Perfect Superstar.

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A new, adorable little sister had just joined Professor Yin's family. Three-year-old Junxi, accompanied by his father, went to the nursery to see his sister, Enxi. While the nurse wasn't paying attention, mischievous Junxi swapped Enxi's name tag with that of another newborn born on the same day. And so, due to this twist of fate, the two babies from different families were switched.

Time flew by, and over a decade later, Junxi had grown into a handsome young man, known for his exceptional artistic talent and a charismatic presence at school. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Enxi was bright and adorable, deeply cherished by the whole family.

Junxi doted on his younger sister, and the bond between them was strong and affectionate.

Their mother, Jinghe, lavished care and love on her only daughter. With a comfortable family life, a gentle and attentive mother, and an outstanding brother, Enxi became the envy of her peers at school.

…

The paper was just ordinary A4 sheets, costing only about 5 cents apiece. The laser-printed SimSun font had a high DPI, making every stroke crisp and clear, and the layout was tidy and precise, very pleasant to read.

The script outline was around 5,000 words, filling five full pages. The cost of the paper and printing was negligible compared to the value of the story itself.

As the business manager of Qiande Brothers Films, Lu Yi had handled no shortage of scripts over the years.

He knew deeply the value of a good screenplay.

Lu Yi was one of the founding members of Qiande Brothers Films. Back in the early days, he had followed brothers Zhang Gan and Zhang De in building the company from scratch, carving out a place in the fiercely competitive Capital City. His experience and eye for talent were not to be underestimated.

The script Lu Chen gave him was titled "Autumn in My Heart", just the name indicated it was an urban romance drama. Since Lu Chen intended to play the male lead himself, it was clearly targeting the youth idol drama market.

The story had an intriguing hook: two girls switched at birth. The twist of fate was bound to grab viewers' attention.

As the business manager, Lu Yi knew the company's operations like the back of his hand. Due to the nature of his work, he had seen at least hundreds, if not thousands, of TV and film scripts. From what he could recall, this particular plotline hadn't been filmed before.

As a weekend drama, the show already had a strong opening hook to reel in viewers.

Currently, the domestic entertainment industry was booming, with the IP craze showing no sign of cooling down. While this market explosion brought prosperity, it also brought problems, unoriginal, repetitive storylines, rampant imitation, and blatant plagiarism were widespread.

If a TV drama became a hit, imitators would flood in, rehashing similar plots until the concept was completely worn out. The country's intellectual property laws offered little constraint, with no stringent regulations against copycats. The market was left to self-regulate.

So a truly original story idea was already half the battle won.

Lu Yi did see potential in Lu Chen's script.

But as he read on, he quickly understood why Zhu Minghe had shown little interest in it.

It was melodramatic and emotionally intense!

This kind of style ran completely against the mainstream, challenging viewers' taste and tolerance.

Generally, works that buck the trend like this, if produced with high quality, either become massive hits or crash spectacularly. The latter is far more common.

There were plenty of production companies and directors who had "crashed and burned" trying to pull this off.

After so many years of development, the TV drama market had become clearly segmented.

Youth idol dramas nowadays leaned heavily into comedy, slapstick, or over-the-top drama.

If you wanted to do angst and emotional pain, that belonged to middle-aged dramas. To cross genres like this, you had to be prepared for the risk of total failure and financial ruin.

Lu Yi finished reading the script outline seriously, and felt a headache coming on.

The risk was simply too high. Producing this drama was like gambling. If it succeeded, the rewards could be huge, but if it flopped...

What stopped Lu Yi from immediately dismissing the project was, first, that it was a weekend drama. The lower cost and flexible "shoot-as-you-air" model meant they could adjust or even stop mid-way if the response was poor, like how a web novel could be wrapped up early if subscriptions were dismal. (Of course, abandoning it entirely was out of the question.)

And second, there was Lu Chen himself as the male lead, which was a definite selling point. Lu Yi's internal struggle was crystal clear to Lu Chen, who gave a wry smile. "I know this genre is hard to pull off."

He, too, was starting to regret not doing more research on the domestic TV market before writing the script.

If he'd known things would turn out this way, he might have been better off writing "My Love from the Star". Although the production costs would've been higher, at least it would've been easier to find partners.

Though the thought of regret briefly flashed through Lu Chen's mind, it vanished just as quickly. If no one was willing to invest in the drama, he'd just finance it himself. Of course, that would drastically increase both the cost and the risk, something he'd only consider as a last resort.

Lu Yi smiled and said, "Yes, the subject matter is a bit unconventional, but the story is truly excellent. I think girls will love it."

After a brief pause, he asked, "Mr. Lu Chen, if our company were to collaborate with you, what conditions would you have?"

Lu Yi had overheard part of the conversation between Lu Chen and Zhu Minghe earlier, but hadn't caught the details clearly.

Lu Chen thought for a moment and replied, "My condition is co-investment. I'm willing to convert both the script and my actor's fee into equity, no additional payment required. Also, the female lead has already been decided. And I'd like to recommend a director, though I'm open to discussion on that choice."

Joint investment from multiple parties is the most common model in TV/film production, so Lu Yi had no objections. Lu Chen converting his script and salary into investment shares was actually favorable for the production company, as it helped reduce financial risk.

But Lu Chen not only wanted the male lead, he also wanted control over the female lead and the director.

Just like Zhu Minghe, Lu Yi couldn't help but frown slightly. He asked, "Mr. Lu Chen, may I ask which director you'd like to recommend?"

Lu Chen answered straightforwardly, "Director Fang Hui, do you know her?"

Fang Hui was a well-known director in the domestic entertainment industry, famous for her ability to portray delicate female emotions on screen. She had also directed many music videos and had extensive experience.

While she didn't have any mega-hits under her belt, her reputation was solid.

Lu Chen had worked with her previously on the music video for "Not Yet Lovers" with MSN. The final product turned out beautifully, and Flying Stone Records got it broadcast across major media platforms. That's what led to the album's popularity on WeChat Music, and now the physical CDs and merchandise crowdfunding campaign are doing extremely well.

That collaboration left Lu Chen with a very good impression of Fang Hui. They had exchanged many ideas, and he believed she could fully handle this story and bring out the exact tone he was aiming for.

Otherwise, why would Lu Chen insist on her?

"Director Fang Hui?" Lu Yi was momentarily surprised, then said, "Yes, I know her. Haven't worked with her directly, but I've seen some of her dramas."

Thinking it through carefully, Lu Yi realized that Lu Chen's suggestion was actually quite reasonable. Fang Hui's directing style was well-suited to a show like Autumn in My Heart.

Lu Chen clarified, "To be honest, I haven't even brought this up to Director Fang yet. I don't know if she has time, so this is just a recommendation. If you have someone else in mind, I'm open to discussion."

Originally, he had wanted to discuss things properly with Zhu Minghe at Baolong Pictures, but unfortunately, the other party hadn't even given him a chance.

Lu Yi, on the other hand, seemed much more sincere.

Lu Yi smiled and said, "Alright, let's set that aside for now. Who did you have in mind for the female lead?"

There's an unspoken rule in the entertainment industry: money talks. Whoever invests the most holds the most power. If you're not putting in the money, nobody cares what you want.

So for Lu Chen to want both the male and female leads, he had to be investing himself. Otherwise, no one would care what his script said.

Lu Yi was very curious about who Lu Chen had in mind for the female lead.

Was Lu Chen trying to promote someone?

He'd read the script outline. The female lead was the most outstanding and pivotal character in the entire story.

For someone like Lu Chen, young, successful, and wealthy, if he wanted to impress a certain girl, what could be more romantic and moving than making her the heroine of a TV drama?

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Chen Fei'er."

"Chen Fei'er?" Lu Yi instinctively repeated the name.

In the next instant, his eyes widened, and his face filled with disbelief: "You mean that Chen Fei'er?"

Lu Chen smiled. "Yes, the very one you're thinking of."

Lu Yi was stunned.

As a seasoned industry veteran, it was rare for him to lose his composure. But the news Lu Chen had just dropped was simply too explosive.

Who was Chen Fei'er?

A superstar in the entertainment world with tens of millions of fans, a diva who had reigned in the music scene for over a decade!

But Lu Yi quickly recovered, and then broke into a huge grin.

If before he had only a 20–30% confidence in the success of this drama, now it had jumped to 70–80%.

In TV or film, the difference a top-tier celebrity makes is massive. Chen Fei'er might not be a full-time actress, but she had done guest roles in several blockbuster films.

And if what Lu Chen said was true, this would be Chen Fei'er's first time as a TV drama lead. The media buzz alone would guarantee strong interest. Selling the show wouldn't be a problem at all, just a matter of negotiating the price.

With Chen Fei'er on board, the biggest concern about Autumn in My Heart, its niche style, was no longer a problem. As long as her fanbase tuned in, the show's ratings would be basically secured.

She was like a heavyweight bargaining chip, the kind that could tip the scales entirely in your favor.

If Qiande Brothers Films could take on the production of this drama, the benefits would be immense.

Even if they lost money, it might still be worth it!

How had Baolong Pictures' Zhu Minghe passed on this opportunity?

There could only be one answer: he didn't give Lu Chen the chance to even bring it up.

Well then, Qiande absolutely couldn't afford to miss out!

Lu Yi almost wanted to laugh out loud in glee, feeling incredibly lucky that he had the patience and sincerity to really listen.

Trying to contain his excitement, Lu Yi said eagerly, "Mr. Lu Chen, on behalf of Qiande Films, I would like to officially begin discussions with you about partnering on Autumn in My Heart!"

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

He realized he had truly underestimated Chen Fei'er's influence. If he had brought up her name when talking to Zhu Minghe, the outcome might've been completely different.

But that was just a thought.

Qiande Brothers Films might, in fact, be a much better choice.

(End of Chapter)