Abstract Art Award Winner

In the past, when Zhou Le participated in such events, he would always have to go on stage and perform a program, or at least sing two songs.

But Zhou Le found that being an audience member this year was indeed a great experience.

As a special guest, it was naturally impossible for him to sit with the ordinary audience members.

Generally speaking, the front-row audience in the rock section are either people with connections or fan leaders of various groups, because they need to cheer for their idols.

Zhou Le was seated in a private room, which is usually occupied by company executives. Of course, if someone wants to come, they can sit in and have a look, but even if they don't come, the seat still has to be reserved for them.

Although the atmosphere in the private room couldn't compare to that outside, Zhou Le didn't intend to experience the atmosphere.

Just watch the show; there's no need to freeze down there in the dead of winter.

Overall, the show was alright.

This year's show also features rap music, with many rappers performing, making it quite entertaining to watch.

As for THE9, the girl group newly launched by iQiyi this year, regardless of whether their singing is good or not, it certainly doesn't sound like they're lip-syncing, but they definitely used a lot of padding.

However, the girl group's singing and dancing are still very pleasing to the eye.

After the show ended, the performers each went out to eat with people they knew.

Before Zhou Le could make a move, Shen Teng called first.

"Le'er? Did you enjoy watching? I know you were watching from upstairs. Come on, let's go get some food."

"Haha, I couldn't hide it from Brother Teng's eyes after all. But who's treating?"

"Hey, I knew you were going to ask that. Fine, I'll go ahead. I have Jia Ling, Chen He, and Huang Jingyu here. If you have any friends, you can bring them along too. It'll be more fun with more people. I like a lively atmosphere."

"Haha, okay, Brother Teng, send me your location, I'll head over in a bit."

No sooner had Zhou Le hung up on Shen Teng than GAI called again, also inviting him to dinner, and saying he was alone.

After thinking it over, Zhou Le realized that although he knew many people on Shen Teng's side, GAI was at least a significant figure in the rap scene.

Moreover, they've collaborated on theme songs for some TV dramas and movies before, so it's fine to bring them along.

"Alright, let's not go eat together. You can come with me later. I have someone to call here too."

"Okay, then let Brother Le show me around."

"Haha, Teacher Zhou, why are you being so polite with me? This isn't like the way you guys in the martial arts world behave."

GAI's real name is Zhou Yan, which is the same surname as Zhou Le, and Zhou Le is definitely older than him.

Anyway, it's the entertainment industry, so regardless of whether there's anything to teach each other, calling each other "teacher" is always a safe bet.

"I am a person of the martial arts world, but I should be polite when I need to be, and I will not be pretentious when I need to be impolite."

"What is commonly known as 'treating people differently based on their status'?"

"Haha, it's hard to say about others, but Brother Le will definitely be provided with the best wine and meat. After all, we rappers are still a small circle within the pop music industry. It will take your guidance to truly enter your entertainment circle."

"No, no, it's not that bad. Even without me, you can definitely walk."

"you are welcome."

As the undisputed top star in the entertainment industry, Zhou Le naturally has a private car to pick him up and drop him off when he comes to iQiyi to participate in events.

After all, this family is very large and powerful, and there will inevitably be cooperation in the future, so they won't care about this car or driver.

Moreover, it's just that Zhou Le doesn't like to go out and have fun; otherwise, no matter how much he spends, the platform will cover it.

For them, the mere appearance of Zhou Le is enough to generate massive traffic.

It should be paid out in the hundreds of thousands.

After getting into the car, they picked up GAI and went to the restaurant together.

Upon arrival, the necessary greetings and introductions went without saying.

"Hello everyone, my name is GAI, my real name is Zhou Yan, you can call me whatever you like." He was quite polite, which was completely different from the hostility shown in many of his songs.

Of course, this was already evident when he first appeared on "Singer".

The song goes, "I'm too tough to bend over," and after finishing the song, he bowed to everyone on the spot.

The subsequent meal and conversation were also very peaceful, after all, Shen Teng, Jia Ling, Zhou Le, and Chen He are all the kind of people who are particularly good at enlivening the atmosphere.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they each returned to their respective hotels.

Here, the first day is the Scream Party, and the second day is Scream Night; one is a performance, and the other is an awards ceremony.

So when Zhou Le arrived at the venue the next day, he still saw many familiar faces. In addition to some actors he had seen the day before, Huang Bo, Qin Lan, Zhu Yilong, Cai Xukun, Wang Yibo, and others were also present. Moreover, Zhou Le also saw Sun Li at the event.

"Hello, Sister Li!" Zhou Le immediately stepped forward to greet her.

“Zhou Le, it feels like we’ve met very few times, but every time I see you, it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time,” Sun Li said with a smile.

"Absolutely, it must be because Brother Chao often mentions me at home."

"Yes, at home he mentions you, Lu Han, and Chen He the most."

After Sun Li finished speaking, she looked around and said, "But don't tell anyone else about this, or they'll think Chao Ge is being arrogant."

"Haha, no way, do you think I don't know what kind of person Brother Chao is?"

After chatting, Sun Li went to find the others. Not long after, Wang Yibo came over again: "I originally wanted to go hiking with you, but as you know, it's really inconvenient with the current situation. Let's go when things are a bit easier."

"It's alright, there's nothing we can do about it. Just call me later. But are you still the only one carrying the main load in your company?"

"Yes, but there's nothing we can do. There are quite a few newcomers, but none of them can make a difference."

"Then wouldn't you be responsible for at least half of your company's revenue?"

"More or less, it's definitely over 60% now."

"When does your contract expire?"

"I got 26 years; my original contract was for a longer period."

"Okay, will you renew it when it expires?"

"No, no, if I'm just going to be an artist, why would I continue this career? I'd earn more money after I leave. Unless they offer shares in exchange, but even if they did, it wouldn't be worth it. If they gave me shares, wouldn't I be working like a slave for them?"

"That's for sure."

Wang Yibo sighed: "That's why everyone thinks you're lucky, Brother Le. You signed with Daylight Entertainment on your first contract. They were quite lenient there, and then Daylight Entertainment disbanded their artist management department. You got two big resources from there and took off immediately."

"Haha, you can't force luck."

We chatted for a while, and then Cai Xukun came over.

Zhou Le had assumed that Wang Yibo and Cai Xukun were obviously rivals and their personal relationship was just so-so, but he didn't expect the two to chat and laugh together after meeting. "What's with that expression? We're on pretty good terms, it's just that our fans like to argue," Cai Xukun laughed.

"Oh, I thought you two would start fighting when you met. I was prepared to break it up."

"No, no, no."

However, after Wang Yibo stayed there for a while, his boss called him away to find other people.

"How are you doing here? How have you been lately? I remember you were here in May of this year..." Zhou Le asked.

"Hey, that matter is indeed quite troublesome. I can only say that I plan to take a break next year, focus on making music, and maybe collaborate sometime?"

Zhou Le smiled and said, "Sure, you can decide how to arrange it later. But what direction do you plan to take? Or will you stick to the same approach as before?"

"Well, I plan to lean towards an international style overall. I'll also further hone my singing skills, refine my current singing technique, and aim to expand globally by creating some English songs. When I return, I'm determined to amaze everyone!"

"Haha, I have high hopes for you. To be honest, there are quite a few idols in China, but I really think highly of you, especially in terms of your personal career development. After you became famous, it was the right decision not to overexpose yourself through variety shows but to pursue a music career. Rushing into film and television like others might not necessarily be effective."

Like Wang Yibo, I think he definitely still needs to hone his acting skills, but it's great that he's established himself professionally through acting and is also pursuing his personal hobbies.

"Well, our paths are different anyway. Competition for traffic is a matter of traffic. Besides, I haven't seen him being particularly active lately. Let them compete for now, we'll compete for another year, and then we'll talk about it again in a few years."

"It's definitely good to let things settle down for a while."

"By the way, bro, I heard your English song, it's amazing! I'll definitely ask you for help when I have anything good. But if you have any ideas, you can talk to me about it, and we can make a song together."

"no problem."

After chatting, the group entered one after another.

Many top celebrities attend events like Scream Night, and each of their appearances is accompanied by screams; Zhou Le was no exception.

However, he still has more male fans than female fans.

After entering, Zhou Le sat directly in the first row.

The awards are still the same, but Zhou Le's status in the domestic entertainment industry is now unshakeable.

Although Cai Xukun and Wang Yibo are still very strong, they are still far behind Zhou Leyi in terms of both commercial value and personal strength.

In the end, Zhou Le successfully won the Screaming Male God and Actor of the Year awards, surpassing everyone else and becoming the only person among all the guests present to win two awards.

As things stand, Zhou Le is far ahead in terms of both viral hits and personal popularity.

His previous collaboration with Yu Zheng, "Winter Begonia," was selected as one of the top ten dramas of the year, and "Joy of Life," in which he starred, won the separate award for most popular IP drama of the year.

Overall, Zhou Le is still the biggest winner.

After finishing his work here, Zhou Le went to several other places and attended some film festivals. When he got back, he went straight to Wang Baoqiang's place.

Every day is spent either practicing dance or having script meetings, with only a few spare moments to visit the company.

Anyway, Gulnazar and Dilraba are definitely too busy; they've already been exhausted from martial arts training.

However, the company's overall revenue this year is still quite good.

Zhou Le has several film releases and actor fees, and he also invested in two idol dramas, which are now starting to generate revenue.

External investments, such as those for "Ne Zha," are still coming in steadily.

Not to mention that Guo Qilin's MCN agency is thriving, with a solid fan base already established, and they're just waiting to expand into sales next year.

Of course, a separate company would be needed to sell the goods, since although this area is lucrative, it is also prone to problems.

Of course, while I made a lot of money, I also spent a lot of it.

The investments made to Guo Fan for "The Wandering Earth 2", "Ne Zha", and "Black Myth: Wukong", as well as the upcoming investments to Wang Baoqiang, will be significant.

Overall, it was still a big profit.

"Sigh, I don't know when to buy this house. The prices still seem high. Maybe they'll drop in the future. I'll just wait and see," Zhou Le sighed.

Although his daily expenses have increased, and he can spend hundreds of yuan on takeout every time, buying a house is a big deal, and Zhou Le feels that he can wait a little longer.

Although he didn't buy the house for investment purposes, but rather as a necessity, he still felt uneasy about losing money.

At least I still have a place to stay now, and if I have to go out, I can always stay in a hotel.

“I’ve already decided that the film will start shooting after the Chinese New Year next year, and the filming will last for two or three months, just before you go abroad to film. We’re currently preparing and getting everything ready, but we’ll be on set until the Chinese New Year. We all need to get to know each other during that time, so we’ll be running around a lot,” Wang Baoqiang said.

"Okay, that's perfect."

So for the next period of time, Zhou Le continued to spend all his time with Wang Baoqiang.

By January 13th, Nazha was really pressing them for an answer.

"When are you finally free? You're always so busy."

"Sigh, isn't it because the production team is pushing us hard? Filming is scheduled to start after the New Year, and we haven't even finished practicing the action sequences yet."

"I don't care, I haven't seen you in so long. Although I've been very busy lately, the New Year is just around the corner, and I'll be going back to my hometown then."

Zhou Le felt that dragging it out like this wasn't going to work: "Then I'll come see you today."

"Okay, remember to bring me some food when you come."

"What to eat?"

"Finally, I don't have to worry about my figure anymore, and I want to eat hot pot! You have no idea how hungry I was for all those events recently."

Zhou Le: "..."

"Okay, I'll bring it with me when I go."

After making the call, Zhou Le ordered some hot pot ingredients and broth. After they were delivered to the martial arts school, he picked them up and got into his car, heading towards Nazha's house.

He skillfully parked the car in the parking space and went upstairs to knock on the door.

"You've finally arrived, you busy man." Naza's tone was a little sour, but she immediately pounced on him.

"Wait, wait, I'm carrying a lot of things, all of them are your favorite foods."

And so, Zhou Le carried two large bags of ingredients in both hands, with Nazha hanging on his body, all the way to the living room.

After putting his things down, he finally freed his hand to support the girl in his arms.

"Hehe, I bought some too, they're all perfect for you." Naza smiled and pointed to the shopping bag next to her.

Looking in the direction Naza was pointing, there were chives, okra, oysters, geoduck, lamb testicles, an old ginseng that looked very old, and a case of deer antler wine.

Zhou Le gasped in shock: "You've prepared so much, are you planning to cancel tomorrow?" (End of Chapter)