readytorunbook Chapter 275 Opportunity
Chapter 275 Opportunity
"One...ten thousand?" the man guessed cautiously.
The advertising revenue he received today was already the limit of what he could possibly know.
Just one afternoon of filming brought in several thousand yuan in advertising fees, which is more than his monthly salary.
The director shook his finger: "No, it's one million."
The man gasped, "This...so much?"
He had considered ten thousand, and even the highest he could imagine was one hundred thousand, but he never thought it would be one million!
Bai Li listened from the side, and was also greatly surprised.
Although one million is nothing to her now, advertising fees in the entertainment industry today are often in the tens of millions, not to mention the advertising fees of top celebrities.
But you have to understand, this is the year 2000!
In those days, an average person's annual salary was only around ten thousand yuan. One million yuan was a lifetime's worth of disposable funds for an average person, enough to buy a 200-square-meter apartment in a first-tier city.
When you convert it that way, one million for advertising was indeed an astronomical figure at that time, completely beyond the imagination of most ordinary people.
Seeing that the man was so shocked that he was speechless, the director laughed and explained, "One million is the asking price for the most popular child stars, but ordinary child stars can also command hundreds of thousands."
At this point, the director looked down at Yu Xinglan, who was playing with toys at his feet while silently watching their conversation, smiled, and continued, "That's why I said you could consider nurturing your child in this area; he's quite talented."
Young Yu Xinglan couldn't understand what ten thousand or one million meant; she simply tugged at her father's hand.
Yu Xinglan's father snapped out of his shock, took Yu Xinglan's hand, and looked much more serious than before. He changed his words and said, "Thank you, brother. I'll go back and discuss it with my wife."
The director nodded in understanding.
This is neither a big nor a small matter, but it relates to the child's future life.
Being a child star means sacrificing part of your childhood, needing to be more mature than other children your age, and even needing to be able to endure hardship.
Therefore, we still need to consider this carefully.
He handed the man one of his business cards: "This is my business card. You can call me when you've thought it over."
……
After filming wrapped, Bai Li left the filming location with Yu Xinglan and his son, and she also successfully met Yu Xinglan's mother.
The family used part of the advertising fee to eat at KFC.
This kind of Western fast food is not cheap, and a three-year-old child cannot eat too much fried food, so the family rarely comes here.
This day must have been an unforgettable one for Yu Xinglan.
Bai Li leaned against the edge of the table, watching little Yu Xinglan eat.
—She ate a messy meal and still had makeup on her face.
It's really... ridiculous.
It's just... hard to connect the Yu Xinglan of this moment with the aloof image she will have more than a decade later.
Anyway, no one would notice her laughing now, so Bai Li laughed a few times unrestrainedly.
After laughing, Bai Li quickly calmed down.
As is widely known, Yu Xinglan was a child star who became a nun.
Today is clearly the opportunity that brought him into contact with this profession.
Unlike other wealthy families that cultivate child stars, Yu Xinglan's family situation is actually very ordinary.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing for an ordinary family to suddenly come into contact with an industry with income far exceeding their expectations?
Bai Li felt uneasy.
The greater the contrast between Yu Xinglan as a child and as an adult, the stronger Bai Li's sense of unease became.
Bai Li recalled the contents of the character card.
—“Martyr-like dedication: stemming from childhood trauma, believing that love must be exchanged for pain.”
What kind of trauma did Yu Xinglan experience in her childhood? Was it because of being a child star?
Thinking of this, Bai Li's eyes darkened.
But it's too early to draw conclusions now.
She banished those conflicting speculations from her mind, flew to the family's side, and continued to watch quietly.
While Yu Xinglan was enjoying his meal, his parents were discussing their unexpected gain from the day.
The father explained everything that had happened to the child's mother in detail, including the unexpected filming, the director's advice, and the market conditions for child stars.
The two then engaged in a heated discussion about child stars.
"So profitable? Really?"
"Of course it's true. If a professional director says so, how could it be false? And look, our Xingxing made so much money just by casually filming today."
……
"The child is too young."
"Not too young. The training institution said they could take him in. Besides, child stars are more popular the younger they are."
……
"The training fee is very expensive."
"So what if it's expensive? As long as the child likes it, that's all that matters."
How do you know the child likes it?
"Just ask him."
The two discussed it for a long time, and only now did they remember to ask the child for his/her own wishes.
Bai Li sighed, then looked at Yu Xinglan, who was sitting obediently on the other side of the table.
She was also very curious about Yu Xinglan's answer.
Was becoming a child star something he did voluntarily, or was he forced into it by his parents?
Yu Xinglan had been listening to her parents' discussion, and only half understood what they were saying when she heard her father's question.
"Star, do you like taking photos? Like today?"
This problem was the simplest thing for him.
The uncle who took my picture was very funny. The older brother and sister would give me candy, and after the photo was taken, there were toys and delicious KFC.
Yu Xinglan turned the head of the Gundam toy in her hand, nodded without hesitation, and said crisply, "I like it!"
Hearing Yu Xinglan's firm answer, her parents finally made up their minds and began to discuss the issue of picking her up and dropping her off at the training institution.
Upon hearing Yu Xinglan's answer, Bai Li did not breathe a sigh of relief; instead, her heart tightened.
Do children of this age really have a correct sense of right and wrong?
He probably doesn't even understand what a child star is... he just thinks filming is fun.
Bai Li propped her head up as she watched Yu Xinglan disassemble the Gundam toy piece by piece.
This toy is clearly too difficult for a three-year-old.
After the parts were disassembled, little Yu Xinglan had no ability to put them back together and could only ask her parents for help.
His parents were still discussing important matters and didn't have time to pay attention to him.
Yu Xinglan can only rely on her own efforts.
But it still didn't work.
I broke my beautiful toy.
Little Yu Xinglan was both anxious and sad, her eyebrows drooping and her lips drooping.
If Bai Li had a physical form, she would definitely help him.
Unfortunately, she is now merely a consciousness and has no power to change what has already happened in the course of time.
This Gundam model kit has a lot of parts, which is quite difficult even for an adult like Bai Li, let alone a little kid like Yu Xinglan.
Moreover, she guessed that the original version of this toy must have included instructions on how to assemble it.
However, since this was a prop used in filming, the instruction manual has been lost.
Yu Xinglan's parents finally noticed that she was silently shedding tears.
One of them quickly took charge of comforting the child, while the other put the toys back together.
Unfortunately, the parts had been disassembled into a mess by Yu Xinglan, and without instructions, it would be difficult to put them back together in a short time.
Seeing that her husband had been fiddling around for ages and still only had a table full of scraps, the mother snapped, "Are you even capable of this?"
The man was at his wits' end and angrily said, "What kind of children's toy is this?"
If an adult can't even put it together properly, it's way too early for a child to play with it.
Suddenly, he remembered what the director had said.
"Some Gundam fans also like to collect them, and they can even sell them for several hundred dollars on the second-hand market."
The man sorted out the parts and put them all away.
"Star, this toy is broken and not suitable for little kids. Daddy will buy you a different one later, okay?"
Young Yu Xinglan nodded.
But he never saw that toy again after that.
Bai Li sighed. As an adult, he knew all too well how adults would lie to children.
This Gundam model has probably already been resold by Yu Xinglan's father.
"How cunning..." Bai Li murmured to herself.
The scene of the first memory fragment ends.
The scene before Bai Li's eyes was distorted and rearranged.
The blinding spotlights in the new scene made her squint slightly.
After her eyes adjusted to the light, Bai Li looked around, familiarizing herself with the surrounding scenery.
Alright, another filming location.
However, the venue this time was noticeably better than the last one.
A giant Christmas tree stood in the middle of the venue, with colorful lights winding around it, and artificial snow was laid out around it, shimmering with an abnormal light under the illumination of the lights.
Above, there was a huge crane slowly scattering fluffy fake snow.
Everything was filled with a wintery atmosphere, like a dream.
A little doll wearing a red velvet cloak is spinning and dancing on a rising platform.
Bai Li immediately recognized that the person on the stage was Yu Xinglan, who had grown up a bit.
She manipulated her thoughts, flying even closer to Yu Xinglan.
At this time, Yu Xinglan looked to be six or seven years old. The little coal ball he once was had completely transformed. With his delicate features and androgynous makeup, he was indistinguishable from a male to female.
If Bai Li hadn't known Yu Xinglan's gender, she would have mistaken the little baby for a pretty little girl at first glance.
After all, children in this age group do not yet have obvious gender characteristics.
At that moment, he was dancing gracefully to the music coming from afar.
In the previous memory, Yu Xinglan's parents decided to send him to an institution that trains child stars.
Bai Li guessed that she probably learned the dance from there.
Yu Xinglan's dance moves were unlike those of an ordinary child; her movements were clean and crisp.
Although it's a simple children's dance, it's performed very cutely.
only……
Isn't this lifting platform a bit too high?
The white pear flew around once.
Because it's a fragment of memory, Bai Li can only see scenes that were already in Yu Xinglan's memory; she can't stray too far from Yu Xinglan.
At this point, Bai Li could only move within the small area of the lifting platform.
Perhaps for the sake of filming convenience, there were no safety precautions around the lifting platform.
Bai Li was terrified.
They just let a child dance on such a small platform?!
That's incredibly irresponsible!
Looking down at the height beneath her feet, her heart began to pound faster, and she was truly worried for Yu Xinglan.
"Cut! Very good, keep this up, let's do it again! Your smile could be a little sweeter!" came the voice from the loudspeaker below.
The filming crew must have been some distance away, which is why they used a loudspeaker.
Yu Xinglan exhaled, rubbed her frozen little hands, and then rubbed her face.
Bai Li is now a conscious being and cannot sense temperature at all; she can only judge the season by hearing.
Seeing the fake snow covering the ground and Yu Xinglan's thin clothes, I thought the temperature was quite high.
But seeing the white mist exhaled by Yu Xinglan, she realized that the temperature was probably very low.
The cold weather, coupled with the unsafe filming location...
Bai Li's heart tightened.
At this moment, only the small Yu Xinglan was on the lifting platform. The filming crew members were all far away, and the ground and the surrounding area were all dark and empty.
Even an adult like Bai Li would feel timid standing in such a place, let alone a young child.
Yu Xinglan didn't know if it was from the cold or from nervousness, but his lips trembled involuntarily. He was trying his best to control his emotions and expressions.
The encouraging voice from the loudspeaker came again from afar: "Star, if you've adjusted, give me a hand gesture. Let's start again. Come on, let's go all out!"
Yu Xinglan wiped the cold sweat from her palms on her clothes, took a deep breath, forced a bright smile, and gave an "OK" sign.
The tinkling music came again from afar, and Yu Xinglan danced to the music once more.
The spotlights refracted through the artificial snow like shattered diamonds, and as Yu Xinglan twirled, her red velvet cape billowed out like a tiny rose burning in the cold wind.
But at the very moment of the jump, the elevator suddenly emitted a sickening metallic twisting sound.
Yu Xinglan was so startled by the sudden commotion that her face turned pale, her dance steps faltered, and she lost her footing for a moment.
Bai Li's breath caught in her throat, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively lunged forward, trying to catch the small figure that had fallen.
But she passed through it as easily as passing through a thin mist.
Bai Li turned around in alarm, only to see that Yu Xinglan had still tripped and fallen.
After falling, he frantically braced himself with his hands.
Fortunately, the spot where I fell was some distance from the edge of the lifting platform, so it was just a false alarm.
Yu Xinglan was still frightened. The tension and fear that had been building up finally burst forth at this moment. His mouth twitched, his eyes quickly turned red, and his two golden tears trembled as if about to fall.
The filming crew in the distance also noticed the anomaly immediately.
After the music stopped, a concerned voice came through the loudspeaker: "Xingxing, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Upon hearing the filming crew's voices, Yu Xinglan was startled and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Bai Li heard him whisper, "We're still filming, you can't cry."
There was no one else around, so Yu Xinglan was clearly speaking to herself.
Looking at the young child, Bai Li suppressed her emotions, held back her tears, sniffed, stood up again, put on a formulaic smile, and gave another "OK" sign. Her heart ached.
She couldn't imagine what Yu Xinglan had gone through in the past few years to be able to control her emotions so well.
Keep in mind that Yu Xinglan is only six or seven years old.
At this time, he should be in a safe and warm place, laughing or crying freely, enjoying his childhood to the fullest.
Instead of now, taking on pressure that shouldn't be borne by them.
Bai Li had lost count of how many times she had witnessed such heartbreaking scenes in fragments of her memory.
why?
Why are these people's memories so heartbreaking?
And there's nothing I can change.