Abstract Art Award Winner

After the awards ceremony, everyone received a share of the prizes.

Afterwards, the organizers treated everyone to a meal.

After all, casinos are everywhere in this kind of place, so the organizers here are certainly not short of money, and all kinds of hospitality are provided to the fullest extent.

Before heading to the restaurant from the venue, Zhou Le waited for Yu Qian in the parking lot for a while. He originally planned to go to the restroom, but after standing there for a short time, Zhou Le saw Guan Xiaotong come out from inside.

Guan Xiaotong is the image ambassador and award presenter for this year's Macao International Film Festival.

She was supposed to follow Zhang Guoli and the others, since she came with them, but with Zhou Le and Yu Qian around, she felt closer to them.

Because her ancestors were also from the Eight Banners, and Zhou Le and Lu Han were good friends.

"Sister-in-law is here."

"Haha, with Brother Lu around, it's fine for you to call me sister-in-law. But since Brother Lu isn't here, and I'm younger than you, it's not appropriate for you to call me sister-in-law, is it?"

Zhou Le looked at Guan Xiaotong and had to admit that the girl was indeed tall, and her legs were very long.

When watching videos online, many people's long legs are created using special effects, but Guan Xiaotong's legs are undeniably long.

Even though Guan Xiaotong said that, Zhou Le could only pretend not to understand.

"Then what should I call you?"

"Just call her Xiaotong."

Guan Xiaotong is indeed an extroverted person; she speaks and acts with confidence and without any awkwardness.

"Okay, Xiaotong, then you can go to a place to eat with me and my godfather later."

"Haha, that's why I came here. The topics that Teacher Zhang Guoli and the others were discussing were too profound. I still prefer to be with young people. But Brother Lu, do you usually mention me when you're with you guys?"

Now, only Zhou Le and Guan Xiaotong are by the car.

"Of course, every time we meet alone, he mentions you, saying that you have a great personality, are very career-minded, and are brave."

"Haha, you actually mentioned it before. Were you deliberately saying nice things about him?"

"No way, I never lie. I'm straightforward and honest. Since you asked, I have to tell you."

Zhou Le knew in his heart that there were indeed fabricated elements in what he had just said, including his statement that he had not lied, which was actually a lie.

Because Lu Han doesn't bring up Guan Xiaotong when she's with the others; it's only when people are curious and ask her that she talks about it.

After all, there's such a big age difference.

Moreover, because of the official announcement of their relationship, one of them has been criticized ever since, and the other's workload has been greatly reduced.

As for Chen He and Deng Chao, although they both thought Guan Xiaotong was quite good, they privately didn't think the relationship would last and believed it was unlikely to last.

Lu Han is approaching thirty this year, so he is naturally aware of this. He also knows that Deng Chao and Chen He treat him as one of their own, and say whatever comes to mind. So, as they talk, they always end up saying things that he doesn't like to hear, so it's better to just not say anything.

"But how did you two meet?"

Lu Han hadn't mentioned this before, and Zhou Le hadn't asked either.

"We didn't actually know each other at first. I met Zhang Yixing first while filming a TV series. Since Zhang Yixing and Lu Ge had a good relationship, Lu Ge added me on WeChat through Zhang Yixing."

Zhou Le listened and nodded repeatedly, wondering if Zhang Yixing was involved in this.

This guy used to be a matchmaker.

"Later, when we were filming 'Sweet Combat,' the male lead was originally Wang Yibo, but he had some other things to do, so the production team tried to invite Lu Han instead. To our surprise, Lu Han agreed immediately."

Then, while filming this movie, we got to know each other better and better. Not long after it wrapped, I posted on Weibo, and I've been getting criticized ever since.

Guan Xiaotong spoke quite casually, but Zhou Le could still sense the bitterness in her words. After all, Zhou Le often faced being criticized, but he knew he was shameless. Guan Xiaotong was only nineteen at the time, and her mental fortitude was definitely not as good as his.

It's not easy to get through this.

"Then you two are quite destined to be together."

"Who says otherwise? Lu Ge takes good care of me, and my dad likes him too."

After chatting for a while, Yu Qian also came out.

Zhou Le looked up at that moment: "Look, isn't this our movie star here?"

The way Zhou Le and Yu Qian get along is quite casual, so Zhou Le sometimes jokes around with Yu Qian.

"Hey, it's just a trophy."

After saying that, the group got into the car and headed to the restaurant.

Tonight's dinner was quite lavish, with no cheap ingredients whatsoever. If it weren't for the fact that they were in public, Zhou Le would have packed some of it to take home.

But since we've come all this way to Macau, we might as well stay here for a few days since we'll just be sitting there anyway.

But Macau's biggest feature is its casinos, and the organizers gave each of them some chips so they could use them to gamble.

But Zhou Le's biggest characteristic is that he cherishes his reputation. He believes that although doing something may not necessarily cause any problems, not doing it will definitely prevent any problems.

Right now, all that's left for me to get into the National Theatre of China is the public announcement. My endorsement deal with the Palace Museum is still up in the air. What if someone takes a couple of photos of me when I go there and posts them online? That would be the end of me.

In the end, Zhou Le simply gave all the chips that the organizers had given him to Ning Hao.

Afterwards, Ning Hao and Shen Teng took Guo Fan out to play.

Zhou Le, on the other hand, simply invited several female celebrities to go out and explore local delicacies.

"It's a good opportunity to film some food videos and post them on Douyin."

So Zhou Le arranged to have dinner with Yang Zi, Cai Zhuoyan, Chen Shu, and others.

He met with three female celebrities in one day, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then spent the next day out with Yu Qian.

Zhou Le thought he was authoritative enough when he ate, but it was obvious that Yu Qian was more skilled in this area.

However, on the morning of the third day, Zhou Le suddenly received a phone call.

"Hello, is this Teacher Zhou?"

"It's me, and who are you?"

"I am He Youjun."

Zhou Le naturally knew He Youjun; the other party had a father with a prominent name who started an e-sports club after graduating from MIT.

She has also appeared on several variety shows, and her popularity among the general public is quite high.

People often compare He Youjun with Wang Sicong and Qin Fen to determine who is the strongest second-generation rich kid.

But it's obvious that everyone is taking different paths.

"Oh, it's Mr. He."

Zhou Le, the son of the gambling king, did not fawn over him. After all, they were about the same age, and Zhou Le was perfectly at ease with Wang Sicong. The only people he respected were his seniors. "I heard you've been attending a film festival in Macau recently. I wonder if you have time to come out for a meal together? I'd like to extend my hospitality."

"Of course it's no problem."

Zhou Le readily agreed, thinking it would be good to get to know someone like that.

The two then agreed to meet at 9:30. He Youjun first took Zhou Le around Macau, and then they went to a specialty restaurant for lunch.

During their conversation, they also talked about He Youjun's participation in The Brain last year.

"As expected of Brother Jun, who graduated from Macheng Institute of Technology, the 'Super Brain' is not a place that ordinary people can go."

"Haha, it's just a variety show. At first, I said I wouldn't go into the entertainment industry, but later I found that variety shows can bring traffic, which is necessary for my company and the e-sports industry I'm involved in to expand our influence."

"The Brain" is just a stage for appearances; if we're talking about academic geniuses, we have to look to Professor Zhou. After all, China's education system is very strong; otherwise, if I were to take the college entrance exam in China, I definitely wouldn't score over 600 points."

"Brother Jun, you're too kind."

They then talked about Zhou Le's plans to make a movie.

Zhou Le didn't ask how the other party found out, since with the other party's strength and connections, it wouldn't take much effort for them to know these things.

"Actually, I've been thinking about various entrepreneurial directions. I initially chose esports from among order services, artificial intelligence, AR game development, and esports, because I felt that it was easier to start from this aspect."

But after all, my wife is a model and works in the entertainment industry, so I know quite a bit about this. I find film investment quite interesting, but I don't know about Mr. Zhou's funding situation."

Zhou Le pondered for a moment.

"Actually, my film currently only has an investment of 15 million from Mr. Han Sanping and his friends from China Film Group. In addition, Director Han and Wanhe also plan to invest 5 million each, which adds up to about 20 million."

However, the entire project is expected to cost 50 million. If Brother Jun is interested, he can also invest in it.

Zhou Le's first thought in making this movie wasn't to make money. After all, when you first enter the industry, you need a stepping stone. Besides, being able to make connections with more powerful investors through these projects would bring far more benefits in the future than the profits from the movie itself.

"I do have some thoughts on that. Would around ten million be enough?"

"Ah, then I'll thank you in advance, Brother Jun."

"Haha, Teacher Zhou, you're being too polite. In fact, I should be the one thanking you. You could probably come up with over 100 million, let alone the remaining 25 million."

Teacher Zhou nodded, "This is giving me an opportunity to make money."

"You can't say that. How can you invest in a movie all by yourself? I can't guarantee that this movie will make money either. The original plan was to find more investors to share the risk."

"Haha, you're too kind, Teacher Zhou. But have you had a good time these past few days, Teacher Zhou?"

"I had a great time. I ate a lot of delicious food here, and it was all to my liking."

"It's true that this place isn't very big, but there's a lot of delicious food. But if you're interested, Teacher Zhou, I can also show you some of our other specialties."

Zhou Le knew what the other person was talking about, and wondered if other industries would also be exceptionally developed in a place like this where casinos were everywhere.

He Youjun can be considered a local strongman here; it's much easier for him to play along with the other side than to play on his own.

At the same time, he never underestimated such people. As the son of the gambling king, how could he be as innocent as he appeared on variety shows?

Although this kind of thing is common in the industry, Zhou Le still doesn't want to give anyone leverage over him.

In normal interactions, I treat others as equals and make friends with them, but in terms of actual ability, I'm not sure I could really get into the circle of these top-tier rich kids.

So it's always good to be a little more careful.

"Never mind, I'm not really interested in those things."

"Haha, it seems that Teacher Zhou is quite self-disciplined."

Even though he didn't want to play around with it, Zhou Le still chatted with the other person about these things, and men always seem very enthusiastic when it comes to this kind of topic.

It was time to head back in the afternoon, so they returned to Shenzhen first. However, Wang Sicong called them.

"Le'er, let's grab a bite sometime, it's been so long."

"Sure, I'm in Shenzhen right now."

"What a coincidence! I'm in Shenzhen too. How about tonight? I'll organize a party and invite a few girls."

Wang Sicong was equally generous.

That evening, they met at a restaurant. Zhou Le thought that Wang Sicong's suggestion of bringing a few girls was just to liven up the atmosphere, but who would have thought that at a table for ten people, Wang Sicong and Zhou Le were sitting in the middle, and the other eight were all different kinds of girls.

"As expected of Principal Wang, this meal looks delicious."

"Haha, it's okay. Take whichever one you like back. If you like them all, take them all back. Their main task today is to keep you company."

Wang Sicong was quite blunt, after all, he is known for his straightforward personality, and anyone who pays attention to the internet knows that Wang Sicong is a playboy.

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare. I've always been a person who keeps a clean reputation."

"Hahaha, do you think I believe you?"

Wang Sicong naturally didn't believe it. Although Zhou Le's rumors with many female celebrities only existed online and in rumors, and there was not much evidence in reality, Wang Sicong felt that he was very good at judging people, especially when it came to personality.

If Zhou Le were to maintain his chastity, he would be a pure virgin right now.

But since Zhou Le didn't like these girls, he didn't force him.

During the meal, Wang Sicong only talked about some things he had been doing recently and the award he received at the film festival a while ago on Saturday.

It wasn't until after the meal, when Wang Sicong had given each of the girls a red envelope and told them to go home, that he brought up the movie again.

"By the way, is your movie still short of investment?"

The intention was clear: Wang Sicong also wanted to invest.

They didn't refuse He Youjun's departure, let alone Wang Sicong. Wang Sicong is backed by Wanda. If Wang Sicong also takes a stake, then at least the cinema chains under Wanda will be fine.

"We're so short of them, so desperately short of them."

"How much more do you need?"

"The total investment was 50 million, but 35 million has been confirmed so far."

"And what about yourself? How much are you planning to take?"

"Me? I don't know yet. We'll just make up for whatever we're short."

Wang Sicong pondered for a moment: "But is a total investment of 50 million enough? This is your first time making a movie, so you should do a good job with the publicity and distribution, right? How about this, I'll invest 15 million, and you can add some more to the publicity and distribution costs, and then you can cover that part yourself."

"also."

Is there anyone willing to give money to Zhou Le? What's there to be picky about?

So he agreed on the spot. (End of Chapter)