Chapter 459: Happy events make people feel refreshed

In the evening, Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi had dinner at a newly opened restaurant.

The restaurant specifically sent an invitation to *Jump Up*, inviting them to come and taste it.

On the *Jump Up* self-media channel, there is a special food review, which has a lot of influence, and they often receive invitations from restaurants.

When the two were halfway through eating, Chen Siqi's eyes suddenly made a "huh" sound after seeing a scene at the door.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yan He asked.

Chen Siqi said: "I saw Yu Jiang."

"Huh?" Lu Yan He subconsciously wanted to turn his head to look.

"Don't turn your head," Chen Siqi stopped Lu Yan He. "She also made an appointment with someone else."

"Who did she make an appointment with?"

"Yin Xincheng," Chen Siqi said.

Lu Yan He was a bit surprised, "Really?"

Yin Xincheng is a male actor in *Friends*. He just met Yin Xincheng on the show *Young Days*.

Chen Siqi nodded: "There are others, I guess it's their assistant, but I'm not sure if it's Yin Xincheng. He is wearing sunglasses and a hat, I'm not sure."

Lu Yan He: "I'll take a look later."

"However, how can Yu Jiang have the heart to come out to eat at this time? *Flowers on the Stars* will be released this Friday," Chen Siqi said.

Qixi is coming soon.

It happens to be this Friday.

Lu Yan He asked: "How is the pre-sale of *Flowers on the Stars*?"

"It's okay, currently ranked first on Friday," Chen Siqi said. "However, *Explosive Needle* has a very good box office now, and it's hard to say whether *Flowers on the Stars* can get the box office champion of the day."

Because the early promotion was done very well, all the data of *Flowers on the Stars* are quite good now.

"Is Yu Jiang planning to find Yin Xincheng to film?" Chen Siqi was a bit curious.

Lu Yan He: "It's possible. After she opened that Ai Ru Tian Shen Film and Television Company, she seems to have made several projects, and she still has a movie project with Lang Xia."

"After all, her novel audience is quite large, and the performance of *Flowers on the Stars* is quite good. I heard that Ruyi Films wants to sign another cooperation framework with her to further deepen cooperation."

"Really? Is this to be tied together?" Lu Yan He was a bit surprised.

Chen Siqi: "I don't know if it is tied together. However, if Yu Jiang really wants to put the focus on film and television production, maybe I will have many places to deal with her in the future."

The projects Yu Jiang participated in are all youth romance themes. It happens that this piece is also what Chen Siqi wants to get involved in. The positioning of *Jump Up* is still a literary magazine. There are one or two youth romance stories in every issue. Now the entries received by the "Accumulation Plan" are basically youth campus background short films. Of course, it is also because such short films are easier to film.

Lu Yan He said: "The track is different."

Chen Siqi said: "There will always be intersections. Content providers, the phenomenon of homogenization is becoming more and more serious."

Lu Yan He nodded.

Chen Siqi suddenly thought of something and asked: "By the way, didn't you tell me about film and television production before? Although people can't become a fat man in one breath, they can be cultivated slowly. This 'Accumulation Plan', if there is someone who really has director thinking and no experience, do you want to sign the person and find a chance for him to learn in the crew and accumulate experience?"

Lu Yan He was surprised and made an "ah" sound.

Chen Siqi: "What do you think?"

Lu Yan He said: "I am thinking, if we sign people, will they have a chance to be a director in the future? Once a person is signed, we must be responsible for them. I don't want to be like Star Entertainment, raising so many trainees every year, who can grow up and who can't, all depend on luck."

Chen Siqi said: "Of course we can't guarantee 100% that he will have a chance to be an actor in the future, but at least it opened this door for him, right? You need such people, and others also need such opportunities. By your side, at least they have a chance to join the top crew

"To turn a magazine into a theater, there's really no one else like you," Lu Yan He couldn't help but exclaim. "Once you succeed, I reckon all the major film and television companies will start their own magazines."

Chen Siqi: "To be honest, in the film and television industry, such a money-burning industry, why not cooperate with those magazines that publish short stories? I'm not even talking about literary or artistic value; whether a story is well-received or liked by readers can be tested in text form. Especially in the film industry, its scale is so small that adapting novels is inherently difficult and unrealistic. The best source for story adaptation is still short and medium-length fiction. But now, apart from a few pure literary magazines that rely on government funding, there is no soil left for publishing short and medium-length fiction. Currently, only our *Jump Up* is still publishing some non-pure-literary short and medium-length stories. Oh, *Star! * counts too, but almost everything they publish is youth campus romance, completely aimed at young girls. Even works by Teacher Mingyin, who mainly writes about youth growth, probably wouldn't make it into *Star! *."

Lu Yan He asked: "With *Star! * publishing such uniform story styles, how is their audience?"

"Actually, it's not bad. It has indeed attracted many girls to become their regular readers. After all, besides *Star! *, there's nowhere else for them to get a concentrated supply of young girls' romance novels," Chen Siqi said. "Web novels are all too long; there are still some readers who like to read short stories."

Lu Yan He realized, nodding.

Indeed, with the population base in this country, no matter which field you are in, as long as you do it well, you can attract a group of supporters.

*Star! * may seem to have walked its style onto a very narrow path, but because of that, it has formed a unique banner and brand. People interested in this type of novel have all been slowly attracted to it.

Chen Siqi took a sip of lemonade and suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yan He asked.

Chen Siqi said: "Yu Jiang is coming toward us."

Lu Yan He frowned slightly.

"Is she looking for us?"

Chen Siqi: "Should be, she's looking right at me."

Lu Yan He: "Why would she take the initiative to find us?"

"Who knows." Chen Siqi asked, "Should we acknowledge her?"

"Can we not?" Lu Yan He asked.

"In public, if we pretend not to see her, it might be a bit excessive," Chen Siqi considered for a moment. "This woman, you can never understand how her brain works."

Lu Yan He: "Shall we leave?"

"We haven't finished eating yet, why leave? It would look like we're afraid of her." Chen Siqi rolled her eyes at Lu Yan He, and the next second, she changed her face at light speed, looking with a smile at Yu Jiang, who had already walked up to them. "Yo, Teacher Yu, to think we'd meet here, what a coincidence."

Lu Yan He didn't know how to describe the Chen Siqi in his eyes at this moment, fearing that if Chen Siqi found out, he'd get a beating.

Yu Jiang smiled, looked at Chen Siqi, and said: "I heard the 'Power Accumulation Project' you're running isn't going very smoothly?"

Chen Siqi wore a look of affected surprise. "Who said that? Who is misleading you again, handing you ammunition? My god, Teacher Yu, you wouldn't believe it and come to fire at us again, mocking and ridiculing us, would you? Sigh, why do you always have zero trust in us, get fooled so easily, and then get slapped in the face so frequently?"

Lu Yan He took a deep breath.

The aggressive state Chen Siqi presented in front of Yu Jiang was exactly like a hedgehog, without any concealment.

Lu Yan He immediately looked at Yu Jiang.

Yu Jiang indeed took a deep breath, swallowed it, and then said: "I didn't come here to argue with you today."

Chen Siqi: "That's truly rare. Besides arguing, what else could you possibly want with us?"

Yu Jiang said: "*Flowers on the Stars* premieres this Friday. We are planning to hold a special screening event on Thursday night and invite you to attend."

Chen Siqi's expression collapsed. "What?"

Yu Jiang: "We have indeed had many unpleasantries in the past, but I think those are things of the past. From now on, I will no longer treat you as my enemies. Let's shake hands and make peace, how about that?"

"Oh, give it a rest," Chen Siqi said bluntly. "Is there something wrong with you? You're the one who picks fights, you're the one who fires shots, and you're the one who nags and finds fault every single time. Now you suddenly run over here for no reason and talk about shaking hands and making peace—do you think I'll believe you? Besides, you say shake hands and make peace, and it's done? Everything you did and said before is just wiped clean like that?"

Yu Jiang's expression endured and endured, but finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and it turned ugly. She said: "Chen Siqi, don't be ungrateful."

"Showing your true colors now," Chen Siqi smiled brightly. "What were you pretending to be a big bad wolf for earlier?"

Yu Jiang's cheeks were flushed very, very red.

She glared at Chen Siqi angrily and turned to leave.

The smile on Chen Siqi's face dropped immediately, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Inexplicable, running over here to say these things, do you take me for a fool? That I'd immediately and happily shake hands and make peace with her?" Chen Siqi rolled her eyes.

Lu Yan He let out a confused "Hmm?"

"What?" Chen Siqi looked at him.

"Yin Xincheng is gone," Lu Yan He said. "Wasn't he just here?"

Chen Siqi and Lu Yan He watched together as Yu Jiang returned to her own seat.

"Must have gone to the restroom," Chen Siqi said.

However, until Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi finished their meal, they didn't see Yin Xincheng again.

"He refused?"

Yu Jiang looked at her assistant, her expression somewhat ugly.

The assistant nodded.

"This is a movie! He even refused the male lead of a movie?" Yu Jiang said. "He was only one of the six leads in *Friends*. Besides me, who else can give him a male lead role?"

The assistant said: "Yin Xincheng said he already accepted another play, *Flowering Scenery*. I checked, and it's true. This drama starts filming in March next year and will take seven months, which happens to clash with our filming dates."

Yu Jiang: "Schedules clashed, huh."

Actors having schedule clashes is a common occurrence and something that can't be helped.

She frowned and thought for a moment. "Then who else is there? Among the first-tier male stars, I've contacted them one by one. Who else is available?"

The assistant suggested: "Actually, we haven't asked Ma Zhiyuan yet. I heard he is in contact with Long Yan Films. There is a project over there, and they seem to be preparing to give Ma Zhiyuan the male second lead."

Yu Jiang's brow furrowed even deeper.

"A scumbag like Ma Zhiyuan, if we let him play our male lead, how are we going to sell movie tickets?"

The assistant said: "But he still has a group of die-hard fans."

"No," Yu Jiang said. "This isn't a TV drama. For a movie, the audience has to spend money to buy tickets to go to the cinema. Who knows what his market value is right now."

"Then—the first-tier male stars have indeed all been contacted, and no one is available," the assistant asked. "Or should we change our approach, find a popular female star to carry the lead, and find a newcomer to play the male lead?"

Yu Jiang: "That won't work. For my movie, over eighty percent are female viewers. It's useless to find a female star to play the female lead. Who wants to see a female star having a campus romance with someone else?"

The assistant sighed silently.

If it weren't for the fact that your relationship with Lu Yan He is so strained, how could so many people refuse you?

"Perhaps after *Flowers on the Stars* is released, the situation will change," the assistant gave up on suggestions and said instead, "Once everyone sees the results your movie achieves, they might change their minds."

Yu Jiang currently doesn't have a single movie released.

If the box office of *Flowers on the Stars* can exceed 100 million, there will definitely be male actors in the circle who will be tempted by the male lead of Yu Jiang's new film.

If it weren't for Yu Jiang's insistence on finding a popular male star with high traffic and many fans to play the male lead, the cast for this movie wouldn't be so hard to assemble.

Because the salary budget has to be reserved for the male lead, the actress for the female lead can only be a newcomer or a young starlet who just debuted.

Yu Jiang serves as the producer and is very strict with production costs. Take *Flowers on the Stars* as an example: for one movie, Lang Xia's salary was two million, and the salaries of everyone else combined didn't reach two million. The entire production cost of the film was no more than ten million, while the promotion and distribution costs reached nearly twenty million, totaling around thirty million. In fact, if it weren't for the good word-of-mouth *Flowers on the Stars* received at the Hezhou Film Festival, which led Ruyi Films and Yu Jiang's Ai Ru Tian Shen company to add to the promotion budget, its cost would have been between ten and twenty million—from this, one can actually calculate that the initial target for this movie was only around forty to sixty million.

Compared to the online rhetoric where box office figures of several hundred million are considered a flop, in reality, in this industry, most movies, under inflated costs, only need to reach a target box office around this figure to be profitable.

There aren't that many films that are truly made as blockbusters from the start; a first-tier film company has at most one or two such movies a year. Most of the time, so-called films with costs reaching seventy or eighty million actually have production costs of only twenty or thirty million, or even lower. On one hand, it's a general industry exaggeration to create the impression that the movie was made with a huge investment and is worth the audience's money to walk into the cinema. On the other hand, many film companies will also fold non-film-shooting expenses into the film's cost, raising it to cover many expenses and shift these losses onto investors through settlement.

Why do many film companies report losses as soon as they release financial reports? Are they really losing money? The economic issues within are worth many master's and doctoral students studying thoroughly, or even writing a thesis about.

Getting sidetracked, back to the point.

For a film like *Flowers on the Stars*, even if you find a big traffic star to play the female lead, constrained by the film genre, its base is only so big. Even if both the male and female leads are first-tier stars, it wouldn't make the movie's base any larger. Therefore, Yu Jiang's strategy for her movie is actually very simple: have a popular star actor as the main draw to give the movie star power, so it won't be silent in the media and online. The rest of the budget is better spent on promotion, marketing, and how to arouse the interest of passersby in youth romance movies to walk into the cinema—that is the key to whether the box office can truly grow effectively.

The star is just a fulcrum for promotion for cinema managers, investors, and the media.

Unable to find a male lead for the new film, Yu Jiang could only give up for the time being.

Can only wait for *Flowers on the Stars* to be released first.

Generally, movies that choose to be released during the Qixi Festival are not blockbusters; they are likely aiming for the market share of that specific day.

On Qixi, Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi didn't go to the cinema, but instead went to a hotel in the mountains together to cool off and vacation.

However, although they were in the mountains, there were still people passing news about the film market situation to them in a timely manner.

This Qixi season, the most anticipated film in the early stages was *Flowers on the Stars*, followed by *You Who Go Against the Current*, starring veteran actor Zhang Ding and art-house goddess Qin Sangwen, as well as an animated film *Queqiao*, adapted from the traditional Chinese myth of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

Pre-sales were led by *Flowers on the Stars* with 37 million.

On Qixi, the top of the box office chart was the old film *Exploding Flower Needle*, with *Flowers on the Stars* in second, *You Who Go Against the Current* in third, and *Queqiao* in fourth.

Lu Yan He lay on a bamboo chair by the stream to cool off.

Chen Siqi sat on a rock by the stream, her legs stretched directly into the water, swaying gently.

"The box office for *Flowers on the Stars* has broken 50 million."

It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and Chen Siqi was holding her phone, telling Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He gave an "mm."

Chen Siqi asked: "Do you think the box office for *Flowers on the Stars* can exceed 100 million?"

"With such a huge promotional campaign, it would be unreasonable if it didn't break 100 million," Lu Yan He said.

"Didn't expect this movie to be quite profitable," Chen Siqi said. "It's said that Bingyuan Video spent 12 million to buy the five-year online streaming rights for this movie."

Lu Yan He did a simple calculation in his mind.

"For a movie with a box office over 100 million and high buzz, this price isn't high," he said. "It seems *Flowers on the Stars* has already started to turn a profit."

"Mm," Chen Siqi said. "This movie has sold streaming rights in over a dozen countries and regions in Asia. The move to screen it at the Hezhou Film Festival was the right one."

"Yeah," Lu Yan He said. "However, it's a pity the male lead died in the end; it's a tragic ending. Otherwise, with such results, maybe a sequel could be developed."

Chen Siqi: "Why can't a sequel be developed if the male lead died? The sequel could say the female lead met a boy who looked exactly like the male lead, and the two started a new story from there. It could still be filmed."

Lu Yan He: "So cheesy."

"It's a commercial film after all; Ruyi Films definitely won't let go of such a money-making opportunity," Chen Siqi said. "Basically, as long as a movie has good box office and good profitability, Ruyi Films has developed sequels for them. Mixed reviews don't affect their style."

"Can't stand it; not every movie is suitable for a sequel."

"Who's to say?" Chen Siqi said. "By the way, the *Burning Fire* series you signed with Long Yan Films, that's three parts, right?"

"Whether they only film three, I don't know, but I only signed for three," Lu Yan He said.

Chen Siqi: "You basically didn't join any crews to film this year. In *Love Letter*, although you are the nominal male lead, your screen time is actually very little."

"I consciously wanted to stop a bit. Last year, I was constantly joining crews, constantly entering one character and then another; it was a bit exhausting," Lu Yan He said. "Another thing, the scripts I received from outside this year didn't move me. Without a suitable script, I just won't force myself."

Chen Siqi asked: "You didn't receive any suitable scripts?"

In Chen Siqi's view, the best scripts on the market right now must pass through Lu Yan He first.

Lu Yan He nodded and said: "Didn't see any good ones. Sister Ziyan said the same."

Chen Siqi was a bit confused: "Is your taste becoming more picky? That shouldn't be, right?"

"Just now, Mrs. Huang called me; the female lead for Liu Bige's new film has been set as you."

The agent said happily to Ji Miao.

As a leading figure among the younger generation of actresses today, Ji Miao, who won the Best Supporting Actress award at a young age, has always been smooth sailing in film.

Ji Miao wasn't surprised that she landed the role.

She would only be surprised if she hadn't.

Ji Miao said: "It would be great if the male lead of this movie was still Lu Yan He."

The agent didn't expect Ji Miao to say that suddenly.

"Lu Yan He? He probably wouldn't take this kind of movie, even if the director is Liu Bige," the agent said. "When he takes roles, he almost exclusively takes serious dramas or art films; it seems he has never taken this kind of light comedy. *Friends* doesn't count; he is the screenwriter himself, and you can tell at a glance that he isn't playing the most core character. He gave that role to Yan Liang to play; it feels like a script written entirely to support his friend."

Ji Miao sighed, nodded, and said: "That's true."

The agent looked at her and said: "In the entire entertainment industry, he is the only one who takes roles like Lu Yan He."

Ji Miao said: "I wonder if there will be a day when I can take roles like him."

The agent said: "Your position isn't stable yet; how many people are eyeing your spot? Besides, so many newcomers have emerged in the entertainment industry in recent years. This time, competing with you is Wang Jing, the actress who acted in *Late Spring* with Lu Yan He; it's said many people support her to play it. If you don't stand firm in your position, no one knows when someone will overtake you."

Ji Miao nodded.

"You've read this script too; if acted well, it's definitely a likable, good role, and it might even become your representative role in the future," the agent said. "Audiences love this kind of character with a very distinct personality, with contrast, and a bit of cuteness in her neuroticism. You can shape her very well."

"Li Zhibai has never acted in a movie before."

"He indeed has never acted in a movie; this is his first time," the agent said. "However, you don't need to question his situation. Whether it's acting skills, popularity, or past performance, it's all very impressive."

Ji Miao: "I'm not questioning him; of course I know he's good too. I'm just a bit regretful; if Lu Yan He were the lead, maybe this movie could even take a trip to an international film festival."

Agent: "Taking a trip doesn't have much meaning; this kind of movie is destined not to be shortlisted for the main competition unit, at most it's just for show."

"Just for show is fine too. Look at *Flowers on the Stars*; the show it earned at the Hezhou Film Festival was worth so much," Ji Miao said.

Agent: "I heard Yu Jiang is preparing a new movie. *Flowers on the Stars* has good box office; why don't we take the initiative to contact her and see if the female lead is suitable for you?"

"Forget it. If I go act in those cheesy movies of hers, the reputation I worked so hard to accumulate will probably be gone immediately," Ji Miao said. "Didn't you see how many people online are scolding *Flowers on the Stars* for being cheesy?"

"Let those people online scold. If a cheesy movie sells so well, it only proves one thing: the casual audience who doesn't often speak online is very interested in this movie and just likes this kind of thing. *You Who Go Against the Current* has great word-of-mouth; the Ye Mai network rating unlocked half a day after release, with an 8.1, but its box office isn't even half as high as *Flowers on the Stars*."

Ji Miao: "The promotion for *You Who Go Against the Current* wasn't as good as *Flowers on the Stars* to begin with. If it weren't for Zhang Ding and Qin Sangwen starring, maybe not many people would even know such a movie existed. *Flowers on the Stars* practically stuffed posters at everyone's doorstep."

The final battle report for the Qixi season came out. *Flowers on the Stars*, relying on the counterattack during the evening prime time, topped the daily box office chart with a first-day box office of 87.56 million.

The old film *Exploding Flower Needle* ranked second with 68.12 million.

*You Who Go Against the Current* ranked third with 42 million.

The animated film *Queqiao* flopped directly, ranking fourth with 13 million.

On the day of the Qixi Festival, the total market broke 200 million, a mediocre performance that left the industry somewhat disappointed.

But that doesn't affect the celebration of *Flowers on the Stars*.

It's obvious this movie is going to break 100 million. Even if there are a lot of voices online scolding this movie for being cheesy, that doesn't affect the movie making money.

Yu Jiang happily posted the first-day battle report poster and simultaneously announced her other new film project.

Yu Jiang has quite a few film projects in progress. She has another collaboration with Lang Xia, and besides that, others she is preparing. Now that *Flowers on the Stars* is performing so well at the box office, her other projects will definitely accelerate their progress.

When people are happy, they are in high spirits.

That night, Yu Jiang spent time on Weibo arguing with netizens who scolded her movie for being cheesy until two in the morning, then exited Weibo with satisfaction.

On WeChat, there were still many congratulatory messages she hadn't replied to.

She was too lazy to look at them; tomorrow.