My capital is quite large.

The autumn night in Yanjing was slightly cool, and the black Rolls-Royce Phantom drove smoothly through the dazzling neon lights.

The atmosphere in the back of the carriage was quiet and somewhat oppressive.

Ni Ni sat awkwardly on the edge, her hands tightly twisting the hem of her cheongsam.

She was, after all, still a newcomer who hadn't officially stepped out of the school gates. Sitting alone in the closed carriage with this powerful financial tycoon, she felt that even breathing was difficult.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Zhang Xinyu observed the scene coldly through the rearview mirror, a faint smile of indifference playing on her lips.

"Miss Ni, relax, I don't eat people."

Li Feng's gaze casually fell on Ni Ni's profile, which was both cool and alluring.

"You're a newcomer, and to be chosen by Director Zhang from among thousands is truly a rare opportunity for you."

Li Feng spoke calmly, as if making small talk, but the next second, his tone abruptly changed: "So, what task did Producer Zhang give you when he asked you to come out and see me off?"

Ni Ni trembled all over, her face turning bright red.

She bit her lower lip, her eyes darting away, but under Li Feng's gaze, which seemed to see right through her, she dared not lie.

"Producer Zhang... said..."

Ni Ni's voice was barely audible, filled with deep humiliation and guilt. "He said that as long as you're willing to pay for that 20% share... he can give me a week off, so I can... so I can stay in Beijing this week specifically to 'accompany' you..."

"A 20% share?"

Upon hearing this number, Li Feng let out a mocking sneer.

"Producer Zhang claimed that the total investment in this film was 600 million yuan, and a 20% share would amount to 120 million yuan."

"One hundred and twenty million RMB, for a week's worth of your schedule?"

"Miss Ni, are you studded with diamonds?! 120 million for you to sleep with me for seven days? Does Zhang Weiping think I, Li Feng, am a fool, or does he think his reputation is worth over 100 million?!"

Diamond-encrusted? You idiot.

Ni Ni's tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

She was a high-achieving student with a touch of arrogance in her bones. Being pushed out by Producer Zhang as if she were a paid product already made her feel humiliated, and now she was being trampled on like this by Li Feng in front of her.

"Mr. Li! Since you're not interested, then... then I won't bother you any longer! Please let me out at the next intersection!"

With red eyes and a hint of stubbornness in her voice, Ni Ni reached out to touch the car door handle.

"Wait a minute," Li Feng said calmly.

"I look down on that movie that's destined to lose everything, but that doesn't mean I look down on you."

"Ni Ni, you're a smart girl. You've been training in seclusion for so long for this film, and filming won't start for at least another two years. During those two years, you'll have no income and be completely isolated from the world."

"You've wasted so much of your youth and energy, what for? Just to gamble on a movie that's obviously going to flop?"

"Impossible!" Ni Ni retorted instinctively. Driven by blind admiration for Director Zhang, she blurted out, "How could Director Zhang's movie possibly flop? This is an international blockbuster with Oscar-winning stars!"

"An international blockbuster? A budget of 600 million, do you know what that means in the film industry?"

Li Feng looked at her as if she were an idiot and did some calculations for her:

"In the domestic film box office revenue sharing system, investors can only receive a maximum of one-third! That means, with a budget of 600 million, this film must ultimately gross 1.8 billion for Director Zhang and his team to barely break even!"

"1.8 billion! How much is the current domestic box office champion? You expect a heavy-themed war film to rake in foreign money in the European and American markets? Don't dream, foreigners don't buy into that period of our history at all!"

"If this movie fails to recoup its costs, leaving the investors with nothing, do you think you, the leading lady who debuted with the 'Zhang Yimou Girl' halo, will become a 'box office poison' that the capital circle avoids like the plague? Do you think this would be a good thing for your future development?"

1.8 billion to break even... Box office poison...

These two words were like two heavy hammers, slamming into Ni Ni's chest and causing huge cracks in her originally blindly confident heart!

Although she didn't understand how movies work, she could still understand this simple math problem.

In today's Chinese film market, let alone 1.8 billion, there are very few films that even exceed 500 million!

Seeing Ni Ni in a daze, Li Feng knew that the time was right.

"I will fly back to Shenzhen first thing tomorrow morning."

Li Feng took a blank artist management contract from the side and threw it on Ni Ni's lap.

"Li Xin, who works for my Haofeng Film and Television, is also a newcomer. She didn't gamble on any vague epic blockbusters, and now she's a popular young actress who's all over the internet, with several leading roles in her films, making a fortune."

"Her approach is not only safe, but also far more suitable for you than becoming a fig leaf to cover up the hole."

"I'll give you a top-tier contract in the Chinese entertainment industry with a 50/50 split, plus the lead role in two fully funded dramas. All I want is you."

At this point, the car slowly came to a stop on the side of the road.

Li Feng glanced at the Patek Philippe on his wrist.

"This is your only chance."

"Tonight at 10 PM, the presidential suite on the top floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel. No exceptions."

"Get off the bus."

The car door lock clicked open.

Ni Ni, her mind blank, clutched the contract on her lap and was helped out of the car by Zhang Xinyu like a puppet.

As the Rolls-Royce's taillights disappeared into the night, Ni Ni stood in the cold wind, her hands and feet icy.

……

Half an hour later, in a private box at the Chang'an Club.

Seeing Ni Ni slink back alone, Producer Zhang angrily slammed the cigar in his hand into the ashtray.

"Useless thing! You can't even deliver a proper gift!"

Producer Zhang pointed at Ni Ni's nose and berated her, "All that training I've given you for nothing! You can't even handle a guy in his early twenties, how can I trust you with the lead role?! Do you know how desperately short of money we are right now?!"

Ni Ni lowered her head, her eyes red-rimmed, and gritted her teeth without uttering a sound, letting Producer Zhang's harsh words rain down on her.

"Alright, Lao Zhang, why get angry with a kid?"

Director Zhang, sitting to the side, waved his hand and interrupted Producer Zhang's rant with a slight frown. "Someone like Li Feng has high standards. If he doesn't like our business, so be it. We can always ask other coal mine owners for money and fill the hole."

Producer Zhang snorted coldly and glared at Ni Ni: "What are you still standing here for? Aren't you ashamed?"

Ni Ni felt as if she had been granted a pardon and fled the private room as if she were escaping.

Back in the hotel room arranged by the film crew, Ni Ni collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted.

The image of Producer Zhang treating her like a cheap tool, his exasperated and furious demeanor, and Li Feng's condescending yet incisive analysis in the car, were all intertwined in her mind.

"Breaking even with 1.8 billion...is it really that exaggerated?"

Ni Ni gritted her teeth, took out her phone from her bag, and dialed the number of a senior figure in the drama academy whom she greatly respected.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ni Ni tentatively inquired about the market dynamics of big-budget films recouping their costs and overseas distribution.

On the other end of the phone, the older gentleman sighed and said earnestly:

"Girl, the film industry is a murky business. These days, the production company is lucky if they get 35% of the box office revenue. If a film really costs 600 million yuan, it will definitely lose a fortune if it doesn't gross 1.8 billion yuan."

"As for selling the rights to war films in Hollywood? It's as difficult as climbing to the sky! Westerners have different values ​​than us. No matter which Hollywood star you hire, this kind of subject matter just won't sell in the mainstream European and American markets."

"For a newcomer like you, acting in a film by a big director is a good thing. But if the film really flops at the box office, and the investors take their anger out on the actors, the female lead is often the first one to bear the blame..."

Ni Ni could no longer hear what the older generation was saying.

She hung up the phone in a daze.

Li Feng is absolutely right! Every word he said hits the nail on the head regarding the film's fatal flaw!

If I were to foolishly follow Zhang Weiping for two or three years to make a movie that I'm destined to become a scapegoat.

Even if the film is released and the company loses all its money, Producer Zhang and Director Zhang can still make a comeback by relying on their connections in the industry.

But what about her? A newcomer leading lady with no connections, what fate awaits her besides being labeled box office poison and sidelined?!

Let's take a look at the conditions Li Feng offered.

A top-tier contract with a 50/50 split, an absolute promise of two leading female roles, and no need to fawn over those bloated investors...

Even Li Feng's handsome and youthful face was a million times more pleasing to the eye than Zhang the producer's mean and greasy face!

"Rather than being used as a cheap bargaining chip to cover a 120 million dollar hole..."

Ni Ni looked at her stunningly beautiful self in the mirror.

"Why not sell myself to the man who can truly protect me and provide me with top-tier resources!"

She got up and took off the elegant cheongsam that represented the female lead in "The Flowers of War".

She changed into a battle outfit that best accentuated her graceful curves.

Picking up the gold-edged personal business card on the table, Ni Ni glanced at the clock on the wall—9:20.

She flung open the door and rushed out of the hotel, hailing a taxi.

"Driver, to the Park Hyatt Hotel!"