From unemployment in crosstalk to top star in Chinese entertainment

After Yu Liang's performance, Zhang Songwen led the applause.

"That's right, Yu Liang has set a very good example for everyone."

Zhang Songwen's gaze swept over all the trainees present.

"Remember his state just now. Practice it yourselves a few times, put yourselves in the character's situation and think about how to perform."

After he finished speaking, he called a few more people up to demonstrate.

When it came to Zhang Ruonan's turn, Yu Liang subconsciously looked up.

This girl has a classic innocent, first-love face, with a rounded oval shape and a pair of almond-shaped eyes that are so clear they seem to hold water.

Natural double eyelids paired with full under-eye bags, and gently drooping eye corners, give off a slightly innocent and naive vibe.

Yu Liang made a judgment in his mind about this appearance—a face born to be an actor.

He suddenly thought that Huang Yao, Gao Qiqiang's adopted daughter in "The Storm," would be a good choice.

After Zhang Ruonan's performance, Zhang Songwen gave her a few comments, the gist of which was that she got the emotions right but lacked depth, and that she should go back and work on the pauses and breathing in her lines.

Yu Liang didn't say anything.

However, the way she jogged back to her seat after leaving the stage made Yu Liang raise an eyebrow slightly—why did she run like Ultraman?

"Okay, everyone take a break for a bit, we'll continue in fifteen minutes."

Zhang Songwen closed her lesson plan, picked up her thermos, and walked into the yard.

The classroom is a farmhouse in the suburbs of Beijing, which Zhang Songwen rented for living and as a performance studio.

Some frost-resistant flowers and plants were planted in the yard, and they didn't all wither in winter.

In the corner, there was a small vegetable shed, which Zhang Songwen built himself. In spring and summer, he would grow cucumbers and tomatoes, and in winter, only a few rows of cold-resistant green vegetables would remain.

Yu Liang followed him out. The outdoor air was dry and cold; he exhaled a puff of white breath and stood next to Zhang Songwen.

"Brother Songwen, your yard is really nice. Don't you have any clivia or anything?"

"We had one before," Zhang Songwen said, taking a sip of tea. "It got cold recently, and we forgot to bring it indoors. It froze to death."

Yu Liang clicked his tongue but didn't reply.

The two stood in the courtyard chatting. Yu Liang had been coming to class frequently lately and had become quite familiar with Zhang Songwen. Sometimes after class, they would grab a meal and chat over tea until dark before leaving.

But he hasn't said a word about "The Storm" yet.

After chatting for a bit about the vegetables in the yard, Yu Liang changed the subject, speaking casually as if they were having a casual conversation: "Brother Songwen, how many people does your training class recruit in a year?"

"It depends." Zhang Songwen didn't think much of it. "The large class is just the number of you guys, the small class is one term a year, with seven or eight students per term. Private lessons are fewer, only one or two a year."

Yu Liang nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He simply memorized those numbers in his mind.

He's already secured the script rights, but to bring this drama to fruition, he can't do it all on his own.

Production, promotion, and platform integration—none of these aspects can be handled independently by a third-tier actor.

So he submitted the project proposal to Xinli Media through Zhao Mingyuan, and waited for the company's investment decision.

Just then, I heard footsteps behind me.

Zhang Ruonan and her partner Sun Chenjun walked over one after the other. Sun Chenjun was holding a notebook and looked somewhat reserved.

He was a newcomer to the industry.

"Professor Yu Liang," he hesitated for a moment, then handed over the notebook, "could you please sign this for me?"

Yu Liang glanced at him; the young man's eyes held a genuine nervousness.

"We're about the same age." Yu Liang took the notebook. "Just call me brother."

Yu Liang opened the notebook and signed her name in a flourish.

Zhang Ruonan stood to the side, holding a pen and paper, and handed them over after Sun Chenjun finished signing.

Unlike Sun Chenjun, although she watched "Joy of Life", she was not a fan of the drama, but rather a fan of Yu Liang's appearance.

Especially when Zhang Ruoyun and Yu Liang appeared together, Zhang Ruoyun, who was jokingly called a country bumpkin from Danzhou by the audience, stood in front of Yu Liang with a simple and honest face. Even though he was the male lead, he was overshadowed by the supporting character Yu Liang.

As for Guo Qilin, needless to say. In one episode, Yu Liang and Guo Qilin appeared in the same scene, prompting numerous comments on the screen:

These two standing together look like they're doing a stand-up comedy routine; it's a bit distracting.

It feels like Guo's family's three-wheeled motorcycle is competing against a Ferrari.

Actually, Guo Qilin's appearance isn't that bad, but Yu Liang's face is just too authoritative.

Do you think Guo Qilin's decision to go solo and stop performing crosstalk was due to Yu Liang?

[In that sense, Yu Liang really went too far; it was practically relentless pursuit!]

[Don't be ridiculous, upstairs. Yu Liang was handsome back then, but he hadn't lost weight yet, so his looks weren't that outrageous.]

With Yu Liang's appearance, this TV series, which was originally a male-centric drama, unexpectedly attracted many female viewers.

Even some female fans who enjoy shipping men and women treat the friendship between Fan Xian and Teng Zijing as a BL (Boys' Love) novel.

Similarly, the popularity of "Joy of Life" also attracted many male fans to leave comments under Yu Liang's comment section:

[Bro, when are you going offline? My wife hasn't slept with me for days because she's been watching your show.]

Bro, you should go work on ships. The Chinese entertainment industry won't tolerate someone like you.

Ever since I became a fan of yours, I feel like Kris Wu is some kind of old duck performing for money whenever I see him.

Honey, for you, I even imprinted your name on my digital boyfriend. But my mom eventually found out about our relationship, and if nothing unexpected happens, you should be my stepfather now.

Zhang Ruonan felt a strange sense of shame whenever she thought of Yu Liang's comment section.

She looked up at Yu Liang, "Teacher Yu Liang... could you sign one for me too?"

Yu Liang glanced at her and nodded.

He took the paper and pen and signed his name.

-

After class, Yu Liang received a message from his agent, Zhou Jiajia, asking him to go door-to-door canvassing with Guo Qilin and Li Xiaoran.

The so-called "building sweeping" refers to celebrities or film crews personally going to the buildings of entertainment media and internet companies such as iQiyi, Youku, Tencent, and Sina, entering office floors, and interacting face-to-face with ordinary employees and entertainment editors to promote their products.

This is a routine promotional activity for the drama, and it's a fixed part of the overall promotional schedule.

The goal is to curry favor with entertainment editors and platform operators so that your show will get more recommendations and trending spots in the future. By having company employees casually post on WeChat Moments and Douyin, the show's popularity will be spread for free.

By engaging in down-to-earth business practices, they can win over casual observers and generate buzz.

At this time, there weren't many people promoting their dramas or movies on Douyin.

So Yu Liang didn't want to participate, but it was a mandatory task stipulated in the original contract.

He couldn't help but send Zhou Jiajia a message complaining, "Jiajia, can we not go? Or should I make a video and promote it on Douyin?"

To my surprise, Zhou Jiajia replied, "I have to go. But regarding promotion, you and I are on the same page. The company also plans to do some promotion on Douyin to test the effect, but we need to use your account, since you have a lot of followers."

Yu Liang couldn't help but reply, "? The contract we signed didn't include accounts on platforms like Douyin."

Zhou Jiajia replied with an eye-roll emoji, "Don't worry, the company said the finance department will handle the payment for the marketing expenses."

Yu Liang was about to reply "okay" when Zhou Jiajia added, "But it has to be paid into the company account, and we'll split it 50/50."

Yu Liang remained silent.

But he still came out ahead.

A short while later, Li Xiaoran called to tell him that she had arrived at the village entrance.

Yu Liang got into the car and habitually leaned against the passenger seat. Li Xiaoran was wearing a black business suit today, her hair was up, revealing the white lines of her neck.

She was clearly dressed up on purpose.

"Did you wear this for door-to-door sales?" Yu Liang asked.

"Otherwise what?" Li Xiaoran started the car. "It's rare to be in the same frame as you for work, I can't let you outshine me."

Yu Liang smiled but didn't reply.

"How did your talk with Zhang Songwen go?" Li Xiaoran asked.

"We haven't talked about it yet." Yu Liang leaned back in his chair, looking out the window at the roadside trees receding into the distance. "I want to wait before I bring it up."

"What are you waiting for?"

"We'll wait for Xinli's investment decision," Yu Liang said. "If we talk now, it's me begging them; if we wait until the project is approved, it's me giving them a chance."

Li Xiaoran glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"You've got a clever plan."

"You can't do it without being good at it." Yu Liang rubbed his temples. "The script for the project 'Raging Storm' is a good script, but whether it can succeed depends on the casting. For the role of Gao Qiqiang, I only have Zhang Songwen in mind."

"Any news from Xinli?"

"Not yet," Yu Liang said, "but I'm not in a hurry."

He said this with great certainty.

Li Xiaoran didn't press for an answer, but Yu Liang knew that Xinli Media had just signed a performance-based agreement with Yuewen Group, a subsidiary of Tengxun, and needed good scripts to boost its performance.

And "Raging Waves" was a hit that had been proven in his previous life. Xin Li would come knocking on his door sooner or later; all he had to do was wait.

"By the way," Yu Liang changed the subject, "how's the personal studio thing going?"

"The paperwork is almost done," Li Xiaoran said. "It should be completed in the next couple of days."

Yu Liang nodded.

He asked Li Xiaoran's agent to help him set up a personal studio. His goal was simple: to sign Zhang Songwen to his company through the personal studio.

He attended Zhang Songwen's training course partly to improve his acting skills and partly to understand Zhang Songwen's current life situation.

Through Yu Liang's understanding of Zhang Songwen over the past few days, she learned that his current income mainly comes from training courses. One-on-one private tutoring costs 5000 yuan per lesson, totaling 100,000 to 150,000 yuan per person for six months, or two lessons a year. Small group short-term training courses cost 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per person. There is one course per year, with eight people per course.

Larger classes are cheaper, but they're more like basic trial classes, like the ones Yu Liang takes.

The process takes a bit longer, but it's more of a two-way selection process because Zhang Songwen doesn't accept just any student; he has three principles for not accepting students.

Moreover, he teaches partly to generate revenue, and partly to let directors and production crews see his students' acting skills so that they would focus on him, thus increasing his fame through this "indirect approach".

Indeed, this was the case. After Zhang Songwen became a sensation with "The Storm" in his previous life, he did not continue to run training classes.

Even when I do get invited, it's usually through guest lectures by universities.

In other words, Zhang Songwen can earn 60 yuan a year from teaching, and that's an extra amount Yu Liang estimates.

As for filming fees, they are even less.

When Zhang Songwen was filming "The Storm", his salary was only around 35 yuan.

Zhang Yi, who was in the same production at the same time, received 2000 million, while Lin Jiachuan, who played Tang Xiaolong, received 50 at the time.

At that time, his performance in "The Cloud Made of Rain in the Peak" earned him only 8 to 12 yuan.

A cameo appearance in "Blue Heart Grand Theatre" would cost between 5 and 8.

His salary was usually a package deal, mainly because he was not signed with an agency at the time and often found himself without any acting opportunities.

But after he became a sensation in 2023 with "The Storm," his salary for a single film rose to tens of millions.

This is why Yu Liang considered signing Zhang Songwen.

The implication is self-evident: it reflects both commercial considerations and a genuine appreciation for Zhang Songwen.

In his previous life, there were many people like Yu Liang. For example, Zhao Liying signed a full contract with Hairun Media and then established her own Zhao Liying Studio, signing with Jin Han. Mingdao signed a full contract with Qiao Jieli Entertainment Company and then established Hengxing Entertainment, signing with Xu Kaicheng.

The car passed through the toll station and headed towards the city center.

Winter days are short and darkness comes early, so the streetlights came on ahead of time, their rays flashing past the car window and casting flickering light on Li Xiaoran's profile.

As Yu Liang thought about the trivial matters of the past few days, she couldn't help but feel a little tired.

He rolled down the car window to let in some fresh air, and the cold wind rushed in, dissipating the warmth inside the car.

His left hand naturally landed on Li Xiaoran's leg.

Li Xiaoran looked down at the hand, then looked up at him.

"Are you tired?" she asked.

"A little," Yu Liang said with her eyes closed.

Li Xiaoran didn't say anything, but simply took his fingers off her leg, put them back next to the gear shift, and then gripped the steering wheel again.

"Sit still," she said.

His tone was flat, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Yu Liang opened his eyes, looked at her, chuckled, obediently withdrew his hand, and continued to lean back in his chair.

"Sister Xiaoran, let me stay at your place tonight."

"What? You think you'll behave yourself if you come to my place?"

"Me? Don't you know? The only time you'll expect me to behave is when I'm hung on the wall."

Yu Liang sighed.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of that little girl, Wang Churan.

"Sister Xiaoran, did Wang Churan go door-to-door today?"

Li Xiaoran glanced at Yu Liang. "What? You've got your eye on it again?"

"How come I heard that you two went out to dinner together the day before she finished filming?"

Li Xiaoran gave Yu Liang a meaningful look, and she emphasized the word "dinner".

After all, her night with Yu Liang also started with dinner.

"No, you knew about this? Who told you?"

Yu Liang, who had been lying down, immediately sat up.

"Could it be Guo Qilin?" Yu Liang guessed, but then shook his head.

He knew Guo Qilin very well; Dalin wasn't the type to gossip.

Li Xiaoran rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, stop wrongly accusing Guo Qilin. It was that silly girl Wang Churan who was worried about you that day and called the doctor on set to say you had diarrhea. Then the whole crew found out the next day."

Oh, I see.

Yu Liang nodded and leaned back in his chair.

"You're always wanting to have your cake and eat it too."

Li Xiaoran glanced at him, then said indifferently, "I really don't know what Guo Degang was thinking back then, making you Guo Qilin's partner. Aren't you afraid of corrupting his son?"