Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

Chapter 97 Sister Meng, who stumbles upon a good deed, records contract and New Year's Eve concert

It was early morning, just before six o'clock.

The sky was just beginning to lighten with a hazy, pale white glow.

After a night of tenderness, a faint warmth lingered in the room, and a lingering, intimate atmosphere filled the air.

As the phone alarm rang, loud enough to stop one's heart from beating.

Jiang Bai was the first to slowly open his eyes, still with a trace of lingering sleepiness.

The girl sleeping beside him was curled up, still fast asleep. Her long eyelashes cast delicate shadows, her skin was fair and smooth, and her eyes were gentle and serene. She looked incredibly sweet and adorable.

Jiang Bai turned slightly to the side, his movements extremely gentle, as if afraid of disturbing the sleeping person.

He quietly looked at Tian Xiwei beside him, his eyes full of satisfied smiles. He reached out and gently brushed the stray hairs that fell across Tian Xiwei's cheeks, the touch soft and smooth.

Tian Xiwei seemed to sense the movement beside her. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she slowly opened her sleepy eyes.

Her eyes, still slightly misty from just waking up, were both innocent and clear.

Upon seeing Jiang Bai so close to her, her gaze quickly returned to its normal state, instantly breaking into a sweet smile. She instinctively snuggled closer to him, gently wrapping her arms around his waist, her soft voice still slightly hoarse from just waking up: "You're awake?"

"Mmm." Jiang Bai lowered his head and responded, gently kissing her forehead. "You're awake. Time to go."

A simple sentence gently shattered the warm atmosphere.

Upon hearing this, Tian Xiwei's smile faded, replaced by a hint of reluctance.

However, she didn't say anything to persuade him to stay, nor did she intend to coax him to stay a few more days.

Actors' work is different from others; even a slight delay can cause a lot of trouble for the production team.

Work is more important.

She simply hugged him tighter, savoring this last bit of tenderness, her head gently resting against Jiang Bai's chest, quietly listening to his steady heartbeat.

After a few seconds of silence, she murmured softly, "Then be careful on your way, and don't overwork yourself while filming."

"I know." Jiang Bai gently stroked her long hair. "I'll come find you after I finish filming."

After a brief moment of tenderness, the two got up one after the other.

After a quick wash and getting dressed, Jiang Bai wore the same clothes he had on yesterday, put on a mask and a baseball cap, and fully prepared to catch the early morning flight.

Tian Xiwei personally escorted him to his room, then tiptoed to give him a gentle hug, saying, "Have a safe trip."

"Okay, go back and get some more sleep," Jiang Bai said with a smile, then gently opened the door.

The hotel corridor was empty and quiet in the early morning; even the cleaning lady hadn't started her shift yet.

Most of the crew members were still fast asleep, and the entire building was silent. Leaving at this time would be the safest option, as it wouldn't disturb anyone.

But I didn't expect it.

Just as Jiang Bai walked lightly out of the room and headed towards the elevator to go downstairs, a slender and graceful figure suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor.

Meng Ziyi was wearing a loose and refreshing black tracksuit, with her hair casually tied into a high ponytail, looking full of energy.

She was still clutching a sports towel in her hand, clearly having gotten up early to prepare for a morning run.

The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.

Meng Ziyi abruptly stopped, his relaxed and carefree expression instantly freezing on his face. His eyes widened in disbelief and shock.

Early in the morning, a strange man, fully armed and completely covered by a hat and mask, walked out of Tian Xiwei's room.

The visual impact was so powerful that it caused Meng Ziyi's brain, which lacked sufficient computing power, to instantly crash.

Meng Ziyi's personality is a bit like that of a silly, straightforward girl from Northeast China.

Especially its sensitivity to numbness is off the charts!

If it were any other celebrity in the industry, upon encountering such a private scene, they would most likely avoid eye contact, pretend not to see it, and then turn around and leave, seeing through it but not saying anything, to avoid embarrassment.

But Meng Ziyi had no idea about this at all.

Her face was filled with astonishment. She instinctively took half a step forward, her voice trembling with shock, and blurted out, "You—who are you?"

Jiang Bai stood there, speechless for a moment.

He really didn't expect to run into Meng Ziyi here, and he didn't expect that this legendary silly beauty would be so bad at reading the room.

In such situations, the best course of action is to not ask, not look, not say, and simply turn away.

Wouldn't it be better to preserve everyone's dignity?

Instead, she went and asked directly in public, as if afraid the situation wouldn't be awkward enough.

Jiang Bai sighed helplessly, but he also understood that Meng Ziyi was a straightforward, simple-minded person who spoke without thinking.

If he were to give a vague answer, it would only fuel her curiosity, leading her to conjure up even more outrageous misunderstandings, and she might just turn around and gossip about it with the rest of the crew.

To avoid further trouble, Jiang Bai didn't dodge. He slowly removed his mask, revealing his now highly recognizable handsome face, and said calmly, "It's me."

The moment he saw the face clearly, Meng Ziyi's pupils dilated sharply, his brain went blank for two seconds, and then he showed an expression of sudden realization.

Her eyes widened, and she lowered her voice, her tone filled with incredulous gossip: "So it was you!"

"My God, you two aren't just creating a fake couple image, you're actually dating!"

"No wonder Xiaotian kept checking her phone yesterday, and she kept secretly smiling to herself, acting all preoccupied and unusual. So it was because you were coming to see her!"

After saying that, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Oda is so tight-lipped! He kept it so well hidden, not a single word slipped out!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the fire of gossip burned brightly in her eyes. She seemed to have completely forgotten the occasion and planned to stand in the corridor and have a good chat with Jiang Bai, asking him for details.

Jiang Bai felt increasingly helpless as he watched her enthusiastic and determined look, ready to dig deep into the gossip.

This woman is completely oblivious to social cues; she had no idea how awkward the atmosphere was or how to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

He didn't have time to chat with her about gossip, nor did he want to linger in the corridor for too long, fearing he might run into other crew members and cause trouble.

She had no choice but to interrupt him forcefully, her tone crisp: "Sister Meng, I'm in a hurry, I have to catch an early flight, I'll be going now."

Before Meng Ziyi could reply, Jiang Bai quickly put his mask and hat back on, turned around and strode towards the elevator, pressed the down button, and fled the scene.

The elevator doors slowly closed, blocking the view of the corridor. Jiang Bai then secretly breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his head and chuckling.

He was truly exasperated and amused by Meng Ziyi's insensitivity.

In the corridor, Meng Ziyi stood still, watching the numbers on the elevator descend, his eyes darting around, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This is huge gossip!

I never expected that I would accidentally stumble upon such a big secret.

Her mind was already racing, calculating how to tease Tian Xiwei in the most amusing way when she woke up.

Should I pretend not to know and try to get information out of her, or just lay it all out on her and tease her?

Meng Ziyi is now filled with the joy of having heard the latest gossip.

"Hey, he seemed to have called me Sister Meng just now!"

When the elevator reached the first floor, Meng Ziyi finally came to her senses, frowned, and looked somewhat unhappy. Did she look very old?

Everyone calls her Xiao Meng, no one ever calls her Sister Meng!

But I must say, this Sister Meng sounds more imposing than Little Meng.

Meng Ziyi, who comes from Northeast China, convinced himself to accept the title in just three seconds.

Sister Meng it is, the "Sister" part sounds so powerful!

The elevator goes directly to the first-floor lobby. At the hotel entrance, Tian Xiwei's assistant was already waiting in the car on time.

Upon seeing Jiang Bai emerge from the hotel, the assistant immediately got out of the car, opened the door, and greeted him respectfully without asking any further questions, remaining silent throughout.

She was the only one who knew that Jiang Bai was coming to see Xiao Tian and had followed the entire trip. She knew all the confidential details and knew what to look at, what to ask, and what to say.

Jiang Bai got into the car and sat down. The vehicle started smoothly and sped off towards the airport.

A little after 10 a.m., the plane landed smoothly at Qingdao Airport.

Jiang Bai's assistant was already waiting at the arrival gate. After picking him up, driver Brother Wang immediately took him back to the filming location of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

When I returned to the set, the filming was proceeding smoothly, with the actors performing their duties and the shooting pace tight and orderly.

No one noticed that this actor, who had been quietly filming on set, had silently traveled thousands of miles last night and then rushed back early in the morning, leaving no trace.

Jiang Bai quickly tidied her makeup and adjusted her state, instantly integrating into the filming rhythm and seamlessly connecting with the filming work.

Her positioning, word delivery, and emotional delivery were all on point throughout, and she appeared relaxed and natural, showing no signs of fatigue from the long journey. Her professionalism was top-notch.

Everyone on set thought he had just had a normal day off yesterday, which was why he was in such good shape today.

During the midday break, filming was temporarily suspended on set for rest and recuperation.

With nothing to do, Li Xian pulled Jiang Bai, who was also free, to a shady corner of the set. The two of them took out their phones and started scrolling through videos on Douyin (TikTok).

TikTok is really popular now. Whenever the crew members have nothing to do, they open TikTok and watch short videos to pass the time.

It was only after watching Douyin (TikTok) together a few times that Jiang Bai discovered Li Xian's private hobbies.

This actor, who appears upright and honest on screen, has a remarkably consistent taste when it comes to browsing Douyin (TikTok).

They especially love videos featuring beautiful women with a strong influencer vibe, and their aesthetic preferences lean towards a bright, flamboyant, and influencer-esque style.

Ever since the two followed each other on their alternate Douyin accounts, Li Xian would frequently forward Jiang Bai videos of various internet celebrities dancing and beauty bloggers.

They enjoyed it immensely and were extremely enthusiastic.

However, the two have vastly different aesthetic tastes and are completely on different wavelengths.

Li Xian prefers the type with a strong "internet celebrity" vibe, either a snake spirit or a waist-slimming beauty, while Jiang Bai prefers the pure, sweet, gentle, and clean type with a strong girlish feel.

After all, Jiang Bai is a thirty-year-old man in his heart, and he just likes things that are pure.

So most of the time, when Li Xian enthusiastically forwards a video, Jiang Bai just glances at it and then silently scrolls away, basically ignoring him and not interacting with him.

Even without receiving any response, Li Xian remained enthusiastic, forwarding newly discovered "beautiful women videos" to him every day.

They enthusiastically share videos they find interesting.

That persistent yet fresh enthusiasm has a kind of beauty reminiscent of a wild person just discovering short videos on a mobile phone.

Leisure time on set is relaxed and pleasant, passing quietly in the mundane rhythm of slacking off, chatting, and filming.

As evening approached, the film crew wrapped up work on time.

Jiang Bai had just returned to his hotel room on set and finished washing up and resting when there was a gentle knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, Xu Xu stood outside, carrying a briefcase, looking relaxed.

"You're back? Perfect timing, I've been waiting for you for ages."

Xu Xu walked into the room, casually placed his briefcase on the table, took out a neat stack of contract documents, and arranged them in an orderly manner.

"The letter of intent for 'Better Days' has been finalized, all the terms have been agreed upon, and the release date has been postponed to the end of July next year according to your schedule, without any binding conditions."

"Take a look, and if there are no problems, sign it."

Jiang Bai picked up the letter of intent and quickly glanced through it. The terms were clear, the benefits were generous, and the actors' schedules were respected—standard treatment for top stars.

Most importantly, the salary was top-tier; in cash, Jiang Bai was offered 1000 million yuan.

That's already quite a lot.

The original actor, Yi Yangqianxi, reportedly earned 100 million yuan per episode when he filmed "The Longest Day in Chang'an," totaling 6000 million yuan for the entire series.

While such press releases are certainly exaggerated, the truth is that he probably received a salary of 30 to 40 million yuan.

However, when he filmed "Better Days," he was a newcomer to the film industry, and the production cost of "Better Days" itself was not high.

Therefore, he had no choice but to voluntarily lower his salary, taking only 800 million.

Jiang Bai's salary was increased by 200 million yuan because of the success of "Sewing Machine Band," which at least proved that he was qualified to act in movies and had the ability to bring extra attention to the film company.

Moreover, his total salary is not just these.

1000 million is actually lower than Jiangbai's current market price.

Even if his movie salary is discounted, he can still get at least 1500-2000 million yuan, after all, he is a top male star.

The reason why his final salary was only 1000 million was because he signed a contract that included both salary and profit sharing.

The production cost of "Better Days" was only 5000 million yuan, and the total cost including promotion and distribution was only 1 million yuan.

We can't just spend 30 to 40 million yuan on the salaries of the two lead actors, Jiang Bai and Zhou Dongyu.

How can the film crew start shooting then!

Therefore, the contract they finally agreed on was a base salary of 1000 million plus box office revenue sharing. Jiang Bai would get 1.5%, but he didn't know how much Zhou Dongyu would get.

Jiang Bai guessed that it should be no less than 3%, after all, she is a three-time Golden Horse Award winner and is already associated with this production team, so she must have gained more.

Xu Xu doesn't have much expectation for box office revenue sharing.

The previous film by the same team, "Soulmate," only grossed 1.66 million yuan at the mainland box office.

Xu Xu's active involvement in "Better Days" was primarily aimed at paving the way for Jiang Bai's future film career.

He was optimistic about this project mainly because of its excellent production team and the fact that the subject of school bullying was suitable for winning awards.

Getting a 1000 million yuan salary is already a good deal.

If we could win an award or something, that would be a huge win.

But Jiang Bai was still looking forward to it!

A 1.5% share of the box office revenue would amount to over 2200 million based on the original timeline's box office performance!

If the box office results are even higher, reaching 20 billion, I can get 3000 million!

This is no small sum of money.

Putting down the film contract, Xu Xu continued, talking about the major collaborations he had been working on recently: "Besides this, the record company collaboration you asked me to discuss before has also been finalized."

For the past two weeks, Xu Xu has been in contact with top record companies in the industry, negotiating cooperation details one by one, and comparing the resources, treatment, and copyright terms of each company.

All this is to secure the best and most secure cooperation terms for Jiang Bai.

After several rounds of protracted negotiations, Jiang Bai's solo record deal was successfully finalized with Universal Music.

Jiang Bai was not surprised to hear the result.

As a top global record company, Universal has abundant resources, a mature promotion and distribution system, and a wide platform coverage, and can offer the best conditions.

The biggest advantage of this collaboration, and the one that Jiangbai values ​​most, is the independence of copyright.

In his previous life, Jiang Bai had seen too many singers go to court and break ties with record companies over copyright issues.

The songs they painstakingly created ultimately lost their copyright, restricting their commercial performances, covers, and commercial use. After ending their collaboration with the company, they were no longer able to sing their own songs.

So from the very beginning, he set a bottom line: no matter what, he must hold onto his song copyrights, especially the recording copyrights.

It is precisely this bottom line that has caused the difficulty of negotiations to skyrocket.

Record companies have always been powerful, and their core profit comes from the copyrights and commercial revenue of artists' songs. Trying to independently control the copyrights is tantamount to snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

After nearly half a month of back-and-forth negotiations and dozens of revisions to the contract terms, Universal Music finally relented.

Jiang Bai was granted permission to independently retain the recording copyright of his original songs, thus fully protecting his long-term rights.

However, Jiang Bai also made reasonable concessions in return.

The revenue sharing ratio for record sales is set at 40/60, with Universal Music at 60% and Jiangbai at 40%. The artist's share is not high among top artists, which means sacrificing short-term profits for long-term control.

At the same time, Universal Music secured some business agency rights for Jiangbai, enabling them to handle music-related business collaborations with Jiangbai.

Commercial stage performances.

The revenue from this business is split 50/50 between the two parties, which is higher than that of their industry peers.

Moreover, this work falls under the scope of the agency, but Universal Music Group took a bite out of it, which can be considered a concession from the drama's side.

Although there may be a short-term loss, Jiang Bai knows very well that this is an absolutely worthwhile deal.

Monetary losses are only temporary, but holding the copyright in your own hands provides lifelong confidence and assets.

Whether it's commercial use, inclusion in publications, or secondary creations, you'll have complete control and won't be subject to any company. The long-term value far exceeds the current revenue sharing gap.

Artists like Jay Chou, who own the copyrights themselves, earn over 100 million yuan a year just from song copyright revenue.

"In addition, the resources and benefits offered by Universal are also very generous."

Xu Xu continued to explain the terms of the cooperation in detail, "Universal promises that within next year, they will fund the production of your first full-length solo album. All production costs, arrangement fees, recording fees, and promotion costs will be borne by Universal."

"If you don't have enough original songs to support the entire album, the company will use its resources to help you collect songs from across the internet to make up the number of tracks."

"However, the copyright of external songs acquired by Universal belongs to Universal, and you only have the right to perform and use them. This is clearly stated in the contract."

Jiang Bai nodded slightly. This clause was reasonable and completely acceptable.

The record company covers all the costs of production, promotion, and song acquisition, and they also protect the copyright of the original works. This is already top-tier treatment.

Releasing an album can be very cost-effective. You don't need to shoot a single music video. You can just find a small recording studio to record, then record, burn, and release the album directly. No promotion is required, so it's naturally cheap.

But releasing an album can also be very expensive.

With a top-notch production team, a meticulously designed music video, and massive promotional campaigns upon release, spending tens of millions on an album wouldn't be excessive.

Global Times naturally agreed to the latter.

"To allow you to focus on making the album, I specifically finalized your schedule with Universal Music."

Xu Xu continued, "After filming for 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' wrapped up, there will be a nearly two-month gap between when I join the cast of 'The Thunder' in January next year."

"During this period, apart from New Year's Eve galas, year-end galas of various platforms, and endorsement work that you have to fulfill, I will try my best not to arrange any other work for you, except for these unavoidable public events, and reserve them specifically for you to create songs."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai immediately grinned.

To outsiders, creating music and writing songs in seclusion is a tedious and arduous task.

But for him, composing and writing lyrics was just a matter of copying, and that was a real "vacation".

No need to rush to film early in the morning or late at night, no need to keep rushing to announcements, you can just stay at home and "create" as you please.

This is definitely the most heartwarming and satisfying good news he has received since the hit drama "A Love So Beautiful".

"This arrangement is fine, I have no problem with it." Jiang Bai immediately nodded in agreement.

Xu Xu put away the record contract and then casually brought up the key tasks for the end of the year: "Speaking of the year-end gala and New Year's Eve party."

"This year, all four major TV stations have extended invitations to you for their New Year's Eve countdowns: Hunan TV, Jiangsu TV, Zhejiang TV, and Dragon TV. All four stations are vying for your attention."

"The main reason is that 'A Love So Beautiful' is so popular; it's a phenomenal web series this year."

"Because the drama was not broadcast on satellite TV, all four TV stations wanted to invite you to participate in their New Year's Eve concerts. Whichever station you went to, the fans of A Love So Beautiful would watch that station."

"So all four TV stations suggested that you sing the theme song for 'A Love So Beautiful' and 'Slowly Fall in Love with You'."

Finally, Xu Xu offered a choice: "Do you have a preferred TV station?"

"If you don't have any particular preference, I'll just negotiate based on the quoted prices, and we'll sign with whichever company offers the highest price."

The four major TV stations each have their own advantages in their New Year's Eve celebrations.

Jiangsu TV boasts top-notch stage design and strict live singing standards.

Zhejiang TV has strong synergy in its variety show resources, while Hunan TV has the largest audience base and the highest popularity.

Dragon TV, on the other hand, is average, with no particularly outstanding advantages or obvious shortcomings.

When choosing a New Year's Eve gala, most celebrities will either choose Hunan TV, which has the highest viewership, or Zhejiang TV, which they have collaborated with the most on variety shows.

But after a few seconds of contemplation, Jiang Bai spoke calmly without hesitation: "If the conditions are similar, we should choose Dragon TV if possible."

Xu Xu was slightly taken aback, his face full of doubt: "Dongfang? Why choose this one?"

"Is it because this TV station is in Shanghai?"

Faced with the agent's doubts, Jiang Bai simply smiled slightly without saying a word.

His reasoning was simple.

He just wanted to get a closer look at the gossip.

It is said that Liang's forbearance is unparalleled throughout history.

He wanted to go to the scene and see how Nai Liang managed to be cheated on in the afternoon and still be singing loudly with a little deer in the evening.

"You're the only one in my eyes, sweet and loving, you know I love you~"

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