HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 112 [112] "Jiangnan" and "Twilight" are on the charts, what a bombshell!
Zhang Dahuzi has been having a blast these past few days.

It was all worth it for him to swallow his pride and beg Qi Yuan to play Linghu Chong; the return on investment was simply too high.

Qi Yuan was promoting his second album, which fans across the country were eagerly anticipating. He seized the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon and gained a lot of attention.

Not only were local TV stations contacting him privately, but actresses from mainland China also started to go crazy for him.

Originally, Zhang Dahuzi's boasting about inviting so-and-so was just a pretext for staged accidents.

He discovered that the actresses he had targeted either publicly expressed their interest in playing Ren Yingying or had their agents contact him.

Everyone wants to partner with Qi Yuan.

The most typical example is Ning Jing, who is very confident and says that as long as she puts on the costume, she is Ren Yingying.

Her acting skills are widely recognized, and she has the confidence to say that.

In "In the Heat of the Sun," her portrayal of Milan is a cherished memory for a generation, and the poolside scene is a classic among classics.

Zhang Dahuzi was very satisfied with Ning Jing's appearance and acting skills. He said, "Your salary is a bit too high."

Ning Jing is currently one of the highest-paid actresses in mainland China. The films "In the Heat of the Sun" and "Red River Valley" made her a star.

Her salary is exceptionally high, almost as high as Qi Yuan's.

Zhang Dahu frowned.

Qi Yuan is a top star in mainland China and is also popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Releasing albums and holding concerts can continuously bring popularity to "Swordsman".

With Qi Yuan's name attached to him, he doesn't have to worry about securing broadcast rights for subsequent rounds of the show even before filming has begun.

Qi Yuan deserves such a high salary, so why does Ning Jing get so much money too? Is she as famous as Qi Yuan?

Zhang Dahuzi was mentally prepared for a bad ending with Ning Jing.

Anyway, there are plenty of actresses who want to play Ren Yingying, so he can take his time to choose. He doesn't necessarily have to let Ning Jing play the role.

However... to Zhang Dahuzi's surprise, Ning Jing actually held back and replied, "The remuneration is negotiable."

Zhang Dahuzi was stunned.

Ning Jing didn't always have such a good temper. She was known for speaking her mind and not being afraid to offend people. Everyone in the industry knew she had a fiery temper.

During the filming of "The Story of Qiu Ju", she argued directly with the director after he canceled the scene she had prepared.

During the filming of "In the Heat of the Sun", she and Jiang Wen had a dispute over the role, and she slammed her fist on the table and questioned Jiang Wen.

Zhang Dahuzi wanted to lower her salary, and given her past temper, she might have slammed her fist on the table, pointed at Zhang Dahuzi's nose, and given him a piece of her mind.

But she actually tolerated it; being able to negotiate her salary was tantamount to agreeing to a pay cut.

Ning Jing looked at Zhang Dahuzi, who had a surprised expression, and explained, "I'm willing to talk to you about my salary, not because your 'Swordsman' is so good, but because I want to work with Qi Yuan."

In 97, Ning Jing married a wealthy foreigner.

She wanted to partner with Qi Yuan not for the purpose of having an affair, but simply because she admired him.

She has repeatedly stated in public that the ideal man is tall, fair-skinned, young, handsome, and has a scholarly air.

Qi Yuan perfectly fits these criteria: tall, handsome, talented, and a musician.

Since you're already taking on roles, why not choose one where the male lead is pleasing to the eye? At least he'd be easy on the eyes.

This is a drama starring Jin Yong, and Qi Yuan is already quite famous, so she can accept taking a smaller salary.

"..."

Zhang Dahuzi witnessed firsthand Qi Yuan's allure to mainland actresses.

He dismissed Ning Jing by saying he would talk to her later, and then added Ning Jing to his shortlist.

He wouldn't finalize the casting of Ren Yingying until the very last moment. If he did, how could he generate buzz? Qi Yuan is so popular; if he didn't create a massive hype around her, he'd be doing Qi Yuan a disservice.

……

Taiwan.

Qi Yuan was unaware that some top-tier actresses in mainland China were willing to lower their fees in order to act alongside him.

He was busy shooting promotional posters for his new album.

After the hairstylist and makeup artist finished styling him, he stood at the spot chosen by the filming team.

"Look to the left..."

In half an hour, Qi Yuan changed several outfits before finally finishing shooting a set of promotional posters.

Li Xue had excellent eyesight and was very capable. She smiled and took a bottle of Wahaha purified water, unscrewed the cap in front of Qi Yuan, and handed the water to Qi Yuan.

Since Qi Yuan became the spokesperson for Wahaha Pure Water, his team has carried this water with them wherever they go, and he drinks this water in all public occasions.

If you've taken someone's endorsement fee, you have to be dedicated to your work.

A few days ago, Li Xue came to Taiwan and stood out from the competition with her excellent eloquence and emotional intelligence, successfully joining Qi Yuan's team as an assistant.

Qi Yuan took the water and drank a sip, then asked knowingly, "Li Xue, your name sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

Li Xue looked somewhat surprised: "My sister is Li Bingbing, the one who filmed the Lafang commercial with you. She asked you for your autograph on my behalf."

"Oh? You've been in my team for so many days now, how come I've never heard you mention it?" Qi Yuan couldn't help but be a little curious.

“What you need is definitely not a fan, what you need is an assistant who can get things done. I want to do the job of an assistant first,” Li Xue replied sincerely.

Qi Yuan thought highly of Li Xue; Li Bingbing's younger sister was indeed a talented person.

Being able to understand one's own position and know when to do what and when not to do what.

With her abilities, being an assistant is a waste of her talent.

"You should learn more from Brother Hao in the future. When Brother Hao does things, you should listen carefully and take notes," Qi Yuan instructed.

"I will." Li Xue was overjoyed.

She finally came into Qi Yuan's sight.

During the days leading up to the promotion of the new album, Qi Yuan would sometimes deliberately arrange tasks for Li Xue to handle, tasks that could help her develop her management skills.

For example, communicating with various departments within Warner to understand marketing methods and processes.

Li Xue has a strong learning ability. She was a little unfamiliar with it at first, but she quickly got the hang of it.

She also followed Qi Yuan's teachings and often learned from Zhang Hao.

Li Xue worked as a reporter in mainland China and has experience dealing with television and radio stations.

Qi Yuan simply handed over part of the work of contacting mainland radio stations to send his new song to the charts to her.

Zhang Hao was very happy about this. He was already extremely busy, and he couldn't handle all the work in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It would be good to have someone share some of the workload with him.

One week before the official release of the new album.

The two popular songs, "Jiangnan" and "Twilight," were sent to radio stations of all sizes in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

On September 9th, the songs "Jiangnan" and "Twilight" were played simultaneously on radio stations across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

"Circles and circles, day after day, year after year, I gaze deeply at your face, your gentle anger, your gentle resentment. We, who did not understand the torment of love and hate, both thought that love was as fickle as the weather, that one day of love was worth forever, and in this instant, time froze..."

"I still remember the resolute goodbye from your lips, like iron will. In the dim light, there was a scorching illusion of the sun. The horizon at dusk drew a line of farewell, and love entered the eternal night. I still remember the look in your eyes..."

These two songs caused a sensation in both mainland China and Hong Kong and Taiwan, showing people what a true blockbuster hit is!
(End of this chapter)