Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 294 Beyond Investment, Human Relationships Matter

Upon hearing Li Xiaoping's description of the work progress, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Chen Xiu's eyes.

Datang Pictures accounted for 30% of the investment in the "Ne Zha" project, while also giving up 20% of the investment in "Detective Chinatown 2".

When "Detective Chinatown 2" is released next Chinese New Year, its box office will reach the level of more than 40 billion yuan in its previous life.

Even if "Ne Zha" reaches 50 billion yuan at the box office, Wang Changtian will inevitably have to give up a portion of his investment in "Detective Chinatown 3" because of his investment share in "Ne Zha 2".

This kind of cooperation is an obvious exchange of benefits, but it's very practical.

Cooperation that is not mutually beneficial and where one party only benefits is bound to be short-lived.

As her thoughts raced, Chen Xiu smiled at Li Xiaoping and said, "President Li, I haven't had a chance to thank you yet for what happened with Kunchi Film Industry."

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind. This kind of thing can be done with just one phone call; it's not much trouble at all."

Li Xiaoping waved her hands repeatedly, a hint of doubt flashing across her face, as if she had forgotten about it.

After thanking him, Chen Xiu offered another toast.

When the two clinked glasses, he didn't forget to add a congratulatory remark: "Mr. Wang said that a film invested in by Enlight Media is having its premiere today. I wish you great box office success in advance!"

"Thank you for your kind words, thank you very much."

After finishing her drink, Li Xiaoping thought to herself: Since Chen Xiu brought up the movie, I should say a few words and try to get some exposure on Douyin to promote the film.

"Mr. Chen, when 'Wolf Warrior 2' was released a couple of months ago, Wu Jing promoted the movie on Douyin live stream. I wonder if we could also promote our movie there?"

"Sure! Just verify your account information normally, and then upload the promotional video and roadshow."

"Um, I mean, could we do a live stream to promote it?"

“Each account has a live streaming function.”

Chen Xiu gave a casual reply, not really taking Li Xiaoping's words to heart.

The movie has already held its premiere, and the National Day holiday is just a few days away. It's too rushed to start online promotion and audience acquisition now, and the effect will be negligible.

Li Xiaoping, however, found his attitude quite agreeable, and after some hesitation, she also made her own request.

"Mr. Chen, what I mean is, could we use Douyin to drive traffic to the movie's live stream? We are willing to pay for the traffic exposure."

"..."

Chen Xiu looked at Li Xiaoping hesitantly, thinking: The Dou+ function has just been launched, but users have already thought of the need. It seems that our actions are still too slow.

Seeing Chen Xiu's troubled expression, Wang Changtian, who was standing nearby, immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

"Xiaoping, you can just contact the Douyin operations team about this!"

"Oh, right, right! I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, I drank quite a bit over there, and my head is a little dizzy."

"will not."

Since the Dou+ feature had not yet been officially launched, Chen Xiu didn't want to make any promises. She simply smiled and changed the subject.

"Mr. Li, what's the name of the movie you're talking about?"

"Sewing Machine Band, the new film directed by Da Peng."

"Hmm...who is the female lead, Nezha?"

"Yes! Mr. Chen knows about this film?"

Chen Xiu pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes, Nezha is my friend."

"Oh, I understand."

Li Xiaoping wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

Both Wang Changtian and Wang Xin had strange expressions on their faces, but no one asked, because the matter was too trivial to be discussed.

After finishing their business and exchanging a few more polite words, Li Xiaoping got up to say goodbye and returned to the other dinner party.

After she left, Wang Xin, who had been quiet for a long time, also started chatting with Chen Xiu.

"Mr. Chen, the Internet Conference will be held in two months. Don't forget what we agreed on."

Upon hearing the internet-related topics, Wang Changtian, who couldn't get a word in edgewise, also switched to Wang Xin's role and ate quietly.

Chen Xiu, who juggles roles in both the film and television industry and the internet, can seamlessly switch between topics from the two circles.

"I can't forget, Zhang Yiming went too!"

"That's true."

Wang Xin nodded slightly, then explained the schedule: "As is customary, after the conference, we'll first have a meal at Ding Sanshi's place, and then everyone will get together..."

Who are you all?

"The confirmed people so far include you and Zhang Yiming, General Manager Liu from Jingdong, General Manager Lei from Xiaomi, and Cheng Wei from Didi..."

At this point, Wang Xin suddenly stopped and looked at Chen Xiu, wondering if he would react.

As a result, after meeting his gaze, Chen Xiu simply nodded calmly.

"Is Wei Ge going too? I haven't contacted him in a long time."

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Why should I be embarrassed? He should be embarrassed if he sees me."

"..."

Wang Xin stared at Chen Xiu for a long time, seriously recalling his disagreements with Cheng Wei, as well as the history of Didi's development.

The conclusion is that although Chen Xiu left Didi, Douyin is developing well and her personal reputation has reached its peak. On the other hand, Cheng Wei is not only hampered by the company, but his personal reputation is also no match for Chen Xiu's.

From this perspective, their meeting should indeed have been awkward for Cheng Wei.

"Besides these people, Mr. Ma from Tencent will also be here. When that happens, you should tone it down a bit and not embarrass Cheng Wei too much."

"will not."

Chen Xiu held her wine glass and said with a smile, "Wei Ge and I only have business conflicts; we're still friends in private."

"That's good." Wang Xin glanced at Chen Xiu again, still a little worried, but didn't say anything more.

On the other side, Li Xiaoping, back at the dinner party for "Sewing Machine Band", looked up at Nezha as soon as she sat down.

"Nezha, do you know President Chen?"

"Which General Manager Chen?"

"The one from Datang Pictures."

"Yes, I know him."

A series of simple questions and answers instantly extinguished the lively atmosphere in the private room.

Upon hearing the names Datang Pictures and President Chen, everyone tacitly fell silent and turned their attention to Li Xiaoping.

Da Peng, sitting between Nazha and Li Xiaoping, stared at the two of them in disbelief, then fixed his gaze on Nazha, thinking to himself: Could the boyfriend she's talking about be...?

Ignoring the stares of others, Li Xiaoping simply said to Nazar, "President Chen is having dinner in the next private room, and President Wang is there too. I just went over to find them."

"Mr. Li, is Chen Xiu coming over later?"

Nezha's honest question further confirmed his relationship with Chen Xiu.

Li Xiaoping looked at her strangely: "President Chen is discussing work, he probably won't come over."

"Oh okay."

Nazar nodded, his eyes darting around, and his mind began to wander.

I didn't post on my WeChat Moments about being here, but Chen Xiu just happened to choose this place to eat and discuss business. Hmm, it must be fate!

Thinking of this, Nezha's lips remained curved in a smile until the end of the meal.

After everyone left the private room, she put on sunglasses and a mask, went to a corner of the hotel lobby to wait, and then took out her phone to send a message to Chen Xiufa.

"Chen Xiu, when are you going to finish eating and come down?"

About three minutes later, Nazar's phone vibrated, and a reply message appeared on the screen.

"15 minutes ago."

Um? What's the meaning?
Nezha stared at the message, thought for a few seconds, and then replied with a sudden change in expression: "You've already finished eating and left?"

"Yes, I'm on my way home."

"Can I come to you?"

"No, the community security has been upgraded, you can't get in."

Upon seeing this reply, Nezha, who had intended to push the progress bar to its maximum, knew that he could no longer make any progress today.

She held her phone, thought for a moment, and then typed out a long message and sent it to Chen Xiu.

"Chen Xiu, you were the one who initiated the breakup. I never agreed to it, and I haven't dated anyone else. So even if you don't admit it, I can still consider you my boyfriend!"

It took a long time to receive a reply to this message.

Chen Xiu's reply was also unusually simple: "666".

"What do you mean?"

Nezha quickly pressed for an answer, but received no further reply.

……

Sitting in the car, watching the skyscrapers rushing past the window, Chen Xiu ended her chat with Nezha and turned her attention to the beeping sound coming from her phone.

After the third beep, the person on the other end finally answered the phone.

"Mr. Chen?"

Hearing the deep voice, Chen Xiu guessed that Hu Weiwei's recent situation was not good.

"Mr. Hu, a friend asked me to do something for you. I wonder if you have time?"

"Is your friend Mr. Wang from Meituan?"

"Yes, he contacted you?"

I rejected him.

Chen Xiu's expression stiffened; she was slightly surprised by Hu Weiwei's directness, but she did not give up.

"Mr. Hu, you should know more about the situation of shared bicycles than I do."

"I know, but I haven't lost yet. As long as I can find new funding and outlast other brands, Mobike will definitely win!"

"It's also possible that Mobike's cash flow will dry up before then, and all your efforts over the past three years will be for naught."

"...Can I ask you something?"

Noticing the change in the other person's tone, Chen Xiu frowned.

"can."

"Why were you willing to invest in my ideas and even take me to seek funding from Tencent, but then you were the first to abandon Mobike?"

"This is just an investment. If it meets your expectations, you should take profits in time."

"So you contacted me today because of investment?"

Hearing the resentment in the other person's words, Chen Xiu breathed a sigh of relief before continuing.

I only contacted you out of courtesy.

"Favor?"

“Besides investment, you can still talk about personal relationships. Wang Xin has already made a deal with Tencent. If he gets to secure several other investors, your bargaining power will decrease, and the outcome won’t change. You might as well take advantage of the current situation and use your shares to help yourself achieve financial freedom.”

"As a middleman, what benefits did you gain in this negotiation?"

"No, it's purely out of personal favor. Even if you don't agree, my Meituan shares won't be affected."

"Okay, let me think about it."

(End of this chapter)