Chapter 601 Enemies

"The 'Roommates' series is indeed different from our company's other projects. It is our only project that we have solely funded. Our other projects have basically received investment from Northern Light Venture Capital, just a little more or less."

After Hu Siwei reported the relevant situation to Chen Ziyan, Chen Ziyan discussed it with Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe himself supported having the drama "Roommates" be produced according to the "minimum guarantee + revenue sharing" model of Aurora Video.

But Chen Ziyan had a different opinion.

"Yan He, Hu Siwei initially only used 12 million to produce this drama in order to reduce the risk of loss. This drama has a completely new cast, without a single big-name star. The actors' salaries account for less than one-sixth of the budget for this drama."

Chen Ziyan continued, "In this situation, if we let 'Roommates' risk losses to adapt to the new model of Northern Lights, it will greatly destabilize the subsequent bonuses of the entire 'Roommates' project team. You must understand, the most crucial point for Linghe is that this drama is a production we built ourselves, entirely on our own. If the drama's broadcast performance is not ideal and it doesn't achieve the expected profit, even if it's just a little bit, the subsequent bonuses of the entire team, including key technical departments, will not be paid out. We will either have to subsidize it ourselves, or we will have to let them suffer losses. How many people from Linghe's first production team that we built will be able to stay and continue working on the second project?"

Lu Yanhe immediately realized what Chen Ziyan meant.

Chen Ziyan asked, "Are you going to let the company cover the losses? To bear the risk of having to subsidize the project even if it doesn't make a profit?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head.

Even if he doesn't understand the company or finance, he knows that this is not a healthy approach.

“So, I understand Hu Siwei’s concerns,” Chen Ziyan said. “I will have Chen Yin and Hu Siwei seriously study the market prospects of ‘Roommates’ and then connect with Bingyuan Video and Lighthouse Video to see what price they offer, and even traditional TV stations. Actually, based on my positioning of this drama, I will be very satisfied as long as it doesn’t lose money. If it weren’t for hiring Bai Jingnian as the director, the production cost of this drama might not even be half of what it is now. And we need Bai Jingnian as the director, not only for the drama itself, but also to bring us a filming team.”

"As long as we don't lose money, we've made a profit. We've gained experience in producing our first wholly-owned project, and we've also cultivated a production team belonging to Linghe. More importantly, with the foundational results of the first season, we can lower the cost of the second season, and this project can continue to support the team."

"Moreover, don't forget that if 'Roommates' can't be sold and generate revenue before the third quarter, it will affect the production of our next project, 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy'."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

“We can collaborate with Aurora Video on projects using their model, but not on a new project like ‘Roommates’,” Chen Ziyan said. “Our long-term partnership with Aurora Video is actually an agreement between you and Aurora. ‘Roommates’ is not your project; you are just nominally a producer. We don’t necessarily have to put ‘Roommates’ on Aurora Video for broadcast.”

Chen Ziyan's words enlightened Lu Yanhe.

-

Hu Siwei did not expect that Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe would take the initiative to suggest that "Roommates" could be broadcast on another platform, and he did not expect that they would be so tolerant of the project, suggesting that as long as it did not lose money, a second season could be developed.

This immediately eased Hu Siwei's mind, which had been troubled for several days.

However, a romantic comedy without any well-known stars, even with the name of Linghe Production Company and Lu Yanhe as producer, still couldn't get the project attention because Lu Yanhe neither directed, wrote, nor acted in it. The "Lu content" was too low.

The only selling point of "Roommates" in the eyes of the production company is its director, Bai Jingnian.

Director of Friends and My Own Swordsman.

This made it difficult for "Roommates" to sell on other platforms. Bingyuan Video, considering its partnership with Linghe, was willing to offer two million yuan per episode, but only on the condition of exclusive broadcasting—not just online, but throughout mainland China. This meant that if the show was sold to Bingyuan, it couldn't be sold to a television station.

Two million yuan per episode is actually quite a high price, meeting Hu Siwei's expectations and even exceeding the initial offer of 1.5 million yuan from Aurora Video. Given the several product placements within the series, profitability for "Roommates" shouldn't be difficult.

However, Icefield Video did not intend to give "Roommates" A-level promotional resources, but hoped to have priority purchasing rights for the development of the second season of "Roommates", which made Hu Siwei uneasy.

The main problem is still the former: this drama itself has no stars, and now it lacks good promotion, so how can it possibly perform well?

While Hu Siwei was constantly communicating with various platforms, Lu Yanhe also joined the cast of the play "The Silent Staircase" produced by Jump Theater.

This is a film he agreed to star in last month, which is also adapted from a short story by Liu Jiazhen.

The Jump Up Theater is now progressing smoothly with its various projects.

Because Lu Yanhe was the lead actor, the production budget for "The Silent Staircase" was much more substantial. When the project for the Jumping Theater was announced, numerous advertisers approached Yuehu TV and Northern Lights Video, wanting to become the title sponsors of the series.

Everyone knows that although jumping theater is a new thing, a play starring Lu Yanhe is bound to be a success.

A play like "Jump Up" might flop, but "The Silent Staircase" certainly won't.

The director of "The Silent Staircase" is An Jian. He's not a new director; he's already directed two dramas, but both were critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful—good reviews, but few viewers. As a result, he hasn't directed a single project in five or six years.

This time, at the very beginning of the preparation for the Jumping Theater, Luo Yuzhong recommended An Jian.

After several discussions, it was finally decided that An Jian would direct the project "The Silent Staircase." Only then did Lu Yanhe decide to act in the drama. Strictly speaking, An Jian was already a seasoned director; however, due to the commercial failure of his previous two dramas, he only held that title.

An Jian never expected that, thanks to Luo Yuzhong's recommendation, he would not only have the opportunity to direct again, but also the chance to act in a film with Lu Yanhe.

Great joy descended from heaven.

"Hello, Yan He." An Jian was in his forties and was already a middle-aged director. In recent years, he hadn't exactly been struggling financially, but he certainly didn't live a life of luxury like the average director, and he didn't seem very relaxed.

Before meeting him, Lu Yanhe didn't know much about him, but he watched two episodes of a drama he directed. In short, he felt that An Jian was a director who cared a lot about his own ideas, with a very "auteur" and "literary" style, so the dramas weren't very good, as they focused too much on "profound meaning".

It's no wonder that TV dramas made this way received high praise but low viewership. Even now, not many people have seen these two dramas, and they are rarely seen in compilations of "niche critically acclaimed dramas."

However, this style is quite suitable for the subject matter of "The Silent Staircase".

The story itself is about a small family facing turmoil caused by a murder.

The complicated relationships and secrets between the characters are a major highlight of this suspenseful story.

The different characteristics of the characters and the different facets of human nature are well portrayed, and with the original story as a foundation, it's hard to find a good film.

Moreover, Lu Yanhe noticed that the director's contract signed between Jump Up Theater and An Jian did not include editing rights for him.

Generally speaking, editing rights are a standard feature of directors.

The reason why Jump Up Theater needed An Jian was that his expertise in filming subjects and techniques was a good fit for "The Silent Staircase".

However, they did not want Anjian to edit "The Silent Staircase" into a long and dull dissection of human nature, so in the end, they took control of the editing themselves.

"Hello, Director An."

After the two met, Lu Yanhe greeted An Jian politely.

An Jian also addressed him politely as "President Lu".

Lu Yanhe said, "Director An, you can just call me Yanhe or Xiao Lu."

An Jian said, "When I took on the role of director for this drama, I never expected that you would be cast in it. This really surprised me."

Lu Yanhe laughed.

"I'm very happy that we can work together."

-

After exchanging pleasantries with An Jian, Lu Yanhe went to the lounge to prepare and memorize the script. An hour later, everyone would have a meeting to study the script and listen to An Jian outline the filming ideas.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door.

Wang Biao opened the door, and standing outside was Peng Yufen, an actress from "The Silent Staircase," who played the role of the older sister in the family. She had auditioned for the role and was handpicked by An Jian.

"Hello, is Yan He here?" Peng Yufen asked with a friendly smile, carrying a paper bag. "I'm one of the actors in this drama, Peng Yufen. I heard Yan He is here, so I came to pay him a visit."

Wang Biao smiled at her and said, "Hello, Brother Lu is reading the script."

"Oh, sorry, did I disturb you? I'll visit you again during the meeting later. These are some cookies I baked myself, please have a taste." Peng Yufen smiled and handed the paper bag in her hand to Wang Biao.

Wang Biao: "You can give it to Brother Lu in person later. What I mean is—please wait a moment."

He smiled slightly at Peng Yufen, turned around and went inside to talk to Lu Yanhe before inviting Peng Yufen in.

Lu Yanhe's rest room is divided into two rooms, an inner room and an outer room. Lu Yanhe sat in the inner room, where he was all alone.

Peng Yufen then realized what Wang Biao meant by "please wait a moment".

Their dressing rooms are all single rooms, and everyone inside knows who comes in. That's why when Peng Yufen heard Wang Biao say "Lu Yanhe is reading the script," she subconsciously thought that Lu Yanhe didn't want to see her right now.

When Peng Yufen came in, Lu Yanhe had already stood up.

"Hello, Sister Yufen." Lu Yanhe shook hands with her.

"Oh my, you actually recognize me?" Peng Yufen asked in surprise.

"Director An Jian has already introduced everyone to me." Lu Yanhe smiled and invited Peng Yufen to sit down. "I feel really bad because I had other work to do beforehand and couldn't rehearse with everyone in advance."

“Your acting is so good, why would you need to waste time rehearsing with us? We just need to make sure we don’t hold you back.” Peng Yufen waved her hand cheerfully. “Being able to act with you would make all our friends in the industry extremely envious.”

"I don't deserve such praise." Lu Yanhe quickly waved his hand. "Sister Yufen, when did you two start rehearsing together?"

"We met for the first time about half a month in advance, and then we rehearsed three times," Peng Yufen said.

After exchanging pleasantries for a short while, someone suddenly knocked on the door again.

Wang Biao went to open the door, and it turned out to be Zhang Yuan, another main actor in "The Silent Staircase," who played the role of the father of this family.

He was also there to visit Lu Yanhe, and he was carrying a small bag.

Wang Biao explained with a smile, "Peng Yufen is still inside too."

Zhang Yuan gave a surprised "Oh," and said, "Yu Fen is here too."

Just as Wang Biao was about to say, "Please wait a moment," Zhang Yuan walked inside with a smile, carrying his things. "That's perfect, what a coincidence."

Wang Biao was taken aback, looking in surprise at Zhang Yuan who had already walked past him and gone inside.

This is... an uninvited intrusion?

Wang Biao had been following Lu Yanhe for so long, and apart from some crazy paparazzi and fans, he had never encountered anything like Zhang Yuan's situation.

"Teacher Zhang." Wang Biao's face darkened as he called out.

Zhang Yuan turned around with a bright and friendly smile, pointing to the half-open door to the inner room, "Are they inside?"

Wang Biao: "Please wait a moment, I'll go in and say hello first."

Zhang Yuan: "Oh, no need to trouble you, I'll just go in and say hello."

He patted Wang Biao on the shoulder in a very familiar manner and walked inside without saying a word.

At that moment, Wang Biao was thinking, "If I swallow my pride and stop him now, will it affect the normal filming later?"

In the past, he would never have thought of these things.

Before he could even finish thinking about it, Zhang Yuan had already rushed inside.

"..." Wang Biao couldn't catch up with him.

He stood behind Zhang Yuan with a resentful look and glanced at Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe indicated that everything was alright.

Zhang Yuan showed great concern for Lu Yanhe, inquiring about his well-being.

"You must be very busy lately, right? I originally wanted to ask Song Fan to introduce you when I learned you would be starring in 'The Silent Staircase,' but seeing how busy you are, I decided against it. I won't bother you; we can see each other while filming anyway," Zhang Yuan laughed. "But I didn't expect you to be as quick as Yu Fen."

Lu Yanhe said politely, "Teacher Zhang, you're too kind."

Peng Yufen glared at Zhang Yuan angrily, "You're even arguing about how fast or slow you are when you come to pay a visit to Yan He. Why are you so calculating?"

Zhang Yuan: "I hope Yan He won't mind and won't think I'm disrespecting him."

“How could that be?” Lu Yanhe said.

Peng Yufen: "That's why I said you're too sensitive. How could Yan He care about such a small thing? Do you think everyone is like you, so petty?"

Zhang Yuan: "You have to be responsible for your words. How am I petty?"

"I suggested changing a few lines yesterday, and you felt like you were missing two lines, so you were sarcastic all day. You're quite petty, aren't you?" Peng Yufen rolled her eyes at Zhang Yuan and said to Lu Yanhe, "Yanhe, I'm leaving now. See you later."

Zhang Yuan: "You're an interesting person. You just said it and left. Are you feeling guilty?"

“I didn’t want to disturb Yan He’s rest, but you already know that Yan He has been working hard, and now you’re going to argue with him in front of him?” Peng Yufen rolled her eyes at Zhang Yuan for the third time. “You’re really something else.”

Peng Yufen is gone.

Zhang Yuan stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before awkwardly saying to Lu Yanhe, "Yanhe, don't listen to her nonsense. I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll be leaving now. See you at the meeting later."

"Okay, see you later." Lu Yanhe smiled and saw his guest off.

Wang Biao walked in.

"Neither of them seems like easy people to deal with," Wang Biao remarked. "But Zhang Yuan really went too far, barging in without even a word, showing absolutely no manners."

Lu Yanhe smiled, paused for a moment, and said, "As long as it doesn't affect the normal filming, let them make a fuss."

He'd worked on quite a few film crews, and most of them had fairly harmonious relationships. There were certainly many instances of undercurrents and private discord. However, it was rare to see a conflict as openly as that between Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen. Lu Yanhe had learned a lesson: avoid getting involved in other people's affairs, especially disputes; such things were the easiest way to get yourself into trouble.

For Lu Yanhe, getting involved in such matters was even more daunting. Because, at some point, whenever people had a disagreement, they started wanting his opinion. His opinion had suddenly become crucial evidence in Judge Bao's judgments.

Wang Biao said worriedly, "Brother Lu, I have a feeling that the next week of filming won't be peaceful."

Lu Yanhe: "Don't worry, nothing serious will happen."

As Lu Yanhe had expected, during the subsequent meeting, although there were some undercurrents among everyone, they were still able to maintain a harmonious atmosphere and cooperate and communicate normally on the surface.

In particular, there was no tension or impending fight between Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen; they only exchanged a few words occasionally.

Wang Biao was quite puzzled; he had assumed the atmosphere at the scene wouldn't be very harmonious.

Afterwards, Wang Biao asked Lu Yanhe, "Brother Lu, why are you so sure they won't cause any big problems? Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen clearly parted on bad terms."

"Didn't you notice that the two of them were almost arguing? Peng Yufen left immediately, and Zhang Yuan didn't get emotional and kept pestering her, did he?" Lu Yanhe smiled. "Zhang Yuan rushed in to find me because he was worried that Peng Yufen would push their argument onto him in front of me. The two of them deliberately made a scene in front of me to see my opinion."

Wang Biao suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"

Lu Yanhe: "I didn't express any opinions, I just made it clear that I didn't want to get involved, and they withdrew. When we're making a show, we're all in the same boat, and we all hope that the show will be well-made and broadcast, and that it will help our careers. We all have a common goal, and they generally won't quit before filming is finished."

Wang Biao seemed to be deep in thought.

-

"The creative atmosphere in the crew of 'The Silent Staircase' was quite good, but Director An Jian was a bit too concerned about my opinions and would ask me about everything."

When talking to Chen Siqi on the phone, Lu Yanhe said with some helplessness, "Although I know he respects me, if he has to listen to my opinion on everything, I might as well just be the director myself."

Chen Siqi: "I'll have someone talk to him about it."

“Forget it, I’m just venting to you. If you ask someone else to talk to him, it will be a bit awkward.” Lu Yanhe said frankly, “It’s better to communicate with him myself. He’s probably a bit hesitant because his previous two films failed commercially, and he doesn’t quite trust his own judgment.”

Chen Siqi: "That was in front of you. He is a director with very strong opinions. According to the information we learned in the early stages, he has had opportunities to continue directing in recent years, but his communication with film and television companies has not been very pleasant. You can see from the two movies he directed before that what he wanted to make was completely different from what the film and television companies wanted to make and what was popular in the market."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Then why did you choose him to direct 'The Silent Staircase'?"

“Because we carefully reviewed his previous works, we felt that his acting was excellent in all aspects, but the editing was too dull,” Chen Siqi said. “So, we retained the final editing rights. If we are not satisfied with the final cut, we will re-edit it. To be honest, our communication with him wasn’t very smooth. He’s a bit cynical and looks down on many popular dramas on the market right now. Although he praises your dramas highly in front of us, we don’t know what he’s really thinking behind the scenes.”

“It’s alright. Since he was recommended by his teacher, at least his character must be acceptable. Whether he’s cynical or feels unappreciated, everyone has their flaws,” Lu Yanhe said. “As long as he can make a good film of ‘The Silent Staircase’.”

“That’s true.” Chen Siqi smiled. “There’s something else. Did you know he wants to sign with Linghe and become a contracted director with them?”

Lu Yanhe was taken aback, somewhat surprised. "I don't know, no one told me."

Chen Siqi: "When he was talking to us, he mentioned that among the film and television companies he is currently in, he only wants to work with Linghe. He hopes that he can make 'The Silent Staircase' a success this time and that he can join the company in the future."

"When I met him today, he was only quite attentive, but he didn't express any such intention."

Chen Siqi: "No one would tell you they want to join your company on the very first day."

The two chatted and laughed.

Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen suddenly bumped into each other in the hallway outside his room.

The two looked at each other, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

The production crew arranged a luxury suite for Lu Yanhe, located at the far end of this floor. Next to this suite were the rooms for Wang Biao and Zou Dong.

Apart from the three of them, the crew did not arrange for anyone else to be on this floor.

Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen looked at each other in bewilderment.

At this point, they didn't need to ask each other to know what the other was there for.

But no one said anything.

"Coming here so late, aren't you afraid of being seen and causing a scandal?" Zhang Yuan finally spoke up, "Don't cause trouble for Lu Yanhe."

Peng Yufen rolled her eyes. "Have you no shame? Why don't you say that if you went into Lu Yanhe's room late at night, people would spread rumors about you too?"

Zhang Yuan: "...You're being completely unreasonable."

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to." Peng Yufen glanced at Zhang Yuan. "Your contract should be expiring soon, right?"

Zhang Yuan looked surprised.

How did you know?

Peng Yufen: "You made such a big move by changing agencies, asking around everywhere for good ones and getting recommendations. Everyone knows that, right?"

Zhang Yuan: "..."

Peng Yufen: "You want to follow Jiang Jun's path?"

Zhang Yuan fell silent again.

Every word Peng Yufen said pierced his heart like a sharp arrow.

Zhang Yuan: "And you? What brings you here so late?"

"Heh, none of your business," Peng Yufen retorted without any politeness.

Zhang Yuan: "With such a bad temper, it's no wonder you've never become famous."

"So you have a great temper, and you're very famous?"

Zhang Yuan: "..."

He found that he really couldn't talk to Peng Yufen properly.

Just then, a person suddenly walked over from the other end of the corridor.

Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen turned around to look.

The other person looked at them with a puzzled expression.

They didn't know each other.

The person who came was actually Hu Siwei.

Hu Siwei had arranged to come over and talk to Lu Yanhe about "Roommates".

The man and woman in front of him were standing near the door of Lu Yanhe's room, and they didn't seem to be very friendly.

Did the couple living on the same floor have a fight?

Hu Siwei glanced at them with some confusion.

He didn't stop, took out his phone, and sent a message to Lu Yanhe: Yanhe, I've arrived, but it seems there's a couple arguing outside your room.

Less than half a minute later, Lu Yanhe came to open the door.

He: "Thinking Bro."

After exchanging greetings, Lu Yanhe noticed Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen, who were also looking at him with puzzled and curious expressions.

"Teacher Zhang, Teacher Peng, what are you doing here? Are you looking for me?"

Zhang Yuan and Peng Yufen could tell from Lu Yanhe that he had guests.

The two immediately shook their heads, in unison.

"I was just strolling around the hotel to digest my food," Peng Yufen explained first. "Then I saw Zhang Yuan acting suspiciously outside your room, so I came over to check it out."

She sold Zhang Yuan without hesitation.

Zhang Yuan stared wide-eyed at Peng Yufen in disbelief.

Peng Yufen turned her head to look in the other direction, completely ignoring his accusatory gaze.

Zhang Yuan said with a dark face, "...I wanted to talk to you about the script, but it seems you already have an appointment. I'll talk to you again tomorrow."

Lu Yanhe nodded and smiled, "Okay."

Hu Siwei glanced at them thoughtfully before following Lu Yanhe into the room.

The door closed again.

Zhang Yuan glared angrily at Peng Yufen.

Peng Yufen turned and left, still ignoring him.

-

I recommend the new book "The Demon-Slaying Sword," which may not be finished, can't be updated daily, and is purely for the sake of changing the writing style.

(End of this chapter)