Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 491 The shorter the news, the worse Huayi suffers.

On December 2, 2008, the winter morning light of Beiping pierced through the fog and fell on the glass curtain wall of the Fenglian Plaza building outside Chaoyangmen.

Inside the conference room of Huayi's headquarters on the fourteenth floor, Wang Dajun's fingertips traced the approval document from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The words "Approved on November 30, 2008" in the lower right corner of the paper seemed to still carry the warmth of the ink.

The faint sound of traffic from Chang'an Avenue outside the window seemed to echo in his mind's eye, as if he could hear the two brothers laughing wildly at their first pot of gold in that cramped advertising company in 1994.

That revenue from the nationwide standardization project of Dongda Bank truly allowed them to begin writing Huayi's name into the history of China's entertainment and film industries.

dong dong!

"Please come in!"

"Brother, it's me." Wang Xiaolei, his face flushed, pushed open the door and entered the room. From his gait, one could no longer tell that his right leg had been injured.

That day, that scene, that kick almost ruined his life.

Wang Dajun looked at his younger brother, whose forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat: "Did you go for a run? Or climb the stairs?"

“I climbed the stairs, just to get some exercise at the company,” Wang Xiaolei said with a smile. “I recently found a foreign coach who said that HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is popular abroad, combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise, and it’s quite effective.”

"It's good to exercise regularly, but you should pay attention to..."

Wang Dajun grunted in response, slightly relieved by his brother's mental state, and swallowed back the words "Be careful of your injured leg" that were about to slip out.

My younger brother has just emerged from self-exile and depravity, so we still need to protect his fragile self-esteem.

Wang Xiaolei remained calm: "Brother, I'm not that sensitive. My leg is perfectly fine, it couldn't be better."

He pursed his lips, his tone carrying a hint of a forced smile: "I will train it well, make it even better, so that I can confidently step into the Wenjie Building in the future."

"Xiao Lei!" Wang Dajun's temples throbbed with anger. He instinctively wanted to scold him, but suddenly felt a little deflated.

What right does he have to reprimand his younger brother?

The decisions have always been made by everyone, but it was Wang Xiaolei who became a laughing stock in the industry and could never hold his head up again.

The crisp sound of Ah Fei's sweeping kick that day still often echoes in his ears.

Wang Dajun pulled his younger brother to sit on the sofa and said gently, "Xiao Lei, ever since we started lobbying for the IPO approval last month, your spirit has been completely different."

"I hope you can maintain it, persevere, and... let go."

He looked at his silent brother and pleaded, "Wenjie and Lukuan are like a mountain, a mountain that even Ali, Baidu, Wanda, and Lianxiang have to unite to move. You know the situation very well now—"

"If it weren't for the financial crisis, and if he hadn't been distracted by the challenges of e-ticketing and the Taobao strategy, we might not have had this opportunity."

"To put it bluntly, the most valuable thing about a person is self-awareness. Xiao Lei, he is a mountain, but neither of us can be considered the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains. Let's just do our own thing."

"The Chinese film market is so big. As he said, it's going to reach 10 billion, 20 billion, or even 50 billion in the future. Making money is all that matters. Why get hung up on it?"

In the past, even if his older brother had said these words, Wang Xiaolei would have vented his resentment and grievances.

But today he simply nodded indifferently: "I understand."

In a daze, Wang Xiaolei looked up and saw the whiskey in the liquor cabinet behind him. As if suffering from drug addiction, the nightmarish scene from that day reappeared before his eyes.

For the past few months, whenever alcohol numbs his nerves, the phantom pain of a broken tibia would shoot up his spine to the top of his head, forcing him to grab a bottle and smash it against the wall.

The most painful part isn't the bones.

It was the astonishment, bewilderment, indifference, and sympathy of the celebrities around me as I huddled and howled like a lame dog in the corridor surveillance footage.

These bitches!

How dare these actors, whom he could manipulate at will with his resources, pity him, a Manchu nobleman and a member of a privileged family born with a birthmark?!

During the period when Wang Xiaolei was drinking heavily after recovering from his injury, he thought more than once that even if Lu Kuan ruined him financially, it would be better than becoming a laughing stock in the industry.

His leg injury healed, but the decay of his soul never stopped.

The revenge the time traveler had taken for Liu Yifei across two lifetimes had seeped into his heart like a leech, and it would be difficult to heal in this lifetime.

But Wang Dajun couldn't abandon his younger brother, so he had two vice presidents assist him and handed over the public relations approval process to Wang Xiaolei.

Once a person has a goal, it becomes much easier to get over a period of emotional turmoil, especially when that goal is to overcome the nightmare in one's heart.

Wang Xiaolei did a great job, or rather, the Beijing circle did its best this time. Even Lao Han, who had been in cahoots with Boss Lu for a long time, made an unprecedented move to give Huayi a few words of encouragement.

Judging from his reaction and state today, Wang Dajun is still somewhat uneasy.

"Xiao Lei..."

"Brother!" Wang Xiaolei suddenly grinned, his bright white teeth making him seem somewhat deliberately cheerful: "Don't worry, let's get the company listed first, everything else is secondary."

Wang Dajun reluctantly stopped talking and smiled, "Yes, that makes sense."

In any case, the company's top priority right now is to take advantage of the huge success of the two movies and the rising popularity of "If You Are the One" to steadily complete the work following the IPO approval.

For Wang Dajun, and even Wang Xiaolei, whose mental state had become somewhat obsessive, this was the cause they had dedicated their lives to, and it had finally brought them an exciting reward.

Especially under such difficult circumstances, we finally see a glimmer of hope.

Those who have read books about listed companies know that under the approval system implemented in 2008, once the approval is granted, the company can legally conduct roadshows and price inquiries, online and offline subscriptions, capital verification and share registration, and finally submit listing materials to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The whole process usually takes no more than two months. Guilin Sanjin, which went public in 2008, went public just three days after the IPO review because it had done its work in advance.

The same applies to Huayi.

The Wang brothers and the Beijing elite behind them had been preparing for this for a long time, but now that one of the two bigwigs behind them has fallen, they are somewhat constrained in certain aspects.

For Huayi at this point, the sooner it goes public, the better.

On the one hand, the current popularity of the company's two films, plus "If You Are the One," which will be released on December 18 and has already sold 30 million yuan in box office revenue through online ticketing, provides the biggest boost to the company's roadshow and price inquiry.

Call it last-minute cramming or striking while the iron is hot.

Imagine what a pleasant negotiation experience it would be to conduct a roadshow while sharing the daily surge in box office numbers with clients.

With the full cooperation of shareholders such as Ali and Xinlang, and the full guidance of the sponsor CITIC Securities, it should go very smoothly.

On another note, the reason for the need to be quick was also to avoid the Spring Festival.

The Spring Festival in 2009 was on January 25th, and the market was closed for seven days.

For new stock issuances, as long as the market is good, there are enough hype, or the company has market value management, there is a possibility that a "first film and television stock" like Huayi could have several consecutive limit-up days without opening. It all depends on how the company operates.

In addition, the tightening of liquidity and reduced investor willingness to trade before the holiday, as well as the possibility of delayed information disclosure or dispersed market attention during the holiday, generally mean that companies will not choose to go public before the Spring Festival.

But Huayi had no choice.

The clamor from internal shareholders, including Ali and Wendy Deng, the eager anticipation of the artists, and the negligence of competitors—all of these factors are pushing them toward their established goals.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Zhongrui Yuehua Accounting Firm, which had been preparing for a long time, issued a prospectus and submitted it to Huayi's board of directors for review.

The letter of intent clarifies the offline and online issuance ratios: Huayi will allocate 20% (840 million shares) offline and 80% (3360 million shares) online.

Because the letter of intent involves a major issuance, it must be submitted to the board of directors for review and voting. Even though Xiao Liu, as a shareholder holding 10% of the shares, did not attend, the outline of the letter of intent quickly ended up in Mr. Lu's hands.

It wasn't exactly a leak; we only found out about it a day or two in advance.

On December 3rd, Wang Dajun, dressed in a suit and tie, appeared at the first roadshow of "If You Are the One" in Beiping and gave an interview, officially confirming the recent news.

The more mature president of Huayi Brothers showed no arrogance, thanking Ali, Wendy Deng, and all the celebrity shareholders within the company for their continued support, and stated that Huayi Brothers will continue to forge ahead and contribute better works to Chinese cinema.

Once a company is listed in China and receives approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the subsequent procedures are very quick.

The "Initial Public Offering Management Measures" stipulate that after a company's IPO application is approved, it should publicly issue shares to the public within six months; otherwise, the shares will be invalid.

In its previous life, Huayi passed the review on September 27, 2009, spent half a month on roadshows in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and was officially listed at the end of October.

From now on, as long as the goal is clear, it is entirely possible to be listed within a month and a half.

They had already done a lot of work to prepare for the IPO, but it was temporarily delayed due to the unexpected complications caused by the time traveler.

Throughout early December, Wang Dajun, Wang Xiaolei, board secretary Hu Ming, and finance director Zhang Yanping of Huayi frequently gave interviews to promote the company. Kuzi and Bingbing from the "If You Are the One" crew also tirelessly traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the Yangtze River Delta region.

Firstly, it's a promotional event for the movie releasing on the 18th; secondly, it's a chance to cheer on the company that's about to go public.

Bingbing still had a bright smile, but her buck teeth looked like they were about to fall out from laughing.

However, this time he learned his lesson. Even if he was ready to win the IPO, he couldn't easily ask "who else is there?" as long as he hadn't won yet.

The entire Lunar New Year film season, starting in November, seemed to become a showcase and stage for Huayi Brothers.

At the same time, there was a flurry of online and offline media coverage, especially from Nanfang's print media, which lavished praise on the matter.

Although Huayi also had connections through Chairman Liu and its own public relations efforts, Nanfang was perfectly capable of creating rivals for Wenjie by bringing her own dog food (a metaphor for a romantic relationship).

An article published by 21st Century Business Herald, one of the three major economic newspapers in China and a subsidiary of Nanfang Group, stated:

At the end of 2008, the Chinese film industry was undergoing a profound transformation intertwined with capital and art.

Huayi Brothers' IPO process is like a hammer breaking the ice, shattering the barriers between traditional film and television companies and the capital market.

For the industry, this is the prelude to a reshaping of the landscape. Huayi's rise may break the monopoly of Wenjie, and indirectly promote the development of Chinese films, giving rise to more intense market competition and resource integration.
For the capital market, the valuation logic of film and television companies has been completely rewritten, and the securitization of cultural assets has provided a new playground for hot money.

For audiences, movies are no longer just a form of entertainment, but have become tangible investment symbols, with the light and shadow on the screen resonating with stock market charts for the first time.

First Financial Daily:
Decoding Huayi Brothers' IPO: Capital Imagination Behind 1.2 Million Viewers

According to statistics from the State Film Administration, the total domestic box office in 2008 surged by 42% year-on-year, and the box office and pre-sales of Huayi Brothers' three New Year films have exceeded 3 million yuan.

With this data supporting it, its price-to-earnings ratio on the first day of listing may reach a level rarely seen in the industry, and the capital market is voting with real money.

The era of "light assets and heavy valuation" has officially arrived in China's film and television industry.

Daily Economic News:
More than 600 questions related to Huayi appeared on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's interactive platform in a single day, with small and medium-sized investors most concerned about "whether the star shareholders participated in the increase of holdings".

According to feedback from brokerage firms, "culture and media" may become the third hottest sector after real estate and energy.

Affected by rumors of Huayi's listing, A-share stocks in the cultural and media sector, such as China Media Group, Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary, and Gehua Cable, all experienced slight fluctuations.

In a short time, countless onlookers from the industry discussed it heatedly, praised it, and viewed it with indifference.

Reporters from all over Beijing and across the country flocked to the Huayi headquarters and the Wenjie Building, despite the approaching year-end, seeking firsthand information.

The reporters naturally hoped that the two sides would continue their verbal sparring, or even engage in a real fight like they did in May.

Unfortunately, Wenjie has maintained excellent strategic focus, expressing its affirmation, encouragement, and recognition of Huayi's listing, and hoping that industry peers will work together to contribute to the development of Chinese cinema.

Clearly, this response is not acceptable to netizens.

In particular, Wen Jie and Lu, as well as Liu's long-time rivals and haters.

The composition of the haters is quite complex, including professional online trolls and the public opinion power of the Nanfang faction;
There are die-hard fans of directors such as Chen Kaige and the Sixth Generation;
There are also fans of other young actresses who have been chasing after Xiao Liu's exhaust fumes for a long time but have failed to catch up.

But everyone's attitude was the same—

Seize this "window of opportunity" when the situation is still unclear, and praise the high and criticize the low.

The climax of haters occurs when they feel they can give orders or criticize important figures they used to be unable to see clearly.

What if I'm proven wrong later? No problem, just show your backside.

A seasoned veteran in Beijing's entertainment circle (verified by a verified account, film and television blogger): Has Wenjie fallen silent this time? Weren't they touting themselves as "China's Disney"? Turns out they didn't even dare to go public, getting beaten to it by Huayi! Isn't Lu Kuan supposed to be the "godfather of the industry"? How come he couldn't even withstand a financial crisis? Looks like Wenjie's cash flow isn't so stable after all!
Sweetheart (Yang Mi's Fan Club): Yang Mi's performance in "Painted Skin 2" was remarkable. At the same time, we feel sorry for Yang Mi's best friend, Tianxian. It seems that her marriage didn't end so well, hehe! No! No, we're expressing our sympathy!

Film industry insider (professional film critic): Boss Lu has really chickened out this time. With Damai.cn entering the market, Wenjie's industry dominance has been severely shaken. Now he doesn't even dare to go public, probably afraid of a valuation collapse under the financial crisis. Although Huayi has been constantly suppressed, at least it dares to gamble and fight, which is the spirit of an entrepreneur!

Nanfang Daily: The market always favors the brave! Huayi Brothers' listing proves the vitality of the Chinese film industry, while the conservative strategies of some "industry giants" may be a sign that their peak has passed. Competition is the driving force for industry progress!
In summary, the opinions expressed by haters and competitors mainly revolve around the following points:

Wenjie has backed down: It dares not go public, possibly due to problems with its cash flow or valuation;

Huayi's "comeback": Daring to fight and gamble, breaking the monopoly of the industry;
Damai.cn's Impact: Online Ticketing Suppression Raises Questions, Strategic Mistake Leads to Widespread Gains;
The article also mocks Liu Yifei, saying that her fans boast about her being the "first lady of the industry," but her husband's company is lagging behind.

Chang'an Avenue, Wanda headquarters in Beiping.

With the year-end approaching, Wang Sicong, who was studying in the UK, returned home early.

"Dad, do you think these netizens are such idiots? Huh? They just follow whatever rumors are circulating, they have no judgment at all."

"I'm currently sharing my life in the UK on this account, and I'm about to reach 30 followers. When that happens, I'll play a trick on these idiots in the entertainment industry."

Wang Jianlin handled official business without changing his expression: "Don't swear."

After a while, he looked up and told a lame joke: "When you can't help yourself, don't curse other people's parents, or it will implicate us."

Wang Sicong raised an eyebrow, about to retort as he was in the habit, when his father interrupted him.

"Have you seen the reports? What do you think of Damai.cn? How significant is it to Wanda?"

"Are you testing me? All you do is test me. When are you going to call me to take over?" Wang Sicong joked, but still respectfully poured Old Wang another cup of tea.

He immediately became serious and said, "I saw your news while I was abroad. To be honest, I think this is the future trend, especially on mobile phones."

Wang Jianlin didn't even look up: "Why?"

“Because I’ve already seen people buying tickets on their phones in the UK,” Wang Sicong said matter-of-factly. “3G has been implemented in the UK for a long time, but the coverage isn’t very high.”

"There's a popular app called Viagogo in London right now, which covers 55 European countries, but the user experience is still pretty average."

"This year, tickets for the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea were being resold for as much as £2000. I bought my ticket on Viagogo, but because 3G coverage isn't complete, the British still prefer to buy tickets in person."

The software Wang Sicong mentioned, called "Viagogo," was created in 06 and later became one of the largest ticketing platforms abroad, along with StubHub.

Old Wang glanced at his dog son and was quite satisfied.

Wasn't the purpose of sending him abroad to study to broaden his horizons? At least he noticed that and gave himself some ideas.

It seems that online ticketing in China will eventually have to shift to mobile devices to achieve widespread popularity.

Wang Sicong continued to answer Lao Tzu's question: "For Wanda, Damai's pre-sale data can help us accurately predict the demand for popular films, dynamically adjust the scheduling, reduce vacancy rates, and increase output per screen."

"But I've been thinking about a contradiction that's hard to resolve."

"What?" Wang Sicong frowned and said, "Our Wanda's own membership points system conflicts with Damai.cn's membership system."

"The points system is based on a closed loop of offline consumption. Customers can earn 1000 points by buying a luxury item in a shopping mall and redeem it for a free ticket at a cinema. The data is stored in Wanda's system."

"Now that we're using Damai.cn's system and they're offering such high subsidies, a significant portion of our cinema clients' data will be going into Damai.cn's software."

"Damai.com is held by four shareholders, but we are not the owners, and our words don't always carry weight."

The rich second-generation cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Especially that Chairman Liu."

"Dad, last time he insisted that you invest in Huayi, calling it a powerful alliance and a collaboration between the cinema chain and the production company!"

"fart!"

"Isn't that just to get Ma Yun out of trouble? That old show-off insisted on getting involved in the film industry. Look at how badly Alipay has been beaten by the industry in China!"

Wang Sicong said indignantly, "Who are the clients they're providing this time? Aren't they all clients of Wanda Cinema? They're just sucking our blood!"

Old Wang finally deigned to lift his head from the pile of old papers, glanced at his dog son, and smiled.

The language is impassioned, the angle is unconventional, and the viewpoint is biased, but the conclusion is accurate.

Currently, a significant number of cinema chains nationwide have partnered with Damai.cn, which has given limited approval to the "exclusive pre-sale" proposals put forward by its industry peers.

Under these circumstances, Wanda remains Damai's main focus and core business for the entire online movie theater chain.

From this perspective, Wang Sicong's claim that Ma Yun was exploiting Wanda is not entirely slander, but Wanda did indeed gain strategic benefits from the cooperation.

Take this "exclusive pre-sale" for example. If big names like Gao Jun and Wu Hehu really manage to schedule the films, wouldn't Wanda essentially gain more control over theatrical distribution rights through Damai.cn?
After all, the other two companies only want traffic.

If Wanda also has its own production and distribution team...

Mentioning this issue reminded Wang Jianlin of the key point about Huayi's equity that he had discovered during his last discussion with Wang Sicong. (Chapter 438)
"Huayi is really going public this time; the arrow is on the bowstring and has no choice but to be released." Old Wang's face was serious: "Tell me, will Lu Kuan make a move? Where will he start? Is there still a chance for him to make a move?"

The breakfast he had with his dad this morning was so bland and unappetizing that Wang Sicong washed two apples and calmly shook his head: "I don't know."

“If I had known I was the richest man, I wouldn’t have kept getting scolded by you.” He crunched a few bites: “But I read through all the rumors and anecdotes about him from his debut to the present, like reading a novel.”

“Dad, this is all I can say—” Wang Sicong’s lazy expression vanished: “This person is strange! The road is strange!”

"Huayi won't get through this so easily."

Wang Jianlin scoffed: "Don't get all this ozone layer stuff. The trajectory of all his industrial development is traceable. What's so strange about it?"

"You yourself said that netizens are being guided by public opinion, so do you really believe in supernatural or superstitious things like minor deities?"

Wang Sicong said matter-of-factly, "Why wouldn't I believe it? It's true that they went to the temple to worship the goddess before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, right? There are photos and videos to prove it."

"Look at his posture of worshipping the immortals, so mysterious and profound. Whether you believe it or not, I believe it."

Wang Jianlin was amused by his son: "Then it's just as you said, he'll try to trip me up and manipulate things, he'll play tricks on the equity, the key is how he'll do it?"

"Last time you checked on each shareholder one by one. Right now, Liu Yifei only has 10% in her hands. At most, even if you add the male and female celebrities who have a past with him, it's less than 30%. What can she do with that?"

Old Wang lectured his son: "He wants to seize power, and his first step is to kick Wang Dajun off the chairman's seat, right?"

"According to the provisions of China's Company Law, the removal of the chairman of the board requires a vote at the shareholders' meeting, which requires more than half of the voting rights held by the shareholders present at the meeting."

"To re-elect the chairman, a majority vote of all directors at the board meeting is required, and those are not low requirements."

"Tell me the voting rights he can influence, where does the rest come from?"

Wang Sicong was stumped by his father's question. He shook his head with a pout and threw the fruit pit into the trash can with a shooting motion.

"I don't know, I really don't know. Don't expect your son to become a dragon, I'm not Lu Kuan."

He dragged a chair over and sat down opposite Wang Jianlin: "But Dad, let's assume he now holds enough shares and voting rights. If you were him, what would you do?"

Old Wang clicked the mouse clumsily. He remembered that Wang Dajun had a live interview on Tencent's "Finance Salon" at 10 o'clock today. Since he had already talked about this topic with his son, he might as well keep up with current events.

In the past month or so, there has been no news that has generated more buzz than Huayi's IPO.

He replied while operating the device: "The information asymmetry is too great. Let me tell you, this question is meaningless."

Wang Sicong was somewhat displeased with the fatherly air he naturally exuded: "What's meaningful about that?"

"You need to think about what we can do in a meaningful way."

Wang Jianlin took out his reading glasses from the drawer and put them on: "If Wenjie really manages to take control of Huayi, how should Wanda respond? Have you thought about this question?"

"I..."

Wang Sicong instinctively wanted to refute, but then fell into deep thought.

The father and son did discover some clues, but it was only speculation, with no concrete evidence whatsoever.

Even if there is concrete evidence, would they have the motive to report, publicize, or sabotage it?
Obviously not.

If Lu Kuan has enough voting rights and can influence a decisive number of shareholders and directors, then even if they expose the matter, it will only scratch the surface.

Between two evils, it's better to think about how the Vanda, as a major power, would divide up the spoils of war should something go wrong.

Wang Sicong calmed down and thought things through, considering the consequences before the outcome: "Dad! What if, what if it's true, then let's go eat at a buffet together?"

"What the heck?" Wang Jianlin had limited acceptance of his son's trendy language.

"In terms of market share last year, whether as a producer, investor, or cinema chain, Wenjie ranked second only to China Film Group."

"If he were to take over Huayi again, even if Han Shanping is a close confidant, would the relevant departments just let it go unchecked?"

"Just think how arrogant he is. He's the industry leader on Weibo, blogs, Travel Channel, Zhijie Video, and Focus Media."

"Now that he's the director of that so-called advisory committee, he can indirectly influence industry policies. Coupled with this near-monopolistic scale of development, is this appropriate? Has Chinese cinema become his private domain?"

Wang Jianlin waited expressionlessly for a pause: "So?"

"Go to events and do public relations. Start preparing to build momentum now. Since we can't stop him, we can't let him have a monopoly either. Can't we at least follow along and have some food and drinks?"

"Zhang Jizhong is good at making TV dramas, and Feng Xiaogang goes without saying. This year, Wu Ershan is also quite capable. If we can poach a couple more male and female stars, then the basic structure of the production department will be formed, right?"

As we approach 2009, establishing our own film and television production department would be of great significance for building a closed-loop industry chain, maximizing revenue per screen, and countering the risk of industry monopoly.

Historically, Wanda established Wanda Film Media Co., Ltd. in July 2009, marking Wanda's extension from cinema terminals to upstream content production.

At the time, Lao Wang set a goal of "becoming number one in the industry within three years," initially focusing on joint investments and gradually shifting to controlling projects.

Because of the existence of time travelers in this life, the Chinese film market expanded ahead of schedule, which made him think about this idea early on.

Wang Sicong said confidently, "Dad, let me tell you, if he really does that, you just do as I say—"

“Feng Xiaogang and his gang were fighting to the death with him before. If we poach them with a lot of money and have some departments intervene on the surface to prevent him from taking over Huayi entirely, this deal can be done.”

"I'll graduate in London after the New Year and come back to China. You can leave all this entertainment industry stuff to me, and I'll definitely be fine..."

Wang Jianlin remained silent with a serious expression, when a voice-over from the computer interrupted Wang Sicong's deduction:
"Yes, our current lead underwriter, CITIC Securities, has organized institutional presentations in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, which will cover 69 potential investors."

Wang Dajun, a guest on the "Finance Salon" live broadcast, appeared refined and elegant on screen.
"The clients who inquire about the price will include various investment institutions such as funds, securities companies, insurance companies, and QFIIs. The current subscription price and quantity have been released, but we cannot disclose them here. Investors will know soon."

The Securities Law strictly prohibits the disclosure of information that could "induce" transactions in the public media.

The host continued, "Mr. Wang, as two of the cultural media and film companies with the highest quality and frequency of film production in the industry, what are your thoughts on the current heated debate surrounding the comparison between Huayi Brothers and Wenjie?"

"This is all thanks to the netizens," Wang Dajun said with a smile. "Wenjie has always been a benchmark for the Chinese film industry, and a pioneer in content innovation, technology application, and industry integration."

"Huayi's listing this time is more about learning from the pioneers. We look forward to working with Wenjie to promote the prosperity and development of the Chinese film market."

Wang Sicong, a master of sarcasm, scoffed upon hearing this: "They say they're praising you, but in the end they're praising themselves too. These people, sigh!"

“Learn from him, especially Lu Kuan, when dealing with foreign journalists. Look at how they talk,” Wang Jianlin habitually began to lecture his son.

"Turn off that nonsensical attitude of yours; it's frivolous and impetuous!"

Wang Sicong chuckled and said, "Dad, I learned this from Lu Kuan."

Old Wang glanced at him sideways: "What did you learn from others?"

"I'll smear myself! From now on, every time I appear in public, I'll look like this, and any normal person in society will praise me for making progress."

"But if everyone were as upright as you, even spitting on the ground one day would get you criticized by the media for half a day."

"Ever since Lu Kuan got married, go online and you'll see, goodness, he's completely torn between two sides. One side is praising him for turning over a new leaf and becoming a good man, while the other side is begging him to continue his womanizing ways. What's going on here?"

Wang Sicong, watching the constantly buffering live stream, reached out and adjusted the resolution for his father, then continued:
"So that's what I plan to do from now on: I'll present myself as arrogant and conceited, and if anyone doesn't like me, I'll just go up and give them a piece of my mind."

"If you really can't back down, you can just 'sacrifice family for the greater good' and punish me. Let me be the clown and elevate your status, how about that?"

The rich second-generation standing behind his father indulged in wild fantasies, but Wang Jianlin stared at the screen for a long time without saying a word.

"dad?"

Old Wang turned around after a long while: "You adjusted the resolution, but how come you also made Wang Dajun disappear?"

"what?"

Wang Sicong ducked to avoid the screen's reflection, leaving only the beautiful host in the background of the interview and the large penguin logo. She quickly filled in the gaps and managed to salvage the situation by switching lines:

"Ladies and gentlemen, our interview today may have to go on..."

The female host had no idea what was happening backstage; the director only reminded her through her earpiece to take a short break, and Wang Dajun hurriedly left.

Before she could finish speaking, Wang Dajun returned, looking dashing, though his eyes behind his thick glasses held a slightly gloomy look.

At this critical moment, morale must not be thrown into disarray, especially when facing the crucial stage of roadshow and price inquiry. Huayi's chairman struggled to remain calm:
"Excuse me, there was an emergency at the company just now, so I had to return a call."

The beautiful host breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the camera, saying, "That's true. There are so many complicated things to do during the listing preparation period. We are very grateful to Mr. Wang for taking the time to be our guest today."

"Mr. Wang, could you please tell us more about the unique aspects of Huayi's celebrity shareholding model?"

"Now the industry jokingly calls this the golden handcuffs that bind core creativity. Everyone thinks this is a truly innovative development path and an important step that has led to Huayi's success today."

"What kind of transformative effect has this model had on stabilizing the production team and boosting the company's valuation?"

"Mr. Wang?"

After receiving no response for a while, the beautiful host, who was holding her cue cards and asking the questions she had prepared beforehand, turned her head and then paused.

What happened to him?
The host's professional smile suddenly froze on his face.

Why does Wang Dajun look so grim?

The chairman of Huayi had just returned to the stage with great restraint, so as not to show the public his panicked state during the roadshow and cause public opinion turmoil.

However, once this issue arose, the dignity presented on camera was being fiercely torn apart from the inner collapse.

Because of the sudden bad news, this issue concerning the celebrity shareholder system has torn open Huayi's most painful wound at this moment.

Wang Dajun clenched his left hand under the table until his knuckles turned white, while his right hand maintained a steady grip on the microphone. As his Adam's apple bobbed, he swallowed the surging anger, which was transformed into a stiff smile.

The reality that a certain celebrity shareholder he never expected is stabbing him in the back right now contrasts absurdly with the questions praising his system innovation in the live broadcast room.

Wang Sicong was also puzzled: "Dad, what is he doing?"

Wang Jianlin's premonition grew stronger. The so-called "evil" thing he had joked about with his son earlier was now revealing a bloody stench through Wang Dajun's loss of composure in front of the live broadcast camera.

"It's already quite impressive that he can sit still," Old Wang sighed. "There must be a problem. It's definitely related to Huayi's IPO, or it could be—"

He paused slightly in his calm voice: "It's possible that Lu Kuan made the move."

Before Wang Sicong, who was still in shock, could continue asking questions, Wang Dajun in the live broadcast room began to answer the host's questions.

However, the usually gentle and composed head of Huayi Brothers seemed to be making some inappropriate remarks at this moment:
"The celebrity shareholding model... is indeed an innovation that Huayi is proud of, but any innovation may encounter... unexpected setbacks."

He couldn't help but emphasize the last few words, his knuckles tapping out a dull thud on the microphone.

Immediately, millions of viewers, the beautiful host, and Old Wang and his descendants in front of their screens, along with Old Ma and Chairman Liu, all watched Wang Dajun's sudden "passionate speech"—

"From 1994 to today, it has taken Huayi 14 years to reach the point of listing. Now, we are pioneers! We are the flag bearers!"

"I think I need to make this statement at this moment: we will never allow anyone to disrupt this overall situation!"

After Wang Dajun finished speaking, he stood up, straightened his suit, and nodded slightly to the camera: "Sorry, the company has more important matters to attend to."

Then left.

. . .

The quick-witted Wang Sicong understood now and realized why his father's expression had been so serious.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he seemed quite surprised that the head of Huayi on the screen had managed to hold on until now.

If it were me, and it really was that news, I probably would have walked away in a huff long ago, right?

At this moment, he truly understood what Wang Jianlin meant by "a silent move that produces a thunderous sound".

However, Wang Dajun, who hurriedly left the live broadcast room, intuitively felt that this was a heavy iron curtain that the powerful figures at the height of their power had lowered upon Huayi.

Even though it is temporarily unable to go public, Wenjie is going to do everything in its power to suppress its industry peers.

But it won't be long before the head of Huayi realizes that if it was a deliberate and impulsive suppression, then it was actually a stroke of good fortune.

What's truly frightening is that behind this lies a vast net woven over many years, quietly tightening, so that those who still want to fight like cornered beasts will only discover, in their defeat, that even their struggles were calculated by the other side.

This is simply the most direct manifestation of Murphy's Law.

Wang Jianlin and his son are relatively close to this network. Although they do not yet know the true facts, they already have some vague guesses about this game.

However, Ma Yun, Deng Wendi, Chairman Liu, Li Yanhong, and all practitioners, onlookers, and even casual observers in the domestic entertainment, film, and internet industries were not surprised to hear about the news that had spread across the internet in an instant until around noon.

Although not confirmed by Huayi, the rumors have already spread widely.

Professional print media outlets such as *Caijing*, *First Financial Daily*, and *Daily Economic News* published a brief news item on Weibo:
A power struggle has suddenly erupted at Huayi Brothers Media Group, with A-list actress Fan Bingbing, in her capacity as a shareholder, initiating an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders and proposing a motion to remove the chairman!
The shorter the news article, the worse off Huayi!
(End of this chapter)