Chapter 44: Truly Like a Martial Arts Master

The moment the projection screen faded to black, the entire screening room fell into an unexplainable silence, the atmosphere turning somewhat awkward.

The young female employees from the copyright department cast sharp, intent glances at Jiang Ye, their eyes carrying a nameless, strange expression.

What on earth did this guy shoot?

How bold, how daring of him...

"A guy dressing up as a girl is one thing," a girl nudged the person beside her, lowering her voice, "Look at that scene where the Crown Prince banters with him. The Crown Prince's gaze—he's clearly looking at a person dressed as a woman, so why does it feel like he's looking at one of his bros? It's so weird..."

Before she could finish, another girl, whose face was flushed, interrupted, "Hey, hey, don't say that. Just now when the Crown Prince pinched his cheek and scolded him as a crazy girl, I actually thought... it was kind of ship-worthy?"

She quickly shot a sideways glance at Jiang Ye. "They're clearly the male and female leads, so why does it feel like a BL dynamic? It's so weird..."

"With production design and costumes that rough, I bet their entire budget went into making these bizarre interactions."

"But seriously, the tension in that little standoff was way more engaging than the industrial sweet-water of proper historical romance dramas..."

The young girls were starting to doubt their own worldview.

On one hand, they thought the drama Jiang Ye directed was absurdly ridiculous; on the other hand, they couldn't help but reminisce about that indescribable couple chemistry.

Why was it strangely addictive?

"Everyone, please quiet down!"

Director Zhao from the marketing department pushed up his glasses, his gaze falling on Jiang Ye with a professional, cautious tone. "Teacher Jiang, to be frank, from your costume design and set decoration to the cast, this drama barely reaches the standard of a C-grade platform content."

"This year, we've already launched three C-grade historical light comedies, with the highest view count just barely topping fifty million. S-grade dramas rely on stars and special effects to pull a crowd, while C-grade dramas basically sink without a trace unless they have a viral hook. Surely your core competitiveness isn't just relying on the novelty setup of a guy crossingdressing as a girl, right?"

Jiang Ye remained completely unfazed, tapping his fingertips lightly against the tabletop with a calm smile. "Director Zhao is right. We are indeed a C-grade production, with a per-episode cost of under five hundred thousand, not even a fraction of an S-grade drama."

"But every penny we saved was poured directly into the script."

He stood up, walked over to the projector, and brought up the data. "Current historical dramas on the market either stack special effects or rely heavily on star power, turning the story itself into mere background decoration."

"For our drama, the script went through seventeen revisions. The male-to-female cross-dressing is merely the surface setting; the core is the modernization of contemporary workplace survival rules projected onto an ancient setting."

He clicked on a sample clip. "For instance, the Crown Prince's Consort uses KPI evaluations on the imperial harem and project management thinking to overhaul the internal affairs of the East Palace. This contrast of ancient workplace counter-attacks is precisely what young audiences love the most."

Director Li from the copyright department sneered. "The creativity is decent, but the rough production is a fatal flaw. The costumes and sets are far too shabby!"

Jiang Ye remained unhurried. "Director Li, last year *Surprise* had even cruder image quality, and it still shattered view records."

"Audiences want freshness. I believe our plot is far more engaging!"

***

Jiang Ye spoke eloquently before the conference table, every word landing with resonance as he single-handedly fought off the crowd with immense passion!

Bai Mengyan sat beside him, nervously twisting the hem of her shirt, her eyes wide open as she watched in absolute bewilderment.

Her palms were secretly sweating, and she quickly wiped them against her skirt.

When that bald, chubby man sneered just now, she had been so terrified she almost snapped the pen in her hand, silently chanting "Boss, you can do it, Boss, you can do it," reciting it more piously than she ever did when memorizing textbook passages in school.

Seeing how effortlessly Jiang Ye handled the situation, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward. Fearing someone might notice, she quickly pursed her lips, using only her peripheral vision to chase Jiang Ye's figure, feeling delightfully sweet inside.

So her boss wasn't just capable of filming those weird, addictive dramas; he was also this formidable in negotiations, practically like...

Like a martial arts hero in a wuxia novel who could take on a hundred enemies alone!

She quietly clenched her fists, cheering an enthusiastic "You can do it!" for Jiang Ye in her heart. Her cute face was brimming with uncontainable admiration, resembling a little puppy wagging its tail for its master—obedient and deeply earnest.

***

The negotiation finally entered its crucial stage!

Director Li of the copyright department pushed up his glasses and took over the conversation. "According to our procedures, for a drama of this scale, we usually go with a one-time buyout. As for the price, twenty thousand per episode is the absolute limit."

The Crown Prince's Consort had a total of thirty-five episodes, meaning once sold, it would net seven million.

To others, that would mean taking a loss!

Given the normal salaries of several lead actors plus the director, along with costumes, makeup, props, and equipment, this drama's cost should be around ten million!

But for Jiang Ye, making a small profit of a few million wasn't his goal.

Making only a few million as his first pot of gold after rebirth would mean getting looked down upon by others...

Jiang Ye raised his eyes, his tone decisive. "Director Li, I'd like to change the model: zero guarantee, pure revenue sharing."

"The platform takes seventy percent, and we take thirty. But I have two conditions: first, give us a one-week homepage C-grade new drama recommendation slot; second, add a wager."

"A wager? What do you want to bet on?"

"Within thirty days of release," Jiang Ye said at a steady pace, "if the view count breaks one hundred million, we split it 7:3."

"If it falls short, reaching eighty million, the platform takes seventy-five percent. If it doesn't even hit fifty million, we only take twenty percent, and the rest goes entirely to the platform."

"If the total views exceed five hundred million, I want a share of the advertising revenue."

The conference room fell silent.

In 2014, web dramas were still fighting over copyright fees. A zero-guarantee deal meant the production team shouldered all upfront risks, and everyone present was somewhat surprised.

It meant that only if the view count reached fifty million would this fellow break even.

As for the views exceeding five hundred million for ad revenue sharing, they didn't really care about that.

If it failed, it was sheer nonsense!

If it succeeded? Then they would have stumbled upon a mega-hit, and they'd wake up laughing in their sleep...

One had to know that Tencent's self-produced web dramas in 2014 numbered around ten, and their combined total view count was only around one billion.

That figure even included top-tier web dramas like *Darker* and *The Soul-Searching Files*.

Director Li let out a scoff. "Aren't you afraid that if it fails to take off, you'll lose your shirt?"

"I am, but I believe even more in this drama's potential."

Just as Director Li was about to retort, Zhang Ming suddenly tapped the table. "Director Li, do you think the logic of low-cost trial and error is feasible?"

He turned to the other man, his tone strictly professional. "The platform is indeed pushing small-and-beautiful content in the second half of the year. If it can actually break through via revenue sharing, it's more cost-effective than a one-time buyout."

***

When they walked out of Tencent Building, the evening breeze carrying the chill of winter rushed over them. Bai Mengyan was still clutching the newly signed contract, her fingertips trembling. "Boss, that fatty just now said our costumes and props looked like a temporary stage built for a rural opera troupe, and I was so scared. How could you not panic at all?"

Jiang Ye raised a hand to loosen his shirt collar, speaking with casual indifference, "What's there to panic about? The reason they nitpicked our costumes and sets is because they had nothing else to pick on."

He tilted his head, saw her blank expression, and suddenly smiled. "Think about it, if the story were truly boring, would they bother arguing over whether the robe's slit was high enough?"

Bai Mengyan froze, abruptly coming to her senses.

During the screening earlier, those girls might have been complaining out loud, but the gleam of excitement in their eyes couldn't be hidden.

"Besides," Jiang Ye gazed at the illuminated Tencent logo in the distance, "what kind of drama is truly unforgettable? A drama like ours, one that can get people arguing and cursing, has already won halfway."

"Xiao Bai, once it launches, the more people curse us, the more it proves we're getting closer to success."

Bai Mengyan listened in utter bewilderment, feeling that her boss was acting a bit too pretentious...

Was there really such a thing as a drama becoming a hit purely because people cursed at it?