Peninsula: I, a chaebol! I will never follow hidden rules.

On October 10th, at nine o'clock in the morning, a rough cut screening of "Train to Busan" was held in the Xingji Entertainment conference room.

Most of the cast and crew of "Train to Busan" and all the executives of Star Entertainment attended the film screening.

Because it is a rough cut, the film is quite long, nearly three hours.

The movie ended just before midnight, and it was time for everyone to express their opinions.

Among the dozens of people present, some knew about movies, while others didn't. Those who knew about movies could offer professional opinions or suggestions, while those who didn't could also express their own ideas on behalf of the general audience.

After everyone finished speaking, screenwriter and chairman Li Zhixuan finally spoke. "As chairman, I believe the film's quality is very high. However, the rough cut shown today was a bit slow. The final release will be under two hours."

"I agree." Director Yan Xianghao immediately expressed his agreement, and naturally no one else had any objections.

Then, Li Zhixuan continued, "As the screenwriter of this film, I have some ideas I want to share. Let me tell you what you think."

"You say."

"By the end of the film, the only ones left alive, whether they were the main characters or the supporting characters, were a child and a pregnant woman. They walked towards the safe zone, and the guards there were hesitant about whether to shoot. Then they started singing, and the guards realized they were human, so they didn't shoot. Isn't this ending too good to be true?"

"Ah? This is too good to be true?"

Everyone was surprised to hear what Li Zhixuan said, but only Kim Taeyeon expressed doubts.

A guest actor dared to question the investment boss, and everyone had to admire her boldness.

Just when they thought Kim Taeyeon was going to be criticized, they saw Li Zhixuan smiling and saying to Kim Taeyeon, "Any opinions? Go ahead."

Of course, Kim Taeyeon had nothing to fear as she was her man. She stood up and asked directly, "Only two people are left dead. Is this a good ending? Are they all going to die?"

"Right! It would be hopeless if they all died, and the guards in the safe zone shot them down. This ending would definitely be memorable."

Hearing his idea, the male lead Gong Yoo couldn't help but raise his hand.

Seeing this, Li Zhixuan nodded to him, indicating that he could speak.

"President, the hero died to save his daughter. If the ending is changed to this, what is the meaning of the hero's sacrifice?"

Facing Gong Yoo's misunderstanding, Li Zhixuan spread his hands and said: "Does sacrifice have to be meaningful? The more meaningless the sacrifice, the more impressive the ending will be."

"Uh..." Gong Yoo was stunned by the question and had nothing to say.

Seeing this, for the sake of the film's success, director Yan Xianghao had to stand up and say: "President, this is what I think. Pregnant women and children symbolize the continuation of life and hope, so they must survive.

Besides, this is a commercial blockbuster, not a realistic art film, so there's no need to make it too depressing, as it will affect the box office. Therefore, it's better not to change the ending."

As soon as the box office was mentioned, the artistic spirit that Li Zhixuan had just shown up was immediately suppressed.

Excluding publicity and promotion, the production cost of "Train to Busan" alone reached 10 billion South Korean won, which is equivalent to about 60 million Chinese yuan.

This number may not be a big deal in China, but the film markets on both sides are completely different in size.

An investment of 10 billion South Korean won is considered a true blockbuster in South Korea. According to the box office revenue sharing principle, the film's producer, Xingji Entertainment, needs to achieve a box office of 30 billion won and approximately 4 million moviegoers to recoup its costs.

There are only more than 50 million people in South Korea, and it is not easy to achieve a box office of 4 million moviegoers.

So, don’t be a literary hipster, the box office is the most important thing.

"You're right, but the ending still needs to be changed. We need to leave a suspense for the second part."

Li Zhixuan is the film's investor and screenwriter. If he insists on changing the ending, no one can stop him. But if he really changes it according to his ideas, the ending will be too depressing. Will the audience still buy it?

Hearing that he wasn't planning to drastically change the ending, Director Yeon Sang-ho breathed a sigh of relief and politely asked, "How do you plan to change it?"

Li Zhixuan pointed at the actress who played the pregnant woman, Zheng Yumei, and said, "How do you feel about letting a pregnant woman accidentally eat zombie blood?"

Eat zombie blood?

Upon hearing this, Yan Xianghao immediately understood Li Zhixuan's idea: "Are you planning to make the baby in her belly mutate?"

"Correct."

"That's easy. Just reshoot two shots."

"Then it's settled."

In the world before Li Zhixuan traveled through time, there was also a second part of "Train to Busan". Although the box office performance was not as good as the first one, it also made money. However, movie fans gave this sequel very poor reviews and it was completely a substandard product.

Therefore, Li Zhixuan plans to write the script of "Train to Busan" himself this time.

After the film screening, it was already 1pm. Everyone was still hungry, so Li Zhixuan offered to treat them to a meal.

There were dozens of people, and Li Zhixuan directly booked a barbecue restaurant, and then sat at the same table with the leading actors of "Train to Busan", with the male lead Gong Yoo on the left and the supporting male lead Ma Dong Seok on the right.

It is quite common for actors to be treated to meals by investors, which makes them very happy even though they are hungry.

However, sharing a table with investors made them a bit uneasy. Long-established celebrities Gong Yoo and Jung Yumi were fine with it. But Ma Dong-seok, who debuted years ago but wasn't particularly popular and was sitting next to Lee Chi-hyun, was a bit nervous.

This guy was a big, strong man with an extremely tough build. He would have many nicknames in the future, such as "Shenma Dongxi", "Suit Thug", and "The Last Man in South Korea".

The reason for these nicknames is that the series of tough guy images he played are deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Although he has starred in many film and television works now, none of them are big productions and his popularity is average.

But Li Zhixuan knew that after the release of "Train to Busan", this guy's popularity would have a qualitative leap. From now on, he will be an actor who can carry the box office.

While this guy's salary hasn't increased yet, Li Zhixuan plans to sign a contract with him for a few movies.

"Ma Dongxi, how many pounds of meat can you eat in one meal?"

Hearing Li Zhixuan's question, Ma Dongxi quickly put down his chopsticks, stood up and replied respectfully: "Three or four pounds is no problem."

He's a big guy, but he looks nervous.

Li Zhixuan was amused: "Haha! Sit down, let's eat and talk, don't be nervous."

"Yes, thank you, President Li." After bowing to express his gratitude, Ma Dongxi sat back in his chair, then turned sideways and sat upright facing Li Zhixuan, still looking very respectful.

Seeing him like this, everyone at the table except Kim Taeyeon consciously or unconsciously straightened their bodies to avoid being considered by Li Zhixuan as not as polite as Ma Dongseok.

But Li Zhixuan didn't pay any attention to them. He just stared at Ma Dongxi and asked, "How much do you weigh now?"

"One hundred kilograms." "Can it still grow?"

Everyone at the table was stunned because they all understood the meaning of Li Zhixuan's words.

Ma Dongxi, the person involved, was extremely delighted and quickly asked respectfully, "How much weight do you think I should gain?"

"Let's put on ten kilograms and see how it goes. My arms should be thicker, my shoulders should be bigger, and my face should be a little bigger. I want to give the impression that I can rip your head off with one slap."

An investor has requirements for an actor's physique, either because he wants to play him or because he has a role to give him.

Ma Dong-seok doesn't think that Lee Chi-hsuan would be so perverted as to be interested in him, so Lee Chi-hsuan must have a role he wants him to play.

In response, he immediately stood up, bowed, and solemnly stated: "I understand. I will work hard to train and gain weight."

Seeing his attitude, Li Zhixuan nodded in satisfaction: "I have a series of movies, and I have already written four. If you can meet my requirements, the male lead of these four movies will be yours."

A movie series?! Four?!
Everyone was stunned for a moment!
Everyone present here is a veteran of the entertainment industry, and they've seen investors offer actors many movie spots. But to immediately cast the lead for a four-part series? Isn't that a bit too hasty?
Is the first film guaranteed to make money? If the first film doesn't make money, the entire series will fail, right?

Oh! Is Li Zhixuan painting a rosy picture for Ma Dongxi?
In fact, Ma Dongxi himself also doubted this, but does it matter? It doesn’t matter at all!

Because Li Zhixuan can't just make a movie to lose money, right? As long as the first movie makes money, then the second, third, and fourth movies will not be empty promises.

"Thank you, President Li, for your cultivation!"

Seeing Ma Dong-seok excitedly bowing deeply to him and thanking him loudly, Li Zhixuan knew that he could save a large sum of money on the film remuneration.

"You're welcome, sit down and eat more."

"Yes."

After talking with Ma Dong-seok, Lee Chi-xuan turned to face Gong Yoo.

Seeing this, Gong Liu quickly put down his chopsticks, and then saw Li Zhixuan asked: "Gong Liu, are you busy recently?"

"not busy."

"If you're not busy, do me a favor. I have a movie that needs a male lead who isn't really the male lead. You can play the role. And by the way, give me some pointers on the female lead's acting skills."

The male lead is not considered the male lead, which means this is a female-dominated drama. The most important thing is that Li Zhixuan said "do me a favor", which is not a movie invitation, but an active favor owed to him.

If an investor takes the initiative to owe you a favor, only a fool would refuse!
Gong Yoo quickly stood up and bowed, "It's my honor to help you, of course no problem. Um... can I ask who the leading actress of this drama is?"

"Girls' Generation's Choi Sooyoung."

It turned out to be her?

"No problem, leave it to me."

"Thank you very much."

"Don't dare."

Choi Soo-young's acting skills are pretty good among idols, but if she wants to win an award, and the Best Actress Award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, South Korea's top film award, it would be too difficult.

Find a male actor with good acting skills to guide Choi Soo-young, and let Li Zhixuan help her with some operations, so that when she wins an award in the future, she will not be called a "water queen" by others.

After the meal, it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

Ma Dong-seok and Gong Yoo returned to Star Entertainment with Lee Chi-hyun and got their respective scripts.

In addition, Li Zhixuan also called Choi Sooyoung to Star Entertainment and asked her to act opposite Gong Yoo to study her acting skills.

Ma Dong-seok took the script of "Criminal City Part 1" back to discuss the contract with his agency.

After they all left, Li Zhixuan called Kim Taeyeon to his office.

After eating and drinking, it is so comfortable to hold my girlfriend in my arms, play with her little feet and take a bath.

Li Zhixuan felt comfortable, but Kim Taeyeon looked a little sad.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you unhappy?"

"My dad asked me to take you and Tiffany home for dinner."

One morning more than two months ago, Jin's father went to deliver food to his daughter and met Li Zhixuan. The Zheng sisters and Huang Meiying were also there.

Kim Taeyeon didn't want her father to know about her relationship with Li Zhixuan, so at Huang Miying's initiative, Li Zhixuan became Huang Miying's boyfriend.

Later, at Li Zhixuan's reminder, Kim Taeyeon took her father to the hospital for a check-up and found out that he had a heart disease.

At that time, Kim's father wanted Kim Taeyeon to invite Li Zhixuan and Huang Miying to visit the Kim family on his behalf, but Kim Taeyeon evaded the question by saying that Li Zhixuan was busy with work.

But now more than two months have passed, Li Zhixuan can't be busy all the time, right?

Father Kim just wanted to thank his savior, but Kim Taeyeon kept saying that he was very busy.

Slowly, Father Jin came to his senses. He was afraid that Li Zhixuan was not very busy, but his daughter did not want him to see Li Zhixuan.

Then why doesn’t Kim Taeyeon want him to meet Li Zhixuan?
After thinking about it, Father Jin felt that he might have been deceived. Li Zhixuan was not Huang Meiying's boyfriend at all, but his daughter Jin Taeyeon's boyfriend!

This also explains why Li Zhixuan was so eager to remind him that he might have heart problems when they first met.

But if that's the case, it would be even more confusing for Mr. Jin. Li Zhixuan looks tall and handsome, and he's a talented screenwriter. His daughter is also a popular idol. The two of them are quite a match.

Why did Taeyeon lie?
In order to clarify the situation, Kim's father gave Kim Taeyeon a death order: "You must invite Li Zhixuan and Tiffany to our home! Otherwise, you can give me Li Zhixuan's address, and I will buy some gifts and visit him to thank him!"

Kim Taeyeon had no choice but to promise her father that she would invite Li Zhixuan to her home.

But the problem now is that Jessica Jung and Bae Joohyun are both pregnant, and Li Zhixuan has not yet met their parents. What would Jessica Jung and Bae Joohyun think if Kim Taeyeon brought Li Zhixuan home?
Moreover, what if her parents, brother and sister-in-law realize that there is something wrong between her and Li Zhixuan?
So, Kim Taeyeon is very worried now.

"What's there to worry about? At worst, I can just reveal my identity. I'm the son of a wealthy family, they definitely won't dare to do anything to me."

"what about me?"

"You...just wish you the best."

"Ah! Is this human language?!"

(End of this chapter)