Money 1%

“Well then, President Jiang, who shall we choose as our male lead this time?”

As the words fell, Jiang Tangmian’s wandering thoughts returned, and she found herself surrounded by a dense circle of people in the meeting room.

This was the casting preparation meeting for the new drama *Solemn Oath*, and as the owner of the production company behind the project, Jiang Tangmian was the undisputed center of authority in this selection.

All eyes landed on her alone.

Some were puzzled, some contemptuous…

Jiang Tangmian understood perfectly, for her company had only just been established.

In their eyes, she was nothing more than a rich girl flaunting her father’s wealth, a goddess of fortune here to sprinkle a little cash in the entertainment industry—how could she possibly have the ability to produce a good show?

But Jiang Tangmian, the focus of all this attention, paid it no mind. She took a bite of the sandwich in her hand, removed the photo of Chang Ze, the actor originally placed in the male lead’s spot, and muttered, “Not this one.”

She wore a black Chanel-style suit, a string of pearls around her neck setting off her fair skin, every inch of her exquisitely put together.

Jiang Tangmian sported blunt bangs and long, softly curled red hair, a cute black headband perched atop her head, paired with a layered black choker that echoed the look.

Her eyes were large and bright, though dark circles lingered beneath them from the past few days’ exhaustion.

The overall impression she gave was that of a dark, untouchable girl—someone no one would dare cross.

“……”

This small gesture sent a wave of astonishment through the meeting room.

Jiang Tangmian glanced again at Chang Ze’s photo—a standard costume shot brimming with youthful energy: a high ponytail, sword-like brows, bright eyes, a stalk of wild grass hanging from his lips, the very image of the male lead in *Solemn Oath* as he leveled up and vanquished monsters.

His features were exceptionally handsome, with a high-bridged nose and a pair of soulful, almond-shaped eyes. Based on looks alone, he could easily rank among the top five in the entertainment industry.

Chang Ze was a popular young idol, several times trending for his acting skills, even his original dialogue delivery widely praised.

*Solemn Oath*, as an original web novel IP, had exploded in popularity across the internet. Even many of the original novel’s fans were satisfied with Chang Ze as the drama’s male lead—his casting had generated considerable buzz.

Chang Ze’s agency had also expressed that the actor himself was strongly interested in the role and was willing to discuss the fee in detail.

“Male lead: to be determined.”

Jiang Tangmian’s voice was sweet and clear.

Even though the male lead selection had reached its final stage, and Chang Ze seemed to be the perfect candidate in every respect, Jiang Tangmian still decisively rejected him.

Because she knew that in half a month, Chang Ze would be caught in a cheating scandal. His reputation would collapse overnight, and soon after, he would vanish from the entertainment world.

A week ago, Jiang Tangmian had transmigrated into the entertainment industry novel she was reading, inheriting the identity of a wealthy heiress who shared her name.

Just as she was preparing to lie flat and enjoy her new life, the doctor pronounced her terminally ill, with only three months left to live.

In the span of a single day, Jiang Tangmian experienced the dizzying heights and crushing lows of life. As she clutched a bottle of liquor and railed at the heavens, the System arrived.

It informed her that, within the book, her role was that of a scheming, tsundere supporting female character, always tripping up the male and female leads.

She was supposed to participate in a dramatic talent show, practicing singing and dancing day and night, labeled as a rich girl who would have to go home and inherit the family fortune if she failed to work hard, struggling to debut amid a storm of public opinion.

Then, when transitioning from idol to actress, she would fall head over heels for the novel’s male lead at first sight, pursue him relentlessly, then become the most ridiculed character in the entire story.

Even Jiang Tangmian herself hadn’t been immune—she had only kept reading because the character shared her name, pinching her nose as she did so.

Because she had become the most hated character in the book.

This time, the System had thoughtfully bound her to an Audience Favorability System, allowing her to exchange audience affection for life points.

Her new plotline was arranged thus—

The transmigrated paper doll awakens, relying on her own strength to start over, turning the tables as a supporting character to become the protagonist of her own life.

Jiang Tangmian still felt darkness before her eyes, thoroughly dissatisfied.

The body she now inhabited, that of the heiress, was already frail, and now she was told she had only three months left to live. She could barely catch her breath after walking a few steps, let alone go on a talent show, singing and dancing to win the audience’s favor.

If she really went, she probably wouldn’t survive the three-month selection period before dropping dead.

“So I just need to win the audience’s affection? Any way I participate will do?”

Freshly transmigrated, Jiang Tangmian’s lips were pale as she asked sincerely.

The System interface flickered before her eyes, and after a long pause, it replied, “…Yes.”

In other words.

She didn’t have to go herself. As long as the audience’s favorability increased, it would be credited to her system through her works. Though the System grumbled about her opportunistic approach, it had to admit her reaction was quick.

Jiang Tangmian glanced at the invisible System panel before her.

On the far right was an animated tank, like a fishbowl, currently empty—indicating her audience favorability was zero. She glanced at her life points.

D89.

Eighty-nine days left. Time was tight, the task heavy.

In just a week, she had swiftly established a professional film and television variety production company, taking on all kinds of drama and variety show projects.

The second step was to buy the adaptation rights to the original xianxia novel *Solemn Oath* from a production company on the brink of bankruptcy.

The third was to prepare the crew for filming.

Casting the leads became critical, and the popular young idol had just been vetoed by Jiang Tangmian alone.

This left most of the staff astonished, all coming to the same conclusion: Jiang Entertainment was just a rich girl’s passing fancy.

Without a traffic-driving celebrity, the drama was doomed to lose money. This world was nothing but a giant amateur troupe.

The meeting continued, but news of the male lead’s replacement quietly leaked online.

Chang Ze’s fans, having received inside information, immediately took to Weibo to curse the instigator, directly accusing Jiang Tangmian, the company’s boss, of abusing her power for personal gain. The male lead, they claimed, had probably already been swapped out for one of Miss Jiang’s secret lovers.

The dormant System now chimed in: “Host’s audience aversion index detected rising. Two days of life points will be deducted as punishment.”

Jiang Tangmian: …

Her constitution as a pampered heiress was already poor.

As she continued the meeting, she watched in dismay as D89-2 flashed across the top of the System panel. Her mood plummeted, her complexion growing even paler.

For the sake of her long-term plan, Jiang Tangmian could only close her eyes in resignation and temporarily mute the System.

“President Jiang, we’ve covered most of the drama preparations for today. Next is the variety show segment.”

To her left sat Director Susan, her chin-length hair framing the face of a capable career woman with years of experience in the entertainment industry. Seeing Jiang Tangmian resting her eyes, Susan gently reminded her.

She was a little surprised to see the dark circles under Miss Jiang’s eyes from these past two days.

When Jiang Tangmian had approached her a week ago, Susan had assumed the film company was just another rich second-generation’s plaything. She hadn’t expected Jiang Tangmian to be so hands-on and earnest in everything.

If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she would never have believed that this delicate heiress would have such determination to make a good drama.

“Yes, Susan.”

Jiang Tangmian roused herself from her drowsiness. When she had read the original novel, the gold-medal agent Susan had managed several A-list stars.

Whenever an artist fell into trouble or a public relations crisis, Susan’s decisive handling left her in awe—she had wondered more than once if Susan had swallowed several volumes of game theory.

So, when Jiang Tangmian abandoned the talent show route, she immediately extended an olive branch to Susan, offering a generous salary and a sincere invitation.

Now, Susan was her second-in-command at Jiang Entertainment.

With preparations for Jiang Entertainment so rushed, only Jiang Tangmian and Susan remained in the meeting room; everyone else was fully focused on the *Solemn Oath* project.

Although money was no longer Jiang Tangmian’s main concern, audience favorability was what truly mattered to her.

A typical drama required five months to shoot, three months for post-production and approval, and the fastest possible release would be eight months away.

For Jiang Tangmian, her life-extension system would never let her wait that long. In the meantime, she needed low-turnover variety shows to maintain a steady flow of points.

Thanks to Susan’s connections, several variety show studios had reached out to Jiang Entertainment with offers of collaboration.

Susan opened her laptop and showed Jiang Tangmian, “These two projects are the ones I’ve screened and personally think have the most potential.”

A. Send the most hated celebrities online to a deserted island for survival.

The show was called *Go Wander, Friday*.

As the name implied, celebrities universally disliked by the public would be labeled “Friday” and made to disappear from the public eye, forced to endure a miserable existence without internet, takeout, or even basic living facilities.

Jiang Tangmian frowned slightly and asked, “Who would be willing to go?”

Even the most hated celebrities couldn’t be forced onto the show against their will.

Susan, having already communicated closely with the project studio, added, “The directors have already spoken with the agents of the selected celebrities. As long as the appearance fee is high enough, they’ll sign the contract immediately.”

Jiang Tangmian flipped through the project proposal. Words like “live broadcast” and “escape missions” leapt out at her—very eye-catching.

Most of the production budget would go to inviting celebrities. In Susan’s view, even with zero publicity, this show would have a strong marketing hook.

B. Invite incompatible celebrities on an RV road trip.

The show was called *We Gather for Money*.

The proposed celebrity guests included divorced couples, friends who had fought on the same stage, and relatives who had fallen out.

Jiang Tangmian noticed the proposal’s promotional tagline was quite interesting:

If I hadn’t been caught in the rain, I’d never have torn everyone’s umbrella; if I weren’t short of this bit of money, I’d never have shown up here; we, who never should have gotten back together, are only here for the money…

And finally:

The most forcibly picked melon is the sweetest.

Susan reviewed the promotional points of both proposals once more, “The hated celebrities’ island survival show would require a smaller investment than the broken-mirror RV trip. The road trip has more people, which is good for sponsorship, but too much fighting might irritate viewers…”

Jiang Tangmian hesitated, torn, uncertain which type the audience would prefer to watch.