Rebirth: Spoiling the Obsessive Film Emperor Chapter 64

Chapter 64: A New Gameplay

The trial broadcast of the variety show Don't Look Back in the Dark was a huge hit, and many sponsors came sniffing around. This even included the families of the young masters who had participated in the trial broadcast.

Hua Family's milk tea drinks and snack gift boxes. Lei Family's newly released mobile phones for the quarter. Qin Family's waterproof medicated cosmetics. Xiao Family's smart learning tablets.

Since the young masters couldn't possibly have time to come record the show every time, they recommended the celebrity endorsers for their family brands to come instead.

This meant the guest lineup would see a major reshuffle for the official recording, and the production team also needed to handle publicity for the new guests.

Actually, it wasn't just that those young masters didn't have time—Yin Chengjue also couldn't possibly have time to record every episode. So, besides the celebrities coming to handle endorsement duties, Yin Chengjue's side also needed to recommend someone to fill his spot.

Huansheng Entertainment wasn't short of artists, but choosing who was a problem.

Yin Chengjue had no choice but to kick the ball to Shang Liu.

Shang Liu had spent more time at Huansheng than Yin Chengjue. His eyes rolled thoughtfully, and he quickly had a candidate in mind.

"President Yin, what about Shu Liubai? She happens to have a schedule opening recently, and... she brings her own topics," Shang Liu said.

Shu Liubai was a female star who blew up three years ago thanks to a comedic period drama. However, the period dramas she filmed after her sudden rise in popularity weren't quite as well-received, so her career had been trending downward these past two years. Add to that her rather blunt personality—she wasn't very smooth with her words and often got caught by the media on minor verbal missteps they would then press her on, intermittently getting her blacklisted on hot searches.

But because the things she got criticized for were never major issues, not enough to cost her her job, she kept muddling along in this cycle of being both criticized and popular.

Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that in his previous life, when Ming Qian led a large group of stars to jump ship during Huansheng Entertainment's crisis, Shu Liubai wasn't among those who left. It wasn't because she wasn't popular enough, but because her character was too straightforward—she looked down on that kind of behavior.

If those people left because the company's resources weren't good enough and they wanted to develop somewhere with better resources, that would be understandable. But as it happened, those who left were all artists Huansheng Entertainment had spent vast resources and effort promoting—the company's best was poured into them. Yet, after gaining fame, they turned around and left for the next company. This kind of behavior was truly despicable.

"Fine," Yin Chengjue nodded. "Have her and Rong Yu look out for each other, but they can only promote a sister-brother CP."

Shang Liu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Seems President Yin is quite concerned about that Rong Yu?"

Yin Chengjue shot Shang Liu a deadly look.

"Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!" Qin Linlin cleared her throat loudly. "Alright, alright, let's talk business first. For the official recording, only Lei Miao and Wei Shu from the young masters group are coming. The others have other commitments and won't be coming. Liu Qingling, Yang Ji, and Rong Yu are the permanent guests. Then there are three celebrity idols coming to endorse and promote their newly aired TV dramas, plus one Shu Liubai. That makes nine people total."

Qin Linlin said, "The script I've currently prepared for the official broadcast has the theme of family affection, the more tear-jerking the better."

"Ah? Another plotline designed to make the audience cry? Isn't that too cliche?" Qin Ke frowned with distaste. "Good thing I'm not participating; I'm worst at that kind of thing."

Qin Linlin shot her brother a look. "Can you let me finish? Did I say I wanted to use the trope of 'there is true feeling and true love in the world'?"

Qin Ke spread his hands. "Then what else could it be? Family affection is just like that, right? Something deeply moving, something that brings tears, milking tears however possible. Isn't that how it is in TV dramas?"

Qin Linlin took a deep breath, angered by his heartless words. "You... you really don't appreciate your blessings when you have them. I don't even know what to say to you. Mom, Dad, and Big Brother aren't some kind of monsters, so why do you avoid and hide from them all day? What's the point?"

"Ai! You wouldn't understand! Forget it, let's not talk about this. Continue with what you were saying!" Qin Ke waved his hand, appearing unwilling to discuss the topic further with Qin Linlin.

Yin Chengjue and Shang Liu exchanged a glance, faintly sensing that Qin Linlin's decision to make family affection the theme this time was most likely because of Qin Ke.

Qin Linlin took a sip of milk tea before continuing. "Being sentimental is secondary. I also want a contrast, to show the different ways family affection can be expressed. So the detective storyline's case will revolve around this theme. Then the final treasure in the treasure huntroute will be the answer related to family affection. The decryption content of the escaperoute will also be related to this theme."

Qin Linlin had clearly prepared her thoughts and spoke non-stop. "With sponsors, our funding isn't as tight now. We can also choose a better location. I currently have my eye on a remote mountain villa. The villa's owner happens to know my father. He's willing to rent the villa to us for recording. As long as we don't damage the villa's objects, we can also set up scenes and install code locks."

"A villa? Playing that big this time?" Qin Ke said, surprised.

"Yeah, this time I want to showcase the warmth and coldness of human relationships beneath the surface of wealthy family money and interests. A villa backdrop is perfect. It even comes with its own dining room. Our production team can prepare ingredients in the dining room. When they get tired from playing, they can even take a break to go down to the kitchen and cook something."

Qin Linlin clapped her hands, clearly thinking her idea was excellent. "We can prepare pots, pans, dishes, and utensils for them. Then we can edit some footage of them cooking. Wouldn't that be very gimmicky?"

Qin Ke silently gave Qin Linlin a thumbs-up.

"Then we can set up some NPCs and create some supernatural elements... Ah, right! I did want to create a supernatural plot. Let me explain it to you. Initially, the nine of them receive letters asking them to come here to inherit the villa owner's estate, so they come. However, while touring the villa, they discover a corpse."

Qin Linlin: "The corpse has several knife wounds on it, with the fatal wound being the stab to the heart. After they discover the first corpse, our broadcast can prompt them to start getting into their respective roles and begin acting according to their own missionroutes."

Qin Linlin continued, "After they start searching, they will discover that there isn't just one corpse, and the causes of death are completely different. After they find all the corpses, they will realize there are nine corpses in total."

"Nine?" Yin Chengjue raised an eyebrow, vaguely guessing something.

"Yes. These nine corpses are actually the corpses of the nine of them. They had already died ten years ago and have just been repeating the experiences of the day they died." Qin Linlin placed her hands on the table, interlocked her fingers, rested her chin on them, narrowed her eyes slightly, and an inexplicable excitement flashed in her eyes. "We will mark the dummy corpses so they match some marks on the guests. By the time they collect all the corpses, or even earlier, they will start to realize, and then... their hair will stand on end!"

Qin Linlin giggled. "The villa I rented looks super spooky! The atmosphere will absolutely be enough!"

Qin Ke felt relieved once again that he wasn't going this time, while Yin Chengjue began to consider whether or not to let Rong Yu go.

Hmm, would Rong Yu be afraid of this kind of thing?

Yin Chengjue recalled Rong Yu's previous performance and wasn't sure.

"Weren't you just saying the theme was family affection? Why does the process sound so sinister!" Qin Ke reminded her.

"Hey, the theme is family affection, that's right! But the search process also needs atmosphere! Several guests, each with their own identities, come to the villa with the same purpose of inheriting the estate. During the search, they discover the villa owner's story and what happened inside the villa. Then they connect it to the experiences of their own character settings, linking it all into a perfect thread. Isn't that great?"

Qin Linlin rubbed her hands together. "The story designed for you all last time wasn't complete enough; there were still many flaws, and the logic wasn't rigorous enough. So this time I worked hard to improve it, making the entire episode's plot tighter, with content that links together wave after wave of explosions. The broadcast effect will definitely be better!"

"Have you figured out how to string together the stories for these several people?" Yin Chengjue asked.

Qin Linlin paused, showing a troubled expression. "Ah, that's the part I haven't figured out yet. Nine people mean nine identities. One of them is the villa's butler, the person responsible for sending the invitations for the others to come. One is a lawyer, responsible for handling the estate transfer. One is a servant, responsible for cleaning the villa—after all, the villa needs to be kept clean and tidy. The remaining five: one is a cousin, two are the children of the villa owner's original wife, and two are illegitimate children raised outside."

Yin Chengjue: "Is the illegitimate child identity necessary? It's a controversial role, no one would be willing to play it, right?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, you just don't get it. What a variety show needs is discussion, controversy, and all kinds of different voices," Qin Linlin said with a smile. "Besides, this is just a variety show; it's just entering a role with an identity card. If the audience argues about it, it might even show that the person playing that role has good acting skills. After all, playing the villain leaves a deeper impression than playing a cannon fodder character. An excellent villain can even overshadow the protagonist in people's minds."

Yin Chengjue: "..." So reasonable, it's irrefutable.

Yin Chengjue said, "In that case, why not make those two illegitimate children actually the children of the butler or the servant? The person the villa owner had an affair with cuckolded him, but the villa owner didn't know and thought those two were his own illegitimate children, doting on them especially."

Yin Chengjue propped his chin on one hand. "The butler is constrained by legal aspects to send messages calling those people back, but he actually has his own plans—he wants to give this estate belonging to the master to his own son."

"And the servant found out this secret. The servant blackmailed the butler with the evidence she collected, demanding the butler give her half the family fortune, or else she would expose him..." As Yin Chengjue spoke, he looked up and found everyone looking at him with surprised and delighted eyes.