Chapter 762

……

The National Day holiday is right around the corner, with only ten days left.

Meanwhile, films like "Passing Through Your Whole World" and "The Legend of Jueji" are still holding their final shifts, continuing promotional tours and standing by, ready for battle.

Among them, "The Legend of Jueji" is by far the most massive, earning the title of "traffic king" among all National Day holiday films.

Upon closer examination of its creative team, a common point becomes clear:

Whether it's director Guo Guo Jingming, or lead actors Fan Li Bingbing, Wu Wu Yifan, Chen Chen Weiting, Wang Yuan, or special guest Yang Mi, all of them are high-traffic celebrities with countless fans.

Moreover, this film is wrapped in the guise of a large-scale CG fantasy, action, and adventure epic, packed with gimmicks and fully loaded selling points.

And as the producer, LeTV seems to have treated it as another lifeline, continuously ramping up promotion and beating the drums of support…

"It hasn't even been released yet, and they're already shouting it's the National Day box office champion—reserved already? Don't they fear getting their faces slapped swollen?"

On a new day, Lin Nan sat at his Tiangong Secai workstation and immediately checked online movie news.

But the top headlines and trending topics weren't about the box office figures of those few films—they were all about "The Legend of Jueji."

As for the opening day box office of "The Detective," it was pushed far down the list.

Still, its daily revenue of 32.5 million and solid critical reception have already proven this film a success, with sufficient competitiveness to secure a strong box office before National Day.

Because "A Chinese Odyssey Part Three" has truly collapsed!

After Liu Liu Zhenwei's remarks from the day before yesterday were reported, that day's box office plummeted to 13 million; by yesterday, it had been halved again to just 6 million.

Remember, before that, "A Chinese Odyssey Part Three" had averaged around 65 million per day; ever since this director started speaking without restraint, the film has lost even the path of "black fame"!

At this moment, nearly every production company in the industry can guess the mindset of "A Chinese Odyssey Part Three"'s producers—they must be furious, likely even wanting to murder Liu Liu Zhenwei.

But for the other few films, this is undoubtedly great news.

Because the daily box office of "July and Ansheng" and "Anti-Corruption Storm 2" has both risen noticeably.

Just as Lin Nan closed the news page and prepared to start work, Jiang's call came in.

Honestly, Lin Dao Da didn't want to answer—it was usually trivial, useless nonsense. But after hesitating a few seconds, he picked up.

"Director Jiang, please keep it brief—I'm busy right now."

"Busy with what? How busy could you possibly be? I know you—when you're not on set, you work less than fifteen hours a week."

"How can you slander… you really know me. Alright, what's it this time? A meeting, or another school event?" Lin Nan chuckled.

"It's like this: over the past few years, the school has established several doctoral programs, and it hopes these graduates will bring glory and honor to their alma mater."

So they want senior, well-known professors—especially you director-professors—to mentor them for a while, even just by lending your name."

Director Cao Bao and Director Xue Xue Xiaolu have already been negotiated with; now the responsibility for our directing department has fallen to me. Director Tian is on set, so I'm just giving you a heads-up—what do you think?"

Frankly, I don't care, because our directing department has always been strict—we haven't admitted a single doctoral student in two years. Even if you and Director Tian take on students, they'll likely be from the Chen Yanxi, which has plenty."

Hearing this, Lin Nan almost laughed. Why not practice acting and win a few Category A Best Actor awards instead—that'd bring more fame!

"Forget it. In my view, those people in the Chen Yanxi pursuing doctorates is a joke. Didn't Bi Bi Zhifei just prove that? Did his film even get approved?"

"Not approved yet, but rumors say it might. Sounds like it'll be scheduled for release next year. Anyway, forget him—sure you won't reconsider?"

"No way. In the industry, only seasoned veterans think of pursuing a PhD at our school—especially in the Chen Yanxi, where everything's purely opportunistic…" Lin Nan said while working, chatting with Jiang.

"You can't say that. This time, a few doctoral candidates from the Chen Yanxi are quite outstanding actors. Take Zhai Zhai Tianlin—he has excellent acting and great reputation; they're strongly recommending him…"

"Stop, stop, stop—cut that right now. I'm swamped—turn it down for me. I'll treat you to a big meal with Yi Fei another day…"

"Hey, you…"

Before Jiang could speak again, Lin Nan hung up and tossed his phone onto the desk. Moments later, he couldn't resist opening the Beijing Film Academy's official website.

Wow—today's latest announcement was the list of recipients for the 2016–2017 Academic Year Outstanding Doctoral Student Scholarship—Zhai Zhai Tianlin ranked first!

"Wow, the Chen Yanxi—impressive!"

…………

On the morning of the 22nd, "The King of Comedy," directed by Wang Jing and starring Liu Liu Dehua and Huang Huang Xiaoming, held its premiere in the capital.

Although Lin Nan had been invited multiple times before, he still declined—his post-production work was down to the final tiny details!

From 8 a. m. to 6 p. m., Lin Dao worked nonstop.

The next day, Lin Nan unusually left home at 7 a. m.;

He sat at Tiangong Secai all morning and finally completed the post-production of "Marriage Story" ahead of schedule, finishing before noon at 11 a. m.

Altogether, Lin Nan finished post-production eleven days later than Ning Hao!

Now it was the 23rd, and the dozens of key creatives from the six films were all ready to depart for Tang Shan the next morning to attend the Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony.

Aside from the "Hi, Mom" crew, handled by Light Chaser and Xu Zheng, the other five films all traveled with Lin Nan Pictures.

Since many actors and their families were acquaintances and insiders, everyone tacitly agreed to depart together the next morning—a caravan speeding down the highway.

"Oh wow, just thinking about it sounds so lively! Tomorrow I'll ride with you two—we can play together on the way, hehe…"

When Lin Nan returned home at noon, Watching Shu Chang greeted him with those words. Meanwhile, Especially Reba simply smiled silently beside her, saying nothing.

"Sure, would you like to come too, Especially Reba?" Liu Yifei smiled and invited.

"Me? Thank you, Sister Yi Fei." Especially Reba immediately nodded, beaming.

Lin Nan was speechless—clearly, there'd be no seat left for him in his own car tomorrow, since Tang Yan would also be joining Luo Jin and the group.

"Alright, have Hongxingwu send a motorhome. You four can all play cards inside—call Tang Yan too."

"Oh? Great idea! Liu Qianqian, bring a deck of cards…"

Hearing this, Watching Shu Chang's eyes instantly lit up.

"Yes, good. Too bad Jia Nü isn't here—she'd probably go with Chairman Han." Liu Yifei nodded, even thinking of little Han.

"Call her—lure her over."

Lin Nan offered the suggestion. With Han Jia Nü's personality, she was completely immune to temptation—if you teased her, she'd abandon her father without hesitation.

"I'll call her right now, haha…"

Lin Nan planned to take a good afternoon rest, and tomorrow would be like going for a drive.

When he returned, his energy would once again be poured into the film: promoting and releasing *Operation Operation Mekong*, greenlighting *The Wandering Earth*, and preparing *The Wandering Earth*.

Bad Monkey.

Xing Ainai slammed the final draft of *A Good Story* onto the table.

After pulling all-nighters to finish it, she could now join Ning Hao to "massively revise" and "totally overhaul" *The Village Teacher*.

Huang Bo eagerly grabbed the script and flipped through it, a grin spreading across his face.

He had acted in films for years and won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor; now he wanted to try directing his debut film.

After all, Xu Zheng, Deng Chao, and Wang Wang Baoqiang could do it—even Han Han and Guo Guo Jingming could manage it; could he really be worse than them? What a joke!

"Sure thing, big screenwriter! You even helped me rough out the budget?!"

Taking the other set of documents Xing Ainai handed him—just a few pages of A4 paper—Huang Bo immediately exclaimed in awe, his tone brimming with gratitude.

"Don't forget, Bad Monkey is also investing. With you looking like you've got nothing, who else is gonna help you if not us?"

Xing Ainai retorted with a laugh, while Ning Hao lounged lazily beside them, amused.

Huang, the would-be director, Bo, chuckled in agreement after hearing Xing Ainai's jab, then changed the subject to ask:

"When should we set a time with Lin Dao to lock in the investment? Since the script's done, I'm ready to start shooting!"

Xing Ainai turned to Ning Hao, who grew noticeably more serious:

"Tomorrow's the Hundred Flowers Awards; he probably won't want to talk business. Let's bring it up in person when we meet, then after we get back, decide whether the day after or the day after that to sit down and finalize it?"

"Yeah, fine."

Huang Bo immediately nodded in agreement—he wasn't letting Lin Dao Da renege on his promise of support!

"Then the day after tomorrow or the day after that. Tomorrow we can see how many trophies Lin Nan Pictures can win, heh…" Xing Ainai switched tone, teasing.

Afternoon.

Luo Jin, in high spirits after securing *Operation Red Sea*, arrived early in the capital with Tang Yan; he was nominated for Best Actor at the Hundred Flowers Awards and a strong contender.

But Lin Nan had little confidence in whether he would win.

Even with some "public relations" efforts, it couldn't be guaranteed; the outcome depended entirely on tomorrow's luck.

In the villa garden, as a group chattered about tomorrow's plans, Lin Nan received a call from Wu Wu Ershan.

After the Hundred Flowers Awards, *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* trilogy would officially begin preparation and greenlighting. These two still wouldn't give up—they wanted to meet Lin Nan again tomorrow, under the pretense of having coffee.

Lin Nan flatly refused, replying only: See you on the red carpet or at the ceremony.

Zheng Changsheng Tian Pictures.

"Director Song, I told you long ago: once Lin Dao says no, there's no turning back. My ties with him will vanish completely after tomorrow. He doesn't even look at us…"

"Doesn't look at us? Looks down on us? What an attitude! So full of himself! But in this world, people laugh at the poor, not the corrupt!"

Song Ge, who had wanted to try one last time, now gave up entirely and cursed Lin Nan under his breath.

…………