Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 357 The entrepreneur most adept at building a personal brand: Maybach's scathing critique.
Weibo, Chairman's Office

The executive who contacted Sina reported Yan Li's offer: "US$3.5 million in cash, plus a 15% stake in Weibo."

Yan Li didn't even look up: "What did you say?"

The executive stated, "I simply took my people and left."

"Just go."

Yan Li complained, "Even the most outrageous price tag is ridiculous."

He was concerned about the alliance between Tencent and Sina, but it was just a concern; it wasn't to the point of suffering heavy losses and becoming a victim of injustice.

A 15% stake in Weibo is worth billions, $3.5 million, or over 20 billion, and it's all in cash.

Sina is a defeated general, obsessed with money.

Blogs are currently barely surviving, and microblogging is lukewarm at best; despite their large scale, their potential is extremely low.

Even if the penguin factor leads to a price increase, Yan Li's target price is only $1-2 million.

As for the shares that Sina is so eager for, Yan Li will not give them much, certainly not more than 3%, and he might even avoid giving them at all.

“Tell Sina that I hope to see their sincerity, not just wishful thinking.”

Yan Li knew that Sina wanted to threaten him with Tencent, but he wasn't that worried.

The collaboration between Sina and Weibo has a key advantage: Weibo doesn't really need Sina's help; it's primarily a defensive acquisition.

Therefore, Sina can delegate all of this business to Weibo, only need to provide some corresponding support, and then allocate funds and resources to develop new businesses.

However, if Sina and Tencent cooperate, Tencent will need a lot of resources and manpower from Sina. The two sides will have to join forces to compete with Weibo.

This forced Sina to continue entangled in the Weibo war, unable to focus on developing new businesses, and even turned into working for Tencent.

This is why Sina is inclined to sell its blog and microblogging services to Weibo; rather than working for Tencent, it's better to continue fighting Weibo to the death.

Sina needs to buy Weibo to control it and guard against Tencent, while Weibo also needs to control Sina, so selling to Weibo is more in line with their strategic policy.

This is a psychological game; it's a test of who can hold their nerve!

Yan Li, who has access to an intelligence network, is certainly more at ease in this regard.

Yan Li even has a backup plan. With the advent of the mobile era, Tencent has a lot of things to do and may not acquire Weike. Even if it does acquire it, it may not fight Weibo to the death.

It was precisely because of these reasons that Yan Li was not as anxious as Sina had anticipated, nor was he willing to compromise with Sina at all costs. Instead, he was exceptionally assertive, almost saying, "Sell if you want, or get out."

The executive asked, "Should we target microblogs and blogs to pressure them into making peace?"

"can."

Yan Li nodded. The greater the pressure on Sina, the more they want to sell; the worse off microblogs are, the lower the price will be.

"Remember, your primary objective in these negotiations is not to acquire Weibo and blogs, but to prevent Sina from being sold to Tencent. Delay the process, the longer the better."

If this drags on, Sina won't be able to withstand it, and Tencent will also experience some problems.

If Tencent decides to abandon the Weibo battle or reduce its investment, then we might not need to buy it at all.

After discussing Sina's issues, Yan Li then looked at the relevant reports for Weibo.

The key is to be strong yourself. Whether it's Sina or Tencent, the crucial factor is the development of Weibo itself. As long as Weibo is strong enough, everything else is secondary.

Weibo's mobile platform is doing well, but its user growth rate is not particularly ideal.

This isn't Weibo's fault; rather, it's because smartphones haven't yet become widespread and explosive, so the hardware can't keep up, and the software has to wait.

During this period, Weibo could only try its best to expand its influence and cooperate with mobile phone manufacturers to seize the terminal market, so that new smartphone owners would open a mobile Weibo account as soon as they got their phones.

As it neared the end of the workday, Yan Li's phone started buzzing with messages and constant vibrations.

Social engagements are the most frequent, followed by dates. For those we're not very familiar with or who aren't important enough, we use text messages or make direct phone calls.

"Mr. Hu, I really can't drink anymore. Well, it's due to health reasons. Maybe next time."

"Wang Si, how about this, I really can't go myself, I'll have our company's vice president go over, could you please help out? Thank you so much."

"I won't be coming over tonight, you should go to sleep early."

"..."

When Yan Li gets off work, it takes him at least ten minutes just to reply to text messages and make phone calls. Sometimes, he might even have to chat all the way home.

Upon arriving at the parking lot, the driver was already waiting. Yan Li said, "To the set of 'Double-Sided Embroidery'."

Dong Xuan has been making quite a bit of a show of herself in front of his parents these past few days, so Yan Li also needs to make his presence felt.

When Yan Li arrived at the film crew, they hadn't finished filming yet. "Double-Sided Embroidery" is an urban drama with many night scenes.

Today's scene features the second female lead, Tong Yaya, who is experiencing setbacks in her career and is drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Her on-screen partner, Zhou Yiwei, comforts her and discovers something different about this cheerful girl.

They intended to take her home, but her sister Dong Xuan called and came to pick her up, which led to a misunderstanding with Zhou Yiwei.

Hmm, that's a bit old-fashioned.

When Yan Li arrived at the film set, he didn't have anyone surround him. He just looked at the barbecue stall scene. The producer thought he had something to say, so he made a special explanation.

"President Yan, this barbecue stall was chosen by Su Ling, who is also Ya Ya. She just graduated from university and is not particular about details. Choosing this place can also give Zhou Yiwei's role as president a certain sense of contrast."

Got it, it's about bullying the domineering CEO.

Yan Li knew this trick: the ugly duckling falls in love with the domineering CEO, dragging the CEO down from his pedestal and turning his life from drinking red wine and eating steak to eating barbecue skewers and drinking beer.

Not only did the domineering CEO find the Ugly Duckling unique, but he also felt a strange mix of emotions. The audience found the "disheveled" CEO amusing.

Yan Li really wanted to complain about this plot, as it was clearly plagiarized from some foreign "aristocratic" storylines.

In just a few years since the reform and opening up, who among the self-made "tycoons" like Yan Li hasn't eaten barbecue skewers? Even earlier, life was much worse, and people often ate steamed buns and pickled vegetables.

Even the so-called rich second-generation heirs born with a silver spoon in their mouths mostly suffered hardships in their childhood.

Shaking his head, Yan Li didn't take it too seriously. If the audience liked it, a little fake wouldn't matter. He just asked, "Are the skewers props or real?"

"Really, the boss was just making a cameo appearance."

"Okay, get me some."

Producer: “…”

He thought Yan Li was just nitpicking, but it turned out he was just hungry.

However, he quickly had a flash of inspiration: "Mr. Yan, is it okay to eat on camera? Just think of it as being an extra for our crew."

You're quite good at making the best use of people!

Yan Li glanced at himself; he was dressed in ordinary clothes, not enough to steal the male lead's thunder, and nodded.

"can."

Yan Li, the driver, and the producer set up a table, and the boss started grilling skewers.

When filming was about to begin, Yan Li and the others had eaten half of their meal. Seeing Tong Yaya crying, Zhou Yiwei was at a loss, and Yan Li even improvised and added a line.

"Dude, don't just sit there, hurry up and show us what you've got."

While adding words, he also made a hugging gesture, indicating that Zhou Yiwei should quickly step up.

Zhou Yiwei reacted quickly, explaining, "We're just friends."

Yan Li nodded, then continued to urge, "So, hurry up."

Zhou Yiwei: "..."

Tong Yaya couldn't help but burst into laughter, then apologized. Yan Li was speechless: "You were laughing just fine, don't stop, get back to the scene."

This girl has little acting experience, but she's not afraid to laugh on set. She plays a carefree character and follows the character's lead. Whether she's teasing Zhou Yiwei or joking around with Yan Li, a passerby, she manages to bring the character to life.

However, it's understandable that some actors like to improvise and perform spontaneously, while others follow an academic approach and read from the script.

To some extent, Yan Li's behavior of not being a proper background character and adding unnecessary scenes is what really disrupts the production.

Normally, the director would have started yelling by now, and he's shouting through a megaphone.

"President Yan's addition to this scene was particularly brilliant. Yiwei and Yaya, be more flexible, and everyone should work together well."

Tong Yaya was still a little flustered, so Yan Li taught her that whether she laughed or scolded, or retorted, it was fine as long as it suited the character.

After restarting, the screen remained unchanged. Tong Yaya looked up at Yan Li, who had been instigating her.

"Why don't you demonstrate for him?"

"This girl has quite a temper."

Yan Li didn't mind and raised his glass: "Fine, I'll take this a step further, sister. There's nothing you can't get over. Think positively."

"Thank you, brother."

Tong Yaya also raised her glass in a gesture of greeting, while Yan Li focused on eating, becoming a mere background figure.

Zhou Yiwei smoothly transitioned into the role, saying, "This person is actually quite nice."

Tong Yaya remained sharp: "She's just a bit too talkative."

Next, Tong Yaya and Zhou Yiwei continued filming, and Dong Xuan took over the scene. Because they needed to express that the two had been drinking for a long time, Tong Yaya was already very drunk.

So Yan Li and the others had to finish eating and leave the set, so they could only take the skewers outside the camera's view to eat.

After Dong Xuan finished filming, Zhou Yiwei still had his solo scene. Dong Xuan came over and snatched a few skewers from Yan Li's hand: "Seeing you eat like that makes me hungry."

Tong Yaya habitually followed Dong Xuan closely, never leaving her side. Yan Li also gave her a few skewers and pointed them out.

"Be more relaxed when filming in the future, and you also need to be quick to react."

Tong Yaya nodded seriously, while Dong Xuan defended her good friend: "Come on, you're teaching her acting, but you've only acted in a few movies yourself."

"Not counting cameos, it must be thirteen or fourteen films. What's wrong with that? Has Teacher Dong filmed as many as I have?"

Yan Li debuted in 2002. Although he hasn't played many leading roles, he has acted in quite a few dramas. At least he can bully Dong Xuan without any problem.

She debuted later than Yan Li, was a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, and wasn't enthusiastic about acting. Among the three of them, Fan, Qin, and Dong, she had the fewest acting roles.

Dong Xuan choked. She didn't think she had acted in fewer films than Yan Li, but she didn't remember the exact number as clearly as Yan Li, which put her at a disadvantage compared to him. She could only stubbornly insist on her point.

"I am a teacher in the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy, so if anyone should be teaching, it should be me."

"Give me a break, don't mislead your students. How many of your students are good actors? Yang Mi signed with Yi An, and the company even found her a special acting teacher."

Yan Li's words were truly hurtful, and Dong Xuan was a little upset. Compared to her current part-time acting career, being a teacher is now her main profession. You could say that her acting skills are bad, but her teaching is not good either.

"Yang Mi is too busy. She hasn't attended many of my classes. Look at her classmates Jiao Junyan, Wang Renjun, Zhang Xiaofei, and several others from the class of 07. Their acting skills are all quite good."

Dong Xuan joined Beijing Film Academy after graduating from university in 2004. She started as a teaching assistant and later became a formal counselor for the class of 05, the same class as Yang Mi.

In 2007, after three years as a teaching assistant, Dong Xuan became a full-fledged teacher, mainly teaching the 05 and 07 classes, focusing on physical fitness and performance.

Yang Mi is a hands-on person. She didn't attend many classes during her time at school. In her first and second years, Dong Xuan was just a counselor. In her third year, Yang Mi was even busier and didn't attend many of Dong Xuan's classes.

"Oh."

Yan Li nodded: "Alright then."

Dong Xuan: "..."

What do you mean, "Fine, Yang Mi's acting is bad, but we can't blame her"?

Tong Yaya watched Yan Li and Dong Xuan bickering and chuckled to herself. Yan Li gave her a strange look.

"We're about to wrap up, why aren't you removing your makeup? What are you doing standing here?"

Tong Yaya was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Dong Xuan, who coughed lightly and said, "You stay at the hotel today, I'm going home."

Dong Xuan and Tong Yaya are usually inseparable. Except when they are filming or working separately, they eat, drink, play, and live together.

She's somewhat like Guan Yue before her. After having a child, she wasn't as free in her private life as before, except for still being with Dong Xuan at school. Tong Yaya has filled the void left by Guan.

However, perhaps because she doesn't have a boyfriend, she's clearly not very perceptive in this regard.

If it were Guan Yue, she wouldn't have approached Yan Li at all; she would have just greeted him and left. But Guan Yue waited there patiently until Dong Xuan reminded her that she finally understood what was going on.

"This child is a little slow-witted."

Yan Li commented, and Dong Xuan patted him on the shoulder: "You're only a few years older than her, yet you call her 'kid'."

Tong Yaya was born in 1983, three years younger than Yan Li and four years younger than Dong Xuan, making them peers. This is one of the reasons why Dong Xuan and Tong Yaya are good friends.
For example, Yang Mi was born in 1986, while Dong Xuan is seven years older than her, separated by an elementary, middle, or high school. This creates a generation gap in their views and topics.

Dong Xuan left without removing her makeup, after telling the director and producer. She then followed Yan Li.

Yan Li, however, was used to making sure his visits to the set were worthwhile. After eating some skewers from the crew, he paid the producer to treat everyone on the set to a late-night snack.

After that, the two didn't linger and drove straight home.

Upon entering, Dong Xuan took off her high heels and collapsed onto the sofa: "I filmed more than a dozen scenes today, I'm exhausted."

A dozen or so scenes may not sound like much, but the workload is actually quite heavy, not to mention that there are also scenes to rush between, costume changes, rehearsals, preparations, etc., making the working hours easily more than ten hours.

This is just her job as an actress; she is also the producer of "Double-Sided Embroidery".

Although she was somewhat nominally in charge, Dong Xuan wasn't completely irresponsible. Even if she wasn't directly involved, the crew would still specifically inform her about certain matters.

Just kidding, this person has direct access to the big boss. Who would dare to bypass her? If a misunderstanding arises, no one can afford to take the blame.

In contrast, Yan Li wasn't tired at all.

He even had some free time recently because he had turned down a lot of social engagements. After reviewing the reports in the afternoon, he still had time to chat and watch an episode and a half of a TV series.

If he weren't so free, he wouldn't have bothered to make a cameo appearance during a set visit.

"My wife has worked so hard." Seeing how tired Dong Xuan was, Yan Li rolled up his sleeves and gave her a massage. She wanted to enjoy it, but was a little embarrassed.

"Maybe I should wash up before massaging. I've been busy all day and I smell sweaty."

"We've been married for so long, how could I possibly complain about you?"

Having known each other for so many years, we've seen and tried everything, so why would I care about this? Not to mention Dong Xuan is wearing perfume.

While massaging Dong Xuan's calf, Yan Li asked, "How long until filming wraps up for this movie?"

"One or two months, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just checking the time."

It's May now, and Dong Xuan will be free by July at the latest. Qin Lan's situation will be similar. If Yan Li works hard for two months, there shouldn't be any major problems, and he can join the cast of "Let the Bullets Fly" then.

"You said you wouldn't act in 'Let the Bullets Fly'?"

"I didn't originally want to act in it."

Yan Li said helplessly, "But Jiang Wen kept pestering me, promising that I only needed forty days of availability and that I could take leave whenever I needed to. I couldn't refuse, so I agreed."

The above are only part of the reasons. Another important reason is that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yi'an will be officially listed next year.

The company needs a high-profile film to complement it and further generate buzz.

Both "Bodyguards and Assassins" and "Let the Bullets Fly" are blockbusters produced by Yi An, and they are substantial enough, but their connection is not deep enough.

Most people don't look at who invests behind the scenes; they only look at the actors or directors in front of the camera.

The reason Huayi Brothers values ​​Feng Xiaogang is because Feng can represent Huayi Brothers to a certain extent. If his movies are hits, Huayi Brothers can directly benefit from them.

Currently, among those who can achieve this, Fan Xiaopang is one, Ning Hao (whose film "Crazy Racer" grossed over 3 million yuan) is another, and Deng Chao is barely one.

In addition, there is Yan Li, who is the founder and boss of Yi An. No one is more deeply tied to Yi An than him.

The previous movie "Painted Skin" was a huge hit, and Yan Li, as the male lead, certainly made Yi An's presence felt quite a bit.

The same applies this time. If Yan Li stars in "Let the Bullets Fly" and the movie becomes a hit, the attention he receives can be perfectly transferred to Yi An, binding the movie and Yi An together and allowing them to reap the benefits.

This is what truly moved Yan Li.

A hit movie or TV show can boost the popularity of a certain product or tourist attraction, so why can't it boost the popularity of a certain listed company or stock?

There are many shady tactics used by bosses in the stock market to boost stock prices, but I've rarely heard of someone actually acting out stock manipulation. Yan Li might just be the one to start a new trend.

This is no exaggeration; Yan Li is widely recognized as an entrepreneur who is most skilled at marketing and building his personal brand.

By having a company incubate an individual's personal brand, and then having that personal brand drive the company's growth, it not only boosts the company's development but also provides significant protection for the founder's interests.

Once the founder and the company are bound together, becoming an inseparable key figure, then no one can force them out.

Now, bosses like Liu from JD.com, Jack Ma, Zhou from 360, Shi from Giant Interactive, and Yu from New Oriental are all learning from him.

Well, it can't be said that they learned from Yan Li. Many people also emulate the combination of Apple and Steve Jobs, and Microsoft and Bill Gates.

In fact, many bosses had already been doing this before Yan Li, but Yan Li is still the one who has done it best and most successfully in mainland China.

There are many reasons why Yan Li is so successful, and his identity as an actor is one of the key factors.

Excellent film and television works, with their reach and influence, and the halo effect brought by popular characters, are absolutely unmatched by any amount of marketing or hype.

Therefore, Yan Li never gave up acting, and it's not impossible that some bosses will follow suit.

However, the problem preventing the bosses from getting film jobs is not that no production companies want them, but that they lack acting skills.

Acting may seem simple, but it's actually something most people can't do well. Even those who are shameless enough to try it might not be able to do it well.

Bona Film Group's actor, Yu Jianhua, once made a cameo appearance in the film, but his performance was so awkward and obviously fake that it was eventually cut.

Yan Li, on the other hand, is an exceptionally talented actor among entrepreneurs, and even among actors, he is considered outstanding.

"That day during the audition, I performed a scene for Lao Jiang, which completely stunned him. Chow Yun-fat stopped thinking about it, and Wang Zhiwen stopped thinking about it. They insisted that I act in it."

Yan Li couldn't help but boast, or rather, it wasn't really boasting. Whether he impressed Jiang Wen was hard to say, but Jiang Wen was indeed quite satisfied with his performance, otherwise he wouldn't have kept chasing after him.

"Jiang Wen's performance."

Dong Xuan was a little envious. Yan Li then remembered that Dong Xuan was a fan of Jiang Wen, and her favorite actor and director was Jiang Wen.

Fan Xiaopang likes Li Baotian and Liu Xiaoqing, Qin Lan's favorite actor to work with is Jin Chengwu, only Wang Ou's favorite male actor is him, and his favorite female actor is Yang Rong.

As Dong Xuan spoke, she blinked at Yan Li, who shrugged and said, "Looking at me won't help; the roles have all been decided."

The two main female characters in the movie are Sister Hua and the county magistrate's wife, Zhou Yun, who is engaged to Sister Hua, and Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was actually recommended to Jiang Wen by Yan Li.

Jiang Wen required the actress playing the county magistrate's wife to have sufficient charm and allure.

Yan Li immediately thought of Xu Qing, whom he had met in "The Founding of a Republic," and thought she was quite good. He mentioned it to Jiang Wen, who then started to murmur about it.

Xu Qing is considered a goddess among the older generation of Beijing's entertainment circle, known as the first generation of princesses in the circle. Many directors in the Beijing circle have a soft spot for her. She also worked with Jiang Wen on "The Great Qing Dynasty" back then, so they are old acquaintances.

Jiang Wen muttered to himself for a few days, then went to find Xu Qing, auditioned for a role, and immediately finalized the contract.

"Let the Bullets Fly" only has two important female characters, and then there's Daiyu, Qingwenzi, the master's wife, and the wife who was betrayed by the fake bandits. Their roles are small and dramatic, so Dong Xuan didn't need to play them.

Dong Xuan felt a little regretful, but didn't care too much.

To be honest, Jiang Wen lost money to Yan Li with "The Sun Also Rises," breaking Yan Li's record for film and television investment, which has made his current reputation under Dong Xuan somewhat dim.

"That's enough, go wash up and go to bed."

After chatting for a while, Dong Xuan stretched and took the initiative to stop. Yan Li shook his head: "This is nothing. This massage is only the surface. You need to massage the inside to make your body and mind feel relaxed and refreshed."

Dong Xuan paused for a second, then turned to run away, but Yan Li grabbed her. He was joking; he was the kind of person who wouldn't get up early for nothing. He had worked so hard for so long, how could he let it all go to waste?

There are still two months until we get down to business, so let's do a little rehearsal today...

...

The next day, Yan Li personally drove Dong Xuan to the film set.

Unfortunately, the latter overslept and didn't tell Yan Li the time. Tong Yaya only found out she was late when she called.

"can you?"

Yan Li asked a question, and Dong Xuan tugged at the scarf around her neck in an annoyed tone: "Let's go quickly."

After saying that, she got out of the car and walked slowly toward the dressing room. Yan Li felt a little guilty, but quickly became confident.

Last night wasn't entirely his fault; Dong Xuan wasn't entirely innocent either. She got carried away and kept encouraging him, and he's easily swayed by her words and couldn't resist her encouragement.

Yan Li drove away, and Dong Xuan dawdled into the dressing room. Tong Yaya hadn't finished her makeup yet, and when she saw Dong Xuan coming over, she teased her.

"Sis, how about I ask for a day off?"

"Stop being so verbose."

Dong Xuan sat at the dressing table. Before the makeup artist came over, she first applied concealer to her neck and chest before daring to take off her scarf.

Tong Yaya, with her sharp eyes, noticed and giggled. Dong Xuan ignored her. The makeup artist, who was more experienced, told her that she could rub the marks to remove them. Even if she couldn't completely remove them, she could rub them lightly to make them easier to cover up.

Dong Xuan was too sleepy, so she closed her eyes to catch up on sleep while putting on makeup. Tong Yaya didn't disturb her, but instead started browsing Weibo on her phone.

I don't know when it started, but browsing Weibo has become a new trend.

There's a joke circulating online that says one-third of people with smartphones are playing Fruit Ninja, one-third are playing Angry Birds, and the remaining one-third are scrolling through Weibo.

Especially for people in the entertainment industry, they all have some fans, who can interact with them, satisfy their emotions, and make them even more enthusiastic about posting.

First, look at her own Weibo interactions. Tong Yaya has acted in some dramas and has some minor fame, but she is far from being famous.

A large proportion of her hundreds of thousands of followers come from interactions with people like Yang Mi and Dong Xuan.

Yesterday, Yan Li came to visit the set, and she managed to get a group photo taken and posted it on Weibo. Thanks to Yan Li's popularity, this Weibo post had significantly more interaction than others.

[Ah, it's a face-obsessed guy, beautiful lady, run!]

[Damn it, another one has fallen victim to this. That bastard Yan Li is really eating well.]

[@XXX, you don't want this account anymore, huh? Watch out or you'll get banned.]

Promise me you won't let him touch you.

[Aren't you all so bored? Didn't you see the blogger's previous photos? She's Dong Xuan's younger sister, practically her sister-in-law.]

Sister-in-law, forgive my bluntness, but in my hometown there's an old saying: "The sister-in-law is the brother-in-law's..."

【Ya Ya is amazing! Please give Ya Ya more opportunities, Mr. Yan! @Yan Li】

What show is it, and when will it air?

Wow, Yan Zong's selections are always top-notch, I've followed!

【…】

Perhaps because of Yan Li, the comments section was a bit noisy, but Tong Yaya herself found it quite amusing.

She started watching last night and is still watching new comments and calculating the ever-increasing number of followers today.

A rough calculation shows that Tong Yaya gained over 1000 followers from last night to this morning, all because of a photo of her and Yan Li. This demonstrates the influence of Boss Yan on Weibo.

Feeling quite pleased with herself, Tong Yaya picked out a few of the more friendly comments to reply to, then went to check out the trending topics list.

Sri Lanka's civil war ends; a dispute involving urban management officers in a certain area... the final verdict in the photo scandal is released; Annie Yi discusses marriage in a Weibo entertainment interview; singer Man Wenjun is arrested; the relationship between Chen Sicheng, who played Cheng Cai in "Soldiers Sortie," and actress Cao Xiwen is exposed...

She's not interested in international or social news; she mainly watches entertainment news.

Man Wenjun is currently making headlines, with four related topics appearing in the top ten. This involves not only Man himself but also some actors and celebrities.

Tong Yaya looked at a few, but wasn't interested, so she turned to gossip, including the rumors about Chen Sicheng.

She vaguely remembered this person. After becoming famous for "Soldiers Sortie," he signed with Huayi Brothers, but he didn't act in "My Chief and My Regiment" and "Life and Death Line" with the same cast. It seemed like he didn't have much of a future. The only time she saw him was in this scandal.

As for Cao Xiwen, she hadn't heard of her before. When she clicked on the link, she almost mistook her for Liu Tao.

Tong Yaya quickly skipped over them, since they weren't familiar with each other and didn't have much fame. Then she pulled out a new trending topic about Yan Li from the hot search list.

[#YanLi, Maybach#]

Upon clicking, it was discovered that someone had photographed Yan Li recently changing his car, from a Mercedes-Benz S600 to a Maybach 62.

According to reports, a brand new Maybach 62 costs over 10 million RMB, making it one of the most expensive luxury cars in China. Its rarity and value are undeniable, making it an absolute top-tier luxury vehicle.

Tong Yaya recalled the car Yan Li drove when he visited the set last night; it was longer than a regular car.

She overheard some crew members mentioning a Maybach, but since she didn't know much about cars, she didn't pay much attention. Now, after reading some information, she realizes that the car is worth over ten million.

Be nice!

Tong Yaya didn't quite understand. As long as the car could be driven, that was enough. Even if it was just for comfort, a million-dollar car was already impressive. Why spend tens of millions to buy a car?

This amount of money is enough to buy a villa. You could just put it in the bank, do nothing, and live off the interest.

Moreover, according to comments, this car is quite large, so there are traffic restrictions and it's not very convenient to drive, so why buy it?

Tong Yaya had been keeping this question to herself, but when they moved to another location to film, she couldn't help but ask Dong Xuan about it.

The latter yawned: "He has too much money but can't spend it, so he's feeling restless."

Tong Yaya: "..."

While this statement may sound harsh, it is indeed true that Yan Li amassed over a billion yuan in the financial market, more than he could ever spend.

The fundraising for Weibo went very smoothly, and he didn't have to worry about it at all. Apart from using some of the money at the beginning, Yi An used the raised funds for the rest of the time.

With so much cash on hand, Yan Li couldn't just leave it in the bank to earn interest, so he took out a lot to invest in real estate and used some to squander.

This Maybach is a perfect example. Yan Li had always wanted to buy a top-of-the-line luxury car to show off, and this time his little wish has finally come true.

As for whether this car is convenient or not, it's not like he only has this one car; it's just that it's inconvenient for him to drive other ones.
Of those who can spend tens of millions on a car, how many actually consider practicality and cost-effectiveness?

Seeing Tong Yaya's silence, Dong Xuan said, "If you like that car, I'll drive it over and take you for a spin sometime. It's really just that, a bit bigger and more features, nothing special."

Tong Yaya: "..."

Sometimes she really thinks she's pretty thick-skinned; if someone else had been provoked like that by Dong Xuan, they would have turned to the dark side long ago.

"Sis, when you and your husband were taking the bus, did you ever imagine that one day you would be riding in a luxury car worth millions?"

Tong Yaya raised her fist as a microphone, intending to listen to some positive energy to calm herself down after being provoked.

"No."

Dong Xuan thought for a moment and shook her head: "I didn't think that far ahead back then. I just thought that I would have acting roles after graduation and be able to buy a house. I don't think we ever talked about cars."

"However, when he first started his business, he did say that he would buy me a luxury car and take me for a ride. He did it very quickly. He bought a BMW and even drove me to school to show off."

"I was really happy back then. Even if I bought a Maybach now, I can't find that feeling anymore. It's just a novelty for a while."

As she spoke, Dong Xuan even envied Tong Yaya: "You're so lucky, you're still young and can still feel the joy of your hard work paying off."

Tong Yaya: "..."

If you gave her a Maybach, she would give up this kind of happiness.

Silently turning her head away, Dong Xuan asked in confusion, "Why did you stop talking?"

"Stomach hurts."

　I'm having some writer's block; I'll catch up on what I missed yesterday tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)