Business Closed Loop: Starting with Ringback Tones to Take Down Giants

"So how exactly did you convince Teacher Changli?"

Have you eaten?

"Not yet, no, I'm asking you!"

"It smells so good..."

As Yang Shuo was eating, Wang Song pulled out a report and handed it to him.

He took it and looked around the entire studio as he went.

Over there were three bulky, humming computers, and in another corner sat a DV camera.

The only things that could be called furniture were the fax machine and the boss's chair.

This scene stands in stark contrast to the eloquent words in the report.

Where are the high-quality platforms? Does "practical application" refer to writing online novels?

I recognize each character individually, but they feel completely unfamiliar when put together.

"Finished watching?"

Wang Song reviewed the articles the three men handed him. "What do you think?"

"I feel..." Yang Shuo carefully chose his words, "The report is written with great depth."

That's it.

Wang Song didn't even look up: "Teacher Chang is willing to nod because it will bring honor to everyone if this matter is resolved."

"If it fails, it's just a student practice project, a public service announcement, so the risk is low."

He wanted to ask something else, but Wang Song raised his hand to interrupt him.

He pulled a brand new A4 sheet of paper from the drawer and handed it over.

"Tomorrow at 1 p.m., rehearsal room number three."

"Your task is to work with Bai Baihe to deal with those nine little devils borrowed from the family quarters."

Yang Shuo took the order. "This is all you're doing?"

"Otherwise what?"

Wang Song finally looked up from his manuscript. "I still need to ask Professor Jiao Huang for help. Can you get him to come?"

"You only came to me because you thought I was easy to bully, didn't you?"

Yang Shuo said irritably.

"Teacher Changli said it counts as social practice, and told me to give you guys some pointers during the preparation period," Wang Song said casually.

Yang Shuo folded the order form into his pocket: "Fine, I'll go!!!"

The following afternoon, the third rehearsal room became a tourist attraction for the performing arts department.

Inside the door, the nine children were unusually obedient.

Bai Baihe used a game to simulate running home from school.

Yang Shuo awkwardly distributed snacks, like a big, clumsy uncle who had wandered into a kindergarten.

Outside the door, a crowd of onlookers gradually gathered.

Tang Yan, Wen Zhang, and several other students from the 02 performance class peered through the window.

"Tsk, they've actually gotten into this?" Emblem crossed his arms, his tone ambiguous.

"Teacher Chang actually played house with them. Let's go, it's no fun."

"What do you know?" Tang Yan stared inside.

Chang Li and Jiao Huang stood aside exchanging whispers, while Wang Song calmly directed the conversation from the middle.

"Did those two teachers seem to be just playing around?"

Inside the door, the rehearsal proceeded surprisingly smoothly.

The scene of the mother waiting for her children to come home from school and the children running around was filmed in just three takes.

The main reason is that those who run fast get snacks.

"Cut!" Wang Song put down the DV camera, his tone calm, after all, it was just a short film of less than two minutes.

"That's... over?"

Yang Shuo was a little confused; he thought it would take at least a dozen or so milling sessions.

"The emotional scenes are there, that's enough." Wang Song checked the clips.

"Public service announcements need to be authentic and have that one moment of impact. If you keep making them, they'll just look fake."

He walked up to Chang Li and Jiao Huang: "Teacher Chang, thank you for your hard work. What do you think, Teacher Jiao?"

Chang Li nodded, a hint of approval barely perceptible in his eyes: "Good rhythm."

"Alright, Xiao Wang,"

Jiao Huang stretched his shoulders and joked, "So you came all this way just to see Teacher Chang film a scene? That's a bit underhanded."

This is exactly what Wang Song was waiting for.

"Since we're already here,"

He magically produced another page, his smile utterly sincere.

"Teacher Jiao, Teacher Chang, I have another favor to ask. It's about the filming of 'Mother's Waiting'."

"There's also a film here called 'My Father's Lies,' about fathers. Would you two like to put on another one?"

He handed over the script.

Just a few lines:

When his daughter called, the father pretended nothing was wrong and said that his mother had gone dancing.

His mother was actually seriously ill and hospitalized, and he was taking care of her alone with great difficulty.

Can you tell when your dad is lying?

The last line in small print: Series on Caring for Empty Nest Elderly—Father's Edition

"Actually, both of these stories are sister stories to the packaged series, but we didn't have a good concept for them at the time."

Wang Song added.

Jiao Huang took it, glanced at it, and looked at Chang Li.

Chang Li was silent for a moment, then glanced at Wang Song: "You planned this all along, didn't you?"

"Since we're already here..."

Jiao Huang smoothed things over for Wang Song, saying, "Teacher Chang, what do you think?"

Chang Li handed the script back to Wang Song, saying only one word:

"shoot."

The next twenty minutes became a masterclass in acting for everyone present.

Without complicated staging, the two veteran actors delivered a powerful and nuanced performance, perfectly capturing the characters' concealment and longing.

"Great! Perfect!" Wang Song's voice broke the silence.

"Thank you both! We'll start filming tomorrow, and try to do it in one take."

Yao Beina was standing in the least obstructive corner by the door, her head down, quickly jotting something down in her notebook.

After the filming ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Chang Li and Jiao Huang were invited for tea by the department's teachers.

The children were taken away by their parents.

Bai Baihe and Yang Shuo stayed behind to clean up the mess.

It was mainly Yang Shuo.

"Senior Sister Yao, how are you feeling?" Wang Song walked over.

"sharp."

Yao Beina closed her notebook. "This is my first time seeing a filming session. You're not kidding me, are you?"

"Is this how you see me?"

"Never mind, how about we go sit in the studio for a bit?"

Yao Beina smiled and said, "Let's go. Jiang Yilei keeps telling me how great the studio is."

Yang Shuo leaned closer, "What about me?? You promised to provide meals?"

Wang Song glanced at the messy rehearsal room. "Clean up and go back to the studio. We'll have an extra meal tonight."

"That's exactly what I've been waiting for!" Yang Shuo immediately perked up.

When the two returned to the bungalow, it was already dark.

Jiang Yilei was frowning at the computer screen, while Ma Xiaojun, Liu Jianjun, and Chen Shu were typing away on their keyboards.

"You're back?" Jiang Yilei asked without looking up. "How did the filming go?"

"Smooth sailing, one take." Wang Song placed the dishes he had packed from the cafeteria on the table.

"Improve the meals."

The keyboard clicks stopped instantly.

Four pairs of eyes stared at the lunchbox, followed by a frantic scramble for it and bursts of laughter and curses.

Yang Shuo and Yao Beina stared in disbelief at the scene.

This group of people eats the cheapest boxed meals and squeezes into a dilapidated bungalow filled with clutter.

Full of hope.

"What are you standing there for? If you don't come now, there won't be any left!" Wang Song threw a pair of chopsticks at them.

"Play some music and listen to a clip of Sister Yao's arrangement."

The moment the music started, all the noise in the bungalow stopped.

Jiang Yilei had already raised the DV camera.

The camera panned across each face: "If we become famous, this will be the first page of entrepreneurial history."

The noise resumed.

This time, however, Yang Shuo and Yao Beina naturally blended in as well.

While eating, they discussed the filming they had just done and debated how to handle a certain lyric.

On the other side, in the girls' dormitory.

"Lily, was there a lot of pressure acting opposite Teacher Chang?"

My roommate asked while applying nail polish.

Bai Baihe was removing her makeup in front of a small mirror: "Pressure? You have no idea, just look at Teacher Chang standing there."

She turned around and mimicked the scene.

"Yang Shuo missed a movement, and Wang Song, the freshman from the directing department, immediately called 'cut'."

"Yang Shuo broke out in a cold sweat when Teacher Chang gave him just one look."

"And what about you?" another roommate, who was wearing a face mask, asked vaguely.

"I?"

Bai Baihe raised her chin, a hint of smugness in her eyes.

"I got it right on the first try, and Teacher Chang even nodded in approval."

"Really?" My roommate, who was painting her nails, stopped what she was doing.

Why would I lie to you?

Bai Baihe continued removing her makeup, her tone nonchalant.

"We're filming tomorrow, and they said it has to be done in one take... I'm getting nervous just thinking about it."

"Sure, Lily!"

My roommate, who was painting her nails, teased, "If you win another award, you'll really be in the spotlight."

"It's not even close to happening yet," Bai Baihe said, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

The noise has subsided in the studio.

"Vice President Jiang!!"

"arrive!!"

Have you figured out the process for registering a studio with the Industry and Commerce Bureau?

"The registered capital, proof of registered address, studio name, and identity documents of the partners are ready."

"Damn it, Private Jiang Yilei, you're a genius."