Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Brother, thank you."

"Hmm? Why do you say that? Could it be that you've gained some unexpected insights?"

"Yeah, a few brands approached me before, and Sister Hua called me today to say that one deal has been finalized with Maybelline. They're shooting a promotional video here in Guangzhou the day after tomorrow, so I can't go back then. Haha, the endorsement fee is 120 million! Bro~"

When Fan Bingbing uttered his last "Brother," his voice was choked with emotion.

"I'm here. Fatty, your journey has just begun, you can't be so unambitious."

"Oh, just let me get excited for a moment."

"Ha ha."

After exchanging a few more words, the two ended the call.

Yang Che understood her feelings. This brand and this price meant she was now a top-tier star, and the number one among the new generation of actresses in mainland China. Yes, the number one.

Zhao Zhetian's normal GG endorsement fee would definitely be higher than this, but she doesn't have such an international big brand yet. She started getting international big brand endorsements after "Shaolin Soccer".

Yang Che was also quite surprised. He had thought that "My Sassy Girl" would put Xiao Pang directly into the A-list, but that would only happen after the movie was released. It can only be said that the hardcore promotion in China and the outdoor GGs in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong and Taiwan brought Xiao Pang too much exposure.

Adding to the previous online discussions, hmm? Seems like she's a "carpet star" in another sense?

Bah! In short, just like how Shanghai Film Studio wanted to collaborate with Yang Che after watching the movie, Maybelline, which was planning a crazy expansion, decisively replaced Zhang Ziyi, whom they had already contacted, with the chubby guy after evaluation. Both were gambles in advance in order to obtain the greatest benefits.

Seeing that he had hung up the phone, Gao Yuanyuan felt particularly jealous. She had heard about Maybelline and the 120 million yuan endorsement fee.

That's enough for her to take 40 photos of Siemens guys.

Yang Che looked at her stern face, but there was a hint of grievance in her eyes, and she seemed to be trying to remain calm. He was taken aback for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"Yang Che, I am jealous, but you don't have to mock me like this on her behalf."

Gao Yuanyuan immediately broke down and then frankly expressed her inner thoughts.

Yang Che remained calm as always: "Judging from your expression just now, you seem to have had some inspiration."

Gao Yuanyuan gritted her teeth at her boyfriend's behavior, then took a deep breath and said, "I'll endure it, I'll endure it."

"What inspired you?"

Yang Che said very seriously, "I felt that the way you looked with that straight face just now was like a robot, and then it gained intelligence..."

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't bear it any longer and threw a punch at him.

"Yang Che..."

Li Xiangdong, who was driving, glanced at the rearview mirror and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He also really wanted to punch someone.

Li Xiangdong could completely understand Gao Yuanyuan's increasingly violent behavior.

Yang Che grabbed her fist as she swung it a second time, then pulled her close and said, "I want to make a movie with you, called 'My Robot Girlfriend'."

Gao Yuanyuan turned to look at him: "Are you serious?"

"Of course, the male protagonist is disabled in an accident and ends up in a wheelchair. To prevent this tragedy, he spends his life creating a female robot who travels back in time out of control to protect him. Thus, the young male protagonist from the past and the female robot from the future have a hilarious yet happy time together."

Gao Yuanyuan was a little stunned, and for a moment she couldn't react.

Not to mention her, Li Xiangdong, who had been listening quietly in the front row, was also confused. What was time travel? How could one travel from the future to the past? What... what was this? But it sounded incredibly impressive. That's how Brother Che was; he often said things that required people to think about them for a moment or two before they understood, and then they would seem remarkably precise...

After a few seconds of contemplation, Gao Yuanyuan understood the concept, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She adored her boyfriend.

How did you come up with this idea, this concept?

Yang Che was also quite bewildered: "You don't know about time travel? Haven't you read 'A Step into the Past'?"

"A Step into the Past? What?"

"The TV series... well, it hasn't been filmed yet. It's based on a novel that tells the story of a modern man who travels back to the Qin Dynasty to pick up girls."

Some people say that Lao Huang's writing is too explicit, but that's an overestimation of Lao Huang's abilities. Those are all fan-made versions with added embellishments by "good people." Lao Huang doesn't write about sexual organs. Even if there are related plots, they all serve the storyline, either to improve the protagonist's character or to subtly allude to real-world politics.

For example, the part where Xiang Shaolong and Zhao Mu compete in sexual prowess is about political struggle. During the period when the book was written, from 94 to 96, cultural figures in Hong Kong and Taiwan particularly liked to use various metaphors. For example, Tsui Hark made films like "The Butterfly Lovers," "The Golden Age," and "The Three Dragons."

There were also films like "God of Gamblers 2" and "From Beijing with Love" produced by Win's Entertainment. Of course, Win's Entertainment later changed its name to China Star Entertainment, and the boss changed from Wah Shing to Wah Keung.

Johnnie To's film "The Mission" took a swipe at the Xiang family. The two brothers played good cop and bad cop, making their subordinates bring their own guns and buy their own bulletproof vests. The reward for risking their lives was less than the eldest brother's occasional act of kindness.

So the underlings became disloyal, and the big brother was still a cuckold...

Of course, when Johnnie To later made "Election," the Heung family members became refined, upper-class patriots, quite different from the Wo Luen Shing family who "fished without helmets" and "I can be patriotic too."

Why?

There's a saying: "My dog ​​Wangcai is pretty cocky too! He bites everyone but me! Why? Because I keep him!"

We've gone off on a tangent again.

"Oh, do you have a copy of 'A Step into the Past' at home?"

"No, I only heard about it from people in Hong Kong, but I'm sure there are pirated copies in Beijing."

Gao Yuanyuan pouted: "Oh."

He then said gently, "Brother Li, could you please help me look for it tomorrow?"

Li Xiangdong readily agreed: "Okay."

Gao Yuanyuan didn't ask any more questions, because her boyfriend had already taken out his notebook and started writing and drawing.

Afterwards, the two returned to Courtyard No. 8, while Li Xiangdong went back to Tazhai to stay, where the computers and various filming equipment were expensive, and he also had to keep Lao Sun company.

"Honey, I think you should focus on studying, en..."

Yang Che patted the notebook in his hand: "scripts."

He nodded again: "The inspiration is here; I just need to write an outline."

Gao Yuanyuan pouted, then picked up the Oxford Dictionary on the coffee table and started flipping through it. Well, scripts really does mean scripts.

He also said, "Inspiration. i, n..."

"OK, thanks."