I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Chapter 658 Investment Recovery (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

After Gu Cheng and Jin Li finished their exams and joined the film crew for a week, the film's investors suddenly came in a group, wanting to see how the filming was progressing.

This visit was conducted without telling anyone; it was a secret visit, and the director was only notified after arriving at the film set.

The director quickly brought them in, and they happened to run into Jinli and Gu Cheng's scene.

The investors were all quite old, and perhaps the older they got, the more nostalgic they became. Seeing two young people performing about campus life evoked a wave of nostalgia in them.

They didn't understand whether the actors' acting was good or bad, nor did they understand whether the plot design was good or bad; they just watched Jinli and Gu Cheng chattering and playing around in their school uniforms.

They only had one feeling: it's so good to be young!
They were so close that it felt like they were back in their youth, back in their school days.

Just watching the interaction between the two actors made them feel younger.

One investor couldn't help but say, "Back then, I was the first student in our village to be admitted to university, but I didn't have the money to go."

I saved up for my first year of university tuition by relying on the help of the villagers—the elders, uncles, and aunts—who gave me eggs here, red cloth there, money from those with money, and labor from those with strength.

Another investor said with some pride, "Although I wasn't the first person from our village to get into university, I was the first from our village to get into a top university. Back then, the village and the town both gave us a bonus!"

Other investors said, "You guys are really amazing. I wasn't the first person in the village to pass the exam, nor did I get into a top university."

But my wife and I got into the same university. We were childhood sweethearts and got married in college.

I had a child right after graduating from university. I prioritized family over career; only after having a child did I feel settled, and then I started my own business. Unexpectedly, I caught a lucky break and managed to save some money for retirement.

The other investors were speechless for a moment.

Damn it, why do I feel like I'm being shown off?!

No matter what age you get, you'll always be stuffed with dog food (a slang term for public displays of affection).

After Jinli and Gu Cheng finished filming their scenes, the two chatted with the investors.

Some people think that celebrities need to be supported by capital, and that they have to wear clothes designated by brands to attend any occasion, without any freedom of dress, and they also have to promote products at some brand banquets to boost sales.

But that only applies to young male and female actors who are quite popular.

Once Jinli and Gu Cheng reached their level, it wasn't the two of them trying to please the investors; instead, the investors were eager to cooperate with them.

Especially considering the double cover of "Jinse" that the two shot together in August, which created a sales miracle in the industry for nearly 20 years, you can tell how much netizens are looking forward to the two of them coming together.

Once this movie is finished filming, releasing photos of the two working together during the promotional period will definitely boost the movie's pre-orders.

"Jinli, how are you settling in with the film crew lately?" an investor asked her with concern.

Jinli smiled and said, "I'm getting used to it quite well."

Another investor was also circling around Gu Cheng, asking him if he was busy lately and inquiring about his whereabouts.

Jinli's whereabouts have been easier to find than Gu Cheng's lately, because everyone knows she's joined a film crew.

Gu Cheng only joined the crew for half a month, and then went to other places. Zhang Guang kept the schedules of everyone in March Sky a secret and was very tight-lipped.

They called every time, but still couldn't get an accurate itinerary.

These investors all wanted Jinli and Gu Cheng to participate in their brand promotion events to boost their popularity.

Neither celebrity gave a clear answer, only saying that it all depends on their agent's arrangements.

However, the investors were satisfied, since they hadn't replied to anyone else either, and since no one had been invited, it meant that no one lost money.

These investors were just going through the motions; they had dinner with the entire film crew that evening and then left.

Director Xu was initially a little apprehensive upon hearing about the sudden visit of the investors.

He had dealt with these investors many times before. They would nitpick on the set during filming, complaining that he was spending money on things that didn't need to be spent.

If investors are dissatisfied with the filming progress, they won't complain to the actors; instead, they'll put pressure on the director to hurry up and finish filming.

Director Xu complained bitterly about this.

Is it because he doesn't want to film quickly?

Even top-tier actors can only film up to this pace; they can't be criticized or scolded, hence the dragging on.

Previously, he was seen as a doormat by investors.

But this time, thanks to Jinli and Gu Cheng, it was the first time he had ever seen an investor treat him so kindly.

Before leaving, the investors made a special trip to talk to Director Xu, and Director Xu actually received a warm welcome!

These investors also specifically said, "Film well, film seriously, don't rush the schedule, we want to make a high-quality film. If you don't have enough money, just let us know!"

Director Xu was a little confused. When did he become the kind of person who would be eager to be fed by investors?
He couldn't help but turn to look at Jinli and Gu Cheng behind him, and deeply felt how important it was to have a good actor in the crew.

With Gu Cheng joining the crew, the filming efficiency of the production team has reached a new level.

Director Xu had no choice but to break his promise to Jinli, because he really couldn't bear to make her do three takes!
The two have amazing chemistry. Although the characters in the script are very different from their real personalities, they create a wonderful chemical reaction when they act together.

Before filming, Director Xu had learned about the previous works of the two top stars, especially the "love-hate CP" video that was most widely circulated among fans, which he watched dozens of times.

This video is a compilation of Jin Li and Gu Cheng's performances in "Assassination," selecting the parts that most captivated fans.

Although there were no intimate scenes, and the two only shared a pure embrace, it still made fans scream wildly.

However, Director Xu didn't see any chemistry between the two, and felt that the fans were just being overly fond of each other.

Even in such a pure and innocent scene, with no ambiguity in their eyes, it's still captivating.
But once Gu Cheng actually arrived on set, Director Xu was able to understand the fans' charm.

They are a perfect match!
One is aloof and the other is straightforward; one is a top student and the other is a poor student. This complementary CP feeling just comes naturally!
In addition, whenever the two are in the same frame, they seem to create an atmosphere.

This isn't just Director Xu bragging; even the screenwriter thinks so. There's no filter on the camera, so how come we can still feel a youthful and beautiful vibe?

Ultimately, Director Xu and the screenwriter concluded that the two actors were simply too good-looking; seeing them together evoked a feeling of extreme pleasure.

Because of the increased efficiency, Gu Cheng only stayed on set for ten days before finishing all his scenes.

But the director still kept him for another five days, during which time he found a way to add more scenes for him.

Zhang Guang would ask him on WeChat every day if filming was finished, and Gu Cheng's reply was always just two words: "No." It wasn't until the agreed-upon 15 days had passed that Gu Cheng finally left the film crew.

Zhang Guang personally drove over to pick him up, and said quietly, "You've finally decided to come out. I thought you'd be so happy that you wouldn't want to leave and would stay inside any longer."

Gu Cheng looked over and asked with interest, "Is that alright?"

Zhang Guangqiang suppressed the urge to touch his hands and said irritably, "Sure my foot!"

Don't think I don't know you finished filming five days ago, but you just refused to come out. Consider those five days as a vacation for you.

You'll have to do five more shows this month to vent my anger!

After venting his emotions, Zhang Guang got back to business.

"I'll take you to the Yajun Watches brand event. Their brand operations director is here today, and I went there specifically to see him."

I learned through other channels that the "Gift" series watch you endorsed is selling very well, breaking their sales record for a single men's watch category this year. I think you, as their spokesperson, can continue to push the sales higher.”

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow, not very optimistic.

"I am already the national spokesperson for the [Li] series. If I move up one level, I will become the spokesperson for the Asia-Pacific region."

"Yajun Watches' headquarters are in China. If I could secure the Asia-Pacific brand ambassadorship, I would essentially become their global ambassador, which carries more weight than ambassadorships in other regions. It's not that easy to get."

After all, his endorsement period was very short; he only signed the contract immediately after his college entrance examination results came out.

The watch he endorsed was only launched in October, and it's only been a little over two months. How could it have gone up in price so quickly?

Zhang Guangxiao shook his head, with a profound and inscrutable expression.

"You don't understand, do you? The six arts of a gentleman are: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Ya Jun has six series under its brand. Who told you that a spokesperson can only endorse a single series of watches? Can't someone hold multiple positions?"

He laid his cards on the table: "I recently received news that a national spokesperson for the [Music] series under [Li] has been exposed for having an unclean private life."

The paparazzi threatened to expose something online, but by the deadline, the company representing that top celebrity had bought the story, so they ultimately failed to break the scoop. My target was the national spokesperson for the [Le] series.

Gu Cheng thought for a moment: "But I've also heard that the [Number] series products that our team endorses have become best-selling items. Could we get March Sky to take on this endorsement?"

Zhang Guang shook his head: "No, that's too much of a loss. The power of a team is limited, but the influence of a popular star can be comparable to that of a team."

If March Band were to compete for this endorsement, the price wouldn't actually be much higher than a solo endorsement.

For your individual development, I would prefer that you each receive the reward, since you've already split up. And among all the members of March Band, you're the one who best fits the image of being the spokesperson for Ya Jun Watches.

Gu Cheng had no objection: "Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Zhang Guang chuckled: "Don't worry, just because you're a student at Tsinghua or Peking University, you have an advantage over other celebrities."

Gu Cheng thought to himself, "I never thought that my career as a celebrity would allow me to bask in the glory of my school."

Meanwhile, Jinli was having a video call in the pink-themed girls' group chat while she was resting at night.

Everyone tries to call each other every two weeks to catch up on each other's lives.

Qi Guanmingzhu specifically mentioned in the group chat the short drama that she and Jinli had invested in, showing off the success of the investment.

The filming process for short dramas is inherently short; a skilled team can complete a drama in a week.

But the team behind that short drama strived for perfection, and ultimately spent a month filming, producing both horizontal and vertical versions, intending to release it in two different formats.

The reason for making two versions was that the director felt that a 100 million yuan investment in the short drama was already a large amount, but unexpectedly, Qi Guanmingzhu brought in 200 million yuan for her.

There's so much money involved, and it's all going to be spent on the set. The director is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of money he's spending.

So we decided to make two movies, and then run them on multiple platforms at the same time, so that we might be able to recoup the costs.

Even if we can't recover the losses, the losses won't be too great.

The short drama was eventually titled "Illusory Face"—like looking at flowers through the fog, unable to see my true face, nor the heart hidden beneath it.

Two versions were filmed in one month, quickly put into the review queue, and were put into testing half a month later.

Qi Guanmingzhu said, "Luckily, I asked Jinli at the time which video platforms she thought were suitable for hosting high-quality horizontal short dramas."

As a result, Jinli glanced at it and said that these platforms all have their own high-quality horizontal short dramas to promote, and they may not be willing to put in the effort to promote ours.

Instead of focusing on niche video platforms, we decided to put our horizontal-screen short dramas on Bilibili.

Qi Guanmingzhu's eyes shone like stars as she clapped her hands: "Guess what? We actually succeeded!"

Ji Qinglian asked curiously, "Could it be that just a short horizontal-screen drama allowed you to recoup all your costs?"

Qi Guanmingzhu shook her head: "More than that, we not only recovered our costs, but we also got a share of the profits! Jinli and I each received 300,000 in profits this season!"

"Wow, not bad, that's a lot of money." Xi Mengze, who was underwater, couldn't help but speak up when he heard this.

"If you have any good projects in the future, remember to tell me. I'd like to invest as well."

It wasn't just Xi Mengze who thought this way; the other members thought the same way.

How could they forget Jinli? With Jinli in charge, a small investment is guaranteed to be profitable.

Qi Guanmingzhu said proudly, "That's because the project I secured was good. I have confidence in that director. She's a very serious person. If she wants to film other short dramas next time, I'll mention it to you."

When the topic of investment came up, Jinli thought of another investment that left a deep impression on her: "Let's Farm, Young Man".

She didn't invest much in this variety show, but that's because the show didn't invite any popular celebrities and was filmed in the countryside, which saved money.

She also has other investments, mostly related to film and television profit sharing. She receives a considerable amount of profit sharing from the films and television dramas she produces.

However, the payment cycle for film and television dramas is slow, with some movies taking as long as three or five years to pay, so she handed it all over to Chenxi Entertainment to manage.

After ending the video call, Jinli, unusually, took the initiative to call Fangjie, which startled Sui Lingfang.

She's usually the one who goes to Jinli; Jinli rarely goes to her on her own initiative.

As soon as Sui Lingfang answered the phone, she hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

　Happy New Year!
　　(End of this chapter)