Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 380 Some are happy and some are sad

Backstage at the cinema, warm yellow lights shone down as Liu Shishi, Shen Teng, and other lead actors discussed the follow-up promotional matters for "Goodbye Mr. Loser" with Ma Xin.

At this moment, assistant Su Xiaoxiao walked over quickly and whispered in her sister's ear: "Senior Sister, there is a Mr. Cai outside who claims to be the chairman of miHoYo Network Technology Company. He says he has business dealings with Tengda Group and insists on seeing you."

Liu Shishi was somewhat surprised. Why would her husband's company's business partner come here looking for her? What was their intention?

After a moment's thought, he whispered, "Xiaoxiao, borrow an office from the cinema. Ask Mr. Cai to go there first. I'll be there after I finish talking with Director Ma."

In the outer corridor, Luo Yuhao paced back and forth anxiously, his face full of apprehension: "Haoyu, you've gone way too far with your fake identity. Liu Shishi will definitely expose you later. What should we do?"

"What's the panic!" Liu Wei patted his friend on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down. "When you're out in the world, you have to choose your own identity! If Haoyu hadn't introduced us like that, we probably wouldn't even have been able to meet Liu Shishi."

Luo Yuhao nodded bitterly: "That's true. Let's see the person first. We can only take it one step at a time."

As the three waited anxiously, Su Xiaoxiao arrived: "Hello, everyone. I'm Senior Sister's assistant. This way, please. Senior Sister will come to see you in a bit."

The three were overjoyed. After working hard for half a month, they finally saw a turning point and hurriedly followed in Su Xiaoxiao's footsteps.

Inside the makeshift office, the three men sat anxiously, waiting for a long time without seeing Liu Shishi. They were sweating profusely with worry. Just as they were about to give up, the person in question finally appeared.

The top executive entered the office accompanied by her assistant, exuding elegance and a charming smile: "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."

The three engineering students were a little flustered. They were usually busy writing code, and had never been so close to a glamorous celebrity before.

Liu Wei, who was in charge of the studio's external affairs, was more capable of handling things and was the first to recover. He quickly took out his business card and handed it over with both hands: "Mr. Liu, we are from miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd., this is my business card."

The other two brothers also seemed to realize their mistake and each handed over their business cards.

Liu Shishi took the three gold-embossed business cards and glanced at them. The three men were the chairman, CEO, and vice president of an internet technology company, which were quite prestigious titles.

"May I ask what business the three of you have with me?"

Cai Haoyu mustered his courage and revealed the purpose of his trip. As he spoke, he kept glancing at Liu Shishi's expression. Seeing that she looked normal and didn't seem to care that they had misused the name of Tengda Group, he felt a little relieved.

"...Mr. Liu, our future positioning for miHoYo is a two-dimensional cultural internet company that creates products such as animation, comics, games, and novels around original IPs..."

Liu Shishi raised her hand to interrupt Cai Haoyu's incessant chatter, a half-smile on her face: "So, you're here to seek investment?"

Cai Haoyu, who was engrossed in developing a grand plan, was suddenly speechless. After a moment of stunned silence, he hurriedly handed over a stack of documents: "Yes, this is our company's detailed information. Please take a look."

Liu Shishi took a stack of materials and began to carefully review them. For a moment, the small office was silent, with only the occasional rustling of papers turning.

"According to the information I've seen, all four founders of miHoYo are graduate students from Donghai Jiaotong University?"

"Yes, we are all alumni of Jiaotong University."

"A prestigious university," Liu Shishi praised, continuing to flip through the documents. After a moment, she closed the file and looked directly at the three people: "How much funding do you need? How many shares are you prepared to offer?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them instantly showed expressions of surprise and delight. Cai Haoyu suppressed his excitement, his voice trembling slightly:

"Mr. Liu, miHoYo's development prospects are definitely no worse than Pop Mart, which you previously invested in. We hope to raise 500 million yuan with a 30% stake."

Liu Shishi smiled and said, "No problem! I'll vote!"

The three of them froze on the spot, looking at each other in disbelief. The sudden success made them feel as if they were in a dream, and they even unconsciously lowered their breathing.

Seeing the incredulous expressions on the three people's faces, Liu Shishi gently put down the documents in her hand and explained, "Actually, when it comes to investing in startups, my husband taught me a simple criterion: just look at the founder and their determination to start the business."

The eldest sister's gaze swept between the three: "Mihoyo's most valuable asset is you four Jiaotong University graduate students."

With your education and skills, you could easily earn an annual salary of 30 yuan at Tengda Group. 500 million yuan would just be a few years' salary for you.

Furthermore, your long journey from the East China Sea demonstrates your determination to start a business. Based on these two points, I believe miHoYo is a worthwhile investment opportunity.

Cai Haoyu was overjoyed: "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Liu. I swear I will make sure your investment is well worth it."

"Let's add each other on WeChat. I'll have someone from my studio contact you about the follow-up details."

Liu Shishi took out her phone and added the three people on WeChat for work. "However, in business, we will not skip any of the necessary auditing procedures, including the use of funds. My studio will also send people to check regularly."

After successfully adding Liu Shishi on WeChat, Cai Haoyu nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, we will ensure that every penny of this 500 million is used for project development."

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Liu Shishi stretched out her fair and slender hand and gazed at the three people in front of her. She saw the shadow of her husband when he started his business in them. They were just as spirited and daring.

When Liu Wei saw the big star about to shake hands with his buddies, he nervously wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants and said, "Mr. Liu, actually I'm a big fan of yours. I'm in your fan group and I especially love the character Long Kui that you played."

After shaking hands with the three of them, Liu Shishi asked with a smile, "You attended the premiere, right? What did you think of the movie 'Goodbye Mr. Loser'? Be honest about it."

Cai Haoyu's expression turned serious: "It is truly an excellent work. Your portrayal of Liu Xuemei is a complete departure from your previous roles, giving people a strong sense of contrast and making it refreshing."

"It's packed with laughs and has a fast pace!" Luo Yuhao added sincerely, "I already want to watch it a second time."

"Thank you for your support!" Seeing that the people's expressions didn't seem fake, Liu Shishi felt a little relieved. It seemed that the box office performance of "Goodbye Mr. Loser" shouldn't be too bad.

Goodbye Mr. Loser is a hit!
With a box office of 3580 million yuan on its opening day and a surge to 6700 million yuan on its second day, this dark horse film broke the opening day and single-day box office records for domestic films set by "Let the Bullets Fly".

With an astonishing box office of 290 million yuan in its opening week, the director's target of 600 million yuan is already within reach, and it may even break the 1 billion yuan mark, pushing the ceiling of domestic film box office to a new height.

"How long has it been since I laughed so heartily in a movie theater? Even after leaving the theater, those classic scenes were still replaying in my mind, making me chuckle." "On the surface, it's a comedy, but at its core, it reveals a profound truth about life: what you can't have always seems more desirable, and companionship is the most enduring expression of love."

"Liu Xuemei from Liu Shishi vs. Qiu Ya from Yang Mi—isn't this just like Long Kui vs. Xue Jian from the Legend of Sword and Fairy? Xia Luo really doesn't know how lucky he is!"

The film has received rave reviews, with over 30,000 people giving it a high score of 7.4 on Douban. Although many fans may have boosted the score to support their idol, such high praise is enough to prove the film's excellent quality.

Seeing the box office soaring, the production company, Tengda Culture, quickly added 2000 million yuan to its marketing budget and mobilized all of Tengda Group's resources across all channels: a barrage of splash screen recommendations on apps such as Weibo, Toutiao, and TT Video.

The lead actors also pulled out all the stops: Shen Teng led the Happy Twist team to make frequent appearances on various variety shows; Hu Ge held four fan meetings in a row; and Yang Mi interacted with fans in various ways on Weibo.

Various methods were employed to generate buzz for the film.

Yang Mi V: Goodbye Mr. Loser is having a blast! Just wanted to say thank you all for your support. Okay everyone, I'm off to have some fun! [heart emoji]
Coupled with a sexy and alluring swimsuit photo that accentuates her figure, the comment section instantly exploded:

"Yumimi's big secret can no longer be kept!"

"Damn, how come I never noticed before? Yang Mi's figure is so amazing. I have reason to suspect that Hu Ge's look at that time was a genuine reaction."

Many netizens praised Yang Mi's figure, while others made jokes. Of course, among the many comments, there were also a few vulgar remarks: "I'm licking Yang Mi with a smile..."

Overall, Yang Mi's popularity exploded at this time, with her fan base growing far faster than Liu Shishi's. After all, Qiu Ya's character was designed as a school beauty and goddess, which made her popular with male netizens.

The film's promotion was overwhelming, and "Goodbye Mr. Loser" saw its box office soar, quickly approaching the 4 million yuan mark.

On this day, the highly sought-after director Ma Xin posted a cryptic message on Weibo.

"Isn't this person always telling others to focus on filmmaking? Why is he resorting to 'unorthodox' methods that he himself disdains?"

After some investigation, netizens discovered that Lu Chuan's film "The Last Supper" had hired a large number of online trolls to inflate its ratings on film review platforms such as Douban and Mtime to cope with the large number of negative reviews, after failing to achieve both box office and critical success.

Faced with the overwhelming public opinion, Lu Chuan had no choice but to come forward and explain, saying that "The King's Feast" was attacked by "black army" and received unfair evaluation. His team had to hire "white army" to fight against malicious slander in order to "protect themselves".

Lu Chuan stated that after the release of "The Last Supper," its Douban rating plummeted from 9 points to 5 points, and the reason for the sharp drop was due to malicious low-score manipulation by "black army" (trolls). Since they chose to stand in the sunlight, there's nothing to hide.

Ma Xin, who had been looked down upon by Lu Chuan, finally got a chance to retaliate: "The movie is bad and I can't even say so? There are so many movies in the Spring Festival season, why are you making such a fuss!"

If you're going to manipulate scores, just say so. Why come up with some high-sounding excuse? The audience isn't blind!

He also retweeted some positive reviews of "Goodbye Mr. Loser," promoting his new film while simultaneously taking a jab at his competitor.

Publicly humiliated by the "TV series director," Lu Chuan angrily retorted, "If your loser fantasy film hadn't relied on the southern cinemas' monopoly on screenings, would it have achieved this box office?"

Ma Xin immediately retorted: "Even so, it's still better than some shameless people who artificially inflate their scores!"

The war of words between the two directors thrilled onlookers, with related topics briefly trending in the top three. This unexpected "director showdown" inadvertently added fuel to the fire for "Goodbye Mr. Loser."

January 22nd, Lunar New Year's Eve.

After seeing her parents off at the family reunion dinner, Liu Shishi sat cross-legged on the sofa, eagerly calculating something on her phone.

Song Ci turned on the television, preparing to watch the CCTV Spring Festival Gala later to add more festive atmosphere to the home.

He glanced at his wife, who was shaking her head and muttering to herself, and curiously leaned closer: "What are you calculating? You seem so serious."

Liu Shishi beamed with joy and excitedly waved her phone: "Director Ma just sent me a WeChat message informing me that 'Goodbye Mr. Loser' has surpassed 4 million yuan at the box office!"

I just did the math. If the box office reaches 10 billion, I'll make around 1.6 million from this movie. I'm rich!

After saying that, Miss Liu sprang up from the sofa, put her hands on her hips, and raised her snow-white swan neck, looking just like a proud little peacock.

"No matter what, even if we conservatively estimate that 'Goodbye Mr. Loser' will gross over 8 million yuan, then I will be the actress with the highest cumulative box office in the entertainment industry!"
Hahaha, what kind of "four female warriors and two soldiers" are they? Not a single one of them can fight! All of them, step aside!

Seeing his wife's smug expression, Song Ci couldn't help but chuckle and gave her a loving thumbs-up: "Poetry Baby is the best!"

Liu Shishi's eyes crinkled with joy, her heart overflowing with delight: "The box office is a huge hit, and Director Ma is the happiest one! He'll become famous overnight and finally get to hold his head high in front of Lu Chuan."

"I saw Ma Xin and Lu Chuan making a scene on Weibo. How are things going now?" Song Ci asked with interest. She had been busy with the year-end affairs of Tengda Group and hadn't had time to pay attention to the gossip online.

Seeing her husband's interest, Liu Shishi began to recount the story vividly: "Didn't Lu Chuan criticize the Southern Cinemas for reducing screenings? As a result, Zhang Zhao strongly supported Ma Xin."

They directly reduced the screenings of "The Last Supper" to 1%. This means the film's box office is estimated to be less than 30 million, resulting in a huge loss for the investor, Emperor Entertainment. It's a disastrous situation!

Song Ci nodded: "Zhang Zhao made a brilliant move! 'Goodbye Mr. Loser' was a project he initiated when he was in charge of Tengda Culture, and the box office exceeding 10 billion is also his achievement, so we are giving it our full support."

Furthermore, "The Last Supper" is indeed a terrible movie, so he has a legitimate reason to suppress it, which also demonstrates the strength of the southern cinema chains. Why not do it!

Of course, there were deeper considerations he didn't mention. Domestic box office records have long been dominated by Hollywood blockbusters. Both the leaders at the top and the entire film industry urgently need a blockbuster film to boost morale.

With perfect timing, favorable location, and supportive people, it was a certainty that "Goodbye Mr. Loser" would break 1 billion yuan at the box office. Zhang Zhao's audacity in adjusting the screening schedule was also tacitly approved by the leaders of Optoelectronics.

"I see!" Liu Shishi said thoughtfully. "Lu Chuan was just being foolish and got herself into trouble."

Tengda Culture desperately needed a blockbuster film to solidify its position as the leading giant in the film industry, but instead, it foolishly jumped out and became a scapegoat!

Song Ci chuckled: "That's right. If 'The Last Supper' were a film invested in by mainland companies like Enlight Media or Bona Film Group, southern cinemas might have to be more cautious about the impact. But since it's invested in by Hong Kong's Emperor Entertainment, suppressing it would be no problem at all."

(Chapter Two will be later)
(End of this chapter)