Chapter 55: Ye Quanzhen and Bingbing (Third Update)

"Deal secured!"
"Huh? That easy?"
"Of course. But is this show really worth ten million?"
"What's there to worry about? I'm not spending my own money right now anyway!"
"Ma Xun, your methods are a bit wild."
"Sister Hong, these days, if your methods aren't wild, how are you supposed to make money?"
"Haha... I like that attitude of yours. But let me remind you, Teacher Zhang and the others lost quite a bit previously."
"Don't worry. With me this time, even if they filmed a piece of crap, I could turn it into gold and sell it to someone else."
"You sure talk big!"
Sister Hong brought good news: *Tai Chi Master* was secured!
Regarding getting his hands on this project, Ma Xun was truly extremely confident.
To put it bluntly, even Zhang Xinyan himself had no idea how wildly popular this show would become later on!
In truth, Old Master Zhang was already past his prime.
To put it bluntly, his directing philosophy was already struggling to keep up with the times.
For instance, just like before, they cast this production directly from the Beijing Sport University.
True, martial arts films required wushu athletes.
However, movies and television dramas were, after all, a visual art, and actors still needed actual acting skills.
Wushu athletes could certainly perform flashy and beautiful moves, but their acting skills were not necessarily guaranteed.
Zhang Xinyan had discovered Jet Li.
One must not overlook the fact that Jet Li not only possessed great martial arts skills, but his acting was also quite decent.
Much like in the later film *The Warlords*, where he went toe-to-toe with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro, not losing ground at all and sometimes even surpassing them.
Although Ma Xun didn't particularly care for Jet Li as a person, these objective facts had to be acknowledged.
It was truly difficult to encounter another person quite like Jet Li.
Take Zhao Wenzhuo later on, for example; his acting skills were rather green.
To be fair, Teacher Zhao's fighting skills were truly not much inferior to the Kung Fu Emperor himself, and besides, he was even better-looking.
As for Wu Jing... Zhang Xinyan was actually extraordinarily lucky.
He managed to discover a potential superstar right at the very end of his career.
Yet even so, it was hard to prevent the failure of Sil-Metropole's formula.
Depending solely on sports schools made it genuinely difficult to produce quality film and television works.
Much like how Hong Kong's martial arts films were more outstanding, and figures like Big Brother Jackie... well, the Seven Little Fortunes originally came from opera troupes.
They could fight and act.
And these were things only a time-traveler like Ma Xun knew.
Old Master Zhang Xinyan himself probably thought *Tai Chi Master* didn't have high hopes either.
That was almost certain, given how the earlier *Fist Power* had dealt Old Master Zhang a devastating blow.
The salaries of Charlie Yeung and Hu Huizhong certainly weren't low.
As a result, the film didn't even gross one million in Hong Kong.
Sil-Metropole probably lost everything down to their last penny.
Now that Ma Xun had Sister Hong offer ten million, and that was just to acquire the mainland copyright for *Tai Chi Master*, Old Master Zhang would undoubtedly agree to sell!
However, Ma Xun was indeed somewhat cautious, which was why he had mentioned the copyright of *Fist Power* to Sister Hong.
It was also because he knew just how popular *Tai Chi Master* would become in the future.
Since everything was going smoothly now, there was no need to bring that up.
However, Ma Xun was heading to Changsha next.
He had intended to discuss this matter with Sister Hong, but unexpectedly, just as he was about to speak, Sister Hong came out with this:
"Ma Xun, you aren't buying this show just for that girl Xiaoran, are you?"
Huh?
"Sister Hong, what kind of talk is that? Am I that kind of person?" Ma Xun spoke the truth here.
I definitely had to buy *Tai Chi Master*, but it had nothing to do with Li Xiaoran.
At most, the materials she brought served as a reminder.
Yet Sister Hong wouldn't let it go, saying, "It's good if you aren't that kind of person, but I won't tolerate any nonsense. That girl Xiaoran... she ended up broken in your hands last night, didn't she?"
"Huh?" Ma Xun was displeased now. "Sister Hong, what kind of remark is that? What do you mean 'broken in my hands'?"
A soft, giggling laugh came from the other end of the line.
"You, you never know your own strength. There's a screen test today, and this is a martial arts film after all. The way that girl was gritting her teeth, hehehe..."
So Sister Hong had seen right through it all.
Ma Xun had indeed given a warning beforehand, but he figured that if it was too uncomfortable, she could just avoid doing any high-impact movements.
Li Xiaoran, oh Li Xiaoran, you are a tough cookie!
"Alright, alright, my fault. Anyway, I need to take a trip to Changsha next, this news..."
"Don't worry, I'll pass it on for you."
Sister Hong chimed in with a quick reply.
Ma Xun was left quite helpless for a moment.
It seemed explanations were impossible now.
So he simply wouldn't explain at all.
Anyway, Ma Xun didn't care if others called him a scoundrel.
And he cared even less about what Sister Hong thought.
Was she dissatisfied?
Screw her!
...
A few days later, in Changsha.
"I don't want to put too much pressure on you either, but you must seize this opportunity this time."
"Mom, I understand."
"Child, there really is no turning back."
"Mom, I know."
Bingbing and her mother had arrived in Changsha several days early.
The official recording for *My Fair Princess* and the "Xiangjiang Girls" talent pageant had not yet begun.
However, word was that this round would span at least four episodes of programming.
That meant at least a month's time.
And as for the preliminary auditions, it wouldn't stop at just the one in Beijing.
There would be two more following that in Shanghai and Changsha.
In addition, word had it that contestants were coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan as well, including fairly well-known stars.
In short, an enormous number of people were participating in this talent search.
Yet the roles they were all fighting over were just those few.
For Bingbing to claim she felt no pressure would be a lie even she couldn't believe.
Yet, just as her mother had said.
There was no way out!
Coming here early was precisely to prepare in advance.
This time was an all-out gamble.
Whatever, she was going all in!
Still, going out shopping with her mother before the pageant recording started was only human nature.
Strolling through an unfamiliar city felt rather nice.
And this time, Bingbing unexpectedly spotted someone.
Ma Xun?
What was he... Bingbing felt a stir in her heart.
"Mom, I... my stomach hurts."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I'm going to the restroom. You can order some food at this shop and wait for me, I'll be right back."
"Alright then, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, nature calls."
Bingbing found an excuse, parted ways with her mother, and immediately turned to follow Ma Xun.
The place Ma Xun headed to this time was quite strange; it turned out to be a Xinhua Bookstore.
Bingbing followed him inside.
Not long after, she spotted them in the row of sociology books and hurriedly hid herself.
Them?
That's right, Ma Xun was meeting someone.
A woman.
A very pretty, very familiar-looking woman.
"Why arrange to meet in a place like this?"
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with here?"
"It feels like we're secret agents exchanging intelligence."
"Ha... Your Highness, you really know how to joke."
Your Highness?
The two of them spoke in low voices, but Bingbing could still hear them clearly.
This address of "Your Highness" finally allowed Bingbing to recall who this woman was.
Vivian Chow!
She actually knew Ma Xun?
"Big Sister."
Suddenly, a little kid walked up and called out to Bingbing.
This startled Bingbing out of her wits.
Squeezing out a smile, she thought: *Please just walk away.*
"You're blocking the book I want to read."
The child was quite polite.
Bingbing had no choice but to step aside.
Yet just because of this brief delay—
Huh?
Where did those two go?
She hurried to search again, and finally felt relieved enough to hide once more when she heard Vivian Chow's voice.
This time, she grabbed a book to use as cover.
Ma Xun and Vivian Chow had now moved to the wushu and martial arts section.
"Your Highness, I've roughly scouted things out."
"Oh, tell me about it."
"The eldest young master of the Ping family has had several talks with He Xiugong. His stance is very clear: the Ping family has no intention of letting go."
"That was entirely predictable."
Ma Xun had previously assigned Vivian Chow the task of closely monitoring the conflict between He Xiugong and the Ping family.
Of course the Ping family wouldn't willingly back down.
Qiong Yao's dramas represented a massive stream of profits.
Vivian Chow smiled and continued, "However, Young Master Ping mentioned that if things get out of hand, they'll just let Madam know."
This piece of information was quite interesting.
Ma Xun smiled as well. "You can tell He Xiugong this: I can help her, and even make her the lead of this production, but the profits I want... you know."
"That rebroadcast right?"
"Exactly."
"But..."
"I don't want all of it. Just the rebroadcast rights for twice, outside of Hunan TV."
"This... well, I will convey Your Highness's intentions."
From Vivian Chow's perspective, these two rebroadcast rights were indeed open for negotiation.
However, she was genuinely curious.
What kind of brilliant method did Ma Xun have to help He Xiugong defeat the eldest young master of the Ping family?
"Your Highness, just tell me."
"This... hehe... actually, there's nothing particularly difficult about it. It's nothing more than ensuring the Ping family makes a complete fool of themselves during this talent search!"
"And... specifically?"
"I can't tell you yet, but you just tell He Xiugong to rest easy. Whatever profits she promised me, I will definitely help her secure."
"I understand. If the Ping family's faction makes a fool of themselves, they naturally won't have the qualifications to negotiate anything anymore."
"You see, this talent search is a struggle for power. Whoever's people are ultimately chosen will hold greater authority. He Xiugong probably doesn't have absolute certainty of winning right now; I'm helping her so she can win."
"Alright!"
Just when she thought the conversation had ended, Ma Xun suddenly pulled Vivian Chow into his arms and whispered a few words in her ear.
After hearing His Highness's instructions, Vivian Chow instantly beamed with radiant joy.
"Ah-xue understands."
With that, she left.
And right at this moment...
Bingbing was holding a book, squatting down.
Silently chanting: *He can't see me, he can't see me...*
Yet unexpectedly, a sharp pain hit her backside.
She turned her head and saw Ma Xun.
Clearly, this fellow had just given her bottom a kick.
"You..." It hurt a bit.
Actually, Ma Xun hadn't used much force.
"I must say, with such pathetic stalking skills, how do you even have the nerve to follow me?"
Ma Xun had spotted Bingbing from the very beginning; he had simply been too lazy to expose her.
Moreover, it was no big deal if this young girl overheard his conversation with Vivian Chow.
Yet Bingbing was extremely indignant at that moment!
"Who has pathetic skills! How... how did you find me?"
Ma Xun smiled without speaking, simply pointing at her book.
What about it?
Bingbing suddenly realized in shock that she was holding the book upside down...
And also, also—