Chapter 128
When Xuan Yang woke up after staying up all night, it was already past eleven in the morning.
With his messy hair, he closed his eyes and grabbed randomly by the bed, and successfully pulled the charging phone to the ground. Then, the entire narrow rental house made a loud noise that shook the earth.
Proclaim: "..."
He lost all desire to sleep and lay slumped on the bed.
A cat with light orange and creamy white patterns jumped down from the bay window and walked around on his belly without any courtesy. Xuan Yang angrily grabbed the back of its neck and looked into its innocent brown eyes.
Three seconds later, he put the cat back on the quilt and got up with a lot of anger.
The phone was facing down, fortunately only the tempered glass was slightly cracked.
Xuan Yang had his brunch along the cracked seam while recording his inspirations for the day on a memo. The cat struggled in his arms, its fur flying everywhere, and a new message popped up in the top work group:
"Fuck! Assistant Xie Xichao contacted me!"
There was a momentary blank in the preacher's brain.
When he came to his senses, his cell phone, which had just been damaged once, suffered a second damage. Xuan Yang didn't bother to check his phone. He picked it up from the ground, took the house key and ran out.
As soon as he ran out of the door, he saw a slightly plump man waiting at the gate of the courtyard.
The other person was wearing a baseball cap and an open jacket, and his clothes were a little messy, obviously he had just gone out. At this moment, he was leaning on his e-scooter with a cigarette in his mouth:
"Xuan Daoer, can I take you for a ride?"
Xuan Yang jumped into his back seat with trembling lips.
The electric scooter galloped all the way and soon arrived at the studio.
Along the way, the phone continued to vibrate.
When he arrived at the place, Xuan Yang looked at the scrolling group messages and suddenly felt a little homesick.
The slightly plump man next to him didn't notice his tangled thoughts and shouted to himself in the yard: "Xiaowei, Xuan Daoer is here!"
Soon, a little girl in a pink and white dress ran out.
She lowered her voice: "Hey, Brother Wei, be gentle!"
She gestured towards the house.
The man was slightly surprised: "Come here in person?"
"Here he is." The girl was also a little dazed. "He and his agent came, plus a driver, and they left now. I just called them and told them we're always available, and they said they'd come over to chat. I didn't expect they were so close."
She paused, "Sister Bai is with me right now. I didn't expect someone of Teacher Jie's stature to come in person to discuss... promotion?!"
She watched helplessly as the person who had just been in a mess but remained silent was suddenly tripped by a small stone on the ground. The latter looked calm and waved at her: "It's okay."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped on the same stone again.
The slightly plump man helped him up before he fell and said decisively: "Xiao Wei, let Sister Bai delay for another five minutes."
"Okay." The little girl turned and went in.
The slightly plump man supported Xuan Yang, held his shoulders, and looked at him seriously: "Xuan Yang, calm down."
Xuan Yang moved his lips: "That's Jie Xichao."
Man: "...I know. It's just a top-tier success."
He felt quite guilty when he said this.
Xie Xichao's current popularity cannot be summed up by the term "top star". He is an actor and idol who has achieved success in both the entertainment circles and is at the peak of his career.
But soon, his attention was diverted again.
After he finished speaking, the person in front of him continued to repeat: "Xie Xichao is here."
man:"……"
Xuan Yang raised his head and looked at him with burning eyes: "He read my script and was very interested. He wants to play my leading actor."
man:"……"
Xuan Yang was about to say something else, but the man grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him, "Fuck you! I know your idol likes your script and you're excited, but he's in your studio, not in your bed. Can you stop looking like you have no regrets in your life? Cheer up and negotiate a contract with me and get her hired today. Don't force me to beat you up!"
As the words fell, the world became quiet.
The door curtain was lifted again, and the little girl poked her head out silently: "Um...Brother Wei, five minutes are up."
"Coming soon." Dewey smiled at her.
Then he grabbed the collar of the person next to him and led him into the door.
As if he heard the noise, the man who was looking up at the painting on the wall with some curiosity turned his head to look over. The sunlight fell on the side of his face, outlining soft and clean lines.
For a moment, the air was quiet.
-
Of course Dewey had met Jie Xichao.
Not just on TV screens and in major commercials.
It’s still on his beloved director’s phone screensaver and on the wall of his studio office.
There is no doubt that this is a very good-looking man. But Dewey is not interested in this type of thing. He has always been a bystander to the fanatical pursuit of Jie Xichao on the Internet and in publicity.
But at this moment, he had to admit it.
In this entertainment industry full of beauties, her looks alone can unify most people's aesthetics. At least in terms of appearance, she does have something special.
His distraction lasted only a few seconds.
Soon, he regained consciousness and stretched out his hand: "Hello, I'm Dewey."
"The executive director of this show."
"Hello." Jie Xichao politely extended his hand and shook hands with him.
His voice is very gentle, not very crisp, but a bit soft and low-pitched which sounds nice.
Just as Dewey was about to continue introducing the people around him, he heard Xuan Yang beside him say, "Are you looking at that painting?"
After the words were spoken, everyone in the room fell silent.
If you look closely, this is not a very polite statement.
The rude point was not the content of his words, but the fact that he and Jie Xichao met for the first time and the two might be about to start a business cooperation. At times like this, questions without any greetings seem a bit abrupt.
Dewey's eyelids were twitching wildly. He could already see the look of horror on the face of the woman behind Jie Xichao.
He knows the other person.
Fang Qingqing.
Everyone in the industry knows that Yao Xin treats Jie Xichao like a treasure. He has assigned him the best team and seems to be planning to open a personal studio for him in the near future.
The most famous person in his team is his agent.
Protective, quick-witted and smart.
The young girl who was just starting out has grown rapidly in the past two years with the main person. In the past few years when Jie Xichao became popular, the other party has seen countless ups and downs and has become a gold medal agent who can stand on his own.
This woman is not easy to mess with.
Dewey was about to speak up to smooth things over when he heard the gentle voice that had just spoken to him: "Yes."
“It feels beautiful,” he said.
Xie Xichao did not feel offended, he even answered Xuan Zhang's questions calmly.
Dewey followed his gaze.
It was a painting that he described as "a scribble" as soon as he bought it.
The lines are disordered and the colors are bright and weird. There is not even a discernible theme in the whole picture, only a frantic combination of lines and colors.
But Xuan Yang likes it very much.
Buying it even cost him a considerable portion of his savings.
Now, he has found a soulmate.
Dewey watched as the expression of the person next to him changed from confusion to surprise. He began by saying "I think so too" and began to talk incessantly about the creative concept of this painting.
And the big star who has countless fans and is very powerful in the entertainment industry was listening so patiently, without looking impatient at all. He even had the leisure to exchange ideas with Xuan Yang.
After chatting for about five minutes, he said gently: "Xuan Dao is a very thoughtful person."
Dewey: “…”
"Ah, actually not..." Xuan Yang blushed.
"Yes." Xie Xichao said.
He paused, then continued, "But time is a bit tight today, as we have a photo shoot this afternoon. Why don't we talk about the painting next time? Let's talk about the film first?"
A sentence.
Everyone woke up as if from a dream and returned to their respective positions.
Xuan Yang hurried to the office to get the materials.
As Dewey looked at Jie Xichao, his initial impression of him had changed from indifference to admiration.
*
Although it was our first meeting, there wasn't much to talk about.
The script and character biographies had already been given to Yao Xin when the manuscript was handed over in advance. Jie Xichao should have read them all, and he was able to quickly pick up the conversation when Xuan Yang occasionally wandered off.
The main topic of discussion this time was schedule and pay.
The schedule had been set long ago, but when it came to the remuneration, Dewey hesitated.
Fang Qingqing looked through the notice sheet to check the schedule without even raising her head, and said absentmindedly, "Director Du, if you have anything to say, just tell me."
She seemed to be particularly powerful today.
In fact, she actually has a gentle appearance, and Dewey guessed that she was not very satisfied with this resource. I don't know what moved her.
Of course, this has nothing to do with him.
The problem now is that he might say something that will make the other party even more disgusted.
The other party asked him to speak frankly, so he spoke frankly.
"That's right." He rubbed his hands and said, "We didn't expect Teacher Jie to become famous so quickly."
Fang Qingqing: “…”
Who could have thought of this?
Dewey thought rather depressedly.
There were two main reasons why they handed the notebook to Jie Xichao, apart from their personal preferences. One is that his temperament and image are suitable, and the other is that he has just switched from being an idol to an actor, so his starting point must not be too high.
In short, I just want to pick up a bargain.
But I didn't expect that the other party would become an instant hit.
...I can't afford it.
In fact, the idea that the other party would turn around and come back to find them seemed like a fantasy in the current situation.
When he said this, Fang Qingqing raised her eyes in disbelief.
After a moment, she said coldly: "I'm sorry, our Xichao is not cheap either."
Dewey coughed and said, "Miss Fang, please don't make it sound like human trafficking. It's like this..."
Fang Yuwei, who was standing by, covered his mouth with her hand.
At this moment, Xie Xichao spoke up: "What's the price per episode?"
He didn't talk much, and Fang Qingqing was the one who did most of the talking.
But everyone present could see that he was the one with the final decision.
Bai Ruo, who first received them, said a number, and then quickly explained: "It can be raised. This is the previous quotation. We..."
"That's it." Xie Xichao said.
He answered quickly, as if asking for a quote was just a process.
After saying this, he looked at his watch and said apologetically, "Sorry, I have to go. The contract can be sent directly to the legal department later. If there are no other questions, I will come over to sign it then."
He stood up, and Fang Qingqing also closed the pen cap. The action is quite similar to a female warrior closing her sword.
Her face was grim and everyone in the room was terrified.
But she didn't say anything else, and followed Jie Xichao out the door. Bai Ruo sent them to the door and watched them get into the car. When she came to her senses, everyone in the room was looking at her.
In the silence, Fang Yuwei murmured, "Is this the top star... It seems like he has a good temper?"
"I think so too..." Dewey, who was standing by, wiped the fruit knife he had just used to peel the fruit with a towel, his eyes a little dazed, "Besides, can you agree to this price? Isn't he really doing charity?"
On the other side, Xuan Yang, who had been offline since Jie Xichao left, finally reconnected to the server.
He jumped up, grabbed the phone with its tempered glass broken into pieces on the table and started clicking frantically.
Not long after, Jie Xi, who was already in the car on his way back to the company, vibrated his cell phone.
-
When Jie Xichao touched his phone, Fang Qingqing was still talking. When he opened the lock screen, the first thing he saw was a picture of a "kitten bowing" greeting. The cat in the picture was plump and a little lazy, looking at people like an old man.
He smiled in surprise, and the next moment, he heard Fang Qingqing's faint voice:
"Xi Chao, are you listening?"
Xie Xichao immediately put away his phone.
"Here I am." He cleared his throat and said.
Then, he thought about it: "As for the pay... 600,000 per episode, that's not bad, right?"
As for film pay, it all depends on the industry trends. In the world he has experienced, there are circles of extravagance and decadence with sky-high pay, and there are also relatively normal ones after the industry was regulated.
In the world he lives in, 600,000 per episode is indeed too low for someone with his popularity.
But for Jie Xichao himself, he was born in a scholarly family and he did not have much desire for material things and money. He could see that the crew didn't have much money, and estimated that more than half of the expenses were spent on paying his salary.
Fang Qingqing choked: "..."
After a moment, she murmured quietly, "If we tell others about this offer, people in the industry will say we are being taken advantage of."
Although it was a complaint, when she spoke in this tone, it actually meant she was compromising.
Xie Xichao knew it well, so he just smiled and lowered his voice, saying quietly: "Then let's keep it a secret and don't tell anyone else."
The tone is the same as that of kindergarten kids making pinky promises.
Fang Qingqing was both angry and amused.
After a while, she asked, "Are you really determined to take on this show?"
Her tone was serious, and Jie Xichao also restrained his expression.
He said seriously: "I want to try it."
Fang Qingqing was silent for a moment.
Although she was Xie Xichao's agent, she had never lost her temper with Xie Xichao. In fact, among them, it was Jie Xichao who made more decisions. In the past, if Jie Xichao had insisted to this point, she would have just let him do it.
But this time, she was still hesitant.
This was a very rare occurrence, and both Jie Xichao and Fang Qingqing knew why.
-
Almost the moment Fang Qingqing saw the first sentence of the script, she had a bad feeling in her heart.
She read the synopsis and looked for the director's name. Then I entered it into Baidu Encyclopedia, and after a while, the search engine popped up the results.
Xuan Yang, male, 27 years old.
He graduated from the Directing Department of Capital Film and Television Academy. His representative works include "Rose Stem" and "New Year's Eve".
She searched the titles of the two dramas again, but the result made her eyes go dark.
Not to mention that the cast consisted of people she didn't know, the fact that the film's Douban score was less than 100 was enough to put her in a trance.
After a long time, she finally scrolled down with a fluke mentality, intending to check the ratings.
What if it’s well received but not popular?
She thought.
Although the audience is a bit narrow, Jie Xichao does have traffic.
If the quality is good, then with the traffic from Jie Xichao, it might be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
Even though she thought so, she was already thinking of reasons to persuade Xi Chao to run away. She thought as she pulled it down.
Article 1:
"I don't know what the hell this movie is, it's a mess, I couldn't watch it after ten minutes."
Article 2:
"I don't understand what you are talking about..."
Fang Qingqing: “…”
She broke down.
She immediately went to find Xichao and explained the situation to him. Then she remembered something and breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, I haven't contacted them yet. It's not too late to change it now. Xichao, go back and take a look and pick out a few more books as backup."
Xie Xichao didn’t say it was good, nor did he say it was bad.
But the next day, he called Fang Qingqing.
On the phone, he was still on his way to the stage to perform. His voice was hoarse from staying up late. He said, "Sister Qing, I watched Director Xuan's masterpiece last night. I think we can give it a try."
...Fang Qingqing remembered.
That day, she felt basically the same as she does now.
She really couldn't convince herself to let Jie Xichao, who had a bright future, take on such a doomed drama. This idea became even stronger after meeting the team of "Tao Yan's Summer" today.
To be honest, she would rather let Jie Xichao play a supporting role in a famous director's blockbuster.
Although it's a supporting role, at least it's not a waste of time.
"You saw it just now." After a moment, she changed her angle and tried to persuade Xie Xichao, "This is not what a mature team should look like. They don't know your commercial value and business capabilities at all."
She got angry when she thought about the people who were more unreliable than the last.
What is Xie Xichao’s status?
Not only did we chat in that shabby little house, but we also started bargaining.
Did they know that it was a low-probability event for Jie Xichao to appear in that place?
But Xie Xichao said: "Sister Qing, I don't think the maturity of the team can directly determine the quality of the film. Especially for art films."
Fang Qingqing said numbly, "Then what can decide it?"
Xie Xichao paused.
The car stopped in front of the company and the driver got out first.
Fang Qingqing actually didn't want to persuade him anymore, she still had a blind trust in Jie Xichao. However, just when she was about to say, "Since you have made up your mind, I will ask the legal department to take a look at the contract and we will sign it if there is no problem," she heard Jie Xichao speak.
"It's talent," he said.
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