Reborn in the Chinese Entertainment Industry: My Childhood Sweetheart is Boss Yang

These past few days, Gu Heng has been pondering Yang Mi's next steps.

Now that I've got the reopening coupon, I have to use the best fertilizer on my own cabbages.

Although Yang Mi was incredibly popular in her previous life, she only had a few representative works in her early career.

Among them, "Wang Zhaojun" is definitely her peak in the field of serious drama.

At the age of eighteen or nineteen, her fox-like eyes had not yet been tainted by the murky waters of the entertainment industry; they were brimming with spirit, and she brought to life the extraordinary woman who journeyed from the Western Han court to the vast desert.

Even the notoriously picky director Chen Jialin praised her highly.

But now there's a problem.

There's been no news about this show.

The casting should have been done long ago, but CCTV seems to have lost all contact with them, with no word at all.

Gu Heng inquired with someone.

Well, it all comes down to money.

Back in 2005, big-budget period dramas often cost tens of millions of dollars.

Funding from within the system is processed at a snail's pace, and external sponsors, even those with big names like director Chen Jialin, are refusing to fund projects after several major projects failed, effectively hoarding their money.

A perfectly good project has been stuck on funding issues.

"Problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems," Gu Heng said to Su Qing.

"Go contact the production team and tell them that Vision Entertainment is willing to invest in the production. But I have two conditions."

Su Qing took out a notebook and quickly took notes. "Please speak."

"First, the female lead, Wang Zhaojun, must be played by Yang Mi."

Su Qing paused, her pen poised.

As a professional agent, she had never met Yang Mi in person, but she already knew her information by heart.

"Boss, Miss Yang is still a freshman in college."

Su Qing's tone was tactful, but her meaning was clear.

CCTV's annual blockbuster dramas are prepared for leading actresses of Xu Fan and Liu Xiaoqing's caliber.

Why put a freshman in such a big role?

This must be a joke.

"I know what you're trying to say."

Gu Heng opened the drawer, took out a kraft paper envelope, and slid it down the table to Su Qing.

"Take a look at this."

Su Qing opened it with suspicion.

A few photos and a USB drive.

That was something Gu Heng specifically asked Zhang Jizhong, that big-bearded guy, for—an unedited sample of Guo Xiang from "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

In the photo.

Snowflakes were falling heavily.

She turned around and smiled, her eyes seemingly holding the entire galaxy, possessing both an innocent naiveté and a natural wildness.

Su Qing stared at the photo for a full half minute.

"If that's the case... then they certainly have a fighting chance."

"Second," Gu Heng said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, "that Great General's Shield, I want it."

In his previous life, this role belonged to Chen Sicheng.

But Gu Heng disliked Chen Sicheng completely, both in terms of his character and his actions.

Anyway, the character of Wang Dun is meant to embody the spirit of a dashing young general, and in terms of appearance, Gu Heng is confident he can easily outshine Chen. And in terms of skill, his martial arts are no joke either.

Gu Heng smiled when he saw that Su Qing was silent.

"What, you don't trust me?"

Su Qing closed her notebook.

"I'm the employee, you're the boss."

"As long as the money is right, you can play Wang Zhaojun, let alone the male lead."

Gu Heng smiled and gave a thumbs up.

That's what you call professional.

Don't ask why, just ask how.

Meanwhile, on the Beijing Film Academy's sports field.

Yang Mi, who was standing at attention under the scorching sun, suddenly sneezed loudly.

"Achoo!!"

"Who? Who's thinking about me? Or who's cursing me?"

Yang Mi sniffed, feeling a chill run down her spine.

This feels... more like someone is plotting against me?

Could it be that bastard Gu Heng?

The instructor next to her immediately glared at her: "Hey girl! What are you doing?! If you move again, you'll get ten more minutes of extra training!"

Yang Mi: "..."

Gu Heng, I hate you! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Su Qing acted quickly, and within three days, she had finalized the investment agreement with Wang Zhaojun.

Vision Entertainment invested a whopping 1200 million yuan, CCTV followed with another 1200 million yuan, and the remaining 600 million yuan was covered by Nanjing Film Studio.

The draft contract has already been prepared.

Gu Heng signed the document with a flourish.

Anyway, he didn't expect to make much money from this.

Gu Heng's plan was to make Yang Mi famous and cultivate a good relationship with CCTV.

A quaint old teahouse in Qianmen, Beijing.

Gu Heng met Chen Jialin, the director of "Wang Zhaojun".

This man is a big name in the historical drama circle; "Kangxi Dynasty" is his work.

At this moment, Director Chen frowned as he looked at the computer screen on the table.

The screen was playing a clip of Yang Mi from "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

To be honest, his mood has been like a rollercoaster these past two days.

First, I heard that a sucker... no, I mean a promising young investor was willing to fill the funding gap.

Chen Jialin was overjoyed.

After months of waiting, the film crew is finally saved.

As a result, Su Qing immediately made her own demands.

This sponsor wants to bring two people into the production team to play the male and female leads.

Chen Jialin's blood pressure immediately spiked.

Isn't this ridiculous?

CCTV's productions emphasize quality and artistry; money can't buy anything.

If all the actors and actresses you bring in are mediocre or subpar, the show will only get criticized, so it's better not to make it at all.

He came here today with a mindset of rejection.

Even if the show falls through, we can't ruin our reputation.

But when he saw Yang Mi's performance as Guo Xiang, and then looked at the extraordinary, handsome Gu Heng in front of him, he was struck by his striking features.

They also felt that the investors must have their reasons for sending people along.

But while the principle is sound, as the director, he must be responsible for the quality of the show.

Chen Jialin: "You... your appearance is indeed good, even better than some of our original choices. But acting isn't just about looks."

"Director Chen, I was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy's 05 acting class as the top student." Gu Heng smiled slightly. "Moreover, I brought my own funding to the project, but I only need one audition opportunity. If I perform poorly, you can replace me at any time, and I won't take back the money."

That's what I meant.

Chen Jialin likes investors who respect art.

He laughed, "Okay, based on what you said, come audition this weekend. If you pass the audition, it'll be settled."

Having secured the most important project, Gu Heng was in high spirits.

After seeing Chen Jialin off, he turned to look at Su Qing, who had been accompanying him and behaving with grace and poise.

"Sister Qing, I need to trouble you with something else."

"Boss, please speak." Su Qing was now completely convinced by this young boss.

"The current office is too small, like a pigeon coop." Gu Heng pointed to the buildings that were rising from the ground outside the window. "Let's find a detached building, or one of those unfinished buildings with potential. I want to buy it and use it as the headquarters of the Vision Group."

"Buy it?" Su Qing exclaimed in surprise. "Wouldn't renting be more cost-effective? With our current cash flow..."

"Listen to me. In the next ten years, there won't be any investment more worthwhile than buying property in Beijing."

Su Qing watched Gu Heng's retreating figure, a slight chill running through her heart.

"Okay, boss, I'll get right on it."

"Oh, right," Gu Heng added, "It would be best to have a large terrace, so it'll be convenient for team building activities and barbecues in the future."

Su Qing: "..."

One second they're discussing a multi-million dollar property development, the next they're talking about barbecue skewers.

This boss is something else.