Chapter 382: Publicity Conflict

Netizens left messages enthusiastically, with only one question: 【So will Qiguan Mingzhu sign with Tian Ding?】

Regarding this question, Tian Ding actually wanted to answer with full confidence, but because they knew the truth, they had to blur the focus first.

No matter what, attracting traffic is the right thing.

They spent so much money to acquire Century Entertainment, not only to use Century Entertainment's company as a training place for Tian Ding, but also to deeply develop and dig into the star effect of "Qiguan Mingzhu and Ji Qinglian".

Yes, they only have Qiguan Mingzhu's three-month contract, but Qiguan Mingzhu's management affairs for these three months are all handled by them.

This means that they can carry out a linkage development of one year, two years, or even three or four years within three months!

Like Century Entertainment, although the management contract is no longer in their hands, the contracts they signed for Qiguan Mingzhu before are valid.

Even if the company is changed, the various brand endorsements remain the same, and the jobs promised before remain the same.

Tian Ding Entertainment had the idea of cooperating on stage and launching related co-branded merchandise for the two.

Qiguan Mingzhu was not interested in co-branded merchandise, while Ji Qinglian had always launched individual co-branded merchandise. At this time, hearing Tian Ding mention

Tianding was making a huge splash on domestic blogs, while the two of them were abroad attending promotional events, watching one fashion show after another.

It just so happened that *Assassination* was beginning its promotion, and Tianding also had a planned strategy to release news of the acquisition of Century Entertainment, building momentum for the "limited three-month" collaboration between Qi Guanmingzhu and Ji Qinglian.

【It has to be Tianding; other people just talk about it, but only Tianding actually tries every possible way to make it happen! I just want to ask, when will the Dragon Balls be collected? T^T】

【Others only dare to talk but not act; only Tianding really goes for it. I'm bullish on Tianding, and I hope Qi Guanmingzhu can sign with Tianding after three months!】

【Given our Pearl's personality, it might not really be a good fit for Tianding. Actually, going to Chenxi Entertainment to retire would be more to her liking, but as soon as I see it's Tianding, I'm sorry, but I also want to go against Pearl's wishes for once.】

To be fair, Tianding is truly good at pushing artists to work! I've already started looking forward to the collaboration products Tianding will launch for these two!】

【Oh my god, so am I going to have three months of exciting times ahead? I hope Tianding can leave behind more interactions between Pearl and Qinglian!】

【Ding-ding-ding-ding~ The fan art is here. One is a lotus and one is a pearl. I drew a picture of "Lotus Holding a Pearl." What do you all think?】

【It's drawn very well, draw a few more! Sister, can I use this picture to custom-make a few small fans?】

【Sure, feel free to use it as long as it's not more than 100 fans~】

There are still many smart people in the world. Before Tianding had even officially launched the joint collaboration for the two stars, fans had already caught wind of it and were drawing fan art of the two.

Previously, when Xi Sister Meng Ze and Jin Li teamed up, they didn't even get this kind of treatment.

"No, it's not that they didn't, it's that we didn't value it. Without official intervention, fans' enthusiasm is limited; they draw for a while and then stop."

In the Chenxi Entertainment conference room, Sui Lingfang brought up the momentum Tianding had built this time for Qi Guanmingzhu and Ji Qinglian, and everyone's eyes were filled with envy.

On the first day the news was announced, the news of the two teaming up had already surged into the top ten of the trending searches and stayed there for two days without dropping—definitely top-tier popularity.

What Sui Lingfang regretted most was not keeping up with the heat of this hype and not being able to directly release the rumor that "Qi Guanmingzhu has decided to sign with Chenxi Entertainment."

One reason was out of consideration for Qi Guanmingzhu's image; finding a new home before the contract term had officially ended was a bit too utilitarian.

The second was to give Tianding some face; they spent a huge sum to acquire Century Entertainment, so that money had to be spent in a way that was worth it.

Tianding had likely already made several sets of hype schemes, just waiting to realize them one by one.

If Chenxi Entertainment came out with revelations at this time and snatched the heat for themselves, that would be making an enemy of Tianding.

Even as a first-tier entertainment company, they might not have the guts to go against Tianding, let alone Chenxi Entertainment, which was only a second-tier company and an ally of Tianding at that.

Sui Lingfang said: "For these three months, we can only wait and see; we cannot over-hype the buzz about Qi Guanmingzhu coming to Chenxi Entertainment. However—"

Her tone shifted, and a glint flashed in her eyes: "We can learn from Tianding's hype route. Whatever they do during these three months, once Qi Guanmingzhu comes to the company, we will follow suit and expand the popularity of the three of them."

"Although we can't form a three-person group—members developing individually is best—arranging for them to appear on the same program occasionally, or resting and relaxing in the same place, is still possible. Not a group, but better than a group. How about it?"

Zou Da immediately raised his hand: "I think this method is good!"

Others also raised their hands one after another, agreeing with Sui Lingfang's opinion.

It's never too late to copy homework, and besides, they weren't copying; they were learning from successful industry experience.

After *Assassination* began its promotion, it released behind-the-scenes footage every day. Jin Li remembered some of the footage, but there were some clips she didn't even know had been filmed.

But no matter what footage was released, Jin Li was holding a copy of *Five-Three* in her hand.

Discussing the script with the director, one hand held the script, and the other held *Five-Three*.

Being filmed by an assistant during daily interactions on set, Jin Li had the script placed by her leg, lifting her bright little face to make a "V" sign.

Even when playing with props on set—blowing bubbles with a bubble machine—*Five-Three* was still placed on the stool next to Jin Li.

Netizens:...

The footage is great, but please don't film it again next time. Every time I watch the footage, the nightmare of my student days follows me like a shadow: -D

【Is Jin Li really this diligent about doing practice problems on set?】

【Normal high school students have to spend three years—two years of learning and one year of review—before they dare to take the college entrance exam. Jin Li compressed it into two years; she really has to race against time.】

【I'm truly obsessed; for the first time, I think *Five-Three* is the real group pet, not the plain little koi fish~】

【I'm caught in extreme hesitation now. Should I watch this show? I have a premonition that the shadow of *Five-Three* will follow me like a shadow!】

Tianding, of course, didn't know the power of *Five-Three* was so great; even Yan Jianqiao hadn't thought of this layer during filming.

What he thought at the time was, what a coincidence; they were filming a youth campus movie, and both Jin Li and Gu Cheng were studying hard, so it was perfect to use their books as props and film them.

So, the netizens' premonition was still very accurate.

Although there weren't many scenes where *Five-Three* appeared in this movie, there weren't few either.

Tianding just saw that the online discussion was quite good, so they waved their hand and started the promotion for the second plan—

The beat-sync transformation on Dou-Dou Video!

In fact, for promotions on Dou-Dou Video, most crews adopt the "line challenge" method: releasing a classic line from the set and then letting netizens challenge the dubbing.

This method doesn't require showing one's face, let alone makeup or relevant clothing coordination; it is not only easier to spread but also allows unfamiliar netizens to understand the plot through the lines.

Therefore, the requirements for the lines selected for this promotional plan are very strict; they must set the tone for the entire show within a few short words.

Tianding had originally prepared this kind of plan and had even selected a classic line: the heroine seeks help from the school bully hero when being bullied, and then the hero asks her a question.

"Save me, please save me!"

"Save you? What can you give me?"

"I can give you anything, I can give you anything!"

This line not only involves the key plot but is also the source of the hero and heroine's fateful entanglement, while also implying that the heroine can do anything to survive. Once she puts life and death aside, she can also do anything for revenge.

And for netizens who don't know the plot, this segment can also be understood as "mutual redemption," "love-abuse madness," and "the beginning of fate."

The promotional plan had already been selected, but just as it was about to be launched, they received a stop order from Jin Li's team.

Because Chenxi Entertainment had handed over all the promotion for *Assassination* to Tianding, they basically didn't express any opinions. Tianding only symbolically showed it to Jin Li's team when the plan was about to be pushed out.

Generally speaking, as long as there were no principled issues, promotional plans wouldn't be rejected.

Plus, Chenxi Entertainment also invested in this show; the more promotional resources, the hotter the show, and the more Chenxi Entertainment earned—a win-win for everyone.

But as soon as Sui Lingfang saw this promotional line dubbing challenge, she frowned subconsciously.

She had read the script for *Assassination* and had personally watched several scenes Jin Li acted in.

Even though the promotion had just started and there was no subsequent adult plot, she knew that the core selling point of the early stage of *Assassination* was definitely not "the hero's redemption."

The early, middle, and late plots of *Assassination* all had different selling points and turning points.

Sui Lingfang told Jin Li her doubts and asked her: "After that, under the hero's redemption, does the heroine live well?"

Jin Li shook her head decisively: "No, she didn't live well during her student days. After becoming a teacher, she seemed to live better, but her soul was never well. Li Feifei is actually a very repressed person."

Upon hearing this, Sui Lingfang directly showed the three segments of the classic promotional lines to Jin Li and asked: "Do you think this kind of promotion works? Can it point out the core of *Assassination*?"

After reading it, Jin Li pondered for a while and shook her head: "It's just tricking people into coming in to kill them. The first half of *Assassination* definitely has nothing to do with being refreshing."

"In a desperate situation, Gu Mingde was Li Feifei's last hope, so she hoped Gu Mingde would save her. And with Gu Mingde's protection, Li Feifei indeed wasn't bullied again."

"But the so-called 'not bullied' was just changing from physical abuse to cold violence. No one dared to talk to her, and everywhere she went, people were staring at her and whispering, as if saying she relied on selling her body to get the school bully's protection."

"Originally, the clown game was limited to a certain grade, but because Gu Mingde was too famous, the whole school, including the teachers, suddenly knew about Li Feifei's affairs, and everyone looked at her with strange eyes."

When Jin Li said this, she also sorted out the thoughts in her mind.

"It looks like redemption, but in fact, she just pushed herself into another abyss. The early plot is filmed very repressively; it shouldn't use 'redemption' or 'love-abuse' as a selling point."

Sui Lingfang asked: "Then what lines do you think are good as a selling point?"

Jin Li was silent for a while, as if recalling something, but soon shook her head: "Forgot."

Sui Lingfang asked unyieldingly: "Don't remember at all?"

Jin Li nodded honestly: "Forgot almost everything, and even if I remember, my current mindset is different from the mindset during filming."

"If you asked me not long after filming ended, I could definitely choose. But now it's a different mindset; there's no sense of immersion, and I can't make a choice."

Sui Lingfang asked: "Tianding is going to launch this promotional plan this afternoon. So what are your thoughts? Should we still launch it according to these three lines?"

Jin Li replied: "I don't know if my opinion is important, and I don't know if I can make them change Tianding's promotional plan, but in my personal opinion, these three lines are inappropriate."

She thought of something and added: "But every netizen's interpretation is different. I think physical violence, verbal violence, and cold violence are all equal harm."

"Violence is violence; no matter what form it is displayed in, it will cause an indelible impact on people."

"But netizens might not think so. After all, *Assassination* is filmed very realistically in terms of physical violence. I had a period of time filming where I was tied up and screamed every day."

"Maybe netizens think that as long as there is no physical violence, it counts as redemption, and escaping from this sea of bitterness isn't necessarily true."

Sui Lingfang pondered for a while and said: "We will know the netizens' thoughts after the show is broadcast, but before the show is broadcast, we are the ones at the helm."

"I see these three classic lines arranged by Tianding; it looks very much like they want to hype you two as a couple. I want to refuse. What do you think?"

Jin Li said without hesitation: "If you can refuse, then refuse."

It's not a question of whether to hype a couple with Gu Cheng, but the emotional line of *Assassination* is very subtle. This show focuses on something other than love, which is very different from the popular romance idol dramas on the market.

If possible, she didn't want the promotion to be too cliché.

After Sui Lingfang finished communicating with Jin Li, she immediately communicated with Tianding Entertainment.

Tianding Entertainment's publicity department didn't react at first, thinking Jin Li wanted to find fault and deliberately show that she also had a say in promotion to indicate her status.

But the publicity department had done a lot of planning for this set of schemes and didn't want to be abandoned just before the finish line, so they approached Zhang Guang and asked him through him if Jin Li had any extra requirements; the publicity department would try its best to satisfy whatever it could.

After Zhang Guang was approached by the publicity department, he was a bit surprised. He called Sui Lingfang to communicate and found out that wasn't the case.

It was that the planning had problems from the beginning.

So he immediately ran to Gu Cheng's announcement site, held a small meeting during his free time, and asked for his opinion.

Gu Cheng pondered for a while before answering: "Jin Li is right. This show is indeed not a romance drama, and the early stage is filmed very repressively."

"The two seem to be mutual redemption, but in fact, their situation hasn't changed from beginning to end. The current promotional plan is just wearing the skin of redemption to promote a TV series that has nothing to do with redemption."

Zhang Guang's expression was solemn; he quickly thought about whether there was a replacement marketing plan, then said: "Then what about your emotional line?"

Gu Cheng said without hesitation: "The emotional line of this show is very subtle. If you want to hype a couple, forget it. I don't think that kind of emotion is love."

Seeing him say it so definitely, Zhang Guang couldn't help but ask: "If the heroine's feelings for the hero aren't love, then what kind of feeling is it? Love-hate?"

Gu Cheng said calmly: "First of all, Gu Mingde died in the first episode. Secondly, Gu Mingde doesn't like Li Feifei; he just protects her with the mentality of teasing a pet."

"If there really must be some emotion, I think using 'deformed emotion' to describe it is more appropriate. Li Feifei actually hates Gu Mingde; many of her sufferings were indirectly caused by Gu Mingde, but Gu Mingde rushed into the sea of fire to save her, leading to his death."

"Various emotions piled up in her heart, so even Li Feifei couldn't distinguish what kind of emotion she had for Gu Mingde, but it was definitely not love."

Zhang Guang looked at him for a few seconds and spread his hands: "Fine, neither of you actors agrees with using this promotional plan, what can I do? I'd better tell the publicity department to hurry up and change the marketing plan!"