Chapter 259: Yi

In Li Xiaolu's mind, once she convinced Huo Siyan, the next step would be to easily win over Seeing Yan Li, enjoy new freedom, and annoy Li Chen again.

But after actually trying, she realized she'd thought it was too simple.

Seeing Yan Li was not Li Chen, someone who could be summoned and dismissed at will.

He held high status, was busy with work, had strong opinions, and had many women around him—ordinary women couldn't even dream of seducing him, let alone getting close to him.

Moreover, Li Xiaolu also realized she'd overestimated Huo Siyan.

She'd assumed Huo Siyan was some favored concubine, but now it seemed Seeing Yan Li didn't take her seriously at all; she was more of a tool, and in reality, it was Huo Siyan who was clinging desperately to Seeing Yan Li.

Li Xiaolu was stunned.

She babble, cajoled, and threatened for hours, only to end up with a "pig teammate" who couldn't even get her a meeting with Seeing Yan Li.

Huo Siyan was also embarrassed, like a gamer who spent hours researching strategies, thinking she could dominate the battlefield, only to find her level too low to even enter the dungeon.

But for Huo Siyan, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

She'd been forced into this to begin with; she'd agreed to help and had actually tried—her ability was limited, so how could she be blamed?

Huo Siyan wanted to stall, hoping Li Xiaolu's decision had been impulsive; if she cooled down and reconciled with Li Chen, this whole matter might just fade away.

But while Huo Siyan wanted to dodge, Li Xiaolu grew even more determined.

She considered herself well-known and good-looking, raised since childhood as a little princess, always pampered and adored everywhere she went—used to being spoiled, this time even her taking the initiative failed, which truly stirred her rebellious spirit.

But no matter how determined she became, it was useless—Seeing Yan Li was busy and had no time for nonsense, and Qin Lan had returned.

Qin Lan still carried weight; at least Huo and Li felt uneasy around her, especially Huo, who feared a total collapse and urged Li Xiaolu to proceed slowly and carefully.

Unable to corner Seeing Yan Li and with Qin Lan in charge, Li Xiaolu had no good options and temporarily suppressed her thoughts, waiting for a better opportunity.

Seeing Yan Li didn't know Li Xiaolu had set her sights on him.

There was no way—he had too many people chasing him; the system couldn't trigger them all. Li Xiaolu's relationship with Seeing Yan Li was average, and she'd taken no strong actions, so the trigger probability was low.

Compared to Li Xiaolu, it was Bai Bing who triggered a piece of intelligence.

She was unimportant at Yinghuang, with meager resources; her agent heard she knew Seeing Yan Li and urged her to greet the big shot more often, to be bold, maybe she'd earn his recognition.

To be honest, being from the Hong Kong circle, they viewed this matter very openly.

Seeing Yan Li didn't pay much attention to Bai Bing—he had no time, and besides, there was Wang Ou.

After the premiere that day, Seeing Yan Li's main focus turned to the box office of "Love Call Transfer."

Opening day box office neared one million, first-week box office totaled about 6.5 million, with projected total box office expected to surpass 15 million.

This box office figure wasn't outstanding, but it was quite good, especially compared to the film's investment.

Because the film included numerous product placements and many actresses appeared as guest stars, production costs were kept extremely low.

At least as one of the investors, Yi'an spent almost no money—only contributed some resources, connections, and favors, reaping pure profit.

A box office of 15 million or more meant about 5 to 6 million in profit split between production and distribution.

Adding other miscellaneous earnings, 8 million was certain, possibly even approaching 10 million; Yi'an held a 50% share, meaning a 4 to 5 million payout.

The profit wasn't huge, but the profit margin was impressive, and most importantly, it proved Yi'an's new victory in film investment.

Currently, Yi'an had invested in and maintained partial control over only two released films: "Crazy Stone" and "Love Call Transfer."

"Crazy Stone" was a massive hit—some might say it was luck—but now that "Love Call Transfer" had achieved modest success and profit, it couldn't be dismissed as mere luck.

Some film industry insiders already believed Yi'an possessed unique insight in selecting and managing low-budget film projects.

If Yi'an could establish a foothold in this field and consistently deliver successful low-budget films, it would become a vital pillar of Yi'an Film's development.

As always, whether profits were large or small, the ability to make money in commercial cinema was true talent—and consistent profit brought immense benefit to the entire company.

Moreover, the success of these two low-budget films brought some changes to Yi'an.

Many screenwriters and directors now felt Yi'an favored low-budget projects and had a proven track record, so they were willing to approach Yi'an for collaboration.

Yi'an internally reviewed them and actually found several scripts and projects interesting.

One was called "Ten Perfect Beauties," a project organized by Li Xiang, the top hostess of Hunan TV, with director Wang Yuelun, her suspected boyfriend.

Li Xiang had been in the industry for years, with wide connections and substantial resources at Hunan TV, but in film, she was underwhelming.

As previously mentioned, why is the film industry's barrier so high? Because it involves so many channels and resources.

Without real strength, throwing money alone is useless—or rather, the cost-to-benefit ratio is terrible.

Unless you're deliberately promoting someone and don't care about wasting money, to make money in the film market, you mostly still need to partner with well-funded, resource-rich film companies.

Li Xiang's first choice was Bona, but Yi'an, having excelled in low-budget film operations and rapidly expanding its distribution business, was also seen as a quality partner.

Another was "Contract Lover," merely a script—a story about renting a girlfriend to take home, only for the fake relationship to turn real.

This trope wasn't new, but it remained popular across major forums, with many related short stories and posts.

In short, people who couldn't find partners or were dissatisfied with them fantasized about stumbling upon a "true love."

Whether it was cohabiting with someone, renting a girlfriend/boyfriend, online chatting or gaming romances, or even a sudden appearance of a beautiful woman or handsome man like in "Love Call Transfer," these themes had a certain market among today's youth.

Yi'an Film's department thought this script had potential and could be used to promote talent.

But the original script had veered off course—it used the "contract lover" framework but actually told a story of collision between traditional and modern values.

Yi'an planned to acquire the script, emphasize the "contract lover" selling point, center it on the romance plot, add some comedy elements, and stitch together a few high-quality related short stories to better align with modern youth trends.

Another film, "Peach Blossom Luck," viewed from a female marriage and dating perspective.

The director was Ma Liwen, a female director who had won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Director with "The Two of Us," launching a Golden Rooster Best Actress and a Tokyo International Film Festival Best Actress.

Yi'an invested in this film not only because it showed commercial potential but also because they trusted director Ma Liwen and intended to use the film to promote actresses and pursue awards.

In short, they were pushing Fan Xiaopang.

If Fan Xiaopang had time after finishing "Red Cliff" and "Painted Skin," her third film would most likely be "Peach Blossom Luck."

…

The investments for "Ten Perfect Beauties," "Contract Lover," and "Peach Blossom Luck" were all relatively low.

Especially "Ten Perfect Beauties"—as an investment, and for "Peach Blossom Luck," the production side was led by the director, with Yi'an primarily handling distribution.

Only one film, *Contract Lover*, counts as Yi'an's genuine main-controlled production.

So, despite three films in total, Yi'an's actual investment amount isn't large, let alone the additional investments it has attracted.

Beyond these three films, *Love Call Transfer 2* is also planned for development, again in cooperation with China Film Group.

As for *Li Mi's Speculation*, negotiations have progressed smoothly; the female lead couldn't be secured, but Deng Chao can be pushed forward—Cao Baoping has a good impression of Deng.

Add to that the previously invested *The Sun Also Rises* and *Disciples*, plus the key project *Painted Skin*, and that's a full eight films.

Even among numerous mainland film companies, this output is quite impressive.

Of course, some of these films were invested in long ago, while others are still in research and preparation.

So although it looks like a lot, the timeline spans two or three years, spreading out to just three or four films per year, or even two or three—and Yi'an's actual main-controlled projects are less than half.

Seeing Yan Li personally feels the pace is slightly larger than he originally anticipated, but still within acceptable limits.

There's no help for it; as previously mentioned, Seeing Yan Li initially intended to establish himself in cinema theaters, focus on distribution, and primarily produce low- to medium-budget films, advancing steadily—but once he actually got started, it wasn't like that at all.

The company grew too fast; taking small steps would trip it up, and theaters and distribution require certain self-owned operations to support them.

Industry chain, industry chain—once a chain forms, every link becomes indispensable; to operate smoothly, weaker links must be strengthened.

Therefore, under favorable conditions, Seeing Yan Li cannot be overly conservative—he must spend money when necessary.

Fortunately, Yi'an's film business is still going smoothly; television dramas, advertising, and other ventures continuously provide funding, giving Seeing Yan Li the capital to "let loose."

Taking big steps carries risk, but also benefits.

Seizing early market advantages, building industry influence sooner, and gaining related support and resources.

Put more bluntly, the higher-ups support the mainland film and television industry—the bigger you grow, the better you develop, the more attention and importance you receive from above.

Hua Yi and Bo Na broke through the crowd for various reasons and advantages, but they absolutely couldn't have done it without China Film Group and higher authorities.

Yi'an has arrived just as the mainland market is rapidly rising, at the critical moment when all film companies are expanding their territories—it couldn't be better to get a share.

There are only so many positions; Seeing Yan Li and Yi'an have taken one, leaving other companies to watch helplessly.

This can be seen from a meeting held by the Film Bureau in the first lunar month.

Besides China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Unit 81, only six private mainland film companies showed up.

Hua Yi, Bo Na, Star Beauty, New Picture, as well as Orange Sky and Yi'an.

The first few are old faces; Yi'an and Orange Sky are "newcomers."

Yi'an needs no elaboration—last year's results were outstanding, this year's moves are impressive, and it has expanded into multiple areas, making it a highly anticipated potential stock.

Orange Sky's film record isn't strong, with limited investment projects, but it has too much money—it poured over a hundred million into *Red Cliff*, instantly making its name.

These six cannot be called the strongest mainland film companies; others like Taihe, Huayi, Century Hero, and Enlight Media also have considerable strength.

But these six companies are genuinely focused on the film industry, have achieved tangible results, and maintain close ties with China Film Group and the Film Bureau, making them distinctly representative.

Yes, the so-called "one of us."

Seeing Yan Li has not attended the Film Bureau's meetings for the first time.

Most topics are old rehashes—stimulating the market, enhancing mainland film and television cultural capacity, and so on—but there are still new insights, such as resource coordination and directional warnings.

The former needs no elaboration; the latter is also very important.

In the film and entertainment industry, if you can't sense the wind, don't understand the boundaries of what can and cannot be filmed, you won't even know how you died.

In addition, the Film Bureau will issue certain suggestions, which can also be called tasks.

For example, if a certain theme is struggling, or if certain main melody and social trend works are desired, they hope each company will try harder and take on more responsibility.

After the meeting ends, everyone returns home, but in reality, they all gather in small groups.

Fatty pulled Seeing Yan Li to meet Uncle Han San, who agreed—but also invited Orange Sky's Boss Wu.

*Red Cliff* is about to start filming; Boss Wu, who contributed greatly, is now Uncle Han San's new favorite, so clingy that even Fatty, his old subordinate, feels a bit jealous.

Seeing Yan Li is fine—he doesn't get along with Boss Wu, but out of respect for Uncle Han San, he showed nothing.

Uncle Han San actually wanted to bring Seeing Yan Li and Boss Wu together, but neither was interested, so he gave up.

During the meal, *Red Cliff* was inevitably the central topic.

China Film Group is the main controller, Orange Sky is the producer, Bo Na is both producer and distributor, and Yi'an, unsurprisingly, will likely also be the distributor.

After all, such a big film requires extensive ground promotion and strict anti-piracy measures—and these are precisely Yi'an's strengths; Uncle Han San had already warned Seeing Yan Li beforehand.

This kind of opportunity to train the distribution team and make a small profit, Seeing Yan Li certainly wouldn't miss—he's just waiting for the crew to start filming before signing the contract.

For *Red Cliff*'s lead cast, Orange Sky, as the investor, secured many advantages, pushing artists including Hu Jun, Tong Dawei, and You Yongzhi.

Jin Chengwu's rise, along with another Japanese actor's, is rumored to be related to Orange Sky and its behind-the-scenes Japanese capital and market.

Besides Orange Sky, the other major winner in *Red Cliff*'s casting is director Wu Baige.

Liang Chaowei is fine; after Chow Yun-fat dropped out, few actors could replace him, and Liang is one of them—plus his relationship with Wu, he secured the role smoothly.

But Zhang Zhen and Zhi Ling's sister were purely pushed forward by Wu Baige's strong advocacy, especially Xiao Qiao—she fought hard for that role.

After Orange Sky invested, it wanted to promote its top female artist Chen Hao or other Orange Sky actresses—but it failed completely.

As for Tong Dawei, rumors said he was meant to play Sun Quan, but Wu Baige fiercely defended Zhang Zhen, and in the end, Tong got only an original minor soldier role.

So when it comes to casting, Boss Wu of Orange Sky is both satisfied and unsatisfied—in his view, except for Liang and Jin, all roles should go to Orange Sky's artists.

Seeing Yan Li, surprisingly, agrees with him on this point.

At this stage, there are few mainland actors who can carry box office, so reliance on Hong Kong and Taiwan's big male stars is understandable—but therefore, the hard-won positions of mainland female artists must not be handed over to others.

Hong Kong and Taiwan's big male stars + mainland's popular leading ladies fit the market and everyone's interests; everyone can accept it.

But Hong Kong and Taiwan keep pushing their female actresses into roles—eating the meat and refusing to give even the bones or broth—their manners are truly disgusting.

"Don't mention Hong Kong and Taiwan's own invested films; for cooperative films, rules must be followed. After all, right now, they're coming to the mainland to make a living."

Seeing Yan Li's tone was a bit sharp; Uncle Han San stayed silent; Fatty played with his teacup; Boss Wu, who didn't get along with him, nodded.

"Director Yan speaks wisely."

Uncle Han San spoke up to advise: "Hong Kong and Taiwan people are also Chinese, part of the Chinese-language film industry—don't draw such clear lines."

The fat man beside him nodded and said, "Harmony brings wealth."

Uncle Han was the head of Zhongying; though he leaned toward the mainland, many things he couldn't say aloud and many matters he couldn't join.

Fat Yu was close to the Hong Kong circle and primarily focused on distribution, so he didn't care much about these issues.

Seeing Yan Li and Boss Wu, though filled with righteous indignation, were certainly also driven by self-interest.

Seeing Yan Li was close to Shuang Bing and handled artist management; Boss Wu had a large roster of artists—they both dearly wished Hong Kong and Taiwan artists would leave, leaving all resources for their own people.

"Uncle Han and Brother Yu think too highly of others. We treat them as family, but do they treat us as family?"

"I believe the rise of the film market should be comprehensive—using our money and our films to promote their people, only to be controlled in return by their big stars—that's unhealthy."

"To be honest, when I made 'Painted Skin,' I consciously assembled an all-mainland cast."

"If it succeeds, it proves our mainland stars can carry a successful commercial film—this will be a milestone moment."

"…"

Seeing Yan Li's words were half-truth and half-fiction: using a mainland cast was real, but not as noble as he made it sound.

Shuang Bing had strong enough bonds; for other supporting roles, as long as they had some fame, it didn't matter who he used.

But regardless of his true motives, it didn't stop Seeing Yan Li from making a grand show—appeasing those above and winning favor below.

These big shots didn't feel it deeply, but mainland actors deeply resented Hong Kong and Taiwan actors occupying the industry's privileged positions.

Seeing Yan Li wasn't afraid these words would offend some Hong Kong and Taiwan big names and stars, because he never intended to deeply tie himself to them.

Those who could cooperate would continue; those who couldn't had no connection.

On the other hand, those mainland movie stars, though still not big enough now, were growing rapidly with tremendous potential—they would become the future pillars and backbone of the film industry.

By speaking up for them and defending their interests, even exploring the market, Seeing Yan Li would greatly benefit his future reputation in the industry.

Truly, the relationship among the Four Dan and Shuang Bing was complicated, with various forces behind them.

Otherwise, Seeing Yan Li would have considered uniting Shuang Bing with the Four Dan and linking up with a group of mainland rising stars to overwhelm Hong Kong and Taiwan actresses, seize premium film and TV resources, and even launch a counteroffensive into the Hong Kong circle by acting in Hong Kong films and dramas.

In today's market environment, with Hong Kong and Taiwan's older-generation actresses out of fashion and the new and middle-generation lacking strength, this was achievable.

Unfortunately, the Four Dan might not trust Seeing Yan Li, and Seeing Yan Li indeed wasn't worthy of their trust.

After all that effort, if he didn't use the chance to promote his own people, wouldn't he be working for nothing?

If it were only for the benefit of the entire mainland actress group, Seeing Yan Li wasn't that noble, nor did he have that much spare time…

…

Still, though he said so, the idea truly stuck with Seeing Yan Li.

During the promotion of "The Legend of Xue Rengui," Seeing Yan Li pulled Li Bingbing and Sister Li Xue into his room to discuss the feasibility of uniting to seize resources.

Li Bingbing and her sister were dragged into Seeing Yan Li's room; originally tense, even prepared to fight to the death to save their sister.

But they hadn't expected Seeing Yan Li was talking seriously.

After calming down, Li Bingbing hesitated and said, "You mean, uniting to seize Hong Kong and Taiwan resources—is that even possible?"

"Why not? You two, plus Zhou Young Master and the others—join forces, kick out the Hong Kong and Taiwan people first, then let each prove their worth."

"…"

Seeing Yan Li laid out his idea: ideally, the Four Dan and Shuang Bing should form an alliance, cooperate mutually, first kick out rivals, then fairly distribute resources according to need.

But that was too idealistic—the Four Dan and Shuang Bing could never achieve this.

So just keeping the first step was enough: kick out Hong Kong and Taiwan stars first, then each show their own skills.

That way, no matter how they fought, the meat stayed in the pot; with a few of them semi-monopolizing, their chances were far greater than facing all competitors directly.

Li Bingbing still hesitated, but Li Xue, as an agent, saw real operational space.

If the Four Dan and Shuang Bing united to exclude one side, Hong Kong and Taiwan actresses couldn't possibly resist.

And if they maintained a tacit understanding, the Four Dan and Shuang Bing could control premium resources, further solidify their advantage, and completely block the rise of younger rising stars.

Of course, due to fierce competition among the Four Dan and Shuang Bing, Li Xue didn't believe in long-term stable cooperation.

But even just uniting on key projects to eliminate rivals and increase individual chances of advancement was still a good thing.

Li Xue thought Seeing Yan Li's proposal was good—but would the other Four Dan agree? Those women had fought so fiercely they'd nearly torn each other's brains out.

"Aren't your sister and Bingbing always fighting when they meet? Yet they still cooperate when needed."

"We're not asking you to make peace—just reach consensus on certain actions. Cooperation brings benefits—who turns down real advantages?"

"If Shuang Bing unites and brings in one or two more, once they taste the sweetness, others will come on their own—unless they want to become the ones excluded."

Seeing Yan Li deeply understood competition: once started, it was hard to avoid getting swept up.

Li Bingbing still didn't believe it—she still had bonds with Fan Xiaopang; the hatred between the Four Dan and Shuang Bing ran too deep to heal.

"Just try it."

Seeing Yan Li spread his hands. It was just an idea—best if it worked, no loss if it didn't.

Li Xue supported Seeing Yan Li and enthusiastically began researching the plan. Shuang Bing needed no persuasion; to bring in a third person, the best candidate was Zhou Young Master, also under Huayi.

Though it further intensified internal Huayi struggles.

But Zhou Young Master's roles subtly diverged from Shuang Bing's, especially her sister's, and after years of rivalry, they were familiar with each other's teams and could exchange resources.

Li Bingbing glanced at her sister, lost in calculation, then quietly leaned toward Seeing Yan Li and whispered.

"Be honest—do you have some ulterior motive?"

This alliance of Four Dan and Shuang Bing to seize resources? She strongly suspected Seeing Yan Li had already stacked Shuang Bing and now was eyeing the Four Dan.

Seeing Yan Li rolled his eyes: "What are you talking about? I'm working my fingers to the bone for you two—otherwise why would I bother with this nonsense?"

Shuang Bing was my own creation—they're practically burning hot; add the Four Dan, and it'd be chaos every day—I wouldn't enjoy that…

————

ps: The queue today took too long—2000 words short, I'll make up the deficit later.

(End of Chapter)