Investment Cashback, Billionaire God [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 32 Styling Photos

Chapter 32 Styling Photos

Cao Mao felt somewhat anxious, fearing that his quoted price might be too high and scare away the golden sponsor.

But Director Fang didn’t quibble over the price, merely smiling as he asked, “How many people are currently in your team?”

“Thirteen in total. We’re all from the Federal Institute of Technology Props Club. However, four team members are currently doing internships and can only work on props during weekends.”

Fang Zhuo nodded, pulling up a prepared contract template from his Light Brain. After adjusting the amount, he sent the revised contract to the other party:

“The labor cost in the contract is ten million. I hope the project timeline can be completed within forty-eight hours.”

“My assistant will provide you with a separate credit card account later. Material expenses can be directly charged to that card. There’s no need to report such small expenditures to me separately in the future.”

Cao Mao’s eyes glazed over, his head spinning. He truly felt like he was floating in mid-air.

How much? Ten million in labor costs?

He had never seen so much money in his life. Was this something people could casually spend?

And how could anyone refer to over a million in material costs as “small expenditures”? How wealthy must one be to associate these two terms together?

Out of caution, before signing, Cao Mao still shared the contract in the [Universe Props Master] account operations group:

[Brothers, get up quickly and check the contract and props list. The client requires compressing the four-day schedule to within forty-eight hours]

[…Did I miscount the zeros? Is there an extra digit in this labor cost?]

[@caocaocao, if this is fabricated and you’re fooling us with a photoshopped contract, may you always hit pity system in every gacha pull]

[Internship paused, I’ll take over]

[@caocaocao, forget forty-eight hours, we’ll complete it in twenty-four. I’ll model until sparks fly from my keyboard]

[Starting today I’ll voluntarily join Giant Entertainment’s troll army. So authoritative, Director Fang looks handsomer the more I see his photo]

[If Director Fang’s dog gets lost I definitely won’t help look for it, I’ll just beautifully replace it, woof woof woof]

Usually when he posted gacha screenshots in games, he never managed to attract so many responses. Cao Mao felt ashamed by his brothers’ money-grubbing enthusiasm.

The group kept flooding with “this servant has arrived” memes, while several buddies expressed wanting to use this opportunity to pull strings and join Giant Entertainment’s permanent staff.

The interning members became particularly obsequious, with the quick-fingered ones even directly posting their leave applications.

It seemed the timeline wouldn’t be a problem.

Cao Mao swiftly signed the contract, and the next second his Light Brain showed a direct transfer of exactly ten million.

He stared in astonishment: “Director Fang, don’t we usually pay a deposit first and settle the balance after completion?”

Fang Zhuo was setting up a slow descent route for the spaceship. Hearing this, he turned and leaned against the control panel, shrugging with a smile: “No need for that. I trust your skills.”

“The forty-eight hour countdown starts at 9:30 tomorrow morning. The photography studio is located on Planet 399. Large props can be constructed directly on site.”

“Additionally, Mega-Entertainment can provide eight to ten flexible staff members to assist you during this period. If you have other requirements, just contact my assistant directly.”

Cao Mao was nearly knocked unconscious by the windfall, his language systems completely crashing as he mechanically repeated “Thank you, boss” repeatedly.

On his way back to the dorm, he kept checking his Light Brain, afraid the money would suddenly disappear.

Who could understand the value of ten million to an ordinary college student?

Carrying such a huge sum made him feel like his Light Brain was burning hot.

After sorting out the Props issue, Fang Zhuo hurried back to the company and called Liu Xiaolan and Deng Jiaqiang to discuss the costume design for the short drama.

Unlike the authentic period costumes in Great-Grandmother’s era, the clothing for the Card Competition Arena setting was significantly more challengingone of the key difficulties in adapting similar concepts for screen.

Modern attire clashed too sharply with the Arena’s aesthetic, while game-style battle suits risked looking cheap and poorly crafted on screen.

The original script devoted over a thousand words to describing the protagonists’ outfitsa substantial focus given the short drama’s limited length.

As a professional, Liu Xiaolan took notes while reviewing the text, explaining to them:

“The description here is clear: the male lead’s Card family originated from the border region between two ancient continents of Blue Star, so the clothing covers most of the skin with longer silhouettes.”

“As outfits compatible with the Card Competition Arena, the designs should remain lightweight and streamlined, just as described in the original.”

“The Star Federation has two designers with styles similar to the original: one is Gong Zhou, Creative Director of Charent’s sub-brand, the other is LT, head of an emerging brand heavily promoted on StarNet lately.”

“The latter offers better cost-effectiveness and has more flexible scheduling.”

“Of course, another option is to buy ready-to-wear pieces designed by Gong Zhou, which I can modify according to the book’s descriptions.”

“Most TV costume departments work this way nowsome platforms even purchase replicas for modifications.”

Before Fang Zhuo could respond, Deng Jiaqiang waved his hand and leaned back casually:

“No need for that. Money isn’t an issue for us.”

Liu Xiaolan paused thoughtfully: “Most established fashion designers won’t take on film projects, and Gong Zhou is currently preparing for Fashion WeekI’m concerned about his availability.”

Her wording was diplomaticamong the Star Federation’s renowned designers, Gong Zhou was notoriously difficult.

A prodigy discovered young, he had been recruited by Charent’s chief creative director and consistently produced over ten original designs quarterly. Two years ago, Charent even launched a dedicated ready-to-wear line under his name.

Like many artists, Gong Zhou carried an air of arrogant genius, spoke sparingly, and rarely appeared in interviews.

She personally admired his design aesthetic and had rewatched his limited documentaries multiple times.

Based on her understanding of his temperament, the chance of Gong Zhou agreeing to collaborate was slim. Even if he reluctantly accepted due to brand relations, he’d likely delay the design process indefinitely.

Fang Zhuo directly called the Charent contact from their previous collaboration.

Since Tong Qinglu’s red carpet appearance, their company had generated several million in revenue for Charent’s full product line. With their Group Broadcast competition exclusively featuring the brand’s ready-to-wear, the advertising value from exposure alone was immense. The customer service representative’s voice on the phone sounded even warmer and more cordial than last time.

After hearing Fang Zhuo’s request, the other end first stated they would quickly consult their superiors. Five minutes later, the person returned breathlessly and replied:

“Director Fang, may I ask if this film collaboration concerns your company’s latest short drama?”

“Our sub-brand maintains relatively high autonomy in brand direction planning. You may need to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Gong Zhou and his team. The main brand will also send business liaison staff to accompany them.”

Liu Xiaolan’s eyes widened.

According to this response, did that mean Gong Zhou had agreed to take time out from Fashion Week for a meeting?

Wait… This didn’t quite match her impression of the arrogant genius designer.

Forty minutes later, the luxurious lineup sent by Charent surprised her even more.

Not only did Gong Zhou bring his entire design team, they also dispatched a full group of workshop tailors and about a dozen employees with various functions.

Watching C-brand employees continuously transport various fabrics and garment-making tools into the main hall, Liu Xiaolan gradually transitioned from initial shock to admiration.

And Gong Zhou wasn’t as aloof as she remembered – he even had a smile on his face as he eloquently discussed the thousands of words of original costume descriptions, elaborating extensively on his design interpretation.

…Who was this person? She barely recognized him.

Wasn’t Gong Zhou supposed to be a man of few words? How could he be so enthusiastic today?

After listening to Gong Zhou talk about artistic concepts for what felt like ages, Fang Zhuo finally seized a brief moment when the other paused for breath to interject:

“We will incorporate at least twenty seconds of costume-related content in our behind-the-scenes short film. If you require it, we’ll also include your brand name when officially promoting this short drama.”

“We require a total of eight costume sets. May I ask what your intended price range would be?”

Hearing these design requirements, Gong Zhou hesitated momentarily.

His sub-brand had been established relatively recently and wasn’t the most prominent among C-brand’s several distinct ready-to-wear lines.

His agreement to discuss film collaboration with Mega-Entertainment was partly intended for advertising promotion. It would be even better if it could immediately boost his brand’s sales.

It appeared there must be someone in the other company familiar with the fashion industry – the costume styles in this script indeed aligned perfectly with their brand aesthetic. He greatly anticipated the results of this collaboration.

Considering these factors, he was willing to make appropriate concessions on the design fees.

However, with his annual salary approaching ten million, designing eight sets represented almost a full quarter’s worth of his personal workload. To meet the short drama’s production timeline, the design period had been compressed considerably – he couldn’t possibly set his collaboration design fees too low.

He prayed this rising executive truly possessed the financial capabilities his position suggested, hoping this wouldn’t be a wasted trip.

“Mr. Fang, these eight costume sets will be primarily designed by me, with six other designers from our team responsible for refining details. The pure design fee totals seven million.”

“Fabric and workshop labor costs are calculated at nine hundred thousand per set, bringing the total to 14.2 million.”

After he finished speaking, not only himself, but everyone’s eyes turned toward Fang Zhuo.

Noticing the script on the Light Brain, Gong Zhou – still captivated by the design style described in the text – added:

“If you can add a separate credit line for costume design during drama promotion, we could appropriately reduce the collaboration fee to thirteen million total. What do you think?”

The price was far lower than Fang Zhuo had expected.

He stood up first and shook hands with the other party: “Of course, we can dedicate a separate line for your brand’s costume design, and even place it before the screenwriting credits.”

After all, the short drama script was provided by the system, and their credited screenwriter was just a randomly made-up name. Previously, they had casually used the personal accounts of operational staff as the screenwriter.

But these words took on a completely different meaning in Gong Zhou’s ears.

A wave of immense astonishment surged within Gong Zhou.

What extraordinary trust this wasto elevate costume design above the screenwriter in a film or drama. Having such a client was a tremendous honor.

…Director Fang not only paid with remarkable generosity but also straightforwardly offered such a prominent credit position.

Such a magnanimous client was truly rare.

For a moment, Gong Zhou was at a loss for words and could only prove the client’s money was well spent through practical action.

So, while Liu Xiaolan was selecting matching headpieces for the main characters, she looked up to see Gong Zhou setting up a workstation right there in the secondary hall, busily getting to work on the spot.

She distinctly remembered from interview documentaries that Gong Zhou had severe procrastination tendenciesthe type who would go off to immerse himself in nature for months whenever inspiration ran dry.

When had he become so dedicated?

Had she missed a few episodes of the documentary?

Several tailors quickly produced the initial versions of the costumes based on the design drafts. Gong Zhou, resting his chin on his hand, circled Jian Yujing a few times, occasionally pointing out details that needed adjustments to the designers under his supervision.

The lights in the secondary hall remained on until 11 p.m. Even several livestreamers couldn’t help yawning, but Gong Zhou still appeared full of energy, continuously revising the designs.

As the lead designer showed no signs of leaving, the others felt too awkward to clock out. It wasn’t until midnight, when Fang Zhuo passed by the secondary hall on his way out of the company, that he forcibly switched off the lights for them.

At 9 a.m. the next day, when Liu Xiaolan arrived at work with coffee and dark circles under her eyes, she was shocked to find Gong Zhou still seated at the same workstation as the day before, head bowed as he diligently sketched.

Astonished, she quietly pulled aside one of his designers and whispered, “Is your director always this hardworking?”

The designer, with even bigger eye bags, shook his head as if he’d seen a ghost. Covering his mouth, he whispered back:

“He still hasn’t finalized the outfits for the fashion week runway shows. It feels like he’s been possessed by something these past couple of days.”

Liu Xiaolan nodded emphatically.

Then, the young designer shifted the topic: “Is your boss always like this too?”

Liu Xiaolan let out a puzzled “Hmm?” and asked, “Like what?”

The designer made an exaggerated gesture: “How come he didn’t even try to negotiate during the collaboration talks? I thought he’d at least bargain a little.”

Liu Xiaolan patted the other’s shoulder: “Your pricing was just too low. Our boss probably felt like he’d stumbled upon a huge bargain.”

Noticing the surprise in the other’s eyes, she floated away, thoroughly satisfied.

With such efficient operations, the eight designed outfits successfully arrived at the Planet 399 studio by the afternoon of the next day.

The three large boxes of accessories Liu Xiaolan had selected overnight had already been delivered earlier. Meanwhile, Cao Mao sent several messages stating that the accompanying card weapon Props for the main characters had just been completed.

At 6 p.m., Fang Zhuo personally led a group of livestreamers to Planet 399 to shoot the initial version of the finalized styling photos.

As the security device at the entrance scanned his iris, the studio door slowly opened