Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

The silence lasted only about two seconds, but those two seconds were enough for the three people present to have their heartbeats beating at their own pace.

He suddenly laughed, his shoulders relaxed, and his tone was as casual as if he were discussing what to eat in the cafeteria tomorrow:

"Only children make choices; I want it all."

Nazha was stunned for a moment, and Chen Yao didn't react either.

Then the two of them looked at each other at the same time, their eyes briefly meeting in the air.

The hostility hadn't completely subsided, but that absurd answer was so typical of Chen Li's style that it was impossible to get angry.

Naza couldn't hold back at first, letting out a soft snort and saying, "You wish."

Chen Yao couldn't help but laugh, slowly loosening her grip on her sleeve, and added insult to injury: "You wish."

The tension that had been stretched to its limit was broken by a joke.

Naza took the chain bag off the back of Chen Li's chair and put it back on, while Chen Yao also picked up her knitted cardigan.

Naza: "Alright, alright, let's not pressure him anymore."

Before leaving, Chen Yao turned her head to look at Nazha, then at Chen Li, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, there's still a long road ahead, and we'll naturally make our choices."

Her tone wasn't heavy, but every word was spoken with a steady, clear voice.

The three of them walked out of the restaurant, and the night breeze in Hengdian carried the coolness of early spring as it brushed against their faces.

Naza went left, Chen Yao went right, and Chen Li stood at the door watching the two figures disappear at opposite ends of the alley. Then he raised his hand to wipe non-existent sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.

Who understands? Even those who are blessed with countless beauties have their troubles!

Indeed, every family has its own troubles...

......

Yu Zheng Studio.

The assistant jogged in, pushed open the door, and placed a stack of data reports in front of him, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement:

"Teacher Yu, look at this—Chen Li's popularity has been skyrocketing lately!"

Yu Zheng leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and slowly flipped through the reports.

Page 1, Weibo trending topics statistics table—"Chen Li and Zhang Xianzong", "Chen Li talks about the Song Dynasty", "Chen Li is in the wind", "Chen Li is in the Dala Bengba".

Since filming began in December last year, "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" has trended on social media four times in three months.

What does it mean that a newcomer who hasn't even appeared in many dramas can move freely on the trending topics list with just one web series and two songs?

Among the artists under his management, only Chen Xiao had this kind of momentum back then with "Legend of Lu Zhen"; none of the others have ever achieved this.

This doesn't even include the 7 million views and 8.2 rating on Douban for "So Cute Us," which is something none of his self-invested and produced web series have achieved simultaneously.

Page 2, screenshot of KuGou Music chart.

"Undyed" and "The Wind Rises" were both in the top ten of the Rising Chart and the Hot Songs Chart.

"Da La Beng Ba" is even more exaggerated, as it entered the top three in less than two weeks after its release.

An actor whose songs are more popular than those of professional musicians. This kind of person would be a walking topic generator in any film crew.

Page three contains a compilation of headlines from Sohu Entertainment, Sina Entertainment, Southern Metropolis Daily, and China Film News.

"From director with 7 million views to warlord of the Republic of China", "Musician whose talent was wasted on acting", "Leveraging 300 million views with a budget of 7 million".

Even official media outlets like the China Film News published a commentary on its front page, calling his film "a brand-new example of achieving great results with limited resources."

Four words—extremely popular!

He put down the report and quickly went through the schedule in his mind.

The post-production of "Ban Shu Legend" has long been completed—the 42-episode series has finished rough cut, fine cut, color grading, dubbing, and subtitles; all aspects are complete and it is ready for review and broadcast at any time.

Jing Tian, ​​Zhang Zhehan, Fu Xinbo, Deng Sha, Li Xin'ai—his all-star lineup is just waiting for a good time to be available.

Currently, Chen Li plays Kou Feng in the drama. Although he is only a supporting role, he has many scenes with Dilraba Dilmurat and Jing Tian.

When they were filming, he felt that the kid had a natural talent for acting, and he never expected that this talent would turn into popularity before the show even aired.

Thinking of this, he suddenly chuckled.

"Kong Sheng, Kong Sheng," Yu Zheng slammed the report on the table and wagged his finger at his assistant.

"The later episodes of 'Nirvana in Fire' finished filming last June, but they insisted on waiting until September to air it. What 'best' time slot? They wanted a dual broadcast on Beijing TV and Dragon TV—they weren't in a hurry at all. Chen Li's portrayal of the young Lin Shu, with just a few scenes, was enough to trend on social media just from the trailers. If 'Nirvana in Fire' had aired earlier, they would have already completely capitalized on that buzz. They didn't even reach for the opportunity right in front of them; what is that if not stubbornness?"

He stood up and walked to the whiteboard.

The broadcast schedule for "Ban Shu Legend" was magnetically pinned to the whiteboard; it was originally scheduled for the second half of this year.

He reached out and tore off the sticky note that read "Tentatively for the second half of 2015," tossed it into the wastebasket, picked up a marker, drew a circle on "March," and wrote a line:

The film was moved up to mid-March, taking advantage of Chen Li's popularity.

"I'm not like Kong Sheng." He put the marker back in the pen holder, dusted off his hands, and spoke with certainty, his smile shrewd and smug.

"I'm Yu Zheng. I go whichever way the market is blowing. Chen Li is the biggest trend right now—why not air it now and wait for its popularity to cool down? I'm not stupid."

He turned around, picked up his phone, quickly dialed a number, and simultaneously began giving instructions to his assistant at a rapid-fire pace:

"From now on, in all promotional materials for 'Ban Shu Legend,' Kou Feng's billing will be moved forward—Chen Li's name and character will be highlighted separately on joint posters, so that he won't be overshadowed by the main cast."

"Have the post-production team edit a separate trailer for his scenes with Dilraba Dilmurat and Jing Tian, ​​and release it first. Include the keyword 'Chen Li as Kou Feng' in all promotional copy, and push it simultaneously on Weibo, Tencent Video, and Sohu Video."

"Also, contact a few media outlets we regularly work with and do a few reports, with headlines focusing on 'Chen Li's new drama' and 'Kou Feng', to generate buzz for me."

He paused, then, as if remembering something, added:

"By the way, have the publicity team ask Tencent Video for audience profile data for 'So Cute Us'."

"I need to know what kind of people Chen Li's fans are so that I can accurately target the trailers. I can't waste a single bit of data."

The assistant noted everything down, then turned and quickly walked out to make the arrangements.

Yu Zheng leaned back in his chair, picked up the now-cold Pu'er tea, took a sip, and his gaze fell on the circled "March" on the whiteboard.

Jing Tian as the female lead, Dilraba Dilmurat as the supporting actress, and Chen Li, who has just started to gain popularity.

He had no reason not to air this show while it was still popular.

But that kid got lucky; he can get a huge amount of publicity just by staying at home...