Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 418 The Biggest Backer in the Entertainment Industry

After ending the call with Lei Jun, Chen Xiu turned around and went back to playing with her dog.

It's fluffy, round, and undeniably cute, and quite clingy. When playing catch, it's like a big white ball chasing a small rubber ball across the paving stones...

Just as the person and the dog were having a great time, a clattering sound suddenly came from the stairs.

Chen Xiu and Chocolate turned around together and saw Meng Ziyi, wearing a nightgown and holding a script, walking down the street with a confused look on her face.

Upon seeing Chen Xiu and the dog, Meng Ziyi pursed her lips, ran over, picked up the chocolate, put it on the ground, and then lay down on the sofa, resting her head on Chen Xiu's lap.

"Brother Xiu, the script you prepared for me is so confusing!"

"It's alright. If you watch it while watching the anime, it should be clearer."

"The first 12 episodes of Steins;Gate were incredibly slow-paced, but they got really exciting later on. I... I was so focused on the plot that I didn't pay much attention to the script."

The meaning of the character "孟" changed from a gesticulating gesture to a pout.

Chen Xiu chuckled and tapped Meng Ziyi's forehead, taking the script page from her hand. She glanced at the cover, which prominently displayed the title: "The Beginning"!
When Datang Pictures held a joint press conference with iQiyi and Tencent last time, he prepared the role of the female lead in "Serenade of Peaceful Joy" for Meng Ziyi. However, the silly beauty did not want to act, so Chen Xiu could only help her find new resources.

However, in recent years, the Chinese entertainment industry has indeed lacked many resources that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

In some high-rated dramas, the female lead is just a supporting character, not a supporting one, and Meng Ziyi's acting skills can't hold up.

Left with no other choice, Chen Xiu could only "think" about a film that suited her and that she could act in.

After much thought, he finally came up with a film called "The Beginning".

The entire series unfolds from the female protagonist's perspective, so she naturally has the most screen time. She doesn't need particularly good acting skills; she relies solely on the premise of time travel and the protagonist retaining her memories to attract viewers.

The only regret is that the original novel for this drama has not yet been written, but this will not be a problem for Chen Xiu.

The concept of time travel and the protagonist retaining their memories is not original to "The Beginning". Back in 11, Little Days had already released an anime called "Steins;Gate", which had the same concept and even more rigorous logic.

With a reference and the outline provided by Chen Xiu, the editing team within Datang Pictures recreated "The Beginning" in just half a month.

Now that the script has been approved and filming is about to begin, Meng Ziyi, as the female lead, naturally needs to familiarize herself with the script.

"Da da!"

"Hey! Why did you hit me?"

Meng Ziyi, who was resting his head on Chen Xiu's lap, looked up at him with a displeased expression.

Chen Xiu was holding a paper stick with the script pages rolled up, using her head as a wooden fish, and tapping it twice.

"Let me help you understand. The TV series is about to start filming, what if you still can't understand the script?"

"I can't understand the script, so hitting me won't help!"

Meng Ziyi reached out and grabbed the script back, biting her lower lip, and said, "Brother Xiu, why don't you teach me how to read it? Otherwise, if we start filming next week and I, the female lead, still can't understand the script, that would be too embarrassing."

"I'll be busy with work this week... but I'll still have time in the evenings."

As Chen Xiu pulled and tugged, Meng Ziyi's lips curled into a smirk.

After rubbing the thick little head on her leg, Chen Xiu pondered for a moment and then began to explain the contents of "The Beginning" in a way that was easier to understand with the meaning of the character "Meng".

"You can think of this story as a game that can be restarted repeatedly. Unless the protagonist completes the game, he will have to keep playing it over and over again."

"Now I think I understand..."

"Hmm, what I just said is part of the main storyline. The side story is that the protagonist is the only one who can restart the game with her memories intact, so her primary task is to escape danger, find her teammates, and gain their trust."

"He's just a plot device for the male lead in the script!"

Meng quickly answered, combining Chen Xiu's explanation to express his understanding of the script.

The script for "The Beginning" that Chen Xiu was preparing was designed so that the story would unfold from the female lead's perspective, meaning she would have more screen time, while the male lead would have less. Of course, there wouldn't be any romantic subplots...

"Bingo!"

Chen Xiu snapped her fingers and encouraged Meng Ziyi, "You're pretty smart! You understood the theme of the script right away. The rest is about finding clues, stopping the disaster, and finding the mastermind behind it all, which is similar to a typical suspense and mystery script."

"Oh, Xiu-ge'er, what did you just say about me?"

I said you're very smart.

"hey-hey."

Meng Ziyi's eyes lit up with anticipation, then she sat up, put her arms around Chen Xiu's neck, and leaned in close.

After the kiss, Meng Ziyi turned to Chen Xiu's ear and whispered, "Thank you for preparing this script for me."

"Well, but I won't thank you every time."

Chen Xiu reached out and hugged Meng Ziyi's back tightly, taking the initiative and pressing against him.

He knew that Meng Ziyi was thanking him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to help her prepare resources.

However, since she could tolerate Reba and Tian Xinwei, Chen Xiu felt that spending a little time and effort was nothing, and at the same time, she was responding in this way, so there was no need for the two of them to say thank you too much.

Just as the conversation, which was about the script "The Beginning," was drawing to a close, a few untimely barks suddenly interrupted their discussion.

"Woof woof woof~"

"Oh dear! It's time for Chocolate to have dinner."

Meng Ziyi released Chen Xiu, jumped off the sofa, and went to pour dog food for her dog son. Her swaying gait caused her emerald green nightgown to flutter, captivating all who beheld her.

After finishing the dog food, Meng Ziyi squatted there watching Chocolate happily eat, and suddenly said: "Brother Xiu, it seems that Zhou Ye and the others' 'Twenty Not Confused' is going to start filming tomorrow. They've already started talking about the script and rehearsing tonight."

Chen Xiu, who was judging her flexibility by the curve of her back, didn't immediately realize the change in topic.

"Oh, what happened to Zhou Ye?"

“I said, ‘Twenty Your Life On’ is about to start filming, and Tian Xinwei is also in this production team.”

Meng Ziyi glanced sideways as she turned around. When her eyes met Chen Xiu's, she paused for a moment, then giggled.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu, realizing what was happening, laughed and said, "So you're using Zhou Ye to observe Xiao Tian now?"

"Yeah! That's what best friends are for, isn't it?"

Meng Ziyi said confidently.

When she sat down next to Chen Xiu, she changed the subject again: "I heard from Zhou Ye that one of the other two female leads in 'Twenty Not Confused' was arranged by Xu Cai Nu. These past few days, Xu Cai Nu has been staying on set to teach her acting."

"Oh."

"Hey? Aren't you worried that the female lead will have a conflict with Tian Xinwei?"

“Xu Cai Nu isn’t stupid; she’ll definitely teach him well. I don’t need to worry about her.”

After saying that, Chen Xiu pulled Meng Ziyi aside and used a physical silencing spell and an equipment stripping spell to prevent her from discussing any more topics related to Tian Xinwei.

……

Pengcheng, the hotel where the crew of the TV series "Twenty Your Life On" was staying.

Since filming is officially starting tomorrow, the director called on all the lead actors to hold a script reading session overnight.

There's nothing wrong with this operation.

What's strange is that the person sitting next to the director wasn't the screenwriter or producer, but Xu Cainu, who had absolutely no connection to the production team.

When she sat there, anyone who didn't know her would think she was a director.

However, as a junior in the industry, director Li Zhi dared not have any objections.

Glancing to his side, Li Zhi surveyed the four female leads of the crew, cleared his throat twice, and said, "Um, is everyone ready?"

"Ready."

"Okay, Tian Xinwei, why don't you start by talking about your understanding of the character?"

"Ok."

Since filming "Better Days" last year, Tian Xinwei, who has been growing her hair for two years, perfectly matches the image of the short-haired Jiang Xiaoguo.

Facing the gazes of the director and Xu Cainu, she showed no stage fright whatsoever: "Jiang Xiaoguo is a girl who came from a small town to study in a big city. She has a strong personality and is ambitious. After graduation, she joined Puling Capital and formed a couple with her boss, Zhou Xun, an investment genius in the financial circle..."

At this point, Tian Xinwei's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, thinking to herself: Isn't this exactly what they're talking about?
After discussing her understanding of the character, Tian Xinwei hesitated for a moment before raising another question: "Director, I watched the interaction between Jiang Xiaoguo and Zhou Xun, and it felt a bit strange."

"What's weird?"

"Hmm~, he's a real-life investment genius, he wouldn't talk like Zhou Xun."

"..."*N
The meeting room was completely silent.

Although Tian Xinwei did not name the real-life investment genius in her words, everyone present had already guessed the name.

Li Zhi said awkwardly, "Ahem, well, TV dramas are not reality after all, and the dialogue design also needs to consider whether the audience can understand it."

"I understand, sorry, director."

"It's alright. It's only right to raise any issues. Let's continue."

Li Zhi seemed very easy to talk to. Xu Cainu, who was sitting next to him, also looked at Tian Xinwei and Zhou Ye, who was talking about understanding the characters, with a strange expression.

After the character explanations were finished, the four female leads began rehearsing their scenes together.

Tian Xinwei was assigned to act opposite Li Gengxi. Just as the two went to the side to rehearse their lines, Li Gengxi started by saying something unrelated to the topic.

"Sister Xinwei, is the real-life investment genius you just mentioned Chen Xiu?"

"Well, you know him?"

Tian Xinwei squinted and sized up Li Gengxi, thinking: Impossible, this scumbag has pretty good taste...

"I definitely don't know him. Even my dad might not know him."

Li Gengxi, the new generation of Beijing elites mentored by Xu Cainu, appeared incredibly obedient in the presence of Tian Xinwei.

She glanced at Tian Xinwei, then suddenly asked mysteriously, "I heard that President Chen and Zhou Ye are dating, is that true?"

"Who did you listen to?"

"I can't remember who said it, but at the box office celebration party for 'The Long Way Home' last time, didn't President Chen have Zeng Zhiwei apologize to Zhou Ye? Everyone in the industry knows about this, and they all say that Zhou Ye has found the biggest backer."

"Hehe. (I'm the one who found the biggest backer!)"

(End of this chapter)