Huayu: This director specializes in promoting young actresses.

Chapter 40 is about Li Yifeng and Yang Yang.

Two days later, in the morning, sunlight streamed through the windows of the Beijing Film Academy's teaching building, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Lin Feng, holding his laptop, stood at the door of the teacher's office, took a deep breath, and then knocked.

"Come in." Jiang's familiar voice came from inside.

Lin Feng pushed open the door and entered. Jiang Wei was sitting in a wicker chair flipping through a script. Seeing him come in, he raised his eyelids slightly and asked, "Finished editing?"

"Okay, teacher, please take a look." Lin Feng put the computer on the table and opened the finished film of "Take My Brother Away".

Jiang Wei put on his reading glasses, leaned forward slightly, and a scene of Shi Miao chasing Shi Fen appeared on the screen, accompanied by crisp laughter. He didn't speak, his fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest, his eyes focused intently on the screen.

More than an hour later, the end credits slowly rolled. Jiang Wei took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and suddenly laughed: "You little rascal, you really gave me a surprise."

"teacher……"

"I thought you could only manage something passable, but it's surprisingly good." Jiang Wei looked at him with a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "The narrative pacing is steady, the emotions are captured accurately, and the logic is flawless. You don't seem like a newcomer making a film for the first time!"

He paused, then said, "That young actress named Tian Xiwei is also quite good. She has excellent control over her emotions and is very talented."

"Weiwei is indeed quite talented," Lin Feng smiled.

"She hasn't taken the college entrance exam yet, has she?" Jiang Wei raised an eyebrow. "We should have her apply to the Beijing Film Academy. We can't let other schools snatch up such a good talent."

"I've got it, teacher."

"There's nothing wrong with the movie," Jiang Wei waved his hand. "Get it submitted for review as soon as possible. Let me know at the premiere, and I'll bring a few old friends to support you."

"Thank you, teacher!" Lin Feng felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

After leaving the Beijing Film Academy, Lin Feng immediately called Zhou Ming: "Senior, the finished film is all set. Could you please handle the approval and release arrangements?"

"Okay, I'll take care of it." Zhou Ming's voice was cheerful. "You focus on the post-production of 'The Beginning' and don't get distracted."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng took a taxi back to the company. In the editing room, the computer screen was still showing the footage of the bus explosion.

He rubbed his temples, downed a cup of black coffee. Time was tight; he had to finish editing "The Beginning" by June to catch up with the hype surrounding "The Lost Tomb".

For the next two weeks, Raymond Lam practically moved his entire home into the editing room.

"Boss, have something to eat." Li Yitong brought in a thermos containing freshly stewed pork rib soup. "You haven't eaten properly for two days."

Lin Feng didn't even look up: "Just put it there, we'll eat it after we finish cutting this part."

"No," Li Yitong pushed the soup bowl towards him, "You have to eat now, what if you get hungry?"

Helpless, Lin Feng had no choice but to stop what he was doing, pick up a spoon, and take a sip of the soup. The warm soup slid into his stomach, soothing him comfortably. "Yours is still the best."

"Then you have to eat on time too." Li Yitong sat on the chair next to him, watching him eat. "I washed your clothes and hung them out to dry on the balcony."

"Thank you for your hard work." Lin Feng felt a warmth in his heart. For the past two weeks, she had not only had to take care of company affairs, but also had to cook different kinds of food for him and remind him to rest.

"Why are you being so polite with me?" Li Yitong smiled, took out her phone, and said, "By the way, Xiaotian just messaged me asking when you'll be done with your work, saying he wanted to send you some loquats."

Lin Feng took the phone, and Tian Xiwei's message popped up: [Brother Feng! Our loquats are ripe! They're super sweet! Shall I send you a box? When are you free to receive a package?] It was followed by a drooling emoji.

He replied with a smile, "Just send it to the company; someone will receive it anytime."

"She calls every week via video. If you don't answer, she'll probably just come over," Li Yitong joked.

"I'll be fine once this busy period is over." Lin Feng put down his phone, continuing to stare at the screen. "By the way, how's Hao Chun doing lately?"

Lin Feng nodded. In the past two weeks, Liu Haochun had indeed been contacting him more often. She would tell him about the fun things that happened during dance practice, share her newly bought hair clips, and even complain about the food in the cafeteria.

On a clear morning in early June, as the first rays of sunlight streamed into the editing room, Raymond Lam pressed the "save" button, and the post-production of "The Beginning" was finally finished.

He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. His bones felt like they were falling apart, and he was overwhelmed by exhaustion. No matter how energetic he was, he couldn't withstand two weeks of high-intensity work.

"Finally finished," he muttered to himself, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

The next day, Lin Feng contacted Wang Man of Tencent Video: "Ms. Wang, the sample footage of 'The Beginning' is finished. Do you have time? I'll send it over to you for a look."

"What a coincidence, I happen to be in Beijing," Wang Man said excitedly. "Come to the Sigma Building, we have an operations center here."

Inside the Sigma Building, the Tencent Video conference room was bright and clean. Wang Man and several operations managers sat on the sofa, while Lin Feng turned on his computer, and the opening sequence of "The Beginning" popped up on the screen.

An hour later, the final episode ended, and the conference room fell silent. Wang Man was the first to applaud, her eyes shining: "Director Lin, this show...it was such a wonderful surprise!"

"Mr. Wang, you flatter me."

"It's no flattery," Wang Man said excitedly. "I originally thought web dramas were low-budget productions, but I didn't expect the quality of your drama to be better than many broadcast dramas! The plot is tight, the logic is sound, and the actors' performances are excellent. We've really struck gold!"

The operations manager next to him nodded in agreement: "Especially the loop setting, it's novel yet not abrupt, and it's so captivating that you can't stop watching."

"When do you plan to broadcast it?" Wang Man asked.

"June 20th, the Dragon Boat Festival."

"So fast?" Wang Man was stunned. "Isn't this too rushed?"

"I want to compete with 'The Lost Tomb' and ride its coattails," Raymond Lam bluntly stated.

"What did you say?" Wang Man exclaimed as if she had heard something unbelievable. "Competing with 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles'? You're not kidding, are you?"

She counted on her fingers, "The other side has a big IP, a big production, and two big-name stars, Li Yifeng and Yang Yang. Your drama..." She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear: they were not even in the same league.

"Mr. Wang, I know they're a tough nut to crack," Lin Feng said calmly, "but as you've seen, the content of our drama is just as good as theirs. Today's audiences aren't stupid; they don't just look at IPs and star power. Content is king." He paused, then added, "And I bet their production might not be as good."

Looking at his determined eyes, Wang Man hesitated. She admitted that "The Beginning" was a good drama, but going head-to-head with "The Lost Tomb" was too risky. Tencent had also invested a lot of money in "The Lost Tomb".

"Trust me this once," Lin Feng looked at her, "Even if we can't win, we can still ride their coattails to become famous."

Wang Man was silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded: "Okay, I'll trust you this once. Let's see how their premiere goes; we're tentatively setting the premiere date for June 20th."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang."

Outside the Sigma Building, the sunlight was a bit dazzling. Lin Feng took out his phone and called Li Yi: "Come to my office, it's important."

Back at the company, Li Yi was already waiting for him in her office. "Director Lin, what's up?"

"The premiere date for 'The Beginning' is set for June 20th," Raymond Lam said. "Is the promotional plan ready?"

"Ready!" Li Yi handed him a proposal. "We plan to promote it in phases: first release a trailer, then character posters, and finally hold an online press conference..."

"That's not enough," Lin Feng interrupted her. "After 'The Lost Tomb' airs, I want you to use every means at your disposal—trending topics, short videos, marketing accounts…at all costs, to attract their traffic."

Li Yi was startled: "Director Lin, are we going against 'The Lost Tomb'? That's..."

"Yes, that's the way to go." Lin Feng's eyes were sharp. "They're a big IP, so we'll play the 'dark horse' card. They rely on traffic, so we'll rely on word of mouth. Tell all the accounts we're working with that 'The Beginning' is the most anticipated suspense drama of the year, the kind that dares to challenge 'The Lost Tomb'."

"...Okay, I'll get right on it!" Although Li Yi was unsure of herself, she was still impressed by his confidence.

After Li Yi left, Li Yitong came in with a water glass. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Boss, are we really going to go head-to-head with 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles'?"

She overheard a few words at the door and felt a little scared. "Those are Li Yifeng and Yang Yang, they have such a large fan base, we have almost no fame here."

Raymond Lam took the water glass and took a sip: "Big fame doesn't mean a good drama. Have you forgotten how solid the content we produced is?" He looked at her, his tone firm, "Isn't it just Li Yifeng and Yang Yang? We're going to take them down."