Chapter 022
[Is that Zhou Qingyu when she was little in the photo? She was a beauty since she was little! ]
【The reputation of the entertainment industry's God of Face is well deserved! 】
[The whole family is a genetic lottery, right? My brother is also very handsome! ]
[Wait, do you think Mr. Zhou looks familiar? I think I've seen him somewhere before?]
[Financial magazine, I just took a look, this year's cover character is Zhou Hongsheng, the richest man in Haicheng]
【? ? ?】
A photo of Zhou Qingyu's family was uploaded to the Internet, and a marketing account compared it with Zhou Hongsheng's photo on the cover of a financial magazine. My goodness, with these eyebrows, nose bridge, and lip shape, no one would believe that these two are not father and daughter!
[Is Zhou Qingyu's family so rich? ]
[Some people even mocked Zhou Qingyu for hanging out with a rich man. Now you know what I mean. The rich man is her real father! ]
[When I saw the private jet and the winery, I guessed that Zhou Qingyu's family was rich, but I didn't expect them to be so rich...]
[A rich lady bravely enters the entertainment industry! If she fails, she will go back to inherit the family property~]
Several hot searches were launched on the Internet, all of which were about the discussion of Zhou Qingyu's family. The Zhou Group's public relations department intervened at the right time to control the discussion within a small circle. Even so, the fact that Zhou Qingyu was the daughter of a wealthy family had spread all over the Internet.
In the wine cellar, the old butler took the guests to taste different types of wine. The system quietly reported in a friendly manner: [Host! Fortunately, you asked the old butler to hang the Zhou family portrait in the wine cellar as a decorative painting. Now the rumors that Zhou Qingyu is dating a rich man are self-defeating~]
"Zhou Qingyu is dating a rich man" are all rumors spread by black fans. They are harmless, but in order to prevent passers-by from having a bad impression of Zhou Qingyu because of this, Yan Xi thinks that the rumors should be nipped in the bud.
Why not do something that can be solved by hanging a family photo?
System: [Now there are only comments complaining about Zhou Qingyu's role as a paper man and being a mistress, but only black fans would say that, because of the previous raffle and charity, passers-by have a good impression of Zhou Qingyu! ]
Yan Xi was puzzled. Zhou Qingyu's acting skills were average, and there was no way to deny it. Acting skills were something that depended more on talent. But Ye Luoyi had admitted that she and Pei Yubai had nothing to do with each other, so why were there still people calling Qingqing a mistress?
System: [Fans still firmly believe that their CP is real. They think that it is just that Ye Luoyi’s career is on the rise and it is not convenient to make an official announcement! ]
[In the novel's plot, Ye Luoyi and Pei Yubai will announce their relationship later. It's not so easy to clear the name of a mistress.]
Yan Xi thought about it and realized that only if Zhou Qingyu personally announced her engagement with Pei Yubai could she completely slap the faces of those fans who had made false accusations.
But if Zhou Qingyu wants to announce the engagement, it means that she has initially gotten rid of Pei Yubai's PUA, and her luck value is at least 60 points. But since arriving in Licheng, except for the increase in luck when Zhou Qingyu bought a bag for Yan Xi in the mall, her luck value has not changed until now.
It is currently stuck at 10 o'clock, with no progress.
The system saw Yan Xi's worry, and a small ball of light swung in her mind: [Host, don't worry. The plot of the variety show is completely different from the novel, so it can't be settled so quickly. It is estimated that Zhou Qingyu will receive the luck value reward after the trip to Country F is over. ]
Hearing this, Yan Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes filled with anticipation.
How much can it be? Zhou Qingyu is not being blacklisted by the entire Internet, and her friendship with Zhou Qingyu is not being used as a comparison group. In this case... at least she can get 2 points of luck value reward, right?
The system's light ball head poked suddenly: [It will definitely happen! ]
——
At 6:30 in the evening, the guests came out of the wine cellar. The sunset in Country F is relatively late, but the sky is still bright, with large clouds slowly floating across the azure sky.
Zhou Qingyu didn't realize that her phone was turned off. She was not a cell phone addict and didn't have the habit of keeping her phone with her all the time.
At this moment, she greeted Yan Xi and Louis, and felt that she had had enough of the winery and wanted to go somewhere else.
Jiang Tao remained silent, following behind Zhou Qingyu, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Jiang Tao looked like this when Ye Luoyi and the others left just now, but until now, he is still entangled.
Just now, he successfully borrowed the winery from Ye Luoyi as the filming location for "Bottom Line", but it turned out that the winery belonged to Zhou Qingyu, so Ye Luoyi's words were no longer valid.
Jiang Tao hesitated. He felt that given Zhou Qingyu's attitude towards him, she would definitely reject him.
What a pity! The winery is such a great location for filming. If he were to rent it through formal channels, it would cost tens of thousands of dollars. He didn't have the funds yet, so how could he afford to spend money lavishly?
The gate of the winery was open. There was still some distance from the entrance to the castle. Louis contacted the driver and asked him to drive the stretched Lincoln directly into the winery.
Louis opened the car door, and when Zhou Qingyu was about to leave, Jiang Tao finally spoke and mentioned the matter of renting the venue to her.
"Zhou Qingyu, I will only shoot for three days. I promise that I will not damage your winery! It will be the same three days later as it was three days ago. It will definitely not affect you—"
"Okay, just contact Bruce when the time comes!" Zhou Qingyu said calmly.
Jiang Tao was stunned, thinking he had heard wrongly. He was stunned for two seconds, and then his eyes brightened up like lights, and he rushed to Zhou Qingyu excitedly, "You agreed? Zhou Qingyu, I didn't expect you to be so generous!"
Zhou Qingyu pushed Jiang Tao away, "Stay away from me, we are not that close! The rental fee is tens of thousands of yuan, I am too lazy to accept this little money, it makes me look stingy."
"How can tens of thousands of yuan be considered a small amount of money?" Jiang Tao was delighted. "Oh, that's right, you can donate 10 million yuan just like that... Hey! Zhou Qingyu, since you are so rich, are you interested in investing in my TV series? I guarantee that it will be the best of the year and will be a big hit after it is broadcast!"
——After knowing Zhou Qingyu's financial resources, Jiang Tao no longer tried to save the country in a roundabout way. He felt that he could ask Zhou Qingyu for investment because Zhou Qingyu had the money.
Zhou Qingyu glanced at Jiang Tao and asked, "How much is the investment?"
Jiang Tao held up three fingers, "Not too much, not too little, thirty million will be fine!"
Zhou Qingyu smiled with a fake smile, "You are dreaming."
Jiang Tao put his hands on his hips and said, "Zhou Qingyu, thirty million is nothing to you, right? Don't be so stingy!"
Thirty million is really nothing to Zhou Qingyu, but she is only willing to spend her money on Pei Yu.
For example, in "Let's Travel Together", Zhou Qingyu invested 30 million just to travel with Pei Yubai. Although she ended up being a wedding dress for Ye Luoyi, her original intention was Pei Yubai.
In addition, many of the projects that Zhou Qingyu had invested in in the past were to pave the way for Tianhui, so that Pei Yubai could gain a firm foothold in the Pei family as soon as possible.
Zhou Qingyu also has money now. She has industries under her name and has been receiving income, but she wants to use that money to help Pei Yubai. Thirty million is not a small amount. If she helps Jiang Tao, she will not be able to help Pei Yubai in the future.
Pei Yubai's priority in her heart is much higher than Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao persisted, "Zhou Qingyu, you haven't read my script yet, right? Take a look, it will definitely work. I guarantee you will make double the money after it's aired..."
Yan Xi remembered that the investment in the novel "Bottom Line" should be around 20 million. It seems that even with Qin Li joining, Jiang Tao did not attract more investment. The crew did not use traffic, and almost all of them were newcomers except Qin Li, but all the investment was used in the drama. With only 20 million, Jiang Tao also made a hit.
If Jiang Tao can have enough funds and can hire the most suitable actors... the potential of "Bottom Line" is limitless.
——
Zhou Qingyu ultimately did not agree to Jiang Tao's investment.
Jiang Tao was a little decadent, but maybe he was used to being rejected so many times. He rubbed his cheeks and stood beside Xiao Yu, who gently stroked his back to comfort him.
The investment market is suitable for directors with high emotional intelligence and smoothness. Jiang Tao is obviously not one of them. All his skill points are added to his directing ability, and his investment skills are zero.
He is a talented horse, but he just hasn't met his mentor.
Later, Pei Yubai saw his potential and recruited him to Tianhui. Jiang Tao also produced many hit TV series and movies for Tianhui. Tianhui later became the leading entertainment agency, and Jiang Tao played an indispensable role.
Yan Xi got into the stretched Lincoln.
"Director Jiang's new script is very good,"
Zhou Qingyu was putting on makeup and took the initiative to discuss the matter with Yan Xi. "After the platform reviewed it, they thought the subject matter was too niche. Without anyone to endorse it, an investment of 20 million is the maximum."
Yan Xi closed the car door and held a glass bowl full of fresh grapes in her arms.
"Have you read Director Jiang's script?"
"It's more than just the platform," Zhou Qingyu counted on her fingers, "All major film and television companies have received the scripts for the first three episodes of "The Bottom Line", including Xingyao. Qiao Yan has read the script, and she said that this script is good for second-tier actors, but that's all."
Becoming a hit is a mystery. No one in the entertainment industry dares to assert that a drama will definitely become a hit. We can only deduce based on the cast, including the script, screenwriter, director, leading actor, production company...these are all taken into consideration.
A good script, if the subject matter fits the mainstream market and it is paired with a popular director or lead actor, has the potential to be a hit.
As for works that can still become popular without these conditions, there are some, it just depends on luck.
Zhou Qingyu and Yan Xi chatted a few words about the film and television production in the entertainment industry. Yan Xi only had a vague understanding of it, and Zhou Qingyu felt that she was not very interested, so she didn't say anything more.
After leaving the winery, Louis reminded Zhou Qingyu that the Red Cross had just contacted him and said that it had not received the remittance from Tianhui.
There are only ten minutes left until Ye Luoyi's two-hour appointment.
"You haven't received it yet?" Zhou Qingyu was surprised. "Why, Ye Luoyi doesn't plan to give money?"
Louis didn't know either. His phone displayed the Weibo interface, and many netizens were discussing this matter.
[What if Tianhui doesn’t give money? Wouldn’t the donation be in vain? ]
[It’s all Yan Xi’s fault for contacting the Red Cross too early. It wouldn’t be too late to donate after getting the money. For such a large sum of money, Tianhui should also pay it in installments, right? ]
[If Yan Xi hadn’t contacted the Red Cross, this wouldn’t have happened! Would she die if she waited two more hours before announcing the donation? She’s really a new star in Xingyao! Why is she in such a hurry to establish her persona!]
[This kind of person will sooner or later fall from grace! He is eager to establish a charitable persona before he has even finished his work! ]
Zhou Qingyu frowned. This matter could not be blamed on Yan Xi. The culprit was obviously Ye Luoyi. But everyone on the Internet was cursing Yan Xi, while Ye Luoyi and Tianhui disappeared.
It's easy to guess that Ye Luoyi hired some trolls to deliberately splash dirty water on Yan Xi. Yan Xi has no fans, so passersby can be easily misled.
Zhou Qingyu held Yan Xi's hand tightly, "Since you said you want to donate, I will definitely donate. At worst, I'll pay for it."
"Qingqing," Yan Xi looked at Zhou Qingyu, "Don't you blame me for making you pay more?"
Zhou Qingyu smiled softly, "How can I blame you? If anyone should be blamed, blame Ye Luoyi!"
The one who was being shameless was Ye Luoyi. Yan Xi even let her see that Ye Luoyi was in a trance. Zhou Qingyu was so happy that she couldn't contain herself.
As for the 10 million, it is nothing for her to donate. Charity can deduct taxes. The Zhou Group pays more than 10 million in taxes every year. Her donation of 10 million is nothing.
"Qingqing, I think Teacher Ye is the daughter of the Ye family and a big star. She will definitely not refuse to give it to you!" Yan Xi "sensibly" comforted Zhou Qingyu.
Zhou Qingyu crossed her arms and sneered, "You haven't paid me until now, what else can you say but a slacker?"
Yan Xi covered her mouth in shock, "So Teacher Ye still won't give us the money, is she trying to get away with it? How could she do that? She clearly promised before! If she didn't want to give it, she should have said so earlier. We won't make things difficult for her!"
[Yan Xi put it mildly]
[Take 10 million from others and don't pay them back, Ye Luoyi is really lacking in virtue! 】
[Zhou fans, stop talking nonsense! Those bottles of wine are only worth one million! Yan Xi is blackmailing us! ]
[If Ye Luoyi didn't want to give this money, she shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place. She insisted on showing off by giving fans 10 million yuan in benefits. Then Yan Xi said she made a donation, but she found out that she couldn't pay Zhou Qingyu back 1 million yuan privately, so she had to pay back 10 million yuan. She panicked. Who told her to show off in the first place? ]
[If you don't have diamonds, don't try to do porcelain work. You will suffer the consequences! ]
Zhou Qingyu wanted to see what was happening on the Internet. If Ye Luoyi hired navy to attack Yan Xi, she could also let Xingyao fight back. What about navy? Every celebrity in the entertainment industry has one?
She picked up her phone and suddenly found that it was turned off.
"No electricity?"
Zhou Qingyu grabbed the extended charging cable from the Lincoln and plugged it into the charging port.
The brand logo on the phone screen lights up, and when it is turned on, it jumps to the lock screen interface, which shows that the battery level is 62%.
Zhou Qingyu exclaimed.
The phone screen showed that it was five minutes to seven. The moment the signal was connected, dozens of missed calls flooded into the phone interface.
Yan Xi's eyes were cold. From her angle, she could see that all those missed calls were from Pei Yubai.
"Brother Yubai is looking for me!" Zhou Qingyu couldn't hide her joy. She avoided the camera and whispered to Yan Xi, "I'll go back on the phone."
Yan Xi nodded, "Go!"
She did not disturb Zhou Qingyu, but sat next to Louis and chatted with Louis for live broadcast material.
——
Pei Yubai has gone mad.
Ten million, this is not a small number. How could Ye Luoyi cause such a big mess for him!
Pei Yubai originally thought that with Zhou Qingyu's feelings for him, he just needed to make a phone call and say a few nice words, and Zhou Qingyu would take the initiative to pay for him.
But Zhou Qingyu turned off her phone!
At such a critical moment, she actually turned off her phone!
Pei Yubai also found Yan Xi's mobile phone number and asked Yan Xi to help contact Zhou Qingyu. As soon as the call was connected, he heard the young girl on the other end scolding, "Another scam call, scammers are so rampant nowadays!"
Then she turned off her phone too!
Pei Yubai was in a terrible mood. As the deadline was approaching, he still hadn't contacted Zhou Qingyu. The Internet was full of comments mocking Tianhui and Ye Luoyi. Pei Yubai couldn't stand it anymore, so he asked Tianhui Public Relations to take action and draw attention to Yan Xi.
But this is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.
Finally, when the deadline was approaching, Zhou Qingyu answered the phone!
The moment the phone was connected, Pei Yubai scolded her, "Zhou Qingyu! Why do you want to donate? Aren't you deliberately bullying Yiyi and making things difficult for me?"
"Didn't I tell you that this is a critical time for Tianhui? Is it so easy to raise a cash flow of 10 million? Zhou Qingyu, if you want to destroy me, just tell me!"
"Hey - Zhou Qingyu! Hey -"
Pei Yubai cursed a lot, and the other end of the phone was buzzing and full of noise due to poor signal. Zhou Qingyu's voice was intermittent and could not be heard clearly.
In the Lincoln, Zhou Qingyu stared at her phone and asked, "Hello? Hello? Hello?"
"This is weird, is the signal so bad? Why can't I hear Brother Yubai's voice?"
Yan Xi silently pressed the signal jammer under her butt.
Live broadcasting was also affected, but it was not a big deal.
Louis also saw it, but he didn't expose Yan Xi. Instead, he took the initiative to help PD debug the live broadcast with a bad signal, and pretended to say, "The equipment of your program team is not good. I know a company that specializes in making cameras. I recommend it to you!"
Yan Xi comforted Zhou Qingyu, "It must be that the signal on Pei Ershao's side is not good, so you can't hear the sound. He may be visiting the set in some corner!"
Zhou Qingyu also thought so. After all, she was in Licheng, an international metropolis. It couldn't be that her signal was bad, right?
Yan Xi: "Don't worry, if the Second Master has any urgent matters, he will contact you later."
Zhou Qingyu: "You make sense!"
System & Louis: [6]
——
One minute before seven in the evening, Tianhui's 10 million was deposited into the Red Cross account.
If Pei Yubai contacts Zhou Qingyu, he will definitely be able to make the love-minded Zhou Qingyu pay the money.
Unfortunately, in the end, he failed.
There was not so much cash in Tianhui's account, and Pei Yubai had to use his private treasury, which made him feel painful at the thought of it.
He is just an illegitimate child, and the financial power of the Pei Group is in the hands of his brother Pei Hanli. Apart from running Tianhui, he does not have much money.
After the 10 million was transferred to the Red Cross, the Red Cross immediately posted a Weibo post, thanking Zhou Qingyu at length for her charitable act, which helped countless people in need.
This donation is also the largest private donation in the entertainment industry.
The entire Weibo post was over a thousand words long, without mentioning Tianhui at all. It was as if Tianhui was just a tool to be paid, spending 10 million yuan but only helped Zhou Qingyu.
In the B&B, Ye Luoyi saw the comments on the internet full of praise for Zhou Qingyu, and her face turned pale.
Among them are spontaneous netizens and Star Glory Navy.
Many knowledgeable people in the industry know that Zhou Qingyu only spent one million dollars but achieved such a sensational effect, making her a role model for marketing in the entertainment industry.
As the most wronged victim among them, Ye Luoyi would ridicule anyone who saw his name mentioned.
This is the first time in her life that she has been so embarrassed!
In addition to praising Zhou Qingyu for her kindness and donation, many netizens also posted records of winning luxury goods. The prizes have not yet been delivered to them, but they can't wait to share them.
Ye Luoyi was very angry. She also participated in the lottery and spent 10 million for it!
But her fans felt ashamed, and no one posted to celebrate. The few who posted were not fans, but passers-by. And they did not express their gratitude to Ye Luoyi, but complained that wine could not be sold at a price of 100,000 yuan, and 20,000 yuan was already the highest.
Is 20,000 not enough? Are you still picky about 20,000?
When Ye Luoyi saw these remarks, she was so angry that her hands were shaking.
The sound of flushing water came from the bathroom, mixed with Su Lingling's curses, "What the hell is this? I can't even flush it down. It's rubbish!"
As she spoke, Su Lingling kicked the toilet. As a result, her toes, who were wearing plastic slippers, hit the ceramic toilet and it hurt so much.
Su Lingling limped out of the bathroom, holding her toes, grimacing.
Seeing Ye Luoyi, Su Lingling looked unhappy. She sat on her bed angrily and ignored Ye Luoyi.
Her feet were still very painful, so Su Lingling rubbed them. Ye Luoyi was concerned about the comments mocking her on the Internet and had no intention of caring about her best friend.
[Did Su Lingling hurt her foot? She looks a bit pitiful]
[Yiyi, hurry up and check on Lingling, she's about to break! ]
[Yiyi looks very unhappy]
[Come on, who would be happy if they were blackmailed out of 10 million? ]
Su Lingling finally couldn't help it. She was not the type to keep secrets. There was a camera installed in the room, but not in the bathroom.
When Ye Luoyi hid under the quilt again to read the comments about herself on the Internet, Su Lingling got up and dragged Ye Luoyi into the bathroom.
"Lingling, stop pulling me. You're choking my neck! It hurts!"
Su Lingling slammed the bathroom door shut and questioned Ye Luoyi rudely, "Ye Luoyi, what do you mean? Why did you deny it in front of the camera today!"
"Do you know that you are making me feel very embarrassed? I defended you so much, but you actually told me that you have nothing to do with Pei Ershao?"
Ye Luoyi adjusted her clothes uncomfortably.
It takes a certain opportunity for people to get to know each other. They may have the same interests and hobbies, they may have the same favorite food, or they may have like-minded friends.
The opportunity for Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling to get acquainted originated from the conflict between Ye Luoyi and Zhou Qingyu.
Ye Luoyi didn't show it, but Su Lingling noticed Ye Luoyi since people started mocking Zhou Qingyu as a mistress on the Internet.
As for Su Lingling, she used to go to the same middle school as Zhou Qingyu, and she will always be bothered by the fact that Zhou Qingyu snatched away her cellist.
She thought Ye Luoyi was the bullied original wife, and gradually became familiar with Ye Luoyi.
But today, Ye Luoyi actually told her that she had nothing to do with Pei Yubai?
"Lingling, things are not what you think,"
The Su family and the Ye family have business cooperation, and Ye Luoyi doesn't want to lose Su Lingling as a friend. "Yubai and I like each other, but is it enough for a wealthy family to just like each other?"
Su Lingling also knew the twists and turns among the wealthy families. The Pei family and the Zhou family were the top wealthy families in Haicheng. The Su family was somewhat inferior to the Ye family, but Su Lingling was unwilling to admit it.
She is stubborn
"Pei Yubai doesn't like you. If he does, he would definitely take the initiative to deal with the elders of the Pei family!"
Ye Luoyi smiled bitterly, "This doesn't take time, we are all working hard! When Tianhui is on the right track and Yubai's strength is recognized, we can announce it. Now is not the time yet!"
"Lingling, I didn't mean to ruin your reputation today. I just had no choice. If I could, I would also like to announce it! Who wants to have a secret relationship?"
Su Lingling sighed. Rich families are all about interests. It's already not easy for Yiyi and Young Master Pei. As Yiyi's best friend, she should be more considerate of her.
"You should have told me this earlier," Su Lingling complained.
Ye Luoyi held Su Lingling's arm and said, "I'm sorry, don't be angry!"
Su Lingling is a person who is very easy to coax. As long as Ye Luoyi coaxes her, the resentment in her head will disappear.
The two walked out of the bathroom arm in arm. Su Lingling's feet still hurt a little, so she staggered a few steps while walking.
She looked back at the toilet, the culprit. "This B&B is too bad! Is the program team so poor? Can't they choose a better B&B for us?"
Ye Luoyi teased, "It can't be compared with Miss Su's mansion. Just bear with it, the first stop will be recorded in four days!"
“Boom boom boom—!”
The sounds of decoration were heard outside. Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling looked at each other. They opened the door of the room and saw more than a dozen strong men carrying furniture and walking out one by one.
The strong men were all shirtless, revealing their strong muscles. The muscles in their arms were swollen due to moving furniture and electrical appliances.
Ye Luoyi screamed, "What are you doing!"
The leader was a middle-aged man, about forty years old, wearing ordinary work clothes and a helmet on his head.
He had typical F countryman looks, with deep and handsome features. He walked up to Ye Luoyi and explained in fluent English, "Hello, we are the renovation workers hired by Louis. Miss Zhou was dissatisfied with the poor conditions of this B&B and asked us to renovate it."
"Renovate the B&B?" Su Lingling poked her head out. "Is it possible in such a short time?"
The leader smiled and said, "We still have time. We are specialized in this. A few hours will be enough."
One of the strong men asked the leader in French, "How many rooms do you need to renovate?"
The leader put down the money in his hand, took out his mobile phone and looked at it. "Not sure yet," he looked up and asked Ye Luoyi, "Ms. Ye, Miss Zhou asked me to ask you, does your room need to be renovated?"
Ye Luoyi's mouth twitched. Even though she was not used to living in this B&B, she didn't want to accept Zhou Qingyu's help.
She politely declined, "No, I think this room is fine."
"Okay," the leader told the strong man in French, "Except for Miss Ye's room, the remaining three rooms need to be renovated."
Su Lingling took out her phone and translated what the leader said: "Director Jiang and Teacher Qin both agreed to renovate the room?"
The leader nodded: "Yes, who doesn't want to live more comfortably? Our renovation will not be too complicated, but the comfort level will definitely be better than before!"
Ye Luoyi frowned. She was not surprised that Jiang Tao agreed, but why did Qin Li agree as well?
The strong men were still coming in and out, and had already begun to renovate the room.
Ye Luoyi looked at the bathroom facilities in the next room and saw that they had all been replaced, the floor was covered with carpet, the furniture was replaced with more comfortable ones, and an air conditioner was installed.
Ye Luoyi was a little sour, "This is someone else's house after all. If you just modify it casually, the owner won't agree, right?"
The leader turned his head and looked at Ye Luoyi, grinning and revealing a row of white teeth, "Don't worry, Miss Zhou has already bought this B&B, so there is no problem with the renovation!"