Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

As a superstar, asking for help when appropriate is not shameful; rather, it's a sign of confidence.

[Task: Propose an investment plan for a web series project to Fan Bingbing, with a target amount of 300 million yuan.]

[Reward for the Mission: The complete script for "So Lovely Us"]

How adorable we are!

Chen Li held her rice bowl, her expression unchanged, but her mind was already racing with calculations.

It is June 2014, and the online drama market is experiencing its first boom.

Wanhe Tianyi's "Unexpectedly" generated hundreds of millions of views with a budget of only a few hundred thousand yuan, while Sohu's "Back in Time" proved the huge potential of youth-themed content on online platforms as soon as it was released.

Major video platforms are vying to acquire high-quality online drama content.

Anthology series like "So Cute Us" represents the ultimate in cost-cutting.

The five units revolve around the same old residential compound, resulting in a very high rate of scene reuse.

It doesn't need the expensive costumes and props of period dramas, it doesn't need special effects, and it doesn't need big-name actors. A few young newcomers can carry the whole show.

The total cost back then was only around 240 million!

Filming was even interrupted for a period of time due to the special circumstances; otherwise, the cost could have been even lower.

This low-budget campus youth drama brought unexpected profits to Kiwi, directly setting a record for revenue-sharing dramas that year. It is a very typical case of achieving big results with small investment.

But the problem is...

Chen Li's gaze passed over the light screen and landed on Fan Bingbing, who was engrossed in peeling shrimp on the other side.

Three million was an astronomical figure for him.

He signed a one-year contract with Fan Bingbing, not a full-contract artist who was heavily invested in and cultivated.

"What are you spacing out about?" Fan Bingbing looked up and found Chen Li staring at her.

She followed his gaze and glanced down at her neckline, blushed, and glared at Chen Li.

"Eat. Eat more, you must be exhausted from last night."

As she spoke, she placed another piece of dried vegetable and braised pork in his bowl, and after thinking for a moment, she added an oyster on top.

Then came the second, the third, and in the blink of an eye, five or six piled up, trembling and stacked on top of the rice into a small mountain.

Chen Li: ...

What do you mean I'm exhausted? You were the one who got bullied badly yesterday...

I could easily handle one more, so are you underestimating me by giving me so many oysters?

"What are you thinking about? Why aren't you answering my question?"

Chen Li came to her senses:

"Sis, I do have something I want to discuss with you."

"I want to have a project in reserve. Something I do myself, low-cost, not requiring too much money."

Fan Bingbing paused for a moment while peeling the shrimp.

"I don't have tens of millions to burn. Every penny of the company's money goes somewhere. Investing in a newcomer's project won't get through to the board."

"You don't need that much," Chen Li said, placing a piece of stir-fried vegetables in her bowl.

"I only need three million to shoot a low-budget web series."

"Three million?" Fan Bingbing raised an eyebrow, placed her chopsticks on the rim of her bowl, leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and sized him up.

"Shoot a web series? You're an actor, what are you going to do with a web series? Production, coordination, post-production—can you even handle that whole process?"

"There is indeed a market for web dramas, and platforms are now willing to accept them, but viewers are becoming more and more discerning, and the production threshold is getting higher and higher every year."

"If you invest three million in a film and it turns out to be poorly made, the platform won't accept it, and your money will be wasted."

"Sister," Chen Li looked at her earnestly.

"I can handle the arrangement and post-production processes myself, so I don't need to outsource the post-production, which saves me a lot of money."

"I will write the script myself, find new actors, and keep the salaries low. We will shoot on location."

Fan Bingbing picked up the teacup, took a sip, gently stirred the tea leaves floating on top with the lid, and blew on them twice.

"Anyway, you're already in my company, so even if you lose money, you can't escape."

She seemed to have thought of something, and then chuckled.

"Okay! I promise you! I'll give you a chance to prove yourself!"

"Anyway, if you lose money, just stay here a year later and pay off the rest of your debts."

To be honest, Fan Bingbing really couldn't bear to see Chen Li stay at his company for just one year.

This kid is no ordinary person; he has unlimited potential. It would be great to keep him by my side.

It's only 300 million anyway, it won't hurt to let him play around with it.

"How to replenish it?"

Fan Bingbing leaned back in her chair, pointed to the pile of oysters in his bowl, and raised an eyebrow:

"Well—of course, it's restitution through sex."

"Hehe, you little glutton..." Chen Li chuckled.

"Today, you'll have to swallow your pride and bear the consequences..."

"Hmph! I won't!"

"You won't have the final say then."

......

Back at the Beijing Film Academy, Chen Li was surprised to find that she had been taking classes there for two whole months.

It's already July, and Chen Li has caught up on the classes she missed and is busy working on her final report assignment.

Chen Li's class, Class 3 of the 2013 undergraduate program in the Performing Arts Department, had a total of 24 students, including 11 boys and 13 girls.

The head teacher and main lecturer of the class was Professor Xu Xiaodan, who was then the vice dean of the Academy of Performing Arts.

She has created remarkable works in both film and television, and is a benchmark figure in domestic performance teaching. She mentored Yao Chen in the class of '99 and Zhang Xiaofei in the class of '05.

She was also the art director for Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War".

The professors in the department are all highly respected figures in their field.

At that time, Wang Jinsong, the vice dean of the performing arts academy, whose stage name was Qi Ke, was a figure that students both respected and feared.

This professor, who has taught dialogue for decades, is a benchmark figure in the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy. Liu Yifei and Ma Su are his students, and many film stars have sought his advice on dialogue skills.

He always carried a thermos cup in his mouth during class, and spoke with the relaxed manner typical of Beijingers.

The most common saying is: "An actor's lines are half his life. If he can't even keep his breath steady, no matter how glamorous the role is, he'll still be floating."

And then there's Teacher Xie Yuan, who occasionally comes to substitute teach or give lectures, and that's what the students look forward to the most.

This veteran actor from Beijing is so witty and humorous that he can make his students laugh out loud as soon as he starts teaching. He always tells funny stories about the Beijing Film Academy's admissions process back then.

He said, "When recruiting male students, they need to be able to handle both rough and fine tasks. Back then, we didn't dare to recruit someone like Ge You; we had to leave it to society to cultivate."

"Looking for female applicants. Shoes cannot be larger than size 38, otherwise they won't look good on camera."

Chen Li always felt that this old man was a kindred spirit to him.

They probably all have a strange quirk...

There's also Huang Lei, who stayed on to teach at the school at the age of 24 and mentored Haiqing.

Although I stopped teaching undergraduate classes in 2014, I occasionally returned to the school to give lectures.

At this time, his reputation was still very good, and the so-called "Evil Gardenia Plan" had not yet been released.

Privately, students often gossip about his love story with Sun Li, from campus to wedding, calling him the most famous "doting husband" at Beijing Film Academy.

Chen Li has already prepared the framework and necessary materials for "Our Everyday Lovely Life".

After completing the proposal, he went directly to his homeroom teacher, Xu Xiaodan.