Bai Lu got scammed, but I became a superstar through e-commerce.

The person who came to the group was an investor he had been cooperating with for many years.

One of the vice presidents of Huaxia Vision, surnamed Zhou, was in his early forties. He had taken off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of his chair.

The copyright director of Mango TV is surnamed Sun. He wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and habitually pushes up his glasses before speaking.

Another one is a producer from Asia Pacific Pictures surnamed Chen, around fifty years old. He has spent most of his life working his way up in Hengdian, from script supervisor to producer. People in the industry call him Brother Chen.

Qingxiao arrived first. After entering the private room, he hung up his coat, sat by the window, and began to recognize each person one by one.

Mr. Zhou works for Huaxia Vision, Mr. Sun works for Mango TV, and Brother Chen works for Asia Pacific Media.

Yu Zheng had sent him a list beforehand, and he memorized everyone's name, company, and the business lines they were responsible for.

Once the three investors had all arrived, Yu Zheng stood up and poured the first round of drinks for everyone.

He was wearing that dark gray Chinese-style jacket, and still had that Bodhi root bracelet on his wrist, as he poured everyone a full glass of baijiu.

When it was Qingxiao's turn, he poured half a glass more than usual.

"President Zhou, President Sun, Brother Chen, this is President Qing from Tianmen Film and Television. He provided the script and investment for this online film, and Huanyu Entertainment is responsible for the production."

Yu Zheng placed the bottle on the table and gently tapped the cap with his palm.

"He is also Bai Lu's agent."

Mr. Zhou leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the rim of his wine glass: "Mr. Qing, a young talent. I heard from Professor Yu that you also have an e-commerce company in Hangzhou?"

"Yes. SUNSA women's clothing focuses on basic styles."

"Your e-commerce business is doing so well, why did you decide to come into the film and television industry?" Mr. Sun pushed up his glasses. "This industry is not easy to run."

Qingxiao raised his glass and stood up: "Dear teachers, let me first offer you a toast. My name is Qingxiao. I come from an e-commerce background and am a newcomer to the film and television industry. I am extremely grateful to Teacher Yu for guiding me on this project and to all of you for giving me this opportunity."

He tilted his head back and finished the drink, revealing the bottom of the glass. The liquor was very strong, burning down his throat, but his face remained expressionless.

Brother Chen watched him finish his drink, nodded, and then picked up his own glass and took a sip.

"President Qing, Lao Yu sent us your script. The storyline from the parents' perspective is well-written; my wife cried after reading it."

"Thank you, Brother Chen."

"But there's a problem." Brother Chen put his glass on the table and leaned forward. "The original version of your short film is on Youku, and everyone's seen it. Now, expanding it into a web film, the script has been rewritten, but the characters of the male and female leads, the core plot, and the ending—the audience remembers those. If we change the male lead, viewers will feel it's a remake, not the original. There are too many examples of remakes failing; your investment might not even make a ripple."

Mr. Sun chimed in, his gold-rimmed glasses gleaming briefly under the lights: "And you should be familiar with the revenue-sharing model for online films. There's a six-minute effective click limit. If viewers click in, watch the first six minutes, and then swipe away if they're not interested, the biggest problem with remaking a micro-film into an online film is that first six minutes. In your original micro-film, the scene where Lin Xiao pushes Gu Nian into the water is at the seventeen-minute mark. If you remake it and the first six minutes are new scenes you added, viewers might not even last that long before they leave. But if she pushes someone into the water in the first six minutes, then all the buildup and setup of those seventeen minutes is ruined."

"So you mean..." Qingxiao continued.

"You have to be the male lead."

Brother Chen said, his gaze falling on Qingxiao.

In 2016, there was an unwritten rule in the online film industry: the prerequisite for audiences to watch remakes was that the core pairing of the male and female leads remained unchanged. If all the actors were replaced, it would be a complete remake of an online film, doubling the promotion costs and resulting in a poor platform rating. However, if the core pairing of the male and female leads from the original short film remained unchanged, the film could be featured on the platform's homepage with the tagline "Original Cast Returns."

Qingxiao remained silent for a few seconds.

He recalled that when they were filming the last short film, Fang Yi stepped down after acting in two scenes, saying, "Considering this role, President Qing is more suitable than me."

"Brother Chen, I have no acting experience."

"The character Gu Nian you played in your last short film was a genuine performance. Online films don't need you to win an Oscar; what you gave me was that authentic essence."

Brother Chen picked up his wine glass, held it in mid-air, but didn't drink it immediately.

"President Qing, think about it. The original short film starred you and Bai Lu. What the audience remembers is your face, her willfulness, and the chemistry between the two. Now you're expanding it into an online film, you wrote the script, and the production team is stronger than before. If you're not the male lead, the audience will think it's a remake, the copyright holder will put it in a second-tier resource position, it won't be featured on the first screen, it won't get a banner, its search ranking on the site will be low, and the platform's rating and pricing will always be below average."

He put down his glass and tapped his finger on the rim.

"If you were the male lead, we could put a label: the original cast is back. The same male lead makes the audience believe that the story of the short film hasn't ended. When they see that you've changed your hairstyle but not your eyes, they'll think, 'This is the silly guy who stood in the river and smiled at her after being pushed into it.' This kind of emotional continuity is something that no other actor can provide. And with this continuity, all the publicity resources can be moved up a notch. If you don't act in it, I won't follow this project."

Qingxiao didn't say anything. He picked up his wine glass and clinked it against Brother Chen's again.

Yu Zheng sat to the side, remaining silent. He slowly took a sip of tea from his purple clay cup, and only spoke after all three investors had expressed their opinions: "President Qing, Brother Chen is right. There are precedents in the industry. You were originally the lead actor in this project, and the audience recognizes your face. Of course, a professional actor would have more experience, but that awkwardness and sincerity is something a professional actor can't portray."

He placed the purple clay cup on the table.

"I can personally negotiate the publicity and distribution resources for this film."

Qingxiao looked at Yu Zheng. Yu Zheng spoke in a very calm tone, but Qingxiao knew he was backing him up.

He lowered his head and looked at the wine glass in front of him.

"Okay," he said. "I'll act."

President Zhou leaned back in his chair and raised his glass to him: "President Qing, congratulations on gaining another identity."

Qingxiao stood up and raised his wine glass into the air.

"President Zhou, President Sun, Brother Chen, and Teacher Yu, this glass is for you all. Thank you for bringing me, a newcomer, into this world."

He finished his drink, revealing the bottom of the glass, his hand steady.

"So extravagant, hahaha..."

Everyone laughed and raised their glasses.

When I left the restaurant, the night wind in Beijing was strong.

Yu Zheng caught up and stubbed out his cigarette in a roadside trash can.

"President Qing, how was your meal today?"

Qingxiao paused for two seconds, then turned to look at Yu Zheng.

"It's exhausting. More exhausting than burning through tens of thousands of yuan on my own direct marketing campaign."

"That's right."

Yu Zheng pulled up his coat and looked at the traffic on the East Third Ring Road.

"Do you know why I didn't turn it down for you today? Because you'll have to get through this hurdle eventually. Today you're just offering a toast, but one day you'll be the star of this private room. At that time, you won't be the one offering toasts; others will be standing next to you with their glasses, waiting for you to drink first. That's how this industry is: either you're always standing at the table offering toasts, or one day you'll be sitting at the head of the table being toasted by others."

Qingxiao put his hands in his coat pockets and looked at the taillights across the street, their faces indistinct.

"Teacher Yu, I understand. One day, I will become a real investor and producer, standing at the top of this ecosystem."

Yu Zheng glanced at him sideways and tentatively patted Qingxiao's shoulder.

"President Qing, you are not an ambitious person."

Qingxiao skillfully dodged the attack. This guy surnamed Yu had indeed gotten his hands on something. He smiled and said, "Who willingly wants to be manipulated?"

After saying that, Qingxiao felt it was inappropriate and added, "But I don't want to manipulate others. I just want to protect myself and the people around me, like her. No one will think she doesn't deserve to sit in that classroom just because she was a Taobao model."

Yu Zheng didn't reply. He knew, of course, who Qingxiao was talking about. He stood there for a moment, took the cigarette butt off the trash can and threw it into the ashtray, then patted Qingxiao on the shoulder.