Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 115 The First Signs of Connections
When Gu Jingyi delivered a speech on stage during a live broadcast on TV5, he uttered the line that resonated deeply with the values ​​of young people: "There's no such thing as a peaceful and carefree life; it's just that someone is forging ahead for us."

He bowed deeply to everyone on stage, his emotions as surging as Qi Tongwei's kneeling down in front of the dormitory building while holding flowers.

From that moment on, the gears of Gu Jingyi's fate began to turn.

No one can stop Gu Jingyi in terms of public opinion in China, unless he does something as reckless as Chris.

As Gu Jingyi walked off the stage, staff members greeted him all the way to the waiting room.

With a warm smile on his face, he pushed open the door to the waiting room. Gu Jingyi saw a figure—someone who, by all accounts, should never be in his waiting room at this time.

"Jingyi, do you have any plans for tonight? There's a private dinner party, let's go together if you're free."

The visitor was Zou Wei, who was in charge of the May Fourth Gala and had experience in managing many large-scale galas.

However, what Gu Jingyi valued was that he would later serve as the art director of "The Age of Awakening".

At this stage, the script for "The Age of Awakening" was only drafted by a team and had not yet been officially announced.

It's better for Gu Jingyi to get along with him now than later.

"Director Zou, you're too kind. The perfect performance at the May Fourth Gala wouldn't have been possible without your trust. If it weren't for your support of my changes during the final rehearsal, how could the performance have gone viral?"

Gu Jingyi then flattered the director, making Zou Wei laugh heartily and creating a wonderful atmosphere.

"It was all thanks to Jingyi's own efforts; I didn't do anything."

Zou Wei said with satisfaction that he was very pleased with Gu Jingyi's humble attitude. He also took the opportunity to tell Gu Jingyi some good news, "We just communicated with the higher-ups, and your quote, 'There is no such thing as a peaceful life; it's just that someone is forging ahead for us,' was quoted on the news. Tomorrow night, there will be a 30-second news feature about you."

A hint of surprise flashed across Gu Jingyi's eyes at that moment, and he pretended to be flattered.

"Really? I just did what I was supposed to do. It's such an honor to be on the news for this."

"Haha, Jingyi, you're too modest. You must come to the friend's dinner later. A friend of mine is currently preparing for a project. He listened to your 'A Century of Journey' today and thinks it's perfect as a theme song."

Gu Jingyi knew in his heart that this was the team behind "The Age of Awakening".

He nodded and readily agreed.

"Okay, then wait until I'm finished here. Take my car and I'll take you there."

Zou Wei left satisfied; he still needed to go backstage to oversee the program. He had just taken some time out to do Gu Jingyi a favor after learning that Gu Jingyi would be appearing on the evening news.

As a seasoned veteran who has been in the station for a long time, he certainly knows the preferences of those above him.

After having a conversation with Gu Jingyi, her opinion of him rose several levels.

Gu Jingyi is clearly very talented, yet he remains calm and humble, unperturbed by praise or criticism. He lacks the arrogance typical of his age, and after today, Gu Jingyi's "golden body" is fully formed.

He will undoubtedly reach a very high level within the industry.

After Zou Wei left, Lin Ze walked in with a big smile.

"Good lad, you're awesome. Huace's phone lines are practically ringing off the hook, and several official media outlets are vying to report on you."

With no outsiders around, Gu Jingyi stopped pretending.

He raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Really? It's just being reported by the official media, what's there to be happy about? If Brother Ze knew that there would be a 30-second feature on me on tomorrow's news broadcast, wouldn't you be jumping for joy?"

Just as Lin Ze was about to retort after being teased, his brain suddenly seemed to freeze.

"What did you say... News Broadcast? Is it the CCTV News Broadcast?"

"Yes, Director Zou just told me. He said he'll be editing some clips about me from tonight's show. He's the director and an insider. This source of information should be reliable, right?"

Gu Jingyi spread his hands, smiling radiantly.

"Holy shit..."

Lin Ze couldn't help but swear, and he suddenly picked up his phone and dialed the number.

"Hey, Mr. Zhao, are you in a meeting right now? Oh no, listen to me, I have some really great news."

"Gu Jingyi is going to be on the evening news."

He stiffened his neck and roared.

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the other end of the phone as the phone fell.

Are you referring to the positive or the negative?

Zhao Qinghuan's voice sounded a little weak, and she was already thinking of public relations strategies.

"What? Of course it's positive."

Lin Ze smiled broadly and simply recounted the general situation that Gu Jingyi had just told him.

"Okay, I understand. Tell Jingyi that Huace's press release will follow at the same time. After the May Fourth Gala, post some behind-the-scenes photos on Weibo."

Once he got into work mode, Lin Ze became reliable. After talking about Gu Jingyi, he took the opportunity to mention the "Milk Foam Forest" concert.

On the other end of the line, Zhao Qinghuan gave a noncommittal chuckle.

"Don't worry about that. Jingyi is still developing as an actor. Isn't the production team of 'Ashes of Love' aiming to air before the end of the year? How could Gu Jingyi, who plays the male lead, possibly have time to go on tour for two or three months?"

Lin Ze hesitated for a moment, "Century Idol deliberately increased the number of concerts, just to take advantage of Gu Jingyi's popularity to sell more tickets and make a profit."

"Hehe, don't worry about that. Top stars can't be replicated on an assembly line, especially a phenomenal top star like Gu Jingyi. Huace will coordinate with Taochang to reiterate their stance. Jingyi can just symbolically participate in a few representative regional concerts; don't let him do the work for others."

Lin Ze pointed out the problem again, "But I'm worried that this will affect Gu Jingyi's reputation. He's only just come into the spotlight, and if he misses too many concerts, he'll be labeled as ungrateful."

This time, Zhao Qinghuan also fell silent. The idea of ​​being a top influencer and the mainstream ideology seemed completely unrelated.

Generally, the industry prefers to use actors like Zhang Wanyi to film patriotic dramas. While top-tier celebrities can bring more attention, their excessive popularity causes the audience's focus to shift. They can only see their own idols, turning serious topics into entertainment.

After Gu Jingyi debuted as part of the group, he noticed that the fans were getting arrogant, so he subconsciously asked the company to rectify the discipline of the fan circle.

After the rectification, Gu Jingyi's fan base is now among the best in terms of both cohesion and rationality.

If the higher authorities truly need to cultivate a young representative, Gu Jingyi is indeed capable of shouldering this important responsibility.

After learning that Gu Jingyi had been selected for the "May Fourth Gala," Huace Media Group communicated with him again. Their expectations for him had long since shifted from focusing on popularity to recognizing his actual talent.

Gu Jingyi's plan is to maintain his popularity and status in the early stages by starring in several hit historical and contemporary dramas, and then move into serious dramas to compete for awards. If he wants to film serious dramas and patriotic films, building up his popularity through these channels is far more effective than building up his popularity with Zhengwu Sunshine.

The male lead of Zhengwu Sunshine, "Pepper Teacher," is middle-aged, but his big-screen resources are still quite heartbreaking.

Is it because his acting is bad?

The problem is that resources are not keeping up!

Gu Jingyi learned a great deal from Lao Hu's mistakes and made plans in advance.

He's stealing the spotlight from the prince, the yellow croaker, and the brother who's been waiting for him; he's going to be the first actor born after 95 to win the Best Actor award.

While Zhao Qinghuan was still deep in thought on the other end of the phone, Gu Jingyi, standing next to Lin Ze, spoke up: "President Zhao, I have a small, albeit immature, suggestion. Justin and the others are still filming Next's group variety show, and the seven members of Next also have a lot of concert schedules that clash with Milkball Sen."

"At Rubber Entertainment, both You Changjing and Lin Yanju have regular variety shows. I think the three companies could join forces and make reasonable demands on Century Idol."

"What kind of tour is this long, spanning Southeast Asia, Northern Europe, South Korea, Liben, and China? The concert itinerary itself is unreasonable. Besides, after the group was formed, the members have been conducting activities under their individual names. There is absolutely no need to sacrifice so many personal commercial activities for the sake of a tour."

Gu Jingyi's words hit the nail on the head: "Milk Bubble Forest," as a limited-time group, lacked any real team spirit. On their very first day as a group, the "Three Sons of Yuehua" abandoned the main group to hold a fan meeting in Southeast Asia. In their haste, they even made headlines by mistake for taking another trainee's suitcase.

On a certain forum, "Milk Foam Forest" thus gained a new nickname - "Shattered".

Those who are still hoping for "Milk Bubble Sen" to reunite for a tour at this point are probably just fans in the lower ranks and solo fans.

Gu Jingyi's new album is a huge hit, breaking long-standing records in the Chinese entertainment industry upon its release. With sales of 1.27 million yuan, it secured the top spot for 2018, and her career as a singer is booming.

Cai Xukun is preparing a new single, and he sent his congratulations via WeChat after Gu Jingyi's new album became a huge hit.

He inadvertently revealed that he is preparing a new single, which will be released in August.

As for the "Yuehua Trio," Ms. Du Hua never intended for them to debut in the first place. She simply wanted to use the show's popularity to boost the popularity of her own boy group, "Next."

The show "Idol Producer" became even more popular than in the original timeline because of Gu Jingyi's participation. Du Hua only allowed the "Yuehua Trio" to debut because of her pursuit of profit.

Even so, she always harbored the ulterior motive of "going public through a backdoor listing".

On the first day after the group's formation, taking the "Yuehua Trio" to Southeast Asia for a fan meeting was just a test. After Century Idol reluctantly agreed to Yuehua's conditions, Ms. Du Hua also had a general idea of ​​Century Idol's future. Let's see what she did.

On April 26th, Yuehua and Weibo launched a paid membership agreement. Fans who subscribe for 60 yuan can save and view the artist's private selfies for six months. Fan Chengcheng earned 4.8 million yuan overnight with just one Weibo post saying "Thank you for spending so much."

Although Fan Chengcheng was criticized and trended on social media because of this, he completed his KPI eight months ahead of schedule. This also made more brands see his popularity, and Du Hua tried her best to convert the collaborations that invited the "Yuehua Three Sons" to be individual spokespeople into "Next group endorsements".

Yuehua's stock price has been hitting the daily limit, allowing more industry insiders to witness the "fan economy".

Du Hua also took the opportunity to launch "concept stocks," and now she probably wants to get rid of this mess even more than Huace.

Sure enough, just as Gu Jingyi finished speaking, Du Hua called. After telling Gu Jingyi, Zhao Qinghuan hung up and went to talk business with Du Hua.

The May Fourth Gala was coming to an end at this point, with the final performance being a grand chorus. Each of the artists who performed sang a line, and after that, the gala officially concluded.

.........

"arrive."

Zou Wei drove Gu Jingyi to their destination, a private club with extremely high-end decor. It featured a classic, antique garden design, appearing very tranquil and serene.

He and Gu Jingyi were led by a waiter through a winding path into a private room, where they pulled out chairs before sitting down.

Zou Wei sat down at the table with the menu and started ordering. He looked at Gu Jingyi and asked with a smile.

"Do you know this place?"

"I don't know," Gu Jingyi shook his head.

"If Xiao Gu falls in love in the future, he can bring his girlfriend here for dates. The environment here is very nice and the privacy is excellent. Most importantly, the staff are very discreet. You don't have to worry about anything leaking out as soon as you walk in."

Zou Wei looked into Gu Jingyi's eyes and smiled in a somewhat ambiguous way.

It wasn't like it was his first time entering the industry, so Gu Jingyi naturally understood his unspoken meaning.

"Brother Zou, please send me the location. I'm not familiar with Beijing."

He took the opportunity to exchange contact information with Zou Wei, officially entering Zou Wei's inner circle.

Sitting opposite him, Zhang Yongxin smiled with satisfaction, quite admiring of such a perceptive actor.

That's how the entertainment industry goes; that's how it goes further.

"Xiao Gu is a rare young talent. Your adaptation of 'A Century-Long Journey' is very good."

This person is the director of "The Age of Awakening," and he looks very refined with his glasses on.

"You flatter me," Gu Jingyi said with a smile. As the two chatted, Zhang Guohua finally arrived, appearing behind the waiter who was leading the way, and walked in.

He was dressed very simply, with no logos on his clothes. Yet, you could tell they were of excellent quality, custom-made.

When Zhang Guohua saw Gu Jingyi, a smile appeared on his face.

Clearly, this gathering was specifically arranged for Gu Jingyi.

It wasn't as simple as the "private gathering" Zou Wei described; he was just using that as an excuse to get Gu Jingyi to attend.

"Mr. Zhang, you've finally arrived! We've already had several rounds of drinks, and Jingyi would have been drunk by now if you hadn't come."

Zhang Yongxin and Zhang Guohua have known each other for over ten years and have a very good relationship. When they talk to each other, their tone is quite familiar.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guohua also turned his gaze to Gu Jingyi, who was sitting to the side with a dignified appearance.

"Zou Wei and I talked about you, saying you are very talented."

Gu Jingyi simply smiled without saying a word; he had already guessed why this gathering was organized.

After a few simple pleasantries, the atmosphere became even more harmonious after a few rounds of drinks.

Zhang Guohua gave Zhang Yongxin a look, and the latter, after receiving the message, also asked Gu Jingyi with a concerned expression, "Little Gu, which dramas are you filming now?"

"Ashes of Love is a TV series produced by Perfect World Pictures."

Gu Jingyi was afraid he wouldn't understand, so he explained it in great detail.

(End of this chapter)