Chapter 325 Get to the point, don't spread rumors.
On the evening of April 2nd, "The Legend of Bai Yu," which had been airing for nearly two weeks, suddenly became a hit.
That evening's plot involved the immortal, played by Li Zhibai, pouring all his cultivation into the demon, played by the female lead, to save her from her death, while he himself became a mortal and fell to earth.
The plot was commonplace in fantasy dramas, but the two main actors gave their all and were completely immersed in the story, drawing the audience in completely. After just one episode, Li Zhibai and his character's name immediately became trending topics.
The trending topics were bought by the production team; however, many people commented on them, and the number of comments is increasing.
Most importantly, a large number of marketing accounts suddenly started actively watching the show and stopped posting those generic, template-based copy.
The scene where Li Zhibai, with red eyes, screams "Little Demon!" at the top of his lungs has been widely shared, especially on short video platforms, where it has almost gone viral.
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Lu Yanhe laughed and tagged Li Zhibai in the group chat, saying: "Look, stop arguing. The drama Zhou Pingan picked for you is a hit again."
For the past two weeks, Li Zhibai has been complaining about Zhou Ping'an in the group chat, blaming him for taking on such a terrible fantasy drama. Not only has he been ridiculed by many people online, but he has also been criticized for his poor acting skills and cold demeanor. People say that when they watched "Accompany You to the End of the World," they thought Li Zhibai had pretty good acting skills, but in the fantasy drama, his true colors were revealed.
These statements infuriated Li Zhibai.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang kept calming him down, saying that they could wait and see the fantasy drama, because usually, the real effect of such a long fantasy drama can't be seen until it's halfway through.
Unexpectedly, it became a hit halfway through its broadcast.
Li Zhibai: You have no idea how smug Zhou Pingan was; he called me right away.
Lu Yanhe: Who told you to keep saying he was badmouthing you? Blame it on the bad roles he got for you.
Li Zhibai: Which side are you on? Have you forgotten the pain once the wound has healed? You're actually speaking up for Zhou Ping'an.
Lu Yanhe: I'm muting my microphone.
For many dramas, they are just one opportunity, one topic that sparks a discussion, to become a hit.
In "Take You to the End of the World," Li Zhibai played a rich second-generation character who became a hit and generated a lot of buzz. Now, in "The Legend of Bai Yu," he has become popular again because of this scene... Overnight, Li Zhibai's identity as an actor has finally come into the sights of many film and television companies.
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"It's only April, and all three of them already have roles that are going to be very popular."
For Star Entertainment, the first quarter of this year was like stepping in dog poop, bringing a lot of unexpected joy.
"Friends" solidified Lu Yanhe's current status and made Yan Liang famous. Now, "Bai Yu Yao" is also a hit as Li Zhibai's first drama as the male lead. The three idol artists who came from the Feng Zhi group have all become popular in the two years after the group disbanded, due to their own circumstances.
This was something Xingyu never expected.
Star Entertainment doesn't just produce idol artists.
Actors like Jiang Yuqian are also a reason why Xingyu has gained a foothold in the entertainment industry.
However, Star Entertainment's previous actors were characterized by a "female dominance." The female actors had a situation where "three leading ladies"—meaning that no one was truly convinced of their dominance, leading many media outlets to jokingly refer to them as "all three being Star Entertainment's leading ladies." Among the male actors, only Zhang Zhiwen achieved late-blooming success with "Hongzhou."
This will affect Star Entertainment's cast lineup and its negotiations with various platforms.
Now that all three have representative works as male actors and have entered the top tier, how could Xingyu not be riding high?
However, Vice President Ma wasn't particularly happy. His main responsibility in the company was managing the idol artist segment. The rise to fame and recognition of Lu Yanhe, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang as actors meant they might shift their focus towards acting in the future.
The achievements of these three popular celebrities have little to do with Vice President Ma.
Especially Lu Yanhe—
Lu Yanhe emerged as a dark horse and is now showing signs of becoming a leader among young people in their early twenties.
Despite his cameo role in the film "Three Mountains," his influence has led to a box office of nearly 80 million yuan, becoming an incredible miracle that many film companies are eager to replicate.
Not to mention Friends and the Golden Tripod Award.
Vice President Ma was filled with indescribable regret. It was like watching a stock he had just sold suddenly surge four or five times in value. At that moment, he naturally couldn't imagine that even if he could go back in time and know how successful Lu Yanhe would become, he still wouldn't be able to change his attitude towards Lu Yanhe.
What infuriates Vice President Ma even more now is that Chen Ziyan has a firm grip on all of Lu Yanhe's affairs. They can't interfere. After "Friends" aired, countless platforms and film and television companies wanted to collaborate with Lu Yanhe, approaching Xingyu Entertainment and offering generous benefits, all in exchange for securing Lu Yanhe's services.
At this point, it's not just a matter of benefits that Lu Yanhe can gain alone.
This means that whoever controls Lu Yanhe controls the initiative in negotiations.
However, neither Vice President Ma nor any of the company's other senior executives could bypass Chen Ziyan to interfere in Lu Yanhe's affairs, let alone control Lu Yanhe.
When Lu Yanhe renegotiated his contract with the company, it was clearly stated that Chen Ziyan would be responsible for Lu Yanhe's management affairs.
They could completely ignore everyone else in the company.
"Fortunately, Yan Liang has also made a name for himself." Zhou Ping'an said to Vice President Ma with a smile, "President Ma, you see, I told you before that Yan Liang was able to get into Beijing Arts University, and he was sure to become famous. Keeping him in our hands will not be a loss."
Looking at Zhou Ping'an's smug expression, Vice President Ma curled his lip and said, "Don't you have any self-awareness? Did you make Yan Liang famous? He was made famous by Lu Yanhe. Weren't you unwilling to let Yan Liang act in this play in the first place? Do you think I didn't know?"
Vice President Ma's tirade made Zhou Ping'an blush.
Zhou Ping'an: "..."
“You now have three A-list male celebrities under your management, plus Cheng Hai. All the other agents in the company are coming to me crying. If you keep acting so cocky, I might as well send two of them out,” said Vice President Ma.
Zhou Ping'an was shocked. "This won't do, Mr. Ma! I'm the one who built this up from scratch. Who's going to steal my credit?"
Vice President Ma sneered, "Did you bring Ma Zhiyuan up?"
Zhou Ping'an was furious: "It's that bastard Lin Suyang?!"
Vice President Ma: "I'm not exaggerating. I have four top-tier employees under my command, and even Chen Ziyan doesn't have that many."
"That's because she doesn't want to lead so many people. Do you think it's easy for me to work so hard every day? The line I've built up is going to be led by someone else just because it's a lot. Why should I work so diligently and painstakingly in the future? Since I'm just doing all this for someone else, what's the point of me weaving this cloth?"
Zhou Ping'an adopted a "If you dare to steal my artist, I'll fight you to the death" attitude.
Vice President Ma stared at him for a while before finally grinning from ear to ear. "You did a pretty good job acting. Alright, stop acting in front of me. Save your energy for someone else. I'm definitely on your side, isn't that obvious? You're one of my people, who else would I support if not you?"
Zhou Ping'an immediately smiled and said, "I knew it, Mr. Ma, how could those petty people affect our relationship?"
Looking at his shameless attitude, Vice President Ma said irritably, "I think you're the one who's the scoundrel!"
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"The Ballad of White Jade" has garnered over 10,000 views on the platform, with at least three trending topics every day, and its data is soaring across major platforms, truly becoming a hit.
Lu Yanhe was very happy for Li Zhibai.
Strictly speaking, Li Zhibai's popularity and fan base are indeed somewhat behind Ma Zhiyuan's as an idol artist. Li Zhibai's success is mainly based on his personal charm offstage; in short, it's his genuine personality—"cool, straightforward, and lazy"—that has attracted a large number of fans and a good public image in this internet age.
Ma Zhiyuan attracts fans through his professional skills and performances, and his fans are far more enthusiastic than Li Zhibai's.
In "Idol Era", Li Zhibai was always in the top tier, but he lost more often than he won against Ma Zhiyuan.
If the previous drama "Take You to the End of the World" gave Li Zhibai a small boost in popularity by playing a rich second-generation character and gaining him a lot of fans, then this time, "Bai Yu Yao" has made Li Zhibai a breakout star as the male lead.
Fantasy dramas are most likely to become huge hits, and they are also most likely to make the male lead a star – there's no way around it, the main audience for these dramas is women, and based on the principle of opposites attracting, female viewers often prefer male leads who are moved by the female lead's perspective.
After Li Zhibai's revelation, he immediately entered the shortlist of candidates for all the major dramas that were suitable for him to star in.
Many people—especially Li Zhibai's fans and those unaware of the situation—think that Li Zhibai is already very famous, a solid A-list star, and that no matter who he is compared to, there is no obvious difference. With such popularity, he would definitely be a top choice for film and television dramas.
However, this isn't actually the case. Li Zhibai is indeed popular, and many productions want to cast him, but they are more cautious about casting him as the lead in major dramas or those of the highest caliber. This is because he lacks experience carrying a drama, and there are countless examples of idols failing when trying to do so. Li Zhibai's rise to fame in "Accompany You to the End of the World" was mainly explained by the industry as an accident, attributing it to the character's relatability to the audience, rather than to Li Zhibai's acting skills or his popularity.
This is one of the reasons why, despite his apparent popularity, Lee Ji-baek has never reached the top tier among male actors.
Even the most popular actors need to rely on solid achievements in their work to maintain their reputation.
A popular supporting role in a drama is not enough to justify such a high status.
Looking at Li Zhibai, Lu Yanhe reflected on himself and realized that he was actually the same.
It's often said that the main character and supporting characters don't matter, as long as the role is good.
However, the industry's definition of supporting roles means that all actors want to play leading roles. Before "Friends" aired, Lu Yanhe was popular, but that was all. In everyone's eyes, he couldn't carry a show.
If it weren't for the success of "Friends" that propelled him to stardom, Chen Lingling might not have thought of collaborating with him on that streaming crime film, which featured two male leads, with Zeng Qiao as his co-star.
Artistic pursuits are one thing, but practical issues must also be considered.
The idea that "it doesn't matter whether you're the protagonist or a supporting character" only applies when your position in the industry is already secure.
Chen Ziyan said, "Fortunately, there was a hit show called 'Friends,' otherwise, if you continued filming like this, the industry would probably have positioned you as a supporting actress."
Lu Yanhe's achievements in playing supporting roles are indeed impressive.
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"The Legend of Bai Yu" became a hit, but other dramas flopped.
Yan Liang's supporting role in "Sinking Ice" was broadcast, but it made almost no splash.
It's a bit awkward.
Lu Yanhe also watched a few episodes and had to say that this drama was really badly made.
"It's obviously terrible just from the script itself. How could Zhou Ping'an give you a role like this?" Lu Yanhe complained to Yan Liang over dinner in private. "I thought many of the lines were idiotic."
Yan Liang said, "This is what they said in private, and I think so too."
Lu Yanhe: "Why did Zhou Ping'an give you this role in the first place?"
Although Lu Yanhe had many unpleasant experiences with Zhou Ping'an, he still highly respected Zhou Ping'an's abilities.
Zhou Ping'an has a sharp eye; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pick out so many roles for Li Zhibai and get them all right.
Yan Liang said, "The production company of this drama, Wenxia Zhiyin, wanted to film a fantasy drama called 'Shentu' adapted from a game. It's a big IP. At that time, Zhou Ping'an wanted to get me a major supporting role in this drama. Wenxia Zhiyin proposed that they would give me this role, but I also had to help them film two more dramas, one of which was 'Chenbing'."
"Oh, I see. No wonder." Lu Yanhe understood. "Did you film 'The Divine Picture'?"
"Not yet," Yan Liang shook his head. "Filming won't start until the second half of the year."
"Zhou Ping'an was interested in 'The Divine Map' simply because it's a major IP?"
“Yes, I have a lot of fans. I was popular even before the show aired,” Yan Liang said. “At the time, Zhou Ping’an wanted to use this show to increase my fame. If I could play a role in this show, I wouldn’t necessarily become famous, but I would be recognized by many people.”
Upon hearing Yan Liang's words, a thought suddenly popped into Lu Yanhe's mind.
Is Zhou Ping'an trying to get Yan Liang to leave the show "The Divine Map" again?
If Zhou Ping'an gave Yan Liang this role to increase Yan Liang's fame, and Yan Liang has already gained fame through "Friends," then the purpose of "The Divine Map" has become meaningless.
A person like Zhou Ping'an is capable of doing something like this if there's no contract signed.
In fact, there's a saying: The person who knows you best is often your enemy.
Lu Yanhe's understanding of Zhou Ping'an was indeed incredibly thorough.
Zhou Ping'an had long wanted Yan Liang to leave "The Divine Map". No matter how big the IP is, there is no need for Yan Liang to play a supporting role now.
They were just worried about not having an excuse, but now that "Sinking Ice" has flopped, the excuse has come to them.
Zhou Ping'an said to the people at Wenxia Zhiyin's side, "The broadcast of 'Chen Bing' is so bad. Look at the internet, there are many people asking why Yan Liang acted in this kind of drama. Sigh, it's not easy for small actors to rise up. He finally managed to get back on his feet with 'Friends,' but in less than two months, 'Chen Bing' has become like this."
Zhou Ping'an's usual tactic—to turn the tables and blame others.
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#Rumors circulate online that Li Zhibai will star in "The Divine Map," but Yan Liang, unwilling to play a supporting role for his former friend, has withdrawn from the series.#
This news was sent to Lu Yanhe by Li Pengfei, who asked: Is this true or a rumor?
Lu Yanhe was filming on set when he saw the news sent by Li Pengfei. He was a little confused and asked, "I just saw it. Let me ask."
Lu Yanhe sent the message to the three-person group chat: ? ? ?
Li Zhibai: Wen Xia Zhiyin's people are mentally ill.
Yan Liang sent an embarrassed face emoji.
Lu Yanhe asked: So, what exactly happened?
Li Zhibai: Zhou Pingan had previously discussed this role with Yan Liang, but now Zhou Pingan is unwilling to let Yan Liang play a supporting role, so he contacted them. Then, Wen Xia Zhiyin said that if Yan Liang could continue acting, she would give him the male lead role and increase his screen time, making him the second male lead.
Lu Yanhe: ...Then how come there are rumors that you two had a falling out because of this?
Yan Liang: Wen Xia Zhiyin wants to generate some buzz.
Lu Yanhe: ...I admit I asked the wrong question, but Zhou Ping'an is happy to see the news of your falling out spread like this.
Li Zhibai: Zhou Ping'an is extremely satisfied with the pay Wen Xia Zhiyin gave him. He can't be bothered with these things. It's not his life or death. Besides, he'd love for us to fall apart so he can take us down one by one.
Yan Liang: Now an embarrassing thing has happened. In order to increase my screen time, I declined the role, but now I've gotten my wish and become the second male lead. The previous second male lead is probably cursing me right now.
Lu Yanhe asked: Who was the second male lead in the previous "Divine Picture"?
Yan Liang: I don't know. I don't know what the original cast was either. There are all sorts of different casts circulating online.
Lu Yanhe: That's alright.
Li Zhibai: When will the script you wrote for the two of us be finished?
Lu Yanhe: Don't worry, I'm already writing it. I've just been busy filming lately.
Li Zhibai: I don't want to act in these kinds of plays, I want to act in the kind of plays you act in.
Lu Yanhe: What kind of play am I acting in?
Li Zhibai: Plays like "Three Mountains".
Lu Yanhe: I only acted in that one film, and actually only for one night.
Li Zhibai: Sigh, I'm really fed up with these dramas about gods, ghosts, immortals, and heroes falling in love.
Lu Yanhe: Isn't "The Divine Picture" an adventure story?
Li Zhibai: Really? I haven't seen the script yet.
Lu Yanhe: I've read the synopsis; it's a very exciting and touching story.
Li Zhibai: Really?
Lu Yanhe: You haven't played this game before?
Li Zhibai: I'm not interested in this kind of role-playing game.
Lu Yanhe: This isn't a role-playing game.
Li Zhibai: Have you played this before?
Lu Yanhe: Li Pengfei dragged me into playing this game. You and Yan Liang can try it out. If I hadn't been working on the magazine "Jump Up" back then, I probably would have played this game with Li Pengfei every now and then.
Li Zhibai: There aren't many games that can be this addictive. I'll go check it out.
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Lu Yanhe made a phone call to Li Pengfei.
"So that's why you suddenly started paying attention to those two. Turns out it's about 'God Map.' I'd forgotten you're a fan of that game," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.
Li Pengfei: "This game is actually pretty good."
Lu Yanhe said, "Indeed."
Li Pengfei: "Sigh, I have absolutely no confidence in this game being adapted into a TV series."
His tone was full of pessimism.
"Why?" Lu Yanhe asked.
“The game has a very large world-building, and I don’t think they can make it into a TV series,” Li Pengfei said. “Besides, there haven’t been any successful TV series adapted from games.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe instinctively wanted to say, "No way, isn't there 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy'?"
He then realized that this was not a creation of this world.
For Lu Yanhe, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" is an unforgettable memory.
That was a TV series that the whole school was watching when he was in junior high school. It was the first time that both boys and girls liked to watch a TV series.
Back then, fantasy dramas weren't as popular. While they included romance, it wasn't the primary focus. Lu Yanhe still remembers how heartbroken he was when he saw the scene where Zhao Ling'er died. The next day in class, half the girls had swollen eyes.
When will you get around to making "The Legend of Sword and Fairy"?
Li Xiaoyou and Tang Yu Xiaobao...aren't these two people already there? Lu Yanhe racked his brains trying to find a movie script for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang to act in, and came up with "A-Dai and A-Gua", but it would require a lot of adaptation. How could it be as suitable as "Chinese Paladin" for them? They could even directly copy the original characters and settings without changing anything. They are too similar to the two of them.
"When will you finish filming 'Late Spring'?" Li Pengfei asked.
Lu Yanhe said, "By the end of this month, if everything goes smoothly."
"How about we go on a road trip together during the May Day holiday?" Li Pengfei asked. "I want to go see the desert."
“I’ll go with you when I have time,” Lu Yanhe said. “I haven’t had a break in a long time, and I need to go somewhere far away from the emperor to relax.”
Li Pengfei laughed and said, "What you're saying... doesn't mean I should arrange two little sisters for you, does it?"
"What did you say? You want me to call Xu Zijun?"
"Get the hell out of here."
"hehe."
Lu Yanhe laughed and cursed as he hung up the phone. He hadn't seen Li Pengfei in a long time, and after making this call, he actually missed him a little.
He turned around and saw Wang Jing walking over with several books in her hands, completely overlapping with the image of Zuo Lanlan, the stubborn and taciturn character in the play.
"Yan He, after work today, I have something I'd like to ask you. Do you have time?" she asked, gently biting her lip as she looked at Lu Yan He.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Sure, I have time."
Wang Jing immediately smiled with relief and said, "That's great, thank you."
She bowed slightly to Lu Yanhe, turned and left, her steps lighter.
Lu Yanhe had no idea what she wanted to talk to him about.
However, perhaps because of the story of the group of people in "Late Spring," he gradually developed feelings of friendship towards the actors he worked with.
"Hey, Lao Lu!" Kong Fan suddenly patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder from behind, with a bright smile. "Why are you staring at Wang Jing? You don't happen to like her, do you?"
Kong Fan followed Lu Yanhe's gaze and looked at Wang Jing's back.
Lu Yanhe: "...Speak your mind, don't spread rumors."
(End of this chapter)
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