"Xiaolan, don't you think this is a bit... unreasonable?"
Having read through the entire budget proposal, Zhang Jiajia—who had majored in accounting and whose family ran a small business—felt that her good friend was more capitalistic than actual capitalists.
For a moment, she felt a bit dazed.
They always said society was the best school to change a person.
But hadn't they just graduated not too long ago? Why on earth were you already this advanced?
Upon hearing this, Zhong Lan put on an expression of absolute innocence.
She had known all along that Zhang Jiajia would say that.
"Hehe, I think it's quite reasonable."
Unflustered, Zhong Lan began ticking off points on her fingers as she broke down the math: "Look, if we go by the minimum standard for an unlicensed director shooting a TV series, that's at least twenty thousand per episode. Granted, this is a movie, but the movie I'm making is divided into nine episodes anyway—we're just combining them into one. At twenty thousand an episode, that comes out to one hundred and eighty thousand in director's fees. Let's round that up to two hundred thousand. That's totally reasonable, right?"
"Pfft... Ah, right, right, right. Everything you say is right."
Stifling a laugh, Zhang Jiajia pointed at her phone and said, "Then what about this Peak Culture Media Co., Ltd. needing another two hundred thousand for production costs? If I remember correctly, the company you registered is called by this exact name, isn't it?"
"The company is the company. What does its business have to do with me, the director?"
"The one million is invested by Party B, Lu Chen, for Party A, Peak Culture, to shoot the movie. Peak Culture, this company, is hiring me as the director and paying me a fee of two hundred thousand."
"Out of the remaining eight hundred thousand, two hundred thousand goes toward costumes, makeup, props, venue rentals, lighting, and so on. Oh, and special effects! You know how it is, Jiajia—visual effects these days are super expensive and charged by the frame!"
Seeing Zhong Lan shamelessly double down, Zhang Jiajia naturally knew what she was really up to.
She did a quick mental calculation.
Leaving aside the three hundred thousand for promotion and distribution, the money left over to hire voice actors would be around three hundred thousand.
With careful budgeting, that amount should barely be enough to secure some decent talent.
Zhang Jiajia didn't dwell on it further.
As their coffee was served, the two friends sipped their drinks while discussing the specific details of the production.
...
Yuanyi Daguan Residential Compound
In the living room, Lu Chen sat on the sofa with an awkward expression, head lowered, looking remarkably like Zhong Lan had earlier.
Even the spot where they sat was identical.
Standing directly opposite him was none other than his manager, Zhao Tianyu.
At this moment, Zhao Tianyu's anger was practically written all over his face.
A steady stream of choice profanities poured from his mouth.
"I am truly, utterly floored, dammit!"
"You've been kicking around the entertainment industry for nearly two years, yet you let some fresh college graduate sweet-talk you out of a million yuan?!"
"Th... that's an investment," Lu Chen argued stubbornly.
"Investment my ass!"
Cutting him off directly, Zhao Tianyu ranted on: "I just don't get it. We had so many beauties at the company, and I privately offered to set you up, but you turned your nose up at every single one of them. Now your what... your roommate, is it? She manages to turn your brain to mush and hand over your very last penny to her?"
"Do you have any idea how hard I fought to negotiate with the company, dropping your breach-of-contract penalty from over thirty million to twenty-five million, and getting them to agree to installments? We need five million just for the down payment, and I've already scraped together four million for you. The only thing missing is that one million on your end!"
"I'm out of money anyway. You tell me what we're going to do now!"
With that, Zhao Tianyu crossed his arms, slammed himself down onto the sofa, and wore a terrifyingly dark expression.
"Sigh, I don't even know how to explain it to you."
Lu Chen sighed, stood up, walked over to the bedroom, and brought the script out to Zhao Tianyu. "Take a look at this first, Brother Yu."
Zhao Tianyu cast a sidelong glance at it.
"This is the movie you invested in?"
"Yeah, I think it can make money."
With a resolute gaze and an earnest expression, Lu Chen replied, "I know you must have put in a lot of effort for my sake, Brother Yu. But you know my character; I'm not that stupid. I genuinely believe that girl is very talented."
"Besides, don't worry—I haven't been sitting idle lately, I'm already planning a new song. If this movie helps pay off the penalty completely, I'll be able to focus even more on my music. I won't let you down."
"Sigh, you..."
Things having reached this point, Zhao Tianyu didn't say anything more.
The reason he was willing to help Lu Chen, aside from Lu Chen's talent, was primarily his character.
Even though he worked in the entertainment industry and had witnessed far too many sordid things, whenever he encountered a creator like Lu Chen who could truly stay true to himself, he still couldn't help lending a hand.
Perhaps it was to honor his own abandoned persistence from years past.
Since Lu Chen was so certain it would turn a profit, the script must have some redeeming qualities after all.
With that thought, Zhao Tianyu lowered his head and prepared to read through the script carefully.
Naturally, the first thing he saw was the title.
Just like Lu Chen, a wave of doubt welled up inside him.
Who even makes mystery movies these days?
And you're expecting this thing to make money?
Fraught with skepticism, Zhao Tianyu opened the first page of the script.
"Huh."
"Huh?"
"Holy shit!"
As he became immersed in the story constructed through the characters' dialogue, the changes in Zhao Tianyu's expression were nothing short of spectacular.
Watching from the side, Lu Chen finally let out a sigh of relief as his usual calm demeanor returned to his face.
He knew Brother Yu had been conquered by the script.
Sure enough.
When Zhao Tianyu finally closed the script, he sat in silence with his eyes closed for a long time.
Only then did he suddenly open them and say, "How much more money does this movie need? I'm putting some in too!"
"It's already enough," Lu Chen replied.
"Enough? How is that possible?!"
Inbelief was plastered across Zhao Tianyu's face: "The movie involves parallel timelines, and with all these different characters, you definitely need capable actors to pull off that atmosphere properly. Whether you look at actor costs or visual effects, one million is nowhere near enough!"
"I didn't say we need actors."
Zhao Tianyu: "?"
Shortly after, Lu Chen repeated the entire scheme Zhong Lan had pitched to him, word for word.
Upon hearing it, Zhao Tianyu was utterly dumbfounded.
No actors, no visuals, just audio—and you call that a movie?
Yet, upon second thought, he realized it was actually worth a shot.
The current market didn't have any cinematic experiences quite this novel.
Furthermore, a good movie was ultimately one that could captivate audiences, draw them into the world, and hold their attention from start to finish.
The key to that was the narrative delivery.
And from a storytelling standpoint, the script in his hands was flawless.
Just reading the text alone was enough to be eye-catching.
If they brought in professional voice actors and paired it with even a modest amount of visual elements, the effect of captivating the audience would only be elevated to the next level.
"You brat, you really lucked out. How did you manage to bump into someone so talented?"
Shaking his head, Zhao Tianyu stood up. "All I can say now is I hope she's genuinely talented when it comes to the actual filming. Once the final cut is done, you'd better keep a close eye on it."
Lu Chen nodded. "I understand that."
"Alright, I'm heading out then."
"By the way, pick up the pace on your new song this month. Even though next month—October—is just a standard monthly chart, as long as you can secure a decent ranking, it will only do you good."
Having given his final instructions, Zhao Tianyu didn't linger any longer.
Leaving only Lu Chen behind, lost in thought.