“Boss Ying, aren’t you going to explain things online?” Yu Zhiyu asked, a hint of teasing in her tone as she glanced sideways at Ying Shi.
Ying Shi smiled. “The public opinion is already under control. If I go out and stir up trouble now, wouldn’t that just be giving the other side free attention?”
She also knew the inside story behind this incident. It was Enyao Entertainment that had released the information, much like the netizens had guessed. On one hand, they wanted to provoke her. On the other hand, they wanted to generate buzz for “Whipping the Wind with a Bold Blade.”
So far, the impact was still small, and the other side hadn’t directly confronted her. When they saw the situation turning against them, they stopped their bot-driven brainwashing campaign.
For now, Ying Shi wasn’t making any moves either. She would wait and see if the other side stirred up any other trouble later.
Yu Zhiyu also remarked, “I really didn’t expect Enyao Entertainment to consider us a threat worth their attention…”
Ying Shi nodded in agreement. This showed that the Li Yinan incident had indeed cost Enyao Entertainment quite a bit of profit.
【It might also be because of your executive assistant.】
The system, which had grown accustomed to staying silent, suddenly spoke up, startling Ying Shi.
“That’s true too. Su Manwen used to be an executive at Enyao. I heard she was even ostracized by the industry…” Ying Shi reflected. “It seems my grudge with Enyao runs deep…”
【If you continue producing film and television works, you’re bound to clash with these established companies.】
“Mmm…” Ying Shi agreed with the system’s statement. “To counter the siege advantage these established companies have against us, we need more leverage!”
【What do you have in mind?】
“Once ‘A True Hero Does Not Break the Law’ airs and becomes a hit in both reputation and popularity, won’t you give out some rewards? Three hits in a row should come with some perks.” Ying Shi gestured pointedly.
【What do you want this time?】
“Hehe, let’s build a film and television base!” Ying Shi didn’t hold back and made her big demand directly. “To change the rules of this circle, we first have to break them!”
【.…..】
【You certainly dare to dream.】
“If I didn’t dare to dream, I wouldn’t have accepted you so quickly back when you bound yourself to me…” Ying Shi said in a lighthearted tone.
【At least produce five outstanding dramas first.】
“Okay. I’ll have Su Manwen pull out the top five scripts from the screenwriting competition and start production on them right away.” Ying Shi was delighted.
【With that many projects, even if the system has ample funding, do you have enough people on your side? Without reliable people in charge, the quality of the dramas can’t be guaranteed.】
“With a large enough base, I’m bound to get five good dramas out of it. It’s called casting a wide net to catch more fish!” Ying Shi said that, but in the end, she didn’t actually launch multiple projects at once.
She just wanted to test the system. Back when they first bound together, this office building had appeared out of nowhere. There was still a large area of wasteland nearby, and it seemed that land had also been placed under the system’s management.
The moment Ying Shi asked to build a film and television base, the system didn’t object.
She remembered that she had once made a special video listing the existing established film and television companies. Enyao was one of them.
Among the others, aside from Baiying, which had a sharp market sense and had produced two hit dramas in recent years, allowing it to stand against Enyao in the industry, the other established companies had all gone bankrupt.
The reason she had brought up building a film and television base was because the largest existing one was currently in Enyao Entertainment’s hands.
And the reason she had been bound to the system in the first place was because she had been stabbed to death by a fan of an Enyao artist. From the moment she was bound to the system and entered the film and television industry, her opposition to Enyao had been set in stone.
After that, she had hired the daughter of the founder who had been pushed out by Enyao Entertainment, and indirectly caused the downfall of one of their promising cash cows…
With so many coincidences, it was quite interesting to think about.
…
[“The Legend of Medicine Maiden” won Best Original Screenplay, Best TV Drama, and Best Supporting Actress at the Golden TV Awards! So impressive!]
[And at the Drama Review Ceremony, it won Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Drama — three awards as well.]
[Did the Drama Review Ceremony and the Golden TV Awards coordinate with each other? Split the awards half and half?]
[On Wanshi TV, Director Lin also opened an account and edited three ensemble fan videos to celebrate “The Legend of Medicine Maiden” winning awards, hahahaha.]
[He has time to edit videos for his mentor’s work, but not for his own?]
[Director Lin’s original words: “I edited the entire ‘Little Sweetheart’ series myself. I don’t want to see any edited clips from that drama for a while…”]
[Laughing to death. Who wants to look at work files after getting off work!]
[Then Screenwriter Song edited a “past and present life” fan video for “Little Sweetheart” — Heavenly General vs. Rogue Immortal, Prince vs. Princess.]
[Sanxiu: Where are my needles?]
[In the past life, the Heavenly General was beaten up by the Rogue Immortal. In this life, the Prince continues to be bossed around by the Princess!]
[CP fans thank Screenwriter Song for fulfilling our dreams, TAT.]
[Watching the actors interact, it feels hopeless. Even though we can force ourselves to ship their interactions, they just seem like coworkers who get along well, TAT.]
[Haha, I think Zhou Qingning and Shen Xiao’s interactions really do resemble the Rogue Immortal and the Heavenly General 🤭.]
[Right now, the material library only has two dramas, and everyone is editing like crazy. Just look at how many fan edits are on Wanshi TV. A lot of people are already looking forward to the material from “A True Hero Does Not Break the Law.” In a way, Wanshi Editor’s promotional power is stronger than running ads on various platforms 🤭.]
[There’s no helping it. Wanshi Editor’s technology is just too good. No VIP required, the material library is free to use, it doesn’t take up local storage, and the software itself isn’t large. As long as you don’t upload your work to other sites, there are no copyright issues. Even many editors who had semi-retired have come back to join the fun.]
[Wanshi is great at everything, except it’s lacking in material. Does YSYS dare to produce ten dramas a year!]
[Now that Xia Wenxin has won Best Actress at the Drama Review Ceremony, the prestige of “A True Hero Does Not Break the Law” has been raised significantly…]
[It’s a pity the male lead seems to be a complete unknown. I wonder where Guanjun dug him up…]
[If he was chosen, his acting and looks are definitely not a problem.]
[Are Xia Wenxin’s fans this laid-back? Their sister is working with a complete nobody, and there’s even a romantic storyline, yet there’s no backlash?]
[What backlash should there be? Guanjun is known for picking newcomers and unknowns. Word is it’s to save money, and also because newcomers and unknowns are easier to manage and won’t cause trouble.]
[I don’t believe the saving money part. Easier to manage might be true.]
[With Guanjun’s mouth, who would dare to cause trouble?]
[Actually, a few new fans did make a fuss early on. But Xia Wenxin directly posted on Weibo, saying that before “The Legend of Medicine Maiden,” she was also a complete nobody. Boss Ying still chose her as the female lead. By those fans’ logic, she wasn’t worthy to play Sanxiu either.]
[Wow, she’s that direct?]
[She lost quite a few fans because of it, but many neutral viewers became fans instead.]
[If she’s determined to take the pure actor route, fan popularity really isn’t as important as public appeal.]
As she scrolled through the online comments, Zhuo Yixun fell silent.
Her agent could see her hesitation, but the choice had already been made. To keep hesitating now would only be self-torture.
“Enyao stepping on Ying Shi Entertainment isn’t something you decided. At least they haven’t caused any trouble for the other side. Don’t overthink it…”
Zhuo Yixun just stared at the screen. “What are the chances that ‘A True Hero Does Not Break the Law’ becomes a hit?”
Her agent glanced at her. “What you need to consider now is doing a good job on ‘Whipping the Wind with a Bold Blade.’ Don’t think about anything else. If ‘A True Hero Does Not Break the Law’ becomes a hit, you’ll still have a chance to work with Ying Shi Entertainment in the future. Even a Best Actress winner from the Drama Review Ceremony has played their female lead. It wouldn’t lower your status for you to do the same. If their drama flops, then it’s a good thing you didn’t take the role.”
“We tacitly allowed Enyao to use the fact that I turned down ‘A True Hero Does Not Break the Law’ for hype. Will Boss Ying really be willing to work with me in the future?” Zhuo Yixun looked up, her eyes filled with worry.
Her agent was also getting a bit frustrated. She had been fine the past couple of days, but today, after seeing that netizens hadn’t been swayed by the bots and were instead looking forward to Ying Shi Entertainment’s work—practically defending it blindly—Zhuo Yixun was starting to waver again.
“Enyao Entertainment wants to use your situation for their own purposes. Whether we agree or not won’t change the outcome. Ying Shi Entertainment definitely understands the key issue here. This has nothing to do with us! As long as you focus on filming your drama properly, everything else has nothing to do with you! Do you understand?”
In the end, Zhuo Yixun was finally convinced. She was just an actress. How could she stand up against a production’s investor?
Zhuo Yixun picked up the script for “Whipping the Wind with a Bold Blade.” After reading a few passages, she began to frown.
The production team said it was due to episode limitations. The original plan was to film three parts, releasing the first part first, then deciding on subsequent filming based on how it performed.
According to the original plot, Ning Tang had the most screen time among the female leads in the first half of the novel. But in the script, her scenes had been heavily cut and altered. Some of the adventures where Ning Tang and the male lead worked together had been changed to involve the male lead and the second male lead instead.
In those scenes, Ning Tang appeared in male disguise, and the male lead treated her as a brother. By changing the character to the second male lead, the male lead didn’t need to adjust his emotional expression.
Zhuo Yixun had raised questions about this. The screenwriter’s explanation was that the first part was mainly meant to introduce the conspiracy of the Xuanxue Palace, which required building up the bond between the male lead and the second male lead.
Moreover, the drama adaptation had already chosen Princess Bai Rong’s romantic storyline as the main couple. If they built up the bond between Ning Tang and the male lead too much, it would affect the overall romantic storyline of the drama—and even affect which CP the audience would ship.
Most dramas these days relied on CP fans to contribute to their popularity.
She couldn’t help but think of the script for “A True Hero Does Not Break the Law.” Although she had only read the first five episodes, the plot was completely centered on the female lead, Ye Wei.
Based on Ying Shi Entertainment’s script habits, the subsequent plot certainly wouldn’t deviate from the female lead. After all, they didn’t do talent management. They had no artists to promote, and they didn’t allow anyone to buy their way into the production with funding.
Although her agent had repeatedly told her that choosing Ning Tang was the optimal choice for her right now—that regardless of whether the two dramas flopped or became hits, the impact on her would be relatively small.
But if “A True Hero Does Not Break the Law” became a huge hit while “Whipping the Wind with a Bold Blade” flopped, there would definitely be many people mocking her.
If Enyao Entertainment hadn’t deliberately leaked that she had turned down Ying Shi Entertainment’s script, she wouldn’t be in such an awkward position right now.
For now, all she could hope for was that “A True Hero Does Not Break the Law” wouldn’t become a massive hit—even a moderate success would be fine. The buzz around “Whipping the Wind with a Bold Blade” would certainly be substantial. As long as the other drama remained mediocre, she could extract herself from this awkward atmosphere.