Chapter 76

Xu Ying would visit the set of "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" every few days, and spend most of her time at home writing novels.

As she was writing, Yueyin suddenly sent her a message.

Moon Shadow: Someone wants to buy the rights to "Code Name: Dodder Flower," and you'll never guess who it is!!!

Someone wants to buy the rights to the novel?

Xu Ying was somewhat surprised. She hadn't been in contact with Yue Yin for a while. Yue Yin wasn't a talkative person and rarely bothered her unless necessary. The fact that she was so excited this time suggested that the person who bought the copyright was quite capable.

February Sky: Who is it?

She couldn't imagine who else besides Zhou Xingyun would buy the rights to her novel before it was finished. Doing so was risky; what if she ended up with a bad ending?

Yueyin didn't keep anyone in suspense.

Yueyin: refers to Liu Mingchun.

February Sky: Is this the Liu Mingchun I know?

Xu Ying was genuinely pleasantly surprised this time.

She didn't know many celebrities in the entertainment industry, and even fewer directors, but she knew Liu Mingchun because he had a particularly good reputation. Almost every film he directed was a classic, the kind that would still be considered a classic even five or ten years later.

This is a true artist.

On the other side, Yueyin was also very excited. No, it should be said that she had been very excited ever since she received the message from the copyright department.

Yueyin: Yes, yes, it's him. When he called us this morning, all my colleagues were stunned.

Who would have thought that Liu Mingchun would make the call himself?

Yueyin: Oh, right, he also asked if he could have your contact information so he could talk to you.

Yueyin: But don't worry, we haven't given it to you yet. Director Liu himself said that we should ask for your opinion first.

That's what makes a great director; he's so meticulous in his words and actions.

Xu Ying naturally had no reason not to give it to him.

February Sky: Here you go.

Moonlit Shadow: Okay.

Yueyin looked up from her phone screen and saw several editors across from her looking at her with envy.

"That's great, Director Liu actually took the initiative to contact me."

"February Sky is amazing! Apart from her first novel, every single one of her subsequent novels has been adapted into a film or television series. She's incredibly lucky with the copyrights!"

"I'm so envious that you signed such a great author."

Sigh, why didn't they discover the hidden gem that is February Sky back then?

Yueyin grinned from ear to ear: "February Sky is indeed very powerful..." She had simply won by doing nothing.

*

After receiving Yueyin's notification, Xu Ying couldn't concentrate on writing.

She sat in front of the computer for half an hour, but only managed to type a few hundred words. The efficiency was too low, so she simply turned off the computer, put on a thick coat, and went to the film set.

Since filming began, the actors of "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" have already settled into their roles.

When Xu Ying arrived, everyone acted convincingly in front of the camera and staff, much better than during their initial interviews.

She stood outside for a while, then felt a bit cold and went into the lounge.

Inside the lounge.

Liu Meng and Ya Ya were also sitting inside. Their eyes lit up when they saw Xu Ying: "February, you're here?"

Xu Ying hummed in agreement.

The air conditioner was on inside, and a wave of heat hit her as soon as she entered. She took off her coat and casually draped it over the rack before walking over to the two of them.

"It's warmer inside!"

Liu Meng chimed in, "Of course, the air conditioning in the lounge has been running all day."

Ya Ya said with some sympathy, "Acting is a tough job too. They have to pretend nothing's wrong while filming in this cold weather."

She finally understood that there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world; you have to pay something for everything.

“Actually, our crew is already considered lucky,” Liu Meng said. “They were filming winter scenes, and they were even given a charcoal brazier on set. They were also wearing thick costumes. If you were to encounter a crew that was filming summer scenes in winter, that would be truly miserable!”

"I know that. I saw some behind-the-scenes footage online. Did the actors have to hold ice cubes in their mouths beforehand to prevent their breath from illuminating their mouths when they spoke?"

"That's right, that's right. Not only are you wearing very little clothing in the dead of winter, but you also have ice cubes in your mouth. Do you think it's cold?"

"So the schedule arranged by our director is quite reasonable," Xu Ying said.

In September, when the weather was still very hot, the director focused on filming the cooler scenes in the drama. After those scenes were filmed, the weather gradually turned cold, and the actors were able to wear thick clothes to film the winter scenes.

"By the way, what were you doing here just now?" Xu Ying turned to ask the two of them.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw the two of them huddled together, whispering to each other. However, they were so engrossed in discussing the weather and actors that she almost forgot about this.

"It's nothing," Ya Ya smiled sheepishly and showed the tablet drawing in her hand to Xu Ying. "We were just discussing the style of the clothes. I drew a new sketch and asked Sister Meng to help me with her reference."

Liu Meng is a senior colleague with unquestionable professional skills. Often, she only needs to give a few pointers, and Ya Ya benefits greatly from them.

"It's quite beautiful," Xu Ying said, looking at the clothes, which were in the style of the Qing Dynasty. "Are you still designing costumes for the film crew? Is it too late?"

Film crews don't wait for anyone; costumes need to be custom-made, and by the time the costumes are finished, filming might already be over.

"It's not for the production team. I just jot down my inspirations and ask Sister Meng for feedback."

Xu Ying nodded, "I see."

"Ah!" Liu Meng, who had been silent until now, suddenly exclaimed, "Look, the Feihua Awards just announced the nominations, and 'Wu Zetian' has been nominated for several awards!!!"

As she spoke, she handed her phone to the two of them.

Xu Ying quickly went over to take a look. "Wu Zetian" was nominated for Best Drama, Tang Ningshuang for Best Actress, Du Jing for Best Actor, and she... she was even nominated for Best Screenplay...

"Congratulations! You were nominated for Best Screenplay in February!" YaYa clapped her hands.

Liu Meng is from the costume and makeup team of "Empress Wu Zetian". She has a much deeper emotional connection to the crew than Ya Ya, and she is even more excited than Ya Ya at this moment: "This is great, this is really great!"

The surprise came so suddenly that Xu Ying was a little stunned.

What's going on today? First, Director Liu suddenly came to buy her copyright, and then "Wu Zetian" was nominated for multiple awards. It's truly a double celebration!

*

The fact that "Empress Wu Zetian" received multiple nominations at the Feihua Awards has excited netizens, and marketing accounts have also been working hard to spread the news far and wide.

-Our fifth child has really made something of himself.

- Xiao Wu?

- You can tell at a glance that he's not a drama fan. This is our nickname, Xiao Wu = Xiao Wu.

- Oh, I see.

- Hahaha, there wasn't a single famous actor in the whole group, yet they became a huge hit last summer. Looks like they're going to be making it to all the major award ceremonies this year!

- Don't overhype it.

- Everyone should keep a low profile, otherwise you might get a slap in the face if you don't win an award.

- Surely not, with so many nominations, at least one should be accepted...

-That's hard to say.

In my opinion, the judges only gave the nomination as encouragement because the show was popular; the production team might end up with very few awards.

- Barely encouraged? Does your "barely encouraged" mean giving four nominations?

- The petty person gains power.

-Someone broke down, hahaha!

-I wonder whose older brother we beat up last year.

......

There is a lot of controversy online about "Wu Zetian" being nominated, but this does not affect Xu Ying's good mood at all.

The crew was still filming diligently, so she didn't want to ask them to stop work and go out for a meal. Instead, she simply chartered a food truck and had the chef cook for everyone on the spot.

The meal came out of nowhere. Some of the actors had been busy filming and hadn't seen the news, so they were still a bit confused until someone next to them quietly explained it to them.

"Really? Is 'Wu Zetian' really that amazing?"

The Flying Blossom Awards, one of the three major awards in the TV drama industry, saw "Empress Wu Zetian" receive four nominations, which is truly impressive!

"Yes, of course it's true, otherwise where would this food come from?"

One of them said, "Do you think we should go and congratulate the screenwriter later?"

"Go ahead, you definitely have to go."

It's a good thing, not a bad thing. They should definitely try to get close to the screenwriter. Maybe she'll remember them and think of them when there are suitable roles for them in the future.

Many actors shared the same thoughts as them, so Xu Ying was particularly busy in the afternoon.

Actually, it's not that these actors don't want to get close to Xu Ying, but it's just too awkward to approach her without a reasonable reason. Xu Ying doesn't engage in any underhanded tactics, so they don't know where to start.

This nomination for the Feihua Award has given everyone a great opportunity to flatter me, with a whole bunch of nice things being said.

Xu Ying was somewhat dazed in the lounge.

Not only the actors, but also the staff came over one after another to greet her. With so many people in the crew, even if each person only said a word or two, it added up to several hours of her time.

"No, no, I have to go now!"

Xu Ying could be said to have fled in panic.

The crew was so enthusiastic that she couldn't handle it.

Liu Meng and Ya Ya waved to her with smiles. Not to mention Xu Ying, even the two of them couldn't stand it anymore. The door to the lounge had been opening and closing all afternoon, and the little bit of heat inside was almost gone.

Xu Ying drove home.

She thought she would be safe once she got home, but that wasn't the case.

She had barely gotten home with her car keys in hand, and before she could even sit down, Zhou Xingyun called.

Zhou Xingyun on the other end of the phone was obviously very excited. "Wu Zetian" was the first TV series she produced, and the first TV series directly entered the Feihua Award. Regardless of whether it won the award in the end, it was enough to make her proud!

"I bought a ticket for the next flight to Shanghai. Let's get together properly tomorrow!"

Zhou Xingyun returned to Beijing for a while. She originally planned to stay at home for a few more days, but now that the Feihua Award has been announced, she can't wait to go back to Shanghai.

"Okay, take your time, no rush."

......

While chatting with Zhou Xingyun, Xu Ying's phone suddenly went off with a message notification. It was from a group chat between Fuyou and Qingfeng, who were talking back and forth, so much so that Xu Ying's phone kept ringing.

"Alright, let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm hanging up."

"good."

After ending her call with Zhou Xingyun, Xu Ying opened the three-person group chat. Sure enough, Fuyou and Qingfeng were talking about the fact that "Wu Zetian" had been nominated for the Feihua Award.

Mayfly: Let's go out for dinner tonight! This is such a great opportunity, you have to treat us! @FebruarySky

February Sky: Okay, no problem.

Gentle breeze: Congratulations!

......