Chapter 52

"As fellow cast members of *The Warlords*, Li Lianjie won Best Actor and Liu Dehua won Best Supporting Actor. Do you feel any psychological imbalance?"

The media, seeing that the interview time was almost up, hurriedly asked a few more questions.

"A little, perhaps. They promised to buy me something delicious if they won, but they haven't fulfilled that promise yet."

Teacher Qi Hao was quite cooperative with the media, cracking a humorous joke.

By acting like a junior, he played it humble while also showing that he had a good relationship with Li Lianjie and Liu Dehua, and that he wasn't jealous of them.

If Li Lianjie and Liu Dehua saw this interview, even if they hadn't made such a promise, they would certainly have to treat Teacher Qi Hao to a meal.

"During the Hong Kong Film Awards, An Feng spoke up for you. Do you have anything you'd like to say to her?"

"It seems there's nothing much to say. We are friends; helping each other is only right."

There was truly nothing to be grateful for here.

Teacher Qi Hao felt that if An Feng were facing the same situation he was—no, he should say that if any of his rumored girlfriends were facing a similar situation, he would do his best to speak well of them.

After all, this kind of smear campaign was simply too outrageous.

It was definitely fake.

To make it in this world, you have to value loyalty. You stand up for your brothers, and only then can your brothers speak up for you.

"Li Xuexue has indicated she doesn't want to talk about topics concerning you. What happened between the two of you?"

Previously, everyone was just speculating, hearing that Teacher Qi Hao and Li Xuexue had turned from love to hate.

They were just frustrated by the lack of evidence.

This time, Li Xuexue's performance at the Hong Kong Film Awards revealed too much.

So, one couldn't blame the media for pursuing it relentlessly.

"Mainly, there are just too many topics of this kind. I can understand her quite well; Xuexue is a good girl who pours her heart into her work."

Teacher Qi Hao said very earnestly.

Since ancient times, tricks have been unreliable; only sincerity wins hearts.

Just because I don't like Li Xuexue doesn't mean she isn't a good person.

The media were left speechless.

Suddenly, they felt a bit moved—what to do?

Teacher Qi Hao and his rumored girlfriends, regardless of how things started or ended, basically defended him unconditionally, and Teacher Qi Hao never spoke ill of these rumored girlfriends either.

Even though he knew these people were just riding his coattails for popularity.

After the interview ended, the production crew couldn't continue filming, so everyone wrapped up early and went home.

Teacher Qi Hao's brain was stuffed with knowledge, aching a bit, so he simply ate something and lay down on the bed.

Now, if he didn't choose the training NPC provided by the system, he could also randomize it.

Therefore, Teacher Qi Hao didn't wait until after attending the Beijing College Student Film Festival to confirm the completion of this task.

At worst, he would just randomize it.

【Task 11 completed. Reward: Line Delivery +10, song "Men Cry, It's Not a Sin," business startup capital 100,000 yuan.】

【Task completed, training opportunity obtained.】

【Training NPC (choose one): Hu Ge / Liu Shishi / Huang Zhiwei】

【New task now issuing.】

【Task 12: As a star, maintaining a glorious screen image requires painstaking effort, and engaging in public welfare is undoubtedly the best choice. Host, why not start by participating in a real public welfare activity? Task difficulty: 4 stars. Time limit: 90 days.】

【Task completion reward: Stamina +10, script "Spring Bright Pig Bajie," 4.6% of Huayi Brothers stock (approx. 2.71 million shares, value 750,000).】

What the heck?

Huayi Brothers stock, and it's worth 750,000.

You are truly generous.

Back in the year 2000, where would I get a massive sum of 750,000...

Wait, it seems it's not impossible. The system has given startup capital several times, and I have my own acting fees, not to mention the songs and scripts—whether sold or filmed, there's quite a bit of screenwriting and creative fees.

But the problem is:

Why is it Huayi?

Damn it, what Teacher Qi Hao hates most is Huayi; how can he become their shareholder!

Can I swap it for Penguin?

If not Penguin, Nokia would be fine too; Teacher Qi Hao's whole family uses Nokia.

Teacher Qi Hao doesn't have any specific grudges against Huayi.

He just simply finds Huayi an eyesore.

He debuted in 1997 and can be said to have watched Huayi from its founding to its rise.

At its peak, Huayi's agency business controlled more than half of the stars in the mainland; big-name entertainment stars were almost all in their pocket.

In the entertainment industry, they could be called a force that could summon wind and rain.

From media to stars, to film and television business and government relations, Huayi built a thick wall, making it hard for other film and television companies to breathe.

"Wild" stars like Teacher Qi Hao could only struggle to survive in the cracks.

Some even say that the film industry going from a clear stream to a foul mess has a great deal to do with Huayi.

In the film industry before 2000, where were there so many mistresses clinging to wealthy patrons and all sorts of values-destroying things?

Back then, most stars came from art troupes and valued their actor image.

Teacher Qi Hao doesn't think Huayi needs to take such a big rap for it.

In any industry, as long as resources become too concentrated, there will be all sorts of unspoken rules.

Not to mention those from art troupes; even inside them, it's not certain there weren't any.

But Huayi's way of doing things is overbearing and bottomless; Teacher Qi Hao has seen too much of it. At the time, when he received invitations simultaneously, he would rather join Ziwen than go to Huayi.

After terminating his contract with Ziwen, Huayi also sent people to contact Lao Tian many times.

According to Lao Tian, Wang Zhonglei and Wang Zhongjun both sought him out for tea.

After all, Huayi is currently planning to go public; if they could include a young Best Actor, it would be a good thing for the IPO.

However, Teacher Qi Hao never considered joining Huayi.

He finds it disgusting!

Filming movies is unavoidable; the circle is only so big, and having intersections is normal, but making him spend money to buy Huayi stock? He definitely won't do it.

Not in this lifetime!

Teacher Qi Hao flipped over, got up, and opened his laptop.

4.6%, 2.71 million shares, value 750,000...

This price definitely isn't bought now; at the earliest, it would be around 2000.

Teacher Qi Hao checked, and Huayi indeed had multiple rounds of financing.

The information that is relatively clear is that Teacher Qi Hao's former... rumored girlfriend Li Xuexue bought Huayi stock.

In 2007, she invested 189,300 yuan to purchase 360,000 shares of Huayi Brothers, accounting for 0.2857%, with a cost of only 0.53 yuan/share.

Although Li Xuexue is a signed artist of Huayi, subscribing to stock doesn't come with many discounts; after all, Huayi isn't just the Wang brothers', they also have to answer to other shareholders.

This price might just be the market price.

Calculating based on this unit price, Teacher Qi Hao's 2.71 million shares are worth approximately 1.42 million RMB.

But the price the system used to buy them for Teacher Qi Hao definitely wasn't 2007.

That's why the situation where it only cost 750,000 to get them occurred.

There is another problem: according to the unit price and proportion Li Xuexue bought, the share of 2.71 million shares should be 2.15%, not the 4.6% the system said.

This isn't hard to understand either.

Share proportions will be diluted bit by bit, but the number of shares usually doesn't change unless there is a stock split.

The proportion Teacher Qi Hao holds in Penguin isn't 0.1% now either; it has long been diluted a lot.

Only the data of 6.3 million shares won't change for a while.

This time rewarding 1.42 million RMB—in a sense, the system is indeed very generous.

Teacher Qi Hao didn't dwell on it for too long.

Isn't it just doing public welfare?

Simply put, being a volunteer in the community counts as public welfare.

It's just that since the system said it's to do "real" public welfare and emphasized the star's image, it means it must be done properly, and the money must be spent properly.

At the very least, he can't be perfunctory.

If it were a year or two after he debuted, as a mere extra, it would indeed be hard for him to receive invitations for charity events, but with his current status, the number of invitations he receives every year is simply too many.

At worst, he'll just donate the money Huayi gave.

Take Huayi's sinful wealth and use it to help people in need.

Consider it robbing the rich to help the poor.

Besides, what if one day Teacher Qi Hao offends Huayi...

According to Huayi's nature, they would definitely have to "take care of" Teacher Qi Hao.

As a result, a jolt in his brain—he suddenly realized, damn, Teacher Qi Hao is actually our shareholder.

Then how can they target him?

Other shareholders, seeing the founder wanting to take a knife to a shareholder, would also feel insecure and probably wouldn't be able to sit idly by.

It would affect the IPO, it would affect the stock price.

The feeling of having eaten a dead fly slowly faded, transforming into the thrill of holding Huayi's Achilles' heel.

Of course, Teacher Qi Hao wasn't arrogant enough to think that he could sway the Wang brothers with a small 2.15% stake.

Next is choosing the training NPC.

Hu Ge / Liu Shishi / Huang Zhiwei. Huang Zhiwei is that guy who played Chonglou; his acting is okay, but not that great.

Teacher Qi Hao decisively chose to give up.

Then the system refreshed quickly, settling on He Jiaju / Cheng Kui'an / Shen Wei.

These three...

Teacher Qi Hao quickly understood the meaning of the system's random actor selection this time.

These three are all villain specialists in the Hong Kong film and television circle.

He Jiaju's villain look is known as the head of the "Four Great Evils" in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, and he also has the reputation of a "Category III Tough Guy." His most evil role probably comes from *The Untold Story*.

Cheng Kui'an is "Big Fool," a simple-minded villain; compared to He Jiaju, he is a bit worse.

The third one, Shen Wei, is not as famous as the four great evils—He Jiaju, Cheng Kui'an, Li Zhaoji, and Huang Guangliang—nor is he as well-known as Shi Jian, Zhang Yaoyang, Long Fang, Wang Xiao, or Wu Yijiang, but his acting really cannot be ignored.

He won the Best Supporting Actor at the 4th Hong Kong Film Awards, defeating nominees like Chu Yuan, Taibao, Chen You, and Zhang Guozhu.

Among them, Teacher Qi Hao chose Shen Wei.

He Jiaju is indeed the most famous, but his performance is slightly exaggerated; many perverted roles are successful only because he himself is perverted enough.

It's hard to learn much from him, and Teacher Qi Hao really couldn't summon the courage to try.

Shen Wei is evaluated as a generation of villains; although his popularity isn't high, his acting is quite solid. As a "green leaf" beside superstars, he has played many roles that fans find unforgettable, and his unique appearance makes him unforgettable at a glance. He is especially good at playing those treacherous, bullying-the-weak-and-fearing-the-strong villain images most vividly.

It is worth mentioning that Shen Wei transitioned behind the scenes in the 1990s. *The Last Tycoon of the Jianghu*, which he wrote, directed, and starred in at TVB, is one of Zhou Xingxing's early cult classics.

This movie is also quite good.

In any case, Teacher Qi Hao choosing Shen Wei wasn't to give Wang Zuxian a tattoo. *** **Chapter 53: Not Pretending Anymore, Showdown (Seeking Monthly Votes)**