Chapter 25  Lao Guo Takes Over Three Shots, Plans New Film

[Zhang Weiping declares: No more collaboration with Ben Shan and his disciples!].

[Three Shots crew cuts ties with Ben Shan and his team; Zhang Weiping invites Deyun Society to take part in Three Shots!].

[Guo Degang invests 20 million yuan in Three Shots and responds: “Deyun Society will follow all arrangements!”].

[Cao Yunjin announces exit from Top Funny Comedian, joins Three Shots crew].

[…].

The next day, inside a hotel room, Qu Yiming was having breakfast and browsing the latest entertainment gossip on his laptop.

“Ha~”

He laughed aloud upon seeing that Zhang Weiping had reached a collaboration deal with Deyun Society.

“What are you laughing at?”

Zhang Tian’ai, wearing only a T-shirt, rubbed her groggy head and walked over with her long legs to sit beside Qu Yiming, leaning against his shoulder with a lazy tone.

“The villain is in for a rough time.”

Qu replied casually, then asked with concern, “Still not feeling well?”

“Not too bad.”

“Who’s the villain?” She asked curiously.

Qu Yiming: “Zhang Weiping. You don’t know him.”

Zhang Tian’ai blinked her big confused eyes, thought for a second, then shook her head. “Nope. Let me try that.”

She grabbed Qu Yiming’s wrist, reaching for the sandwich in his hand.

“Did you even brush your teeth? Whatever, it’s all yours,” Qu Yiming said with disgust as he handed over the whole sandwich.

“You’re actually grossed out by me? Then don’t eat it next time either!” She pouted angrily.

“Just don’t beg me for food again.”

It was the weekend.

Zhang Tian’ai had time off. So Qu Yiming stayed with her at the hotel. Aside from writing the script, he also tested her acting skills. To be fair, her acting had improved significantly since joining school in March, far better than when she filmed Lost Journey.

In his past life, the leads of Love Is Not Blind went on to win Best Actor and Best Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards. He wondered if Zhang Tian’ai could recreate that miracle.

As for himself, Qu Yiming didn’t care about recreating anything. He believed in being strict with others and lenient with himself. After two days of intense training for Zhang Tian’ai, Qu Yiming finally finished writing the Love Is Not Blind script.

“Wuwuwu…”

Zhang Tian’ai, hugging the laptop and reading the script from the female lead’s perspective, was completely moved by the ending.

“Good thing I have you by my side,” she sniffled.

Seeing Qu Yiming as the male lead, she rewarded him with a face full of snot bubbles. Gross~

The script passed review.

Love Is Not Blind officially entered the pre-production stage. The female lead had been decided when the script was completed—Zhang Tian’ai.

For the second female lead, who had quite a bit of screen time, Qu Yiming didn’t forget his old connections—he cast Xin Zhilei.

For the third male lead, the ex-boyfriend of the female lead, Qu Yiming invited Xiao Shenyang from Ben Shan Media. It wouldn’t interfere with his participation in Top Funny Comedian.

Ben Shan himself readily agreed to the invitation. As for the second male lead, third female lead, and other significant supporting roles, auditions were opened to industry actors.

News that the youngest director of a billion-yuan-grossing film in Chinese cinema was making a new movie quickly hit the headlines again.

[Director Qu Yiming to start new film Love Is Not Blind, a story about love].

[Director Qu Yiming: There’s no special reason to make this, I just want to promote Zhang Tian’ai].

[While post-85 actresses are still struggling, a post-90 actress becomes the queen of blockbusters—Zhang Tian’ai].

[Qu Yiming responds: The film will be released in the same season as Three Shots!].

[Shocking revelation! The fallout between Zhang Weiping and Ben Shan reportedly due to Zhang Weiping cursing Ben Shan to his face!].

[…].

Amid all the buzz, casting began. Since Qu Yiming didn’t need other stars to guarantee box office success, he kept outside investment limited. Aside from Ben Shan Media’s 10% stake (a fixed share), a subsidiary of Zhong Ying also invested 10%.

The total production cost was 10 million yuan, with each company investing 1 million. Ben Shan and Chairman Han were named as executive producers. The second male lead was quickly confirmed.

“You’re pretty good-looking.”

Qu Yiming set down Zhang Ruoyun’s résumé and looked at the cheerful young man in front of him.

“Director, you’re even better looking,” Zhang Ruoyun replied with a smile.

“Are you signed to any agency?”

In his past life, Qu Yiming had heard some gossip about Zhang Ruoyun. His father started an entertainment company the following year to make money in the film industry. Technically, Zhang Ruoyun had someone to back him when he debuted, but that person ended up doing more harm than good. So at this point in time, Zhang Ruoyun should still be unsigned.

Qu Yiming wanted to sign him because future films would definitely need strong male supporting roles. Signing a few talented young actors could be profitable even if he sold their contracts later.

Landing the second male lead in the new film of a billion-yuan director was more than enough to move Zhang Ruoyun, who came from the advanced program at the Beijing Film Academy. He asked nervously, “You want to sign me?”

“Yeah.”

Qu Yiming nodded slightly.

“I’m in! Where do I sign? I can do it now—just don’t change your mind!” Zhang Ruoyun exclaimed.

He didn’t care how long the contract was. Grabbing any chance to become famous was what really mattered.

Of course, Qu Yiming wasn’t some cruel boss—he offered him a 10-year contract, with earnings split 60/40 (company taking 60%).