China Entertainment’s rescue plan is hard to come by

Chapter 990 Risks and Opportunities [Two-in-One]

On October 8th, the first day after the National Day holiday, the streets of Beijing returned to their bustling activity.

Chaoyang District, Starry Sky Image Headquarters, Top Floor Conference Room.

Sun Yi stood in front of the tall French windows, lost in thought.

Behind them, in front of the oval conference room, sat the entire management team: General Manager Yang Fan, Public Relations and Publicity Department Liu Xiaowei, Business Brokerage Department Guo Ming, and Administration and Finance Department Gao Xilan.

All eyes were on him.

The discussion about whether to accept the role of the Spring Festival Gala's chief director lasted all morning, even past lunchtime, but no consensus was reached in the end.

Whether to accept or not to accept the offer has both advantages and disadvantages, and a simple conclusion cannot be drawn directly.

Sun Yi was weighing his options when a red car suddenly flashed past his eyes. By the time he realized what was happening and looked again, it had already turned into the company parking lot.

It looks just like my own little red car.

Didn't you say you weren't coming today?

A small incident interrupted his train of thought, which conveniently put him at ease.

I looked back at the clock on the wall; the hands had already passed 1 o'clock.

The meeting has been going on for long enough, and that's about all the information we can analyze. The rest is not something that a few people can decide by holding a meeting here.

Realizing that there was no point in dragging it out any longer, he clapped his hands, walked back to the conference table, and said to the group:
"Alright, we've had quite a while, let's call it a day. As for whether or not we'll accept the Spring Festival Gala invitation, I think we should take it one step at a time."

Should we take it one step at a time? How exactly should we proceed?
Upon hearing Sun Yi's decision, the people present were somewhat puzzled.

"So, what do we do now?"

Liu Xiaowei couldn't help but ask first.

Whether he accepts the call or not, his public relations department has firsthand information, which allows them to respond promptly, so he's a bit anxious.

Sun Yi braced his hands on the table, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind.

"First, we'll set up a negotiation team, with General Manager Yang in charge. No matter what, we'll make contact and see what kind of cooperation terms we can get from CCTV. In particular, we need to figure out the maximum extent of the influence CCTV can give us."

“If we were to go in as an ‘external director,’ following orders and cooperating with the work, the risks would far outweigh the benefits, and I firmly refused. But…”

The conversation turned.

"If we can secure true 'project leadership'—having full decision-making power and execution space in core areas such as artistic creation, program selection, team building, and technology application, with CCTV mainly providing resource support, process assurance, and necessary policy oversight, rather than hindering us at every turn—then this is something worth going all out for, and it can even be said to be a strategic opportunity that we must seize."

Sun Yi's thoughts became clearer and clearer, his gaze gradually hardening. He swept his gaze over the people present and finally said:
"It's like when we make co-productions, whether it's with Warner Bros. on 'Superman' or with other international partners in the future. To ensure that the final product meets the consistent quality and standards of 'Starry Night,' and to uphold our creative bottom line and brand reputation, we must secure the greatest and most substantial say. Otherwise, we'd rather not do it."

"If we're going to do it, we have to do it according to our philosophy and standards, and create a Spring Festival Gala that reflects the 'Starry Sky' level. If we can't do that, then all the brand enhancement and resource expansion will be castles in the air, or even traps."

"Therefore, my suggestion is to initiate formal negotiations with CCTV on the premise of 'striving for full discourse power.' We should clarify our demands and define the boundaries of our rights and responsibilities. If we can reach an agreement, we should accept it; if we cannot, we should politely but firmly refuse."

"This is not just about taking on a project, but about setting a principle and benchmark for Starry Sky to handle similar major collaborations in the future."

After Sun Yi finished speaking, the conference room fell into deep thought. His analysis transcended a simple weighing of pros and cons, rising to the level of company strategy and cooperation principles.

After a moment, he looked at everyone again: "What do you all think?"

Everyone seemed to understand, then nodded in unison. Guo Ming loudly expressed his support: "I agree with President Sun's assessment. The core of this matter is the power of discourse. Without it, the risks are uncontrollable."

Others followed suit and expressed their agreement.

Yang Fan also stated that a temporary "Spring Festival Gala Project Support Team" would be established within the company, with skilled personnel drawn from relevant departments. This would ensure an efficient backup and technical support team is available immediately should negotiations succeed. Even if the deal falls through, the process itself would serve as valuable experience for the team.

Sun Yi also expressed his agreement.

By the end of the meeting, the general direction was very clear.

When he returned to his office, he was in a state of exhaustion and overthinking typical of long meetings.

The first thing I saw when I opened the door was Ms. Liu's high heels.

Looking up again, I saw Liu Yifei sitting quietly on the sofa near the French windows.

She was dressed simply, in a light beige knit sweater, dark casual pants, with her long hair loosely tied up and only light makeup on her face, looking fresh and homey.

Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw Sun Yi. A warm smile immediately bloomed on her face, and her eyes curved into crescents: "You're back? The meeting must have lasted a long time. Are you hungry? Come and eat."

Seeing Miss Liu's smile, Sun Yi's heart involuntarily relaxed. He walked over and sat down beside her, watching her pull out insulated lunch boxes and two sets of bowls and chopsticks from her bag, like a little Doraemon.

"Why did you come all this way, and even brought food? I saw a car in the rooftop conference room earlier. I missed you so much, I was wondering why you suddenly showed up. Are you planning a surprise inspection?"

Sun Yi asked with a grin.

"Yes! I'm going to give you a 'surprise attack' to see if you've been up to anything."

As Liu Yifei spoke, she helped Sun Yi open the lunchbox, handed him the chopsticks, and then gave him a reproachful look:
"Do you think I wanted to come? If I hadn't called Youyou and found out you'd been in meetings all morning and hadn't even had lunch, I wouldn't have come."

Hmm, she's got that sharp tongue but soft heart vibe.

Sun Yi smiled, not daring to object, and took the chopsticks. He was genuinely hungry at this moment; excluding breakfast, he had only had some coffee from the company since then.

Liu Yifei picked up her chopsticks, scooped up some rice, but didn't eat it right away. Instead, she picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and naturally brought it to Sun Yi's mouth.

Clearly, she didn't eat either; she was just following along with Sun Yi.

Sun Yi ate the ribs from her hand, chewing them with a sense of accomplishment in his heart.

Who can compare to this wife?

Of course, he didn't ask where the food came from.

That's just asking for trouble.
Liu Yifei stopped eating, picked up a piece for herself, and asked Sun Yi with curiosity in her eyes, "Tell me, how did the meeting this morning go? What were the final decisions? About the Spring Festival Gala director thing."

"Are you here to bring me food or to gather information? Let me tell you, these are two completely different things!"

Upon hearing Sun Yi's heartless words, Liu Yifei's eyes widened, and she raised her hand angrily, as if to hit him, saying, "Hitting you is a different matter."

Sun Yi immediately backed down, "Hey, hey, I was just kidding. Come on, wife, eat some ribs."

A piece of pork rib was stuffed into Liu Yifei's mouth.

Sun Yi received a glare in return, and looked at Miss Liu with amusement, "I told you to come to the meeting yesterday, but you wouldn't come. Now you're suddenly so curious?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei's pretty face flushed slightly, and she muttered:
"You're all discussing serious matters, strategies, and the pros and cons of risks. I feel so embarrassed sitting there with President Yang and Sister Lan all here, seriously analyzing the data. It would feel like listening to gibberish, and I might even disturb you."

This was half truth and half coquettishness. She was indeed not used to overly formal decision-making occasions filled with business jargon, and preferred to hear Sun Yi explain things to her in a way she could understand in private.

"What are you embarrassed about?" Sun Yi took another bite of rice and mumbled, "You're a proper director of the artist department, one of the company's senior executives, and you even have the title of boss's wife."

"It's just a nominal appointment!" Liu Yifei immediately emphasized, then picked up another piece of green vegetable and fed it to Sun Yi.

"Is the boss's wife just a figurehead?"

Sun Yi asked with a smile.

Liu Yifei raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Sure, I'll start using my name on this account from today. I'm pretty tired anyway, and I was just thinking of taking a break." Well, now it was Sun Yi's turn to be put in a bad mood.

"No, no, no, how can you put your name on this? It's so inappropriate!"

"Humph~"

Liu Yifei gave a soft hum.

Seeing her adorable expression—clearly wanting to know but pretending it was just a casual question—Sun Yi felt much less tired. He took a sip of soup, gathered his thoughts, and began to give her a brief recap of the morning's meeting in a relaxed manner.

"The meeting lasted all morning, and everyone had a lot of opinions. They analyzed the pros and cons from all aspects very thoroughly." Sun Yi slowed down his speech and said while eating, "In general, the advantages and disadvantages of taking on this job are clearly laid out there."

Liu Yifei, with her chopsticks in her mouth, stopped eating and looked at Sun Yi with curious eyes.

Sun Yi smiled; Miss Liu looked absolutely adorable.

He held up one finger and said, "The benefits are, firstly, a prestigious reputation."

"You know the weight of the title 'Chief Director of the Spring Festival Gala' in China. If we do a good job, not only will I personally benefit, but the Starry Sky brand will also have a different status in the hearts of the people and in the eyes of the authorities. Everything we do in the future will probably go more smoothly. This is called enhancing brand power."

Liu Yifei nodded, biting her chopsticks; she understood.

“Secondly, I can meet a lot of people.” Sun Yi held up his second finger.

"Singers, dancers, skit performers, crosstalk comedians, opera performers, and top-notch stage designers, lighting technicians, and sound engineers—when we're making movies, our circles are still limited. The Spring Festival Gala is like bringing together the top people in the national arts and culture scene, or at least those who are willing to perform on the Gala. After spending these four months together, our network of contacts will expand significantly, making it easier for us to hire people and collaborate on our own projects in the future."

"Third, it's good for our own company's business."

Sun Yi continued.

"For example, if it really works out, wouldn't our company's artists have a chance to appear on the Spring Festival Gala? That exposure might be even more effective than starring in a hit TV series. Also, those high-tech features we use in movies, like special effects and real-time rendering, might be tested on the Spring Festival Gala stage. If the effect is amazing, wouldn't that be the best advertisement? Everyone knows that Xingkong is not only good for making movies, but also for creating top-notch visual technology for large-scale galas."

Liu Yifei listened attentively, then placed a piece of fish on Sun Yi's plate, gesturing for him to eat some vegetables too. "It all sounds like good news, so why are we arguing? What are the downsides?" she asked astutely.

Sun Yi opened his mouth to take the fish from her, chewed it, and said, "The downsides, or rather the risks, are more specific and more troublesome."

He put down his chopsticks, his expression becoming more serious.

"The first issue is time. From now until Lunar New Year's Eve, it's less than four months at most. If I take this job, I'll have to focus my main energy on the Spring Festival Gala for those four months. What about 'Mekong River'? Yu Kun is still waiting for me to finalize some key script decisions; it's a film in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security, so I can't neglect it. 'Superman' will be released in December, and I need to keep an eye on the domestic promotion. The most troublesome thing is your 'Lucy'."

When the movie "Lucy" was mentioned, Liu Yifei's eyes became focused.

Yes, we just acquired the entire "Lucy" project from EuropaCorp in exchange for investment and technology shares. We should start filming as soon as possible, taking into account the film's pre-production status.

"We just got the script back and need to make localization modifications immediately. We need to arrange for our team to take over, including the initial concept design and the specific location scouting. There are so many things to do. I originally wanted to personally oversee it for a while, since it involves you."

At this point, Sun Yi rubbed his temples and sighed. "If I get tied up with the Spring Festival Gala, what will I do about all these things? If I neglect any of them, the losses will be significant."

Liu Yifei gave a soft "hmm" to indicate her understanding.

She remained outwardly calm, but when Sun Yi mentioned that it involved her, she felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

"The second risk is that the Spring Festival Gala is a very complicated affair."

Sun Yi's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

“That’s not our own production team, where I can make the decisions. That’s CCTV, with its various departments, leaders at all levels, and all sorts of relationships, all intertwined and complex. As a newly hired external director, no matter how good my ideas are, won’t I run into obstacles everywhere I go? Will I say go east, but my subordinates have ten ways to make me go west? In the end, if the program isn’t satisfactory, the blame will definitely fall on me, the ‘director.’ It’s thankless work, and I’ll be the first to take the fall.”

Liu Yifei imagined the scenario: what if the show didn't go well and the whole country's audience pointed fingers at her husband and started criticizing him? She immediately felt a chill run down her spine. "Wouldn't that be very difficult?"

"It will be difficult, definitely difficult."

Sun Yi nodded. "So, President Yang pointed out a crucial point today. He said the essence of this matter isn't 'whether to accept it,' but 'how to accept it.'"

How do I answer it?

"Correct."

Sun Yi looked at Liu Yifei, his eyes sharpening. "Just like when we co-produced 'Superman' with Warner Bros., in order to ensure that the final film has the quality and standards of our Starry Sky, we must have enough say from the beginning. We must have the final say on the core things."

"The Spring Festival Gala is the same. If CCTV just wants to find a famous director to lend their name, and in reality it's still their old internal procedures and old team operating, then I'd just be a figurehead and a scapegoat. I wouldn't take that kind of job, no matter how much prestige it brings."

"What if CCTV gives them a voice?" Liu Yifei pressed.

"If I could really give it to you," Sun Yi leaned back.

"As long as we adhere to the correct direction and ensure safety, I can take the lead in the core aspects, and CCTV will mainly cooperate and support us, rather than hinder us. Then this matter is worth doing our best to accomplish. If we succeed, as I just mentioned, there will be benefits. If we fail, at least I tried according to my own ideas, and even if I lose, I will understand why."

He paused, then summarized: "So, the final decision at this morning's meeting wasn't to accept or reject the job, but to initiate negotiations. The key is to define the boundaries of the director's authority and responsibilities. We need to use this to negotiate with CCTV. If we can reach an agreement and meet our bottom-line requirements, I'll accept the job. If we can't, then we'll politely decline. Better to have nothing than something subpar."

After listening, Liu Yifei took a moment to process what she heard. She wasn't a ruthless businesswoman, but having worked alongside Sun Yi for so long, she had never been kept in the dark about any matter, big or small, within the company, so she possessed basic judgment. She felt that this line of thinking was clear and principled, neither impulsive nor timid.

“This is still better.” She nodded and served Sun Yi another bowl of soup. “It’s a well-thought-out plan. Whether we accept it or not, we know what we’re doing and won’t be led by the nose by others.”

As she spoke, her brows furrowed slightly, and then, as if remembering something, she asked with concern:
"What about 'Lucy'? You just said you might not have enough time. We finally got this project, and you said the script has a lot of potential. We can't just put it on hold because of the Spring Festival Gala, can we?"

"Hey, I'm not saying that I have to act in my film or that I have to be number one. Why are you looking at me like that!"

As Liu Yifei spoke, she became embarrassed, afraid that her husband would misunderstand, and she stomped her feet anxiously.

Seeing how anxious she was about her project, Sun Yi laughed without a shred of conscience.

He reached out and gently pinched the little girl's cheek:
"Don't worry, when have I ever fought a battle unprepared? The basic framework of the script for 'Lucy' is already in place. The main thing is to do some localized 'fine-tuning' to suit the tastes of domestic audiences and censorship requirements. I don't necessarily have to be the one to oversee these specific execution tasks every single moment."

He waved his hand dismissively: "I've already thought of the personnel. Let Guo Fan take charge of the production team and lead the pre-production work."

"Guo Fan?"

Liu Yifei blinked, recalling the young director who had indeed taken a long break after filming "The Martian".

He served as assistant director and executive director when filming "Gravity" with Sun Yi, and his performance was outstanding. He also won the contract for "The Martian". It can be said that in the entire universe, apart from his own husband, he is the most familiar with science fiction films and related special effects technology processes.

“Yes, it’s him,” Sun Yi said with a smile.

“After ‘The Martian,’ I gave this guy a long break to work on his own script. It’s been almost half a year now, and there’s still no progress. He’s probably slacking off. I need to give him a push. ‘Lucy,’ a film with sci-fi and action elements, is perfect for him. I’ll oversee the script and core concept, and then I’ll let him handle the specific preparations, team building, and pre-production design.”

Thinking of Guo Fan, who is usually a bit of a homebody but whose eyes light up when talking about movies and special effects, Liu Yifei couldn't help but chuckle.

She felt like she had become a "landlady," constantly exploiting the "long-term workers" in her household. First it was Xin Yukun, and now it's Guo Fan's turn.

There was something she felt a little embarrassed about, though.

"You, you planned this all along, didn't you?" she said with a smile, playfully scolding him.

Although she felt a little embarrassed, she was completely at ease. She knew that although her man was young, he was always very methodical and thoughtful, making her feel very secure.

"if not?"

Sun Yi raised an eyebrow, a hint of smugness in his eyes, and opened his mouth, "Ah—"

Liu Yifei understood, smiled, picked up the last piece of rib, and steadily put it into his mouth.

　I'm sorry, my physique is completely ruined now. It took me three days to get even a little better after catching a cold.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)