Chapter 315: Shocking Gambling Agreement, Mimi Accompanies Him

As time entered the latter part of March, the preparations for *The Martian* in all aspects were complete.

Wei Jin sent Ceng Li and Cheng Long to the training center for instruction.

For this project, the China National Space Administration indeed provided strong support, dispatching the first person from Huaxia to perform a spacewalk—Zhai Zhigang—to personally train the two.

At the training center, Wei Jin met this legendary figure; he was not tall, but his eyes were piercing and full of spirit.

After some pleasantries, Zhai Zhigang sized up Ceng Li and Cheng Long and spoke.

"Director Wei, to be honest, don't mind me, but this casting is relatively reliable. According to our country's standards, an astronaut's height generally does not exceed 175cm. The casting for *The Martian* has quite a few loopholes, haha."

Wei Jin could tell that Coach Zhai was joking, so he smiled and said:

"Coach Zhai, the standard you mentioned is for the current situation. With the advancement of technology, our country's various equipment parameters will also be upgraded. Perhaps future astronauts will be even taller and larger than me, haha."

"Haha, Director Wei is right. It was Zhai who was shallow in his thinking, haha."

After a few words of conversation, Wei Jin watched Ceng Li and Cheng Long enter the base, then departed.

This training mission was not heavy, and it did not require being completely sealed off; they only needed to arrive on time every day to participate in the training.

As the director and project initiator, Wei Jin had come to make an appearance, and he would not need to worry about matters here afterward.

On the way back, Wei Jin began to fall into deep thought; the project was progressing very smoothly.

The film crew had already moved into the China Film Digital Production Base to carry out preliminary set construction, and the puppet show team had also begun training and coordination according to the predetermined animation trajectory.

Everything was ready, and the time until filming began was very close.

Returning to the company, Wei Jin took the time to head to Shanhe Ink, intending to check on the post-production progress of *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate*.

For the few films already scheduled, *The Piano Tuner* and *Love Is Not Blind* had both completed post-production, passed review, and received their Dragon Marks.

The second cut of *Mojin: The Lost Legend* had also been completed by Wu Ershan according to Wei Jin's requirements and was currently being submitted for review.

Just as he arrived, he saw Xu Laoguai communicating with the technical staff, so Wei Jin greeted him to ask about the situation.

"Director Xu, how is the post-production going?"

Discovering that the person who arrived was Wei Jin, Xu Laoguai stopped the conversation, turned around, and began to report.

"General Manager Wei, it is expected to take about three more months..."

Wei Jin nodded upon hearing this, not surprised. *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate* had over a thousand special effects shots and was a 3D production; it was in no way inferior to *Mojin: The Lost Legend*, so spending more than half a year on post-production was perfectly normal.

"General Manager Wei, I want to go to the Cannes Film Festival to pre-sell the copyrights."

"Hmm? Why?"

Wei Jin asked with some surprise. Although the Cannes Film Festival was the market with the largest copyright trading volume among the European Big Three, wanting to sell pre-sale copyrights before post-production was finished seemed a bit rushed, right? "It's like this, General Manager Wei. A few days ago, Nansheng and Du Qifeng both received invitations from Cannes to serve as judges for this film festival. I thought they could help a lot with the promotion, so..."

Wei Jin understood upon hearing this. In that case, it made sense; with the official support and promotion of the film festival, copyright sales would indeed be much more convenient.

"Since that's the case, then you go ahead. If the price isn't right, we'll wait until the finished film is out and go try Venice..."

"I understand, General Manager Wei." — In the film market, *Guanyin Mountain* had been released for 20 days, its box office surpassed 100 million, and it chose to end its run while the momentum was good.

Promotion had already begun for films scheduled for release in April, among which the more interesting ones were *Ip Man 3* and *Guan Yunchang*.

The former was a sequel to a blockbuster film series, while the latter was a big-budget film claiming an investment of 150 million. Crucially, both starred Zhen Zidan, and netizens all wanted to see whether Ip Man would be superior or if Guan Gong would be more heroic.

Facing two works with similar release windows starting their promotions simultaneously, Zhen Zidan was still very clear-headed and took the initiative to follow the *Ip Man 3* team to run promotions.

In view of this, the producers of *Guan Yunchang* directly made Jiang Wen the main selling point of the film; after all, the box office performance of *Let the Bullets Fly* was truly stunning, and they also wanted to borrow the influence of that film.

"Two big stars join forces, Jiang Wen lets the bullets fly!"

"*Guan Yunchang* will surely become the box office champion of the first half of the year!"

However, looking at the promotional posters and synopses for *Guan Yunchang* in major cinemas, netizens directly began to mock it.

"The story of Guan Erye escorting his childhood sweetheart, the little sister-in-law, to find his big brother!"

"A journey full of ambiguous stimulation..."

One has to say, the imagination of Hong Kong directors and screenwriters is truly vast; they can invent any plot. Guan Gong almost cuckolded Liu Bei—do you dare believe it?

At the same time, a piece of news once again shocked the industry: Xiaoma had successfully raised funds.

Successful financing was not rare, but the financing agreement subsequently announced truly shocked the industry; Xiaoma Pentium was truly sparing no cost to go public.

Even the financing before Huayi went public was not as crazy as Xiaoma Pentium; they actually came up with a gambling agreement.

One must know that when Xiaoma Pentium entered the film circle in 2008, it had already raised 40 million USD, and its previous valuation had already reached over 3 billion.

Coupled with the fact that *The Pretending Couple* during the Spring Festival Film Season had a box office of over 200 million, Xiaoma's financing prospects were actually quite good, and it was frantically sought after by more than 40 institutions.

But unexpectedly, in order to increase its valuation, Xiaoma actually rejected other investors and accepted 750 million in financing with Jianyin Culture as the lead investor. This scale had already set a financing record for the Huaxia film and television industry.

Jianyin Culture, this state-owned fund, became the second-largest shareholder of Xiaoma by investing 450 million.

But the price was that Xiaoma had to complete its listing before the end of 2013; otherwise, Jianyin Culture had the right to require any party among the actual controllers of Xiaoma Pentium to purchase all the shares held by Jianyin Culture in one lump sum.

Along with it, Ning Hao's *The Great Robbery* also became a bargaining chip in Xiaoma's gambling agreement; they were playing way too big.

The next day, Xiaoma Pentium's cocktail party invitations were sent to companies and major directors throughout the industry.

After all, if Xiaoma wanted to go public smoothly, how could it do so without impressive works and directors with good relationships? "Junior brother, are you going?"

Ning Hao specifically called to ask.

"Forget it, I won't go join in the fun."

Don't look at how Xiaoma is currently flourishing; Wei Jin knew that this was like cooking oil on a raging fire. Capital is cold and ruthless, and Xiaoma's end would not be very good, so there was no need to interact too much.

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin left the company and headed to the Golden House; tonight there was an activity he was very much looking forward to. — Inside the Golden House, Yang Mi was speechless; she had thought she would enjoy the favor alone, but she didn't expect an acquaintance to come as well.

Watching Fan Bingbing's charming demeanor on the bed, Yang Mi felt somewhat inferior; as expected of a popular A-list star, she really knew so many tricks.

With Wei Jin's formidable stamina, Fan Bingbing could actually hold on for several rounds; no wonder she was deeply favored by men and was the first to receive listing support.

Thinking of this, Yang Mi felt she should be more proactive and took the opportunity to press against Wei Jin's back to help the man enjoy himself.

"Hmm, Mimi, you have a heart."

Feeling the softness behind him, Wei Jin continued his movements while wrapping one hand around Yang Mi's slender waist, kneading her perky buttocks. Looking at the beauty with a slightly flushed face beneath him, Wei Jin felt some emotion; perhaps to maintain the dignity of an A-list star, although Fan Bingbing was wanton by nature, she had always been resistant to a threesome.

This time, it was also because of the screening protection from Shanhe Cinema Line that allowed *Guanyin Mountain* to successfully break 100 million at the box office that she agreed to it.

Wei Jin had racked his brains to find a player who could rival her, and finally settled on the strong-willed Yang Mi, known as the "second Fan Bingbing," to serve as a partner for this card game.

"Mimi, come and help out. Get Bingbing to play her cards quickly, so you can enjoy the pleasure sooner too."

"No."

While passively enduring the intimacy, Fan Bingbing issued a protest and even glared at Yang Mi.

Despite hearing Wei Jin's request, Yang Mi really didn't dare to make a move; this woman Fan Bingbing was not to be trifled with.

Seeing that Yang Mi was slow to act, Wei Jin teased her while playing his cards.

"What? Afraid she'll tear you apart?"

At this, a smile appeared on the corner of Wei Jin's mouth; the recent "Battle of the Big Flowers" had truly been spectacular.

A few days ago, Zhang Ziyi's team used a Weibo burner account to mock Fan Bingbing, saying her outfit at Paris Fashion Week was tacky and that she was deliberately selling sex—just a flashy, cheap woman. They thought they had done it quietly, but who knew it would still be dug up by the all-pervasive media.

Fan Bingbing and Zhang Ziyi were old rivals. They had previously clashed on the spot during the show *A Date with Luyu* while collaborating on the film *Sophie's Revenge*, almost pulling each other's hair out in a fight, with Luyu unable to stop them.

Well, now it was all out—new grudges and old scores together. Fan Bingbing responded directly via her Studio's Weibo: "Tacky as hell," "kicked back by foreigners," "hated by everyone," "stabbing people in the back." "Uncle, don't talk nonsense. I don't usually tear people apart; it's just that that cheap woman went too far, wanting to step on me to get ahead. She's just jealous of me."

Wei Jin nodded upon hearing this. He could naturally understand the infighting among female celebrities in the circle; after all, resources were limited.

The reason Zhang Ziyi chose to pick a fight with Fan Bingbing was none other than the fact that the latter had been too prominent this year, with the $150 million blockbuster *Pacific Rim* in terms of commerce, and the Tokyo Film Festival Best Actress-winning, 100-million-box-office-grossing *Guanyin Mountain* in terms of art.

By comparison, Zhang Ziyi, who had debuted at her peak, had seen her career slide severely over the last two years, with almost no resources.

She had finally managed to get a connection with Wong Kar-wai, but it was said that *The Grandmaster* had been pushed back for reshoots ever since filming started, which was simply torturous.

However, Wei Jin was speechless at Zhang Ziyi's tactics. She used to benchmark herself against Gong Li, but now she had reached the point of mutual mud-slinging with the Four Dan Double Bing. One could only say she had played a great hand of cards into a complete mess.

Coming back to his senses, seeing that Fan Bingbing beneath him could actually still speak in complete sentences, Wei Jin felt insulted. While expanding his advantage in the card game, he also called upon his teammate.

"You heard her, Mimi. Bingbing said she won't tear you apart. Hurry up and play your cards."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi hesitated for a long time before slowly playing her cards.

Last time she played cards with Clara, because of the language barrier, the two had almost no communication, and since they didn't know each other, she had almost no psychological fluctuations.

But this time was different. This was one of the Four Dan Double Bing who had debuted for nearly fifteen years. Thinking about it, Yang Mi felt a bit excited.

Yang Mi leaned close to Fan Bingbing, compared their respective advantages, and felt full of pride in her heart: "She's not as good as me!"

She then began to blow hot air into Fan Bingbing's ear. One must know that the ear is a sensitive spot for eighty percent of women. Under the combined pressure of Yang Mi and Wei Jin, Fan Bingbing soon had no cards left to play.

"Ah~~ I'm not playing anymore. I concede this round."

"Mmm~~"

Enjoying the joy of victory, Wei Jin looked at Yang Mi, and the latter immediately swapped positions with Fan Bingbing.

"Very good, Mimi. In that last round, Bingbing lasted forty minutes. I hope you can hold out longer. If a little flower wants to become a big flower, she has to work harder. You say so, right?"

While speaking, Wei Jin began to play his cards. Everyone knows how to play Fight the Landlord; the first move is definitely to play some small cards.

"Senior brother, I will try my best. Ah..."

One second Yang Mi was psyching herself up, and the next she let out an exclamation.

"Bingbing, you don't play by the rules."

Yang Mi was somewhat shocked by Fan Bingbing's recovery ability. To be full of vigor again after just a moment—she was truly a player worthy of battling Wei Jin. It seemed she still had a long way to go.

Fan Bingbing was also shocked by Yang Mi's advantages. She only had a pair of 3s, while Yang Mi had a pair of 8s. The advantage was too great; no wonder she could win Wei Jin's favor.

Thinking of this, Fan Bingbing began to cooperate with Wei Jin.

"Woo~~~ Senior brother, play a little slower~~"

Thanks to Fan Bingbing's participation, in a two-on-one situation, Yang Mi soon had no cards to play and lost a round.

Just as he was enjoying Fan Bingbing's attentive shuffling service, Wei Jin's phone rang.

"Director Shi?"

"President Wei, *A Simple Life* has wrapped up. Xu Anhua plans to attend this year's Venice Film Festival."

"That's a good thing. You can come with me then."

"Also, President Wei, what about the plan for Golden Harvest this year?"

"Hmm."

Wei Jin fell into deep thought upon hearing this. He had previously handed many scripts suitable for the Hong Kong style to Shi Nansheng, but for Hong Kong films to achieve good results in Mainland China, they still needed to wait, so the pace of starting new films had not been fast over the last two years.

But now that the Mainland market had entered the 1-billion-box-office era, it was indeed time to pick up the pace.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin had an idea and gave his instructions.

"Start *The White Storm* and *Storm*."

These two projects were not massive blockbusters, but in the current environment, reaping three or four hundred million at the box office wouldn't be too much of a problem.

"Understood, President Wei."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin discovered that Fan Bingbing and Yang Mi were both looking at him with longing expressions.

Lying back on the large bed, Wei Jin clasped his hands behind his head, looking at the two with a half-smile.

"Uncle, your big brother isn't home tonight, and sister-in-law is scared all by herself..."

Fan Bingbing was truly a top-tier stunner; she had started her role-playing routine again, and while speaking, she had already begun to take action.

Seeing this, Yang Mi secretly thought to herself that she was impressive.

Watching the two women fawning over him beneath him, a smile appeared on Wei Jin's face. Tonight was going to be fun. (End of chapter)