Abstract Art Award Winner

"It's simply the opposite of Tian Gang!"

"You've come to collect a debt from me again? Then tell me, what do I owe you?"

"So what? The previous county head was able to collect taxes until 90 years from now, so what's wrong with me collecting some in advance? Besides, that's what you promised me before."

"Alright, alright, go lie down, I'll get ready."

After Zhou Le finished speaking, he took the bag from Meng Ziyi's hand. It contained essential massage items such as aromatherapy oils. Now Meng Ziyi has become smarter and brings everything herself. She creates whatever environment she wants.

After turning on the aromatherapy diffuser and lighting the candles, Zhou Le saw that Meng Ziyi was already prepared.

The clothes were neatly folded and placed to one side.

Zhou Le first poured the essential oil into his hands and rubbed it together, then began to apply it to Meng Ziyi's body.

The meticulously outlined back lines are perfectly sculpted, the shoulder blades curve gracefully like butterfly wings, and the spinal groove extends naturally in the soft glow of the skin.

The moment his hand touched her, Meng Ziyi flinched.

It's a little chilly.

"Okay, it'll be ready in a minute."

As Zhou Le applied essential oil to Meng Ziyi's back, he admired her as her waist dimples rose and fell slightly with her breathing, making one want to reach out and touch them.

"Don't do that, I'm ticklish."

"Oh, I thought you'd seen it so many times before that you were already used to it."

"How can I get used to this? I'm not a wild boar, I don't have such thick skin!"

Zhou Le grinned broadly.

"Then what are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, I've never seen a girl compare herself to a wild boar before."

"What's wrong? Do you think I'm one of those 'green tea' types? Let me tell you, that's the kind of person I despise the most, but it seems like guys really like that type."

Zhou Le thought for a moment and said, "It's actually not that bad, but I feel it's quite normal. After all, green tea girls usually control guys by making them feel good, but some girls control guys by making them feel bad."

"That's true, but I'm definitely not that kind of scheming woman, nor am I a wild boar."

Then Zhou Le started to exert himself. At first, Meng Ziyi was still playing on her phone, but she quickly stopped caring. She threw her phone to both sides, buried her face in the blanket, and gripped the sheets tightly.

Did you not eat dinner tonight?

Meng Ziyi suddenly said.

Zhou Le: "???"

So he intensified his efforts again.

"I can't feel it."

Zhou Le reached out and patted the other person's smooth back: "Not bad, your resilience has become so strong after so long?"

"Of course, I'm a real man."

Zhou Le suddenly thought of Xiao Tian. When they were together, Xiao Tian always liked to stand behind him.

He always prides himself on being a real man.

"You said it yourself. If you can't stand it later, just say so."

"Impossible, I would never say such a thing."

Meng Ziyi was already prepared when she arrived. After working for so long, she was looking forward to relaxing for a few days.

Zhou Le got up very early the next morning.

But just as I was about to go to the bathroom to wash up, I felt my arm being pulled, and when I looked down, I didn't know when Meng Ziyi had woken up again.

"Such a beautiful morning. Aren't you going to..."

"Of course I'm planning to. I'm going to the film set. I have a lot of filming to do today, so I need to get there early to get my makeup done."

Meng Ziyi smiled slyly.

"That's not necessarily true. If you can give me ten minutes..."

Meng Ziyi said, panting.

"It doesn't matter, that's just my constitution."

"So you're a Hellcat too?"

"It can be."

In the morning, Zhou Le went to the film set and chatted with Guo Qiling about Saito Asuka while getting her makeup done.

"Brother Le, don't say it yet. I already told them again yesterday that Saito Asuka and her company really want her to come to China to expand the market."

"One is the economic business, and the other is the self-media business. I plan to take them both on, so I've arranged to meet them here in a few days to discuss the market situation here."

"Sure, you can worry about this. Once you're done talking, I'll see if I'm free and we can all have a meal together."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements before then."

"I'll arrange it, but about the other business matters I mentioned to you before."

"I've signed seven or eight online celebrities. Anyway, I've basically emptied my pockets in this area."

"Seven or eight of them will empty your pockets. I remember you had a lot of money on you."

"Hey, when we start a new company, we definitely need to find some capable people, so I'm targeting the top ones. They'll be responsible for creating the content, and the company will be responsible for their operations and business connections."

The first place I contacted was Sheep Cuisine. The couple, one of them appears on camera and the other writes the copy, are considered top figures in the food category. When I talked to them, I brought you up. Anyway, you have resources in the entertainment industry, so just showing a little bit of yourself to them will be enough.

I also contacted Li Ziqi. In 16, she collaborated with a company in Hangzhou called Weinian. At first, the collaboration went quite well, but now that company seems to be doing something wrong, so I contacted her to discuss it.

After that, I also found a singer named Liu Yuning.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Le felt his head buzzing.

Because Zhou Le himself also uses Douyin, he knows these people's names very well.

"Wait a minute, you mean the three you mentioned are already eligible to sign with our company?"

"Yes, I first talked to them privately, and then I used some connections to find some people. It definitely cost some money. After a while, they will be able to switch companies."

"What's wrong, Brother Le? Do you think these guys don't have much potential? Should I talk to them again and not sign them yet?"

"It's not that these people lack potential, it's that they have too much potential. Tell me the truth, let's not talk about what comes later, just these three people alone, how much money did you spend in total?"

"Adding what you gave me back then, Brother Le, and what I had on hand, plus what I borrowed from Uncle Qian, it all adds up to about 130 million."

Zhou Le: "."

"Wait, is it really that big of a deal?"

"Actually, Li Ziqi is the main reason why she is more expensive. She has already been locked in by capital and she has shares in that company. If I want to bring her over, I have to negotiate with the company behind her. Part of the penalty for breach of contract plus Li Ziqi's signing fee adds up to this amount. As for Liu Yuning, I spent 20 million, and the company will take 50% of the profits. For Sheep Cuisine, the company will take 60% of the profits, with an advance payment of 5 million."

"Ugh."

"So you only have three? There are still four or five people left."

"The rest are mostly ordinary people."

"But I feel they are all quite interesting, and there is no need to pay any signing fee. Everyone can sign a contract for a few years and then receive a salary every month as usual. If it really takes off, we can switch to other activities. If it doesn't take off, we can terminate the contract. We don't make money from termination fees like other MSN organizations."

In short, what I'm thinking is to create a "head effect," to sign more top influencers, and to let others see our capabilities. We can take it one step at a time.

"Alright, this money was quite a lot, but it was all worth it. What about the short drama?"

"Short drama?"

"We have already started filming. We have booked Hengdian World Studios for a long time. There are two production teams working on the same project at the same time. One is filming a male-oriented drama and the other is filming a female-oriented drama. The first script is almost finished. We will then spend about one to two months on post-production. Once that is done, it will be released online."

"On which platform will it be launched?"

"I've already spoken with both Douyin and Kuaishou. We'll be using them as built-in mini-programs to create our content. Initially, we'll use a paid model, and later we'll make it a combination of paid and free options."

"But the copyright belongs to us. We'll only give them a share of the revenue from distribution channels. If we can make some money later, I'll immediately find someone to develop an app."

"Sure, but you should ask others for advice in areas you don't understand, so you don't get taken advantage of."

"Don't worry, brother. After all, this is my first time starting a business, so I'm being very cautious."

"Do you think I believe it? It cost more than 100 million yuan to hire three internet celebrities. Although the money should be recouped, your boldness is almost on par with my investment in 'The Wandering Earth' and 'Ne Zha' back then."

"Hehe, Brother Le, isn't this what I learned from you? You have to act quickly when it's time to spend money."

After they finished chatting, Zhou Le's makeup was almost done.

After that, he went to film a movie, and Meng Ziyi didn't arrive until almost noon.

However, when she arrived, the milk tea she ordered also arrived.

Yesterday she counted there were about a hundred staff members and extras, so today she ordered 150 cups of milk tea.

The morning's scenes were all filmed by now.

Kong Sheng was amused by this.

"Come on, everyone, come here for a moment. Our teacher, Ms. Meng, is treating everyone to milk tea."

"Yes, everyone can choose for themselves. There are all kinds of flavors. First come, first served. Those who come later can only drink what's left."

Meng Ziyi also shouted along.

But everyone on set was still very considerate.

It means you can choose freely, first come, first served.

But everyone still insisted that Kong Sheng choose a cup first.

After that, I worked as an assistant director, director of photography, lighting director, and so on in the film crew.

However, most of the lead actors did not have this because they had to pay special attention to their diet while filming.

It's one thing to indulge in a meal occasionally.

For the rest of the time, I have to cut out carbs to avoid gaining weight.

Then the crew members waited until the very end to pick and distribute the remaining extras among themselves.

Zhou Le held a cup of Cheese Peach Oolong Tea and took a deep sip. This was the extra-flavored version that Meng Ziyi had bought for him.

It contains pudding, red bean crisps, taro balls, and more.

"Why aren't you afraid of gaining weight? I see that other people don't drink these high-sugar drinks."

"It's okay, just practice if you've had too much to drink. Besides, it's not like you drink every day. It's fine to drink once in a while."

Meng Ziyi greatly admired Zhou Le's physical talent.

Gain weight or lose weight whenever you want, it's like playing a game.

But he also had to admit that Zhou Le's willpower was indeed strong; when he needed to lose weight, he said no, and he really didn't put anything in his mouth.

Moreover, not only did they not eat, they also trained like crazy.

During the few days that Meng Ziyi was on set, she would buy milk tea for everyone every noon.

He would give it to Zhou Le during the day, but at night he would do the opposite.

Zhou Le would eat, drink, and film during the day, and then practice hard at night.

It's not just for this movie, but also for the Golden Rooster Awards next month.

After all, the Golden Rooster Awards are one of the best awards in the domestic film industry.

Many celebrities start preparing for film festivals two months in advance, including exercising and controlling their diet.

After all, this is a place where stars gather and flowers bloom in competition.

If someone gains even a little weight, they'll be compared to others.

Needless to say, those born in 85, 90, and 95 are all young talents.

Even male celebrities cannot escape being compared.

Not to mention those far away, if Huang Jingyu, Lu Han, Deng Chao, and others whom Zhou Le knows really start to gain weight in middle age and don't pay attention to exercise, they will definitely be caught by the cameras and filmed non-stop when they arrive at the scene.

If it happens to coincide with the release of a rival film, several trending topics are inevitable.

"By the way, Sister Meng, have you received any invitations to the Golden Rooster Awards lately?"

"We received them. All of us received them, but our positions will definitely be towards the back. Only Oda will be slightly forward, and Ono will probably be about the same."

However, Shuxin and I will have to sit in the back, because Shuxin doesn't have any particularly outstanding works yet, and we'll have to wait until the second Wandering Earth is released.

But I mainly act in TV dramas, and I haven't had a huge breakthrough in recent years. At most, I was constantly criticized when "The Untamed" aired.

"It's okay, everyone will sit in the front from now on."

Meng Ziyi hummed twice and then asked, "Brother Le, do you know what everyone thinks of you?"

"do not know."

"They say you're the industry's workaholic, that you've already made so much money, yet you still work so hard, just like that..."

"Which one?"

"oxen and horses?"

Zhou Le: "."

"Either Sister Meng or someone else would be better off without using the term 'ox or horse'." (End of Chapter)