Pei Qian noticed that Zhu Xiaoce's backpack still had a thick stack of contracts. It seemed he intended to get everyone receiving payment for the short videos to sign one.
At first, Pei Qian thought it was a bit overkill.
But on second thought, strictly following procedure was… perfectly reasonable.
After all, Huang Sibo had received that 1 million yuan investment. Every cent had to be accounted for. Signing contracts with clear payment terms for the actors? Totally legit.
Still…
Pei Qian hadn't expected Zhu Xiaoce to come fully armed with contracts already.
Company name: Feihuang Studio.
The name was clearly chosen by Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce together. "Feihuang" contained Huang Sibo's surname, while also nodding respectfully toward Tengda—as in "flying high," echoing the company's name and spirit.
Pei Qian almost slapped his thigh and shouted "Perfect!"
This name…
Absolutely speaks to my soul!
Feihuang Studio was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd. In theory, all profits would be turned over to the parent company—but the actual profit-sharing mechanics hadn't been discussed yet.
Not that Pei Qian cared.
He'd much rather see this sub-company lose money month after month!
He flipped through the contract, eyes scanning quickly until he found the most important part:
The short video series title: "President Pei's Daily Life."
Pei Qian let out a long sigh of relief.
Phew!
As long as it wasn't Unexpectedness, we're safe…
There was no script summary yet. That made sense—Zhu Xiaoce and Huang Sibo hadn't even decided how they wanted to shoot it. The script was still in the works.
The contract stipulated that the director would have full creative authority, and that actors must unconditionally cooperate and fulfill the director's requests.
Of course, it also specified that the director couldn't make any excessively unreasonable demands.
Appearance fee: 1,000 yuan per episode.
Three seasons planned.
Ten episodes per season.
Total: 30 episodes, 30,000 yuan.
At the end, the contract outlined standard breach-of-contract penalties:
Whoever breaches—director or actor—must pay triple compensation based on total payment.
That clause was standard for all actor contracts.
Pei Qian didn't really care. He had no intention of backing out.
The short videos were only a minute long each—30 episodes meant 30 minutes total.
Such a tiny workload—why would I ever bail?
Signature complete.
"Well then, we won't keep you from your work any longer, President Pei. We'll go back and start drafting the script. Once filming's ready to begin, we'll return!" Zhu Xiaoce said with a grin.
He and Huang Sibo left the meeting room, heading off to get the rest of the contracts signed.
After all, a lot of people in the company would appear in the videos. If they couldn't find the right type of character internally, they'd recruit outside extras. Everyone would be paid, and everyone would sign contracts.
Pei Qian sipped tea in the meeting room, suddenly feeling like life had become beautiful again.
The system really does go easy on me sometimes!
Just a little side gig, and boom—30,000 yuan in personal income, no system interference at all!
Sure, in one way, this might be seen as exploiting a system loophole.
But flip the perspective—it could also be the system showing leniency, giving him a little breathing room instead of pushing him into a corner!
Three thousand yuan per episode wasn't much by industry standards, but to Pei Qian?
It was a vital stream of side income!
Last cycle, he'd gone to absurd lengths just to convert 20,000 yuan into personal money.
Compared to that, this 30,000 was incredibly efficient!
And best of all… this was just the beginning.
Now that the door has been opened—couldn't Pei Qian keep using this method in the future?
Could there come a day… when he could enjoy a sky-high acting fee?
Hmm... of course, all of this had to be within the bounds of the system's rules.
Pei Qian couldn't help but start daydreaming.
. . . . . . . . . .
Meanwhile, having left Shenhua Real Estate, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce returned to Huang Sibo's apartment.
Even with a million yuan in funding, Huang Sibo planned to pinch every penny. He had no intention of wasting it on luxuries like renting an office.
In fact, he figured they could just squeeze two or three computers into his living room to handle editing and uploading for now. It'd be more than enough in the early stages.
Once the videos took off and they started landing sponsorship deals, then they could think about getting office space.
"President Pei is fully behind this," Zhu Xiaoce said, confident. "I think we've got a real shot. But... we really need to settle on a script."
Huang Sibo nodded. "Yeah, script first."
Truth be told, they hadn't had any particularly groundbreaking ideas.
With a limited budget and zero industry connections, a big production was out of the question. That's why they'd settled on short videos to begin with.
There were plenty of potential topics for short-form content… but no matter how they brainstormed, they couldn't come up with anything truly special.
Until suddenly—Huang Sibo slapped his forehead with inspiration.
Film President Pei!
As the saying goes, "Art comes from life—and rises above it."
To make something great, they'd need to draw from real life.
And who better to draw from than President Pei himself?
His success story was pure legend. Even if the videos didn't go viral, at least they'd show the internet that presidents like this actually exist!
When Huang Sibo shared the idea, Zhu Xiaoce immediately jumped on board.
This had potential.
What was the daily life of a game producer like?
What kind of routine did a millionaire entrepreneur follow?
And if—on top of that—he was generous, kind, and the best president ever?
Of course audiences would want to watch!
The two reached a quick consensus: film President Pei!
But now that it came down to actually writing the script, they found themselves stuck again.
As Zhu Xiaoce had pointed out, even short videos require technique.
If they filmed everything flat and literal—just day-in-the-life stuff—they'd end up with a glorified documentary. Not only would that be boring, but audiences would likely assume it was just a corporate puff piece.
That kind of "in-your-face marketing" would backfire hard.
So, the key question became:
What's the hook? What's the twist?
They racked their brains for two hours.
Idea after idea—rejected.
Too bland.
Too cliché.
Just not good enough.
Then, after much deliberation…
A spark of inspiration lit up in Huang Sibo's mind!
Earlier, President Pei had asked him a strange question—something about whether the video series was named "Unexpectedness" or something like that.
It was one character long. He couldn't recall exactly what it was.
But why would President Pei go out of his way to ask that?
Could it be... a hint?
Huang Sibo began pacing back and forth, racking his memory.
Then suddenly—eureka!
"I remember! President Pei asked if it was called Unexpectedness!" he exclaimed.
Zhu Xiaoce looked puzzled. "Unexpectedness?"
"Yes! That's what he said—definitely!" Huang Sibo said with conviction.
Zhu Xiaoce scratched his sparsely stubbled chin. "But… we've already settled on a title, haven't we?"
"No problem—we can keep the name. What matters is the idea! The idea is what's important!" Huang Sibo said, eyes gleaming.
Zhu Xiaoce paused, then suddenly his expression changed.
"That's it! That's what we were missing—plot twists!"
"Our earlier ideas were too flat. Just documentaries in disguise. But short videos shine when there's a twist."
"It's only one minute—we need to hit hard and leave an impression. We need the unexpected. The reversal!"
"So this gives us the framework! Now we refine it—add writing, gags, build up President Pei's character... and then flip it with a twist!"
"And let's mix in some satire and black comedy while we're at it!"
Creative energy surged through Zhu Xiaoce.
The entire concept clicked into place.
The vision was clear. The tone was set.
Even the script for the very first episode began to write itself!
<+>
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