It seems the male protagonist's presence was too weak.
Upon hearing Director Wang say this, Qi Yu's first reaction was confusion: "This drama actually has a male protagonist? Where is he? What does he look like?"
Si Qing and the others had followed along to join the fun. When they heard Director Wang mention a male protagonist, they were all startled and looked around in confusion.
Director Wang was silent for a moment, then pointed to the male actor not far away who had been reading and dozing off: "Why don't we have any male actors in this drama? Isn't he right there? It's so obvious. Among everyone, only he has a blue seat, and the words 'Male Protagonist' are written in large characters on the seat."
Qi Yu looked enlightened.
Si Qing and the others immediately looked towards the male protagonist. They then noticed that although the male protagonist was handsome, his aura and temperament were extremely ordinary. Wearing ancient Hanfu, he couldn't carry the outfit at all, instead looking like a child who had stolen adult clothes.
Qi Yu looked at the male protagonist and fell into thought.
She quite liked the script for this drama, but now a problem arose: with the male protagonist in this condition, even if the villains and main actors performed exceptionally well, could this drama truly become popular?
Si Qing had the same thought.
Director Wang and Director Li were also aware of their male protagonist's less-than-ideal condition. Therefore, after the introduction, they quickly changed the subject: "However, the male lead in this drama wasn't a particularly important role to begin with. The main draw is the protagonist, so the requirements for the male lead weren't high during casting."
"...Since that's the case, how about this?" Qi Yu proposed a condition: "I can guarantee that this drama will become a huge hit, provided that we replace the male and female leads. I'll arrange for the male lead, and I'll personally take on the female lead role and help you revise the script. I will also invest in the production, and it will be a substantial amount."
Director Wang hesitated for a moment upon hearing this. Finally, he said he needed to discuss it with Director Li and the other investors.
"No problem, you can discuss it for as long as you need. I have great confidence in this drama. It might even win awards," Qi Yu said something exaggerated and seemingly impossible, with a smile. The directors nodded upon hearing this. They announced that everyone else could go back for the day, and then they went with Director Li to discuss the matter of Wang Lili with the investors.
After that, everyone returned to the hotel provided by the production crew. As Wang Lanqing walked towards her room, she curiously asked Qi Yu: "Sister Qi Yu, who are you planning to replace the male protagonist with? Are you thinking of choosing someone from among us?"
Qi Yu nodded: "Of course, I'll choose someone from among us. Otherwise, wouldn't this opportunity be wasted? I actually wanted to choose Si Qing, but a sibling pairing in a drama like this doesn't seem appropriate, especially with him as the male lead. So, I think it would be better to choose Senior Brother or Third Senior Brother."
Sui You raised an eyebrow: "Do I look like someone who can act? I'm not very good with the romantic entanglements in these dramas. What if it doesn't look good when filmed?"
"Have you seen the character requirements for the male protagonist in this drama? I've read the general script before. In this Xianxia drama, the male protagonist is a cold-faced Immortal Venerable, a righteous character. The entire drama revolves around saving the common people. The male protagonist's screen time isn't particularly much, and most of it is spent on saving the world and teaming up with the female protagonist. So, there's very little romantic involvement."
Upon hearing this, Sui You subconsciously looked in the mirror.
He was examining his face.
"Do you think my face is one that can save the world? How can I put this? It doesn't seem like something I would do," Sui You felt he didn't quite fit the role.
Yue Zhiyin, however, had a different opinion: "I feel that my appearance has a gap with the image of a righteous Immortal Venerable. But you're different. Your stern demeanor is quite fitting, and your Phoenix clan is naturally beautiful. I've watched some videos, and I think you are very suitable."
Hearing Senior Brother say this, Sui You no longer refused.
Qi Yu clapped her hands: "With this, the investment work is more than half prepared. The remaining unimportant matters can be handled by Wang Lanqing and me."
Wang Lanqing looked at Qi Yu: "Sister Qi Yu, I haven't even asked yet, how are you planning to invest? Are you going to exchange gold for a large amount of money in this world? It's not impossible, but it seems a bit difficult to manage in the short term."
"Don't worry, I have many ways to make money. You just need to cooperate with me. In a few days, I'll make you a billionaire, and then we'll invest together." After speaking, Qi Yu rummaged through her storage and put some items into another bag. She then pulled Wang Lanqing, her useful assistant, and left.
Although Wang Lanqing was confused and didn't know what Qi Yu was taking her to do, she still trotted along behind her, never leaving her side.
Qi Yu took Wang Lanqing to an antique trading market, then to several jade markets. After browsing through each of them, when they returned, Wang Lanqing was holding her card in both hands, following behind Qi Yu:
"Sister Qi Yu, your jade is too valuable! It was just a small piece, but it sold for such a sky-high price. It's simply astonishing! Now, we really have the money to invest in the drama."
"That's just the worst piece of jade among all my collections. Because it contained very little spiritual energy, I never found a use for it. I didn't know how to use it."
After all, the jade collected in the past was mostly used to make protective talismans with spiritual energy.
With too little spiritual energy, the jade would be of little use after being made into a protective talisman.
Not only would it affect the effect, but if something serious happened, a protective talisman without spiritual energy would be no different from an ordinary stone shield.
However, in this world, this piece of jade with little spiritual energy had found a great use. After all, mortals bought these jade stones mostly for carving and decoration.
The purposes were different.
Naturally, the value would also be different.
Wang Lanqing's face was filled with admiration.
No wonder Qi Yu spoke so confidently about investing without any hesitation. It turned out she already had a large principal, so she didn't have to worry about being short of money when investing.
Si Qing gave Wang Lanqing a reassuring look: "Investing is far more profitable than acting, so now you understand why my sister is so fond of acting, right?"
"She doesn't want to be a big star; she just wants to make money."