Entertainment: Oh no, I've become the sect leader!

After Zou Chenchen left the field.

Rumors have started circulating online that there are new actors to be cast for "Wandering Blue Star," and that Xu Kong is only a tentative choice.

"According to insiders, the film was initially offered to Zou Chenchen, but he declined due to other commitments."

"I heard that Ding Wentao was chosen first."

"The information I received is that it's a different actor."

"I feel that Ding Wentao and Zou Chenchen are more suitable for the role than Xu Kong. After all, they started as actors, while Xu Kong is a singer."

"It's as if these two are much better actors than Xu Kong."

"Forget about their acting skills, just tell me if these two are actors or not, and whether Xu Kong is a singer or not."

"..."

Xu Kong, Fan Bing, and others ignored the outside world's reaction.

On the one hand, they are very busy and simply don't have the time.

On the other hand, if we pay attention to this matter, the other party will pester us relentlessly, which would be counterproductive.

Fortunately, whether it's Ding Wentao, Zou Chenchen, or other celebrities' teams, they all abide by the unspoken rules of the industry; they just stirred up some controversy.

Whether casual observers believe it or not is irrelevant; as long as the fans of these individuals believe it, that's enough.

The refined fanbase is the core of a wandering star.

Xu Yejing was a little annoyed by this kind of news.

There's no other reason than this!

Xu Kong's role as the protagonist can be said to have been bought for 150 million yuan.

Although according to the agreement, half of it, or 75 million, was to be lent to Xu Kong, she has actually paid the money herself.

One hundred and fifty million has been spent, and now all sorts of Tom, Dick, and Harry are trying to freeload off it?

When the wealthy woman got angry, it wasn't just a momentary outburst like Xu Kong's.

The public relations departments of Second Culture and Capital Culture immediately became busy.

The trending topics on Weibo and Douyin instantly became even more lively.

"have a look!"

Looking at the trending topics list after the Second Culture Public Relations Department joined the fray, Xu Kong casually remarked, "This kind of publicity effect is only possible because I didn't ask for a salary; otherwise, Director Fan would have given me extra money, wouldn't he?"

Liu Xia: "..."

No wonder Xu Kong is a top influencer; she never even thought about asking for more money.

It seems I still have a lot to learn from Xu Kong about making money. Constantly hoping for a raise from Xu Kong isn't going to work, Liu Xia thought to himself.

"Liu Xia," Xu Kong suddenly said.

"Brother Kong, what's wrong?" Liu Xia was a little nervous as Xu Kong's serious tone suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

"Is your family quite wealthy?" Xu Kong asked.

"Ah...it's alright." Liu Xia didn't know how to answer, so she awkwardly said, "Why is the flight attendant asking this?"

"I currently have about forty million in savings," Xu Kong honestly replied. "What kind of investment do you think I should do?"

Neither the original owner nor he had ever been this "rich".

The original owner was penalized because of the exorbitant breach of contract penalty, while he was penalized because he was a beast of burden.

So I have absolutely no experience in financial management.

"I don't know much about this either." Liu Xia breathed a sigh of relief: "My family buys houses, but the market has been falling in recent years, and we've lost quite a bit."

Before Xu Kong could reply, she continued, "Brother Kong, you can ask President Xu. She should know how to manage money."

Xu Yejing definitely knows how to manage money, but Xu Kong is a little embarrassed to ask her the question.

After all, the 75 million he invested in "The Wandering Earth" was borrowed from Xu Yejing.

Having money but not paying it back, and then using that money to ask for financial advice... that's a bit...unseemly.

However, Liu Xia did give him a hint: he could use the money he had to buy a house.

Even if the prices of high-end properties in prime locations fall, there is still a certain lower limit.

The only problem is that Xu Kong hasn't thought about where he wants to settle down in the future, so where he will buy a house is still unknown.

Because Shanghai is suitable for him to live when he is building his career, but it may not be suitable for his future "retirement" life.

Thinking about this...

Xu Kong took out his phone and started researching which city was suitable for a "retirement" lifestyle—it had to be slow-paced and have lots of beautiful women...

Then, before he could make a decision about whether to go to "Cecil" or "French Polynesia" after retirement, Fan Bing called.

"Teacher Xu, the preliminary preparations are all complete," Fan Bing said. "After reporting to General Manager Fang and General Manager Xu, and discussing it repeatedly with several producers, we've decided to start filming in September. What do you think?"

Filming is scheduled to begin in September. Based on the previously confirmed filming plan for "Wandering Blue Star," and considering the Spring Festival in between, it won't wrap up until March or April of next year at the earliest.

If all goes well, the 2028 Spring Festival might be brought to the big screen.

Xu Kong, who doesn't have many plans lately, naturally had no objections.

"I'm available anytime, Director Fan," Xu Kong replied. "I can join the crew as early as August."

Anyway, he doesn't get paid, so scheduling isn't an issue.

Furthermore, Liu Xia doesn't seem to have discussed any schedules with him recently.

After the start date was set, there was less than a month left before Xu Kong joined the crew.

We have to hurry up and stop this mess.

After joining the "Wandering Blue Star" team, Xu Kong had no intention of slacking off.

In this regard, he plans to learn from a certain superstar from his previous life. No matter whether the movies he made were bad or not, his professionalism was beyond question.

"Don't bother me these next few weeks unless something comes up." Xu Kong tossed a phone call to Liu Xia: "Also, let the company know that I'm going into seclusion to study the character of Liu Qi."

"Okay, flight attendant."

Liu Xia replied, but in her heart she thought that Xu Kong was really overthinking things.

In recent weeks, even if she wanted to bother Xu Kong and arrange a schedule for him, she hasn't received a suitable offer.

However, she did have a few endorsement deals, and she contacted the parties twice, but the progress was slowed down by Xu Yejing.

According to Xu Yejing, "Ultraman Tiga" is about to be broadcast.

Xu Kong's status might rise after the broadcast, and it won't be too late to talk about endorsements then.

Anyway, Xu Kong already has Pradar's endorsement deal, so there's no rush.

...

Early September.

Xu Kong, accompanied by Liu Xia, arrived at the Oriental Movie Metropolis in Qingdao.

Most of the ground scenes in "The Wandering Earth" will be filmed here.

Fan Bing hasn't decided on the filming location for the space scenes yet, but that's not really related to Xu Kong, so it doesn't matter.

The main members of the production crew arrived in Qingdao two days earlier than Xu Kong. They needed to prepare for the opening ceremony and press conference in advance.

Originally, Fan Bing did not want to hold this launch press conference.

But who can blame them when the crew has top star Xu Kong, rising star Liu Han, and award-winning actor He Guangfeng? They're all people who attract paparazzi.

Rather than being followed and photographed by paparazzi, it's better to just hold a press conference...