Chapter 199

The room fell silent for a moment as Liu Tianxian pondered Fang Hong's words.

She understood why this man did it—merely to seize control, to avoid being manipulated, to have the chance to strike back anytime.

But he had handed her the power of initiative, the right to kill—this was a form of respect.

Respect for her, and respect for her friendship.

Liu Tianxian clenched the photo and asked, "Any more?"

"There will be more, but I'll send them all to you," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian stood up; Fang Hong no longer held her down—earlier, he'd only held her to calm her.

They faced each other; Liu Tianxian said seriously, "Know when to stop!"

Fang Hong nodded in agreement.

Just stop once you've reached a certain point—don't go too far.

Fang Hong never intended to go too far—a kiss, a hug, that was enough; as for sleeping together, he doubted any man would get hard after seeing Zeng like that!

That girl was too masculine.

They left the Villa; Fang Hong carried the luggage and placed it in the car's trunk.

After getting in, Liu Tianxian slumped into the passenger seat, scrolling through her phone, her expression normal, as if she'd forgotten what had just happened.

She sat up: "Hey, do you think this makes sense? Be yourself, don't advertise any concept—everyone is different."

"Not becoming who others want you to be—there's definitely truth in that," Fang Hong said, driving.

Liu Tianxian nodded, scrolled through her phone, and posted this passage on Weibo.

She liked posting on Weibo; the fan comments underneath were plentiful, and they all loved guessing her intentions—what did this post really mean? Some guessed it was a response to the recent role competition scandal; others guessed it had something to do with the same incident—everyone had their own theories.

In truth, Liu Tianxian had simply spoken from feeling; she hadn't meant anything deeper.

Fang Hong glanced at her: "You speak French, right?"

"I do!" Liu Tianxian nodded.

Her father was a French literature professor; she'd learned it since childhood.

"When you have time, come with me to France," Fang Hong said.

"Oh? Are you asking me on a date?" Liu Tianxian smiled, her eyes gleaming brightly.

France was romantic—had this man finally gotten a clue? "Not exactly. I have some business there and need you to act as a diplomatic translator," Fang Hong said, utterly clueless.

He was going to France to find a game distributor and hand over Hero Glory to a major company for operation.

Liu Tianxian immediately stiffened, turning her head toward the window.

She'd thought this man had grown romantic—planning a date to France, walking the streets, eating meals, shopping.

Turns out it was just work—he needed her help.

"Why aren't you answering? Will you agree or not?" Fang Hong drove on, not noticing Liu Tianxian's expression.

"I'll think about it."

Liu Tianxian's tone grew stiff.

"Think about it? Just take a day or two—it's not that complicated."

Fang Hong looked ahead, speaking casually, certain Liu Tianxian would agree.

Liu Tianxian stared at his profile, her lips twitching slightly!

If one could read lips, one would know she was saying: "Silly bastard man!"

At that moment, the car arrived at the airport—few vehicles or people were around; Liu Tianxian used the VIP lane.

It was just a matter of money—not any special privilege.

Liu Tianxian put on sunglasses and a baseball cap; just as she was about to put on a mask, Fang Hong suddenly leaned close.

She instinctively leaned back, staring at the man's face so near: "What are you doing?"

"Kiss me."

"Get lost."

Liu Tianxian shoved him—he wasn't even on a date and still wanted to kiss? Dream on.

She then put on the mask and got out of the car.

Fang Hong was baffled—before, she'd always kissed him freely, even initiated it; now she wouldn't let him kiss? Women were so weird.

He got out, retrieved the luggage from the trunk.

They entered the terminal; Liu Tianxian was fully dressed—in a black trench coat, jeans underneath, tall and poised, walking with a breeze.

As they walked, she asked, "When are we going to France?"

"February—any day, whatever suits you," Fang Hong said.

"Alright, come pick me up—we'll leave from Shanghai," Liu Tianxian agreed.

Though disappointed it wasn't a date, she'd still help with the work.

A one- or two-day break from the set was easy to get.

After checking in, Liu Tianxian waved at him: "Go home and take care—eat early, sleep early."

"You too."

Fang Hong waved back.

On the eighth day of the lunar new year, the nation once again plunged into the rush of people traveling north and south; factories and offices everywhere reopened in a blaze of activity.

Every year was like this, year after year! In his past life, Fang Hong had been one of those people, and so had his mother—constantly on the move, constantly searching for work.

Now, they lived much more easily.

The Heaven's Scar production team was supposed to resume on schedule, but Jiang Jinfu claimed illness and checked into the hospital.

Cai Yirong didn't mind, assuming Jiang Jinfu was genuinely unwell, so he let him rest for two days and temporarily filmed Hu Ge's scenes.

This drama was always meant to be adjusted, with more scenes for Hu Ge to shine.

But two days later, when they went to urge him, Jiang Jinfu still claimed he was unwell and needed hospitalization. This halt lasted several days; by the fifteenth day of the Lantern Festival, Jiang Jinfu showed no sign of improvement, forcing the crew to suspend production.

You can't keep filming only Hu Ge—there are scenes between the two leads, and scenes with others too. Without Jiang Jinfu on set, no one else's scenes can be shot.

Every time they went to urge him, Jiang Jinfu used illness as an excuse to delay, yet never outright refused to film.

With no choice, Cai Yirong went to the hospital to visit him, only to find Jiang Jinfu, though dressed in a hospital gown, eating and sleeping normally.

During their conversation, Jiang Jinfu said nothing harsh, still clinging to his excuse of poor health and needing more time before returning to set.

He gave no date—just a soft refusal—neither forcing a confrontation nor saying he wouldn't film at all.

He says he'll film, but now it's inconvenient! This made Cai Yirong realize someone was targeting her—this trick was all too common in the industry: film smoothly, then suddenly take sick leave.

One star had a 50-day schedule but took 40 days off.

He drags out your timeline, your production schedule, your funding.

After the Lantern Festival, on February 7th, the sixteenth day, all department heads of Yutu Film Industry gathered for a major meeting.

Attendees included Chen Zhixi, President of Yutu Film Industry; Meng Jun, Financial Officer; Huang Bing, Public Relations and Propaganda and Talent; Yao Qi, Special Effects Department; Shi Zhimao, Animation Department; Li Min, Game Department; Jiao Huajing, Screenwriter; Bao Jinjin lacked the ambition and did not attend! Now there were not just a few screenwriters but over a dozen, mainly due to increased production volume and too many scripts needing adaptation or original writing.

Some worked at the company, others worked from home—location didn't matter.

Everyone received a guaranteed salary; to earn big money, you had to take a share of profits.

The meeting included primary and secondary department heads—over twenty people total—who controlled departmental direction or company decisions.

Though few attended, only those of sufficient rank were allowed—lower-level staff were not qualified to join.

"General Manager Fang, Cai Yirong wants to see you," Chen Zhixi whispered beside him.

A group was now entering the conference room.

"Ignore her. Start the meeting," Fang Hong said.

She called yesterday—he didn't answer. She was so arrogant before; if you don't drag her out a bit, how will she learn?

Inside a bright conference room, a long rectangular table stretched across; department heads wore formal attire, some holding notebooks, others pens.

They took seats on either side, silent, sizing each other up—many meeting for the first time.

Then all eyes turned to the person at the head.

Fang Hong placed his hands crossed on the table: "Many of you may not have met before—use this chance to get acquainted. Today's meeting has two words as its theme: Coordination!"

This meeting aimed to further refine the organizational structure and ensure coordinated development across departments, avoiding isolated operations.

For example, Game, Special Effects, Animation, and Production can coordinate: Game, Animation, and Production all use Special Effects.

Game and Special Effects both use Animation.

Production, Game, and Animation all need screenwriters to craft stories—for instance, every hero in Hero Glory needs a backstory.

Game and Animation both use Production's art design and cinematic visual quality.

In short, coordinated development avoids resource waste: if Production hires artists, Game hires artists, and Animation hires artists—that's waste.

Likewise, both Special Effects and Animation have animators—that's also waste.

Some tasks can be outsourced to other departments; one talent should serve three roles to maximize resources.

Servers, equipment, and technology can also be shared across departments.

For example, if Special Effects introduces Motion Capture, it can be used in Animation, Game, and Film.

The meeting lasted a long time; some took notes, others opened laptops and typed while listening.

It wasn't just Fang Hong speaking—each department head also spoke briefly, reporting on their department's status.

The Game Department has now expanded to over a hundred people; beyond operations and development staff, surplus artists and animators will be reassigned to Special Effects and Animation Departments.

If Game needs them, it can request outsourcing to those two departments.

The same applies to Special Effects: coordinate outsourcing with Animation, avoid redundant work, and achieve specialization.

For Production, retain only production staff; all personnel related to visual effects must be transferred to the Special Effects Department.

For example, modelers, makeup artists—anyone tied to visual effects—must be reassigned to Special Effects or Animation Departments.

Achieve specialization: let each department handle only what it's meant for—no more overreaching.

Departments outsource tasks, make requests, solve problems, and finance is allocated accordingly.

If this develops well, we can eventually achieve self-sustaining cycles—but we're just beginning.

The meeting lasted three days before establishing the basic tone: Yutu's entire personnel structure must be overhauled.

Some were moved from Production to Special Effects; others from Game to Animation.

Of course, there were no layoffs—in fact, we're expanding, so no one complained.

This adjustment period will last six months.

Mainly because too many people were hired too quickly: Production had over a thousand, Animation two hundred, Special Effects over a hundred, plus others—Yutu had over two thousand people total.

This year we'll continue recruiting and expanding, but adjustments must be gradual, because Fang Hong is not an outstanding manager.

Chen Zhixi is also still learning.

Other department heads are experts in their own fields, but they lack the managerial height needed.

They can manage their own domains fine—but asking them to operate at Fang Hong's level for cross-departmental coordination is impossible.

After the meeting, Fang Hong went to Tui Piao Piao for another meeting; a new Executive Director, Zheng Zhihao, had arrived.

He was recommended by Tencent and Meituan! He's capable—a Computer Science Master's graduate from the University of Kentucky, former Vice President at Tencent, developer of QQ Space.

Later, he served as Vice President at Dianping, and was also the former Executive Officer of Maoyan in his past life.

He's a highly capable product officer, brought in to integrate resources and improve hardware and software infrastructure.

Tui Piao Piao's software development team was crude—perfect timing for his arrival to fix it.

Of course, Fang Hong still holds the final strategic direction; Zheng Zhihao handles execution, and Meng Jun remains a director there.

Fang Hong must have his own person watching over it—he can't monitor Tui Piao Piao constantly.

This meeting is mainly to get to know each other; the development direction has already been set.

(End of Chapter)