The battle for traffic in Chinese entertainment

Chapter 504 Excessive
Terrace late at night.

Xu Xing lay on the gently swaying rocking chair, chatting with Lin Yoona across from her on her phone.

What's so interesting about watching a premiere livestream?

"Practice your Chinese listening skills!"

Lin Yoona chuckled.

Xu Xing smiled and nodded.

"Luckily, no one spoke Cantonese at today's premiere, otherwise you definitely wouldn't have understood anything."

It was Xu Xing who requested through Netflix that the premiere be conducted in Mandarin.

Many overseas viewers are willing to learn Chinese because of Xu Xing, but they won't go on to study Cantonese. For Hong Kong dramas to revive, producing Mandarin dramas is fundamental. Cantonese can be retained as a dubbing option for broadcast in Hong Kong and Guangdong province.

Even Xu Xing's "Blossoms," although filmed entirely in Shanghainese, was primarily released in Mandarin. However, Sunglasses (Xu Xing's director) isn't sure if filming is finished yet, and editing hasn't started. Once he's almost done editing, Xu Xing will be doing the Mandarin dubbing.

"Actually, I'm already learning Cantonese. Didn't you say you like a lot of Cantonese songs and movies? And since I can't go to the mainland to participate in fan events for a while, I think the fans would be even happier if I held a fan meeting in Hong Kong, spoke Cantonese, and sang Cantonese songs."

As she spoke, Lin Yoona picked up a notepad from the side and showed it to Xu Xing.

The above is the pronunciation transcription of the entire song "I Like You" by Beyond.

"They're going to be so happy, I'm so envious of Yoona's fans."

Xu Xing looked on with envy.

Im Yoona couldn't help but laugh.

"You're still jealous of them?"

"Yoona sang for them, but not for me."

Xu Xing pretended to be sad.

Yoona was so happy that she laughed for a long time before stopping.

"I'll definitely sing it for you as soon as I learn it, but unfortunately I'm just starting out and there are many parts I don't know how to sing. Can you teach me? Baba~"

When the last two mischievous syllables came out, Xu Xing felt a distinct jolt in his body.

However, Ms. Bae Suzy only paused for a moment before continuing to sway slowly.

"Of course. Let me demonstrate for you first!"

"Ahhh! I'm going crazy with anticipation!"

Im Yoon-ah was extremely excited.

When Xu Xing began to sing a cappella, her eyes widened immediately.

"A light drizzle, carried by the wind, soaked the streets at dusk..."

Xu Xing sang in Mandarin.

Seeing her surprised expression, Xu Xinghao laughed so hard that it affected the breath control of her a cappella singing, but in the quiet of the night, it still sounded particularly beautiful.

Recently, Hsu Hsing has been squeezing in time to produce an album amidst her busy schedule, and her voice is currently at its best.

No matter what language it's sung in, it won't sound too bad.

Even now, Hsu Hsing still faces interference when performing.

Miss Bae Suzy, who is blind, is a little jealous.

After Xu Xing started singing, she increased the amplitude of her swaying, but apart from smiling briefly at the beginning, no matter how hard she tried, her breathing remained incredibly steady.

As a result, Miss Pei ended up trapping herself in her own scheme.

A rocking chair will rock continuously once it reaches a certain point.

She almost bit her lip until it bled.

The urge to make some noise to relieve the urge was growing uncontrollably, but... Xu Xing's integrity left Bae Suzy with no doubt that if Lim Yoona asked with some doubt, he would directly put her in the video camera and show her to Lim Yoona.

Even though Yoona called him that... he still sang for her at that moment.

Or perhaps, another thought that had been nagging at Bae Suzy for a long time was whether she was already in the shot... and that they were deliberately playing a trick on her.

The rocking chair swayed more and more violently, making it increasingly difficult for her to maintain her balance... Even if she fell into Xu Xing's arms, she would still appear in the camera's view.

Bae Suzy felt as if she were in hell built in heaven.

Waaaaah~
She eventually began to sob almost imperceptibly.

I'm on the verge of collapse...

Ok!

Finally, I managed to grab Xu Xing's hand!
It's as sturdy as an iron clamp on the wall!

But... this hand also gently moved back and forth...

"Wandering aimlessly, so cold. I never knew her pain, always struggling for myself. I love you, those captivating eyes..."

Xu Xing's a cappella performance remained steady.

Bae Suzy's Chinese is terrible. Although she has heard this song before, she still can't understand the lyrics that Xu Xing is singing.

All she could hear was that Xu Xing's singing voice carried a gentle smile, like the softest sunlight shining into the night, making no one realize that it was sunlight in the dead of night.

Miss Pei eventually fell into Xu Xing's arms.

After Xu Xing finished singing the song in Mandarin once, she started singing it a second time in Cantonese.

The defeat took longer than Xu Xing had anticipated.

She buried her face in Xu Xing's arms, hiding her head as low as possible, and didn't forget to try to suppress her sobs.

Unfortunately, it was still quite noticeable late at night.

Xu Xing gently patted her back to comfort her.

She hugged Xu Xing tighter and buried her head even lower, feeling that Lin Yoona must have seen her.

Actually not.

When she fell, Xu Xing raised the camera.

Lin Yoona did hear the sudden soft sobbing, but she had chatted with Xu Xing too many times and knew that she didn't need to be curious or "sensibly" end the conversation immediately.

So, Xu Xing finished singing "Want to See You" in Cantonese for the second time, and Lin Yoona cheered and jumped for joy in a cute way!
Another round of cheesy declarations of love ensued.

Then we switched to another prepared topic: the internal audition jointly organized by CJ's Mnet and SM, which was officially announced today.

—It's an internal talent show for trainees within the company. Once they debut, they become a long-term group, unlike the two-year limited groups of the Produce series.

This talent show will be broadcast on Netflix, rather than on Tving, a South Korean streaming platform jointly established by CJ and JTBC.

The reason is that the group selected by this show is going to try their luck in the US after their debut.

Not long after Aespa debuted, boy group auditions immediately began. SM Entertainment partnered with CJ Group, signed with Interscope, and joined Netflix. SM's big moves at the end of 20 attracted the attention of the entire K-pop industry!
Many longtime K-pop fans and Korean netizens were thrilled!
Many people exclaimed that as the top of the three major K-pop groups, they bravely took on the industry's responsibility during K-pop's most difficult time!

Yoona will be the MC, or host, on this talent show.

Xu Xing wanted her to be a mentor, but Lin Yoona said she would be the MC and let the seniors be the mentors, which left Xu Xing feeling helpless.

However, this can at least reduce the pressure on Lee Soo-man's side.

In the past, SM Entertainment launched trainees through the SM Rookies brand, but now it is holding its own internal auditions.

This talent show also basically means that NCT, which was originally expanding indefinitely, has been announced to stop expanding, and the best trainees will be given to new groups.

Therefore, the pressure within SM Entertainment was immense, and Lee Soo-man was essentially facing a do-or-die situation.

All Xu Xing could do was wish him success.

After finishing the discussion, Yoona reluctantly turned off the video.

The terrace fell silent again, with only rustling sounds audible.

Xu Xing admired it for a while before pulling Miss Pei's head up.

His face was wet and pale, and when his bloodshot eyes were revealed, he looked even more resentful and sad.

"You're so mean!"

"To be honest, you were the one who initiated it."

Xu Xing refuted this.

Bae Suzy opened her mouth, but was speechless.

After a moment of silence, he pursed his lips.

"You shouldn't have answered the phone in the first place."

"You were the one who reacted the most strongly just now. She didn't see you, so don't worry."

Xu Xing smiled and wiped away the tears that were flowing again for her.

"..."

Bae Suzy wanted to complain a few more times, but in the end she lowered her head.

Xu Xing stroked her hair with satisfaction, admired her for a while, helped push her in for a bit, then got up and pushed her in for a while more before picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom.

"Your dress is worn out, it's time to get a new one. I actually quite like it when Noona wears glasses, so put them on in a bit."

The night is still long.

Xu Xing's daily routine scripts are not yet finished, so they need to be put aside for a while.

When I returned to the villa earlier, I watched her dance to "Love Song" in the black dress she wore at the fan meeting. After warming up, I let it rest for a while, and she digested it quite well.

After that, she seemed more docile, giving Xu Xing the feeling that she could do whatever she wanted with her.

Let's skip some unnecessary steps and just try out what we can do.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The results are remarkable.

When they got up for breakfast again, Ms. Bae Suzy sat on Heo Haeng's lap wearing only a shirt, without any complaints, and instead became even more engrossed in the moment.

She even joked, "Actually, I've had such a scene in my ideal world."

After Xu Xing fully expanded the scope of the picture, she asked her if everything was in her ideal world.

Ms. Bae Suzy, looking weak and listless, nodded and laughed in a hoarse voice.

"The painting went on for a very long time, from noon until the end of the afternoon and into the evening."

I don’t know if it was after the second placement last night, when she did the challenge of not closing her eyes in front of the mirror, that she unlocked an unprecedented sense of brokenness and completely let go of her mindset.

However, the self-disciplined Xu Xing did not get what she wanted.

"No one can stop me from going to the recording studio."

"..." Bae Suzy visibly breathed a sigh of relief and even smiled. "Luckily, my charm wasn't so high that it made people lose their minds. I prepared 'Love Song' yesterday, what should I prepare today?"

"That hanbok photo shoot, your assistant will bring the clothes over. And as you promised last night, make sure you clean yourself up."

"...You forced me to do it."

"You begged me."

"...Then I'm leaving."

"When you decide to leave, tell my assistant and ask her to take you safely to the airport."

Xu Xing laughed, seemingly unconcerned.

Bae Suzy pouted.

"You're making me feel like you don't like me. The first night, and last night, I had a very strong feeling of liking you."

“You’ll be able to feel it again when you get back tonight,” Xu Xing shrugged. “If I had been more assertive last night, we wouldn’t have this problem now, would we? My agreement last night was an expression of my liking for you.”

Then, until Xu Xing left, Ms. Bae Suzy, who was still pouting, didn't say another word to Xu Xing.

On the last day of 2020, Hsu Hsing spent the entire year focused on recording in the studio.

Many people came to see Xu Xing after hearing the news, but Xu Xing did not see any of them.

I can meet Young Master Huo; we've already arranged to have dinner together.

That evening, Yu Murong came from Shenzhen and had dinner with Xu Xing and the Huo couple.

A dinner that didn't really have any real significance, just made the faces a little more familiar.

As Mr. Qu's family assets grew larger, his relationships with other prominent and wealthy families also became increasingly close.

Xu Xing is an absolute leader in the domestic entertainment industry. In the current context, she has an irreplaceable role in external publicity, so she has friends wherever she goes.

Young Master Huo showered Xu Xing with praise, and Xu Xing also complimented him and his wife a few times. Then the conversation turned to the revival of Hong Kong dramas, and the atmosphere of the chat became normal again.

Young Master Huo spoke from a high-level perspective, which suggests he had done his homework beforehand, but his conversation felt more like a display of emotion.

However, the fundamental reason why the revival of Hong Kong dramas is a false proposition is that there is a talent shortage, as all of them have been absorbed by the mainland.

When Xu Xing spoke, he mentioned the Southeast Asian censorship model pioneered by Director Chen, believing that the key to the revival of Hong Kong dramas is to attract mainland film and television companies to come and make films.

If Hong Kong's entertainment industry can reduce costs, leverage its subject matter strengths, and break free from its isolation, it may be able to achieve a true revival. International streaming platforms like Netflix present an opportunity, but fundamentally, Hong Kong's industry needs to restore its internal strengths.

It sounded very vague, because what Xu Xing was actually describing was the scene after Zhengrong Gangcheng Branch finally gained a foothold in Gangcheng.

Young Master Huo seemed quite inspired, and then criticized the closed nature of Hong Kong's entertainment industry.

Yu Murong mostly watched and chatted with a smile, occasionally whispering a few words to Guo Tai, but she didn't say much.

After dinner, Yu Murong didn't comment on Xu Xing's performance, but instead talked about Erika's visit to her earlier that day.

"Actually, I don't have a very good impression of her, but for Zheng Rong, she is indeed a very good partner. Her subordinates in South Korea are actually eyeing her position, and we are her best partner in the Asia-Pacific region. She also frankly admitted this during today's conversation."

“I think she’s becoming more and more focused on climbing the corporate ladder. In our last few meetings, she’s received a lot of calls from headquarters. I’ve also heard that she’s been flying to the US a lot in the last few months. I even suspect that she might be taking advantage of this Netflix reshuffle of the Asia-Pacific management team to try and get back to headquarters sooner.”

Xu Xing smiled.

Yu Murong shook her head.

"She's from Europe and America, so she definitely hopes to rise to headquarters in the future. But the Asia region is the easiest to achieve results right now, and this year's results are impressive enough, so no one will back down at this time. However, because she was poached from outside by Netflix, she has a shallow foundation and doesn't receive enough support from headquarters, which may sometimes make her seem disheartened. Especially this time, a small 'Three-Body Problem' project has left her stuck here, with her superiors leaving her to fend for herself, which is extremely embarrassing."

"Does she still want Sister Rong to put in a good word for her within Tencent?"

Xu Xing asked.

Yu Murong nodded.

"Yes, but I also told her frankly that Tencent Video would never compromise."

They chatted all the way until they were almost at the villa, at which point Yu Murong asked Xu Xing to get out of the car.

"I need to get up early tomorrow to work on the album, so you don't need to come back to Shenzhen with me today."

"Yes, have a safe trip, Sister Rong."

Xu Xing hugged her before getting out of the car.

Yu Murong did not avoid it, but her smile was somewhat helpless when they parted.

Go to bed early.

"Yes, Sister Rong too."

Back at the villa, Ms. Bae Suzy was already dressed in her modified hanbok, with her hair styled in a gentle updo, her sideburns slightly disheveled, and her lip makeup exquisite.

Since Ms. Bae Suzy has decided to work with Erika, tonight's project is just a matter of time. There's no point in running back to Korea to escape now.

She sat on the sofa, flipping through a magazine, just like she had done at the Erika villa next door that day.

However, it wasn't until Xu Xing walked to the sofa that she closed the magazine and looked up.

She blinked, and without making a sound, took the small bunch of white flowers from the coffee table next to her and held them in her hands.

After freezing the moment, he pretended to be angry out of helplessness, then suddenly burst into laughter.

She laughed for a while, but her smile gradually turned into one of grievance. However, her movements were natural, and she did not hesitate at the beginning. Her bright eyes were always looking at Xu Xing.

This is probably what it means to be content with whatever comes your way.

Xu Xing was extremely satisfied and presented her with a prepared gift: a set of Cartier jewelry.

Even opening a bottle of red wine made her feel valued, and Xu Xing felt no need to be stingy so that everyone could truly enjoy themselves.

What a perfect night!
Xu Xing achieved a grand slam.

Ms. Bae Suzy always wore her modified hanbok with elegance until it was modified by Heo Haeng into a retro hanbok and then abandoned.

The main problem is that Ms. Bae Suzy's talent is simply insufficient to bring out the essence of retro hanbok. After making the changes, Xu Xing even regretted her impulsive actions.

Isn't it better to wear something neat and tidy?

Feeling valued is important. After the longest night of training, on the third day, Ms. Bae Suzy finally took the initiative to provide morning services.

However, while eating breakfast, before she had even gotten up from the ground, Ms. Bae Suzy, having calmed down, made a hoarse explanation.

"Actually, I don't really like jewelry, but I never expected it, so I was still pleasantly surprised. That's why you haven't taken the thing off my neck yet. But I still have to say, you're going a bit too far. Can't we be more normal?"

She had that wronged look on her face again.

Xu Xingdu laughed.

"If there's an opportunity in the future, things will be normal."

"So, I can leave now?"

The hurt in Bae Suzy's eyes immediately turned into anticipation.

Xu Xing nodded.

"Although my flight leaves Hong Kong tomorrow morning, you can definitely leave now."

"...You're just going to let me leave like this?"

Ms. Bae Suzy exclaimed in surprise.

"Then don't leave."

Xu Xing slapped her face.

Miss Pei blushed immediately and slowly pouted.

"You've really gone too far."

Therefore, to reward Miss Pei for her self-discipline, Xu Xing still gave her a day off today.

Since "Childhood Games" is being released today, Hsu Hsing can't stay in the recording studio the whole time.

"Childhood Games" will be released at noon. Taking advantage of the last bit of time, Xu Xing and Ms. Bae Suzy go to a VIP box in a private cinema to watch "Bad Genius".

It was Ms. Bae Suzy who said she wanted to see it.

But when they got to the cinema, she didn't watch the movie very attentively; instead, she kept trying to entertain Xu Xing.

At the end of the movie, Ms. Bae Suzy tells Xu Xing that she has come across a script that is somewhat similar to the core of this story. Erika is not very keen on doing that project and hopes that Xu Xing can help her.

Erika promised her a leading role in one or two big projects, but those would be supporting roles for the male actors. She wanted to film the drama where she was the only female lead.

After listening to her story, it was indeed "Anna".

"No problem at all."

Xu Xing smiled and agreed.

"Thank you."

Ms. Bae Suzy finished speaking with a smile and then lowered her head.

Her awareness is truly admirable.

So, when the two returned to the villa, it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon.

Erika called, excitedly telling Xu Xing.

"The current viewership of 'Childhood Games' is simply unbelievable!!!"

(End of this chapter)