Chapter 704 What Does He Need This Black and Red For? (7400 words updated!)
Yang Zhouli and his Shijin Group clearly want to hold a large-scale event for filmmakers at the Jose Film Festival to signal to the domestic entertainment industry that they will fully develop the cultural and entertainment industry.
For the cultural and entertainment industry, the film and television industry is only one part, but it is the most influential part.
Movies occupy the highest niche among these elements.
Lu Yanhe hesitated upon receiving the invitation to the event.
As Chen Ziyan said, attending an event can be simply about the act itself, or it can be about what the act symbolizes.
Should we get too close to the Sikkin Group?
Xin Zixing returns to YeMai.com, which is then acquired by Shijin.
This incident has inadvertently created a closer connection between Lu Yanhe and Shi Jin in the eyes of outsiders.
Of course, people cannot avoid these layers of connections. But attending in person is a different matter.
He went. Will Shang Yongzhou go? Will the couple from Longyan Film Studio go? Will the other people from the film "Burning Fire" go?
If they don't go, but he does, what will others think?
Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan discussed it seriously.
Chen Ziyan said, "Don't agree to anything yet. Just say that I'm coordinating your work in Jose. I'll make all the decisions. I'll find out who will be attending this Shijin Night and what Shijin wants to do. Given your current status, you really can't just show up at this kind of event with a specific target audience."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
-
In early May, the sunlight takes on a transparent quality, unlike in winter when the low temperature gives one a fuzzy illusion.
Xin Zixing personally brought the editors from the entertainment section of Yemai.com to Shihuo.
Lu Yanhe was also present.
Xin Zixing came to discuss cooperation.
In short, the collaboration involves Shi Huo's contracted artists residing on YeMai.com to share their "cultural and entertainment life," while YeMai.com provides Shi Huo's contracted artists with certain remuneration. Of course, the most important aspect is the tailor-made "artistic projects."
“As Ziyan mentioned before, we’re creating a customized comeback project for each artist. At YeMai.com, in addition to their simple sharing, we will have a series of arts and culture projects, ranging from museum celebrity tours and artifact stories to local chronicles in cooperation with cultural and tourism bureaus across the country, and back to personal life sharing. There’s a lot of room for collaboration with celebrities in all of these,” Xin Zixing said. “These projects have a strong social welfare attribute, and at the same time, they are high-quality projects that can bring implicit support to artists, comparable to ‘City Travelogue’.”
Chen Ziyan nodded.
“But generally speaking, the pay for such projects isn’t high, is it?” she laughed.
Xin Zixing nodded.
“But that’s also why I want to cooperate with Shihuo,” Xin Zixing said. “Maybe others are short-sighted, but Ziyan, you are not.”
Lu Yanhe smiled at Chen Ziyan, "Sister Ziyan, you've been manipulated."
Xin Zixing then looked at Lu Yanhe.
“At the same time, Yan He, I also want to reach an exclusive cooperation agreement with you,” Xin Zixing said.
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
"Me? Didn't I already promise you? You'll have exclusive coverage of Jose's entire trip."
Xin Zixing: "This is another framework for cooperation that I want to talk about."
"Um?"
"I hope to publish information about Linghe's film and television productions, from the initial preparation stage to each stage in between, on Yemai.com," said Xin Zixing. "This is also another direction that Yemai.com wants to pursue: an information platform."
Lu Yanhe: "For example, information such as casting and release date scheduling?"
“Yes, of course. In addition to this information, we hope to obtain more details through exclusive interviews and other means,” Xin Zixing said. “The premise is that you are all willing to report it, which is good for the promotion of the film and television drama and also good for our website.”
Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought.
Chen Ziyan asked, "Is it meaningful for you to produce this kind of information? In this internet age, the moment you post it, countless marketing accounts will repost it. How many people will actually go to YeMai.com to read it? Even if you have accompanying, more detailed interview information."
Xin Zixing smiled slightly: "In the internet age, the focus of information platforms is not on the information itself, but on centralized organization. Information is overloaded now; fresh news can be refreshed every day. However, often when we see something that interests us and want to learn more, we can only search haphazardly. But on YeMai.com, for example, with 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy,' we categorize and label relevant information. We distinguish between officially confirmed information and unverified rumors. From the moment news of an actor's casting was announced, every piece of information related to them is organized in a corresponding order, making it very convenient for users to search. Once this system is implemented, users will naturally develop the habit of searching for relevant information on YeMai.com."
Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan seemed to be deep in thought.
Xin Zixing's idea is actually quite good.
Let alone the general public, sometimes it takes them a long time to find information about a movie or TV series. In this industry, the information is a mix of truth and falsehood, and what you get from a phone call may not even be the truth.
With such a timeline and a list of key figures, many things can be compared, and everyone will naturally have a sense of the situation.
Lu Yanhe said, "We can give it a try first, but the current film and television environment may not be so ideal. Sometimes, the more you say, the more mistakes you make, and people will deliberately nitpick and stir up trouble, affecting the normal filming."
“You provide what kind of information you want to publish,” Xin Zixing said. “The biggest difference between this section and the ones currently on the market is the labeling of information sources. We will try our best to track every information source, which ones were confirmed by the production company, which ones were mentioned in an interview, and which ones were first reported by which person or media. I think that this arrangement may actually help to combat rumors.”
“Tracing every single source of information, wouldn’t that be a huge workload? Can you handle it?” Chen Ziyan asked doubtfully.
"We'll only know once we do it; there's no point in saying anything now," Xin Zixing said. "Because there's no comparable product; it's something entirely new."
Lu Yanhe nodded: "Then let's give it a try. Let's use the projects we're going to start filming this year as an example."
Xin Zixing: "That's great. If you're willing to cooperate with us, it will make negotiations with other film and television companies a little easier."
Lu Yanhe: "I'm just curious, if Yemai.com wants to do something like this, it must require a lot of manpower and funds in the early stages, right?"
“That’s the benefit of having a powerful financial backer providing financial support,” Xin Zixing said with a smile. “It means we can do so many more things.”
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Chen Ziyan: "Now that you're back in your old place, you feel even more at home."
“My understanding of work started with Yemai.com. My abilities and methodologies have grown along with it. I think there is probably no place that suits me better than Yemai.com,” Xin Zixing said frankly.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Lu Yanhe was very happy that Xin Zixing was able to return to a place where she was so passionate about her work.
-
After discussing the collaboration, they went to Chen Ziyan's office together.
Let's not talk about business here.
Xin Zixing told them, "The veins inside the leaf are almost rotten."
"Um?"
“No wonder YeMai.com agreed to the acquisition so readily,” Xin Zixing complained. “They’ve been losing money year after year, and all the projects they’ve launched in recent years have ended in failure. If they weren’t acquired, they would have gone bankrupt.”
"Huh? Why would it do this?" In Lu Yanhe's memory, Yemai.com was a pretty good website. Even if Xin Zixing left with her people, it shouldn't have caused such a serious blow to Yemai.com.
Xin Zixing explained: "Because we have not found a profitable model, on the contrary, in order to maintain our flagship programs such as 'Star!' and 'City Travelogue,' we have to keep investing money even if we lose money. 'Star!' alone can lose two million a year."
Lu Yanhe was shocked.
When "Jump Up" was on YeMai.com, it didn't necessarily make a lot of money, but it never caused YeMai.com to lose money.
Xin Zixing: "I'm already looking for the next editor-in-chief for Star!" Once Yu Jiang's contract expires, I will end my cooperation with her. I have already cut the production cost of the next issue in half. She is very unhappy about it, saying that the magazine cannot continue to be produced. I wish she would stop producing it. As it is now, it would be better not to produce it at all.
Lu Yanhe smiled.
Have you had a conflict with her?
“I didn’t confront her directly; I communicated with her through my assistant,” Xin Zixing said. “She didn’t dare to make too much of a scene, after all, she knew that Star! was losing money every time it aired.”
Lu Yanhe asked, "Will you continue to keep the online magazine 'Star!'?"
“Yes.” Xin Zixing nodded. “However, its current positioning is basically the same as ‘Jump Up.’ I still hope it has some of its own uniqueness. I want to combine the characteristics of information platform and literature and art to make essays and commentary articles. Of course, we will still do fiction, but not mainly fiction.”
"The Shijin Group may not be satisfied with this, as their plan is clearly aimed at expanding into the entertainment industry."
“They can do it in other ways, such as by cooperating with Jump Magazine,” Xin Zixing said. “My primary task is to do a good job with Yemai.com. I also communicated with them about Yemai.com’s development goals and we reached an agreement before I took on this job.”
Chen Ziyan cautioned: "If they need your Yemai.com to do this one day, your individual strength will not be enough to stop them. You have to be prepared."
“I will,” Xin Zixing nodded. “I don’t need to go against them. If we cooperate, it will benefit both sides. If we can’t, then so be it. Let’s part ways amicably.”
After Xin Zixing finished speaking, she suddenly smiled and took out two very festive red invitation cards from her bag.
Lu Yanhe showed a look of surprise.
"What is this? Are they finally getting married?"
Xin Zixing nodded with a smile, "Huang Kairen and I will get married on August 11th."
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sure, sure. By then, 'The Mist 2' had finished filming, and I had returned to China."
Lu Yanhe was also worried that he would miss the deadline because he was filming.
Xin Zixing said, "Our wedding has not been announced to the public yet, so we will not reveal it to the public for the time being."
"Okay." Lu Yanhe nodded, making a gesture as if he were zipping up his mouth. "Don't worry, we'll keep our mouths shut."
-
As a result, to everyone's surprise, the news that Huang Kairen and Xin Zixing would get married this year was exposed online by a marketing account that very night.
Lu Yanhe's first reaction was, why did it have to be exposed today, the day he and Chen Ziyan received the invitation?
It made it seem as if those two big mouths were the ones who said it.
Fortunately, the source of the information was quickly found.
It turns out that an employee of the wedding company leaked the information.
Huang Kairen and Xin Zixing immediately became trending topics on Weibo.
Women who date male celebrities inevitably face attacks from female fans.
Especially when it comes to marriage.
Xin Zixing is not a complete outsider. From Yemai.com to program producer, and now back to Yemai.com, she has actually been appearing in the public eye from time to time over the years. If she is not a public figure, she is definitely a celebrity.
The more this is the case, the more places become targets of attack.
No one is perfect, and imperfection will make one vulnerable to attack.
Even some behind-the-scenes moments and anecdotes from when Xin Zixing filmed "City Travelogue" with Lu Yanhe were blown out of proportion, leading to accusations that she had tried to seduce Lu Yanhe.
These voices aren't mainstream, but they're like flies buzzing around—annoying.
Some flies even flew to Lu Yanhe's comment section, hoping he could stand up and respond to Xin Zixing's "flirting" with him.
Upon seeing this, Lu Yanhe retorted without hesitation: "Are you sick? If you have delusions, go get treated right away."
Lu Yanhe had always envied and admired the relationship between Xin Zixing and Huang Kairen.
In some ways, Xin Zixing and Huang Kairen are like Chen Siqi and Lu Yanhe; their relationship patterns share certain similarities. It is precisely this similarity that makes Lu Yanhe sincerely hope that Xin Zixing and Huang Kairen can have a smooth relationship and stay together forever.
Lu Yanhe detests those who deliberately cause trouble, especially those who spread rumors about Xin Zixing out of nowhere.
Huang Kairen and Xin Zixing were both very good people he knew. Therefore, seeing some people stubbornly attacking them, or one of them, made Lu Yanhe even angrier than when they attacked him.
Chen Siqi told Lu Yanhe, "You don't need to get so worked up. Don't worry, I know Sister Zixing. She doesn't care about what people say online. If you're a male celebrity's girlfriend, you'd break up with her a long time ago if you didn't have a strong heart."
Lu Yanhe asked, "Do you receive messages like this every day?"
"It would be a lie to say there isn't any, but I basically just take it as a joke." Chen Siqi said frankly, "Sometimes when I see their comments, I feel more like... how should I put it, I really want them to put more attention and energy into their own work and life, but every time I think like this, I feel like I'm shameless, even though our work is all about grabbing their attention."
Lu Yanhe: "Ideally, it is of course a rational concern, which is what we want. But realistically, it is not difficult to achieve, but basically impossible. We can only try our best to control and adjust. I feel that there is at least one thing I have done particularly well."
"What's up?"
"Disband the fan club," Lu Yanhe said. "I will not allow any fans to call on my fans to do anything in an official capacity, and my team will not invite fans to participate in any activities. Do not pick them up at the airport, do not provide support, and do not need to boost my data online."
Chen Siqi smiled helplessly, "You know what? After you finished speaking, my subconscious reaction was, 'Only you can do this. If a celebrity isn't famous, they have to do this. So, once they become famous, do they just discard it like trash?' That's a paradox."
"It's too complicated." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "I can't figure it out."
Chen Siqi: "So let's leave it at that. Let's not try to analyze these things rationally. We just need to do our own little thing well."
Lu Yanhe: "Doesn't 'Jump Up' have any particularly passionate readers?"
“Yes.” Chen Siqi nodded. “However, the advantage of ‘Jump Up’ is that it is not only the top literary magazine, but it can even be said to be the only one. There are no competitors. None of the other magazines that have followed suit can achieve a monthly sales volume of more than 80,000 copies. They are not even in the same league as ‘Jump Up’.”
Lu Yanhe: "Okay, now that Sister Zixing has taken over Star!", I think, with her abilities, Star! might become a competitor to Jump Up.
Chen Siqi: "It's great. I really hope some competitors will emerge. A market without competition will definitely shrink more and more. To be fair, sometimes people say that the market is generated by consumer demand, but sometimes consumer demand can also be guided. For example, 'Jump Up' is now used by students to present a poetic and artistic world."
"What does 'a poetic world of literature and art' mean?"
"This is a positioning proposed by our own editorial department. Simply put, it's like how the world of anime and manga fans view the world of '2D' – a large portion of students don't aspire to the world of anime and manga, but rather a more poetic and artistic one," Chen Siqi said. "To be precise, while reading our magazine, they felt that the world ecosystem presented in the magazine was what they longed for."
"What kind of world ecology does this magazine present?"
"It's complicated to explain, but it can be summarized in a few keywords: simple and unpretentious yet with spiritual pursuits, loving self-discipline and believing that human will can overcome anything." Chen Siqi smiled. "Have you read 'Jump Up' from the last six months? The content of the articles we publish, whether it's the protagonist or the style, is all moving in this direction because readers like it. Even a short mystery novel written by Liu Jiazhen two months ago, according to reader feedback, what they liked most about the novel was that the protagonist, a man who went bankrupt and worked as a cleaner in a bathhouse, had a hobby of reading at the bookstore across from the bathhouse in his spare time."
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
"Liu Jiazhen was dumbfounded. He said he had written a crime thriller, but what everyone liked most was a very detailed character design."
Chen Siqi: "But this is also a trend. A large part of our magazine's readers are actively or unconsciously looking for their own kind. I know this is a common feature of magazines in the past, but the characteristics of 'Jump Up' are becoming stronger and stronger, which makes me a little worried."
Lu Yanhe said, "This increases the stickiness of core readers, but it will also gradually form a circle and then exclude readers who are not comfortable in this circle."
“Yes, especially once their circle becomes a tangible entity.” Chen Siqi slapped her forehead. “I’ve been worrying about this lately. I don’t want ‘Jump Up’ to become a fan concentration camp.”
worry.
Lu Yanhe came up behind Chen Siqi, placed his hands on her temples, and gently pressed and kneaded them.
Chen Siqi said with a smile, "I'm not worried about this right now!"
Lu Yanhe: "Same here, let's massage it first to relieve the tension."
Chen Siqi: "What are you trying to do by starting to act at this time?"
"I didn't intend to do anything," Lu Yanhe chuckled.
-
"Lu Yanhe hasn't given a definite answer yet," the assistant told Yang Zhouli. "It's possible that Longyan is putting pressure on him."
Yang Zhouli shook his head: "Longyan can't put pressure on Lu Yanhe. This matter is mainly Chen Ziyan's responsibility. I will call Chen Ziyan again."
"Mr. Yang, although Lu Yanhe is indeed the most powerful and influential filmmaker in recent years, if he continues to refuse to come, shouldn't we prepare a backup plan?" the assistant asked.
Yang Zhouli said, "Lu Yanhe must be invited. There is no alternative plan. We need to communicate with Shang Yongzhou and Jiang Yuqian as soon as possible to confirm. If they confirm that they will attend, Lu Yanhe will be able to give in."
The assistant nodded.
"Actually, if Xin Zixing could invite Lu Yanhe, Lu Yanhe would definitely agree."
Yang Zhouli glanced at his assistant.
The assistant immediately lowered his head, realizing he had said the wrong thing.
He waited a moment, and seeing that Yang Zhouli did not intend to pursue the matter, he said, "There is one more thing, Mr. Yang. Some of the requests made by Chen Pinhe may exceed the budget by nearly 500,000."
Yang Zhouli: "Approval is possible."
The assistant immediately wrote it down.
“However, apart from actors of Chen Pinhe’s caliber, if other actors want to exceed our budget, then forget it,” Yang Zhouli said. “Not everyone deserves our prudent concessions.”
The assistant nodded.
"Yang Zhouli!" Suddenly, a roar came from behind them.
Yang Zhouli and his assistant both turned around in surprise.
Yang Zhoujin appeared behind them with a fierce and angry expression. If this moment were depicted in a cartoon, Yang Zhoujin would be surrounded by raging flames.
He suddenly rushed over and raised his fist high.
You fucking screwed me over!
Yang Zhoujin's angry roar echoed through the corridor.
Just as Yang Zhoujin's fist was about to hit his face, Yang Zhouli dodged.
After Yang Zhoujin missed his target, he was propelled forward by inertia, staggered a couple of steps, and almost fell.
Yang Zhoujin suddenly turned around, wanting to make another move.
Suddenly, Yang Zhouli rushed up to him, grabbed his collar, and shoved him against the wall.
Yang Zhoujin was shocked and raised both hands to grab Yang Zhouli's arm, trying to push him away.
However, Yang Zhouli held onto Yang Zhoujin's collar and remained motionless.
"If you want to cause trouble, go find someone else." Yang Zhouli looked at Yang Zhoujin with icy eyes. "If you want to continue being locked up, I don't mind sending you back."
Yang Zhoujin's face was contorted with rage, veins bulging on his forehead: "Who the hell do you think you are? Let go of me!"
-
Many people, when reading novels, often think, "How can this plot be so melodramatic?" and curse the author as an idiot.
However, many times—and it's definitely not just occasional—when you see the boss of a well-known company leading a group to seize the company seal, or when you see a partner poisoning someone in anger, you might sigh and say that the most absurd things in this world are always more absurd, more low-class, and even more idiotic than you imagine.
A skilled novelist will certainly do their utmost to embellish the melodramatic feel—note, not melodramatic.
Less skilled novelists, unable to advance the plot in such a sophisticated way, can only try to pull it along as much as possible, like pulling a rickety, seemingly collapsing carriage along a muddy road, hoping it won't fall apart halfway.
Just like the public relations staff of Shijin Group at this moment.
The matter had clearly died down, and no one was paying attention to the petty squabble between Yang Zhouli and Yang Zhoujin anymore. But then, Yang Zhoujin suddenly returned and started a live stream, giving away watches worth hundreds of thousands of yuan and trips to Europe, attracting a large number of people to the live stream. He talked animatedly about how he had taught Yang Zhouli a lesson that day, his tone contemptuous and his words full of arrogance.
All the receding tides roared back with even more hysterical force.
Everyone is paying attention to this matter and discussing it.
The other party involved, Yang Zhouli, has disappeared without a trace, not appearing in any public places or giving any interviews.
Clips of Yang Zhoujin's arrogant demeanor during his live stream have gone viral online, sparking heated discussions.
The stock price of Shijian also fluctuated accordingly.
When Lu Yanhe saw this scene on his phone, he was filled with a sense of absurdity.
An overwhelming sense of absurdity.
They act, they portray characters, and they pay attention to the logic of the characters.
However, people like Yang Zhoujin are like a robot with a faulty program, doing things that are beyond people's rational understanding.
It's like a murderer hysterically showing off how sharp his knife is.
"Perhaps Yang Zhouli has his own plans, but Yang Zhoujin's behavior of pushing himself into a fire pit can't really be blamed on Yang Zhouli."
Chen Ziyan was also surprised by this, and even made a joke about it.
“Last time in the live stream, when Yang Zhoujin attacked Yang Zhouli, you thought it was Yang Zhouli who deliberately provoked him. This time, it's entirely Yang Zhoujin himself making a fuss, wanting the whole world to know he hit Yang Zhouli,” Lu Yanhe asked. “Do you think it's possible that Yang Zhouli provoked him again this time?”
“Regardless of whether Yang Zhoujin was provoked or not, he did the live stream on his own initiative,” Chen Ziyan said. “However, I can’t judge whether his behavior is simply due to mental retardation or an attempt to gain notoriety through controversy.”
"A black-and-red route?" Lu Yanhe asked. "How can this be considered black-and-red?"
“If Yang Zhoujin can prove that Yang Zhouli has problems, it will be much easier to clear his name,” Chen Ziyan said. “But these are all just my guesses. I don’t know the specifics of their situation, and I don’t have more information, so it’s hard to make any inferences.”
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment, could Yang Zhoujin really be planning to become famous through this method?
The problem is, he's not a celebrity, so what does he need this negative fame for?
I recommend "The Demon-Slaying Sword," it's over 100,000 words long!
(End of this chapter)
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