Chapter 49

[I think it's about supporting new directors. I took a look, and the works by the top ten directors all had plenty of ideas behind them. But some of them lacked startup funding, so it was hard for them to get going. President Cai had given them a huge amount of help.]

[I'm seriously fed up with movies made by some domestic directors. They were obviously just out to fleece people, treating us viewers like suckers. Hurry up and bring in some fresh directors. Don't be afraid of getting suppressed—you've got President Cai backing you.]

[Exactly. Just thinking about President Cai being the capital behind them makes me happy and excited. I hope movies can flourish in every direction from now on. Don't let every major holiday come around with not a single good movie to watch. Even the Spring Festival lineup barely has anything worthwhile, and we keep getting crushed by foreign films. Huaguo filmmakers need to make good movies themselves. Only when movies are good will audiences support them, instead of being tricked into theaters with nostalgia and the like.]

[But I heard Jinbai Entertainment has recently been working on animation. I wonder when it'll be released.]

[Animation? Where did that news come from? No, they haven't even made that many movies or TV dramas yet. Why are they opening up another field already? President Cai, just how many ideas and goals do you have that I don't know about?]

Cai Jinbai really did want to make a series of Chinese-style animated productions. But he also knew that animation did not use live actors and required certain technology, not to mention a great deal of time. Fortunately, the technology he happened to be researching was in precisely this area. With new technology combined with animation, the process became far faster.

"Family Matters" had already finished airing a week ago.

The drama had received extremely high praise within the industry, with almost no weak points. Every actor in it had made a name for themselves, and their careers had more or less risen to the next level.

Meanwhile, Starlight's period drama had ended without even making a ripple. People did not even know when it had finished airing, and its data was simply abysmal.

Not only had the plot been terrible, but even the participating actors were dragged out by netizens for criticism. People said they had no eye for scripts at all and were wasting their reputations.

Under such circumstances, Gao Su turned his attention to the xianxia drama and ancient political intrigue drama currently in preparation. He was determined to make those two dramas prove themselves and crush Cai Jinbai's "Imperial Authority."

A bunch of actors without even a single major star—he refused to believe that two dramas against one could still lose.

Gao Su's idea was good.

But "Imperial Authority" needed to be polished with care.

By the time Starlight's xianxia drama had finished filming and the ancient political intrigue drama was close to wrapping up, there was still no news at all of "Imperial Authority" finishing production.

"Boss Gao, when should these two dramas be scheduled?"

"Wait a little longer," Gao Su said with a grim expression.

He needed to choose the right opportunity.

*

Ever since Xuan Yu had bluntly exposed his feelings for Cai Jinbai and hit a home run on the very first day, the dragon had developed quite the taste for it. Every day, he wanted to get some exercise with Xiaobai.

But Cai Jinbai was not like him. He did not have that absurd level of stamina.

Besides, he still had many things to handle. So he kicked Xuan Yu straight into the Primordial Chaos casting crew to train people.

There was no questioning Xuan Yu's combat ability.

But having him train people while he was still full of pent-up frustration had the actors crying into their pillows at midnight.

Some people could not take it anymore and wanted to sneak away. Even if they had to pay for breaching their contracts, they accepted it. In any case, they truly could not endure Vice President Xuan's training.

They had originally thought it would be a good thing for Vice President Xuan to personally train them, and that they could even build a closer relationship with him. But who could have expected that Vice President Xuan was not human at all!!!

How could he have so much energy every single day?

Even the most professional martial arts instructors were probably no match for Vice President Xuan.

What had he done before? Could he have undergone special forces training?

Vice President Xuan, they were actors, not soldiers.

Fortunately, the training produced excellent results, and Cai Jinbai selected actors he was satisfied with from among them.

That night, Xuan Yu hugged Cai Jinbai and said aggrievedly, "Xiaobai, you're satisfied this time, right? Can I come back now?"

Cai Jinbai said nothing and simply kept scrolling through his tablet, though the tips of his ears had turned warm.

A glint flashed through Xuan Yu's eyes, and he pressed on. "Xiaobai, I really miss you. Don't you miss me too?"

He buried his head in Cai Jinbai's neck and nuzzled against him. Then an incomparably scorching kiss landed on Cai Jinbai's neck.

Cai Jinbai's fingers paused. Before he could say anything, another string of kisses traveled from his neck to his face before finally sealing his lips.

Xuan Yu snatched away the tablet and tossed it aside. One hand held Cai Jinbai's neck while the other wrapped around his waist.

Just as Cai Jinbai wanted to speak, his tongue was taken captive as well.

Bastard!

Cai Jinbai cursed inwardly.

Forget it. He did miss him, after all.

Just as the two indulged in shameless affection and their feelings continued to heat up, "Imperial Authority" was finally scheduled for release.

At the same time, Starlight announced that its xianxia drama would also premiere, one week before "Imperial Authority."

[Haha, love to see it. They're competing again, but Starlight has already lost twice. I wonder whether they learned their lesson this time?]

[I think Starlight has this one in the bag. The leaked set photos looked pretty good, the actors have great chemistry, and the costumes, styling, and sets are amazing. The actors they picked are also good at acting, and they're all ones I like. I'll watch it for the leads alone, hehe.]

[But xianxia dramas all follow the same formula. I'm tired of them and can't be bothered to watch. I'm more looking forward to "Imperial Authority."]

[I think "Imperial Authority" sounds boring. What's so good about people fighting and scheming all day? I'd rather watch romance—love-hate relationships and chasing-the-wife-to-the-crematorium plots.]

Before long, Starlight's xianxia drama aired first, and its ratings were very good from the moment it premiered.

This time, Starlight had truly learned its lesson. The plot, acting, costumes, makeup, and sets were all much stronger.

There were still some flaws. For example, it still followed the traditional xianxia formula, and the plot was fairly conventional without any major highlights. But there were no glaring logical issues either. The actors' performances were also generally decent—watchable, not distracting, though not especially immersive.

After it aired, marketing accounts, paid commenters, and fans all worked together from every angle, keeping it constantly on the trending lists.

The actors also marketed their chemistry, filmed special behind-the-scenes clips, and had sweet interactions offscreen, drawing quite a few netizens into the fandom.

Under those circumstances, some people worried about Jinbai Entertainment's drama.

"Imperial Authority" sounded like it had nothing but political intrigue and not even a hint of romance. The actors cast were not traffic stars, either.

And judging from the leads, most of them were veteran actors. Could a drama like this really become popular?

In response, Cai Jinbai only said, "Wait until it airs."

A week after the xianxia drama aired, its data had surpassed Starlight's previous dramas across the board and its ratings were looking excellent when "Imperial Authority" premiered.

Lou Xiaoxiao was a diehard fan of Cai Jinbai, so naturally she wanted to support the dramas under President Cai's company.

Therefore, when Starlight's xianxia drama aired, she did not watch a single bit of it. Even when clips appeared in her feed, she quickly skipped past them.

Her good friends all recommended it to her, but she refused.

That was right—she was just that determined. She wanted to wait for "Imperial Authority" to air.

And on that day, she and her parents started waiting early.

As soon as the drama began, a piece of music with a rather evocative mood played. Then, accompanied by a fine drizzle, the camera entered the imperial palace—

Lou Xiaoxiao had not originally been interested in this kind of subject matter. She had thought that contributing to President Cai's opening ratings would be enough.

But the moment the story began, she was hooked. Only one thought remained in her mind: President Cai really had an incredible eye for dramas. This was another good one.

Even she was drawn in by the plot, much less her parents.

Even after the two episodes ended, her parents still wanted more.

After savoring it for a moment, Lou Xiaoxiao excitedly opened her phone and started typing away.

[Have you watched "Imperial Authority"?! The texture and atmosphere feel so good! And as expected of veteran actors—oh my god, I got chills. In just two episodes, the plot kept twisting and turning in ways I never expected!]

[If you haven't watched it, hurry up and do it now! It's seriously amazing!! Ah, I don't even know how to explain it to you. I feel like even those veteran actors' hair could act. It's just so immersive!]

Lou Xiaoxiao was not the only one excited. Netizens who had watched it could not help going online to leave comments.

[President Cai's taste in scripts is as good as ever. Amazing! These two episodes were both satisfying and not satisfying at all. Satisfying because the veteran actors' performances had me screaming holy shit—their eyes alone gave me goosebumps. Not satisfying because there were only two episodes! Ahhh, why am I following another drama again? President Cai, can't you release all the later episodes at once?!]

[I'm going to scream! You can tell from just two episodes that the production was incredibly thoughtful, and the quality is amazing. This will definitely become another hit drama. I'm insanely excited for what comes next. I wonder how it'll twist again. Everyone feels like a piece on the chessboard, making their own moves, haha. I'm just talking nonsense, but although the political intrigue is brain-burning, the storytelling still lets viewers understand it clearly. Even someone as dumb as me found it incredibly satisfying.]

[Veteran actors really are veteran actors. Their performances hit every sweet spot for me. They did not look like they were acting—they looked like people who had truly lived in that dynasty. Even the younger actors were not distracting. The plot was coherent and never wasted a word. One great scene followed another, and you could never guess what came next, which only made me anticipate it more. It was so much better than those dramas where you could see the ending at a glance!]