I'm conquering Hong Kong entertainment with two billion US dollars.

Chapter 63 Floating profit of 4700 million US dollars/Li Xiaoran

After hanging up Chen Xinjian's call, Lin Dong leaned back on the sofa, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

The framework of the mainland company has already been set up in my mind: the core members of Beijing Film Studio, Wang Jinhua's agency team, and Yu Dong's distribution capabilities. All that's missing is the right time to officially list the company.

But he hasn't decided what his first film will be.

His phone rang again. He picked it up and glanced at it—Li Jiaxin.

"Ah Dong," her voice came through the receiver, carrying the slight static characteristic of a satellite phone at sea, "Have you missed me?"

Lin Dong leaned back on the sofa, a slight smile on his lips, but said nothing.

"I knew you wouldn't say it," Li Jiaxin huffed, her tone more reproachful than resentful. "I missed you."

It's so boring on the ship. Every day is just filming, filming, filming. After work, there's nobody to talk to. Andy Lau is talkative, but he only talks about the script.

"The scenery on the high seas is quite beautiful."

"After a week of looking at the scenery, even the best scenery makes me want to throw up." She paused, her voice suddenly lowering as if she were talking under the covers. "Ah Dong, I put a photo in the hidden compartment of your luggage."

This is a charcoal sketch I had drawn on the streets of Ginza when I was filming on location in Tokyo last time. If you can't remember what I look like, just take it out and look at it.

"I've only been gone a few days."

"It's just a few days, I'm leaving anyway. Just remember to check it out." She paused again, then spoke in an even softer voice, "Ah Dong, I really miss you."

Lin Dong held his phone, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Alright, take good care of yourself on the ship. I won't allow it if you come back thin."

Li Jiaxin chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Got it. By the way, I just checked the stock market, it's at 71.93 now, Adong, you're amazing!"

Lin Dong couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "Alright, don't get too cocky. Wait for my signal and I'll throw it."

"Okay, I'll definitely listen to you."

The two chatted for a couple more minutes before hanging up.

Lin Dong placed his phone on the coffee table, quickly calculating the unrealized gains from his stocks in his mind; they had already reached a staggering 4700 million US dollars.

It's a huge sum of money, but it's not the end yet; on the contrary, it's just the beginning.

Just then, the phone rang.

Wang Chongjun.

Lin Dong glanced at it, flipped his phone over, and placed it face down on the sofa cushion without answering.

In the past few days, Wang Chongjun has invited him to dinner, tea, and visits to Huayi Brothers several times, and each time he has been so polite that there is nothing wrong with him.

But Lin Dong was too lazy to bother with him. It wasn't that he had any prejudice against this person; he simply didn't want to waste his time.

He sat on the sofa for a while, looked out the window at the sky which had completely darkened, and suddenly felt a little bored.

I've had women with me almost every night in Hong Kong these past few months, but now that I'm on the mainland, I feel so empty.

Most importantly, he had already found the opportunity to do what he could in the early stages of the flood, so he was able to completely relax.

After thinking for a moment, he stood up and picked up his coat.

Ah-Qiang was on night duty in the corridor when he heard the door open and immediately turned around.

"Lin Sheng".

Are there any decent bars nearby?

Ah Qiang thought for a moment. "There are many bars in Sanlitun, not far from here, about a 15-minute drive."

"Walk."

The nights in Sanlitun are much more vibrant than those on Chang'an Avenue. The neon lights on both sides of the road paint the roadside trees in various colors, and young people are constantly coming and going from the bars.

Ah-Qiang parked the car in front of the Jazz House. Lin Dong got out of the car, and six bodyguards followed him in single file.

The bar wasn't big, and the lighting was just right. Behind the bar, a bartender was shaking a can of martini, and on a small stage in the corner, a black saxophonist was playing "Moon River," the sound of the brass instruments lazily gliding through the entire space.

Lin Dong picked a high stool at the bar and sat down, waving to A-Qiang.

Ah Qiang understood, and the six bodyguards spread out in three groups—two at the entrance, two in the booths by the window, and two at the other end of the bar, covering the entire bar but not needing to get close.

Lin Dong ordered a glass of whiskey and slowly sipped it.

The saxophonist on stage changed to a different piece, the rhythm shifting from languid to upbeat, and several young people in the booths swayed their shoulders to the beat.

He leaned against the bar, his fingers unconsciously twirling the rim of his glass, his mind no longer on the projects and plans, but simply looking at the people in front of him who had nothing to do with him.

Completely empty yourself.

Then he heard a girl shouting in a high-pitched voice behind him.

"Who are you! Let go!"

Lin Dong turned his head. Not far from the bar, at a high table, a man was holding a girl's wrist, a smug smile on his face that he thought was cool after drinking too much.

"Just one drink. You already drank with me, why aren't you giving me face now?"

The girl tried to shake him off but failed, and stumbled back a step, her knee hitting the high stool, causing her to wince in pain.

"I only had a drink with you out of politeness. Why can't you understand me?"

She spoke with a Beijing accent, her voice rising at the end of each syllable. She had a bit of a lisp after drinking quite a bit, but her spirit was still there.

The man leaned forward further, and a hand reached out from the side, grabbing his wrist.

The force wasn't great, but the angle was perfect—it hit the weakest point of the joint, rendering his entire arm powerless.

Ah Qiang didn't know when he had already stood in front of the man.

"Mr. Lin, what should we do?" he asked, turning around.

When Lin Dong walked over, the man had already been half-pushed and half-carried towards the door by A Qiang.

He glanced at the girl; she was standing with the support of a high stool, her face very pale, or rather, her entire body was very pale.

As expected of Li Bai.

"Where do you live? I'll take you home."

Li Yanran looked up at him and giggled. "You helped me. My name is Li Xiaoran—you can call me Xiaoran, or you can call me Ranran. What's your name?"

Lin Dong reached out and took her arm, asking again, "Where do you live?"

Li Xiao tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the hand that was supporting her arm, raised it up, and examined it carefully against the light.

"Your hands are beautiful. More beautiful than the hands of all the male actors in our crew. What's your name again?"

Where do you live?

"You don't want to tell me your name, do you?" Li Xiaoran frowned, her expression serious as if she were about to settle a score, then suddenly laughed, "If you don't want to say, then don't."

You're a great guy. Did you beat up that bastard for me? You're a true friend. From now on, you're my brother.

Before Lin Dong could reply, she suddenly released his hand, took a step back, clasped her hands together in a fist, and swayed before regaining her balance.

"Come on, let's become sworn brothers. From now on, you're my brother, and I'm your sister. We'll share happiness and hardship together."

Lin Dong had a bit of a headache; he had never encountered anything like this before. He reached out and pressed her clasped hands down.

"Let's go back first."

He half-supported, half-carried her towards the door. No matter how obedient Li Xiao was, her legs felt weak and unsteady. A-Qiang had already gone out and opened the car door.

Once in the car, she rested her head against the window, her wisps of hair bobbing in the air conditioning.

She was still muttering about how unlucky she'd been lately. The lousy play by the drama troupe had been rehearsed for three months and then suddenly stopped. Her boyfriend went abroad to study and broke up with her without even saying "wait for me."

"You men have no conscience." She drew a circle on the car window with her finger, laughed at herself afterward, and then muttered, "No conscience."

Lin Dong leaned back in his chair on the other side, turning his head to look at her. "Where do you live?"

"I really do live here—" She closed her eyes and thought for a long time before uttering a few indistinct syllables that sounded like an address, but upon closer listening, they didn't sound like anything at all.

When I asked her again, she had already fallen asleep with her head tilted back in the chair. Her eyelashes were long, and two patches of lingering rosy cheeks remained on her face.

"Back to the Great Wall Hotel."

The Mercedes made a turn and headed towards the East Third Ring Road along Gongti North Road.

The streetlights flashed past the car window, one frame at a time. Li Xiaoran was probably still arguing with someone in her dream, mumbling "Who cares?" before falling silent again.

When they arrived at the Great Wall Hotel, A-Qiang opened the car door.

Lin Dong pulled Li Xiao out of the back seat again. She woke up groggily, opened her eyes, saw his chin, and suddenly smiled.

"Your beard's grown out. I'll shave it for you tomorrow—and let me tell you, I'm a really good shaving person; I used to shave my dad's beard for ten years."

"Okay. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Once inside the room, Lin Dong placed her on the bed.

She turned over twice before finding the pillow, buried her face in the blanket and took a deep breath, then suddenly stopped moving, as if she had smelled something on the blanket.

Lin Dong turned around to pour a glass of water. When he came back, he found that she had already sat up by herself, leaning against the headboard, her hair loose over her shoulder, staring at him.

"You still haven't told me your name." She tilted her head back sleepily, supporting herself on the edge of the bed with both hands, her canvas shoes having been kicked off at some point.

"Lin Dong".

Li Xiaoran silently repeated the two words to herself, as if savoring the taste of something. "Lin Dong—not good."

"You're so handsome. I'll call you Brother Dong from now on."

Lin Dong walked over and handed her the water. "Drink this water first."

She took the cup, took two sips, then raised her hand and grasped his wrist. The movement was very light, as light as one finger hooking another.

But her eyes were open, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Dong-ge," she looked up at him, her lips slightly swollen from the alcohol, "don't you think the lights in this room are too bright?"

Lin Dong looked down at her. "I like bright light, so I can see clearly."

Li Xiao mumbled something Lin Dong couldn't understand, then suddenly lunged at Lin Dong.

"Have you thought it through?"

"love me!"

There's no reason not to accept a picnic that's offered to you, but Lin Dong has never been a gentleman, and asking for his opinion once was already the limit.

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