Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 66 Eighteen Years Old

"Mumu, I want to join! Let's do it together!" Sun Jingyi was very interested in the book club.

Looking at the two of them, who were sticking together and whispering excitedly, Wang Tong exchanged a glance with Wang Jing and said helplessly, "They're completely obsessed."

Wang Jing shook his head, took Wang Tong's hand, and said, "Never mind them, they've gone mad. Let's go have breakfast."

Time flies like an arrow, and it's already early November. Liu Shishi has been on set for three whole weeks.

During this time, with Ms. Liu not by his side, Song Ci devoted himself to his studies and work, neglecting sleep and meals. He and his company successively accomplished several major tasks.

The investment in Facebook has been finalized. After a month of back-and-forth negotiations, the US side finally agreed that Song Ci would invest in Facebook with the domain name plus $100 million, acquiring a 10% stake, but in Class A shares, not Class B shares with ten times the voting rights.

Song Ci was simply making a financial investment, so he agreed to Facebook's request for Class A shares and has already appointed Wang Jing as his authorized representative to fly to the United States to handle the investment procedures.

Tenda Technology successfully developed its own email service, TT Mail. Inspired by Song Ci's suggestion, TT Mail borrowed the concept of "message in a bottle" from its predecessor, and became an instant hit upon launch, widely favored by young users.

Meanwhile, TT Mail and Toutiao complement each other, driving traffic to each other, and both have experienced explosive user growth.

In terms of daily page views, Toutiao has successfully surpassed Sina and NetEase, and is approaching Sohu, making it poised to become China's number one portal website.

Song Ci has decided that after Toutiao.com turns a profit next year, Tengda Technology will launch a series of major projects.

Next year, Renren.com will be launched, entering the social networking field. Tencent is undergoing transformation and innovation, developing QQ Pets and QQ Space, and will completely become the dominant player in the PC instant messaging field.

With the launch of video websites such as Tudou.com, online videos began to emerge, all of which indicated that 2005 would be a year of great change for the internet industry.

Tenda Technology should also leverage its strengths and avoid its weaknesses, seize the opportunity, and increase its market share in the portal and gaming sectors.

That evening, after self-study, Song Ci strolled along the quiet paths of the campus while talking on the phone with Liu Shishi, pouring out their hearts to each other.

"Yi Yi, have you missed me?" Liu Shishi had been busy filming for several days and hadn't contacted Song Ci. Now, she was excited and her words revealed a sense of longing.

Song Ci spoke in a kind and gentle tone, asking with concern, "Of course I miss it, Shishi. Is everything going smoothly on set?"

Because Liu Shishi is filming and it's inconvenient for her to carry her phone, and Song Ci is sometimes in class, they haven't been able to reply to each other's messages in a timely manner these past few weeks, and they rarely get to talk on the phone.

"It's alright," Liu Shishi muttered.

Song Ci sensed Liu Shishi's frustration and said, "Tell me about it, what difficulties have you encountered?" He knew the poet too well; she would only report good news and not bad.

After a long silence on the other end of the phone, Liu Shishi said dejectedly, "I keep getting retakes, and I'm dragging down the entire production schedule."

Song Ci tried to make her tone sound relaxed and natural: "I thought it was something serious. You're a new actor, so it's normal to have retakes. Did the director or the other main actors yell at you?"

Liu Shishi's voice was low and weak, "No, but the crew members are talking about me behind my back, saying that I'm not professional."

Song Ci felt sorry for Miss Liu and comforted her, saying, "Don't listen to their gossip. It's only mediocre people who don't attract jealousy. They're just jealous of you."

Since the director didn't criticize you, it means he approves of your performance. All new actors go through this process; just keep trying and improve a little each day.

"Sigh!" Liu Shishi sighed. Song Ci felt heartbroken and had to change her approach, encouraging her, "Didn't you want to become a big star and support me? You're so discouraged by this little problem. Let me support you instead, and you can be my canary."

This tactic worked! Liu Shishi immediately retorted, "Hmph, you think I need you to keep me? Song Yiyi, just you wait and see, I'll definitely become a superstar, the hottest one!"

"Shishi, what interesting things happened on set? Tell me about them." Song Ci deliberately changed the subject and tried to cheer up Miss Liu.

"There's something else. My mother also acted in this movie. The director said she had a good image and temperament, so he asked her to play a cameo role."

Speaking of this, Liu Shishi seemed very happy. It's really interesting for a mother and daughter to act in a play together.

Upon hearing this, Song Ci smiled and said, "Oh, then this 'Moon Shadow and Lotus Breeze' is your and Auntie's debut film. I will definitely watch it carefully after it is released."

"You actually want to watch TV dramas?" Liu Shishi asked in surprise. She knew that Song Ci had almost never watched TV dramas since she was a child, which was really strange.

Because of her rebirth, Song Ci had already watched many TV dramas in her previous life, so naturally she didn't want to watch them again.

In addition, before his rebirth, it was the era of online dramas, and he hadn't sat in front of the TV to watch programs for many years. So after his rebirth, he never watched TV, and over time it became a habit.

"This is my Shishi's debut work, of course I have to support it! For you, breaking the rules is only natural." Song said seriously, making Liu Shishi beam with joy.

"all!"

"Ok?"

"I really miss you."

The longing between the young man and woman was carried on the autumn wind. Song Ci listened to the barely audible breathing of Miss Liu on the phone and responded with deep affection: "I miss you too, Shishi, I really do!"

January 1, 2005, was New Year's Day. Today was Song Ci's eighteenth birthday. Song Zhang and Liu Xiaoxian, a married couple, arranged in advance to bring Song Ci's grandparents to their home so that the whole family could celebrate this important birthday with him.

Song Zhang and Liu Xiaoxian were busy in the kitchen, while their grandparents were watching TV in the living room. Song Ci was keeping the two elderly people company, and the house was filled with a warm and peaceful atmosphere.

Song Ci sat on the sofa, opening a package containing an eighteenth birthday gift from Liu Shishi: a greeting card and an exquisitely wrapped box.

Song Ci first looked at the small, romantic pink birthday card, and a bright smile immediately appeared on her face.

Wishing you well:

Happy birthday! Wishing you good health and all the best.

诗宝
Though the card was short, the sentiment was deep. A few simple words of blessing made up for the regret of Liu Shishi not being by her side to celebrate her birthday. Song Ci decided to keep the card safe and treasure it.

Upon opening the elegant and classic gift box, one is surprised to find a fountain pen inside, a pen with a unique design and exquisite craftsmanship.

The pen is exquisitely designed, with a smooth red and black body, a gleaming gold hook embedded in the cap, and a signature, making it resemble a perfect work of art.

He recognized it as a Montblanc fountain pen, and it was a limited edition from the Great Writers series, specially made in 92 to commemorate the American literary giant Ernest Hemingway.

(End of this chapter)