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

"Online movies really can't make actresses famous. Bai Lu still can't get any offers from the film and television industry."

Qingxiao sat alone in his office, while outside the window, the sky over Jiubao was already completely dark.

He sighed, looking at the several documents spread out in front of him. The top one was a summary of the investment returns for online movies that Afei had just submitted that afternoon.

He crossed out lines with his pen.

He could practically recite the data from the first four projects.

The lower rows of the same table contain settlement data for new projects in the second half of the year.

Fang Ming's second thriller, "The Return of the Soul," saw its budget increase from 35 to 300 million.

It wasn't that Tianmen Films was demanding a larger budget; it was that the industry had changed. In early 2016, the average investment threshold for a web movie was still less than 100 million yuan.

By the end of the year, an investment of 1000 million yuan had become the norm.

Platform recommendation slots are locked up by large companies, making it impossible for new directors and actors to secure resources. Even venue rental fees and post-production special effects prices have been inflated by at least 100%.

Fang Ming invested 300 million yuan to film "The Return of the Souls". The revenue sharing barely broke even, and he was already thankful that he didn't make a profit or lose money.

Old Zhao's "There's a Girl in the Village 2" cost 3 million yuan to produce, but he only received less than 2 million yuan in revenue, resulting in a net loss of 1 million yuan.

He circled the two lines of numbers and leaned back in his chair.

The problem with these two films is neither the director's nor the script's.

Fang Ming's thrillers are of better quality than before, and Lao Zhao's comedic style is still there.

The problem is that the benefits of the early, unregulated era have been exhausted.

Established companies like Huayi Brothers, Huace Entertainment Technology, and Zhongnan Pictures have entered the fray.

The names of Wong Jing and Gao Qunshu began to appear on online movie posters, and iQiyi even brought in Hollywood resources such as Sony Pictures.

Now that established players have arrived, platforms naturally prioritize recommending projects with celebrities, intellectual property, and backing from large companies.

He turned to the next page of the summary table.

Afei also attached data from several peer companies—a small production company that had previously collaborated with Tianmen Film and Television spent 400 million yuan last year to produce a suspense film, but only received less than 100 million yuan in revenue sharing and went bankrupt and liquidated.

Another company followed suit and invested in a film based on the Journey to the West theme. However, the film didn't even get an A-level recommendation from the platform. It was buried in a sea of ​​new films within three days of its release, with less than 100,000 effective views.

"We've lost so much money we can't even get our wages back."

Qingxiao muttered something to himself.

He put the pen on the table, stood up, and walked to the window.

The industrial park in Jiubao has quieted down. Downstairs, Xiao Geng's tricycle is parked at the warehouse entrance, with express delivery bags piled up neatly.

Business in e-commerce remains stable, but the online film industry is no longer the blue ocean where a few hundred thousand could unlock millions.

He stood by the window for a while, mentally going through each of the cards that were still usable.

Online films can no longer be mass-produced.

In the past, a film cost 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. Even if it lost money, it wouldn't hurt. If one film became a hit, the cost of ten films could be recovered.

Nowadays, a single film can easily cost millions, and losing money on one film can be a huge financial hole.

We can only scale back, investing only in projects with the highest certainty, and no longer pursuing quantity.

But retreating is only a defensive strategy, not a solution.

He needs a new growth engine.

He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The online drama market of 2016 replayed in his mind, one after another.

"The Mystic Nine" has surpassed 10 billion views, becoming the first self-produced drama in the history of the entire network to achieve this feat. It was even broadcast on Dragon TV, where it broke viewership records.

"Yu Zui" garnered over 100 million views within 72 hours of its release, and Zhang Yishan's package deal price jumped from 3 million to 50 million, more than ten times the original price.

"With You" pioneered the genre of youth campus web dramas and launched the careers of Liu Haoran and Tan Songyun.

The web series "The Demon's Journey," which premiered in November, generated over 20 million yuan in revenue sharing with a budget of less than 5 million yuan, achieving a return on investment of over 400%, thus validating the feasibility of the web series revenue sharing model.

Web series and online movies are not even in the same league.

Online movies are usually over an hour long, and viewers forget them as soon as they're over. The faces of the main actors might be remembered for a few days at most through the comments section.

Web series often have ten to dozens of episodes, with viewers following each new episode weekly, creating a strong sense of companionship. The faces of the main actors are tied to their characters for months, making their commercial value on a completely different level.

Bai Lu starred in two hit online movies, her Weibo followers grew to one million, and she received a nomination for Best Actress in an Online Movie for her role as Sanqi. However, in the eyes of the mainstream film and television industry, she is still just an online movie lead actress.

She wanted to audition for the third female lead in a primetime TV drama, but the director still asked, "What dramas have you acted in?"

She can't say "I've acted in online movies," because online movies are considered third-class citizens in this industry.

But if she has a hit web series, it doesn't have to be as popular as "The Mystic Nine". As long as the data is good and the word-of-mouth is strong, she can hold her head high and say, "I have acted in web series, as the female lead".

Web series are a ladder.

What he needs to do now is build her a ladder that will allow her to climb from online movies to the mainstream film and television industry.

Moreover, the market for web series is large enough.

The investment in a top-tier online drama can exceed 100 million yuan, which means that multiple investors can be brought in for joint production—risks are shared, profits are shared, and resources from all parties can be integrated.

If all of these require large investments and star-studded casts, who would bother making online movies?

Qingxiao simply lacks celebrity resources.

Mr. Zhou from Huaxia Vision, Director Sun from Mango TV, and Brother Chen from Asia Pacific Pictures all complained during our last meal that he didn't include them.

This is perfect opportunity; let's bring them in together.

Qingxiao opened his eyes, picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and sent a message to Yu Zheng.

He and Yu Zheng have known each other for some time now, from micro-films to online movies, from "Chaoge" to "Huangquan". Yu Zheng is not only the entertainment industry senior he is most familiar with, but also holds the production team and artist resources of Huanyu Film and Television.

When it comes to making web series, Yu Zheng is someone you can't ignore.

"Mr. Yu, would you be interested in discussing the web series industry?"

Yu Zheng replied quickly: "You finally remembered to look for me. Tomorrow afternoon, the usual place."

The next afternoon, Qingxiao invited Yu Zheng to the teahouse in Hangzhou.

"Last time we ate together, we were still talking about online movies." Yu Zheng put down his cup, leaned back in his chair, and said, "Tell me, why did you switch to online dramas?"

Qingxiao did not answer directly.

He took out the summary of investment returns for online films from his bag and pushed it in front of Yu Zheng: "Teacher Yu, look at the data for the second half of the year. Fang Ming's 'The Return of the Soul' cost 3 million, and barely broke even in terms of revenue sharing. Lao Zhao's 'There's a Girl in the Village 2' cost 3 million, but the revenue sharing was less than 2 million, resulting in a net loss of one million. In the past, you could make an online film with 200,000, but now you can't even get in without several million."

"The online film market is currently ablaze."

Yu Zheng glanced at the data and nodded.

He's been in the film and television industry for over twenty years, and he's seen this kind of reshuffling of the industry by the entry of established players many times.

"So you're planning to reduce your online film production and focus on online dramas?"

"The difference between web series and web movies lies in several aspects." Qingxiao held up one finger.

"First, the ability to promote talent. Online movies can't create real stars; viewers forget them after watching them. But online dramas are different."

"The direction is right. But the team you have—Chen Yu, Fang Ming, Lao Zhao—they're fine with making online movies, but they're not quite there yet when it comes to making web series. Web series often have more than ten episodes, so you need a complete team of writers, a director who can handle long narratives, and a production team that can withstand long shooting cycles. You have to rebuild the team."

"That's why I came to find you."

Yu Zheng smiled.

He placed the purple clay cup on the tea tray, leaned back in his chair, and watched Qingxiao for a long while.

"President Qing, you came to me for more than just about forming a team, right?"

"Building a team is one thing. Another thing is that Mr. Zhou, Mr. Sun, and Brother Chen were all complaining at the last dinner that I didn't include them. This web series is perfect; the market is big enough. Let's bring them in together, share the risks, and integrate resources. I can't handle this alone, and I don't want to do it alone. But setting up this project requires your resources, the production team, and the liaison person on the platform."

"I'll arrange things with Mr. Zhou for you. I can also connect you with Huanyu's screenwriting and production teams. But you need to think about one thing first—web series are different from web movies. The core of a web movie is the subject matter and pacing, while the core of a web series is the characters and the story. What type of production do you want to make this time? Who are you going to promote?"

"A historical suspense drama. I have a script template for 'The Demon's Journey in Chang'an': low budget, high suspense, fast pace, with a cliffhanger at the end of each episode. The people promoting it..."

Yu Zheng spoke for him: "You want to promote Bai Lu?"

A few days later.

The dinner was still at that old-established local Shanghainese restaurant in Beijing, and the private room was very well heated.

Qingxiao pushed the investment plan to the center of the table, one copy for each person.

Each proposal clearly lists the project name, type of positioning, investment scale, expected return, and cooperation framework.

"The main reason I invited you all here today is to discuss a new project. With established players entering the online film market, costs are rising and profits are thinning, so Tianmen Film & Television has already begun to scale back in the second half of the year. However, the online drama market is booming. Top-tier online dramas can have investments exceeding 100 million yuan per episode, and the revenue-sharing model has already proven successful. Several video platforms' online drama channels are vying for exclusive content. The funds and promotional resources that Tianmen Film & Television has accumulated from online films can be used to produce online dramas."

He opened the first page of the investment proposal: "It's a period drama/suspense series, with each episode ending with a cliffhanger, fast-paced and highly suspenseful. It's modeled after those proven by the market. The total investment starts at eight million, exclusively broadcast on iQiyi, using a pay-per-view revenue-sharing model. The first web series isn't about making a lot of money; the goal is to establish a viable web series platform and build up Tianmen Film & Television's web series team. Tianmen Film & Television will invest 3.2 million, accounting for 40%. Huanyu Film & Television will provide the screenwriter, director, and production team, accounting for 15%. Huaxia Vision, Mango TV, and Asia Pacific Pictures will co-produce, each investing 1.5 million, each accounting for 15%. Teacher Yu will connect us with producers on iQiyi, and platform revenue sharing will be based on rating."

Mr. Zhou flipped through the investment plan and leaned back in his chair. He had thought that Qingxiao had once again secured a large project worth tens of millions, which would be shared by all parties, but it turned out to be a medium-sized project worth eight million.

Director Sun adjusted his glasses, turned to the page on revenue sharing calculation in the plan, and remained silent.

Brother Chen put the proposal on the table, picked up his strong tea and took a sip.

"President Qing, eight million isn't a large sum. With Tianmen Films' current size, you could easily invest it all yourself. Why are you dragging us into this?"

"Online films serve as a cautionary tale. In the early days, one person could thrive alone because the market was small and there were few competitors. But the online drama market is much larger, with top projects investing over 100 million yuan, and established players have already entered the fray. If Tianmen Films continues to quietly make its fortune alone, it will eventually be swallowed up by big capital. Bringing everyone together for co-production isn't about spreading costs—it's about integrating everyone's resources. Huaxia Vision has artist management, Mango TV has platform channels, and Asia Pictures has a marketing and distribution team. Tianmen Films provides the funding and script, and Huanyu provides the production team. If this project succeeds, there will be a second and a third. In the online drama arena, Tianmen Films must stand firm, and stand firm together with everyone else."

Brother Chen put down his teacup and nodded. Eight million wasn't a huge sum for him, but Qingxiao's willingness to share the profits was quite honest—what he wanted wasn't money, but the resources and connections held by each party.

"Okay. 1.5 million, Brother Chen will take it."

"1.5 million, Mango TV will go with it," Director Sun continued. "But I have a condition—if we grant exclusive rights to iQiyi, Mango's channels cannot participate in the premiere. President Qing, could we grant Mango TV the rights to broadcast this film simultaneously after the premiere?"

"The revenue-sharing model inherently involves taking a cut during the initial broadcast period on the exclusive platform, with revenue decreasing significantly after the show becomes free-to-air. After the initial broadcast period, the show will be available on Mango TV; this can be written into the contract."

Director Sun nodded in satisfaction.

"One and a half million." President Zhou placed the proposal on the table, leaned back in his chair, and said, "But President Qing, is Bai Lu the female lead this time?"

"No. Bai Lu needs a rest. She filmed two leading roles this year, which has severely depleted her energy. Moreover, the female lead type in historical suspense dramas overlaps too much with Sanqi's, and the audience will get tired of it. For Bai Lu's next web drama, I will tailor-make a modern workplace drama for her, with an e-commerce industry background, so that she can directly relate to her own experiences. This historical suspense drama is to test the model and create Tianmen Film and Television's first successful case in the web drama field. The female lead will be recommended by Teacher Yu, and the male lead will be Xu Kai."

Actually, this is their first foray into web dramas, so we don't know if it will be good or bad. We'll have to wait and see.

Mr. Zhou picked up his wine glass and pondered for a few seconds.

He originally thought that Qingxiao would definitely promote Bai Lu in his next project, since this person had almost never let Bai Lu leave his projects, from micro-films to online movies.

But this time he took a step back—let Xu Kai take the lead, let Huanyu Entertainment be in charge of the production team, and let various capital firms jointly produce the product.

"President Qing, if you can make Bai Lu a star, you can make others famous too. This time, instead of using your own top leading lady, you're using a newcomer from Huanyu Entertainment, which shows you really want to succeed in this field, not just dabbling in it." He raised his glass. "I'll drink this one."

Everyone raised their glasses, and the clinking of the glass against each other was particularly crisp in the private room.

Yu Zheng stood up from his seat, picked up his purple clay teacup, and looked around: "Today, everyone here, President Qing didn't take you on the bandwagon with the online film project, but today's online drama project makes up for it. I hope that this 'Chang'an Mystery' will allow you all to make money in the online drama arena, and also leave our mark on the history of online dramas."

Qingxiao picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.