Chapter 320: Welcome to Starry Sky Culture, Regretting It Deeply

Having received the signing reply from Starry Sky Culture, Zhao Liying was filled with confidence, so when she stepped into the Huayi Zongbu once again, she felt a sense of relief she had never experienced before.

"Liying, are you really leaving?"

"Yes, I've been here for five years; I plan to try a different environment."

Looking at the minor artists who used to compete with her for roles, Zhao Liying smiled and nodded, though her heart remained calm; from now on, the Great Dao stretched toward the sky, and each would walk their own path—it was unlikely she would have any more intersections with this group.

Bidding farewell to her former colleagues, Zhao Liying walked straight toward the office of the Artist Department Director, leaving only a few minor artists whispering behind her.

"She seems a bit different; has she found a powerful new backer?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Could there be anything better than Huayi? We are a listed company, after all."

"But come to think of it, she really is miserable. The champion of Director Feng's group on Yahoo Search Star, how come she hasn't made any progress in all these years?"

"Heh, it's just because she doesn't know how to conduct herself. She doesn't even know how to cozy up to Director Feng, tsk tsk."

Zhao Liying was naturally unaware of the mockery from these minor Huayi artists; she took a deep breath and knocked on the door of the office belonging to Li Xuexue, the head of Huayi Brokerage Company.

"Come in."

The moment she entered, Zhao Liying couldn't help but feel nervous; after all, the latter was Li Bingbing's sister, a woman who held the fate of hundreds of Huayi artists in her hands.

But the next moment, she gathered her courage and stated her purpose.

"Director Li, my contract has expired, and I've come to handle the paperwork today."

Li Xuexue looked up and sized up Zhao Liying; she vaguely remembered that there were a few artists who hadn't chosen to renew, but the girl before her had such a well-behaved appearance—why hadn't she noticed her before?

"Hmm, have you thought it through? Huayi is a top-tier company in the industry; many people want to get in but have no way. Once you leave, you won't have the chance to come back."

Although she knew the other party was offering well-intentioned advice, Zhao Liying had heard this kind of condescending tone too many times over the past five years.

She wore a firm expression and decisively shook her head in refusal.

"Director Li, I have thought it through; I will not renew."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuexue was somewhat surprised, then frowned; she hadn't expected her good intentions to be met with such unhesitating rejection.

Shaking her head, she formed a new opinion of the person before her; a minor artist with such low emotional intelligence and lack of appreciation would probably just end up like this for the rest of her life.

She then took a document from her drawer, threw it on the desk, and pointed at it while saying.

"Sign this 'Contract Expiration Document,' and you will no longer be a Huayi artist."

Having said that, Li Xuexue leaned forward, resting her hands on the desk, and said in a somewhat overbearing tone.

"But I'm warning you, from now on, you cannot use Huayi's name to engage in any commercial activities."

Zhao Liying turned a deaf ear to Li Xuexue's nagging and signed the document readily.

Ten minutes later, Zhao Liying walked out of the Huayi building with her own documents, her eyes filled with hope. —— China Film Digital Production Base, *Dixing Yinxing* filming set.

Today's scene finally returned to a field Wei Jin was familiar with, as it was being filmed inside a spaceship built with a one-to-one restoration.

On screen, the male lead played by Cheng Long was teaching the female lead played by Ceng Li how to use the soft-landing thruster to escape the predicament at hand.

"Cut."

Watching the footage on the monitor, Wei Jin nodded with satisfaction; both Cheng Long and Ceng Li had performed the effect he wanted.

The key to this scene lay in Ceng Li having to coordinate her performance to show that look of finding hope in despair, filled with inner drive, and pulling herself together again.

Meanwhile, the male lead played by Cheng Long had to have eyes filled with the belief in life and the longing for home.

Because from the perspective of Ceng Li and the audience, the male lead was still alive in this scene.

After reviewing it repeatedly, Wei Jin picked up the megaphone and shouted.

"This take is a wrap."

Afterward, Wei Jin stood up, walked over to Cheng Long, and said with a smile.

"Big Brother, congratulations on wrapping up!"

The crew members also gathered around and said in unison.

"Big Brother, congratulations on wrapping up!"

Ceng Li even took a bouquet of flowers from her Assistant and presented it to Cheng Long.

"Thank you, thank you everyone. Although the filming time was short this time, it felt very special to me; I will remember you all."

Having said that, Cheng Long looked at Wei Jin with a smile on his face.

"Director Wei, looking forward to our next collaboration!"

Wei Jin also responded with a smile: "Big Brother, there will definitely be an opportunity."

"Alright, Director Wei, everyone, goodbye."

With *Chinese Zodiac* waiting for Cheng Long to preside over the big picture, Wei Jin did not try to keep him.

"Big Brother, goodbye."

*Dixing Yinxing* had only been filming for 20 days, yet the male lead's scenes were already wrapped, which also drew significant attention from the media.

That evening, relevant news had already appeared on major web portals.

"Big Brother Cheng Long wraps up today; *Dixing Yinxing* filming progress is gratifying, 【Fast Gunner】 Wei Jin lives up to his reputation."

"Big Brother Cheng Long leaves the Digital Base holding flowers; the entire *Dixing Yinxing* crew sees him off." —— In the film market, although Zhen Zidan was no longer participating in roadshows, the box office trend of *Ip Man 3* remained quite strong, maintaining over 20 million in daily box office on weekdays.

*Ip Man 3* had been released for a week, with a cumulative box office of 168 million; according to this trend, there was a significant probability of breaking 500 million.

The promotion for *Guan Yunchang* was quite cunning, desperately promoting Zhen Zidan's contribution to the film.

"New Chinese Kung Fu Hustle superstar Zhen Zidan, passionately presents a historical epic!"

"Zhen Zidan playing a Republic-era master could already achieve such box office; playing the eternal martial saint of Huaxia will surely create a new box office high. Our goal is 600 million in box office!"

The producers of *Guan Yunchang* spent a large sum of money on crazy, full-channel promotion; everywhere in major cinema chains and online, one could see solo posters of Zhen Zidan clad in armor and holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

The media also hyped up this film crazily; after all, the popularity of *Ip Man 3* was there, and *Guan Yunchang* was the largest investment since the beginning of the year, with a high possibility of success.

Amidst such attention from all sides, the time quickly arrived at April 29th, and *Guan Yunchang* ushered in its official release. A large number of industry insiders were watching the film's opening day box office.

When the figure of 18.6 million appeared on Yinxiang Net, the filmmakers in Mainland China almost laughed until they choked.

Boasting a target of 600 million, and this is the result?

You have to know, a film's opening day box office needs to be at least 30 million or more to even have a chance at sprinting toward a 600 million target, and that's assuming word-of-mouth doesn't collapse.

But Yinxiang Net's 4.9 rating has practically pronounced the death sentence for this film.

Looking at the data and reviews online, Zhen Zidan felt anxious, fearful, and regretful all at once; a variety of emotions came rushing in.

Looking back on his acting career over these years, he realized clearly that relying solely on the *Ip Man* series of hit films wouldn't be enough for him to become a top-tier A-list male star, which is why he had been desperately taking on roles all these years—just to stabilize his status and broaden his acting range.

Unfortunately, his previous attempts hadn't been ideal; whether it was *Legend of the Fist* or *Blades*, neither had managed to increase his commercial value, and instead, his reputation had been somewhat dragged down.

He had intended to leverage the momentum of *Ip Man 3* to drive the box office for *Guan Yunchang* and give himself another hit film.

He had even gone so far as to offend Emperor Group and Wei Jin for this, abandoning the promotional roadshows for *Ip Man 3*.

But he never expected that Heaven would play such a huge joke on him. Zhen Zidan truly regretted it to the core; he just wanted to be famous, so why was it so difficult? — Between takes, Wei Jin also took some time to look at the reviews online. He had to admit, sometimes the mockery from netizens and the audience was even more brilliant than the film itself.

Especially a few of the sharp-tongued ones; their critiques were quite incisive.

Shallow Remnant Life: "What the hell, Guan Erye is a thousand-year-old Martial Saint, and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade actually got snapped by a pair of feet just like that! If the Second Master were still alive, everyone in this film crew, one by one, would have to be slashed to death."

God's Pity: "150 million in investment, how much did the director pocket? Is the Green Dragon Crescent Blade made of plastic? It's so short, small, and thin."

Shushan Swordsman 2014: "To the person above, Zhen Zidan is 1.7 meters tall; the weapon is too big, I'm afraid he couldn't handle it."

Spirit Night Ten Thousand Fields: "Yet another fabricated historical script. The righteous Second Brother Guan having an affair with his little sister-in-law? The directors and screenwriters in Hong Kong aren't just using their imagination anymore; they've literally opened up their skulls."

Beixuan's Jie: "Am I the only one who feels like Cao Cao and Guan Yu are gay? That line from Jiang Wen, 'I just like you,' almost gave me terminal embarrassment."

After reading the online reviews, Wei Jin knew this film had completely flopped. The key was that this would create a negative feedback loop; *Ip Man 3* would likely be implicated as well. — On the last day of April, Zhao Liying posted a Weibo update.

"Today, my five-year management contract with Huayi has expired. We are parting ways peacefully. Thank you for the past; in the future, I will work even harder. Let's go, Zhao Liying!"

Although Weibo had been online for nearly two years, the number of Zhao Liying's followers was truly too miserable to look at.

There weren't many likes either, and most were from unknown actors. The only industry celebrities among them were Jiang Xuerou, Xu Zheng, and others.

Composing herself, Zhao Liying arrived at the Shanhe Building. Compared to the nervousness and tension she felt last time, she felt more excitement in her heart now.

After today, she would become an artist under Starry Sky Culture.

Still in that familiar office, Zhao Liying looked at the three types of contracts for mature artists in front of her.

Although she had heard about them many times, when these specific terms were presented before her, Zhao Liying still couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Starry Sky Culture was truly a big company in the industry; these conditions were just too good.

Whether it was the revenue-sharing ratio or the artist's service team, for a small, transparent artist like her, it was all too generous.

"Have you read the contract carefully? Have you decided how to choose?"

Zhang Xu felt a bit emotional; not everyone had the courage to cut off their own retreat first.

"Director Zhang, I've read it carefully, and I've decided. I choose the 8-year contract."

Hearing this, Zhang Xu looked at the girl in front of him with some surprise. Was she really that ruthless to herself?

As of now, among the signed artists at Starry Sky Culture, excluding newcomers who had just graduated, there wasn't a single mature artist who had signed an 8-year long-term contract.

If Zhao Liying signed for eight years, she would be the one with the longest term. At 24 years old, after 8 years, she was truly selling her life to the company.

"Are you sure? Have you thought it through?"

"Director Zhang, I have thought it through very clearly."

Zhao Liying said decisively, as if she were going to give it her all and fight to the death.

"Good, sign this contract."

Zhang Xu said no more and pushed the document over, though he was already calculating how to cultivate this girl.

Watching Zhao Liying quickly sign her name, Zhang Xu stood up and extended his right hand.

"Ms. Zhao Liying, welcome to Starry Sky Culture!"

"Thank you, Director Zhang."

Holding Zhang Xu's hand, Zhao Liying felt as if she were holding her entire life. — On May Day, Starry Sky Culture released an announcement to the public via its official Weibo.

"Welcome actor Zhao Liying to the Starry Sky Culture family. May we work together in the future to create brilliance."

A simple Weibo post, tagging Zhao Liying, just like every time they welcomed a newcomer.

"Very happy to join Starry Sky Culture. I hope to progress together with the company in the future. Thank you, Director Zhang, Director Jiang."

Zhao Liying also updated a Weibo post, tagging Starry Sky Culture.

Soon, the news spread throughout the industry, though not many people paid attention; after all, Zhao Liying was just an unknown actress.

It was just that quite a few artists were curious: how did this unknown actress get noticed?

The artists of Starry Sky Culture soon received the news as well, and many of them politely posted welcomes on Weibo and followed her at the first opportunity.

"So she climbed up to a high branch; no wonder she didn't renew her contract."

Looking at the news online, Li Xuexue suddenly realized, but then she shook her head. With Zhao Liying's looks, Wei Jin probably wouldn't be interested. Whether she could make a name for herself at Starry Sky Culture was really hard to say. — Just as the May Day holiday began, news came from Hunter that *Source Code* had finished its theatrical run in North America, with a box office of 103 million USD.

Compared to the 20 million production cost, the North American box office alone had already achieved a significant profit; at least the public relations fees Wei Jin had previously paid for *The Hunt* were covered.

According to Summit Entertainment's projections, with the film releasing in other regions, the global box office for *Source Code* was expected to exceed 150 million—definitely another classic case of a small investment yielding big returns.

Additionally, Summit Entertainment's new cash cow, *The Hunger Games*, had already started filming and was expected to wrap up in July.

However, another piece of news from Hunter surprised Wei Jin a bit; he didn't expect Xiaoma Pentium to have already started contacting Digital Domain.

It seemed that after the financing, Xiaoma was holding a large amount of cash, and the founder was preparing to go big.

In fact, domestic special effects companies were already starting to rise, and Xiaoma's layout in the special effects field was not a bad path for comprehensive development.

However, for a special effects company, the most valuable assets were the technical talents, and in this regard, Digital Domain had been almost hollowed out by Summit Entertainment over the past few years. If Xiaoma Pentium really took over, they would likely be scammed miserably.

Shaking his head, Wei Jin pulled back his thoughts and prepared to start the day's filming tasks. (End of chapter)