Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 492 Internal Strife at Huayi, Call from an Old Friend (Thanks to Ice Cream Alliance Leader for the extra chapter)

On December 5th, while Wang Dajun was a guest on the "Finance Salon" live broadcast, his younger brother Xiaolei was in Shanghai with the underwriting team of CITIC Securities to prepare for the roadshow.

A roadshow can be seen as a performance, but there is a lot of preliminary work to be done before a successful performance. This is what Wang Xiaolei and several vice presidents were doing in Shanghai.

including but not limited to:

Pre-IPO financial data and compliance calibration: legally and reasonably packaged key indicators of the 2007-2008Q3 financial reports, including net profit growth rate and gross profit margin.

Especially with the strong performance since the Lunar New Year film season, the box office of films like "Painted Skin 2" and "Love Transfer 2," which emulate the popular "Crazy" series, has seen steady growth, along with the anticipated blockbuster of "If You Are the One"—

These are all very timely achievements that can enhance the roadshow and boost investor confidence.

Despite the escalating financial crisis in the outside world, the Chinese film industry is thriving, which can alleviate investors' concerns to some extent.

We also need to prepare pre-roadshows for institutional investors, or to put it bluntly, find shills, as well as pre-event communication meetings with financial media and technical systems and contingency plans.

Since 02, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has required that new share issuances must be conducted through online roadshows, adopting a dual-track model of "offline + online," with offline events focusing on institutional investors and online events covering retail investors.

All of these things were part of Wang Xiaolei's job, and he and his older brother Wang Dajun "went to take the exam separately" and met at the top.

Even though he was very tired, he was happy to do it.

It's as if as long as the numbers in the prospectus are piled up dazzlingly enough, they can be used to build a ladder leading to that person.

This path of redemption paved with the illusion of going public, from another perspective, is it not also his grand escape of self-deception?
At 11 a.m., Wang Xiaolei and Xu Jiongwei, the sponsor representative of CITIC Securities, parted ways at the entrance of the Grand Hyatt Shanghai.

"Mr. Wang, shall we call this place for today?"

Young Master Wang shook Xu Jiongwei's hand firmly twice, his expression slightly excited due to the smooth preparations over the past two days: "Old Xu, thank you! Victory is in sight!"

To be honest, Xu Jiongwei really wanted to pull his hand away, but given his appearance and age of over 40, he figured that Mr. Wang probably didn't mean it.

Forget it, I'm being too wary of people.

"Mr. Wang, please wait a moment. I already have appointments with several organizations tonight, and two local bigwigs are also coming up." Xu Jiongwei suddenly turned his head and whispered:

"Mr. Wang, it would be best if Huayi could have a few distinguished guests to keep us company for a refined conversation..."

Look at how well this person in finance phrases. If it were these uncultured people in the entertainment industry, they would just blurt out things like "find two beautiful women to accompany you for drinks."
Wang Xiaolei knew perfectly well that this was about finding a temporary patron for his darling.

"No problem! Si Yan and the others are all here. Let them go out tonight to broaden their horizons and see the glamour of Shanghai."

Xu Jiongwei nodded noncommittally, then after thinking for a moment, he hinted, "Shouldn't 'If You Are the One' be doing a roadshow in Shanghai today? We're doing a roadshow too, and so are they. Why don't we collaborate on one tonight?"

“There’s a big shot who really likes the work of that Huayi’s leading lady. I visited him yesterday and we talked about it.”

Wang Xiaolei was taken aback, then said helplessly, "Bingbing... Bingbing is a bit special. She's been one of the company's major shareholders for a long time..."

Xiao Lei was momentarily dazed; he had almost forgotten when this leading lady had become somewhat aloof at Huayi.

Xu Jiongwei sighed inwardly. As the sponsor of Huayi, he was naturally very clear about the development trend of the cultural and media industry in recent years.

The notorious CEO of Huayi Brothers, Wang, is even unable to effectively manage his celebrity shareholders. This suggests that the strategy of celebrity shareholding and bringing in Alibaba and Wendy Deng has both advantages and disadvantages.

However, Huayi has been suppressed by Wenjie in terms of film scheduling and promotion in recent years, and the frequent private placements are a last resort, which has led to the founders' shares becoming increasingly diluted.

The most fatal mistake was that after the siege of Bright Peak in May of this year, they ended up giving away 10 points to outsiders.

Fortunately, the celebrity shareholders are mostly dispersed and do not pose a threat to them for the time being.

Xu Jiongwei laughed and said, "Of course I know that Fan Bingbing is also one of the major shareholders. That's why she shouldn't contribute to the company's listing."

"It's just a friendly chat, haha. Mr. Wang can have a talk with her."

"These are all tycoons worth billions! Maybe Miss Bingbing would like to get to know them?"

Looking at Xu Jiongwei's meaningful gaze, Wang Xiaolei sensed that he was being looked down upon. How come you can't even command an actor?

If his gaze were to sweep over his injured leg again at this moment, this young Mr. Wang would probably be even more furious.

"That's right! That's true. It's only right that Bingbing goes to keep the guests company."

The biting river wind in the Pudong financial district lifted the hem of his dark gray Zegna suit, creating a sharp crease. Wang Xiaolei, full of vigor, said, "I'll contact Bingbing now. Old Xu, see you tonight."

"Okay, see you tonight." This senior sponsor who had once led the IPO of Sany Heavy Industry turned and got into the black car, but inwardly sighed at the weakness of the two CEOs of Huayi.

He recalled the equity transactions in which Huayi's two founders had been led by the nose over the past few years:

In order to counter Wenjie, they first introduced internet capital such as Xinlang and Tom.com through the introduction of Mr. Zhou from Morgan Stanley.

After one round of fighting, only Xinlang remained and did not retreat.

Under the omnipresent pressure from the mainland's richest man, he continued to issue more shares to Ali and Wendy Deng, introducing two partners with a naturally antagonistic stance towards Wenjie.

But these two are both big fish in the sea! How can we prevent them from getting too powerful?
When they themselves couldn't afford to spend any more money, they could only continue to encourage celebrity shareholders to follow suit and take over the investment.

To be honest, Xu Jiongwei was also puzzled after carefully studying Huayi's equity structure this month, given that there was little hope of listing at that time and the current outstanding performance:

Where do shareholders like Fan Bingbing, Zhang Jizhong, Huang Xiaoming, and Zhou Xun get such strong confidence?

Where did all that cash come from to invest and prevent their shares from being diluted?

He didn't believe that the two Wangs of Huayi hadn't thought about this issue; they just felt that these celebrity shareholders were easier to manipulate compared to Ali, Deng Wendi, and Lu Kuan.

After all, directors like Feng Xiaogang control their own resources, while celebrities are just at the bottom of the industry chain.

There's nothing wrong with doing this; it's a last resort.

Ring ring ring!
Xu Jiongwei glanced at his phone; it was his college classmate, now the deputy editor-in-chief of the securities section at Caijing magazine.

"Old classmate, are you calling to invite me to dinner?"

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the receiver: "Not only will you eat, but you'll also take a bath and wash your feet until they're raw."

"There's only one condition: could you provide us with some news material about this big story?"

Xu Jiongwei and his cronies were also quite casual: "Whose material is this? Huayi?"

"I explained everything in detail to your beautiful reporter last week, and now all that's left is to get the figures for the roadshow and price inquiries. If I reveal this, my license might be revoked!"

"Haha! You're still pretending with me at a time like this. You're really calm."

Xu Jiongwei paused, then asked, "What the hell?"

The old classmate was also stunned; he seemed genuinely unaware. He quickly organized his thoughts: "It's rumored online, but actually, it's not really a rumor. I heard from industry insiders that Fan Bingbing herself leaked the information to the media—"

"What news?!" Xu Jiongwei heard the name again, and the image of that incomparably beautiful leading actress appeared in his mind. He blurted out, interrupting him.

"Fan Bingbing is trying to seize power; all the prominent financial media outlets have received the news."

shock!
"Stop the car!" Xu Jiongwei subconsciously patted the driver's seat and hung up the phone anxiously: "Let me check the situation first."

He knew that Wang Dajun was currently doing live broadcasts for promotion on Tencent's "Wealth Salon," which was an arrangement made by the team together, so he chose to contact Xiao Lei, whom he had just parted ways with, directly.

A black Audi A6 braked suddenly on Century Avenue near the Jinmao Grand Hyatt in Pudong, the tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground.

The hazard lights flashed rapidly in the midday sun, their mechanical clicking creating a tense duet with the electronic female voice on the phone saying, "The number you dialed is currently busy."

Xu Jiongwei was extremely anxious. It was true that he had some connections with Huayi, but it was most heartbreaking to see such a good project go down the drain.

The first listed film and television company in China! If it weren't for the financial crisis, would Huayi have even been able to go public?
"Turn back, back to the Grand Hyatt Jinmao!"

Unable to reach him by phone, Xu Jiongwei had no choice but to return home.

Outside the car window, the sound of traffic on the Lujiazui Overpass seemed to be muted, leaving only his own increasingly rapid heartbeat in his ears.

The veteran sponsor representative fell into deep thought. In this kind of raging undercurrent of capital, there is never a sudden betrayal, only a premeditated hunt.

Moreover, this choice is also quite puzzling; he saw the Wang brothers' trust and reliance on this leading actress.

It wouldn't be surprising if it were anyone else, but why would it be her?
Fan Bingbing?
"Fan Bingbing?" Feng Xiaogang received a call from Wang Xiaolei just after the plane landed.

"Bingbing always keeps to herself, as you know, Mr. Wang. The roadshow is in the evening, she should arrive in the afternoon, right?"

"what happened?"

Recalling Xu Jiongwei's meaningful look just now, Wang Xiaolei said in a sinister tone, "Isn't Bingbing being a bit too outrageous right now? Invite her to dinner with the investors tonight!"

"Who spoiled them like this!"

Who spoiled them? You spoiled them.

Xiao Gangpao muttered a couple of complaints to himself, then said sheepishly on the phone, "Mr. Wang, do you think I can still command her now?"

"She has a few tenths more shares than me, and she brings so many resources to the company. Now the artists all call her Boss Fan. Look at this..."

"Boss Fan? She's got quite the nerve. She should just be called Master Fan, what a damn brat..." Wang Xiaolei, ever since breaking his leg, had become incredibly sensitive and ruthless, and almost blurted out something "detrimental to unity."

Subconsciously, these actresses were nothing more than playthings to him, differing only in their value.

He glanced at the missed calls on his phone: "I'll scold her. I'll hang up on Xiaogang first, and then I'll call Xu Jiongwei back."

"Ok."

Just as Wang Xiaolei was about to call back, the company secretary, Hu Ming, called in at the last minute.

"President Wang! Fan Bingbing is up to no good. She has requested a board meeting to remove and re-elect the chairman and general manager. The board has received the official notification."

"I've already informed Mr. Wang. You should quickly gather the people from CITIC Securities and get them back to Beiping as soon as possible!"

Beep, beep, beep…

Wang Xiaolei stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the Grand Hyatt suite. Under the winter sun, the cruise ships on the Huangpu River left scarlet streaks in his eyes.

After a detailed inquiry, Hu Ming's voice was still ringing in his ears, but he saw his own mouth twitching nervously in the reflection of the glass.

Just now, on the phone, I was looking at the leading lady with a gloomy expression, about to urge, scold, and berate her. She's always associated with glamorous nightlife and stunning beauty.

How could it be her?
How could it be her?

Wang Xiaolei was in a state of extreme anger and confusion. With nothing around to vent his anger on, such as alcohol or a hole, he subconsciously rubbed the window frame, the coldness of the metal edges seeping into his bones.

In my memory, Bingbing's snow-white neck as she tilted her head back to toast was now twisted in my mind into a serpent spitting its tongue.

. . .

The name "Huayi" was already a hot topic for the past month, and when the phrase "Bingbing's backstab" added fuel to the fire, it spread even more intensely both online and offline.

Following a barrage of news from various major and minor newspapers, Fan Bingbing's official Weibo account released a formal announcement—

To all shareholders and stakeholders:
As a shareholder holding 7.7% of Huayi Brothers Media Group, I, Fan Bingbing, based on prudent consideration of corporate governance and long-term development, and in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Company Law and the company's articles of association, together with shareholder Xinlang holding 11% of the shares, formally propose to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

This motion is intended to consider the following matters:

Mr. Wang Dajun, the current chairman, has been removed from his post.

Reorganize the board of directors and optimize the strategic decision-making mechanism.

We believe that the current management team has significant oversights in strategic execution, resource allocation, and protection of shareholder rights, which no longer meet the company's development needs after its listing.

This action is to safeguard the interests of all shareholders, ensure that Huayi meets the scrutiny of the capital market with a more efficient and transparent governance structure, and also to be responsible to the vast number of shareholders and investors in the future.

This is to inform all parties.

. . .

Fan Bingbing's announcement was like a depth charge, instantly causing a double shock in both the financial and entertainment circles. Subsequently, Xinlang's identical statement became the strongest endorsement for this "beautiful assassin".

Professional financial media quickly followed up with headlines such as "Battle for Control of Huayi Begins" and "China's First Film and Television Stock Encounters Mutiny," characterizing the incident as "chaos in the equity structure of Chinese entertainment companies."

The entertainment section focused on the dramatic backlash from celebrity shareholders, with in-depth features such as "From Huayi's Top Female Artist to Capital Empress" going viral.

Aside from the financial media that jumped the gun from the start, newspapers across the country, regardless of whether they were related to finance, film, or entertainment, all wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

"Internal strife at Huayi escalates! Fan Bingbing joins forces with Xinlang to 'force' Wang Dajun to resign";
Huayi Arts Group faces a sudden "coup" on the eve of its IPO;
"Celebrity Shareholders Turn Against Themselves: The Battle for Control of Huayi Brothers Begins";
From Jin Suo to Capital Assassin: Bingbing's Path to Becoming a Leading Female Character.

Entertainment media outlets went all out, meticulously detailing and digging into the exclusion and suppression Bingbing suffered at Huayi around 2000 and 2001, calling this betrayal on the eve of the IPO the "Queen's Revenge."

Yanzi, who had a long-standing grudge against Bingbing, opened her social media account. After much deliberation, she still felt unsure about her wording and simply switched to a secondary account.

She reposted "From Huayi's Top Actress to Capital's Wu Zetian" and commented: "A maid will always be a maid. She has a higher chance of becoming a eunuch than an empress. She just doesn't have that kind of fate, you know?"

In the past, Yanzi would have either directly confronted him or made veiled accusations, given her close ties with the Beijing circle and Lao Ma, and her recent acquaintance with a master named Wang Lin, with whom she often met in private.

However, Bingbing has now become a player in the capital market, and with the backing of Xinlang, the mastermind behind the big star is unknown, which makes Yanzi quite wary and dare not act rashly.

After all, Huayi was previously just an ordinary joint-stock company, and its equity structure was not disclosed to the public, so the public knew very little about it.

However, Yanzi was not discouraged. After marrying a wealthy businessman in Pengcheng who had changed jobs from a driver, she also began her own path in capital, starting with Tangde Film and Television.

She would always be a princess, and she wanted to make that sentence the destiny between the two of them.

Da Mimi was also shocked by the news. She never expected that the eldest sister of Huayi would "betray the sect" or "seize power".

Before she could carefully consider the relationship between this matter and Liu Yifei's request for her to hold shares, Xu Duojin, whom Boss Lu called a "wolf in sheep's clothing," called her.

The young master with the black gold asked her to wait and see, and wait for the right price.

Anyone with eyes can see who's behind Fan Bingbing—

Who else would dare to so brazenly challenge the industry's number two?

Don't underestimate these seemingly ordinary shares; they might play a crucial role at a critical moment, so we must maximize their value.

As for nominee shareholding? Liu Yifei didn't sign any written contract with Yang Mi, or even if she did, if the benefits of betrayal were large enough, it's not impossible to find a way to "make a comeback".

The "Hidden Mountain House," a Shanxi merchant guild hall in Beijing mentioned earlier, was backed by coal funds poised to make a heavy bet on the domestic entertainment and film industries, especially after witnessing the frenzy of the early Lunar New Year film season.

The idea that China's golden age of cinema is on the horizon has become almost universally accepted.

Of course, if Huayi's downfall hadn't been complicated by a third competitor, Yang Mi would still be happy to continue being best friends with Liu Yifei. The amount of attention she's gained over the years has practically turned her into a cream puff.

This gossip was so high-profile that even the official Weibo account of China's top financial magazine, Caijing, gave a special commentary and discussion on it.

Caijing's official Weibo account is operated by professional editors who reply to netizens' questions under Bingbing's reposted Weibo posts.

"Does Fan Bingbing, a celebrity shareholder, have the power to remove the chairman? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"

Reply: The method of removing a chairman depends on the election method.

The chairman of Huayi was elected by the shareholders' meeting, so he can also be removed by the shareholders' meeting.

But Huayi's shareholders' meeting for this year has already been held, so what should we do?

According to the relevant provisions of the Company Law as amended in 05, shareholders who individually or collectively hold more than 10% of the shares have the right to propose to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, but must give shareholders 15 days' notice in advance.

Fan Bingbing and Xinlang's shareholdings far exceed the legal requirements.

Of course, for the vote to pass, since Huayi's Articles of Association do not have a specific requirement, the consent of more than half of the shareholders present at the meeting is required.

This professional response sparked a flurry of speculation among netizens.

First of all, Bingbing is not stupid.

Secondly, does this mean there are still experts? Or an "insider"?
Exciting! ! !
As the year draws to a close, no one expected that such a shocking drama was about to unfold.

Who the hell would spend money to watch a Lunar New Year movie?

Whether it's Chen Kaige or Ning Hao, whose movies have such absurd and exciting plots as those in real life?
Movies and novels require basic logic, but reality sometimes doesn't.

In early December, on Weibo, apart from news of Xiao Liu's pregnancy and the wrap-up of filming for "Under the Hawthorn Tree" still hanging at the bottom, the rest of the top ten trending topics were occupied by "Assassin Bingbing".

Bingbing herself probably never imagined that her long-held hope of surpassing Liu Yifei in popularity, which was only slightly lower than Liu Yifei's, would be achieved under such circumstances.

Meanwhile, a Weibo hashtag called #CatchTheMole# gradually rose to the top of the trending searches.

It generated extremely high levels of buzz, discussion, and dissemination!
Hupu's Sherlock Holmes, Tianya's polls to catch ghosts, Douban's brainstorming research, and Tieba's conspiracy theory awards.

It wasn't until a video with subtitles on Zhijie Video, which edited together clips from movies and TV shows featuring Fan Bingbing, Feng Xiaogang, Zhou Xun, Yang Mi, Huang Xiaoming, and others, and set to the background music from "Infernal Affairs," that it garnered over a million views in just one hour.

Weibo is still the most popular platform.

Curious netizens dug up the list of celebrities that Huayi had previously announced for the roadshow, and most of them were people who owned shares in the company to varying degrees.

Starting with Bingbing, the list includes many well-known male and female actors and directors.

Why pull it out?
Of course, it's about "catching the mole"!
-
"Who's the mole? Tell me, who else is the mole?"

At 7 p.m., in the Fenglian Plaza Building in Beiping, Wang Xiaolei glared angrily at Fei Qi in front of everyone.

The latter is currently the head of Huayi Artists Management Department.

In his previous life, Fei Qi also served as the vice president of Huayi Brothers, specializing in artist management. His wife was Luo Haiqiong, a Huayi actress, who played Ying Gu in "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner".

This position originally belonged to Wang Jinhua, but Li Xue later gained a lot of influence. In this life, due to Bingbing's strong personality, Fei Qi was unexpectedly allowed to take over the position ahead of schedule.

However, in this life, Huayi's control over its artists, especially Fan Bingbing and Zhou Xun, is not something that Fei Qi, as a vice president, can interfere with too much of.

The weaker the company, the more power the artist has.

Fei Qi was sweating profusely: "Mr. Wang, I... I'll immediately call all the celebrity shareholders and directors to confirm their attitudes first."

After saying this, he looked at Wang Dajun, who was present, and waited for instructions.

The latter remained silent from the moment they met, his brow furrowed like a needle, and his eyes were bloodshot, making him look quite frightening.

“Go ahead.” Hua Yi’s chairman and president’s voice was a little hoarse, and he swallowed hard. “President Ma will be here later. Deng Wendi is flying back from the United States, so it will probably take a few days.”

He stood up, and the first thing he did was gently press his younger brother into the chair.

"Xiao Lei, watch your temper. Now is not the time to lose your temper with your own people."

As the eldest brother, Wang Dajun was worried that Wang Xiaolei, who had just emerged from the madness of hatred and psychological distortion caused by having his leg broken in public, would fall into endless alcoholism, depravity, or even drug addiction.

Wang Xiaolei nodded and fell silent, and the conference room fell into a deathly silence.

A short while later, Ma Yun hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.

He glanced around at the Wang brothers, Fei Qi, and the others present, knowing that those who had appeared were all trustworthy people, and immediately asked in a deep voice, "Is it Lu Kuan?"

Seeing that he walked with a brisk pace and his alien-like face was full of anger, Wang Dajun could only say for the time being, "I can't be sure, but I'm almost certain."

Old Ma opened his mouth as if to speak, but two contradictory statements prevented him from uttering any words of blame, which sounded rather helpless.

But who would have thought it would be Bingbing?
Not only is she a major shareholder of Huayi Brothers, but more importantly, she is also responsible for driving sales and attracting traffic for "If You Are the One" for Ali!
That scoundrel Lu Kuan!
What was the point of him bribing Bingbing to interfere at such a crucial moment?

Is this all in retaliation for Damai.cn's attack on Wenjie?

Faced with a huge information asymmetry, Lao Ma, blinded by anger, was temporarily unable to make a rational judgment on the situation, and he quickly forced himself to calm down.

"I just had dinner with leaders from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and we discussed a lot about Alipay and Payment Tong."

Ma Yun looked gloomy: "The government may officially issue payment licenses in the next year or two. In other words, the battle between Ali and Wenjie Mall will be decided in the next two years." Payment licenses will not be issued in a single batch, but obtaining the first license is a very symbolic event.

Everyone will only remember the first place.

"The booming online ticketing market has given Alipay hope of overtaking its competitors, given our large e-commerce user base."

"The people who are capable of pulling this stunt are either trying to sabotage Huayi's IPO or are desperately trying to disrupt Alipay's catch-up progress through unconventional means!"

Old Ma said in a deep voice, "I agree with Dajun's opinion. There is no one else but Lu Kuan who has the ability and motivation to do this."

"Let's get back to the IPO." Wang Dajun let out a long sigh. He had thought a lot in the afternoon, which was enough time for him to calm down and do a thorough analysis.

"To initiate an extraordinary general meeting to remove the chairman, a shareholder holding 10% of the shares for at least three consecutive months is required."

"Why didn't he let Liu Yifei, the 10% shareholder, step forward? Why did he prefer to reveal his trump card in advance and have Fan Bingbing and Xinlang jointly launch the initiative?"

"Firstly, it puts pressure on other shareholders to 'surrender at the first sign of trouble,' and secondly... it's about avoiding suspicion, avoiding suspicion in advance."

"Mr. Ma, Xiao Lei, and everyone else, this is an extremely dangerous signal."

Everyone present was stunned.

What do you mean?
Ma Yun was the first to react. After drinking, he, like that alien in the video from his previous life who kept yelling "TMD, TMD" at the camera, slammed his hand on the table in a somewhat "Wang Xiaolei-esque" manner.
"That bastard is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing!"

Wang Xiaolei finally realized what was happening, and his face showed a deep, furious hatred.

Why should he avoid suspicion?

It is precisely because they felt they had already taken control of Huayi that they started looking for agents now in order to prevent the behemoth Wenjie from swallowing up the industry's second-largest player and crossing regulatory red lines!
That's why we wanted to distance ourselves from this matter from the very beginning, even just on the surface!
You should know that at the University of Tokyo, many things are just about making sure things look good on the surface; this kind of flexible approach is everywhere.

How heavy is this if you don't weigh it?
In other words, this mainland's richest man's actions were not a spur-of-the-moment decision, nor were they a form of retaliation against Ali, the founder of Damai.cn.

It was a premeditated hunt!

Ma Yun, Wang Dajun, and Wang Xiaolei are trying their best to piece together the truth of the matter, only to discover how sinister Boss Lu's motives are.

He wants to gain control of Huayi and replace the management team with his own people through legal means.

Even if it's impossible to kick Ali, Da Wang, and others out of the game immediately, severing the connection between "If You Are the One" and Ali will first bankrupt Lao Ma's plan to imitate "Meteor Shower," making it impossible to attract new users to Alipay and Taobao.

Meanwhile, after acquiring 4.5% of Huayi's cinema resources, it is able to surpass Wanda in cinema market share during the post-Lunar New Year electronic ticketing war. With the support of its close friend Han Shanping, although it is half a year behind, it is fully capable of fighting back!
Old Ma suddenly thought of another possibility and looked at Wang Xiaolei: "Xiaolei, if Lu Kuan really gains control, can Huayi's listing still proceed as scheduled? What did Xu Jiongwei say?"

This concerns whether Lukuan can obtain the huge amount of funds from the pledged shares after the listing, which is also a matter of great concern to Lao Ma as a shareholder of Damai.

Unaware that Lu Kuan's CDS profits in North America would be gradually repatriated to China after March, he naturally paid more attention to what they considered to be the "fresh water" of the industry.

However, no one knows yet where Mr. Lu's confidence in his ability to control Huayi comes from; it's all just a matter of preparing for the future.

Wang Xiaolei's face was gloomy, and his hands were clenched so tightly that they seemed to be going numb.

He said in a deep voice, "I asked Lao Xu about it as soon as I received the news this morning, and he told me two things—"

"First, if Fan Bingbing, Xinlang, and the people behind them really have enough shares and want to seize power, the pre-IPO period is the best opportunity."

The fact that none of us are business novices is immediately clear.

The shares offered in the IPO are newly issued shares, not transferred from existing shareholders, which means that the company's total share capital will increase due to the issuance.

If Lu Kuan is confident that he can seize power now, there is no need to wait until the IPO to bring in more institutional and retail investors, as that would increase a lot of uncertainty.

"Regarding the question Mr. Ma raised about whether the company can still go public if significant changes occur, while changes in senior management constitute significant changes, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) focuses on substantive changes in the company's fundamentals."

"If the new management team can maintain the company's development path after the IPO preparation, provide team stability, or offer more favorable conditions for the company's future development..."

Wang Xiaolei swallowed hard, reluctant to continue: "The CSRC's review is more about substance than form, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will approve it."

Two pieces of news that Wang Xiaolei heard from Xu Jiongwei, a professional investment banker, shattered everyone's last illusions.

What does it mean to provide more favorable conditions for the company's future development so that it can pass the review smoothly and not affect the listing?

Regardless of who takes over, as long as Wenjie expresses the attitude of a strategic partner and releases some industry resources, even if it's just by directly hiring him as an independent director.

In the eyes of the relevant departments, this is probably much more authoritative than the management of the two kings.

That's right, he's here to seize power, go public, and cash out through share pledging!
He has no less confidence and determination to "completely defeat Huayi and severely damage Ali".

This understanding applies to Ma Huateng, who is currently enjoying the fruits of his Damai.cn campaign and is about to revel in the IPO celebration.

For the Wang brothers, who had painstakingly managed the business for fourteen years and finally found a chance to lead Huayi to a public listing;

They're all too cruel.

The meeting room fell into a deathly silence. The sound of the central air conditioning was piercing, and the air seemed to solidify, making people feel suffocated.

The red numbers ticking on the digital clock were particularly glaring in the dim light, each second feeling like a dull knife cutting into your nerves.

It was eight o'clock in the evening. The cigarette butts piled up in the ashtray had long since cooled, and the smell of tar mixed with the scent of the leather seats, creating a suffocating sense of decay.

"Cheer up." Old Ma was the first to come to his senses, and he was temporarily sober: "Give up your illusions and prepare for battle."

He looked at the head of Huayi: "A request to convene an extraordinary board meeting must be made 15 days in advance. We have two weeks to prepare."

"Dajun, now it's just a matter of seeing how many voting rights each side holds, and then trying our best to win over the remaining shareholders."

"But we need to hurry. If Lu Kuan spreads the word that he's going to take over Huayi behind the scenes, I'm afraid your male and female stars will be eagerly awaiting his arrival."

Wang Xiaolei's temples throbbed with anger at the slightly sarcastic remark, and Wang Dajun was equally displeased, but now was not the time to act impulsively.

"Lu Kuan's openly displayed assets are: Fan Bingbing 7.7%, Xin Lang 11%, and Liu Yifei 10%, totaling 28.7%."

"On our side, as I have repeatedly counted and confirmed this afternoon, Ali 8%, Wendi Deng 11%, Xiaogang 7%, and our own total 22%, for a total of 48%."

Ma Yun's expression softened slightly; the number was already very close to 51%, so at least the situation on the surface hadn't completely collapsed.

The key issue is the certainty with which the other side is acting this time, which indicates that there are a large number of rebels among the remaining celebrity shareholders; they are all damned traitors.

In his view, the figure of 28.7% is too exaggerated. Given Lu Kuan's methods, he would need to have at least the strength to be on par with his own side to launch such a fierce attack.

"Even Zhang Jizhong isn't entirely sure it's safe? He also has 5% in his hands, doesn't he?"

The bearded man was one of the three judges for the "Ali Search Stars" event, which was the first collaboration between Ali and Huayi, and the event that led to the discovery of Zhao Liying. He also had a good personal relationship with Ma Yun because of filming Jin Yong dramas.

Therefore, the latter asked incredulously, thinking to himself that the ghost was too big and too numerous.

Wang Dajun shook his head indifferently: "It's uncertain. Fitch is already making contact. Let's wait and see how things develop."

"Whatever the outcome, everything depends on how well the work is done in the next two weeks."

The only sounds in the office were Ma Yun frowning as she flipped through the shareholder register, which was covered with Wang Dajun's dense annotations.

"I've called all the leaders." Fitch pushed open the door and came in. His back was already soaked with cold sweat, and the lining of his suit clung to his skin like a layer of cold snakeskin.

The three people inside the room, seeing his dejected and grief-stricken expression, already knew the seriousness of the situation.

"Speak," Wang Xiaolei practically spat out the word through clenched teeth.

Fitch unconsciously loosened his tie: "From highest to lowest shareholding—"

"Zhang Jizhong 5%, Director Zhang didn't answer the phone, so I called his wife Fan Xinman, and she said..."

"what?"

Feige was speechless that she had to share such boring gossip at this time: "She said that Director Zhang had an affair with his assistant Du Xinglin and is now avoiding her and afraid to go home, and she can't contact him either."

Fan Xinman is not an ordinary housewife; she is a CCTV director and the director of "Touching China".

It's possible that Big Beard was deliberately avoiding the two kings, but surely he wouldn't use something this serious as a pretext?
This is just too outrageous!

Everyone present was speechless. Feige continued, "Huang Xiaoming, 4%, answered the phone and said he knew nothing about the current situation and would discuss it again after returning from filming the movie 'The Message' in a couple of days."

The crowd's faces were grim. Two people in a row were clearly making excuses. One had disappeared without a trace, and the other had been absent for some reason. But they couldn't give up. In just half a month, they managed to coax the people back into a good mood.

"Isn't Zhou Xun and Li Binbin still in the 'The Message' crew? Where are the other two?"

“Zhou Xun said 5%, “She answered the phone and clearly stated that she would support Fan Bingbing and believed that Huayi needed to make some changes.”

Wang Xiaolei's smile was sinister: "Is she supporting Fan Bingbing? It's more accurate to say she's already sided with Lu Kuan!"

Xun Ge'er is straightforward, unlike Zhang Jizhong and Huang Xiaoming who at least left themselves a way out. She's not good at scheming and hasn't considered the consequences of making a direct statement.

Even if things don't go smoothly, what consequences could there be? Does Huayi have the power to blacklist her right now?

“Li Binbin supports us, but her shareholding… is too small, less than 1 percent.”

In this life, the skinny Bing was beaten to a pulp by the fat Bing who had the "portable washing machine" cheat code, and now she has been reduced to a third-rate character, not even able to catch up with the rising star Yang Mi.

Unlike other "money-making" celebrities, she doesn't always have to spend real money on each share issuance.

Yang Mi also has the advantage of being a second-generation coal miner, and she starred in "The Forbidden Kingdom" and "Painted Skin 2" in succession. Regardless of her acting skills and performance, the blockbusters have indeed raised her status.

In offline circles, the "Teddy Sisters" and "YiFei's Circle of Friends" have very close relationships. In addition, her Weibo account is well managed, especially her interactions with Xiao Liu, which have added a lot to her image.

Unfortunately, Da Mi Mi's mentality of "a strong woman shouldn't be subservient to others for long" was not much different from Bing Bing's. Her reply to Fei Qi was also ambiguous, waiting for a better price, and she complied with the demands of the coal boss from Shanxi Province.

However, her feigned indecisiveness is unlike that of Zhang Jizhong and Huang Xiaoming, who were trying to buy time to avoid a direct confrontation. Yang Mi genuinely wanted to wait for the right price before making her final bet.

Wang Dajun sighed and said, "Fan Bingbing previously informed us that Yang Mi's shares were held on behalf of Liu Yifei, and that she was not allowed to increase her holdings the last time, resulting in a diluted shareholding of only 3%. This is why we have always been convinced of Fan Bingbing's stance." (Chapter 441)
Ma Yun waved her hand: "Whether she was a human or a ghost in the past doesn't matter. But Yang Mi is clever, so I'll see if I can ask Leader Liu from the Railway Department to put in a good word for her."

The Yangmi brand is operated by black market merchants. The black market industry is highly dependent on monetization policies, one of the most important of which is railway lines.

This was Lao Liu's private plot of land in the railway department, while Lao Ma, Yanzi, and Master Wang Lin were all people on this line. It wasn't until after the accident that they severed ties with them.

Currently, Yang Mi's 3% chance seems somewhat promising, given that she has indicated she is open to negotiation.

After these major shareholders finished talking, what remained were Zhang Guoli's two-plus percent stake, and new directors Wu Ershan and Xu Zheng each holding one percent. This was mainly because they entered the market too late, and the shares in this round were already too expensive.

However, these four points are only relatively advantageous to our side. Zhang Guoli is a veteran of the Beijing entertainment circle, while the latter two are directors who left the industry.

It's also because Wu Ershan's talent shone too late. If he had given such an outstanding performance as "Painted Skin 2" earlier, the two kings would definitely have treated him differently.

It's too late to say anything now.

Only after we get through this difficult time can we properly support Wu Ershan, Xu Zheng, and other "loyal warriors" who have been ousted from the industry.

The remaining celebrities are just minor details; you can talk to them one by one and win them over.

When Wang Dajun looked back at this disheartening shareholding distribution, he felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of loss.

Zhang Jizhong and Xinlang both joined Huayi during Zhou Jun's era, when there wasn't such a big gap between Huayi and Wenjie.

Boss Lu seized the opportunity presented by the Olympics to wield this powerful weapon, enabling him to overthrow the Zhou Jun family, who rose to prominence in the State Planning Commission.

Who would have thought that Big Beard and his earliest internet ally, Sina, would betray him?
Huang Xiaoming, with his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and dimples when he smiles, is now clearly wavering, but that's only human nature, after all, he's Wen Jie, Lu Kuan, a top power in the film industry.

What pained them the most was Bingbing.

Bingbing was the first to "change sides" and support Wang Jinhua when she left in 04, and has worked diligently at Huayi for almost ten years.

Because of her presence, Huayi's artists appear in fashion magazines the most frequently. From the top luxury endorsement of LV J'adore perfume abroad to the revenue generated from various domestic appearances, Bingbing alone supports at least one-third of Huayi's agency business.

Not to mention her recent secret denunciation of Yang Mi, which further gained the trust of the two kings.

Who would have thought that she would be the one to fire the first shot in the armed resistance against the reactionary kings and queens?

What benefits did Lu Kuan promise her that would make Bingbing so willing to become Wu Sangui and Wang Jingwei?

The meeting room remained silent for a long time, with no one knowing what to say. Only Lao Ma lightly tapped the table: "Dajun, Xiaolei, let's recalculate the shares. Right now, only Li Binbin's 0.5% is confirmed. Including her, we have 48.5%."

"What about the rest? I'll find ways to work on Yang Mi's 3%, but what about the rest? We must make sure it exceeds 50%."

Wang Dajun said in a deep voice, "We should prepare for the worst. Zhang Guoli came from Emei Film Studio with Han Shanping back then, so we can't be sure."

"Wu Ershan and Xu Zheng, seemingly kicked out of Wenjie, did not dare to say a bad word about Lu Kuan even after they arrived at Huayi, clearly harboring a heavy psychological shadow."

"Let's put Zhang Jizhong and Huang Xiaoming on the back burner. These two just don't want to offend us for the time being. They don't seem as straightforward as Zhou Xun."

"As for the rest of the small fry, please invite Mr. Fei to Huayi one by one, but to be honest, the effect will be limited."

These words sound discouraging, but everyone knows that even with a 49.99999% success rate, our side wouldn't dare say we're guaranteed a win at the extraordinary general meeting.

A man like Lu Kuan is one who always draws blood when he takes action, and all the clues indicate that this is going to be a brutal fight to the death.

But his current actions seem to indicate that he is confident he can secure more than half of the votes.

Why?

Everyone was puzzled.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was oppressive. The team, which was already on the verge of collapse before it was even halfway through its entrepreneurial journey, inevitably began to have some minor internal conflicts.

Old Ma's face was flushed from drinking. He looked at the numbers on the shareholding table and sighed, "The last bet has left me and Wendy Deng with no advantage in terms of shareholding. Dajun, tell me, did you guard against the wrong person?"

This refers to the final share issuance, where Boss Lu had Zhou Xun and Bingbing jointly propose a performance-based betting agreement to prevent Ali and Deng Wendi from continuing to grow too large and to hinder his power grab.

The Wang brothers couldn't afford it themselves, but they couldn't help but be wary of Lao Ma and his companion, so they agreed.

Seeing that the Wang brothers remained silent, Ma Yun felt another surge of anger: "Furthermore, if it weren't for what happened in May, we would have 10 more points now, but the road would be 10 points less..." (Chapter 435)
Wang Dajun's eyelids twitched, and he interrupted Ma Yun naturally: "President Ma, now is not the time to talk about these things. Let's work together and look forward!"

He dared not look back at his younger brother, for fear of touching a nerve with Wang Xiaolei.

Old Ma then realized he had spoken out of turn. The siege of Bright Peak was not a dictatorship of any one person. It was just that Wang Xiaolei was responsible for carrying out the operation, contacting Li Fu, and accepting Wang Xing's surrender. This was the role he had always played.

But it also became a deep and unforgettable shame that haunts him for life.

In fact, if it weren't for this opportunity seized by the time traveler, who forcibly tore a piece of flesh from Huayi's increasingly robust body—

Even with both Wang and Da Wang holding at least one-third of the shares, their control over the company isn't too bad, considering the other shareholders' equity is very dispersed.

By controlling director Feng Xiaogang, he can rally celebrity shareholders to counter any potential power grab by Ali and Wendy Deng, and vice versa.

What kind of impact can a few scattered celebrity shareholders have?

“Mr. Ma,” Wang Xiaolei said, his voice cold and stiff.

He had remained silent ever since his brother had persuaded him to calm down, and his former fiery and eccentric nature seemed to have vanished.

But his silence was like a stagnant pool, calm on the surface, but churning with a venomous obsession within.

So when he heard Lao Ma's words, which were ostensibly regretful but were actually accusatory, he could no longer remain indifferent. He couldn't bear to see his brother Wang Dajun being humiliated like this.

"I will take responsibility for what happened today; there's no need for anyone else to say more."

"But have you ever thought about it, whether it's Huayi, Ali, or Wendy Deng, what's the difference between us?"

Wang Xiaolei looked at Ma Yun with a sinister gaze: "Deng Wendi entered the mainland market to compete because of her conflict with Liu Yifei, you chose Huayi because of the competition for Wenjie Mall and payment channels, while we—"

“Since the feud began in 2002, we have always been prepared for a bloody confrontation.”

Having come to terms with the facts, Wang Xiaolei frankly admitted his past mistakes: "That's right, we mistrusted Fan Bingbing, and we didn't have the ability to control so many celebrity shareholders under the pressure of Wenjie."

"We do indeed have reservations about you and Ms. Deng, which is common in the business world. There is no need for you to give us any further advice or criticism."

"But have you ever thought about this? We are pigs waiting to be slaughtered, and aren't you sheep being driven away?"

Wang Xiaolei, fiercely protective of his brother, retorted, "What right do you have to mock my older brother? What right do you have to act as a Monday morning quarterback?"

"And those people online who mock Huayi, they can try it themselves and see how many moves they can withstand from Wenjie and Lu Kuan. They're all all talk and no action!"

Ma Yun glanced coldly at the brothers Dajun and Xiaolei. This time, even Wang Dajun didn't try to dissuade his younger brother.

Even a clay Buddha has a temper, and he couldn't stand the drunken old horse's constant belittling.

More importantly, if Huayi was Lu Kuan's mortal enemy in personal matters, then Ma Yun was also Lu Kuan's mortal enemy in business competition.

Unless he's willing to give up Taobao and Alipay, which is clearly impossible.

So even if Wang Xiaolei were to be sarcastic and vent his frustrations at him, Wang Dajun wasn't worried that Ma Yun would defect to the enemy.

Old Ma rarely clashed with anyone. At this moment, his anger turned into a forced smile as he looked at the two brothers—one gentle and refined, the other furious and volatile—and said calmly:
"I hope that the remaining Zhang Guoli, Wu Ershan, Xu Zheng, and even Zhang Jizhong and Huang Xiaoming who hold a pessimistic view, will all go all out to strive for them. Don't regard the current 48.5% as a safe number."

Ma Yun said in a deep voice, "Furthermore, regarding what kind of opponent Lu Kuan is, perhaps I know much more about him than you imagine."

"After all, compared to Huayi, the battleground between Damai.cn and Wenjie will be a multi-billion dollar capital game in the future."

Old Ma glanced at the two silent brothers, especially Wang Xiaolei, whose face was sinister and whose eyes were filled with hatred, and then he made a wicked move:
“Xiao Lei, since you’ve already said that, I’ll fix the broken sheepfold myself. As for Yang Mi, I’ll go to the railway department leaders to talk to them about these three points.”

"how about you?"

Ma Yun approached Wang Xiaolei unhurriedly. Although there was an eight-centimeter height difference, her demeanor remained undiminished, and she uttered words that were utterly veiled incriminating:
"Xiao Lei! Everyone should do their own job well. If you hadn't provoked Lu Kuan back then to use Liu Zeyu's father's connections, your brother wouldn't be suffering this humiliation today, and Huayi wouldn't have become a laughing stock in the industry!"

"If you're even a man, clean up your own mess and take care of it! Otherwise, people will look down on you."

"It's easy to mend a broken sheep pen, but what about your leg?" Old Ma's ambiguous gaze swept over Wang Xiaolei's once-broken calf. The latter's back teeth ached from clenching, and he clenched his fists, trembling all over.

Old Ma is not usually like this, but this time the pressure from Lu Kuan was too great, and he was somewhat overwhelmed. Today, he was indeed provoked by the desperate and indignant Wang Xiaolei.

The leader of Ali is now using words to drive Wang Xiaolei to his death!

It would be best to drive him, who is mentally unstable, to a point of no return with Lu Kuan!
If you're still a man, then fight! Kill! Use any means necessary to resolve this matter!
Otherwise, the world will forever remember that day when you were like a lame dog trampled on the ground, howling in agony in front of the whole world!
Wang Dajun was worried about his younger brother's mental state, but Lao Ma could also see that he was already a walking corpse that had been pickled and seasoned.
"Mr. Ma!" Huayi's president, seeing his younger brother's pale face, decisively stood up and asked him to leave: "There's no point in saying more, let's split up and take action."

"We are allies in the same trench, and a lot can still be changed in fifteen days."

Old Ma had already regained his calm and collected demeanor, smiling and nodding at him: "The difference is only a hair's breadth. Let's give it our all, and talk again later."

Ma Yun left seemingly at ease, but every step she took felt like stepping on Wang Xiaolei's painful and sensitive nerves.

The neon lights of Beiping's CBD pierced his face with scarlet streaks through the blinds that hadn't been drawn. Wang Dajun suddenly reached out and grabbed his forearm tightly.

"You should know that he's deliberately trying to provoke you."

"I know, I know," Wang Xiaolei replied somewhat listlessly, then looked up and met Wang Dajun's gaze. "I'm fine, brother. I know what I need to do."

Wang Dajun was also in a state of confusion at this moment, still thinking about how to persuade Zhang Jizhong, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Guoli and others to put in a good word for him.

Watching Wang Xiaolei leave with a heavy heart, I had no time to offer him any further comfort or guidance. I simply sent a message to his driver, instructing him to notify me if anything happened.

Mr. Wang, the young manager of Huayi, walked heavily out of Fenglian Building. The north wind of Beiping in December, carrying fine snowflakes, whipped his face.

He subconsciously tugged at his Burberry scarf, but the cashmere fabric twisted into hideous wrinkles, reminding him of his high spirits in front of the Grand Hyatt in Shanghai that morning.

This day was filled with too many and too heavy events.

The traffic on Chaoyangmenwai Street left scarlet taillights in the twilight, much like the trail of blood that snaked beneath one's body when their leg was broken in a surveillance video.

Suddenly, the cell phone in my pocket started buzzing loudly, like some kind of danger signal.

The driver jogged to open the door of the Mercedes-Benz S600, only to find the young boss frozen in place, staring at his phone with a look of unfamiliarity and horror.

An old friend called.

Zhou Jun?!
(End of this chapter)