"Hmm?" Ji Juntao looked up. "Gu Wenhua has squandered all the money again?"

"How could that be!" Shang Yechu laughed. "It's just that commercial films without commercials always feel like something's missing..."

Ji Juntao's sharp gaze swept over Shang Yechu, who still wore a smile on her face, revealing no flaw, but in her heart she was cursing Gu Wenhua to the heavens.

The box office performance of "Rules Street" remains to be seen, and given the market for domestic horror films, it's basically reached its peak.

Qingping Entertainment has already paid off Gu Wenhua several times over, so asking Ji Juntao for more money would be tantamount to making her do a losing business.

Having spent so much time with Boss Ji, Shang Yechu has gained a much deeper understanding of their relationship.

The initial decision was made jointly by the two of them, so even if they lost money, it was their own fault, and they would share the responsibility for the mistake equally. But now the budget has been exceeded again and again, which is outside of Ji Juntao's decision and an unexpected situation.

If Shang Yechu brings this up, there are essentially two possible outcomes. First, Ji Juntao might refuse to pay, and Gu Wenhua might cut corners on the production value and special effects. Shang Yechu would not want that.

Second, Ji Juntao gave the money, but deliberately made it seem like "this is all because of our friendship." If *Rules Street* doesn't recoup its costs, this money will become a handle for Ji Juntao to use against Shang Yechu in the future. Even using it occasionally would be enough to make Shang Yechu uncomfortable.

Shang Yechu and Gu Wenhua have a good relationship, but not so good that she would sell herself to Ji Juntao for him.

Now that Renxing has made a fortune, Shang Yechu suddenly saw another glimmer of hope.

Ji Juntao raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

After mentally rehearsing a few things and confirming that there weren't any major logical flaws, Shang Yechu said, "It's true that Renxing signed me, but it's only a contract for one series. You've seen the sales figures now; this brand has a lot of potential..."

Having spent a lot of time with Ji Juntao, this crocodile, Shang Yechu has also become quite knowledgeable about some things: "Resource binding? Do you understand? I endorse Renxing, and Renxing invests in my movies. Doesn't that create a closed loop of resources? Being able to be tied to Renxing can only benefit the company, not harm it."

The Chinese entertainment industry has many classic examples of deep partnerships between celebrities and brands. For instance, a certain brand has not changed its spokesperson for twenty years; or an artist has only endorsed a certain brand for one season, but because the lines were so catchy and the expressions became widely popular, consumers naturally associate the brand with the artist himself.

The public buzz surrounding Shang Yechu's endorsement of Renxing is immense. If Renxing were to invest in a film starring Shang Yechu, the partnership would be further strengthened. From a long-term perspective, this would be beneficial for Shang Yechu and Renxing to establish a lasting cooperative relationship.

Furthermore, Renxing is currently under contract with Shang Yechu, so finding brands to sponsor key parts of the film wouldn't be difficult. It could even be described as a perfect, albeit convenient, arrangement.

Ji Juntao certainly understood the principles that Shang Yechu had explained.

Ji Juntao scanned Shang Yechu's chin upwards, meeting her eyes: "Your reasoning is all correct. But when did you become so ambitious?"

Before Shang Yechu could fly into a rage, Ji Juntao added, "The ambition to take on advertisements is not the same as the ambition to act."

Shang Yechu blurted out, "It's good to have a big tree to lean on. It'll also save you some trouble."

Ji Juntao and Shang Yechu exchanged glances for two seconds, then Ji Juntao chuckled in a high-pitched voice, "It's kind of you, Emperor Ye, to know how to care for someone. It's really heartwarming. Alright, let He You handle this."

Shang Yechu shuddered, goosebumps rising on his skin: "What Emperor Ye?"

“Ye Ya keeps telling me to kneel down to Emperor Ye in the comments section of my Weibo post.” Ji Juntao snapped the cap off his pen.

They exchanged a knowing smile, both aware of each other's hidden agendas and knowing that the other could see through theirs. Some things are pointless to argue about, and speaking out only hurts feelings; it's better to let them go and move on easily.

With half of the purpose of this trip accomplished, Shang Yechu got up to leave, but noticed the clock on the wall and was startled.

It's already 12:10!

The magazine "Muse" is scheduled to go on sale at noon on September 1st, which is today.

Magazines, being a niche, self-contained phenomenon, still heavily rely on fans' spending power. Although Ye Ya is very active on Weibo, her financial strength remains unproven. To prevent Shang Ye Chu's first magazine issue from being a disgrace, Ji Juntao gave the company's team some minor instructions.

Once sales begin, orders are placed immediately to generate impressive sales figures. If the sales figures are high enough, the orders are quietly returned; if, unfortunately, the sales figures aren't high enough, the company's inflated sales figures can still keep things afloat.

This is one of the unspoken rules in the Chinese entertainment industry. Shang Yechu knew this and tacitly approved of it.

I was so engrossed in discussing sponsorship with Ji Juntao that I didn't even notice how quickly time flew by. In the blink of an eye, the magazine had already been on sale for ten minutes!

Following Shang Yechu's actions, Ji Juntao realized this as well. Without saying a word, he picked up the phone and dialed an employee.

"How are the sales? How much did the company fill out?" Ji Juntao asked calmly.

"..." The employee's muffled voice came from the other end of the phone. Shang Yechu leaned closer to listen, but couldn't make out a single word.

Ji Juntao's expression went blank for a moment, then he said, "Okay, I understand."

*Smack*

Ji Juntao pressed the call button.

"How much?" Shang Yechu was also a little anxious.

"zero."

"Huh?" Shang Yechu was stunned for a moment. "Not a single copy sold? That's impossible!"

Ji Juntao swallowed hard: "No. I mean, the company made up the zero."

"The mini-program crashed, and our people couldn't get in," Ji Juntao added.