Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

At eight o'clock the next morning, Chen Chao arrived at the photography studio prepared by Li Ning on time.

Although both styles emphasize youthful vitality, this look is completely different from yesterday's. Today, Chen Chao is wearing a black fashionable sportswear provided by Li-Ning and has a neat and energetic hairstyle, making him look very refreshing.

Li Ning's GG concept has a more compelling story than the Pulse concept, but Chen Chao still thinks it's a bit outdated.

The basic plot is that he runs through the streets, through crowds, through subway stations, through parks, and finally stops at a basketball court at someone's urging, jumps up and dunks, and then gives the camera a confident smile after landing.

"Mr. Chen Chao, we can use a stunt double for the dunk scene." The director, who was discussing the filming details with Chen Chao, kindly reminded him, "That move requires a high level of jumping ability."

"I'll give it a try first. If it doesn't work, then you can arrange a stand-in for me." After stretching his body, Chen Chao said with a smile.

Although he wasn't a sports champion, after his rebirth, his physical abilities were greatly improved in all aspects, and dunking was not a difficult thing for him.

Due to the venue limitations, the first shot filmed was actually of Chen Chao receiving a pass from someone on the basketball court and immediately dunking the ball.

With the director's shout of "ACTION!", the extras playing basketball players began to move. After a series of struggles, seeing that they could not break through the enemy's encirclement, the teammates chose to pass the ball to Chen Chao outside the encirclement.

After receiving the pass, Chen Chao did not hesitate at all. He took a few big steps forward with the ball, jumped up at the free throw line, and his body drew a beautiful arc in the air before slamming the basketball into the basket with both hands.

"Clang!"

Upon landing, Chen Chao turned around and revealed a refreshing and bright smile. His entire set of movements was clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.

"Holy crap!" Seeing this, the director couldn't help but curse, standing up from behind the monitor. "Mr. Chen Chao, do you play basketball often?"

"I played basketball back in high school, just as an amateur," Chen Chao said with a smile and a wave of his hand. In fact, it had been almost two years since he last played basketball.

"You call that amateur level?!" Hearing Chen Chao's self-deprecating words, the director couldn't help but shake his head. "Your jumping height and hang time were almost on par with professional athletes! Cameraman, did you get that shot?"

"It's on camera, director! The footage is amazing!"

After filming the basketball court scene in one take, Chen Chao followed the filming team to various locations, including parks, subway stations, and streets, for further filming. By the time they finished filming and wrapped up, it was already past 5 p.m.

The reason we filmed so late today was mainly because the journey took too long. After removing their makeup and changing back into their own clothes, Chen Chao and his team parted ways with Li Ning's team and began their journey home.

"Boss, you've had a hard day! Mr. Ji sent a message saying that he has already arranged accommodation for you in Beijing, and he will pick you up from the airport tomorrow." After handing Chen Chao a latte as usual, Bai Chen started the car and said this.

"Okay, I understand." Taking a sip of his latte, savoring its rich milky aroma and smooth texture, Chen Chao felt much more awake.

Only then did he have time to pick up his phone and browse through it. The first thing he saw was a photo that Meng Ziyi had sent him, a selfie of her affectionately holding the two little ones, Chocolate and Snowball.

After replying with a thumbs-up emoji, Chen Chao began to consider another matter: the production budget for the new album. After all, renting a recording studio, as well as subsequent arrangement, mixing, mastering, and music video shooting, each item was a considerable expense.

After thinking for a moment, he sent a message to Ji Ran: "Brother Ji Ran, once the money from this endorsement arrives, we should prioritize using it for the production of the album. This is my first album, and we need to strive for perfection."

After sending the message to Ji Ran, Chen Chao looked up at Bai Chen through the reflection in the rearview mirror. "Brother Bai, could you please help me follow up on the progress of the payment for this endorsement? I should be able to use it for my album."

"Okay, but what's your album budget?"

"It's hard to say, it depends on the level of detail in post-production, but I feel it'll be indispensable." Facing Bai Chen's question, Chen Chao didn't hide anything, "Besides, I'm also planning to shoot a few music videos for this album, which will cost more for directing and post-production."

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Early on the morning of the 8th, Chen Chao, who had already packed his luggage, did not choose to wake Meng Ziyi, who was still sleeping, and quietly left the community, embarking on his journey to Beijing.

However, this time when he went to Beijing, it was just him and Su Wan. Bai Chen stayed here to follow up on the progress of the endorsement and to look for new endorsements.

As for his new pet Snowball, it was temporarily fostered by Meng Ziyi, since it was indeed inconvenient to carry it with him.

Security check, boarding, takeoff—during the two-hour flight, Chen Chao spent most of his time looking through the demos stored on his phone, going over the lyrics and arrangement frameworks of each song.

Two hours later, the plane landed on time at the Capital Airport. The weather in Beijing was very different from that in Shanghai. The sky was always gray and the air was dry and cold, typical of a northern winter. Chen Chao, who was used to the weather in the south, found it a little hard to adjust.

"Chao, over here!" Chen Chao heard Ji Ran's voice as soon as he stepped out of the airport exit.

"Li Ronghao's assistant just sent me a message saying that they are ready to go to the recording studio. After we put our luggage away at the hotel, we can go there directly." After meeting up with Ji Ran, Ji's manager began to fulfill his duties as a manager.

"The recording studio is in Chaoyang District, not far from your hotel. For this recording, Teacher Rong Hao brought his own personal arrangement team." While driving, Ji Ran explained the arrangements for the album recording to Chen Chao.

"As for the producer, just as you agreed before, it will be Mr. Li Ronghao himself. He said that he will be involved in the entire process of your album to ensure that it will not have the mistakes that newcomer albums usually make."

After listening to Ji Ran's account, Chen Chao nodded slightly, feeling more at ease.