love Letter,' can we consider looking at houses?"

Chen Siqi was taken aback. "What house?"

"Well...aren't you going to move the editorial office of 'Jump Up' to Yuming later? Since you're going to be based in Yuming, why don't we rent a house together?"

Neither of them has paid enough social security contributions yet, so they can't buy a house and can only rent.

Lu Yanhe has always remembered this incident.

Chen Siqi only realized what Lu Yanhe meant after hearing his words, "Oh, okay, then let's go take a look together."

Lu Yanhe scratched his head and asked, "Would you like to live with me?"

“Yes, I’m willing,” Chen Siqi said. “It’s just that you said it so suddenly that I was a little caught off guard. However, I’m planning to buy a house for our ‘Jump Up’ editorial department in Lingyang District. It’s an hour and a half drive from the city center each way, so I’ll definitely be spending most of my time there.”

To save on rent, Chen Siqi bought a house in Lingyang District to use as the office space for "Jump Up". She couldn't afford a house in the city center, so she bought one in Lingyang District where the average price is only 25,000 yuan.

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "I know, but you will definitely have to come to the city for business all the time, and you will have to travel back and forth frequently. Renting a house here will make things much more convenient for you."

"Hmm, so you're not going to live with Li Zhibai and Yan Liang anymore?" Chen Siqi asked curiously. "I've always had this feeling that the three of you are going to live together forever."

Lu Yanhe said, "Actually, there's something else I want to discuss with you. If there are suitable houses available near Ziyuan Bridge, how about we rent one there?"

Chen Siqi was taken aback.

“We actually live quite comfortably near Ziyuanqiao. It’s a university town, and although the rent is expensive, it’s very convenient in every way,” Lu Yanhe said. “Especially when we want to eat something late at night, we can always find a restaurant no matter how late it is.”

Chen Siqi nodded, smiled, and said, "Sure, I'm fine with anything."

She asked, "However, all three of you will graduate next June, and none of you will be pursuing postgraduate studies. Are you still planning to continue living in Ziyuanqiao?"

“The three of us have lived here for several years and have a good relationship with our neighbors. Moreover, given the nature of our work, privacy is our top priority. It’s rare to find a place like this where we’ve lived for several years without any of these problems,” Lu Yanhe said. “If we were to move to another place, we would have to readjust all over again.”

Chen Siqi: "Then why don't you just buy a house near Ziyuan Bridge in the future and live in one place until you retire?"

Lu Yanhe: "That works too."

Chen Siqi glanced at Lu Yanhe and shook her head.

It doesn't mean rejection, but rather a sense of "I knew I was going to say it."

-

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I recommend reading the older book, "I Became the Scandalous Woman Overnight".

(End of this chapter)