Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 498 Wang Zhonglei: The Eight Hundred vs. Nezha, the advantage lies with me!

At the dining table, Wang Zhonglei sat sideways to Huang Xiaoming, staring blankly at him.

"You said you auditioned for Chen Xiu's new film?"

"Correct."

Huang Xiaoming pursed his lips, nodded, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed.

Wang Zhonglei frowned slightly, then relaxed his gaze.

"The information I've gathered is that Chen Xiu is going to direct and star in this film, and you're auditioning for the second male lead?"

"Correct."

Huang Xiaoming's face became even more embarrassed, and his guilty look as he shifted his gaze made him seem like he had been caught cheating.

After processing the information, Wang Zhonglei calmed down: "Why couldn't you contact me before you went to act in Chen Xiu's movie? He's not that petty!"

"I'm afraid it will have a bad influence..."

"Pah! You just want to get on board with Datang Pictures and use me as a pledge of loyalty!"

"Brother Lei, you can't say that."

Huang Xiaoming rubbed his nose, his eyes darting around, and began to regret why he had brought it up in person. He thought it would have been so much better to send a text message after dinner…

Wang Zhonglei sneered: "You can't say it like that. How should I say it? Xiaoming, we've known each other for so many years, I don't think I've treated you badly, have I?"

"That's not..."

Huang Xiaoming quickly denied it, thinking of saying a few nice words to ease the atmosphere, but Wang Zhonglei didn't give him the chance at all.

"Back when you were competing against Deng Chao, I was the one who supported you from behind."

"Yes! I haven't forgotten..."

"Over the years, I've been the one helping your wife find her resources!"

"Brother Lei, calm down first. Let's not contact each other for now. We can still meet up for dinner as usual after I finish filming this movie."

Huang Xiaoming looks like a scumbag trying to make women happy.

Fortunately, Wang Zhonglei is also a seasoned scumbag who has seen through these kinds of tricks at a glance.

"Hmph! Then I should thank you. You've made it big and latched onto Chen Xiu's coattails, yet you still haven't forgotten your old friend."

These sarcastic remarks made Huang Xiaoming a little unhappy.

"Brother Lei, I had no choice. You're the one who taught me the saying, 'A wise bird chooses a good tree to perch on.'"

"Yes! I taught you that."

Wang Zhonglei stood up awkwardly, as if he had been persuaded by Huang Xiaoming.

But the lack of any reversal in the process is truly suspicious.

Huang Xiaoming didn't feel relaxed at all; instead, his gaze towards Wang Zhonglei became even more tense.

Just as Wang Zhonglei had completely left the chair and was standing with one hand on the table...

"thumping!"

He slammed his other hand on the table, a mocking smile on his face as he looked at Huang Xiaoming: "I've told you before, the entertainment industry is a big melting pot. Once you get in here, you have to choose sides when it's time to do so. Don't hesitate."

"But since you've chosen to be a villain, then be honest about it. Coming here to pretend to be virtuous will only make people despise you even more for your hypocrisy!"

Wang Zhonglei's outburst still stunned Huang Xiaoming.

Although his private life has been criticized and he is not a hero or a good person in terms of personal morality, Wang Zhonglei has managed to be an honest and upright villain.

He felt that no matter how down on his luck he was, he would never let these celebrities outdo him... Chen Xiu was not a celebrity.

Wang Zhonglei poured himself a glass of wine and toasted Huang Xiaoming: "Here, I wish you great success in your career at Datang Film Industry. If I ever run into trouble, don't pretend you don't know me!"

"Brother Lei..."

Huang Xiaoming wanted to say something to salvage the relationship, after all, they had been friends for so many years, and Wang Zhonglei had many connections in the industry...

However, Wang Zhonglei had already started drinking.

Wang Zhonglei placed the empty glass on the table, didn't even glance at the dishes on the table, and turned to leave.

Huang Xiaoming stood up, intending to ask him to stay, but Wang Zhonglei suddenly turned around and stared at him expressionlessly.

"Brother Lei..."

Did you see Chen Xiu when you went to the audition today?

"I saw him."

What was your first impression of him?

Huang Xiaoming pondered, his brows furrowed as he thought about his encounter with Chen Xiu that afternoon.

"I only chatted with Mr. Chen briefly, and our interaction lasted less than a minute, but for a moment, he made me feel a desire to get closer to him, just like how Baby used to look at me..."

"Pshaw! She's just faking it. Does she really think people idolize you?"

Wang Zhonglei scoffed and mocked Huang Xiaoming before leaving the private room without lingering.

Huang Xiaoming remained in his seat, his expression shifting between light and dark, clearly touched upon by those words.

Thinking about his wife's recent actions, he could only sigh and pin his hopes on his high emotional intelligence to successfully break into the core circle of Datang Pictures and give his career a second spring...

After leaving the private restaurant, Wang Zhonglei went straight back to his company.

He had only intended to grab something, but as he passed the chairman's office, he noticed light coming from the half-open door. "Is he still at get off work?"
The thought flashed through Wang Zhonglei's mind. He carefully pushed open the door and entered, just in time to see Wang Zhongjun sitting behind his desk, drinking alone.

"Brother, why are you drinking alone?"

"You're back."

Wang Zhongjun put down his wine glass, a look of fatigue appearing on his face. He asked thoughtfully, "How did the chat with Xiaoming go? Did he mention coming to help with the live broadcast promotion when 'The Eight Hundred' is released?"

Upon hearing this question, and recalling his original purpose and what Huang Xiaoming had said, Wang Zhonglei's expression, which had just improved slightly, suddenly darkened again.

“I didn’t ask him.”

"Didn't you ask? What's wrong with you?"

Wang Zhongjun noticed that something was wrong with his younger brother and came out from behind his desk.

Faced with his elder brother's concern, Wang Zhonglei hesitated for a moment before recounting the unpleasant incident that had just occurred between him and Huang Xiaoming.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, and there's nothing wrong with what Xiaoming is doing, so why do you have to say such sarcastic things?"

Wang Zhongjun shook his head helplessly, feeling that Wang Zhonglei's temper hadn't changed at all.

Wang Zhonglei was indignant: "If he had just told me properly that he simply felt Huayi was no good and didn't want to be dragged down, and wanted to find another big tree to shelter under, I wouldn't have been so angry. But he had to say something like we'd contact each other after filming, as if nobody cared!"

"None of this matters..."

Wang Zhongjun shook his head, not caring about such a trivial matter at all.

"Since Xiaoming doesn't want to get involved with us, we won't bother him with the live promotion of 'The Eight Hundred'."

"Um……"

Wang Zhonglei noticed the sigh at the corner of Wang Zhongjun's mouth and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, didn't you say last time that Chen Xiu wanted me to personally go to Datang Film Industry to apologize? Why didn't you agree?"

"Apologizing is necessary, but you can't go and apologize without having any cards to play."

Wang Zhongjun glanced at Wang Zhonglei and explained, "An apology must have a purpose. If it's just for the sake of apologizing, then we can just drag it out day by day. If there's an opportunity for cooperation after apologizing, I would have sent you over long ago."

Wang Zhonglei pursed his lips, but didn't take it to heart.

"what do you mean?"

"Let's release 'The Eight Hundred' first, to help the company earn some cash flow, and also to let those people in the industry know that Huayi Brothers hasn't collapsed yet!"

Wang Zhongjun stated firmly that no matter what, he would not let Huayi fall.

A moment of thought flashed across Wang Zhonglei's face as he tentatively asked, "If 'The Eight Hundred' has a high enough box office, can I refrain from apologizing?"

"The higher the box office, the more you have to go. Even if you have to beg for forgiveness by bowing your head to the ground, you have to satisfy Chen Xiu. Only then will we have a chance to cooperate with Datang!"

"alright."

"Don't be so disappointed. Xiaoming only met Chen Xiu once, and he already knows that she's someone you need to put effort into getting to know. You still foolishly offended her. In the end, you're the one paying the price for your mistake by apologizing!"

Wang Zhongjun only wants Huayi and Chen Xiu to rebuild their relationship now; he no longer cares about Wang Zhonglei's pride.

Wang Zhonglei had no complaints, since the blame was all on him and no one else could take it away from him.

After discussing heavy topics, the room often falls silent.

As Wang Zhonglei relaxed, he felt a multitude of thoughts rushing into his mind.

"Brother, tell me, how do you think Chen Xiu will make me apologize?"

"The lightest punishment is three cups of wine as a penalty, the heavier one..."

"how?"

"No upper limit."

Wang Zhonglei's face turned pale, and his lips began to tremble.

"Chen Xiu seems quite upright, he shouldn't go too far..."

"Don't think about things you can't control. Instead, think more about promoting 'The Eight Hundred'! I don't know why, but ever since the release date was confirmed, I've felt uneasy."

Wang Zhongjun looked worried, and his eyes were filled with doubt, because he couldn't quite put his finger on what he was worried about.

Wang Zhonglei, however, was unconvinced: "Brother, it's alright. I checked the release window for 'The Eight Hundred,' and none of them can compete. Datang didn't schedule any of its own films for release, but they do have an animated film they're working on with Enlight Media, something like 'Ne Zha'..."

"Ne Zha? Is it going to be another blockbuster?"

"There aren't that many blockbusters! Da Tang already has 'Detective Chinatown' and 'The Wandering Earth,' so even if they just throw in an animated film, it'll be a huge hit. All the blockbuster movies in the country are going to their company!"

"That's true..."

Based on his many years of experience in the industry, Wang Zhongjun believes that it's good if there's one blockbuster movie a year.

Then, with "The Wandering Earth" at the beginning of the year and "Avengers: Endgame" still in theaters, there have already been two blockbuster films this year, and the market should be saturated.

Seeing that he was still a little worried, Wang Zhonglei comforted him, "Brother, don't worry. I've looked into that movie, Nezha. It had an investment of tens of millions, and if it makes a few hundred million at the box office, it'll be a huge profit. Our 'The Eight Hundred' has an investment of several hundred million, and it's all large-scale war scenes. It's also a patriotic film, so it has every advantage. It's definitely the ace of this summer's box office!"

"Too."

Wang Zhongjun nodded slightly, also feeling that he had an advantage in this year's summer movie season.

To avoid troubling his elder brother further, Wang Zhonglei proactively changed the subject.

"Brother, what do you think TikTok will do on its IPO?"

"The IPO price is $450 billion. Mr. Ma thinks the opening price will rise, and it should reach at least $500 billion!"

"Tsk tsk, a branch office is worth so much money, I really don't know why Chen Xiu went through all the trouble of making movies."

Wang Zhongjun didn't know the answer to this question either. He could only say that everyone has different tastes, and the founder of Peking Opera is still Emperor Xuanzong of Tang!
(End of this chapter)