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

A few days later, the co-creation meeting was held in a very formal manner.

In the conference room of Tianmen Film and Television's BJ office, people were sitting on both sides of the long table.

The three directors—Liang Shengquan, He Shuping, and Huang Junwen—are jokingly referred to as the "Iron Triangle" in the industry, having directed a series of phenomenal hits such as "Swords of Legends" and "The Journey of Flower".

Liang Shengquan sat on the far left, flipping through the scene outline of "The Mystic Nine" in front of him, occasionally jotting down a few notes on movement strategies in the margins.

He Shuping sat in the middle, his fingers tapping lightly on the script, the rhythm slow, as if he were keeping a certain beat in his mind.

Huang Junwen sat on the right, with a laptop in front of him, displaying a technical presentation from a special effects company on the screen.

The co-producers from Ciwen Media and iQiyi, Zhang Yuxin, Lin Guohua, a top producer, and Bai Yicong, a leading figure in online dramas, were all present. These three are representatives of the investors and are also the most knowledgeable operators in the online drama market.

Zhang Yuxin leaned back in her chair, holding the revenue-sharing market analysis that had already undergone preliminary benchmarking assessment.

Lin Guohua flipped through the scene design sketches submitted by the art team. The pencil marks on the sketches still had eraser dust that hadn't been wiped off.

Bai Yicong neatly stacked several revenue-sharing market analyses and casting proposals in front of him.

At Tianmen Film and Television, apart from Qingxiao and Bailu, all the heads of the content development department, legal department, and production coordination team were present.

Nanpai Sanshu sat at the other end of the long table, with a laptop in front of him.

He is the original author of the novel, and Qingxiao is the one who initiated the script adaptation project. The two had contacted each other many times before, and he was hired as the producer for this project.

The reason he was willing to personally take on the role of producer, in his words, was that "the adaptation of 'The Lost Tomb' took a wrong turn, and this time I wanted to keep a close eye on it myself."

In reality, it was Qingxiao's strong request.

The total investment for "The Mystic Nine" was 1.68 million yuan, which can be said to have drained Qingxiao's entire fortune. Tianmen Film and Television was the lead investor.

Qingxiao had communicated with iQiyi in advance: the original author and founder of Nanpai Entertainment personally oversaw the project, the production team was jointly led by three "phenomenal" directors, the costumes were designed by Zhang Shijie, who has been nominated for the Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards multiple times, and the art director was Zhong Zhipeng from "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame". As soon as this lineup was revealed, iQiyi's content cooperation department gave it an S+ rating.

This is also the fundamental reason why Qingxiao dared to invest all his funds in this drama.

"Everyone." Qingxiao stood up and opened a project proposal for "The Mystic Nine".

"Today's co-creation meeting finalized the main creative team, production plan, and filming schedule for 'The Mystic Nine.' 'The Mystic Nine' is the flagship project of the entire '21 Web Series Grand Plan,' with a total investment of 168 million yuan. Tianmen Film & Television is the lead investor, holding the majority of the project's equity. It is co-produced by Ciwen Media, iQiyi, Nanpai Entertainment, Guoao Film & Television, and Ledao Interactive Entertainment. The production cost accounts for more than 65% of the total investment, with each episode costing more than 3.5 million yuan."

He paused after speaking, then glanced around at the several investor representatives present.

But this isn't the only web series in the 21-episode grand plan. For subsequent projects, Tianmen Film & Television will contribute scripts and production resources at a discounted price, without accounting for the majority of their cash investment.

Zhang Yuxin nodded, opened a document, and continued, "iQiyi has already reviewed the script and rated it S+. The broadcast model is a combination of online and television platforms—iQiyi members can watch it first. This is the platform's most important project this year. The main creative team will be as mentioned earlier: Liang Shengquan, He Shuping, and Huang Junwen will co-direct, with Nanpai Sanshu serving as the producer, and Zhang Yuan'ang and Tang Qicen as the screenwriters."

Nanpai Sanshu turned the computer screen around, displaying the original text of his serialized novel, The Mystic Nine.

"The original script for this adaptation was provided by President Qing, and it was already perfect. I've been working on it several times with teachers Zhang Yuan'ang and Tang Qicen. The script is written entirely according to the original story, but the pacing is tighter, and the suspense and pacing will be completely different."

Bai Yicong pushed the casting proposal to the center of the table: "Regarding the main cast, Bai Lu has been specially invited to play the leading role of Yin Xinyue, and Chen Weiting and Chen Xiao are waiting to audition for the male lead."

When he mentioned Bai Lu, Nanpai Sanshu turned his computer back and typed a few lines, adding, "Yin Xinyue wasn't given much screen time in the original novel, but this script makes the character quite three-dimensional. She's not just a pretty face; she's a key driving force in the entire plot. The love story between Er Yuehong and Ya Tou has moved countless book fans, and Yuan Bingyan has been cast as Ya Tou. Ying Haoming has been cast as Qi Tiezui, and the casting for Chen Pi Asi is still in progress."

Qingxiao turned to the next page of the project proposal, and everyone present knew that he was about to talk about money.

The investment in this drama was indeed substantial—the entire series has 48 episodes, with a total production budget of 168 million yuan, at least 70% of which was spent on actual production.

The art department is building a real-life set of the Changsha Old Nine Gates neighborhood at Hengdian World Studios, and stylist Zhang Shijie has already produced dozens of character design sketches.

Once the funding is secured, the entire production team will assemble in Hengdian to begin 100 days of filming.

Bai Lu sat next to Qing Xiao without saying a word, just listening quietly.

When she heard Nanpai Sanshu say that Yin Xinyue was "the key driving force of the whole plot," her lips twitched slightly. But when she heard Bai Yicong mention Bai Lu's name, the smile disappeared, and she lowered her head to flip through her script.

Once all the main creators' responsibilities were confirmed and the investors' representatives began discussing the profit-sharing ratio, she finally closed the script and turned to look at Qingxiao.

Her voice wasn't loud, but several people around the long table heard it.

Why aren't you acting this time?

Qingxiao put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

Sunlight from Beijing streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, falling on the open project proposal.

He had expected her to ask that question. From short films to online movies, he stood beside her in almost every one of them—Gu Nian in "My Girlfriend is a Little Savage" and Chang Sheng in "The Ferryman: Huangquan".

But this time is different.

"This time it's a massive online drama project with a budget of one billion, so my focus has to be on the overall picture."

His voice was steady, as if he had been preparing for a long time, or as if he didn't need to prepare at all, simply saying what he had thought out in his mind, one sentence at a time.

"The Mystic Nine is the first and flagship project of the entire plan; its success is interconnected. In addition to The Mystic Nine, there are also The Human World and ten other web dramas to be developed simultaneously. Investor coordination, platform rating negotiations, script copyright registration, and dual filing processes—the release dates of each drama must be arranged in stages, and financing must be allocated according to the schedule. Tianmen Film and Television's current scale is different from when we were making micro-movies."

"I used to play Gu Nian because if I didn't, I couldn't find a suitable actress. I played Chang Sheng because Xiao Jixiangtian felt there was something in my eyes. But now—if I'm still playing a role in front of the camera, who will oversee the rating negotiations with the platform? Who will negotiate the revenue sharing ratios with the various investors? Who will coordinate the financing amount?"

He paused.

"I need to strategize. After this, we'll have plenty of ammunition. So this time, I have to be behind the scenes. In the chair behind that monitor on the side of the set, not standing in front of the camera."

Bai Lu nodded, without saying "I understand" or "Thank you for your hard work."

She simply looked down and turned a page of the script, then lightly touched the three words "The Mystic Nine" on the cover with her finger.

She secretly encouraged herself, knowing that Qingxiao couldn't stay with her forever, and she had to complete the rest of the journey on her own.

Qingxiao has become a giant.

Next, it should be Bai Mengyan's turn.

"This time, I'm standing in front of the camera all by myself."

"Keep it up, Lu Han! I'll come visit you on set."

Bai Lu gave a soft "hmm". She closed the script, stood up and straightened her clothes.

After the meeting, Qingxiao invited the directors to his independent studio to further refine the shooting plan.

Huang Junwen projected the special effects company's proposal onto the screen—conceptual diagrams of the entrance to the ancient tomb in the mine, fantastical scene design of the world of meteorite copper, and a long shot storyboard of Er Yuehong entering the tomb.

The budget for each frame of special effects is listed below.

He Shuping said that the difficulty of this play was not in the tomb, but outside the tomb—the street scenes of Changsha, the residences of the nine families, and the interior of the New Moon Hotel all needed to be built on real sets in Hengdian. Liang Shengquan flipped through the script, marking the blocking diagrams and camera positions next to Zhang Qishan's key scenes.

He said that the character Zhang Qishan's aura needed to be supported by a lot of medium shots and close-ups.

Zhang Yuxin said that iQiyi has confirmed that "The Mystic Nine" will receive an S+ rating, and the platform's promotional resources will cover the homepage banner, search suggestions, and the homepage recommendation position of the member-only early access channel.

The weekly drama series on Dragon TV was launched simultaneously, creating a synergy between the TV and online platforms – the highest level of promotional support this year.

Qingxiao flipped to the last few pages of the casting proposal.

Chen Pi Asi, Hei Bei Lao Liu, and Wu Lao Gou – these characters are still being cast.

The casting team has already gone to Hengdian for auditions, giving priority to actors with experience in period dramas set in the Republican era.

He closed the proposal and said that these roles had a limited budget but significant screen time, so the casting team should make several trips to Hengdian.

Next is the venue.

Liang Shengquan said that the entire series was filmed in Hengdian, with main scenes including the Old Nine Gates neighborhood, the New Moon Hotel, and the ancient tomb in the mine. The art department is currently building sets in Hengdian, with Zhong Zhipeng personally overseeing the work.

Nanpai Sanshu added a point: the old Nine Gates neighborhood of Changsha described in the original novel must be visually recreated completely; the plaques of each gate, the stone beasts in front of the gates, and the bluestone slabs on the street must all be checked against the original text. The interior design of the Crescent Moon Hotel must be luxurious enough to match the quality of a top-tier private club during the Republic of China era. The scenes of the mine and ancient tomb must be built in layers—the upper layer being the mine tunnels, the middle layer being the temple, and the lower layer being the world of meteoric copper; each area must be distinguished by different colors and materials.

Then there's the actors' schedules.

William Chan's schedule is already set, and Lay Zhang is coordinating his concert schedule.

Bai Yicong said the filming period was about 100 days, with the three directors working in groups according to the drama and action scenes.

Liang Shengquan was in charge of the romantic storyline between Zhang Qishan and Yin Xinyue, He Shuping was in charge of the tragic love story between Er Yuehong and Ya Tou, and Huang Junwen was in charge of the action scenes and special effects in the mine and ancient tomb.

Everyone at the long table turned their attention to Qingxiao.

No one would believe that this person was squatting on the ground packing express deliveries in a rented room in Jiubao just a few years ago.

Now I'm sitting in the main seat of the conference room, discussing the director grouping plan and revenue sharing ratio of the entire production team with three top directors.

Nanpai Sanshu closed his laptop, leaned back in his chair, and examined Qingxiao, saying, "President Qing, the script you wrote is better than the one I wrote myself."

Qingxiao did not answer, but simply picked up his teacup and took a sip.

This is all thanks to the system.

After the meeting, Qingxiao stayed in the conference room alone to organize the meeting minutes.

Bai Lu pushed open the glass door and walked in, placing a cup of hot tea beside him.

"You call yourself a producer today; that sounds better than 'investor.'"

"The producer is responsible for making the film, and the investors are responsible for putting money in. I do both now." He closed the last page of the meeting minutes and looked up at her.

"Yin Xinyue is a role you've been waiting for a long time—I can tell you like her. Do your best in this drama. You'll be the first female star from Tianmen Film and Television after it airs."

Bai Lu stood by the window, the afternoon sun in Beijing gradually setting in the west, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.

"I, Bai Mengyan, will work hard and will definitely not let President Qing down."