Huayu: You were supposed to be a top star, but you've become capital?

Chapter 110 "Goodbye Mr. Loser" – Nobody Had High Hopes

In the rest area, four people were still standing by the window.

Tian Xiwei kept her eyes glued to the TV, watching Lin Shen being interviewed, taking photos, and walking into the studio, muttering, "Brother Shen is so handsome—Brother Shen is just too handsome today—"

He Handan nodded vigorously beside her.

Xiao Zhang's phone was almost out of battery, but he was still holding it up and taking pictures.

Bai Mengyan stood by the window, her eyes fixed on the television.

She watched Song Qian link arms with Lin Shen, watched the two of them being interviewed together, and watched the media taking pictures of them. Suddenly, she felt a little uneasy.

She knew that Song Qian and Lin Shen were just colleagues, and she also knew that Lin Shen treated her differently from others.

But seeing other women standing beside him, receiving everyone's attention, she couldn't help but feel a little envious.

If I were standing next to him right now—

A picture suddenly popped into Bai Mengyan's mind.

She wore a beautiful dress, took Lin Shen's arm, walked the red carpet together, gave interviews together, and took photos together in front of the backdrop.

Flashbulbs were going off at them, fans were screaming outside, and everyone was watching them.

As she thought about it, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

He Handan happened to turn around and saw her like this. She was stunned for a moment, then leaned over and whispered, "Sister Lu? What are you laughing at?"

Bai Mengyan was startled and quickly stopped smiling, waving her hand: "N-nothing, I was just thinking about something else."

He Handan looked at her suspiciously, but didn't ask any further questions.

Bai Mengyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help glancing at the TV again.

Lin Shen has already gone inside, and the camera cuts to other celebrities.

She thought to herself that once "My Sunshine" started filming and aired, they could walk the red carpet together.

She'll dress up beautifully, link arms with him, and let everyone take pictures.

Thinking about it that way, it seems there's nothing to envy.

Tian Xiwei called out to her from the side, "Sister Lu! Shall we go in too?"

Bai Mengyan snapped out of her daze, checked the time, and realized it was almost time.

She stood up and straightened her clothes: "Let's go inside and take a look."

The four people left the rest area and walked into the venue.

As she reached the door, Bai Mengyan turned back to look at the direction of the red carpet.

The area outside was still packed with people, flashes were still going off, and screams were still echoing.

She looked away, pushed open the door, and went inside.

When Lin Shen and Song Qian entered, there were already quite a few people seated inside.

Hundreds of seats were arranged neatly, with several rows of round tables at the front, surrounded by white tablecloths, on which nameplates and water were placed.

Behind it were rows and rows of chairs, getting higher and higher as you went back, like a movie theater.

The lights were very bright, and several staff members were still adjusting the camera positions.

Lin Shen glanced around and saw that the people sitting in the front row were all familiar faces.

Deng Chao was sitting in the middle of the first row, turning sideways to talk to the person next to him, gesturing with his hands, but it was unclear what he was saying.

Next to him was Huang Xiaoming, dressed in a sharp suit, sitting upright and nodding occasionally.

Looking further over there, there were Huang Bo, Tong Dawei, Feng Shaofeng, Han Geng—a whole circle of people I knew.

The entrepreneurs' area is on the other side, a little further away from the stage.

Lin Shen's gaze swept across the area, and he quickly found the person.

Wearing glasses and a dark suit, he sat quietly. Someone was talking to him, and he listened with his head tilted to the side, nodding occasionally.

Zhang Yiming.

Lin Shen withdrew his gaze, his face expressionless, but he already knew what was going on.

Lin Shen glanced around and quickly spotted Chen Zhixi at a table on his left.

She was speaking to two people while turned to the side.

One of them was a woman in her forties with short hair, wearing a black suit. Lin Shen recognized her as Li Xiaoping from Enlight Media, who was in charge of film business. People in the industry called her Sister Ping.

The other was a man in his fifties, Cao Huayi, the chairman of New Classics Media.

Lin Shen was about to go over and say hello when he heard Cao Huayi speaking as he approached.

"President Chen," Cao Huayi said with a smile, holding his teacup, "you've secured the investment, but how come you ran off with Lin Shen after your trip? In the end, we're the ones who lost out."

Li Xiaoping laughed out loud: "Old Cao, what you're saying is ridiculous. Mr. Chen is now the CEO of Forest, he has his own territory, how can you expect him to run away?"

Chen Zhixi rolled her eyes at them: "Stop singing in unison, you two. I'm just changing jobs. We're still working together, aren't we?"

Cao Huayi smiled and shook his head, about to reply, when he looked up and saw Lin Shen walking over. Lin Shen waved to him and said, "Oh, President Lin is here."

Chen Zhixi followed his gaze, smiled, and waved to Lin Shen: "Lin Shen, over here."

Lin Shen led Song Qian over and first extended his hand to Cao Huayi: "Hello, President Cao. I saw you outside earlier, but I didn't dare to disturb you."

Cao Huayi grasped his hand and looked him up and down: "Lin Shen, this is quite a show of force today. I could hear the screams from outside even from inside."

Lin Shen smiled and said, "President Cao is joking. It's just good luck."

He then turned to Li Xiaoping: "Hello, Sister Ping, it's been a long time."

Li Xiaoping smiled and nodded: "Lin Shen, you've become even more handsome."

Lin Shen stepped aside to let Song Qian pass: "Gentlemen, this is Song Qian, an artist from our company."

Song Qian quickly stepped forward and greeted them respectfully one by one: "Hello, President Cao, Hello, Sister Ping, Hello, Sister Xi."

Cao Huayi nodded, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment: "Song Qian, I know, the one with the 'f' symbol, right?"

Song Qian nodded: "Yes, President Cao has a really good memory."

Li Xiaoping glanced at her and said with a smile, "Qianqian looks quite pretty tonight."

Song Qian smiled and agreed, then glanced at the distance and said, "Please continue your conversation. I see Mr. Jia over there; I'll go say hello."

Chen Zhixi nodded: "Okay, go ahead."

Song Qianchong and the others nodded, then turned and left.

After she walked away, Cao Huayi looked at Lin Shen and pointed to the chair next to him: "President Lin, please sit down. We were just discussing the project."

Lin Shen sat down next to Chen Zhixi and asked with a smile, "What project are you talking about?"

Li Xiaoping chimed in, "Let's talk about Lao Cao's headache-inducing comedy."

Cao Huayi put down his teacup: "Yes, we have a movie adapted from a stage play, a Happy Twist stage play, called 'Goodbye Mr. Loser'."

The directors are two newcomers, Yan Fei and Peng Damo, who have never directed a film before. The lead actors, Shen Teng and Ma Li, do have a fan base; they've both appeared on the Spring Festival Gala several times, but their box office performance is questionable.

Chen Zhixi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and tentatively asked, "What's the current status of this film?"

Cao Huayi sighed: "It's been two months since filming started, but we still have no confidence. No matter how well a stage play is performed, it's still a theater production. Who knows how it will be on the big screen? I estimate that this film will be lucky to get 50 or 60 million at the box office."

Li Xiaoping chimed in from the side, "Fifty or sixty million is not a small amount, considering they are all newcomers."

Cao Huayi shook his head: "Fifty or sixty million is an optimistic estimate; it might be as low as thirty million. I've already signed a contract with Happy Twist and invested all the money. Now I have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it."

Chen Zhixi thought for a moment and comforted him, "There is still a solid audience base for stage plays. If the promotion is done well, it should be fine."

Li Xiaoping nodded in agreement: "Yes, Xinli's distribution capabilities are there for all to see; even if they're bad, they can't be that bad."

Cao Huayi gave a wry smile: "I hope so."