Rebirth: An Outlier in the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 91 Celebration Banquet for "A World Without Thieves"

"Young lady, which company do you work for?" Wang Jinhua warmly pulled Zhao Liying to sit down next to her.

Zhao Liying quickly looked at her boss.

Huang Yiliang nodded.

She then sat down and honestly replied, "I came here with my boss to freeload a meal."

In fact, Zhao Liying herself is unsure which company she belongs to.

Her employment relationship is with Zhiyou.com, and she is paid by Zhiyou.com, but she spends most of her working hours at Huangliangmeng Music.

"What's your name, little girl? You're so pretty, wouldn't you like to be a big star?" Wang Jinhua smiled and pointed to the fat girl next to her.

By this time, Fan Bingbing had already become a household name with her roles as Jin Suo in "My Fair Princess" and Xiao Qingting in "Young Justice Bao".

"Auntie, my name is Zhao Liying, and I already have a job." Zhao Liying blinked, looking innocent.

Those who know her well know that this girl is "pretending to be innocent" again.

Wang Jinhua's expression froze when she was called "Auntie".

Am I that old?

Based on her naivety and inability to speak, this girl is not suited for the entertainment industry.

Wang Jinhua immediately rejected Zhao Liying in her mind, and didn't even bother to remember her name.

Zhao Liying was completely unaware that she had offended a big shot in the entertainment industry. She just kept her head down and ate her meal, as this was a task assigned by her boss.

On the other side, Liu Yifei saw Huang Yiliang about to sit next to Pang Bingbing, so she quietly took the seat first.

Fat Bingbing: "???"

Huang Yiliang smiled and had no choice but to sit down next to Liu Yifei.

Then it became that he had Little Dragon Girl on his left and Snow Goddess Dragon on his right.

It seems even better than sitting next to Fatty Bingbing.

"Hello, I'm Pang Bingbing." Pang Bingbing nodded politely.

"Liu Yifei." Ya Huazi said even less.

This girl has a very strong presence even when she's not smiling.

"Are you a newcomer at Huayi? I've never seen you before." Huo Siyan, a beautiful woman separated from Dong Xuan, looked at Huang Yiliang curiously.

Dong Xuan secretly rolled her eyes. She was someone who came from the management table, how could she be an artist in the company? You must have all your intelligence in your chest.

Actually, Dong Xuan could probably guess that Huo Siyan was just using an excuse to flirt with the handsome young man, but she was still indignant.

The handsome young man was sitting next to me, and before I could even say anything, you started flirting.

"No, I'm just here to broaden my horizons. Ladies, my name is Huang Yiliang. Please take care of me!" Huang Yiliang gave a harmless smile.

This time it was Wang Jinhua and Pang Bingbing's turn to roll their eyes. They knew Huang Yiliang's background. You're a big boss worth over 100 million, how can you expect others to take care of you?

"Hello, I'm Dong Xuan," the beautiful Dong said with a smile, raising her glass to Huang Yiliang.

Huang Yiliang quickly picked up his juice glass: "Hello, Sister Xuan, please take care of me."

As he spoke, he gave Liu Yifei a wink; the girl had stepped on his foot earlier.

"Hello, senior!" Liu Yifei also raised her orange juice.

Huang Yiliang then remembered that Dong Xuan seemed to have also graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.

"Hello, Yifei!" Dong Xuan naturally knew Liu Yifei, but they had never met.

In fact, among the actresses in the industry who get roles through connections, very few haven't heard of Liu Yifei. After all, her godfather Chen has been throwing money around recklessly, driving up her market price.

You can't blame others for targeting you then.

Huang Yiliang was certain that nine out of ten of the female celebrities present disliked or even hated Liu Yifei.

Aunt Liu's decision to bring Liu Yifei along is absolutely a way to make her precious daughter suffer; they simply can't fit into this circle.

Chen Qiandie had already offended everyone in advance.

However, Liu Yifei didn't care. She was there to keep an eye on Huang Yiliang and didn't take socializing to heart.

"Sister Xuan, I love watching your 'Snowflake Goddess Dragon' the most."

When Huang Yiliang saw that Dong Xuan was going to change his juice glass to a wine glass, he quickly tried to find a topic to flatter her.

"Really?" Dong Xuan was delighted, and sure enough, she stopped what she was doing.

"Absolutely true!" Huang Yiliang said earnestly.

Actually, he was indifferent to the TV series "Snowflake Goddess Dragon," but was interested in the goddess dragon herself.

"Hi! I'm Huo Siyan!" Huo Siyan waved to Huang Yiliang.

"Hello, Sister Yan!" Huang Yiliang nodded quickly.

Yan Jie is twenty-five years old this year, a time when she is full of charm, and her clothing is also very daring.

Even through Dong Xuan, Huang Yiliang could glimpse Yan Jie's deep chasm.

"Have we met somewhere before?" Huo Siyan asked, tilting her head.

Huang Yiliang naturally understood this old-fashioned way of offering a handshake, but he wasn't exactly a saint either, and immediately went along with it.

"Maybe, I also think Sister Yan looks familiar." He paused for a moment, pretending to think.

Actually, this guy didn't know that Huo Siyan was also a graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy. She would occasionally go back to the school to rehearse some dance moves, and she had actually met Huang Yiliang.

Back then, Huang Yiliang wore a T-shirt and jeans, but now he dresses more formally, so Huo Siyan couldn't recall it at the moment.

"Hey, are you a student at the Beijing Dance Academy?"

Huo Siyan's eyes suddenly lit up.

Her memory is pretty good; she has an advantage when it comes to memorizing lines.

"No, I'm from the Communication University of China, a freshman this year," Huang Yiliang said, shaking his head.

He also realized that Yan Jie's statement about seeing him wasn't just a casual fling.

"You're only a freshman! How old are you this year?" Dong Xuan, the beautiful girl, exclaimed in surprise.

"Eighteen!" Huang Yiliang gave the older girls a shy smile.

The beautiful Dong Xuan covered her mouth in surprise.

Sister Xuan is known for her love of younger men. The little brother in front of her is not only a good match, but he's so tender you could squeeze water out of him. If he were a year younger, you would be breaking the law.

"Really?" Huo Siyan couldn't help but reach out and pinch Huang Yiliang's cheek.

"Ahem—!" Huang Yiliang coughed awkwardly twice.

I'm eighteen, that's a man now, it's not nice of you to pinch my cheek! Besides, we don't seem to be that close.

"Haha, sorry, I couldn't help myself. Turns out you're still a child." Huo Siyan chuckled and withdrew her hand.

Dong Xuan, the beautiful woman, also wanted to pinch him, but she didn't have Huo Siyan's thick skin.

"Mr. Huang, what are you doing here? Come with me quickly. Mr. Wang said you've already come up. We've been looking for you for ages, and you've been hiding here."

Just as Huang Yiliang was about to add the contact information of several older sisters, Sister Bingbing came over.

She was a key member of the "A World Without Thieves" crew, so naturally she sat at the same table as the crew. Huang Yiliang and Wang Zhonglei made a bet of one million yuan, making her one of the investors in "A World Without Thieves".

More importantly, Andy Lau and his fellow Hong Kong artists are quite "superstitious." They believe that the box office success of "A World Without Thieves" exceeding 100 million is partly due to the good fortune of this bet.

Even Wang Zhonglei himself thought it was very likely; he originally didn't have high hopes for the box office to break 100 million.

"I think I'll stay here; it's fine here." Huang Yiliang really didn't want to leave.

"No, come with me! Everyone wants to meet this predictive genius." Sister Bingbing had already taken Huang Yiliang's arm.

"Sister Hua, we'll head over first." Sister Bingbing nodded to Wang Jinhua.

At this time, Bingbing was negotiating the termination of her contract with Wang Jinhua, and the two sides were somewhat unpleasant. Bingbing planned to hand over her agency business to her sister, but she still had great respect for Wang Jinhua.

Wang Jinhua nodded with a stern face.

She understands that all good things must come to an end, but she worries that Bingbing's departure will encourage other artists to follow suit.

Bingbing's grip was really strong, so Huang Yiliang had no choice but to go with her.

"Yifei!" Huang Yiliang turned around and looked at Liu Yifei.

"It's okay, you go ahead!" Liu Yifei shook her head.

There were many media reporters taking pictures over there, but she didn't want to join in the fun.

The other female stars glanced at her as if she were an idiot. Why would she give up such a good opportunity for exposure? What's the point of being in the entertainment industry?

"Don't drink alcohol," Huang Yiliang reminded him.

"I know," Liu Yifei replied irritably.

This guy is too popular, she's a little unhappy.

"Yifei, isn't Yiliang still in school? Why does Sister Bingbing call him President Huang?" Dong Xuan asked curiously.

Liu Yifei didn't want to explain further, but the other person was a senior student, and it wouldn't be appropriate not to answer.

"He is the general manager of their company," she replied briefly.

Fat Bingbing had long disliked Liu Yifei.

She chuckled softly: "Haven't you heard that someone in the industry made a hundred million in a month recently?"

"Could it be him?" Several actresses simultaneously showed expressions of surprise.

"He's only eighteen!"

There are now several versions of this story:

Some say he earned 100 million, some say several million, and even more exaggerated rumors say he earned over a billion.

These were naturally smokescreens released by Huang Yiliang; after all, money coming in too quickly inevitably attracts envy.

However, these women are insiders, so they roughly know the amount is around 100 million, but they don't know exactly whose business "Huang Liangmeng Music" is.

"That's right."

Fat Bingbing nodded and continued, "You've probably heard about how Little Wang lost a million dollars betting on the box office of 'A World Without Thieves,' right?"

"Could it be—that she also lost to him?" Huo Siyan was shocked.

I just accidentally pinched the face of a small-time tycoon with a net worth of over 100 million.

"Otherwise, why would Sister Bingbing have come all the way here to pull people away?" Fat Bingbing said, glancing at Liu Yifei intentionally or unintentionally.

Liu Yifei remained expressionless.

The actresses fell silent for a moment, their thoughts wandering.

Only Zhao Liying was still focused on eating.

Huayi is indeed generous when it comes to banquets, offering abalone, lobster, and hairy crabs—you name it.

"Hey—! Mr. Huang, our film 'A World Without Thieves' has surpassed 100 million at the box office, you've won a million."

Before Huang Yiliang even got close, Wang Baoqiang excitedly ran over and grabbed Huang Yiliang's hand.

This guy is really happy. He's a main actor in "A World Without Thieves," which grossed over 100 million yuan, which is a huge boost for him. He'll definitely get a raise in the future.

Hehe, this guy is overthinking it. It's just a pay raise. Even if it's only a few thousand dollars, it's still a raise!

Moreover, for several years afterward, Huayi Brothers did not give him any film projects, only some TV series roles.

However, this guy is really lucky; the TV series he's been in have all been dark horses.

"Winning or losing doesn't matter, the most important thing is that everyone is happy. Congratulations on the box office surpassing 100 million!"

Huang Yiliang gave Wang Baoqiang a wink, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and smiled at Wang Zhonglei and Liu Dehua behind him.

Wang Baoqiang felt a lump in his throat. He was doomed; it seemed he had said something wrong and offended his boss.

"Haha! Brother Huang is right. Winning or losing doesn't matter. The important thing is that everyone is happy."

Wang Zhonglei held two glasses of champagne and handed one to Huang Yiliang.

"Thank you, Mr. Wang."

Huang Yiliang casually took the champagne and clinked glasses with Andy Lau.

"Brother Hua, we meet again!"

"Yes, I thought you were joking when we met last time. I didn't expect it to actually break 100 million at the box office," Andy Lau said with emotion.

This guy is the biggest beneficiary of the box office exceeding 100 million. There are only three movies in China that have grossed over 100 million, and he starred in two of them.

"Let's take a group photo first. Everyone come over here and take a group photo. If you reporters have any questions, you can ask them later." Wang Zhonglei organized the "A World Without Thieves" crew for a group photo.

"Brother Huang, don't go! Let's take a picture together."

Wang Zhonglei swiftly grabbed Huang Yiliang, who was trying to slip away.

"I don't think I need to!" Huang Yiliang said with a troubled expression.

I've only made a million from you, and I still have to cooperate with you in your promotion.

Sure enough, Wang Zhonglei immediately said, "What do you mean, 'no need'? The movie's still showing! Our bet has been a great publicity stunt, you have to help me boost the box office!"

Huang Yiliang was reluctantly dragged into the "A World Without Thieves" film crew for photos, and he would have to answer reporters' questions later. He felt like he was at a disadvantage.

When taking photos, experienced guys like Andy Lau tacitly kept their distance from Wong Yat-leung, while only Wang Chung-lei happily put his arm around Wong Yat-leung's shoulder.

The sound of camera shutters clicking rang out one after another.

With his tall stature, long legs, and outstanding looks, Huang Yiliang is practically a "photo killer" among this group of actors who aren't particularly tall.

Wang Zhonglei looked exceptionally short next to him.

"Bingbing, keep an eye on President Huang and don't let him get away. I'll go call a few reporters over for an interview."

Wang Zhonglei, that scoundrel, is absolutely a genius; he managed to get Huang Yiliang to do over ten minutes of free publicity for the movie.

They originally planned to bet ten million, but later, fearing it would hurt feelings, they only played a small stake of one million.

"What? Wong Yat-leung was originally cast in 'A World Without Thieves,' but couldn't participate due to a scheduling conflict. He'll definitely be in it next time."

These people in the entertainment industry can make up stories without batting an eye, even in front of the celebrities themselves.

Huang Yiliang couldn't openly criticize him.

The celebration banquet lasted for several hours, and Andy Lau was even pulled onto the stage to sing several classic old songs.

"Brother Huang, you can't escape this time. You sing so well, I have to help you with this." Wang Zhonglei grabbed Huang Yiliang's hand and wouldn't let go.

Huang Yiliang's face turned almost green.

I only won a million from you, do you want to take your pants off?

"That's right, I've seen the video of Mr. Huang singing at the hot pot restaurant, it's really great," Andy Lau chimed in.

"I think it's just average; he gave himself away as soon as he went on stage." A discordant voice suddenly broke in.

Wang Zhonglei frowned and glared at him.

Huang Yiliang also turned his head and saw that it was Yu Quan.

He couldn't tell which of the two was who, but the uglier one's wife was named Baibaihuo.

Huang Yiliang suddenly realized that Huayi had its own music company, which seemed to be called Huayi Music. So that was his competitor!

"Brother Huang, he's had too much to drink, just ignore him," Wang Zhonglei said, waving his hand.

"If that's the case, I really should go on stage and show off my skills," Huang Yiliang said after thinking for a moment.

He's already clashed with all the musicians in the Chinese music scene, leaving no room for maneuver. In that case, why not give them a real challenge?

Huang Yiliang himself may not be good enough, but Zhou Mengdie is!

Zhou Mengdie was not only capable, but she also had a very strong desire to perform.

"Zhou Mengdie, I don't know many songs. Do you know any songs that can really wow the whole audience?" Huang Yiliang called out to Zhou Mengdie.

"How would I know? Ask the readers in the comments section!" Zhou Mengdie said seriously.

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