Chapter 616: A Summer of Life

"By the way, I just remembered—don't we all have projects coming out this summer?" Lu Yan He suddenly asked.

"I think so," Li Zhibai nodded. "Yan Liang, your *Flowing Light* is airing this summer too, right?"

"Yeah," Yan Liang nodded, his face clouded with gloom. "I really don't dare to imagine what I look like in this drama. I truly can't picture myself starring in an ancient idol drama."

"I'm curious too," Lu Yan He laughed. "I don't usually watch ancient idol dramas, only the ones Li Zhibai and a few other friends have been in. Honestly, the script for *Flowing Light* is relatively less formulaic than the others I've seen. I'm actually quite looking forward to it."

Yan Liang: "Zhou Ping'an is already regretting letting me take on *Flowing Light*."

"Why?" Li Zhibai asked, puzzled.

"Because Zhou Ping'an thinks that the few dramas I've had that did well were all modern-themed and allowed me to act in serious dramas. That's an advantage I have for my age group. He's afraid my reputation will crash and burn with *Flowing Light*." Watching the two of them eating cold dishes, Yan Liang felt a bit tempted, so he grumpily grabbed a peach and started gnawing on it.

Li Zhibai: "Well, I think you're doing a pretty good job in this ancient idol drama. Your previous works weren't fan-oriented, which limited your popularity growth. Only a drama like *Flowing Light* can truly help you accumulate fans."

Lu Yan He nodded in agreement.

"Look at all the dramas I've done. In reality, a huge portion of my fans—excluding the audience who only watch my work—actually came from the movie *Late Spring*," Lu Yan He said, shaking his head with a smile. "Fans still prefer to see an idol who is handsome, dashing, and charismatic."

To truly create a "fan effect," one has to follow the idol path. This is not the same thing as being a popular actor; no actor's fans would operate their idol's career as if it were their own, pouring their energy into every aspect.

Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai were both talking about this very thing.

The prerequisite for being a big-name actor is having a market to back you up.

And the foundation of that market is the purchasing power of your fans.

Why is the status of idol traffic in China not as high as it was when they first emerged? Essentially, it's because when they first appeared, everyone thought they represented a kind of crazy purchasing power, with all sorts of data pointing to a value far higher than traditional impressions. But market testing eventually revealed that their equivalent purchasing power wasn't that formidable.

If their albums could sell millions or tens of millions, and if the movies they starred in could gross billions, then all those Best Actors and Actresses, all those national comedians and box-office giants, could just step aside.

Why has K-pop—which is clearly also an idol-based path—slowly moved from a marginal position to become a global, mainstream entertainment force in just a few years? It has even broken into Hollywood and legitimately won awards and resources that were once unthinkable.

Because they have a massive number of fans worldwide—real fans—who can contribute real money and purchasing power that other stars can only dream of.

Therefore, Lu Yan He has never denied the power and significance of fans. He just doesn't accept being swayed by them, becoming an artist led by the nose by fan opinions. Even at his current position, he has never believed he could truly detach himself from fan support.

Yan Liang needs fans.

Zhou Ping'an knocked on the door, walked into Vice Ma Zong's office, and said, "Mr. Ma, Yan Liang's new drama is about to air."

Ma Zhongquan asked, "The drama *Flowing Light*? The female lead is Zhang Lan, right?"

"Yes," Zhou Ping'an nodded. "This is Yan Liang's first time starring in an ancient idol drama. His character in this show is also quite good. There's hope it will help him step into the ranks of top-tier traffic."

"He's already a first-tier star now. Doesn't that count as top-tier?"

"Compared to Li Zhibai, he doesn't," Zhou Ping'an said. "Yan Liang's few breakout dramas and roles weren't fan-oriented. His fan base is still skewed toward drama fans, rather than people who are wholeheartedly devoted to him as a person. If Li Zhibai had Yan Liang's luck in acting, Li Zhibai might already be the second Lu Yan He."

Ma Zhongquan frowned at the mention of Lu Yan He's name.

"You told me before that you didn't think Yan Liang had any hope of reaching the top-tier position," Ma Zhongquan said. "His base conditions are too weak; he doesn't have the looks that make girls go crazy."

"I still hold that view, and I never intended to build him into a top idol that girls would chase crazily," Zhou Ping'an said. "It's just that his current fan stickiness is too low. All sorts of data need to be maintained by our internal data team; otherwise, it would expose the fact that he doesn't have many loyal fans. If *Flowing Light* can help him successfully ascend to top-tier status, given his resume over the past few years, it would be more beneficial for him to take the next step up."

Ma Zhongquan nodded and asked, "So, what do you want to do?"

Zhou Ping'an: "I want to apply for a marketing budget to coordinate relevant marketing during his drama's promotion."

Zhou Ping'an didn't think Ma Zhongquan would refuse.

After all, Yan Liang could now be considered one of Star Entertainment's most popular artists, and he had just renewed his contract with the company.

However, Ma Zhongquan refused.

"The company is about to undergo a transformation. Moving forward, our work focus will shift to idol artist management," Ma Zhongquan said. "The work on the actor side will no longer be under my jurisdiction. You should also get Yan Liang to switch back to being an idol artist as soon as possible. With his current fame and heat, if he continues to be an actor, it will just be a waste and benefit others in the end."

Zhou Ping'an looked shocked.

Compared to Ma Zhongquan refusing to approve the money, Zhou Ping'an was even more shocked by what Ma Zhongquan had just said.

News of Star Entertainment's transformation had been heard for a long time.

However, Zhou Ping'an had always felt that no matter how they transformed, since he had Meng Li and Yan Liang in his hands, he should have autonomy and a certain degree of decision-making power over his own business.

Was he being asked to give up Yan Liang and Meng Li to manage idol artists?

For a rare moment, Zhou Ping'an fell silent and didn't reply to Ma Zhongquan immediately.

Ma Zhongquan looked at him with surprise and asked, "What, do you have other thoughts?"

Zhou Ping'an said, "Yan Liang and Meng Li are both actors, and they have already done very well on the path of acting. I can go manage idol artists later, but can't I continue to manage them? Asking Yan Liang to return to the idol artist track now—let alone whether he can go back, he wouldn't agree to it in the first place."

Yan Liang wasn't stupid. He was doing well as an actor now. Occasionally performing one or two stages on a show like *Idol Era* was fine, but his main career was definitely leaning toward acting. He would have to be out of his mind to shift his work focus back to the idol artist path at this time.

Ma Zhongquan said, "Yan Liang was brought up by you single-handedly. Won't he listen to you?"

"Li Zhibai was also brought up by me single-handedly, and he changed agents just because he wanted to. At the time, you were the first to agree," Zhou Ping'an said with some resentment toward Ma Zhongquan. "Mr. Ma, if Yan Liang has a disagreement with me and also requests to change agents, will the company side with him, or with me, his agent?"

Ma Zhongquan was silent for a moment.

He didn't speak.

This, of course, didn't need an answer; everyone knew who the company would protect at this time.

"The company's split is an imperative thing," Ma Zhongquan said. "Work unrelated to idol artists will be moved to the newly established subsidiary. If you are reluctant to let go of the business with Yan Liang and Meng Li, then you can only go over there with them. The choice is yours. However, I will definitely stay at Star Entertainment. Whether you want to continue following me, you decide for yourself."

"There's a lot of internal movement at Star Entertainment right now," Li Zhibai said. "Lin Suyang manages both MX and me, but now, over the course of a year, the number of times I perform on stage or do performances as an idol artist can be counted on two hands. My main focus is acting. He said he is fighting with the company so that even if artists are managed by subsidiaries according to type, big-name agents like them who manage mature artists on both sides can at least span across both companies and manage artists simultaneously."

Yan Liang: "Huh? There's such a rule? I haven't heard of it. Then what about Zhou Ping'an? The artists he manages now—the better ones, me and Meng Li, are actors, and Cheng Hai has also started transitioning to acting. But he definitely has to follow Vice Ma Zong, right? Vice Ma Zong should still stay at Star Entertainment and take charge of the idol management side, right? He has been advocating for putting more effort into idol artists for several years now."

Li Zhibai: "Has Zhou Ping'an really never talked to you about this?"

"No," Yan Liang shook his head. "He never talks to me about the company's internal management."

Li Zhibai: "True, what was I thinking? This person has always been so narrow-minded, as if he's particularly afraid that if his artists know a little more, it won't be convenient for him to control them."

"He has always had that style," Lu Yan He laughed. "However, if it's really as Li Zhibai said, and Star Entertainment is going to do this, the internal situation really won't be calm. Just think, not to mention others, Lin Suyang has to choose between Li Zhibai and MX, and Zhou Ping'an has to choose between Vice Ma Zong and you and Meng Li. These aren't choices you can just make. How do they choose?"

Yan Liang: "I'm thinking about one thing: if they do this, don't they consider the feelings of us artists? They change the agents we work with just like that? If it were because of the agent's personal reasons for leaving, then there's nothing to be done, but now the company is forcing our agents to choose between us and others. Do they think this is interesting?"

Yan Liang hit the nail on the head regarding the biggest problem with this approach.

Li Zhibai said, "Why do I feel like we've been set up? We just renewed our contracts with the company, and this kind of thing happens."

"Actually, this might not be their goal," Lu Yan He said bluntly. "After all, from the company's perspective, think about it: a big-name agent being bound too long and too deeply with several popular artists means they are hard to control. There have been several cases before where agents left the company with their artists and set up their own shops. This kind of cutting method actually has the biggest impact on big-name agents like Zhou Ping'an and Lin Suyang who hold several key artists in their hands. Only they need to make a choice."

Yan Liang: "Could it be that the company is dissatisfied with them?"

"It's not necessarily dissatisfaction. The company's intention to focus on developing idol artists has actually been talked about for years, but because there was no fertile ground for idol artists domestically, it never took off. Jiang Yuqian and the three top actresses, including Zhang Lan, inadvertently established Star Entertainment's reputation in the entertainment industry. Zhang Zhiwen's sudden rise to fame, combined with the achievements of the rest of us in the industry later on, meant that Star Entertainment achieved success without even trying."

Lu Yan He pondered for a moment and said earnestly, "The company wanted to do idol artists from the very beginning. This split, for them, is in a sense a 'correction of errors.' Of course, the fact that the actor side accidentally did so well also surprised them, and they are reluctant to give it up."

"Since they were able to accidentally achieve such success on the actor side, why not completely transform and become an actor management company?" Yan Liang asked, puzzled.

"Because Star Entertainment doesn't involve the production and distribution of film and television dramas. It's just a company that only does management," Li Zhibai pointed out. "In the film and television industry, it relies on us actors to have some volume, and it can participate in some investments and operations, but they have no share in the actual production and distribution ends, and they don't have the resources to enter that area. In this situation, the management work for actors—the profit share from famous actors is low, and the training cost for unknown actors is high. In reality, it's far less profitable than everyone thinks."

"If they can't truly participate in film and television projects through the top actors they have, they're just making small money," Yan Liang understood. "Then why can the idol artist side do it? Didn't you say before that when Star Entertainment transforms, it won't just be about managing idol artists, but also about the entire idol artist industry chain?"

"Yes, but the idol artist industry chain is actually ready-made. Do you know what's the most profitable thing for idol artists?" Li Zhibai asked.

Lu Yan He thought for a moment and asked, "Commercials?"

"How are actors' commercials any worse than idol artists' commercials?" Li Zhibai shook his head. "The most profitable thing for idol artists is the merchandise—from fan meetings and handshake events, to cards and dolls developed based on the artist's image, and so on, to the albums they release and the concerts they hold. Idol artists can completely serve as a mature IP to create a mature product shelf. As long as there are 100,000 loyal fans buying in, the annual profit is in the tens of millions."

Lu Yan He and Yan Liang were enlightened, but also dumbfounded and shocked.

"Then think about it again: with the level of popularity Ma Zhiyuan had at the time, how many fans bought in? You have to know, even when Old Lu was blooming everywhere at that time, the revenue brought to Star Entertainment was not as good as Ma Zhiyuan's," Li Zhibai said bluntly. "So, why has Ma Zhongquan always wanted to do idol artist management? Management is also economics, and it's also chain-style management. By comparison, actors have to cherish their feathers. Under normal circumstances, they only film two works a year, and often just one. As for commercials, we still belong to the company, but look at Zhang Lan and Jiang Yuqian—their commercial contracts have already been signed to other companies and are no longer at Star Entertainment."

"For Star Entertainment, raising actors like us and raising an idol like Ma Zhiyuan—the returns obtained are exponentially different," Li Zhibai said bluntly. "Strictly speaking, although Yan Liang and I are still continuously doing stages and releasing singles, we are no longer idols who fit Star Entertainment's positioning of idol artists, because we haven't participated in their idol brand and industrial operations."

Lu Yan He suddenly realized.

"You know a lot," Lu Yan He said.

Li Zhibai said, "Before I considered whether to renew my contract with Star Entertainment, I had an in-depth talk with Lin Suyang. I also proposed that if he was willing, I was willing to go out with him and set up a studio to work alone. But Lin Suyang analyzed the pros and cons very clearly for me, telling me that at my current stage, it's best to hang on at a big company first. If I go out to work alone, except for your projects, Yan He, for any S-level big production, what I face is not the competition of some other actor, but the competition of the major companies behind those actors. People invest tens of millions; why wouldn't they let their own actors perform? For example, Liu Zefan. I'm popular, and my results are good, but where is my irreplaceable advantage over Liu Zefan? It's not like they don't have works, popularity, or heat."

Yan Liang: "I originally thought that the three of us had reached the stage where we could survive independently. Not to mention being able to stand on our own, at least we could survive independently. Now it sounds like this idea is actually an illusion."

"Not necessarily. If you go out to work alone, you can definitely still play the male lead, and there will be many dramas looking for you to act. But unless you are spotted by a big director who must have you, otherwise, it won't be a very good project. The resources for top-tier projects are definitely predetermined by the actors in those capital camps," Li Zhibai said. "So, like Yan He, who can create his own projects and exchange resources with other capital parties, is the only one who can truly stand on his own."

Yan Liang nodded.

Lu Yan He shook his head with a smile.

"I feel like you've matured a lot after being the producer of *Nineteen Years* and going through all that," Lu Yan He said to Li Zhibai.

"This thing is just that after you walk around in the rules of the game, you understand everything," Li Zhibai said. "Before, when I only did acting and only did the work of the second party, it was impossible to come into contact with this kind of thinking mode."

"Then will you still be a producer in the future?" Lu Yan He asked. "The resources you accumulate for yourself as a producer are much more than just being an actor."

Li Zhibai said, "I might continue to do it in the future, but for now... I understand some principles, but I haven't fallen to the point where I need to grab meat myself immediately. Let me slow down first. Being the producer of *Nineteen Years* really hurt me, and there were really too many messy things."

Lu Yan He and Yan Liang looked at each other and smiled.

Outside the window, summer had already arrived.

The sun was scorching, and the cicadas were chirping noisily.

The three of them were probably tired from talking earlier and fell into a brief silence.

Just sitting there, emptying themselves.

But no one felt awkward or restless because of this sudden silence.

Life, unknowingly, had entered the next stage.

Recommending the old book *I Became the Scandalous Heroine Overnight* and the new book *Sword of Demon Hunting*. ===== CHAPTER 617 =====