Chapter 103
Lin Zhongxu became a minor internet sensation, albeit for a bad reason. However, he seems to be taking it all in stride, calmly going about his business every day, seemingly letting the rumors die down on their own.
Xu Ying asked him, "Don't you need to say something to clarify?"
Either she or Lin Zhongxu can refute the rumor.
"No need," Lin Zhongxu felt it was unnecessary. "Once other hot topics emerge in a few days, they'll forget about our matter."
There are all sorts of conflicting information online, and it would be too exhausting for them to clarify everything.
Xu Ying hummed in agreement.
She doesn't really care about the comments online; she's just worried that it might affect Lin Zhongxu's mentality. Since he himself says he doesn't care, she cares even less.
The two had only spoken once before putting the matter out of their minds. However, their friends, despite knowing that the online information was incorrect, still teased the two of them whenever they met.
What surprised Xu Ying the most was Zhou Xun.
Zhou Xun must have seen the trending topic, because he sent Xu Ying a text message expressing his willingness to play the role of Cao Dingzhi no matter what.
Xu Ying was still somewhat moved.
She explained the whole story to Zhou Xun. It was true that Lin Zhongxu was able to take over the camera so quickly because of her connections, but that didn't contradict his own abilities.
*
Online trends change very quickly. Just as Lin Zhongxu said, the trending searches have been taken over by other celebrity gossip, and the two of them can no longer be found.
Xu Ying resumed her daily writing routine.
In the novel "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination," the protagonist passes the county-level imperial examination and enters the Ziyang Academy in the county town. His next step is to pass the provincial-level imperial examination.
The provincial examination was held every three years, usually in August, hence it was also known as the 'autumn examination'.
This year happens to coincide with the autumn imperial examinations.
It is now April, and Cao Hongjing has just passed the county-level imperial examination. He has no hope of taking the provincial-level imperial examination this autumn. He is well aware of this and does not plan to take the exam this autumn. He will focus all his energy on the provincial-level imperial examination three years from now.
......
When Li Qinqin got home, she threw herself onto the sofa with a heavy thud. She lay there with her eyes closed, resting for more than ten minutes before she finally recovered.
"I'm exhausted." The company recently took on a big project, and everyone in the team is working overtime, including her. She hasn't been home before 7 p.m. for several days.
She moved her fingers, laboriously pulled her phone out of her pocket, and lay back to read a novel.
In "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination", Cao Hongjing passed the examination and became a Xiucai. After that, a large number of gatherings came, which Li Qinqin originally thought she was not interested in.
But seeing the male protagonist and his classmates reciting poems and composing verses in the mountains, dominating the competition, seemed quite enjoyable. As she watched, a smile appeared on her tired face.
*
The filming of "Ming Dynasty" has wrapped up amid widespread skepticism from netizens.
As soon as filming wrapped up, Xu Ying received a call from Jiang Manni, who wanted to bring the show to their Xilaiduo platform for broadcast.
Xu Ying refused very decisively.
Jiang Manni was somewhat taken aback: "Why?"
“We want to broadcast this drama on television…” Since “Code Name: Dodder Flower” achieved good results after its broadcast on satellite TV, the evaluation of her by various satellite TV stations has changed, and she herself hopes that her drama can reach a higher platform.
Furthermore, "Da Ming Dynasty" is a serious drama, and it would be more suitable to broadcast it on satellite TV than on video platforms.
Xu Ying explained, and Jiang Manni sighed, "You're right. It seems that if I want this drama, I'll have to wait until you reach an agreement with the TV station first."
With satellite TV stations in the middle, their video platforms will inevitably face significant limitations. They will have to coordinate with the satellite TV stations regarding broadcast schedules and timings. Most importantly, viewership and popularity will be diverted.
Given this, is it still necessary for their platform to take such a big risk? Jiang Manni felt she needed to reconsider.
"Okay, we'll talk about it later."
Zhou Xingyun was right next to Xu Ying, and she had heard the whole conversation: "You really are very direct."
By openly stating that they want to cooperate with satellite TV stations, aren't they clearly looking down on video platforms?
"She won't mind."
Jiang Manni is a smart person.
Xu Ying patted Zhou Xingyun on the shoulder: "I'll leave it to you to communicate with the TV station."
“No problem,” Zhou Xingyun readily agreed. Her family was in the film and television industry, and she knew people at various TV stations. It would be much easier for her to find someone than for Xu Ying.
*
Zhongyu Eight Platforms.
The film and television industry is now in complete chaos.
As a national-level television station, their drama channel has always produced high-quality dramas that conform to mainstream social values.
Furthermore, they also have requirements regarding the character of the actors and actresses in the TV series. Of course, no actor or actress with a bad reputation should appear in a TV series, and they certainly shouldn't appear on the screen of Channel 8.
But despite all the planning, no one expected the actor to have a breakdown midway through the filming.
"The Moon Shines Among the Flowers" is a historical drama. When the TV station bought it, they made a point of learning about the actors in the drama to ensure there were no problems before placing it in this summer's prime-time slot, intending to make it a major summer drama.
Just before the show's release, the male lead, Duan Ming, was suddenly exposed for having an affair.
Duan Ming, now middle-aged, has always presented himself as a loving husband and woman. Who would have thought that behind the scenes, he was having a passionate affair with an actress twenty years his junior?
You can know a person's face but not their heart.
The staff at Channel 8 were furious. Not only were all the promotional materials and trailers for "The Moon Shines Over Flowers" taken down, but they also had to quickly find another show to fill the gap.
The drama currently airing on TV is about to end in a week, and after this drama ends, "The Moon Shines Over Flowers" was supposed to take over the time slot.
Now that "The Moon Shines Over Flowers" has been abandoned, in such a short time, where can we find a high-quality TV series that fits the theme? It's impossible to find one!
The director of the film and television department had no choice but to bring forward the TV series that were temporarily scheduled for the winter vacation as a temporary measure, which finally managed to get through the summer vacation season.
They've managed to get through the summer season, but what about the winter season?
The staff below still had to search for suitable TV series, but no one complained. After all, the winter vacation season was still a long way off, and with no immediate problems, half of the pressure on them was relieved.
"Sigh, I really don't understand. Duan Ming's wife is already beautiful enough, what else could he possibly want? He was still messing around outside. Now look what's happened, his reputation is completely ruined and the TV series has gone down the drain."
"Mentioning him is bad luck, let's think about the TV series instead."
"I'm speechless. Everything was planned out perfectly for this year, and then he suddenly came along and messed up our entire year's schedule. Not only are all the promotional videos I made for 'The Moon Shines Among the Flowers' ruined, but now I also have to work on and rush to produce the trailer for 'The Legend of the Spirit God'..."
The people in the film and television department harbored a lot of resentment towards Duan Ming because his infidelity had inexplicably doubled their workload.
“I just passed by the director’s office, and he was very angry. I even heard him yell something like ‘I’m never cooperating with you again.’”
Li Hao was indeed very angry.
He was the one who decided to buy the TV series "The Moon Shines Among the Flowers". Now that the TV series has problems, the money has gone down the drain. He has also left his superiors with the impression that he can't judge people well. How can he not be angry!
The most urgent task now is for him to atone for his mistakes. Ideally, he should buy back a hit drama series to give his TV station a boost and cleanse his image in the eyes of his superiors.
But hit dramas aren't so easy to find. Before a TV series even airs, who knows if it will be a hit?
He was sitting in his office with a worried expression when his phone suddenly rang. It was Director Wang from the film and television department of Jiaoyang TV, who was also his college classmate.
"Old Li, don't say I didn't think of you. I called you as soon as I heard you were in trouble."
"Then shouldn't I thank you properly?"
"No need to thank me. Listen to me, I'm here to recommend a TV series to you. You know how popular 'Code Name: Dodder Flower' was on our TV station last year, right? The screenwriter made another one this year. Why don't you give it a try?"
Director Wang really came to give advice.
After "Code Name: Dodder Flower" became a hit on their TV station last year, he started paying attention to the screenwriter of the show.
He knew that Xu Ying had filmed "The Ming Dynasty" again this year.
He intended to buy back "Da Ming Dynasty" as soon as it was finished filming, but unfortunately the TV station was too concerned about seniority. This time, Xu Ying no longer had the support of the great director Liu Mingchun, and coupled with the recent scandal involving the young man who was brought in through connections, the higher-ups were extremely pessimistic about "Da Ming Dynasty".
Unable to fight city hall, Director Wang had no choice but to give up.
However, he couldn't buy the rights to the show, so he figured he should keep it within the family. His old classmate could give it a try, since he was currently looking for a TV series.
"I know 'Code Name: Dodder Flower'. You've called me countless times to brag about it. The screenwriter has made a new drama. What's the name of the new drama?"
Li Hao became interested.
"The Ming Dynasty, this drama is adapted from a novel. I recommend you read the original work when you have time, it's really good," Director Wang said, then sighed again. This was originally a drama for their Jiaoyang TV.
Li Hao didn't hesitate and immediately searched for the drama's title on his computer.
The Ming Dynasty... Well, this drama has indeed finished filming, but the reviews seem a bit negative.
He was completely unaware of the controversies surrounding the show, such as its poor production quality and the forced inclusion of actors with connections. Upon seeing the rumors circulating online, he instinctively developed a negative impression.
"This show doesn't have a very good reputation."
Li Hao backed down.
"Don't listen to those rumors online. Whether a TV series is good or not, just go watch it and you'll know. Let me tell you, Xu Ying is a talented young woman; every story she writes is better than the last. Are you getting senile? Haven't you heard of Xu Ying? 'Empress Wu Zetian' and 'Legend of the Qing Dynasty' are both her scripts, and both of them became huge hits..."
Li Hao had certainly heard of "Empress Wu Zetian" and "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," but these dramas were not related to their TV station, so he hadn't really looked into them in detail before.
Upon hearing that these dramas were also written by Xu Ying, his initial intention to retire vanished.
"Hey Lao Wang, I'll check out this show later. Thanks for giving me some ideas. Let's get together sometime..."
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