"Warm Light in the Palm" - Who Will Redeem the Entertainment Godmother (Twenty...)
Huo Yueze was stunned for a moment.
He carefully focused his gaze on Qiu Yi's face, finally making out the key in her hand and the doorway where she was standing.
Long-buried memories suddenly resurfaced, and something flashed through Huo Yueze's mind: "You are..."
Qiu Tianyi casually raised her chin: "I've always lived here. And who are you?"
Huo Yueze fell silent for a moment, and after a long while, he managed to say with difficulty, "I was the person who lived next door to you when I was a child..."
...
Who says reality can't be a novel?
I've run into so many acquaintances, just too many.
Qiu Yi felt speechless.
Despite being speechless, I still had to meet up with Huo Yueze alone, as this scene felt very familiar.
Compared to Cheng Yanxi, Huo Yueze was much more domineering, directly choosing the best restaurant and the best private room in the city.
He had his reasons for doing so, as the hotel was owned by the Huo family.
Although Cheng Yanxi comes from a scholarly family and is a top celebrity, he is still no match for Huo Yueze in terms of wealth and power, and Qiu Tianyi, this nouveau riche, is even less so.
Sitting in the most expensive banquet hall in the entire X city, listening to a top-notch violinist playing, Qiu Tianyi really wanted to call the police.
Why do all her childhood followers grow up to be better off than her? What's the reason behind this? Does she have a knack for attracting followers?
Autumn's gloomy heart was once again filled with an unspeakable imbalance, but on the surface, she would not show it in the slightest.
He raised his head, his face serious, and said, "How have you been these past few years? I had some family troubles later, so I moved. Sometimes I still think of you."
"When I returned to this place after growing up, I asked around and found out that your mother had also passed away."
"These years of wandering around other people's homes must have been tough."
Huo Yueze fell silent.
The Huo family believed in wolf-like education for their descendants, and he, as an outsider and "illegitimate child," naturally received a lot of harsh criticism.
But he has grown up and doesn't like to show his wounds to others, especially to that girl from his past.
A rare smile appeared on his usually stern face: "It's nothing, don't worry about me. But you, how have you been these past few years?"
Qiu Yi sighed and gave a bleak smile.
"It's alright. After my mother passed away, I lived with my father."
“My dad had already remarried at that time and had a new family. He was neither good nor bad to me.”
"Anyway, I'm all grown up now, and I don't want to talk about the past anymore."
Huo Yueze raised his eyes, a hint of pity in them.
They were both people who had fallen on hard times, and it was surprising that there were two people in this world who shared the same plight.
The two were reunited after a long separation and had a very pleasant time together. Qiu Tianyi told many interesting stories, which melted Huo Yueze's cold face and made him smile.
Although the two had lunch together, only Qiu Tianyi had a good appetite and ate a lot, while Huo Yueze didn't even touch his knife and fork, but just watched Qiu Tianyi eat with tenderness.
After she finished eating, he spoke in a deep voice, "What are you doing right now?"
Qiu Tianyi took the tissue from the waiter and said with a big smile, "I'm amazing now. I'm a big director now. I'm filming on set. Did you see those people just now? They're all my subordinates."
Huo Yueze could tell what she did just by looking at her outfit, and couldn't help but chuckle. What a small world.
Rarely feeling the urge to tease someone, he rested his chin on his hand and said with a broad smile, "What a coincidence, we're in the same line of work now. Where do you work?"
Qiu Tianyi looked up in utter surprise: "Really? This world is so small!"
She deftly handed him her business card: "You probably don't know my full name yet. Of course, it's not some old-fashioned name like 'Little Girl.' Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Qiu Tianyi. Does that sound familiar?"
Huo Yueze accepted her business card with a smile, but paused abruptly when he heard her name.
His gaze slowly fell on the business card, where the 6+6 logo stood out prominently. He stiffly looked up: "You're from 6+6?"
Qiu Tianyi seemed oblivious, smiling as she looked at him: "Yes, I am the founder of 6+6."
"You didn't expect your childhood friends to become so powerful after parting ways, did you? My company actually took down the Huo family, who were known as the industry leader. Aren't you surprised?"
Huo Yueze: ...
Qiu Yi continued to smile at him, full of curiosity, and said, "And what about you, Aze? To be honest, I don't even know your name."
Huo Yueze: ...
"My surname is Fu..."
"Fu Ze?"
"Um."
Where do you work?
"Not in this city."
"Oh, that's a real shame. I thought we could work together in the future."
Huo Yueze: ...
What started as a pleasant gathering took a sudden turn for the worse, leaving Huo Yueze feeling uneasy.
After the meal, he offered to treat everyone, and Qiu Tianyi didn't refuse. The steamed buns she had given him when he was a child also required interest.
Who would have thought that childhood friends could become enemies when they grow up?
But an enemy is an enemy, and to be merciful to an enemy is to be cruel to oneself.
As Qiu Yi was parting, she casually asked, "What exactly happened back then? Why did Auntie suddenly become so despondent?"
"What obstacle in this world can't be overcome? She still has you, so why did she choose that dead end?"
Huo Yueze: ...
"I was young then, so I don't really know..."
"Is that so? What a pity."
The two parted ways, their relationship superficial but their hearts churning. Once back home, Huo Yueze's mind was in complete turmoil.
Whether it was the redemption he experienced in his childhood turning into a hostile force, or the resurfacing of his mother's death, everything made him incredibly irritable.
Rumors spread quickly in the entertainment industry. The news that "Ouyang Tu and the Moon Shadow Girl" was going to be made into a movie had already spread far and wide. Liu Jia Liu didn't hide it from anyone and told her fans directly and frankly.
Huo Yueze's assistant was overjoyed upon hearing the news and rushed to his boss to boast about his achievement.
The film industry is Huo's territory, so he was always looking for opportunities to mess with them. They just delivered themselves to his doorstep, so how could he not be happy?
The assistant confidently presented the plan to the boss, but suddenly a whooshing sound rang in his ears: "Get out!"
The assistant turned her head stiffly, looking at the shattered teacup on the ground: What's wrong? Is there anything wrong with what she said?
If things continue like this, she'll have to resign...
Huo Yueze was filled with rage, but he couldn't tell anyone about his pain.
After staring at the empty space for a long time, he decided—
Things remained the same. Qiu Tianyi looked at the row of malicious theater operators and wondered what she was expecting.
Although movies are more demanding in terms of quality, their length and plot are fixed, and their shooting cycle is definitely shorter than that of TV series.
Filming began in March and was completed in June; post-production is also being expedited.
Once filming is finished, it's time to sell the film; a film that can't be sold is a waste of time.
The employees looked at Qiu Yi, who had returned empty-handed: Didn't we agree that once the auction was completed, you would be able to sell it?
Qiu Yi smiled and said: Don't worry, if we can't sell out during the summer season, we can try for the Spring Festival season.
The long production time is a good opportunity to polish the post-production, and then, while the child actors are on vacation, we can film the second season of the TV series.
Other employees: ...
If it can't sell during the summer season, it'll sell during the Spring Festival! Don't waste our year-end bonuses!
But no matter how angry they were, the filming was already done, so what could they say? The employees of 6+6 suddenly felt that their lives were miserable.
Fortunately, although Qiu Yi squandered the company's year-end bonus, the costs were all spent on them.
The most distinctive feature of "Ouyang Tu and the Moon Shadow Girl" is that 80% of the cast members are from his own company or the company next door.
After the show became a hit, a second season was filmed, and the actors' salaries increased to varying degrees.
For a film and television production company, actors' salaries definitely account for a large part of the costs.
The calculation logic for year-end bonuses is to deduct costs from the net profit and then recalculate it. Now, some of the costs are going into their own pockets, which is fine too.
No longer dwelling on the previous film, Liu Jia Liu immediately began filming and producing the second season of the TV series, which also consisted of thirty episodes.
If last year was a booming and profitable year, this year has been rather bleak, with constant expenses related to filming.
Fortunately, thanks to the success of the first season, some copyrights were sold, and sponsors also discovered the business opportunity in "Ouyang Tu and the Moon Shadow Girl". Sponsors sponsored the filming of the second season, and it was still profitable.
However, this cannot continue indefinitely; film companies can only operate when their films are sold.
However, an unfortunate event is on the agenda: the moment when netizens lose their memory is almost here, and the Huo family can launch a counterattack.
The atmosphere at Liujialiu was somber from top to bottom, except for Qiu Yi, who remained optimistic.
What are you worried about? Why don't you watch me receive an award first?
In late autumn, a time of harvest, all industries begin their final accounting, and the entertainment industry also holds its annual star-studded awards ceremony. The Golden Osmanthus Award, the highest award in the television drama industry held every four years, arrives as scheduled.
Having nothing better to do, I signed up for "Ouyang Tu and the Moon Shadow Girl." I was just thinking about participating, but I ended up getting four nominations.
It would be naive to think this is a good thing.
Some dramas can be very popular, but are destined to be excluded from mainstream awards. "Ouyang Tu and the Moon Shadow Girl" was in this category, but it was nominated for four awards in one go.
As the highest award in the television drama industry, the Golden Osmanthus Award has always attracted attention from all walks of life. As soon as the news came out, everyone's attention was drawn to this bizarre matter: Has your "Moonlight Girl" production team gone mad?
The winds of public opinion never stay still; they can escalate rapidly, and this time, however, all the voices are unfavorable to "Moonlight Girl".
"No, you've gotten too cocky after all this praise. You think you're worthy of mentioning four names?"
"If Sun Manli really becomes the Best Actress in a TV series based on an abstract children's drama, I'll laugh my head off. The Golden Osmanthus Award should stop being called the Golden Osmanthus Award and be called the Golden Water Award instead."
"I used to have a pretty good impression of Sun Manli, but now I'm thinking of turning against her."
"Hey, it wasn't Sun Manli who voted for herself, it was the organizing committee that selected her, what does it have to do with her?"
"Ha, who doesn't know that these kinds of awards can be manipulated? Sun Manli's backer must be quite powerful."
“I’ve wanted to say this for a long time. Sun is a very scheming person. Who knew if the recording she released was real? Did she provoke others first, incite them to start cursing, and then record it? Nobody knows what happened before that.”
"The Huo family is the company that values quality the most in the film industry. Because of an actor's crying and sobbing, such a high-quality masterpiece cannot recoup its costs. I don't know how many people will lose their jobs because of this. The film industry is ruined by people like this."
“Sun and that 6+6 company that keeps marketing themselves are so vicious, they will come back to haunt us sooner or later.”
“I had a master read the fortunes of Sun Manli and the boss of Liujialiu. They are both people whose faces are not blessed with good fortune. The more good fortune they have received in the past, the more backlash they will suffer in the future. And now it has come.”
...
The publicity department of Liujialiu, which is in charge of public opinion monitoring, must be laughing. Even fortune tellers are showing up?
But a trick doesn't have to be unconventional; as long as it's effective, it's good. Taking this unreasonable nomination as an opportunity, public opinion suddenly underwent a 180° reversal.
Sun Manli closed her eyes. Sure enough, the Huo family did not let her go.
Even though I've gotten used to this kind of thing, facing that tidal wave of malice again still makes my heart tremble.
Just as her heart was pounding, Qiu Yi called: "Get ready, you'll be attending the awards ceremony with me."
Sun Manli was surprised that Qiu Yi was still so relaxed at this moment: "Aren't you worried at all?"
Qiu Tianyi burst out laughing: "What are you worried about?"
"Why did those people resort to this tactic at this critical juncture? It's because the online outcry was too great a few days ago, and they couldn't go against the public's opinion. They held their breath and remained silent until the public's anger subsided before daring to get up and cause trouble."
"The sky is the same sky, the land is the same land, and the moves are the same moves. If they can use the moves, why can't we?"
"By this time next year, when their popularity has waned, we'll market one drama with four nominations. Is 'Moonlight Girl' underrated because of its subject matter? Outsiders see the spectacle, insiders see the details. The awards committee has a sharp eye."
"The future is so long, who cares about short-term gains and losses? We're so young, we can outlast them even if we have to. Who can compete with them in the short term?"
Sun Manli couldn't help but laugh out loud, which matched her impression of Qiu Tianyi.
Qiu Yi's words were always unserious, but they always made people feel at ease. Sun Manli breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, then let's go to the awards ceremony together. I'll win Best Actress, and you'll win Best Newcomer."
"Heh, this is seniority discrimination. I think with my abilities, I could easily be nominated for Best Player. A bunch of old fogies are being stingy and giving it to a newcomer, and they even think I'm not worthy."
Sun Manli was completely impressed by her confidence: "Good, good, good, great director, you're sure to have a grand slam in the future. The organizing committee is begging you to accept the awards, but you won't go."
Qiu Yi liked hearing this, and she loved to spend money when she was happy: "Then let's do it this way. I've prepared clothes for the three of you, and I'll come pick you up later."
Besides Sun Manli, Xu Jia and Liu Banqing were also nominated. Sun Manli and Qiu Tianyi were nominated for Best Actress and Best New Director, respectively, and they were competing for Best Supporting Actress, meaning there were four nominations from one family.
Hopefully, the opponents won't be too stingy. If they're so capable, they should arrange one for each of the four of them, so as not to hurt the harmony.
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