Chapter 364: Ai, as in the Ai of Mugwort

Beijing, New Picture.

After several days of phone calls, a self-satisfied smile appeared on Zhang Weiping's face.

Just as he had expected, the major production companies in the industry had long been dissatisfied with the box office revenue-sharing ratios, and they agreed to his proposal without hesitation.

The only requirement was for him to step forward and take the lead, and the reason was quite sufficient: who else but Zhang Dapao had such extensive experience? Zhang Weiping had no objections to this; this position of "big brother" was one he had already earmarked for himself, and the others only needed to play their parts as little brothers and follow him into the charge.

"Hmph, a bunch of timid fellows, destined to be nothing more than supporting characters."

"President Zhang, why don't we call up Shanhe Media?"

The secretary was somewhat puzzled; in terms of strength, although Shanhe Media was not yet public, no one could deny its status as the industry leader.

"No need to ask, I have my own considerations."

Regarding the secretary's confusion, Zhang Weiping had considered it many times before, and ultimately decided to leave Shanhe Media out of it.

For one, Zhang Weiping could not forget the time he was sniped by Wei Jin.

For another, Shanhe Media had its own cinema chain; although it had already brought in strategic investors and was in the final stages of going public, it could not be considered a monopoly. But as an industry insider, how could Zhang Weiping not know how many shares Wei Jin held in it? If he really called up Shanhe Media, there was no guarantee that Wei Jin wouldn't turn around and expose his plan to other cinema chains, acting as a mole.

Then this battle, which hadn't even begun yet, would likely end prematurely.

"You go and coordinate; the screening for the media and cinema chains is set for the 15th."

The secretary understood that this screening would be the battlefield where both sides would clash.

"Very well, President Zhang."

After dismissing the secretary, Zhang Weiping stayed in his office alone, his thoughts beginning to wander.

"The box office revenue-sharing issue shouldn't be much of a problem; next, I need to consider the promotion for *The Flowers of War*."

Thinking of this, Zhang Weiping opened his computer and created a document. In the film market, *Mr. Tree* had been released.

Although Wei Jin had helped promote it on Weibo after attending the premiere, it was still of no use.

The first-day box office of just over one million directly sentenced this film to death at the box office.

However, the word-of-mouth online was full of praise, with a rating as high as 8.3 on Yinxiang Net.

Even the Movie Channel gave it a super-high evaluation, praising it as a very grounded art-house film.

Wei Jin estimated that the final box office for this film would likely be just over ten million.

For one, the audience for art-house films was indeed too small.

For another, the cast of this film, whether it was the director Han Jie or the actor Wang Baoqiang, did not possess much box office appeal.

"A bit of a pity."

Putting aside his sigh, Wei Jin stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into the trash can, and turned to walk toward the monitor.

Watching the situation on set, Wei Jin knew the crew was ready, so he didn't hesitate any longer, picked up the megaphone, and shouted.

"Action."

Today's scene was the female lead's first time going to the cram school, where she met a kind and approachable tutor.

The two of them established a preliminary teacher-student relationship in the small classroom.

Perhaps because they had been together for years, both Jing Tian and Zhang Songwen had great chemistry, and several shots were done in almost one take; the filming was very smooth.

"Cut, this shot is a wrap, prepare for the next one."

Guo Fan took his first film very seriously.

For this casting, Guo Fan had conducted character analyses for every role, striving for the best in terms of appearance, temperament, and acting skills.

After spending two days, he finally selected the actors he was satisfied with from the audition list, and then hurried to the filming set of *Bottom-Tier Girl*.

Seeing that they were filming, Guo Fan didn't disturb them, but watched from the side, taking the opportunity to learn a few tricks.

Once the scene ended, Guo Fan immediately handed the list to Wei Jin.

"President Wei, the casting for *Ex Machina* is out, please take a look."

"Tell me, what are your reasons for choosing them?"

Looking at the list in his hand, Wei Jin was a bit surprised, though he wasn't trying to interfere with the casting, he was just curious about Guo Fan's thoughts.

"This person's appearance and temperament are quite fitting for a geeky programmer, his acting is also good, and most importantly, he's very cheap."

Wei Jin really couldn't refute Guo Fan's reason.

Although Zhang Luyi was in his thirties, he was well-maintained, and as a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, there was no need to worry about his acting; there shouldn't be any problem with him playing the male lead.

"What about the others?"

"Wan Qian has very good acting skills, especially when playing rational roles like a robot; she is very talented."

Wei Jin nodded in approval; for this woman with whom he had had deep exchanges, he had a good impression of her, both in his past life and the present.

"As for the second male lead, this Zhang Chengguang is naturally endowed with the temperament of a wealthy man, very suitable for this role, and having debuted for many years, his acting is also beyond doubt."

Wei Jin continued to nod; although this person was a Taiwan actor, he had been in the industry for over twenty years, had appeared in hundreds of film and television works, had diligently portrayed countless classic roles, and had no sordid history, so they could work together.

"As for the second female lead, Zhang Tianai, it's mainly because she's pretty and cheap, haha."

"Hehe, you kid..."

Wei Jin smiled and patted Guo Fan on the shoulder; this film had a total of four roles with significant screen time, and he had finally left one for an actor from the Beijing Film Academy, which could be considered giving his alma mater some face.

"Alright, it's settled, announce it later."

"Okay, I'll go to the company later."

After dismissing Guo Fan, Wei Jin walked toward the monitor and began the next shoot.

This scene was the cram school student played by Bai Yu coming to the cram school for the first time.

Zhang Songwen, acting as the teacher, learned that the main reason he didn't want to study was to take revenge on his father, so he proposed a more "cruel" way of revenge.

"Cut."

Wei Jin looked at Bai Yu, who had dyed his hair yellow and was acting all cocky in the shot, and nodded with satisfaction.

"This take is a wrap, prepare for the next one."

In the afternoon, Shanhe Media announced the casting list for *Ex Machina*.

Looking at this list, many netizens began to make sarcastic remarks.

"As expected of a director from Beijing Film Academy. Director Guo Fan's casting is very artistic; the only one with the smallest role is from Beijing Film Academy, and even then, just a student from an extension class, haha."

"Looking at this situation, I'm afraid the school put some pressure on him, right? Haha."

"Just for this move alone, Guo Fan is destined to be a great director in the future!"

As Wei Jin's personal Assistant, Huang Mengying naturally had to stay on set during the filming of the movie.

After finishing the day's shooting, seeing her boss leave with Jing Tian, Huang Mengying knew she would be spending the night alone again.

Taking a taxi back to the artist apartment provided by the company, as soon as she entered the room, Huang Mengying was hugged by a tall woman, their breasts pressed tightly together.

"Meng Ying, I succeeded! I got the role of the second female lead, the second female lead of the movie!"

Listening to Zhang Tianai's somewhat incoherent expression, Huang Mengying felt happy for her too. The two had joined the company together and often lived together, so their relationship was excellent; they frequently chatted about each other's work, and Huang Mengying naturally knew how fierce the competition had been this time.

Huang Mengying patted Zhang Tianai's back, as if comforting and encouraging her, though she teased her with her words.

"Congratulations, Tian Ai. You got the second female lead right off the bat; I'm afraid you'll be a big star in the future. Don't forget me when you're rich and famous."

Listening to her good friend's banter, Zhang Tianai reached out and tickled Huang Mengying under her armpits.

"You dead girl, you have Boss Wei as your backer, yet you still tease me."

"I was wrong, I was wrong, stop it quickly."

While dodging, Huang Mengying begged for mercy.

"Hmph, let's see if you still make fun of me."

After some playfulness, Zhang Tianai pulled Huang Mengying to the dining table.

"Here, I tried making some Sichuan dishes; I don't know if you'll like them."

Looking at the hometown dishes on the table, Huang Mengying was somewhat moved, and just as she was about to say something, her stomach let out a "Gurgle~" sound.

"Haha, stop being pretentious, go wash your hands and eat."

The ancients said, "Do not speak while eating or sleeping," but for girls, they talk the most when eating and sleeping.

The two chatted while eating the dishes.

"Meng Ying, why do you think Boss Wei gave me this name? Tian Ai, it's so strange; 'Tian Ai' (Heavenly Love) would be more like it."

After eating a bite of braised eggplant, Huang Mengying licked her lips with her tongue.

"What use is it whether Heaven loves you or not?"

Zhang Tianai was confused, "Then what about Tian Ai? What meaning does it have?"

Huang Mengying coughed dryly, always feeling her own thoughts were a bit dirty, but it was perfectly normal for girls to be suggestive together.

"Look, 'Ai' is the 'Ai' from mugwort. Mugwort, mugwort every day, do you understand now?"

Zhang Tianai was stunned for a moment, muttered it to herself a few times, and immediately reacted, her pretty face blushing bright red.

"Alright, Meng Ying, you're getting dirtier and dirtier. See how I deal with you tonight."

As she spoke, Zhang Tianai reached out her fingers and poked Huang Mengying's breasts, the latter dodging while asserting her sovereignty.

"Hey, hey, don't forget, this is my room; you're in the one next door."

"So what? Tonight, this lady is going to be the boss for once, sleep with my little Assistant, little Meng Ying, just submit to me, hahaha."

The next day, when Wei Jin saw Huang Mengying on set, he found it a bit strange; why was this girl looking so haggard?

"Meng Ying, didn't you rest well last night?"

"Ah, Boss, I was chatting with Tian Ai last night and got too excited, I didn't notice the time and slept quite late."

Facing her boss's inquiry, Huang Mengying felt a bit guilty, then immediately complained about Zhang Tianai in her heart.

Last night, she insisted on being handsy, leaving her feeling all worked up and uncomfortable; she had no choice but to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night to manually relieve the itch, which resulted in her not sleeping well all night.

"Then go take a nap in the car later; the crew doesn't need you here."

Wei Jin nodded without asking further; girls chatting and staying up late was the norm.

Taking advantage of the time the crew was setting up, Wei Jin browsed the news online.

The movie *The Last Supper*, directed by Lu Chuan, had finally wrapped up.

From preparation to the start of filming, and now to the wrap, this movie took a full 13 months.

Once the news came out, netizens spontaneously gave Lu Chuan a nickname: "Slow Lu."

Clearly, this was not praising him for slow work producing fine results, but simply mocking him for being dawdling.

Seeing this news, Wei Jin reckoned that Emperor Motion Pictures and Stellar MegaMedia must have let out a huge sigh of relief; it was finally over.

However, with a production cost of 140 million, it would need at least 400 million in domestic box office to break even.

Although he hadn't seen this movie in his past life, Wei Jin felt that, given Lu Chuan's level, there was mostly no hope.

"Boss Yang and Boss Qin are probably going to suffer a huge loss again."

After sighing, Wei Jin put away his phone, walked straight to the monitor, and started the new day's filming. Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since the start of *Bottom-Tier Girl*.

The filming progress was also quite gratifying, with almost half of the scenes already completed.

Finishing the day's scenes early, Wei Jin changed his clothes in the nanny van, preparing to attend the premiere of *Love is Not Blind*.

As this was Teacher Xue's first commercial film, Wei Jin still had to give face and attend.

This movie's production cost was only 20 million, and it was solely invested in by Shanhe Media, so the scale of the premiere was naturally not large, held right at the Shanhe Cinema Line flagship store in Beijing.

Even so, many stars and industry insiders still came to show their support, so the red carpet was still shining with star power.

"Director Wei, how much do you think the box office for this movie will be?"

"I've seen the finished film; Director Xue Xiaolu shot it very well, and Yang Mi and Wang Kai also delivered wonderful performances for everyone. It definitely won't disappoint the audience. As for the box office, I conservatively estimate over 400 million."

Ignoring the gasps of the media reporters, Wei Jin walked onto the red carpet with a smile, though the image of Jing Tian appeared in his mind.

It had to be said, the young girl was quite responsible regarding her own movie; since the start of filming, she hadn't participated in any other activities, devoting herself entirely to the role.

Wei Jin decided that after the film wrapped, he must reward her well.

As the film's lead actress, Yang Mi was undoubtedly the most dazzling presence in the room today, frequently mingling among the guests.

But when she saw Wei Jin enter alone, Yang Mi instantly abandoned her socializing and walked over to greet him.

"Senior brother, you're here."

Looking at the meticulously dressed Yang Mi before him, Wei Jin's eyes lit up.

At this moment, Yang Mi's makeup was exquisite, and her fiery red lips were full of temptation.

In a black deep-V sleeveless gown, her full, milky-white breasts could not be hidden at all, making her incredibly eye-catching.

Paired with a pair of red high heels, her long-legged advantage was fully displayed; she was truly a Queen of the dark night.

"Mimi, you look truly beautiful today."

Hearing the man's undisguised praise, the smile on Yang Mi's face grew even deeper, and she blinked at Wei Jin.

"Then senior brother, do you have time tonight?"

As she spoke, Yang Mi had already linked her arm with Wei Jin's, and her milky-white breasts pressed tightly against him.

Feeling the soft sensation, a smile appeared on the corner of Wei Jin's mouth.

"Mimi, tonight I will fill you up."

Hearing the man's provocative words, 25-year-old Yang Mi couldn't help but clench her legs together.

Just as she was about to say something more, a staff member came over to beckon them; the premiere was about to begin.

Today's premiere had no fancy frills; the main creators chatted on stage about interesting stories from the filming, and then the feature film began to play.

Listening to the constant laughter and cheers at the venue, Wei Jin knew the box office was definitely secure. (End of this chapter)