OBS Chapter 57 Jingwen Signs Contract, Rejects Happy Zhang
Chapter 57 Jingwen Signs Contract, Rejects Happy Zhang
There hadn't been any news from Zhang Yibai for several days, so he was probably busy with preparations. Li Si'an didn't press him; after all, the deposit hadn't been paid yet, and Zhang Yibai wasn't obligated to report the progress to him every day.
My uncle's side was handled very smoothly. The company registration was completed, and the license bore the large characters "BJ Dong'an Records Co., Ltd."
When Zhou Weidong called, his tone carried an barely suppressed sense of satisfaction.
"Tomorrow afternoon, bring your ID card and go to Jingwen to sign the contract."
The next afternoon, Zhou Weidong drove to pick him up. There was another person in the car, a man in his forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a white shirt, and carrying a briefcase under his arm; he looked very refined.
"This is Attorney Liu," Zhou Weidong introduced. "When it comes to signing contracts, you need someone knowledgeable to oversee it."
Li Si'an nodded to Attorney Liu. The car drove towards Tianning Temple Front Street. In late July, Beijing was so hot that the asphalt on the road gleamed, and cicadas chirped their hearts out in the locust trees by the roadside.
Upon arriving at the China Record Corporation compound, I went up to the third floor, where Xu Zhongming was already waiting in his office. It was the same enamel teacup, with the same rusty ring.
The contract lay spread out on the coffee table, two copies, a thick stack. Attorney Liu sat down and began to flip through it page by page, examining it very carefully.
When he turned to the pages about royalty sharing, he pointed to a clause and whispered a few words to Xu Zhongming's assistant, who nodded and changed it with a pen.
After signing the contract, Xu Zhongming picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Li Si'an.
"How's the preparation for your music video going?"
"We've found the director, Zhang Yibai. And the female lead, Zhou Xun," Li Si'an said. "Filming will start in the next couple of days."
Xu Zhongming raised an eyebrow, put down his teacup, and gave him a thumbs up.
"That's bold. At the beginning of the year, I had over a million Grammys tied up in a warehouse, and I didn't even dare to pay for my own music video."
He shook his head, a hint of emotion in his voice, "Eighteen years old, really daring."
Zhou Weidong smiled but didn't say anything.
After leaving Jingwen and getting into the car, Li Si'an opened the contract and looked at it again.
Eight points for less than 500,000 sheets, ten points for 500,000 to 1 million sheets, and twelve points for more than 1 million sheets. Black and white text, stamped with the red seal of Beijing.
"Uncle, the money for the music video—" Li Si'an closed the contract, "The 60,000 yuan I got from selling songs before is just enough. Let's use that."
Zhou Weidong held the steering wheel, not looking at him.
"That 60,000 of yours is your personal money. Filming the music video is the company's business." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked the ash out the car window.
"You put up 200,000 when you started the company, and there's 350,000 in the company account now. The money for the music video goes through the company account, and the accounts are crystal clear. Keep your 60,000 for yourself and don't get involved."
Li Si'an thought for a moment and nodded.
"There's more." Zhou Weidong put the cigarette back in his mouth.
"Have the director come to the company to sign a contract. It should be a business-to-business transaction, something formal. The filming schedule, payment method, and copyright ownership should all be clearly stated in the contract. Any money going out of the company's account must be backed by a contract."
"Okay. I'll contact him."
Zhang Yibai was quite agreeable when he received the call. "Sign a contract? Sure. My studio was only registered a few months ago, and I'm really worried about not having any business. You name the place."
Li Si'an arranged to meet him at a teahouse near Chongwenmen. Dong'an Records didn't have an office yet, so they couldn't very well have him come to the counter of a record store to sign a contract.
The next morning, Zhang Yibai arrived carrying a black briefcase, still wearing the same dark gray T-shirt and black-rimmed glasses.
He took out two contracts from his bag, stamped with the blue seal of "BJ Yibai Image Studio".
"Take a look. The shooting schedule, payment method, and responsibilities of both parties are all genuine."
Li Si'an handed the contract to her uncle. Zhou Weidong flipped through it and then handed it to Attorney Liu. Attorney Liu read it and nodded.
Zhou Weidong counted out two stacks of banknotes from his briefcase and placed them on the table. "Twenty thousand, deposit. The rest is settled after the auction."
Zhang Yibai put the money in his bag, signed the contract, and stamped it.
Zhou Weidong also signed it, and the official seal of Dong'an Records was affixed—the seal was new, and the ink was still wet.
Zhang Yibai carefully put the contract away, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "I've pretty much scouted out all the locations. The concert hall will be the Beijing Film Academy Auditorium, and the ward arrangement has been finalized with a hospital in Changping."
The truck scene was also filmed in Changping. I checked that road; there weren't many cars on it in the afternoon, and there happened to be a pedestrian overpass that could be used.
He put down his cup. "In two more days, we can start filming."
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The next afternoon, the wind chimes at the shop entrance rang once.
Li Si'an was leaning against the freezer drinking a soda when she looked up and saw Zhang Ziyi standing in the doorway. She was wearing a white tank top, denim shorts, and flip-flops.
Her hair was casually tied in a ponytail, and she wasn't wearing any makeup. The tan she'd developed in Yunnan had faded a bit after spending these few days back in Beijing, and she looked much better.
"Hey, Zhang, you're so cheerful." Li Si'an put down her soda bottle. "Is filming completely wrapped up?"
"Filming's wrapped up." Zhang Ziyi tossed her bag onto a chair, plopped down, grabbed a bottle of Beibingyang soda from the freezer, pried open the cap, and gulped down half of it. "Finally, it's all over."
These past few days I've been filming on location in Beijing, pretending to be a cripple every day, walking down the street with a cane, and everyone stares at me.
"Didn't your character have an amputation? Why does he still need to travel around?"
"Even with amputation, I still have to walk, hopping on one leg." Zhang Ziyi put the soda bottle on the counter.
"The director kept telling me to slow down, saying, 'You're a patient, don't walk like you're rushing to a market.' I've had my leg amputated, how fast can I walk?"
Tang Yun came downstairs, saw her, and smiled. "Finished filming?"
"Filming is over!" Zhang Ziyi stretched. "From lying in Yunnan to Beijing, from a hospital bed to the street, I never want to play a patient again in my life."
She suddenly remembered something and looked at Li Si'an. "By the way, what story was your music video about?"
Li Si'an picked up a sketchbook from the counter and handed it to her.
Zhang Ziyi took it and flipped through the pages one by one—rental house, moving truck, kissing and nosebleeds, hospital ward, oxygen mask, loosened hand.
She stopped when she turned to the pages about the hospital rooms. In the pictures, a girl was lying in a hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask, her wrists so thin they looked like they could be snapped off at any moment.
Zhang Ziyi raised her head.
"Isn't this just someone lying in a hospital bed?" She slammed her sketchbook on the counter. "Why didn't you ask me to act it out? I've been lying in bed for over ten days, I have experience!"
Li Si'an leaned against the freezer, watching her and smiling. "Happy Zhang, are you a goldfish? You just said you never wanted to act again in your life? You forgot as soon as you said it?"
Zhang Ziyi was taken aback by Li Si'an's words, then retorted angrily, "Hey, Li Si'an, I'm just trying to help you out of kindness, don't be ungrateful!"
Li Si'an watched her continue to laugh. "Alright, alright, I'll take it as you being kind. But this role isn't suitable for you."
"What's inappropriate about it? Aren't we all playing patients?" Zhang Ziyi looked at him seriously.
"The character you played had an amputation, while this female lead has leukemia and dies in the end. Can they be compared?"
"The female lead I played also died in the end," Zhang Ziyi said matter-of-factly. "I also acted in the death scene, and the director even praised me for it."
"Her death is different from yours," Li Si'an said.
"What's so different about death?" Zhang Ziyi retorted. "Just close your eyes, let go, and it's over, isn't it?"
Li Si'an looked at her and sighed.
"Happy Zhang, let me tell you the truth. We're too familiar with each other. The moment I see you, all I can picture is you gnawing on ribs with your face all greasy."
You want me to play your lover? I can't get into character. The moment our eyes meet, I just want to laugh.
Zhang Ziyi glared at him.
"So, we're too close, and I'm not good enough for you anymore, huh?"
"It's not about whether we're a good match or not." Li Si'an waved his hand and explained, "Neither of us has much acting experience. You did film one movie, but it hasn't been edited yet, so who knows how it turned out."
I've never acted before, I don't even know where the camera is. I want to find someone experienced to mentor me.
Zhang Ziyi opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again. She picked up the Arctic Ocean soda bottle and took a sip.
"Fine," she said in a muffled voice, "then next time you have a suitable role, you'd better think of me."
"become."
Tang Yun came out from behind the counter and patted Zhang Ziyi on the shoulder. "Don't hold it against him. Let's have dinner together tonight. Lao Mo is treating."
Zhang Ziyi's eyes lit up for a moment, then she immediately straightened her face. "Don't think you can buy me off with a meal."
"Then I'll treat you to two meals."
"……make a deal."