Chapter 704

Yang Zhouli and the Shijin Group behind him clearly wanted to host a large-scale film industry event at the Hexi Film Festival, using it to signal to the domestic entertainment industry that they would be going all-out to develop the cultural and entertainment sector.

For the cultural and entertainment industry, the film and television sector is only one part, yet it is the part with the greatest influence.

And film is the link that occupies the highest ecological niche within it.

Regarding the invitation to this event, Lu Yan He was, conversely, hesitant.

Just as Chen Ziyan had said, attending an event can be just the act of attending itself, but it can also be about what that act symbolizes.

Should he get too close to the Shijin Group?

Xin Zixing had returned to the Ye Mai Network, and the Ye Mai Network had been acquired by Shijin—

This matter had already invisibly created a layer of close connection between Lu Yan He and Shijin in the eyes of outsiders.

Of course, people have no way to avoid these layered connections. But the nature of attending in person is different.

If he goes, will Shang Yongzhou go? Will the couple from Long Yan Films go? Will the others from the film "Burning Fire" go?

If they don't go, and he does, what will it mean in the eyes of others?

Lu Yan He discussed it seriously with Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan said, "Don't promise anything yet. Just say that I am handling your work in Hexi and that I decide everything. I will go and find out exactly who is attending this 'Shijin Night' and what Shijin wants to do. Given your current status and position, you really cannot just casually appear at an event with a certain directional intent."

Lu Yan He nodded.

At the beginning of May, the sunlight took on a transparent quality, unlike in winter, when the low temperature gives people the illusion of fuzziness.

Xin Zixing personally brought the editors of the Ye Mai Network's entertainment section to Shihu.

Lu Yan He was also present.

Xin Zixing had come to discuss a partnership.

The content of this partnership, in short, was for Shihu's signed artists to be stationed at the Ye Mai Network to share their "entertainment lives," with the Ye Mai Network providing a certain remuneration to Shihu's signed artists; of course, the main thing was to tailor "cultural and artistic projects" for them.

"Previously, Ziyan, you said that for every artist, we should tailor a project for their comeback. At the Ye Mai Network, besides their simple sharing, we will have a series of cultural and artistic projects. From celebrity explanations of museums and cultural relic stories, which lean toward cultural projects, to local gazetteers in cooperation with local culture and tourism bureaus, and then back to personal life sharing, there is a huge amount of space for cooperation with celebrity artists," Xin Zixing said. "These tasks have strong social welfare attributes, and at the same time, like 'City Travelogue,' they are all high-quality projects that can bring implicit support to the artists."

Chen Ziyan nodded.

"But generally speaking, the pay for such projects isn't high, right?" she smiled.

Xin Zixing nodded.

"But this is also the reason why I want to cooperate with Shihu," Xin Zixing said. "Perhaps others are short-sighted, but Ziyan, you won't be."

Lu Yan He smiled at Chen Ziyan, "Sister Ziyan, you've been handled."

Xin Zixing looked at Lu Yan He again.

"At the same time, Yan He, I also want to reach an exclusive partnership with you," Xin Zixing said.

Lu Yan He was stunned.

"Me? Haven't I already promised you? For the Hexi itinerary, you have exclusive tracking coverage for the whole trip."

Xin Zixing: "That is that; I want to talk about another framework for cooperation."

"Hmm?"

"For Linghe's film and television dramas, from the initial preparation stage to the information on various links in the middle, I hope to be able to release it on the Ye Mai Network," Xin Zixing said. "This is also another direction that our Ye Mai Network wants to take: an information platform."

Lu Yan He: "For example, information like casting and release dates?"

"Yes. Of course, besides this information, we hope to be able to obtain more details based on this information through exclusive interviews and other methods," Xin Zixing said. "The premise is certainly that you are all willing to report it out; it's good for the promotion of the film and television drama, and it's also good for our website."

Lu Yan He fell into deep thought.

Chen Ziyan asked: "Is it meaningful for you to do such information? In such an internet era, the second you release it, countless marketing accounts will repost it. How many people will specifically go to the Ye Mai Network to see it? Even if you have supporting, more detailed interview information."

Xin Zixing smiled slightly: "In the internet era, the focus of an information platform is not on the information, but on centralized organization. Information is overloaded now; fresh news can be refreshed at any time every day. However, many times, when we see something and are interested and want to know more related information, we can only search and query here and there. But on the Ye Mai Network, for example, for 'Chinese Paladin,' we will classify and label related information: what is officially confirmed, what is unverified rumor, and from the moment an actor is rumored to be cast, every piece of information related to him will be organized in the corresponding order. It will be very convenient for everyone when they want to search. Once this set of things is used, users will naturally develop the habit of going to the Ye Mai Network to query related information."

Lu Yan He and Chen Ziyan were thoughtful.

This idea of Xin Zixing's was actually quite good.

Not to mention the general public, sometimes when they go to check information on a film or television drama, they have to check for a long time. In this circle, news is true and false, virtual and real; what you get from calling people is not necessarily the truth.

With such a timeline and character axis organization, many things can be compared, and everyone will naturally have a scale in their hearts as to what the situation is.

Lu Yan He said: "We can try it first, but the current film and television environment may not be so ideal. Sometimes, the more you say, the more mistakes you make, and people will deliberately pick on you and stir up trouble, affecting normal filming."

"What kind of news you want to announce, you provide," Xin Zixing said. "The biggest difference between this section and what is currently on the market is the labeling of information sources. We will try our best to track every information source: what is confirmed by the production company, what is mentioned in a certain interview, and what was first reported by which person or which media. With such an arrangement, I actually think it might be helpful for combating rumors."

"Tracking every information source, won't the workload be very large? Can you handle it?" Chen Ziyan was skeptical.

"We'll have to do it to know; saying more now is useless," Xin Zixing said. "Because there is no benchmarking product for this; it is a brand-new thing."

Lu Yan He nodded: "Then let's try it first, just take the few projects we are going to start filming this year to try."

Xin Zixing: "That's great. If you are willing to cooperate with us, the difficulty of negotiations with other film and television companies can also be reduced a little."

Lu Yan He: "I'm just curious, for the Ye Mai Network to do such a thing, the early stage must require a large investment of manpower and funds, right?"

"This is the benefit of having a powerful capital behind you for blood transfusion," Xin Zixing said with a smile. "The things that can be done have become much more."

Lu Yan He nodded.

Chen Ziyan: "You have returned to your old place now, and you feel even more like a fish in water."

"My understanding of work started from the Ye Mai Network. My ability and methodology all grew up with it. I think there may not be a place that fits me better than the Ye Mai Network," Xin Zixing said bluntly.

Lu Yan He nodded.

Lu Yan He was also very happy for Xin Zixing that she could return to a place where she had such passion for work.

After chatting about this aspect of cooperation, they went to Chen Ziyan's office together.

They didn't talk about official business here.

Xin Zixing said to them: "The inside of the Ye Mai Network is almost rotten."

"Hmm?"

"No wonder the Ye Mai Network agreed to this acquisition so readily," Xin Zixing complained. "With losses year after year, all the projects launched in the past few years have ended in failure. If it weren't acquired, it would have collapsed on its own."

"Ah? Why is it like this?" In Lu Yan He's impression, the Ye Mai Network itself was a website that was doing quite well. Even if Xin Zixing took people away, it shouldn't have caused heavy damage to the Ye Mai Network.

Xin Zixing explained: "Because it has never found a profit model. On the contrary, in order to maintain the flagship columns like 'Star!' and 'City Travelogue,' it had to continue to pile up money to do it even if it was losing money. 'Star!' alone could lose two million a year."

Lu Yan He was shocked.

When "Jump Up" was on the Ye Mai Network before, not to mention how much it could earn, it had never made the Ye Mai Network lose money.

Xin Zixing: "I am already looking for the next editor-in-chief for 'Star!'. As soon as Yu Jiang's contract expires, I will end my cooperation with her. I have actually cut the production budget for the next issue by half. She has a lot of opinions, saying that the magazine can't be done like this. I wish she wouldn't do it; in the current state, doing it is worse than not doing it."

Lu Yan He smiled.

"Have you already had a conflict with her?"

"I haven't had a direct conflict with her; it's all communicated through assistants," Xin Zixing said. "She doesn't dare to make too much trouble; after all, 'Star!' loses money every issue, and she knows it in her heart."

Lu Yan He asked: "Then will you continue to keep the electronic magazine 'Star!'?"

"Yes," Xin Zixing nodded. "However, its positioning is basically the same as 'Jump Up' now. I still hope it has a bit of its own uniqueness. I want to combine the two characteristics of an information platform and literature and art to do essays and commentary articles. Fiction is of course still done, but it is not the main focus."

"The Shijin Group may not be satisfied with this point; their layout is clearly to do big entertainment."

"They can do it in other ways; they can cooperate with 'Jump Up' magazine," Xin Zixing said. "My primary task is to do the Ye Mai Network well. I have also communicated with them about the development goals of the Ye Mai Network, and only after reaching a consensus did I come to take this job."

Chen Ziyan reminded: "If one day they need your Ye Mai Network to do this, your personal strength will not be able to stop a chariot with a mantis's arms. You must be prepared."

"I will," Xin Zixing nodded. "I also don't need to go against them. Cooperation is good for both; if it doesn't work, then forget it, and we'll part on good terms."

After Xin Zixing finished speaking, she suddenly smiled and took out two festive red invitations from her bag.

Lu Yan He showed a surprised expression.

"What is this? Finally getting married?"

Xin Zixing smiled and nodded, "Huang Kai and I are getting married on August 11th."

Lu Yan He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, okay, by that time, 'The Mist 2' will also be finished filming, and I will have returned to the country."

Lu Yan He was still worried that he would be filming and wouldn't make it.

Xin Zixing said: "Our wedding has not been made public yet, so please don't reveal it to the outside world for the time being."

"Okay," Lu Yan He nodded, making a gesture of zipping his mouth, "Don't worry, we will definitely keep our mouths shut tight."

As a result, no one expected that that very evening, the news that Huang Kai and Xin Zixing would be getting married this year was exposed on the internet by marketing accounts.

Lu Yan He's first reaction was, why was it exposed today, of all days, when he and Chen Ziyan received the invitation?

It made it look like the two of them were the big mouths who said it.

Fortunately, the source of the news was quickly found.

It turned out that an employee of the wedding company leaked the news.

Huang Kai and Xin Zixing immediately climbed to the top of the Weibo hot search.

And any woman who dates a male celebrity will inevitably be attacked by some female fans.

Especially regarding the matter of marriage.

Xin Zixing herself is not a pure outsider. From the Ye Mai Network to a program producer, and now returning to the Ye Mai Network, she has actually appeared in the public eye from time to time over the years. Not to mention being a public figure, but she is definitely a celebrity.

The more this is the case, the more there are places for people to attack. People cannot be perfect, and if they are not perfect, they will be attacked.

Even some behind-the-scenes footage of Xin Zixing filming "City Travelogue" with Lu Yan He earlier was infinitely magnified by people, saying that she tried to hook up with Lu Yan He.

These voices are not mainstream, but they are like flies flying around, which is annoying.

Some flies even flew into Lu Yan He's comment section, hoping that he could stand up and respond to Xin Zixing's "hook-up attempt" on him.

Lu Yan He saw it and replied unceremoniously: Are you sick? If you have delusions, go get treated quickly.

This relationship between Xin Zixing and Huang Kai has always made Lu Yan He very envious and admirable.

To some extent, Xin Zixing and Huang Kai are like Chen Siqi and Lu Yan He; the mode between the two has a certain similarity. It is precisely this similarity that makes Lu Yan He sincerely hope that Xin Zixing and Huang Kai can go smoothly and be together forever.

For those who deliberately find fault, especially those who make trouble out of nothing and deliberately spread rumors about Xin Zixing, Lu Yan He hates them very much.

Whether it's Huang Kai or Xin Zixing, they are both very good people among those he knows. So, seeing that there are always some people paranoidly attacking them, or one of them, Lu Yan He even has an emotion more angry than seeing them attack himself.

Chen Siqi said to Lu Yan He: "You don't have to be so worked up. Don't worry, I understand Sister Zixing; she won't care about what those people on the internet say at all. Being the girlfriend of you male celebrities, if you don't have a big heart, you would have broken up long ago."

Lu Yan He asked: "Do you also receive such messages every day?"

!

"Saying no would be a lie, but I basically just look at it as fun," Chen Siqi said bluntly. "Actually, sometimes when I see their comments, I feel more... how should I put it, I really want them to put more attention and energy into their own work and life. But every time I think this, I feel I am shameless; obviously, our work is all about grabbing their attention."

Lu Yan He: "In an ideal state, it is of course a rational attention, which is what we want. But from a realistic point of view, this is not a thing without difficulty; it is basically impossible to achieve. We can only try our best to control and adjust. I now feel that there is at least one thing I have done particularly well."

"What thing?"

"Dissolving the fan club," Lu Yan He said. "I don't give any fan the official name to call on my fans to do anything. My team will not invite fans to participate in any activities either. Don't pick up at the airport, don't support, and don't need to brush data for me on the internet."

Chen Siqi smiled helplessly, "Do you know? When I heard you finish saying these things just now, my subconscious reaction was actually, this is just something you can do. If a celebrity artist is not popular, they have to do this. Then when they become popular, do they abandon it like a worn-out shoe? This is a paradox."

"So complicated," Lu Yan He shook his head, "Can't figure it out."

Chen Siqi: "So let it be. Don't rationally analyze these things. We can just do our own one-acre-three-centimeters of land well."

Lu Yan He: "Doesn't 'Jump Up' have any crazy readers?"

"Yes," Chen Siqi nodded. "However, the advantage of 'Jump Up' is that it is not only the top among literary magazines, it can even be said to be the only one. There are no competitors. None of the other magazines that followed suit have a monthly sales volume that can exceed 80,000 copies. They are simply not in the same magnitude as 'Jump Up'."

Lu Yan He: "Okay, then after Sister Zixing takes over 'Star!', I think, with her ability, 'Star!' might become a competitor to 'Jump Up'."

Chen Siqi: "That's great. I really wish there were some competitors now. A market without competition must be shrinking more and more. To tell the truth, sometimes, it is said that the market is generated by consumer demand, but sometimes, consumer demand can also be guided. Just like 'Jump Up' now for the student group, its role is to show a poetic literary world."

"A poetic literary world, what kind of statement is this?"

"This is a positioning proposed by our own editorial department. Simply put, it is equivalent to the two-dimensional world for anime fans. A large part of students, their ideal expectation for this world is not a world like the two-dimensional world, but a relatively poetic and literary world," Chen Siqi said. "To be precise, in the process of reading our magazine, they think that the world ecology presented by this magazine is what they yearn for."

"This magazine... presents what kind of world ecology?"

"It's complicated to say, but to summarize, there are a few keywords: simple and humble but with spiritual pursuit, loving self-discipline and believing that man can conquer nature," Chen Siqi smiled. "Have you read 'Jump Up' in the last half year? The content of the manuscripts we published, whether it is the protagonist or the style, are all approaching this aspect, because readers like it. Even a short detective novel written by Liu Jiazhen two months ago, according to reader feedback, the place they like most about this novel is that the protagonist, as a man who works as a cleaner in a bathhouse after bankruptcy, has a hobby of reading books in the bookstore opposite the bathhouse."

Lu Yan He was stunned.

"Liu Jiazhen was confused, saying that he wrote a crime detective novel, but everyone liked a very detailed character setting."

Chen Siqi: "But this is also a trend. A large part of our magazine's readers are actively or unconsciously looking for their own kind. I know this is a commonality of doing magazines before, but the attributes of 'Jump Up' are becoming stronger and stronger, which also makes me a little worried."

Lu Yan He said: "This is not only increasing the stickiness of core readers, but it will also gradually form a circle, and then squeeze out readers who are not suitable for this circle."

"Yes, especially once their circle becomes a tangible body," Chen Siqi slapped her forehead, "I've been worrying about this recently. I don't want 'Jump Up' to become a fan concentration camp."

Worry.

Lu Yan He came behind Chen Siqi, and his two hands pressed on her temples, gently pressing and kneading.

Chen Siqi smiled and said: "I'm not worrying right now!"

Lu Yan He: "Same, press it first, relieve it."

Chen Siqi: "What do you want to do when you start performing at this time?"

"Don't want to do anything," Lu Yan He chuckled.

"Lu Yan He has not given a definite answer," the assistant said to Yang Zhouli, "Maybe Long Yan is putting pressure on him."

Yang Zhouli shook his head: "Long Yan cannot put pressure on Lu Yan He. This matter is mainly Chen Ziyan. I will call Chen Ziyan again."

"Yang Zong, although Lu Yan He is indeed the most powerful and momentum-filled filmmaker in recent years, if he keeps not agreeing to come, should we prepare a backup plan?" the assistant asked.

Yang Zhouli said: "Lu Yan He must be invited. There is no backup plan. For Shang Yongzhou and Jiang Yuqian, communicate and confirm as soon as possible. If they confirm they will attend, Lu Yan He can almost agree."

The assistant nodded.

"Actually, if Xin Zixing could come forward to invite Lu Yan He, Lu Yan He would definitely agree."

Yang Zhouli glanced at the assistant.

The assistant immediately lowered his head, knowing he had said the wrong thing.

He waited for a while, and seeing that Yang Zhouli did not intend to pursue it, he said: "There is one more thing, Yang Zong. Some of the requirements put forward by Chen Pinhe might exceed some budgets, exceeding nearly 500,000."

Yang Zhouli: "Can be approved."

The assistant immediately recorded it.

"However, besides actors at Chen Pinhe's level, if other actors want to exceed the budget we gave, then forget it," Yang Zhouli said. "Not everyone is worth Shijin making concessions."

The assistant nodded.

"Yang Zhouli!" Suddenly, a roar came from behind them.

Yang Zhouli and the assistant looked back in surprise.

Yang Zhoujin appeared behind them with a fierce and angry face. If this moment were represented by a manga, the space around Yang Zhoujin would definitely be filled with raging flames.

He suddenly rushed over and raised his fist high.

"You fucking screwed me!"

Yang Zhoujin's angry roar echoed surgingly in the corridor.

Yang Zhouli dodged at the moment Yang Zhoujin's fist was about to hit his face.

After Yang Zhoujin missed, he was carried forward by inertia, stumbled two steps, and almost fell.

Yang Zhoujin turned around abruptly, wanting to do it again.

Suddenly, Yang Zhouli rushed in front of him, grabbed his collar, and pushed him hard against the wall.

Yang Zhoujin raised his two hands in horror, grabbed Yang Zhouli's arm, and wanted to push it away.

However, Yang Zhouli grabbed Yang Zhoujin's collar and remained motionless.

"If you want to be crazy, go find someone else," Yang Zhouli looked at Yang Zhoujin with cold eyes, "If you want to continue to be grounded, I don't mind sending you back."

Yang Zhoujin's face was ferocious, and the veins on his forehead bulged: "Who the fuck do you think you are? Let go!"

Many people often feel when reading novels, why is this plot so dog-blooded, and scold the author for being an idiot.

However, many times—definitely not occasionally, such as when you see the boss of a well-known company taking people to grab the official seal, such as when you see a partner poisoning to vent anger, you will also sigh that in this world, dog-blooded things are always more dog-blooded, lower-level, and even more retarded than you imagine.

A brilliant novelist will of course try his best to whitewash the dog-blooded feeling—note, not dog-blooded.

A less brilliant novelist, wanting to advance the plot, cannot do it so high-level, so he can only pull as much as possible, like pulling a carriage that is clanking as if it is about to fall apart, continuing to run on the muddy road, praying that it will not fall apart halfway.

Just like the public relations staff of the Shijin Group at this moment.

Clearly, the matter had already subsided, and clearly, no one was paying attention to the broken things between Yang Zhouli and Yang Zhoujin. As a result, Yang Zhoujin suddenly returned, opened a live broadcast, and gave away watches worth hundreds of thousands, and gave away European tours, attracting a large wave of people into the live broadcast room. He talked about the story of how he taught Yang Zhouli a lesson today with great joy, his tone was contemptuous, and his words were full of arrogance.

All the receding tides roared and surged with even more hysterical momentum.

Everyone is paying attention to this matter and discussing this matter.

And the other party involved, Yang Zhouli, disappeared, did not appear in any public occasions, and did not accept any interviews.

The clips of Yang Zhoujin's arrogant posture in the live broadcast room were spread across the whole network, sparking bursts of heated discussion.

Shijin's stock price also fluctuated accordingly.

Lu Yan He swiped to this scene on his mobile phone, and his heart was filled with a sense of absurdity.

An overly unreal sense of absurdity.

They act, play characters, and pay attention to character logic.

However, people like Yang Zhoujin are like a robot with a program error, and everything they do is beyond people's rational understanding.

Just like a murderer hysterically showing off how sharp the knife in his hand is.

"Perhaps Yang Zhouli has his plans, but Yang Zhoujin's behavior of pushing himself into the fire pit really cannot be blamed on Yang Zhouli."

Regarding this matter, Chen Ziyan was also very surprised, and even made a joke because of it.

"Last time in the live broadcast room, Yang Zhoujin attacked Yang Zhouli. You think it was Yang Zhouli who deliberately lured him. This time it was completely Yang Zhoujin himself shouting, wishing the whole world knew he hit Yang Zhouli," Lu Yan He asked. "You say, is it possible that this time it was still lured by Yang Zhouli?"

"Regardless of whether Yang Zhoujin's action was lured, the live broadcast itself was his own initiative," Chen Ziyan said. "However, I can't judge his behavior now, whether it is purely mentally retarded or if he wants to take the black-red route."

"Black-red route?" Lu Yan He asked, "How can this still be black-red?"

"If Yang Zhoujin can prove later that Yang Zhouli has a problem, it will be much easier to whitewash his behavior," Chen Ziyan said. "But these are all my guesses. I don't know what their specific situation is. There is no more information, so it's hard to infer."

Lu Yan He thought for a while, is Yang Zhoujin really planning to go black-red in this way?

The problem is, he is not an artist, what does he want this black-red for? -

Recommend "Sword of Demon Hunting," 100,000 words~(End of chapter)