On the evening of April 15th, Lu Chen officially announced plans to shoot a new drama on his personal blog.
In this post, he first expressed gratitude to his fans for their continued support and apologized for not revealing news about the new project sooner, explaining that the delay was due to the production of Chen Fei'er's album.
Of course, the main point was that the script for the new drama had already been completed and would soon move into the project approval and production stage.
Regarding the questions fans were most curious about, Lu Chen answered three in his blog post.
First, concerning the genre of the new work, it would still be an urban romance drama, but the story would not repeat the plot of his previous drama.
Second, the new drama would have more episodes, expected to be 25 in total.
Finally, the lead roles would once again be played by Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er!
The moment the news was released on his blog, it caused a huge sensation in fan circles.
It truly was a case of "long-awaited news finally arrives." Fans had been eagerly waiting, and now there was finally reliable information.
"Finally! It wasn't easy to wait this long. Hope they start shooting soon!"
"Yeah, after watching 'Autumn in My Heart', every other drama feels fake and awkward. I just don't like them!"
"Big bro Lu Chen, what's the new drama called?"
"Starring My Chen and My Fei, long live!"
"Throwing flowers to celebrate!"
Fans were ecstatic, but the showbiz community reacted even faster, practically storming the doors of Lu Chen Workshop! Lu Xi's phone was completely overwhelmed with calls.
The number of companies wanting to collaborate with Lu Chen and Lu Chen Workshop on the new drama was enormous. Many well-known industry giants sent representatives for negotiations, including Jia Hua, Crown, and Jin Libao, all major players.
Then there were the TV stations: Zhedong Satellite TV, Haijin Satellite TV, Deep Sea Satellite TV, and Capital City TV all sent people or made calls, seeking cooperation opportunities.
'Autumn in My Heart' had been immensely popular. Not only did it break domestic viewership records, but it also performed well in South Korea, generating constant positive news. The next step would likely be promoting it in Japan and other Southeast Asian countries, a true combination of critical acclaim and commercial success.
Missing out on such a lucrative opportunity was unthinkable, so companies and investors came pouring in.
Beyond these corporations, many entertainment agencies wanted a share of the pie. Numerous stars were eager to appear in the new drama, leveraging connections to approach Lu Chen Workshop.
Lu Chen even received a call from Chen Jianhao.
This soon-to-be father had retired from the limelight and was supposedly done with the entertainment world. Yet, as a former insider, he couldn't escape the obligations of industry relationships and had been asked by others to speak to Lu Chen on their behalf.
"Protagonist is out of the question, maybe a supporting role!"
The demand for roles was enormous: Flying Stone Records, Qingyu Media, and SPG, among others. Just the companies Lu Chen had already promised or had agreements with numbered several.
Too many contenders, too few roles!
Because of this, Lu Chen made substantial revisions to the script while keeping the original story framework intact. He added depth to the characters, strengthened the plot, and corrected existing issues.
His new drama concept, of course, still originated from the dream world, but it would never be a simple copy. This approach not only allowed for a higher-quality production than the original work but also provided greater flexibility in execution.
The day after Lu Chen announced the news, two familiar faces from Capital City TV came to see him.
Lu Chen had to meet them personally, Chen Qi and Gu Rui.
Chen Qi was the Deputy Director of Capital City TV, and Gu Rui was the Artistic Director of the Program Department. Back when Lu Chen participated in Capital City TV's Singing China talent show, they had looked out for him quite a bit.
After meeting, Chen Qi got straight to the point with Lu Chen:
"Little Lu, you've got to leave a share of this new drama for Capital City TV. That includes both production and premiere rights. As for terms, just name them, whatever I can approve is no problem!"
Capital City TV wasn't trying to monopolize the project. Their goal was joint production and co-premiere rights. Nowadays, many popular TV dramas or blockbuster films adopt a model of joint investment, production, and broadcasting. This approach spreads risk and maximizes influence.
Another important reason is that in show business, people who try to go it alone rarely last.
The same applied to Lu Chen.
His rapid rise in the entertainment industry wasn't just due to his own talent, managing relationships and networks was equally crucial. Sharing benefits strategically allowed him to progress smoothly.
Some people didn't understand this principle and always wanted to pocket all the profits. The result? They ended up crashing headfirst, losing far more than they gained.
Lu Chen was establishing his career in Capital City. Building a long-term, friendly partnership with Capital City TV was essential, so he didn't reject their involvement.
Of course, the premise was safeguarding his core interests. Even if he ceded part of something, he would only do so in exchange for equal value.
Capital City could cooperate, and Zhe TV could too; premiere rights could even be shared across multiple channels.
But some benefits, Lu Chen would never give up lightly.
One of these was product placement.
Product placement, a form of advertising that emerged alongside movies, TV, and games, involves deliberately integrating a company's products or services into the storyline to achieve subtle promotional effects.
Because audiences have a natural resistance to advertisements, embedding products into entertainment is often far more effective than hard selling.
With the rapid growth of the domestic film and TV industry, product placements in TV dramas and movies have become increasingly common.
Some highly anticipated blockbusters starring major directors and celebrities have even signed product placement deals before shooting, sometimes recouping production costs in advance.
When Lu Chen produced 'Autumn in My Heart', he was still relatively unknown in the industry. Now, with that drama's success, advertisers and brands were actively seeking him out. Companies behind products he endorsed, such as Senqi Apparel, Zhonghua Motors, Thunderbird Watches, and Lanjie Daily Care, were all interested in placing their ads in his new drama.
Lu Xi roughly estimated that if they secured all these major brand placements, they could earn at least 20 million yuan in advertising revenue.
All these factors meant that even with the script finalized, producing the new drama wasn't as simple as deciding to shoot it. Various interests had to be carefully negotiated, or else rights could easily slip away.
Irresponsibly, Lu Chen left all these headaches to his older sister. At this point, he was far more concerned with Chen Fei'er's upcoming album release than the drama that was about to go into production.
(End of chapter)
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