Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 498 Dogs Fighting, A Complete Settlement (Thanks to Brother R for joining the alliance, 75100)

The "Zhou Jun case on December 1220" ultimately did not reach the Ministry of Work Safety; instead, a special task force was established at the municipal bureau level.

The former type of case that receives "special attention" is generally one involving a huge amount of money, endangering national economic security, causing serious casualties and social panic, or involving national security or political impact.

Following the incident, based on internal organizational principles, the Zhou family learned of the facts of the case immediately. As close relatives, they expressed their earnest hope that the relevant departments would handle the matter "officially" and uphold social stability and the dignity of the law.

Once these words were spoken, even Zhou Jun's childhood friends, who were somewhat sympathetic to the loss of their comrades, fell silent.

Since their father has backed down, these Nezhas, even if they want to maintain their class dignity, have to consider the current situation and stop trying to hide their true feelings.

After forensic examination, Zhou Jun's remains were claimed by his family. His ex-wife and son did not even show up, clearly feeling deeply ashamed.

It is often said that a person's demise begins with being forgotten, and this is certainly true in the present day.

Perhaps in the era of self-media ten or twenty years from now, people will still occasionally find some clues from the ancient Weibo.
Or perhaps we can glimpse this long-forgotten story and Zhou Jun, who merely becomes a "small footnote" to Boss Lu, through gossip public accounts and online novels.

. . .

On the afternoon of the 21st, the municipal criminal investigation department, which was in charge of the case investigation, invited the relevant personnel involved in the case to the building for a talk. Captain Zheng welcomed them to his office, which was also the office of the captain of the criminal investigation brigade.

The old captain is about to retire, and he can only stand guard for another two or three years. There is no need to treat the so-called richest man with such preferential treatment and courtesy.

On the one hand, Leader Liu's attitude was clear, and on the other hand, this young director had a good reputation and public image, making it hard not to respect him from the bottom of one's heart.

"Mr. Lu, the tea isn't very good, please don't mind." Captain Zheng seemed to be someone who wasn't too particular. He brewed two cups of melon seed tea in an ordinary glass and gently pushed one cup towards Lu Kuan on the sofa.

Boss Lu blew on the steam, took a sip, and said, "Is Captain Zheng testing me?"

"Among the three places where Guapian tea has the best reputation, there are Bat Cave, Xianhualing, and Xianghongdian. To be honest, I can't tell exactly where it comes from, but it is definitely from the area around Qiyun Mountain."

"Hahaha!" Old Zheng laughed with the hearty spirit of a veteran detective: "I've heard that Boss Lu loves tea, and he certainly knows his stuff. My hometown is in the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains, and the tea was all sent by my fellow villagers."

He suppressed his smile and took out a voice recorder from the drawer: "President Lu, the city has established a special task force for the '1220 Zhou Jun case,' and I am the team leader."

“You were originally supposed to be an outsider to the case, but someone anonymously provided a recording as a clue, so we’re asking you to take the time to help solve the case today.”

"Shall we begin?" Captain Zheng was a seasoned man; he didn't bring up the previous events and continued to handle matters officially.

"it is good."

The recording that Lu Kuan had listened to seven or eight times played again.

Zhou Jun's motive for the crime, and Wang Xiaolei's reaction and attitude inferred from his words, can basically restore most of the truth of the incident.

The recording stopped three minutes later.

Captain Zheng asked seriously, "President Lu, what are your thoughts?"

The richest man in mainland China, sitting opposite him, said with a grim face: "I believe in the fairness and impartiality of the judicial authorities. If you recognize this recording as authentic and valid evidence, then this is a case of Zhou Jun and several shareholders of Huayi conspiring to commit attempted murder. This is too heinous."

"We urge the public security authorities to investigate the role played by Wang Dajun and others in this matter according to law. Zhou Jun's mention in the recording, 'How much money will you and Wang Dajun give me?' is clearly the price paid for this crime."

Captain Zheng wrote the interrogation record with great speed and fluency. It had been many years since he had taken an interrogation record himself, let alone in such a somewhat irregular occasion and environment.

However, Chinese people have their own set of principles when doing things, and the purpose of taking shortcuts is to solve cases as soon as possible and give the public an explanation.

"Mr. Lu, I've noted everything down. Could you please explain why Zhou Jun, along with Wang Xiaolei and Wang Dajun, who appears to be a preliminary suspect, committed the crime?"

Captain Zheng completely disregarded what he had seen and heard during his previous interactions with Lu Kuan. What he needed to do now was to complete the chain of evidence, make the motives of the perpetrators clearer, and ultimately restore the truth.

Lu Kuan said without batting an eye: "Among Huayi's shareholders are my wife Liu Yifei and Xinlang, who holds shares in overseas industries."

"At this extraordinary shareholders' meeting convened by Fan Bingbing, I speculate, just speculate, that Huayi's current management and core shareholders, such as Wang Dajun, Wang Xiaolei, and Ma Yun, may believe that I am remotely directing and seizing power from behind the scenes, and therefore hold a grudge."

"As for whether this is the truth, we urge the public security authorities to investigate the facts and not to wrong innocent people or let bad people go unpunished."

Listening to his meticulous narration, Old Zheng completely lost his usual detective shrewdness and methodically recorded the witness testimony.

Some cases involve the truth and legal justice, and it is necessary to unravel the mystery thoroughly and get to the bottom of it.

But this case...

A poisonous insect deliberately harmed a pregnant woman who was six months pregnant. The pregnant woman was the wife of the richest man in mainland China, whose name was preceded by seven or eight prefixes. The case itself also received concern and care from higher-level leaders.

Add to that the irrefutable evidence such as audio recordings and surveillance videos, as well as the indifference and statements of Zhou Jun's entire family.

Is there any need to delve deeper into the details? Just handle it by adhering to the principles of fairness and justice.

With the facts clear, the evidence sufficient, and the motive clear, the next step is to consider the suggestion made by the "victim," Boss Lu, and delve deeper into the role played by Wang Dajun and others in this matter.

Captain Zheng had seen too much bloodshed over the years and knew that this was about pinning the enemy to the ground and crushing them, giving them no chance to struggle.

He then asked some more targeted questions, and this rather unusual witness testimony was thus completed.

The brigade commander said, "If you're not busy, please sit in your office for a while."

"Wang Dajun, Ma Yun, and other Huayi shareholders who may be related to this case have also arrived at the bureau. Would you like to have a talk with them?"

Lu Kuan smiled and said, "Aren't there any confidential documents in the office? If you're not worried, I'd be happy to drink more of your fine tea."

"No, my place is very humble, please make yourself at home."

As Boss Lu watched him leave, he thought to himself that Old Zheng, whom Boss Liu had promoted back then, was quite a character.

A balance between principle and flexibility, a combination of professional competence and political wisdom, untainted by professional ethics, and the ability to adapt appropriately without losing control.

After he retires in two years, he can be rehired to work at the Ministry of Supervision to strengthen its work. Together with the original Zhou, their investigative capabilities will be extremely strong.

Boss Lu enjoyed a cup of tea and a short rest in the captain's office, but Wang Dajun, Ma Yun, Kuzi, and others who arrived later did not receive the same treatment.

Regardless of whether these three individuals are entrepreneurs or directors, they are no different from ordinary people in the eyes of the judicial authorities. Moreover, it is far-fetched to say that they are suspected of being involved.

The Municipal Public Security Bureau has established case-handling facilities such as interrogation rooms, inquiry rooms, waiting rooms, identification rooms, and information collection rooms. The interrogation records of the three individuals were kept in strict accordance with regulations and order.

For example, the rule that there must be at least two people conducting the inquiry.

Captain Zheng, along with a police officer, first read the "Notice of Rights and Obligations" to Wang Dajun, and the entire process was recorded on audio and video.

"Mr. Wang, let's begin."

"Okay." Wang Dajun looked dejected, his eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were terribly chapped.

The questioning was still led by Lao Zheng himself: "Regarding the case that occurred on the morning of December 20, 2008, at the bottom of Huayi's headquarters building, which was initially determined by the investigation to be Zhou's attempted murder by driving a car, now there is significant evidence related to the case, so please come and give a statement."

"it is good."

Captain Zheng looked at him sharply: "Please listen to a recording. The two parties in the call are Zhou Jun and Wang Xiaolei."

While Wang Dajun can only be considered a witness and an outsider for the time being, as there is no direct evidence to prove his involvement in the matter, Lao Zheng's observation of him has already begun.

Whether it's the demands of the "victim" sitting in his office or from the perspective of legal fairness and justice, this is necessary.

The hoarse, terrifying sound of poisonous insects echoed in the interrogation room. Wang Dajun felt as if his heart was being torn apart by the repeated use of the name "Xiao Lei" in the conversation.

The family was already devastated when their third son died in a car accident, but now the second son has followed in his footsteps, and in such a tragic way.

But who can be blamed for this?

To help Wang Xiaolei cope with his decline, alcoholism, and self-destructive behavior since breaking his leg, his older brother had already shown him meticulous care.

He entrusted him with the work before the roadshow and repeatedly and earnestly advised his younger brother not to take any risks.

Playing dirty tricks with that kind of person will only result in more intense and irreconcilable retaliation.

Unfortunately, on his last night in his office, his attempts to reason with Wang Xiaolei, using photos of the four brothers and appealing to their emotions, were unsuccessful.

Wang Xiaolei ultimately did not reveal the truth. The impact on the day of the car accident was not a redemption for himself or his conscience, but rather a fear of implicating Wang Dajun.

The recording was chilling, until Zhou Jun suddenly shouted, "Tell me! Wang Xiaolei! How much money can you and Wang Dajun give me...?"

The haggard-looking chairman of Huayi suddenly stood up!

"Slander! Shameless! I have absolutely no connection to this matter!"

Old Zheng smiled with narrowed eyes: "This is only one side of the story and cannot be used as evidence to establish the facts."

"Mr. Wang, please calm down and listen to me."

Wang Dajun's face turned pale and then flushed. Hearing Zhou Jun mention Fan Bingbing in the recording, he finally understood why Wang Xiaolei had spoken to him so excitedly on the last night:
Bingbing might turn against his side and support his own.

Thinking of his younger brother's tragic death, he felt another inexplicable sigh.

Wang Dajun couldn't help but recall the day Liu Yifei came to Huayi, and Wang Xiaolei's miserable screams as his leg was broken in front of everyone.

Perhaps from that moment on, today's ending was destined.

His soul was gone, and his spine had been completely broken by Lu Kuan. The fate awaiting Wang Xiaolei was either revenge or self-destruction.

The three-minute recording ended quickly, and Captain Zheng stared at Wang Dajun with his hawk-like gaze: "Wang Dajun, did you conspire with Wang Xiaolei to support Zhou Jun's intentional homicide by paying a price?"

"No, I know nothing about this." Wang Dajun swallowed hard and looked up at the renowned detective.

He suddenly realized at that moment that he too was at risk of going from being an outsider to being purged, because there were hands that had never stopped pushing it all along.

The listing and abandonment of Wenjie, the listing and removal of Huayi—all these events were nothing more than a movie he directed.

But how ridiculous, pathetic, and helpless I was as I played along, like a puppet on a string.

"Then how do you explain what Zhou Jun mentioned in the recording?"

“Xiao Lei… Xiao Lei did something wrong. Zhou Jun used to be a shareholder of Huayi. He knows that all company decisions have to go through me.”

Wang Dajun said with a wry smile, "But I really didn't know about this. I'm not that crazy, even now that I've resigned from Huayi."

The former chairman of Huayi, who is nearly fifty years old, lamented with deep sorrow: "I am inferior in skill, I admit defeat, there is nothing more to say."

“In fact, on the night of the 19th, I was still talking to Xiaolei—Huayi is very important, but the most important thing is for the family to be together safely. I had a feeling that he would do something outrageous, but I never expected him to be this crazy!”

Old Zheng stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly trying to determine the truth from falsehood based on his micro-expressions and the clues he had gathered.

In fact, if it weren't for Wang Dajun's background and identity, it wouldn't have been impossible to detain him based solely on this recording, in order to prevent the suspect from fleeing.

However, there is currently no concrete evidence to prove that he is directly involved in this matter.

“We have confirmed with several employees of Huayi,” Captain Zheng said solemnly. “You did have an argument in the office on the night of the 19th, but the content is unclear.”

"Since you say you had a premonition of his madness and unusual behavior, what advice or intervention did you offer beforehand, and do you have third-party witnesses and evidence to prove it?"

"I..." Wang Dajun stammered. How could he possibly mention something so sensitive about Wang Xiaolei in front of outsiders?

"To be honest, we just spoke with Liu Yifei's husband, Mr. Lu." Old Zheng, a veteran of decades of criminal investigation and interrogation experience, began to exert pressure:

"The family members of the parties involved have made it clear that they request the judicial authorities to proceed from the facts and punish the relevant responsible persons in accordance with the law, and hope that Mr. Wang can provide more evidence that is conducive to ascertaining the truth of the case."

Captain Zheng picked up his teacup and asked casually, "Besides Zhou Jun and Fan Bingbing, to your knowledge, has Wang Xiaolei been instigated, misled, induced, or coerced by anyone else before and after the incident?"

One second Wang Dajun was still in a panic about possibly being dealt with by Boss Lu, but the next second he looked at the captain in front of him and suddenly realized what was going on!

Is this an attempt to force oneself to compromise and, more importantly, to fabricate accusations under the guise of legitimate case-handling procedures?
The captain remained cautious in his words: "The reason for asking this question is that there are certain differences between Wang Xiaolei's conversation with Zhou Jun and his behavior when he finally stopped the crime."

"Wang Xiaolei and Zhou Jun, as accomplices in attempted murder, showed some remorse at the end of the crime, which is beneficial to the legal evaluation of their criminal behavior."

That's where the conversation ended abruptly; we couldn't cross that line, and it was up to Wang Dajun to figure it out for himself.

A temporary silence fell over the interrogation room.

Wang Dajun was in a state of utter confusion. This was the first time he had been involved in such a shocking murder case, and he felt completely disoriented, as if he had lost his soul.

He calmed himself down and suddenly remembered something.

"There's something I want to say, but I'm not sure if it's related to this matter. Please judge for yourselves."

"Tell me something."

Wang Dajun took a deep breath: "On... on the day Fan Bingbing proposed the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, several shareholders of Huayi were discussing matters together."

"One of the shareholders used rather extreme language. He said something to my brother, and his exact words were something like—"

"Wang Xiaolei, you provoked them first, otherwise your brother wouldn't have suffered such humiliation, and Huayi wouldn't have become a laughing stock in the industry!"

"If you're even a man, clean up your own mess and get rid of it! Otherwise, people will never respect you, and the humiliation of your broken leg will never be erased!" (Chapter 493)
Wang Dajun's expression was somewhat ferocious as he said bitterly, "I don't know if this counts as instigation or incitement, but Xiao Lei has indeed suffered a great deal of mental stimulation."

"To be honest, we did consider Mr. Lu from Wenjie as our hypothetical enemy. I have reason to believe that this Huayi shareholder knew that my brother was not in good mental condition and deliberately provoked him to make a mistake in order to protect his own interests."

"After he left, I told Xiaolei, 'Don't care what others say, they just want to take advantage of you.'"

Captain Zheng said solemnly, "This is an important clue, Wang Dajun. You must guarantee that you are telling the truth."

"Yes, I confirm it, and Fei Qi, the vice president of Huayi and in charge of artist management, was present at the time, and he can also testify to it."

"Okay, who said that?"

Wang Dajun, recalling the Taishan Society member who exacerbated his brother's mental stress by citing the tragic leg-breaking incident, looked up through gritted teeth:
"Ma Yun!"

Xiao Li paused for a moment, and Lao Zheng glanced at him: "Record it as it is."

"Yes."

The questioning ended quickly. Wang Dajun signed and affixed his fingerprint to his statement, then suddenly asked, "Captain Zheng, is Director Lu in the bureau?"

The latter glanced at him and said, "Yes."

"I want to talk to him."

Old Zheng waved for Xiao Li to go first, and whispered, "Wait a little longer. After Ma Yun and the others have finished talking, you can talk privately."

This does not violate any principles. Lu Kuan and Ma Yun are actually outsiders to the case. Wang Dajun is being closely monitored because of his relationship with Wang Xiaolei, but there is no conclusive evidence to prove that he is involved in this matter.

Furthermore, although Wang Xiaolei may have committed an attempted crime, he is still liable for compensation in the form of "criminal incidental civil damages" for the injuries and losses caused to his accomplice Zhou Jun.

This is no longer a public prosecution case; the parties involved can communicate privately or the judicial authorities can mediate.

Boss Lu was drinking tea in the captain's office, while Wang Dajun waited in a separate conference room. Old Ma...

Old Ma is furious!

"This is pure slander! I'm truly amazed by Wang Dajun; how can he just make up such nonsense?"

Old Zheng looked helplessly at Ma Yun, a former teacher, frantically trying to defend herself: "Ms. Ma, please calm down and explain slowly."

"Regarding the evidence provided by Wang Dajun, namely this statement or related meaning, did you say it, and how did you say it?"

"Me!" Ma Yun wanted to slap herself for her loose tongue. Sometimes she just wasn't careful enough.

That night, he was talking to his boss about the payment license when he learned about the temporary board meeting and rushed to Huayi's headquarters. He was already angry after drinking.

As a result, even the most useless Wang Xiaolei dared to talk back to him. Wasn't he going to give him a little punishment?

Who the hell knew he could be so crazy and actually cause such a big commotion?

"Mr. Ma? Don't vent your emotions. You see, we invited you all to the station in a very polite manner. We didn't have any preconceived suspicions. We just wanted to find out the truth."

"I'll ask you one more time, did you say it, and what did you say?"

Old Ma pursed his lips helplessly, his already distinctive appearance becoming even more bizarre. After a long while, he sighed and said, "I did say that, but it was just a drunken recklessness. If I had known he was this crazy, I would have asked to withdraw my investment that very night and refused to play with them."

"What's going on?!"

Old Zheng smiled and, as usual, played the recording for him. It wasn't really necessary, since Ma Yun had nothing to do with the recording, but since Wang Dajun provided evidence that he had allegedly provoked Wang Xiaolei, then something unrelated became relevant.

"Holy crap! That's insane..." Old Ma shook his head repeatedly, and after a long while, he said, somewhat dumbfounded, "Captain Zheng, let me just say one thing."

"This matter has nothing to do with me. Our competition with Lu Kuan is a business competition, which is not comparable to the grand, military-style battles of these second-generation rich kids."

“I admit that I said that, but it was absolutely not to incite or induce Wang Xiaolei to commit a crime.”

“Originally, I couldn’t say anything since the person had already passed away, but Wang Xiaolei had suffered long-term setbacks because of Lu Kuan, and to put it bluntly, he had become mentally unstable.”

"I'm not him..."

Ma Yun's words of defense came to an abrupt halt as she suddenly realized how different she was from Wang Xiaolei.
Aside from its only remaining advantage in terms of user base and transaction volume on its main website, Taobao has also been "consistently suffering setbacks" in other aspects!
The more I try to explain, the worse it gets, making it seem like I'm also seeking personal revenge.

Old Zheng chuckled. Unless this Zhejiang businessman was an exceptionally good actor with exceptional counter-surveillance skills, he couldn't detect anything suspicious.

The problem was that Lu Kuan had to put pressure on Wang Dajun, and Wang Dajun confessed because of the pressure. He had actually actually provoked Wang Xiaolei.

It's like mud falling into his crotch; it'll definitely make him feel incredibly disgusted.

After Lao Zheng finished taking Xiao Li's statement in a methodical manner, Ma Yun smacked her lips and asked the same question:
"Captain Zheng, is Lu Kuan in the station? I'd like to have a chat with him."

With his shrewdness, how could he not see the deeper meaning? Without anyone pushing him forward, why would the investigation team, who had nothing better to do than to steer it towards their own interests?
"Why don't you have a cup of tea in the lounge and wait a while? He should be discussing some things with Mr. Wang right now."

"Okay." Old Ma had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Captain Zheng instructed Xiao Li to make tea, and Xiao Li responded and went to the tea room.

I was thinking of getting something nice for this big boss when I got back to the office, but then I remembered how my girlfriend often bought counterfeit goods on Taobao, so I decided to just get some loose, high-quality junk instead.

I'll give you no good tea at all!

. . .

"Good tea." Wang Dajun lowered his head and sipped his tea with a sheepish look on his face, only managing to utter this one word after a long while.

"Mr. Lu, I'm so sorry, I really didn't know..."

"I know."

Wang Dajun was stunned, unsure whether he meant that he knew Wang Dajun "didn't know," or that Wang Dajun had known about this all along.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? Liu Yifei wasn't even in the car?
At this point, many logical connections became clearer; Zhou Jun and his brother's conspiracy might have been happening right under their noses.

To put it more conspiratorially, this "eliminating traitors in the snow" was actually a death trap set by Lu Kuan, which was then detonated by Zhou Jun, a hidden mine, and no longer posed any threat.

But accidents always happen in such unexpected ways.

"Mr. Lu, tell me your requirements."

Wang Dajun readily surrendered. To be honest, after this ordeal, he had lost all his fighting spirit.

Huayi was powerless to resist the other party's intrusion into her home, and her younger brother Xiaolei's misdeeds dragged the whole family into the mess.

His sister-in-law had just flown back from the United States with her child, crying and wailing, and he didn't even know how to comfort them or explain everything.

"Selling both of your shares to Fan Bingbing at a fair price shouldn't be too much of a deal, right?"

The time traveler was incredibly shameless, but he probably knew that it was "excessive" of him to have his wife, Xiao Liu, collect the 10%.

Wang Dajun exclaimed in surprise, "Give it to her? No, give it to..."

Not Consort Liu?
Could he have misjudged her, or is Fan Bingbing really his mistress?

"You think I'm going to take over Huayi?" Boss Lu laughed. "There's no need for that. Whether the higher-ups agree or not is another matter. To be honest, does Huayi have much that Wenjie would covet?"

Seeing that Wang Dajun didn't seem to be struggling, he decided to chat a bit more: "Wenjie has already achieved all the strategic goals it could achieve with Huayi. Now all I need to do is list and pledge the Huayi shares I hold to get cash."

“If I wanted to, I could take over any potential shares and then dilute them through new share issuance, slowly kicking everyone out, or at least marginalizing them.”

"But there's no need."

Mr. Lu said seriously, "I always say that the fate of an individual and the fate of a company should be actively embraced by the general trend of the country and the industry."

"After merging Huayi's cinema resources into Wenjie, everyone will be able to see—"

"We will become the largest private cinema chain in the country, the most technologically advanced special effects company in Asia, the content output unit with the highest film output value in China, and the film and television company with the strongest film promotion capabilities."

"Including by using Huayi to hold Ali back, we will also become the primary channel for monetizing cultural and media derivatives through Wenjie Mall and offline cinemas."

"The Film Bureau sets administrative rules, while we set industry rules. In the future, we aim to integrate into and change global rules, and grow together with the global film and cultural media industries!"

"As for Huayi, the best fate for them is to become just another ordinary film company in China, able to contribute a little bit of their strength. Why would we be interested in that?"

Wang Dajun stared at the eloquent young man before him, his fingers unconsciously tightening around his teacup. Every word the young man spoke felt like a heavy hammer blow to his heart.

He suddenly recalled Hu Xijin's famous comment about him:

Using commercial means to realize artistic ideals and capital accumulation to reshape the industry ecosystem.

The tea reflected his haggard image, creating a cruel contrast with the burning light in the other person's eyes. Huayi's fourteen years of pioneering efforts had only resulted in a vision no bigger than the rim of the teacup in front of him.

Just like the netizens' unanimous assessment of Huayi's shady corporate culture and endless scandals, this small space was trampled apart by the time traveler, revealing only an empty black hole.

Upon witnessing such a magnificent and magnanimous vision and breadth of vision in the industry, Wang Dajun suddenly looked back and felt that Huayi was nothing more than a naked swimmer who was ruling the bathhouse.

I wish I could be twenty years younger...

Unfortunately, Chinese cinema is about to usher in its most glorious era, while I will ultimately only be a spectator huddled in a corner of history.

Wang Dajun, nearing fifty, has completely lost the confidence and will to persevere. The bigwigs behind Huayi have all left, leaving him with no potential left.

The former chairman of Huayi, who seemed to have lost his soul in an instant, stood up: "President Lu, I am very sorry that Xiao Lei did such a thing. Please do not take your anger out on his family. Let them live peacefully abroad."

“I will also make it clear to them that Xiao Lei made a mistake himself, and he has no one to blame but himself.”

Boss Lu shook his head: "Let them take the money and live well. As long as they don't live extravagantly, it'll be enough for the rest of their lives."

“Although I’ve never lived in New York, the housing prices and cost of living on Main Street aren’t too expensive.” He glanced at Wang Dajun, who was getting up to leave, and gave him a casual warning.

Wang Dajun swallowed hard, his mind reeling.

That was the address of his and his brother's families abroad.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lu, this kind of thing will never happen again." Wang Dajun was speechless and left with a dejected expression.

. . .

Old Ma was anxiously waiting in the conference room. As soon as he received the notification, he pushed open the door to Captain Zheng's office. The face he feared most was looking at him with an unpredictable expression.

"road..."

"Ma Yun! No matter how fiercely we fight in the business world, we still have a relationship because we've had drinks at my house. Is this how you treat people?"

"So, since you're targeting the online ticketing industry, should I just drive a tank and smash all your villas in Hangzhou?"

Boss Lu angrily rebuked, "Just how deeply were you involved in Wang Xiaolei's affair?"

"Misunderstanding! It really is a misunderstanding!" The alien strode forward, gesturing wildly in pleading, "If I had known Wang Xiaolei was like this, I would have carried my plane and run away overnight. He's so brainless!"

"Mr. Lu, let's be frank. Competition is competition, and no matter how much scheming and backstabbing there is in the business world, the loser just has to pay up. I would never do such a thing!"

Lu Kuan stared at him for more than ten seconds, his face ashen, and said with some doubt, "Your opinion doesn't count, and neither does mine—"

He tapped the table lightly: "Only if the authorities find out you weren't involved will it count!"

Old Ma cursed inwardly, "That brat is so arrogant! He's threatening me right here in the office of a government official!"

This time, we're really going to be screwed over by those idiots like Zhou Jun and Wang Xiaolei!

Even from a legal perspective, he didn't face much risk of committing a crime, except for the tip-off from Wang Dajun.

Can this person reason with you like that?

It's a matter of personal evaluation!
Why not take advantage of the situation and press the attack while wielding the big stick of the victim?

With this victim's stance of endangering personal safety, no matter how ruthlessly Boss Lu retaliates, no one will be willing to speak up for the "perpetrator."

From a business perspective, engaging in this kind of behavior is a serious violation of the rules.

With Leader Liu upholding fairness and justice on the sidelines, who would bother getting involved in this mess if they weren't Ma Yun's biological father?

A wise man knows when to yield, and Old Ma decisively raised the white flag, but still made a small condition: "President Lu, Huayi Company and I are really incompatible. I am thinking of selling my shares."

"To be honest, if it weren't for imitating your Internet+movie model, Ali would never have gotten so entangled with them."

"These two brothers are really..."

This can't be called a lie, since Huayi wasn't included in the online ticketing.

In his previous life, Old Ma frequently criticized Huayi:

He has repeatedly criticized Wang Dajun and Wang Xiaolei, the two core members of the management team, for being extremely lazy and extravagant, and for pursuing a "de-filmization" strategy in the later stages, turning their attention to industries such as games and real estate.

There's also the so-called 3.77 million yuan purchase of Van Gogh's paintings, and the high-salary poaching of Wanda's former senior executive Ye Ning, which failed to meet expectations and ultimately returned to family management, a complete mess.

This led to the later predicament of having to sell paintings to pay off debts.

In 2014, the total box office revenue in China reached 296.39 billion yuan. Huayi Brothers fell out of the top three, with its box office revenue accounting for only 7% of its total revenue that year.

Ma gave up completely and completed the acquisition of Dong Shuangqiang's Hong Kong-listed "ChinaVision Media" in June of that year, renaming it Alibaba Pictures.

The goal is to "improve the efficiency of the industry chain through digitalization and create a new benchmark for Chinese films".

Lu Kuan watched his performance with a cold expression, his silent and intimidating presence making Ma Yun feel like she had thorns in her back.

The latter sighed deeply, knowing that he couldn't avoid this hurdle, so he simply "offered his neck to be slaughtered" and went to another battlefield to fight against the otherworldly beings.

"Mr. Lu, how about I sell you the shares of Huayi?"

"unnecessary."

don't want?

Old Ma was stunned.

You wouldn't want shares in Ali or Damai, would you?

Then I'll have to threaten to kill myself!

Even if we take it to the central government, we won't let you get away with it!

Ma Yun performed with great distress: "Even if all the cinemas we've built over the years have benefited the entertainment industry, even if all this money has gone down the drain, and even this year's 'If You Are the One'..."

"Oh well, never mind!"

"Mr. Lu, I'll give you the price now. We won't discuss roadshow pricing or IPO premiums, okay?"

Boss Lu raised an eyebrow. "You think you can charge a premium? I'll smash your head in!"
"Send someone to find Fan Bingbing. This has nothing to do with me, and I'm not the one lying in the hospital right now."

"Huh? Eh!" Old Ma was taken aback, but readily agreed. Then he sighed deeply, "President Lu, I really want to be friends with you. I think you're a very interesting person, but now..."

"Mr. Ma!" Boss Lu interrupted his explanation impatiently, "Useless small talk, it'll only make things awkward. The real test is in the business world."

Ma Yun opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end she could only pretend to be nonchalant and say "okay" before taking her leave.

Captain Zheng had actually finished his conversation long ago and was running around visiting different people in the bureau, but he didn't go back to his own office until he received a call from Boss Lu.

He pushed open the door and said with a smile, "Mr. Lu, thank you for your help today."

"No, it's to thank you for upholding justice for the people."

Old Zheng tentatively asked, "Those two of you were discussing..."

"They have indeed realized their mistakes," Boss Lu said with a smile. "The two main culprits who conspired in this matter have already been brought to justice. I think we should not cause any further trouble and should close the case as soon as possible after clarifying the facts."

"Of course, this is the earnest hope of the people for the state organs, please don't mind, Captain."

Captain Zheng's level of wisdom was also quite high: "General Lu, you're exaggerating. The central government is already saying—"

"Protect expectations with equality and safeguard survival with flexible law enforcement."

"For a private enterprise like Huayi that is about to go public, what it needs now is stability and a return to order. We will definitely consider this carefully and, after obtaining approval from our superiors, give us an answer as soon as possible."

Boss Lu gripped his hand tightly: "Thank you, goodbye!"

"I'll see you off."

. . .

After the matters under the table were discussed, the matters on the table were also quickly handed over.

In a purely official capacity, although Wang Dajun and Ma Yun are inextricably linked to this matter, it is impossible for them to be implicated based on the existing evidence alone.

However, when the struggle reaches a certain level, the sufficiency of evidence is often not the decisive factor.

In this dimension, the key to determining the outcome is the balance of power among all parties, including intellectual resources, public opinion, industry influence, and so on.

The core of high-level competition lies in the struggle for the right to interpret the rules. Whoever can define the boundaries of "due process" can transform technical evidence into a strategic weapon, making legal provisions an extension of their own strategy.

From another perspective, stability is paramount in the current situation.

The relevant authorities will absolutely not allow the widespread dissemination and extremely negative impact of acts of violence committed by someone like Zhou Jun, whose background and identity are similar to that of Nezha, characterized by brutality, tyranny, and disregard for national laws.

Under pressure from all sides, the responsibility for reporting the incident was delegated to the Chaoyang branch of the Public Security Bureau, which only issued reports stating that the drug users were mentally unstable and were seeking revenge against society.

Although Bingbing's driving and crashing were causally related to Zhou Jun's death, her actions constituted legitimate self-defense, and specifically, special self-defense.

Faced with the imminent and real danger of Zhou Jun's violent act, Bingbing subjectively intended to protect the lives of others and objectively took the necessary measures to carry out defensive actions. Therefore, Bingbing should not bear any responsibility for Zhou Jun's death.

Special defense refers to defensive actions taken against ongoing serious violent crimes such as assault, murder, robbery, rape, and kidnapping, without being subject to any restrictions or limitations.

On December 24, 2008, the same day the branch office announced the results of its investigation to the public, Wang Dajun and Ma Yun respectively appointed lawyers to liaise with Fan Bingbing's lawyer and signed an equity transfer agreement.

Since the transfer of shares is to existing shareholders within the company, it does not trigger the preemptive rights of other shareholders. The contract is valid as long as both parties agree.

Wang Dajun then issued a statement on Weibo, stating that due to the death of his younger brother and the major blow he had suffered, he was no longer suitable to serve as the chairman and shareholder of Huayi, and thus withdrew from the company.
Ma Yun stated that due to the shift in Alibaba's group focus, they will continue to advance the online ticketing strategy under the "Internet + Movie" framework in conjunction with companies such as Wanda and Baidu. See you in the future.

With this, Fan Bingbing became Huayi's largest shareholder with a total shareholding of 37.7%.

This is not the final number.

On Christmas Eve, December 25th, the premiere of the Lunar New Year film "Lost in Thailand," produced by Wenjie, was held at the Wenjie Jiahe Guomao store.

Of the other two films, "Let the Bullets Fly" premiered on New Year's Day, while "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was scheduled for release on Valentine's Day.

The premiere was star-studded, with all directors and actors under Wenjie Media Group, as well as all actors formerly under Huayi Brothers Media Group, in attendance.

The premiere was a great success. Shen Teng, who replaced the original Xu Zheng, created a wonderful contrast between his deadpan comedic style and Wang Baoqiang's honesty. The film ignited the everyday atmosphere of a Spring Festival travel road movie with the signature commercial film rhythm of Wenjie.

Shen Teng's impromptu "milking a cow" skit made Zhou Xun laugh so hard her makeup came off, and Liu Yifei's pregnant belly and tears became the headline the next day.

After the premiere, just as reporters were trying to corner Lu Kuan and his wife, the young couple had already slipped away before the screening ended and went to Jishuitan Hospital where Bingbing had surgery.

(End of this chapter)