HuaYu: A Great Director Starting with Dream of the Red Chamber

"Alright! Since you have a plan, then your senior brother has nothing more to say."

Zhang Qiang was a bit carried away at this moment, and patted Li Yan's thigh with great pride:

"Here's what we'll do. Go register your own studio and register it with me. I'll handle the finances and taxes for you, so you don't have to worry about it."

Before Ding Xiaoxiao, who was holding a plate of tiramisu and about to put it in her mouth, could protest, Li Yan shook his head.

"No, senior brother."

Zhang Qiang meant well.

By affiliating with him, not only can I avoid a lot of administrative work, but if I really can't make ends meet, I can also use the company's name to pick up guys.

It's like they've already prepared a way out for him.

The key is to see what Zhang Qiang means; he definitely won't want a single penny.

Even brothers might not do this much.

However, "个独" means a sole proprietorship.

This thing is convenient, and many people in the industry use it, mainly for tax avoidance.

But as everyone knows, once the storm blows, there will be accountability measures and penalties afterward, which will cause more than just a little trouble.

Moreover, using the studio's name makes it very inconvenient to handle funding and contractual transactions when shooting any large-scale commercial film.

Of course, paying taxes according to the law is the duty of every citizen.

He didn't want to make a mistake on this.

Seeing him shake his head, Zhang Qiang became a little anxious. Why didn't he appreciate his kindness?

"What? You think my company is too run-down?"

Li Yan sat up straight and looked calmly at Zhang Qiang:

"I want to go straight to registering a company, and I also want to bring my senior colleague in."

This was somewhat unexpected for Zhang Qiang. He waved his hand, about to refuse, "There's no need, I..."

"Senior brother, don't rush to push," Li Yan interrupted him:

"I have my own purpose. My senior brother has been in the industry for so many years, he has a lot of experience and a wide network of connections."

"We'll need your help a lot in the future. We're brothers, so it wouldn't be right not to give you shares."

Li Yan really thought so. Putting everything else aside, let him try to get a project approved by the Film Bureau right now.

Seeing his sincere expression, Zhang Qiang understood.

He knew that with the fame Li Yan had gained from this battle, coupled with the directorial skills he had demonstrated, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Those GG companies, and even film and television companies, will definitely be waving money around to snatch him up.

Li Yan could easily ditch himself and find someone better.

The connections and experience he mentioned are just as plentiful as anyone else's.

But he didn't.

Not only did they not do it, they also wanted to drag me into it.

What's this called?

That's called generosity! That's called being particular!

"You little brat, trying to carry your senior brother like a pro?"

"Just tell me if you're going to do it or not."

"Cheers!" Zhang Qiang wasn't one to mince words, and with a "click," he opened two cans of beer.

He handed Li Yan a can and then slammed it against him.

"I failed to make it in the film industry in the first half of my life, but it's not too late to try and get in now!"

"Let's do it!"

After finishing his drink, Li Yan casually crushed the empty can and threw it into the trash can.

Then he turned to look at Ding Xiaoxiao, who was eating cake and licking her spoon.

The little girl, with a bit of coffee powder on her lips, stared wide-eyed at the two grown men who had sworn a blood oath.

"Xiaoxiao, want to come? Count me in."

"Hmm? Hmm hmm hmm?"

Ding Xiaoxiao's mouth was full of tiramisu, and her voice was muffled. She was so anxious that she stretched her neck down as far as she could.

Li Yan laughed; he understood.

"Yes, and you too! Aren't you our producer? We can't do without you, no matter who's missing."

Li Yan felt that this girl was incredibly useful and easy to use.

He's also quick-witted and understands things immediately.

They're really good at marketing these days.

"That won't do, junior brother. Xiaoxiao is my right-hand man."

Zhang Qiang, now in the mood, chuckled mischievously and tried to interrupt:

"Either stay here with me and continue selling GG, or go with you to be a producer and suffer. How can she have it both ways?"

"Gulp."

Ding Xiaoxiao finally managed to swallow the cake in her mouth, and almost choked to death.

She grabbed the orange juice next to her and gulped it down, then slammed the glass on the table, put her hands on her hips, and glared menacingly at Zhang Qiang.

"Boss, isn't that a bit petty of you?"

"Only children make choices; I want both!!"

"Can't you sell my business during the day and then work as a producer for the director at night?!"

After speaking, she tilted her head and thought for a moment, then looked at Li Yan with a hint of unease:

"Director, you're not thinking of taking advantage of me for free, are you?"

Li Yan laughed heartily: "What kind of talk is this? 'Never freeload, absolutely never freeload!'"

Ding Xiaoxiao nodded in satisfaction and casually asked:

"So what's the name of our new company? Let's make it clear first, if the name isn't good, I won't go. It's too embarrassing to pull out my business card."

Zhang Qiang, not wanting to be left out, chimed in once again, his face radiating confidence:

"How about we call it 'Powerful Pictures'? It's in the same vein as our GG Company, sounds really impressive!"

"Boss!"

Ding Xiaoxiao was almost driven to the brink of collapse by him. She specifically asked this question because "powerful GG" sounded too awful.

"Please, have some mercy on your aesthetic sense! The name 'Powerful' sounds like something out of a compound fertilizer store!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Watching the two bicker, Li Yan felt great, and the uncertainty that had been building up in her heart dissipated considerably.

"How about we call it 'Gravity'?"

"Gravity? What does that mean?" the two asked in unison.

"Gravity, the force of gravity, is irresistible; that's how movies should be."

After listening, Zhang Qiang clicked his tongue and said, "Gravity it is, but I still think strength is more exciting."

Ding Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up, and she quickly took out her phone to write it down:

"Gravity Pictures...wow, that sounds really cool!"

After finishing writing, she put away her phone and proudly gestured with her chin towards the two of them:

"Hehe, from now on I'm a legitimate shareholder of a film and television company! Everyone has to call me 'President Ding' when they go out, you hear me? Ha~ha~ha!"

……

The aftereffects of "Powerful GG's" celebration party last night were not only a hangover, but also back pain.

The next day, Li Yan covered his head and slept soundly.

If we were at home, my mom would have already burst through the door and yelled, "The sun's already high in the sky, get out of bed!"

However, he wasn't woken up by his mother today.

I was woken up by my phone vibrating incessantly on the bedside table.

He groped around with his eyes closed for a long time before finally finding his phone and pressing the answer button.

"Feed..."

As soon as the call connected, before he could even mumble a second word...

Yang Mi's scream came through the receiver.

"Li Yan!! Did you see that? Did you see that?!"

Li Yan frowned and painfully moved the phone further away.

He wasn't fully awake yet, and his voice sounded a little muffled.

"Hey lady, what are you looking at... Don't you even know what time it is? It's so early in the morning."

"It's already 2 PM!"

"Stop shouting, stop shouting, calm down! You're a female celebrity, can't you at least have some self-control? Stop yelling."

"Calm down my ass!"

Yang Mi's voice sounded incredibly excited, and even a little smug:

"Let me tell you, my blog's traffic has exploded! Also, yesterday Li Shaohong came to talk to me about renewing her contract, and she was so nice!"

"And another thing! Canon just contacted Sister Jia directly, saying they want to sign me as a brand ambassador! Li Yan, I'm about to be promoted!!"

Li Yan was forced to perk up a bit by her barrage of questions.

Yang Mi hasn't filmed "Palace" yet, the drama that truly made her a star.

The wildly popular "Far Cry" movie is still nowhere to be seen.

Being able to secure an endorsement deal with a top-tier international brand like Canon is undoubtedly a huge boost to her status.

The status of popular celebrities is almost entirely determined by their endorsements; the value of a brand represents the commercial value of the celebrity.

You can imagine how excited she was.

Li Yan lazily rolled over, shifting to a more comfortable position:

"This is nothing, and you're already this excited? If I told you that Canon has decided to use 'Let Me Stay' as their official global promotional video, wouldn't you be ecstatic?"

"real?!"

Yang Mi's voice rose another eight octaves.

Surprises kept coming, and the gloom of the past few days was swept away.

She tilted her head to look at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed.

It does seem different now.

The makeup was more refined, and the dresses were more glamorous.

The staff's attitude has also changed from being polite to being obsequious.

All of this change stemmed from a lie told by the man on the phone in the coffee shop.

Yang Mi bit her lip, her voice softening, unconsciously carrying a hint of coquettishness:

"Li the conman... well... you win this time."

With those words, Li Yan was no longer sleepy.

He sat up abruptly, and it was his turn to mutter:

"Oh, so you admit it? Someone swore to me back then that if things didn't get out of hand, they'd smash my windows. And now? I've saved the windows. So, what are you planning to do over there?"

Yang Mi rolled her eyes helplessly, sighed to the heavens, and realized that the little bit of emotion she felt just now was like feeding a dog.

Why are you so annoying!

"Okay, okay, I admit defeat. How about I treat you to dinner?"

"A meal? Pshaw, you think you can just fob me off with one meal? You have no sincerity at all."

"Hey, Li Yan, don't go too far! A popular actress invited you to dinner and you're not even sincere? There are so many people lining up to invite me, but none of them can get a turn!"

"So what if she's a female celebrity? Does that give her the right to renege on her debts? Let me tell you, think about it carefully. If you're not sincere enough, I might as well smash your windows!"

"Hmph, you stingy little brat, just you wait!"

After hanging up the phone, Yang Mi looked at her phone and couldn't help but chuckle.