Actor: Thank you.

"Come on, let's go."

"go!"

"Keep moving forward..."

On set, a film crew, with more than a dozen people working together, was putting in their best effort to shoot Zhang Yuan's first scene.

The treatment was quite good; they assigned him a separate group of people.

However, Zhang Yuan felt it was a bit ominous.

Because the very first scene is the scene where the character dies... one of them.

According to the plot, Shen Chongyang is a gambling addict.

First of all, gamblers deserve a terrible end.

Among prostitution, gambling, and drugs, prostitution is actually the easiest to quit, because if all else fails, it can be physically or chemically removed.

However, the prerequisite for a good abstinence is that there are physiological issues.

It's only natural for someone like Zhang Yuan to want to get to know a pretty girl.

If there is a creator, then when making the basic settings for humans and most other living beings, he placed the reproduction of offspring as the primary meaning of life.

A handsome man or woman is likely to be in good health.

A healthy and free-spirited person is beautiful, possessing abundant energy and blood.

So, men want to sleep with pretty girls, and women want to be slept with by handsome men; these are all biological instincts.

Zhang Yuan had already come up with such a legitimate excuse, which he could use anytime, anywhere.

The worst thing is that the "pornography" is a psychological problem, which would be the same as gambling and drugs.

For example, left-behind minors in rural areas are easily harassed by elderly people in the same village.

Despite being in their seventies or eighties and having long since lost their physical functions, they still find joy in this.

This is a psychological problem, belonging to a deeper level of evil in human nature.

Gambling involves psychological issues, and once it takes hold, it's hard to break free.

Don't believe what an old gambler says.

Many hardened gamblers, driven to desperation by their losses, have chopped off their own fingers.

and then?
In underground casinos, people missing fingers can be seen everywhere.

Therefore, the script and storyline for the character Zhang Yuan can be summarized as "The Gambler's Confession".

What is being filmed now is the scene that Shen Chongyang saw before he died.

His awakening and willingness to join the escort team for the "big shot" as a suicide squad to intercept the enemy was due to his ex-wife's request.

The "bargaining chip" that Fan Bingbing's character, the ex-wife, uses to beg him is their daughter.

Shen Chongyang only learned that the fair-skinned and beautiful little girl from the wealthy family was his child when the other party told him in person.

Yue Ru begged Shen Chongyang, this scoundrel, to do one good deed before he died, under the pretext that she would tell her daughter about her true parentage when she grew up.

So in the end, Shen Chongyang risked his life to stop the assassin and Yan Xiaoguo, played by Hu Jun.

On his deathbed, as he charged toward Yan Xiaoguo, who was galloping toward him on horseback, with a death wish, the figure of Yan Xiaoguo transformed into a happy family of three, enjoying a bicycle trip.

The gambling addict's dying fantasy...

This can be considered the screenwriter and director's final act of tenderness towards the character of Shen Chongyang.

They are also one of only two characters in the film who saw hallucinations before they died.

"oops!"

The photo was taken quite well, but Zhang Yuan's hand holding the handlebars trembled, and the entire bicycle immediately tilted to one side.

He quickly jumped down.

The bicycle is similar to a 28-inch model, and the passenger configuration is that he sits on the seat.

The young actress, a rather pretty little girl, sat on the car's crossbar, while Fan Bingbing sat sideways on the back seat.

When Fan Bingbing first sat in it, the boy had his legs dangling on either side of the rear wheel, looking rather domineering.

The director asked her to sit a little more elegantly, so she changed to sitting sideways.

The car was about to fall over, so Zhang Yuan quickly grabbed the child.

Those who have practiced are definitely different.

With a push of his legs, he leaped into the air.

A little over a second later, he landed steadily, his legs springing back and forth for a few moments.

The little girl in his arms was not only unharmed, but she even found it quite amusing and laughed happily.

"Is everything okay?"

Zhang Yuan also thought it was fine, as long as nothing happened.

"I'm in trouble!"

Just then, a shout came from behind.

Turning around, I saw Fan Bingbing sitting on the ground, with a bicycle still spinning beside her.

"Ouch, how did you fall to the ground? That's so careless."

Fan Bingbing: ...

Don't you have any idea how I fell to the ground?

"Next time you jump off the train, can you at least tell me beforehand?" Fan Xiaopang complained as he was helped to his feet.

"We're worried about the children getting hurt."

"Then you can't forget about me!" Fan Bingbing was almost getting angry.

Just then, a sweet, childlike voice came from between the two of them.

"Mom and Dad, please don't fight."

She played the little girl who was still alive, and positioned herself in the middle to mediate the fight.

"Hey, we won't fight." Fan Bingbing was magnanimous after all, and immediately changed her smile, patting the little girl's head.

Zhang Yuan glanced at the nearby rest area out of the corner of his eye, where a woman in her thirties was winking at him.

She is the child's biological mother.

Parents are usually present when these child actors are cast.

Besides making it easier to adjust the child's state... young children are easily agitated and prone to crying, especially after being patted until they are tired.

At this point, parents need to step in to comfort the child; a mother is the most effective.

Secondly, the presence of parents also stems from concerns that the production crew might not treat their children like human beings.

There are quite a few makeshift film crews.

In a place with such a large flow of people, if we don't keep an eye on things, someone might dare to steal a child.

Is it possible for a child who is only three or four years old to call the people playing their parents "Mom and Dad"?
It's possible, but we won't do it on the very first day.

It's not impossible that if you spend a lot of time with them, you might mistake them for your own parents, or even lose sight of the characters in the play.

But if someone calls someone that on the very first day, before there's any emotional connection, it's mostly because their parents taught them to.

That's why Zhang Yuan glanced at the rest area.

Many child stars' parents want to be famous even more than their children do.

If you call them "Dad" and "Mom" for a long time, and the two big stars accept it, it would be even better if you could also adopt a goddaughter. Wouldn't that be a huge win?

One person achieves the Tao and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven!
To give you an example, when Teacher Guo sees Yang Mi, he calls her "Junior Sister".

Yang Mi doesn't perform crosstalk or study traditional Chinese performing arts, so how could she be a junior sister?
Because he acted in the TV series "Tang Minghuang" when he was a child, playing the daughter of Li Longji and Consort Wu Hui, that is, the childhood version of Princess Xianyi.

Consort Wu Hui was Empress Wu's grandniece.

Yang Mi's childhood appearance was quite charming.

Not only is she a great actress, but even though Yang Mi has obvious feminine features as an adult, she was a real queen of the kids when she was young.

A little tyrant who punches his way through kindergarten and kicks his way through special talent classes.

Nicknamed Yang the Bold.

Children who are good-looking, outgoing, and bold are naturally liked by adults.

Liu Wei, who plays Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, found it amusing and even referred to her as his daughter off-screen.

Mr. Liu Wei was born into a family of traditional Chinese performing arts and has formally studied under a master in the world of crosstalk.

His mentor was Ma Jingbo, the nephew of Mr. Ma Sanli.

He is a legitimate successor of the Ma school of martial arts.

Therefore, from this perspective, Yang Mi and Zhang Yuan can be considered to be of the same generation.

Liu Wei used to perform crosstalk, but he was often bullied.

Even the disciples of the Ma school were often bullied.

It's what people often call "being arrogant on stage."

He was the straight man, and the other comedian deliberately teased him, either by not saying his lines or by speaking a beat too late.

I'm going to kill you on stage!

He drove me away, which is why I was able to take the entrance exam for the Shanghai Theatre Academy and become an actor.

Zhang Guoqiang, who played the company commander in "Soldiers Sortie", also came from the performing arts. He was ostracized by his peers when his parents were young, which is why he came into the entertainment industry.

Even the entertainment industry is a dark place, but it's not as dark as the traditional performing arts industry, which shows how dark this industry is.

Yang Mi is known as the queen of scandals, and many people ridicule her.

But how many female stars in the entertainment industry can reach her position?

Who wouldn't want their child to become the next Yang Mi?

Zhang Yuan understood his parents' thoughts.

Many parents of child stars are like the tragic example of Zhong Yong (a child prodigy who failed to live up to his potential), having completely resigned themselves to their children's fate!

So he didn't get angry or do anything strange.

Instead, he pretended not to know and, like Fan Xiaopang, squatted down and patted the little girl's head.

"We don't argue, and we're not afraid."

If things really turn sour, the child might get scolded by their parents when they get back; there's no guarantee what will happen.

“My problem, let’s do it again.” He waved his arm at assistant director Ye Weiming.

He knew this guy; he was one of Chen Kexin's people, and he was also in "The Warlords" before.

"Shall we do it one more time?"

"It was because Sister Fan was too heavy that I couldn't step on her."

Fan Bingbing gave him a push, sounding annoyed. "I'm just trying to comfort the child."

"You're making fun of me to appease the kids." Fan Bingbing frowned slightly. "You think I'm fat, huh?"

What should we say in this situation?
Yes, fat!
A loud slap across the face... Fan Bingbing wouldn't actually do that, but she felt a pang of self-reproach.

No, I'm not fat.

You just think I'm fat... I'll have to grumble about it for a while.

Therefore, we need to break free from fixed ways of thinking.

Zhang Yuan chuckled and scratched his head: "You look really cute when you're angry."

"Isn't this annoying?" Fan Xiaopang tossed his long hair, twisted his waist, and turned around.

Perfect solution!

He wasn't exactly lying through his teeth.

Throughout the film, Fan Bingbing consistently wore a simple, elegant cheongsam.

Only in the dying moments of the gambling addict Shen Chongyang did he imagine that his entire family was dressed in coarse linen clothes of grayish-brown.

Even on his deathbed, he was still dressed like a pauper...

This coarse linen outfit looked like it was borrowed on Fan Bingbing; it didn't suit her face at all.

Because the ground was covered with tracks used by the camera crew, and with people riding in front and behind, the bicycle was not easy to ride.

I tried it many times, back and forth.

Fan Bingbing has also learned to be smarter; she jumps out of the car before anything seems amiss.

How come you don't trust me at all?

"Ha..." she sneered, "Look at you, the kind of person who throws his wife aside once he has a daughter."

“That’s not necessarily true. You can’t assume something hasn’t happened and then convict me based on that assumption,” Zhang Yuan whispered as he leaned closer.

"How about we try to have one tonight?"

“Our child will definitely be prettier than this little girl.”

Zhang Yuan was just teasing her, trying to cheer her up.

Unexpectedly, Fan Bingbing immediately put her hands on her hips in a domineering manner.

"Okay, I'll give birth tonight."

"I'm all ready and waiting for you."

Zhang Yuan: …

He was in a good mood today, but even after several takes, he kept laughing.

But the other party shut him down with just one sentence.

Fan Xiaopang glared at him, muttering under his breath, "Coward."

They disliked him for being all talk and no action.

Compared to Zhang Yuan's good mood, some people were in a terrible mood.

Inside the Youku.com office building in Beijing.

Mr. Gu Yongqiang reluctantly put down his phone.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

Logically speaking, Gu Yongqiang is a big star now and quite popular in the investment world.

Let alone if others don't answer his calls, it's good enough if he doesn't hang up on them.

However, Mr. Gu is a very tactful person and wouldn't hang up on people easily.

But the person he tried to contact, but couldn't reach, wasn't as smooth-talking as him.

The person who made him frown repeatedly was his former boss, Zhang Chaoyang!
"Xiao Zhao, please continue to contact Sohu."

"We are also keeping in touch with Attorney Liu."

The assistant nodded, but in his heart he was thinking, what use would it be for me to contact Sohu?

You, the big boss, call, but the other party doesn't answer.

After his assistant left and Mr. Gu was alone in his office, he took off his gold-rimmed glasses, rubbed his temples, and sighed deeply.

"Hey……"

Gu was a major contributor to Sohu's IPO and was once considered a brother to Zhang Chaoyang.

His relationship with Zhang Chaoyang is similar to that of Lei Jun and Zhou Shouzi.

That's the same person who later helped ByteDance negotiate in North America.

This guy also helped Xiaomi go public.

Even after Zhou Shouzi left Xiaomi, Jun'er always speaks of him with a smile. If we don't talk about gratitude, it's because they complemented each other.

However, the same relationship is different when it comes to Zhang Chaoyang and Gu Yongqiang.

Ultimately, Jun'er and Mr. Zhou had no conflict of interest; they were simply cooperating with each other.

Now, Boss Gu and Boss Zhang are facing a real conflict of interest!

Sohu has set its sights on the video website business and has made it the core of the company's next five-year plan!

Despite both being science and engineering students, Jun'er and Zhang Chaoyang have fundamentally different personalities.

Lei is a man of both inner and outer strength; he can code on a computer and confidently say "ARE YOU OK" with a wave of his hand...

Zhang Chaoyang is a typical male student with a strong academic background and a science and engineering background.

They're the kind of people who are incredibly arrogant, disdainful of everyone, and prone to showing their displeasure.

Of course, his education and abilities qualify him to be arrogant.

But for the CEO of a large company, this personality is rather...unconventional.

What did he do to make Sohu Video bigger?

Let's form an anti-piracy alliance!
Seeing the two giants, Tudou and Youku, as well as a large number of competitors such as 56 and 6rooms, Mr. Zhang analyzed his own advantages and decided on the strategy of "using capital to hurt others".

The so-called "using one's own strength to harm others" means that large enterprises, based on their ability to withstand losses, use their financial size to suppress and squeeze out the survival space of their competitors.

Sohu is already listed on the stock exchange, with a market value of several billion US dollars.

Mr. Zhang believes that his cash flow is his advantage, but it is the Achilles' heel of video websites like Tudou and Youku that have not yet gone public.

Therefore, after approving a massive amount of funds and purchasing the copyrights of a large number of film and television works, Zhang Chaoyang launched his second offensive.

They partnered with two other companies, Jidong.com and Youpeng Pule.

Three companies that own a large number of film and television copyrights formed a consortium, led by Sohu, and jointly issued a statement accusing Huaxia Network of copyright issues.

They directly launched a sweeping attack on the entire market, forcing higher authorities to intervene with legislation and regulate the market.

The first to be affected are Youku and Tudou.

These two are the biggest.

But Tudou was one thing, but Zhang Chaoyang pointed his finger at Youku and said that 95% of its content was pirated, making it the largest online piracy base in the country.

These are his exact words.

Boss Gu has a good relationship with you, but you started scolding him without even asking beforehand, which could easily upset the long-term employees.

But that's just Zhang Chaoyang's personality.

Upon learning of this, Youku quickly contacted its legal team to issue a statement and handle public relations.

Boss Gu then contacted his former boss directly, intending to find a way to settle the matter privately.

But Zhang Chaoyang simply wouldn't answer his calls, clearly treating it as "business as business."

I don't care who you are, or who you were to me before, I'm going to beat up ten of you today!
Why is Sohu considered the "Whampoa Military Academy" of China's internet industry?

With this kind of boss, any talented people working under him will want to leave.

Zhang Chaoyang is a purely rational thinker; in his eyes, there are only goals, no sentimentality.

He felt that there was a formula to business, and as long as he followed the formula, he wouldn't lose.

To be honest, that's a pretty ruthless move.

We can start with Youku and make our stance clear.

I'll even do it with old friends, so don't get your hopes up.

And he has a backup plan.

If the authorities don't take responsibility or don't manage it effectively, failing to meet his expectations, then his anti-piracy campaign will also have another consequence.

That means copyright prices have skyrocketed!

That's why he used "anti-piracy" as a pretext.

Resisting piracy will inevitably lead to higher prices for legitimate products.

From 09 to 12, in less than four years, the price of online TV drama copyrights increased a full 100 times!
You read that right, you didn't miscount the zeros, it's 100 times.

Its origin lies in the "Sohu Rebellion" initiated by Zhang Chaoyang.

In his mind, it was a simple matter.

By controlling the official channels, I can cut off the content source for other platforms.

The increase in copyright prices is a good thing for me, given my financial advantage.

I have the most money, how can you possibly buy me?

But it was his arrogance that opened Pandora's box.

He didn't expect the copyright price to rise so quickly, even beyond Sohu's control.

He could easily earn 1 yuan per episode.

In episode 10, he looked down on the heroes with a smile.

When the price reaches 100 million per episode, how much money is Sohu planning to spend on copyrights each year?
100 billion, or 10 billion?
A billion yuan is only enough to buy 1000 episodes of a TV series.

What if it rises again?

At this point, even Sohu couldn't withstand it anymore.

This led to the fate of the "Big Three"—Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu.

At this level, only the three of them can manage it.

Therefore, Zhang Chaoyang's actions, like the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, served as a trigger for a major reshuffle of the entire internet industry.

Zhang Yuan was happy because the surge in copyright prices was a huge boon for him as the producer!

At the same time, chaos is the ladder to progress.

This is an extremely rare opportunity! (End of Chapter)