Chapter 89 089 What should be the punishment for what happens next?
Chapter 89
Lin Yuan glanced at his schedule. Compared to the period when "The Powerful Minister" was airing, he was relatively free, since he was still filming "Major Cases" at that time. However, he actually had a lot of business invitations piled up, ranging from snacks to electronic products.
Feng had carefully screened potential partners for him, trying to select some with a longer-term cooperation.
This is the advantage of owning your own studio: greater autonomy. If you sign with a talent agency, even if it's just a temporary affiliation, you'll be more concerned about money.
During that year, Lin Yuan experienced a surge in income, but objectively speaking, the increase in his income did not come from film remuneration, but mainly from business collaborations.
Compared to other male actors in the same category, Lin Yuan's salary has not yet increased.
After all, Lin Yuan took on the role in "Major Cases" before "The Powerful Minister" aired. At that time, Lin Yuan's salary increased slightly because of the Golden Wing Award, but the increase was not significant.
However, even if Lin Yuan only relied on his acting fees to make a living, it would be more than enough for him.
Lin Yuan glanced at the business documents Feng Zeng handed over: "So many?"
“There are also new interviews,” Feng Zeng said, “all arranged by Xingyao Video, plus a celebration party.”
Lin Yuan slapped his face: "Fine, I'll go."
After all, he only hacked Xingyao Video once.
Xingyao Video gained a foothold during the summer season with "Major Cases," and it's said that the number of VIP members has increased significantly. Lin Yuan won't get a share of these profits, as his salary has already been paid. However, Xingyao Video distributed a considerable amount of appearance fees to the actors, and Lin Yuan himself received a substantial bonus.
"The platform asked you if you can participate in the New Year's Eve event this year?" Feng Zeng said. "Your two dramas this year are on Xiaguang TV and Xingyao TV. Xiaguang TV does not have the tradition of holding a New Year's Eve event."
In short, Xingyao Video wants Lin Yuan to be one of their own and doesn't want to see him being bought off by their rivals.
Lin Yuan looked at the calendar: "Isn't it too early?"
The New Year's Eve concert is several months away.
Feng shrugged: "Xingyao Video probably wants to finalize your deal as soon as possible, since the collaboration this year has been quite pleasant."
Moreover, Lin Yuan is even more sought after this year.
"I'll think about it." Lin Yuan didn't refuse. "There aren't any suitable pieces this year."
He hasn't managed to produce a single song this year, which is a disgrace to the title of singer.
“Singing the theme song for ‘Major Cases’ is fine too.” Feng Zeng gestured, “The key is to make sure this handsome face is on camera from all angles.”
According to the audience, Lin Yuan is the type whose acting skills have undergone a complete transformation.
He's certainly not ugly. If you look too strange, you can't be an actor, let alone play the lead role. But Lin Yuan isn't handsome enough to be earth-shattering or ghost-weeping. Otherwise, he could have debuted based on his looks back then in "Tomorrow's Star".
Fans are very forgiving of handsome faces.
From "Thousand Mountains" to "The Powerful Minister", the audience found Lin Yuan more and more pleasing to the eye. In "Major Case", Lin Yuan often saw screenshots of "such handsome men".
When "The Powerful Minister" aired, the most common description was "refined and handsome".
In short, Lin Yuan is even more handsome now.
"If Lin Yuan's initial charm value was 80, his acting skills directly boosted it to over 95."
Qiu Heng's character in "Major Cases" isn't supposed to be handsome, but the more viewers watch him, the more handsome he seems. Since the show started airing, the comments section has been flooded with messages like "So cute!"
Lin Yuan couldn't help but look up at the sky, wondering what was so cute about it.
Therefore, Qiu Heng's animal sculptures are numerous, mainly of the type of otter, koala, and duck. They are not entirely unrelated to Lin Yuan's kangaroo sculptures, but the connection is minimal; at most, they both have fur.
The audience liked Lin Yuan, so naturally the platform liked him too.
Xingyao Video's Q3 financial report has not yet been released, but based on the popularity of "Major Case" this summer, Xingyao Video should be able to end its loss-making state.
More importantly, compared with the dramas that Xingyao Video has produced or purchased in the past, "Major Cases" has a relatively low cost, so the return on investment is quite high.
The popularity of a drama series depends not only on the viewership generated by its broadcasts, but also on the number of new VIP members, sponsorships, and collaborations in other fields. The number of merchandise items released for "Major Cases" was limited, but the publicity expenses were not high. Lin Yuan alone saved the platform a lot of publicity costs.
The initial investment results for "Major Cases" were impressive, and as the series gained popularity, additional business collaborations followed.
All of this is based on the premise that Xingyao Video did not have high expectations for "Major Case".
Previously, when "Major Cases" was being criticized, Xingyao Video only thought that it would be enough if the show's popularity could break through 9,000. However, now—in the latest case, the scene where Qiu Heng confronts the mastermind behind the scenes has directly broken through 13,000 in average popularity.
This generates far more buzz than the S-level blockbuster productions that Starry Night Video painstakingly promotes.
Xingyao Video hasn't even considered releasing any merchandise related to "Major Cases," yet viewers are constantly urging them to do so in the official Weibo comments section.
Not long ago, the platform announced that it would arrange for a group of four to participate in a live broadcast event. As soon as the link was released, hundreds of thousands of viewers had already made reservations. Once the broadcast actually started, it was possible that the number would exceed one million.
In recent years, Xingyao Video has given the outside world the impression of being foolish and rich, because the effort and reward are disproportionate.
Whether it's the disastrous "A Tear in a Cup," the completely untraceable "The Sound of Music," or the farcical Wink reunion, they are all classic examples of platforms spending a lot of money but generating dismal revenue.
How long has it been since we've seen such a satisfying result as "Major Crimes"?
The executives at Xingyao Video can't remember.
What they are most fortunate about now is that they snatched "Major Case" from AIR Video in the competition. AIR Video at least had "The Phoenix Hairpin" this year, so its performance was not too bad. But if Xingyao Video did not have "Major Case", the final result would be unknown. It would probably continue to lose money in the third quarter.
Suddenly, the higher-ups realized: "Lin Yuan's new drama hasn't been filmed yet, has it?"
In their recollection, after filming "Major Cases," Lin Yuan seemed to be planning to take on a musical, but the new production had not yet been finalized.
"No, no, no, it's too early to say."
What if Lin Yuan suddenly accepts a role in a drama on another platform when they're not paying attention?
They have already experienced the joy of being on Xiaguang TV, and now the executives of Xingyao Video only wish that this joy will last even longer.
Ideally, we could just trick Lin Yuan into coming here.
Therefore, after receiving the invitation to the New Year's Eve concert, Lin Yuan had a bunch of offers for S-level and A-level dramas from Xingyao Video. As long as Lin Yuan was willing to film, he could take on any of them, and the platform could satisfy all his needs.
Lin Yuan: "..."
There's no need to be so extravagant.
However, Lin Yuan felt that the series "Major Case" was broadcast on Xingyao Video this time was not bad overall. Although he was constantly being criticized, Xingyao Video did not do nothing and just watched him being criticized.
The platform also took some measures, so the marketing accounts toned it down a bit. Most importantly, the platform did not interfere with Lin Yuan's actions in terms of publicity, nor did it warn him for saying inappropriate things.
Therefore, Lin Yuan read through all the scripts that Xingyao Video sent him.
Currently, Xingyao Video's projects are still mainly ancient costume idol dramas.
It's not that the platform only develops this one thing, but rather that Xingyao Video accumulated many scripts and launched many projects in the early stages.
Comparatively speaking, historical romance dramas generate more buzz and are less likely to disappear without a trace after airing. Some dramas are not as popular as historical romance dramas after they air, but at least historical romance dramas can attract a younger audience.
Other genres are not Xingyao Video's strength.
There has only been one hit case like "Major Cases" in the past few years, despite it not being a historical romance drama.
Rather than rashly trying other themes, it would be better for the platform to focus on themes that have had successful experience.
Lin Yuan shook his head: "I feel... it's not going to work."
Of course, there are good scripts among them, but none of them would make him feel inspired and genuinely want to act in them.
Objectively speaking, the plot overlaps too much. Simply changing the identity can turn it into another drama. Not only the audience, but Lin Yuan, who had only read the script, already felt a bit tired of it.
He didn't mean to discriminate against ancient costume dramas. He's not some high-class person and has no right to look down on anyone.
“It’s not just this,” Feng Zeng said. “There are just too few good scripts these days, and too few reliable screenwriters.”
“Screenwriters don’t get paid much, do they?” Lin Yuan said, looking at Feng Zeng.
“There are many cases of multiple layers of outsourcing,” the agent admitted. “Actors also like to bring their own screenwriters.”
"clear."
So far, Lin Yuan has not encountered this situation before. Neither the "Powerful Minister" nor the "Major Case" production team has any big names who can rewrite the script.
Lin Yuan requires to see the complete script before he will accept a role, so the script he joins must be satisfactory to him, and there is no possibility of revisions after joining the production team.
However, this situation is not uncommon in the industry; He Xun has encountered it before.
He Xun complained to him endlessly. At that time, the male and female leads in the drama he was in didn't get along. As a nobody in the drama, He Xun was caught in the middle and it was extremely uncomfortable.
"The male lead's script tells me to act this way, but the female lead's script tells me to act that way. What am I supposed to do?" He Xun complained frantically. "I should get double the pay to be worthy of all the suffering I've endured!"
Starry Night Video generally doesn't interfere with film crews, so when they encounter assertive actors, script changes often occur.
Lin Yuan has already starred in two hit dramas, and with his experience, he is gradually entering the ranks of actors who can rewrite scripts.
However, the more the production team was willing to give him such authority, the less Lin Yuan dared to accept it.
Now that he's famous enough, he can change his script. If an actor with an even bigger reputation comes along tomorrow, will that actor be able to change his script?
Lin Yuan wanted to eliminate this possibility at its root, which he couldn't accept.
Lin Yuan read through nearly 10 scripts in one go, but unfortunately, he wasn't very interested in any of them.
"Am I being too demanding?" Lin Yuan frowned. "I see other people can seamlessly join different productions."
Even finding a suitable script is difficult for him.
Lin Yuan looked at his agent: "Am I that picky?"
A little.
Are you picky?
The agent looked speechless: "So what do you want me to say?"
Lin Yuan: "..."
“Although you think this is the most basic requirement, even this requirement is difficult to meet now.” Feng patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder. “Try looking around some more. Xingyao Video is quite sincere.”
From Feng Zeng's perspective, these scripts are of decent quality, but they are indeed quite similar. However, the fact that Xingyao Video can offer S-level projects for Lin Yuan to choose from shows that the platform has high hopes for Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan will continue to cooperate with Xingyao Video in the future.
"What about Grade A projects?"
"Let me see."
Lin Yuan opened the script and continued reading.
Many actors of his age follow a seamless transition from one production to another, but Lin Yuan feels that this approach is no longer viable.
Most young actors can only act in idol dramas, whether modern or historical, and the homogeneity is too high.
But ten years ago—Lin Yuan had analyzed the rise of several industry veterans, and they did indeed become famous in this way.
They filmed one movie after another, and as long as one of them became a hit, all the previous efforts would be recouped.
But the quality of scripts back then was different from that now.
If the lead actors put in a little effort, they will eventually find a script that resonates with the audience.
Now... no matter how hard we try, the audience may not be convinced.
Moreover, the actor's efforts and the audience's opinions may not be the same.
Actors feel that they are working hard by filming one movie after another, but from the audience's perspective, the actors' characters are similar, their makeup and styling are similar, and they are just changing the background and the title. They are constantly repeating themselves, and the differentiation of their roles is very low.
That's not hard work, it's just copying and pasting, a way to be lazy.
Therefore, Lin Yuan never considered seamlessly joining a production team. He had too many ideas and too many desires, so he was destined not to take that route.
Lin Yuan still wanted to slow down and pick more, hoping to find one or two excellent works.
...
The room was quiet. Lin Yuan sat on the sofa with an expression that was more mature than his age. He turned the pages of the script lightly with his fingers, pausing from time to time to focus on a particular passage. After finishing that passage, he would continue turning the pages.
Feng Zeng would not disturb Lin Yuan at this time.
From an agent's perspective, Lin Yuan has his own obsession with scripts.
The dramas "Major Cases" and "The Powerful Minister" gave Lin Yuan more options, but he did not consider repeating himself and remained very cautious about scripts.
When Feng Zeng was still at DA Entertainment, the company signed many young people, several of whom were even younger than Lin Yuan.
But their ideas were completely different from Lin Yuan's.
Lin Yuan is probably a rather old-fashioned type. He treats being a star as a lifelong career, so he is very selective. When it comes to acting, he doesn't consider short-term benefits.
But at DA Entertainment, the executives and stars are only concerned with becoming famous overnight; nobody cares what happens after that.
From a high-level perspective, once a celebrity becomes wildly popular, they will likely leave DA Entertainment to make as much money as possible while they are still around.
The celebrities themselves are thinking that since they've become so popular, they don't know if they'll have such an opportunity again, so they should hurry up and make as much money as possible.
Feng Zeng wasn't trying to praise Lin Yuan for being noble. In the entertainment industry, a place of fame and fortune, how many people are truly noble?
But Lin Yuan's perspective was indeed different from others.
He has a clear understanding of himself and a clear plan for the future; he won't be led by the nose by anyone.
The phenomenal success of "The Powerful Minister" and "Major Cases" may have been accidental, but with Lin Yuan's work ethic, one day he will encounter a script that suits his abilities and be seen by the world.
One afternoon, Lin Yuan finally stopped.
"Didn't find one?" his agent asked him.
Lin Yuan shook his head: "I'm hesitating."
"You actually found a script you liked?"
Feng Zeng's expression drew disdain from Lin Yuan: "I'm not that picky."
Even if he has some requirements for the script, his requirements for the cast and other aspects are very low, okay?
“Tell me more about it.” The agent glanced at the script numbers and knew which two scripts Lin Yuan had his eye on.
Although Feng Zeng wouldn't interfere with Lin Yuan's choices, he wasn't completely clueless either. When Lin Yuan needed his opinion, Feng Zeng would give him accurate answers.
Although... his answer might not be the one Lin Yuan wanted.
However, in many cases, Lin Yuan needs answers that are different from his own.
“The background of this one is quite challenging.” Lin Yuan pointed to one of the films. “This one is science fiction, so I feel it will be difficult to film.”
Whether Xingyao Video can afford the money is unknown.
Both scripts are A-level projects. In other words, Xingyao Video's investment is less than that of several S-level ancient costume dramas. Science fiction has always been associated with the word "burning money". If the standard is only A-level, you can imagine how incongruous the finished product will be.
Poorly made sci-fi dramas are either similar in style to online movies or children's dramas, like those featuring Prince XX.
Feng Zeng sat down. The first one was a period drama set in the Republican era. In terms of subject matter, period dramas still have a solid following. The male lead role in this script was also somewhat challenging. In addition, the makeup and styling in period dramas are always beautiful. After finishing this drama, Lin Yuan's handsome image could be solidified.
"Stop," Lin Yuan corrected, "I am handsome."
"oh."
"Please stop using that dismissive tone."
Feng Zeng: "..."
But the script for this science fiction film is also quite good. It's adapted from a well-known novel, and if it's well-made, it will definitely be considered a classic.
The key point is that achieving "good shooting" is very difficult.
There's no middle ground when it comes to science fiction dramas; they either end up being dazzlingly colorful or they're complete garbage.
"Which one do you prefer?" Feng Zeng asked, glancing at Lin Yuan.
Although Lin Yuan had not yet answered, his agent already understood his thoughts.
The agent reached out and picked up the script for the science fiction drama, then stood up.
"What?" Lin Yuan said, "Don't take it away."
“You want to film this, right?” Feng Zeng raised an eyebrow. “I’ll help you negotiate and make them bleed a lot of money.”
Lin Yuan grinned and gave Feng Zeng a thumbs up: "Do you know who your expression just now resembled?"
Who does he look like?
"Just like Qiu Heng when he encountered a major case," Lin Yuan laughed. "Extremely similar."
Feng Zeng was also helping Lin Yuan negotiate business deals, but even when big brands extended invitations to Lin Yuan, Feng Zeng remained indifferent, as if he was unmoved by money.
It's completely different now.
“I’m a professionally trained actor, after all,” Feng Zeng said. “Leave it to me.”
Lin Yuan gave an OK sign.
...
The final case in "Major Cases" aired for a full six episodes.
Of all the cases in the script, this one is the most complex, and the murderer is the most cunning and treacherous.
If Qiu Heng hadn't possessed extraordinary intelligence, and if the team members hadn't trusted him, this case might not have been solved.
Nevertheless, this case has still caused division among the public.
The final killer is hidden behind a series of murders. He never does the killings himself, but rather instigates and provokes people, arousing their most evil desires.
The novel "Major Cases" did not include a plot where Qiu Heng and the real culprit die together, which is a common technique in detective novels. However, in the final case, Qiu Heng almost died together with the murderer.
Fortunately, he was one step ahead in the end and successfully lured out the real culprit.
Viewers of "Major Cases" have developed a habit of waiting until a case is resolved before starting to watch the show.
However, given that new viewers are constantly joining "Major Cases", the show's ratings have remained quite good. By the time the final case aired, "Major Cases" had reached a popularity score of 13,660.
It not only broke through 13,000, but even approached 14,000.
"What a terrifying killer! Even the killer in the dismemberment case wasn't this terrifying."
"+1, because that murderer acted alone, but this one, if he wanted to, could have ten, or even a hundred, murderers."
"From a doctor's perspective, it's too easy to manipulate patients, especially those whose lives are nearing their end. Their thoughts cannot be understood in the way of common sense."
"Ahhh, Qiu Heng is so handsome! Oh my god, I wasn't used to Lin Yuan's look at first, but now my only thought is—Qiu Heng is just too handsome!"
On the screen, Qiu Heng is confronting the murderer.
The real culprit's greatest skill is drawing on human emotions, using them as nourishment to grow stronger.
Faced with his cruel words, no one could suppress their anger.
But Qiu Heng did it.
That was Qiu Heng completely different from usual. His face, which was always nonchalant, indifferent, and occasionally clumsy, now uttered the devil's whisper.
The real culprit wanted recognition, glory, and fame, but he gave him no chance. He exposed the other party's true thoughts, grasped their weakness, and then delivered a fatal blow.
"I've always thought Qiu Heng was a sweetheart."
"Small what? Sweet what??!!"
"My little darling has grown up overnight, and her mother secretly sheds tears."
"Enough of you old women! Let Qiu Heng go!"
The moment the real culprit turned his head, Qiu Heng's face reflected in the mirror inexplicably evoked a sense of malice.
"It feels like Gu Yilou has reappeared."
"Gu Yilou reincarnated! I feel like I could edit so many short videos! Yay!"
"My little cutie has grown up!!"
As a result—even after winning the standoff, Qiu Heng remained in that dazed state.
Despite having a high salary and substantial bonuses, he seems to spend all his money on free meals, which has nearly bankrupted the team leader.
Always stand on the front line against the leader, while the leader just wants to avoid seeing it.
But this is the Qiu Heng that the audience is most familiar with.
"A man who initially seems unattractive, but whose charm is off the charts."
Gu Yilou from "Thousand Mountains" is quite popular, and she and Qin Chong even formed a strange CP for a while (mainly created by the audience). As for "The Powerful Minister", according to some viewers, Shao Jing and the emperor are the official CP, and it is not appropriate for these two to be paired with anyone else. They are entangled from the history books into the TV series.
As for "Major Cases," it's more appropriate to let Qiu Heng shine alone.
Since the airing of "Major Cases", Qiu Heng's search volume has remained high. What's amazing is that among all the dramas that aired during the summer season, the ones that could rival Qiu Heng's search volume were all couples.
Qiu Heng was tied up with a group of animals.
In his final case, he was successfully dubbed the "Evil Boar".
Lin Yuan: "…………"
This is getting increasingly outrageous.
So, does Qiu Heng have any connection with wild boars?
Ironically, the audience had a lot of fun creating their own fan art.
...
While the final case of "Major Cases" was still airing, Lin Yuan went to film two commercials.
One of them was an endorsement deal for a potato chip brand. In addition to receiving advertising fees, Lin Yuan also received several boxes of potato chips. He sent a few boxes to He Xun and heard the other party's howling that he was currently on a diet.
The other one is an advertisement for a new mobile phone launched by a certain brand.
The brand may not be expecting Lin Yuan to drive much sales; it's just that they value his influence among young viewers. This brand has a tradition of seeking out popular celebrities as spokespeople. Once an actor's status rises through a certain drama, the brand immediately comes knocking.
The brand originally only planned to sign a six-month contract with Lin Yuan, but Feng managed to secure a one-year contract.
Feng Zeng still thought it was too short.
This kind of cooperation falls within the scope of routine cooperation. In short, both "The Powerful Minister" and "Major Cases" have become hits, so it's impossible for Lin Yuan not to sign any business agreements.
But... the previous spokesperson for this mobile phone brand was Geng Yue.
The model that Lin Yuan endorses is different from his. Objectively speaking, signing Lin Yuan is a brand's renewal and replacement. Even if it weren't Lin Yuan, the brand would inevitably find a new spokesperson.
However, in the eyes of Geng Yue's fans, Lin Yuan was just brazenly trying to "steal" their endorsement.
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Author's Note: Update! [doge][doge]
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