Chapter 152

After finishing Happy Camp, Liu Tianxian resumed her usual promotional tour.

Li Xian and Zhao Xiaodao also joined in.

This time, Liu Tianxian and the two of them were touring together—just showing up, getting some visibility, and getting the agency business going.

As for the director and Producer, they were busy with national affairs.

Fang Hong spun off Tu Piaopiao as an independent company, naturally operating as a subsidiary of Yutu.

It is currently wholly owned by Yutu.

At the end of September, the United States' The Conjuring finally finished shooting and entered post-production; the film had taken two or three months to shoot.

The Purge 1 was already in production before its release.

Yu Xian was utterly exhausted—damn it, he hadn't rested a single day since coming to the United States, always either shooting a movie or on the way to shoot one; Fang Dog was treating him like livestock.

He even told him to open the England Rose audio channel—he simply had no time.

There were just too damn many things to handle; the money he'd saved hadn't even been spent.

Fang Hong gave him three million U. S. dollars—equivalent to over twenty million—still sitting idle in the bank.

There was no way to go out and enjoy himself; he had no time.

"You keep making me shoot movies, and now you're assigning me new tasks—I'm a human, not a dog," Yu Xian complained over the phone.

Others shoot one decent film a year; he's already shot three in a row and still has to shoot more.

"Don't rush—this one's low-budget, super simple, just shoot it with a DV; cost is 350,000 dollars—you can be the Producer and hire someone else to shoot it," Fang Hong spoke quickly.

He wanted to shoot The Gallows—a micro-budget horror film in documentary style.

The real reason for shooting this was that movie releases were too slow and costs too high; he was running short on cash.

Use this low-budget film to buy some time.

If he shot a bigger film, it would require millions in upfront investment.

In plain terms—he was broke.

Fang Hong had stretched his own balls too tight.

"Hiring someone to shoot is exhausting too—do I need to prepare? Do I need to supervise? I'm still working on The Conjuring's post-production!" Yu Xian grumbled.

"Oh come on, General Manager, I'm in trouble right now—getting yelled at by this one, cursed by that one; I'm struggling too, just give it your best, okay?" Fang Hong pleaded.

Chen Zhixi, listening to their conversation across from him, couldn't help smiling—such a powerful person, reduced to begging! "If one person yells at you, I can understand they're an idiot—but if many are yelling at you, shouldn't you look at yourself?" Yu Xian lectured.

He'd always been lectured by Fang Hong; now he had a chance to return the favor! "I thought with someone as awesome as you around, you could just stroll through the domestic entertainment industry." Fang Hong said.

"You overestimate me," Yu Xian replied.

"Of course I overestimate you—you're my backbone. Whether my waist is stiff or not depends entirely on you. If you slack off, I collapse—and if I collapse, do you think you'll fare better?" Fang Hong spoke with perfect logic.

"So I'm indispensable, huh!" Yu Xian gloated.

"Ah well, no choice—I'm totally relying on Brother Yu," Fang Hong flattered.

This remark greatly satisfied Yu Xian's vanity—he truly believed his brother was at his wit's end, or he wouldn't beg like this.

Of course, he secretly delighted: "Alright then, since you're in trouble, Brother will work hard and be your solid backing."

"Yes yes yes, you're absolutely right—I'll hang up now, won't disturb you, Brother Yu. I'll send you the script and storyboard by email," Fang Hong said.

"Wait—I still have three million here. You're in trouble, right? Want to borrow it for now?" Yu Xian still supported Fang Hong's boldness.

If his brother had face, he had face too; when they returned to the domestic industry, he could just become a godfather.

"No thanks, keep it and spend it yourself!"

Fang Hong hung up the phone.

The man had worked so hard and saved every penny—he couldn't possibly take it!

The Gallows was a pseudo-DV documentary—basically just a bit of artistic direction and some cinematography skills, turned into a film.

The story was hollow—just meant to scare.

Similar to the earlier Paranormal Activity, except that one had fresh appeal and got to eat the first crab.

Later imitators didn't achieve such success.

After finishing his talk with Yu Xian, Fang Hong looked at Chen Zhixi, who was still laughing uncontrollably: "What's so funny? Is it that hilarious?"

"Never thought you'd ever beg like this," Chen Zhixi laughed.

"Isn't it all for you? Why did you even decide to invest in that drama?" Fang Hong said.

"I thought it was profitable, so I approved it—who knew you'd go and create Tu Piaopiao and Bilibili and throw money around everywhere?" Chen Zhixi also complained.

She had previously invested in Beijing Love Story under Yutu's name.

She already knew Chen Sicheng—they were both from the Central Academy of Drama, him from the '99 class, her from the '00 class, the kind you'd meet just by being in the same school.

"How was I supposed to know you'd invest in other people's TV dramas?" Fang Hong said.

Previously, everything had been self-produced.

"You're saying I acted on my own initiative? Didn't we agree I have the right to decide what films and TV we produce?" Chen Zhixi spread her hands.

"Fine fine fine, my fault—you're right to invest," Fang Hong said. He'd been busy with strategy lately and hadn't paid attention to film and TV at all.

Film and TV had always been entrusted to Chen Zhixi.

"I fought hard to snatch this project away from Xinli," Chen Zhixi whined.

Fang Hong said nothing—every TV show or movie she touched turned out wildly profitable; she was simply doing her job, grabbing good opportunities. Fundamentally, Fang Hong was relying on memories from his past life, and he'd forgotten many films and shows.

Of course, he could still recall them with careful thought—but he simply didn't have the bandwidth.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Chen Zhixi sweep up 300 million in copyright IPs—he feared missing any hidden gems.

He nearly missed Beijing Love Story! Chen Sicheng was a talent.

In business, aside from stars, Fang Hong didn't care about anyone's private morals—only whether they could make him money.

"Where is this project now?"

"We're almost done shooting; the third phase of investment is coming soon," Chen Zhixi said.

That means it's time to spend money again.

Fang Hong called Yu Xian just to ask about the money—there had been too many expenses lately.

He dared not take on more film projects, afraid everything would collapse—that wouldn't be fun at all.

"Alright, let's finish this one," he said.

I estimate The Gallows can be scheduled for release in a month.

As long as you find the actors and locations, you can shoot it immediately—no preparation or special equipment needed.

The Conjuring won't come out so fast! But either way, it can hold us over for a while—The Perfect Score is also about to be released.

"By the way, I have something to tell you," Chen Zhixi said, just as she was about to get up and leave, then sat back down.

"What is it?"

"Your girl seems to be stirring up trouble again. Why not just promote the movie properly? Now she's getting involved with a woman, completely derailing the direction," Chen Zhixi sounded annoyed.

She had been the one pulling the strings behind the movie's promotion, and she didn't understand Liu Tianxian's behavior at all.

This girl seemed smart enough—why did she suddenly act so foolish?

"You're saying Liu Tianxian is a lesbian?"

Fang Hong stared in surprise, pointing at himself: "Then what am I?"

"Who knows? You could try a threesome," Chen Zhixi said, then clapped her hands and burst out laughing: "Hahahaha!"

That was a crude joke to throw around!

But they were close enough that it didn't matter.

"What's the real situation?" Fang Hong didn't find it funny.

"Take a look yourself—I can't explain it clearly," Chen Zhixi pulled out her phone, opened an article, and handed it to him.

The information dug deep into Liu Tianxian and Zeng Yike's relationship—from how they met to how they became close—even screenshots of Zeng saying "I miss you" on Happy Camp had been taken and wildly misinterpreted.

There were also candid photos of them going out together, eating meals, and watching movies from bystander perspectives.

These were interpreted as proof their relationship was abnormal.

"That's nothing—maybe they're just best friends. Don't most girls act like this with each other?" Fang Hong thought it was normal.

Zhang Liangying had acted the same way with Liu Tianxian before—Liu Tianxian was always kind and generous to her friends, and she loved having fun.

"It's nothing—if Zeng isn't a lesbian, then sure. But what if she is? Do you still think it's nothing?" Chen Zhixi said.

"Who told you that?" Fang Hong asked.

"It's been out for years. When she joined Super Girl years ago, she kissed a girl—back then, the media already called her a lesbian," Chen Zhixi said.

Damn, Fang Hong pulled up Zeng Yike's photo to see what she looked like—he'd only heard of this obscure B-list actress.

She dressed androgynously, like a boy—there really was that tendency. He glanced at her profile, then tossed the phone back to Chen Zhixi.

"I don't believe it—she's had boyfriends before."

"Even so, isn't it possible she's bisexual?" Chen Zhixi speculated.

Fang Hong thought for a moment, unsure—someone who dressed so androgynously might have psychological quirks.

He waved his hand: "Hey, don't go making wild guesses."

"Actually, whether she is or isn't isn't the point—the point is she's now linked to your Liu Tianxian. The enemy believes she is, and by extension, they're saying your Liu Tianxian is too—that's the real issue," Chen Zhixi said seriously.

That is, what their actual relationship is doesn't matter—the enemy claims they're that kind of couple, and pushes it to the public—that's the real problem.

If mishandled, Liu Tianxian could fall from her pedestal.

Sexuality is a taboo—especially for public figures like female stars. You're a civilian? No one cares.

It's like corrupting fans, corrupting the public—your influence is too great.

Fang Hong felt irritated: "How big is the public opinion right now?"

"Not huge yet—but you need to be careful. They've got a solid weapon in hand, and when they choose to play it, we won't have any say," Chen Zhixi said.

"Who cares about her? Crush it. First, protect the movie. She has her own company—if she doesn't even care, why should we?" Fang Hong waved his hand decisively.

Money comes first. Without money, everything's empty talk. As for Liu Tianxian's personal affairs, we don't know the full situation yet—we'll deal with it once we do.

That means he'd treat Liu Tianxian and the movie separately!

"Crushing it won't solve anything—it'll resurface quickly. Better to shift the narrative, cover it with another story, and wait until after the movie's out," Chen Zhixi agreed—protect the movie.

Wenzhang thought for a moment: "Arrange a meeting with Wang Zhangtian."

(End of Chapter)