Chapter 458

"Do I need to remind you again how to act later?"

Zhou Ping'an looked back at Ma Zhiyuan sitting in the back.

Ma Zhiyuan was sitting in the back row, looking down at his phone. Hearing Zhou Ping'an's words, his thumb paused on the screen.

Ever since the news broke that he was the father of the child in Xu Qinyin's womb, Ma Zhiyuan's life had undergone earth-shaking changes.

His popularity plummeted, he was scolded everywhere, many collaborations fell through, and he lost quite a few previous endorsements.

Zhou Ping'an's face looked ugly whenever he looked at him.

Ma Zhiyuan's incident dragged his own income down with it. And just at the beginning of this year, Zhou Ping'an had lost Li Zhibai because he "wanted to have his cake and eat it too."

Zhou Ping'an could almost imagine Li Zhibai's private "Retribution!"

The statements made by Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai on Weibo had stomped Ma Zhiyuan, who was already in hot water, even harder.

This time, Ma Zhiyuan didn't even have the courage to respond.

He had lost his biggest reliance—his fans.

Ma Zhiyuan didn't speak, but Zhou Ping'an knew he had taken it in.

Zhou Ping'an said: "According to the agreement we reached with Xu Qinyin, you have to pay her 500,000 yuan in child support every month. If you can't pull yourself together as soon as possible, no one will pay this child support for you."

Ma Zhiyuan frowned slightly.

"How else do you want me to pull myself together? I've taken every job you've arranged."

"Taking it is one thing, making others satisfied is another," Zhou Ping'an said. "If you continue to work with your previous attitude, fewer and fewer people will be willing to work with you in the future."

Ma Zhiyuan said: "What attitude?"

"The attitude of being arrogant and stuck-up," Zhou Ping'an looked at him coldly. "Do you think you are still that high-popularity idol? Without the support of fans, all your work is begged from others by me. How did you do it? Last time during the shoot, you were dissatisfied with the clothes the show team arranged for you, threw a tantrum, and insisted on changing them. You made such a scene over a piece of clothing. What kind of attitude do you call that?"

Ma Zhiyuan: "I don't have the support of fans now. If I'm bullied like this, what about later? Will everyone know I'm easy to bully and can be brushed off at will? Didn't you see what kind of clothes they prepared for me? They were so ugly that if I wore them to record the show, I would have immediately trended on Weibo for being ugly."

Zhou Ping'an: "Can't you talk properly? Can't you tell me and let me negotiate with them? You had to throw a tantrum in public and let everyone see you get angry over a piece of clothing? This almost got exposed online."

Ma Zhiyuan: "I just want to let these dog-eyed people see clearly that I'm not easy to bully. Do they really think I'm a tiger falling to the plains and being bullied by dogs?"

Zhou Ping'an sighed.

Ma Zhiyuan: "Regretting choosing me and giving up on Li Zhibai, right? Just go find him and bring him back. You don't have to force yourself to continue being my agent."

"Is your brain squeezed by the door or were you reincarnated as a pig?" Zhou Ping'an was so angry he almost jumped out of his chair. "What are you to be here blabbering! Do you believe I'll just throw you here and never care again? Let's see what money you have to pay the 500,000 yuan in child support every month!"

Ma Zhiyuan's face turned iron-blue.

"Do you think the little money you earned is enough for you to spend for a few years? I'm telling you, there are still several brands' breach of contract fees you haven't paid yet!" Zhou Ping'an took a deep breath, calming his irritable emotions. "Ma Zhiyuan, let me make it clear again, don't challenge my patience. I'm still willing to manage you and struggle with you because I still care about a little bit of sentiment and want to pull you up. If you continue like this, when my patience is worn out one day, you can go beg for food on the street yourself."

The car fell into an eerie silence.

The driver seemed not to have heard the hurricane-like argument happening beside him at all, his hands steadily holding the steering wheel.

"For this drama, the first choice for this role was Ma Zhiyuan, but he didn't want to take it, so it came to me. But regardless of that, I read the script, liked the story, and liked the character very much."

Yan Liang sat opposite Director Chen Mofan and spoke out the story behind his taking the drama without any avoidance.

"A drama about fraud, let alone acting in it, I haven't even seen one before, so I feel very fresh," Yan Liang said. "In the past few years, my path as an actor has been quite lucky. Starting from Yan He asking me to act in *Friends*, I had a representative work, and then I came into contact with a drama like *The Summit*."

Director Chen Mofan was confirmed only after the actors were determined.

He listened to Yan Liang talk about his situation seriously and nodded from time to time.

"I didn't have confidence when I started acting. Director, you should be able to understand. Yan He doesn't need to be said, Li Zhibai is also a person with great talent in acting. If you haven't seen his drama, you can go see it. Although he hasn't won awards like Yan He, I think it's only a matter of time before he wins awards," Yan Liang said. "Beside them, I often have a feeling of inferiority, feeling that I can't act. However, later, I felt there was no need to compare with them. I will go all out for every role I play, so I believe every role I play is also very good."

Chen Mofan said: "I was quite surprised that you were willing to act in *The Summit*. I heard your salary for this drama is not high."

Yan Liang: "Maybe it was influenced by Yan He and Zhibai. Whether the salary is high or low, I don't care too much."

"Do you have any hope of winning an award or something through this drama?" Chen Mofan asked.

Yan Liang: "Winning an award? I'm certainly willing if there is one, but I won't hold this idea. I'm not a genius actor. I need to do a lot of preparation to polish a role. I can only be a clumsy bird flying first. I haven't acted well yet, so I won't consider winning awards."

"You really surprised me," Chen Mofan said. "Not long ago, I also met Yin Xincheng, who also acted in *Friends*. Including the few young male actors who were more popular that I met before, you are the first one I've seen who is clearly quite popular but still puts his posture so low."

Yan Liang smiled and said: "There is no way, Director. I don't have the capital to be arrogant. Of course, I also hope that I can sit in front of you with full confidence and say don't worry, leave the role to me, absolutely no problem. But I can't. I can only tell you my situation truthfully, and then ask you to help me and guide me to complete this role."

Chen Mofan nodded.

He asked: "In this drama, the contrast and transformation before and after you are quite large, especially later, the scenes after you turn black, may have a not small impact on your idol image. Are you mentally prepared?"

"Well, I'm prepared. I didn't have much of an idol image to begin with," Yan Liang said with a smile. "My agent often forgets that I am still an idol."

Seeing Yan Liang say these words with a bright smile, Chen Mofan was quite touched in his heart.

Last time he cooperated with Xu Yiren on the movie *The Home I Haven't Returned to for a Long Time*, although the movie performed very well, he suffered a lot from cooperating with Xu Yiren. This popular actress had too many problems. She was late and left early for filming, didn't accept being ugly, and always complained that the shooting time was too long, affecting her rest. If it weren't for the fact that Xu Yiren's acting was indeed good when filming, Chen Mofan would have been unable to endure it long ago.

Despite this, Chen Mofan also silently made a decision that he would not cooperate with Xu Yiren if he could in the future.

In the entertainment industry, there are quite a few star artists with prince disease and princess disease. Usually, when meeting at events, cocktail parties, or even privately, it is hard to see. People can't pretend for three days, but they can pretend for half a day.

This time Yan Liang came to Jiangguang to meet him in advance to chat, and this attitude already made Chen Mofan feel much better in his heart, not to mention this meeting and chat today, which made Chen Mofan have a few more good feelings about Yan Liang.

"Huang Tai, very happy to see you again!" Zhou Ping'an greeted enthusiastically, shaking hands with Huang Tai of Long Yan Film Industry. "Thank you for taking the time to see us. I know you must be very busy. Zhizhi just returned from the Northeast a while ago. This time he brought two boxes of old ginseng specially purchased by someone there. Zhizhi."

Ma Zhiyuan raised a smile at the corner of his mouth, took the gift box in his hand, and said to Huang Tai: "Hello Huang Tai, I am Ma Zhiyuan."

Huang Tai's assistant took the gift box from Ma Zhiyuan's hand and put it aside.

Huang Tai looked at Ma Zhiyuan with a smile and asked: "You are even more handsome in person than in the image. No wonder you are so popular with young girls."

Zhou Ping'an said with a smile: "I said so too. I have always told him to make good use of his advantages and don't always want to transform into a strength-based actor. He is clearly an idol-based foundation."

Huang Tai immediately said: "It is a good thing that young people are willing to improve themselves. You have to encourage this spirit of his."

"Haha, also, listen to you." Zhou Ping'an chatted with Huang Tai.

Only then did they sit down.

"Huang Tai, regarding the movie *Umbrella Girl* we discussed before, although Zhizhi hasn't acted much before, judging from the script, it is still very suitable for this role. He also wants to try the path of an actor," Zhou Ping'an said. "I don't know if the male lead has been decided yet?"

Huang Tai said with a smile: "That drama, that drama has already decided on the actors. We found Liu Zefan, and we signed the contract last week."

"Liu Zefan?" Zhou Ping'an was a bit surprised. "Hasn't he never acted in a movie before?"

Huang Tai nodded and looked at Ma Zhiyuan, asking: "Has Zhizhi acted in a movie before?"

Ma Zhiyuan had never acted in one either.

Zhou Ping'an subconsciously wanted to say that Liu Zefan could not compare with Ma Zhiyuan.

It was indeed the case. Although Liu Zefan was also popular, compared with a top idol like Ma Zhiyuan, he was still a cut behind.

When the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back in time.

If Ma Zhiyuan hadn't had that incident, they wouldn't have to come here to beg others.

Huang Tai said: "However, I have another project on hand. There is a role that is quite suitable for Zhizhi, but it is not the lead. Can Zhizhi accept playing a supporting role?"

Ma Zhiyuan's face almost collapsed directly.

Zhou Ping'an knew him well enough and immediately looked at him, giving him a wink.

Only then did Ma Zhiyuan maintain the smile on his face.

"Let me play a supporting role? Are you crazy? Let me go and be a supporting role for their newcomer?"

As soon as he got on the car, Ma Zhiyuan glared at Zhou Ping'an angrily.

"You still told her to consider it? What is there to consider? When did I, Ma Zhiyuan, need to play a supporting role for others?"

"If you hadn't gotten someone pregnant, you wouldn't have to," Zhou Ping'an said bluntly.

Ma Zhiyuan was so angry that his face turned red.

He clenched his fists and said: "I won't play a supporting role."

"It's not you picking others now, but others picking you," Zhou Ping'an said. "Do you think there is anyone else willing to give you a chance? Do you know what you have done? Your fans are dropping out on a large scale. Why do you have the right to play the lead?"

Ma Zhiyuan said: "Let those who say they want to drop out drop out. I don't care. I have so many fans. Even if half of them drop out, the remaining half is still more than that guy Liu Zefan! Looking for Liu Zefan to star, hehe, wait for it to flop."

Zhou Ping'an looked at Ma Zhiyuan with great disgust.

Ma Zhiyuan is the kind of person who was too smooth before, became a top idol overnight, and has been held by the company and fans ever since, completely unaware of what his situation is. However, it was still too early for Zhou Ping'an to give up on Ma Zhiyuan now. Just having a child, just sleeping without taking responsibility, just dropping a batch of fans—Ma Zhiyuan actually didn't say wrong. Despite so many vicious incidents, he still has a group of very loyal fans with high stickiness.

Ma Zhiyuan's commercial value is still there—it's just that his commercial image has become negative.

Those who care about their brand image naturally stay as far away from him as possible and do not cooperate at all.

However, if you care more about popularity and fame at the current stage, then cooperating with Ma Zhiyuan, such as doing a business promotion for him, or conducting a live broadcast, the effect is better than those popular anchors.

Because in addition to Ma Zhiyuan's own fans, a large group of black fans will come upon hearing the news, and the brand popularity will soar.

Variety shows are even more so.

For many shows, they don't have their own traffic and must create some topics to stand out. Artists like Ma Zhiyuan who bring their own topics and hot searches are the most welcome.

Besides, the most critical thing is that what Ma Zhiyuan did did not touch on issues of principle and did not touch the bottom line. Maybe after a few months, when this wave of wind passes, Ma Zhiyuan's popularity might slowly recover. Artists like Ma Zhiyuan who have reached the top of the industry, as long as they are not banned, are always "a lean camel is bigger than a horse" and can still be plucked for several years. Maybe in these few years, he will become popular again because of some opportunity.

Zhou Ping'an just needs to constantly suppress Ma Zhiyuan's arrogance and make him clearly realize what his situation is now.

Ma Zhiyuan actually doesn't have a particularly clear understanding until now.

Star Entertainment Company Building.

After a black nanny car drove over, many fans gathered on the first floor immediately raised their necks to look. When they saw Maxine's Wei Zhuoran, Qu Yousong, Jiang Bai, and Chen Jing getting off the car one by one, they immediately let out screams and shouts.

Several artists hurried into the company building under the escort of bodyguards.

No one stopped.

Lin Suyang was waiting for them at the elevator entrance. Seeing them coming, he revealed a smile.

"Yesterday's performance was very successful," Lin Suyang clapped with a smile and said: "The organizer is very satisfied with the effect."

Maxine performed commercially in Jinkou yesterday, and the scene was crowded with people, almost canceling the event due to safety issues.

Wei Zhuoran put one hand in his trouser pocket, smiled, and said: "Brother Suyang, arrange less work for us later. We have been rushing to announcements every day this month, very tired."

Lin Suyang said: "I will try my best to arrange for you to rest later. You have indeed worked hard for these two months, and there are too many announcements. Go up, President Ma is waiting for you."

Wei Zhuoran nodded.

Lin Suyang brought the Maxine members to Ma Zhongquan's office, and he came out immediately.

Ma Zhongquan wanted to show his friendly and caring side as a leader in front of Maxine, so it was naturally inconvenient for him, the agent, to be there.

After Lin Suyang came out, he sent a message to Li Zhibai, asking: Have you left for the airport?

Li Zhibai replied: Just finished, haven't got on the car yet.

Lin Suyang: It's in time, let the driver drive steadily, don't worry. If it is really delayed, there is another flight an hour later.

Li Zhibai replied with a "Good" word.

Lin Suyang has always been very satisfied with the cooperation with Li Zhibai.

Compared with Ma Zhiyuan, Li Zhibai is really much better.

Lin Suyang doesn't understand why Zhou Ping'an chose Ma Zhiyuan and gave up Li Zhibai. In Lin Suyang's eyes, Zhou Ping'an is purely brain-damaged.

Zhou Ping'an probably regrets his intestines now.

Ma Zhiyuan is not good, Zhou Ping'an is not happy, Lin Suyang is very happy.

In the past few years, Star Entertainment, this company, can be said to have entered the fast lane of development.

Just Lu Yan He, Li Zhibai, Ma Zhiyuan, Yan Liang, Wei Zhuoran and others occupy half of the country's popular young actors.

Other brokerage companies may not have one young male artist of this level, but Star Entertainment has popped up a basket.

This has also made many brokerage companies start their own trainee plans.

Everyone summarizes Star Entertainment's successful experience and feels that there is a place very worthy of their learning, that is, broadcasting seeds, and there are always a few that can grow.

Hundreds of trainees are also a feature of Star Entertainment.

He went downstairs to buy coffee.

Li Zhibai will come back tonight, and he has to go to the airport to pick him up.

Unexpectedly, he met Ma Zhiyuan and Zhou Ping'an in the elevator.

Lin Suyang glanced at them, the corners of his mouth curled up subconsciously, and he was too lazy to act.

Ma Zhiyuan saw him, and his face turned black immediately.

Zhou Ping'an was expressionless.

Lin Suyang picked up his phone and sent a message to Li Zhibai, voice.

"Zhibai, just eat something on the plane to pad your stomach. I have already booked a seat. A new Italian restaurant opened on Chunming Road. Let's try it together. I will pick you up at the airport later, and we will talk about the work plan after filming Director Liu Bige's new film tonight."

The joy, relaxation, and wantonness in Lin Suyang's voice were as if he were the only one in the elevator.

Ma Zhiyuan and Zhou Ping'an's faces were even darker.

Of course, the darker their faces were, the brighter the smile on Lin Suyang's face was.

People are not afraid of seeing enemies, but they are afraid of seeing enemies when they are down, especially when the enemies are still incomparably glorious.

After Lin Suyang went out of the elevator, when only Zhou Ping'an and Ma Zhiyuan were left in the elevator, Zhou Ping'an looked at Ma Zhiyuan and asked: "Do you know what your situation is in the eyes of others now? Even Lin Suyang can mock you to your face."

Ma Zhiyuan had a black face and didn't speak.

"That film of Long Yan Film Industry, you must take it," Zhou Ping'an said without question. "If you want to pose, wait until you stand firm again. Before that, either you listen to me, or you change another agent."

Ma Zhiyuan looked at Zhou Ping'an angrily.

Zhou Ping'an said: "I'm serious."

Ma Zhiyuan took a deep breath, "Whatever you want!"

Zhou Ping'an heard this and curled his lips slightly.

If you have the ability, don't say "whatever you want." If you dare to say "change if you want" at this time, that counts as your toughness.

Zhou Ping'an complained about Ma Zhiyuan in his heart.

"At present, we have received more than 500 short films for registration. Excluding those that look like making up the numbers, there are only 30 or so effective films. We have only seen three that we think are not bad and have merit."

Chen Siqi shrugged helplessly at Lu Yan He.

She was talking about the "Accumulation Plan" initiated before.

Lu Yan He said: "Actually, it is not easy for you to find one or two potential director candidates a year."

Chen Siqi said: "No, no, the standard of the films we have seen that we think are not bad and have merit is not as high as you think."

Lu Yan He said: "Have these films been launched on Arctic Light?"

"Originally prepared to go online, but the quality of the short films received so far makes us dare not let them go online. If everyone sees that the level of those who come to sign up for the competition is this level, those who are truly capable and watching may not come," Chen Siqi had a headache. "Sure enough, for this kind of high-cost competition, the most difficult thing is to attract capable participants."

Lu Yan He said: "Mainly, I also overestimated the situation. I thought there were many people in the industry who wanted an opportunity. For them, it is not difficult to film a ten-minute short film. After all, as long as they enter the top three, they can get funds to officially film a movie. I thought this reward was enough to attract them."

Chen Siqi said: "Of course, we can also comfort ourselves that those who have filmed good films don't want to send them over so quickly. Anyway, there are still two months before the deadline. They can continue to polish and improve, and they can also see other people's works before deciding whether to send them to us."

Lu Yan He: "We can't hope to receive a few good works at the final deadline. If we don't receive even one in the end, then this 'Accumulation Plan' can almost be sentenced to death."

Chen Siqi asked: "Do you have any ideas?"

Lu Yan He shook his head and said: "Not for the time being, but I will call a few people I know to ask if they are interested in participating. In fact, every crew I film with has many people who are constantly accumulating strength in various crews, just for the sake of being a director in the future."

"Sigh, different lines are like mountains," Chen Siqi cried and laughed. "Indeed, we also overestimated ourselves, but fortunately, Arctic Light has arranged for several young directors they trained to prepare for the competition. In the end, it won't be that the top three cannot be selected. By then, they will take the funds to film, which can be regarded as Arctic Light being self-sufficient."

Lu Yan He heard the unwillingness in Chen Siqi's words.

Of course, working so hard to make such a plan is not to help Arctic Light Video train directors.

Chen Siqi still wants to seriously develop the *Jump Up* story library through this plan and deepen the connection with the film and television circle.

Chen Siqi hopes to provide more targeted help to Lu Yan He when he needs it in the future through this plan.

"Forget it, don't talk about this, look back and see if there are any other ways to think about it," Chen Siqi said. "Next semester will be senior year, you don't even have a course, I still have a compulsory course arranged in the last semester, very annoying."

"Have your elective credits been completed?"

"Well, it has been completed," Chen Siqi said. "Next semester, there is only one course per week. Because of that course, I must continue to stay in school, but it is definitely much better than before. I don't have to rush to catch a plane or high-speed rail, and I can be a little more calm when going on business trips to other places."

Lu Yan He asked: "Then where are you going to put *Jump Up* after graduation?"

Chen Siqi said: "It must be back to Yuming, but I plan to set up an office in Jiangguang. Over the past few years, a lot of resources and network have been accumulated there. It is a pity to give it up. However, our *Jump Up* is still a company that tends to be cultural media. Whether it is magazine publishing, promotion and marketing, or our self-media, the resources in Yuming are definitely richer. The best resources in the country are basically concentrated in this area."

"Then aren't you going to rent an office building?" Lu Yan He asked.

Chen Siqi said: "I plan to buy a detached house in the suburbs as an office location for everyone to work together. It is really unnecessary for our company to rent in the CBD where every inch of land is expensive, wasting money. Our base camp is the magazine. The main revenue sector is currently magazine and self-media advertising. Film and television dramas and other promotion and marketing, to be honest, look lively, because there is no mature team that can operate independently, and it is currently difficult to stand alone."

Lu Yan He asked: "Buying a detached house in the suburbs is not cheap, right?"

"It's not cheap, but that is also the asset of *Jump Up*, which counts as investment and does not depreciate," Chen Siqi said. "I asked someone to inquire. A small detached house of more than 300 square meters, plus a yard, a better one is about 15 million."

15 million in cash, *Jump Up* really doesn't have it on the account.

In the past few years, *Jump Up* and self-media have made a lot of money, but the annual expenditure is also not small. A team of more than 100 people, just raising this team, the annual human cost is eight figures. *Jump Up* is developing too fast, and most of the money earned is used for expansion.

Lu Yan He asked: "Then what do you plan to do with this money?"

Chen Siqi said: "The company account can take out about 5 million. For the rest, I will pay a little, and then ask you to pay a little—you are also a major shareholder. The rest is to find a bank loan. And, according to the revenue capability of our *Jump Up* now, we borrow about 5 million, and it can be paid off in one to two years if it is fast, and three years is enough if it is slow. I have calculated this account. Compared with the rent of our office space in the city, the interest on bank loans is more cost-effective."

Lu Yan He nodded.

With their scale, if they want to rent an office building in the city, not to mention the good location, they can't afford it at all. In a worse location, the rent must be 2-3 million at the bottom, plus the higher water, electricity, and property costs of commercial housing, easily hundreds of thousands are spent.

Lu Yan He understands this economic account, although he doesn't understand the details.

Lu Yan He said: "Why don't I pay the remaining 10 million first? This way, I don't have to take out a bank loan."

Lu Yan He has become an invisible little rich man over the past few years, and 10 million is really not much pressure for him.

*Jump Up* is his own base camp, and he is willing to pay this money, not sending it to someone else's house.

It is also his own asset.

It is nothing more than moving from the left pocket to the right pocket.

Chen Siqi said: "Forget it, I see that you have a lot of things on your side, and you have laid out more than me. You are about to graduate. Don't you buy a house yourself? If you want to buy a house, you definitely won't buy a small house, right? With your work rhythm, you definitely need a professional logistics team to help you manage these things in your life. There are many places to use money. Don't smash so much into *Jump Up*. Besides, we are not really tight and have nothing. Also, Yan He, the company account is the company account, and the personal account is the personal account. If one day *Jump Up* really goes bankrupt, then we can only save it if we can, and we can't go to the doctor in a hurry if we can't save it."

Finance is the easiest to get complicated.

Chen Siqi doesn't want Lu Yan He's personal finance to get involved in the complicated relationship with *Jump Up*'s finance. No one can guarantee what the situation of *Jump Up* will be in the future. In case—of course, it is just in case, in case *Jump Up* goes bankrupt in three months due to some force majeure factors, then the 10 million Lu Yan He paid has nowhere to go. To put it ugly, with a bank loan, the company goes bankrupt, and the bank cannot ask Lu Yan He to bear the relevant debts personally. The loan is a company act. The bank's review of the loan considers the company's profitability. The essence is actually the bank's revenue project—and as long as it is a project, there is risk.

Chen Siqi feels that there is no need to transfer so many risks to Lu Yan He alone. ===== CHAPTER 459 =====