Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Chen Chihong thought he must've misheard. Custom-made? To satisfy personal taste? He opened his mouth, closed it, opened again, and finally squeezed out: 'President Sang, you... you're spending money to make a drama, just to... watch it?' Sang Ying nodded: 'Pretty much.' Chen Chihong went silent.

His mind raced — making a drama costs tens of millions, right? A company with millions in capital, renting a whole floor at Huajing International, driving a business van to pick people up, hiring writers, forming a team, shooting a drama... just to watch it?

He needed to process that. Chen Chihong picked up his water cup, stared at the ripples on the surface, his face frozen. ...What kind of family is this?!

Throwing money away for fun?! 'So—' Sang Ying spoke up. 'Teacher Chen, I want a drama that stays as faithful as possible to the original novel.

Your work is already excellent; it doesn't need any extra embellishment. As a reader of the original, 'faithfulness' is my top requirement.

While polishing the script, we'll also choose directors, actors, art departments, and other teams that we like and that fit.' ... Chen Chihong walked out of the meeting room on unsteady feet, almost out of his body, face flushed, dizzy downstairs.

He squinted, feeling like he'd downed three catties of baijiu — totally dazed. Stumbled into a celestial palace. Too surreal.

But hey, if the entertainment industry had more investors like President Sang, there'd definitely be fewer dramas that butcher the original! His phone buzzed — a message from the buddy he'd added 'just in case': ['How's it going?

Still alive? Need me to call the cops?'] Chen Chihong: ['Ran into the real deal...'] ['??'] Chen Chihong didn't send anything else.

Cui Jin's assistant had specifically reminded him that Sang Ying didn't want to be famous right now. Chen Chihong said he understood.

He was counting on President Sang to carry him, so he wouldn't do anything stupid. Mainly, he was about to join the crew!

As for the new novel he was serializing, he'd drop it — no, write four thousand characters a day, less pressure. Haha... hahaha! · In the president's office.

Inside the lounge. Sang Ying sank into the soft but supportive sofa, humming a tune while tapping on her phone, continuing to edit the post she'd release later.

She was late today because she'd stayed up last night reading a novel from her bookshelf. Some old-school novels do have limitations when read now, but the plot setup was so clever — totally her taste!

Sang Ying had already decided to film a round of them. No urgent business to deal with first. Instead of keeping the copyright purchase under wraps, Sang Ying decided to go public and let netizens give her some ideas.

There are a few common sayings in Domestic Entertainment: 'Are Domestic Entertainment talent scouts at the bottom of the barrel?' and 'The real masters are always among the people.' Sang Ying thought there was some truth to that. So... she'd just let netizens recommend candidates!

Since the current crew had no team at all, she wasn't picky — anyone who applied could be considered. Sang Ying knew very little about the entertainment industry and was completely fumbling, but she found it fun.

Netizens were thrown for a loop again. Hadn't they just helped her pick a company name? Now she'd bought the copyright to a novel and was going to make a drama?!

They thought President Sang was going to do something big, but when they looked closely at the novel's name — 'An Extraordinary Demolition Office'... A supernatural genre — wasn't that bound to flop?!

Netizens couldn't figure it out. Their emotions were like a roller coaster — up and down, not understanding what she was trying to do.

Since when did Domestic Entertainment make dramas like this?! Everyone waits until the drama is officially announced to know the production team!

Who posts a recruitment ad on Weibo like this — isn't that ridiculous?! She'd just bought the copyright, obviously the script hadn't been adapted yet, no script, so the filing probably wasn't done either.

No filing, no script, nothing — everything seemed to be waiting to be assembled through recruitment. A free lunch? It reeked of unreliability...

Of course, there were also comments with a different vibe. ['The Yan Kingdom map is way too short... I didn't believe Huang Yunwen's fans were set up before, but now I see it's true.'] Sang Ying: '?' What? ['Y_03': 'That's not quite right, but I can dig up 'Golden Realm Legend' and beat it again.'] ['Husband bought a novel, got all worked up, can't even get it on satellite TV.'] Being called that gave Sang Ying the creeps. ['Y_03': 'Don't call me that.

'Golden Realm Legend' drove me to it — because it was so bad, I'm making something I actually like.'] ['Did you really not sell your account? You've been way too active lately.'] Sang Ying: ['I have a second personality.'] ['Are you really going to make it?!

Bro Sang, can you check out my hidden gem actor, @Xuan Lerong? He's obscure but his acting is really good!'] Sang Ying: ['Tell him to send his resume to the email of @An Extraordinary Demolition Office.'] The employees at Aurora Entertainment's main task right now was screening resumes. ['?

You haven't even found actors yet?'] Sang Ying generously: ['Not just actors — nothing at all. You can follow the series 'Building a Crew from Scratch' now.'] ['I've read this novel ah?!

Original novel fans are devastated — I thought it would stay pure forever, but it got picked by capital.'] ['From scratch? Isn't that just a gimmick?

Making such a big fuss, what if it flops before it even starts?'] Sang Ying never makes empty promises. She told the truth: ['You can assume it'll be a massive flop right now.

Because from now on, I'll keep making flop dramas that I love.'] ['Do you need a composer? I'm an independent musician — haven't made a name for myself yet, but I've got talent.'] Sang Ying @'d An Extraordinary Demolition Office. ['So what's it actually called?'] ['Y_03': 'Whatever, as long as it's not too cringe.'] ['...You're really hard to please.'] ['Y_03': 'Rumor.'] ['President Sang, does your family allow you to burn money like this?'] Sang Ying replied randomly: ['Don't underestimate the bond between me and my family.'] ['I read this novel a long time ago.

When the drama comes out, I'll taste it. If it's a scam, there'll be backlash.'] Sang Ying played along: ['It might not even come out — I'll just post it in a QQ group after filming, only my few fans will watch it (hug).'] Domestic Entertainment capital loves using traffic actors because they have lots of fans, and fans defend their idols for free, acting as free water army.

Once someone says it's bad, they get silenced. Some netizens can't stand this bullying style and start fighting back — so why not just release the drama in the fan group!

As long as it doesn't pollute the public eye, no one will criticize it! Fan-exclusive! Coming from the account 'Y_03', it carried a sense of humor.

At least netizens bought it. They felt it had a human touch. · ['Garden Group | Did you see the trending topic? That account starting with Y is such a pro at playing the internet — that must have cost over a million in marketing, right?'] ———— ['Main post'] ['rt.

At least everyone in the group knows that drama 'The Demolition And Relocation Office' is going to be made.'] ['Floor 1': 'I always thought Domestic Entertainment was done for, but it's actually not. This marketing company is going to make a name for itself — a textbook case.'] ['Floor 3': '[Cloud] got sacrificed, so tragic.'] ['Floor 7': 'He acted in 'Golden Realm Legend', not only didn't get a promotion, but got publicly humiliated — his name was on the trending list.'] ['Floor 11': 'Born with fire, no way around it — the focus of both praise and criticism is all on him.'] ['Floor 13': 'Cloud fans, tone it down.

This is a public forum — don't flaunt your fandom identity so blatantly. It's so cringe I could dig out a three-bedroom apartment...'] ['Floor 15': 'That President Sang, isn't she afraid of being ganged up on by peers?

Being so aggressive, sweeping across a wide range of actors and capital.'] ['Floor 19': 'The unannounced male lead automatically becomes mortal enemies with [Cloud]...'] ['Floor 22': 'Haha, finally seeing Lao Yun get owned — so entertaining, give us more!'] ['Floor 23': 'Some people, don't hate Emperor Yun too much, careful your true colors show...'] ['Floor 24': 'Will any actor actually take this?

Industry insiders know the real value of this project — it's a scam. Aurora Entertainment doesn't have the ability to put together a production.

If they did, why would they be recruiting employees on Weibo like a dating ad? Lol.'] ['Floor 27': 'I'm wondering about that too.

The drama isn't in any of the three major TV stations' investment conferences, and Aurora Entertainment was just registered — doesn't seem to have any affiliated companies. Suspicious.'] ['Floor 28': 'A three-no company with no backing can only resort to unconventional promotion.'] ['Floor 31': 'But I checked Y_03's Weibo, and it seems like they really do have money...

The hot comments listed the prices of the things they showed off — all sky-high.'] ['Floor 37': 'Those can be faked — haven't you seen how many fake socialites have been exposed?'] ['Floor 40': 'Mainly, no one has called them out.'] ['Floor 47': 'No one calls them out because it was real before, but now the person behind the account has changed.

Aurora Entertainment is controlling it. Otherwise, if they had that much money, why wouldn't they just set up the project directly?

Isn't that contradictory?'