130: Chapter 130 I'll support you after I lose everything

That night, Xu Qingya was determined to get back at him for yesterday.

The bedroom air conditioning was set to twenty degrees, and cold air poured continuously from the vents, yet the temperature in the room just wouldn't drop.

Jiang Fan lay flat on his back, his hands locked to the iron headboard of the bed with that pair of metal handcuffs they had retrieved.

His eyes were covered by the silk sleep mask that Xu Qingya usually used.

With his vision deprived, the acuity of his other senses skyrocketed.

The faint clinking of the metal chain, the rustling of fabric, and the rapid breathing from above intertwined, pushing the atmosphere to an intensely burning breaking point.

Xu Qingya maintained a dominant posture all night.

She was wearing that tight black leather outfit, with the zipper completely open.

Sweat from her forehead slid down her jawline, dripping onto Jiang Fan's chest.

"Your Majesty," Jiang Fan's Adam's apple bobbed, "you're getting slower and slower."

Xu Qingya gritted her teeth, bracing her hands on either side of Jiang Fan, but her movements at the waist were becoming increasingly strenuous.

This kind of dominance sounded impressive, but in practice, it was an incredibly physically demanding task.

The two of them continued to struggle against each other like this.

Half an hour later.

Xu Qingya's breathing became completely ragged, and her movements came to a halt.

She collapsed limply onto Jiang Fan's chest, the inside of her leather outfit already soaked through with sweat, sticking to her skin in a sticky, stifling, and hot mess.

"I'm done playing." She buried her face in the crook of Jiang Fan's neck and muttered, her voice filled with deep frustration.

"Want to try again?" Jiang Fan tilted his head, "I was just about to confess."

"Confess my foot." Xu Qingya huffed in annoyance and reached out to grope for the small key on the nightstand.

After the faint sound of metal clinking, there was a click, and the handcuffs unlocked.

Jiang Fan flexed his wrists, reached up to pull off the blindfold from his eyes, and tossed it casually onto the carpet.

His gaze landed on Xu Qingya's flushed cheeks and messy hair.

"My turn."

————

Two hours later.

The bedroom was so quiet that only the sound of breathing remained.

Xu Qingya didn't even have the strength to roll over, lying face down in the pillows playing dead.

Jiang Fan leaned against the headboard and pulled the quilt up to cover her waist.

After a dozen minutes or so, Xu Qingya finally caught her breath.

She rolled over, habitually draped a leg over Jiang Fan, and pressed her face against his arm.

"Are you really going to make a movie?" She asked with her eyes closed, her voice still a bit hoarse.

"I really am."

Xu Qingya opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"What about the investment? Movies are bottomless pits. Don't think that just because you wrote a few hit songs, you can just throw money into it. The cinema distribution, the screening rates—the waters run deep in that industry."

"I'm paying for it myself." Jiang Fan brushed the stray hair from her cheek.

He had crunched the numbers over the past few days.

With the copyright royalties from Tencent Music and the earnings from the songs brought in by Shen Nian, he had about forty million in liquid funds.

In the current Chinese film market, this amount was more than enough to make a small-to-medium budget film.

"Forty million?" Xu Qingya pursed her lips and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"What can forty million do? Director Lu Chuan's 'fleet of time' officially reported an investment of forty million, and even that was considered a poverty-stricken production crew in the industry. They didn't dare shoot many big scenes, and for marketing and distribution, he had to rely on the favors he'd accumulated to get any attention. You're an outsider; your money will hit the water without even making a splash."

Jiang Fan didn't refute her.

People in this world still perceived movies as merely piling up stars and special effects.

Director Lu Chuan's youth film could become a hit largely because the market lacked content that could touch people's hearts, combined with the boost from that theme song.

"How about I invest a little?" Xu Qingya sat up, the quilt sliding down her shoulders and revealing the faint red marks on her collarbone.

"I still have over twenty million in spare cash, and it's just sitting there anyway."

Jiang Fan glanced at her.

"No need. Just focus on your own concert." He pulled Xu Qingya into an embrace, "I have a plan for the movie."

Xu Qingya stared at him for a few seconds, and seeing his determined attitude, she didn't insist.

She lay back down, "Suit yourself. If you lose it all, I'll support you."

The next morning, at Jiang Fan Studio.

Li Cheng pushed the door open and walked in, sporting two massive dark circles under his eyes, holding a thick stack of documents that he slapped directly onto Jiang Fan's desk.

"The market research report you wanted."

Li Cheng pulled out a chair, sat down heavily, and picked up the coffee on Jiang Fan's desk, downing a large gulp.

"I've picked apart every film with over one hundred million in box office revenue from the last five years over these past three days."

Jiang Fan took the documents and opened them.

The data was very detailed.

From genre classification, investment scale, and cast lineup to marketing channels and final box office conversion rates, everything was clearly organized.

Li Cheng might look unreliable usually, but he certainly didn't slack off when it came to work.

"To summarize. There are only two types of films that are the most profitable in the current market." Li Cheng held up two fingers.

"The first type is youth romance films piled up with traffic stars. Low cost, quick returns. Find a few popular idols, write a melodramatic script, shoot it casually, and the fans can push the box office over one hundred million."

"Director Lu Chuan's 'fleet of time' is a classic example, though he was lucky to have your theme song, which forcibly pulled up his reputation."

Li Cheng lowered his fingers and changed his posture.

"The second type is big-budget sci-fi films. Hire a bunch of veteran actors to play supporting roles and rely on visual impact to trick people into buying tickets. But the risk for this kind is also very high."

"That movie 'Battle for Shanghai' during last year's Spring Festival season had an investment of five hundred million, and one hundred and fifty million was dumped into special effects alone. They hired four top-tier celebrities, and the box office sales were less than two hundred million. They lost so much they didn't even have their underwear left."

He stared into Jiang Fan's eyes, "Given our current conditions, a youth campus film is the best choice."

Jiang Fan closed the documents and pushed them aside.

"I want to choose comedy."

The office was silent for three seconds.

Li Cheng nearly spat out his coffee.

He coughed twice, "Comedy? Are you crazy?"

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair.

"The comedy film market has been a total mess these past few years." Li Cheng placed the coffee heavily on the table. "Except for a few veteran comedians who can carry some box office weight, anyone else who touches it is dead on arrival."

"Audience tastes have changed long ago. Jokes are flying everywhere on the internet; before you've even finished setting up the punchline in your movie, the audience has already guessed where it's going. Who's still willing to spend tens of yuan to go to the cinema to watch you perform?"

"That's because they made them poorly."

"Being poor is one thing; the market environment is another." Li Cheng became anxious.

"The hardest part of comedy is the script. It has to be funny and also logical. You can't find a screenwriter in the industry right now who can write a good comedy script. What are you going to use to film it?"

"I'll write the script myself."

Li Cheng opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

He looked at the twenty-year-old young man in front of him.

Writing a movie script? And the hardest kind, comedy?

"Jiang Fan, this isn't how you cross over." Li Cheng advised him earnestly, "You're currently at the peak of your popularity in the music industry; why do you have to wade into these muddy waters? Forty million is not a small amount; this is your entire net worth."

"Help me register a film and television company." Jiang Fan tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Let's call it... Xinghuo Media."

Li Cheng looked at him and sighed.

He knew he couldn't talk him out of it.

"Fine. The boss has spoken, I'll do the legwork."