Entertainment: A whirlwind marriage with a fairy-like mother at the start!

With the director chosen, all that's left is the cast.

The male lead, Ko Ching-teng, is a character who is a bit roguish and childish, but deep down he is very affectionate.

The first person that popped into Yu Le's mind was Cheng Kun.

After all, Liu Qianqian had worked with him before and was familiar with him.

But then I thought about it again. Cheng Kun is now a popular young actor. If I invite him, half of the five million yuan I prepared for the filming will evaporate.

No, no, PASS!

Then, he thought of Hu Ge, who was still studying at the Shanghai Theatre Academy and had a bright, sunny smile.

This kid hasn't played Li Xiaoyao yet, and he still has a bit of that "good student" obedient vibe. I wonder if he can let go of that childish attitude when he plays a kid who masturbates in class every day.

But...

Yu Le stroked his chin and chuckled, "No problem."

It's a good opportunity to bring them over early to practice, as a kind of pre-job training for the future "Legend of Sword and Fairy" project!

As for the other supporting characters, like Fatty Ahe and Show-off Erect... they can just be recruited directly from the Beijing Film Academy.

Among Liu Qianqian's classmates, apart from that "tea ceremony master" Jiang Yiyan, any other people you randomly pick, such as Luo Ji, Zhu Yawen, and Lu Fangsheng...

These future stars are currently just poor students fighting tooth and nail for extra roles that pay a few hundred yuan.

Bringing them over to play supporting roles for Liu Qianqian would save money, do her a favor, and ensure their acting skills are on point.

There's also Hu Jiawei, the female lead Shen Jiayi's best friend.

Yu Le plans to have Shu Chang play this role.

After all, that girl had been clamoring for him to call her godfather for quite some time, so he still had to look after her.

Moreover, Liu Qianqian and she have a good relationship, which fits the lively and cheerful character of Hu Jiawei in the drama. They are also sweet-looking, and together they are a pleasing pair of sisters.

Everything's ready!

Yu Le snapped his fingers and sprang up from the sofa.

The script, funding, actors, and director—the four pillars were already assembled in his mind, just waiting to be launched and summon the dragon.

Half an hour later.

Beijing Film Academy.

It was afternoon, and the campus was filled with young men and women, exuding the sweet and sour smell of hormones and dreams.

Some were holding guitars and belting out heart-wrenching songs in the woods, some were rehearsing avant-garde plays in outlandish costumes, and others were carrying cameras and chasing after a cat to take close-up shots.

Yu Le stood at the school gate, wearing sunglasses and with his hands in his pockets, looking exactly like a coal mine owner inspecting his own business.

He didn't rush inside. Instead, he bought a bottle of iced cola from the convenience store at the entrance and tried to strike up a conversation with the gatekeeper.

"Sir, I'd like to ask you about someone." Yu Le handed over a cigarette.

The old man took the cigarette, skillfully tucked it behind his ear, and looked him up and down warily: "What's up?"

"Do you remember Ning Hao, from the 01 Photography Department?"

"Ning Hao?" The old man clicked his tongue. "Short and not very tall, with messy hair, he always looks like he hasn't woken up yet?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That's him!" Yu Le slapped his thigh.

The old man pointed to a dilapidated red brick building in the distance.

"He's probably hiding in the basement editing room of Building D. That kid's practically made it his home; he has people deliver three meals a day there."

Yu Le thanked him, picked up the cola, and strolled leisurely toward the "haunted building".

The stairwell was dark and damp, with large patches of plaster peeling off the walls, and the air was filled with the smell of old film and dust.

The basement door was ajar, letting in a faint light.

Yu Le pushed open the door.

The room was small, filled with all sorts of discarded equipment and rolls of film. The only living thing was the man huddled in front of the editing table.

Ning Hao.

He was wearing an old T-shirt, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was staring intently at the images flashing on the screen.

On the screen, a man in a monk's robe is devoutly lighting an incense stick in a dilapidated temple.

It was his graduation project, "Incense".

For this film, he traveled to temples all over Shanxi, carrying a broken camera himself, and coaxed and tricked real monks into becoming actors.

After the film was finished, it was submitted to a competition and won a small prize.

He had hoped that this film would attract a discerning investor who would give him a chance to make a feature film.

The results of it?

As graduation approached, those so-called big shots watched the film and praised him for his talent and ideas, and then... nothing happened.

"Your film is too personal, not commercial, and has no market."

This is the sentence he hears most often.

Just as Ning Hao was falling into self-doubt, feeling that his talents were going to go to waste, a lazy voice rang out behind him.

"Hey, isn't this Director Ning? Cultivating immortality here?"

Ning Hao was startled and shuddered, turning around abruptly.

A tall man stood at the door, wearing sunglasses so his face was obscured, but his relaxed and self-satisfied aura was completely out of place in this dilapidated basement.

"Who are you?" Ning Hao's tone was unfriendly, tinged with annoyance at being disturbed.

Yu Le walked in and slammed the bottle of iced cola onto the editing table, the cool water droplets instantly spreading out in a small patch on the surface.

"Someone who can get you to make movies."

Ning Hao was stunned, then let out a sneer, a laugh full of self-mockery and disbelief.

The main reason is that Yu Le looks too young and doesn't seem like someone who can invest a lot of money in making movies.

"Another one? The last one said he'd invest 50,000 yuan in me to shoot a wedding promotional video." He turned back, no longer looking at Yu Le. "I don't take jobs for weddings or funerals. Goodbye."

"I've seen 'Incense'."

Yu Le spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The cinematography is very raw, it's like a self-taught director. It's just that the story is too dull. If you had cut the last scene of the monk going down the mountain to beg for alms a bit more neatly, the viewing experience would have been twice as good."

Ning Hao's body stiffened.

He suddenly turned his head and looked directly at this uninvited guest for the first time.

This person... actually watched his movies?

And what he said... although he didn't completely agree, it was still on point.

Yu Le pulled over a creaky, broken chair, sat down, and took off his sunglasses.

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Yu Le, the owner of Salty Fish Entertainment."

Salted Fish Entertainment?

Ning Hao searched his memory but had never heard of it.

It's probably just another shell company that was recently registered.

"I'm a straightforward person." Yu Le crossed his legs. "Your film has some talent, but that's about it. If you think you can use it to attract investment to make the awesome art film you want to make, you're dreaming."

Those words are so hurtful.

Ning Hao's face flushed red instantly, a mixture of embarrassment and anger at being touched on a sore spot.

"What do you know! This is art!"

"Can art put food on the table?" Yu Le retorted with a single sentence. "Can art pay your rent next month? Can art help you replace your crappy computer?"

Yu Le pointed to the old desktop computer that was still buzzing, looking disgusted.

Ning Hao was speechless, his lips trembling for a long time before finally managing to utter a single sentence.

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together."

"Fine." Yu Le stood up, making a move to leave. "Then you can continue to live in this basement with your great art. As for me, I'll take my investment of over ten million, find an obedient director, make a lowly teen movie, and maybe make a few tens of millions at the box office for fun."

More than ten million?

investment?

These two words were like two heavy hammer blows, slamming into Ning Hao's skull.

He suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Yu Le's back.

"Wait!"

Yu Le stopped, turned around, and wore a fox-like smile.

"What, Director Ning, have you changed your mind?"

Ning Hao's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his voice dry.

"You said...you invested over ten million?"

"Twelve million, add more if that's not enough."

Ning Hao's breathing quickened instantly, and he felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Twelve million!

He only spent 40,000 yuan to film "Incense"!

With so much funding, even if the script is a poorly written defense, he's confident he can still make it look amazing!