Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 178 Planning
Inside a secluded meeting room at Xinlang Company, the atmosphere was heavy and tense. Apart from a few simple wooden tables and chairs, the room was unusually sparsely furnished.

The entire conference room has been soundproofed and protected against eavesdropping, ensuring the privacy and security of conversations. It is ideal for discussing confidential matters that should not be known to outsiders.

"The plan didn't succeed, but Tengda handled it very decisively!" Director Zhang said in a low voice, recounting the outcome of last night's operation.

Cao Guowei remained expressionless, his fingers rhythmically tapping the table, his deep eyes revealing nothing of his true thoughts.

COO Du Hong sighed, his face full of regret: "What a pity. It was a rare opportunity. We wanted to take advantage of the momentum from the 'photos' to catch Tengda off guard, but we didn't expect them to control the situation so quickly."

Cao Guowei frowned, a hint of displeasure in his eyes: "Besides us, which other companies made a move yesterday?"

Too much of a good thing can be bad. Last night, multiple forces acted simultaneously, seemingly with great force, but it backfired, allowing Tengda Group to quickly realize the problem.

Director Zhang replied, "NetEase and Sohu are just adding fuel to the fire and playing a supporting role; the other major force is Kuaibo."

"Kuaibo?" Cao Guowei was taken aback upon hearing this, clearly surprised by the name.

Director Zhang nodded: "Yes, Kuaibo and Tenda have a long-standing feud. Tenda's TT Video Network is the largest online film and television copyright holder in China and has always insisted on following the legal route."

However, Kuaibo attracted users through piracy and was constantly sued by Tenda, becoming embroiled in numerous lawsuits. Therefore, this time they seized the opportunity to retaliate against Tenda and create some trouble.

Cao Guowei suddenly realized that it wasn't just Kuaibo; Tudou, Youku, and almost all video websites on the market that were involved in online film and television copyright piracy had been subjected to a lot of trouble by Tengda Group's legal department.

After a moment's thought, Cao Guowei instructed, "Stop immediately, don't leave any loose ends. If we fail in our first strike, NetEase and Sohu certainly won't make another move."

Kuaibo has a host of problems and is not a respectable company. We alone are no match for Tengda; it's a lost cause.

Du Hong lamented, "Sohu is an Olympic internet content service sponsor. At this time, it is seeking stability and dares not cause any trouble. It certainly wouldn't dare to compete with Tenda."

NetEase is focused solely on its gaming business, which relies entirely on Tenda's gaming platform, making it dependent on them. They can no longer count on either of them. This failure has alerted Tenda, making it unlikely they'll have another opportunity to act.

Director Zhang slammed his fist on the table, both angry and helpless: "The most crucial thing is that those few pawns have been exposed! We were preparing to take a risky gamble and launch a swift attack after finding out that Song Ci was not in the country, but now all our efforts have been in vain."

Upon hearing that the person Director Zhang had bribed had run into trouble, Cao Guowei immediately asked anxiously, "Will this implicate the company?"

Director Zhang quickly assured them, "Absolutely not. The money was all transferred from overseas accounts. Those scoundrels have no idea we exist. No matter how they investigate, they can't trace it back to us."

Cao Guowei squinted, revealing a strange expression, and thought to himself: Once I step out of this door, everything will be none of my business.

None of the three had cell phones or electronic devices with them during their secret conversation, so it was impossible for the recording to be leaked.

However, I still couldn't help but remind you: "Make sure to clean up all contacts completely, and don't leave any trace."

Director Zhang nodded solemnly. This matter could be a big deal or a small deal, but it was illegal no matter what. He still had a bright future ahead of him and couldn't afford to be ruined by such a trivial matter.

"Let's hold off on the Tengda Group matter for now." After saying that, Cao Guowei looked at Du Hong and asked, "How's the investigation into Song Ci going?"

Du Hong shook his head, his face contorted with worry: "It's almost flawless. Song Ci is an oddball. He doesn't smoke or drink, doesn't like socializing, lives a secluded life, and has incredibly low desires."

His only hobby is writing novels and screenplays. Of course, it's also possible that there wasn't enough time, and he didn't find any useful information.

Director Zhang's face showed an expression of disbelief: "President Du, are you sure you're talking about Song Dynasty poetry? Are there still such oddities in the 21st century?"

Du Hong rolled his eyes at him, annoyed: "Anyway, that's the result of the investigation!"

Cao Guowei's head was throbbing; this opponent was far too difficult to deal with. He rubbed his temples and pressed on, asking:

"What about women? Putting aside the fact that young people have strong desires, just look at his face, there must be a lot of women surrounding him, right? With so many women around him, how can a young man resist?"

Du Hong shook his head again and gave a wry smile: "This is the key area to investigate. He seems to only have one girlfriend and there is absolutely no sign of him getting entangled with other women, not even any scandals. The possibility of him trying to set a trap with his beauty is zero."

Director Zhang couldn't help but curse: "Damn it, making money but not squandering it, not touching any of the three major cancers, is that even acceptable?"

He even runs his own film and television company, and doesn't even date female celebrities. He makes so much money, why doesn't he enjoy it? Is he just going to give it away to charity?

"Chairman Zhang, you're absolutely right. He has indeed done a lot of charity work," Du Hong added helplessly. "He and Tengda Group have been donating to education in impoverished areas. Their reputation is excellent."

"Damn!" This time, Director Zhang was completely taken aback.

After listening to Du Hong's introduction, Cao Guowei could only describe Song Dynasty poetry with one word: flawless!

It seems that to deal with Tengda and Songci, we need to understand them more deeply, find their weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and then we will have a chance to defeat them. Hopefully, the company can hold out until then.

While the three senior executives of Xinlang Company were having a headache over the power of Tengda Group, a report was taking place in the chairman's office at the headquarters of Penguin Company in Pengcheng City.

Tencent CEO Liu Zhiping, with a serious expression, held a document in his hand: "Burley, news just came from North America that Riot Games has actually rejected our investment!"

Penguin Chairman and CEO Marbury, dressed in a suit and tie, looked puzzled and confused through his eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses.

"Didn't we almost reach an agreement? Why did Riot suddenly back out? Are they dissatisfied with our valuation?"

Liu Zhiping paused for a moment, then slowly explained, "It was Tengda Group that got involved. Brandon and Mark ultimately chose Tengda Group. It is said that Song Ci personally went to North America to finalize this cooperation."

With a deafening thud, Marbury slammed his fist on the desk in a fit of rage.

His usually calm and collected face was now distorted with extreme anger: "This is outrageous! Tengda just snatched the company's DNF distribution rights a while ago, and now they're trying to steal our promising game project!"

Liu Zhiping rationally analyzed: "Tengda's TD game platform is the world's largest comprehensive digital distribution platform. Under the same conditions, game companies will naturally choose to cooperate with Tengda Group first. This is an inevitable fact."

Marbury was breathing heavily, trying to calm his anger and make himself composed. Getting angry now would not help.

He said in a deep voice, "Tencent must make its gaming business bigger and stronger, as gaming is the most suitable monetization channel for social interaction."

Liu Zhiping nodded in agreement, and it was a consensus reached throughout the company to fully develop the game business.

However, the reality is that the most popular and trending games in recent years have either originated from Tencent or are distributed by Tencent's gaming platforms. The strong get stronger, and it won't be a matter of a day or two for Tencent to rapidly expand its gaming business.

Recalling the news from last night, Liu Zhiping hesitated for a moment before speaking, "By the way, Berli, something else happened last night!"

Mabo looked directly at the company president, and seeing his conflicted expression, said helplessly, "What other bad news is there? Tell me all at once."

Liu Zhiping then recounted in detail the photo incident he had learned and the turmoil that had occurred on Tengda Weibo last night. Upon hearing this, Ma Bo was stunned: "So, all those Hong Kong actresses have had their careers ruined?"

"Yes. The photos have spread all over the internet, there's no way to salvage them. Her acting career is probably completely ruined, unless she becomes a porn star."

Ma Boli gasped, "Then our meticulously prepared Weibo Hong Kong celebrity plan is already half ruined before it even begins!"

Just three days ago, Tencent decided to imitate Tenda Group in developing a microblogging platform, and at the same time, it will learn from Tenda's strategy of using celebrity influence to attract traffic, and plans to invite Hong Kong and Taiwan artists to open Tencent Weibo accounts to attract customers.

Little did they know that before the plan could even be implemented, several of Hong Kong's rising actresses had their careers ruined, directly causing the plan to be halved.

Liu Zhiping was speechless. He could understand young people having sex, but why did you take photos of them? Even if you did, you should have kept them safe. Instead, they were circulated on a large scale. What kind of person did that?
Despite the setbacks, Ma Boli calmly said, "Don't panic! If female stars don't work, we still have male stars. In response to Tengda's strategy of targeting mainland stars, our Hong Kong celebrity plan cannot be stopped. We must win back some ground on Weibo. I don't believe that with hundreds of millions of QQ users, we can't beat Tengda."

“Berle, we can’t ignore Renren either. Their real-name social networking is QQ’s weakness, and that’s the real threat.”

Ma Boli pushed up his glasses, his face serious: "The marketing and planning departments are already making preparations. The company is preparing to develop a friend network for real-name social networking, to compete with Renren for the college student market."

Seeing that the chairman was ready, Liu Zhiping said no more. Although Tencent is strong and a giant with a market value of hundreds of billions, it is not without rivals. It is better to be cautious than to be careless and capsize in a ditch.

"Don't worry, Zhiping, I know what I'm doing!"

The social networking market has always been coveted, and companies have continuously challenged Tencent's social empire. However, Marbury is confident that with QQ in hand, Tencent is already in an invincible position.

The crew of "A Little Thing Called First Love" is currently filming at the Huairou Film and Television Base in Beiping.

On set, Liu Shishi plays Lin Shui, the female lead, who is in great pain when she learns that her long-time crush, Yan Liang, has a girlfriend.

In front of the camera, Liu Shishi was heartbroken, her face ashen, and tears streaming down her face, perfectly capturing Lin Shui's delicate and complex emotions.

At the other end of the studio, director Teng Huatao was staring intently at the monitor screen.

This scene demanded a great deal of emotion from the female lead, Liu Shishi, who struggled to find her footing. After several takes, and with Zhang Songwen's patient guidance, the female lead finally got into character.

"Yes, that's it, hold on. Good! That's a wrap!" The director's relieved voice came through the walkie-talkie.

Seeing that Liu Shishi's eyes were still glazed over, and she was still lost in grief, the male lead Chen Xiao stepped forward and waved his hand, trying to wake her up: "Shishi, are you alright? It's just acting, it's all fake!"

Hearing Chen Xiao's call, Liu Shishi slowly came back to her senses. She had just been immersed in the memory of breaking up with Song Ci, and she was heartbroken and devastated.

Seeing the female lead's fluctuating emotions, Teng Huatao knew she had just gotten too immersed in the role and needed time to catch her breath and calm down.

So he said, "Shishi, why don't you take a rest? Let's film the other people's scenes first."

"Thank you, director!" After a moment of stunned silence, Liu Shishi nodded gratefully, completely detaching herself from the situation before leaving the studio.

In the rest area, assistant Jiang Yuanyuan noticed that her mistress looked preoccupied and asked with concern, "Shishi, are you alright?"

A round-faced girl standing nearby also looked concerned: "Senior Sister!"

Gently patting her cheeks, Liu Shishi calmed herself down and forced a smile: "Yuanyuan, Liying, I'm fine, I'll be alright after a while."

"Have some milk tea to warm yourself up, Senior Sister." Zhao Liying said ingratiatingly, cleverly handing the freshly brewed milk tea to the female lead.

Liu Shishi smiled and said, "Thank you, Liying. Let's have lunch together later."

"Okay." Zhao Liying smiled sweetly, secretly delighted.

She couldn't wait to have more contact with Liu Shishi. Just by looking at how respectful the director and assistant director were to her, she knew that the leading lady had a powerful background.

The entire crew is saying that Liu Shishi is a super-resourced actress, and that someone like her, who is relatively unknown in the industry, needs to build up her network of connections.

The key point is that Liu Shishi is a very nice person, very gentle and humble, and not at all spoiled or difficult to get along with. This made Zhao Liying cherish the opportunity to spend time with her even more, and she was thinking of getting on her good side to get some roles.

"Shishi, Sister K just called you and asked you to call her back after filming." After saying that, Jiang Yuanyuan handed the phone to her mistress.

Ms. Liu called back and the call connected: "Hello, Sister K!"

"Why are you crying, Shishi? Did someone on set bully you?" Cai Yinong immediately sensed something was wrong and asked anxiously after hearing the thick nasal tone of Shishi's sobs.

Liu Shishi quickly explained, "No, no, I just finished filming a crying scene and I've only just recovered."

"It's good that you're alright. Be sure to tell me if anything happens." Cai Yinong breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much more at ease upon hearing this. After giving one more word of advice, he immediately asked, "Shishi, are you aware of the widely publicized photo scandal?"

A blush crept across Liu Shishi's face as she thought to herself, "Not only do I know, but I also secretly watched last night and even learned some of the positions."

However, he pretended to be calm and replied in a low voice, "I know a little bit, but it's all hearsay."

"Shishi, you need to be careful. This matter has caused a huge uproar. This bombshell has exploded in the entertainment industry. Those girls who were once adored by millions have now had their images shattered and have instantly become the focus of public opinion and the target of criticism."

Cai Yinong couldn't help but sigh, the glory days of Hong Kong actresses are probably gone forever.

Liu Shishi asked, puzzled, "What should I be careful about? How will this affect me?"

Cai Yinong cautioned, "Of course there are. Public trust in the entertainment industry has been severely damaged. The positive and glamorous image that celebrities have cultivated in the past has been completely overturned, and the entire entertainment industry has fallen into a huge vortex of public opinion."

Especially for you, with the hit drama "Hello, Old Times" and your current popularity, you must be careful with your words and actions to avoid getting into trouble.

Liu Shishi recalled her boyfriend hanging up the phone hastily last night and said thoughtfully, "Don't worry, Sister K, I won't post anything online these next few days."

"Once this period is over, it will be the mainland actresses' turn to get a piece of the pie. The careers of the celebrities involved will inevitably take a sharp downturn. It's only a matter of time before their endorsements are withdrawn, their works are shelved, or they are boycotted. This time, all the well-known Hong Kong actresses have been caught in one fell swoop, and there will probably be a shortage of talent."

Liu Shishi hadn't expected things to escalate so much, and with lingering fear, she exclaimed, "Teacher Chen is ruthless! A boyfriend who's into photography is truly terrifying."

Cai Yi-nong repeatedly urged him: "Stop joking around. In short, you must keep a low profile and be careful with your words and actions during this period!"

"Once we weather this storm, it'll be time to divide the spoils. I'll see if I can help you secure a high-quality endorsement later."

(End of this chapter)