Lin Ruyi, on the other hand, was staring blankly at the drink on the table. She nodded her head from time to time or just went along with what he said, obviously thinking about other things. “I heard that there is a good restaurant nearby that sells delicious simulated meat, standard clean water, and red wine.
“The simulated meat we ate last time only simulated about 60% of the taste of real meat. It was very delicious, and yet this restaurant said that they are able to produce 80% of the flavor. It also had many flavors such as beef and chicken.
“There’s also standard clean water. The ones we drank had a rusty taste, but they say the standard clean water in this store is said to have no peculiar smell. Better still, it has a light fragrance which is 100 times better than what we have in the capsule.
“There’s red wine as well. The bottled red wine sold in the capsule is very expensive. The price of red wine there is only 70% of the price from the vending machine in the capsule. They said there is almost no difference in the taste. “Shall we go try it out tomorrow or the day after?”
norrow
Lu Zhiyao looked at Lin Ruyi sitting opposite him.
Lin Ruyi gave a polite smile. “Okay, sure.”
The two shallow dimples appeared on her face when she smiled, which looked very charming.
That smile disappeared in no time though. She continued to stare absentmindedly at the cup on the table and took a sip indifferently. Her expression seemed to suggest that the water in the cup was tasteless.
Lu Zhiyao felt a little helpless. His long speech only brought him two words. Nonetheless, he adjusted his own emotions quickly.
That was because he prepared a very big surprise today.
They fell into a short period of silence. Lin Ruyi looked as though she was thinking about something while Lu Zhiyao sipped his drink, making up his mind to speak.
“I know not being selected on the talent show previously was a big blow to you. It’s okay, it will pass.
“Don’t worry, I’ve made plans for our future.”
Lin Ruyi raised her head and stared at Lu Zhiyao blankly as though she did not understand what he meant. “Hm?”
Lu Zhiyao could not prevent the corner of his lips from smiling. “I made enough money to buy a two-person capsule!
“We’ll choose a suitable place tomorrow, and then you can move in! A two-person capsule might not be big, but we can slowly change to larger accommodations in the future!
“Maybe one day, we’ll be about to afford a 60-square meters luxury apartment with a kitchen. Our children will be able to go out at 6 in the evening. We’ll be able to watch the sunset if we’re lucky…”
Lu Zhiyao excitedly portrayed the bright future in his imagination. However, there was no joy on Lin Ruyi’s face. She became more and more impatient.
was
“Keep your money. I don’t want to stay in some two-person capsule. Neither do I want to marry you and have kids with you.
“Let’s break up.”
Lu Zhiyao’s smile froze on his face.
“Why? What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange ever since the talent show…
“It’s just one show… it doesn’t matter…”
“You don’t understand my feelings at all; of course, you think it doesn’t matter!” Lin Ruyi said sternly.
Lu Zhiyao was speechless. “My dear, I know how you feel! I saved the registration fee with great effort. This matter is a huge loss for both of us!”
Lin Ruyi seemed to get even angrier now. “This is also a huge loss to you? You just lost some money! I lost my dream!”
Lu Zhiyao was speechless for a while. He suddenly realized that this matter was strange so he continued asking. “Darling, what’s wrong with you?
“I don’t think I did anything wrong, I’m only planning to buy a two-person capsule to be with you. Why are you so angry about it?” “Why am I angry?” Lin Ruyi’s mood seemed to be getting worse. “Everything!” They were both speaking in English so this “everything” was rather imposing.
“I’m angry about the inferior syrup drinks mixed with water in the roadside shops, the nauseating greasy snacks, walking in the dark slums accompanied by mice for three hours a day…”
Lu Zhiyao was dumbfounded. “But didn’t we originally live like this happily? Why are you saying…? Could you be…?”
He saw Lin Ruyi wearing more accessories and the slightly raised belly. A terrible conjecture appeared in his mind.
Lin Ruyi seemed to be on the brink of collapse. She covered her face with her hands and only raised her head again with tears in her eyes, but she seemed very determined.
“Sorry, I don’t want to lie to you anymore. I became that judge’s lover and am pregnant with his child.
“So let’s break up. We’re done.”
Lu Zhiyao’s expression changed from suspicion to shock and then finally to despair. His body which was originally leaning forward slightly seemingly lost its support and collapsed on the chair.
Lin Ruyi stood up, about to leave, but Lu Zhiyao grabbed her wrist abruptly.
“He didn’t marry you or give you a lot of money, right? He doesn’t even care about this kid. If not, you wouldn’t be lost and at the brink of collapse, right?
“Maybe, he… even abandoned you when he knew you were pregnant, right?”
Lin Ruyi’s body trembled slightly.
Lu Zhiyao knew he guessed it right and that he still had a chance. He quickly added on. “It’s alright, it’s alright…
“You’ll have a hard time alone. No one would be willing to accept a pregnant woman. You need me. I’ll take care of this kid with you.
“Trust me, I won’t mind this. I will definitely…”
He was pleading with his voice.
Lin Ruyi was silent for a few seconds before she flung Lu Zhiyao’s hand away. “This kid has the blood of an upper class. I don’t want him to become a useless poor guy like you.”
Lin Ruyi left with huge strides decisively.
Lu Zhiyao watched her leave. He opened his mouth wanting to shout after her, but he would not say anything. It was as though he was drained of all his energy. His whole body ‘collapsed’ onto the ground.
“Cut!
“Not bad, pretty good!
“After seven or eight shots, there is finally one that is more satisfactory. You’ve worked hard, everyone!”
Director Zhu Xiaoce took the lead in applauding and encouraging. At this time, Lin Ruyi-playing the heroinehurriedly bowed towards Director Zhu Xiaoce and the crew and then to Lu Zhiyao.
“Thank you for your guidance, senior. I would not be able to be so immersed if it weren’t for senior’s great acting skills.”
Lu Zhiyao smiled. “Your acting skills were good from the start. I don’t dare to take credit for it. Besides, I’m just a ‘box office poison’. When it comes to acting I’m sure everyone knows who is the one guiding who.”
Pei Qian, who was watching silently, secretly gave a thumbs-up in his heart.
Awesome! The scene just now gave him goosebumps. He even wanted to hit someone.
Lu Zhiyao breathed life to a brown-noser; the last few lines vividly explained how brown-nosers would not end up well. Moreover, Lin Ruyi played a Green Tea Bitch right to the dot.
The micro-expressions and emotions at the start were well done. The last two sentences were the finishing touches.
Pei Qian felt severe discomfort watching on the set. It was too poisonous! Guys would fall silent, and women would cry when they watch this.
Pei Qian felt that he might faint in anger on the spot if he were to watch this in a movie theater. Moreover, Pei Qian also realized some major good news.Perhaps it might be a good thing for Lu Zhiyao’s acting skills to improve? If Lu Zhiyao did not play it well, everyone might not feel this sense of empathy. They might even secretly feel delighted for Lu Zhiyao’s plight in the movie. He did not have much affinity with audiences after all.
However, Lu Z
hiyao was doing a good job so people would naturally feel the brown-noser aura from him and an instinctive sense of discomfort.
Lu Zhiyao’s fans would surely be angry, right?
More people would criticize this movie then!
Pei Qian suddenly felt light-hearted. It did not seem such a big deal now that he accidentally helped Lu Zhiyao improve his acting a little.
Even the best actor could not be saved if the script was poisonous enough!
A smile appeared unconsciously on Pei Qian’s face as he stepped forward for a discussion with Director Zhu Xiaoce.
[1] This refers to a woman with immoralities that are contrasting to her innocent looks.
Chapter 357 - Placement Advertisements
Chapter 357 Placement Advertisements
“Boss Pei!”
Zhu Xiaoce hurried over to say hello. The other people on the set including Lu Zhiyao and Zhang Zuting also noticed Pei Qian. They hurried over to greet him.
Pei Qian smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I’m here for a spin. Go ahead, don’t need to bother about
me.”
Pei Qian picked up a prop cup next to him with great interest and played it in his hand after exchanging a few words with his old friends.
Zhang Zuting said to Zhu Xiaoce quietly, “Director Zhu, it seems like Boss Pei is in a good mood today, eh?”
Zhu Xiaoce nodded. “It seems that way. I think… he might be feeling gratified.”
Zhang Zuting was a little confused. “Gratified?”
“Yes, gratified.” Zhu Xiaoce looked at the relaxed Boss Pei. “The previous time Boss Pei came, he had some concerns about the set even though he was also in a relaxed state. Boss Pei stepped up immediately to correct Lu Zhiyao’s excessive acting previously.
“This time, Boss Pei watched on without saying a word. This means that the actors have gotten Boss Pei’s approval.
“Boss Pei finally felt gratified that everyone’s acting was alright. He feels relieved, which is why he can wander around the set with such a leisurely attitude.”
Zhang Zuting nodded. “Hm, I see.
“The performances of the male lead and heroine are rather good today. It is not easy to get the approval of Boss Pei. It looks like Boss Pei places much importance on this movie even though he doesn’t come here often.”
Zhu Xiaoce smiled. “Of course. To be precise, Boss Pei places importance on all projects; if not, he would not have the success he has now…
“Just as well. I’ll settle the advertisements since Boss Pei is here.”
Zhu Xiaoce came to the side of Pei Qian who was wandering around the set. He was planning to take advantage of the on-site preparations to finalize a very critical issue.
“Boss Pei, can I take a few minutes of yours to report to you about the current advertising bids for this movie?”
Pei Qian was taken aback first before nodding. “Of course, let’s listen to it.”
Obviously, the word ‘advertisement’ hit his nerves.
Zhu Xiaoce accompanied Pei Qian around the set as he reported, “Boss Pei, we have many advertisements in this movie. The future world is set in a world filled with advertisements according to the setting. Just like how the male lead is surrounded by advertisements while he lives in the capsule.
“We have been pondering about how to do these advertisements for the longest time. I’m thinking of finding some companies, cooperating with them, and engaging in advertisement placement!
“There are three advantages to this method:
“The first is for these companies to shoot their own advertisements. It would be very economic this way. Moreover, the quality of their advertisements could be guaranteed as well.
“Secondly, it would be easy to create hot topics after the film is released. It may help the film spread wide and far.
“Thirdly, the placement of advertisements in traditional movies tends to be abrupt and blunt which could easily arouse disgust from the audience. However, the placement of advertisements in our movies would face no such problem. The negative impact will be very small.
“Therefore, we have also contacted some manufacturers and companies to ask if they have any intention to cooperate…”
Pei Qian became nervous instantly. “How’s the situation?”
Zhu Xiaoce’s expression became slightly awkward. “Uh… the big companies we took the initiative to contact basically ignored us. However, some lesser-known small companies came knocking on our door. However, their advertisements were too old-fashioned and did not apply to the futuristic world. We, therefore, rejected them.”
There is still no progress then, to put it bluntly…
Pei Qian let out a long sigh of relief and couldn’t help but say. “That’s great!” Zhu Xiaoce was stunned. “?”.
Pei Qian secretly rejoiced. How much less money would he be able to spend if they really managed to get advertisement placements?
Wouldn’t Boss Pei cough out blood if a few big companies spend millions on advertising fees?
Thus, he definitely could not do that!
Fortunately, Fei Huang Workspace did not have much reputation in the movie circle. They looked for big companies this time, which was why they were so unsuccessful.
However, this was not a problem that could be taken lightly. The signs had to be stopped in time.
In case Zhu Xiaoce persevered in obtaining sponsorship and convinced these wealthy large companies, a large part of the cost would have been recovered by the advertisements before the movie was released.
That would destroy everything!
Pei Qian became serious as he thought of that. “You are right about the first two points, but the last point has some problems.
“Putting brand advertisements that are available in real life will give the audience a sense of reality no matter what. The subject of our movie might be special, but it would still affect the audiences’ viewing experience.
“Moreover, strong irony exists in our film. The companies to buy our advertisements will more or less be satirized.
“That might not have a good effect on their brand image. Therefore, they might not be willing to do this kind of advertising placement.
“In short, this behavior is not desirable.”
Zhu Xiaoce considered carefully before nodding his head quickly. “Yes, Boss Pei, I understand now!”
Zhu Xiaoce could not help but feel a little afraid of seeing Boss Pei’s solemn expression. He nearly screwed the whole thing up!
After thinking about it carefully, Boss Pei was right. No matter what they said, placement advertisements were placement advertisements. The audiences had already bought the tickets to the movie theater. It didn’t seem very right to let them watch placement advertisements.
That would probably be a downfall if it was not managed well!
They might make money then, but it would definitely not meet Boss Pei’s expectations if their reputation was destroyed.
Zhu Xiaoce could not help to reflect. Placement advertisements were clearly against the Tengda spirit.
He had to remember this lesson!
There had to be an alternative since the first plan was rejected by Boss Pei.
Zhu Xiaoce hesitated for a while before he continued. “Boss Pei, if we cannot use the advertisements from other companies, then we can only shoot them ourselves.” Pei Qian nodded. “Yes, of course, we have to shoot them ourselves!”
How could he pass by such a good opportunity to spend money? Pei Qian gave it some thought before continuing. “The advertisements are pretty important in my opinion. It must be high-end, low-profile luxury yet with class.
“I think… uh, tell me how you want to shoot it first.”
Pei Qian had thought of a general direction at first, but he suddenly stopped himself. He thought about his glorious history of repeatedly ‘turning stones into gold’ and decided not to interfere with Zhu Xiaoce’s ideas and gave him a free hand.
Per
haps he might have better ideas than Pei Qian himself? Boss Pei would only interfere if Zhu Xiaoce’s idea had a high chance of making money.
Zhu Xiaoce gave it some thought. “Boss Pei, I think…
“Take a brainwashing advertisement! That is to continuously repeat a simple advertisement three, four-or even more times—so that people will never forget it.
“We can also add some simple rhythm to it so that the advertisement will be even more brainwashing
“Such advertisements appeared a lot during the past few years. It had decreased recently, but they still exist.
“We have shot such commercials before. In this way, we can very well arouse the disgust of the audience and make them empathize with the male lead, deepening the irony of this movie!”
After listening to Zhu Xiaoce’s thoughts, Pei Qian fell into a brief silence. No, it seemed like it might still hit the jackpot if he were to follow Zhu Xiaoce’s method!
Pei Qian had felt the power of brainwashing advertisements before.
The characteristic of such kind of advertisements was to flaunt. If it was done right, a brand would be able to become the face of an entire category and create the illusion that ‘this brand is the top among this category of products’.
In short, such advertisements were widely popular because of its outstanding effect.
If a movie was filled with a large amount of brainwashing advertisements like this, it might trigger heated discussions among the audience. It might create unnecessary heated discussions.
Pei Qian sighed secretly. No, these subordinates were too effective to count on! It was too difficult to have Zhu Xiaoce generate a loss-making idea!
He had to do it himself.
Pei Qian gave it some thought before saying. “Brainwashing advertisements are not too appropriate either.
“First, technology is developing, and times are advancing. The effects of brainwashing advertisements are obvious, but it has also aroused the disgust of many people. They are diminishing in numbers.
“The setting in the movie is in the future. The advertising industry would have developed further and moved to a more elusive direction. If we are to show audiences the brainwashing advertisements, they will definitely think if the advertisement in the future world was just like this?
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