Su Qing did not rush to speak. She looked down at the folders.
The seven-figure offer lay right there.
To say she wasn't tempted would be a lie.
Their ragtag crew had just started up; who wouldn't get a little dizzy seeing that kind of money?
But after hearing Jiang Yue's words, she came to her senses.
This money could be earned quickly, but what it consumed was the character value the actor had only just built up.
Jiang Yue put it even more bluntly.
“Right now, my most valuable asset isn't exposure. It's that the audience is willing to believe in the characters I play.”
“This value can't be spent carelessly. We can't make me ubiquitous just to make a quick buck. There's nothing wrong with these products, but we shouldn't touch them at this stage.”
Su Qing picked up a red pen and drew a cross over the files.
“I understand, Boss.”
“I was thinking too simply. I'll go decline their offers right away.”
Jiang Yue nodded.
He had let Su Qing do this screening not because he expected to take on endorsements immediately, but more to let her go through the process once.
Su Qing had strong execution skills and was willing to learn.
As for vision and experience, those could only be honed one task at a time.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about headhunting an experienced agent from the outside to lead the team.
But the old hands in the industry came with resources, but they also came with a lot of personal agendas.
If he really hired one, it would be hard to say who would have the final say.
He was a newcomer, and his studio was likewise a ragtag setup.
Rather than bringing in a big shot to serve hand and foot, it was better to lead this group of driven newcomers to level up together.
Loyalty and chemistry were more important than anything else.
“Bro.”
Jiang Kaiwen scurried over from the side, holding up his phone. “Director Xu's side sent out a notice.”
Jiang Yue set down his water glass. “Go ahead.”
“The promotion for 《The Grand Game》 has fully launched, and the broadcasting platform has arranged a whole schedule.”
Jiang Kaiwen read from the screen, “Tomorrow afternoon, the male lead, Zhao Songcheng, will go to the platform's headquarters for an office sweep.”
“And tomorrow night from eight to ten, there's an online live broadcast scheduled.”
Jiang Yue wasn't surprised by the live broadcast; Director Xu had mentioned it before.
“Who's participating?”
“The male lead, Zhao Songcheng; the second male lead, Teacher Li Changming; the third male lead, Zhang Yu; and you, Third Brother.”
“Also, the female supporting actress with the most screen time, Su Yao, who plays the prime minister's adopted daughter, will also be there.”
Jiang Kaiwen looked up, his tone turning serious.
“Bro, it's a live broadcast all the way through, and there's a live chat Q&A at the end. We need to prepare in advance.”
He didn't elaborate, but Jiang Yue knew what he meant.
Live broadcasts weren't pre-recorded.
The host would have a script, but the live chat wouldn't follow one.
“Got it.”
Jiang Yue acknowledged, picked up his phone, and dialed Xu Pingqiu's number.
It rang twice before Xu Pingqiu answered, a hint of a smile in his voice.
“What's up?”
“Director Xu.”
Jiang Yue got straight to the point. “Is there anything I should watch out for during tomorrow night's live broadcast?”
“Oh, that,” the sound of rustling paper came from Xu Pingqiu's end. “It's a platform event, so I won't interfere too much.”
“The host is one of theirs, and they'll send over the schedule in advance.”
“The questions usually won't stray from the script and the characters.”
“Your understanding of Chu Yan is deep enough. Just answer naturally.”
He paused for a moment, his tone turning a bit more serious.
“Don't let the live chat or outside noise sway you. As an actor, your performance speaks for itself in the end.”
“Understood. Thank you, Director Xu.”
Jiang Yue hung up.
The next evening at 7:30 PM, in the second-floor conference room of Yuchuan Media Studio.
Jiang Yue had changed into a black shirt. His hair was simply styled, with no complex makeup or hairstyling.
Chen Fei adjusted the ring light and high-definition camera in front of him, then put on his headphones to check the audio reception.
“Boss, the picture looks good, and the audio is clean.”
Jiang Kaiwen set a glass of warm water on the table and handed over two sheets of paper.
“This is the final version of the schedule just confirmed by the platform.”
Jiang Yue took the schedule and glanced through it.
The flow was standard.
Self-introductions, talking about the characters, and then playing a small game with the host.
The platform wanted engagement and wouldn't make things difficult for the actors during the set segments.
The real trouble spots were the live chat and on-the-spot reactions.
Jiang Yue placed the schedule back on the table.
At exactly eight o'clock, the live stream room's countdown ticked to the final second.
Jiang Yue clicked his mouse and joined the Kiwi Video live stream room for the cast and crew of 《The Grand Game》.
The loading page flashed by, and six split screens spread out in sequence. The host sat in the center to control the stage, while the windows of Zhao Songcheng, Li Changming, Zhang Yu, Su Yao, and Jiang Yue were lined up on either side. The popularity bar for each split screen in the platform's backend also began to jump.
Just as Jiang Yue forwarded the live stream link on Weibo, the number of online viewers in the top right corner began to surge upward.
Fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand.
In less than three minutes, the number of interactions on his side had already broken through two hundred thousand.
For a newcomer, this kind of growth was somewhat ridiculous.
The live chat scrolled by line after line.
【First! First! Shen Xu, here I come!】
【Congratulations from Donghai University School of Computer Science! The Academic God is so handsome tonight!】
【Han Song fan stopping by to see what the good brother Song-ge always talks about looks like.】
【This black shirt is incredible. How can he look so good even without professional styling?】
Jiang Yue scanned a few lines of the live chat and nodded to the camera.
“Good evening.”
Soon, the host opened the show, smiling at the main screen.
“Welcome, everyone, to the cast and crew meeting of 《The Grand Game》. According to the connection order, please greet the audience first. Teacher Zhao, please go first.”
Zhao Songcheng, wearing a casual suit, waved his hand toward the camera.
“Hello everyone, I'm Zhao Songcheng, and I play Lin Zheng in the drama.”
Li Changming followed up in a relaxed tone.
“I'm Li Changming. I play the rather unlikable prime minister, Shen Fanghui. I hope everyone will scold the character when the time comes, not me personally.”
The live chat instantly flooded with a wave of “hahahas.”
Zhang Yu reached up to adjust his hair, his smile in front of the camera flawless.
“Good evening, everyone. I'm Zhang Yu, playing Lin Zhaonan, Lin Zheng's good brother.”
Su Yao smiled and waved at the camera.
“Hello everyone, I'm Su Yao, playing the prime minister's adopted daughter, Shen Lingyi.”
Finally, it was Jiang Yue's turn.
He looked at the camera and introduced himself, following the format of the previous actors.
“Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Yue, and I play Chu Yan in 《The Grand Game》.”
The host glanced at the schedule card and naturally transitioned into the first segment.
“Then let's first talk about the characters. Teacher Zhao, the character of Lin Zheng carries a blood feud and undergoes a massive transformation from start to finish. How do you view his growth arc?”
Zhao Songcheng spoke about the character's growth arc.
Li Changming discussed the prime minister's desire for power and sense of fate.
Zhang Yu talked about Lin Zhaonan's upright integrity and brotherly affection.
Su Yao mentioned Shen Lingyi's choices amidst the cracks of political scheming.
After going around the circle, the question was finally thrown to Jiang Yue.
The host looked at his split screen, slowing down their speaking pace slightly.
“Teacher Jiang, the character of Chu Yan is highly popular in the original novel. He was a hostage prince for ten years, yet in the end, he raised the banner of purging the emperor's court. When you were shaping this character, what core point did you grasp?”
The scrolling speed of the live chat in the main room noticeably quickened.
There were truly many Chu Yan fans, not falling behind the male lead's at all.
This question was also quite tricky.
If he answered too superficially, fans of the original work would immediately open threads to judge his words word-for-word.
If he answered too pretentiously, marketing accounts would clip a segment and post it with a pre-written headline like “Rookie Actor Awkwardly Discusses Character Interpretation.”
Jiang Yue didn't stall. His gaze landed on the camera as he offered only two words.
“Clarity.”
The scrolling speed of the live chat paused for a brief instant. Everyone was waiting for him to continue.
Rate on N.U.
