Chapter 101: New Project

Side Hall

Chen Baoguo, portraying Emperor Wu of Han, his eyes filled with tears, looked at the corpse of Huo Qubing on the bed with profound grief and disbelief.

He suppressed his emotions to the extreme, dared not linger, and stumbled slightly as he stepped out of the hall, gazing afar at the starry sky, watching dark clouds obscure the full moon, silent for a long time.

"Cut, that's a wrap."

Hu Mei called out, and Seeing Yan Li, lying on the bed, sat up—his scene was simple: just lie still, even without showing his face, only a close-up of his hand.

Because in the drama, Huo Qubing's death was based on the widely circulated theory that he died of plague, many pus-filled blisters were applied to his body as subtle hints.

Too many pus-filled blisters on the face would be too frightening, potentially scaring children and elderly viewers, and would also damage Huo Qubing's image, so only a hand close-up was used.

Originally, Seeing Yan Li didn't need to show his face; a stunt double could've sufficed, but out of principle to see things through properly, he came to play the corpse himself.

Speaking of which, this is already Seeing Yan Li's fourth death in a drama, and his fourth actual acting role.

Twice killed, once suicide, once died of illness!

His death scenes are getting gentler—this time there's even the male lead weeping over him, and the funeral scenes and narration afterward are also good, unlike his previous roles, who just died and were forgotten.

After confirming no reshoots were needed, Seeing Yan Li jumped down and wiped his hands with tissue—the makeup was all pus-filled blisters, feeling quite disgusting.

Lin Jiachuan also came over to help Seeing Yan Li; he was still wearing the white mourning cloth, having just portrayed Huo Qubing's deputy general who delivered the news of death to Emperor Wu.

This was arranged by Han Xiaojun—to give Lin Jiachuan more screen time and also to "see off" Seeing Yan Li, making his "death" more dignified.

Seeing Yan Li didn't know how to describe Han Xiaojun's maneuvering, but he was definitely a "talent."

After cleaning off the blisters, Seeing Yan Li went to greet Hu Mei and Chen Baoguo.

With today's scene finished, his shooting in Hengdian was wrapped; next, he'd wait for notice to go shoot on the grasslands, likely in September, barring any surprises.

He'd probably see Director Hu Mei again, but Chen Baoguo? Unlikely.

Although Chen Baoguo was too busy to socialize much outside work, he had still given Seeing Yan Li acting guidance during filming, and Seeing Yan Li held him in high regard.

Besides, his status speaks for itself—building ties couldn't hurt; there might be future collaborations.

Afterwards, Seeing Yan Li greeted several other familiar colleagues and friends.

As before, many actors and crew members would still be seen on the grasslands—like Lu Shuming, Ren Zhong, Han Xiaoping—but some wouldn't, like Lin Jing.

Knowing Seeing Yan Li was leaving Hengdian, Lin Jing unusually took the initiative to invite him to dinner as a farewell, but Seeing Yan Li politely declined.

"Sorry, I've got an old friend to meet—we made plans earlier."

Since he intended to avoid entanglement and they were about to part ways, no half-measures—clear, decisive, no false hope left behind.

Also, Seeing Yan Li wasn't lying to Lin Jing—he really had a prior engagement; he'd already turned down Ren Zhong's dinner invitation earlier.

…

"Brother Wang."

Seeing Yan Li laughed heartily and embraced Wang Decai, a short, stout man.

Wang Decai, assistant director of The Heroes of Sui and Tang, the first senior who lifted Seeing Yan Li into the industry and repeatedly helped him connect with contacts.

Seeing Yan Li was deeply grateful to Old Wang and had long wanted to get together.

But Wang Decai had been busy outside for nearly a year, rarely returning to Jingcheng, and Seeing Yan Li had his own affairs, unable to spare time—so they only met now in Hengdian.

"Not bad! I always saw your potential. Just over a year apart, and you're already a boss."

Wang Decai was also moved—he knew Seeing Yan Li's origins; before approaching Li Xing, Seeing Yan Li had first come to him.

He never imagined the young actor he once helped had become a film company boss, with a highly successful drama under his belt, clearly taking on the aura of a new elite in the industry.

Although due to face and other reasons, Wang Decai had temporarily declined Seeing Yan Li's invitation to join his team.

But his attitude remained ambiguous—even when Seeing Yan Li mentioned he needed people and projects, Wang Decai actively helped connect and recommend.

Seeing Yan Li had his intelligence network—he understood perfectly.

Wang Decai couldn't bring himself to directly defect, so he was thinking of bringing people and a project along, so he could join naturally, immediately prove his worth, gain Seeing Yan Li's attention, and secure a good position in the new project.

Old foxes are old foxes!

After some small talk, Wang Decai introduced the people he brought.

"This is my friend, Chen Yongge—action director for The Legend of Xiao Li Feidao, The Bandit Li San, and The Knight Errant; now he's working with us on Wang Xinmin's The Linking Sword."

"Director Chen, it's an honor."

Seeing Yan Li's eyes lit up; he stepped forward and shook Chen Yongge's hand—he hadn't heard the name before, but he'd seen his work.

The fight scenes in The Bandit Li San and The Knight Errant were brilliant, especially the bamboo forest battle in The Knight Errant—classic.

Talent!

Absolute talent!

Wang Decai pointed to another woman wearing glasses: "This is Teacher Fei Yingli, also the screenwriter for our The Linking Sword."

Seeing Yan Li knew nothing about her, and merely politely shook her hand.

Wang Decai then introduced Seeing Yan Li to Chen Yongge: "Old Chen, this is Teacher Fei. This is Yan Zong—I told you about him. Don't let his youth fool you; his ability and strength are undeniable. You know The Conquest? Yan Zong single-handedly produced that project—a low-budget film of a few million that became this year's biggest dark horse."

Chen Yongge had a rugged appearance and wasn't talkative, speaking with a slight Xi'an accent.

"Yan Zong, I'm Chen Yongge. Please guide me."

Fei Yingli, though a writer, wasn't particularly chatty either, but at least she was far better than Chen Yongge's silent demeanor.

"I've watched The Conquest—the plot was fantastic! Oh, I just realized why you looked familiar—isn't Wu Tian the character you played? You did an excellent job."

Seeing Yan Li smiled—he didn't believe Old Wang had brought these two to him without mentioning his background.

For him, flattery was pleasant, but what mattered was the project and ability.

Profitability came first—everything else came second!

After sitting down, under Wang Decai's facilitation, everyone became slightly more familiar and turned to serious matters.

"Yan Zong, here's the specific situation of this project."

Chen Yongge was silent, Fei Yingli wasn't skilled at this either, so Wang Decai, as the connector, represented them both—and smoothly shifted his address to "Yan Zong."

Seeing Yan Li had actually already learned about it through the system before coming. Now that Wang Decai introduced it again, and they exchanged a few questions back and forth, he understood it pretty thoroughly.

This project was a script written by Fei Yingli.

A mythological theme, telling the story of the Seven Fairies, titled "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xian Nv" (Happy Heaven and Earth Seven Fairies).

After the script was roughly formed, Fei Yingli chatted about it with Chen Yongge, whom she knew. The latter was very interested and agreed to help pull in investment, with himself serving as director when the time came.

The two had some connections in the industry, so they found an advertising company and managed to get the production crew approved as a project.

But the advertising company didn't invest much money; if they were to film smoothly, it was still far from enough.

So this project was temporarily shelved, with plans to wait until finishing "Lian Cheng Jue" (A Deadly Secret), and then look for other investors.

Wang Decai had a good relationship with Chen Yongge, and had even been asked to help find investment.

Originally Wang Decai hadn't taken it too seriously. After Seeing Yan Li came to him, he remembered this project, studied it carefully, found it had some potential, so he convinced Chen and Fei, and brought this "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xian Nv" to meet Seeing Yan Li.

"May I take a look at the script?"

Seeing Yan Li opened his mouth to ask. Of course there was no problem—they were counting on him to put up money, how could they not let him see the script.

Of course, what was given wasn't the complete script. The whole drama was nearly forty episodes, and he couldn't finish reading it in a short while, so what Seeing Yan Li looked at was the plot outline, character profiles, and selling points.

Regarding the Seven Fairies, Seeing Yan Li's biggest impression was the story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy, Liu Tianxian, "Tian Xian Pei" (A Match Made in Heaven), and these seven also appeared in "Journey to the West."

"Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xian Nv" was taken from the Tian Xian Pei story.

Only besides the Seventh Fairy and Dong Yong, each of the other six fairies was also given her own romantic storyline.

"Ensemble cast?"

Seeing Yan Li frowned slightly. Seven romantic storylines—wouldn't that be too messy and scattered? But as he read on in detail, his brow gradually relaxed.

The screenwriter was still very clever, precisely targeting the female market, playing a full-coverage game.

Seven couples, including classic bitter love, older woman-younger man romance, bickering lovers, marriage before love, love-hate relationship, soulmates, love triangles, and many other romance templates.

Multiple emotional projections—there's always one type the audience will like!

The character designs were quite vivid and three-dimensional, and a lot of comedic elements were added to neutralize the heartache of some romantic storylines, which could also attract teenage and child viewers.

Mythological dramas are still a very attractive theme for children.

It just so happens that they are also the main viewership force. If they can capture this market and audience, the drama is as good as locked in.

Seeing Yan Li was relatively optimistic about this project, but there was also a difficulty: the investment wouldn't be low.

Period dramas are inherently expensive, and because this is a mythological drama, it also involves set construction and post-production special effects, so the cost is bound to rise.

The seven couples would definitely be played mainly by newcomers and unknown actors—they can't afford a star-studded cast, but they also can't hire none at all. They have to have one or two big names to anchor the production, plus for supporting roles they need to find a few familiar veteran actors, so the salary expenses won't be too little either.

Seeing Yan Li's preliminary estimate was that it would have to be at least 15 million, especially for the special effects—he hadn't been involved in that area and wasn't too clear on the going rate.

This investment wasn't something Seeing Yan Li alone could swallow.

Either pull others in as partners, or find a financial backer for support. At the same time, Seeing Yan Li also wanted to see if he could trigger the system's relevant monthly intelligence to understand the future prospects.

It's not that he ignores projects without future information, but having intelligence as a safety net makes Seeing Yan Li feel more secure.

Closing the script, Seeing Yan Li faced the expectant gazes of Wang Decai and the others, didn't respond immediately, and said he needed to go back and study and consider it.

Wang Decai and the others were a little disappointed, but they could understand.

An investment of tens of millions—how could that be decided so easily? A few months is already fast; plenty of people can't make up their minds for one or two years.

After the gathering broke up, on the way back, Seeing Yan Li once again flipped through the script of "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xian Nv."

Suddenly he thought of something: if this drama were to be invested in, he'd definitely have to promote his own people.

Huang Shengyi aside, Qin Lan and Dong Xuan definitely couldn't act together, otherwise something would definitely go wrong.

Choose one—who?

————

PS: Updated 9,000 characters today, begging for monthly tickets……

(End of this chapter)