Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 285 Before the Storm
A red carpet was laid from the steps of the luxury cinema to the stage.

Despite the scorching summer heat, Mr. Lu still observed social etiquette on such occasions. He walked into the venue with great strides, wearing a well-tailored, thin Armani Privé haute couture suit.

Armani Privé is a sub-brand that Armani just founded this year. It retains the "skeleton" of the British Savile Row suit, abandons the lining, removes the buttons, and modifies the proportion of the lapel, making it very comfortable.

This is very friendly to the public relations company boss who was used to wearing formal clothes everywhere in his previous life.

"Road guide!"

"Mr. Lu!"

"Boss Lu."

As soon as the young director entered the venue, he seemed to have become the focus of the scene. Before a group of industry insiders came over to chat with him, reporters came over with their cameras.

"Mr. Lu, is it a bit too much to release this low-budget film, 'Bad Genius', a week after 'Seven Swords'?"

Boss Lu calmly pretended, "A film in this industry has never failed. I trust the opinions of professionals."

"Director Lu, how's the progress of 'Tangshan Earthquake'? Has it been scheduled?"

"It will be finished within a week and will enter post-production, and is expected to be released during the Spring Festival."

"Mr. Lu, entertainment companies like Huayi and Chengtian have been gearing up for battle recently, while Wenjie hasn't made any moves. Aren't you worried about losing your competitive advantage?"

Boss Lu glanced at the reporter who was stirring up trouble: "I've consistently stated at various forums and conferences that the development of China's cultural industry, especially the film industry, is just getting started and there's huge potential."

"In 2004, the total domestic box office was only 22 billion yuan. At the rate of development in the past two years, it will soon reach 100 billion or 200 billion yuan. This requires the joint efforts of all of us in the industry. Competition is secondary, and cooperation and progress are the norm."

The reporter wasn't about to let him off the hook. "Director Lu, I'm taking this as an opportunity to discuss the upcoming film Red Cliff, which is being co-invested by Chengtian Entertainment, Huayi Film Group, and China Film Group. Casting is about to begin. What do you think of the film's future?"

Look, Mengmeng is standing up?
"Well... I suggest that the investors and Director Wu Yusen bring the special effects to Butian Films. Our level of expertise is already among the best in Asia, and we're well on our way to becoming one of the top Hollywood studios."

A reporter from "Bigstar" squeezed through the crowd and changed the tone of his question: "Director Lu, there are rumors that you have a close relationship with Lu girl Liu Yifei. Will you attend her coming-of-age ceremony in a month? Will you make any gesture?"

Boss Lu seemed to have turned into Magneto in an instant, and the attention of the people around him was instantly focused. Even Yang Siwei, Su Chang, and Liu Yifei who had just approached were staring at him.

"If I receive an invitation, I will go for a free meal and give a gift."

Before the reporter could press for more information, Boss Lu suddenly waved outside the door: "Jaylen, this way!"

The entertainment reporter suddenly looked back and found nothing, and when he turned back again, the man had already gone far away.

The coming-of-age ceremony he mentioned was the one officially announced by Yang Siwei today through the blog of Liu Yifei's studio.

She was selected as one of the 50 most beautiful faces in Asia by Time Magazine and will soon become the spokesperson for PepsiCo in China;
It also coincided with the time when the number of fans of Blog.com exceeded 1100 million and the number of video views on the foreign video platform Mytube exceeded 200 million.

Yang Siwei and Liu Xiaoli communicated and prepared to hold a grand coming-of-age ceremony, announcing that the 18-year-old Liu Yifei would step onto the stage of China and the world and continue her shining star journey.

Among these, the selection by Time Magazine is secondary, while the endorsement by Pepsi is a real display of status.

Since the 80s, Pepsi-Cola has entered the Asian market, and the first spokesperson invited was the late Leslie Cheung.

Back then, Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung were competing for supremacy, and the scene was brilliant and dazzling. The reason why Pepsi chose to cooperate with Leslie Cheung was naturally because they valued the latter's huge influence as a super idol.

From 1988 to 1992, as the Hong Kong entertainment industry entered the era of the Four Heavenly Kings, Andy Lau became the second and signed the contract until 96.

Next up are Aaron Kwok in 97 and Wang Fei in 99.

At the turn of the millennium, Pepsi changed its strategy and began to intensively seek collaborations with Chinese superstars.

Kelly Chen, Edison Chen, Sammi Cheng, Jay Chou and F4 from this period are all included.

As the music industry gradually declined, after 2005, Pepsi shifted its focus from the music industry to the film industry in choosing spokespersons.

At the same time, due to the decline of Hong Kong entertainment, spokespersons have also shifted from Hong Kong to stars from Taiwan and the mainland.

If it weren't for Lu Kuan's butterfly wings, the first mainland spokesperson for Pepsi would have been Huang Xiaoming in 2007.

However, Liu Yifei's rapid rise in the domestic entertainment industry in the past two years has led Pepsi to choose her as its image spokesperson for Greater China in advance.

在其十八岁成人礼上将会现场签约，从2005年8月25号，至2008年8月25号，为期三年。

Of course, this is far from the end of the domestic entertainment industry.

When this spokesperson for the Greater China region is upgraded to the spokesperson for the Asia region, it will prove that her influence has extended beyond the mainland and spread throughout Asia.

"What are you looking at? Don't you know where to greet the leader?"

Boss Lu pretended to be displeased and looked at Xiao Liu and his group not far away.

Yang Siwei, Liu Yifei, and Su Chang looked at each other in bewilderment. Only the second working girl, Su Chang, came over honestly and said, "Hello, leader!"

Boss Lu's face darkened. So, I, the uncrowned king of the domestic entertainment industry, can't order you two around, right?

Liu Xiaoli came over with a smile: "Xiaolu, please set aside time on the 25th of next month."

"I don't care about others, but you must be present at Xixi's coming-of-age ceremony. Her father will also be back by then."

The mother turned around and glared at her daughter, indicating that she should come over and invite her in person.

She was not satisfied with the answer Boss Lu had just given the reporter, so Xiao Liu came over reluctantly: "Well, don't come empty-handed."

"First, tell me the budget for your birthday party, and I'll see how much I can give as a gift."

"Meal allowance? You can drink as much Pepsi as you want, even if your belly gets broken, it's okay!" Liu Yifei covered her mouth and laughed, and was patted lightly by Liu Xiaoli next to her.

Of course, she also knew about her daughter's close relationship with the young director, and she didn't care about this level of communication and jokes.

She's only eighteen years old, I hope she can handle this relationship better.

The guest stars around were all waiting for the conversation to finish so that they could find a chance to get acquainted with Lu Kuan.

Not far to the right of the stage, a pair of figures were looking at this side silently.

"Shishi, stop looking. It's useless just looking at it."

"You have to seize the opportunity. As long as you can get close to such a big director, the current Liu Yifei will be you tomorrow, understand?"

The person speaking was Xu Rong from the studio, Yang Siwei’s senior at Communication University of China, and now she was in charge of guiding Liu Shishi.

She said she would bring it, but her current business volume is too small.

Liu Shishi will graduate next year. Since joining the studio, Yang Siwei has tried his best to create resources and opportunities for her to appear on screen.

Whether it is the supporting role in "Bad Genius" or the second video of Mytube, she will be involved.

Now the number of fans on my blog has successfully exceeded 200 million. I have finally gotten rid of the embarrassing identity of a pure amateur and have gained some fame.

only. . .

After following Liu Yifei to witness so many high-end scenes, her mind has also changed a little.

The girl refused to admit that she was jealous, but under Xu Rong's instigation and extreme encouragement, Liu Shishi could not say that she had the urge to leave, but she was always somewhat dissatisfied with the current situation.

As for Yu Yang Siwei, she just wanted Liu Shishi to participate in more acting training classes besides studying at school to practice basic skills so that she would not miss the opportunity when it comes.

But for Xu Rong, she believed that her junior schoolmate who held the sole power in the studio was just suppressing her and was afraid that she would stand out.

This is her constant resentment. (See Chapter 251)
Under her influence, Liu Shishi's mentality gradually underwent subtle changes.

Liu Shishi, with her slender pink neck, tilted her head and smiled, "That's ridiculous! I also want to practice my basic skills like Xixi did. There will be plenty of opportunities there."

Xu Rong pursed her lips, thinking about the olive branch that Cai Yinong, the sugar man, had extended to her during this period, and continued to win over Liu Shishi, whose thoughts were somewhat wavering.

"Shishi, recently 'Chinese Paladin 3' has been recast because of Jang Nara's incident, and the role of Long Kui, which you had been holding on to, has become vacant again."

"Why don't you try to contact the studio and see if there's any chance?"

Seeing her hesitant and naive look, Xu Rong was quite angry at her lack of fighting spirit and started to speak without thinking: "Don't believe these nonsense about practicing basic skills well. If you don't seize the opportunity, are you going to watch others take the position?"

"You almost got the role, but..."

Liu Shishi interrupted him in surprise: "How can you say that?"

"I believe Xixi is doing this for my own good. You don't need to say anything more. It's not something you should say in your position."

Xu Rong watched her walking away and sneered in her heart.

If Cai Yinong hadn't asked me to recruit you as a token of my allegiance, I, a Communication University of China graduate student, wouldn't bother to talk to you, a shortsighted person, with all my heart!

That's right, seeing that Huayi Yang Mi, Chengtian Huang Shengyi, and Yinghuang Tang Yan are still continuing to unswervingly follow the path of becoming popular actresses, Cai Yinong is still obsessed with the "cousin of Liu Yifei" who she discovered.

As a prestigious university that supplies professional talents to the entertainment industry, Communication University of China and Tangren have a series of cooperation agreements.

After graduating from graduate school, Xu Rong hesitated between companies such as Tangren.

As a result, because Xiao Liu had just become independent at that time and had the "reputation" of being the female lead of the domestic film and television box office champion, her studio was short of staff, so she was recruited by her junior Yang Siwei.

But for more than a year, Yang Siwei has been outstanding in his ability and has been in charge of Liu Yifei's blog operations, fan operations, business activities and other comprehensive artist projects. She has no chance to intervene at all.

After Liu Shishi was lured into the trap and handed over to her, the studio focused on training her, including training in various basic business skills, supplemented by appearances.

This made Xu Rong very unhappy. Under the guidance of Cai Yinong, who had interviewed her before, she began to try to poach people.

But it seems too difficult at the moment, so we can only look for another opportunity.

The premiere began soon, and Xue Xiaolu gave a speech on the stage, thanking the cast and crew of the crew and the company's strong support.

Below the stage, Boss Lu and Dong Shuangqiang sat together, chatting and talking.

"I attended the bureau's briefing a few days ago and chatted with people from Hunan and Taiwan."

"Their total advertising investment target this year is 6.5 million yuan."

Boss Lu smiled and said, "Then you have to work hard. The seasonal theater sponsorship has been confirmed, but The Voice of China is still looking for customers. What about the prime time slot?"

"After the prime-time drama 'Bright Sword' has finished airing, we're going to air 'My Captain, My Regiment', followed by 'Ode to My Own Swordsman'. The schedules are already connected."

Dong Shuangqiang hadn't mentioned this to him without purpose: "Hey, I'm telling you straight."

"I can guarantee the sponsorship fees for prime time and seasonal dramas, as well as the advertising fees before and after the show. There's absolutely no problem. It's for 'The Voice of China'..."

"Don't you have to think of a solution?"

The young CEO looked puzzled. "What solution do you want to find? I've already given Long Danni the necessary instructions. Now I'm being asked to find a solution. What do you want them to do?"

"The current situation is that market expectations are not very good. It may not even be able to compare with the castrated version of 'Super Girl' produced by Hunan TV. This will definitely not work."

"The first phase is about to begin. If you don't come up with a solution, I won't be in charge of this mess anymore!"

Boss Lu narrowed his eyes and pointed at Old Dong with his finger: "My army is still here. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"Hey, that guy." Dong Shuangqiang raised his chin and gestured to the "Bad Genius" crew on the stage.

The young director followed his gaze and saw Xiao Liu interacting with the audience.

"Liu Yifei?"

Dong Shuangqiang smiled and nodded: "Yeah! That's right!"

"You mean to make her like Super Girl, and try to drum up popularity and stir up trouble?"

"Yes! Isn't it great?" Dong Shuangqiang said as if it was a matter of course.

Boss Lu tutted his words twice and said righteously, "You guys are all used to taking advantage of others."

"When a program has problems, we must first look for the reasons within ourselves and be self-sufficient. How can we always rely on external forces?"

Old Dong was speechless when he saw his shameless look. You, a freeloader, ask others to be self-sufficient?

"Hey, let me tell you." Dong Shuangqiang said with a teasing look on his face, "Are you no longer able to command others?"

"No way, absolutely impossible."

Boss Lu flatly denied it: "Xiao Liu, you don't know this yet, but I always do what I tell you to do, without a second thought."

Dong Shuangqiang: "Haha."

"She really doesn't have time." The young director said frankly: "'Zhu Xian' is going to be filmed, and 'Alien Land 2' will start filming in September or October."

"Oh, by the way, she also created a Mytube account abroad, which is the same thing she posted on the Askjie video. That was also very time-consuming and laborious."

Lu Kuan did not reveal his overseas layout to Dong Shuangqiang. After all, the latter's base is still in the Beijing circle.

"Just spare one episode of your time? It's not a big deal to come and record it."

Boss Lu thought to himself that her birthday was next month, and who the hell knew what would happen then? What would she do if the CPU of a luxury car couldn't run?

"Ask later."

The lights in the venue dimmed, the audience's discussions gradually subsided, and the premiere soon began.

In the mainland film scene in 2005, the story and innovation of "Bad Genius" were simply a dimensionality reduction attack.

Action spy-style cheating techniques, innovative cheating details display;
The thrilling rhythm editing, slow motion and music are perfectly combined;

The actors' performances are captivating, with mainland China's top young actress Liu Yifei appearing without makeup;
A unique and innovative theme, with cheating on an exam as the clue of the movie...

Judging from the reactions of the audience and even Dong Shuangqiang next to him, Lu Kuan didn't think that "Seven Swords", whose reputation has been gradually collapsing, would be able to fight back.

The 120-minute film ended soon, the subtitles slowly rose, and the lights gradually brightened. The audience at the premiere seemed to still be immersed in the tense and exciting atmosphere of the film.

There was a brief silence at the scene, as if everyone was still savoring the thrilling "cheating battle" that had just happened.

A moment later, applause broke out like a tide, and the audience continued to discuss the matter until they left the theater.

"The scene where they passed around answers during the exam was so heartbreaking. I felt like my heart was in my throat, terrified they'd get caught!"

"And this movie isn't just about cheating. It also shows the gap between the rich and the poor and some problems in the education system. It's well made."

"How come Liu Yifei is so beautiful even without makeup? She's not afraid of the camera pointing at her face at all!"

. . .

Xiao Liu watched the guests and audience leave with satisfaction. From the feedback on the scene and Xue Xiaolu's smile, it can be seen that the reputation of this film is definitely good.

She walked gracefully to the side of the young director, who was still discussing the development ideas of the tourism channel this year with Dong Shuangqiang.

"Why aren't you leaving yet? Are you waiting for your master to invite you to dinner?"

Seeing Dong Shuangqiang, Liu Yifei greeted him with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Dong, thank you for your support."

"Hey, we're all family, why are you being so polite?"

Dong Shuangqiang looked at the domestic entertainment star with a smile: "Um, Yi Fei, there is something I want to discuss with you."

"What a coincidence? Me too. How about you, Mr. Dong, speak first?"

"Oh? You go first, you go first."

Liu Yifei refused disrespectfully: "I have a close friend who grew up with me and graduated from the Vocal Music Department of the China Conservatory of Music."

"Your station's new program just started its first episode, and she didn't have time to sign up, so she wanted to ask..."

Dong Shuangqiang was overjoyed when he heard this: "Great! That's great!"

"Ah?" Xiao Liu looked confused.

"I mean, our show is to invite singers with some basic skills to participate. It's not a talent show for beginners."

"But Princess Yi, there is something I need to explain to you in advance."

"Well, you tell me."

Dong Shuangqiang said sincerely: "There is a segment in our program called the Family Observation Room."

"While the singer is singing and waiting for the judges' chairs to turn, her friends and family will be shown in the observation room."

"When the time comes, see if you have time to come and record an episode. Just cheer on your friend in the observation room. It's very simple."

"Of course, it would be great if you could be a guest on one of our shows."

Liu Yifei is no longer a rookie who just debuted. She glanced at the calm face of Boss Lu.

"I can sing? That's fine, but I have two conditions. Please consider them."

"Just tell me!" Dong Shuangqiang agreed readily. As long as you are willing to come, the advertising price will be fixed!
"I know your shows are scripted. My friend Yao Beina is a professional singer. I hope the show will treat her fairly and not use her as a gimmick or a victim."

Before Dong Shuangqiang could deny it, she waved her hand again: "If you want me to sing, it must be a little Easter egg. Then I demand that he be in my observation room!"

Xiao Liu pointed at the young director who seemed to be standing aside and not getting involved: "I want him to cheer me on, like a fan!"

"Okay! This is better!"

Dong Shuangqiang was delighted! Why hadn't he thought of this idea?

The most popular young actress in mainland China and a talented director attended the show together. The rumors that were already vague in the past were just the natural gimmick and soft advertising of the show!
Besides, this does not conflict with the black four stripes in the chrysanthemum, perfect!
"What's good about that? I don't have time." Boss Lu stood up and prepared to leave.

"By then, we'll have Aunt Liu, her best friend Su Chang, her partner Hu Ge from 'Chinese Paladin', and classmate Zhu Yawen. Aren't they all good candidates to cheer us on?"

Concubine Liu Yi curled her lips: "There's nothing we can do about it, let it go!"

The little girl walked away gracefully, looking nonchalant.

The boss grabbed the young director's arm and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Go home and have a rest. You have to go to Butian Film to do special effects tomorrow. You are exhausted." Boss Lu said helplessly.

Dong Shuangqiang said earnestly: "Just now I asked you to find a way, and you said that the station should find a way on its own and be self-sufficient."

"You said that, didn't you?"

"Okay! Now I have a solution, and it's still within your ability. Why are you backing off again? Is that reasonable?"

"So Travel Channel isn't yours, then? Wasn't it you who set our goal of surpassing Hunan TV in advertising bids this year?"

Boss Lu made a helpless stop gesture. "I'm definitely busy lately. The Olympic bid ends at the end of August, and I'm rushing to prepare the bid documents. I'm also rushing to work on the post-earthquake period."

"Let's talk about it after you and Xiao Liu decide which episode to go on."

Old Dong hesitated for a long time before letting him go.

Thanks to Golden Harvest's distribution network in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, "Bad Genius" was released simultaneously in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, quickly gaining acclaim. Malaysian netizen Agudong commented: "The female lead is stunning! I can hardly imagine last summer's Blue Moon, and the one making tea in the YouTube video, was her too! Oh my god!"

Thai netizen Songpasan: The content of the movie not only shows thrilling cheating, but also reflects the concept problems in the education system, such as economic differences, which is actually very similar to our Thailand.

Xiangjiang netizen Pudding Jiang: Feifei is so upright! Seeing it makes my heart skip a beat! (lick)

Mainland netizens' comments were all full of praise for Liu Yifei. After all, the gimmick of appearing in a movie without any makeup was unique, and no actress dared to do so in 2005.

Fans almost ignored the plot tension and tense rhythm of the film itself, and were observing the chosen beauty from different angles throughout the whole process.

In North America, the film rights were sold to Miramax and Lionsgate for US$120 million and will be released online at the end of August.

South Korea and Japan each paid no more than RMB 800 million to the two partners of the Pan Asia Film Academy for distribution.

The box office performance of the later film "Bad Genius" in these two regions was also average, so this price was considered average.

The next day, the first-day box office figures for "Bad Genius" in the mainland were released, closing at 500 million, and 200 million in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. In just one day, Wenjie Holdings and forecasting agencies saw the potential for a huge hit.

After all, this is a youth film with an investment of tens of millions, and the actors are all hired internally.

In addition to Xiao Liu once again receiving praise for his box office success, young actors such as Hu Ge, Su Chang, Zhu Yawen, etc. also began to emerge on the big screen and gradually received film offers from other companies.

In sharp contrast to this low-budget film is "Seven Swords", whose reputation has gradually collapsed.

Netizens' comments were largely similar, mostly complaining about the unclear background relationships between the characters and the progression of the story. For example, Lu Yi and Yang Caini were mediocre in martial arts before going up to Tianshan Mountain, but once they got a sword on the mountain, they became masters once they came down...

Several love scenes came even more suddenly. The relationship between Lu Yi and Jang Nara developed rapidly without the audience being prepared. Shortly after the opening, the two embraced passionately. Lu Yi even said impatiently: "We almost did that the day before yesterday..."

As expected, many arguments like "Seven Swords, which cost 1.4 million yuan, is not as good as Supermarket, which cost 300 million yuan" appeared...

On Douban, film critics' opinions are relatively more professional.

Gu Xiaobai: The narrative is thin, the characters are pale, the plot is far-fetched, and the lines are poor. The movie does not have enough space to show the personalities of the seven protagonists. Instead, it spends most of its time on the emotional entanglements between men and women and the seven people protecting Wuzhuang. As a result, the characters are not fully developed and it is difficult for the audience to have a deep emotional resonance.

Zhou Liming: Since the original length of the film reached 4 hours, it was cut into 153 minutes to meet market demand, resulting in many plot inconsistencies and connection problems in the film, making the film's story appear scattered and without order. It is difficult for the audience to fully understand the entire story background and character relationships, as if they were watching a "trailer."

As a result of these factors, the box office of "Seven Swords" plummeted a week after its release, and screening schedules were drastically cut in various places to make room for "Bad Genius".

The atmosphere inside Huayi was a little tense.

Zhou Jun felt much happier today. He had just said that he would deal with Lu Kuan and you guys could just focus on your business, but then he suffered such a huge Waterloo.

"Brothers, don't overthink it. There will always be successes and failures in investment projects. It won't be smooth sailing."

The atmosphere in the office is very low, and this statement has no comforting effect at all, because there is a living example in the domestic entertainment industry.

Just like what Boss Lu said when he attended the premiere of “Bad Genius”, Wenjie has been established for three years and has never failed.

The only film that flopped was "Bullfight" in May, but it still made a small profit by participating in the Horizon section of the Venice Film Festival.

"Let's talk about the rights issue."

Zhou Jun gently put down the teacup in his hand. "Xinlang, Yahoo China, and Tom.com invested 30% of their shares at a price of $1500 million. Based on this, 1% of the company's shares is valued at around $50."

"Generally speaking, when we allocate shares to core employees at this stage, we must recalculate the net asset value per share, and it must appreciate. Otherwise, how can everyone have confidence?"

"But in the past year or so, apart from Xiaogang's A World Without Thieves, there's really not much else to say about movies."

Wang Dajun and Wang Xiaolei both remained silent. Lu Chuan's "Kekexili" was sniped by Lu Kuan and collapsed, and Xu Ke's "Seven Swords" was about to suffer another Waterloo.

The word "unremarkable" is already quite polite.

"So, this time I suggest not considering floating share placements, otherwise it will be difficult to boost their enthusiasm."

Generally speaking, the rights issue price shall not be lower than the net asset value per share.

For example, if the net asset value per share is US$5, then it can be based on US$5 and appropriately increased by a certain percentage based on factors such as the importance and contribution of the employee.

But Huayi's current situation is that it is preparing to use stocks to retain and cultivate the loyalty of core actors, and the increased price is not easy to accept.

After all, Zhou Xun, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Jizhong, and Bingbing don’t have the forward-looking perspective of Huayi’s stock price exploding after its listing.

Just like Zhou Xun in later generations, she refused to receive shares even at such a low price.

If, at this moment when the situation has just stabilized, we still have to allocate shares to these big players based on the increased net assets per share, or the stock prices or equity transaction prices of comparable companies...

One can imagine how bleak the final outcome was.

Wang Xiaolei was very unhappy.

If the price is not increased according to the net asset value per share, it means that the two brothers have worked for nothing over the past year?
He couldn't help but think sinisterly, Zhou Jun, of course you don't feel sorry for it. Didn't you get your 7% by pimping?
Wang Dajun nodded silently: "If we follow Mr. Zhou's opinion, then the selection of candidates and the proportion of shares to be allocated must be carefully considered."

He guaranteed absolute controlling status for himself, his brother, and even himself.

This is just the first round of financing!

"Let's first let the CITIC Construction Investment's listing guidance team give us some specific advice."

Zhou Jun then brought up the same old topic: "Regarding Fan Bingbing's shares..."

"Boss Wang!" The secretary knocked on the door and came in: "Bingbing is here."

The three people in the room kept silent, waiting for the famous actress to walk in gracefully.

"Wow, all three bosses are here, that's perfect."

Bingbing walked in with a smile on his face: "I got a big benefit for the company, didn't I?"

Wang Dajun and others looked at each other, not knowing what she meant.

Fan Bingbing leaned gracefully against the desk, not feeling guilty at all about being reported by Li Xue and others.

"Vogue will be launched in the country in September, and the editor-in-chief has been decided."

"I've already made arrangements with her in advance. We'll organize a fashion event together and introduce some fashion resources to our female artists."

"This includes both the main and supplemental editions of Vogue. At that time, several leaders will have to socialize more and stabilize this relationship over the long term."

Wang Xiaolei exclaimed in amazement, "Sure thing, Bingbing! This deserves credit for your contribution."

"Words are not enough. If you have any good things in the future, please think of me. Sister Binbin and Li Xue should stop gossiping about me. It's boring."

Bingbing didn't try to hide anything at all, as if she didn't care at all about being the first to complain. She waved her hand coquettishly and left.

This direct and straightforward speech was in stark contrast to the previous secret accusations made by Li Xue and her sister, which made the brothers Da Jun and Xiao Lei more determined in their ideas.

It is very normal for actresses to exchange their bodies for resources in the domestic entertainment industry.

If such high-quality artists are suppressed for unfounded reasons, it would be too inhumane.

"Brother Jun... look at this?"

Zhou Jun sighed: "I have reservations, but this company belongs to you brothers after all, so you make the decision."

"in addition."

The son of a powerful family had a sinister look in his eyes. "The 31st of this month is the deadline for submitting bids for the Olympic opening ceremony plan. I will find a way to prevent the road width bid from being successful."

"Once the bid is successful, it will be difficult to intervene and stop him from becoming the chief or deputy director of the Olympics."

Zhou Jun's viciousness surprised Xiao Lei, who always liked to use cunning tactics.

However, the two brothers understood Zhou Jun's meaning:
The bidding and presentation of the opening and closing ceremonies are still reported to the International Olympic Committee.

Once you enter the final stage of selection and plan determination, you will face several people with the highest authority.

If you still want to do some small things at this stage, the risks will be extremely high regardless of success or failure.

Even the Zhou army could not guarantee a safe escape.

In particular, he had to be wary of Lu Kuan who might become desperate and fight to the death with him using several loud speakers throughout the server.

On the morning of the 15th, A Fei knocked on the door and entered the office, placing the shengjian and millet porridge that Master Qiao had just made on the coffee table.

Boss Lu came out from the inner room after brushing his teeth, and the two sat face to face and ate breakfast.

"The investigation into Fan Bingbing's case is almost complete."

"Hmm?" Boss Lu, biting on a sizzling and juicy pan-fried dumpling, motioned for him to continue.

"That alley only has surveillance cameras at the intersection. After you said hello to Mr. Dong, I went to the police station to check the surveillance."

"I also talked to the elderly people walking around the streets nearby."

"There's not much doubt."

Ah Fei put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth. "The old man and woman in the alley remember it. She did ask for directions that day, and only then did she know that to get from Zhonglangxia Hutong to Huabin Golf, she had to transfer to bus 887 at Deshengmen."

"Also, from the surveillance footage, Zhang Chuanmei couldn't get a taxi after leaving the alley. She spent a long time looking at the route map at the bus stop, clearly not familiar with it."

"If Fan Bingbing had intended to invite her to the villa, he wouldn't have done it this way, unless he had been acting the moment he left the house."

Boss Lu nodded without comment.

The possibility of starting acting right from the start is not great, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

The Skynet project was launched on a large scale in 07. If Zhonglangxia Hutong was not located in the heart of Beijing, there wouldn't even be surveillance at the entrance of the hutong.

In order to confirm Fan Bingbing's motives again, he had no choice but to ask Ah Fei to conduct another on-site investigation.

Nearly two weeks have passed since the incident that night, and Bingbing has behaved as usual. Boss Lu has not made a big fuss, and everything seems harmonious.

The confirmation and recruitment of the editor-in-chief of Vogue China gave Bingbing more confidence to continue his creative career at Huayi.

From a God's perspective, Lu Kuan has temporarily lost control over the two women he personally nurtured.

Xiao Liu wanted to confront him and ask for an explanation for her three years of girlish love.

Bingbing is also unwilling to be lonely, his ambition is growing rapidly, and he is afraid of being "knocked out" this time, and is hesitating whether to do some work in advance.

Boss Lu worked on OA on the computer for a while, and then he felt his eyes were sore and unbearable, so he tilted his head back and put a few drops of eye drops in.

Suddenly the phone in my pocket vibrated and a message came in.

Zhuang Xu: "The wind is strong."

More than two months ago, since the flag of Jang Nara was taken down, Zhou Jun has been silent for a long time.

It has been so long that it seems that people have forgotten that there is such a great hatred between the two sides.

Zhuang Xu was like a duck that knows first when the river water warms in spring. When he felt the strong wind, it meant that the enemy was making any movement, so some preparatory work could be put on the agenda.

Boss Lu is preparing to push this powerful young man into a dead end step by step.

Before that, we have to make him crazy first.

He dialed the internal line: "Ask Xie Ning to come over."

Xie Ning is the general manager of Butian Film. He walked into the office, closed the door, communicated with his boss for half an hour, and went back with a heavy heart.

What followed was a phone call to South Korea, and the idle piece Jang Nara was about to make some progress.

Throughout August, Boss Lu was completely immersed in the production of special effects, editing and Olympic bid documents for "Tangshan Earthquake".

When I feel tired, I go to the office upstairs to rest, and I rarely even go back to the courtyard.

At five o'clock in the afternoon on the 25th, Tianxuan boss Lu Kuan had a pain in his neck. Just as he was about to invite Ah Fei to go to the banquet, an uninvited guest arrived.

"Is it time for me to come?"

Dong Shuangqiang knocked on the door and came in with a smile, followed by a relaxed young girl.

Boss Lu glanced at the two of them and said calmly, "If you're here to persuade me to go on The Voice of China, this isn't the right time."

"But if you're treating me to dinner, you can move it to midnight snack."

"Hahaha! Sure, you can choose where to eat. Today, we two brothers will have a couple of drinks. Oh, right!"

Dong Shuangqiang seemed to have just remembered the girl behind him and motioned her to come to the front.
"Mr. Lu, this little girl is called Chen Zhixi. Her parents and I are old acquaintances. She just graduated from the Central Academy of Drama last year."

"This is the guide. Do I need to introduce him to you?"

Lu Kuan recognized her. She was the heroine who tore Bai Lianhua apart in later generations. From this perspective, she was in the same group with him.

His acting career was tepid, but he started to break out of the circle after serving as the producer of "Lost in Thailand" in 2012 and transitioned to film and television production.

"The Pancake Man", "Detective Chinatown 3" and "Hello, Li Huanying" were all produced by him. Regardless of the others, they were all box office hits.

Chen Zhixi comes from a well-off family and has been socializing in upper-class circles with her parents since she was a child. She doesn't seem nervous when facing this CEO of Wenjie who is of the same age as her.

"Hello, Mr. Lu. I really like your movies. I have watched each one at least three or four times!"

"By the way, I also went to the opening ceremony of 'Tangshan Earthquake'. Your speech was particularly touching."

Boss Lu smiled and exchanged a few words with her, observing whether this little fangirl was pretending or was genuine.

Dong Shuangqiang struck while the iron was hot: "Zhixi is also an undergraduate student majoring in acting, and she is good at singing and acting."

"Boss Lu, I wonder if the company is still short of female artists..."

Boss Lu waved his hand and said, "Sign!"

Chen Zhixi and Dong Shuangqiang were both stunned, and the latter was even more excited. He had come here just to make some acquaintances, but he had no idea that Boss Lu would be so easy to talk to.

In the past, there would be all kinds of tests on acting skills and questions about ideas.

Chen Zhixi bowed excitedly: "Thank you, Director Lu! I will definitely live up to your expectations and become an excellent actor..."

"and many more."

The young director signaled her not to express her opinion yet: "Xiao Chen, there is something I need to explain to you first."

"The female artists in the company all have their own development paths, but you may not have so many resources when you first come in."

"I mean, I want you to start as an assistant and temporarily take on some of the chores outside of your professional duties. Is that acceptable to you?"

Boss Lu decided to take her on a journey that would save her a few years of detours and directly train her to become a talent in film and television production and capital operation.

Besides, it’s time for Sun Wenwen to deal with it, so let Chen Zhixi take over her job first.

Chen Zhixi looked at him in amazement. Assistant?

Then I thought of the private life of this young director...

This?
She looked at Dong Shuangqiang with some embarrassment, almost crying in anxiety, and stammered helplessly, "Uncle Dong..."

Dong Shuangqiang secretly winked at her, signaling her to be patient.

Lu Kuan is a dissolute man, but he is also very measured in what he does. He would not bully the people he brought with him. There must be a deep meaning in this.

He patted Chen Zhixi's shoulder, then turned to Boss Lu and said with a smile, "Boss Lu, her parents and I are old friends. Today, I will accept the invitation on behalf of Zhixi's parents!"

"Anyway, I'll leave the person to you. How you want to train him is your business! I don't care."

"Zhixi, you stay here and listen to Mr. Lu's instructions."

After saying this, Dong Shuangqiang turned around and left without any hesitation.

This is to tell Lu Kuan that I have absolute confidence in you.

The office door slammed shut. Boss Lu looked at his watch and put his suit back on the sofa.

"Come on, come on."

He picked up a few unimportant documents from the desk, and when he looked up, he saw Chen Zhixi standing timidly beside the sofa, motionless, her eyes avoiding him.

Boss Lu's face darkened. He hadn't been paying attention to public opinion recently. Was his reputation really that bad?!

He walked to the office door and opened it, motioned her to sit on the sofa, and handed her a few brochures and documents.

"Read the Employee Handbook first, especially the management regulations and financial rules. They will become your regular work from now on."

"Also, please read these documents first according to my instructions, and think about them yourself. If you don't understand, ask."

Chen Zhixi looked at the unscrupulous boss anxiously, her voice almost tearing up as she spoke, "Boss Lu, but...but I want to be an actor!"

“What’s the point of being an actor?”

"You do your internship first. After the internship, I'll reserve a role for you in the movie."

The internship period was ten years, but within a month she fell in love with this job and became a Mao actor.

"Really!"

The little girl who had just graduated from school was overjoyed to see a bright and smooth road before her.

It looks very long and wide, but it’s just a routine used by young directors.

Chen Zhixi was motivated and read through the book with great pleasure, comparing the various systems with those of her own company.

This world... is indeed different!

Half an hour later.

"Dong dong!"

Ah Fei knocked on the door and came in: "Boss, it's time to go. The ceremony will start at around six o'clock."

Boss Lu looked at his watch and saw that Xiao Liu’s Feiyue Eighteenth dinner was in the evening.

"Okay, off work." He shook his clothes and prepared to leave, turning back to greet Chen Zhixi: "Hey, off work, still watching?"

Chen Zhixi looked up blankly: "Huh?"

"Oh!"

"Can I take the book back? It seems... quite interesting."

Boss Lu smiled: "Okay, very good."

(End of this chapter)