Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

"Boss, you need to make a decision quickly. MGM's stock price is already showing signs of fluctuation."

At the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Kirk's head butler, Andrew, stared intently at the trend charts on his computer.

Kirk frowned; he truly hadn't expected Zhuang Huai'an to pull such a drastic measure.

At first, when the Sony Group approached him, he did refuse, but as their offers kept getting higher and higher, he eventually became tempted.

But Kirk is a shrewd businessman; he understands who MGM is relying on now, which is why he sent that probing email.

His original plan was that as long as Zhuang Huai'an showed weakness or hesitated, he would press his advantage and attack. As a former boxer, he was very good at this kind of maneuver.

However, he hadn't anticipated this situation. Instead of engaging in boxing, the other person pulled out a grenade from their pocket, detonated it, and intended to take them both down with them.

Kirk knew that whether Zhuang Huai'an would throw the grenade far away depended on his attitude of admitting his mistake.

After much deliberation, the American gambling tycoon finally made a decision: as a businessman, he should prioritize profit.

"Andrew, send out a message that An misspoke. MGM will fully support Sugar Heart's IPO plan. In addition, as a token of our cooperation, I will sell 5% of the shares to An for $1."

"Boss!"

Andrew was startled. "If that's the case, then he owns 20% of the shares, only 10% less than you. If he has ulterior motives and joins forces with other minority shareholders, you will be kicked out of the board!"

"He won't. An is a smart man. He knows that MGM is not his shield in Hollywood. I am."

Kirk took a deep drag on his cigar, his gaze deep, as if he could see a handsome Eastern face smiling at him from afar.

"Admit your mistakes and stand up straight when you get hit. That's the rule in the boxing ring, and it's also the rule in the business world. I lost this match."

"Boss, I understand the logic, but you've already lost several matches against An. Last time it was even worse; you even had to personally travel to China."

If you ask me, we might as well sell MGM Studios as a package deal. Otherwise, I'm really worried you'll give away the remaining shares.

Lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest weapon.

Faced with his old friend's complaints, Kirk could no longer maintain his composure and jumped up to curse.

"Fuck! Andrew, don't think you can laugh at me like that just because you grew up with me! I'm the chairman of MGM Resorts!"

"Well, you'll regret this, Kirk!"

"I am the King of Gambling in America, Andrew!"

All that was left for Kirk was the sound of the door slamming shut.

Once outside, Andrew contacted the head of ABC News and explained the situation. They were eager to capitalize on the increased viewership and specially created a midday program for what was originally an evening broadcast.

In addition to reporting Kirk's decision, ABC also invited two Wall Street experts to analyze what Zhuang Huai'an's intentions were.

This back-and-forth between the two naturally didn't escape the notice of Wall Street elites. Combined with the recent move by the Sony Group to acquire MGM's film library rights, they quickly analyzed the true situation.

In other words, Kirk wanted to sell, but Zhuang Huai'an was unwilling.

The two couldn't reach an agreement, which led to this battle of wits from afar.

In the end, Kirk gave in, and Zhuang Huai'an won.

This episode broadcast the news.

MGM's stock price stabilized as a result, but according to experts, it still lost about $1 million.

Zhuang Huai'an's already illustrious reputation soared even higher. Young people who had previously idolized him were now marveling at how amazing their idol was, managing to force a veteran business tycoon, the American gambling king, to apologize.

One sentence is worth a hundred million, tell me, who else can do that!

In the sweet little building,

Zhuang Huai'an turned off the TV with a cold laugh.

The collaboration with Kirk was mutually beneficial, but Kirk's attempt to bring Sony into the picture to exploit his value made him very unhappy.

If I were to make money on my knees, there are so many thriving Hollywood companies that would be eager to do so. Why would I want to get entangled with a half-dead MGM?

In this transaction, Kirk made money by selling his shares, and Sony continued to make money after investing in the company. So who lost out?

The movie industry was about making money off small businesses, but after Sony joined MGM, it became Zhuang Huai'an making money for small businesses!

That's so shabby!

During their honeymoon period, Zhuang Huai'an, a prominent figure in the Chinese film industry, is registered with the Honglu Temple and is not afraid of what Kirk might do. At worst, he can just sink... smash MGM.

If he can organize a group, other Hollywood companies will be happy to kick him while he's down.

Even if Kirk were the gambling king, he wouldn't dare to gamble!

As long as Zhuang Huai'an remains valuable, he will always have a place in Hollywood. Continuously producing blockbuster movies is really important for the stock price increase of listed companies!

But then again...

As the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall. After all, even someone as great as Lincoln had his heart opened and embraced God.

Moreover, I'm just a tiny, tiny director.

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, running away is the best. As Lu Xun once said, "It's best to run away after you've finished showing off."

then,

When the Golden Globe Awards called Yang Chen to invite Zhuang Huai'an to be a presenter, he had already flown across the Pacific Ocean and landed in Shanghai.

"Phew... home is the best..."

Zhuang Huai'an, along with his powerful brothers and Zhang Lu, walked out of the airport and stretched comfortably.

"Oh my, Director Huai'an? What a coincidence!"

Who is it?

Zhuang Huaibao turned his head and saw a young man dressed in trendy clothes walking over.

"Oh, it's me." The person took off his sunglasses and mask, revealing himself to be the limited edition white-haired Lun.

"Tsk, isn't this the newly crowned superstar Jay Chou?" Zhuang Huai'an smiled and bumped fists with him. "What a coincidence, you're here in mainland China for an event?"

The two's relationship began more than a year ago when Jay Chou sent him an invitation to his first concert in mainland China. However, he went to attend the MTV Awards next door instead, but that's how their relationship started.

After Liu Yifei and Zhang Liangying's album became a hit, Jay Chou greatly admired Zhuang Huai'an's musical talent. In addition, he was filming his debut film "Initial D" at the time, so he would call and text him every now and then, hoping to find inspiration.

Zhuang Huai'an readily accepted this offer; after all, who could resist showing off in front of Jay Chou?

Over time, they became familiar with each other.

"Huh? Aren't we together?"

Jay Chou asked, somewhat surprised, "Attending the Global Chinese Music Awards ceremony? Weren't you nominated?"

"Is that so?" Zhuang Huai'an turned to look at Zhang Lu.

"Yes, but we went to Los Angeles, so there was a conflict with our schedule. Besides, we didn't expect to come back after just one night, so I canceled it."

Zhang Lu took out a notebook from her bag and handed it to her. "It's written in there. You probably didn't notice it because you were thinking about Hollywood. Also, Xixi, Liangying, and Teacher Wang were all nominated. I just contacted Du Hua. They've arrived in Shanghai and are at the Hilton."

Zhuang Huai'an glanced at the schedule and nodded. Zhang Lu hadn't done anything wrong; it was indeed his fault.

"Okay, have Du Hua book the rooms." Zhuang Huai'an then asked Jay Chou, "King Jay, what's your take on this?"

"Then I'll definitely go with you, otherwise it'll be so boring."

"Okay, Zhang Lu, book a few more rooms!"

"OK."