Chapter 159 I Am Not Short of Money

Bribed by a table of delicious food, Chu Luoxi ultimately abandoned her curiosity as to why the Great God Xiao was still at home. Stuffed and feeling quite idle, she simply settled back to enjoy this rare moment of leisure.

"If you don't want to fly all over China and appear everywhere for promotional tours, you can have Lan Lun coordinate your schedule," Xiao Jingxuan offered his opinion when he saw Chu Luoxi fretting that her days of leisure were numbered.

"Coordinate? Can things like this be coordinated?" Chu Luoxi blinked, feeling that for all her years in her past life, she had been utterly clueless. She had never once called the shots for herself, and had no idea there were so many unknown intricacies hidden beneath the surface.

"Of course they can," Xiao Jingxuan replied with unruffled composure, looking as though this was far from his first time doing such a thing. "First of all, in the entire television series, although you are the female lead, your fame isn't actually as high as that of your two roommates. Therefore, when it comes to promotion, your impact isn't necessarily greater than theirs."

"Furthermore, many promotional appearances are simply repetitive. If you go on too often, fans will develop aesthetic fatigue. You yourself will grow weary of constantly repeating the same things and performing the same routines. Thus, coordination is a very good idea. Besides, the coordination I'm talking about doesn't mean skipping promotions altogether; it means minimizing the number of appearances, attending only the more prominent programs and well-known interviews. The rest don't actually serve much purpose."

Many promotional campaigns were carried out like carpet bombing, to the point where audiences grew utterly sick of them. Yet many producers and entertainment companies still pursued them with relentless enthusiasm, exhausting the artists to no end, while often achieving the exact opposite of the desired effect. Who knew what was going on in the minds of people today? They completely lacked a sense of moderation—or perhaps they simply did it for that little bit of extra money from the appearances? Surely it wasn't worth that!

"Really?" Chu Luoxi looked surprised for a moment, then happily called Manager Lan to discuss the matter. It made Xiao Jingxuan imagine that Lan Lun's icy expression must surely be cracking right about now!

Poor Lan Lun was still agonizing over whether he should find a new place for Chu Luoxi to live. Why did he always have the lingering feeling that hanging around a certain Great God was teaching all his well-behaved artists bad habits?

And so, Chu Luoxi finally found herself with free time on her hands. She even managed to take a trip back to the Imperial Film Academy, where she was warmly welcomed by her head teacher, who jokingly reminded her not to forget her classmates if any opportunities arose. Although the fourth year was technically an internship period, quite a few students who hadn't yet landed work were still lingering around the campus, so the remark had merely been said in passing.

However, Chu Luoxi truly took it to heart. To be honest, the friendships formed within the school walls were truly the most genuine. Friends made out in the real world always came with a certain amount of underlying complexity.

Over the past year or two since her rebirth, thanks to her own mellowed disposition, her relationships with her classmates had improved significantly. While they might not be sworn confidants, they were certainly on very good terms.

"Senior Brother, you mentioned that *Prunus Mume* is in preparation?" Chu Luoxi asked deliberately after returning from school.

"Mmm..." Xiao Jingxuan looked at her with his bright, gleaming eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

"Have the other roles been cast yet? If possible, could you consider my classmates? Anyway, a TV series has plenty of roles, and there are only a little over thirty people in our entire class. We're not demanding any major parts," Chu Luoxi said, her eyes shining brightly. "Though, of course, it depends on whether the director is open to using students..."

Even though she was looking out for her classmates, she didn't want to make things difficult for Xiao Jingxuan. Besides, this television series was also the painstaking creation of the Great God Xiao, and it was a project that had never even existed in her past life—a fact that made even her feel a thrill of excitement.

"Qiu Xian volunteered proactively. In order to direct this series, he has pushed back all his other work and is just waiting for us to start filming," Xiao Jingxuan said after a moment of thought. "Using your classmates should be fine. Have them go for auditions when the time comes; I'm sure Director Qiu will be quite happy to oblige."

Was this man beating around the bush to say that Qiu Xian was really that idle? Did even minor extra roles require such a grand and formal audition process?

"Director Qiu?" Chu Luoxi felt somewhat surprised, though upon reflection, it seemed entirely reasonable. Moreover, Qiu Xian was a representative of the aesthetic school, and having now attained legendary status as a leader in the television industry, it was undoubtedly the best possible thing for *Prunus Mume*.

With *Rivers and Mountains* already a thing of the past, countless fans were now eagerly awaiting Director Qiu's new work. It could be said that the moment Qiu Xian's name was mentioned, a solid audience base was guaranteed. Add to that Xiao Jingxuan... and the Great God Baiyun?

*Orz*, Chu Luoxi felt she was taking unfair advantage of the situation. The combined star power of these three names alone would skyrocket the viewership ratings!

Baiyun had already risen to become a new-generation great god in the online literature community. After quitting his day job, he had caught up with his serialization. His second novel had concluded, and his third novel appeared to be approaching the peak of its plot development. With a massive following of fans and readers, he made countless other authors burn with envy. Even Chu Luoxi would occasionally drool over Baiyun's data metrics; he truly lived up to his status as a grandmaster, completely outclassing ordinary people.

Therefore, once the name of the Great God Baiyun was put out there, it would likely drive many readers to contribute to the viewership ratings—among whom were a substantial number of people who normally never watched television simply because they feared poorly made adaptations and couldn't bear the cringe.

Of course, this was also a win-win situation. Once the drama *Prunus Mume* became a hit, Baiyun's web novel would undoubtedly experience a surge in popularity as well. After all, many people who watched television dramas didn't necessarily read web novels, which, in the eyes of the uninformed, were often seen as synonymous with vulgarity—their reputations truly ruined by a few irresponsible authors.

"Director Qiu evaluates things on their own merit rather than judging people. As long as someone has decent skill, he doesn't care whether they're still students," Xiao Jingxuan added.

Chu Luoxi nodded. Taking some free time, she called her head teacher. The news left her class of students thrilled, prompting them to immediately practice their acting skills. Most importantly, they made sure not to be too dogmatic or rigid, as everyone somewhat understood why many directors disliked casting students. Now that the opportunity was finally here, it all depended on whether they could seize it themselves.

"Senior Brother, this television series *Prunus Mume* will probably be your last one, won't it?" Chu Luoxi asked with a sigh. She still vividly remembered how, in her past life, the Great God Xiao had never accepted another television role once he started making films. This current project must be a singular exception on account of *Prunus Mume*.

"Not necessarily." Xiao Jingxuan sidled up and lay down beside the now-relaxing Chu Luoxi, once again using her lap as a pillow. "If I encounter a good script, I might consider it. As you know, I'm not short on money."

"..." Fine. People who weren't short on money possessed a rather formidable advantage—they could fund whatever projects caught their fancy. Tsk tsk, those detestable rich people; it made one almost want to punch them.

Although her father's business had provided a comfortable, upper-middle-class upbringing, Chu Luoxi had been raised with strict discipline and was accustomed to thriftiness, leaving her somewhat resentful of such extravagant squandering by the wealthy.

Speaking of which, the massive, runaway success of the game *Dao Seeker* had filled Father Chu's pockets to the brim. Every time he called, he was so overjoyed that he praised his daughter to the heavens and back, frequently asking her for her opinion on new investment opportunities or whether this or that market was viable, practically squeezing every last drop of brainpower out of Chu Luoxi.