Bright Era of China Entertainment

Chapter 801 Temporary separation

On a sunny morning, the couple slept until they woke up naturally. After washing and getting dressed, they started packing their luggage. It was Chu Xuan who was helping his wife pack. Liu Yifei sat on the edge of the bed like a little girl, with her hands on both sides of the bed, her legs swaying gently back and forth, watching her husband busy for her.

Along with this, there were her constant reminders.

"You have to take good care of yourself. Don't just be busy with things while you're in the hotel. Take some time to go out for a walk, go to the gym downstairs to exercise, and do the same when you go back. Also, go to Sister Hua's house for dinner, and eat less fast food, it's not healthy."

"Why are you like mom now?"

Chu Xuan took out clothes from the closet, bent down and put them into the suitcase. While bending down, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu Yifei who was sitting in front of him with a teasing look.

The words he just said were usually the "nagging" of his mother. Hearing them from Liu Yifei's mouth made him feel a little uncomfortable.

All I can say is that Liu Yifei's attitude towards him and life changed significantly before and after the marriage.

The former is a boyfriend in love, and the latter is a husband who accompanies him for life. He also felt the change in his wife's feelings towards him deeply.

"I care about you, and you still despise me?"

Hearing Chu Xuan's reply, Liu Yifei immediately bulged her eyes and looked unhappy.

"How could I dislike it?"

Chu Xuan packed the clothes in the suitcase, stood up and kissed Liu Yifei on the lips, then performed the electric shock technique he learned from Liu Yifei and blinked his right eye.

This skill is a natural talent. Chu Xuan, who does not have this talent, cannot learn it completely. The original discharge mode is to open the left eye and blink the right eye normally, but for Chu Xuan, it becomes blinking the right eye while the left eye unconsciously half-closed.

Such an embarrassing situation presented by such a half-baked person really made Liu Yifei laugh. She put a finger on Chu Xuan's forehead and pushed him away with pretended disgust.

"If you don't know how to do this move, don't do it. It will only make you look bad."

Chu Xuan smiled at her, then turned around and took clothes from the closet to help her pack them into her suitcase.

I heard the wife behind me say: "You have to pay attention to your personal safety when you live in a hotel alone. For example, there are small cards under the door in the middle of the night. These are all dangerous to your personal safety. Be careful."

Chu Xuan's body froze, holding the clothes in his hands, and he turned around with a look of confusion: "What the hell!"

One night during the filming, he and Liu Yifei returned to their room after work. After opening the door, he inadvertently found a small card under his feet.

The hotel’s small card shows what’s on it. Anyone who knows will understand.

Moreover, the small card of the five-star hotel is very high-end and Liu Yifei can’t tear it apart.

In the end, no one knew who Liu Yifei asked for a lighter, but she burned the small card to ashes in front of him.

This was just a joke, but now hearing Liu Yifei bringing up this matter again to tease him in a veiled way, or to warn him, it also made him feel quite funny.

Liu Yifei looked at him with a smile on her face, not saying anything, with a sly look in her eyes.

She didn't know why. Although she trusted Chu Xuan 100%, she was always subconsciously wary of things like this.

She attributed this mentality to the fact that the more she loved Chu Xuan, the stronger her possessiveness towards him became.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with this mentality. After all, Chu Xuan was the husband she was going to be with for the rest of her life, and there was nothing impurity in it. So wasn't this mentality very normal? Any normal woman would have this attitude.

Especially after getting married with Chu Xuan, she finally found her sense of belonging, and this attitude became clearer and clearer in her heart.

Even though they were separated for only about a month this time, which was not as long as the previous separations of several months due to study, the change in her mentality after getting married and becoming a wife caused her possessiveness of Chu Xuan to become even stronger, so she followed her heart and knocked on Chu Xuan.

Even though she believed that Chu Xuan would not do anything to let her down, the complexity in her heart always made her hesitate.

This can only mean that human beings are a combination of contradictions.

Conversely, only a person with a contradictory heart is a flesh-and-blood person.

"It's done, let's go."

Chu Xuan zipped up the suitcase and lifted it up.

Liu Yifei got out of bed, picked up another packed suitcase, and walked out of the room with Chu Xuan.

After the couple came to the next room to meet up with their mother, Zeng Ni, and Lu Tao, the family took the elevator down. The crew master was waiting in the nanny car in the parking lot.

In the hotel's underground parking lot, the rolling sound of suitcases dragging on the ground was "gurgling", accompanied by Liu Xiaoli's nagging: "Be good to yourself, this time I've solved Xixi's academic problems, and she will be completely stable when she returns to China next month. It would be even better if the nationality issue can go smoothly, and then there's your wedding..."

For Liu Xiaoli, there are several big events this year.

The first is the issue of Sissi’s graduation. If this matter can be resolved smoothly, Sissi will no longer have any overseas ties, and she can also save some worries.

The second is the issue of Sissi's nationality. If this also goes smoothly, it would be even better. Not only will their family be able to settle down, but the couple will also be able to pursue their dreams with all their heart.

The third is the couple’s wedding. If the first two matters are resolved smoothly and then the big event of the wedding is done, then everything can only be described in two words: perfect.

It seems like being a mother’s life is to worry about her children. She considers almost everything about her children, except for forgetting her own 50th birthday next month.

Perhaps this is what a mother is like. Even if she forgets about her own affairs, she will never forget the happiness and joy of her children.

Listening to my mother's chatter, it seemed like everything was planned very carefully, but she didn't mention anything about my birthday next month.

So, as a daughter, Liu Yifei sent a look to Chu Xuan, and Chu Xuan exchanged glances with her. There was warmth and touching in the eyes of the couple, and they tacitly decided to give their mother a surprise on her 50th birthday next month. Giving their mother unexpected joy was also a way to show their filial piety.

"Xiaoxuan, you should go back. There's no need to see me off. It's troublesome to go back and forth." Liu Xiaoli said as she walked to the car door.

"It's not a big deal. I'll take you there." Chu Xuan got into the car carrying his suitcase.

"No need to send me off. Chairman Jay is still waiting for you to process the video. Hurry up and go up. We can go to the airport by ourselves." Liu Yifei persuaded and pulled Chu Xuan from behind.

Lu Tao took advantage of the situation and snatched the suitcase from Chu Xuan's hand, also trying to stop Chu Xuan from seeing him off.

Chu Xuan laughed and shook his head. In the past, Liu Yifei would be nostalgic and sentimental when parting like this. From an objective point of view, she was a little spoiled. After going through the marriage certificate incident, she has changed. In private, she will still be a little spoiled to show her interest, but in public, she is no longer like this and no longer pretentious.

A girlfriend and a wife are different. No matter how deep your feelings for the former are, your tolerance and understanding are limited to a certain width. But with the latter, the relationship will not only expand in width but also elevate to a certain depth.

He didn't say anything else, just stopped at the door and watched them get in.

"Xiaoxuan, it's time to go." Liu Xiaoli said goodbye.

"Bye, husband." Liu Yifei waved her hand.

"Have a good trip." Chu Xuan raised his hand and waved.

When closing the car door, Liu Yifei raised her right hand and made a "phone call" gesture.

Chu Xuan smiled slightly, raised his left hand and made an "OK" gesture.

After watching the crew master driving the nanny car away and losing his figure after turning a corner, Chu Xuan turned and walked towards the elevator.

Perhaps it was because getting married was an established fact, or perhaps it was because the beauty of the wedding could be foreseen. In the past, I always felt sad and reluctant to leave when we parted. This time, I didn't feel much reluctance. I was more looking forward to and longing for my wife to return to China after graduation and settle down in the family.

We took the elevator back to the corresponding floor, and the corridor was empty. Only the camera crew and the production crew were left from the entire crew. Without the hustle and bustle of the large crowds during filming, the hotel returned to its usual slightly deserted state.

The text message sound rang, and Chu Xuan picked up the phone and looked at it.

[Chu Xuan, I got home safely. I want to let you know you are safe. Please come visit me when you are free.]

Sisters Zhang Shaohan, Wu Qingfeng and Lin Longxuan took a flight back to Taiwan early in the morning and now they have arrived home safely near noon.

【Take good care of yourself, get well soon, and get together when you have time. 】

Chu Xuan replied with a blessing, put his phone back into his trouser pocket and knocked on the door of the suite where the camera crew was.

"Aunt and Xixi are gone?" Zhou Jielun opened the door. Besides him, Liang Datong, Fang Wenshan, chief cameraman Long Fei and other team members and several members of the production team were in the room. They were busy with work on several computers on the assembled long table. When they saw Chu Xuan show up, they all called out "Director" and greeted him.

"Let's go." Chu Xuan responded, and saw Liang Datong walking over with a report.

"Mr. Chu, financial statements." Liang Datong handed the report in his hand to Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan took the document and glanced at it while turning the pages.

Liu Yifei had already done the overall calculation, so he just needed to see whether the total financial amounts of each project were correct.

Before filming began, the total investment was 4000 million yuan, with 3800 million yuan in sponsorship.

After filming began, a total of 1600 million yuan was spent on costumes, props, equipment consumption, scene construction, labor costs, and actor pay, including 300 million yuan in wages to be paid.

"It took more than two months to shoot an urban drama and cost 1600 million. Do you think it's too much or too little?" Chu Xuan asked.

"If we only look at the shooting aspect, based on the current market situation, there are too many," Liang Datong told the truth.

Chu Xuan nodded and said, "The combined salary of Producer Liu and I is 600 million, which accounts for almost 40% of the expenditure. This is a problem. In addition, I am not proficient in my work as a director for the first time, so I wasted some money. This is the second problem. Both need to be changed and improved."

Liang Datong smiled but said nothing. Chu Xuan's "I reflect on myself three times a day" made him feel amused.

The shooting cost of urban dramas is not high, and it is not difficult to attract investment, but the pay of big stars will account for a large proportion of the already low cost. This is why urban drama crews in the market cannot hire or do not want to hire big stars at all, unless the big stars are willing to reduce their pay. This is also the reason why no big stars are willing to act in urban dramas, because no one is willing to lower their own prices.

The only difference is that "My Love from the Star" is that it is a work by Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei, so it can ignore the rules of the urban drama market.

But overall this is indeed a problem. If the actors' pay accounts for too high a proportion of the total, it may damage the production accuracy, which is not a good thing in the long run. However, he can't say anything about this matter. It all depends on whether Chu Xuan will set a good example in the future.

As for the waste of money caused by a first-time director, this is normal. Even a big director cannot guarantee that he will not make mistakes, let alone a new director? In his opinion, this is not a big problem.

Chu Xuan turned the page and continued reading. The post-production cost was estimated to be 400 million, and the publicity and promotion cost was estimated to be 600 million.

"Promotion and marketing costs are higher than post-production costs." He shook his head.

"There are no big and numerous special effects. The post-production cost of urban dramas is not high. We estimated 400 million yuan for "My Love from the Star" because of its sci-fi background. Otherwise, the cost would be even less. As for the publicity and promotion costs..." Liang Datong said with emotion: "The cost of Internet publicity channels is getting more expensive every year, and it has already far exceeded offline paper media. It will only get more outrageous in the future."

In the past few years, print media was the main propaganda channel, but now the media environment has changed a lot, and the Internet has become a reliable media benchmark.

What followed was increasingly outrageous advertising costs. From a four-digit fee in 0405 to a good publicity effect, now any online publicity point can reach five digits. For large platforms such as Weiyu, a good publicity recommendation can cost six digits.

And even if you spend money, you can only promote it for a short period of time.

If you want to keep the publicity effect going, you have to keep investing money.

The publicity and promotion costs of 600 million are based on the estimated high popularity of the company due to its close relationship with Weiyu. If other companies were to promote this result, it would cost even more.

Chu Xuan also understood the market situation and did not delve into it too much. He only looked at the planned expenditure of "My Love from the Star" of 1600 million and the estimated subsequent expenditure of 1000 million. Compared with the total investment of 4000 million, the actual cost was only 2600 million.

The remaining 1400 million needs to be returned to investors in proportion.

However, this ratio is not the investment ratio, but the agreed ratio signed in the contract.

就比如公司投资4000万里的40%也就是1600万，但协议占比是50%，那这1400万返还后，公司按协议会收回700万。

Then, those investors whose ratios are suppressed will suffer a net loss.

From another perspective, those investors are simply giving money to the company.

At the beginning, Li Yu raised the total investment of the urban drama "My Love from the Star" to 4000 million, with the intention of defrauding these investors.

Of course, investors are not fools. If it is really a scam, they will not jump in one after another. They naturally know that the cost of 4000 million for an urban drama is unreasonable. The reason why they are willing to follow up is for the future benefits and effects of the drama.

Including the 3800 million sponsorship, the company has already recouped its investment and earned 300 million. Adding this 700 million, it means that the company has already earned 1000 million.

Seeing that the company was making a lot of money before the show was even aired, Chu Xuan should be happy just looking at the profit, but he knew that there was a drawback as well.

Investors' behavior of giving away large amounts of money seems stupid, and now returning part of it seems to be a loss. But what if some investors have the intention of money laundering?

Dirty money comes in and clean money goes out. Even if there is a loss, it is still a profit compared to the high fees charged by underground money houses in the black market.

Other people’s dirty deeds have nothing to do with him, but if they involve his own work and company, he has to be on guard.

"I'll go back and remind Sister Hua." he thought.

Then he signed and stamped the document and returned it to Liang Datong: "Get the wages ready as soon as possible. Don't keep people waiting."

"Okay, I've already made an appointment with the bank. I'll go do it this afternoon." Liang Datong agreed, waved to a few people from the production team, and retreated together.

Chu Xuan walked to Zhou Jielun's side, folded his arms like him, and watched the camera teachers operating the video editing on the computer.

Seeing Chu Xuan coming, Zhou Jie Lun glanced at him and said, "Zhang Shaohan has been confirmed to sing the female voice for the song "Stars", but there are not many male singers who can match Zhang Shaohan's voice. I can only think of Wang Lihong and Lin Junjie who can sing high notes with Zhang Shaohan."

Vitas's song "Stars" serves as the ending theme song of "My Love from the Stars". The lyrics for the Chinese version have been revised based on Chu Xuan's original version. As for the arrangement, after confirming that Zhang Shaohan will be the female voice, we will go back to Formosa Productions to further discuss it with reference to Zhang Shaohan's voice and singing style.

Zhang Shaohan's public opinion has reversed. He is now returning to Taiwan to recuperate at home. It is not far from Taipei, and his JVR company is in Taipei. After he returns to Taiwan, he will be able to communicate very conveniently with Zhang Shaohan on the song recording, and try to finish the song before post-production is completed.

But before that, there is still a small problem, which is that I am not sure who to find as the male singer.

In his opinion, the only male singers who can create sparks with Zhang Shaohan by performing dolphin sounds are Wang Lihong and Lin Junjie.

However, friends are friends, and business also needs to be business. The appearance fees of these two guys are extremely high, which involves possible major financial issues, so he naturally has to discuss it with Chu Xuan.

"Male singer..." Chu Xuan muttered, and after thinking for a while, he suddenly realized and asked, "Does Zhang Jie know him?"

"Zhang Jie?" Zhou Jielun frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Jie Na's boyfriend?"

"Yes." Chu Xuan nodded.

"Can he do it?" Zhou Jielun asked suspiciously.

Chu Xuan shrugged. "Whether you can do it depends on you. I'm not a professional. Xixi and I get along well with Teacher He and the others. Jie Na is also very affectionate and is trying her best to promote Zhang Jie as her boyfriend. Xixi and I are also considering inviting Teacher He and Jie Na to our wedding next year to help liven up the atmosphere. If we can help them... that would be great too."

Zhou Jielun understood that there was such a relationship. He nodded and said, "Then I will contact you after I return to Taiwan, but we have to make it clear that no means no and yes means yes. This is the ending song of your drama."

"You decide." Chu Xuan responded. In his memory, the version of the song "Stars" that was circulated in China seemed to be sung by Zhang Jie, but it was Zhang Jie ten years later. It is unknown whether the current Zhang Jie has the ability to control this song well. Let's see what Zhou Jie decides. It's quite miserable for a good singer to be inexplicably cyber-bullied because of love. It's just a piece of cake for him to help.

(End of this chapter)