Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

July in Beijing is as hot as a giant steamer.

Su Yu sat in his office with the air conditioning set to 16 degrees Celsius, wearing a light jacket. It wasn't because he was cold, but because Wang Boxue had turned the temperature down to the lowest setting, saying it would keep his mind clear.

Su Yu didn't know if his mind was clear or not, but his knees had already started to hurt.

Su Yu saw the news that "Crazy Stone" had been released online.

The box office reached 2.13 million over the first three days of the weekend.

This number may not seem like much, but considering that the film's budget was only three million and it was made in 2006, this was a pretty good start.

He knew what would happen next: the show would spread like a virus, from forums to blogs, from blogs to portals, and from portals to everyone talking about "I'll fucking kill you."

Sure enough, when the data for the second week came out, even Han Sanping couldn't sit still.

With 6.2 million in box office revenue, the weekly box office nearly tripled compared to the opening weekend.

China Film Group urgently printed additional copies, and cinemas made urgent adjustments to their screening schedules. Those cinema managers who hadn't previously shown interest in the film were now filled with regret.

.....

On July 10th, Su Yu stood by the window of the company's conference room, holding a marker in his hand, writing and drawing on the whiteboard.

"A Little Thing Called First Love" is set to begin filming at the Beijing Film Academy at the end of the month. Lu Yang sat at one end of the conference table, a script spread out in front of him, covered with colorful sticky notes. Wang Boxue sat next to him, holding a storyboard.

Su Yu drew a table on the whiteboard, with the horizontal axis representing the date and the vertical axis representing the scene. After he finished drawing, he took two steps back and tilted his head to look at it.

"Filming will start at the end of the month, and Beijing Film Academy is still giving us strong support this time." Su Yu capped his marker, turned to look at Lu Yang, and said, "Lu Yang, you're the director. Don't end up standing on set not knowing where to stand."

Lu Yang smiled and teased, "Old Su, I know where to stand; behind the monitor."

Wang Boxue chuckled beside him, then quickly looked down at his storyboard, pretending to be looking at it intently.

......

When assistant Chen Min knocked on the door and came in, the three of them were arguing about the lighting for a scene.

Chen Min stood at the door and knocked very softly. The three people fell silent at the same time and turned to look at her.

She blushed slightly as three pairs of eyes stared at her simultaneously.

"President Su, there are two people outside looking for you. One is surnamed Lu, and the other is surnamed Jing. They say they are from Starlight Brilliant Film and Television Company." Chen Min opened the folder and glanced at it. "They didn't have an appointment, and they said they have a project they'd like to discuss with you."

Su Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, going over those four words in his mind.

"Starlight is dazzling, never heard of it." He glanced at Lu Yang, who shook his head. He then glanced at Wang Boxue, who shrugged.

"Let them in." Su Yu walked to the head of the conference table and sat down, stacking up the scripts beside him.

The footsteps approached, and the first to enter was a man in his thirties, wearing an expensive-looking watch on his wrist. Behind him followed a girl who looked to be under twenty, wearing a white dress, with her hair down and delicate features.

Su Yu recognized her at a glance; Jing Tian was standing half a body length behind that man.

Su Yu had seen this name countless times on Douyin in his previous life and read countless gossips about her; such as being one of the "Four Beauties of Beijing", "Bingxue Weitian", "Jing Tian who could not be made famous", and "the sugar daddy behind her"; but no one could ever explain those gossips clearly.

Su Yu only remembered one thing: this woman later starred in "The Glory of Tang Dynasty," which turned her career around, and then starred in "Si Teng," which made her a household name.

Su Yu stood up, walked around the table, and extended his hand with a smile.

The man grasped his hand with moderate pressure, held it for two seconds, and then released it with a polite smile on his lips.

"Director Su, it's an honor to meet you. I'm Lu Zheng from Starlight Brilliant Films. This is Jing Tian, ​​a contracted artist with our company." Lu Zheng took a half step back, turned to the side and pointed to the girl behind him. "I apologize for the intrusion today."

Jing Tian stepped out from behind Lu Zheng, nodded slightly to Su Yu, and smiled sweetly, like a fruit candy whose wrapper had just been unwrapped.

She said, "Hello, Director Su."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

Su Yu nodded, invited them to sit down, and asked Chen Min to pour tea.

When the tea was served, Lu Zheng took something out of the paper bag he had brought.

He moved slowly and deliberately, placing each item on the table: a box of tea and two bottles of Lafite wine.

"Mr. Lu, you're too kind." Su Yu crossed his arms over his stomach, looking calmly at Lu Zheng. "Just say what you want to say, no need for such formalities. I'm not one for beating around the bush. What brings you here today?"

Lu Zheng smiled, but his smile was very measured. "Director Su, Shiguang Pictures has a new film that is looking for investment. I inquired and found that it is still 25 million short."

Su Yu nodded without responding, waiting for him to continue.

Lu Zheng's gaze swept across Su Yu's face, pausing for two seconds. "We can invest in 'Starlight Splendor.' We only want domestic box office revenue sharing; we don't want copyright or overseas profits. There's only one condition..."

He paused, looked at Jing Tian beside him, then looked back at Su Yu, "Director Su, write two songs for our Jing Tian and help her shoot two music videos."

Su Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and leaned forward. Wang Boxue hummed softly beside him and then fell silent. Lu Yang remained expressionless, his fingers tracing the script.

Lu Zheng took out a folded A4 sheet of paper from his briefcase, placed it on the table, tapped the paper with his finger, and pushed it in front of Su Yu.

"One million for each song, copyright belongs to Director Su, we only want the performance rights; two million for the music video directing fee, one and a half million for one, three million for two. That's a total of five million. In addition, our Starlight Brilliant invested ten million in 'The Lone Agent'. Add it all up, fifteen million."

Lu Yang turned his head and glanced at Lu Zheng, then slowly lowered his hands. Wang Boxue opened his mouth but didn't make a sound; his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

Su Yu glanced at the paper and tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table twice; Su Yu changed the name to "Lone Agent".

He looked up at Lu Zheng, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Mr. Lu, a ten million investment, plus five million for songwriting and music video production. A total of fifteen million. Do you only have one request?"

Lu Zheng smiled, picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Director Su, let's just consider this a friendly gesture."

Su Yu stared at him for three seconds, recalling the gossip he had read in his previous life.

"Jing Tian has someone backing him up," "A coal boss enters the entertainment industry." He didn't know if those gossips were true or false, but Lu Zheng in front of him spoke with impeccable discretion.

Su Yu relaxed, as if he'd been tickled. "Okay, I'll take the investment, and I can sell the song. Forget the music video, Wang Boran, how about that?"

Lu Zheng paused for a moment, glanced at the still bewildered Wang Boran, smiled and extended his hand, this time shaking hands for a little longer than last time.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to Director Su and Cinematographer Wang."

"Then thank you for your generosity, Lu Zheng. The faster the cooperation, the better."

Lu Zheng took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Su Yu with both hands. Su Yu took it and glanced at it: Starlight Brilliant Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd., Lu Zheng, General Manager.

"Director Su, I've had my legal department draft the contract. Send it over for you to take a look once it's ready." Lu Zheng said this casually.

Su Yu put the business card in his shirt pocket, then glanced at Jing Tian. "Jing Tian, ​​how old are you?"

Jing Tian's voice was clear and crisp, "Eighteen."

Su Yu nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Jing Tian stood next to Lu Zheng, his hands clasped in front of him, his posture upright.

"Jing Tian is preparing for the Beijing Film Academy entrance exam next year," Lu Zheng said with a smile, glancing at the group with a hint of certainty in his voice. "Then she'll be Director Su's junior sister. Jing Tian, ​​call him senior brother."

"Hello, senior brother," Jing Tian greeted obediently.

Su Yu smiled and nodded at her: "Do your best on the exam, and welcome to Beijing Film Academy."

.........

As Lu Zheng was leaving, he turned around, but stopped abruptly at the door. He turned back to look at Su Yu and said, "I almost forgot. Director Su, there's no rush for those two songs. We won't rush you; we'll record them whenever they're written."

Su Yu watched as Lu Zheng and Jing Tian entered the elevator. The moment the elevator doors closed, Jing Tian turned around and smiled at him.

Su Yu turned and went back to the conference room. When he opened the door, he saw Wang Boxue slumped over the table, his face buried in his arms, his shoulders shaking. Lu Yang sat beside him, watching him expressionlessly.

"What's wrong?" Su Yu patted Wang Boxue on the shoulder.

Wang Boxue looked up, his eyes a little red, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Su Yu, pinch me. Ten million in investment, five million for songwriting and music video production, and the copyright's still yours. And you still call me 'senior brother'? Is this guy just burning money?"

Su Yu pinched his arm, and Wang Boxue hissed, then laughed, laughing like a fool.

Su Yu walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and wrote: "Investors in 'The Lone Agent': Shiguang Pictures, China Film Group, and Starlight Brilliant."

After he finished writing, he took two steps back, glanced at it, turned around, and tossed the marker to Wang Boxue, who caught it.

"Let's get started."