The audience’s calls kept pouring into the TV station, and Director Fan, far away in Hunan Province, could only frequently contact Yuan Fenghui to maintain their relationship.
Yuan Fenghui said the drama hadn’t been filmed yet, so Director Fan shouldn’t be in a hurry, but there was a small favour she’d like to ask of him.
“Tianjiao is planning to hold an essay competition with a local Chengdu publisher and a new magazine. For such a competition to gain attention, publicity is essential. If you could coordinate some less important advertising slots for us, that would be fantastic.”
Yuan Fenghui subtly hinted to Director Fan that this wasn’t a commercial profit-driven competition. Neither Tianjiao nor the publisher had a large budget, so if Director Fan could help secure a discounted rate for Tianjiao, it would be greatly appreciated.
“You!”
Director Fan neither agreed nor refused, first asking Yuan Fenghui about her specific plans, particularly who would be filming the promotional adverts.
“I want to shoot four versions.”
Yuan Fenghui asked Director Fan if he went online and had heard of personal blogs.
“Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Wen Ying are all extremely popular on blogs. Their influence has also boosted Zhang Yangning’s popularity, at least online. So, I want to feature these four as the main characters, shooting four different versions of the advert to be aired alternately on TV. Once these adverts are done, Tianjiao’s second drama can start filming.”
Director Fan had no interest in Zhang Yangning.
But Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen were red-hot stars.
As for Wen Ying, Director Fan personally liked her.
Regardless of whether Wen Ying was suitable for filming adverts, the moment he heard there would be individual versions featuring Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen, Director Fan’s interest was piqued.
There was no helping it; Yuan Fenghui kept Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen under tight wraps!
If it were any other agent or company, with two such popular stars, they’d have them constantly performing commercially or shooting adverts to cash in. But in Yuan Fenghui’s hands, there was no rush to make money.
Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen were only filming Tianjiao’s dramas!
Li Mengjiao had a dairy brand endorsement, while Yun Chen had no endorsements or adverts at all.
What incredible restraint!
Yun Chen himself didn’t seem anxious either. If the company didn’t arrange anything, he obediently followed their lead, not at all worried about fading like a shooting star.
It was precisely because of Yuan Fenghui’s strategy that audiences were so eager for Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen to collaborate again!
After the finale of *The Princess’s New Clothes*, the male and female leads no longer needed to promote the drama, and their on-screen appearances together became increasingly rare. Apart from anticipating a new drama, audiences had no other way to enjoy the interactions of this handsome man and beautiful woman.
If, at this moment, Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen filmed a promotional video for an essay competition, how much attention would it attract?
Director Fan knew Yuan Fenghui was shrewd and wouldn’t engage in a losing deal, yet he instinctively asked her:
“Is it worth it?”
Was it really worth spending the commercial value of two red-hot stars on a promotional advert for an essay competition that sounded like it wouldn’t bring much profit?
Yuan Fenghui didn’t directly address Director Fan’s doubts, only telling him that the competition was initially proposed by Wen Ying.
“Wen Ying is now the publisher’s bestselling author and the one the new magazine is heavily promoting. Why do you think she suggested holding an essay competition?”
A clever person like Director Fan could quickly grasp the impact such a competition would have on Wen Ying.
Well, well.
That young girl, wasn’t she fearless?
Some people rise to fame through sudden good fortune.
When ordinary people suddenly gain fame and wealth they never had before, most become giddy with success, revelling in the spotlight and riches, unable to accept losing them, and wary of any potential rivals who might threaten their status!
Wen Ying was so young, yet she had such magnanimity, unafraid of a competition that could unearth talented authors to challenge her!
Writers needed Wen Ying’s spirit and openness to create great works. Narrow-minded authors would affect the characters they write and the overall depth of their work’s intent.
Director Fan wasn’t some old literary romantic, but at this moment, his profit-driven heart, seasoned by years in the cutthroat world, softened a little.
He no longer possessed the fiery ambition of youth, but at his age, could he really have less magnanimity than a young person?
Director Fan chuckled silently, “Alright, shoot your short films and send them to Hunan for me to review. Give me a detailed proposal, and I’ll discuss it with the station before getting back to you.”
Yuan Fenghui was overjoyed.
Director Fan had agreed, hadn’t he?
Although the bulk of Tianjiao’s sponsorship came from Mrs Wang personally, now that Mrs Wang was Tianjiao’s PR manager, she was one of their own, and saving money from one of their own was always a priority.
It wasn’t just Yuan Fenghui taking action; Zou Weijun was also on the move.
For such a major event, approval from headquarters was necessary. Zou Weijun coordinated directly with Jiang Xuekun, who quickly realised this wasn’t just about promoting the new magazine *Spark* or soliciting manuscripts for the literary press. If handled well, it could be a showcase of Chengdu Publishing Group’s image.
With so many domestic competitors, standing out wasn’t easy.
Speaking of essay competitions, the “New Concept Essay Contest” had made waves.
Jiang Xuekun didn’t block Zou Weijun and even set higher expectations, “If this essay competition is successful enough, I hope we can hold a second, third, or even more editions.”
This was about turning the creative essay competition into a flagship event for Chengdu Publishing Group!
Zou Weijun saw no issue with that.
Even if future competitions weren’t led by her, it didn’t matter. She’d handed over the wildly successful science series *Shh, Little Secret* to Editor Wan without hesitation after her transfer.
For Zou Weijun, work was about constantly challenging herself, not resting on past achievements.
With Jiang Xuekun’s approval, Zou Weijun rolled up her sleeves and got to work. The pace at *Spark* magazine suddenly accelerated. Xiao Ni stopped obsessing over whether the first issue’s manuscripts were perfect; *Spark* had to launch next month!
Song Foxiang was a bit stunned.
Exiled to the new magazine as a minor editor, he’d already settled into a laid-back mindset. Why was the whole magazine suddenly buzzing?
When Song Foxiang learned the magazine was teaming up with the literary press and Tianjiao Films for a major essay competition, his jaw dropped.
“Are we creating our own New Concept?!”
Xiao Ni rolled her eyes, “What New Concept? Song, can’t you have some ambition? We’re making our own essay competition, not imitating New Concept!”
Song Foxiang let out an “oh.”
It was different from New Concept, without university admission perks, so it might not attract high schoolers as much.
But hefty prize money would draw a crowd of young, talented authors. Bestselling high school authors like Wen Ying were rare; the main force in youth literature was older than her… but that wasn’t the point. The point was, a competition needed judges, and Song Foxiang, with his reputation in Chengdu’s literary scene, felt qualified to serve.
Xiao Ni mercilessly burst his bubble, “No way, you’ve ghostwritten before.”
Song Foxiang: … Damn it, time to drag Zhao Dog down with me!
^_^
