Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: This Top Star Has Real Achievements

"You're just being ridiculous, and it's completely unrealistic! The entire drama revolves around Feng Wanyu from beginning to end."

"The heart-wrenching scene at the train station, the obsession after amnesia, the unwavering wait at No. 5, and the emotional rollercoaster when hearing the Fishermen's Song—these are all highlights of her performance."

"If you really tear the Best Actor award off to Daoming, everyone in the industry will talk, and it won't hold water at all!"

"Oh... I see. What should we do then? You won't allow it, Sister Li, and Uncle Daoming isn't suitable either..."

Li Xiang feigned helplessness, saying, "I finally got to be a Cannes judge, and it would be a waste if I didn't tear something down."

Zhang Yimou could easily see that this kid was just teasing him on purpose.

There was nothing he could do; he knew that Li Xiang was a wicked fellow.

If he were to actually deny the matter on behalf of Gong Li, and Li Xiang were to actually do it just to tease him, then it would be a case of losing more than he gained.

He had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

"Ahem, I think Gong Li is more suitable. She was in better form and performed better this time. Winning the award won't make you a target of gossip."

"Isn't that it?" Li Xiang thought to himself, cursing wildly.

It was truly remarkable that he managed to force Zhang Yimou to say those words himself, and he wisely stopped joking around.

You should know that Uncle Wang was gloating the whole time; even Zhang Yimou has his pride, you know.

So he just gave a meaningful "oh," and blinked at Zhang Yimou: "Then so be it. After all, well, it's a pity..."

His dawdling manner made Uncle Wang burst into laughter, instantly attracting the attention of many people around him.

With so many eyes on him, Zhang Yimou felt a little uneasy, unsure if anyone had overheard the conversation in the corner.

Not wanting to linger at the entrance any longer, they grabbed Li Xiang, who was talking nonsense, and pulled him into the screening room.

Many people inside the venue only saw the Grand Preceptor walking with a speed beyond his years, pulling the mysterious-looking Li Xiang inside.

However, Zhang Yimou underestimated Li Xiang's current importance.

This premiere can be considered Li Xiang's first public appearance after his move to the capital market.

The people they dealt with naturally shifted from celebrities in the industry to various investors.

Sure enough, someone is already walking towards us.

Moreover, they were old acquaintances of Li Xiang, Liu Ning, the head of Tencent Pictures, and Sun Zhong, the second-in-command, who followed behind him.

It's not entirely unexpected, as Tencent and New Classics Media were among the investors in this film.

Li Xiang met these two people at the wrap party that Chen Kaige hosted for him.

It's unclear whether the two came for the movie or for him personally.

The next second, Li Xiang got the answer he wanted; the other party was clearly there for him.

"Mr. Li, it's been a long time."

Before Li Xiang could react, Liu Ning had already walked up to him and hugged him.

Seeing this, Zhang Yimou had no choice but to release his grip on Li Xiang's arm.

Liu Ning naturally noticed the Imperial Advisor beside him and quickly greeted him, but maintained a standard social distance throughout, demonstrating a very clear sense of propriety.

It's obvious that Liu Ning's target wasn't the Imperial Advisor at all.

Although Zhang Yimou looks simple and honest, he is not confused at all.

Seeing this, he leaned close to Li Xiang's ear and whispered something before turning away to chat with an old friend.

Now Li Xiang really has no way to get away.

After all, he didn't handle that matter very well.

Both parties had already made an agreement, but he stayed abroad and did not return to China, nor did he fulfill his agreed responsibilities.

You have to understand that Tencent actually gave him 30 million, which made him feel a little guilty.

"President Liu, President Sun, it's been a long time. What about the grand ceremony..."

Just as he was about to strike first, Liu Ning simply raised his hand and waved it away.

"It's not a big deal. We know your situation. You're busy, and Mr. Sun and I understand."

While talking, the man pulled him towards a corner.

Normally, in this situation, Li Xiang would probably break free immediately, or even retaliate on the spot.

But this time it really didn't work. Didn't they say that both he and General Manager Sun understood...?

The subtext is that some people don't understand, but these voices were suppressed by the two top leaders and were not brought to his attention.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, Li Xiang really had to accept this favor. When he was about to thank the other party involved, he realized that Sun Zhong had not come along.

It's clear that these two top leaders each have their own agendas.

Liu Ning led him to a corner where there were no other guests for the time being before speaking: "I haven't officially congratulated President Li yet on firmly establishing himself as the major shareholder of Huace."

"Brother Liu, that's too polite. Why are you calling me President Li all of a sudden? With the size of Huace, how can we compare to the deep-pocketed Tencent?"

"Haha, you're using a fallacy. Tencent is a big company, but it's not mine. However, Huace is yours."

"However, as far as I know, you paid a hefty price to acquire these shares, and even incurred considerable debt?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang's eyes narrowed, and the aura of a top star involuntarily emerged.

Liu Ning's heart skipped a beat when he saw this.

If he hadn't studied Li Xiang thoroughly, he wouldn't have dared to provoke him just by looking at his aura; he was an anomaly among anomalies.

He quickly tried to smooth things over, his tone reassuring.

"Don't overthink it. I didn't mean to pry into your privacy. It's just that with the size of Tencent, sometimes we don't even need to investigate; people will proactively send us information."

Li Xiang had to admit this as well, and immediately softened his expression, forcing a smile: "So, Brother Liu, what's going on...?"

"Haha, just as you thought. I was also arranged by my superiors to come here and sound you out, to see if you have any plans to make a move in the near future."

"If it were available, Penguin would take it all, and could even offer a 10% premium over the current market price."

"Huace is, after all, the largest drama production factory in the industry, with stable production capacity and a continuous stream of high-quality works, which is of great value to the content ecosystem of Tencent Video."

Sure enough, they were after the shares he held, but Li Xiang sensed something was off...

Because of these words, it's clear that they want to use Huace as a continuous source of content to support Tencent Video.

Normally, who would say such a purely exploitative idea directly to the face of a shareholder like him?

Logically, shouldn't they be talking big and saying nice things about win-win cooperation and common progress?

But Liu Ning made no attempt to hide anything, immediately trying to seize Huace's production capacity and extract its value.

It didn't seem like a business inquiry conducted with normal thinking at all.

On the contrary, there's a sense of deliberate disruption in it.

...Could this person be one of those double agents that often appear in TV dramas?