Pirates began to dominate the Chinese entertainment industry.

"Hello, is this Director Wei Zheng...?"

Ji Yun had just finished her phone call, and less than a minute later, she saw Wei Zheng rushing over at the front desk. He was a round-faced, bearded, and artistic man.

After confirming their identities, Ji Yun, led by him, went directly into the office of the boss, Wang Yuan.

"Director Wei, Boss Wang, without further ado, I want to buy the rights to 'iPartment'."

Wang Yuan glanced at Wei Zheng, his words hesitant: "President Ji, although I don't know how you found out we were going to make this film, it was commissioned by someone else—"

"How much money did they give them?" Ji Yun interrupted directly.

The two were momentarily stunned by Ji Yun's imposing aura and exchanged a glance.

Wei Zheng cautiously replied, "Uh, 60."

Ji Yun calculated that 60 yuan was only the cost of two episodes. As far as he knew, the total cost of the first season of "iPartment" was more than 300 million yuan. It was just that their production team was too poor. At the beginning, like Ji Yun's anti-Japanese war drama, it was stuck in their hands and could not be sold at all.

However, the reason it was able to be sold at a normal price later was because Wang Yuan's father—the former director of Shanghai Education Television—helped to find it...

"I'm willing to take over the entire production. What do you two think?"

"This..." Wei Zheng and the other man glanced at Ji Yun. Although the contract for the drama wasn't complete yet, and the original client might be hoping for a free, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, drama...

For them, changing their sugar daddy isn't a big deal.

But this sugar daddy on the other end looks even younger than the student actors they're about to audition. Is he really reliable...?

"400 million, I'll buy it out." Ji Yun didn't bother with any more haggling and simply made a offer.

Wei Zheng was still smiling politely, but when he heard the number he had never dared to imagine, he was jolted awake. His composure was completely shattered in the face of real money: "President Ji, thank you for trusting me. I will definitely do my best."

Wang Yuan, being a man of the world, quickly pulled the embarrassed Wei Zheng back to his senses and said with an awkward smile, "President Ji, this is no joke; we need to draw up a contract."

Ji Yun crossed her arms and said, "As long as we don't lose money, you'll still be the director and screenwriter for the next season, and the investment can be doubled."

Wang Yuan pushed Wei Zheng aside, grasped Ji Yun's hand excitedly, and said, "President Ji, we will definitely work hard."

……

Ji Yun, as the client, completed the contract with them.

I simply called Manager Liao, and without any formalities, the initial funding of 1.2 million yuan arrived in my account within one minute.

The two, who had never experienced the era of online payments before, were stunned by the incredible speed of the transfer. When did banks become so accommodating?

However, looking at the computer screen and the solid 120 million yuan in the company account, the two were invigorated. They were now legitimate television drama directors and screenwriters! Their career had suddenly taken a crucial step forward.

Wei Zheng grinned and chuckled foolishly.

Looking at Ji Yun as if he were a god of wealth, he walked respectfully to his side, his tone like that of a lackey: "President Ji, the audition time is approaching, let's go take a look together."

"How dare you speak like that?" Wang Yuan glared at Wei Zheng, then smiled warmly at Ji Yun, "President Ji, aren't you a professionally trained actor? We mainly want to ask you to guide us in the selection of actresses. Our professional skills are alright, but our aesthetic sense is just so-so."

As the boss and screenwriter, he certainly knows his stuff better.

"No need, I have to fly to the capital tonight, you guys handle it." Ji Yun waved her hand.

"Hey, how can we make decisions without you here..."

Fearing that Ji Yun would be unhappy afterward, Wang Yuansheng persuaded him with great emotion to stay, and together they went to the office used for the interview.

……

"The viewing is now in progress. Please enter in turn."

Chen Chichi was closest to these classmates, so he volunteered to act as a liaison, helping to call people at the door.

As soon as he opened the door, he found his junior apprentice sitting in the center of the judges' panel.

The director was pouring him tea, and the screenwriter/boss was handing him the script.

The scene was so beautiful that Chen Chichi didn't react for a moment. He blinked before he realized it wasn't a hallucination.

"Xiao Chen, let's begin." Wei Zheng coughed and sat up straight on the judges' panel.

"Oh, okay." Chen Chichi snapped out of his daze and quickly closed the door and went out.

After calming myself down, I put on a serious face and arranged the order for the students.

When she saw Zheng Kai, she suddenly patted him on the shoulder and said with deep sympathy, "Bear with it, it'll be over soon."

Zheng Kai looked completely bewildered. What happened? Did you infect me with your appendicitis?

The first actress to audition was Hu Yifei, who played the female lead.

Lou Yixiao took several deep breaths nervously and pushed the door open with trembling hands.

At first, she didn't dare to look at the judges opposite her. It wasn't until the director asked her about her understanding of the character that she cautiously looked up. Suddenly, she stared blankly at Ji Yun in the middle.

Why is my junior brother sitting there? Weren't we supposed to be discussing business?

Lou Yixiao swallowed hard, staring at him without blinking.

"Ahem~" the director interrupted, "This student, please have some self-respect."

Lou Yixiao's face flushed bright red instantly, and she felt dizzy. She quickly bowed and apologized repeatedly.

"It's okay, she's my friend," Ji Yun explained to the two of them, then smiled and greeted Lou Yixiao, "Hu Yifei has a bold and unrestrained personality, so just let loose and act naturally, you're perfect for her."

Lou Yixiao nodded vigorously, not daring to look at Ji Yun again.

She took a few deep breaths to cheer herself up, began to recall how she had rehearsed before, and, holding the scene clips given to her by the director, mustered her courage and began to deliver her lines.

Although she had never acted before and her personality and age didn't match, for some reason her domineering and savage tone, coupled with her disdainful gaze, inexplicably suited Hu Yifei.

She only performed two segments before Wei Zheng called a stop, lowered his head, and started ticking off the pieces.

Ji Yun knew she had gone too far, so she gave Lou Yixiao a smile.

Lou Yixiao couldn't see it. During her first audition, she thought she had been stopped because she hadn't acted well. She stood there helplessly, her face furrowed with nervousness.

……

When Lou Yixiao came to her senses, she didn't even know when she had left the room.

She carefully closed the door, then collapsed, leaning against the wall, panting, feeling somewhat down.

"Buzz," she picked up her phone and saw a text message from Ji Yun: "It's over, don't worry."

Lou Yixiao's heart felt like it was going to explode, and she almost jumped out of her skin.

His face revealed barely suppressed excitement.

She hadn't heard the director praise her at all, so it was probably her junior colleague who helped her pass the audition.

"What's wrong?" Chen Chichi walked over.

"No, no, I was just too nervous," Lou Yixiao waved her hands repeatedly.

She dared not reveal that her junior brother Ji Yun had been taking care of her in private.

She calmed herself down, suppressed the upturn of her lips, greeted Li Jinming and the others, and waited for them outside.

As I passed by Zheng Kai, I gave him a sympathetic look before leaving.

"?" Zheng Kai was completely confused. What did all that mean?

What happened next was even stranger.

Every person who went in or came out would cast a sympathetic glance at him as they passed by.

Zheng Kai was completely baffled by what he saw.

When he went inside and saw Ji Yun sitting in the main seat, he suddenly understood.

He looked at the group of people in front of him with a gloomy expression, realizing that he had come for nothing.

He gave completely irrelevant answers to even basic questions about his role, leaving the director and screenwriter blushing.

When it came time to audition for the role of Lu Ziqiao, he had completely given up, turning the dashing and debonair Lu Ziqiao into a rebellious and fiery young man.

The director only let him try one scene before stopping, saying that continuing would be a waste of film.

After Zheng Kai finished his audition, he didn't bow to express his gratitude as usual; he simply turned around and left.

Chen Chichi at the door tried to call him, but he pretended not to hear and left without turning his head.

Chen Chichi had no choice but to continue sending Zhao Ji to test Wan Yu.