Chapter 309

After the Spring Festival long holiday, the film market began to show signs of weakness, yet the few newly initiated films had quite substantial investments.

"Director Li Rengang's latest masterpiece, the historical war epic 'White Vengeance', has been initiated with a planned investment of 150 million."

"The main cast for 'White Vengeance' has been confirmed: the Overlord Xiang Yu will be played by Huayi artist Feng Shaofeng; Liu Bang will be played by Li Ming; Yu Ji will be played by Starry Sky Culture artist and one of the Four Dan Actresses, Yang Mi!"

"Comedy King Zhou Xingxing, having sharpened his sword for four years, makes a powerful return with a Journey to the West theme; 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' has been officially initiated with an investment of 120 million."

"The main cast for 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' has been confirmed: Tang Seng will be played by popular young actor Wen Zhang; Sun Wukong will be played by Starry Sky Culture artist and Golden Horse Best Actor Huang Bai; famous Hong Kong star Shu Qi joins with passion."

"Yang Mi rejects 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons', favors 'White Vengeance'!"

Looking at the news online, Yang Mi's face darkened; wasn't this just inviting hatred for her? But thinking about signing the contract soon, she felt excited again.

Generally speaking, artists with management companies conduct external business negotiations, film contracts, and other activities in the company's name to prevent subsequent disputes.

This time, the film contract between Yang Mi and Starlight International naturally had to be signed in the name of Starry Sky Culture; Zhang Xu represented Starry Sky Culture and attended the signing ceremony with legal personnel.

"President Zhang, Miss Yang Mi, it's a pleasure to cooperate. I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with Shanhe Media in the future, and please convey our greetings to President Wei."

"Pleasure to cooperate, I will."

After some pleasantries, Zhang Xu left Starlight International with Ceng Jia and Yang Mi.

Sitting in the nanny van, the excitement on Yang Mi's face was hard to hide; this time the salary was two million, which was definitely the highest among the young actresses.

Liu Yifei and Jing Tian don't count; they cheated.

Seeming to think of something, Yang Mi looked up and asked Zhang Xu:

"Director Zhang, President Wei didn't say anything, did he?"

"If you are willing to strive for progress, what could President Wei say? Of course, he respects your decision."

Zhang Xu was very satisfied with Yang Mi; she could endure hardship and had drive, and although she hadn't joined the company long, the profits she created were quite considerable.

"This film starts shooting in May, so there's no need to be too anxious; you can take a rest during this time."

Zhang Xu was also afraid that if Yang Mi continued to be a workaholic, her body wouldn't be able to take it.

"Thank you, Director Zhang, I know."

Yang Mi didn't care about this; she wanted to seize every opportunity to make money, even if she couldn't become capital, she wanted to become a rich woman. — Inside a villa somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, Jing Tian's body rose and fell involuntarily.

Jing Tian was quite helpless at this moment; nearly two hours had passed since this card game began, and she felt she had no more cards to play, so she had to surrender.

"Brother, let's take a break first."

Although he felt a bit sorry for the girl, Liu Yifei had already relented, and Jing Tian's situation was particularly important; for the sake of family harmony, Wei Jin could only painfully refuse.

"Tian Tian, we've only been playing poker for a while and you're already quitting, but what am I supposed to do?"

After consecutive card games, Jing Tian's mind was already a bit unclear; although she didn't want the man to leave, she really couldn't hold on anymore, and she said intermittently: "But... why don't you go find her instead..."

Sensing the girl's softening attitude, Wei Jin began to profess his loyalty.

"Tian Tian, you are so sensible, I am very happy in my heart, but the more you are like this, the more I cannot leave you behind. You are the Wei family daughter-in-law designated by my father and uncle; if I don't spend the night here with you, what would that look like?"

Hearing the man's words, a glimmer of light flashed in Jing Tian's eyes; yes, no matter what, she was ultimately the main wife, and her status in the man's heart was different. For these past days, no matter how late it was, he would always return to her place to spend the night.

Thinking of this, although she knew what the man was planning, Jing Tian still put pressure on Liu Yifei, hoping the latter could hold on.

"Brother, you... convince her first..."

Just as Jing Tian and Wei Jin were in the midst of passion, Shanhe Media's two new films for the New Year also announced the start of filming.

The media was quite generous, giving them extensive coverage.

"Jointly produced by Shanhe Media and Meitao Entertainment, the 20 million investment youth campus drama 'Hello Old Times' quietly started filming today at the Huairou Film and Television Base. It is reported that the drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by youth literature writer Bayue Changan, telling the story of..."

"Jointly produced by Shanhe Media and Meitao Entertainment, the 80 million investment costume political drama 'Eastern Palace' started filming today at Hengdian World Studios."

"The drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Fei Wo Si Cun, starring popular young actor Chen Xiao and the most beautiful Beijing Film Academy campus belle Guli Nazha, telling the story of..."

Along with the reports came a large number of character stills, among which the ones that attracted the most attention from netizens were Bai Bin and Nazha.

Bai Bin was in a blue and white student outfit, with her hair in a ponytail, looking indescribably pure; Nazha was no less impressive, in a fiery red ancient long dress, matched with glazed agate ornaments visible all over her body, full of exotic charm.

"Bai Bin is so beautiful, seeing her reminds me of my first love."

"Nazha is stunning, this role is simply tailor-made for her."

Just as netizens were full of expectations for these two dramas, Tangren also joined in the fun and announced their latest television project.

"Following 'Chinese Paladin 1' and 'Chinese Paladin 3', Tangren will once again launch a television drama adapted from a game: 'Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of the Sky'!"

Although Tangren's strength was small, in the field of game-adapted television dramas, they were considered second to none in the industry.

Countless netizens were instantly attracted by Tangren's announcement; after all, the former 'Chinese Paladin 1' and 'Chinese Paladin 3' were both explosive classics.

Many female artists in the industry also paid attention; one must know that Tangren's ability to promote people was quite strong, and Liu Yifei and Yang Mi both became popular through the 'Chinese Paladin' series.

But before everyone could act, Tangren immediately announced the cast for this drama.

"'Xuan-Yuan Sword' will be starred by Hu Ge, Liu Shishi, Tang Yan, Jiang Jinfu, Rouba, and others; the drama is planned to start filming in April..."

Once the news came out, many actors began to complain; as expected, it was still that same Tangren, rarely giving outsiders a chance.

Miss Cai didn't care about this at all; she cared more about Rouba's attitude.

After months of subtle influence, this young girl was finally mastered by her, otherwise this role wouldn't have been given to Rouba.

Next, it was just a matter of finding a suitable opportunity to connect with Wei Jin. — Liu Yifei and Jing Tian never expected that the other would be so unsteadfast; after just two glasses of red wine, they were actually dizzy and ended up in the same room with Wei Jin.

So when the two were slightly sober and met each other candidly in bed, the scene was indescribably awkward.

While receiving Wei Jin's pre-match service, the two communicated silently with their eyes.

Liu Yifei: Why did you agree to such an absurd request? Jing Tian: You have the nerve to talk about me, didn't you agree too? Liu Yifei: That was an expedient measure, I didn't expect you to be so useless... Jing Tian: Easy to say, Brother's body is so good, I can't hold on, why don't you try?

Liu Yifei: Heh, it's not like I haven't tried, I was much more tired when I practiced fight scenes... Jing Tian: Yo, look at how capable you are, if you have the ability, don't call for a stop later. Liu Yifei: Hmph, I'm afraid that if I keep occupying Brother, someone will get jealous.

Jing Tian: Heh, Brother sleeps holding me every night, you're just a maid in the room, what's the harm in me rewarding you tonight?

Seeming to feel that she had lost the upper hand in the eye contact, Liu Yifei, with the alcohol going to her head, rolled her eyes and said coquettishly to Wei Jin:

"Brother, Tian Tian is the youngest, let's take care of her together."

While speaking, Liu Yifei's small hands had already begun to wander across Jing Tian's chest, and it must be said that touching Jing Tian's delicate body, she actually felt a strange stimulation, and her heart couldn't help but thump wildly.

"Yifei, you are truly so sensible; later, Brother will take good care of you."

Wei Jin felt greatly comforted and was filled with vigor. Seeing that Jing Tian could no longer withstand the provocation, he directly started the card game.

"Tian Tian, the first round tonight is left to you."

In order to let the two women successfully get along, Wei Jin started with a pair of Aces; the power of his cards was so great that it left Jing Tian with no room to fight back.

"Woooooo~~~ Bro~~ther~~~ slow~~er"

Being handled by Wei Jin and Liu Yifei from above and below, Jing Tian felt as if her whole body was about to fly away, but in front of the live-in maid, she still had to maintain the dignity of the primary wife and did not want to make a fool of herself so quickly; it was truly difficult for her.

"Tian Tian, do you like it a bit gentler? Alright, everything as you wish."

While speaking, Wei Jin slowed down the speed of his play, and one hand also began to serve Liu Yifei, who soon went limp to the side, looking like she was ready to be plucked.

"Yifei, don't be anxious, Brother will play with you later."

Watching the two women lying side by side on the snow-white bed with flushed faces, Wei Jin felt he was filled with infinite strength, his card-playing power reaching the peak since his transmigration. Not long after, under the triple siege of alcohol, a love rival, and a man, Jing Tian was defeated, armor and helmet discarded, in a wretched state.

Immediately, Wei Jin turned his spearhead, pointed it directly at Liu Yifei, and started a new round of the poker tournament.

That night, Wei Jin would occasionally enter the Celestial Cave Abode to explore, and occasionally pick the nectar of the rich flower; it was incredibly happy—the next morning, the sunlight awakened Wei Jin's biological clock, and he had slept quite well.

Feeling the heavy weight on his arms, the corners of Wei Jin's mouth lifted slightly; the achievement of unlocking the Celestial Rich Flower had finally been attained.

The ultimate goal for the future was to gather the mahjong game of these two big and two small beauties, so as not to live up to his pen name, Eighteen Scholars.

Turning his head to observe left and right, both women were still in deep sleep; it seemed last night's poker tournament had indeed exhausted their physical strength.

Wei Jin did not intend to wake them up, but instead fell into deep thought during this rare, quiet time.

As for his four primary wives, he had already filmed two movies for Gao Yuanyuan, and Ceng Li was about to start her second one; next, he would focus on promoting the two young girls by his side.

Since "Those Years", although he had given Liu Yifei quite a few resources, it had been nearly 7 years since he had directed a movie for her; it had indeed been too long.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin had an idea in his heart; after finishing the filming of "Dixing Yinxing" and attending the Venice Film Festival, he would set about starting the second movie for the two young girls.

As for the script, Wei Jin already had ideas in his mind; he had several movies in his head with heavy female lead roles that were suitable for their current acting skills, letting the two young girls choose carefully could also be considered a reward for them.

As for literary romance films, it was still too early, and Wei Jin was not yet prepared.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Wei Jin turned his head and kissed Jing Tian on her small face, then turned his head again and kissed Liu Yifei on her pretty face.

Retracting his arms inward, Wei Jin hugged the two women who were still in deep sleep tightly, feeling incomparably satisfied—after spending an unforgettable Valentine's Day with the two little beauties, Wei Jin brought them back to Beijing before the Lunar New Year.

After all, he hadn't accompanied his family for New Year's Eve, so he couldn't miss the Lantern Festival as well.

After sending the two women home one by one, Wei Jin returned to Yanjiao Villa.

Just as he entered the door, Wei Jin saw a little bean sprout, carved from pink jade, running over unsteadily; it was Dudu, who was just over a year old.

"Daddy."

Looking at his daughter whom he hadn't seen for more than ten days, Wei Jin's heart seemed to melt; he stepped forward quickly, picked up his daughter, held her high, and spun around.

"Giggle."

A smile appeared on the corners of Dudu's mouth; she seemed to enjoy this feeling of weightlessness, and her pair of chubby little hands waved in the air.

"Mua, mua, mua Dudu, did you miss Daddy?"

After kissing Dudu's pink, tender little face all over, Wei Jin held her in his arms.

"Daddy, miss."

"Yo, little Dudu, Daddy missed you too; come, tell Daddy what you've been doing these days."

Wei Jin reached out and poked Dudu's pink, tender little face, forcibly suppressing the urge to give her a rub.

"Daddy, ball."

Looking at Dudu's chubby finger pointing at his head, Wei Jin laughed in surprise.

"Dudu, head; come, follow Daddy and say it, head."

"Ball."

"No, Dudu, head."

Watching the heartwarming scene of father and daughter, a smile appeared on Ceng Li's face; no matter how long this man wandered outside, he would always treat this place as home, and that was enough.

After dinner, Wei Jin played with his daughter for a long while, gave her a bath, and coaxed her to sleep.

After Dudu was fast asleep, Wei Jin gently turned off the wall lamp, tiptoed out of the room, and came to the living room, where he saw Ceng Li watching television with great interest.

"Li Jie, what are you watching?"

While speaking, Wei Jin glanced at the television screen; it turned out to be a rebroadcast of "I Am a Singer".

At this moment, on the television screen, Lin Zhixuan was showing off his skills in a frantic manner:

"I gaze at the distant mountain peaks, yet miss the intersection where I should turn; looking back suddenly, I realize you are waiting for me, never having left; I search for the end of the sea, yet miss the winding river, when I row against the current. You are by my side, pushing me forward!"

Wei Jin walked over, sat next to Li Jie, held the fragrant beauty in his arms, and nodded, secretly thinking to himself that it was amazing; this was a true singing machine.

"Xiao Jin, his singing skills are really good."

Ceng Li's clear and moving face was full of shock, as if she could not imagine the strength of these professional singers.

After a long while, Ceng Li came back to her senses and asked curiously:

"Do you think Yu Kewei has a chance to make it to the end?"

Ceng Li had watched Yu Kewei debut from "The Voice", so among the many guests on "Singer", she naturally carried a bit of inexplicable attention.

"Hard to say, I reckon it's unlikely."

Wei Jin shook his head; he was not optimistic that Yu Kewei could make it to the end.

The program "Singer" was positioned as a stage for near-perfect skill-showing, and everyone relied on their strength to speak.

Yu Kewei's singing skills were indeed quite good, and among singers of the same age, she could even be considered quite outstanding, but one had to look at what kind of god-like contestants were competing on the same stage this time.

Besides the human singing machine Lin Zhixuan, the other initial contestants, including Sun Nan, Huang Qishan, and Sha Baoliang, which one of them wasn't battle-hardened with full power?

Even the replacement singers were no less inferior; they were all powerful vocalists. It was hard to say who would win, but Yu Kewei's chances were indeed very small.

Wei Jin knew that for this lineup, the variety department had also spent a great deal of effort to finalize it, all to create a perfect auditory feast.

A few days ago, while Wei Jin was still in Australia, the Variety Department had already sent an email to report the results.

Since its launch in late January, "I Am a Singer" has aired three episodes, with its premiere viewership rating of 2.05% soaring all the way to 2.88% now, and the audience share has also risen from 8.34% to 12.73%.

Compared to the company's other two music variety shows, "The Voice" and "Masked Singer," this performance undoubtedly has some gap, but it can already be considered at the level of a top-tier domestic hit variety show.

At the very least, it has already exceeded the viewership rating benchmark stipulated in the contract signed between Shanhe Media and Mango TV, which also means that the performance is even better than initially expected.

According to Mango TV's projections, as word-of-mouth spreads, it will be no problem at all for the average viewership rating of this program to break 3, and if it encounters a viewership peak, breaking 4 is also highly likely.

According to the Variety Department's statistics, the current advertising revenue for a single episode on Mango TV is around 12 million, and a viewership rating breaking 3 means that Shanhe Media can receive a 30% share of the advertising revenue.

Over the course of one season, this portion of revenue will reach as high as over 50 million; counting the embedded advertisements and the guaranteed minimum price, "I Am a Singer" will once again be a hit variety show with profits exceeding 100 million.

"Xiao Jin, this program of yours is done quite well; it can make people calm down and listen to songs properly. I haven't missed a single episode, and you have to admit, after some songs are reinterpreted by them, they really have a different flavor."

It was evident that Ceng Li liked this program very much; it was no wonder, as she herself had a quiet and gentle temperament, and this type of program suited her preferences.

Looking at the delicate, flower-like face of the green-clad beauty so close at hand, accompanied by the faint, lingering fragrance drifting into his nostrils, Wei Jin's thoughts began to wander.

"Li Jie, the flavor of the songs is indeed good, but right now I want to taste yours even more."

Sensing the signal released by the man, Ceng Li, who had been single for over half a month, immediately softened, nodding with a shy expression.

"Mm~~ not here, let's go to the bedroom~~~"

"As you command, my lady."

Wei Jin scooped up the beauty with both hands, carrying her horizontally in his arms, and strode toward the bedroom.

Before long, Ceng Li began to perform songs with a different flavor. Second update today (End of chapter)