Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years
Chapter 184 - 181 A Piece of Wood (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 184: Chapter 181 A Piece of Wood (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Yeah, yeah, I’ll let him know. Whether he comes or not, that’s up to him. Thank you, Qi Hao, really, thank you so much!"

Sun Li looked at Qi Hao with gratitude.

Sigh, such a warm-hearted man, who knows which bastard will end up with him.

She and Qi Hao both starred in "Bloody Romance," and they were on equal footing as actors who had some acting chops, so naturally, they got along well.

Anyway, in Sun Li’s view, Qi Hao as a supporting role was much better than the lead, Liu Ye.

Liu Ye was the type who just had to drink even though he couldn’t handle it. Once he had a little alcohol, he didn’t even remember his own name, which was quite unrefined.

Plus, he had acted in a movie like "Lan Yu."

Sun Li kept her distance from Liu Ye on set and was close to Qi Hao.

If Qi Hao was truly interested, she wouldn’t mind having a youthful romance with him.

Alas, Qi Hao was just a block of wood.

"No need to thank me, just lending a hand."

Qi Hao also understood that by taking Sun Li and Jiang Xin to dinner with Zheng Xiaolong, even if he wasn’t helping them fight for roles, it still represented a kind of support from the producers.

But it didn’t matter.

Whoever got the role, if Sun Li and Jiang Xin truly had the skills to get it, it wouldn’t be a bad favor to sell to them.

It wasn’t until today that he realized he had always been wrong about one thing.

He wanted to create his own circle, so he gathered a group of people for occasional meetups.

However, those gatherings didn’t have much cohesiveness.

A gathering is just a gathering and can’t form a circle no matter what.

Qi Hao always thought they lacked depth, having neither the power of big-name insiders nor the confidence of the Northwest academic circle, but he hadn’t realized they were missing capital and resources.

Feiyang Media, although still in its early stage, now represented typical capital and resources.

Sun Li had already left their gatherings, and now she’s back for the resources.

What Qi Hao had to do now was provide resources for the people in his circle, and slowly, the circle would come together.

Of course, Qi Hao wasn’t a pushover.

Getting resources from him wasn’t free; there had to be some return.

In the adult world, it’s all about give and take.

Even those old lechers in the capital circle aren’t just after the bodies of actresses.

In the entertainment industry, women are the least valued commodities.

Everyone is out for benefits, and they need those benefits to maintain their capital status.

Sun Li starring in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" benefits "The Legend of Zhen Huan" itself.

Qi Hao could profit from "The Legend of Zhen Huan."

Moreover, Sun Li would owe Qi Hao resources, and when Qi Hao had projects in the future, even if she became popular, she’d have to obediently participate.

Even if it meant taking on a supporting role, she couldn’t refuse.

Unless she wanted to cut off Qi Hao’s line of capital, which would also leave a bad impression on other capital investors, making her hard to control.

Lu Bu ended up like that because even his adoptive father died.

Fatherless children are pitiful.

"Qi Hao, I thank you too~"

Jiang Xin hadn’t watched "The Legend of Zhen Huan," but she’d heard of Zheng Xiaolong.

Also, Sun Li’s resources have always been great; a project highly regarded by Sun Li couldn’t be bad.

Jiang Xin’s resources were average, and she was looking at a downhill slide.

In today’s setting, she was fairly weak and only relied on her straightforward nature to bravely interact with everyone.

Thus, her gratitude towards Qi Hao was genuine.

"Be honest, don’t go offending the director," Qi Hao quite appreciated Jiang Xin’s temperament.

This woman had a sharp tongue and low emotional intelligence, but she wasn’t faking it.

"Yes, yes, yes, I’ll listen to you, whatever you say I’ll do."

Jiang Xin struck a pleading pose.

Qi Hao didn’t want to deal with her anymore.

You’re making people think I’m a playboy.

"Is there anything I can act in?" Qin Hailu asked.

"Sis, didn’t you just finish filming? No need to rush to take on a new project, right?"

Qi Hao hadn’t shortchanged Qin Hailu; her pay was much higher than Wang Qianyuan’s, and "Steel Piano" did quite well at the box office, so there might be more bonuses later.

Thanks to Lu Yu’s support and the lack of other competitors, "Steel Piano" exceeded the anticipated 20 million mark by quite a bit.

The box office is now nearing 30 million.

With a 3 million script and a 5 million shooting cost, a total of 8 million turned into the current box office is already a huge profit.

Besides, "Steel Piano" had also secured a 2 million TV broadcasting right deal.

Gao Fei also wasn’t taking advantage of Qi Hao.

She thought the 3 million Qi Hao spent on Lu Yu should be included in the costs.

That makes the total cost 11 million.

With a 30 million box office and a 2 million TV broadcast right, the movie is definitely making money.

So, Qi Hao decided to take some of it out as bonuses.

The amount wouldn’t be much, mainly to form a tradition that Feiyang Media’s movies, as long as they profit, won’t shortchange the creators.

In the future, everyone would recognize Feiyang Media’s golden reputation.

"Wait and See" didn’t lose money either.

Although there were quite a bit of luck factors, Feiyang Media didn’t lose money on both movies, making those in the industry take notice.

Previously, when Qi Hao spent 3 million to buy a script, quite a few people laughed at him for being a fool.

Now they’re realizing how wrong they were.

Spending three million on a script is a scam, the marketing for this crappy movie was set up from the beginning.

"Don’t mention it," Qin Hailu sighed. She seemed reluctant to talk initially, but couldn’t resist the urge to confide, sighing, "Liu Tao ran into some trouble and took some money from me."

She didn’t specify what kind of trouble, but everyone wasn’t clueless.

In 2008, Liu Tao had a flash marriage with Wang Ke only 20 days after they met, marrying into a billionaire family.

However, just one financial crisis later, Wang Ke’s bubble of wealth not only evaporated but he was also left with a debt of 400 million.

Originally planning to follow in Wang Yan’s footsteps to be a wife and mother as a wealthy lady, Liu Tao ended up broke too.

Qin Hailu and Liu Tao had met in 2007 due to their collaboration on the TV drama "Woman Flower" and became inseparable best friends.

Liu Tao’s wedding saw her as the sole bridesmaid, and she gave a speech at the ceremony as a representative of the bride’s family.

Now, with Liu Tao in trouble, this straightforward sister didn’t hesitate to offer most of her savings to help her, even promising that no matter how much she needed, as long as she had it, she would give it without hesitation.

Luckily, she had some assets in the stock market, following Qi Hao’s lead, and bought Penguin shares.

Otherwise, it would truly be risking her life to help.

"What is she planning to do?"

An Feng couldn’t help but ask upon hearing about the topic.

During the filming of "Heavenly Dragon Eight Books," An Feng was 16, while Liu Tao was 25. To An Feng at the time, Liu Tao was like both a sister and a best friend. They quickly became inseparable friends.

Their relationship was genuinely good back then; when An Feng had a birthday, Liu Tao would even specifically post birthday wishes for An Feng on An Feng’s fan page, and privately they were in frequent contact.

When An Feng and Liu Tao went to Taiwan to promote "Heavenly Dragon Eight Books," and a host bullied An Feng with words, Liu Tao stood up for her, resolving the situation.

However, as An Feng increasingly got into constant troubles, and Liu Tao was busy dating—especially after getting married, having children, and leaving the entertainment industry in 2008 to focus entirely on her family and kids—the two had fewer topics in common.

Their relationship faded.

Even wishing each other happy birthdays stopped.

That’s the norm in the entertainment industry; there are no forever friends.

"It’s quite troublesome, sigh~" Qin Hailu rubbed her forehead, feeling like her world view was being torn apart.

A woman who likes reading overbearing CEO novels.

She felt that marrying Wang Ke, Liu Tao was like the female lead straight out of a CEO novel.

Who would have thought the CEO turned out to be a fraud?

More absurdly, Liu Tao even plans not to leave such a man.

Qin Hailu wondered if she would ever see the money she loaned return.

"That’s why wealthy men aren’t reliable; it’s best to have your own money."

Song Jia shared her opinion.

"You mean finding someone poorer than yourself is trustworthy?"

Gao Yuanyuan couldn’t agree with that.

"It’s not about the amount of money; the key is to find someone you can handle. Otherwise, if you run into a fraud, you won’t have time to cry."

Song Jia was scared by Liu Tao’s situation.

"Do you think, if Liu Tao divorces now, she will be responsible for sharing the debt too?"

Jiang Xin also joined the discussion.

"Probably shares the debt, that counts as joint liability."

The most bustling topic in the entertainment industry lately is possibly this.

The financial crisis left many bankrupt, but it had little relation to the entertainment circle.

Liu Tao’s case is closely connected though.

The contrast before and after is too obvious; earlier, people envied her for marrying a billionaire, later, they found out they went not only bankrupt but also had a 400 million debt.

million!

Even with everyone here added up, no one has 400 million.

An Feng could pool together 20 million to buy stocks, all savings from recent years.

Her endorsement fees aren’t low; a single endorsement for two years is around 3-5 million, which is a first-line actress standard.

But don’t forget, this money still has to pay taxes.

Liu Tao’s net worth might be a bit higher than An Feng’s; she takes on at least 3-4 film and TV shows a year, but it won’t be much higher.

Even if asked to pay 200 million, she certainly can’t afford it.

"Okay, okay, let’s stop discussing heavy topics; let’s start singing and drinking."

Qi Hao asked Zhanqi Laiden about Liu Tao’s matters.

Deng’s intention was simple:

Marrying after 20 days of knowing each other, divorcing after bankruptcy, if she really divorces, she truly becomes targeted by public criticism.

Might as well maintain the marriage and build a distressed spouse persona to make money.

"Hey, I noticed something," Wang Baoqiang looked at Qi Hao, then at An Feng, saying, "You both played Ling’er."

"If you don’t speak, no one would take you for a mute!"

Qi Hao often felt like Baoqiang was stabbing him, and in the kidney no less.

An Feng played Nanzhao Kingdom Princess and Nuwa Descendant Zhao Ling’er in "Immortal Sword 1," while Qi Hao played the reincarnation of Tathagata, Qiao Ling’Er, in "Journey to the West: The Legend Continues."

They are indeed two Ling’ers together.

Speaking of which, back when "Journey to the West: The Legend Continues" aired, Ma Shuya, who played the White Lotus, recently divorced Wu Qilong. Ma Shuya claimed Wu Qilong was inadequate, in three years of marriage they only slept together five times.

This drama even dragged Qi Hao into the spotlight.

Some media even directly asked Ma Shuya—how was Qi Hao?

Since the two were rumored before as well.

Ma Shuya’s response was quite sensational, saying she never tried, but he looks capable enough.

"Yeah, Qianqian, help me cue ’Lovesickness,’ and then cue ’Flower and Sword,’ I want to dedicate them today to the two Ling’ers."

Zhou Xun loved to stir the pot.

If she could have both Ling’ers sitting by her side, holding them in her embrace, she would be even more thrilled.