Chapter 19: I Can Forgo the Salary

Page 1 of 3

The morning light was faint, and the long-established breakfast shop at the entrance of the Beijing Film Academy was bustling with steam. Meng Ziyi sat by the window, looking anxious.

She had dressed up specifically for today, wearing a light pink knitted cardigan over a white dress. Her hair was half-up, and two delicate pearl studs adorned her earlobes, shimmering with a soft luster in the morning light.

On the table before her were two bowls of savory tofu pudding, two steamers of soup dumplings, and two cups of freshly ground soy milk.

When Jiang Ye pushed the door open and walked in, Meng Ziyi immediately stood up and waved. "Junior Jiang... oh wait, Director Jiang, over here!"

"Sister Meng, you might as well just call me by my name," Jiang Ye said as he walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "What’s the rush? Why meet at an off-campus breakfast shop? Did the buns in our school cafeteria poison you?"

"Of course not!" Meng Ziyi pushed a bowl of tofu pudding toward him. "The braised sauce at this place is a family secret; I come here every week."

She even enthusiastically poured a dash of soy sauce into Jiang Ye's tofu pudding...

Wait, what?

Salty?!

You...

Meng Ziyi didn't notice the pained expression on Jiang Ye's face at all. She lowered her voice and continued, "There are too many eyes at school. What if someone sees me meeting you and..."

"Hmm?"

"What if they steal my lead role!" she blurted out, quickly covering her mouth and blinking her eyes.

Jiang Ye nearly choked on his soy milk.

"Actually..." Meng Ziyi put down her spoon and went straight to the point. "Jiang Ye, why did you refuse my investment yesterday?"

Jiang Ye sighed. "The production is short on funds, but investments are always risky. We're from the same school; we're on the same team! I’ll be honest with you—if it loses money, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I'm not afraid!" Meng Ziyi was clearly getting anxious. "I love this role so much. Even if it loses money, I’ll accept it!"

Heaven knows how she spent last night, tossing and turning in a state of agitation...

"Just say yes, please..."

"I really love this role. Just treat it as helping me fulfill a dream, okay? I’ll work like a horse for your next project!"

"Director Jiang... Great Director Jiang..."

"..."

Seeing that Jiang Ye wouldn't agree, Meng Ziyi even resorted to acting cute. She knew that with her beauty, most guys couldn't resist!

Sure enough...

"Fine," Jiang Ye said, as if he had been worn down. "Let's treat the money as a loan from you. If it loses money, I’ll pay you back in full. If it makes a profit... I’ll give you a share of the dividends."

Meng Ziyi was stunned!

This...

Did I lay on the charm too thick just now, and did this guy fall for me?

Page 2 of 3

He’s actually being so considerate of her!

But...

She hadn't even considered whether she wanted to agree to his "unspoken rules" yet...

What if he really brings it up later?

Agreeing is definitely out of the question—she’s still a chaste young lady.

If it really comes down to it, maybe I’ll just let him kiss me, and treat it like being bitten by a dog...

Seeing that she hadn't responded for a long time, Jiang Ye found it strange. He looked up and saw her frowning at her soy milk, lost in thought. Then, she inexplicably pursed her lips and giggled, and finally, she began drawing circles on the table with her finger.

What on earth?

"Ahem..." Jiang Ye cleared his throat, deciding to push the plan forward. "Actually, the original budget for this film was sufficient."

He opened his phone gallery. "But I have a flaw—I can't stand settling for less."

On the screen was a detailed shot of a bright red period costume. The cloud and phoenix patterns on the collar were vivid and lifelike, and tiny pearls were sewn onto the cuffs.

"For just this main costume," Jiang Ye zoomed in on the embroidery details, "I had a Suzhou embroiderer work on it by hand for two months. The cost alone was eighty-six thousand."

Meng Ziyi let out a "wow" and leaned closer to the screen, unable to take her eyes off it.

The material, the details—it was clearly high-end!

I was right about him!

Still, this dress looked a bit familiar...

Jiang Ye nonchalantly swiped to the next picture. "It’s not just the costumes; we’re using Arri lights for our lighting, and the camera is the latest RED model..."

He suddenly gave a bitter smile. "So, I’ve had to cut my own director's salary."

"You’re giving up your director's fee?!" Meng Ziyi was shocked.

This man, what is he doing this for?

Is he really just pursuing his artistic dreams, and like her, just wants to prove himself?

"There’s no other way," Jiang Ye sighed deeply. "I can't treat the seniors working with me unfairly, right? And you leads, everyone has it tough..."

Meng Ziyi suddenly slammed the table and stood up. "Then I won't take a salary either!"

"That won't do!"

"I'm not short on money... er, no, I mean I’m also willing to contribute to art!"

She said with great loyalty, "Save my salary, and we can make the film even better!"

Jiang Ye struggled for a long time before finally compromising. "Then... I’ll give you the title of Art Director, responsible for the final approval of costumes and styling."

"Ah??? Really???"

"Yes!"

Page 3 of 3

"That’s great, Junior, you’re such a good person..."

"Everything for our production!"

"Yes! Our production. Junior, is 2 million enough? Should I add a bit more...?"

"That’s enough! Sister Meng, you’re a great person!"

"Hehe!"

...

As soon as Meng Ziyi left, Jiang Ye pulled out his phone, opened the budget table in his notes, and a smirk curled the corner of his mouth.

He had originally announced a budget of 5 million, but after this little maneuver, 2 million was now more than enough.

For this kind of low-cost web series, the locations were rented at the school’s partnership rate, the costumes were borrowed for free, the equipment was part of a student discount plan, and the post-production editing was done directly in the school’s computer lab. The actual production cost was barely over 1 million.

This is the benefit of mooching off school resources!

The real money sinks in a production are the director’s, producer’s, and lead actors' salaries, as well as post-production marketing.

Of course, if you have to build sets from scratch, the costs go much deeper!

But now that the lead is paying to work, the producer is working for free, and there’s no need to build sets, it really doesn't cost much.

He thought for a moment and added a note under "Accommodation and Transport": "Everyone commutes. Night shoots end by 22:00 at the latest to catch the last bus back to school!"

There was a direct 916 express line from Beijing Film Academy to Huairou anyway, and student cards got a 50% discount.

Accommodation costs saved!

As for marketing, he had other plans...!

Now, the only thing missing was a male lead!

...

Dongji Island, *Left Ear* production set.

The sea breeze was salty, and the sun was scorching.

Today they were filming a crucial scene on the beach between Zhang Yang, played by Ou Hao, and Li Bala, played by Ma Sichun.

The scene was emotionally intense with dense dialogue. They had already shot it three times, but director Su Youpeng was still not satisfied and called for a break to make adjustments.

Taking advantage of the break, Ou Hao and Ma Sichun sat under a parasol, holding iced mineral water to cool down.

"By the way," Ou Hao suddenly remembered something and turned to Ma Sichun. "Chunchun, I need to take leave in a few days. That kid Jiang Ye asked me to make a guest appearance in his web series."

"Jiang Ye?" Ma Sichun’s expression didn't change, but a ripple of something strange flashed in her heart. "Didn't he just start school? He's already putting together his own production team?"