The Holiday and Casting

With National Day approaching, Huang Bai and Wei Jin hurried to finish recording the song.

Through some of Huang Bai's contacts, they found a small local record company in Beijing.

The company, called Tianyu Records, had been founded by several wealthy second-generation music enthusiasts from Beijing. Its operations were extremely rough-and-ready, and its business could only be described as dismal.

But the founders were wealthy and didn't rely on it to make money. With their local connections reaching into all sorts of circles, the company was capable of handling distribution in Beijing.

After settling on the terms of their cooperation and the revenue split, Wei Jin finally had a major concern off his mind.

Huang Bai had easily pocketed twenty thousand yuan and was also pleased with himself. He invited Wei Jin out for drinks at a bar where he used to sing, saying he wanted to thank him.

Wei Jin couldn't refuse such a warm invitation and could only lay down his life to keep his friend company.

He had assumed that Huang Bai, being from Qingdao, could hold his liquor, but after just a few rounds, the lightweight went down.

Wei Jin had forgotten that his own body could no longer be described as normal.

A friend came to take the drunken Huang Bai away. Wei Jin returned to apartment 501 in the evening breeze, and just as he was about to take out his key, the door opened.

"You're back."

The great beauty leaned prettily against the doorway.

Zeng Li had been out of work and staying home lately. Every day, like a housewife in an island-nation movie, she saw her husband off in the morning and welcomed him home at night.

"Mm, I'm back late. I had a few drinks with a friend."

He had actually called ahead, but looking at the gentle beauty, Wei Jin couldn't help pulling her into his arms and explaining himself anyway.

After a tender interlude, Wei Jin went to sit in the living room and shared the good news of the past two days with Zeng Li.

"So after National Day, you'll be busy shooting your first movie? Are you confident? Do you have enough money?"

Zeng Li was delighted for her boyfriend when she heard the news, though she was a little worried too.

Feeling the beauty's concern, Wei Jin told her everything he had prepared.

With Shen Haobo's efforts, the first two physical volumes of "The Snowy Path of the Heroic Blade" had been in print for over half a month.

Their cumulative sales had reached 200,000 copies and were rising encouragingly.

Each volume was priced at eighteen yuan, and the two sides had agreed to settle accounts monthly. Barring any surprises, after National Day, Wei Jin could expect to receive around another 200,000 yuan in royalties and manuscript fees, not counting the advance.

As for the song, they had settled on a strategy of focusing on radio and online channels, with offline sales as a supplement. He believed that by the end of the holiday, it would have begun to break into the market.

For the movie, Teacher Jiang Wei, acting as producer, had made a preliminary estimate of around 800,000 yuan in production costs, excluding the actors' fees.

Wei Jin currently had less than 300,000 yuan, but that wasn't much of a problem. He just had to make time his friend.

The money wouldn't be spent all at once. The initial expenses were nothing more than making props and renting equipment, and Wei Jin could still afford those.

After hearing Wei Jin's analysis, Zeng Li's heart settled back into place. She had originally planned to take out her savings to support him.

Now, seeing how outstanding her man was—writing books, releasing songs, writing scripts, and making movies—Zeng Li was even more delighted. Her eyes shone as she said:

"Little Jin, you're amazing."

"There's something even more amazing."

Wei Jin swept her into a princess carry and strode into the bedroom. Before long, a soaring song rang out, as beautiful as music from heaven.

With so many things to deal with over the holiday, Wei Jin didn't return to his hometown, prompting Wei Xingbang to complain.

It was much the same for Zeng Li. Only after she promised to come home for Spring Festival did her mother stop reciting her endless litany.

Starting on the first, Wei Jin took Zeng Li to the suburban districts and counties in every direction around Beijing, looking for a filming location for "Buried Alive" while enjoying their time together. They took in the sights along the way, a loving couple, and didn't find it tiring.

Three days later, Wei Jin finally found a location he was happy with and prepared to head home.

On the way back to the city, Wei Jin took the driver's seat himself and insisted on not letting Zeng Li drive, leaving Sister Li puffing with indignation.

Ignoring Zeng Li's pitiful pride, Wei Jin turned on the car radio.

"Hello, listeners. This is Classic FM Beijing FM969. I'm your host, Xiaofeng."

"I'm your host, Mingliang. Xiaofeng, did you know? A song has suddenly become a huge hit these past two days. It's playing in every street and alley."

"Mingliang, are you talking about 'Who Do You Really Love'?"

"That's right. I'm really curious what kind of person Wei Jin, who wrote the lyrics and music, is."

"Then let's listen to the song and find out what kind of person its creator is."

"Drunk and alone, I long for someone by my side~~"

"There are too many misunderstandings between us~~"

"Love can no longer lie asleep~~"

"Is it sorrow, is it destruction~~"

"I don't want to shed tears for anyone anymore~~"

As the song began to play, Wei Jin knew it had become a hit. He could almost see banknotes flying toward him.

Yes, the song was a hit, and so was Huang Bai.

The owner of the bar he frequented had already raised his singing fee to twenty thousand yuan a month, with tips from customers on top.

Record companies had even invited Huang Bai to sign with them, but he hadn't agreed for the time being. He planned to talk it over with Wei Jin.

That man was remarkable.

With the filming location settled, Wei Jin put finding an actor on the agenda.

The movie's atmosphere depended entirely on the lead actor's performance. As he thought back to the Chinese actors he knew from his previous life, he couldn't decide whom to choose and found himself in a quandary.

He slapped his forehead and silently cursed himself for being muddleheaded, then asked Zeng Li:

"Sister Li, do you know any male actors?"

"Hmm... around thirty, and their acting has to be especially good. If the acting isn't good enough, it won't carry this movie of mine."

Zeng Li thought back over the male actors she had worked with. She seemed to recall something and spoke hesitantly:

"When I was filming 'The Journey Home Like a Rainbow' in the first half of the year, there was a male actor in the crew who was pretty good. He should meet your requirements."

"Oh? What's his name?"

Wei Jin was interested.

"Fu Dalong. Even the director praised his explosive acting when he was filming, but..."

Wei Jin had heard the name in his previous life. He seemed to have even won a best actor award. He was a good actor and kept a low profile, making him a suitable choice.

Seemingly noticing Zeng Li's hesitation, Wei Jin asked, "But what?"

Zeng Li's expression had turned a little sour.

"What is it, Sister Li?"

"When we were on the crew, he seemed to have feelings for me. He even called and asked me out a couple of months ago..."

Zeng Li looked a little uncomfortable.

"Oh? Then we won't consider him."

Wei Jin remembered now. If he hadn't come into the picture, that guy would probably have had a relationship with Sister Li. It seemed he really had swooped in at an opportune moment. Then the question of whom to cast started giving him a headache again.

Seeing Wei Jin lost in thought, Zeng Li continued searching her memory. After a while, she suddenly said:

"Oh, right, there was a classmate of mine named Qin Hao. He worked very hard when we were in school, and he's spent the past few years honing his acting at the Drama Club. We could let him try out."

"Qin Hao, hmm... sure."

Wei Jin knew the actor and had seen his work. His acting was indeed good, but Wei Jin didn't know whether it would meet his requirements.

"Sister Li, sorry for the trouble, but could you get in touch with him for me? We'll be ready to hold auditions after the holiday."

"Next, it's time to talk about Fu Dalong."

Wei Jin spoke with a blank expression.

"He was pursuing you, so why didn't you tell me? Do you even care about me?"

Zeng Li lowered her head without speaking, seemingly aware that she was in the wrong and unable to find anything to say.

"Looks like it's time to enforce the family rules."

Wei Jin didn't dare tease Sister Li any longer. He swept her into a princess carry and carried her toward the bedroom.

"Hey, it's still broad daylight..."

How could Zeng Li not understand that her younger boyfriend was teasing her? She let out a startled cry.

"I'm spanking my wife. What do I care what time of day it is?"

Wei Jin was overflowing with domineering spirit, determined to enforce the family rules and teach the beauty a lesson she would remember.