Money 8%

After Mu Xi, the originally announced female lead of “Solemn Oath,” was officially revealed to have joined another S+ long-form blockbuster, her fans flocked to Jiang Entertainment’s official Weibo, setting off metaphorical firecrackers.

They celebrated their idol’s escape from the “pit” of this little B-grade drama, relieved that she wouldn’t have to prop up some “precious son” male lead with internal favoritism.

B-grade drama or not, could they at least stop calling it a “little B-grade drama”? It sounded downright insulting.

Scrolling through Weibo, Jiang Tangmian saw Mu Xi’s fans leaving one mocking comment after another under Jiang Entertainment’s official account.

It reminded her of the last time she’d run into Mu Xi and her assistant at the luxury boutique. That same afternoon, she’d received a thank-you text from Mu Xi’s assistant.

When she’d extended a job offer to the assistant, there was no reply, and Jiang Tangmian decided to let the matter drop.

With the new female lead switched from Mu Xi to Chi Zhaoying, rumors and speculation were flying everywhere.

This time, Zhou Xicun sent Jiang Tangmian a post from a marketing account. After getting her confirmation, he didn’t follow up further, apparently approving of the production team’s choice.

A few months earlier, Chi Zhaoying’s solo period-drama video had gone viral on Red Douyin, leaving a deep impression on Zhou Xicun. Compared to the rookie male lead, at least the new female lead had some real experience.

But no sooner had Mu Xi’s fans left than Chi Zhaoying’s fans started making a fuss.

They were dissatisfied with their idol’s agency for landing her in this B-grade costume drama, and spent three days and nights berating the company—until, on the third day, a blurry styling photo unexpectedly leaked.

Chi Zhaoying abandoned her usual elaborate idol look. On the advice of the styling team, her makeup for the role was pared down to the essentials.

Gone were the complex eyeliners and shadows; her natural features now exuded a distinctly classical Eastern charm. Standard phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, and the signature red mark at the brow—the very mark of Luo Zhanmei in the drama—became the crowning touch of her look.

Even Chi Zhaoying’s fans were stunned, exclaiming that their idol had found the look of her life.

On the very first day of its official Weibo registration, “Solemn Oath” released a concept poster.

“Bound by oath, together unto death!”

At the center of the image was an ink painting representing Shen Tianchou and Luo Zhanmei leaning on each other. Fans quickly discovered, via the official @, that the painting was the work of national treasure master Li Qingmei.

The master had been retired for years; her return sparked speculation that the value of this ink masterpiece might even exceed the entire drama’s budget.

Marketing accounts rushed to verify the news with Li Qingmei, but no answer came.

@SolemnOathDrama posted again, announcing that the production scale had been fully upgraded. Though the broadcast platform hadn’t been finalized, the company’s resources were said to rival S++ platform standards.

“What an arrogant tone!”

Several industry bloggers joined forces to mock this Weibo post, sharing it widely and vowing to watch Jiang Entertainment’s next move with schadenfreude—

“A flurry of moves like a tiger, but check the Yunhe index—just 250.” (Yunhe: TV web drama view count)

“Jiang Entertainment’s got money, so they’re not afraid to flop.”

“How charming must the male lead be for Miss Jiang to spend so much to promote him?!”

“Force-feeding the audience will only bring divine retribution—take note.”

…

Then came the all-important billing announcement, which shocked both industry insiders and fans. The top billing was neither the rookie male lead Jiang Entertainment was supposedly promoting, nor the newly confirmed idol group member Chi Zhaoying.

Instead, Jiang Entertainment broke industry convention, putting director Zhou Xicun’s name in the top line.

As soon as this Weibo post went live, Jiang Tangmian gleefully forwarded it to Director Zhou, adding a voice message: “Our S+ costume drama, Director Zhou is our anti-flop anchor!”

Zhou Xicun’s brow had been twitching for three days straight, and today he finally got his answer.

The comment section beneath the post took on an oddly surreal tone.

“Director Zhou really took the job—are they trying to win awards with this rickety little web drama?”

“Director Zhou is by far the most famous person in the whole cast, hahaha.”

“One person carrying the whole team—if he can pull this off, I’ll call Director Zhou ‘nanny’.”

“I’m so disappointed—Director Zhou sold out for the money.”

…

Zhou Xicun pulled out his well-thumbed script for another read. With the budget being steadily increased, he figured he could shoulder the burden.

Next came the two leads. Even with the director as top billing, the question of which lead would get second billing became the next trending topic.

With “Solemn Oath” repeatedly upgrading its production, putting the director first, and then the male and female leads as co-second billing, the drama trended multiple times, drawing the curiosity of gossip-hungry netizens. It quickly drowned out the buzz from Mu Xi’s own female-lead drama, pushing her topic off the trending charts in under ten minutes.

As the marketing accounts and the public wondered what would happen next—

@SolemnOathDrama posted again:

@ChiZhaoying, thank you for this encounter, Luo Zhanmei. @GuYanxun, welcome home, Shen Tianchou.

Both leads were listed as equal second billing.

Since Chi Zhaoying’s surname started with a C in pinyin, she was listed first.

The attached images were the official styling photos of the two leads. Whether it was the cool beauty of Luo Zhanmei or the rebellious air of Shen Tianchou, their looks, posture, and bearing seemed to be a one-to-one recreation of the novel.

Even some book fans admitted, “I’m back on board.”

Gu Yanxun’s Weibo was made public for the first time today. His artist contract was with Jiang Entertainment.

Susan, now head of Jiang Entertainment’s talent division, had quickly assembled a professional team to manage Gu Yanxun, including top-tier coordinators, PR, and operations.

Just one styling photo sent Gu Yanxun’s Weibo followers soaring to 500,000—exactly as Susan had predicted.

“Please send me the male lead’s basic info within five minutes.”

“Rich lady’s really eating well.”

“The production team has clarified 800 times—there’s nothing between them, it’s just a standard contract.”

“He’s playing Shen Tianchou? Maybe my house isn’t totally collapsing after all.”

“Thank goodness the scandal magnet quit the industry.”

…

Meanwhile, Chi Zhaoying’s Weibo was a sea of harmony.

“Is this really our Yingying?”

“This trashy costume drama was worth it—I take back my complaints.”

“Oh my god, it had to be our Huaxia big woman.”

“I thought this would just be a vehicle for the male lead, but look how much care they put into the female lead’s styling!”

“It’s Yingying’s first drama, and the production gave her equal billing. They put her first—they’re sincere. I could cry.”

“Everyone, please support Yingying’s first drama!”

“Let’s boost the numbers—Luo Zhanmei’s one and only, Chi Zhaoying! Luo Zhanmei’s one and only, Chi Zhaoying!”

…

Three days ago, the official announcement for the grand xianxia epic “Solemn Oath” had already made waves online.

Today’s opening ceremony was more spectacular than ever, held at a seaside temple and livestreamed on the official Weibo account.

In the livestream, several blimps bearing Director Zhou Xicun’s face circled above the beach, and even the fan support food trucks were plastered with his rebellious visage.

Not just the food trucks—each fan received a huge swag bag, packed with everything from custom hoodies co-branded with the production to personalized phones. The theme was “eat and take”—no one left empty-handed.

“Hahahahaha!”

“So the director debuted as the center.”

“Is this an opening ceremony or a trade show?”

“Do they really need to give out phones like this?”

“Don’t be sour grapes if you missed out.”

“If I’d known, I’d have gone too—what a loss!”

…

Soon, “da-da-da—” a helicopter landed on the temporary helipad set up for the opening ceremony.

Gu Yanxun was the first to step out, already dressed as Shen Tianchou.

A blend of wildness and innocence, his tall, slender frame and perfect wide-shouldered, narrow-waisted proportions were striking, even under layers of costume.

Even the live barrage of comments marveled at the rookie male lead’s natural gifts—he really deserved a show of his own.

Next off the helicopter was the female lead, Chi Zhaoying, playing Luo Zhanmei. Though her aura was cool, her demeanor was warm, and she smiled as she greeted everyone.

Gu Yanxun and Chi Zhaoying had already met a few times during script readings.

He landed first, then stood at the cabin door, gentlemanly extending his arm to warn Chi Zhaoying to be careful.

The sunlight was just right, the mood light and cheerful. Chi Zhaoying smiled, and Gu Yanxun’s gaze never left her side.

In the livestream, fans cheered as the two walked together toward the main stage—handsome man and beautiful woman, both tall and well-built, looking like models on a luxury runway. The sight was almost too pleasing to the eye.

This peaceful, beautiful scene was just like Luo Zhanmei and Shen Tianchou returning to their sect at dawn after a night of demon-hunting—an everyday moment from the drama, now playing out live before Jiang Tangmian’s eyes.

She was satisfied—more than satisfied.

From today on, she was the official “Zhao-Gu CP” love security guard.

She hurried to take a screenshot, preserving this warm, happy moment forever—

Leopard-cat, I’ve been born!!!

Her own helicopter was about to arrive at the opening ceremony, and sitting beside her was today’s main figure, Director Zhou Xicun.

But when Jiang Tangmian glanced over, she saw that Zhou Xicun’s face looked terrible—his normally dark complexion now deathly pale.

Because of the noise, both of them wore noise-canceling headphones.

She couldn’t help but worry and asked with a bright smile, “Director Zhou, are you afraid of heights?!”

At this moment, Zhou Xicun couldn’t hear anything, just closed his eyes and prayed for a safe landing.

At last, the helicopter touched down safely. Zhou Xicun stepped out on trembling legs, and seeing the huge crowd, he could only bottle up the stuffiness in his chest.

Even surrounded by giant banners of his own face, he didn’t care anymore—he just wanted to go home and lie down.

The livestream camera zoomed in. After days of hype, and with all the ambiguous rumors swirling around the new male lead—

Everyone was dying to know: just who was the powerful producer behind Jiang Entertainment?