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

When filming wrapped up, Bai Lu grabbed Qing Xiao's sleeve.

She was still wearing that bright red wedding dress, her phoenix crown was askew to one side, and the blood-stained makeup on her face hadn't been removed yet.

"Don't move."

She handed the phone to Sister Su and pulled Qingxiao to stand under the largest red lantern in Meng Po Village.

"Just one picture."

Qingxiao looked down at his own wedding dress, which was also covered in dust, and then at the bloodstains on her face that hadn't been wiped clean. He thought he should change his clothes before taking the photos.

Bai Lu had already stood on tiptoe and reached out to straighten his crooked collar.

Sister Su raised her phone, and on the screen, two people dressed in bright red wedding attire stood on the sand of the underworld, with a courtyard full of red silk and white lanterns behind them.

Bai Lu glanced at him sideways, a smile playing on her lips, before quickly turning back to smile at the camera.

Sister Su took several pictures.

"One more."

Bai Lu said. Just as Sister Su raised her phone, Bai Lu suddenly turned her head, looked around to make sure no one was there, and gently kissed Qing Xiao on the cheek.

“Eh…”

Sister Su pretended to be disgusted, but her fingers instinctively pressed the shutter.

Qingxiao stood there stunned, while Bailu had already retreated and shouted to Sister Su, "Did you get the shot?"

Bai Lu snatched the phone and looked at it several times, zooming in and out of the photo before saving it.

She didn't set it as her wallpaper, nor did she post it on her WeChat Moments. She just held her phone to her chest, her secretive yet delighted expression caught Su Jie's eye, but she didn't say anything.

Qingxiao's scenes were completed half a month earlier than Bailu's.

After Changsheng's death, only Sanqi remains, turning into mountains and rivers in the ending. The last few scenes of the film are Bai Lu's monologue.

Qingxiao stayed on set until late at night, going over the precautions for the subsequent filming with Ju Xingmao, and then took a flight back to Hangzhou the next morning.

Before leaving, Bai Lu ran downstairs to the hotel to see him off, still wearing her pajamas. Her hair was messy, and there was still half a small scale left from yesterday's special effects makeup stuck to the corner of her eye.

Qingxiao reached out and peeled the scale off her eye, saying, "Go back and continue sleeping."

"I have a lot of things waiting for me in Hangzhou. You should finish filming here. Director Ju said that your emotions were right for that final monologue in 'Transforming into Mountains and Rivers'."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the security checkpoint. Bai Lu called out from behind, "Message me when you get there." He waved to her with his back turned and did not turn around.

The plane landed in Hangzhou at 10 a.m.

Qingxiao didn't go home; he took a taxi directly to Tianmen Film and Television.

In the office, Afei had already printed out several documents and placed them on his desk.

The top document is the "Progress Schedule of the First Batch of Projects of Tianmen Film and Television Network Film Special Investment Fund". Below it are several projects that are currently underway, categorized by track.

He turned to the first page, picked up the phone, and dialed Chen Yu's number.

At 3 p.m., the project matchmaking meeting started on time in the conference room of Tianmen Film and Television.

Chen Yu sat on the left side of the long table, with several director's profiles and a preliminary budget spread out in front of him.

Afei turned on the projector, and an overview of the progress of the first batch of special investment projects was projected onto the screen.

"President Qing, as you set out earlier, suitable partners have been found for the first four projects." Afei turned to the first page of the progress chart.

The first project is "Yin Yang Town" on the mountain horror track.

The collaborator was Fang Ming, a rising director introduced by Chen Yu. Fang Ming specializes in thrillers and suspense films and has previously directed several well-received short films on a video platform.

"Fang Ming's offer was very low, and the director's fee was basically a friendly price. He mainly valued Tianmen Film and Television's publicity resources and platform cooperation. The investment budget is 350,000 yuan, the shooting period is 15 days, the script has been finalized, and we can start filming next week."

After reviewing Fang Ming's materials and script outline, Qing Xiao nodded: "Thriller films have the highest revenue conversion rate among online films—low cost, short production cycle, and quick returns. Keep an eye on this project for now, and provide me with data every week during filming."

The second project is "There's a Girl in the Village" in the rural comedy category.

The director of this project is Lao Zhao, who previously served as the executive director on the "Hillbilly Goes to Town" team, and the production team is the same as that of Benshan Media.

"Old Zhao has been working in the field of rural comedy for almost ten years. He wrote the script himself, which tells the comedic story of a girl from Northeast China who goes from the countryside to the city to make a living and then returns to the village. The investment budget is 550,000 yuan, and the production cycle is 20 days. Old Zhao said that if the platform gives him an A-level recommendation, he is confident that he can get more than a million yuan in revenue sharing."

"Rural comedies have high audience loyalty and great potential for serialization, so we can sign priority rights for sequels."

After Qingxiao finished speaking, he wrote down Lao Zhao's contact information in his notebook.

"Have him send over the scene breakdown. If the script is fine, I'll make the payment next week."

The next two projects are "Love Tutoring" in the youth comedy category and an experimental work by an emerging director in the thriller category.

The former is a campus youth film personally directed by Yuan Shuang—also known as Cat's Tree.

With an investment budget of 450,000 yuan, Yuan Shuang's team has its own people and equipment, and the fan base that Cat's Tree has accumulated from shooting micro-movies can be used.

"Yuan Shuang said he wrote the script himself, and it's about a science and engineering guy who goes to a dating coaching class to win over a girl. He said the film doesn't need a big production; it'll win with its dialogue and pacing. The campus genre already has a fixed audience on the platform, and the script and dialogue are indeed funny," Afei added.

Qingxiao laughed after flipping through the first three pages of the script for "Love Tutoring"—Yuan Shuang had written in all the embarrassing stories of his past attempts to woo girls. He said, "Okay, keep this tone in the script, don't go back to the old ways."

"Director Yuan deserves our full support; he's one of us."

"Yes, Mr. Qing."

The last project was a thriller experiment given to new director Song Yang.

The investment budget was as low as just over 200,000 yuan, and all the actors were newcomers.

Song Yang was recommended by Ju Xingmao. He had previously worked as a script supervisor on the set of "The Ferryman" and had a strong affinity for the supernatural and thriller genre.

"Song Yang's project has the smallest investment but the strongest experimental nature. If it succeeds, it can cultivate our own reserve directors in the thriller genre."

Qingxiao placed Song Yang's information last, and after reviewing it, pushed it back to Afei: "Four projects, proceed according to schedule. Start filming 'Yin Yang Town' and 'There's a Girl in the Village' first. Once Yuan Shuang's script is approved, start filming. Have Song Yang revise his script again. Report the progress of each film weekly after filming begins, and issue an immediate warning for any abnormal data."

Chen Yu gathered the four director files on the table together: "President Qing, I have a question—you personally selected the scripts, appointed the directors, and negotiated collaborations for all these films. Why not keep them all at Tianmen Films and produce them yourselves? Wouldn't it be better to keep all the profits in your own hands? Now, every film is being released to external directors and teams for revenue sharing, which significantly reduces the profit margin. Are you worried about the risks being too high?"

Qingxiao leaned back in his chair, a profit-sharing curve in his mind.

2014年爱奇艺年度分帐冠军63万，2015年《道士出山》28万成本撬了2400万，同年的《山炮进城》做到987万，到2016年《山炮进城2》直接翻到1829万。

The growth rate of this curve is tripling every year.

But the boom will only last for a few years.

How many movies can one person make?

The film "Huang Quan" took more than half a year from preparation to completion. The special effects took another half a year to work on.

If you keep all the projects in your own hands, you can only make two or three films a year at most, and the rest of the pie will be taken by others.

Qingxiao thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Now, 'Huangquan' is tied to Ju Xingmao, 'Yin Yang Town' has signed Fang Ming, 'There's a Girl in the Village' uses Lao Zhao's team, Yuan Shuang is one of our own, and Song Yang is a newcomer recommended by Ju Xingmao. Each film is a milestone, and behind each milestone is a network of connections. Thriller, comedy, youth—through project cooperation, we've tied people with execution capabilities in each field to Tianmen Films' chariot. Next time we shoot, we don't need to start from scratch; we can just make a call. Moreover, after these directors and actors finish our projects, they have both reputation and data, and they've established themselves in the industry. In the future, when they have resources, they will naturally prioritize cooperating with us—this kind of accumulation is much more important than making a few hundred thousand more in profit."

"After all, when things are going smoothly, having more partners means having more of the pie. When things go downhill and you want someone to lend a hand, those you've worked with before are unlikely to stand idly by. Even if they do, they're unlikely to kick you when you're down. But if they're your competitors, they'd love to see you go down."

He put down his pen.

"So we're not doing charity. We're trading profits for connections, time, and positions. Once the hype dies down, these people will be our real assets."

"Compared to e-commerce, the entertainment industry involves more than just data; it also involves interpersonal relationships and social dynamics."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.